Where Jesus was Tempted in the Desert
Surviving in the desert is physical and mental challenge. The wilderness is the stage for much of the biblical story. From Israel's time of wande...
Where David Hid from Saul – Cave in the Judean Wilderness
This episode starts with Jack Beck doing what he does best—meeting people and sharing his love for the land and Bible stories. He then invites ...
Wounded in Worship
For too many, however, it’s simply that church promised more than it delivered. It’s normal to walk away from something that purports to answ...
When Words Hurt
Far too often, however, loving motives are absent in the pain we cause with our words, even in the best of marriages. Almost all marriages experi...
When Trust Is Lost - Hope and Healing from Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse is much broader than forced, unforced, or simulated intercourse. It includes any physical contact such as touching, rubbing, or patt...
When We Just Can’t Stop - Overcoming Addiction
Why can’t we let our addictions go? In part, it’s because they promise to do things for us—things we’ve come to believe we can’t surviv...
When Power is Misused - Confronting Abuse
Turn on the local news or scroll through your favorite news app on your smart-phone. It doesn’t take long to find examples of masculine power t...
When God Says No: Broken Dreams to New Beginnings
I still remember the day Merryn and I decided to start a family. It was the year 2000. We’d been married for five years, were in a settled plac...
When Forgiveness Seems Impossible
Many people believe that forgiveness requires us to unconditionally release others from past wrongs. They assume that they have to forgive in ord...
Deceived by Disappointment
Over time, we notice that people are disappointed in us too—and we begin to feel disappointed in ourselves as well. We can’t shake that secre...
When a Spouse Is Unfaithful - Exposing and Healing an Affair
When a physical or emotional affair is exposed, both spouses must embark on a perilous journey. Trina’s journey began when she refused to suffe...
In Pursuit of Jesus in Sweden
Sweden, secular and individualistic, a place where rebellion is the norm - against authority, community, and even the sacred. But there are glimp...
The Race
The first year I ran, I hit every hurdle in my lane. It’s a quick way to get disqualified from a race if the judge decides you were trying to g...
The (Impossible) Task of Following Jesus
I wasn’t a responsible kid, so I took the bet pretty much every morning and ended up scrambling most days. In the half-sleep of dozing, the cur...
Risking Prayer
Reclaiming Hope: Why We All Need Mercy, Justice, and Hope
What does it mean to live as a people who believe in God’s mercy and justice, and that they actually make a difference in this world? In our li...
No Longer Defined by My Past – Liz Curtis Higgs
We’ve all made bad decisions. Some of those bad decisions come back to haunt us, and some decisions we thought were good at the time end up hav...
Dealing with Loss
We all experience loss. The loss of dreams. The loss of relationships. The loss of people we love. But we serve a God who can use loss for our go...
Episode 13 - "Washing Blood While Singing the Blues" with Ruth Naomi Floyd
When faced with something or someone deemed “different,” why are we so quick to judge? Rather than appreciate what makes us different, we are...
Episode 12 - "Learning to Survive" with Dr. Alma Zaragoza-Petty
Surviving is a strategy. Thriving is a path towards unlimited opportunities. Dr. Alma Zaragoza-Petty shares her experiences of unlikely mentors, ...
Episode 09 - "The Native Story" with Mark Charles
We live in a society full of unsettling truths. So what do we do with that? Do we sit down and ignore the fact, leaving in its wake pain and trau...
Episode 05 - "Racism and the American Church" with Jemar Tisby
Episode 03 - "Finding Home" with Rich Perez
We can learn a lot about ourselves even through other people’s experiences. Rich Pérez shares his “layers” and what makes him, him. He hop...
It's Not Fair - Trusting God When Life Doesn't Make Sense
We are often tempted by our circumstances to agree with the cynic: “No good deed goes unpunished.” In reflective moments, we may find ourselv...
