Sharpen Your Priorities
Beth shares an unusual way to center oneself and focus on what is most important in life. Do you have a difficult time discerning what is important? This method which happens to be a "natural" part of Beth's life allows one to zero in with clarity on your most...
Taking a Life U-Turn
Faced with an exorbitant, self-accumulated debt, Isabel Varela made the brave decision to address her problem head-on. Her story is one of addiction fueled by painful negative self-image. The resulting life change required spiritual and secular work, along with an...
Serving Those Who Serve
What does the most fulfilling retirement look like? Our guest Chris Marquardt offers an excellent picture of that: he has made an intentional geographical move with his wife of 36 years to a corner of the world that gives him peace and happiness. He has learned a...
Headed Toward Heaven
What's it like to walk with someone who is dying? And what lessons can we learn from this experience of witnessing someone passing from this world into the next? Enjoy an interview with an extraordinary doctor, Reggie Anderson, as he shares these truths with us. We...
Growing a Family Through Fostering
When Jessica Spencer, her husband, and birth son decided to dip their toes into the waters of fostering children, they had no way to know that within days their little family would morph from 3 to 7! This is Jessica's story of the often meandering process fostering...
Surviving Infidelity
If you have ever wondered whether your spouse has been unfaithful, or even had that fear confirmed, this episode about surviving infidelity is for you. Our guest, Kate Conwell, shares her journey from discovering her husband's infidelity to moving beyond this trauma...
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Latest Blog Posts
Merry Christmas Thank You
In this extraordinary season of blessing and gratitude, I would like to take a moment to thank you, my friends, for making Lessons From Living possible. This is a ministry and mission of love. Still, without a community that inspires the subject matter and provides...
To Unity!
I am captivated by the picture of the early church in Rodney Stark’s The Rise of Christianity: “Christianity attracted people from all strata of society, but particularly from among the poor and marginalized. In the Christian community, ethnic divisions were...
Addressing Apathy in an Election Year
A friend recently told me that she had not voted in 12 years. She said the political process was repulsive to her, and it made her feel lousy to be a part of it. I certainly sympathize with this sentiment; as enlightened as our country is in some ways, the political...
A Prayer for Patriotism
I recently had the privilege and great joy of meeting a young man from the Philippines. I knew very little about his country; only that it is still considered a developing country. I have since learned that according to 2021 statistics, nearly 25% of the population...
MLK: Wisdom for Today
In this time of turmoil in the United States, I find myself wishing that a fellow like Martin Luther King was still with us. How we need his wisdom today! While we remember him as an advocate of healthy race relationships, I think his words speak to today’s...
From Suffering to Sobriety
From losing jobs, friends, and family to being triggered by an early sexual assault, Brittany Young knows what it's like to suffer. She spent a large chunk of her life...
Justice in the Hands of the Ordinary
David Zach is the lead singer and songwriter of Remedy Drive, a rock band. He also is an undercover operative for an anti-sex trafficking organization, the Exodus Road. David talks about how this association came to be, how his past prepared him for this work, and...
Year in Review
Beth looks back over the year of inspiring episodes we have shared, explaining why one in particular holds a special place in her heart. She gives an update on the Graham Fam, and forecasts what's in the future for Lessons From Living. There's a special podcasting...
A Dance With Cancer
Following a devastating breast cancer diagnosis, Lindsay McDonnell did all of the right things, including challenging accepted traditional medical protocols and procedures. Yet, it returned not once, but three times. Today, Lindsay lives with a body full of cancer...
Book Review: The Last Arrow
Erwin Raphael McManus offers a thought-provoking, motivating treatise in The Last Arrow, published in 2017. In this episode, Beth discusses some of McManus' themes, such as what is represented by arrows, why we tend to hold back from pursuing our most important...
When Life Throws a Curveball
Dennis Mellen knew from the age of ten that he wanted to be a pilot, and set the entire trajectory of his life toward that goal. At fifty-six, he had enjoyed his dream career for more than 30 years when tragedy struck, and his well-planned life was...
A Vision of Mission
Elijah Stacy has arguably accomplished more in his twenty years than most people do in a lifetime. His mission, "to minimize human suffering and propel human prosperity so that humanity can have a better quality of life," directs all of his actions. What motivates a...