This Good Word With Steve Wiens

Matt Bays is one of those author friends who I consider near and dear, although we've never met in real life. I consider his wisdom to be hard-won, a real gift for the rest of us. His journey has included so much pain, and yet he still finds a way to be hopeful.  Enjoy, my friends. 

In part 1, I wanted to help you keep perspective on the good work that you're doing - whatever it is - and to help you remember that all good work takes time. I hate that there aren't too many satisfying metrics in the "slog time" - those moments where you just have to keep going: whether it's writing, editing, teaching, hammering, cooking, driving, or tutoring.  I also talked about drilling down and trying to name what it is that you're building - beyond just the book, movie, bakery, or curriculum. What bigger thing are you hoping will happen when that smaller thing -the book, movie, poem, recipe, building, business, or whatever - is done.  In part 2, I talked about some examples of times that I've had to keep perspective when I've missed deadlines, when I get jealous of other authors, or when I'm tempted to do somebody else's thing rather than just keep working on building that thing that I'm building. I talked about the critical importance of having a "cutting room floor" file. And I talked about how to know if your idea is still fuzzy, and also how to know if it's ready to pitch to someone.  Enjoy! 

In this episode, I wanted to help you keep perspective on the good work that you're doing - whatever it is - and to help you remember that all good work takes time. I hate that there aren't too many satisfying metrics in the "slog time" - those moments where you just have to keep going: whether it's writing, editing, teaching, hammering, cooking, driving, or tutoring.  I also talked about drilling down and trying to name what it is that you're building - beyond just the book, movie, bakery, or curriculum. What bigger thing are you hoping will happen when that smaller thing -the book, movie, poem, recipe, building, business, or whatever - is done.  Enjoy! Part two will come out in two days, in which I'll talk more about some examples of times that I've had to keep perspective when I've missed deadlines, when I get jealous of other authors, or when I'm tempted to do somebody else's thing rather than just keep working on building that thing that I'm building.   

Adam Hamilton is the pastor of Church of the Ressurection in Kansas City, Missouri, and also the author of several books, including his newest, titled Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times.  We had a really interesting, practical conversation about fear and how to deal with it in our lives in a way that is productive rather than paralyzing.  You can find out more about Adam's work, including some of the resources he mentioned at the end of the show on his website.  Enjoy!  

No matter how big or small your creative effort is, if there comes a time when it gets out there into the world, there will inevitably be "the day after" the big event. What happens on the day after? How do you feel and what do you do?  In this episode, I talked about the four stages of the creative process, from idea to preparation to actually doing it to the day after, and I covered the range of emotions you feel during each stage. I recorded this episode especially for my friend Aaron, who is planting a church this Sunday, and has been through stages one and two, and is about to go through stages three and four.  I hope this is helpful for any of you who are doing anything creative!  At the break in the podcast, I mentioned Author School, which is a course led by Rachelle Gardner, who has helped more than 150 authors bring their idea to published form. She's insightful, super helpful, and this course is great for anyone who is trying to get their manuscript in front of a publisher or is trying to put together a proposal, or a query letter, or is trying to decide whether to self-publish or go the traditional publishing route. For more information, check out Author School.

In this episode, I almost lost my voice. Ha! My passion level for this subject is high to quite high. I tried to do several things: 1. I talked Ressurection - it's holy week. 2. I talked about why losing your faith is actually good. If we are growing and honest at all, we end up losing our faith many times. It's what happens to healthy people. And then some of us keep following the faith/God/Spirit where it is going.  3. I talked about the vital importance of following where it goes, how to do that, what not to be afraid of, what's normal, and what to expect from other people when we do.  Whew! This was a fun one.  Enjoy. 

One of my dearest friends, Steve Haines, interviewed me on this episode, and it was incredible. He asks such probing, spacious questions. We talked Star Wars, pastoring, spiritual practices, childhood, and Mary Martin Wiens even made a surprise appearance (honestly - we didn't even know she was going to show up) at the end... and she basically stole the show. This one was so much fun.  Enjoy. 

Friends!  I've been waiting to interview one of my dearest friends, Steve Haines, for a really long time, and it finally happened. We talked art, creativity, life, protest, faith, and his new project, Tov Music. At the end, you'll hear a scratch track from one of the songs on his new record, and it's so very good.  I hope you fall in love with Steve like I have. He's one of the best. Next week, you'll hear Haines interview Wiens. So fun!  Enjoy! To find out more about Steve's new project, visit Tov Music. 

