338. Chasing Beauty in Advent: A Conversation with Timothy Willard on Hope and Returning to Joy

House of Joy- Christian Life Coaching

Dr. Edie Wadsworth

Education, Religion & Spirituality, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Christianity, Mental Health

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today is a treat. I’m joined by writer and thinker Timothy Willard (author of The Beauty Chasers) for a rich, cozy conversation on Advent, beauty, and why this season invites us to return—to God, to our homes, to one another, and to the truest parts of ourselves. We talk about: What Advent is (and isn’t): a church rhythm that helps us not lose the story—the comings of Christ and the light that enters our darkness. “Homeliness” & the ordinary: how God hides Himself in small, everyday things—tables, gardens, candles, waffles, and walks under winter stars. Beauty as an awakening: beauty “arrests” us and lifts our gaze beyond the doom-scroll toward wonder, joy, and presence. Hope as structure (not sentiment): how Christian hope shapes the horizon of our days and gives direction to how we live, love, and serve. Wintering with intention: slowing down, walking in the cold, paying attention, creating space for awareness in a frantic season. Lewis threads: how C.S. Lewis (and friends like Arthur Greeves) inform Tim’s imagination—think The Great Divorce, That Hideous Strength, and The Weight of Glory. An invitation, not just a devotional: Tim’s new Advent email journey offers short reflections, prayers, and simple practices (with some audio readings!) to help you breathe, notice, and chase beauty all season long. Timothy Willard’s Advent Journey (daily email reflections + audio on select days) – Book: The Beauty Chasers by Timothy Willard – https://a.co/d/1H8ko3h Follow Tim on Instagram – @timothywillard Links & Resources Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome back to the podcast where you are invited for lighthearted conversations
0:05.5	about things that matter as you seek to live your most meaningful, beautiful, and joyful life.
0:10.8	I'm your host, Dr. Edie Wadsworth, and I hope you enjoy your stay here at the House of Joy.
0:17.0	Well, hey, everybody, welcome back to House of Joy. You are in for a treat. I almost wish you could have been a fly on the wall when Tim and I were just chatting like friends. But I'm so happy to have you here. Tim Willard. You are one of my favorite writers, thinkers. I've had you at my live event. I love your family. I'm so honored to have you here. Welcome
0:39.1	to the House of Joy podcast. Thank you. I'm very honored to be here. And I think the conversation
0:44.6	before this is actually going to be, or it's longer than what we're going to do not right now.
0:48.8	But I think and I was and I love that. That was so it was so good to reconnect and talk. So I know, we got to catch up. Yes. And I, I just told you this, but when you told me that you have a study, a devotional on Advent, say no more. Get on my podcast and tell us all about it. I got to read a section of it this morning. It's so
1:13.2	beautiful. I discovered the beauty of Advent. I want to say in 2009 or 10, we started, because I had
1:20.2	gone to churches when I was young that didn't celebrate Advent. And when we started attending
1:25.3	a Lutheran church, I was like, oh my gosh, this is so beautiful.
1:29.3	These readings are so beautiful and the tradition of it.
1:32.1	And then we started observing it in our home and doing devotional in our home.
1:36.0	And it really is one of my favorite seasons of the year.
1:40.4	So I'm so happy that you're doing a study on this.
1:43.5	But before we get into that,
1:47.1	tell me why you love Advent. How did you come to love this church season of the year?
1:52.3	And for those who may not know what it is, just tell us a little bit about it.
1:56.1	Yeah. So what may surprise you is I have never been an Advent guy. So I grew up in a Grace Brother
2:03.9	in Church. Yes, I'll tell you the story. I grew up in a Grace Brother in Church. And now,
2:10.3	Pastor Young, when we would have the Christmas time, we would light the Advent candle.
2:15.3	So I didn't really know that I grew up in a church that we
2:19.3	did that. And so every, he would talk about the theme of each week. They would light the candle and they
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