Shows / Wayfarer
Wayfarer
Tom Vander Well is author of "This Call May Be Monitored (What Eavesdropping on Corporate America Taught Me About Business and Life)" A "wayfaring stranger" life's road. Husband, father, writer, CEO, actor, playwright, preacher, back porch musician, and follower of Jesus, he shares his thoughts and observations on the journey. Each weekday he offers 5-10 minute Chapter-a-Day (CaD) reflections on one chapter of the Bible, perfect for a daily commute. Longer reflections are on the Wayfarer…
Episodes
- Wayfarer
A Part of Something (CaD 1 Chr 2)
Deep down, we all want to know who we are, where we came from, and where we belong. Those are the big questions the Chronicler is attempting to answer for the…
- Wayfarer
The Story Still Being Written (CaD 1 Chr 1)
The Chronicler's genealogies remind me that my life is connected to those who came before me. But the Great Story reminds me that inheritance is not destiny. A…
- Wayfarer
The Last Four Verses (CaD 2 Ki 25)
Looking back, there are waypoints in my journey at which I can name, with great precision, what ended. Hope is harder to date. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2…
- Wayfarer
The Road Through Exile (CaD 2 Ki 24)
Things feel pretty bleak and hopeless in today's chapter. However, there is hope hiding there if you have the eyes to see it. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2…
- Wayfarer
Past, Present, Future (CaD 2 Ki 23)
As I've meditated on past, present, and future orientation, it's helped me to see a whole new layer of meaning in the events of the Great Story. A…
- Wayfarer
Teshuvah (CaD 2 Ki 22)
One of the things I've observed along my life journey is the difference one individual can make when they choose to change generational patterns. A…
- Wayfarer
Even Jesus Has Scars (CaD 2 Ki 21)
There's a divorce decree in the filing cabinet next to my desk. I could write a book about how a seventeen-year marriage starts, struggles, fails, and ends. A…
- Wayfarer
"I Contain Multitudes" (CaD 2 Ki 20)
Yesterday, Hezekiah spread his troubles out before God. Today, he spreads his treasures out to impress men. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 20. The text…
- Wayfarer
Spread it Out (CaD 2 Ki 19)
Faith isn't the confidence that everything will turn out the way I want. It's the willingness to spread my fears before God and trust him with what happens…
- Wayfarer
The Exceptions and The Rule (CaD 2 Ki 18)
When we get rules and exceptions confused in life, things get wonky. I observed that this is equally true in life as it is in business. A chapter-a-day podcast…
- Wayfarer
Keep Hammering Away (CaD 2 Ki 17)
I observe that in our current times, many people feel anxious and outcast. It's easy to feel that we don't fit. Life isn't working out the way we thought or…
- Wayfarer
In the Fog (CaD 2 Ki 16)
I have observed along my journey that people don't always lose faith by walking away from God. Sometimes they move God a little farther from the center of…
- Wayfarer
The Seat That Never Flips (CaD 2 Ki 15)
The politics of the Kingdoms of this World thrive on chaos, scandal, personal attacks, sensationalism, and lies. As it always has been here on earth, and…
- Wayfarer
What Mercy Sees (CaD 2 Ki 14)
There's something profoundly beautiful about a God whose compassion isn't dependent on the spiritual performance of the people who need it. Judgment is not…
- Wayfarer
Still Turning Towards (CaD 2 Ki 13)
When I'm disappointed in myself (and that happens a lot), I assume God must be disappointed enough to turn away. When I've repeated an old failure, I assume…
- Wayfarer
The Unrepaired Heart (CaD 2 Ki 12)
Somewhere along the way, Joash appears to confuse maintaining the institution with having and maintaining his own personal relationship with God. A…
- Wayfarer
The Story Isn't Finished (CaD 2 Ki 11)
The events of today's chapter do challenge my assumption that God's apparent silence means His absence. The delay did not mean the promise had died. It meant…
- Wayfarer
"And Yet..." (CaD 2 Ki 10)
Sometimes the hardest act of obedience isn't the spectacular sacrifice everyone can see. It's the quiet surrender nobody notices. A chapter-a-day podcast from…
- Wayfarer
Of Actions and Heart (CaD 2 Ki 9)
