"Wrestling with God and Listening for Whispers," Episode #165, February 26, 2026

.Episode Summary

Wrestling with God and Listening for Whispers, Living Compass Spirituality and Wellness Podcast — Lent, Week 1

In this episode, Scott Stoner reflects on two powerful biblical stories that illuminate what healing and wholeness can really look like — not always peaceful or easy, but sometimes raw, wrestling, and hard-won. Drawing on the story of Jacob wrestling with God the night before his reconciliation with his brother Esau, Scott invites us to see that God is present not only in the moments of clarity and consolation, but in the darkness, the struggle, and the dis-ease we carry. Whatever we are wrestling with — a broken relationship, a physical challenge, an emotional weight — we do not walk through it alone.

Scott also revisits the story of Elijah from 1 Kings, reminding us that God's healing voice doesn't always come in the dramatic and overwhelming moments of life. More often, it comes as a gentle whisper — through Scripture, a meaningful conversation, a moment of stillness in prayer, or a quiet sense of being led forward. The episode closes with a beautiful reflection from contributor Robbin Brent, who writes that faith is not about certainty or the absence of questions, but about the willingness to keep trusting in the deeper reality of God's healing presence, even when circumstances seem to contradict it. Wherever you are on your Lenten journey, this episode is an invitation to be still, listen for the whispers, and trust that way will open.

Free PDF of the devotional booklet and daily email reflections available at livingcompass.org. Contact Scott at scott@livingcompass.org.

Resources Mentioned

  • Daily readings booklet — PDF download or daily email signup available at livingcompass.org

  • Living Compass App — search "Living Compass" in your app store or visit app.livingcompass.org; includes guided Lenten meditations; free trial for one year, then $10/year

  • Spanish-language content — daily reflections by Estela Lopez and Pedro Lopez (Bruja La De Vida), PDF available at livingcompass.org and posted daily on the Bruja La De Vida Facebook page

(Click the player at the top of the page to listen to this podcast episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

"Opening Our Eyes: Healing Our Vision," Episode #164, February 23, 2026

.Episode Summary

Opening Our Eyes: Healing Our Vision Living Compass Spirituality and Wellness Podcast — Lent, Week 1

This episode explores the theme of "Opening Our Eyes" as part of the first full week of Lent, connected to the daily devotional booklet Cultivating Wholeness and Healing with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind.

Scott reflects on the many healing stories in the Gospels involving sight, noting that healing doesn't always happen all at once. Drawing on the story of the blind man in Mark 8 — who is healed progressively, first seeing blurrily and then fully — Scott invites listeners to recognize that moving from blindness to blurry is still grace, still progress.

He then explores the different kinds of "blindness" Jesus addresses beyond physical sight — spiritual, emotional, and relational — and how each can leave us seeing life less clearly and with less love and hope than we'd like. Whether it's a faith stuck at an early stage of development, emotions we've numbed to protect ourselves, or patterns of "othering" people in our relationships, these forms of blurriness are not causes for shame but invitations to healing.

Scott closes with the image of Bartimaeus crying out, "My teacher, let me see again" — reminding us that Jesus is in the business of opening eyes, and that Lent is a season to nurture and restore our vision in all its dimensions.

Free PDF of the devotional booklet and daily email reflections available at livingcompass.org. Contact Scott at scott@livingcompass.org.

Resources Mentioned

  • Daily readings booklet — PDF download or daily emails available at livingcompass.org

  • Living Compass App — search "Living Compass" in your app store or visit app.livingcompass.org; includes guided Lenten meditations; free trial for one year, then $10/year

  • Spanish-language content — daily reflections by Estela Lopez and Pedro Lopez (Bruja La De Vida), PDF available at livingcompass.org and posted daily on the Bruja La De Vida Facebook page

(Click the player at the top of the page to listen to this podcast episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

"Cultivating Healing and Wholeness," Episode #163, February 17, 2026

.Episode Summary

Host: Scott Stoner, Episcopal pastor and licensed marriage and family therapist

Recorded the day before Ash Wednesday, this introductory episode launches the Lenten podcast series centered on the theme Cultivating Healing and Wholeness with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind. Scott reflects on what it means to tend to our whole selves during the 47 days of Lent, drawing on his 40 years of experience as pastor and therapist.

