This Good Word With Steve Wiens

Episode 145 | Matt Bays Reprise

Matt Bays is one of those author friends who I consider near and dear, although we've never met in real life. I consider his wisdom to be hard-won, a real gift for the rest of us. His journey has included so much pain, and yet he still finds a way to be hopeful. 

Enjoy, my friends. 

Episode 144 | You're Building Something, Part 2

In part 1, I wanted to help you keep perspective on the good work that you're doing - whatever it is - and to help you remember that all good work takes time. I hate that there aren't too many satisfying metrics in the "slog time" - those moments where you just have to keep going: whether it's writing, editing, teaching, hammering, cooking, driving, or tutoring. 

I also talked about drilling down and trying to name what it is that you're building - beyond just the book, movie, bakery, or curriculum. What bigger thing are you hoping will happen when that smaller thing -the book, movie, poem, recipe, building, business, or whatever - is done. 

In part 2, I talked about some examples of times that I've had to keep perspective when I've missed deadlines, when I get jealous of other authors, or when I'm tempted to do somebody else's thing rather than just keep working on building that thing that I'm building. I talked about the critical importance of having a "cutting room floor" file. And I talked about how to know if your idea is still fuzzy, and also how to know if it's ready to pitch to someone. 

Enjoy! 

Episode 143 | You're Building Something, Part 1

In this episode, I wanted to help you keep perspective on the good work that you're doing - whatever it is - and to help you remember that all good work takes time. I hate that there aren't too many satisfying metrics in the "slog time" - those moments where you just have to keep going: whether it's writing, editing, teaching, hammering, cooking, driving, or tutoring. 

I also talked about drilling down and trying to name what it is that you're building - beyond just the book, movie, bakery, or curriculum. What bigger thing are you hoping will happen when that smaller thing -the book, movie, poem, recipe, building, business, or whatever - is done. 

Enjoy!

Part two will come out in two days, in which I'll talk more about some examples of times that I've had to keep perspective when I've missed deadlines, when I get jealous of other authors, or when I'm tempted to do somebody else's thing rather than just keep working on building that thing that I'm building. 

 

Episode 142 | Fear with Adam Hamilton

Adam Hamilton is the pastor of Church of the Ressurection in Kansas City, Missouri, and also the author of several books, including his newest, titled Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times.  We had a really interesting, practical conversation about fear and how to deal with it in our lives in a way that is productive rather than paralyzing. 

You can find out more about Adam's work, including some of the resources he mentioned at the end of the show on his website. 

Enjoy!  

Episode 141 | The Day After

No matter how big or small your creative effort is, if there comes a time when it gets out there into the world, there will inevitably be "the day after" the big event. What happens on the day after? How do you feel and what do you do? 

In this episode, I talked about the four stages of the creative process, from idea to preparation to actually doing it to the day after, and I covered the range of emotions you feel during each stage. I recorded this episode especially for my friend Aaron, who is planting a church this Sunday, and has been through stages one and two, and is about to go through stages three and four. 

I hope this is helpful for any of you who are doing anything creative! 

At the break in the podcast, I mentioned Author School, which is a course led by Rachelle Gardner, who has helped more than 150 authors bring their idea to published form. She's insightful, super helpful, and this course is great for anyone who is trying to get their manuscript in front of a publisher or is trying to put together a proposal, or a query letter, or is trying to decide whether to self-publish or go the traditional publishing route. For more information, check out Author School.

Episode 140 | We Follow Where it Goes

In this episode, I almost lost my voice. Ha! My passion level for this subject is high to quite high.

I tried to do several things:

1. I talked Ressurection - it's holy week.

2. I talked about why losing your faith is actually good. If we are growing and honest at all, we end up losing our faith many times. It's what happens to healthy people. And then some of us keep following the faith/God/Spirit where it is going. 

3. I talked about the vital importance of following where it goes, how to do that, what not to be afraid of, what's normal, and what to expect from other people when we do. 

Whew! This was a fun one. 

Enjoy. 

Episode 139 | Haines Interviews Wiens

One of my dearest friends, Steve Haines, interviewed me on this episode, and it was incredible. He asks such probing, spacious questions. We talked Star Wars, pastoring, spiritual practices, childhood, and Mary Martin Wiens even made a surprise appearance (honestly - we didn't even know she was going to show up) at the end... and she basically stole the show. This one was so much fun. 

Enjoy. 

Episode 138 | Wiens Interviews Haines

Friends! 

I've been waiting to interview one of my dearest friends, Steve Haines, for a really long time, and it finally happened. We talked art, creativity, life, protest, faith, and his new project, Tov Music. At the end, you'll hear a scratch track from one of the songs on his new record, and it's so very good. 

I hope you fall in love with Steve like I have. He's one of the best. Next week, you'll hear Haines interview Wiens. So fun! 

Enjoy!

To find out more about Steve's new project, visit Tov Music. 

Episode 137 | Spiritual Practices that You Might Actually Enjoy

Most people that I talk to feel guilty about their spiritual practices. They feel like they should be doing more, or doing better at them, and because they're failing, God must be really disappointed with them.

Let's quit that nonsense.

In this episode, I introduced some simple, really enjoyable, momentary spiritual practices that could help you attune yourself to God by finding some practices that help you enjoy God. 

I really hope this is helpful, and I'd love to hear from you if it was! 

Have a great day, my friends. 

Episode 136 | Too Much

Have you ever felt like you just can't work on one more thing about yourself without totally imploding? Maybe it's time to quit trying so hard to smooth out all the rough edges. Maybe some things are just a part of the package that is you - and they're not going to change. What if you could give yourself the freedom to let some of those rough things stay rough?

How do you know if that rough part is something you need to work on or something you can just let go?

How do you know who to listen to? 

How do you know who to blow off? 

This one was a fun one, friends. I'm a firm believer that you can't work on everything, and that you just need to let some rough edges stay rough. 

Enjoy!