27 May 2025

Mike’s Rumblings 12-06-24

This is an audio version of Mike Murphy‘s Friday rumblings. This is a regular post on Facebook that I’ve turned into a podcast. I decided Mike’s words needed a wider audience. You may agree or disagree with what he says, but there is certainly much food for thought contained here….Read More

16 Jul 2018

Phileena Heuertz-episode 136

Phileena Heuertz joins me this week on Faith Conversations. She is founding partner of Gravity, a Center for Contemplative Activism. She is a spiritual director, yoga instructor, speaker, and retreat guide. We talk about what a pilgrimage of the soul looks like. As we look at Phileena’s book Pilgrimage of a Soul, we look at what our awakening might look like as well as some of the darkness we can face while on the journey of transformation. We wrap our time by talking about what Union with God really looks like.

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25 Jun 2018

John Lustrea Movie Conversation-episode 135

This week on the podcast, John Lustrea and I discuss and use some spiritual practices as part of the discussion of a movie. The movie choice might seem unlikely, but we chose—actually John chose—the movie Moana. And he suggested we look at the movie through the lens of Exploration. A fruitful and substantive conversation ensued. We might even influence you to go watch the movie. I hope we do.

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18 Jun 2018

Lori Neff & Anita Lustrea-episode 134

I am delighted to have Lori Neff back on Faith Conversations this week. We are rolling out a book club. Both Lori and I have had numerous people email and ask if we would consider starting the book club up again. Dr. Rosalie de Rosset, our previous book club leader, is too busy currently. So we thought we’d tackle it ourselves.

The first book we are going to read is When Mockingbirds Sing by Billy Coffey. The first person to email me and agree to either be on the podcast discussion of the book OR write out thoughts about the book for us to read will get a copy of the book mailed to them. Email me at producer@anitalustrea.com and make sure to include your mailing address.

As I talked with Lori she also mentioned a book she is reading currently, Scenes From a Village Life by Amos Oz.

After bookclub talk I went o…Read More

11 Jun 2018

Mike Murphy-episode 133

So much is happening in our world that I felt I needed the grounding presence of Rev. Mike Murphy on the podcast. We read some emails and respond, we talk about prayer, and we take time to talk about the recent suicides that have captured the attention of journalists and the world. Even as we mentioned Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, we acknowledged the many who will never make it into the news cycle. Suicide is epidemic in our society. We talk about the questions it raises and how we can combat it.

Books mentioned today: Prayer by Richard Foster, The Land Between by Jeff Manion, and Grieving a Suicide: a loved one’s search for comfort, answers, and hope by Albert Y. Hsu.

Follow Mike on Facebook. He’s not much of a Twitter guy, but occasionally he tweets @murphsplace.

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04 Jun 2018

Diana Butler Bass-episode 132

This week on the podcast I have John Lustrea as a co-host instead of a guest.

Diana Butler Bass has written a thoughtful book titled, Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks.

If you’ve not heard of Diana before, she is the award-winning author of 10 books on American religion. She holds a Ph.D. in religious studies from Duke University, has taught at the college and graduate level and is currently an independent scholar. She is a popular speaker at conferences and universities and churches across North America.

We had a delightful time as she unpacked a word I thought I knew a lot about until Diana opened my eyes.

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28 May 2018

Melinda Schmidt & John Lustrea-episode 131

Joining me on the podcast this week is long-time friend and former colleague, Melinda Schmidt, and as moderator to our discussion, my son John Lustrea. Melinda is currently working for Wheaton Grad School, and has an active blog called The Reinvention Experiment that you might want to bookmark and check regularly. John Lustrea is Education Specialist at The National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Frederick, Maryland.

On this episode, we read and respond to listener email. One email, in particular, had push back and raised interesting questions. As we explore the heart of that email, we share helpful ideas on how to disagree agreeably.

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07 May 2018

melinda schmidt-episode 130

Long-time friend and former co-host of Midday Connection, Melinda Schmidt, joins me on the podcast. We riff off of the last stanza of Mary Oliver’s amazing poem, “When Death Comes,” off and on during the conversation, as well as Melinda’s latest blog post found here.

We also talked about Aaron Niequist’s new book, The Eternal Current, available for pre-order. Melinda also talked about her favorite podcasts that she is currently listening to: Personality Hacker, The Minimalists, The Bible for Normal People (Pete Enns), The Robcast (Rob Bell), and Super Soul Sunday (Oprah).

Follow her on Twitter @melindaschmidt and on Facebook. And find both Melinda and me at the Friends of Midday Facebook page.

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30 Apr 2018

kaitlin curtice-episode 129

Kaitlin Curtice is a voice to pay attention to and a writer to watch. She is a Native American Christian author, speaker, and worship leader. You may have read her writing in Sojourners. She also writes at www.kaitlincurtice.com on the intersection of culture and spirituality.

We talk about reading, writing, and the amazing prayers that are included in Kaitlin’s beautiful book, Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places.

Here are the books Kaitlin mentioned that she is currently reading: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer, Grateful by Diana Butler Bass, and I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown.

Follow Kaitlin on Twitter @kaitlincurtice and on Facebook at KaitlinCurtice/Writer.

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23 Apr 2018

michelle van loon – episode 128

Michelle Van Loon returns to Faith Conversations to talk about what happens when a church leader’s sin has been revealed. The #MeToo movement dominated headlines for months. Now the #ChurchToo hashtag has taken a turn in the spotlight—and it’s heartbreaking.

Check out the blog post that Michelle wrote on the topic here. If this is a topic that has affected you, we’d love to hear from you. You can email me at producer@anitalustrea.com.

Follow Michelle on Twitter @michellevanloon.

Find her on Facebook here.

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