Christian Almanac

What we have is temporary. What we do with it can matter much longer.
Episode 29 of Christian Almanac looks at stewardship, urgency, possessions, and legacy.
In What the Unjust Steward Got Right, Jacquelyn Lynn examines a difficult parable and the distinction between dishonesty and the decisiveness Jesus called attention to.
Then, in When the Stuff is Gone, she looks at a reality we can easily avoid thinking about: our possessions, money, abilities, influence, opportunities, and relationships are ours to steward for a limited time.
You’ll consider:
• Why stewardship requires action• What the unjust steward understood about limited opportunity• Why shrewdness is not the same as dishonesty• How temporary resources can serve lasting purposes• What people are likely to remember when the possessions are gone
In this episode:
00:00 Opening00:25 Segment 1: What the Unjust Steward Got Right07:00 Segment 2: When the Stuff is Gone16:08 Real Life Tip
Related episode: Episode 1 — What We’re Building — And the Legacy That Mattershttps://christianalmanac.com/podcast-episode-1-transcript/
Listen and explore more:
https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms

Traditions don't shape us only because we believe in them. They can shape us simply because we keep repeating them.
In Episode 28 of Christian Almanac, What We Celebrate, What We Repeat, and Why It Matters, Jacquelyn Lynn looks at two kinds of repeated practices.
First, she explains why parts of Halloween concern her—not because every costume, pumpkin, or piece of candy is inherently a problem, but because much of the celebration turns fear, darkness, death, and violence into entertainment. Christians may reach different conclusions, but those conclusions deserve thoughtful examination.
Then she explores the difference between habits and rituals. Habits make repeated actions automatic. Rituals attach meaning and intention to what we repeat and can help strengthen families, communities, and faith.
You'll consider:
What our traditions may be teaching us to enjoy
Why changing a name doesn't necessarily change meaning
How habits and rituals serve different purposes
Why meaningful repetition can remind us what matters
In this episode:
00:00 Opening00:25 Segment 1: What I don't like about Halloween08:45 Segment 2: Creating rituals and traditions16:53 Real Life Tip
Listen and explore more:
https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms
Receive practical Christian insight for work, leadership, and daily life:
https://ChristianAlmanac.com/connect

Wanting to help someone is good. Becoming responsible for their choices, emotions, problems, and outcomes is something different.
In Episode 27 of Christian Almanac, Jacquelyn Lynn looks at the difference between healthy help and taking over—and what it means to make a positive difference without believing you have to fix everything.
You'll consider:
When helping becomes rescuing or controlling
How to recognize responsibility that doesn't belong to you
Why stepping back doesn't mean you don't care
How to change the way you help
What it means to leave people, conversations, workplaces, and situations better than you found them
Why faithfulness matters more than controlling the result
In this episode:
00:00 Opening00:25 Segment 1: When Helping Becomes Taking Over12:15 Segment 2: Leave It Better Than You Found It19:20 Real Life Tip
Related episode:Work, Burnout, and Faithful Boundarieshttps://christianalmanac.com/episode-8-work-burnout-faithful-boundaries/
Listen and explore more:
https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms
Receive practical Christian insight for work, leadership, and daily life:
https://ChristianAlmanac.com/connect

Sometimes the hardest part of being hurt is realizing the apology or resolution you expected may never come.
In Episode 26 of Christian Almanac, Jacquelyn Lynn looks at how to tell the truth about an offense without allowing the person responsible to keep control of your peace. Forgiveness does not erase consequences, automatically rebuild trust, or require reconciliation—and healing does not have to wait for someone else to change.
The episode also explores how to live with gratitude while parts of life remain unfinished. Gratitude is not denial. Contentment is not resignation. We can recognize what is still difficult while receiving what is good today.
You’ll hear practical insight on:
• Forgiveness, trust, consequences, and reconciliation• Healing when an apology never comes• Living with unresolved relationships and circumstances• Gratitude without pretending everything is fine• Receiving present grace while life remains unfinished
In this episode:
00:00 Opening00:25 Segment 1: Stop Waiting for the Apology That May Never Come08:40 Segment 2: Unfinished Pain, Present Grace17:10 Real Life Tip
Listen and explore more:
https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms

Faith belongs in ordinary conversations—but that doesn’t mean forcing it into every conversation.
In Episode 25 of Christian Almanac, Jacquelyn Lynn looks at how Christians can speak and respond in ways shaped by faith without becoming awkward, preachy, or artificial.
Faith Without the Awkward Sermon explores the quieter ways faith shows up through listening, honesty, restraint, compassion, and everyday words.
When Silence Isn’t Faithful looks at the moments when staying quiet may have less to do with wisdom and more to do with fear or avoidance.
You’ll hear practical ideas for:
Letting faith influence conversations naturally
Knowing when restraint communicates more than words
Recognizing when something needs to be said
Speaking clearly without becoming combative
In this episode:
00:00 Opening00:25 Segment 1: Faith Without the Awkward Sermon08:35 Segment 2: When Silence Isn’t Faithful15:55 Real Life Tip
Featured resource:Build Trust Before Businesshttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HDGBNQMC
Listen and explore more:https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms

