Lynne Baab
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The Sabbath and prayer
Lynne Baab • Tuesday June 27 2023
John is in touch by email with friends from all over the world who work in various missions and ministries. Every time one of them sends him an email with a prayer request in it, he prints off the email and puts it in a stack on his desk. On Sundays, his Sabbath, he goes to church in the morning and in the afternoon he prays through all the requests in his stack of emails.
Sam goes to Bible Study Fellowship. He saves up all his homework for the week and does it on Sunday afternoon, his Sabbath. He knows that’s not...
Read full article »Holy Spirit disruptions: Detachment with love
Lynne Baab • Saturday September 11 2021
A few years ago a friend started attending Alanon. She taught me a phrase she learned there: “detachment with love.” In Alanon, the phrase is used to describe a stance that supports family members and friends who suffer from addiction, without enabling or rescuing. For me, those words unlocked a door I had been trying to get through for years, not so much with addicts but with people I find challenging. I had seen the kind of detachment that hurts: family members completely rejecting other family members, friends who completely turn away from friends. I had seen the kind of love...
Read full article »Spiritual diary of sheltering in place: the lifeline of God’s voice through the Bible
Lynne Baab • Thursday April 30 2020
God spoke to me very clearly through scripture last week, and that wonderful (and challenging) moment got me thinking about how and when God has spoken to me very clearly and specifically through a passage in the Bible. The kind of directness and clarity I experienced last week has happened before – many times before – and I wish I could quantify it. An average of weekly? No, probably not that often, although at least weekly something from the Bible is helpful and relevant, and of course that is a form of God speaking to me.
I’m thinking of those direct and...
Read full article »Contrasts: Engaging in spiritual practices because of grace or guilt
Lynne Baab • Thursday June 14 2018
I’ve been speaking and writing about the Sabbath for more than a decade, but I recently had an aha experience about Sabbath keeping in my life and its connection to other spiritual practices.
Much of my speaking and writing about spiritual practices flows out of my own Sabbath observance. The Sabbath taught me how spiritual practices work: we know God loves us, so we set up structures in our lives to draw near to this God of abundant blessings.
When we were young adults, my husband and I lived in Israel for 18 months. Our apartment was in a Jewish neighborhood in Tel Aviv, so...
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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.
Draw Near: A Lenten Devotional
Lynne has chosen one psalm for each day of Lent and offers brief reflection/discussion questions that can be used alone or in a group. Illustrated with more than 50 of Dave Baab's beautiful watercolors.
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 »
Lynne is pleased to announce the release of her two 2024 books, both of them illustrated with her talented husband Dave's watercolors. She is thrilled at how good the watercolors look in the printed books, and in the kindle versions, if read on a phone, the watercolors glow. Friendship, Listening and Empathy: A Prayer Guide guides the reader into new ways to pray about the topics in the title. Draw Near: A Lenten Devotional guides the reader to a psalm for each day of Lent and offers insightful reflection/discussion questions that can be used alone or in groups.
Another recent book is Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian Life, available in paperback, audiobook, and for kindle. Lynne's 2018 book is Nurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care for the Twenty-First Century, and her most popular book is Sabbath-Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest (now available as an audiobook as well as paperback and kindle). You can see her many other book titles here, along with her Bible study guides.
You can listen to Lynne talk about these topics: empathy, bringing spiritual practices to life. Sabbath keeping for recent grads., and Sabbath keeping for families and children.
Lynne was interviewed for the podcast "As the Crow Flies". The first episode focuses on why listening matters and the second one on listening skills.
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.
"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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Archive
- May 2025 (1)
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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
- Praying about the flow of time: All Hallow’s Eve and All Saints Day
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March 2024 (5)
- 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
- February 2024 (4)
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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
- November 2023 (4)
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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
- February 2020 (4)
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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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