Gary Neal Hansen

Theology. It's good for you.

  • About
    • Speaking
    • Contact
    • Home
  • Books
    • Love Your Bible
    • Christmas Play
    • Kneeling with Giants
    • Review Crew
  • Library
    • Join
    • Login
  • Blog
  • Lectio Divina Class Log In
    • Advent Lectio Divina Class Info!
    • Class Info: Your First Sermon
      • Your 1st Sermon — Course Login
    • Lenten Prayer Class Info
      • Lenten Prayer Class log in
    • “Pray Like a Reformer” Class Info
      • Pray Like a Reformer Login
  • Christmas Play
  • Love Your Bible
  • Kneeling with Giants
You are here: Home / Archives for Saints

Between Obscurity and Fame (The Writer’s Inner Life)

October 10, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 2 Comments

Obscurity and Fame

When I posted about the writer’s battle with “the demon of futility” I mentioned the frustration that can come from identifying yourself as a writer. People ask what you’ve written. They’ve never heard of it. They’ve never heard of you. In a way this is perfectly natural: A book can be a success by any reasonable […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Arsenius, Augustine, Desert Fathers, Fame, Motivations, Obscurity, Theodore

Facing Futility (The Writer’s Inner Life)

September 26, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 6 Comments

Facing Futility

One of the struggles a writer faces (or anyone else with  creative projects as part of their vocation) is the sense of futility. It is one of those temptations that comes in a kind of inner voice. Why not be old fashioned and just call it one of our demons? The Demon of Futility It can […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer, Uncategorized Tagged With: Antony the Great, Desert Fathers, Futility

The Problem of Idleness (The Writer’s Inner Life)

September 20, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 2 Comments

problem of idleness

As Mark Twain, allegedly said (but probably didn’t), History doesn’t repeat itself — but it does rhyme. (The funny bits all get attributed to the same famous guys. As Abraham Lincoln said, The internet is being ruined by fake quotations. That one has to be true. I have it on a bumper sticker.) Fake quotation […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Abba Poemen, Desert Fathers, Free writing, Idleness

Interruptions (The Writer’s Inner Life)

September 6, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Interruptions

If you’ve been following this series, you know I’m posting on “The Writer’s Inner Life” on Mondays. If you have a calendar, you know that today is Tuesday. Labor Day was an interruption. It was a good one: some time hanging pictures in our new home with my wife, some time in a park with the […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Antony the Great, Desert Fathers, Interruptions, St. Anthony of Egypt

Fighting Inner Demons (The Writer’s Inner Life)

August 29, 2016 by Gary Neal Hansen 4 Comments

fighting inner demons

For a few posts now I’ve been exploring the writer’s inner life. Today this series of posts becomes all the more important to me: my kids have returned to school, so I am able to write full time. So, daily, I need to write. We’re all fighting inner demons And to write I have to defeat […]

Filed Under: Saints, The Inner Life of the Writer Tagged With: Antony the Great, Desert Fathers, fighting inner demons, Life of Antony, St. Anthony

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • …
  • 14
  • Next Page »

AWESOME children’s sermons? Absolutely! Here’s how.

I'd love to send you my free Children's Sermon Cheat Sheet! You'll learn eight solid strategies to engage with kids on the Gospel.

Subscribe and I'll send it to you -- plus all my new children's sermons will come to you in my almost-weekly newsletter.

Theology. It’s good for you.

I'm a Church historian by trade. My writing, speaking, and teaching explores the Christian past to equip today's disciples. Join me here for regular posts on the best of theology, spirituality, community, and ministry. read more…

Recent Posts

  • A Children’s Sermon on Luke 20:27-38
  • A Children’s Sermon on Luke 19:1-10 — Zacchaeus
  • A Children’s Sermon on Luke 7:1-10
  • A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 14:13-21 — The Feeding of the 5000
  • A Children’s Sermon on Luke 17:11-19

Search the site

Need a new way to engage with the Bible?

Subscribe to my newsletter and I'll send you a free ebook copy of Love Your Bible: Finding Your Way to the Presence of God with a 12th Century Monk. It's a modern introduction to a classic spiritual discipline that brings prayer and Bible study together.

It's manageable. It's fun. And it's free, along with my (almost)weekly newsletter that brings you every new article and announcement.

Archives

Let’s connect on social media…

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Search the site

  • Community for Mission
  • Letters to a Young Pastor
  • Christianity as a Second Language
  • Role Models for Discipleship

© 2025 garynealhansen.com · Rainmaker Platform