Busyness -- even doing God's work -- can come from very different heart motivations. Jehu was absolutely convinced that he was doing God's work. And, in a very…
- Wayfarer
Three Stories. One Question. (CaD 2 Ki 8)
In the quiet this morning, a question rises in my heart as the centerpiece of today's chapter-a-day reflections: "What am I becoming while I'm waiting for what…
- Wayfarer
Get Up. Start Walking. (CaD 2 Ki 7)
I love that the first people to discover what God has done in today's chapter aren't the king, the powerful, or the spiritually impressive. It's four poor…
- Wayfarer
Eyes Opened (CaD 2 Ki 6)
Spiritual disciplines don't magically erase what's outside my window, but train the eyes of my heart to perceive realities that fear makes me forget. A…
- Wayfarer
"I Thought..." (CaD 2 Ki 5)
Sometimes my disappointment with God isn't actually because God has abandoned me. It's because God didn't follow the script I wrote for Him. A chapter-a-day…
- Wayfarer
"Use What You've Got!" (CaD 2 Ki 4)
Emptiness isn't always the obstacle to God's work. Sometimes emptiness is the capacity for it. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 4. The text version may…
- Wayfarer
Wait for It (CaD 2 Ki 3)
There will be no rain, but water is coming. Wait for it. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 3. The text version may always be found and shared at…
- Wayfarer
Picking Up the Mantle (CaD 2 Ki 2)
At some point along the journey inheritance must become ownership. At some waypoint somebody else's faith must become my own. Following in a mentor's footsteps…
- Wayfarer
Refrigerator Reminder (CaD 2 Ki 1)
How many times a day do you open the refrigerator? It's one of the reasons that the fridge makes a great place for reminders. When Wendy puts something on the…
- Wayfarer
Challengers (CaD 1 Ki 22)
Ahab's problem is that he wants reality to conform to his desires rather than conforming his desires to reality. And that's where today's chapter wanders…
- Wayfarer
Blood and Sackloth (CaD 1 Ki 21)
Ahab possesses enormous wealth, authority, land, servants, palaces, and military power—yet one man's vineyard sparks an overflow of envy. Naboth's vineyard…
- Wayfarer
God of Hills and Valleys (CaD 1 Ki 20)
Ahab has more evidence than most people could ever ask for. Yet somehow he walks away from all of it essentially unchanged. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1…
- Wayfarer
It's Not About Me (CaD 1 Ki 19)
I have always had a strong soul connection with the Prophet Elijah. Whenever I read his story, I see all the tell-tale signs of a fellow Enneagram Type Four…
- Wayfarer
Limping (CaD 1 Ki 18)
When I add "and"s to my faith, I'll eventually find myself limping back and forth. And my friend Eric can tell you from experience that it will ruin your…
- Wayfarer
Brook. Jar. Boy. (CaD 1 Ki 17)
I've learned along my journey that sometimes the drying brook isn't evidence that God has abandoned me. It is evidence that yesterday's provision has finished…
- Wayfarer
"I'm Not Laying the Next Brick" (CaD 1 Ki 16)
Every ordinary decision is adding something to the world our children, grandchildren, employees, friends, churches, and communities will inherit. A…
- Wayfarer
The Measure (CaD 1 Ki 15)
Kings and kingdoms come and go. Dynasties rise and fall. The author of Kings keeps asking: "What happened to the heart?" A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings…
- Wayfarer
Bronze is Shiny, Too (CaD 1 Ki 14)
The God who saw through the disguise of Jeroboam at Shiloh and knew the difference between Solomon's gold and Rehoboam's bronze is still less interested in the…
- Wayfarer
So Many Voices (CaD 1 Ki 13)
The enemy who announces himself may be easier to resist than the voice that sounds almost exactly like wisdom. And in an age where there are so many voices…
- Wayfarer
Two Leaders. One Big Lesson. (CaD 1 Ki 12)
Today's chapter is a master class in leadership. It could be titled How to Lose Half Your Kingdom in Three Days. Specifically, it reveals how not to lead. A…
- Wayfarer
The Duplicity of Age (CaD 1 Ki 11)
Rebellion may be a typical young person's problem, but spiritual drift is too often a problem in life's later stages -- when a divided heart leads to spiritual…
- Wayfarer
Accumulation (CaD 1 Ki 10)
