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Christian spiritual formation is about being present to God and what God is doing. This happens through embodied engagement with spiritual practices that help us either stay focused or refocus on God’s light. We can learn much about the spiritual practices of study and silence, solitude, and stillness from Maisie Dobbs in Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. Through repetitive engagement with these practices, she was able to not only remain calm in dark situations but also be present to others on their healing journeys.

In this episode, Dr. Mimi Dixon, Renovaré Institute teacher and retired Presbyterian Pastor, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss the spiritual practices Maisie Dobbs engaged in that later enabled her to do what her mentor Maurice did: seek out truth and be an empathetic and helpful presence to others in their healing. As Maisie studies herself, people, and situations and is attentive in the waiting of silence, solitude, and stillness, we can learn to do the same by studying Jesus and conducting a daily Examen with God, where we go over the ups and downs of our daily actions and interactions and ask him to show us where we allowed him in and where we didn’t. Then we can ask him to help us tomorrow learn from today’s mistakes and allow his light to shine in the darkness where we hadn’t previously allowed it. Maisie discovers that seeing involves using more than her eyes alone. From Jesus, we can learn how to pay attention—how to study—just as Maisie learned from her mentors, Maurice and Kahn. We tune in to where the Holy Spirit is working, follow Jesus where he goes, and provide a safe harbor for others as Jesus is present with them. We ask to see with his eyes in order to empathize with their view as we walk with them through the current moment of their healing journey, helping to shine a light along the path as they come home to whom God created them to be.

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Guest

Dr. Mimi Dixon

After 40 years of ministry, Mimi recently retired as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Golden, Colorado. Since then, she has focused her energy supporting Renovaré, an organization that offers resources and community for a deeper, more transformative life with God. She earned both her MDiv and DMin degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary. Mimi is on the Renovaré Board of Directors and teaches for the Renovaré Institute.

Articles by Mimi on the Renovaré website
Read more about Dr. Mimi Dixon
Mimi Dixon

Host

Kristy Lahoda
Fiction Writer, Spiritual Formation Practitioner, and Fiction that Forms Us Creator and Host

Kristy is a Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation graduate (2018-2021), has a Ph.D. in chemistry, and is a contract scientific technical editor. She lives in central Ohio with Rob, her husband of 18 years, and their three children, 14 year-old girl/boy twins and a 12 year-old boy.

Read more about Kristy Lahoda
Kristy Lahoda

Show Notes

At 1:38, Mimi quotes a passage where Maisie's mentor Maurice exemplifies the practice of paying attention. In it, he discusses their responsibility when working with others is not only to help remove the abscess but also to help fill it:

"Maurice had counseled her, in the early days of her apprenticeship, when she was the silent observer as he listened to a story, gently prodding with a question, a comment, a sigh, or a smile, 'The story takes up space as a knot in a piece of wood. If the knot is removed, a hole remains. We must ask ourselves, how will this hole that we have opened be filled? The hole, Maisie, is our responsibility.'" (40-41)

Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs (New York: Soho Press, Inc., 2003), Kindle Edition, 40-41.

 

At 3:38 and 4:13, Mimi talks about examples where Maisie is interacting with Mrs. Davenham and filling the hole she is helping clean out so as not to leave it empty.

These passages start on pp 40 and 54.

 

At 5:29, Kristy mentions that Maisie fills the hole with "color and texture."

This passage is found on p 48.

 

At 8:35, Mimi mentions the flashback within the novel where Maisie engages with study:

Mimi mentions that Maisie engages with study in the same way Richard Foster describes it in Celebration of Discipline.

 

At 11:52, Mimi says that Richard Foster calls the great cloud of witnesses "blessed community":

Here is a link to an article Richard wrote where he talks about this.

 

At 11:56, Mimi mentions our dear friend Carolyn Arends and her song, "Great Cloud of Witnesses":

You can find the song on her album (either CD or digital), Under the Gaze. I LOVE this song!

 

At 12:52, Kristy mentions the passage in the Bible where Jesus asks Peter who he says Jesus is:

This verse is found in Mark 8:29.