A Bible verse can be true and still be used to support a conclusion the passage does not support.
Christians want to honor Scripture, but a quotation should not automatically end discernment. In this episode, Jacquelyn Lynn examines what to do when someone uses the Bible to persuade, pressure, silence, or rush you—and how to handle Scripture more carefully when you are the one speaking.
You’ll consider:
Why quoting a verse does not automatically settle the issue
How to test whether an application is faithful to the passage
How fear, urgency, and authority can interfere with discernment
Why context, motive, tone, and humility matter
How to avoid using Scripture as a weapon, shortcut, or decoration
In this episode:
00:00 Opening00:25 Segment 1: When Scripture Is Used to Make the Case10:45 Segment 2: Handle the Word with Care18:30 Real Life Tip
Listen and explore more:https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms

Disappointment does not always remain disappointment. It can quietly become comparison, resentment, or anger—especially when someone else receives what we hoped would be ours.
In Episode 23 of Christian Almanac, Jacquelyn Lynn considers how Christians can respond honestly and faithfully when the heart has been hurt.
You’ll hear practical guidance about:
• Grieving disappointment without resenting another person• Trusting God when his plan differs from your expectations• Recognizing bitterness before it becomes settled• Forgiving without excusing harm• Leaving justice with God while maintaining necessary boundaries• Finding freedom through the continuing process of forgiveness
In this episode:
00:00 Opening00:25 Segment 1: When Someone Else Gets What You Wanted11:55 Segment 2: Forgive and Be Set Free24:10 Real Life Tip
Mentioned in this episode:
What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yanceyhttps://amzn.to/3TOHkHX
Listen and explore more:https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms

Our everyday choices help determine what businesses, leaders, institutions, and communities we strengthen.
In Episode 22 of Christian Almanac, Jacquelyn Lynn considers two ways Christians exercise influence: supporting Christian-owned businesses and participating in elections.
Supporting Christian businesses can strengthen families, churches, ministries, and communities—but support should be thoughtful rather than automatic. Christian business owners also have a responsibility to earn trust through integrity, excellence, reliability, and service.
Voting is another form of stewardship. Christians should participate with prayer, biblical conviction, careful research, wisdom, and humility rather than allowing fear, anger, or party loyalty to make their decisions for them.
You’ll consider:
• Why purchasing decisions can have an impact beyond a single transaction• What Christian business owners owe their customers• How to support Christian businesses with discernment• Why civic participation is an exercise of influence and responsibility• How Christians can approach voting thoughtfully and humbly
In this episode:
00:00 Opening00:25 Segment 1: Keeping It in the Family: Why Christians Should Support Christian Businesses Wisely12:10 Segment 2: Voting as Stewardship24:40 Real Life Tip
Resources mentioned:
How Christians Should Vote by Tony Evans:https://amzn.to/4vWCGWj
My Faith Votes:https://MyFaithVotes.org
Listen and explore more:https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms

Words can feel small in the moment, but they often send a bigger message than we realize.
In Episode 21 of Christian Almanac, Jacquelyn Lynn looks at the messages we send through ordinary words and ordinary spaces.
First, we look at gossip—why it can feel satisfying, why we excuse it, and how it can quietly damage trust in families, workplaces, churches, and communities. Then we look at the visible reminders we keep around us and how our spaces can help anchor us in what we believe.
In this episode, you’ll consider:
• Why gossip is not only a speech issue, but a heart issue• How to recognize the difference between wise conversation and careless talk• Why ordinary spaces can quietly shape our attention and decisions• How faith meets real life in conversations, homes, offices, and daily habits
Links:
Ford Taylor, Transformational Leadership, https://transformlead.com/
Shawne Duperon, https://shawnetv.com/
 
Listen and explore more:https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms

It’s possible to reject darkness without being ruled by fear.
In this episode of Christian Almanac, Jacquelyn Lynn talks about Christian discernment, the danger of giving too much power to darkness or deception, and why truth is foundational to Christianity.
This episode looks at:
• Rejecting the occult without fearing it• Why Christians should avoid fascination with darkness• Truth as the cornerstone of Christian faith• Everyday honesty and integrity• Christian witness without manipulation
In this episode:00:15 Opening00:25 Segment 1: Make Fun of the Occult — That Gives Us Power09:05 Segment 2: Truth Is the Cornerstone of Christianity19:59 Real Life Tip
Listen and explore more:https://ChristianAlmanac.com/podcast
Available on: YouTube | Podbean | Apple | Spotify | and all major podcast platforms