11 Dec 2017
When someone says they saw God provide a miracle, what do you think? Maybe they recount how he rescued them from illness, financial difficulty or job loss. God absolutely does those things all the time. Still, real life is made up of a combination of joy, sorrow, fear, pain, suffering, blessing, reward, provision and disruption. […]
17 Nov 2017
Christianity is giving you a story of the entire world and human condition. … A story that doesn’t correspond with the way things actually are will bring more devastation, heartbreak and brokenness than actual help.1 The Bible Story and Humanity The world presents many stories that compete with each other to explain the world and […]
10 Aug 2017
Stop the car. Those three words made the difference between life and death for our friend Dorsey, or Dee as we call him. You got an introduction to Dee Howard in podcast 27. When we met him last year, we immediately connected due to our common interest in storytelling. He weaves story into his local […]
19 Jun 2017
Thanks for checking in for a quick update the next podcast. We’re thrilled to present our friend Dee Howard. Born in Chicago, Dee went from a seemingly perfect suburban family to drugs, gangs and then prison. God never gave up on him though and Dee ended up sharing his stories in a recently published book, […]
4 Mar 2017
Rescue Mission in North Minneapolis closes a three-part series from KG Wilson (episodes 24, 25). As always, this story had an impact on us. Our new friendship with KG threw us into a few unexpected adventures, introduced us to some new friends and breathed fresh inspiration into our storytelling. We didn’t plan any of that. Isn’t that just like God? As he takes […]
14 Nov 2016
Have you ever regretted your physical or even emotional scars? You wish they’d just disappear. You may have even tried removing them. Our guest today shares how he thought about this as well. And then he found his scars tell stories that help hurting people hear God’s story. We introduced Kay G Wilson in episode […]
6 Sep 2016
We picked up Kay G to record a three-part series. He warned us that he was on call. If a shooting should take place, he’d need to hit the road and be there for any families and neighbors affected. Talk about an an eye-opening conversation. We began to get the picture that these calls were […]
13 Aug 2016
We knew this story would be different. Honestly, we didn’t look forward to it. Pausing to pray, we felt the weight of the story to be shared. This conversation would stare death straight in the eye. And yet, somehow we ended up with opportunities to laugh together with Ken and Patty as they shared part […]
12 Jul 2016
Hey podcast listeners, we have another long story that we’ve boiled down to a few minutes for you. Today’s episode is entitled “Beyond a Good Life.” Our friend Ray tells us he’s been blessed with “a good life.” But years ago he felt pressed to pray for more than that. He believed there was more […]
15 Jun 2016
We’ve heard from a few listeners wondering when this episode would air so they could hear the conclusion of Jewl’s story. In part 1, she talked about responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to learn about revival. In that process, God changed the direction for a campus recruitment road trip to Wheaton College. […]
8 Jun 2016
As Brent and I planned a recent road trip, we learned it would take us through Jewl’s city. She had posted a few travel suggestions on Facebook and even offered to let us spend the night. That’s when God impressed on me to invite her to pray about sharing a story on the podcast. I […]
4 Apr 2016
We never get tired of hearing how God is at work in people’s lives. Each story is so unique and that’s definitely the case with Mary Jane and her weighted blankets. We were clueless about this whole idea of a weighted blanket. But after hearing Mary Jane’s story, we’re pretty pumped about how God is using […]
23 Feb 2016
If you’re an avid follower of Long Story Short Podcast, you’ve seen us experiment with story-telling methods. Some people are more comfortable sharing a story in an essay-like manner. Others do better working from a simple outline. We’ve also dabbled with interviews. Today’s story pulled up in a cab. Not long before we recorded this podcast, we […]
28 Dec 2015
The two brothers in this episode display unusual maturity for their ages. But that’s not surprising after spending time with Ben and Isaiah and their family. Despite being brothers, these guys have very distinct life stories. And yet one of their many commonalities is that they love God and have seen him show up in […]
29 Nov 2015
We first recorded Ken and Patti eight months ago on podcast #9. According to the American dream, they should be on the verge of living out plans for the empty nest years. Instead, they’ve been catapulted into a dramatic journey to not only battle ALS, but wrestle with what submission to God means as his […]
8 Nov 2015
Maybe you’re like us. You run into a constant flow of viewpoints on race relations. It’s in the media. You run into discussions at work, school and social gatherings. We’ll say right up front – race relations is definitely not our area of expertise. We recognize that puts us at risk to say the wrong […]
22 Sep 2015
