This week, a reflection on ANZAC Day. I’m thinking about the stories we carry—how we remember God’s faithfulness, and how we pass it on.

Reflection Questions

• When you hear the phrase “Lest we forget,” what (or who) comes to mind for you—and why?
• What is one story of God’s faithfulness in your life that you don’t want to lose to time or busyness?
• Who is part of your “next generation” (kids, whānau, friends, mentees)—and what might God be inviting you to pass on to them?
• Are there any moments or milestones you sense God asking you to mark (write down, celebrate, grieve, honour)?
• What is one simple practice that would help you remember well (journal, voice note, photo, calendar reminder, family story night, prayer list)?
• Is there an anniversary/date that carries weight for you or someone you love—and what would it look like to prepare gently, ahead of time?
• What “stones of remembrance” could you put in place this month (a note, a conversation, a shared story, a small tradition)?

You can connect with Sarah on Instagram: @inthedustpodcast

This week, Sarah reflects on how tension can build up in our bodies, minds, and spirits—often without us noticing—until something invites release. Through the experience of an intense massage, she explores God’s gentle invitation toreset, release, and realign through regular practices (not one-off fixes). A reminder to ask God what you need in this season, and to choose rhythms that are kind, sustainable, and true.

Reflection Questions from this episode:

• Where am I holding tension right now—physically, emotionally, spiritually—and what might it be connected to?
• What season am I in (light/heavy/transition), and what has shifted in my responsibilities or load?
• What have I been pushing through that actually needs acknowledgement, rest, or support?
• What does “realignment” look like for me right now (not perfection, but returning to what’s true and life-giving)?
• What is one regular (not one-off) rhythm I could commit to in this season—and who could support me in it?

Journalling Questions:

• Right now, what feels “tight” in me (body/mind/spirit)? When did I first notice it, and what might it be trying to tell me?
• What have I been carrying that isn’t mine to carry? What could it look like to release it (practically and prayerfully) this week?
• What is one regular practice God might be inviting me into for this season? What’s a realistic frequency, and what might get in the way?
• If I treated my soul like I’d treat a sore muscle—kindly and consistently—what would I do differently over the next 7 days?

Related Episodes:

If this episode resonated, you might also like:

Episode 91 — Spirit-led neighbouring (#FOR)

Episode 90 — Prepared, without striving

Episode 89 — When No One Is Watching: Growing a Strong Private Life

Episode 51 — Honouring God with our Rest

Episode 55 — Honouring God with our Rest: The Pause

Episode 56 — Stop swap play

Episode 54 — Sweat, Stars and Sacred Rhythms

You can connect with Sarah on Instagram: @inthedustpodcast

This week Sarah reflects on what it looks like to love our neighbours in the season we’re in—without striving, guilt, or trying to do it all. Drawing on The Art of Neighbouring and Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:36–40, she invites us to askGod who He’s placed closest to us, and to take small, Spirit-led steps of presence, hospitality, and consistent kindness—one relationship at a time.

Reflection questions:

1. Who are the “neighbours” God has placed closest to me in this season (home, work, street), and what makes them easy or hard to love well?

2. Where have I felt guilt/striving around neighbouring—and what might Jesus be inviting me into instead (presence, consistency, one relationship at a time, boundaries)?

3. What is one small, specific next step I can take this week to be “for” someone near me (a conversation, a meal, a kind act, a prayer), and when will I do it?

You can connect with Sarah on Instagram @inthedustpodcast

Episode 90 is for anyone who wants to be prepared without slipping into striving—learning preparedness that’s love-led, not fear-driven. Scripture shows three kinds of preparedness: watchfulness for Jesus’ return (Matthew 24:42–44), steadiness for everyday life and trials (Proverbs 16:3; 2 Timothy 3:16–17), and wisdom for planning and stewardship (Proverbs 6:6–8). We also share a few practical “ant-like” ways to prepare ahead, plus reflection questions for the week.

Reflection Questions:

1. When you hear the word “prepared,” what do you feel in your body—peace, pressure, fear, motivation? Why?

2. What’s one area of life where you’ve been “scrambling” lately? What might it look like to bring that to Jesus this week?

3. Matthew 24 reminds us to “keep watch.” What helps you stay spiritually awake (and what tends to lull you to sleep)?

4. Proverbs 16:3 invites us to commit our work to the Lord. What plan, project, or worry do you need to place into His hands?

5. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 says Scripture prepares and equips us. What practice could help you engage the Bible more consistently (even in a small way)?

6. Where is God inviting you into wise preparation (like the ant)—and where might He be inviting you to release control and trust Him?

Connect with Sarah on Instagram: @inthedustpodcast

This week, Sarah explores what it means to grow a strong private life with Jesus—because the front stage is meant to be an overflow of what’s been formed backstage. With Matthew 6:1–9 (MSG) as our grounding, we reflect on a faith that isn’t performed for applause but practiced in the hidden place with the Father who sees.

Sarah shares eight simple “backstage” rhythms and a few reflection questions to help you choose one small, faithful next step in this season.

