The Pause Podcast

Oh Mark, in all your Nick Miller glory - we learned so much from you this season! Marri and Lindsay discuss what they both gleaned from time in the narrative from Mark. It’s been a holy, sobering journey. Our mediation invites you to examine the same.

Mindfulness practice: A Low/High Meditation

The Great Commission (aka Jesus as Denzel in Remember the Titans). Lindsay and Marri unpack Jesus’ last words in His time here on Earth and what it means to us today. How do we live out the commission to go out to all the nations with this message of the Gospel?

Mindfulness practice: Commissioning Meditation

Marri and Lindsay unpack the mystery behind the abrupt ending of Mark chapter 16. Marri answers the question - what if chapter 16 really ends at verse 8? - and unpacks the angel’s simple instructions for the women at the empty tomb.

Mindfulness practice: ACTS meditation (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication)

Marri and Lindsay talk about the characteristics of some of the best female superheroes - Jesus’ disciples. They were courageous, smart, and compassionate. They were agents of mercy, justice, and empathy. These women showed up after Jesus’ death while the men scattered. May we learn to be these women.

Mindfulness practice: Gratitude Meditation

Marri and Lindsay unpack the word “envy” used in Mark chapter 15. Pilate is making a decision about what to do with Jesus and it’s the high priests’ envy that stirs the crowd to yell, “Crucify Him!” We unpack what we ourselves stir people towards. (And yes, we talk Hamilton).

Mindfulness practice: Confess and Release

We’ve reached the last events of Jesus’ life. The rooster crows, Peter denies Jesus three times, and then weeps bitterly at what he’s done. Lindsay unpacks the redemption of how Peter’s story turns out - and it is one of grace, commissioning, and breakfast by a fire.

Mindfulness practice: Campfire Visualization

There’s a random, naked man that runs through the garden when Jesus is getting arrested. That’s it, one line - his linen cloths fall away and he’s nude. But when Marri peels back the layers of symbolism in the linen garments that are left behind, we see a really, really beautiful metaphor for redemption.

Mindfulness practice: Linen Shroud Meditation

But what kind of life is worth living? How will you live in the meantime? Lindsay and Marri take a deeper dive on the last verses in chapter 13 on how Jesus encourages His disciples to live. Live with expectancy. Stay awake. Keep watch. Be on guard.

Mindfulness practice: Prayer of Examen

Jesus predicts the desolation of the temple, which leaves everyone flabbergasted (which, of course, reminds Marri of The Emperor’s New Groove). The destruction of the temple would essentially mean the end of the world for the Jewish people, but Jesus had something else in mind. What if the presence of God meant so much more than a temple? We consider the perspective of Jesus’ words and what it could mean for us today. Compassion, grief, loneliness, belonging, the presence of God - we cover it all.

Mindfulness practice: Psalm 104:29-30 Breath Prayer

A widow walks into a temple and teaches us a thing or two about generosity. Marri and Lindsay examine the heart behind giving. What sets the widow apart from the other people who gave that day? Others gave what they would never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford. We unpack the posture of giving and what that looks like in our world today.

Mindfulness practice: Body Scan