Tommy reunites with close friend and collaborator Patricia Clarke for a rich, wide-ranging conversation on one of life's most important and most misunderstood questions: what does it actually mean to find and live a life of purpose? They bring two completely different approaches to the table, one intuitive and spontaneous, one intentional and structured, and together they land on something that applies to everyone regardless of age, season, or personality type. This is one of those conversations that will make you think differently about your own life.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

• Why the question of purpose never goes away and keeps changing at every age and stage of life
• Patricia's Michelangelo framework: purpose is not something you implant, it is already inside you waiting to be revealed
• Tommy's four P framework for finding your purpose: passion, power, personality, and purpose
• Why the things that come most naturally to us are often the things we discount the most
• How accepting your deficiencies, not just your strengths, is one of the most freeing parts of living on purpose
• Patricia's waterfall story from Joshua Tree and why anything done in love has an eternal quality to it
• Why your grandmother's mashed potato recipe matters more than you think

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro and reunion

(3:03) Purpose is a question that never goes away

(5:47) Michelangelo and the purpose already inside you

(11:08) Patricia's approach: spontaneous, intuitive, looking back

(20:12) Tommy's four P framework: passion, power, personality, purpose

(33:21) Accepting your deficiencies and living in your lane

(44:08) The Joshua Tree waterfall and love's eternal quality

(54:56) Closing encouragement for people who feel stuck

Resources / Next Steps: Share this episode with someone who is navigating a season of uncertainty about their purpose or calling.

Tommy sits down with Katherine Wolf, stroke survivor, author, and co-founder of Hope Heals, for one of his dream conversations. At 26, Katherine had a massive brain stem stroke that left her permanently disabled, and nearly two decades later she is one of the most compelling voices on suffering, hope, and what it means to live a truly good life in the middle of an impossibly hard one. This is a conversation about what it looks like when good and hard coexist, and why the pain you are carrying right now might be too precious to waste.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

• Katherine's story: the brain stem stroke at 26 that changed everything and the nearly two years of recovery that followed
• Why there is no quota on suffering this side of heaven, and how that reframing actually brings freedom
• The invisible wheelchairs we all carry, and why the disabilities nobody can see often do the most damage
• The difference between wanting a cure and actually needing healing, drawn from the blind man in John 9
• What the practice of hope looks like when the feeling of hope is completely gone
• The Isaiah 45 passage that became the foundation for Treasures in the Dark and why she chose to gather treasure instead of waste it
• How to radically accept your story and trust an unknown future to a known God

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro and Katherine's story

(7:35) No quota on suffering

(11:51) Invisible wheelchairs

(14:43) Redefining what good actually means

(21:34) Treasures in the Dark and Isaiah 45

(28:18) The difference between a cure and healing

(30:18) Practicing hope when you can't feel it

(36:04) Hope Heals Camp and radical belonging

(45:51) Trusting an unknown future to a known God

Resources / Next Steps: Learn more about Katherine and Hope Heals at hopeheals.com. Listen to The Good Hard Story podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Pick up Treasures in the Dark on Amazon. If you are in Atlanta, visit Mend Coffee!

Tommy sits down with Drew Daniels, founding pastor of Boulevard Church in Richmond, Virginia, to explore what the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually means, not just theologically, but historically and personally. They walk through the evidence, wrestle with the hard questions, and land on why a 2000-year-old event still changes everything about how we live today. Drew brings an honest, grounded faith to one of Tommy's favorite conversation topics of the year.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

• Drew's family inheritance of faith, from a self-taught preacher grandfather in rural Nebraska to his own call to plant a church
• Why Christianity is the only world religion built on the claim that God came to you, not the other way around
• The historical and extra-biblical evidence that gives the resurrection credibility 2000 years later
• Why Tommy believes the resurrection can't be proven but says the preponderance of evidence is overwhelming
• The C.S. Lewis framework: Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord
• What Tim Keller meant when he said the gospel changes everything
• Drew's raw story of asking God for a week off from belief during the hardest season of church planting, and what happened the next morning

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro

(3:37) Drew's story

(10:31) Why the resurrection matters

(22:57) Historical evidence for the resurrection

(26:11) The disciples' martyrdom and women at the tomb

(34:03) What difference does it make?

(50:22) Final Thoughts + Connect with Boulevard Church

Resources / Next Steps: Learn more about Drew and Boulevard Church at blvdchurchrva.com. They meet Sundays at 1212 N Arthur Ashe Blvd in Richmond's Scott's Addition neighborhood. Whether you're a person of faith or still figuring out what you believe, they'd love to have you.

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org

Loneliness is rising in a world that has never been more connected.

In this episode, Tommy sits down with longtime friend and recently retired pastor Dr. Nelson Ould to explore the power and practice of presence.

Drawing from decades of pastoral ministry and personal experience, Nelson shares a simple insight: in life’s most difficult moments, people rarely remember the exact words that were spoken, but they always remember who showed up. Together they discuss why distraction and hurry are eroding real connection, why loneliness continues to rise, and how the simple act of being present with someone can transform relationships.

