Altar'd Reality

Welcome to another Altar'd Moment! In these shorter mini-episodes, the team steps in for a bite-sized devotional between regular chats. In this moment, Lauren gets honest about the hustle of daily life, from endless emails and laundry to busy family schedules, and explores what it truly means to follow Jesus's example of being interruptible and leaving margin in our days to actually see people.

• The Busyness of Everyday Life: Between work, kids, appointments, practices, groceries, and emails, life moves fast. Can somebody please explain how we're supposed to keep a house clean while we're still living in it?
• Obstacles vs. People: When our days are scheduled down to the minute, an unexpected interruption can quickly feel like an inconvenience. Lauren challenges us to ask: Am I leaving enough room in my life to actually see people?
• Intentional Yet Interruptible: Jesus was deeply intentional with His mission: He withdrew to pray, invested in His disciples, and held clear boundaries. Yet, He was never so attached to His schedule that He stopped seeing the individuals along the way.
• The Interruption in Mark 5: Lauren walks through the story of Jairus begging Jesus to come heal his dying daughter. On the urgent walk to Jairus’s house, a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years touched the hem of Jesus's robe. Instead of rushing past, Jesus stopped, saw her, and called her "daughter." What looked like an inconvenient delay in a life-or-death emergency was actually another person Jesus loved.
• Praying on the Spot: Instead of just saying "I'll be praying for you," Lauren encourages us to stop right then, whether in aisle 7 at the grocery store or at home, and pray with someone in the moment.
• Discernment vs. Irresponsibility: Being interruptible doesn't mean every need is your responsibility or that you abandon your commitments. It means leaving margin so you can pause and ask: "Lord, is this actually an interruption, or is this what You have for me right now?"

• Mark 5:21-34: Jesus stopping for the woman with the issue of blood on the way to Jairus's house.
• Mark 5:35-43: Jesus going on to heal Jairus's daughter.

This week, try creating a little extra margin in your schedule. When an unexpected conversation or request pops up, pause before reacting with frustration. Ask the Lord whether the disruption to your plan might actually be His divine assignment for your day.

Welcome back to Altar’d Reality!

Today, Jennifer and Lauren continue with Part 2 of Lauren’s life testimony. Building on last week’s episode where Lauren shared about losing her mother to cancer, navigating foster care, and stepping into a safe home. This episode digs into what happened when the survival mechanisms that kept her safe in childhood began catching up with her in adulthood.

• Part 1 Recap: A quick look back at Lauren’s journey through childhood grief, separation from her sisters, and moving in with her cousins Samantha and James during high school.
• The Survival Mask: How Lauren adopted a brand-new identity built on resilience, joy, and "everything is fine," using emotional avoidance as a coping mechanism to keep moving forward without processing deep pain.

• Young Marriage & Shoving Things Under the Rug: Lauren shares about meeting her husband, Brandon, at a young age, getting married at 18, and navigating early marriage while neglecting her own emotional needs and shoving marital struggles under the rug.
• The Turning Point in Community: After stepping away from church for a couple of years after getting married, Lauren and Brandon returned when preparing to start a family. Six years ago, Lauren experienced a major shift when she realized "toxic positivity" wasn't from God and began opening up vulnerably to trusted Christian community about her real struggles.
• When the Body Says Stop: Lauren describes the breaking point she reached over the summer, suffering physical panic attacks and burnout, which forced her to realize that intellectualizing her faith was not the same as letting Jesus heal her emotional heart.
• Intellectual Faith vs. Emotional Healing: Lauren reflects on core lies she carried without knowing it... believing her needs were a burden, that she had to stay positive to be safe or loved, and that she could only rely on herself.
• Learning to Be Still and Grieve: Through EMDR therapy with a Christian therapist and quiet time before God without distractions, Lauren is learning how to stop asking "God, what are you teaching me?" and start saying "God, this really hurt me," allowing Jesus into the broken memories.
• Resilient and Tender: Lauren shares that true healing doesn't mean abandoning the strength God built in her through hardship, but discovering that she can be both resilient and tender in the hands of the Lord.
• The Refiner's Fire: The episode closes with a reflection on how God refines us like gold and silver in the fire. Not to destroy us, but to purify us until His image is clearly reflected in our lives.

