When the World Feels Heavy: Connecting to Prayer & Meditation
Release Date: 04/14/2023
Rooting in Soul Care Practices for Hard Times
Pray With our Feet
We are living through unprecedented times; as each of us continues processing the election, and moving through waves of grief, disappointment, overwhelm, etc., it is vital to remain rooted in God, and come into beloved community with one another. Mom and I share a few of our thoughts post-election (check out two recent Instagram posts, and ), drop into discussing what soul care is, why it matters, and share two soul care practices you can lean into for support - breath prayer and meditating on verses of scripture. Breath prayer helps us to focus on a short phrase (God, Give me...
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Putting our Faith into Action with Lindsey Krinks of Open Table Nashville
Pray With our Feet
When we put our faith into action and center justice, fighting for the rights of everyone, particularly those most marginalized, we embody Christ. Mom and I caught up with Lindsey Krinks, Advocacy Director and co-founder of , a non-profit and interfaith community based in Tennessee whose work includes four core pillars: “, , a , and with our friends on the streets.” Throughout this episode we discuss Lindsey’s spiritual journey and embrace of liberation theology, and how it led her to the work she does now through Open Table Nashville (OTN) which focuses on...
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Building Intersectional Church & Community with Jonelle Brown of Young Prophets Collective
Pray With our Feet
Church hurt is widespread, and there are still many congregations which remain closed to Christians living on the margins because of sexuality / gender identity, disability, race / ethnicity, class, education level, etc. Young Prophets Collective, a growing online church and community, founded by JJ Warren, is working to shift this through building an affirming and intersectional space which welcomes all, and excludes none. I caught up with Jonelle Brown, an active member of Young Prophets Collective. Throughout this episode we discuss - ...
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Kindness is Action with Kaitlin Johnstone, co-founder of Kind Cotton
Pray With our Feet
Kindness must move beyond pleasantries and root us in action and justice. Mom and I chat with Kaitlin Johnstone, co-founder of and former educator; she and her husband, Kevin, are to bring 1 million inclusive books to kids with every purchase of a Kind Cotton tee, tote bag or other product. Kind Cotton uplifts the work of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ children’s authors, along with books focused on social emotional learning. “What we are putting out into the world are our values, " Kaitlin says. Throughout this episode, we discuss what sparked the creation of Kind Cotton,...
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Talking Jesus & Justice with Porsche Veu aka The Poetic Activist
Pray With our Feet
Based in Oakland, CA, Porsche Veu aka is a gifted author, speaker, educator and poet, who tackles the challenging racial and social justice issues of our day head on, without apology. We discuss her faith journey, the urgency of truth telling and becoming comfortable with discomfort, the roots of White supremacy within the American church, and how she uses her work to move people beyond performative change while centering the urgency of inner work. Porsche uses her art to fight social injustice, empower women, youth, the Black community, and advocate for mental and emotional...
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In Honor of Baldwin's 100th Birthday (REWIND) - James Baldwin's Radical Challenge: You Mean it or You Don't with writers Jamie McGhee and Adam Hollowell
Pray With our Feet
In honor of Baldwin’s 100th birthday, we are sharing this episode again - a conversation with Adam Hollowell and Jamie McGhee, founders of , discussing their powerful book: . One of the most prolific writers and thinkers of the 20th century, Baldwin’s words continue to awaken us. Drawing from his extensive body of work - fiction, poetry speeches and interviews, McGhee and Hollowell call us to embody our activism. There are prompts at the end of each chapter to help us take action - whether concerning police brutality, racial justice or LGBTQ+ rights. Our discussion...
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"We Must Act." Talking with Crystal Silva-McCormick, Christians for a Free Palestine
Pray With our Feet
As Christians, we must say, "not in our name," as we continue witnessing the genocide of our Palestinian siblings. Mom and I sat down with Crystal Silva-McCormick, a member of (CFFP), to discuss , the urgency of unlearning Christian Zionism, and educating ourselves about apartheid in Palestine. Crystal also uplifts CFFP's upcoming , in D.C. (July 28-30, 2024) with a diverse coalition of faith partners (Jewish Voice for Peace, Mennonite Action, Hindus for Human Rights, RabbisForCeasefire, etc.) to counter Christians United for Israel’s (CUFI) annual summit. "CUFI is the largest...
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Season 5, Episode 1: Rooting in God's Radical Love
Pray With our Feet
We've missed you all! We're back with our 5th season! Given the state of our world, Mom and I are centering the urgnecy of rooting in God's radical love; our guiding verse of scripture this season is 1 Cornithians 13:13 - "And now these three things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." Throughout this episode, we discuss embodying God's call to love radically, building beloved community, connecting more deeply with God in prayer (and some ways to do this), while also centering prayer for the many who are suffering in Palestine (hostages both Israeli and...
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Spiritual Healing & Divine Intuition with Katrina Dilag, founder of Radical Visionary Collective
Pray With our Feet
What if we broke away from fearing intuition, and began embracing it as another way God speaks to us? I recently sat down with Katrina “Trina” Dilag, founder of Radical Visionary Collective, 2x certified spiritual life coach, and social justice advocate. We chat about healing as resistance to harmful systems, normalizing out-of-the box spirituality in churches, ditching toxic theology to develop an intimate relationship with God, and her latest offering, Intuition Activation, an 8 week course (launched June 19); it is a culmination of 20 years of experience in spirituality and...
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Talking Jesus + Climate Justice with Holly Petersen of Christian Climate Action
Pray With our Feet
The climate is in crisis, but that doesn’t mean change is impossible. I caught up with the inspiring co-founder of (CCA) about planet activism rooted in our faith. Christian Climate Action is a community of Christians supporting each other to take meaningful action for the planet. Inspired by Jesus Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit, and following the example of social justice movements of the past, CCA carries out acts of public witness, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to urge those in power to make the changes needed. We discuss how Holly sees Jesus and justice...
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We're living through intense times; each of us wading through persistent grief, whether due to mass shootings, threats to American democracy, escalating attacks on marginalized communities, or our day-to-day struggles. It's clear constant movement without recharging spiritually, takes its toll.
In this episode, I share a short grounding meditation, designed to help center calm in the midst of chaos using an ever-present anchor God gave each of us, the breath. You'll also hear a prayer (specifically for us, the acctivists) following the meditation, inspired by Jesus' challenge in Matthew 25:40 - "Whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done it for me."
Join us on April 30, 6pm via Zoom for our first monthly ASK Ministry: Prayer + Action meeting. Read more about the story behind this ministry (in loving memory of my Dad, Rudy) on our website, and sign up here.
Resources -
Scriptures for dealing with anxiety / stress (you can use for meditation, jounraling and prayer):
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:2
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
Mindfulness Tools
I have trained in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and now also have certification as a TSD Mindfulness Coach. Check out a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction workbook, there are great exercises at the end of each chapter which help you make the mind, body and soul connection.
TSD mindfulness helps reduce stress, move through grief and crisis, while healing from trauma; there are concrete teachings in resilience, acceptance, being present and self-compassion (which I see as deeply connected to community care). You can read more about it here.
And look out for upcoming offerings through Pray with our Feet that center mindfulness for folks like us, spiritual activists.
Stay Connected With Us!
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Special thank you to my husand Keston De Coteau, for podcast production; he is an award-winning videographer and photographer.