Become Good Soil

You are here.It turns out this matters more than we have come to believe. Consider this reflection from Henri Nouwen in The Wounded Healer:A waiting person is a person practicing patience.The word patience means to practice a daring willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full, in the belief that something hidden here will make itself known to us.Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else—the better thing to be somewhere other than here. Therefore, practicing impatience is to entertain and cultivate a longing to be somewhere else.The present moment is empty for them.Patient people dare to stay where they are.Patient living means living actively in the present and daringly waiting right here. Waiting, therefore, in God’s Kingdom, is not passive. It involves bravely nurturing the moment as a mother nurtures a child growing in her womb.As Nouwen reminds us, waiting carries with it both opportunity and temptation—the opportunity to become more whole and mature, united with God, and the temptation to give way to impatience, to hustle for control, or to force our will on others.In this second episode of Our Origin Story, we explore a core challenge to fully inhabit the present moment: the twin thieves of fixation on the past and preoccupation with the future. We examine the subtle seduction of living in the past—not only the pull of regret, but also the empty cistern of nostalgia. We also explore the thievery of vaulting ourselves prematurely into the future—not only the anxiety and fear this can produce, but how visions of what might be can quietly morph into fantasies of a better life somewhere else or with someone else, rather than in the place and with the people to whom we are presently called.Join us as we take a deeper dive, considering both the temptation and the gift of this present moment—and the audacious joy of coming home to where we are, here and now, held within the epic story of God revealing who He truly is and restoring all of His creation, together, with us.It’s all been prologue. The best is yet to come.For the Kingdom,Morgan & Cherie

“In the darkness, something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. The hills were coming up. The earth was heaving and swelling like a wave of the sea. ‘Man, I give you the rule of this land. Treat it gently and cherish it.’”— C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s NephewThe apostle Paul reminds us that we have been grafted into the origin story of the People of God—a story that begins with God creating a good and beautiful world, and humans as beloved and creative stewards made in God’s image.Before long, the story takes a tragic turn, giving way to exile from our original Home. Since then, a quiet homesickness has haunted the human experience—a sense that, for all its awakening beauty, the world is not now as it was meant to be.Yet the story does not end in exile.Scene after scene, we witness God’s persistent and passionate initiative to rescue and restore all of creation and His cherished human image-bearers. From Noah to Abraham, from Israel’s return from exile in Babylon to the bright expectancy of Anna and Zechariah in Luke’s Gospel, the story unfolds across centuries, culminating in the incarnation of Jesus, the promised King and Rescuer.And now the story continues—handed down from one generation to the next—inviting each generation to freely and creatively enter, participate, and carry the story forward.This great, cosmic history is the story within which our own personal histories unfold and find their meaning.What might it look like to recover our origin story—both the cosmic and the personal? What if remembering where we come from is essential to our apprenticeship? Our origin stories help us name who we are, locate us within a larger story, and gently orient us toward the way forward. As pastor and teacher, Jason Jackson writes, origin stories are “seeds that are planted, becoming the identity of today and the vision of tomorrow.”So we pause and wonder: What are the seeds of your origin story? Where do you come from—and who do you come from? As you reflect, what patterns begin to emerge? How might God be inviting you to notice what He is forming in you today, in light of where you have come from and where He is leading you?As we unpack the seeds of the Become Good Soil story, we pray this episode might support you in recovering and strengthening the promise carried in the seeds of your story as well.It’s all been prologue. The best is yet to come.For the Kingdom,Morgan & Cherie

“Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must first listen to my life telling me who I am.” — Parker Palmer Important Note: HERE IS THE LINK to the most updated version of A Soul’s Review for Groups. Updates were made on 12/15/25. Please download THIS VERSION for any use of the guided Examen.God comes to us brilliantly disguised in the ordinary moments of our everyday lives. With this in mind, we offer an invitation.For several years, we have invited you into the ancient practice of an annual examen. This year, we have released an updated edition designed for groups of all sizes.The first portion of this podcast is an invitation to host a group. It might be a regular circle of friends, family, or coworkers with whom you share life. Or perhaps a group of people you’ve been longing to invite into a deeper exploration of the geography of their soul and a reawakening to God’s pursuit.Here’s the invitation: pray about whom you might share this with. Choose a date between now and mid-January to host a simple gathering. It is structured around a minimum of two hours, though giving it more time allows the experience to breathe. If possible, we encourage you to include a simple meal.Listen to the entire podcast as a preview and prayer.When you gather, provide a printed PDF of A Soul’s Review for Groups, which you can download HERE. Then begin playing this episode at the 11:15 time code.It’s all been prologue. The best is yet to come.For the KingdomMorgan & Cherie

“The main thing God gets out of your life is not the achievements you accomplish. It is the person you become. Spiritual transformation is not about behavior modification; it is about allowing the life of Jesus to permeate our whole being. This is a process that is slow, steady, and deeply relational. We become the kind of people who can naturally and easily do what Jesus would do, because His life has formed our life from the inside out.” — Dallas WillardFriends,We’d love for you to join us for the final episode in this three-part series. In this conversation, we take a hopeful look at what the Styles of Relating can become as we grow in maturity—as fear and shame loosen their grip, and as trust, courage, and love begin to shape our reactions more than our old habits do.Our hope is that you’ll find encouragement for your own relationships and a renewed sense that change, even slow change, is possible.We’re grateful to walk this road with you—toward deeper wholeness, steadier love, and a growing belonging in God’s Kingdom and Family.Please note there is a COMPANION PDF for this episode that includes deeper reflection questions for the Styles of Relating. You can find it HERE.It’s all been prologue. The best is yet to come.For the Kingdom,Morgan & Cherie

“When we intentionally bring awareness to our internal world—our emotions, our sensations, our impulses; we begin to see the patterns that have been driving us. And once we see them, we are no longer bound by them. Awareness creates choice. Choice creates change.”  — Dan Siegel​Friends,In this second episode of a deeper dive into Styles of Relating, we reflect on how fear, hedging, and self-protection show up in our relationships, in contrast to the moments when, by God’s grace, we find ourselves relating from trust, dignity, and self-giving love instead.Nothing has exposed and transformed our own patterns more than this work. Slowly, we are learning to pause, to notice what’s actually motivating our reactions, to identify when fear and shame have snuck in sideways. But here’s the gift: awareness really does open space for change. And that change has brought us more joy, safety, and connection in our marriage than we ever imagined.We are grateful to be on this journey with you—toward wholeness, deeper love, and a growing trust in God and His Kingdom.It’s all been prologue. The best is yet to come.For the Kingdom,Morgan & Cherie