Are you running on autopilot, using busyness or "toxic positivity" to avoid feeling past pain? Take time this week to sit still with Jesus without distractions. Stop trying to figure out all the lessons right away, and simply allow Him to sit with you in your hurt, knowing that His presence is where true healing begins.

• Psalm 34:18 -"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
• Malachi 3:3 - "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver..."
• Philippians 4:8 - "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just..."
• Song Referenced: "Burn" by Brooke Ligertwood

• Surviving vs. Healing: Lauren reflects on her current season of life, sharing how physical panic attacks and emotional burnout over the summer forced her to stop and realize that the survival resilience that got her through childhood trauma was never meant to replace genuine spiritual and emotional healing.

• Early Childhood & Family Roots: Born on New Year's Eve in Chicago before moving to Southwest Missouri, Lauren grew up as the oldest of four girls in a sweet, close-knit family with a stay-at-home mom and a dad working in the medical field.

• A Mother's Cancer Battle & Legacy: At age eight, Lauren’s mom was diagnosed with stage four cancer, leading to a five-year battle that ended when Lauren was thirteen. Lauren shares the heartbreaking memory of saying goodbye in the hospital without fully understanding it was the end until sitting in the car afterward. She recalls her mom’s vibrant faith, her love for hymns like "It Is Well With My Soul," and her mom's desire for an altar call at her own funeral, where lives were transformed.

• Parental Rejection & Foster Care: Less than a year after her mother's death, Lauren's father remarried. An unsafe and emotionally abusive environment led to the state removing all four girls from the home. When her father chose his new wife over taking the girls back, Lauren experienced profound rejection from her only living parent.

• God as the Ultimate Father: In the midst of fatherly abandonment, Lauren turned to God not with anger, but as her true Father, clinging to Psalm 103:1 and discovering that while earthly fathers may fail, the Lord never leaves.

• Anchors of Community: Lauren details her time in kinship foster care living with her grandmother, aunt, and eventually her cousin Samantha and her husband James in a safe, loving Christian home. She highlights how her local church youth group served as her lifelong anchor and refuge through every storm.

If you have survived hard things by burying your pain behind a wall of "resilience," know that Jesus doesn't just want you to survive. He wants to bring true healing to your heart. Take time this week to slow down, get quiet before the Lord, and allow Him into the places you've been afraid to feel.

• Psalm 34:18 - The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
• Proverbs 3:5–6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..."
• Psalm 103:1 -"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name."

Welcome back to Altar’d Reality! Instead of a standard full-length topic this week, Jen, Lauren, and Tassy are hopping on for a brief, honest check-in. Between travel, work, recovering from surgery, and juggling full-time mom life, the team needed a moment to pause, catch up on each other's lives, and send a quick update out to everyone.

Life gets chaotic, and sometimes the best thing you can do for your heart and community is to stop the hustle and reconnect. Take a moment this week to pause, reach out to a friend or loved one, and invest in the relationships right in front of you.

Welcome to the very first Altar'd Moment! These shorter mini-episodes feature Jennifer sharing quick spiritual snapshots, personal reflections, and deep dives into God's Word between the regular group episodes[1]. In this inaugural segment, Jen explores the story of the Samaritan woman at the well to unpack how Christ meets us in our loneliness and satisfies the deepest thirst of our souls[1].

