Little Things and Greeting Cards to Jesus

Show open and listener-media roundup

• Would Jesus say the n word?

The show opens from the Pathway Studios in Johnston. The hosts note the show website is glitching again, celebrate YouTube views up 80 percent, and riff on comments left on a past clip about whether Jesus would use a racial slur.

TikTok fame and COVID-era manhood banter

One host describes a 2 a.m. TikTok post that exploded to tens of thousands of views and hundreds of 'hey king, you dropped this crown' comments, and admits craving the validation. The conversation drifts into COVID-era Zoom sweatpants, a Menards trip, a battery weed eater, and a story about helping install a KTIA satellite cable at the Merle Head Tower.

Zondervan's annotated Quran and engaging Islam

• Should Christians read the Quran to engage Muslims more fruitfully?

A host shares the news that Zondervan is releasing a full Quran translation with Christian commentary, due April 28, to help Christians interact with Muslims. The hosts discuss whether engaging the Quran is worthwhile, note a real Quran must be in Arabic, recall a class on Islamic theology, and praise Nabil Qureshi's Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, including his conversion through dreams of Jesus and later work with Ravi Zacharias. They land on loving people as they are rather than as future versions of themselves.

Mistaken for the pope: the squirrel sermon on small steps

Ben (identified on-air when another host calls this 'good advice Ben's giving,' seg-00253) tells a long story: stuck home with COVID, he becomes convinced a squirrel outside his window thinks he is the pope, and dispenses mock-papal advice that turns into real counsel. Change starts with one small step, not all-or-nothing overhauls; he describes his own shift to tiny sustainable rhythms, a psalm a day and five weeks of exercise, and the discipline of controlling what he can control instead of sitting in worry.

Toenail clipping and pedicure comedy bit

The show devolves into a gross-out comedy bit as one host clips his toenails on air, prompting apologies to viewers, invented hashtags, and an extended riff on pedicures, cuticle snips, and toe parlors.

Tiger King, greeting cards, and heavy commentaries

Banter continues through Tiger King ruining leopard-print outfits, greeting cards from Buva, the fondly remembered Deuteronomy Dan game, and a long riff on impenetrable theology commentaries: C. S. Lewis's layered arguments, N. T. Wright's readability, Doug Moo's brutal footnotes, and the dreaded 'Ben shelf' of borrowed books never finished.

A sunset, a fight with his brother, and a cheesy Jesus moment

One host shares a 'cheesy Jesus moment': after a stupid scuffle with his brother left him driving home furious, he saw a sunset and was overwhelmed by his own smallness next to a sun 93 million miles away. The perspective shift reframed the fight as insignificant and reminded him his identity is unchanged, forgiven, and drowning in grace from the Creator.

God's bigness and not redefining people by one bad moment

The hosts connect the testimony to the Psalms' theme of recognizing God's bigness. They discuss how one bad moment gets used to redefine a whole person, especially spouses and friends, while God's perspective stays gracious; even harsh betrayals are a fraction of a life, and the here-and-now has a way of rewriting the past.

Dear LFTP: father-in-law with dementia

• How does one approach a father-in-law with dementia who makes inappropriate comments about women in public?

Dear LFTP: a listener's widowed father-in-law with dementia has moved in and begun making sexual comments about women while shopping, confusing the women of the household. The hosts advise starting with the truth that he has dementia and will not remember correction, living in his reality, and choosing outings wisely. The secular answer points to the Alzheimer's Association and caregiver business cards reading 'my companion has dementia'; the hosts admire Pants, who has MS, for making business cards that own his condition with humor.

Dear LFTP: teen with a foot in each world

• How does a teen torn between religious parents and secular peers navigate rejection from both sides?

Dear LFTP: a teen with religious parents and secular peers feels rejected by both worlds and is waiting to age out. One host is blunt, you cannot play both worlds, make a choice; the others counsel praying through it, accepting the tension, refusing to tolerate harassment, and trusting that God has not given up on her. The secular answer offers empty platitudes about better days ahead, which the hosts dismiss as unhelpful.

Dear LFTP: unruly kids at restaurant lunches

• Should I tell a young couple their kids are unruly at restaurants, or make excuses to avoid lunch invitations?

Dear LFTP: a listener is invited to lunch every few months by a young couple whose kids run wild in restaurants and wonders whether to confront them or make excuses. The hosts advise never bringing it up directly and instead inviting the couple to your house, swapping stories of feral restaurant children, Chuck E. Cheese chaos, and an Olive Garden anecdote.

Sign-off and the complaint line

Sign-off: the hosts give the Bob Eisenlauer complaint line number, (515) 517-0085, invite listener stories about restaurant disasters with their kids, and close with the benediction 'be faithful in the means, God will handle the ends.'