Introducing the Divine & I
Welcome to the Divine & I podcast. My name is Haley and I am the host. I am so excited to start this project and begin launching episodes. Before I start recording episodes, I thought I would share an introduction of myself and a little about what this podcast is going to be. Each episode I will host a new guest to explore the question: Where do you see the Divine in your everyday life? The hope for this podcast is to welcome and explore the mystery of the Divine, be encouraged to deepen our understanding of the innermost self, and seek delight in the life gifted to us by the Divine.
I want to invite all sorts of people, regardless of faith tradition to come on and share about their experience of the Divine in their life. Now my faith tradition is Christian/protestant, so many of my first guests will most likely be Christian or Christian adjacent, however as this podcast grows I hope to have people on here who hold a different spirituality or faith than I. This is not going to be a podcast about theology or scripture or doctrine. It will not be a space for debate or apologetical conversation. This is a space for listening. For both I and for you as viewers. I encourage you to listen to each episode without judgment or criticism. It’s okay to not agree with someone or to experience God differently. That’s actually what this podcast is celebrating-- the fact that the Divine has such a power in our lives and holds a unique and intimate relationship with each and every one of us. God comes to us in unique and personaI ways, so I want to explore and celebrate that. I believe we are all created by God and are made in God’s image, so I aim to respect each person as persons who bear God’s image.
Listening is a powerful tool and something we as humans have failed to do over and over again. I believe we are truly transformed when we surrender ourselves, our desires, our ego in order to be fully present in the life of another. It is the best way to express love and show dignity. So, as you listen to this podcast, I encourage you to surrender. Through this practice, you may discover your need to surrender in order to attune to the voice of God in your life.
If you notice, the aesthetic of this podcast is vibrant. You can find the colors of orange, yellow, coral, blue in the cover art, on my website-- thedivineandi.com-- and instagram page. This is purposeful. While I aim to cultivate a space for any topic most pressing for my guests to share, the goal is for listeners to find encouragement and enjoyment. I hope that as you listen to each episode, your wander will expand, your soul will be enlivened, and your hearts will be touched. Oftentimes, the thought of God leads us to imagine dark, beige, or neutral colors. There is a seriousness that often becomes the tone for our faith and spirituality. However I believe there is space and necessity to hold both the seriousness of our faith and the vibrancy of it. God created this world for our enjoyment. There is life to be enjoyed.
Since this is an interview styled podcast, and most of my episodes will be about the guest, not so much me, I thought I would use this time to introduce myself a little bit. I have decided to organize each podcast into three segments. The first segment will be an introduction, the second will be the conversation of where the guest sees the Divine in their everyday life, and the final segment will be a time for each guest to share something of theirs--whether that is a special object, a piece of liturgy or scripture, or a prayer. I will walk through these segments, briefly, to talk a little about myself.
INTRO
So to begin, I was born and raised in Texas. I am from Hallsville Texas and I went to college in Belton Texas. Two places you’ve probably never heard of. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2019 and on May 4, 2023, I will graduate from Portland Seminary with a Master of Arts in Leadership & Culture with specialization in Spiritual Direction. In August of this year I will begin my certification year to earn a certification in Spiritual Direction. Spiritual Direction is the art of listening to the other as they become aware of their innermost self and the presence of God in their everyday lives. Another way to phrase spiritual direction is soul companioning. Similar to therapy, a director meets one-on-one with a director, but unlike a therapist, spiritual directors do not attempt to fix or help you solve any problems. For more information about Spiritual Direction, you may look on my website (thedivineandi.com/spiritual-direction).
I currently reside in Portland Oregon and have lived here for about three years. I work as a children and youth ministries director at Cedar Creek Church in Sherwood, Oregon. I love living in the PNW and exploring the outdoors. I love to hike, camp and paddle-board, so if you live in the area and need a hiking to paddle-board buddy, let me know!
