Life Around "The Fire"

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If your life feels like it’s getting smaller instead of better, you’re not alone and you’re not broken. We talk candidly about spiritual pruning, the kind that feels like being stripped down to nothing, and why we believe God often initiates that refining work right before He entrusts greater weight and responsibility. This is discipleship without the polish: surrender over comfort, God at the center rather than on the shelf, and a faith that learns to lean on Him instead of proving how strong we are on our own.

From there, we connect the personal to the prophetic. We share why Israel matters as a “sundial” for biblical prophecy and why the church should pay attention when major shifts happen in the land. With Ezekiel 38 and 39 as our anchor, we discuss Gog and Magog, the nations described in the text, and the claim that God Himself will make His name known in a way that grabs the attention of the whole world. That perspective reframes the headlines: not as fuel for fear, but as a call to discernment, humility, and readiness to meet Jesus.

We also slow down on the meaning of God’s glory. We describe it as weighty and substantive, not vague or misty, and we ask what has to be removed in us before we can steward that presence well. If you’ve been hearing talk of revival while experiencing weakness, this conversation offers a different lens: refining may be the preparation you’ve been praying for.

Subscribe for more, share this with someone walking through a hard season, and leave a review if it strengthens you. What part of pruning do you find hardest right now?

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Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.

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You can be tired of religion and still be headed the wrong way. We sit with a tension most of us feel but rarely name: the craving to live autonomously while claiming faith in a God who says we were purchased and now belong to Him. If you have ever said “I’m done” and meant it, done with empty rules, done with performing, done with trying to earn God’s approval, this conversation is for you.

We open Luke 15 and slow down with the story of the loving father, the prodigal son, and the older brother. One runs hard into reckless living and ends up in a dry land of hunger and regret. The other stays close to home but lives like a slave, keeping score and resenting grace. We talk about why both rebellion and religious striving can create spiritual distance, and how each one quietly blocks peace, dulls our ability to hear God, and pushes us toward burnout.

Then we turn toward the way back: repentance that leads to restoration, covenant relationship instead of self-reliance, and daily dependence on the Holy Spirit. The Father’s heart is not to negotiate your return but to restore your identity and bring you home. If you want spiritual growth that is real, grounded, and relational, press play.

Subscribe for more conversations on Christian discipleship and spiritual maturity, share this with a friend who is tired of dead works, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What part of Luke 15 hits you the hardest right now?

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Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.

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What if the whisper that says you’re unworthy isn’t yours at all—but a trespasser you can lawfully remove? We share how a simple homegrown show became a global conversation about the manifest presence of God, and why rising light often stirs a backlash from darkness. Through raw personal moments and clear scripture, we break down how accusation works, why fear of death hides beneath so many decisions, and how Jesus’ victory reframes both identity and authority for everyday believers.

We walk through the difference between inspiration and authority, and why covenant language—spoken in the name of Jesus—carries weight that emotions can’t fake. You’ll hear practical, exact words for confronting oppression, what it means to call out trespass, and the reason the kingdom backs believers who echo what the Father has already declared. Rather than chasing trends or copying others, we return to the Bible as our standard and Christ as our model, exploring how to behold him until our speech and steps align with his.

This conversation widens to a hopeful horizon: God is revealing his glory across nations in ways that are tangible, disruptive, and deeply personal. Expect pressure where light advances. Expect lies to target your past and your sense of calling. And expect breakthrough when you stand in your covenant rights as a co-heir with Christ. If you’re tired of feeling pushed around by invisible weight, this is your invitation to stand up, speak with clarity, and watch darkness move.

If this resonates, share it with a friend who needs courage today, subscribe for future episodes, and leave a review with one line about the authority you’re choosing to walk in this week.

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Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.

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What if one brave, ordinary act from a parent could echo for decades and reshape a child’s view of God? We share a raw, hopeful journey from the chaos of addiction to the slow, steady work of rebuilding trust—with a school bus story that became a lifelong anchor. Along the way, we preview our upcoming deep dive into 1 Samuel and the life of King David, connecting his battles, restorations, and leadership to the spiritual moment we’re all living through right now.

We open our hearts about how alcohol warped communication, turned small moments into wounds, and taught our kids to brace for impact. Then we talk about the turning point: a sober life rooted in Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit, where words become clear, boundaries feel safe, and presence replaces performance. A weekend with our oldest son pulls back a treasured memory—dad stepping onto a bus, setting a firm boundary, and offering something children crave more than perfect parents: a secure defender who shows up without mocking their need.

