Rhythms of Grace

This spring, we received dozens of questions about why and how to read the Bible. In this season of Rhythms of Grace, we want to start trying to answer them! As we dive into our first hermeneutical season of Rhythms of Grace, join Nate, Sung, and Christine as they question a lot of what we've been taught about the Bible and what it says.

Christine, Nate, and Sung have spent ten episodes discussing the costs and benefits of technology and the worldview it's created... but what are we supposed to do about it? This week, they look at a few tangible steps you can take to take control of your technology.

In this penultimate episode of this season, the Rhythms of Grace team looks at what it means to truly live the good life. We so often take the Western approach: More is more. But what are the limits of this approach? Wrestle it out with us in this episode of Rhythms of Grace.

As this season approaches its conclusion, the Rhythms of Grace team takes more of a wide look at technology. At what point do we need to consider the costs of technology? What is the impact of technology on our worldview? Through stories, personal experiences, and more, the team weighs the cost and benefits of the technology-driven worldview that permeates our culture today.

From math to typing to learning a language, everything can be approached as a game. Technology makes learning fun... but can these rules be applied to faith? What about our personal relationships? This week, the Rhythms of Grace team tackles the pros and cons of gamification and what it means for faith today.

In every century, technology has dramatically shaped the experience of faith communities. Whether it was the Roman roads in the first century or the technological advancements necessitated by COVID, technology shapes our faith. Find out how in this week's Rhythms of Grace.

This week, the Rhythms of Grace team continues to talk about the intersection of faith and technology. Dr. Jean Twenge says that technology creates the Slow Life... but what does that *really* mean? And do we have a choice? Find out on this week's epsiode of Rhythms of Grace!

Dr. Jean Twenge talks about two children of technology: Individualism and the Slow Life. This week, we'll talk about the first. Does technology foster individualism, or isolation? Maybe a little of both? This week, Sung, Nate, and Christine talk about the good and bad aspects of the individualism that technology brings.

Today, we are faced with the opportunity and challenge of being able to see/impact/reach/hear everyone and everything everywhere. Technology seems to promise us a life without limitations. This week, Nate and Christine ask the question: Is a limitless life our best life?

Technology promises us that we will be able to do more of what we love and less of what we don't. Life will be easier, simpler, and more efficient with no cost. But is there a cost? And how can we know it? That's what Nate and Christine chat about this week on Rhythms of Grace.

Now, more than ever before, distraction is at your fingertips. It can help us to stop mental spirals, distract us from physical pain, and help us disconnect from work after a long day. On the other hand, it can stop us from being creative, productive, and reflective. So how do we discern good distraction from bad distraction? Tune in to find out!

Technology is an integral part of all of our lives. Whether you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere or you work for a tech giant in Silicon Valley, you rely on technology every day. But what does that have to do with faith? That's the question the Rhythms of Grace team will be chewing on this season.

Food is part of our daily lives. It gives us fuel, but it is so much more than that. It brings people together, impacts our mental and physical health, and can even provide rest. Tune in this week as Pastor Stephanie Ehmke joins Nate and Christine to wrap up season 8 of Rhythms of Grace.

This week, while Sung is away, Nate and Christine take some time to talk about sleep. From mental health to marriage to the routines they follow, the Rhythms of Grace team talks about a few key points that impact their sleep.

When people think of rest, most of the time, their first thought is sleep. How can you sleep better, and what difference will it make? Do you have a sleep disorder? Should you and your pet sleep in separate beds? How about you and your spouse? Sung and Christine talk about all these questions and more in today's episode on sleep.

While Nate is still on vacation, Sung and Christine dive deep into the first building block of a healthy, rested life: exercise. At the same time, exercise is a pretty new phenomenon. Sung gives a short history of exercise before the team dive into the function of exercise and how it relates to good rest.

Sung and Christine take a detour away from the seven types of rest to talk about the building blocks of good rest in every area: food, sleep, and exercise. What does it mean to take care of our bodies as temples, and what does that have to do with getting enough rest? Find out this week!

All season, we've been talking about how to rest FROM and rest IN, but how do you rest from spirituality? Is that heretical? What does spiritual rest actually look like? That's what Sung, Nate, and Christine wrestle with in today's Rhythms of Grace episode.

Are you feeling like your brain is constantly working? Are you overwhelmed by the constant onslaught of information in the world around you? You might be in need of some mental rest. This week, the Rhythms of Grace team is tackling the sixth of seven types of rest as they discusses how each of them experience or seek mental rest.

Whether you're an introvert or an extrovert, you still need social rest. Like every other type of rest, this can look like resting FROM or resting IN. Do you need to find more life-giving friendships? Or do you need to draw better boundaries in the relationships that drain you? Find out as you listen to this week's episode.

