He Wasn't Supposed to Be Born. Then He Built a Business, Had Three Strokes, and Rode 13,000 Miles — Then God Stopped Him | J.P. Avekoe

He Found The Messiah Alone in Iran — No Church, No Community, Just Jonah | Kewmars Kazemzadeh

Kewmars Kazemzadeh grew up in post-revolution Iran in a secular, partly Jewish family — navigating a society where the government was imposing an ideology on a people who had not asked for it. He had no religious upbringing. His first prayer was a teenage bargain with God over a girl who wasn't paying attention to him. What started as a transaction became a conversation — and the conversation, carried on alone for years, became the foundation of a faith that would survive solitary years in Malaysia, being robbed with nothing left, and a grueling season of caring for a father he had never been close to. Kewmars describes his conversion not as an emotional event but as an intellectual concession: the simplicity of 'do to others as you would have them do to you' showed him depth; the impossibility of 'love your enemy' showed him power. 'Zero possibility for any human being to be able to say that,' he says. 'This is not human.' From that moment he was in — not into religion, but into a relationship with a friend he did not yet know how to name. This conversation, anchored to the Canyon Pathways word for the episode — confidence — traces how Kewmars's self-confidence gave way to what the host Luke Smith calls Christ-confidence: not certainty about outcomes, but trust in a Father who hears, heals, and provides. The episode covers the Jonah morning that reframed his entire adult life, a decade of solitary faith across two countries, Holy Spirit encounters he did not have categories for until years later, a father's miraculous healing from late-stage Parkinson's, a business idea delivered in a vision, and a dream in which a King told him — against his protest — 'You are my son.' Kewmars closes with a prayer for every man who is walking alone and needs to hear: fear not, God is good, and he cannot disown himself. Key takeaways * Confidence built on self is exhausting — Kewmars describes arriving at this realization around 2015: 'I had achieved things that I had planned for, but what bothered me was it was so difficult… maybe the problem was myself, maybe I should not have put my confidence in myself.' The shift to Christ-confidence changed the texture of his life. * Simplicity and impossibility are both evidence, not obstacles — Kewmars explains why 'treat others as you want to be treated' and 'love your enemy' moved him toward faith rather than away from it: 'If you want to explain something in a way that other people can understand it, you have to have very deep knowledge about it.' And: 'If God is God, it should be impossible.' * God uses ordinary strangers at turning points — twice in the episode a stranger appears at a moment of need (the Muslim friend who offered a Bible in Iran; the man by the pool in Malaysia who knew of a job). Kewmars reflects: 'The second time now you've had just a random guy show up in your life that's meeting you at a point of need.' * Sonship can be received before it is understood — Kewmars walked in the confidence and boldness of a son in Iran for nearly two years, telling people about God in a government factory, without knowing the language of sonship, without community, and without having read the Bible. The host notes: 'You were receiving like a son' — and traces this to Kewmars's own answer that receiving had always been the easiest of the three retreat words. * The dream that names the show's entire mission — Kewmars recounts dreaming of a King whose face he could not see, who said 'You are my son,' and whom he argued with: 'My father is not a king. How can you be my father?' He later shared the dream with a pastor who said: 'The disbelief that showed up in my dream is also the story of all of us. We don't want to believe that we are basically a prince and our father is a king.' Discussion questions (PDF) — use this episode for personal reflection or with your small group.  Resources * Subscribe so every episode drops right into your feed. * More field notes: canyonpathways.org/blog [https://www.canyonpathways.org/blog] * Bring our table to your inbox — the weekly devotional: canyonpathways.org/meditations [https://www.canyonpathways.org/meditations] * About Canyon Pathways: https://www.canyonpathways.org/about [https://www.canyonpathways.org/about] * Learn about our retreats: https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats [https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats] * The Heart of Man Film: http://heartofmanmovie.com [http://heartofmanmovie.com/] * The Canyon Pathways Spotify playlist: https://canyonpathwayspodcast.com/cpspotify [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5XT2TpA0AZ6eD0dQ6tAjZB] Produced by the team at Maroon Harpoon LTD. Thank you to our donors who make this venture possible — and thank you, friend, for being part of this Canyon Pathways community as we together live like sons and lead like fathers.

