Send us Fan Mail

Prophecy can mess with your sense of time. One minute you’re confident you heard God clearly, and the next you’re wondering why nothing has changed. We open with a blunt picture that explains the problem: prophetic insight can be like driving down a freeway at 100 miles an hour while looking through binoculars. You can see the mountain peaks, but you can’t see the long valleys in between, and that gap is where discouragement loves to live.

We turn to 2 Peter 3 for a grounded, Scripture-based reset. Peter names the voice of cynicism and spiritual fatigue, the “where is the promise?” question, then answers it with a bigger view of history and an even bigger view of God. What sounds like delay is often patience, and that patience is not weakness. It is mercy that creates time for repentance, salvation, and real inner change.

From there we get practical about spiritual formation: doubts rising to the surface, the dross being skimmed away, and the difference between holiness powered by grace versus holiness powered by self-effort. We talk about “beholding and becoming,” letting the peace of God guard our hearts, and learning to steward the weighty presence of God without trying to earn what Jesus already paid for. We also touch on unity in the body of Christ and end with prayer and a clear cry of hope: Maranatha, come Lord Jesus.

If this message strengthens you, subscribe, share it with a friend who feels stuck in the waiting, and leave a review. What promise are you still holding on to, and what makes waiting hardest for you?

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.

Send us Fan Mail

Following Jesus sounds inspiring until it costs you something real: approval, comfort, and the sense that everyone is on your side. We start with what we love about Jesus, that He tells us like it is. He doesn’t sell discipleship with a soft pitch and hide the hard parts. He names the conflict up front: if the world hated Him, it will hate His followers too, and sometimes the tension can cut right through a household.

We also walk through a sobering scene from the Gospels (Mark 3 and the parallel passages) where Jesus faces pressure not only from religious authorities but from His own family. With crowds pressing in and accusations swirling, they try to pull Him back, worried about what His ministry is doing to the family name. Jesus answers with a defining question: who is my family? His response re-centers everything on faith, obedience, and doing the will of God, even when it feels lonely.

From there we get painfully practical about people pleasing and fear of man. If you’re called to lead, serve, or simply obey God in a hard moment, you will eventually face the test of disappointing someone. We talk about why people pleasing is bondage, how God may even arrange circumstances that purge it out, and why that refining creates real spiritual growth and kingdom momentum. The goal isn’t becoming harsh; it’s becoming free.

If you’re staring at a decision that won’t be popular, let this be your encouragement to please God first. Listen now, share this with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review so others can find us. What’s one area where you’re choosing obedience over approval right now?

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.

Send us Fan Mail

If your life feels like it’s getting smaller instead of better, you’re not alone and you’re not broken. We talk candidly about spiritual pruning, the kind that feels like being stripped down to nothing, and why we believe God often initiates that refining work right before He entrusts greater weight and responsibility. This is discipleship without the polish: surrender over comfort, God at the center rather than on the shelf, and a faith that learns to lean on Him instead of proving how strong we are on our own.

From there, we connect the personal to the prophetic. We share why Israel matters as a “sundial” for biblical prophecy and why the church should pay attention when major shifts happen in the land. With Ezekiel 38 and 39 as our anchor, we discuss Gog and Magog, the nations described in the text, and the claim that God Himself will make His name known in a way that grabs the attention of the whole world. That perspective reframes the headlines: not as fuel for fear, but as a call to discernment, humility, and readiness to meet Jesus.

We also slow down on the meaning of God’s glory. We describe it as weighty and substantive, not vague or misty, and we ask what has to be removed in us before we can steward that presence well. If you’ve been hearing talk of revival while experiencing weakness, this conversation offers a different lens: refining may be the preparation you’ve been praying for.

Subscribe for more, share this with someone walking through a hard season, and leave a review if it strengthens you. What part of pruning do you find hardest right now?

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.

Send a text

You can be tired of religion and still be headed the wrong way. We sit with a tension most of us feel but rarely name: the craving to live autonomously while claiming faith in a God who says we were purchased and now belong to Him. If you have ever said “I’m done” and meant it, done with empty rules, done with performing, done with trying to earn God’s approval, this conversation is for you.

We open Luke 15 and slow down with the story of the loving father, the prodigal son, and the older brother. One runs hard into reckless living and ends up in a dry land of hunger and regret. The other stays close to home but lives like a slave, keeping score and resenting grace. We talk about why both rebellion and religious striving can create spiritual distance, and how each one quietly blocks peace, dulls our ability to hear God, and pushes us toward burnout.

Then we turn toward the way back: repentance that leads to restoration, covenant relationship instead of self-reliance, and daily dependence on the Holy Spirit. The Father’s heart is not to negotiate your return but to restore your identity and bring you home. If you want spiritual growth that is real, grounded, and relational, press play.

Subscribe for more conversations on Christian discipleship and spiritual maturity, share this with a friend who is tired of dead works, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What part of Luke 15 hits you the hardest right now?

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.

Send a text

What if the whisper that says you’re unworthy isn’t yours at all—but a trespasser you can lawfully remove? We share how a simple homegrown show became a global conversation about the manifest presence of God, and why rising light often stirs a backlash from darkness. Through raw personal moments and clear scripture, we break down how accusation works, why fear of death hides beneath so many decisions, and how Jesus’ victory reframes both identity and authority for everyday believers.

