On this special Halloween episode, hosts Liv and Brandon ask why creating AI avatars of the dead seems so alluring. What does it say about our deepest soul questions and longing for the permanent approval of the dead? And what does God have to say about all of this? Liv and Brandon wrap it up with lots of hope as we talk about the real promise of resurrection life in Christ that we celebrate on All Saints Day.  IT’S SIGNPOST INN’S 5TH ANNIVERSARY! And generous donors have given us $12,500 for our matching fund drive. From now until December 31, 2025 all your gifts will be doubled! Help us keep going strong for another 5 years, donate today: https://www.signpostinn.org/donate. Join us for a workshop on trusting God, or for one of our 4 week intensives here: https://www.signpostinn.org/events Links/References Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! (https://www.podsnacks.org/show?id=37a58158cbc54f779d5d2bad01306947) Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686       Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

What do you do when you know you need to make things right with someone, but you have no idea where to start? We've all been there - stuck in a conflict where we know something needs to happen, but we're paralyzed. Maybe you're the one who got hurt and people keep telling you to "just forgive," but you don't even know what that means. Or maybe you're the one who messed up and you want to apologize, but you're terrified of making it worse. You're caught between wanting peace and not knowing how to get there without either pretending everything's fine or making yourself a doormat. Last episode we talked about what to do when someone you love won't talk to you. But what about when they WILL talk – and now you have to figure out what to actually say?  Join us for a workshop on trusting God, or for one of our 4 week intensives here: https://www.signpostinn.org/events Links/References Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! (https://www.podsnacks.org/show?id=37a58158cbc54f779d5d2bad01306947) Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686     Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

In our polarized world, we're facing an epidemic of relational silence. Maybe it's your child who's pulled away. Your spouse who's emotionally checked out. A friend who's gone cold after a disagreement. A sister who won't return your calls. The silence is deafening, and it hits us at the deepest level because we're wired for connection. When those we love most won't engage, we long for restoration, and it makes us feel worthless, unlovable, and much much more. Join Brandon, Liv, and Matt for an emotional and powerful exploration of loneliness and finding connection in Christ. Join us for a workshop on trusting God, or for one of our 4 week intensives here: https://www.signpostinn.org/events   Links/References Explore.org Register for a Workshop or Intensive Not Home Yet Audio Book Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! (https://www.podsnacks.org/show?id=37a58158cbc54f779d5d2bad01306947) Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686     Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

WHY IS IT SO DANG HARD TO TRUST GOD? I know I should trust him, but more often than not I don’t and hang on to my fear, my anger, my sin. What’s going on here? This week we getting a real and talking about our own struggles with trusting God and how getting to know Jesus for who he really is has helped! Join us for a workshop on trusting God, or for one of our 4 week intensives here: https://www.signpostinn.org/events Links/References Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! (https://www.podsnacks.org/show?id=37a58158cbc54f779d5d2bad01306947) Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686     Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

