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Holiday season or pressure cooker? Between the nonstop events, gift budgets, and Hallmark-level expectations, December can intensify everything—joy and grief, laughter and loneliness, unity and old wounds. We get candid about why family dynamics spike this time of year and map out a practical way to move through it with grace and truth.

We start by naming the hidden currents: idealized scripts that make real life feel lacking, grief that returns on anniversaries, and the logistics of blended schedules that stress even strong relationships. Then we dig into family systems—the unwritten rules, predictable roles, and the “togetherness force” that pressures us to go along to get along. When beliefs diverge, a comment about politics or health can secretly ask, “Are you still one of us?” Instead of cutting off or complying, we offer a better path: emotional maturity as being defined and connected at the same time.

You’ll hear clear, usable tools: how to set boundaries that serve relationship (not as excuses to disappear), how to listen deeply when your blood pressure spikes, and how to shift from fixing others to researching your own reactions. We look to Jesus as our model for calm clarity under pressure—from the temple at twelve to his composed presence before Pilate—showing that differentiation doesn’t require defensiveness.

Walk away with a simple holiday plan: decide your values in advance, notice your body’s triggers, choose healthier modes of communication, and prepare one-to-one questions to build real connection with each person. Assume everyone else will be who they’ve always been; focus on the one variable you can control—how you show up. If you can grow your maturity even a notch, you’ll feel it not only around the table but in your marriage, parenting, friendships, and work.

If this conversation helps, share it with a friend, subscribe for future episodes, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show. What’s one boundary you’ll set to protect connection this year?

Links

Navigating Grief During the Holidays - Praxis Episode

How to Slow Down When Life Speeds Up - Blog Post

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What if the most important work of your life happens where no one sees it? We dig into a core conviction of missional discipleship—God cares about the who, not just the do—and trace how that truth reframes leadership, mission, and everyday faith.

We start with Jesus’ own pattern: decades of hidden formation before three years of public ministry. That ratio alone confronts our bias for speed and scale. From calling the Twelve to be with him before sending them, to telling returning disciples to rejoice in belonging rather than power, Jesus centers identity over output. We connect these scenes to John 15’s abiding, clarifying that lasting fruit grows from union, not hustle. Along the way we name how the fruit of the Spirit is character, not competence, and why performative religion—clean cups on the outside, chaos within—erodes witness.

Then we get practical about the pressures we all feel: the midday pull to produce, the subtle ways church culture can celebrate results over reality, and the harm that follows when we measure leaders by charisma and numbers instead of character. We talk about building congruence so your public life matches your private life, treating people as co-stewards in God’s story rather than instruments in ours, and finding stability when identity is rooted in Christ instead of applause. Finally, we offer simple, repeatable practices: prioritize prayer over productivity, reflect daily to notice where you’re hurried or hiding, and invite honest feedback to close blind spots. Real transformation is slow and often invisible, but it’s the only path to durable fruit and trustworthy leadership.

If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more conversations like this, and leave a review to help others find the show. What “who before do” shift will you make this week?

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What if the order of your life is backwards? We’re tackling a simple idea with radical implications: trust leads and effort follows. Starting with Jesus’ baptism and temptation, we explore how identity received—not achievement earned—powered his ministry. From there, we trace how the New Testament consistently places grace before effort, and why that sequence frees us from the grind, clarifies our calling, and sustains real fruit.

We get honest about the cultural worship of hustle and how easily it sneaks into church life. From “pastorpreneur” pressures to BHAGs that sound holy but center ego, we challenge the metrics that define success. Instead of bigger buildings and busier calendars, we talk about character, faithfulness, and fruit that lasts. Along the way, we name the “religious false self,” the temptation to do impressive things for God without doing them with God, and the quiet erosion that happens when our worth rides on outcomes.

This conversation isn’t abstract. We share everyday moments where the order flips—sermon prep, worship leading, parenting, even a Sabbath gone sideways—and how small shifts recalibrate everything: prayer before action, rest before work, and identity before activity. Trust doesn’t cancel effort; it focuses it. When God initiates, God sustains. The result is a non-anxious presence, a deeper peace under pressure, and clearer discernment of where to put your best energy right now.

If this resonates, hit follow, share it with a friend who’s tired of running on empty, and leave a review. Tell us: where do you sense God inviting you to trust first this week?