Unhurried Living | Helping Christians Rest Deeper & Lead Better

What does it really mean to become the best version of yourself in God?

In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Gem Fadling sits down with therapist and bestselling author Dr. Alison Cook to talk about Christian boundaries, finding your voice, healing trauma, and facing emotional pain with faith.

Dr. Alison shares a deeply personal story that shaped her book The Best of You, and we explore why so many Christian women struggle to recognize their needs, speak up in relationships, and set healthy boundaries without guilt. We also look at how Jesus modeled a strong sense of self, and why facing your pain is essential to spiritual growth and emotional healing.

If you’ve ever wondered:
Is it selfish to focus on my needs?
How do I set boundaries as a Christian?
Why is it so hard to use my voice?
How do I heal from past wounds with God?
This conversation will encourage you to rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better.
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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads
Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

It’s one thing to understand the kind of leadership that helps people flourish. It’s another thing to sustain it—especially over time.

In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling continues his reflections on Wendell Berry’s wisdom, turning from the life we cultivate in leadership to the life we must become to sustain it.

Drawing from Berry’s insights on character, familiarity, and discipline, Alan explores the deeper work of leadership formation—the kind of inner life that holds steady under pressure and grows through experience.

You’ll discover:
Why good intentions and knowledge are not enough for lasting leadership
How character is formed through everyday choices and responses
What your reactions reveal about your inner life
How reflection helps you grow in wisdom over time

This episode is for pastors, team leaders, and anyone who wants to become the kind of leader who can stay with the work long enough to see it bear fruit.

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website.
Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

What does it mean to enter the final third of life with intention?

In this reflective episode, Gem shares about a personal season of reset as she approaches sixty. Through the lens of Christian spiritual formation, she explores four guiding words for her next decade: freedom, meaningful work, rest, and fruitfulness.

Together we consider how to navigate midlife transitions, how to embrace aging with hope rather than fear, and how to cooperate with the inward renewal described in 2 Corinthians 4. This episode offers practical action steps for those seeking spiritual growth, clarity, and a more unhurried life in their next season.
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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads
Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

What do we do when God no longer feels as close as He used to feel?
Many sincere believers experience seasons when prayer feels empty, Scripture feels quiet, and God seems strangely absent. For leaders especially, those seasons can feel confusing, discouraging, and even shameful.
In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with theologian and spiritual formation professor Kyle Strobel to discuss the new book When God Seems Distant, coauthored with John Coe.
Together, they explore:
Why spiritual dryness is a normal part of mature faith
The danger of equating spiritual feelings with God’s presence
How suffering and helplessness can become places of formation
The subtle ways we avoid God—even through our spirituality
Why love, rather than striving, is what truly transforms us
This conversation offers a compassionate and deeply hopeful vision for anyone walking through uncertainty, weariness, disappointment, or spiritual distance.
Whether you are a pastor, leader, spiritual director, or simply someone longing to remain near to God in difficult seasons, this episode offers wisdom and encouragement for the journey.
Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website.
Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

What do you do when your faith feels dry and your prayers feel empty?

In this episode, Gem Fadling sits down with author and Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren to explore the reality of spiritual dryness, burnout, and what the Christian tradition calls “aridity.” Drawing from her book, What Grows in Weary Lands, Tish offers a deeply grounded vision of faith that endures, even in seasons of doubt, fatigue, and emotional exhaustion.

Together, they reflect on ancient Christian practices, the wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers, and how modern experiences of burnout and languishing intersect with the deeper spiritual journey.

If you’ve ever wondered where God is in your weariness, or how to keep going when your inner life feels thin, this conversation offers a steady, hopeful way forward.

Topics include:
Spiritual dryness and why it happens
Christian practices for burnout and fatigue
How to pray when prayer feels empty
Faith in seasons of doubt and distance from God
Ancient wisdom for modern exhaustion

This episode is for anyone longing to stay rooted in God, even when life feels overwhelming.
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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads
Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.