Abide and Flourish: Breaking Free from the Productivity Trap (Bette Dickinson)

September 29, 2025
00:00 57:09
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For many of us, faith has been shaped by pressure to perform and produce. But in John 15, Jesus gives us another way: abiding in the True Vine. In this episode, Gem Fadling sits down with artist and author Bette Dickinson to explore how God as the loving Vinedresser leads us not toward exhaustion, but toward flourishing.

If you’ve felt weighed down by striving or longed for a slower, more organic spirituality, this conversation will help you rediscover a rooted, fruitful faith.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

  • Why God’s primary concern isn’t productivity but flourishing

  • The difference between an industrial approach to faith and an organic one

  • How natural seasons reflect Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection

  • The meaning of abiding as our place of belonging and identity in Christ

  • How to trust fruit will emerge over time without forced busyness

Resources & References Mentioned:

About Today’s Guest – Bette Dickinson
Bette Dickinson is a prophetic artist, author, and contemplative guide. Through her writing, artwork, and teaching, she invites others to encounter God’s presence in embodied and imaginative ways. She is the author of The Art of Vinemaking and Making Room in Advent: 25 Devotions for a Season of Wonder.

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Connect with Gem on Instagram and learn more on the Unhurried Living website and her new book, Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

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Meet Your Hosts
Alan Fadling (MDiv) is a founding partner of Unhurried Living, Inc. in Mission Viejo, CA. He writes and speaks as an expert in the challenge of hurry in contemporary life and work and how to overcome it.

Alan consults and coaches leaders and their organizations in the U.S. and around the world, helping them work towards long-term productivity that lasts rather than settling for quick fixes that don’t. He is the award-winning author of five books, including An Unhurried Life, An Unhurried Leader, and A Non-Anxious Life.
Gem Fadling, CLC, is a founding partner of Unhurried Living. She is a trained Spiritual Director and a Certified Life Coach who trains people at the intersection of spiritual leadership and soul care.

Gem is the co-host of the Unhurried Living Podcast as well as the author of Hold That Thought and co-author of What Does Your Soul Love? Her work has appeared in Propel Women and Our Daily Bread.
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