Draw Near: Lenten Devotional by Lynne Baab, illustrated by Dave BaabTwo Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeA Renewed SpiritualityNurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First CenturyThe Power of ListeningJoy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your CongregationSabbath Keeping FastingPrayers of the Old TestamentPrayers of the New TestamentSabbathFriendingA Garden of Living Water: Stories of Self-Discovery and Spiritual GrowthDeath in Dunedin: A NovelDead Sea: A NovelDeadly Murmurs: A NovelPersonality Type in CongregationsBeating Burnout in CongregationsReaching Out in a Networked WorldEmbracing MidlifeAdvent Devotional

Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: The most important listening skill

Lynne Baab • Wednesday November 29 2023

Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: The most important listening skill

Here are three listening scenarios. See if you resonate with any of them.

1. You are shopping for groceries and run into a former neighbor who you used to like a lot. They pause with their shopping basket, and you chat with them for a few minutes. You know you can’t talk long because you need to get home to do a few things. The entire time you are catching up with this kind and interesting person, you feel inner pressure to get moving.

2. A close friend is telling you about marriage challenges. You have heard permutations of this story many times...

Read full article »

Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying about longing

Lynne Baab • Tuesday November 21 2023

Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying about longing

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up humming a song. These words kept coming to mind:

But I’ve wandered much further today than I should And I can't seem to find my way back to the wood So help me if you can, I’ve got to get Back to the house at Pooh corner by one You'd be surprised there’s so much to be done Count all the bees in the hive Chase all the clouds from the sky Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh

I looked the song up online. I listened to it and learned it was written by Kenny Loggins and recorded by...

Read full article »

Friendship, Loneliness, and Prayer: When to Talk

Lynne Baab • Wednesday November 15 2023

Friendship, Loneliness, and Prayer: When to Talk

If listening is a major way to show love and care in conversations, should we always listen and never talk? No. How do we know when to listen and talk when we are conversing with a friend, and we want to nurture our connection with them? Ah, that’s the challenging part that requires wisdom. We can ask God for wisdom and rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us.

When I ponder why I talk in conversations, I can think of many reasons:

(1) I’m often looking for support and encouragement. To receive it, I have to reveal what’s going on in my...

Read full article »

Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: The neuroscience of loneliness

Lynne Baab • Tuesday November 7 2023

Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: The neuroscience of loneliness

I want to introduce you to the academic field of social neuroscience, focused on the connections between social experiences and biological functions. Human beings are social creatures, and it makes sense that our relationships would affect us on a neurological level, and also that our neurological functions would affect our relationships.

Here’s the abstract of an article by one of the co-founders of social neuroscience, John T. Cacioppo, and a second researcher. Notice the way they describe loneliness as “perceived social isolation.” That raises a lot of questions about the difference between being alone and feeling lonely, a topic for a future...

Read full article »
<< Newer | Older >>

Featured books

Featured articles

NEW: Nurturing a contemplative stance for navigating challenging times

Lynne Baab • Friday August 11 2023

By Lynne M. Baab

NEW: Spiritual Practices for People in Ministry

Lynne Baab • Sunday June 26 2022

Making Space for a Continuing Conversation with the Living God

NEW: Yes, Jesus Told Us to Pray in Secret. But He Also Prayed with His Friends.

Lynne Baab • Saturday October 9 2021

By Lynne M. Baab. Originally published in Christianity Today, July 8, 2021