Episode 3 – Birds, Nature, and Spiritual Renewal: Weathering Change with Courtney Ellis
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SPECIAL OFFER | As a listener of the show, you can get 25% off Deb Gregory's new book, Spiritual Wayfinding (https://www.ivpress.com/spiritual-wayfinding) , by using the code IVPOD25 at checkout at ivpress.com. We hope you enjoy this season!
In today’s episode, Deb Gregory is joined by Courtney Ellis to explore the deep connections between nature, our bodies, and our spiritual journeys. Through mindful birding practices and embracing the liminal spaces of change, they reveal how tending to the natural world can help us find peace, resilience, and a sense of divine presence amid life’s transitions.
In this episode:
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· Courtney’s personal experience with birding as a spiritual practice during a health and grief journey
· The sensory richness of birding and its embodied connection to prayer and presence
· The metaphor of rising above a narrow focus to panoramic vision for emotional and spiritual health
· How curiosity and receptivity open us to divine grace in nature and in our lives
· The significance of liminal and ‘thin’ spaces where transformation and renewal happen
· Practical ways to cultivate stillness, attention, and wonder during seasons of uncertainty
· The importance of embracing one’s unique interests as pathways to God's delight and presence
· Insights from Courtney’s books Looking Up and Weathering Change on navigating grief and change through the natural world
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction: Navigating the spiritual life with embodied wisdom
00:17 - Partnership with InterVarsity Press and Courtney’s new books
01:12 - Exploring the spiritual practice of birding and nature connection
01:49 - Courtney’s identity and passions: birds, books, and faith
02:47 - The significance of loving what you love in spiritual formation
03:06 - Bird walk as mindfulness: letting the birds minister to us
03:42 - How health challenges led Courtney outdoors for renewal
04:54 - How birding helps us become aware of God's presence
05:18 - The stillness of
