#134: A theology of laughter and co-creation (with Dave Connis)

Children’s and Young Adult author Dave Connis comes to The Puddcast to teach us the importance of laughter (and more). Dave’s hilarious and meaningful storybooks, The Inventions of God (and Eva), and The Stories of God (and Kiki) both captured our affection in a big way. We reflected on being intentional about the stories we tell our children and what we pass on to them; seeing ourselves within the continuum of generations before and after ourselves; how God invites all the parts of ourselves to co-creation; and more. If you’re a human being make sure to have a listen, and if you have kids, grandkids or nieces & nephews, make sure to grab his books from the links below.

Jonathan PuddleJanuary 20, 2023joy, parenting, god's love, creativity, art, humanity Comment

#115: Creating something great from what you've been given (with Justin McRoberts)

This week on The Puddcast I am joined by Justin McRoberts. Justin’s focus is on helping people live generous lives that faithfully do good work in the world around them. He’s a musician, a writer, a coach, and he hosts the @Sea podcast. We talked all about the process of becoming, trying something, failing, refining your understanding of your own passions and pivoting around those things in order to create something amazing out of whatever life has handed you, all themes from his new book, It is What You Make of It: Creating Something Great from What You’ve been Given.

Jonathan PuddleJune 4, 2021creativity, art, entrepreneur, failure, authenticity, covid-19, purpose, destiny, expression, lifeComment

#108: How Far You Have Come (with Morgan Harper Nichols)

Artist and poet extraordinaire, Morgan Harper Nichols returns to The Puddcast this week. We talked all about compassionately reframing our memories of past events, a major theme in Morgan’s new book, How Far You Have Come: Musings on Beauty and Courage. Whether you’re already a fan of Morgan’s work or are discovering her for the first time, I think you’ll find beauty and encouragement to be who you are, where you are right now.

Jonathan PuddleApril 1, 2021story, life, morgan harper nichols, beauty, poetry, art, self-loveComment

#93: Honest Advent (with Scott Erickson)

Scott Erickson (AKA scottthepainter) is a touring painter, visual storyteller and creative curator who I am very excited to welcome to The Puddcast this week. We discussed a number of the themes from his new Christmas book, Honest Advent: Awakening to the Wonder of God-With-Us Then, Here, and Now. Specifically, we talked about honesty in the face of pain and how vulnerability itself is the doorway to connection with God. Expect a jovial, lighthearted conversation that suddenly takes a beautiful, sacred turn as Scott hits reset on our understanding of a very familiar story.

Jonathan PuddleNovember 6, 2020authenticity, deconstruction, hope, vulnerability, artComment

#64: All Along You Were Blooming (with Morgan Harper Nichols)

My guest this week is poet and artist Morgan Harper Nichols. We talked about Morgan’s upbringing, her lifelong search for a creative outlet, her self-doubt and feelings of insufficiency, and the surprise success of her artwork and poetry. We also discussed Instagram as a platform that can foster personal intimacy and connection. Expect lots of graceful thoughts, kind words and laughter.

Jonathan PuddleJanuary 16, 2020grace, art, poetry, hope, influencers, joyComment

#50: Art, beauty and truth (with Ruth Chou Simons)

Ruth Chou Simons, author & popular creator of inspirational artwork joined me this week to talk beauty, truth, art, history, trends in wallpaper, the industrialization of modern education, how to have a conversation with your children, and surviving the moment by moment hopelessness that besets all of us while we await our own maturity. Sound packed? It sure is! Listen today and enter the giveaway to win a copy of Ruth’s latest book, Beholding & Becoming: The Art of Everyday Worship.

Jonathan PuddleAugust 29, 2019art, beauty, grace, meditation, worship, hustleComment