Today’s conversation on Back Porch Theology was actually recorded in Montana with my dear, dear friends, who are actually more like siblings now, Pastor Levi and Jennie Lusko. We’ve been friends for a while now, but after doing a Christmas tour on a bus last year with our kiddos, we morphed into kind of a blended family and began calling ourselves the Huskos! When you spend weeks together in the equivalent of an extended RV and have to make restroom stops at rural gas stations in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, you bond for life, baby! I laughed so hard while we were on the road together, I kept getting stomach cramps. Which of course I hoped would give me a six-pack, alas all our late-night snacks at Buccee’s had a greater effect on my abdomen. Of course, interwoven with all our fun and laughter, Jennie and Levi and I shared some tears, too. Because we’ve all suffered some devastating losses. Real life – and real relationships – include joy and pain. Heartwarming moments and heartbreaking seasons. I know authenticity and Christianity aren’t always synergistic in modern culture, but they sure should be. I think today’s conversation is going to feel like an old pair of Uggs, warm and comfortable. So please grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate or hot tea, and your Bible, and come hang out on the porch with us. I promise, you’ll fit right in with our slightly whacked, very messy, ride or die family of faith.