• Connected yet Lonely: Despite living in the most digitally connected era in human history, over 1 in 6 people worldwide experience deep loneliness[1]. While being alone describes who is around you, loneliness describes what is happening inside your heart[1][4].
• Completely Known and Completely Loved: When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well at noon, He knew every detail of her past, her broken relationships, and her hidden wounds—yet He still chose to sit at the well with her[2][4]. Jesus already knows everything about you and still comes looking for you[2].
• Living Water vs. Worldly Wells: We often try to satisfy our soul's thirst with "quick sips" from worldly wells—relationships, career success, new purchases, physical appearance, or endless social media scrolling[5][6]. None of these were designed to carry the weight of an eternal soul; only Christ offers a spring of living water welling up into eternal life[6].
• Leaving the Water Jar: After encountering Jesus, the woman left her water jar behind because her deeper thirst was satisfied, running back into town to tell everyone about the Man who knew her story and loved her anyway[6][7].
• Jesus as Our True Source: Jesus fills the internal places in our heart that other people were never meant to satisfy, allowing us to love others freely without demanding that they become our ultimate source[3].

• John 4:1–42 — The story of the Samaritan woman at the well (The primary Gospel account of this encounter) [1871–1875].
• Luke 12:7 — God knows the very number of hairs on your head[7].
• Psalm 27:8 — Hearing God's call to "come and talk with me" and responding in faith[3][7].
• Ephesians 3:18–19 — Experiencing the width, length, height, and depth of Christ's love[8].

Take a moment today to put the phone down, turn off the noise, and stop settling for "little sips" from worldly wells[3][8]. Go to the well, sit with Jesus, and let His living water satisfy your heart[3][8].

Welcome back to the podcast! After a brief hiatus, Tassy is back in the studio alongside Jen and her wonderfully poised mother, Sandy, who is bringing some well needed etiquette guidance to the group. We catch up on Tassy's recent, dramatic middle-of-the-night ER run that resulted in her missing a few recordings, and the very real, physical toll that emotional and spiritual stress can take on our bodies.

Today, we are tackling one of the most sobering and challenging topics in all of Scripture: the dangerous grip of offense and the ultimate freedom of forgiveness.

In this episode, we cover:

• The Terrifying Law of Forgiveness: We unpack Matthew 6:14-15 and the chilling reality that our own forgiveness from God is directly tied to our willingness to forgive others. As The Message translation puts it: if you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.
• The Vicious Cycle of Offense: Offense is inevitable in a broken world, but staying offended is a dangerous choice that leads to self-imprisonment and spiritual blindness. We discuss the modern "spirit of offense" and how unchecked hurt in one relationship will quickly seep into and poison every other area of your life.
• Tassy's Journey through the Wilderness: Tassy opens up about her personal battle with years of bitterness. She shares how her anger blinded her to her own household during her daughter's rebellion, and the daily, difficult work of surrendering her pain at the feet of Jesus.
• From Bitter to Champion: Discover how the Lord completely transformed Tassy's heart through surrender, turning someone who "didn't really like people" into her workplace's actual "People and Purpose Champion," leading and praying for others in her office's conference rooms.
• The Superpower of Forgiveness: We look at Psalm 103:12 ("As far as the east is from the west...") and explore the mind-blowing scientific distinction between North/South (which are measurable, fixed poles) and East/West (which have no poles and extend infinitely). When God forgives, He uses His divine superpower to completely remove and forget our transgressions.
• Moses, Manna, and the Bronze Serpent: Connecting John 3:14 and Numbers 21, we examine how the Israelites' "loathing" of God's miraculous manna allowed fiery serpents to bite them from the inside and how looking up at the bronze serpent healed them. We discuss how our own bitterness acts like a serpent biting us internally, and how our only cure is to look up at Jesus on the cross.

Jen's Daily 6-Step Prayer

Jen shares the powerful daily prayer she uses to start her morning, which you can easily print out or save to your phone:

1. Request Wisdom: Ask for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding as you go about your day and study God's Word.
2. Guard Against Pride: Pray that any knowledge gained helps you love God and others more, rather than puffing you up.
3. Seek the New: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you something new about God that you’ve never seen before.
4. Invite Correction: Ask God to correct any lies you believe or anything you currently misunderstand.
5. Direct Your Steps: Ask Him to guide your physical steps according to His truth.
6. Pray for Discernment: Ask specifically for extravagant wisdom and uncommon discernment.

