RECENT POSTS

#10: Anxiety and the Prince of Peace
EPISODE #10: Anxiety and the Prince of Peace —Mary had good reasons to be anxious. Anxiety comes up throughout the Bible, and over and over

Why We Need Both the Pastoral and the Prophetic
What’s the difference between pastors and prophets? For me, prophets conjure up images of bearded men of old, pronouncing doom upon society if we don’t

#9: Holy Questions
EPISODE #9: Holy Questions — A baby born of a virgin, a God who became a human being, a promise that the entire world will

#8: Hoping to Find Faith
EPISODE #8: Hoping to Find Faith —Today we look at Luke’s story of Jesus. We’re invited to enter this story with our questions, but also

#7: Waiting
EPISODE #7: Waiting—Advent involves the sorrowful expectation in the waiting that God will indeed bring good news by showing up in our messy, broken lives.

#6: Somber Exile
EPISODE #6: Somber Exile—There is nothing trite about this time of year. In today’s podcast we see that Advent is a time of sorrowful expectation,

In Their Own Words: Penny and William on Technology
In their own words! Penny and William have some things to say about children and families and technology. Most of our kids’ friends have some

#5: The Importance of Gifts
EPISODE #5: The Importance of Gifts —At times I want to protest the commercialization of Christmas. In today’s episode we talk about tinsel and tacky

#4: Other Religions at Christmastime
EPISODE #4: Other Religions at Christmastime—A simple statement from our son makes me realize I haven’t talked much about other religions with our children. Episode

#3: Prepare Him Room
EPISODE #3: Prepare Him Room—Today’s passage from Matthew 1:22-25 is about how Joseph and Mary prepared to welcome Jesus as their son, which reminds me

How We Think About Giving Money Away
Giving money away. What do we think about that? Over the last two decades, Peter and I have thought a lot about where to give

#2: Hopes and Fears
EPISODE #2: Hopes and Fears —Today we’re looking at Matthew 1:18-21, where the angel implies that Joseph is afraid to take Mary home as his

#1: Why Bodies Matter
EPISODE #1: Why Bodies Matter—Today’s podcast comes from Matthew 1:1-17, which might seem boring because it’s a genealogy, but Jesus’ story starts here, and this

Prepare Him Room: An Introduction
Today’s episode on Prepare Him Room, “An Introduction,” sets the stage for our journey together through the season of Advent. Commercialism and a Time of

‘Tis the Season for Stress: Bonus Episode
On the podcast today, I’m giving you a bonus episode, “Tis the Season for Stress,” which I hope will provide a sense of where we’re

How a Baby with Down Syndrome from Brazil Is Changing Lives in Zambia
As we move towards a season of thanks and of giving, I invited my friend Holly Nelson to tell the story of the Special Hope

Gratitude and Growth: How to Practice Gratitude
I’ve been writing about gratitude for the past two weeks in honor of the season of Thanksgiving. Today, as we look at gratitude and growth

Gratitude and Grace
Superficial gratitude can distort the reality of grace. It’s easy for people in relative comfort to compare ourselves to other needy individuals, pity them, and