Egypt Jane

Show open and docket preview

The episode opens with the live show start from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. The hosts note that musical guest Jane Block is in studio and that the show will rise and fall on her. They preview the docket: fishing christianheadlines.com, a 'non-biblical signs of the apocalypse' bit, the Jane Block interview, and Dear LFTP advice.

Fishing christianheadlines.com: Chris Pratt concert headline

Ben asks Mike how he came across christianheadlines.com; Mike says he googled 'Christian news'. They mock the site's top headline — Chris Pratt attending a Christian concert with Matthew West and Zach Williams — as 'dude attends Christian concert' gossip. They debate whether Zach Williams's 'Chainbreaker' and 'Old Church Choir' are the same tune. Mike notes the show has now been running eight years and most topics have already been hashed through.

'Non-biblical signs of the apocalypse' bit introduced

• Is this news story a non-biblical sign of the apocalypse — is the end near, or do we have more time?

The hosts introduce a recurring bit: news stories not found anywhere in scripture that still feel like signs the end is near — the premise is that perhaps some of these are what Daniel saw when he was told to shut the book. They will go around the room voting whether each story is sufficient to end the world or whether there is still hope. Jane Block thanks the hosts for having her on the show.

How the hosts found Jane, plus Dear LFTP previews

A host describes finding Jane Block by 'creeping on websites' — looking for musicians whose tunes could redeem the show after Matthew West failed to come through. He previews two Dear LFTP letters for later: parents blaming a teen's friends for underage drinking, and a writer upset that friends treat her cruise vacation as a shopping trip for them.

Jane Block interview: background and musical influences

Jane Block introduces herself: born in Canada, moved to the US at about six, and a flute player from third grade through a music major in Oklahoma, later picking up the guitar as a self-taught challenge at her pastor's encouragement so she could play with children at church. She began writing songs in 2008, scoring ensemble pieces for flute, clarinet, bassoon, and drums — including one written for Invisible Children about children who have nothing. She describes music as her lifelong outlet, since expressing feelings through words was hard for her growing up.

'Sands of the Sea' performance and songwriting process

Jane Block performs 'Sands of the Sea,' the second song she ever wrote on guitar — written in about ten to twenty minutes while sitting on her washing machine doing laundry, sparked by a friend's message that 'all of his blessings are like the sands of the sea.' A host notes he struggles with the song's posture of thanking God and forgetting His goodness, and praises it. Jane then discusses returning to instrumental writing with the Finale program, a piece called 'Rocky Mountain Reflection' about the Rocky Mountains, and her 'SJCB compositions' YouTube page of recorded instrumental pieces.

More headlines: Amelia Earhart and a Maryland church car giveaway

The hosts check more christianheadlines.com items: a professor who may have solved the Amelia Earhart mystery, with a side debate over whether she flew the Spirit of St. Louis (needed to rebut a ten-year-old's school report), plus mentions of Billy Graham and Israel. They read that a Maryland church gave away five used cars — a Chevy Cruze, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, Ford Escape, and Dodge Journey — in a raffle marking an anniversary. One host jokes that a Toyota Corolla does not qualify as 'outrageously generous.'

Matthew Loftus's 'Moral Formation and Sexual Abuse' preview

• How should Christians move forward in a culture of sexual abuse in the wake of the Me Too moment?

The hosts preview Matthew Loftus's two-part piece on mereorthodoxy.com about the fallout from the Harvey Weinstein revelations and the Me Too movement: 'Moral Formation and Sexual Abuse,' subtitled 'Learning to Love What Is Good by Loving One Another.' They summarize his balanced approach — stop bad things, react appropriately rather than over- or under-reacting, put protections in place without overdoing them. They reflect on how people try to fix gray problems with black-and-white answers because their solutions are attached to belief systems, defending 'outer walls' two steps removed from the thing they actually believe.

Spiritual disciplines: spending time with God vs. performing

Continuing a weeks-long conversation, the hosts discuss how Christians try to 'fill in the gap' when they feel God isn't showing up — one pictures God as the night manager who steps out for a smoke while he plays 'assistant manager Mike' (self-named on-air). A host says he and Ben have been going back and forth on spiritual disciplines for two or three weeks. They argue that studying scripture to lead a Bible study is not the same as spending time with God, suggest reading a book like Numbers devotionally just to be with Him, and note that real time with Jesus clarifies daily decisions — like whether to give money to a homeless man — better than rigid ground rules.

