Julene Tegerstrand

Essays on listening, rest, and ordinary love.

Human is a Verb is where I think out loud about spiritual formation for staying human in conflict, together.

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  1. Would your church try Sacred Seasons with me this Advent?

    A free daily Advent prayer practice, and I’d love five churches or groups to try it with me.

  2. Pulled Toward Life: An Ignatian Question for the Age of AI

    On anxiety, rest, and not deciding when I'm freaking out

  3. The Hidden History Behind Every Conflict

    Why do some conflicts affect us so deeply? Explore how past experiences shape our reactions and how curiosity about our backstories can make room for grace.

  4. Have To, Choose To: A practice to help us reclaim agency

    A short contemplative practice for trading "I have to" for "I choose to," easing resentment and returning you to yourself and the people you love.

  5. The Real Test of Spiritual Formation

    Is spiritual formation measured by prayer alone? Discover why the deepest evidence of spiritual growth is revealed in how we relate to others, especially in difficult relationships.

  6. If you've wondered what I'm up to.

    Hi, I am Julene Tegerstrand. I am a recovering conflict avoider. Human is a Verb exists because of a gap between our inner self and who we become in conflict.

  7. When Disagreement Feels Personal

    A contemplative practice for when disagreement feels personal

  8. The Elephant Is Rarely Just a Topic

    A few weeks ago, I wrote about learning to listen to the elephant in the room, and the elephant within us.

  9. Ground Giving Way: A Season of Moral Injury

    A moral wounding is a social wounding. No wonder it is painful!

  10. Even Chaos Knows Your Name

    A modern rendering of Psalm 148.

  11. Compassionate Communication Immersion

    Dear Human is a Verb Community-

  12. It Would Have Been Enough: A Eulogy for My Father

    Stage 4 cancer. Limbo grief. And a Hebrew prayer that taught me to count the gifts before they were gone. The eulogy I gave for my father in 2013.

  13. Holy Noticing: Learning to Listen to the Elephant in the Room

    Before we name the hard thing between us, we may need to notice what is happening inside us.

  14. The Discipline of Truth-Telling

    A practice for conflict transformation that helps you separate observation from judgment, tell the truth without contempt, and see more clearly.

  15. Let Love Lead Me

    Let love lead me, Let love lead me. Through the loss and through the healing, Let love lead me. Guard my heart and guard its windows, Teach my soul to watch and pray. Let love lead me, Closer every day.

  16. Refuse the Seduction: Cultural Violence

    The image Trump posted stealthily arranges our thinking so that cruelty, exclusion, or blind loyalty feels morally right. Who is going to disagree with God?

  17. The Pilgrim and the Tourist Walk into the Monastery, Holy Stupidity 2.1

    The blackbird landed in his cupped hands while he was praying.

  18. Empty Isn't the End

    Resurrection is not the part where everything gets tidy. The empty tomb is still a tomb. The stone was still rolled away from something. Empty is not the same as nothing. Empty can be the beginning of space for something new.

  19. We Are Still Here; Psalm 118: Praying with Scripture and Song Episode 7

    A prayer practice to keep us sane and to encourage us to enact risky speech in the spirit of Psalm 118.

  20. Wait for Morning; Psalm 130: Praying With Scripture and Song Episode 6

    A 20-minute guided Lectio Divina practice with Psalm 130 with music that will calm your nervous system and help your soul come out from hiding.

Every essay, on Substack