I'm always challenged by the words of verse 2, “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord…” The question that arises for me is, “Can I honestly say that my soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord?” Have you ever stopped to evaluate your longings? When we have a longing, doesn’t it indicate that something is missing from our lives? Sometimes our longings indicate a desire to escape our current circumstances. In this episode, we'll explore what our longings might be trying to tell us, and we'll take some time to consider our response. Listen in!

Read it here

Questions for this episode: Does this resonate with my soul today? Do I find myself trying to fill my cravings with temporary things that never completely satisfy? Am I able to see that what my soul really wants is to encounter the living God? Is there something He is inviting me to do, or to set aside doing, so that I can enter into our relationship more intentionally?

was one of the first I read on this topic!

The Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun is a really great resource on many different disciplines and the desire behind each

The Lectio 365 App is a great daily resource for slowing down to encounter scripture prayerfully!

Podcast music is written and recorded by Caleb Lieurance

Welcome to a new season of Quiet on Purpose, friends - I can't believe we are beginning our 6th year together! What a delight for me.

As 2025 was winding down and I began to anticipate the start of a new year, I began, as has become my practice, paying attention to what God seems to be up to in this season of my life, and where I felt His Spirit at work in my heart, especially seeking a “word of the year” to guide my spiritual focus for 2026. The word I settled on for this year is “Watch!” (Yes, with an exclamation point!) Even before the new year began, I could see how He was inviting me to focus on this word, this practice really, and the hope that is connected to it! I’m excited to “Watch!” and see what God does in this year, and you're invited to join me!

You can read Micah 7.7 here

Questions from today's episode: Where am I longing for God to work in my own life or the lives of my loved ones today? Do I sense an invitation from him to watch in hope as I pour out my heart to him, knowing that he hears me and he is already at work? Am I ready to open my hands and release outcomes and timing to the One True God, whose timing is never wrong?

Have you ever had the experience of getting together with a dear friend or family member after a long period of absence and wanted to just soak up every moment with them, savoring their presence with you? Have you ever realized, after perhaps hours of sitting and visiting with them, that you’ve lost all track of time because you have been so completely “with” them? The first chapter of the Gospel of John begins with beautifully poetic imagery which helps us to understand Jesus as Creator, eternal Son of God, Life and Light, and, in this verse, Emmanuel, God with us! Dive in to this special Christmas episode as we pause to consider the miracle of God with us!

Read John 1:14

Questions from today's episode: What does “God with us” mean to you today? How do you need to experience his “with-ness” in your life right now? Have you ever stopped to marvel at the fact that the Creator of the universe stepped into humanity and became one of us in order to help us know Him, to see God’s love for us, and to enact the most amazing redemption plan? Take some time now to linger in awe and wonder at God’s great love for us!

A great listen: