Reader, I'm on vacation with my family this week, so I'm recycling some past content that resonated strongly with my list in the past. 1. A quick word from Zach I told my kids they could do hard things… and then my own words chased me up a brutal hill. 2. Something worth listening to Hal Elrod has faced death — twice — and came back stronger. In this candid interview, he shares how to build daily habits that turn adversity into fuel for growth. If you’re trying to push through something hard,...
about 5 hours ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, 1. A quick word from Zach A lot of us use the same spiritual language to describe two very different postures. One is patient, hopeful trust in God. The other is passive drift dressed up to sound godly. 2. Something worth reading Vodey Bauchum's Family Shepherds is a strong read if you need help thinking more clearly about responsibility, leadership, and what it looks like to move with conviction instead of drifting into passive spiritual language. 3. Something worth thinking...
7 days ago • 2 min read
Reader, 1. A quick word from Zach One of the hardest things to accept is that the most important work you do may not be finished by you. But that doesn't make it less valuable work - it may actually be the kind of work that matters most. 2. Something worth watching (or listening to) If you’ve been feeling the tension between fast results and lasting work, this episode of The Surthrivalist Podcast lands right in that space. It’s about recovering the imagination to build something your children...
14 days ago • 3 min read
Dear Sam Reader, 1. A quick word from Zach We all tell ourselves some version of the same story: someday things will calm down, free up, or finally get easier. But while we’re waiting on that imaginary future, real life keeps moving right in front of us. 2. Something worth listening to This podcast with Tim Ferriss will challenge you to think about whether you’re actually living now, or just postponing life for some imagined future version of it. 3. Something worth thinking about “ Rejoice, O...
21 days ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, 1. A quick word from Zach I feel the pull toward bigger, better, faster all the time. But the more I sit with it, the more I’m realizing that not every urgent feeling is a faithful one - and not everything worth building can be rushed. 2. Something worth listening to “Embracing a Generational Strategy” - Church and Family Life This is a fitting companion to this issue because it pushes us to think beyond immediate results and recover a longer horizon. Faithful work is often...
28 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, 1. A quick word from Zach It’s easy to tell yourself you’ll build margin later. But if you don’t intentionally build a business with room for family, church, sickness, emergencies, and the unexpected, you may wake up one day inside a profitable cage of your own making. 2. Something worth listening to This week, check out the EntreLeadership episode, “The Real Reason You’ll Never Grow Your Business.” It’s a fitting companion to this topic because it gets right to the heart of...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, 1. A quick word from Zach This week, I’m wrestling with a question a lot of Christian men in business quietly carry: should you try to grow your business as much as you can, or keep it intentionally small? I don’t think the deepest issue is growth or restraint by itself, but the motive underneath either choice. 2. Something worth reading Read Proverbs 14:23, Proverbs 16:8, Matthew 25:14-30, 1 Timothy 6:6-19, and Matthew 6:19-34 in that order. Together, these passages surface the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Dear Sam Reader, 1. A quick word from Zach Lately I’ve been wrestling with that knife-edge tension between my work and God’s work – how hard I should push, and while balancing the ever-present need to trust the harvest to Him. Isaiah 30:23 has been re-anchoring my heart in that tension. 2. Something worth reading Og Mandino’s The Greatest Salesman in the World, especially the tenth scroll, “Pray to God for Guidance,” is a short, story-driven meditation on taking daily action while consciously...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Dear Sam Reader, 1. A quick word from Zach Lately Proverbs 28:19 has been pressing on me. My calendar says I am busy, but if you watched how I actually spend my hours, you would not always see me working the land that is most likely to produce the bread I am praying for. This week I want to invite you to take that same hard look at how you are spending your time. 2. Something worth thinking about “ Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read