Confidence: Why You Don't Have to Lead Alone - Field Note

Confidence is a tricky thing in midlife leadership. For some of us it's been quietly draining away — through a loss, a reversal, an injury, or pain we've carried a long time. For others it's a newer ache: there was once a confidence tied to our wins, and now a fresh challenge has us rattled. Either way, the higher we climb, the lonelier it can get. We "mask up" for the day, hold it together for everyone around us, and tell ourselves we can't show the cracks. In this field note, Noel sits with that tension and then does what we love to do here at Canyon Pathways — he goes back to the word itself. Confidence comes from the Latin confidentia: con (with, together) and fidere (to trust). Tucked inside it are the words confide, confidant, fidelity — every one of them about trusting someone outside ourselves. Which turns the whole thing on its head. Confidence, it turns out, is less about belief in ourselves and more about belief in others. Self-confidence may even be a kind of oxymoron. But to live like a son is to live in abiding confidence — always trusting that we are seen, known, covered, and provided for by a faithful Father who has already prepared a table for us, right here in the valley. That's a confidence the canyon can't take away. Pull up a chair, brother. We'll stoke the fire while you settle in. What we explore in this field note * Why confidence wavers in the canyon — and how the isolation of leadership quietly erodes it * The word behind the word — confide, confidant, fidelity, fiduciary, and what the Latin root reveals * The difference between a confidence and a secret — one unites, the other divides * Three takeaways: 1. The confidence we usually imagine is born out of individual experience — "I've done it, so I can do it again." But over the years that can curdle from I can into I must, only I can — and that's where the isolation begins. 2. Confidence is inherently relational. It literally means together-trusting. We were made for the "we will do it," not the lonely "I can." 3. The deepest confidence is the confidence of sonship — we're not a hired hand whose contract is running out. We're sons and heirs, with a Father who has already prepared the inheritance, and the table. A line worth sitting with > "It's not that I can do it, it's that we will do it. And by the way, we will continue to do it. That's the essence of Psalm 23." Scripture & references * Psalm 23 — the Shepherd, the valley of shadow, the table prepared in the midst of it * Hebrews 4:16 — "Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace…" * Epicurus — "We do not so much need the help of our friends as we do the confidence of their help in need." * Back to the Future — George McFly as the unlikely patron saint of confidence Coming up next We're staying with confidence — but moving from the field note to the fire pit. Next episode, Luke Smith sits down with Canyon Pathways brother Kewmars Kazemzadeh for a conversation about his own journey into sonship and how the Father has guided him through his life. You won't want to miss it. Resources * Subscribe so every episode drops right into your feed. * More field notes: canyonpathways.org/blog [https://www.canyonpathways.org/blog] * Bring our table to your inbox — the weekly devotional: canyonpathways.org/meditations [https://www.canyonpathways.org/meditations] * About Canyon Pathways: https://www.canyonpathways.org/about [https://www.canyonpathways.org/about] * Learn about our retreats: https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats [https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats] * The Heart of Man Film: http://heartofmanmovie.com [http://heartofmanmovie.com/] * The Canyon Pathways Spotify playlist: https://canyonpathwayspodcast.com/cpspotify [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5XT2TpA0AZ6eD0dQ6tAjZB] Produced by the team at Maroon Harpoon LTD. Thank you to our donors who make this venture possible — and thank you, friend, for being part of this Canyon Pathways community as we together live like sons and lead like fathers.

He Wasn't Supposed to Be Born. Then He Built a Business, Had Three Strokes, and Rode 13,000 Miles — Then God Stopped Him | J.P. Avekoe

