Lynne Baab
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Drawing Near to God with the Heart: All will be well
Lynne Baab • Wednesday March 15 2017
In the Psalms we read, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me” (Ps. 34:4). God meets us and cares for us and answers our prayers. At the same time, the Psalm writer acknowledges, “my tears have been my food day and night” (Ps. 42: 3). We ache to see God’s pure beauty and majesty in the face of this broken world we experience every day. We long to be free from all the seductive desires that sidetrack us so often. We long to see the people we love freed from illness, addictions, pain, and suffering.
We are people with such a...
Read full article »Drawing Near to God with the Heart: Praying the Psalms
Lynne Baab • Friday February 17 2017
Throughout the ages, the psalms have been the prayer book of the Bible, used by Jews and Christians for individual prayer and for prayer in congregations. As we learn to face with increased honestly the wide variety of emotions inside us, praying the psalms can be both comforting and challenging. During my years of psalm reading, described in last week’s post, I often found that my reading turned into prayer, and I came to love the psalms as prayers. They voice for me so many parts of myself, and they bring those aspects of my personality and emotions into God’s presence...
Read full article »Drawing Near to God with the Heart: A journey with the Psalms
Lynne Baab • Thursday February 9 2017
Soon after my fortieth birthday, I found I couldn’t read the Bible. All the ethical and theological truths of the Bible, which I had been studying consistently for the twenty years I had been a Christian, seemed dry and lifeless. It was as if my soul couldn’t bear to take in one more piece of truth. It seemed as though my soul was longing for something to touch my whole being, not just my mind.
As I look back, I can see that it wasn’t really a time of spiritual dryness; it was more a time to integrate what I already knew...
Read full article »Journey with Jesus to the cross during Lent
Lynne Baab • Tuesday January 6 2015
In April of last year, I got an email from the editor of Presbyterians Today, a lovely magazine published by the Presbyterian Church USA. The editor asked me if I would be interested in writing their devotional for Lent 2015. He gave me a sample of the 2014 devotional, based on one of the gospels, and told me each entry needed to have a scripture to read, one verse from that scripture, then 125 words of reflection on the scripture, which would include a brief prayer.
As I pondered his email, I realized several things. If I did it, I would want...
Read full article »
Friendship, Listening, and Empathy: A Prayer Guide
Lynne draws on her Ph.D. studies in communication to bring insight about listening and empathy so that we can pray more deeply. Each of the 28 short chapters is illustrated with a beautiful watercolor by Dave Baab.
Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest
Sabbath Keeping is Lynne's most popular book, available in paperback, audiobook, and for Kindle. Grounded in her 18 months living in Israel, it is practical, biblical, and reflective about why rest matters so much today.
Meeting God in Grief and Gratitude
Lynne Baab • Wednesday January 22 2025
By Lynne M. Baab, author of Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeNurturing a contemplative stance for navigating challenging times
Lynne Baab • Friday August 11 2023
By Lynne M. BaabYes, 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
Lynne M. Baab, Ph.D., is an author and adjunct professor. She has written numerous books, Bible study guides, and articles for magazines and journals. Lynne is passionate about prayer and other ways to draw near to God, and her writing conveys encouragement for readers to be their authentic selves before God. She encourages experimentation and lightness in Christian spiritual practices. Read more »
Quick links:
- Two latest books: Draw Near: A Lenten Devotional and Friendship, Listening and Empathy: A Prayer Guide (illustrated with Dave Baab's beautiful watercolors)
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Most popular book, Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest (audiobook, paperback, and kindle)
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more than 50 articles Lynne has written for magazines on listening, Sabbath, fasting, spiritual growth, resilience for ministry, and congregational communication
You can listen to Lynne talk about these topics:
"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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November 2024 (5)
- Praying about the flow of time: Small actions with big benefits
- Praying about the flow of time: The overlap of the sacred and the ordinary
- Praying about the flow of time: The joy of the kingdom of God
- Praying about the flow of time: Advent can be confusing
- Praying about the flow of time: Why Jesus had to come
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October 2024 (5)
- Praying about the flow of time: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year
- Praying about the flow of time: A month of celebrating renewal and moral responsibility
- Praying about the flow of time: The Feast of Tabernacles calls us to stay fluid and flexible
- Praying about the flow of time: Daily rhythms of prayer
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- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying about distractions from empathy
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying to keep empathy flowing
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Everyday initiative
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying for guidance for ending conversations
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Reflecting on the series
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December 2023 (6)
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Initiating
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying about listening roadblocks
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying to love the poverty in our friends
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying for “holy curiosity”
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying for “holy listening”
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Praying to give affection extravagantly
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October 2023 (5)
- Friendship, loneliness and prayer: A listening skill with two purposes
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Saying “thank you” to friends
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: One more way reflecting helps us
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Lessons from two periods of loneliness
- Friendship, loneliness, and prayer: Types of reflecting, a listening skill
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August 2022 (6)
- Draw near: Confessing sin without wallowing
- Draw near: A favorite prayer about peace, freedom, and much more
- Drawing near with Desmond Tutu: God’s love is the foundation for prayer
- Draw near: Worshipping God with Desmond Tutu
- Draw near: Yearning, beseeching and beholding with Desmond Tutu
- Draw near: Praising God with Desmond Tutu
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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
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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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