The Boundless Show

Make your Bible reading more meaningful, plus identifying and addressing trauma in your life, and what did Paul mean by his “thorn in the flesh”?     Featured musical artist: Phil Wickham Roundtable: Beyond Bible 101 You grew up in church, but is the Bible still a bunch of stories and moral lessons to you? Do you want to go deeper and not just know facts, but really get to know God himself? The possibilities for personal study and devotion are endless and sometimes overwhelming. Our guests share their favorite ways to study God’s Word, how they’ve experienced transformation through it, and what has helped them dig deeper along the way.  Watch This Segment on YouTube Leave Us a Voicemail Culture: Understanding the Effects of Trauma Trauma has many forms, and many of us have experienced it on some level. Whether neglect, violence, abuse, injury or tragedy, trauma can be difficult to identify and even harder to process and heal. Licensed professional counselor Eliza Huie joins us to define trauma, demonstrate how to name it, and explain how Christians can respond appropriately to ensure we or others get the help we need.   Trauma Aware: A Christian’s Guide to Providing Help and Care Visit Eliza’s Website Inbox: A Thorn in the Flesh In 2 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul describes his metaphorical “thorn in the flesh.” What exactly did he mean by that and subsequent phrases like, “When I am weak, then I am strong”? Counselor Jerry Jones weighs in.  Find us on YouTube  Link to Counseling Services 

A challenge to ditch your screens, plus a conversation on sexuality and the church, and when your friend says she’s bisexual and a Christian.     Featured musical artist: Je’kob Roundtable: Join Our Screen Fast In anticipation of Lent, our friends at Plugged In have teed up a screen fast. Wanna join? If taking a break from digital devices including your smartphone, tablet, TV and gaming console sounds challenging (work exceptions are OK), then this fast may be for you. Two Plugged In team members plus our friend Georgia join us for an honest assessment of our own screen usage and what it might look like to pause for a week and prioritize the real world.  Take The Technology Addiction Assessment  Link to Bring Your Bible’s Instagram Page  Link to Plugged In Website  Leave Us a Voicemail Culture: Discussing Sex in Church Sex is a difficult topic to talk about — especially at church. But the Bible has a lot to say about it, and sadly, sexual sin doesn’t stay outside the church walls. Ellen Dykas is single and part of a ministry dedicated to conversations and restoration around sex, including addiction. She talks with us about how the church can champion a healthy and biblical framework for sexuality and how it can offer healing to the sexually broken.   Rethinking Sexuality: God’s Design and Why It Matters    Visit Ellen’s Website Harvest USA’s Online Courses Watch This Segment on YouTube Inbox: When a Christian Friend Says She’s Bisexual If your friend is dating the same gender but still claims to be a Christian, how do you respond? Jeff Johnston weighs in.   Rethinking Sexuality: God’s Design and Why It Matters   Find us on YouTube  Link to Counseling Services 

Plan your wedding like a boss, plus Ellen Dykas on navigating lifelong singleness, and how to see God at work in a culture of negativity.       Featured musical artist: Darlene Zschech    Roundtable: How to Plan a Wedding   Weddings are big business, and the pressure to have a “perfect” day is real. To make it all happen, many couples invest thousands of dollars and months of preparation. Is the effort worth it? According to experts, what deserves your time and money, and what doesn’t? What are some things to have in mind as you sort out the details? What parts of the planning should the groom-to-be have a say in or take over altogether? How can you make the day meaningful and God-honoring? Our panel of two professional wedding planners plus one engaged (and overwhelmed) guy shares first-hand experience in making your day memorable and manageable on all fronts.    Ready to Wed: 12 Ways to Start a Marriage You’ll Love    Leave Us a Voicemail   Watch This Segment on YouTube   Culture: Fruitful Singleness   Ellen Dykas has been in ministry most of her life, first in international missions and now in leadership for an organization devoted to sexual wholeness. Oh, and she’s in her late 50s and single. She details her journey in singleness, including the pressure to be married, how she finds purpose every day, what’s tough and what’s great about being single, what it’s like to be a leader alongside men in ministry — and much more. Next week she’ll be back to talk about sexuality and the church!     Visit Ellen’s Website   Inbox: Fighting Negativity   When you’re surrounded by negativity and darkness in today’s world, where can you look to see God at work? Counselor Jerry Jones weighs in.    Find us on YouTube    Link to Counseling Services   