They also share practical ways to grow in presence, including listening for open doors in conversation, asking thoughtful follow-up questions, creating margin before important interactions, and checking back in with people after meaningful conversations.

In a culture filled with noise and constant distraction, this conversation is a reminder that one of the greatest gifts we can offer someone is our full attention.

(0:00) Loneliness, distraction, and why presence matters today

(2:16) How pastoral ministry revealed the power of presence

(9:39) The biblical foundation of presence and God with us

(19:01) Listening for open doors in conversation

(22:07) The two enemies of presence, distraction and hurry

(29:42) Practicing presence with the people closest to you

(32:09) The underrated power of following up with people

(40:02) Creating margin and quieting distraction before conversations

Fifteen years ago, Pastor Steve Ruetschle was left paralyzed after a catastrophic motorcycle accident. Doctors told him he would never walk again.

But this episode is not primarily about a medical outcome. It is about something deeper.

In this conversation, Steve reflects on the different ways God heals, the power of community, and what it means to participate in the fellowship of suffering. He shares how the faith of others carried him when he could not believe for himself, how pain can either harden the heart or deepen it, and how redemptive healing does not always mean the removal of suffering. This is a thoughtful and pastoral conversation about chronic pain, unanswered prayer, community, gratitude, and the surrounding love of God.

If you are walking through illness, loss, or long term suffering, this episode offers a steady reminder that you are not alone and that God’s faithful love surrounds you even here.

(0:00) Introduction and How Steve’s Story Reached Space for Life

(2:19) The Motorcycle Accident and Becoming Quadriplegic

(6:31) Degrees of Paralysis and Living with Chronic Pain

(11:26) Community and the Story of the Paralytic

(16:00) The Turning Point and Moving His Toe

(21:10) Different Types of Healing

(30:06) Redemptive Healing and the Fellowship of Suffering

(36:33) Guarding Against Bitterness

(45:09) A Word for Those Walking Through Pain

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org

So many people carry the quiet dream of writing something meaningful. A book. A devotional. A story that has been sitting inside them for years.

But the question lingers Where do I even begin?

In this episode of Space for Life, Tommy sits down with Terry Whalin, acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing and author of more than 60 books, to talk about what it really takes to move from dream to discipline.

Terry pulls back the curtain on the publishing world and explains why most aspiring authors start in the wrong place, what publishers are actually looking for, and why writing success is often 80 percent about the author and 20 percent about the book. They explore the catch 22 of publishing, the power of critique groups and apprenticeship, and why becoming a better reader is foundational to becoming a better writer.

If you have ever considered writing, or simply want to understand how books truly shape lives, this conversation offers practical clarity and grounded encouragement for taking your next step.

(0:00) Why So Many People Dream of Writing

(6:41) How One Book Can Change a Life

(14:16) What Publishers Really Look For

(18:07) Where Aspiring Writers Should Start

(32:32) The Catch 22 of Getting Published

(40:19) The Power of Critique Groups

(48:34) Why Reading Shapes Better Writing

(58:53) Building Consistency as a Writer

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org

Your 30s can feel like a decade full of tension. The tension between freedom and responsibility, living fully now and preparing wisely for the future, wanting clarity without becoming rigid. In this episode of Space for Life, Joe joins Tommy for an honest conversation about what it really means to live well in your 30s with freedom and intention.

Rather than offering formulas or life hacks, this conversation explores the deeper internal work of defining what truly matters. Joe and Tommy talk through why so many decisions feel exhausting, how guiding principles and guardrails can simplify life’s gray areas, and why postponing life often trains us to keep postponing it. They close by reflecting on how habits, more than any single decision, quietly shape the direction of our lives. This episode is for anyone navigating the weight of this decade and looking for a calmer, more grounded way to move forward.

0:00 Intro

7:41 Avoiding Comparison

13:04 Guiding Principles

26:23 Making Decisions Easier

34:13 Now Versus Later

53:56 Auditing Your Habits

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org

In this episode of Space for Life, Tommy sits down with Mia Sundstrom, CEO of the National Institute for Play and granddaughter of renowned play researcher Dr. Stuart Brown, for a powerful conversation about why play is not childish, frivolous, or optional, but essential to human health, creativity, resilience, and fulfillment.

They explore the science of play, the cultural myths that have stripped play from adult life, and why so many people feel burned out, disconnected, and exhausted in a world that treats play as a waste of time. Mia shares her personal journey growing up in a play-based learning environment, how her grandfather’s research shaped her life, and why play is now being reframed as a public health necessity.

This conversation challenges the idea that productivity and play are opposites, and instead shows how play fuels better work, deeper relationships, creativity, and emotional health. They unpack the difference between real play and modern forms of escapism, why social media often masquerades as play, and how adults can reconnect with the playful part of themselves they’ve forgotten.

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org