Non-habitual

Show open: the tornado that dissipated

A host opens the show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston, then recounts a tornado warning near his home that dissipated before arriving: kids were put in the closet, and he had just dropped road insurance on his farm truck, which he assumed would then be hit by a tree.

The complaint line goes live

A host announces the new Live From The Path complaint line, (515) 517-0085, two weeks after promising it on the show. The hosts joke that it cannot receive texts, then immediately test texting it; the text goes through Nextiva and they wonder whether a stranger named Butch received a mean message.

Boova shows up; the gala that never happened

A host admits he forgot to plan the farewell 'Boova Gala' for the long-absent co-host, who then walks into the studio anyway. They reminisce about Boova's 'greatest hits': the taco gordita crunch bit, the 'Mr. Charisma' title from the old studio days, and a rainy-day broadcast from a festival.

Host question: what have you actually changed?

• In the last two years, what is the last thing you heard that you thought 'I should do that' and then actually did, persisting in it?

A host poses the episode's framing question to the room: in the last two years, what is the last thing you heard that you thought 'I should do that' and then actually did, persisting in it. The hosts riff on Sunday sermons, conviction that fades, and the gap between hearing and doing.

Complaint-line texting callback and the Eisenhower line

A text arrives on the complaint line and the hosts declare it accepts texts too, then dub it the 'Eisenhower text line' after former sponsor Bob Eisenlauer, joking that he no longer sponsors the show or listens to it.

Praise, raised hands, and Hebrew words

Reacting to a 'should Christians lift hands in worship' article, the hosts discuss Hebrew words for praise, including yada as a gusto-filled raising of hands like a field-goal signal, and a host's recent sermon series on the topic.

A host stands up in house church

A host recounts feeling moved to stand up during a song at a small house-church gathering eighteen months ago, which nobody reacted to or ever mentioned again, and the awkwardness of acting on impulse in worship.

'Good Good Father' origin story and Chris Tomlin

Dan recounts the origin story of the worship song 'Good Good Father': it began as a spontaneous song at a house church praying for a woman battling cancer, and Chris Tomlin's wife heard a copy and brought it to him. The hosts then push back on the 'commercialized' reputation of popular worship artists, arguing a song should be judged by whether it says something true about God.

Framing: what you've changed vs. what you still want

The hosts sharpen the framing question into two parts: something you legitimately changed, and something you have talked about changing but have not flipped yet. Each host prepares to answer in turn.

A host's morning devotional experiment

A host describes a season of intentionally setting apart morning time with God, inspired by watching his wife get up at 5:30 to read her Bible. For a couple of weeks it transformed his perspective on his job and family stress; after a week out of town the habit collapsed and his old irritability returned. He stresses the point is desire, not box-checking.

Dan: Overeaters Anonymous and the food battle

Dan says he went to a few Overeaters Anonymous meetings earlier in the year at a friend's prompting and realized he genuinely has an addiction to food. An intense Whole30-style fast before a trip to Africa worked while he was in it, but afterward he ate like 'a campground raccoon,' with no control, concluding it only works when he gives it to God.

Boova: from moping at the cross to conversational prayer

Boova tells of ten-plus years of doing the same thing in Pathway's 24/7 prayer rooms: writing sins on paper, shredding them at the foot of a wooden cross, then kneeling and feeling bad about himself for hours. Two weeks earlier, on an overnight shift, he laughed at himself instead, skipped the paper, moved his chair around the room's prayer prompts, and had a conversational two-hour prayer with God that he calls the single most fulfilling moment he has had in a long time.

Hosts on sustainment, double-mindedness, and discipline

The hosts respond to Boova's story with the episode's core thesis: the real issue is not good intentions but sustainment. They discuss double-mindedness (James), Paul's 'I do what I don't want to do,' treating the spiritual life like exercise, and how the guilt cycle around failed willpower is itself the trap. A host argues the barrier is not desire but the physical habit of choosing: not snoozing, getting up, reading the Bible.

Leviticus: the weight of unknown sin

Working through Leviticus, the hosts dwell on the sacrifice for the man who discovers he sinned without knowing it, and the guilt offering for defiling something holy, plus Job's habit of sacrificing for his kids 'just in case.' They argue the ancient Israelite's 'I didn't know, let's fix it' posture puts modern self-administered grace to shame, and that losing the sense of consequence weakens our grasp of what Jesus did.

Time with God; the Arby's and cigarettes stories

A host says his own version is simply time with God: prayer and study for no teaching purpose. The room trades failure stories: a Minneapolis work trip that escalated from Chick-fil-A to a full Arby's meal with pop after quitting pop, and a recurring on-and-off cigarette habit, including picking up a discarded pack of ultralight 100s on the roadside before throwing them in a dumpster with a friend named Andrew.

Complaint-line plug and sign-off on the theme

The hosts plug the complaint line again (515) 517-0085 for stories and advice questions, and one host offers mock advice for the next ten days: 'then flub it off,' which Boova greets as the show's last-seven-years motto.

A holy God vs. 'relationship': reclaiming reverence

A host, working through Leviticus, says he has no sense of reverence: the 'relationship, not religion' framing has elevated him and reduced God. He uses the example of praying on the toilet as his dedicated prayer time, and another host describes ingrained habits of reverence: capitalizing Christ's name in sermon notes, retyping it if misspelled like the scribe who set down his pen for Yahweh. They agree the felt consequence of sin should be noticeable.

Dear LFTP: the 40-year friend's annoying boyfriend

• How can I politely tell my 40-year friend we can no longer accommodate her annual week-long visit with her know-it-all boyfriend without hurting her feelings and ending the friendship?

The hosts read and answer a Dear LFTP letter from a listener whose best friend of forty years expects an annual week-long winter visit with her know-it-all boyfriend, and asks how to stop it without ending the friendship. Advice ranges from 'suck it up' to honesty with consequences: give him feedback he has never had, shorten the visit, or simply say you don't want houseguests and accept the friendship may not survive it. Includes an improvised bit of a host-as-'Mike' uninviting 'Buba' over the phone.

Secular's answer to the houseguest letter

The hosts read the Secular answer to the houseguest letter: tell the friend you aren't up to having houseguests, blame age and your husband, and if those fail choose between the truth and fibbing about being out of town. The hosts mock the advice as passive, pansy lying, and tell a hotel-housekeeping tangent.

Dear LFTP: political donations as a birthday gift

• A grandson's fifth birthday invitation requests donations to politically affiliated charities in lieu of gifts, which I cannot in good conscience support; must I give a gift anyway or stay away from the party?

The hosts read a second Dear LFTP letter: a friend's grandson's fifth birthday invitation requests donations to politically affiliated charities in lieu of gifts, which the listener cannot in good conscience support. The hosts call it tasteless, joke about retaliatory opposite-party donations and a Kavanaugh shirt, advise staying away from 'sewer lagoon' waters, and read the Secular answer: send the kid an actual gift and skip the party with an excuse.

Wrap-up: Bernie Sanders shirts and the sign-off

The hosts close out: a joke about a host's idea for high-quality Bernie Sanders supporting shirts, the final complaint-line plug ((515) 517-0085) for advice and discussion topics, and the standard sign-off that being faithful means God handles the ends.