Always I am curious and inspired by the human spiritual experience here on earth.

At Vanderbilt Divinity School, I studied the spiritual writings of St. Teresa d’Avila, Brother Lawrence, Mother Theresa, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Thomas Merton, Flannery O’Connor, Wendell Berry, St. Paul, Mother Mary, Jesus and many more. It was revelatory, even a spiritual watershed, to read the words of these men and women writing about their understanding and relationship with the Divine, confessing their moments of personal doubt and revelations of faith, and sharing how they tried to live soulfully within the limitations of their humanity and the material world. I realized that each of these spiritual seekers believed there was more here than the eye could see. They not only believed, but participated in the mysteriously redemptive and loving Divine plan at work in our world. What an incredible example of living in hope!

This early class inspired me to pick up the conversation, to ask people whom I admire the important questions of my heart. Who is God and what is the soul’s connection, if any, to a Higher Consciousness? What does it look like to try and live a soulful life in a secular world? How do I open a conversation with God and keep it going throughout my life? What is prayer and does it work? Are their places or practices that might afford me deeper experiences of God and a sacred reality? How do I make sense of and respond to suffering, injustice, inequality, materialism and the growing secularity of our culture? Can I still be a person of hope?

In a recent New York Times article, “We Need To Talk About God,” a study found that Americans, particularly ones that identify as Christian, rarely, if ever, have a spiritual or religious conversation during their week. Apparently, no one is talking about God. No wonder we live in such divisive and despairing times. We have passed the mike over to a loud and angry, divisive and materialistic Voice leaving us all feeling more and more desperate, anxious, numb, and sometimes even hopeless. We must recover our sacred vocabulary. The journalist wondered if there was any value in speaking about God anymore. I took this as a personal charge and decided to start my own sacred conversation. I am determined to explore and contribute a vernacular of hope to the world. I wish to transcend the meanness, the division and the despair.

I am convinced no matter what your spiritual identity, political party, gender or sexual orientation, age or finances, each of us has a soul longing for transcendent conversation. If you have a beating heart then you crave a rhetoric of redemption, healing, genuine love, and deep hope.

I created Soulful 7 Conversations as a way to speak goodness, hope and God back into our world. We are being hijacked by social media and won’t easily change. Much of the content speaks to our egos and diminishes our tender souls. I believe we have the opportunity to offer something more.

My hope is that each of these unique conversations with people we can all admire will feed your soul, gift you with nuggets of wisdom for your own spiritual searching and most importantly increase your joy! You can watch the 1 hour videos in one sitting or in little bites, or put your ear buds in and enjoy the conversation via a podcast. I would love to hear your gentle and encouraging feedback and if you have anyone that you would like me to invite to have a conversation, please pass the contact along!

My first guest, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, is a “one of a kind.” She’s warm and generous, creative and fun, but more than anything she is a faithful friend to me. I asked her to be my first guest at Soulful 7 Conversation. We have already had many spirit-led conversations sitting around my dinner table or roasting marshmellows around her fire pit. I want you to benefit like I have from her spiritual wisdom and incredible soul joy. Elizabeth is very intentional about including God in her life and trying to live a soulful existence as a mother, wife, daughter, friend, and author. I promise you will finish this conversation, like me, wanting for more! I invite you to pre-order her new book, Point of View: A Fresh Look At Work, Faith and Freedom coming out this Spring, 2019.