What does real progress look like for a man who has already built the business, made the first million, and still felt like it wasn't enough? For J.P. Avekoe — CEO of Hardy Global and co-founder of Rise and Shine Africa, a 240-acre initiative in Togo — that question took decades, three strokes, a failing heart, and a near-fatal motorcycle crash to answer. In this episode of the Canyon Pathways Podcast, host Luke Smith sits down with J.P. to trace the arc of one of the most remarkable sonship journeys in the CP community. J.P. grew up in Togo not knowing his own mother — raised by his grandmother, he called his mom 'Sister Lily' because that's what the culture taught him, and didn't learn the truth until he was an adult trying to make amends. Before he was born, his mother had heard a voice while sitting in a car on the way to an abortion clinic: don't do this. She stopped the car, fled into a field, and changed the course of both their lives. Years later, after immigrating to the United States, building an IT consulting firm, and reaching the external markers of success, J.P. found himself living what he describes as 'on borrowed time' — three strokes, a heart crisis, five days in the ICU, and one last push: 13,000 miles on a motorcycle in five weeks, which ended when an 18-wheeler crushed him between cars. A bystander told him afterward: 'I saw you gliding.' In early 2025, J.P. made a resolution: draw near to God, whatever it takes. That led him to three retreats in three months — a Canyon Pathways retreat in Spearfish, South Dakota; a Tres Dias retreat in East Texas where he received a vision and a calling ('Go build my church'); and a Canyon Pathways retreat in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, where the work of forgiveness began. Along the way, Noel Bouché gave him a word — 'journey' — that he had been writing in his journal without knowing it. The thread running through all of it: the difference between faith and trust. J.P. had faith his whole life. Trust — the confident expectation that God will fulfill his promises — is what he's learning now, as he prepares to leave America and return to Togo with his wife Lindsay to build a church, a school, and a sustainable agriculture initiative. Progress, J.P. says, isn't just advancement. It's alignment. And for the man who was told by his own mother 'you messed up my life,' learning that his heavenly Father had claimed him before he was born is the turning point that changes everything. If you're in a season where the grind feels like Groundhog Day — or you've hit every external marker and still feel hollow — this conversation is for you. Use the discussion questions in the show notes for personal reflection or with your small group. Key takeaways * Progress is alignment, not just advancement — J.P. distinguishes between moving forward and moving toward God, and describes this as the central shift in his own life. * Faith and trust are not the same thing — faith is belief; trust is the confident expectation that God will fulfill his promises. J.P. grew up with faith and is only now learning trust. * Sonship means receiving what you couldn't earn — J.P.'s story of being claimed by God before birth, rescued repeatedly through near-death experiences, and finally 'coming home' mirrors the prodigal son's return in Luke 15. * Don't let the metrics define your progress with the Lord — J.P.'s closing prayer addresses men stuck in the grind of external scorekeeping: money, houses, family outcomes. The invitation is to let God's alignment redefine what counts. * Play your own game — J.P.'s word to his younger self: don't compare. Everybody's time is different. The rules will change, and you will be cheated. Keep doing what you have to do. Resources * Subscribe so every episode drops right into your feed. * More field notes: canyonpathways.org/blog [https://www.canyonpathways.org/blog] * Bring our table to your inbox — the weekly devotional: canyonpathways.org/meditations [https://www.canyonpathways.org/meditations] * About Canyon Pathways: https://www.canyonpathways.org/about [https://www.canyonpathways.org/about] * Learn about our retreats: https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats [https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats] * The Heart of Man Film: http://heartofmanmovie.com [http://heartofmanmovie.com/] * The Canyon Pathways Spotify playlist: https://canyonpathwayspodcast.com/cpspotify [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5XT2TpA0AZ6eD0dQ6tAjZB] Produced by the team at Maroon Harpoon LTD. Thank you to our donors who make this venture possible — and thank you, friend, for being part of this Canyon Pathways community as we together live like sons and lead like fathers.