From there we unpack why trust is a survival skill, not a luxury. When parents model protection, consistency, and honest repair, children learn how to rest, how to listen, and how to believe their heavenly Father will meet them with help instead of harm. We explore honor as a practical path that opens channels for wisdom and peace, and we reflect on how recovered relationships can become living parables of grace. The throughline is simple and strong: presence builds safety, safety births trust, and trust makes faith possible.

If this resonates, tap follow, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a rating or review to help others find the show. Got thoughts or questions? Email [email protected]—we’d love to hear your story.

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.

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What if the church has been running on half power—brilliant in analysis, but dim in the one faculty designed for communion with God? We sit down with Tracy Perez to explore a bold, restorative claim: the Christian life is meant to be led by the heart through a purified imagination. Not fantasy. Not trend-chasing. A scriptural, time-tested way of seeing that turns revelation into embodied practice.

We trace a surprising arc: from the vivid, image-rich pages of scripture to the prayer rhythms of the Desert Fathers, where lectio divina trained believers to picture, pray, and sing the Word until it shaped their inner world. Tracy shares how neuroscience affirms what the saints practiced—mental rehearsal activates the brain as if we lived it—making contemplation a gateway to real transformation. Along the way, Connor’s nonverbal insights challenge our assumptions about attention, language, and spiritual sensitivity, pushing us to ask deeper questions without falling for spectacle.

We also face the “great forgetting.” The Enlightenment’s fixation on what can be measured sidelined the heart’s ways of knowing. Exegesis and hermeneutics matter, but when they eclipse contemplation, faith grows thin. Our aim is integration: keep rigorous study, restore the inner eye, and let the Spirit join head and heart. Expect practical steps—silence, stillness, watchfulness, and imaging scripture—to help you cultivate a steady awareness of God in daily work and prayer. The goal isn’t a novel experience; it’s communion with the Father that renews desire, clarifies discernment, and bears fruit in action.

If this stirs something in you, journey with us. Subscribe, share this conversation with a friend hungry for a deeper life with God, and leave a review to help others find it. Your reflections shape future episodes—send questions and tell us what practice you’ll try this week.

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Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.

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What if imagination isn’t make-believe but the very way the heart sees God? We welcome Tracy Perez to pull a long thread through Scripture and history, showing how the Hebrew Yetzer (imagination/inclination) and the Greek nous (often translated mind) describe a core capacity of the heart: to behold, to be shaped, and to act. From Eden’s design to the flood and Babel, we track how powerful imagination can bless or break a people, and why Paul prayed that the “eyes of your heart” would be enlightened so we could know hope, inheritance, and power in Christ.

Together we unpack why many of us were trained to distrust imagination and how that loss has thinned our worship, our discipleship, and even our planning. Jesus didn’t hand out sterile definitions; He painted moving scenes—the lilies of the field, seeds in soil—inviting us to picture truth until it forms us. We explore the etymology of “imagination” as image nation: a people of the same origin as the Image, brought forth with Him, and participating with Him. That lens reframes spiritual formation, prayer, and mission: what we repeatedly behold becomes what we quietly become.

We also touch on research suggesting thoughts have shape and weight, adding urgency to the call for a sanctified imagination. Childlike seeing isn’t naivete; it is recovered design. Renewing the nous means curating our inner gaze, praying Scripture with attention, envisioning Christ’s presence in daily life, and refusing images that deform love. The goal isn’t novel experiences—it’s communion with Abba. If you’ve felt tugged to reclaim your inner vision but met resistance, this conversation offers language, theology, and practices to help you behold Jesus and be transformed from glory to glory.

If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review to help others find the show. What’s one image from Scripture you’ll carry into your week?

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Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.

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What if the smallest act of kindness could do more than brighten a mood—what if it could carry God’s presence into someone’s hardest hour? We open our hearts and our playbook to share how simple, intentional kindness has become a daily practice, a spiritual posture, and a bridge between communities that might never meet in person. From Jacksonville, Florida to a fellowship near Kisii, Kenya, we’ve discovered that generosity and prayer travel farther together than either could alone.

Our ongoing friendship with Pastor Moses and Rock of Hope is a case study in mutuality: where American resources stretch through Kenya’s economy, and Kenya’s deep, resilient faith strengthens us when we feel thin. We talk frankly about money and integrity in a world flooded with scams, and why transparency, trust, and measurable care are non‑negotiables. We also explore how a cup of coffee, a timely message, or quiet help often speaks louder than a thousand words. Sometimes the Spirit rides on a simple gift; sometimes words of hope are the gift. Wisdom is listening for which is needed now.

We share why we pursue a naturally supernatural life—seeking healing without hype, never faking what God hasn’t done, and never denying what He can do. Kindness becomes formation: loving the people who stretch us, not just the ones who are easy to love. It’s how “spots and wrinkles” are lifted from weary days, how strangers become friends, and how a Church spread across continents becomes one family. If you’re curious about praying, giving, or one day traveling with a team to support the work in Kenya, we’ll be posting updates and practical next steps on our site soon.

