Liz Kostelc, Chris’s delightful wife, joins the guys and shares the modern burden of choosing between way too many varieties of a Cheese-It’s and hot sauces.

Like the newlywed game Liz quizzes Chris on which variety he would have gotten. It’s marital tension like we’ve never had before on the show. 

Then Liz tells a story from their 5th anniversary trip to Napa. Liz was pregnant with their second child making Napa more about the natural beauty and less about the fruit of the vine. That was until Liz was offered something to drink from a seemingly helpful older woman.  Listen to this episode for a reflection on expectations and joy.

The guys welcome guest Murray Wolf on The Storydram this week. 

Chris asks the all important question, “What state is the most boring to drive through?” And two sons of North Dakota  try and defend their homeland. 

Murray tells us about a time, as a child, he figured out his dad wasn’t telling the truth. The guys try to figure out if it is ever wrong to not tell the truth.

Chris confesses that the filter between his brain and his mouth gets pretty thin when he is tired. Kory agrees.

How do you know someone competes in triathlons? They’ll tell you. But seriously, Kory shares his experience of trying his first triathlon. The guys are reminded that consistency beats intensity most of the time and there is nothing like a good coach in the spiritual life as well. 

Also, sharks can out swim you, but you can out run a shark, so when it comes to triathlons against sharks I guess it all comes down to the bike. 

An episode unlike any other. Chris just got back from the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis and couldn’t stop taking about it. As you can imagine he had too many stories to tell just one. Kory and Chris hold a great Catholic conversation about what happened and what might be the outcome of this pivotal event. 

The guys talk youth sports and Kory finds out that Chris is entering his prime, his t-ball, coach pitch, coaching prime.

Chris reflects on the power and call of making sacrifices for others for the sake of their joy and this being a catalyst to a deeper union with God, “If we love somebody we should love them enough to make sure that their relationship with God is more important than their relationship with us.”

Kory and Chris unpack the hugely controversial topic of carbonated water.

Kory recalls a painful memory of saving his daughter from an oyster bed which is more scary, and bloody, than it sounds. The guys discuss obedience, love, sacrifice, and what it looks like practically to avoid those near occasions of sin.

Kory lists some the things that Chris has introduced him to over the years like oysters and Thai food. Chris responds by talking about all the North Dakota things Kory has shared. Did someone say redeye?

Chris tells a story about getting a speeding ticket in a dubious section of road just outside a retreat house while he has an eight foot tall cross in the bed of his pickup truck. It’s not a country song we swear. 

The guys commiserate about having uncommon and difficult to pronounce last names and Kory publicly confesses to competing in academic triathlons.  

Then Chris and Kory jump into a game of Story Roulette. Kory pulls two topics for Chris to choose from: cows and being pregnant. Chris tells us all about the time his wife Liz was pregnant with their son and thought she was having contractions at 32 weeks. The guys discuss what it is like as a dad to watch one’s kids suffer. The guys reflect on how God suffers with us. 

Fr John Utecht joins the guys to talk baseball growing up and family life before he shares a scary story about encountering a grizzly bear in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. 

Kory, Chris and Fr.  John discuss a simple key to spiritual success - staying where God can see you. Stay close to God and do things that help you stay close to God and you will probably be alright. 

Elliut Fonseca snd Eve Anders join Chris and Kory to confess the lack of cleanliness in their cars. Elliut shares a story of a time on a mission trip he tried to be cool and needed to make a visit to the emergency room. The group discusses the tension between stretching to share the gospel and being true to the gifts God has given us.