This week the Signpost Inn Podcast goes off the trail and into the uncharted wilderness with an unscripted and unfiltered episode! We're missing Matt, saying “goodby” to Peter, and wrangling technology… but then the conversation took “a leap” into the deep end and we talked about how our souls’ have a longing for adventure — real risk — and how God doesn’t only provide security and comfort but also calls us to take real risks and real responsibility.  Join us as we toss out the script, and the BS, and get real about our fears and faith.   Links/References Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! (https://www.podsnacks.org/show?id=37a58158cbc54f779d5d2bad01306947) Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686       Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Do you wake up in the morning with the vague sense that you’re already falling behind?    In today’s episode, the group talks about how each of us have deep questions of the soul that we need God to answer or else we’ll spend our lives demanding answers from everyone and everything else. Questions like, “Am I capable?” “Am I enough?” and especially, “Am I lovable?” We are often completely unaware of these soul questions, but they subconsciously drive most everything we do. To top it all off, we’re often terrified of bringing these questions to God, the only one who can truly answer them! So tune in for our conversation as we compassionately unpack this dilemma and explore answers from Henri Nouwen’s book, The Return of the Prodigal Son.    We pray this episode changes the way you understand how God relates to you :)   Links/References Matt’s sermon on Psalm 16 Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks!  Review the podcast!    Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Have you ever felt childish for believing in beauty — in meaning — in Jesus? Like, the really “grown up” way to think is that faith is a cutesy, meaningless fairytale?   If so, we want you to know you’re not alone! Also, you’re not naive, you’re just remembering home. In this conversation we talk about The Chronicles of Narnia and how they teach us childlike faith in goodness, truth, and beauty. We share our experiences with Narnia and some of our favorite passages too. Come along for the ride and learn to let God be God and watch his story unfold around you.    Links/References Not Home Yet, by Brandon and Liv Booth: https://www.signpostinn.org/product/not-home-yet Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! (https://www.podsnacks.org/show?id=37a58158cbc54f779d5d2bad01306947) Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686       Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Has a book ever jumped off the shelf, interrupted your life and left you forever changed?    On today’s show the gang shares the books that have ambushed them and left them with a new view of life, themselves and God. These books have opened our eyes to beauty, truth, and goodness and we’re eternally grateful! Be warned, Listener, after this episode you will walk away with a “dangerous” reading list of books that are waiting to disrupt your life for good!   We hope you enjoy today’s show. Jesus thinks you’re the bee’s knees (aka, he likes you)   Links/References Interior Freedom, by Jacques Philippe: https://amzn.to/3IMEihX The Lightbringer Series, by Brent Weeks: https://amzn.to/45gjBUt Hind’s Feed on High Places, by Hannah Hurnard: https://amzn.to/41dBnFp The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis: https://amzn.to/4kZn5iF Hamlet, by William Shakespeare: https://amzn.to/452D2yF The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Andersen: https://amzn.to/3IJ4xpE Abel’s Island, by Williams Steig: https://amzn.to/3UuxjNi Practice in Christianity, by Søren Kierkegaard: https://amzn.to/4kUctBC The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis: https://amzn.to/40B3AWv On the Freedom of a Christian, by Martin Luther: https://amzn.to/454fJV8 Into your hands Father, by Wilfrid Stinissen: https://amzn.to/3IJ5bU6    Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! (https://www.podsnacks.org/show?id=37a58158cbc54f779d5d2bad01306947) Review the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-signpost-inn-podcast/id1583479686     Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Do you know a lot about God, but still sometimes feel disconnected from him? What does it mean to love the Lord with your heart, soul, mind, and strength?    Today’s guest, Dr. Reverend Alan Johnson shares about spiritual formation and his journey from knowing information about God to experiencing him relationally. As a pastor, Dr. Alan sheds some light on the unique challenges that ministry leaders face in cultivating their relationship with God. Anyone facing questions or trials can find it easier and safer to retreat into the realm of knowledge about God rather than wrestle relationally with these questions. Throughout the show Dr. Alan talks about his experience of spiritual formation and the practices that helped him relate to God and see himself more and more as a beloved child of God.    So, come join us for a great conversation as we learn to let Jesus pull his weight and form us into who he made us to be, children of God.    Links/References Try out Spiritual Direction with Pastor Alan Check out Pastor Alan’s sermons Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks!  Review the podcast   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Does your everyday life feel boring and disconnected from a sense of meaning and purpose? What if your boring life is way more holy than you think?   On today’s show the gang tackles the topic of vocation and our desire for meaning and purpose. The question of vocation often feels like trying to find a needle in a haystack, if we miss God’s calling on our lives everything else is pointless! What if that’s not how vocation works? Looking to Martin Luther, the group discusses his idea of “The masks of God” and how it relates to vocation. God delights to work through ordinary means. Police officers, government officials, and grocers are used by God to meet our needs for safety, peace, and daily sustenance. This perspective is larger than the category of occupation, helping us understand how the embrace of a friend and our honest conversation with a loved one is God at work to meet our hearts’ need for acceptance and belonging. The group closes the conversation with a rubric for making decisions about life and vocation.    We pray this conversation blesses you and opens your eyes to God at work for you, in the world around you.    Links/References “God at Work” by Gene Veith Explore your relationship with God through spiritual direction Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! Review the podcast!   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Is more information about God making you feel further from him? How do we know God more deeply when the only tool we have is mining for more data?   Join us for today’s episode as we navigate the dark woods of information overload. Together, Brandon, Liv, and Peter unpack the crisis of meaning and how the answer that is often presented is to amass greater knowledge about God. The difficulty with this answer is that it takes propositional knowledge about God and makes it the sum total of what it means to have a relationship with him. Many of us experience a disconnect between the information we know about God and our life experience. Is there a way to experience the truths we believe about God? The group discusses various types of knowing and how faith in God is most connected to a participatory knowing. Instead of always seeking more information, we are invited to consent to the fact that we currently are in relationship with God.   We pray you are blessed by this podcast! Jesus loves you!    Links/References Explore your relationship with God through spiritual direction Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! Review the podcast!   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Does real rest feel like an elusive dream? Has your rest been turned into just another productivity hack?    Today’s episode examines the nature of rest and why we all feel exhausted. Join Brandon, Liv, Matt and Peter as they unpack our human desire for rest and the obstacles we face to receiving it. A core insight that the group focuses on is that rest is really a trust issue. We can’t receive rest so long as we don’t trust God to give it to us. The group also challenges the assumption that we rest in order to work, citing the creation account for viewing rest as the culmination of work. The group closes out the conversation with some practical advice about how they’ve experienced rest in their own lives.    Thanks for joining us today! Jesus loves you. Rest in his love.    Links/References Get the Ebook: How to Actually Rest in Christ Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks! Review the podcast!     His Heart Beats, (song) by Andrew Peterson We’re here to help you rest. Talk with us! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Does the Christian faith provide real hope for our day-to-day life? Or are we simply suffering here until we die?   In today’s episode, the group tackles the issue of whether or not faith in Jesus provides any real hope for our earthly life. Sure, we understand that one day we’ll be resurrected and live eternally, but what about dealing with all the sin and suffering we face right now? The conversation focuses on our expectations for the Christian life and our sense that we are doing something wrong if we are suffering. The group talks about how it can be freeing to simply accept the difficulty of life and lay aside attempts to deny or distract us from this reality. The episode reaches its conclusion as the hosts expound on hope as the expanding of our vision to include more than our sufferings and sin.    Thanks for joining the discussion! Leave us a review and let us know what you think     Links/References Get email summaries for the show on PodSnacks!  Liv’s “How to Host an Easter Feast” ebook  Ebook: How to Actually Rest in Christ Want to talk with us?   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