We walk through the difference between inspiration and authority, and why covenant language—spoken in the name of Jesus—carries weight that emotions can’t fake. You’ll hear practical, exact words for confronting oppression, what it means to call out trespass, and the reason the kingdom backs believers who echo what the Father has already declared. Rather than chasing trends or copying others, we return to the Bible as our standard and Christ as our model, exploring how to behold him until our speech and steps align with his.

This conversation widens to a hopeful horizon: God is revealing his glory across nations in ways that are tangible, disruptive, and deeply personal. Expect pressure where light advances. Expect lies to target your past and your sense of calling. And expect breakthrough when you stand in your covenant rights as a co-heir with Christ. If you’re tired of feeling pushed around by invisible weight, this is your invitation to stand up, speak with clarity, and watch darkness move.

If this resonates, share it with a friend who needs courage today, subscribe for future episodes, and leave a review with one line about the authority you’re choosing to walk in this week.

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.

Send a text

What if one brave, ordinary act from a parent could echo for decades and reshape a child’s view of God? We share a raw, hopeful journey from the chaos of addiction to the slow, steady work of rebuilding trust—with a school bus story that became a lifelong anchor. Along the way, we preview our upcoming deep dive into 1 Samuel and the life of King David, connecting his battles, restorations, and leadership to the spiritual moment we’re all living through right now.

We open our hearts about how alcohol warped communication, turned small moments into wounds, and taught our kids to brace for impact. Then we talk about the turning point: a sober life rooted in Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit, where words become clear, boundaries feel safe, and presence replaces performance. A weekend with our oldest son pulls back a treasured memory—dad stepping onto a bus, setting a firm boundary, and offering something children crave more than perfect parents: a secure defender who shows up without mocking their need.

From there we unpack why trust is a survival skill, not a luxury. When parents model protection, consistency, and honest repair, children learn how to rest, how to listen, and how to believe their heavenly Father will meet them with help instead of harm. We explore honor as a practical path that opens channels for wisdom and peace, and we reflect on how recovered relationships can become living parables of grace. The throughline is simple and strong: presence builds safety, safety births trust, and trust makes faith possible.

If this resonates, tap follow, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a rating or review to help others find the show. Got thoughts or questions? Email lifearoundthefire@gmail.com—we’d love to hear your story.

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.

Send a text

What if the church has been running on half power—brilliant in analysis, but dim in the one faculty designed for communion with God? We sit down with Tracy Perez to explore a bold, restorative claim: the Christian life is meant to be led by the heart through a purified imagination. Not fantasy. Not trend-chasing. A scriptural, time-tested way of seeing that turns revelation into embodied practice.

We trace a surprising arc: from the vivid, image-rich pages of scripture to the prayer rhythms of the Desert Fathers, where lectio divina trained believers to picture, pray, and sing the Word until it shaped their inner world. Tracy shares how neuroscience affirms what the saints practiced—mental rehearsal activates the brain as if we lived it—making contemplation a gateway to real transformation. Along the way, Connor’s nonverbal insights challenge our assumptions about attention, language, and spiritual sensitivity, pushing us to ask deeper questions without falling for spectacle.

We also face the “great forgetting.” The Enlightenment’s fixation on what can be measured sidelined the heart’s ways of knowing. Exegesis and hermeneutics matter, but when they eclipse contemplation, faith grows thin. Our aim is integration: keep rigorous study, restore the inner eye, and let the Spirit join head and heart. Expect practical steps—silence, stillness, watchfulness, and imaging scripture—to help you cultivate a steady awareness of God in daily work and prayer. The goal isn’t a novel experience; it’s communion with the Father that renews desire, clarifies discernment, and bears fruit in action.

If this stirs something in you, journey with us. Subscribe, share this conversation with a friend hungry for a deeper life with God, and leave a review to help others find it. Your reflections shape future episodes—send questions and tell us what practice you’ll try this week.

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.

Send a text

What if imagination isn’t make-believe but the very way the heart sees God? We welcome Tracy Perez to pull a long thread through Scripture and history, showing how the Hebrew Yetzer (imagination/inclination) and the Greek nous (often translated mind) describe a core capacity of the heart: to behold, to be shaped, and to act. From Eden’s design to the flood and Babel, we track how powerful imagination can bless or break a people, and why Paul prayed that the “eyes of your heart” would be enlightened so we could know hope, inheritance, and power in Christ.

Together we unpack why many of us were trained to distrust imagination and how that loss has thinned our worship, our discipleship, and even our planning. Jesus didn’t hand out sterile definitions; He painted moving scenes—the lilies of the field, seeds in soil—inviting us to picture truth until it forms us. We explore the etymology of “imagination” as image nation: a people of the same origin as the Image, brought forth with Him, and participating with Him. That lens reframes spiritual formation, prayer, and mission: what we repeatedly behold becomes what we quietly become.

We also touch on research suggesting thoughts have shape and weight, adding urgency to the call for a sanctified imagination. Childlike seeing isn’t naivete; it is recovered design. Renewing the nous means curating our inner gaze, praying Scripture with attention, envisioning Christ’s presence in daily life, and refusing images that deform love. The goal isn’t novel experiences—it’s communion with Abba. If you’ve felt tugged to reclaim your inner vision but met resistance, this conversation offers language, theology, and practices to help you behold Jesus and be transformed from glory to glory.

If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review to help others find the show. What’s one image from Scripture you’ll carry into your week?

Support the show

Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearoundthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.