Most people that I talk to feel guilty about their spiritual practices. They feel like they should be doing more, or doing better at them, and because they're failing, God must be really disappointed with them. Let's quit that nonsense. In this episode, I introduced some simple, really enjoyable, momentary spiritual practices that could help you attune yourself to God by finding some practices that help you enjoy God.  I really hope this is helpful, and I'd love to hear from you if it was!  Have a great day, my friends. 

Have you ever felt like you just can't work on one more thing about yourself without totally imploding? Maybe it's time to quit trying so hard to smooth out all the rough edges. Maybe some things are just a part of the package that is you - and they're not going to change. What if you could give yourself the freedom to let some of those rough things stay rough? How do you know if that rough part is something you need to work on or something you can just let go? How do you know who to listen to?  How do you know who to blow off?  This one was a fun one, friends. I'm a firm believer that you can't work on everything, and that you just need to let some rough edges stay rough.  Enjoy! 

In this episode, I talked about getting in touch with the reality that you really don't see as well as you think you do (relax, neither do I). I told a story about when an undocumented immigrant spoke at our church. I also told a story about a time when Jesus essentially said everybody was blind - except for a blind guy.  Cards face up on the table: I really do want to see more than I currently see. I want to see through the lenses of people who don't believe what I believe, who don't look like me, and who have widely different perspectives. So I talked about one way to get there.  Enjoy the podcast, my friends. 

Oh, my sweet Lord. This is one of my favorite episodes.  Laura Parrott Perry is the author of a brand new book called She Wrote it Down: How at Secret-Keeper Became a Storyteller. It's penetrating, gorgeous, raw, hopeful, and at times hilarious. I loved it.  Laura says that we all live inside our stories and we make homes of them. But when our stories become secrets, those homes become prisons. If you have a story you are not telling anyone, anywhere, in any way - that is not privacy, it's secrecy. The difference between privacy and secrecy is simple: Shame. A lifelong secret-keeper, Laura Parrott Perry began the process of transforming into a storyteller when the dark secrets she'd been carrying around became too heavy and her life began to collapse under the weight of them. Sexual abuse, eating disorders, alcohol, perfectionism... Those secrets were all Laura's story that was making itself known when she was unwilling to tell it. Bit by bit, story by story, Laura began to shine a light into all those dark corners and tell the truth. She surrendered to the facts of her life and her past, and in doing so began to write a beautiful new future. Fair Warning: This episode contains stories of childhood sexual abuse.  You guys, this conversation was so beautiful, so hopeful, and so honest. If your story is making itself known in any unsettling way because you are keeping it a secret, I hope Laura's words help.  Laura is also the co-founder of a nonprofit called Say it Survivor, which is committed to raise awareness and remove the stigma surrounding sexual abuse by telling our story shamelessly and encouraging other survivors to do the same. You can get in touch with Laura through her website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.  Enjoy the podcast! 

Scott Perkins was on staff at a large church, had a marriage that looked like it was thriving from the outside. But on the inside, he was exhausted and looking for an escape hatch. So he resigned his position, separated from his wife, and started a new relationship. That's how his book Tree of Lies begins.  Scott went on a long journey where he eventually discovered that focusing on behaviors and trying hard to get it right is not the path to God, it's the path to burnout. In this conversation, we covered lots of ground: we talked about true self and false self, freedom and rest, and how to get honest about your actual life.  Enjoy. Links we discussed on the show: Tree of Lies book The Deeper Journey by Robert Mulholland His Worksheet to assess your life Tree of Lies Website

Just in the last few years, it seems as though the tide of culture, in general, is sweeping everybody away from their true, essential selves and into the quagmire of tribe and groupthink. It's becoming harder and harder to know who you are, what you think, and how you feel. It's becoming harder and harder to spend time on what's genuinely important.  During this episode, I shared some stories, practices, and questions that might help you to regain a sense of your essential self. These include learning to say the shortest, truest thing, knowing how to identify toxic relationships (and giving yourself permission to set boundaries and even leave them), and learning to simply sit with the Divine and experience God's love, who accepts you as you are and not as you should be.  Enjoy. 

This episode is for anyone who has jettisoned a theological framework that couldn't hold your deep questions and your desire to see an integrated thread of seemingly different traditions.  Danny Coleman grew up in the charismatic stream of Evangelical Christianity, where his particular church put sole emphasis on that future moment when all will someday be made new by Jesus at his second coming. Danny kept wondering if there was more, and it led him to a house church, then the Quakers, then... this book. It is refreshing and hopeful. Coleman's view combines Christian contemplation, Buddhist meditation, and process theology in developing a transformative and inclusive view of God, each other, and the universe. This episode will stretch your thinking, most likely. Enjoy!  Connect with Daniel by heading over to his website, or by viewing this brief video or this one  (where he discusses process theology). You can buy his book here.