Looking Over Life

Shawn apologizes for the upload delay and offers and explanation.

We hope to return to normal episode uploads soon.

Website: lookingoverlife.com

Shawn and James finish their review of the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. In this episode, we look at the second section of the book in which Cal presents practices to fill time gained through the digital declutter.

We discuss effective leisure activities—including long showers—and how we've been applying some of the practices in the book. James is replacing ceiling fans he forged in his own backyard, Shawn is still waiting for his baby to arrive (Spoiler alert: She came after we recorded.), and all the dogs in Peru conspire to bark at the same time as we record.

We're looking forward to hearing how your digital declutter is going. Please send us an email!

Website: lookingoverlife.com

"The Anabaptist Vision" by Harold Bender

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

James and Shawn work through the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport.

In this episode, we look at the first section of this book and discuss the principles behind digital minimalism. We both committed to going through the digital declutter ourselves for a month. We talk about the things we’re giving up and why.

Perhaps you would like to join us by going through the steps of the declutter yourself. If you go through the digital declutter, please send us an email and let us know how it went for you.

Website: lookingoverlife.com

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Feedly—a blog and website aggregator

Pocket—a read it later service

Screen Time on iPhone and iPad

Google Digital Wellbeing

Digital Minimalism 101

Shawn and James talk about what community means to them and what it might mean to God. 

Shawn pronounces German words poorly from the inside of a fish tank while James keeps the conversation on track as we consider what Christian Community is or should be. We discuss ways to improve our community—though we’re sort of scared to actually try them. 

What does community mean to you? How is your community doing community? Let us know!

Website: lookingoverlife.com

Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok—James and Shawn tackle social media. 

This topic is a minefield in the current digital landscape, but we wanted to talk about how it is affecting us as individuals, as communities, and as a society. 

Is social media good or bad? How does God feel about social media? Can I use it as a tool? 

We want to hear from you. Do you use social media? Your answer is probably yes, because data shows the majority of the world is on social media now! So, the question may be, how do you use it? Please send us an email. 

Email: [email protected] 

Tristan Harris Ted Talk 

Dunbar's Number 

Pew Research on Smartphone Statistics 

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport 

The Church of Facebook by Jesse Rice 

Surviving the Tech Tsunami by Gary Miller 

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

This is part two of the conversation with Josh Nisley from Faith Builders. 

In this episode, we go further into the pros and cons of higher education for Christians and consider how we can serve God with our minds.

We'd like to hear from you. Please send us your feedback or suggestions or even your education story.

Email: [email protected]

Culture Making by Andy Crouch

Karen Swallow Prior

Quote by Steven Brubaker

Faith Builders Educational Programs

James and Shawn welcome another guest to the pod. Josh Nisley is a lover of education and has a lot to say about it. 

We delve into the risks and rewards of higher education and consider our perspective of the Conservative Anabaptist point of view regarding education beyond grade school.

This is a two-part podcast, so you’ll be seeing the conclusion released in Episode 8. As always, we’d like to hear from you. If you have feedback or if you would like to share your own education story with us, please send us an email.

Email: [email protected] 

Article citing Andrew Carnegie's quote on higher education 

Pew Research study on "Does more education equal less religion?" 

Pew Research study on "The decline of religion in the US."

Shawn and James talk about having Covid and enjoying food and missing the sense of taste and smell.

Warning: You may not want to listen to this episode on an empty stomach! You might end up feeling hungry. 

From steaks to soups and a lot in between, James and Shawn go over some of their favorite dishes. Also, James teaches Shawn what a hotdog bun is.

Please send us some recipes to try! And if you have a friend who eats food, go ahead and share the episode with them.

Email: [email protected]

Cook's Country Magazine

All Recipes website

Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits

German Torte

James and Shawn enjoy having a guest on the podcast. They talk with Andrew Crider about what it's like to be a missionary to a foreign country.

Have you ever eaten intestine soup or chicken head soup? How about a plateful of honey? And what does that have to do with being a missionary? What is a missionary, anyway?

James quizzes Andrew and Shawn on their experiences in Guatemala and Peru. From hauling firewood up a ravine by strapping it to your forehead, to going for a swim with a cow at night, the hosts share stories and discuss ideals about mission life.

We'd like to hear from you. What did you think of having a guest on the podcast? Do you have any topics for us to discuss?

Email us: [email protected]

Shawn's blog

Christian Aid Ministries 

Mennonite Air Missions

Christian Light

Foreign to Familiar by Sarah Lanier

Church Planting Movements by David Garrison

Did it rain before the flood? What sort of apple did Eve give Adam? How many wise men visited the manger where Jesus was born? And what color eyes did Jesus have?

James and Shawn go deep—maybe too deep—into some common misconceptions from Bible stories. Where do these misconceptions come from, and how do they permeate our culture?

Do you know of any more misconceptions? Send us an email and let us know about them!

Email us: [email protected]

Was the Eye of the Needle a Gate?

A Camel Through What?

The Washington Post: How Did Jesus Become So White?

Wikipedia: The Race and Appearance of Jesus

The Second Most Important Book You Will Ever Read: A Personal Challenge to Read the Bible by Dan Patrick