Join us, not for a program, but for a posture. Try one intentional kindness today and see what doors God opens. If this resonates, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review—tell us your best idea for a small act of love we can all try this week.

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.

Send us Fan Mail

When church scandals break, the headlines move fast and the hot takes come easy. We wanted to slow down and ask the harder questions: how do we tell the truth without turning justice into a spectacle, and how do we protect people while resisting the mob’s appetite for more? From the televangelist collapses of the 1980s to today’s social media “prophecy,” staged miracles, and platform-driven hype, we pull back the curtain on deception and the subtle ways it thrives when discernment gives way to performance.

We talk candidly about Jesus’ warning to “take heed that no one deceive you,” and why discernment requires both courage and empathy. That means exposing manipulation, false teaching, and spiritual abuse without celebrating anyone’s downfall. We share a raw personal story of being exposed and the damage done when private failure becomes public currency, spreading to people who cannot help and only wound. The result is often a witch-hunt culture where suspicion replaces wisdom and accountability collapses into shaming. Two wrongs don’t make a right, and outrage doesn’t make a church healthy.

So what’s the better path? A ministry of reconciliation aimed at restored relationship, not a rushed return to ministry. We lay out practical principles: keep your head low, guard your tongue, involve the right people, practice discretion without cover-ups, and stay anchored in a culture of honor. Platforms come and go, but relationships are eternal. Truth and mercy can meet when we refuse to pigpile and choose to rebuild trust with patience, boundaries, and real repentance. If you’re longing for a church culture that handles hard things with both clarity and compassion, this conversation will give language, hope, and next steps.

If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show. Then tell us: what does wise, compassionate accountability look like where you are?

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.

Send us Fan Mail

What if your everyday words are building the world you live in? We dive into the heart as the wellspring of life and trace how thoughts turn into speech that shapes relationships, atmosphere, and even our sense of calling. Starting with the cross, we name the sarx—the fallen nature—crucified with Christ, and we explore what it means to live as new creations who carry the life of Jesus within. From there, we get practical about language: not policing syllables, but yielding our mouths to the Holy Spirit so that what we say aligns with what the Father is saying.

We press into the mystery of glory and relationship. The Father conceives, the Son speaks, the Spirit brings to pass—and that divine pattern becomes a template for how we create with God. We talk about unity forged by presence rather than debate, the intensifying revelation that illuminates what has been hidden, and the way God’s Kingdom grows like seed—quietly, steadily, even while we sleep. Along the way we confront idle talk, self-sabotaging phrases, and the small narratives we reinforce without thinking. In their place, we practice speech rooted in identity: we have the mind of Christ, equal in value though different in function, called to carry righteousness, peace, and joy.

This conversation is both devotional and catalytic. Expect Scripture, honest self-audit, and a call to upgrade your inner dialogue and outer voice. If life and death sit in the power of the tongue, then our daily words are a sacred trust. Join us as we ask the Spirit to cleanse imagination and language, teach us to say what the Father is saying, and prepare us to serve as signs and wonders—people whose lives and words glow with the light of Christ. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.

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A soaked boat, a silenced storm, and one piercing question: who is this man? We follow that question into a rich journey through the names of Jesus—Advocate, Creator, Lamb of God, Prince of Peace, True Vine—and explore why each name is more than a title. It’s a doorway into His heart and a remedy for ours. Instead of grinding harder to be “better,” we lean into a different way: beholding before behaving, worship before willpower, adoration before action.

Across the conversation, we unpack how specific names interact with real-life needs. Call Him Bread of Life when exhaustion drains your resolve. Trust Him as Rock when the ground shifts. Look to the Good Shepherd when decisions blur, and claim Resurrection and Life where hope runs thin. By praying His names—at home, in small groups, and on Sundays—we invite His character to reshape our habits, soften our conflicts, and deepen our unity. This isn’t spiritual theater; it’s a simple practice that changes rooms and hearts: exalt the name of Jesus and see what happens.

We also share a personal confession: among all these titles, Friend remains a treasure. Friendship with Jesus holds together awe and nearness, keeping reverence warm and intimacy honest. The episode closes with a heartfelt prayer for a groundswell of adoration in our gatherings and quiet hours—less distraction, more devotion, and a fresh draw toward the One who calms storms inside and out. If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and tell us which name of Jesus you’re holding onto this week. Your reflections shape what we explore next, so leave a review or drop us a note and join the chorus.

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved! 
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life. 
Shalom to you and your home.