Looking Over Life

Shawn and James talk about the bad things that happen in the world. We look at questions like, "How can a good God let bad things happen?" We discuss whether or not God is responsible for the bad things that happen in our lives. Did God cause your loved one to die? Did He direct in those events? What about when your child spilled his breakfast cereal? Did God direct in those events? How does God's sovereignty work? What have you seen in your experience? Why do bad things happen? Send us an email. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Invisible Things blog The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis Why Bad Things Happen by Michael Martin Wikipedia - 1931 China floods Wikipedia - 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Wikipedia - Hurricane Katrina Wikipedia - List of natural disasters by death toll

James and Shawn consider a recent loss and what it means to grieve. We also look at some tough questions, like, "How can a good God allow bad things to happen?" We're sure that your life has been touched by loss. We'd like to hear from you. How did you—or are you—dealing with that loss? How do you reconcile a good God and bad things? Send us an email. We also discuss the idea of preparing for our own eulogy. How will people be able to say nice things about us at our funeral? What are we doing to make it easy for them to do so? Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Invisible Things blog Unique death rituals around the world Christian Light Keith Crider obituary LOL: Episode 10: Community or Society? Living Forward by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy Full Focus: Creating a Life Plan

Shawn and James go over their yearly themes—together in a van! We reviewed the themes for 2023 (Year of Appetite and Year of Key Actions) and looked at our themes for 2024 (Year of Devotion and Year of Family). If you use a yearly theme, we'd like to hear about it. How do you make it work for you? What have you learned? Send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Shawn and James talk about crossing the milestone of 10,000 listens on the podcast. They also talk about the future of the podcast and give a sneak peek at the topic of a future episode. Shawn is heading to the States with family in tow while James and his wife recently added another son to their family. Both of us have big dreams for what we hope to accomplish in 2024. Will we be successful, or will our dreams fall apart like a sagging snowman on a 70-degree day in March? Thanks to everyone who has listened so far and has shared the podcast with friends and family. If you enjoy the podcast, the best thing you can do is to let more people know about it. Links Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church Faith Builders Educational Programs Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Shawn and James talk about whether Christians should be willingly ignorant about some things in the news and how the tsunami of information from the Internet is affecting us. How much are we responsible to know about what is happening in the world? What global issues should Christians feel compelled to address? What does Jesus call us to? How much information consumption is too much? We talk about these questions as well as a few others related to consuming news and dealing with information overload. We'd love to hear if you have any thoughts on these topics. Please send us an email. Invisible Things blog post: Light and High Beauty Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠

James and Shawn try to figure out what modern idolatry looks like. Do you have a temple in your town that holds the idol that all your neighbors worship? Who is the patron saint of your community? Of your culture? Or maybe there really aren't idols in our modern, enlightened world. We'd like to hear from you. What do you think about modern idolatry? Send us an email. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠ Modern Idolatry - Invisible Things Blog

Shawn and James are back to put to rest the debate for or against a Creator. Did you know that Cristians believe in the Big Bang Theory? What can you answer someone who tells you there is no way to prove God's existence through science? How can we talk about the Anthropic Principle in the Walmart aisle? These and more questions are pondered in our episode that is rapidly becoming a series. What are your thoughts? Send us your feedback. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠ Wikipedia - The Anthropic Principle Why Creation Makes Sense - Invisible Things Blog Scientists look for space dust on cathedrals How far is the earth from the sun?

James and Shawn wrap up the series about evidences for Creation. In this episode, we look at some of the more difficult questions against creationism and offer some ways to think about them. We tried to give some answers that you can use in the check-out at the grocery store, but we're not sure how well we did with that. What do you consider a difficult question about Young Earth creationism and similar topics? What are some answers that have helped you in those tough conversations? Send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠ Science vs. Bible? 5 Arguments for and Against Creationism From the Ken Ham, Bill Nye Debate | U.S. News (christianpost.com) Wikipedia - Young Earth creationism Wikipedia - Epigenetics Wikipedia - Charles Darwin PubMed Central - Studies about lungs in the Andes Darwin’s Black Box by Michael J. Behe Wikipedia - Radiocarbon Dating Wikipedia - Radiometric Dating Wikipedia - List of nearest bright stars

