Also by this author: Analog Church: Why We Need Real People, Places, and Things in the Digital Age, Analog Christian: Cultivating Contentment, Resilience, and Wisdom in the Digital Age, Listen, Listen, Speak: Hearing God and Being Heard in a Noisy World
Published by Good Book Company on September 8, 2026
Genres: Non-Fiction, Christian Life
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Receive the Gifts of an Examined Life with God
"So much to do, so little time," so the saying goes. For many today, our attention is stretched thin by overextended schedules, unmanageable calendars, and an impossible to-do list.
But what if the more we try to do everything, the less we are doing anything truly meaningful?
In The Pace of Peace, pastor Jay Y. Kim invites you to fight distraction and focus your attention by examining your life with God. Drawing on the Prayer of Examen developed by Ignatius of Loyola as a framework for all of life, Kim guides us through the movements of this ancient prayer practice—invitation, gratitude, reflection, confession, and looking forward—to point us toward the antidotes for the aches of our distracted age.
In The Pace of Peace, you are invited to move:
from the toil of absence to the gift of presence
from the striving for more to the gift of gratitude
from the wreckage of reactivity to the gift of reflection
from the shackles of pride and shame to the gift of confession
from the futility of self-will to the gift of God's willA deep life is incongruent with a fast life. God invites you, instead, to live with your mind at ease, setting your life to the pace of peace. Free to be fully present. No longer straining to prove yourself. Settled and secure in the presence of God.
Encounter God in all of life and discover the peace and ease of being present, known, and fully loved with The Pace of Peace.
The pace of modern life is relentless, but pastor Jay Y. Kim encourages people to slow down and limit distractions as much as possible, so that they can experience a deep relationship with God. He reminds us that people have always struggled with distractions, and he gives examples from spiritual writings that date back hundreds of years before social media and the attention economy. Kim says that one tool he has found helpful is the Examen, a self-reflection and prayer ritual designed centuries ago by Ignatius of Loyola. Kim uses the flow of the Examen to shape this book, with chapters focusing on themes of God’s presence, gratitude, confession, and emotionally aware reflection.
I always enjoy this author’s writing style. It’s thought-provoking and deep, but still has a conversational feel. I appreciated the author’s occasional anecdotes from his own life, which help bring different points home. These reflections add a personal touch to the book, but never become the focus. Kim also engages deeply with Scripture, and each chapter ends with thoughtful questions to ponder or discuss with others.
The Pace of Peace: Distraction, Attention, and the Gifts of an Examined Life is a thought-provoking, reflective read that prompts Christians to slow down, direct sustained attention to God, and take stock of their inner spiritual lives. This introspective book is great for personal reading, and would also foster great discussions in a church book group. Also, if someone is interested in delving deeper into the role that technology plays in shaping their attention and spiritual life, then I would recommend two of the author’s previous books, Analog Church and Analog Christian.