Also…email us ANY of your questions (faith, marriage, parenting, favorite road trips, how to make a podcast…anything!). We’ll soon be hosting a Q&A on our NEW YouTube channel and we want to answer your questions! So…get to know your hosts by sending us all your questions and we’ll do our best to answer them!
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” – Matthew 5:9
What if we have it all wrong? What if being a peacemaker means we actually ruffle some feathers. Turns out, that’s exactly what it means. Peacemaking isn’t for the fainthearted. It’s messy work, but it’s what we’re called to.
Special thanks to James Swanson and James Page for their contribution to our theme song, The Long Road Home, written by Brandy J. Goebel. Copyright 2018.
This episode was recorded, edited and produced at 4G’s Studios in the lovely Sandy, Oregon, where the trees are green every day. 2019. All rights reserved.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” – Matthew 5:7
Mentioned well over 300 times in the Bible, mercy is a word we probably ought to pay more attention to. Especially in this day and age when politics and religion are getting co-mingled in ways that often make us forget that first and foremost, we are brothers and sisters in Christ.
Mercy Defined
The biblical definition for the word mercy, as used by Jesus in his sermon on the mount, is this: to be compassionate (by word or deed, specifically by divine grace); have compassion (pity on).
Meanwhile, Webster’s New World Dictionary defines it this way: 1. a refraining from harming offenders, enemies, etc., 2. imprisonment rather than death for a capital crime, 3. a disposition to forgive or be kind, 4. the power to forgive, 5. a lucky thing; blessing.
This episode, as well as talking about what mercy is, we also focus on how to live a life of mercy in our day to day lives. We’ll look at 1 Peter 3:8-12 in the ERV (Easy to Read Version).
So all of you should live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Be kind [compassionate; merciful] and humble. Don’t do wrong to anyone to pay them back for doing wrong to you. Or don’t insult anyone to pay them back for insulting you. But ask God to bless them. Do this because you yourselves were chosen to receive a blessing. The Scriptures say,
‘If you want to enjoy true life and have only good days, then avoid saying anything hurtful, and never let a lie come out of your mouth. Stop doing what is wrong, and do good. Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully. The Lord watches over those who do what is right, an, and he listens to their prayers. But he is against those who do evil.’
Listen
Listen in to this week’s episode to see some examples of how this might look in your own life.
Special thanks to James Swanson and James Page for their contribution to our theme song, The Long Road Home, written by Brandy J. Goebel. Copyright 2018.
This episode was recorded, edited and produced at 4G’s Studios in Sandy, Oregon. 2019. All rights reserved.
Last October, in 2018, we had the joy of traveling to Kauai, Hawaii. Kauai is called The Garden Isle and for good reason. There isn’t a vista that isn’t covered in lush trees, tropical plants, and blossoming botanicals. Everywhere you turn, you are met with an incredible slice of creation.
We didn’t come by this trip by the usual means. We hadn’t been planning it for years, pinching our pennies and squirreling away vacation time. Rather, Matt’s parents took us as their guests with airline miles they’d acquired. We shared a 1-bedroom condo with a fold-out couch and called ourselves blessed.
When we came home, after the sunburns had begun to heal but the glow of the Hawaiian sun was still lingering, we sat down in the recording studio with a bowl of fresh pineapple and a couple of mimosas and talked about our time in the Aloha State.
So many girls dream of the day they will one day become a mother. They envision their little dolls come to life. Cooing, crying, snuggled in tight. Finally, when the time comes and they’re ready to make this dream into a reality, it doesn’t always end up quite the way they’d planned.
The road to motherhood can be a difficult one at best, riddled with infertility, loss, confusion, isolation, and depression.
This week we present a 2-part conversation with Lisa Page and her own harrowing journey.
Years of miscarriages and stillbirths, hope-filled expectations and shattered dreams, Lisa has felt every high and every low a woman can feel as she longed to finally bring a living baby home from the hospital.
Tune in to hear how God used this suffering to draw Lisa into a deeper, more grace-filled relationship with Him. Hear how she learned to cope with the well-intentioned and often painful words of condolence that she received.
Mostly, find hope as you listen to one woman’s journey as she learned that all the plans we make take a back seat to the sovereignty and goodness of God.
To see what Lisa is up to you can check out her music studio HERE
You can follow the band she’s in along with her husband, Chris, and son, James on their Facebook Page 26 East
You can help fund future road trips and support our show by donating at our Patreon Site. We appreciate our donors more than words can say!
Special thanks to James Swanson and James Page for their contribution on our intro song, The Long Road Home, written by Brandy J. Goebel. Copyright 2018.
As we approach our 1 year anniversary on this podcast, we are taking some time to reflect on how to move forward. We need your input and feedback, so, please…
Email usyour ideas, thoughts, and feelings, as well as any questions you may have.
You can also support us financially by going to ourPatreon Pageand donating there. If you can’t commit to a monthly pledge, but would like to make a one-time donation, email us and we can direct you from there.
Let’s be honest: sometimes Christians don’t make a whole lot of sense. Sometimes our values don’t quite seem to line up with our actions. Sometimes our values simply don’t line up very well with scripture at all.
This episode, Matt and Brandy explore some of the false dichotomies that Christians seem to have when it comes to aligning their spiritual values with real-world practicality.
Some of the topics we cover are environmentalism, science, immigration, and welfare.
This is the first time we’ve sat together in the studio and recorded a conversation with virtually no preparation or outline. This is about as raw as it gets. I’ve edited out the ums and ers for the most part, but there are some places in this dialogue that may make you scratch your head and wonder, ‘What in the world is she talking about?”
That’s okay. This is how Brandy processes – out loud.
That being said, listen through to the ending and then we’d love to hear back from you what you think about the things we talked about or other areas where sometimes our spiritual thinking keeps us from being any practical good.
Special thanks to James Swanson and James Page for their contribution to our theme song, “The Long Road Home,” written by Brandy J. Goebel. Copyright 2018.
This episode was recorded, edited and produced by Brandy J. Goebel at 4Gs Studios in beautiful downtown Sandy, Or. 2019. All rights reserved.