Our Challenge to You

This week, pray Psalm 139 over yourself: "Search me, O God, and know my heart." Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any hidden areas of unforgiveness or offense you are harboring. Remember, your being wronged is never more important than the sacrifice Jesus made to forgive you on the cross. Choose to look up, lay down the resume of your hurts, and step into freedom.

Resources & Links

• Scriptures to Study: Matthew 6:14-15, 2 Timothy 3, Numbers 21:5-9, John 3:14-15, and Psalm 103.
• Book Recommendation: The Bait of Satan by John Bevere.
• Bible Recap: An online resource and podcast by Tara-Leigh Cobble that helps believers understand the Bible's overarching story, context, and timelines by clarifying connections. She has an excellent plan for reading through the Bible chronologically in a year.
• Logos Bible Software: An incredible study tool with AI features to help you dig deeper. Use our link to sign up for Logos. You get a 30 day free trial and $10 off your purchase. If you sign up we get a credit to our account so we can purchase more resources.

Grab your favorite cool beverage and join us as we remind ourselves that, in the end, it is Jesus over everything, always!

Hey friends, Jennifer here! We are taking a quick, grace-filled pause this week. Between the hectic start of the school year, unexpected sickness, and the juggling act of full-time mom life and work schedules, we just couldn't get the whole gang together in the studio. But rather than completely disappearing, I wanted to pop on here for a quick second to say hello and share a simple thought I talked about with my boys last week.

The Compass and True North

I sat down with my boys and showed them a physical compass, asking what it does. While it obviously points to True North, it also does something equally important: it shows us where True North isn't.

• The Bible is Our Compass: Every page of scripture is ultimately designed to point us directly toward our True North, which is Jesus. It shows us who He is, how He loves us, how He wants us to live, and how we can follow Him.
• Spotting the Potholes: The compass of God's Word lovingly warns us of the directions that will take us somewhere else... the wrong turns, bad decisions, relationships that pull us away, and the subtle idols we can chase and treasure more than Jesus. It also warns us about the voices we can listen to that point us in a completely wrong direction.
• The Danger of a Few Degrees: Getting lost rarely happens because we suddenly turn around and run the opposite way. Instead, we often get off course by just a few degrees through a single compromise, a distraction, or one wrong priority. Before we even know it, we have wandered a long way from where we wanted to go.

A Daily Prayer for Extravagant Wisdom

My mom recently introduced me to a daily prayer that I’ve started praying over myself, my husband, my kids, and my friends:

"Lord, give me extravagant wisdom today and uncommon discernment."

This prayer asks for a wisdom and discernment far beyond anything we could ever come up with on our own. When you pray this, He will faithfully answer and bring opportunities to start putting those things into action in your daily life.

My Challenge to You

Wherever you are this week... whether you're starting a new school year, overwhelmed at work, juggling family schedules, or just trying to keep your head above water, take a minute to find True North again. Open God's Word, look for Jesus, ask Him to guide your steps, and ask Him to give you the eyes to see both the road that leads toward Him and the things pulling you away.

Thank you for giving us a little grace this week while life happens, and we will be back next week with a full episode. Until then, keep your compass pointed toward Jesus!

Welcome back to Altar’d Reality! We are celebrating a massive milestone this week. We officially hit 1,000 downloads! Thank you to our 1,000 amazing friends who are journeying with us.

Today, Jen has a incredibly special guest sitting across from her: her mom, Sandy! Sandy has spent her entire adult life in ministry. Even at almost 70 years old, she shares how she is still discovering brand new vistas in the Word of God every single day.