What's the difference between writing a sermon and writing a term paper? Why would drawing be creatively restful when photography isn't? The Rhythms of Grace team answers these questions and more as they discuss what it looks like to get the creative rest they need.

Between the bustle of city life, the blue light of screens everywhere we look, and the constant assault of sounds and smells, it can feel difficult to find sensory rest. Whether you feel more "sensory blunt" like Sung or more sensitive like Nate and Christine, the Rhythms of Grace team has some tips to get the sensory rest you need.

When you think of physical rest, you may think of plopping down on the couch after a hard workout or lying down for a midday nap. What does "active rest" look like? And who needs it? As it turns out, Nate (who works long days on a farm) and Sung (who works long days at a desk) both need physical rest in a big way. Do you? Find out in today's episode.

In today's episode, Sung asks Nate and Christine about their #1 area of exhaustion: emotional exhaustion. What does emotional rest look like? Join the crew this week as they wrestle with the role of their inner critic and the call to think of ourselves less. How rested are you? Check it out at restquiz.com!

Wait a second... SEVEN types of rest? Listen to this episode as Nate, Sung, and Christine walk through the seven types of rest that we all need, and keep an ear out for which type of rest YOU might be missing.

In Season 8, we are talking about just one topic all summer long: REST. In this episode, the Rhythms of Grace team talks about some misconceptions they have each had in the past and ask the big question: Why are we all so tired? Join us as we kick off this new season!

This week, the Rhythms of Grace crew wraps up our season, "Things I Wish I'd Known" by talking about things they wish they'd known about scripture, prayer, and the spiritual disciplines. Now we know everything! ... Right?

All season long, we've been talking about things we wish we'd known earlier in life. This episode, Sung and Nate share some things they wish they'd learned earlier about work. What do you wish you'd learned? As always, the team would love to hear from you.

Nate and Sung start out by asking Christine if she's had a quarter-life crisis. By the end of the episode, her answer might have changed... This episode is full of things that Sung and Nate (and Christine!) wish they'd known in their 20s.

Sung and Nate and Christine each had VASTLY different college experiences, but all of them wish they'd known some of the same things in college. Join us this week to find out what an Aggie is, what farming has to do with anything, and what the Rhythms of Grace team wishes they'd known in college.

This week, we're leaving our marriage mini-series behind and looking at things we wish we'd known about high school. Is high school as important as everyone says it is? Do high school friends really matter? Could our parents have done better? Join us this week as we talk trough all the things we wish we'd known.

As the Rhythms of Grace crew continues talking about things they wish they'd known, Nate brings up a big one: It's okay to establish different roles in a marriage. From parenting to finances to chores around the house, he, Sung, and Christine talk through the ways they've seen dividing up roles and responsibilities go well... and not so well.

We love paradoxes on Rhythms of Grace, so today we're tackling a big one. We're told that "You shouldn't marry someone you can live with; you should marry someone you can't live without." At the same time, if you need the other person in order to be happy, that's just not healthy. So what's the right answer?

Can conflict in relationships and marriages be avoided? Or is it really a necessary part of creating healthy peace? This week, Sung tries to start conflict between Nate and Christine, and they all share stories about learning to engage in healthy conflict.

This week, Sung kicks off the episode with some bad news... No matter how good of a match you and your spouse might be, marriage isn't easy. How do you build a successful marriage? Sung, Nate, and Christine all have some stories and thoughts as they talk through things they wish they'd known about marriage.

It sounds very Christian to say that everything happens for a reason, but is it true? What does that even mean? And is it helpful? This week, Nate, Sung, and Christine look at the Bible, songs, and stories from their own lives as they figure out whether it's really okay to say that everything doesn't happen for a reason.

There's a stigma around Christians being judgmental, but is there such a thing of godly judgment? Sung, Nate, and Christine wrestle with lots of Scripture as they figure out what it looks like to call people to something greater.

This week, Sung, Nate, and Christine talk about how to find or discern God's will. Sung says we're looking for the wrong things and Christine struggles to describe a feeling while Nate lays out some concrete structures to approach God's will.

After a brief(but tasty) chocolate tangent, the team dives into a big question in the church today: Can faith fix everything? The Bible definitely seems to say so... but how do we reconcile that with the pain and injustice we see in the world around us? That's what Sung, Nate, and Christine wrestle with in today's episode.

It is easy to assume that good parents raise good kids and bad parents raise bad kids... But what do we do when our kids don't turn out the way we expect, despite our best efforts? Sung and Nate offer up some parenting wisdom as they wrestle with the reality that nothing is guaranteed.

We've all heard the phrase "forgive and forget," but is that really our best option? As we continue in our series "Things I Wish I Knew..." Sung, Nate, and Christine wrestle with what healthy forgiveness really looks like.

This week on Rhythms of Grace, Sung, Nate, and Christine continue talking about things they wish they'd learned. For instance, does willpower have limits? Should we lean on inspiration? Is there a third option?