SPRING GRACE

Spring arrived a little early this year.  It happened Tuesday night – March 19 at 10:06 pm CST.

We crossed the equatorial line once again where day and night are everywhere on earth, for just a brief moment, of approximate equal length.  Of course, we didn’t literally step across that line.  Earth glided across like a curling stone, and you & I – well, we’re just along for the ride.

Spring is already whispering and bringing gifts.  

What gifts will Spring bring you this season?

The birds are singing its song.

The flowers are dancing its rhythm.

And the Lamb is preparing a welcome banquet for all who will accept His invitation.

Featuring “Deliver Me” by John Mark McMillan (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

JUST AN ORDINARY DAY

Today is March 14, 2024.  It’s just an ordinary day.  It’s not the Oscars.  Not yet the Ides of March or St. Patrick’s Day.  A little too early for Spring Equinox or Palm Sunday.  It’s just an ordinary day in your life.  Or is it?

Do you know what happened on all the March 14ths of your life?

Because what you can do today, you can do the other 365 days as well.

Take a day – any ordinary day – and go on a treasure hunt into the back pages of your journey.  You might just be reminded how extraordinary an ordinary day can be.

Featuring “Brand New Day” by Ellie Holcomb (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

DELIGHT

Complete this sentence: I delight in ……..

I posed this open-ended declaration to several of my friends.  And as their responses came tumbling in, I knew today’s Table was gonna truly be something special!

Delight is a word most of us don’t use often enough.  Gratitude is like the map of our entire journey; delight is the buried treasure.

So, come along with us as we get high on Life with a little help from my friends!

(With: Michael Adler – Jimmy Baker – Kristen Buchner – Lisa Lee Burke – Mark Brown – Larry Cobb – Jeff Gore – Lori Harris – Lynn Higbe.)

Featuring “Love With a Crown” by John Mark McMillan (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

UPWARD THROUGH THE DARK

All of us find ourselves in seasons where it seems our lives are struggling upward through the dark.

Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park is often considered one of the most dangerous trails in the National Park System.  I hiked it in the dark with rain in the forecast at a time when my climbing legs were not in peak physical condition.  I almost didn’t, and if I hadn’t. I would have missed one of my best hiking days ever.  I would have also missed a trail lesson that continues to change the way I live my every day.

It is difficult trudging upward through the pitch with just enough light to chase the daunting up the trail a few feet beyond your beam.  But such is life if you are ever really going anywhere worth arriving.  Come join us for this high table adventure.

Featuring “Canyons” by Cory Asbury (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

CURIOS & MEMENTOS

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a curio is “something considered novel, rare, or bizarre.”  A memento is “something that serves to warn or remind.”

Today’s light hearted episode encourages you to look around; go on a treasure hunt and search for curios, mementos, and everyday Ebenezers.  Don’t know what an Ebenezer is?  We’re glad you asked.

Today’s podcast also includes two special guest cameos – my brother Dwight Kidd and one of my best friends, Jeff Gore.  And hopefully, after coming to today’s Table, your souvenirs will start speaking to you every time you look their way. 

Featuring “Look For Miracles” by JJ Heller (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

LET JESUS SET THE TABLE

Before you awakened this morning, God was in His kitchen preparing fresh, new recipes of steadfast love and mercy, and Jesus was already setting the table for your day as it began. Don’t miss the meal.  The greatest opportunity you may have to taste something unbelievably wonderful this week, could be the one you far too readily overlook.  

Let Jesus set the table of your day with Himself.  Allow yourself plenteous opportunity to fill yourself with the best dish this life has to offer.  This table is for everyone.  There is a place card with your name on it.  Come join the party!

Featuring “At the Table” by Josh Garrels (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

CLASSICAL DAD

Breakfast and Conversation with Special Guest:  Alex Hettinga

Recorded Live at Vintage Cafe in Montgomery, Alabama.

It doesn’t take long to hear the heart of today’s special guest Alex Hettinga.  His conversation always weaves back to family and fatherhood.  Alex is a husband, a father of two children, a classical violinist and violist, and the Senior Manager of Fatherhood and Family Programs at Care Net – a national Pro Abundant Life Ministry.

If you’re a father, if you know a father, if you have a baby on the way, if you love classical music or know someone who does, if you are a fan of Johann Sebastian Bach, get ready for a feast.  This episode has something for everyone and was recorded live in the midst of the unpredictable ambience of life.

It’s classical.  It’s stylish.  It’s vintage.  It’s current.  And we saved you a seat and a menu.  The avocado toast comes highly recommended. 

www.carenetu.org

Featuring “Skye (Bach Violin Partita No. 3 in E Major Bwv 1006)” by Abilene (Used by Permission through Musicbed) and “Meditation” from Thais by Jules Massanet and performed by Alex Hettinga (Used by Permission).

I WONDER AS I WANDER

It is February and I am still singing Christmas songs.  One carol in particular I sing all year long because of two words in its title that deeply connect with my soul.  Wonder and wander.  “I wonder as I wander out under the sky.”  

Today’s episode ponders three questions:

– How often are you struck with wonder?

– What evokes wonder in you?

– Do you connect deep wonder and curiosity with worship and awe of God?

Today’s episode features a cameo visit with my absolute favorite special guest of all 136 episodes – my daughter Lauren.  Lauren Myers.  Barge Barge to her friends.

Take a load off your hiking boots and spend a few moments getting lost in wonder.

Featuring “Has It Been You” by John Mark McMillan (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

SOUL DOWN

Soul down.  Not as in, “Why are you downcast, O my soul?” (Psalm 43:5), but more like “Slow your soul down.”  You are carrying way too much weight.  You are accelerating at way too fast a speed.  Soul down.  You will need a deeper anchor to navigate all you are called to do in any given day, as well as all the activities the world pitches your way.  Soul down.

Today’s episode asks three questions:

– What are your deep spiritual practices?

– How do you stay deep in your relationship with God in the midst of the constant vortex of a world that keeps trying to pull you away?

– How do you keep your soul anchored?

We’ve set the Table with soul food today and we saved you a seat!

Featuring “8th Wonder – Campfire Version” by The National Parks (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

WORD UP OVER YOUR YEAR

A Conversation With Special Guest:  Steph Cherry

The year is barely begun and most New Year’s resolutions are still being pursued.  How are you doing with yours?

I am delighted to sit down with Special Guest Steph Cherry.  Steph is a therapist, life coach, chef to the homeless, a well of deep wisdom, and my good friend.  And today we will be encouraging all our Table guests to choose words over resolutions, as in “What’s your word of the year?”  So get ready to chow down and word up!

Featuring “The Well” by JJ Heller (Used by Permission through Musicbed).

https://www.thebohotable.org