 

At 13:06, Kristy mentions that Maisie's mentor Maurice asks Maisie a similar thing as what Peter asked Jesus:

"'And what do I do, Maisie?' 'You heal people. That is, I think you heal people. In all sorts of ways. That’s what I think.' Blanche nodded, leaned back in his chair, and looked out of the library window to the walled gardens of 15 Ebury Place. 'Yes, I think you could say that, Maisie.' 'And I think you find out the truth. I think you look at what is right and wrong. And I think you have had lots of different . . . educations.' 'Yes, Maisie, that is all correct.'"

Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs (New York: Soho Press, Inc., 2003), Kindle Edition, 124.

 

At 18:45, Kristy quotes Amma Mimi in saying that "God's timing is always perfect," and that things just take time. She mentions Carolyn Arend's song, "Godspeed".

You can find the song on her album, Recognition. It's the 7th track.

 

At 24:10, Mimi mentions that when Jesus says, "Follow me," he is inviting us to follow him into all types of situations:

Jesus invites us to follow him in Matthew 4:19 and other verses.

 

At 28:00, Mimi talks about how healing takes time.

Dallas Willard is well-known for his statement, "You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." You can read more here.

 

At 31:00, Mimi talks about Bernard of Clairvaux's Four Degrees of Love, where the highest degree of love—the fourth degree—is to love self for God's sake:

You can read more about Bernard's Four Degrees of Love here.

 

At 32:12, Mimi mentions St. Ignatius and his Spiritual Exercises and how he says that God created us and continues to create us.

Here is a link to his work, The Spiritual Exercises. (I highly recommend that you go through this with a spiritual director, community, etc.)

 

At 34:22, Mimi talks about What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Perry.

Here's a link to their book.

 

At 40:31, Mimi talks about spiritual formation and mentions A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly.

Here's a link to A Testament of Devotion.

 

At 41:10, I mention Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach in response to Mimi saying, "the disciplines are about an embodied way of placing ourselves before God."

Here's a link to Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach, and Letters by a Modern Mystic by Laubach, both excellent books.

More Episodes

Season 2

Sensible Shoes, Part 2 - The Spiritual Disciplines of Lament and Confession within the Ignatian Examen

Episode 830 minSharon Garlough Brown

Welcome to the Season 2 season finale of Fiction that Forms us!

How do we become more receptive and responsive to the work of the Spirit within our lives? In her first novel, Sensible Shoes, from the series of the same name, Sharon Garlough Brown takes her characters on a journey of practicing various spiritual disciplines. In this episode, I talk to author Sharon Garlough Brown about the spiritual disciplines of lament and confession within the Ignatian Examen. The spiritual practice is one of attentiveness that enables our receptivity by reviewing our day with God in two movements: consolation—where we noticed and responded to God today—and desolation—where we were unaware of, ignored, or rejected God during our day.

Sensible Shoes - A Conversation about Hannah and Charissa

Episode 735 minSharon Garlough Brown

How do we overcome vices that the world teaches us to idolize? In her first novel, Sensible Shoes, from the series of the same name, Sharon Garlough Brown takes the reader through the growth journey of four characters, whose lives become interwoven throughout the novel as they embark on a sacred journey with God and each other. In this episode, I talk with author Sharon Garlough Brown about her novel, where we discuss the spiritual formation of Hannah and Charissa, two of the four main characters. Just as they learn to surrender their identities to God, we, too, are invited to surrender the worldly identity we’ve taken upon ourselves in order to put on our God-given identity as beloved child of God.

Kristin Lavransdatter, Part 2 – The Spiritual Practice of Reading

Episode 615 minDr. Jessica Hooten Wilson

How can reading be a spiritual practice, and why is reading Kristin Lavransdatter a good choice for this practice? Learn more on this episode, where Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson and I continue our discussion on Kristin Lavransdatter in the trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter and how reading about her spiritual journey affords us an opportunity to study and come to terms with our own.

Kristin Lavransdatter, Part 1 – A conversation with Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson

Episode 533 minDr. Jessica Hooten Wilson

At the end of your life, how would you feel if God had nearly always allowed you to follow your will? In the womb-to-tomb trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter, Kristin has this experience, which for her is one of sorrow that ultimately leads her to surrender. In this episode, I talk with professor and author Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson about Kristin’s spiritual journey over a lifetime.

