We’ve learned to think of pushing buttons and asking questions as a bad thing. But perhaps we should embrace the spirit behind these attitudes as more about curiosity and adventure than about outright defiance.

Perhaps in the midst of our privileged communities, it’s time to think differently about poverty and see isolation as one of our culture’s greatest forms of it. Perhaps it’s time we go out of our way, like Jesus, to have dinner with the unlikely impoverished.

So often we feel like what we do is unimportant and insignificant, but what filter are we seeing this through? To human eyes, sure, it may seem and be deemed unglamorous and unsuccessful. But to God, our dedication and steadfastness is noticed.

We belong to the Kingdom of God, and only until that really grips us can we cope with the kingdom of this world. Do we create space for our hearts to be gripped?

Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.” John 13:31 This isn’t exactly culture’s style of glory, is it? In a culture caught up with big shiny moments, rising to the top and high levels of achievement, it’s hard for the human mind to understand the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Laying down one’s life for others is a stark contrast to the way we naturally live, but we mustn’t forget that it IS the call of every believer. In today’s podcast episode, we’re talking about what glory actually looks like. Jesus equated glory with doing the Father’s will and, through His example; He challenges each of us to live in the same way. But the cross doesn’t just challenge our way of life, it calls us to redefine our idea of glory. Glory: to lay down one’s life so the Father’s will may be accomplished. “What we do is very little. But it is like the little boy with a few loaves and fishes. Christ took that little and increased it. He will do the rest. What we do is so little that we many seem to be constantly failing. But so did he fail. He met with apparent failure on the Cross. But unless the seeds fall into the earth and die, there is no harvest.” –Dorothy Day Be sure to subscribe for newsletter updates and listen on iTunes!

In a culture caught up with needing more and more, we tend to be oblivious in understanding when enough is enough. We hoard out of our need for security and control, but the manna the Israelites tried to stockpile went mouldy if they gathered too much because God was trying to teach them to believe He would provide for their daily needs. On the podcast today I talk about manna and how it symbolizes God meeting our every need and how He’s always faithful to show up and provide. Manna met the Israelites every single day because God is faithful. How similar we are to the Israelites in doubting that God will show up, or that God will provide, or that we will have enough. But we learn from the Israelites that waking up everyday with a sense of trust, faith and anticipation is secure, right and true because He is secure, right and true. God was with the Israelites for 40 years as they lived in the desert, but more importantly, He led them to the Promised Land while providing for everything they would ever need - because that’s Who He is, and that’s what He does. The story of the manna and quail is a reminder to each of us that He is enough. Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.” –Exodus 16:4a Be sure to subscribe for newsletter updates and to listen on iTunes! Mentioned In Today’s Podcast Exodus 16: Manna and Quail

So many times we get too caught up with a fast-paced life in our attempts to propel forward that we forget to stop and reflect. But think back to all the momentous occasions you’ve experienced while on your faith journey and appreciate how far you’ve come, how much you’ve changed, and how much you’ve grown. I bet you’re nowhere near the person you were two years ago. In the same we as parents can appreciate the growth that takes place in our children, this too is how God sees us. He’s proud of us and loves to see how much we’re growing and changing from year-to-year. He wants us to be proud of ourselves too, but how can we appreciate our growth if we don’t take time to reflect on the process. In today’s podcast episode, I challenge you to go back through your faith journey and recall the beautiful moments in the same you would watch home videos. Spend time appreciating how much you’ve grown and changed along the way. Be sure to subscribe for newsletter updates and listen on iTunes!

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.  The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is the Lord’s work. Therefore the annoyances, the day-to-day frustrations and the everyday mundane all serve to remind us that, there is so much more going on than what we see and comprehend. This serves as daily encouragement when the storms of life come and go, but it also serves as our hope, light and focus as we keep our perspective centered on what we’re really here for. On the podcast today, we talk about what it means to be compelled by a vision not our own. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. No sermon says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything. That is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted knowing they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that affects far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very, very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future that is not our own.”  Oscar Romero ”So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.” –Colossians 3:1-2 (MSG) Be sure to subscribe for newsletter updates and listen on iTunes! Mentioned In Today’s Podcast Common Prayer Mark 9:2-13: The Transfiguration Podcast 007: Glen Madden: Producing Fruit

Joining the podcast today is international speaker and author, Heidi McLaughlin – a widow, mom, step-mom and grandmother. Heidi shares candidly about community and what it looks like to have hope and grit when you’re faced with life’s worst-case scenarios. Not only did Heidi survive the death of her first husband 22 years ago, but she is currently working through and grieving the death of her second husband, Jack, who dropped dead in her kitchen while standing right beside her only a few short months ago. What does community look like in the valleys of our darkest moments? What does it mean to approach hope with grit and determination? And, in a culture that prides itself on independence, how can we truly be the body of Christ? “We have to believe that it is important to stay connected. Until we actually begin to understand this in our minds and hearts, we won’t make time for relationships.” –Heidi McLaughlin Mentioned In Today’s Podcast The World Guild A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller  Heidi’s website: Heart Connection

We know our life story is never summed up by only one particular season of life. But still it can be hard. When the present season is a tough one, how does one live with a sense of anticipation that something good is coming? In today’s podcast musing, Cindy shares about how her difficult journey from the last two years has led her to today - with it’s exciting but slightly terrifying challenge: To incorporate a spirit of anticipation back into her life. Exemplified by the story of Joseph, we see how God ties everything together in His time and way. It may take a while to see how our lives and God’s plans will unfold, but we have to trust and live with a sense of expectancy that God IS orchestrating beautiful things that could never be done within our own power. Staying faithful means showing up, serving Him, surrendering daily and looking forward to the good. This is what a spirit of anticipation is all about. “What God does with our faithfulness is up to Him. We just have to keep showing up!” Be sure to subscribe for newsletter updates and listen on iTunes! Mentioned In Today’s Podcast The Story of Joseph – Genesis 37 Genesis 47:5&6

Oh how the parable of the sower speaks to our hearts as Christians – sometimes it’s rocky, other times it’s shallow, some days it’s choked and other times it’s fertile. The Christian life is never stagnant. It ebbs and flows with change like that of varying weather conditions. On the podcast today we’re talking about fruit and what producing it looks like in one’s life. Through the lens of Mark 4, we read about the importance of asking ourselves a couple of very honest questions: is my life producing the kind of fruit the Father desires for me to produce? What does good fruit look like? What does good soil look like? What does the non-choked life look like? “The brutal truth is, if somebody, somewhere, is not actively getting closer to Jesus as a result of our lives, then we are not producing fruit and we are not good soil.” –Glen Madden Basically, Christianity makes for a really rubbish hobby because God never created it to be an add-on to the rest of our lives. A healthy Christian life is about bearing fruit. Be sure to sign up for newsletter updates and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes! Mentioned In Today’s Episode The Connected Few Mark 4 - The Parable of the Four Soils “Old Paths, New Power: Awakening Your Church Through Prayer and the Ministry of the Word” by Daniel Henderson “Stop Idolizing Your Family” by Francis Chan