Apocalypse game: the mustache cloud

The game begins with a London Mirror story: a rare horseshoe ('mustache') cloud spotted by Christie Grimes in Battle Mountain, Nevada, and shared by the National Weather Service — with a Hulk Hogan mustache joke from the photo. The Farmer's Almanac explains the meteorology: tornadoes tipped on their sides. One host votes 'we have more time,' arguing the end is only near if there is a man attached to the mustache; Jane agrees, noting it would be different if the tornadoes touched the ground.

Apocalypse game: the smoking orangutan

A video of an orangutan smoking at an Indonesian zoo brings criticism for past animal-welfare troubles: a young man flicked his half-smoked cigarette into the enclosure and the ape 'expertly puffed on it.' Activist Marison Guciano calls it a supervision failure. The hosts land on a 'ten-second rule': a brief laugh at the odd sight is human, cruelty starts past the ten-second mark. One host jokes that this is why creation groans for the return of the Lord — 'the Greek for groan is a subtle exhale of tobacco smoke.'

Apocalypse game: the ATM that dispensed $100s instead of $5s

A Kansas woman, Christina Ochoa, and her mother Christie face a Central National Bank lawsuit after 50+ withdrawals from a faulty Wichita ATM that dispensed $100 bills instead of $5s — the bank wants $11,607.36 back, claiming she received $14,120 when she should have gotten $14.85. The women claim they were gathering $5 bills for a 'money cake' gift and have receipts showing fives. The hosts call the theft blatant but turn the verdict on the bank: an ATM cannot tell which bills it dispenses, which one host declares an actual sign the end is near — 'we put an entire bank in a three by three machine, and then we can't tell what kind of money we spent out of it.' Jane switches her vote too.

'Bring Me Closer' performance

Jane Block introduces 'Bring Me Closer,' her third or fourth guitar song, written over three or four days for a friend whose newborn baby girl was in and out of the hospital and whose faith was collapsing — he was angry at God and she wanted to tell him this is not the end and that he has options. She performs the song.

After the song: the friend's story, plus Egypt Speaks album teaser

Jane says the friend she wrote for is thankful: his baby girl, now six, pulled through her medical issues, he has a copy of the song and its chords, and he credits her letting the Lord work through her voice and music. The hosts plug Jane's Facebook and Twitter pages and note show clips will be posted at livefromthepath.org. They tease the show's closing cut from Egypt Speaks's upcoming album 'Cathedrals,' releasing April 1 — the track 'As I Am' — and laugh about a flat-out booking denial from Perry Noble, noting it will not be 'that Matthew West thing all over again.'

Dear LFTP: teen drinking and the unacknowledged apology

• What should a mom do about her teen daughter's underage drinking at a sleepover and an apology email the other parents never acknowledged?

'Jenny's mom in Canada' writes about her 15-year-old daughter Jenny: at a sleepover at Penny's house, the parents left the girls alone, they drank beer, and Penny got drunk on hard liquor. Jenny sent a heartfelt apology email that was never acknowledged, and the mom wonders what to do — noting Jenny has already ditched Penny as a friend. The hosts advise letting it go, note apologies are best delivered in person ('email apologies are lame o'), and read the Secular answer: plenty of blame to go around — the parents shouldn't have left liquor available, but they were wrong to expect Jenny and Ginger to have prevented Penny's behavior.

Dear LFTP: cruise vacation souvenir demands

• Am I being overly sensitive that friends expect souvenirs from my cruise, and how can I politely refuse?

A couple, finally recovered from bankruptcy after the economy crashed, plans their first real vacation in ten years — a cruise — but four friends and family members ask them to bring back souvenirs. The hosts side with her: a souvenir is a gift someone brings you, not an order you place; they perform the 'I politely refuse' bit, with Ben asking Mike for a souvenir and Mike demonstrating the refusal. Jane agrees she is not being overly sensitive. They reject the Secular answer's advice to lie about a tight schedule ('don't lie'), noting a cruise is by nature full of free time — and the honest line is that they are not willing to spend it shopping for others.

Goodbye to Jane, closing cut from Egypt Speaks

The hosts thank Jane Block, share her Twitter handle (@janeblok), and invite her back anytime. They play the debut of Egypt Speaks's 'As I Am' from the upcoming album 'Cathedrals' to close the show, signing off with the catchphrase: 'Be faithful in the means. God will handle the ends.'