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Meet the dog that cooked your dinner for four centuries — then vanished without a trace. Three words can change someone's life: I believe in you. But do you actually mean it? This episode unpacks what genuine belief in people looks like — and what it costs when we stop. A special note of thanks to Paul Hawthorne for bringing the power of this sentence to my attention and for believing in me along the way. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

We live in the most connected era in human history. We have more ways to reach each other than ever before. So why are the conversations that matter most still the hardest ones to start? In this episode, let's trace the surprising history of a 150-year-old invention to uncover why "Can we talk?" might be the most loving thing you say to someone this week. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

This episode launches a new “Lovely Statements” series—short, powerful phrases that can transform the way we love the people around us. The first statement is simple. Only four words. But when spoken sincerely, it can change the tone of a room, a relationship, or even a life. Sometimes loving better begins with a question... and this week, it also begins with a piano. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

What if the thing that feels most fair is actually the thing that destroys us? What do global wars, church discipline, and your most painful relationships have in common? This episode explores the uncomfortable truth that justice alone can create more ruin—and why love sometimes absorbs the cost instead of demanding repayment. If you’ve ever struggled to forgive without keeping score, this one is for you. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

Love cannot thrive where escape routes remain. In this episode, we explores what Jesus teaches about exclusive, forward-only love: loving enemies, forgiving repeatedly, rejecting idolatry, honoring marriage vows, and loving God without divided allegiance. From Matthew 5 to Luke 16, from family life to finances, the message is clear — love only works when we stop looking back. If we want marriages that endure, children who feel secure, faith that survives hardship, and hearts fully devoted to God, there is only one path: Burn the ships. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

What does it really mean to love without conditions? In this conversation, Scott sits down with Dr. Tom Hamilton—Bible professor, academic dean, husband, father of eleven, and adoptive parent—to explore love as more than a feeling. Together they discuss marriage, adoption, parenting, and family life as spiritual disciplines designed to shape character, reveal selfishness, and form Christlike patience. Drawing from decades of lived experience, Tom reflects on unconditional love, the cost of commitment, the formation power of family relationships, and how God uses ordinary, often difficult relationships to make us more like Jesus. This episode challenges modern assumptions about marriage, children, comfort, and success. Topics include: Why marriage is a spiritual discipline, not just a romantic choiceAdoption and loving without guarantees or outcomesHow family life exposes and shapes characterCultural myths about money, children, and “having enough”Why unconditional love must truly be unconditionalSend us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

A deadly outbreak empties cities, shuts down schools, and forces one frustrated student into isolation. What feels like loss and interruption quietly becomes the most creative season of his life. In this episode, Spaced Love explores why distance, silence, and unfilled moments may be essential to real growth—and asks whether our obsession with constant motion is costing us the very love we’re trying to build. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

History remembers Lewis and Clark—but not the parents who shaped them. This episode explores the unseen hands behind lasting impact, asking what kind of legacy love actually endures. Is it comfort, or courage? Achievement, or preparation? A story about influence, faith, and why the most important work we do may never carry our name. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

What does Southwest Airlines, a six-month podcast hiatus, and Jesus’ words to Martha have in common? This episode explores why adding more to your life may be quietly costing you what matters most—and how learning to subtract might be the most loving decision you make. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

This episode is the last of a series of episodes entitled The Unlovables—a candid look at the people who are hard to love and why, and how the Bible teaches us not just to tolerate them… but to truly love better.             And today, we look at the seemingly uncrossable waters of betrayal.    How can we love those who have betrayed us.  Link to video Brandt Jean's courtroom forgiveness: https://youtu.be/NkoE_GQsbNA?si=v_XhX1YXE2WU6cPH  Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

If you would like to learn more about how you can help with the children's home in India or the congregation of lepers you can reach Bryan Tacker at [email protected] or [email protected] One of my goals with this podcast is to introduce an audience I love to people I love. I’d love for you to meet Bryan and Tami Tacker.  I first met Tami through an organization called Sacred Selections.  Sacred Selections is a nonprofit that helps raise funds to alleviate the financial burden of adoption for Christian families.  Sacred Selections helped bring home many of my children as well as hundreds of other children into their respective families.  But in talking with Tami, I found out that her and her husband, Bryan, are also deeply involved in some amazing work in India.  Bryan and Tami are exceptional people with a heart for children, the disenfranchised, and the spreading of the gospel in India.  We talk about how they first got involved in helping a children’s home there, as well as the amazing work being done by a congregation of lepers. We also talk about how it all started with a providential encounter with a Christian named Billy. For the sake of safety, we don’t use Billy’s last name or talking about the specifics of where the children’s home is in India because persecution of Christians in India, both economically and politically, is a very real danger, but if you want to get involved or help, there are details in the show notes of how to get more information.           I entitled this conversation ‘More with Less’ and I think you will find that amongst the larger details of these good works happening in India, you will hear some amazing stories about people who have done more with less and really make me want to be a better person.  I’m grateful for the Tackers and others like them doing this sort of work to help souls, and I’m better for the time talking to them.  I think you will be, too.  Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

This episode is part of our ongoing series The Unlovables—a candid look at the people who are hard to love and why, and how the Bible teaches us not just to tolerate them… but to truly love better. Today’s episode is unique amongst the UnLovables series because we are going to pursue understanding why you and I are often unlovable, or more accurately, why we have a very hard time being loved by God and others. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

This is the fourth in a series of episodes entitled The Unlovables. This episode is part of our ongoing series The Unlovables—a candid look at the people who are hard to love and why, and how the Bible teaches us not just to tolerate them… but to truly love better.             And today, we tackle a hard one—the addict. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

This is the third in a series of episodes entitled The Unlovables.  Today, we are going to study an uncomfortable group of people that Jesus was REALLY good at loving, but most of us aren’t.  The unseen and the unclean.  From beggars to lepers to prostitutes and thieves – Jesus loved those on the edges.  The people that for various reasons were culturally, financially, or morally outcasts.   How did He do that?  And how does He expect us to do that? Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"

One of my goals with this podcast is to introduce an audience I love to people I love. I’d love for you to meet Larry Coffey.  Larry is 85 years old, but you’d never know it by talking to him.  He’s articulate and thoughtful with a kind smile and an engaging way about him.    Larry and his lovely wife Joan are beautiful people.  They have seen a lot in their lives and yet after 53 years of marriage they still speak fondly of one another and you can tell genuinely love one another.  Larry is retired now, but he was a very savvy businessman who was blessed with much success.  Success that he consistently and firmly attributes to the Lord.  Larry kindly gave me of his time (even retired he is busier than most folks) to sit down and talk about life.  We discussed American culture, money, the power of philanthropy, family, marriage, and what makes a successful life. Send us Fan Mail "Remember, you are loved, so go, love better!"