FIELD NOTE | PROGRESS: When Forward Doesn’t Feel Like Forward

We all want progress. We want to feel like we’re moving… like something is changing… like we’re not just stuck. But midlife has a way of complicating that. Sometimes it feels like a grind. Sometimes it feels like we’re going backward. And sometimes everything looks like it’s moving forward on the outside… while something inside is wearing down. In this Field Note, we slow down and reconsider what progress actually is—and what it isn’t. A Thought to Sit With > “Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you’ve taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer.” — C.S. Lewis  What This Episode Explores • The weight of midlife Responsibility in every direction can leave us feeling stuck, exhausted, and unsure if we’re actually moving forward. • The illusion of movement Not every step is progress. It’s possible to stay busy, take action, and still drift further off course. • The need for reorientation Real progress isn’t just motion—it’s direction. And for us, that direction is relational. • Progress as return Like the younger son, progress begins when we turn back toward the Father—and take one step at a time in that direction. A Simple Invitation If things feel stuck right now, don’t overcomplicate it. * Pause. * Reorient. * Take one step toward the Father. That’s progress. Reflection Questions *  Where do you feel stuck or stagnant right now?  *  Are you moving—or actually moving forward?  *  What might it look like to reorient toward the Father this week?  Resources * Subscribe so every episode drops right into your feed. * More field notes: canyonpathways.org/blog [https://www.canyonpathways.org/blog] * Bring our table to your inbox — the weekly devotional: canyonpathways.org/meditations [https://www.canyonpathways.org/meditations] * About Canyon Pathways: https://www.canyonpathways.org/about [https://www.canyonpathways.org/about] * Learn about our retreats: https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats [https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats] * The Heart of Man Film: http://heartofmanmovie.com [http://heartofmanmovie.com/] * The Canyon Pathways Spotify playlist: https://canyonpathwayspodcast.com/cpspotify [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5XT2TpA0AZ6eD0dQ6tAjZB] Produced by the team at Maroon Harpoon LTD. Thank you to our donors who make this venture possible — and thank you, friend, for being part of this Canyon Pathways community as we together live like sons and lead like fathers.

Anticipation: Leading with Vision w/ Aseka Taabu

Anticipation sits at the center of leadership. In this episode of the Canyon Pathways Podcast, Sherman Bradley sits down with Aseka Taabu, a Canyon Pathways brother based in Nairobi, Kenya, to explore the Field Note word Anticipation and how it shapes the journey of sonship and leadership. Anticipation isn’t simply about predicting what might happen next. It’s the posture of reaching forward—seeing what may be coming and preparing both yourself and others for what lies ahead. As responsibilities increase in midlife, anticipation can begin to shift. What once felt like excitement about the future can slowly become anxiety or a sense of waiting for something to go wrong. Yet the invitation of sonship calls men back into a different posture—one rooted in trust. In this conversation, Sherman and Aseka reflect on how anticipation shapes leadership, parenting, relationships, and the decisions men carry as they steward influence in their families and communities. Aseka shares reflections from his own leadership journey in Kenya, offering wisdom on responsibility, preparation, and the importance of remaining grounded in identity as a son while navigating the demands of leadership. Anticipation, when rooted in sonship, is not about controlling the future—it’s about stepping toward it with faith, wisdom, and clarity. Key Takeaways * Anticipation plays a critical role in leadership and decision-making. * Leaders must learn to anticipate both opportunities and challenges. * Midlife leadership can shift anticipation from excitement to anxiety if identity isn’t grounded. * Anticipation allows leaders to prepare others—especially children and teams—for what lies ahead. * A son approaches the future differently than a servant. * Healthy anticipation helps leaders navigate uncertainty and guide others through complex seasons. * Identity as a son restores confidence and hope in how we face the future. Sound Bites “Anticipation can make or break leadership.” “Good leaders anticipate not only threats, but opportunities.” “Anticipation means reaching into the future and bringing it into the present.” “Midlife leadership can shift anticipation from excitement to anxiety.” “A son learns to anticipate with confidence.” Resources * Subscribe so every episode drops right into your feed. * More field notes: canyonpathways.org/blog [https://www.canyonpathways.org/blog] * Bring our table to your inbox — the weekly devotional: canyonpathways.org/meditations [https://www.canyonpathways.org/meditations] * About Canyon Pathways: https://www.canyonpathways.org/about [https://www.canyonpathways.org/about] * Learn about our retreats: https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats [https://www.canyonpathways.org/retreats] * The Heart of Man Film: http://heartofmanmovie.com [http://heartofmanmovie.com/] * The Canyon Pathways Spotify playlist: https://canyonpathwayspodcast.com/cpspotify [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5XT2TpA0AZ6eD0dQ6tAjZB] Produced by the team at Maroon Harpoon LTD. Thank you to our donors who make this venture possible — and thank you, friend, for being part of this Canyon Pathways community as we together live like sons and lead like fathers.