Praying for a bird from the Lord as we ponder how surprising spiritual practices can draw our gazes heavenward and help us love our neighbors right here and now. The Holy Spirit as a wind, a fire, and a dove. Plus: Psalm 102 and an invitation to stillness.

Episode one in our new Surprising Spiritual Practices series.

Elizabeth Prentiss wrote the words to the hymn, "More Love to Thee, O Christ" in 1856. 

They're still ringing true: 

Let sorrow do its work

come grief and pain; 

Sweet are thy messengers

sweet their refrain

When they can sing with me: 

More love, O Christ to Thee!

Jonah is not a fan of the Ninevites. Yet God is a God of compassion. What's a grumpy prophet to do? Lessons on tenderness amidst turmoil from Jonah 4.

Pastor Courtney shares a hockey story of just surviving. Plus, 1 Kings 19 on the beauty of a God who ministers to us in our physical needs.

How are you surviving these days? 

A celebration of surviving - even if we're not always thriving. 

For more on Moses reading his end, and how God met him with compassion, check out Numbers 11:4-35.

It's a New Year! What is something we can delight in this season?

Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and theology.

What was your favorite read of 2021?

Books mentioned:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior

This Day by Wendell Berry

Abuelita Faith by Kat Armas

Journal of a Novel by John Steinbeck

Art & Faith by Makoto Fujimura

Invitations to Abundance by Alicia Akins

The Nature of Small Birds by Susie Finkbeiner

Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk by Eugene Cho

There, There by Tommy Orange

The Great Silence in a season of great busyness. 

Dr. Dan van Voorhis joins us again as guest host to chat Christmas carols, why we sing at Christmastime, and other historical Advent-y goodness. 

Habanero peppers and air mattresses - what could go wrong? Just about everything. Can we discover laughter and joy even amidst embarrassment and shame?