Hannah Brencher
7 min read ⭑
“I honestly think we’re too distracted and too tethered to our devices, and so making room to breathe and power down is a surefire way to experience more of the Holy Spirit moving in our daily lives.”
When Hannah Brencher first started her blog in 2009 (the “OG blog days,” as she calls them), she never imagined it would lead to a publishing gig, let alone a thriving career as an author, online educator and TED speaker. Her love of words — and Jesus — also inspired her to form The World Needs More Love Letters, an organization that harnesses the power of social media to send handwritten notes of encouragement to people in need around the world. Right now, she’s focusing on growing more present in everyday life, a journey she’s written about in her latest book, “The Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected World.” Let Hannah’s fresh perspective, delight in gratitude and love of discipline and routines inspire you as we talk all about her favorite ways to rest, her greatest internal battles and the books that have helped shape her faith so far.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
Although I come from New Haven, Connecticut — home to the world’s finest pizza — I’ve called Atlanta home for the last decade. At this point, I guess you could say I am from here. If you and I were looking for a spot to chow, I’d take you over to a favorite haunt called Ration and Dram. It’s the spot where my husband and I had our first date — sharing stories about ourselves over a massive charcuterie board. We’ve celebrated many parties, birthdays and other occasions on their patio. I’d tell you everything on the menu is fantastic (because it is), but you can never go wrong with their burger or their chicken and dumplings on any evening of the week.
If it’s the weekend, we’re there too. We are slowly moving into Saturday Sabbath with a brunch at Ration. If you’re gluten-free like me, then you’re in for a treat — every item on the menu was designed to be gluten-free, and you will never have better gluten-free biscuits, buns or desserts than at Ration.
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QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activity (or activities) do you love engaging in and helps you find essential spiritual renewal?
When it comes to activities, my favorite thing is picking up a good book or downloading something new on my Kindle. You can find me curled up on the couch or in bed reading whenever I have downtime. I see God in really good fiction, in how an author can string together sentences so vibrantly. Reading a novel is like getting sucked into a different world. I love that I can slip away into my imagination and watch a story unfold.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite, and how do you hide it?
I’d say my weakness is that I care too much. I’m too empathetic. Sometimes when I’m standing in a perfectly lovely moment, I can’t help but think that everything about that moment can’t last. It will end. Things will die. Life will go on. I know — I’m morbid. But that’s the way my brain operates all the time, and it’s hard for me to enjoy things rather than feel things intensely.
When we’re watching a show or a movie, I often have to remind myself that I’m not in that person’s shoes. I feel things way too deeply, which is a blessing as an author and a hindrance sometimes. I am thankful for the ways that I care deeply, but I’ve also wished a few times that I didn’t feel so much — that I could move through life with a little bit more ease and less morbidity.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
Right now, I love writing all the words — emails of encouragement, series around different seasons and books that will hopefully be a companion to others when they need one. My latest book is “The Unplugged Hours: Cultivating a Life of Presence in a Digitally Connected World.”
I love creating resources — courses and classes — that help people be intentional in their daily lives through the power of routines and rhythms. I love helping others move closer to their faith through self-discipline and consistency. As someone who deals with mental illness, I know the importance of having solid rhythms, and so I love that I get to help people uncover their own.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
I find the Holy Spirit in my writing. I write everything on yellow notepads — completely unplugged — and I think it creates space for God to breathe and speak through me. It’s a peace-filled practice that has filled my tank up these days. I honestly think we’re too distracted and too tethered to our devices, and so making room to breathe and power down is a surefire way to experience more of the Holy Spirit moving in our daily lives.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you right now?
It’s simple, but I’ve started placing a journaling Bible on my kitchen countertop. I can’t even explain what a life-giving rhythm it has been for me. My faith has felt deeper and richer, and I have a sneaking suspicion it’s because of this rhythm lived out.
I’ve been reading it during lunchtime. During coffee breaks. During moments when I’m tempted to check out rather than check in. Even when I don’t feel like it, I remind myself: you deserve to check in.
I keep a tally mark at the front of the Bible for every time I choose to dwell in the Word over something else. The tally helps me remember that my attention is a daily choice. Your attention goes where you guide it to go, and it feeds off what you place in front of it.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed the game and changed your heart? What radically altered your life? What changed your reality?
I met God for the first time through the book “Blue Like Jazz.” That was the first time I’d ever read a story about God that felt good and true and like I could get on board with it. Don Miller made me feel like I had been handed a key to the backdoor of faith and that I could come inside and settle in.
I love “Reordering Your Private World” by Gordon MacDonald. It’s an essential guide for building an inner life and has made my faith deeper and more vibrant over the years as I’ve heeded the reminder to take a break from the hustle to press into the stillness of my inner world.
In that same vein, “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence is another favorite read. I read it every year, and there is always something new I draw from it. It’s a book that grounds me and reminds me to practice presence with God in the daily, ordinary rhythms of life.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or even thrive) in tough times — times like these! Name one resource you’re savoring and/or finding indispensable in this current season, and tell us what it’s doing for you.
I cling to Blue Letter Bible. It’s my go-to for interpreting Scripture and doing deeper Bible studies. I love looking up words in Hebrew and Greek and discovering something I’ve never seen or understood before!
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I think I am learning to dream again. It’s not that I stopped dreaming, but I think I got stuck in the ordinariness of daily life, and I can hear God beckoning me to expand my vision and stretch my tent. I don’t fully know what that means, but I am leaning in. I am dreaming. I am praying for the new vision. And I can’t wait to see what will come to pass.
When it comes to growth and achieving our goals, discipline is a critical factor. Scientific research shows that students with high self-discipline can outperform their more intellectually talented counterparts.
And as Hannah pointed out above, discipline has benefits for our spiritual lives, too.
The apostle Paul put it this way: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:24-27, ESV).
Are there areas in your life where God may be calling you to grow in discipline? Or are there ways your discipline can flow more from his power instead of self-effort?
Hannah Brencher is a writer, TED speaker and entrepreneur. She founded The World Needs More Love Letters, a global community dedicated to sending letter bundles to those who need encouragement. Named as one of the White House’s “Women Working to Do Good,” Hannah has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Oprah, Glamour, USATODAY.com, the Chicago Tribune and more. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, Lane, and daughter Novalee.
