Garden on the Other Side of Toil

Christ Is Making Beautiful Jewelry

A Charles Spurgeon sermon on Spotify introduced a phrase that stopped everything: "Adam in you." We have all heard "Christ in you," but have we stopped to think about "Adam in you?" In this episode we explore what happens when you place Adam and Christ side by side, the flesh versus the Holy Spirit, the fallen nature versus the indwelling Savior, and discover that the outcome was never really in doubt. He won. The Adam in you never had a chance. But if that is true, why does every day still feel like rinse, lather, and repeat? We talk honestly about the invisible transformation happening beneath the surface of our daily failures, the subtle nudges, tugs, and goads of sanctification, and why you have to beat gold to make beautiful jewelry. The piece you are becoming is already in His hands. Trust the process.

Salvation in a Hardware Store

Before God opened her eyes to the truth, the way, and the life, a woman who cannot tell a box cutter from a knife wandered into a hardware store looking for the perfect gift for her husband. What she walked out with was a router something or other, and a small stone engraved with the words "My God, in Him I will trust." That stone still sits on her desk today. In this episode we meet the stranger who gave it to her, compare him to one of the most overlooked heroes in all of Scripture, and ask a simple but powerful question: could you be someone's Ebed-Melech today?

Find Your Tribe: No Dog Left Behind

What do a vegetable loving dog that thinks she is a cow, a supposedly alpha dog that comes home with dead birds, and a ball obsessed Shepherd that would choose fetch over food have in common? They are the pack. And they would not have it any other way. In this episode we watch an evening ritual in the yard turn into a surprisingly profound lesson about Christian community. If the bride of Christ functioned like a well run pack of dogs, embracing the Alpha, the Beta, and yes, even the Cow, we might just fulfill the second commandment more naturally than we think. We also talk about a simple side note from a John Lovell sermon that changed everything, and why a self confessed dog lover had to work harder than most to find her tribe. Spoiler: it was worth every effort. No dog left behind.

Falling In Love

What do romantic comedies, the Swiss Alps, and the Gospel of John have in common? More than you might think. In this episode we explore what happens when love grows not from a lightning bolt moment but from peeling back layers of substance, one revelation at a time. We talk about a husband who was not love at first sight but turned out to be a happily ever after, and then we make the turn into something far greater. John did not just write about Jesus. He wrote like someone hopelessly, completely, breathlessly in love with Him. And reading his Gospel this time around did something unexpected. It made us want that too. If you have ever wished your love for Jesus ran deeper, this one is for you. The journey never ends and the view just keeps getting more spectacular.

She Is So Stubborn, No I Am

Confession time. I argue with my Lab sometimes. In my defense, she is stubborn. But somewhere between watching her limp and grunt her way toward the pack after being told to stay, and watching myself find every excuse to avoid the God given idea sitting right in front of me, I realized something uncomfortable. He is me. And I am the stubborn, silly dog. In this episode we sit with the humbling truth that the special treatment that looks unfair from the outside, the ice water, the expensive treats, the extra breaks, is actually the most loving thing possible. And the door God has already opened is just waiting for us to stop digging our heels in and walk through it. Baby steps toward obedience. The door is already open.