Overcommitment on church activities, plus Suzanne Gosselin on Gen Z’s apathy toward dating apps, and what if your date has mental health issues?    Featured musical artist: Jeremy Rosado Roundtable: Church Involvement Overload Sunday services. Volunteering. Helping others throughout the week. Not to mention Bible study, small group, committee meetings and discipleship. If you aren’t careful, doing good and even “godly” activities out of guilt can lead to burnout. Besides, if you’re always at church, what do you do about your neighbor and others who don’t know Christ? To help us find equilibrium, our guests share how they’re learning to pause, prioritize and even cut back on their commitments to find joy in what God actually wants from them and for them.  Leave Us a Voicemail Watch This Segment on YouTube Culture: A Young Adult Exodus From Online Dating In the early 2000s online dating sites were brand new, and heading into the 2010s and beyond, increasing numbers of couples credited digital connections for helping them find their spouse. But the latest statistics indicate Gen Z is ditching online dating apps. Boundless friend and contributor Suzanne Gosselin shares insight on why young adults aren’t as prone to swipe right as older generations.    True Love Dates: Your Indispensable Guide to Finding the Love of Your Life    Dating Apps Lose Popularity Among Gen Z Visit Suzanne’s Website Inbox: Dating and Mental Health Issues Is it possible to have a good dating relationship if you or your significant other struggles with depression, anxiety, or other forms of mental illness? Counselor Joannie DeBrito joins us to answer.  Find us on YouTube  Link to Counseling Services 

Our favorite romantic films, plus the history of St. Valentine and Valentine’s Day, and attending the wedding of someone you used to date.       Featured musical artist: Daniel Bashta    Roundtable: Best Movies for Valentine’s Day   Do you have a go-to film for Valentine’s Day? Do you prefer a rom-com or an epic romance or period drama? To help you celebrate February 14th, our panelists duke it out over the all-time best movies about love and romance. Listen in to see if your favorite makes the list and hear our opinions on what makes for a great love-centric storyline.     Leave Us a Voicemail   Watch This Segment on YouTube   Link to Plugged In Website    Culture: Will the Real St. Valentine Please Stand Up?    Where did the Valentine’s Day traditions of flowers, romantic cards and heart-shaped candies come from? It started with St. Valentine, a real person with a fascinating story. To help separate truth from legend, historian Bill Petro shares facts, fiction and legacy around the Roman priest and the holiday that shares his name.     Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity     Visit Bill Petro’s Blog   Inbox: Attending the Wedding of Someone You Dated   What if you’re invited to the wedding of someone you used to have feelings for? What if it was someone you actually dated? A counselor offers advice.    Find us on YouTube    Link to Counseling Services 

Encouragement when your home life isn’t ideal, plus hope for single parents, and are Christians still committed to God’s standard for sex?     Featured musical artist: Kerrie Roberts Roundtable: Love Where You Live What’s your current living situation and how do you feel about it? You may live by yourself, with roommates, your parents, or a married couple or family. Whatever the circumstances, each situation has pros and cons. Our panelists have lived in a variety of settings and with different types of people. They discuss lessons they’ve learned along the way as well as tips for staying encouraged and making the most of where God has you right now, even if it’s not ideal. Leave Us a Voicemail Culture: The Single Parent Path Tez Brooks got the news nobody wants when his first wife left him. His divorce was both an emotional low and a spiritual wake-up call. In the years following, he navigated life as a single dad — raising two kids, adjusting to a new normal, embracing church and community in a new way, and healing relational wounds. Now remarried, Tez shares encouragement and strategies for single parents who feel overwhelmed, plus advice for trusting God when your life is turned upside down.   The Single Dad Detour: Directions for Fathering After Divorce    Tez’s Website Inbox: What Happened to Sexual Integrity? Our listener is frustrated that almost none of his friends are obeying God’s Word when it comes to sex. What are the implications, and is it right to care? Counselor Geremy Keeton weighs in.  Find us on YouTube  Link to Counseling Services 

How to communicate to others with honesty and clarity, plus tips for adulting well, and addressing a struggle with OCD.    Featured musical artist: Nathan Tasker Roundtable: Say What You Mean You’re trying to plan an event, but you can’t get anyone to RSVP. You know you have to turn someone down, but you don’t want to hurt their feelings. You started a text trail with a friend, and now they’ve gone MIA. Sound familiar? Why is it so hard to initiate, commit, respond, be honest — all the things that are hallmarks of mature communication? Our guests discuss the importance of following up, showing up, and speaking up honestly in our relationships. There’s a reason the Bible says, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil (Matt. 5:37). Together we can learn how to do better, starting with this conversation. Leave Us a Voicemail Culture: How to Be an Adult At 19, Tez Brooks took a leap of faith and moved 1,000 miles away from home. He soon had a rude awakening that being an adult is no easy task; he couldn’t even do his own laundry. Now the author of “Adult-o-Nomics,” a fun yet practical guide to mastering life skills, Tez addresses our need to take responsibility, master necessary tasks, relate to the opposite sex, and more.   Adult-o-Nomics: How to Nail It On Your Own   Tez’s Website Inbox: A Christian Approach to OCD Our listener admittedly wrestles with OCD and is looking for help from a Christian perspective. Counselor Tim Sanford weighs in.  Find us on YouTube  Link to Counseling Services 