Jane Eyre, Part 2 – The Spiritual Practice of Reflecting on Your Spiritual Autobiography

Episode 433 minGrace Pouch

How can taking inventory of our spiritual life help us regard the character flaws of others with sensitivity and forgiveness? Learn more on this episode, where we discuss how Jane Eyre’s suffering affords her an introspection that helps shape her thoughts and actions. There are practices we can do to aid our spiritual introspection that will help cultivate the fruits of compassion and forgiveness in our lives like it did in Jane's life.

Jane Eyre, Part 1 – A conversation about Jane Eyre

Episode 349 minGrace Pouch

If you grew up unloved and unwanted, how difficult would it be to show love, grace, and forgiveness to those who don’t reciprocate? Jane, in the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, shows us how.

The Hiding Place, Part 2 – The Spiritual Practice of Saying “Yes” to God

Episode 229 minA. S. "Pete" Peterson

What can the unspeakable horrors of a concentration camp teach us about theodicy? Learn more on this episode where guest A. S. (“Pete”) Peterson, author, artistic director of Rabbit Room Theatre, and producer at Lamb & Flag Studios, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss The Hiding Place and Betsie and Corrie ten Booms’ responses to the unspeakable evil they experienced at the Ravensbrück concentration camp and how they, as part of the cloud of witnesses, testify with gratitude to the goodness and sovereignty of God. They are exemplars for how we, too, can grow in obedience to God’s calling in our lives.

The Hiding Place, Part 1 – A conversation with A. S. "Pete" Peterson

Episode 127 minA. S. "Pete" Peterson

What if you were called to retell someone’s harrowing, God-soaked story? On this episode, learn how A. S. (“Pete”) Peterson, author and playwright, artistic director of Rabbit Room Theatre, and producer at Lamb & Flag Studios, was called to do just that. Pete and host Kristy Lahoda discuss the breadcrumb trail that led to his play adaptation turned cinematic stage production of Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place.

Season 1

Fargo, Part 2: The Spiritual Practices of Simplicity and Resisting Hurry

Episode 1219 minDr. Chris Hall

Despite overwhelming need, why was the most important work in all of human history done without hurry? Learn more on this episode, where Dr. Chris Hall, Renovaré's President Emeritus and former Director of Academic Spiritual Formation and Distinguished Professor of Theology at Eastern University, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss Marge Gunderson, in the film Fargo, directed and produced by the Coen brothers. Marge, far from being naïve, is deliberate in her simplistic lifestyle, which allows her to discern and apprehend those whose world is darkness.

Fargo, Part 1: A conversation about Marge Gunderson

Episode 1141 minDr. Chris Hall

What can film noir teach us about the Biblical theme of light? Learn more on this episode, where Dr. Chris Hall, Renovaré's President Emeritus and former Director of Academic Spiritual Formation and Distinguished Professor of Theology at Eastern University, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss police chief Marge Gunderson in the film Fargo, directed and produced by the Coen brothers. Marge’s home life is one of stability that carries over into how she conducts her investigations, allowing her to be a light in the darkness.

My Name Is Asher Lev, Part 2 – The Spiritual Practices of Waiting on the Lord, Empathy, Fidelity, and Love

Episode 1027 minAmy Baik Lee

How can we remain faithful to the message God gives us as we practice our craft? Learn more on this episode with Amy Baik Lee, member artist of The Anselm Society and a founding member of The Cultivating Project, and host Kristy Lahoda as they discuss artist Asher Lev, in the novel My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. Asher learns that through his hands he has the power for both good and evil. Through the suffering he experiences, he grows in fidelity, empathy, and love by remaining steeped in his art and Hasidic faith tradition and maintaining a connection to his community. We, too, can grow in these virtues as we remain steeped in our Christian faith tradition and connected to our community, enabling us to do the work the Lord has given us to do. We can express suffering with a resonant note of hope because Jesus holds it all in his perfect love.

My Name Is Asher Lev, Part 1 – A Conversation about Asher Lev

Episode 91 hr 12 min Amy Baik Lee

What if our gifting and faith tradition are at odds? Learn more on this episode, where Amy Baik Lee, member artist of The Anselm Society and a founding member of The Cultivating Project, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss how Asher Lev, in the novel My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, stayed true to both his art and his faith and sought a third way, a way fraught with anguish but filled with truth born from love.