Reflection Questions:

1. “If my ‘front stage’ disappeared for a month—what would remain of my life with Jesus?”

2. “Where am I most tempted to perform for approval right now—and what would it look like to choose the secret place instead?”

3. “What’s one small backstage practice from the list that feels doable this week—and when will I do it?”

Connect with Sarah on Instagram: @inthedustpodcast

As summer turns to autumn, this is your gentle check-in—an invitation to slow down, notice what God’s been doing, and reset your rhythms for what’s ahead.

In this quarterly When Seasons Change episode of In the Dust, I share the simple reflection questions I’m using, the practical habits that have helped lately, and a few ways I’m making space for margin as the days get darker.

Come as you are, friend—let’s follow Jesus into the next season, one faithful step at a time.

Reflection Questions:

• What did I learn?

• Looking ahead: travel, deadlines, celebrations, guests & hosting, community & family
• Looking forward reflections: I want, I need, I hope
• Where will I write my answers so I can come back to them next summer?
• How is it going with my word for the year or my goals—how am I tracking?
• Is any realignment or readjustment needed?
• Is there anything that will no longer serve me as we move into this next season that I need to reimagine?
• What’s not working anymore, or what needs a plan?
• As the weather changes, what needs a plan B so I don’t have to decide on the spot?
• How is God leading me in as Summer moves into Autumn?
• What do I need to pick up or release?

You can connect with Sarah on Instagram @inthedustpodcast

This week, Sarah reflects on the growing insight that constant, effortless pleasure doesn’t lead to the joy we long for, but often leaves us restless, numb, and unsatisfied.

Drawing on ideas from Dopamine Nation and The DOSE Effect, alongside Scripture and the wisdom of the desert mothers and fathers, this episode explores the pain–pleasure balance and what it reveals about spiritual formation. Rather than seeing discomfort as something to avoid, we’re invited to reframe it as a place of training, recalibration, and grace.

Through practices like stillness, prayer, fasting, and Sabbath, we learn that God is not opposed to pleasure, but deeply committed to forming in us a joy that is steady, rooted, and free.

Reflection Questions

1. Where in my life do I feel overstimulated but undernourished?

What looks like “having plenty” but feels strangely empty?

2. What kinds of discomfort do I habitually avoid — and what might that be costing me?

Is there a form of training I’ve been mistaking for failure or weakness?

3. When I feel bored, tired, lonely, or unsettled, what do I instinctively reach for?

What might happen if I treated that moment as information rather than something to fix?

4. Which practices or habits leave me more grounded and present afterward — even if they’re hard at first?

What fruit do they quietly produce over time?

5. Where might God be inviting me to trust Him with my desires rather than manage them?

What would it look like to let discomfort do its gentle, forming work this season?

You can connect with Sarah on Instagram: inthedustpodcast

This week, Sarah reflects on the story of Elisha in 2 Kings 6 and the way fear can narrow our vision when life feels overwhelming. Through a simple, gentle practice—pause and pray, look up, look in, look out—she invites listeners to ask God to open their eyes and learn to see what He sees.

Reflection Questions:

• Where am I being invited to follow Jesus more closely right now?
• What have I been fixed on lately—and what might I be missing because of it?
• Where do I feel most “surrounded” or overwhelmed at the moment?
• When fear shows up in me, what’s my default response (freeze, rush, control, withdraw)?
• Can I pause and pray: What happens internally when I slow down instead of reacting?
• Looking up: what do I need to remember about God right now?
• Looking in: what’s going on in me (stress, bias, bitterness, burnout) that could be shaping my view?
• Looking out: what might God be doing beyond the problem—and what’s one faithful next step I can take?

You can connect with Sarah on Instagram: @inthedustpodcast

Today’s episode is simple and unhurried. Sarah reads Psalm 145 and offers a few gentle reflection questions, creating space to listen, notice, and rest in who God is.

Reflection Questions:

• What words or phrases about God stood out to you as the psalm was read?
• What do these verses suggest about what God is like — especially toward people?
• “One generation commends your works to another…” (v.4) Where have you received faith from others?
• What parts of God’s goodness might you be called to quietly pass on?
• Which verses speak of God’s nearness, care, or attentiveness?
• Where do you most need to remember that the Lord is “near” right now?
• “Every day I will praise you…” (v.2) What might praise look like in your ordinary, real life — not ideal life?
• Is there a small, honest response God is inviting from you today?

You can connect with Sarah on Instagram: inthedustpodcast

In a tender week marked by loss, Sarah reflects on the hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus and what it means to hold grief and worship together. She names the honest tension of praying with full faith for healing while accepting that some answers may not come this side of heaven. Rather than rushing to explain pain, this episode offers a gentle invitation to re‑order our perspective—letting what feels heavy be held in the light of Christ’s glory and grace (Psalm 34).

Reflection to carry: What feels loud or heavy in your life right now—and what might it look like to hold that in the light of Jesus’ glory and grace?

You can connect with Sarah on Instagram: @inthedustpodcast