Is faith in Jesus more than intellectual assent? What if God meant for food and drink to invite us into the richness of embodied experiences of his love and goodness?   In this episode, Brandon interviews Gisela Kreglinger, co-author of “Wine in the Word,” a Bible study about wine and its place in Christian feasting and fellowship. A through-line in the conversation is the idea that modern Christianity emphasizes intellectual knowledge about God, but glosses over the idea of experiencing God with our bodies and our emotions. Gisela unpacks how wine in particular, rich in symbolism as well as flavor, is an invitation to enjoy God and his good gifts.    Thanks for joining the discussion! Let us know what you think    Links/References “Wine in the Word” by Gisela H. Kreglinger and Randy Frazee “Cup Overflowing” by Gisela H. Kreglinger How to Actually Rest in Christ (ebook) Sign up for our weekly email of grace-filled goodness Schedule a call with us!   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

How are we supposed to survive this crazy world while we wait for God to redeem us and bring us home? In today’s conversation, the gang wrestles through the question of how to endure life in the meantime between the cross and our eventual resurrection. They sit with Psalm 13 and reflect on the relatability in the psalmist’s words, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” This passage launches the group off, talking about how difficult (and dangerous) it is to give an answer for the suffering we experience in life. The conversation finds its focal point in Jesus’ passion and how he endured suffering alone so that we wouldn’t have to.  Jesus suffered through hell for you and he promises to be with you through all of your own suffering.      Links/References Liv’s articles for Lutheran Witness How to Actually Rest in Christ. “I’m with you”, by Israel Houghton Schedule a call with us! Exodus 90 Review the podcast! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

