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...
Journey to Freedom
What does one do when faced with the worst kind of choices? Alvaro Rivas literally found himself with a gun to his head, when the Nicaraguan government claimed he was a spy because of his work with American ministries. He knew that he risked imprisonment or death if...
When a “Nobody” Says YES!
Self-described "nobody," Barbara Demorest, describes how a personal encounter with cancer inspired her to find a solution for a common problem facing breast cancer victims. She said "Yes," when many others may have taken a pass. We talk about walking through open...
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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...
Healing From Leadership Injury
Have you ever suffered a psychological wound from someone in authority in your life? Sometimes we allow these events to affect us far into the future, impacting our...
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...
The Adventuresome Life
If you are feeling kind of ho-hum about your life right now, this episode is for you! Shawn Anderson shows us how to add adventure into our lives, and he would know: he has walked across eight countries and biked across America coast to coast twice! We'll learn how...
Patchwork of Possibilities
Perhaps you know a senior who is lacking purpose, or not feeling fulfilled. Perhaps you ARE that senior! It’s time to find another way of living, and author Sharon Rolphe is here to share her secrets. Sharon is a stunning 74-year-old, but her wisdom...