Now three totally random and somewhat fun facts about me are:
1. I hate cheese. I know, you be feeling a lot right now. But, it’s true. I will eat pizza, with the appropriate amount of cheese, no New York style for me. I will also eat chips and queso. Unfortunately, queso dip is not found in many Portland restaurants. In Texas, I order it at every Mexican restaurant. Now, I have to dip the chip in the queso, so I will not eat nachos. Again, I apologize to those of you who love cheese, especially if you are lactose intolerant.
2. I have a red heart tattoo that says mom in my ankle. My sister has a matching one, too. We got them together on Mother’s Day 2017. I only have one other tattoo and it’s half a sun behind my ear. I do hope to get more tattoos one day, they are just expensive.
3. I have an incredible ability to lose things and then retrieve them. I am talking about things such as my phone, wallet, debit card, keys, etc. I tend to leave these things places, but somehow, I am always able to find them. One story of this happening is when I was in New York City. Two friends and I were waiting in a long line to enter the MET Museum. I thought the line was so long because people needed to pay upon entering. To get ready to enter the doors, I decided to hold my debit card in my hand as I entered. As it turns out, we all just needed to go through security. Very frantically I began taking off my jacket and emptying my pockets. Somewhere in the chaos I accidentally let go of the debit card in my hand and dropped it in a crowd of people. I was prepared to call my bank and just cancel the card because I did not want to bother the very busy security guards ( I mean I won’t even send food back at a restaurant). My friend thought I was being ridiculous and went over for me to ask someone if they had found it. Turns out they did. All I needed to do was sign some paper work and I got my card back. I’m not so sure how I got so lucky to find my debit card in pool of people in New York City, but that is just the amazing luck I carry.
THE DIVINE IN MY EVERYDAY LIFE
Now I am going to transition to talk about the Divine in my everyday life. Over the past year I have really connected with the Triune God, and I have come to see God in my relationships with people. I moved to Portland with my friend, and still current roommate, Keaton, in August of 2020. The pandemic was just beginning at that time and it made living in a new city pretty difficult. On top of that, I was working and doing school from home. My first couple years in Portland, I was experiencing loneliness. I still experience loneliness. I am an extravert, but I have social anxiety, so meeting new people is not always energizing for me. But as I began to form friendships with people up here I started to feel more fulfilled. It actually made me feel lonelier when I was home working alone because I was so drawn to the liveliness I felt when I was with people. Through bringing this to therapy and spiritual direction, I realized that it is in the connection and relationship I have with other people where I see God. God is triune--Father, Christ, and Holy Spirit. The three exist in relationship to the other. God is in the relationships I have with others. My spiritual director encouraged me to begin to understand my interactions with people as a spiritual practice. It has taught me how to find God in the ordinary as well as finding holiness in ordinary conversations. God’s name does not need to be mentioned in order for God to be present. God is present now and always.
SHOW & TELL
There are many other ways I see the Divine in everyday life, but I want to keep this intro short. I want to conclude by sharing a benediction written by Sarah Bessey in her book A Rhythm of Prayer: A Collection of Meditations for Renewal. If you do not have this book, go get it! Sarah edited together a collection of prayers, poems, and meditations for our orientation, disorientation and reorientation. I read something from this book right before I enter a spiritual direction session as a director. It is a powerful book for renewal. I will read only the first two paragraphs of her benediction, but I will share the whole benediction on Instagram.
As I close, hear these words:
God of prayers for parking spots and prisions,
Of hospitals and holidays,
Of anger and angels,
Of traveling mercies and tired ones,
Of decolonization and deconstruction,
Of wilderness and wander,
Of feasts and ferocity,
Of goodness and grief,
We come to you today
With our whole selves.
God of our honest prayers and
More honest silences,
Open our eyes to see and
Our ears to hear and
Our hearts to uderstand
How you are already here with us.
Thank you for listening today. Stay tuned for the upcoming relase of The Divine & I podcast.
Blessings!