Key Themes

Scott opens with a simple but powerful question: When was the last time someone genuinely asked how you're doing? He invites listeners to treat Lent as an annual spiritual check-up — an unhurried season to reflect on body, mind, heart, and soul. Healing, he suggests, is less like a lightning bolt and more like tending a fire: patient, gentle, and attentive. The Ash Wednesday words "Remember that you are dust" are framed not as shame but as an invitation to humility and openness.

He also introduces the Living Compass model of well-being — four quadrants (Heart, Soul, Strength, Mind) with eight dimensions of wellness — and reminds listeners that wellness begins with "we."

Resources Mentioned

  • Daily readings booklet — PDF download or daily emails available at livingcompass.org

  • Living Compass App — search "Living Compass" in your app store or visit app.livingcompass.org; includes guided Lenten meditations; free trial for one year, then $10/year

  • Spanish-language content — daily reflections by Estela Lopez and Pedro Lopez (Bruja La De Vida), PDF available at livingcompass.org and posted daily on the Bruja La De Vida Facebook page

During This Series

Two new podcast episodes will be released each week throughout Lent.

(Click the player at the top of the page to listen to this podcast episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

"Practicing Love, One Step at a Time," Episode #162, February 12, 2026

In this Valentine's Day episode, Scott reflects on the Buddhist monks who recently completed their 2,300-mile peace walk to Washington, D.C., drawing connections between walking meditation, pilgrimage, and the true nature of love. He explores how love is primarily a decision and practice rather than just a feeling, using 1 Corinthians 13 as a guide to understand love as patience, kindness, and endurance. Scott shares insights from his retreats at Magnolia Grove Monastery in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, emphasizing that sustaining long-term relationships—whether marriages, friendships, or commitments to justice—requires showing up one step at a time, even when feelings waver. This episode reframes Valentine's Day as an opportunity to practice love as a sustained commitment rather than momentary emotion.

Remember: You can download the Living Compass app for guided meditations, contemplative practices (including walking meditations), and self-guided retreats for your phone at:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/living-compass/id6738334257

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.livingcompass&hl=en

And…you can find the content of our new Living Compass app online from any web browser at https://app.livingcompass.org

(Click the player at the top of the page to listen to this podcast episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

"Compassion Fatigue," Episode #161, January 29, 2026"

Compassion Fatigue

Scott works with as a coach and therapist are reporting that they are experiencing compassion fatigue. In this episode, he talks about what compassion fatigue is and how to address it.

Remember: You can download the Living Compass app for guided meditations, contemplative practices, and self-guided retreats for your phone at:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/living-compass/id6738334257

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.livingcompass&hl=en

And…uou can find the content of our new Living Compass app online from any web browser at https://app.livingcompass.org

(Click the player at the top of the page to listen to this podcast episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

"Stay Warm," Episode #160, January 23, 2026

Stay Warm

In this episode, Scott shares how, in the midst of the deep freeze hitting Wisconsin, where he lives, as well as much of the rest of the country, the universal wish that people extend to one another is "stay warm." What would it mean for us to "stay warm" emotionally and spiritually in the midst of the many storms happening around us today?

Remember: You can download the Living Compass app for guided meditations, contemplative practices, and self-guided retreats for your phone at:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/living-compass/id6738334257

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.livingcompass&hl=en

And…uou can find the content of our new Living Compass app online from any web browser at https://app.livingcompass.org

(Click the player at the top of the page to listen to this podcast episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.

"Home by a Different Way," Episode #159, January 12, 2026

Home by a Different Way

Sometimes an encounter changes us so deeply that we cannot return the same way we came. When has that been true for you? The story of the Wise Men being warned not to go back to Herod, but to go home by a different way after they encounter the Christ child, is a metaphor for how when we encounter the Divine, we often choose to move forward in a new way.

We also have Guided Meditations for Epiphany in our Living Compass App. You can download the Living Compass app for guided meditations, contemplative practices, and self-guided retreats for your phone at:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/living-compass/id6738334257

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.livingcompass&hl=en

And…uou can find the content of our new Living Compass app online from any web browser at https://app.livingcompass.org

(Click the player at the top of the page to listen to this podcast episode.) You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast app—Apple, Google, Spotify, etc. Search for Living Compass, and be sure to subscribe so you get new episodes automatically.