Because sometimes the most spiritually dangerous moment isn't when everything is falling apart. It's when everything is going spectacularly well. A…
- Wayfarer
The Turn Away (CaD 1 Ki 9)
After the spiritual mountain top of a week at summer camp, there was always an inevitable question: What does real life look like on Monday morning? A…
- Wayfarer
The Turn (CaD 1 Ki 8)
The most important thing about knowing where home is isn't that I never wander from it. It's that when I eventually realize how lost I am, I always know which…
- Wayfarer
The Pillars' Silent Reminder (CaD 1 Ki 7)
As with yesterday's chapter, there is a spiritual warning hiding in the opulent beauty of Solomon's Temple. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 7. The text…
- Wayfarer
Beneath the Blueprints (CaD 1 Ki 6)
Today's chapter reads on the surface like the boring recitation of a contractor's plans. Yet, once again, there are some important spiritual truths flowing…
- Wayfarer
Temple and Stone (CaD 1 Ki 5)
God doesn't give wisdom merely so that I might know more. He gives wisdom so that I might build well. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 5. The text version…
- Wayfarer
Inflection Point (CaD 1 Ki 4)
By virtually every ancient measure, Solomon is winning. Yet the narrator has slipped several tiny warning lights onto the dashboard. A chapter-a-day podcast…
- Wayfarer
Solomon Didn't Ask for Wisdom (CaD 1 Ki 3)
Everyone knows that Solomon asked God to grant him wisdom. You know what? It's not true. Wisdom is not what he asked for. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings…
- Wayfarer
Direction and Mess (CaD 1 Ki 2)
Solomon doesn't begin with a clean slate. He inherits David's kingdom. But he also inherits David's relationships, promises, enemies, loyalties, compromises…
- Wayfarer
Two Sons, One Throne (CaD 1 Ki 1)
Who will ascend to David's throne? It comes down to two brothers. Adonijah is the eldest son. Solomon is the youngest son and the offspring of the scandalous…
- Wayfarer
Not "Happily Ever After" (CaD 2 Sam 24)
Today's chapter is the final chapter of 2 Samuel. Strangely enough, it abruptly ends with a census, a plague, and a sacrifice. For the casual modern reader…
- Wayfarer
Life and Legacy (CaD 2 Sam 23)
At the end of David's story, we're given an important truth. Grace neither denies the glory nor erases the scars. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Samuel 23. The…
- Wayfarer
End Theme (CaD 2 Sam 22)
You know the movie is over when the song begins and the ending credits roll. Our chapter-a-day journey has reached the end of David's story. How fitting that…
- Wayfarer
Addressing What's Broken (CaD 2 Sam 21)
To the ancient Hebrews, sin was not merely an isolated transaction between perpetrator and victim. Sin created ripples through communities, families…
- Wayfarer
An Example to Follow (CaD 2 Sam 20)
An unnamed woman with no army, no office, no title, and no apparent authority saves an entire city with wisdom. Hers is an example I want to follow. A…
- Wayfarer
Two Men, Two Lessons (CaD 2 Sam 19)
As I meditated on both David and Barzillai this morning, it struck me that they have for me a beautiful lesson about what is required at different stages of…
- Wayfarer
A Prayer's Tragic Answer (CaD 2 Sam 18)
Along this earthly journey, I've observed that sometimes prayers are answered in heartbreaking ways. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Samuel 18. The text version…
- Wayfarer
Hashgachah (CaD 2 Sam 17)
Hashgachah refers to God's providential oversight that works through ordinary events rather than spectacular miracles. Today's chapter is a great example. A…
- Wayfarer
Thrown Stones (CaD 2 Sam 16)
I've learned along my own journey that repentance changes my posture toward criticism. David isn't defending his reputation. He is entrusting it to God. A…
- Wayfarer
One Right Step (CaD 2 Sam 15)
If one wrong move started this avalanche, maybe what David needs is just one step in the right direction. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Samuel 15. The text…
- Wayfarer
The Empty Kiss (CaD 2 Sam 14)
A kiss may be the quintessential act of human intimacy. Yet, through history and art it becomes a powerful device for communicating a whole host of human…