What is taking a spiritual retreat all about?   In today’s episode, Brandon interviews Niecy LoCricchio on her book Space to Breathe, which is aimed at helping you plan a meaningful retreat for yourself or your group. Together, Brandon and Niecy unpack the fears we often experience as we enter times of silence and intimacy with God. Throughout the conversation, Niecy gives practical advice and teaches us about the purpose of a retreat. You won’t want to miss Niecy’s unique perspective on planning for “reentry” after your retreat!    Friend, God loves you. May you experience his goodness and find a space to simply be with him.     Links/References Space to Breathe, by Niecy LoCricchio Niecy’s website - The Soul Care Place How to Actually Rest in Christ Virtual Event: Explore the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises Signpost Inn Retreat: a grace-filled weekend of rest in Jesus Review the podcast!   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

What if spiritual discipline is not about achieving, but about receiving?   In today’s episode, Brandon, Liv, Matt, and Peter explore the role of spiritual disciplines in the Christian life. Although easily twisted into a legalistic means of achieving moral improvement, the spiritual disciplines are actually the practices which help us receive God’s love. They are indeed disciplines, because it takes effort to train our hearts to let go of our own agenda and simply receive from God. They are paradoxically very hard and very easy all at once! But when we are freed from connecting spiritual discipline with our acceptance and self-worth, we can begin to engage with them in a receptive, curious manner.    We pray that you hear the gracious invitation of Jesus to receive regular reminders of his love as you practice spiritual discipline!    Links/References How to Actually Rest in Christ Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted by Gretchen Ronnevik Signpost Inn Retreat: a grace-filled weekend of rest in Jesus Review the podcast!   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

What if spiritual disciplines were intended as rest for the bedraggled believer, not routines for self-driven sanctification?     Join us today for a conversation with author Gretchen Ronnevik about realistic, grace-filled spiritual disciplines. Learn from Gretchen’s experience with spiritual disciplines in the exhausting vocation of full time motherhood. Brandon and Gretchen explore questions like, “What is the goal of spiritual disciplines?” “What part do my efforts play?” and “Will grace make me lazy?” With analogies and stories throughout, this conversation will change the way you understand spiritual practice and discipline!   We pray that the momentous grace of God would overwhelm you with joy and peace as you know that Jesus enjoys being with you!    Links/References Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted by Gretchen Ronnevik Gretchen’s website Signpost Inn Retreat: a grace-filled weekend of rest in Jesus Domestic Monastery by Fr. Ronald Rolheiser Review the podcast!   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

At the heart of the gospel is the idea of freedom. So, what does it mean to be truly free?   In this episode, we had the great pleasure of talking with Fr. Jacques Philippe, the author of one of our absolute favorite books, Interior Freedom. Joining us all the way from France, Fr. Philippe unpacks how true freedom, consenting to reality, is quite counterintuitive to our human perception that freedom is the ability to choose whatever we want. Freedom is not the ability to shape reality as we choose, but rather the acceptance that our loving heavenly Father is using all things for our good. The obstacles to consenting to reality are many, because we often find ourselves, others, and the world to be unacceptable and burdensome. We talk with Father Philippe about how God’s “realistic” love helps us to accept ourselves, sinners though we be, and about how this love frees us up to accept others too.    It’s a wonderful conversation and we pray that you are blessed with true interior freedom as you come to know how much Jesus loves you!   Links/References Interior Freedom by Jacques Philippe Signpost Inn Retreat Send us feedback! --> podcast@signpostinn.org   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com

How can I learn to be curious instead of closed off? What if I didn’t need to have all the answers?   In today’s Bonus Episode, Brandon is interviewed by Adam Ormord, president and co-founder of LifePoint Resources and host of the Being Formed podcast. Brandon shares his faith journey and his core desire to be curious, explore the questions of life, and yet to remain rooted in what is true. The conversation centers around Brandon’s book, Changing the Conversation and the attitude of listening and curiosity.    We pray this conversation frees you up to be curious. Jesus loves you!   Links/References LifePoint Resources Changing The Conversation, by Brandon Booth Send us feedback! hello@signpostinn.org   Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Check out our website for more resources! Thanks to Rex Daugherty for creating the original theme music for this podcast. He's an award-winning artist and you can check out more of his work at rex-daugherty.com