The perils of ghosting, plus a fitness coach’s God-centered approach to health, and should you get married if you’re poor? Featured musical artist: Aaron Shust Roundtable: Alternatives to Ghosting “I’ve been ghosted!” It’s a common complaint among daters, but it happens in friendships and other contexts as well. Whether you’re guilty of ghosting or have been on the receiving end of this annoyingly passive “dump,” we’d all agree there are better, kinder, and healthier ways to end a relationship, say no, and move on. Our guests disclose their own confessions and frustrations around ghosting, and offer alternative solutions for these awkward junctures in relationships.        Leave Us a Voicemail Culture: Putting God in Your Fitness If your January fitness goals have already been jettisoned, maybe it’s time to take a different approach. Professional fitness coach Kim Dolan Leto thinks one of our biggest diet and exercise mistakes as Christians is not inviting God into the process. But does God care about workouts and weigh-ins? What can Kim possibly be talking about? Far from a shame-based, effort-intensive plan, Kim’s approach to getting healthy is grounded in Scripture and a holistic view of how God designed our bodies to work. If you’re tired of white-knuckling your fitness goals only to fail yet again, this conversation deserves a listen.               Fit God’s Way: Your Bible-Based Guide to Food, Fitness, and Wholeness Kim’s Website Fit God’s Way Inbox: Can I Get Married if I’m Poor? Culture tells us we need to be financially secure before adding marriage to the mix. Is that true, or can you get married even if you’re poor? Counselor Joannie DeBrito weighs in.  Find us on YouTube  Link to Counseling Services 

What confidence looks like, plus a young adult’s journey with chronic pain, and how to honor God in everyday life.   Featured musical artist: Mosaic MSC Roundtable: Confident Relationships, Work and Identity What is confidence, and how do you get it? It’s probably more than Julie Andrews dancing around a Salzburg fountain and chirping, “I have confidence!” Yet it seems that some elements of confidence can be learned, if not merely wished into existence. Our guests share tips for being more confident on the job, in relationships, and in understanding who you are.       Leave Us a Voicemail Culture: Young Adults and Chronic Pain Olivia Feller started having weird symptoms in her teens. Doctor after doctor failed to provide a diagnosis, cure, or even relief, and eventually Olivia’s pain became debilitating. College was a blur of medical appointments, skipped classes and missed milestones and events. Olivia, still on her journey, learned to face pain and chronic illness head-on as she turned to the only one with the answers — God himself. She shares what worked, what didn’t work, and how God, friends and others were her strength when she had none.             Hold Hope: Encouragement for Christians with Chronic Pain    Inbox: How Do I Honor God? What does it mean to “honor God” and others in the life we live and the choices we make? It’s a big question that one of our counselors sheds some light on.  Find us on YouTube  Link to Counseling Services   

The difference between rest and procrastination, plus a challenge to go 40 days alcohol-free, and do girlfriends need to submit to their boyfriends?   Featured musical artist: Danen Kane Roundtable: Are You Resting or Procrastinating? When you’re working hard to reach new goals, it’s important to pace yourself and not burn yourself out. But can you tell the difference between true rest and straight-up procrastination? Our guests share their best insights on when it’s time to take a break versus when it’s time to get off the couch and get busy.        Leave Us a Voicemail Culture: The Case for Sobriety Christy Osborne had long been a casual drinker, but when her mother died, she became alcohol-dependent. Her downtime, social time and vacation time revolved around booze. Although Scripture isn’t absolute on the issue of drinking in moderation, Christy knew that alcohol had become central to her life. She explored what sobriety might look like: how it would affect her health, relationships and mindset. Now a sobriety coach, Christy joins us to share her journey and suggestions for making an objective assessment of our relationship with alcohol.           Love Life Sober: A 40-Day Alcohol Fast to Rediscover Your Joy, Improve Your Health, and Renew Your Mind Inbox: Should a Woman Submit to Her Boyfriend? Scripture tells wives to submit to their husbands. In dating, does that same principle apply between women and their boyfriends? Counselor Brenda Huerta weighs in. Find us on YouTube  Link to Counseling Services