Finding inspiration in the mundane

<p>Episode 70 - Stephanie invites you to taste the spices of the gospel today in a live teaching recorded at a women's event about Luke 12-16. It feels a little like traditional Bible Study, with a live audience and all the sounds that accompany it (Bible pages bristling, anyone?).</p> <p>Most of our lives are spent "in the middle." Not in the deep pits of the darkest valleys, and not in the breathtaking moments of the mountaintops, but in the daily, mundane, normal middle life. So today we talk about life in the middle ground. How do you make it through another day in the middle life--where everything is so, well, mundane?</p> <p>From Luke 12 to 16, Jesus teaches us about life in the middle. It contrasts last week's episode, spent in healings and transfigurations. These were valleys and mountaintops. Mountaintops are foretastes of our heavenly forever; but middle places are for daily life this side of heaven.</p> <p>We look at what life in the middle is NOT meant to be, and what is IS meant to be in Christ; we ponder the words "faith" and "commitment" in this context. Stephanie shares some of her favorites quotes, such as "I have a mustard seed, and I am not afraid to use it." Finally, we ponder the "narrow way," the life of commitment in the Christian adventure. We look at the cost of humility, and pain, and trust in the middle ground of daily life.</p> <p>Life in the middle ground is a prayer for God to level our paths:</p> <p>Psalm 26:12 - My foot stands on level ground; I will praise the Lord in the assemblies.</p> <p>Psalm 143:10 - Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. May Your gracious Spirit lead me on level ground.</p> <p>Isaiah 40:4 - Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain.</p> <p>Isaiah 42:16 - I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will