Maisie Dobbs, Part 2 – The Spiritual Practices of Silence, Solitude, and Study

Episode 854 minDr. Mimi Dixon

What can sitting in silence, solitude, and stillness teach us, and what does our body have to do with spiritual formation? Learn more on this episode, where Dr. Mimi Dixon, Renovaré Institute teacher and retired Presbyterian Pastor, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss how to remain calm and pay attention like Maisie Dobbs, in the book Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear, in the midst of life’s storms so that we can follow Jesus as he runs toward people in pain in order to be present to them with him.

Maisie Dobbs, Part 1 – A Conversation about Maisie Dobbs

Episode 732minDr. Mimi Dixon

What can we learn from the layers of hardships—our own and those of others—we encounter? Find out on this episode, where Dr. Mimi Dixon, Renovaré Institute teacher and retired Presbyterian Pastor, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss how Maisie Dobbs, in the book Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear, learns to pay attention to everything and everyone around her while she works on a case, which enables her to not only better understand situations but also sense people’s needs and move toward them as she awaits the revelation of truth.

Ready Player One, Part 2 – The Spiritual Practice of Study

Episode 623minMeshach Kanyion

What do virtual reality, obsessive devotion, and a billionaire have to do with spiritual formation? Join Meshach Kanyion, Senior Pastor at Church of the Savior United Methodist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and host Kristy Lahoda as they continue their discussion on the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and how we can become more Christlike through the spiritual discipline of study.

Ready Player One, Part 1 – A Conversation about Wade Watts

Episode 536minMeshach Kanyion

Is there anything we can learn from a video game? What about a book about a video game? Find out on this episode, where Meshach Kanyion, Senior Pastor at Church of the Savior United Methodist Church, and host Kristy Lahoda discuss how Wade Watts in the book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline learned that getting to know someone beyond the surface is helpful for understanding the world through their eyes.

Mare of Easttown, Part 2 – The Spiritual Practice of Welcoming Prayer

Episode 436minHelena Sorensen

How can welcoming the parts of us that aren’t like Jesus help us become more Christlike? Isn’t this a paradox? Find out on this episode, where author Helena Sorensen and host Kristy Lahoda discuss how to welcome what's part of us in the current moment and allow it to teach us. Join them as they discuss how Pennsylvania detective Mare Sheehan, in the HBO series Mare of Easttown written by Brad Ingelsby, learned to do this rather than bury it as she'd previously done, which allowed it to set up permanent residence.

Mare of Easttown, Part 1 – A Conversation about Mare Sheehan

Episode 342minHelena Sorensen

What can we learn from a woman who reaches the limit of herself after compartmentalizing everything, believing she can and should take care of everyone since everyone expects her to be the hero? Find out on this episode, where author Helena Sorensen and host Kristy Lahoda discuss how the community depends on Pennsylvania detective Mare Sheehan, in the HBO series Mare of Easttown written by Brad Ingelsby, to solve a series of murders in the community and through it is forced to face her own buried grief.

Les Misérables, Part 2 - The Spiritual Practices of Simplicity and Generosity

Episode 222minTed Harro

What do simplicity, availability, and darkness have to do with spiritual formation? Find out on this episode, where Renovaré President Ted Harro and host Kristy Lahoda discuss how Bishop Bienvenu, from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, has understood what the good life really means and has lived it out.

Les Misérables, Part 1 - A Conversation about Bishop Bienvenu

Episode 128minTed Harro

What do silver candle sticks, flowers, and a bishop named Welcome have to do with spiritual formation? Find out on this episode, where Renovaré President, Ted Harro, joins host Kristy Lahoda as they discuss how Monseigneur Bienvenu, from Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, becomes a virtuous man over time who spreads gentle goodness wherever he goes.

All Flame by Carolyn Arends

Thank you to Carolyn Arends for permission to use her song, "All Flame", from the album Recognition, for the podcast's intro and outro. Carolyn is a singer/songwriter, the Director of Education at Renovaré, and was one of my instructors in the Renovaré Institute. She has become a dear friend.

You can learn more about Carolyn at carolynarends.com.

If you'd like to purchase the song or the album, you can download it at her web store.

Recognition album cover

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