In this episode, we explore:

• The Day Adam Died: In Genesis 2:17, God warned Adam that "in the day" he ate the fruit, he would surely die. Yet, Adam lived to be 930 years old. We unpack two beautiful interpretations of this: how spiritual death and physical decay began immediately, and how Adam literally died within God's "one day" of a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8).
• Declaring the End from the Beginning: We look at Isaiah 46:10, where God declares the end of history from the very beginning. We discuss how the seven days of creation may actually serve as a prophetic week, mapping out a 7,000-year blueprint for human history:
• Day 1 (Light & Darkness): Separating moral light and darkness in the first 1,000 years.
• Day 2 (Separation of Waters): Anticipating the great Flood of Noah’s day.
• Day 3 (Land, Seed, & Fruit): Mirroring the seed and land promises given to Abraham.
• Day 4 (Sun, Moon, Stars): Prefiguring Jesus, the "Light of the World" and "Sun of Righteousness," who arrived at the close of the fourth millennium.
• Day 5 (Fish & Birds): Foreshadowing the Holy Spirit (as a dove) and the calling of the disciples as "fishers of men".
• Day 6 (Mankind & Dominion): Reflecting our current era of explosive human population, technological dominion, and artificial intelligence.
• Day 7 (The Sabbath Rest): Prophesying the ultimate 1,000-year Millennial Sabbath rest under the reign of King Jesus.
• The Two-Day Delay: We connect Hosea 6:2 ("After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up") with the story of Lazarus. Jesus intentionally waited two days before returning to raise Lazarus from the dead. We talk about the beautiful hope of the "third day" resurrection and how God's timing is driven by his desire to rescue as many people as possible.

Our Challenge to You

This week, grab your Bible and look at the stories you think you know through a new lens. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the divine patterns and intentionality hidden right in front of your eyes. Remember, God is not surprised by the chaos of our world—he has had the end planned out beautifully from the very beginning.

Resources & Links

• Bible Recap: An online resource and podcast by Tara-Leigh Cobble that helps believers understand the Bible's overarching story, context, and timelines by clarifying connections. She has an excellent plan for reading through the Bible chronologically in a year.
• The Bible Project: A free library of animated videos, podcasts, and study notes that trace the Bible's themes and literary design. Especially good if you're a visual learner.
• Blurry Creatures Podcast: The podcast we keep coming back to for giants, cryptids, and Nephilim. They chase the strangest corners of Scripture without ever leaving the Bible behind.
• Logos Bible Software: An incredible study tool with AI features to help you dig deeper. Use our link to sign up for Logos. You get a 30 day free trial and $10 off your purchase. If you sign up we get a credit to our account so we can purchase more resources.
• Scriptures to Study: Genesis 2-3, Psalm 90, Isaiah 46, and Hosea 6.

If this conversation stirred your heart and you want to take your first step in trusting Jesus, you can pray the simple prayer of salvation we shared at the end of the episode. Reach out to us through our email, [email protected]. We would love to help you find a church in your area!

Grab your favorite cool beverage and join us as we remind ourselves that, in the end, it is Jesus over everything, always!

Welcome back to Altar’d Reality! Today, the girls tackle some of the most sobering words spoken by Jesus: "I never knew you." We dive into the difference between a religious resume and a genuine relationship, explore the danger of "duct-taped fruit," and learn how to stand firm in the armor of God... not as a costume, but as a life clothed in Christ himself.

In this episode, we cover:

• Relationship Over Resume: We unpack Matthew 7, where people present Jesus with a list of miracles and prophecies only to be rejected. The problem wasn't their lack of activity; it was the lack of relationship. We discuss how proximity to Christian culture is not the same as intimacy with Jesus.
• Taped-on Fruit vs. Rooted Life: Using Jesus’ warning about wolves in sheep’s clothing, we discuss how you recognize a tree by its fruit. We share the powerful illustration of "duct-taping" good fruit onto a dead tree. It might look convincing from a distance, but there is no life flowing from the root.
• The Storm and the Foundation: We look at the two builders... one on rock and one on sand. The storm doesn't create the foundation; it merely reveals it. A foundation of performance will always crumble, while a foundation of relationship holds fast.
• Returning to the Vine: For the tender hearted believer who worries they are "fake," we look at John 15. Abiding in Jesus doesn't mean perfection; it means constant returning. We discuss how a "dead heart does not ache" the very fact that you long for Jesus is evidence of life.
• The Armor of God as a Person: We shift to Ephesians 6, noting that the armor isn't a religious ritual but a picture of being "clothed in Christ." We look at the historical context of Paul writing this while chained to a Roman soldier in Ephesus, a city obsessed with magic and incantations.
• Spiritual Warfare Reframed: True spiritual warfare isn't yelling into the darkness or finding a "Christian spell"; it is standing in the light and character of Jesus.

