This podcast is a reading of No Matter What as read by the author. Each episode is essentially a chapter of the book, with author commentary sprinkled throughout.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” 1 John 3:1“No matter what: we’ll love you.” - Hoke Knox
“A cheerful heart fills the day with song.” Proverbs 15:15“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything.” - Thomas Merton
“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.” Proverbs 1:5“Change awaits us. What is decisive is our deciding.” - Gregory Boyle
“For in God, we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28“How many things have to happen to you before something occurs to you?” - Robert Frost
“I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 “God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way.” - Max Lucado
“Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.” Isaiah 41:10“We are unfinished creatures - longing, reaching, stretching towards fulfillment.” - Eugene Peterson
“It’s not too late to come back to God…Here’s why: God is kind and merciful.” Joel 2:14-15“Being realistic is the most commonly traveled path to mediocrity.” - Will Smith
“Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 2 Chronicles 15:7“There’s two kinds of pain in sports; the pain of discipline and the pain of regret.” - Jeff Blatnick
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 1 Timothy 1:7“Do the thing you fear most, and the death of fear is certain.” - Mark Twain
“The hope of good people ends in celebration.” Proverbs 10:28“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.” - Adolphe Adams
“There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear.” 1 John 4:8“I’ve experienced many terrible things in my life, a few of which actually happened.” - Mark Twain
“The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.” Proverbs 14:8“Everything can be taken from us but one thing, to choose one’s attitude in any circumstance.” - Viktor Frankl
“In everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to the Lord.” Philippians 4:6-7“We pause to listen to the beat of your Presence in all things.” - John Philip Newell
“Do not fret.” Psalm 37:8“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” - St. Augustine
“We live by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7“Success in the sport is, above all else, about enduring suffering.” - Chris McCormack
“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.” Psalm 1:1“The enemy is fear. We think it is hate, but it is fear.” - Gandhi
“The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions.” Proverbs 28:1“Courage isn’t the absence of fear. Courage is the absence of self.” - Erwin McManus
“Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” Mark 5:36“It’s lack of faith that leads people to be afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.” - Mohammad Ali
“Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” Mark 5:36“What if instead of fears, we called them stories That’s what fear really is, a story that we tell ourselves. It’s a kind of unintentional storytelling that we all are born knowing how to do.” - Karen Thompson Walker
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7“Fear only has the power we give it. Hope works the same way.” - Bob Goff
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1“Saying yes to one thing is saying no to something else.” - Andy Stanley
“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” Matthew 6:33“Culture beats scheme every time.” - Chip Kelly
“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” Proverbs 10:9“Everything is practice.” - Pele
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21“Understanding what not to do is sometimes just as important as what you can do.” - Bill Belichick
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10“Hurry is a form of violence practiced on time. Time is sacred.” - Eugene Peterson
“Whatever you do, do well.” Ecclesiastes 9:10“Anyone can see the adversity in a difficult situation, but it takes a stronger person to see the opportunity.” - Drew Brees
“Without fuel, the fire goes out.” Proverbs 26:20“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.” - Abraham Lincoln
If you love sleep, you will end in poverty. Keep your eyes open, and there will be plenty to eat!” Proverbs 20:13“Days are a finite resource. It’s best to protect the ones you have.” - Catherine Lacey
“If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit.” Proverbs 27:18“Half an hours meditation is essential each day, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed.” - Francis De Sales
“I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.” Psalm 119:32“Boundaries define us. They define what is me and what is not me. A boundary shows me where I end and someone else begins, leading me to a sense of ownership.” - Henry Cloud
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12“You can’t have a better tomorrow if you’re always thinking about yesterday.” - Mike Krzyzewski
“Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” Proverbs 10:17“The only character flaws that can really destroy us are the ones we don’t admit.” Tim Keller
“Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.” Proverbs 4:26“Sometimes you have to forget what’s gone, appreciate what remains, and look forward to what’s coming next.” - Unknown
“A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.” Proverbs 17:10“To say that God turns away from the sinful is like saying the sun hides from the blind.” - St Anthony the Great
“Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” Proverbs 13:24“Behind every beautiful thing, there’s some kind of pain.” - Bob Dylan
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1“When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.” - John F. Kennedy
“When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.” Proverbs 10:25“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” - Fred Devito
“Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.” Proverbs 16:32“Failure is success in progress.” - Alfred North Whitehead
“In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:6“Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances that we know to be desperate.” - GK Chesterton
“Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult.” Proverbs 12:16“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine. It is lethal.” - Paulo Coelho
“Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.” Proverbs 2:11“You will find that it is necessary to let things go, simply for the reason that they are heavy.” - C. Joybell
Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense. Proverbs 12:11Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” - Jerry Rice
The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” - Michael Jordan
Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared. Proverbs 3:25-26“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” Teddy Roosevelt
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23”The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses–behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” - Muhammad Ali
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. James 1:4“You can be comfortable or courageous, but you cannot be both.” - Brene Brown
Trust in the Lord with all... Proverbs 3:5“If you aren’t going all in, why go at all?” - Joe Namath
Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism. Proverbs 18:9“I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.” - Frederick Douglass
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.” - Bruce Lee
A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring has nothing to harvest in the fall. Proverbs 20:4“People almost never do what they think that they should do. But they always do what they feel they must do.” - Dusan Djukich
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12“I have written so many books on God, but after all that, what do I really know? I think, in the end, God is the person you’re talking to, the one right in front of you.” - Leon Dufour