If you’ve felt like life just keeps getting in the way of living on mission—even with your spouse, kids, or those closest to you—there may be deeper reasons behind your lack of motivation.
This week on the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’re digging into why we procrastinate and how that hesitation can quietly kill our efforts in discipleship and mission.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
The 3 major underlying causes of procrastination
What procrastination looks like in discipleship and missional living
How putting off action might be a form of not trusting God
Ways the gospel speaks to this issue and how to get “unstuck.”
My wife Tina and I, have for years, been living out our spirituality–our faith–with others in community. I’m not talking about the “church we go to” but rather intentional community with others that’s focused on living like Jesus would live if he were walking around our neighborhood today.
A big part of living like a family with others is eating together, and OFTEN!
As if it is carved into sacred stone, our extended family–we call it our missional community–gets together for a weekly family dinner night.
These collaborative meals are usually simple, sometimes elaborate, often thrown together, but always warm and full of acceptance. It is a needed bright spot in our week and a time when anyone and everyone are invited in everyone is always invited. At times we will take communion together and go around speaking Good News to each other, pushing back the hurts and disappointments of the week and reminding one another of what is now true of us because of Jesus. Afterward, everyone helps clean up, making sure there is no leftover mess.
As a family, we practice an “open door policy” with one another. I know that I can stop by the home or apartment of those in my community at any time and it will be no big deal. It works in reverse too; my friends know that they can stop by our house any time (I’ve noticed that the single guys seem to practice this more around dinnertime).
This may freak you out a little. You may be thinking, “Whoa, how do you have any time to yourself.
What about boundaries?
There have been times when my wife, Tina, and I are sitting on the couch in the evening having a glass of wine together and the doorbell will ring. “Hey, Caesar. Hi, Tina. What are you guys doing tonight?” And I will say, “Hey, Nick, how you doing brother? Tina and I were just sitting here watching this romantic comedy together and I, um, was kind of hoping for a happy ending…if you know what I mean. So unless there is some emergency or you really need us right now, let’s get together tomorrow if that’s cool.”
Because of the openness and trust we have with one another, there is not only the freedom to open our homes, but we also have the freedom to say “Thanks for stopping by, but now’s not a great time.” We all know this and respect this reality.
But sometimes it’s hard!
Living like this could really spin-off in a bad direction if we don’t live with a focus on the Good News and live with intentionality. If my life is all about my comfort and feeding my preferences, then all of that stuff would be frightening and impossible to sustain. But in light of the love we have been shown, it is a pleasure and a blast to live in ways that show what our real, true heavenly Dad is really like.
Sure it would have been great if someone would have shared these ideas with you or led you into this way of thinking and living years ago, but as always, the next best time to begin…is now!
Question: What’s keeping you from hosting a weekly family dinner for your friends and community? If you’re doing it already, what are you experiencing?
Living as a family on mission in community with others is a big shift—and a big commitment. It gets even trickier when you’re trying to start or transition a small group that originally formed for reasons other than discipleship and mission.
This week on the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’re asking the honest question: Why is missional living so hard? We’ll unpack some of the common challenges and give you practical tips, hope, and encouragement for when things feel tough.
Sure, it might feel hard at first… (because it is!). But once you’ve experienced the beauty of gospel-centered community—living like a true spiritual family—there’s no going back to simply checking the church box on Sundays.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
The key differences between a traditional small group and a true missional community
How time, schedules, personal preferences, and priorities shape our ability to live this out
Why it’s crucial for married couples to be aligned in mission
What a sustainable, healthy pace looks like for long-term community life
The difference between introverts and extroverts is one of the most misunderstood aspects of personality. So many people get it wrong, leading to myths and assumptions that just don’t hold up.
In this episode of the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’re setting the record straight. We’ll break down the biggest misconceptions and uncover how both introverts and extroverts play a vital role in living together as a family on mission.
The truth is, we all have moments when we crave solitude and quiet—Jesus certainly did. And at times, even the most introverted among us step into social settings and engage with others—just like Jesus often did. Understanding this balance is key to thriving together.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
How introversion has nothing to do with “being shy”
Why extroverts don’t always have to be the life of the party
How spouses that are on opposite ends of this can better understand each other
Ways culture has taught us to hide our self-love behind these distinctions
Why we need each other to be more fully like Jesus and make disciples
Are we hearing impaired when it comes to the voice of God? Could it be that what we believe and have labeled as relational, emotional, and spiritual problems are actually ‘hearing’ problems?
In this episode, Caesar shows us how to turn down the negative voices in our heads, dial in the authentic divine Voice, and listen intently. The voices you believe will determine the life you experience!
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
Ways to sort out all of the chatter coming your way each day.
Why the voices you listen to shape your own voice in the world.
How to apply the “Jesus filter” to everything you’re hearing.
Why listening prayer is so different from the ways we usually pray.
I have a love–hate relationship with my garden and flowerbeds. On one hand, I love when they are clean, planted, and blooming at all the right times each season.
On the other, because of the rains that are present throughout every season in Tacoma, where Tina and I have our family home, I have a non-stop battle to fight with weeds that remain the fastest growing and most robust plants I have. They even grow full speed ahead during the winter, when everything else is either dead or taking a break.
I was working on my garden out in front of my house one sunny afternoon, (yes, we do get sun in the Pacific Northwest too!), and as I pulled weeds and replaced them with bright, colorful flowers, something started to shift in me. My heart softened as my nails became caked with rich, black soil. I started feeling as if I was involved in a much grander project or purpose. It was as if I was connecting to the overarching restoration of all things that God has promised to do in our world.
Is my front garden a part of that?
In that moment, it sure seemed like it. The Spirit reminded me that this is how he works within me too, pulling one weed at a time and replacing it with something beautiful. I started to think of all the people I know with weeds and thorny, spiky parts of their personality and life. Maybe I was to be patient and willing to get my hands a little dirty helping to “beautify the garden” of their lives too?
One by one, people from the neighborhood started to notice what I was up to. “Wow! That is looking really beautiful. I just love petunias!” “I was wondering if you were ever going to get around to this project.”
Not the feedback I hoped for, but I’ll take it.
One of the workers from the Salvation Army next door who loves to give me gardening advice, ambled over and said, “This is looking really good. I think I’ll start taking my breaks over here in front of your house from now on.” My flowerbeds were becoming his own little Garden of Eden in the neighborhood. A simple hour or two of gardening had refreshed and re-created my attitude in some pretty profound ways.[clickToTweet tweet=”Maybe everything we work at has a Kingdom perspective if we take the time to notice.” quote=”Maybe everything we work at has a Kingdom perspective if we take the time to notice.”]
Maybe everything we work at is like this if we have that perspective and take the time to notice. There is possibility for redemption all around us.
So, if you’ve been putting off some actual weeding you need to do outside in your garden, or in the garden of your heart or others, the next best time to get started is now.
