15 conversations
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Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
- Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
A host asks whether following Jesus should feel more comfortable as time goes on — noting the low-level tension many feel around am-I-doing-enough and the stigma that contentment equals laziness.
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Dear LFTP: how do I end the holiday newsletter?
- Is there any way to end a family member's holiday newsletter that makes the reader depressed with envy?
A listener in their sixties dreads a family member's annual braggy Christmas newsletter of accomplishments, expensive trips, and photos, and asks whether there's any way to end it — asking the hosts to tell everyone to stop with holiday newsletters.
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The satisfaction exercise
- What does it actually take for me to feel satisfied?
A host proposes an exercise: honestly write down what it takes for you to feel satisfied, then check how much of the list is shallow.
From No. 402 · It’s OK to Stay Home
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Dear LFTP: the self-talking, complaining coworker
- How can I get my constantly complaining friend to enjoy our daily walk instead of moaning about her job?
A listener walks daily with a friend who complains about her job nonstop and asks how to get her to enjoy the break instead of moaning for 20 minutes.
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Ponds, not wells: the peace that stays
Ben develops the ponds-vs-wells metaphor: the things people chase — money, sex, identity, emotional self-knowledge — are ponds, not deeper wells, and 'they both look the same from the surface'; you have to wade in to your waist and go 'well crap.'
From No. 603 · Found Out
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The Acts blueprint and monks who know something
A host reacts to the recovery program: it looks less like preparation for the 'real world' and more like the book of Acts blueprint — sharing everything, eating together, praying together, accountability — and argues the real world should look more like the institution.
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Misused verse 4: Philippians 4:13 and endurance
The hosts note Philippians 4:13 ('I can do all things through him who strengthens me') was YouVersion's most-accessed verse, then re-read the surrounding context: Paul learned contentment in plenty and hunger.
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How to become content: prayer, affirmation, thankfulness
- If you want to be content but are not, how do you actually become content?
Pressed on how someone actually becomes content, a host answers: pray over it as a spiritual problem, affirm what you already have, and practice thankful prayer as a family.
From No. 479 · Solving All Your Money Problems
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The iPod testimony
A host testifies about wanting an iPod for a long time, then feeling uneasy when his wife tried to buy him a red one at the mall with their large tax refund -- so he put it back.
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'Do it with me or this isn't gonna happen': Silas's show-cattle dream
Silas jumps in with his own pond: two career swaps in the last year while pursuing his actual dream — raising show cattle full time.
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Contentment as the key; fasting discipline
Ben lands on contentment as the practical answer the article gets right: being content with what you have undercuts the chase for more, whether money or gas-station coffee in a Styrofoam cup.
From No. 535 · Solo Contendere
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Ethiopia, idle hands, contentment, and worship
Ben notes that in Ethiopia, without gas stations or decaf coffee, he never missed the snacks - 'idle hands and available resources' drove the poor decisions.
From No. 530 · Know Self Control
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Pope-style advice: contentment is the money solution
Delivering the promised Pope-style advice, a host tells the coffee-shop crowd he has the solution to all money problems: contentment.
From No. 479 · Solving All Your Money Problems
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Expectations, technology, and what is normal
The hosts discuss how modern life's year-round homogeneity, from winter produce to instant replies, warps the sense of normal; things are labeled bad merely for differing from expectations, what one host calls 'classic Ben.'
From No. 402 · It’s OK to Stay Home
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Wayne's 'Treasures' and the small things that control us
After a song called 'Treasures,' a host reflects on its lyric about letting go of worldly things, admitting he feels controlled by things he thinks he controls.
From No. 90 · February 27 2012