As a pastor, I’m constantly aware of the weight people are carrying—both in what they share with me, in what I see, and in what I’m experiencing in the world. I feel it too. It’s rough out there. The pressure, the exhaustion, the constant noise of life—it’s a lot. And I know many of you are seeing it, feeling it, and carrying it in your own way. We’re all longing for peace.
Next week, Lent begins—a season that invites us to slow down, reflect, and make space for what matters. Not by trying harder, but by making room for something deeper.
So here’s what I’m wondering:
- What if holiness isn’t about striving but about paying attention?
- What if faith isn’t something to master but something to wake up to, right in the middle of our ordinary lives?
- What if Lent isn’t about what we give up, but about what we make space to receive?
I wonder if you might consider joining me this Lent in exploring Room for Good Things to Run Wild: How Ordinary People Become Everyday Saints by Josh Nadeau. It’s 40 brief readings, just a few minutes a day. No book club, no required discussions. Just an open invitation to reflect.
We’ll begin next Wednesday, March 5—one brief reading a day, skipping Sundays, through Saturday, April 19. I’ll post a daily thread where you can share a thought if you want, or you can just sit with the words on your own. Or maybe you read along and never tell a soul—including me. That’s fine, too.
If this sounds like something you’d like to do, grab a copy in print, on Kindle, or on Audible so you’re ready to start next Wednesday.
Let’s see what happens when we make a little room for peace.
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Sterling W. Severns, Pastor
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Subscribe to calendar with readings.
Week 1
- March 5 (Ash Wednesday): Chapter 1 – A Symphony of Hitting Rock Bottom (p. 1)
- March 6 (Thursday): Chapter 2 – Hypocrisy Reaps No Rewards (p. 11)
- March 7 (Friday): Chapter 3 – The Winds of Fate Blow Here and There (p. 18)
- March 8 (Saturday): Chapter 4 – Remove the Organ, Demand the Function (p. 21)
(March 9 – Sunday: No reading)
Week 2
- March 10 (Monday): Chapter 5 – The Mechanics of Sainthood (p. 27)
- March 11 (Tuesday): Chapter 6 – Relapses into Wonder (p. 33)
- March 12 (Wednesday): Chapter 7 – Open Self-Surgery (p. 41)
- March 13 (Thursday): Chapter 8 – Starved Hearts (p. 46)
- March 14 (Friday): Chapter 9 – Wonder Is Food, Not Fact (p. 51)
- March 15 (Saturday): Chapter 10 – I’ll Pray for You (p. 55)
(March 16 – Sunday: No reading)
Week 3
- March 17 (Monday): Chapter 11 – The Discarded Body (p. 59)
- March 18 (Tuesday): Chapter 12 – Brains in a Vat (p. 73)
- March 19 (Wednesday): Chapter 13 – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (p. 81)
- March 20 (Thursday): Chapter 14 – The Logistics of Listening (p. 84)
- March 21 (Friday): Chapter 15 – Talk is Cheap (p. 89)
- March 22 (Saturday): Chapter 16 – Strong in Broken Places (p. 95)
(March 23 – Sunday: No reading)
Week 4
- March 24 (Monday): Chapter 17 – Divine Juxtapositions (p. 101)
- March 25 (Tuesday): Chapter 18 – Knowing God, Knowing Self (p. 109)
- March 26 (Wednesday): Chapter 19 – A Phenomenology of Sainthood (p. 113)
- March 27 (Thursday): Chapter 20 – Following the Hidden Music (p. 125)
- March 28 (Friday): Chapter 21 – The Long Obedience in the Same Direction (p. 130)
- March 29 (Saturday): Chapter 22 – The Blueprint of a Saint (p. 137)
(March 30 – Sunday: No reading)
Week 5
- March 31 (Monday): Chapter 23 – “Now That You Don’t Have to Be Perfect, You Can Be Good” (p. 142)
- April 1 (Tuesday): Chapter 24 – The Myth of Extraordinary (p. 146)
- April 2 (Wednesday): Chapter 25 – You Will Be Forgotten (p. 152)
- April 3 (Thursday): Chapter 26 – Bodies Are Sacramental (p. 158)
- April 4 (Friday): Chapter 27 – Liturgies for Local Living (p. 164)
- April 5 (Saturday): Chapter 28 – A Study in Desire (p. 179)
(April 6 – Sunday: No reading)
Week 6
- April 7 (Monday): Chapter 29 – Longings Fulfilled (p. 185)
- April 8 (Tuesday): Chapter 30 – Truth is Not Mere Fact (p. 190)
- April 9 (Wednesday): Chapter 31 – Rivers Run with Wine (p. 194)
- April 10 (Thursday): Chapter 32 – All Three, Together (p. 201)
- April 11 (Friday): Chapter 33 – Like Body, Like Soul (p. 205)
- April 12 (Saturday): Chapter 34 – You Are What You Love (p. 210)
(April 13 – Palm Sunday: No reading)
Holy Week
- April 14 (Monday): Chapter 35 – An Archetype for Being (p. 217)
- April 15 (Tuesday): Chapter 36 – The Heavenly Cadence (p. 229)
- April 16 (Wednesday): Chapter 37 – Crafting a Holy Imagination (p. 235)
- April 17 (Maundy Thursday): Chapter 38 – Working Backward from Heaven
- April 18 (Good Friday): Chapter 39 – Selah
- April 19 (Holy Saturday): Chapter 40 – There and Back Again
