And Sons

There’s nothing like the guys on your own team—Allen Arnold founding the fiction division at Thomas Nelson Publishing, published between 500 and 600 novels as VP of that division, and has a better grasp on story than most people earn in their lifetime. Blaine and Sam jump in to ask about engaging story, how to create while inside conflict, and what it takes to set good stories, lived and read, apart. We like to say that we need to learn to read our lives as stories; that’s well and good, but to be able to do that, we need to learn more about the odd animal that story is.

And Sons had Mark Evans on for and interview several months ago to talk about his leather-craft art, his journey as a creative, and what fuels him. We know you loved it, and we certainly did, so Sam and Blaine jumped at the opportunity to sit down with Evans when he was stateside this summer.

It's no secret that around the And Sons office we love to read and learn from men and women who have gone before us, and that's certainly true of the men and women who step into and out of combat situations. Distilled from the many lessons offered, Blaine and Sam go through some of their favorites and how they can be applied to our lives.

Sam and Blaine reflect on their journey into the world of hunting, how most of the men in their world are first-generation hunters, and how initiation and intention effect our world. Through the lens of hunting stories from this year and those of a decade ago, Sam and Blaine share on their experience of this ancient practice.

In this episode, Blaine and Sam take up the issue of self-knowledge. You’re never going to treat anyone’s heart better than you treat your own, and you’re never going to know anyone’s heart better than you know your own. That being the case, Sam and Blaine share a couple strategies for learning your own heart, and share where they’re growing in their own self-understanding: strengths, action, and relationship.

Brett Davis is the founder of Christian Surfers International, and has quite the story to go along with it. As part of the continuing goal to hear from the sages in our world, Blaine and Sam get to hear more of Brett Davis's story.

To better grasp how technology effects us today, we need to understand where the idea came from and what the purpose of technology was originally intended to be, and how it's changed and stayed the same over millennia. Spoiler: the issue is often more about how we use it and how it changes us, than it's inherent "goodness" or usefulness.

Blaine and Sam are joined by Jon Dale and Justin Lukasavige from the team to share stories about who we admire. It's a practice that we don't always think to do, but that can be surprising and helpful. So, who do you admire and try to emulate?

Sara Hagerty is the author of Unseen: The Gift of Being Hidden in a World That Loves to Be Noticed, and together with Blaine and Sam she talks about her journey with the church, burnout, discovering God in new ways, her lessons as a mother, and how choosing to tend to the unnoticed places in our lives can be the most rewarding.

Welcome back to Season 3 of the And Sons podcast. To kick things off, Sam and Blaine sat down with Tim Thornton, a friend, mentor, and artist, to talk about the creative process, how it mirrors the story of the gospel, and how we respond to crisis. To read the interview with Tim on And Sons: http://andsonsmagazine.com/19/returning-art-interview-tim-thornton To see more of Tim's art: http://timfthorntonart.com/

In time for the finale of Season 2 of the And Sons podcast, Sam and Blaine talk about rhythm, balance, and how they are (or more often are not) cultivating a life intentionally. The And Sons Podcast will return in late September.

Jon Dale is a member of the Ransomed Heart and And Sons teams, and while his work these days revolves around bringing the kingdom his journey didn't start there. Dale began early as an entrepreneur and has spent his life thinking about how to walk well in business and calling.

In part 2 of the feminism series, Sam and Blaine jump into the history of feminism in the US. Starting with ancient Athens (of course), on through the Blackstone Commentaries and early American legal frameworks, this episode explores the legal, political, and cultural circumstances that gave rise to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd wave feminism. Our aim here is to answer a triad of enduring questions: what, exactly, is going on, where'd it come from, and how should we be responding?

In this two-part series, Blaine and Sam dive into the history of feminism. But before they can do that, they dive into the history of history - the ancient Greek world, Xenophon, the Battle of Cunaxa - to understand a key concept. That's hegemony: the inclination of human beings to create systems that feed their flesh.

We love hearing about the creative journey here at And Sons, something that each of us acts out in our own unique ways. How someone chooses to pursue a calling, what choices they make, and how they keep their passion alive after a decade of plugging away all make up the story of Justin Rizzo. Part songwriter, part worship leader, part director, Rizzo's story of creativity and calling intertwine in this episode.