Shawn was surprised by an idea James came with about the invention that had the most fundamental change to humanity. What do you think about topic? What would you describe as the most important invention or development in history? Is it ChatGPT? The wheel? We'd really enjoy hearing your thoughts, so send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠

James and Shawn finally get to this long-awaited topic! And Shawn learns just how dangerous it is to use the phrase "only a theory" with James! Is there truly a conflict between science and religion? Or is that just an idea that should be de-bunked? Well, we certainly try to show another point of view on the topic. We really want to hear from you. Do you agree with what we shared? Did we change your views? Did we get some things wrong? Send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠ Do Science and Faith Conflict? - Invisible Things Blog “God’s Undertaker” John C. Lennox The Soul of Science Nancy R. Pearcey and Charles B. Thaxton When Science Meets Religion Ian Barbour

Shawn and James enjoy recording a podcast in person in Peru! This time we talked about how we keep our devotional lives alive. What even is devotion? How do we cultivate a genuinely close relationship to God? What happens when we fall off the wagon? If you have any ways that you keep you private times with God vibrant, please send us an email with your tips. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Juan David, a blog⁠⁠

James and Shawn share another FWIW episode with the LOL audience. We look at the seventh and final habit of the book and close out what was a rather long book review. In this habit, we discuss how important it is to take care of oneself before being able to do the important things in life. We looked at the four categories Covey gives of Physical, Mental, Social/Emotional, and Spiritual care. How do you find balance in taking care of yourself, considering these categories? Do you have any specific advice or tips? Please send us an email. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠ ⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Juan David, a blog⁠ ⁠The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey ⁠“On Slow Productivity and the Anti-Busyness Revolution” by Cal Newport Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts—Becoming the Person You Want to Be Marshall Goldsmith H.I. #3: Four Light Bulbs - Hello Internet Podcast

Shawn and James have another Q&A conversation. We talk about how James isn't really a science person after all and why Shawn decided to move to Peru. James also teaches us how to make and Indian dish. Please be sure to share this episode with a friend. It really helps us out. And if you have any questions for us, send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife Invisible Things Blog⁠ ⁠Juan David, a blog Chicken Tikka Masala Chicken Pathia

James and Shawn talk about death and separation and the feelings that go with it. James recently experienced a loss in his family and was pondering thoughts of death and life, so we decided to take some time to talk about it together. We hope this conversation can be meaningful to you, as well. If you have any thoughts you could share with us, please send us an email. We'd love to hear from you. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: ⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠  Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife ⁠"Would We Truly Long for Heaven" by Elizabeth Drudge⁠ ⁠"A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Shawn and James talk about artificial intelligence. We spend a good bit of time focusing on ChatGPT and its potential effects on society and the church. Will we become even more lazy and dumb as a society now that we have yet another crutch to lean on? We also had a bit of fun having the bot write some short stories based on our prompts. Have you been using a chatbot like this? What do you think of it? Maybe you have some stories or other pieces to share with us. Send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: lookingoverlife.com Patreon: patreon.com/lookingoverlife Open AI’s Chat GPT Microsoft’s AI Search Engine The Turing Test NYT Article - Profesor Incorporates Chat GPT into Curriculum YouTube - Matt Whitman - Which sermon is his? Implanting Forgetfulness in Our Souls ChatGPT's response to James's question: The detrimental impacts of AI on education include: Decreased human interaction: As AI-powered technologies take over tasks traditionally performed by teachers, such as grading and providing feedback, there is a risk that students will have less interaction with human teachers. This could lead to a decrease in socialization and the development of interpersonal skills. Reinforcement of biases: AI algorithms are only as good as the data they are trained on, and there is a risk that they may reinforce biases and inequalities in the educational system. For example, an AI algorithm that is trained on historical data may perpetuate racial or gender biases. Job displacement: AI-powered technologies can replace jobs that are currently done by humans, such as grading papers and providing feedback. This could lead to job losses and a reduction in the number of human teachers in the educational system. Dependence on technology: Relying too heavily on AI-powered technologies can lead to a dependence on technology that may be detrimental if the technology fails or is unavailable. This could lead to disruptions in the learning process. Ethical concerns: There are ethical concerns surrounding the use of AI in education, such as privacy, security, and data ownership. For example, AI algorithms may collect large amounts of data on students, which could be used for purposes other than education.

