Hi, my name is Pete Scazzaro. I want to welcome you today to the emotionally healthy

leader podcast. Our title is breathe, being with God in silence. This actually is our Christmas

gift to you, our thank you for being a listener to the emotionally healthy leader podcast.

And, you know, we're one week away from Christmas, and perhaps it is the week we have most

to do as leaders and or pastors in churches in particular. I realize there are other leaders

listening to us or in the fields of work, but especially pastors and leaders in churches.

And it seems like we have more to do than actually there is time.

And so what often gets shortchanged is our remembering, remaining, abiding in Jesus.

And so, you know, our limits are ever present more than ever in the week

before Christmas or around Christmas. It's a unique pressure time of the year. And part of it is

we're engaged in three different families, each with its own demands. We've got our family

of origin that we were born into, and we have our own family, perhaps with a spouse, or if you're single, with your own demands. We've got our family of origin that we were born into, and we have our

own family, perhaps with a spouse, or if you're single, with your close friends, and or children,

and then you've got your church family that you're giving leadership to, and all three families

have their own set of dynamics, but each one affects the others. And I'd like to say that, you know, we're particularly

limited at Christmas or any holiday season. I don't like the word busy. Language is important.

And so this is our gift to you. Again, the title is Breathe, Being with God in Silence.

And so over the years, we developed this tool that it's kind of a tool that you're going to hopefully now experience through this podcast that is probably best used in a prayer time, whether it's morning prayer, midday, or evening prayer.

And I saw the seat of this idea somewhere.

I'm not sure even where,

before the year 2010, probably two, three years before that. And I took that seed that I observed,

and I expanded it and developed it. And then in 2010, about eight years, at least over eight

...