Our Challenge to You

This week, don't present Jesus with a resume. Come to Him empty-handed and receive His mercy. Practice "abiding" by returning to the Vine every time you feel dry, anxious, or distracted.

Resources & Links

• Scripture References: Matthew 7:15-27, John 15:1-5, Ephesians 6:10-20, Isaiah 61:10, and Psalm 42:5.
• Living Free Nation Podcast: Their website and the specific episode on the Armor Of God.
• Logos Bible Software: An incredible study tool with AI features to help you dig deeper. Use our link to sign up for Logos. You get a 30 day free trial and $10 off your purchase. If you sign up we get a credit to our account so we can purchase more resources.

Grab your favorite cool beverage and join us as we remind ourselves that, in the end, it is Jesus over everything, always!

Welcome back to Altar’d Reality! Today, Jen, Lauren, and Tassy are diving into a question that every Christian has wrestled with: If we are new creations in Christ, why do we still struggle so much with our "old self"? We explore the biblical design of our body, soul, and spirit to understand how salvation actually works and how to retrain our minds to align with God’s truth.

In this episode, we cover:

• The Struggle is Real: We look at Paul’s honest confession in Romans—doing the evil he doesn’t want and failing to do the good he desires. We discuss why loving Jesus doesn't magically make our impatience or anxiety disappear overnight.
• What Actually Changed at Salvation?: We break down the "three tenses" of being saved: you have been saved from sin's penalty, you are being saved (transformed/renewed), and you will be saved when Jesus returns. At salvation, your spirit is made alive, but your personality and body remain the same.

The Three-Part Design:

• The Body: Our physical connection to the world, experienced through the senses. It is not something to be "escaped" but is a good temple that will one day be resurrected as a glorified body.
• The Soul: Our inner life, consisting of personality, emotions, and mind. We discuss how the soul can feel exhausted even when the body is rested, and why we need David-style "soul pep talks".
• The Spirit: The "lamp of the Lord" uniquely designed to commune with God.
• The House Metaphor: Jen shares a powerful illustration to distinguish the three: The Body is the structure people see; the Soul is everything inside (furniture, memories, personality); and the Spirit is the room where you commune with God.
• Retraining the Mind: We discuss Romans 12 and the necessity of "discipling" our thinking. Jen shares a favorite quote: "Read the Bible until it starts talking back to you".
• Conviction vs. Condemnation: We talk about how to distinguish God’s voice from the enemy’s. The Holy Spirit points to the sin or action to bring correction, while the enemy points to you to bring shame.
• Guarding the Portals: We discuss the importance of being mindful of what our spirits are sensitive to, including music, media, and "echo chambers".

Our Challenge to You

This week, practice adjusting your posture toward God. If you feel stuck or numb, don't overcomplicate it. Go outside, look at creation, and start giving thanks for the simple things like the trees or the sky. Let your spirit wake up your soul through gratitude.

Resources & Links

• Josh Howerton on the Shawn Ryan Podcast.
• Jordan Peterson: Control Your Emotions video on YouTube
• Scripture References: Romans 7 and 12, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 42:5, Job 38, and Galatians 5.
• Logos Bible Software: An incredible study tool with AI features to help you dig deeper. Use our link to sign up for Logos. You get a 30 day free trial and $10 off your purchase. If you sign, up we get a credit to our account so we can purchase more resources.

Grab your favorite cool beverage and join us as we remind ourselves that, in the end, it is Jesus over everything, always!