The friends in this podcast have a house full of kids. When they invited us over for dinner, we naturally anticipated some chaos. It was anything but. We were amazed at how respectful and well-mannered the children were. The older ones chipped in with dinner preparations without prompting. The younger ones quickly won our hearts. […]
10 Jun 2015
Our last three episodes were about storytelling. We invited you to participate in our four-week class, “A Story Big Enough to Live In.” During the final class, our friends practiced what we all learned by sharing a story or two. And so we got to hear what God was up to in each other’s lives. This was all fun […]
5 May 2015
If you’ve been following the past few episodes, you know we just finished week three in leading a four-week series on telling stories. The class is called “A Story Big Enough to Live In” and this is podcast is a condensed summary of our notes. We knew some of the class participants would want to […]
28 Apr 2015
If you caught podcast #10, you know we’re currently leading a four-week series at our church. It’s called “A Story Big Enough to Live In.” This episode is also a condensed summary of our notes from the class. If you’re interested in learning more about storytelling, this material will be right up your alley. Again, […]
19 Apr 2015
Podcast #10 is a change up from previous episodes. We were invited to lead a four-week series we’re calling “A Story Big Enough to Live In.” This podcast episode is part one of a condensed summary of our notes from the class. This material may be helpful for anyone interested in learning more about identifying and telling […]
29 Mar 2015
As we sat around Ken and Patti’s table to hear their story, we were reminded of how even though we know and believe that God is good, life is full of unpredictability. Each life is full of circumstances and experiences that are combined with a unique purpose, personality and DNA. Nothing can be taken for […]
5 Mar 2015
“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” Psalm 96:3NLT It couldn’t be simpler. Spread the word about what God is up to. That sounds like the mission statement for this podcast! Ok, the simple part is “Tell the stories.” The tricky part is, “How?” Not everyone is called upon to do […]
14 Feb 2015
We found ourselves a bit weary of death by the end of January. One friend lost his father after a long bout with illness. Another lost her brother-in-law unexpectedly. A dear woman from church lost her battle with a long-term medical condition. Several co-workers lost loved ones and we have parents and friends facing very […]
1 Jan 2015
Les grew up near Liverpool in the UK. He was a police officer for 22 years and a missionary in Romania. He’s discovered that God uses even the most difficult times of our lives. In our previous podcast, you heard part one of Les’ story. We were sitting around the dinner table with him and […]
21 Dec 2014
Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” ― C.S. Lewis God speaks to us in more creative ways that we can count. However, pain and struggle often seem to lead us […]
19 Dec 2014
“Man finds it hard to get what he wants because he does not want the best. God finds it hard to give because he would give the best, and man will not take it.” – George MacDonald Why Tell Stories? We should tell stories because God tells stories. Our whole existence is a result of […]
19 Nov 2014
We’re excited to share our first female story teller on the podcast. God’s fingerprints are all over the stories Tamara tells. If you listen close, you’ll recognize the intimacy of a life with him. The more of these stories you come across in life and the more you step into conversation with him yourself, the […]
1 Nov 2014
Dave’s story led us to think about two very different songs. First, there’s Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” from 1968. And, from the 90s there’s the lesser known “Dreams I Dream for You” by Avalon. The songs represent two distinct perspectives on life. Sinatra confidently belts out one man’s mission statement: “… For what is a man; what […]
5 Oct 2014
It seems the longer you live, the more you realize this life can be difficult. We know too many people who are experiencing painful struggles. Illness, tragedy, chronic pain and betrayals. We’ve faced some of those things even in just the last year. Ok, you may be thinking this is going to be a real […]
14 Sep 2014
In our second podcast, you meet our friend and neighbor Chris. It’s difficult to zero in on just one or two themes from his story. It’s packed with everything from questions of eternal life, to doubts, fears and complaints to God. At times his story even suggests the spirit of a psalmist who wrestles with […]
2 Sep 2014
In episode one of Long Story Short Podcast our friend Mark shares how God transformed him from a police officer mainly concerned about accolades and action to a follower of Jesus. His concern has shifted now to invite Christ to work through him to redirect people’s lives. That completely changed Mark’s life and perspective on […]
2 Jul 2018
30: Theresa’s Story-Prayers From Prison
Theresa’s story starts in a prison cell. Years of emptiness flowed into a vow never to trust anyone again. Here’s how she describes the very dark place she found herself: “After the things I’d been through, I hated humans. I had no hope in them. I had seen too much. Too much phoniness. Too much […]
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