Our Advent series continues today: four weeks of preparing our hearts and our minds for the coming of Jesus, as we look forward to celebrating the incarnation at Christmas.

This is the second week of Advent, and this conversation is all about peace.

I considered doing our Advent series solo, but the more I thought and prayed about it, I really felt that we all need to be pastored, to have a pastor's voice speaking into our lives and helping us navigate this sacred (and sometimes chaotic) season. There is no pastor I trust more than Dusty Smith.

Full disclosure: Dusty is my pastor. I have known him for two decades, and I can tell you with certainty that 1- he is a trustworthy person with the utmost integrity, and 2- our church is growing and thriving under his leadership. I'm so grateful to get to have him on the show for this series.

Pastor Dusty and his wife, Jennifer, planted Depot Church in North Carolina 12 years ago, where he is lead pastor. Dusty and Jennifer have four sons, ages 5-16.

Join Dusty and I as we talk about:

• defining peace, and the places we look for it
• the good and right pursuit of peace in our lives
• how to know when we have gone from pursuing peace to idolizing peaceful circumstances
• where Christmas chaos comes from, and how to combat it
• the peace that is available to us in and because of Jesus

LINKS

Connect with Dusty via Depot Church

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Our Advent series kicks off today: four weeks of preparing our hearts and our minds for the coming of Jesus, as we look forward to celebrating the incarnation at Christmas.

This is the first week of Advent, and it's all about hope!

I considered doing our Advent series solo, but the more I thought and prayed about it, I really felt that we all need to be pastored, to have a pastor's voice speaking into our lives and helping us navigate this sacred (and sometimes chaotic) season. There is no pastor I trust more than Dusty Smith.

Full disclosure: Dusty is my pastor. I have known him for two decades, and I can tell you with certainty that 1- he is a trustworthy person with the utmost integrity, and 2- our church is growing and thriving under his leadership. I'm so grateful to get to have him on the show for this series.

Pastor Dusty and his wife, Jennifer, planted Depot Church in North Carolina 12 years ago, where he is lead pastor. Dusty and Jennifer have four sons, ages 5-16.

Join Dusty and I as we talk about:

• what Advent is, and why we observe it
• defining biblical hope
• what to do when hope is hard to find
• where we see hope in the Christmas story

LINKS

Connect with Dusty via Depot Church

Connect with Kayla on Instagram

Connect with the show on Instagram

We're all holding a mixed bag that doesn't go away just because it's Thanksgiving. The holidays are a magnifying glass, making everything feel bigger, for better or worse.

In this short and candid episode, Kayla is getting real about holding grief and gratitude, hard seasons, and why we don't have to be afraid of the dark.

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