Lynne Baab
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Quotations I love: John Stott on pruning
Lynne Baab • Tuesday May 4 2021
The setting is the Urbana Missionary Conference, and John Stott is speaking daily about the Upper Room Discourse, John 13 to 17. I am a university student who travelled from the Pacific Northwest to Illinois during my Christmas vacation. I sit in that huge arena on the campus at Urbana, captivated by John Stott’s teaching. His exposition of the material in John 14 and 16 about the Holy Spirit completely changes my perspective on the Holy Spirit. Now I understand that the Holy Spirit is not some esoteric, mysterious force, but instead a person who I already know. The Holy Spirit...
Read full article »Quotations I love: Make it beautiful
Lynne Baab • Wednesday April 28 2021
“If it can’t be happy, make it beautiful. . . . I hope that, in the midst of your sorrow and the bleakness of what you’re facing, you can yet find a way to make it beautiful. . . . The pandemic has been an experience of powerlessness and sadness for most of us. It hasn’t been happy. But we can still make it beautiful.” —Samuel Wells, vicar of St. Martin-in-the Fields, next to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery in London
I love Samuel Wells’s distinction between happiness and beauty. I find it easy to conflate the two. I have seen so...
Read full article »Quotations I love: God’s image in us when we speak
Lynne Baab • Wednesday April 21 2021
“Before God spoke the cosmos, God enjoyed constant colloquy – the Father engaging the Son, the Diving Logos (John 1 doesn’t call Christ ‘the Word’ for nothing) in conversation with the Father, all in the communicative power of the Spirit. . . . The meaning of ‘Let us making humanity in our image’ (Gen 1:26) is human speaking, even with its limitations, which is divinely permitted and authorized, imitating a defining characteristic of our Creator.” —William Willimon, Preachers Dare: Speaking for God [1]
This quotation made me smile. After all, when I felt called by God in 2004 to leave a pastoral position...
Read full article »Quotations I love: Memory
Lynne Baab • Thursday April 15 2021
“Memory is many things. . . . It is a call to resolve in us what simply will not go away.” —Joan Chittister (born 1936), American Benedictine nun, theologian, author, and speaker
For most of my adult life, I would have read Joan Chittister’s words a certain way. For me, what wouldn't go away in my memories was pain, and I would have said we must face into pain from our past in in the company of others. I would have said that the unresolved memories in us that keep coming up should be dealt with in inner healing prayer, therapy/counseling/coaching, and in...
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The Power of Listening
In this inspiring and practical book, Lynne Baab weaves together wisdom from her years as a pastor, scholar of communication, and daily follower of Jesus, with interviews of people around the world who are committed to listening to God and neighbor.
Joy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your Congregation
Although interest in spiritual practices has grown in recent years, most of the books available address individuals who wish to try Christian disciplines such as fasting or fixed-hour prayer.This book, by contrast, offers guidance and examples to Christian leaders as they seek ways to involve their congregations or small groups in spiritual practices.
New: Listening for God: The Joy of Spiritual Practices
Lynne Baab • Sunday August 9 2020
(Originally published inHorizons: The Magazine of Presbyterian Women. May/June 2019, 11-14.New: Christians and Food Waste: Slowing Down and Savoring God’s Gifts
Lynne Baab • Sunday August 9 2020
(Originally published in Presbyterians Today, July/August 2019, 8.)New: Developing a Missional Approach: Being Sent into the World as Jesus was Sent
Lynne Baab • Sunday August 9 2020
Originally published in Tui Motu InterIslands, Independent Catholic Magazine, New Zealand, September 2017, 26, 27.
Lynne M. Baab, Ph.D., is a teacher and writer. She has written numerous books and Bible study guides. Lynne lives in Seattle, and you can contact her at LMBaab [at] aol [dot] com. Read more »
Lynne is pleased to announce the release of her book on midlife, A Renewed Spirituality: Finding Fresh Paths at Midlife, for kindle. Her 2018 book is Nurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care for the Twenty-First Century, and her best-selling book is Sabbath-Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest. You can see her many other book titles here, along with her Bible study guides.
Lynne was interviewed recently for the podcast "As the Crow Flies". The first episode focuses on why listening matters and the second one on listening skills.
A few years ago, Lynne spoke at a conference for preachers and others in ministry on "Spiritual Practices for Preachers" (recorded as a video on YouTube). The talk is relevant to anyone in ministry and focuses on how to draw near to God simply as a child of God as well as engaging in spiritual practices for the sake of ministry.
Here are two talks Lynne gave on listening (recorded in audio form on YouTube): Listening for Mission and Ministry and Why Listening Matters for Mission and Ministry.
Here's a sermony by Lynne on Reverent Submission, where she tries to reclaim the word "submission," which has a bad rap in our time.
"Lynne's writing is beautiful. Her tone has such a note of hope and excitement about growth. It is gentle and affirming."
— a reader
"Dear Dr. Baab, You changed my life. It is only through God’s gift of the sabbath that I feel in my heart and soul that God loves me apart from anything I do."
— a reader of Sabbath Keeping
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Featured posts
- Drawing Near to God with the Heart: first post of a series »
- Quotations I love: Henri Nouwen on being beloved »
- Worshipping God the Creator: the first post of a series »
- Sabbath Keeping a decade later: the first post of a series »
- Benedictine spirituality: the first post of a series »
- Celtic Christianity: the first post of a series »
- Holy Listening »
- A Cat with a Noble Character »
- Welcome to my website »
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May 2020 (4)
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of separating thoughts from feelings
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of welcoming prayer
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: a kite string as a lifeline
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of God’s distant future
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April 2020 (7)
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: the lifeline of God’s constancy
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of accepting my place as a clay jar
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: the lifeline of memories
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: the lifeline of “Good” in “Good Friday”
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of “easier does not mean easy”
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: The lifeline of nature
- Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: the lifeline of God’s voice through the Bible
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March 2020 (7)
- Important anniversaries in 2020: The first Earth Day in 1970
- Important anniversaries in 2020: Florence Nightingale was born in 1820
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: Weeks 1 and 2
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: God's grace as a lifeline
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: The lifeline of limits on thoughts
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: Wrestling with God for a blessing
- Spiritual diary of self-isolation: responding to terror by listening to Jesus voice
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January 2019 (5)
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Jesus as Friend
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Friendship with Christ and friendship with others
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Who is my neighbor?
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Friendship as action
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Hymns that describe friendship with God
- December 2018 (3)
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November 2018 (5)
- Connections between the Bible and prayer: Sensory prayer in Revelation
- First post in a new series: Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Strong opinions and responses
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: My conversation partners about friendship
- Nurturing friendships in a cellphone world: Two views about communication technologies
- October 2018 (4)
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August 2018 (5)
- Providing Christian Care in Our Time
- Providing Christian care in our time: Seven trends in pastoral care today
- Providing Christian Care in Our Time: Skills for Pastoral Care
- Providing Christian care: The importance of spiritual practices
- First post in a new series: Connections between the Bible and prayer
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May 2017 (5)
- My new spiritual practice: Separating thoughts from feelings
- My new spiritual practice: Feeling the feelings
- My new spiritual practice: Coping with feelings that want to dominate
- My new spiritual practice: Dealing with “demonic” thoughts
- My new spiritual practice: Is self-compassion really appropriate for Christians?
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