James and Shawn look on the bright side. We flip the coin and talk about what excites us for the future. Shawn again took a more narrow, personal view of the future and got choked up thinking about it. James was again more focused on the broad view of society and the church and where trends may take us. Did you know there are good and hopeful things coming out of Millennials?! We'd love to hear what makes you optimistic for the future. Do you see something on the horizon that buoys your spirits? Send us an email. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: lookingoverlife.com Patreon: patreon.com/lookingoverlife

Shawn and James pretend to be grumpy old men. We talk about some of the things we see in the future that give us concern. James focused mainly on big-picture societal issues that make him worried about the future of the church, the country, and the world. Shawn was more focused on his circumstances as they relate to the church and community in Peru and what the next five to ten years may bring. What are the things that worry you about the future? What would you say are the top three things you're pessimistic about? Send us an email. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: lookingoverlife.com Patreon: patreon.com/lookingoverlife YouTube - Humans Need Not Apply by CGP Gray Tech Crunch - All US Flights Grounded *Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist* by John Piper

James and Shawn have a Q&A for themselves with questions intended to stump each other. This was a fun episode for us to do, and we may do it again, but we would like your help. Do you have a question or several that you would like to hear talked about? Please send us an email! And don't forget to answer the bonus question. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: lookingoverlife.com Patreon: patreon.com/lookingoverlife Do poor people act poor because they are poor, or are they poor because they act poor? What causes the Northern lights? Why did the Incas have so much gold? What disease has nearly a 100% death once symptoms appear? Why do we dislike hearing our voice in recordings? What is the best book you've read in the past year? When the Lord returns, the Bible says every eye will see Him. Does that prove that the earth is flat? What do you think is the most influential thing a Christian can do to revive their spiritual life? What is the difference between baking soda and laundry washing soda? What is the hardest job you've ever had? Or most difficult job? Bonus Question: What do you think is the biggest issue facing the conservative Anabaptist churches today?

Shawn and James talk about their plan for better Bible reading. We discuss what we've tried over the years and what we've found works for us. James brought a number of downloadable resources for easy Bible plans while Shawn tried to humblebrag without seeming to. What is your plan for Bible reading this year? Do you have a favorite or most effective method? Please let us know. Send us an email. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: lookingoverlife.com Patreon: patreon.com/lookingoverlife There are some simple things you can do in the upcoming new year to read your Bible more consistently. Choose a Bible reading plan that works for you. (See links to recommendations below) Set a specific time and place to read every day. Set aside at least 10-15 minutes, preferably earlier in the morning. Limit distractions by putting your phone on Do Not Disturb or leaving it at a charging station. Have your reading area tidy and organized, with your Bible and Bible reading plan ready to go for the next morning. Rinse and repeat for 365 days! Bible Reading Plans Less-demanding Plans One Chapter a day, Three Years through the Bible Through the Bible in Two Years Read the Whole Bible in a Year M’Cheyne Reading Plan Five Days a Week Reading Plan Book at a Time Reading Plan Specialized and Customizable Plans Chronological Plan Theme Days Reading Plan Bible Plan Generator Website Other links One Year Bibles on Christianbook.com YouVersion Bible My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers

James and Shawn go over their yearly themes. We do a quick review of our themes for 2022 before we dig into what we want 2023 to look like. If you have a yearly theme, please let us know what you'll be doing. We would love to hear from you and gain some inspiration from your story. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: lookingoverlife.com Patreon: patreon.com/lookingoverlife Ink & Volt Yearly Planning Tool YouTube - Cal Newport - Four Life Buckets The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni Atomic Habits by James Clear Reset by David Murray Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Early