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I started my journey of blogging in 2003 — mostly to capture what I called “transitioning life’s journey”.
In 2023 I took a 3 year break from blogging, but have decided to return to it. I hope you enjoy.
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Search 20+ years of blog writing…
Rhett Smith Podcast 29: Women and Anger, Our Breath in Grounding Us, and Brene Brown’s The Daring Way Training — with Psychotherapist and Yogi, Jessica Pass
I’m always super excited to bring guests on to my podcast and introduce you to new people and the amazing work they are doing. And Jessica Pass is one of those amazing people that I have been wanting to bring on for a while. I first met Jessica in August of 2005 when we both […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 27: Mastering the Art of Trust — with Artist, Author, and Craftsmen, Aubrey McGowan
“The people who are having the greatest impact are the people who have heaps of this one thing… Trust.” (Learning to Master the Art of Trust, pp. 1) You may recognize Aubrey’s name from episode 14 which was a very popular episode. In that episode we explored his family’s move to Tennessee from Texas last […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 25: Running, Faith, and Looking for Opportunities Beyond Personal Bests and Finish Lines — with Runner and Blogger Melissa Martinez
I love to run. It’s one of my favorite things to do, and more recently I recorded a podcast episode on how running has changed my life. One of my bigger accomplishments was running my first 50k about a year and a half ago with my friend and neighbor Eric Fortner at the Ft. Worth […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 17: Exploring Women’s Health Issues, That ‘Always Tired’ Feeling, and the Importance of Sleep, Food, Exercise and Faith — with Dr. Melissa Esguerra
I enjoy interviewing all the guests on my podcast. It’s a huge privilege to be able to talk with such amazing people. And this one was really special as I got to interview one of the former students in my college ministry. Between 2001-2008 I was on staff at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 16: Tools to Help You Identify, Manage, and Reframe the Anxiety in Your Life
Anxiety is a struggle that everyone has experienced at some point in their lives. Anxiety is part of the human condition whether we like it or not. But while some people seem to experience little anxiety, others feel their life is consumed with it. I’ve shared in countless contexts how I struggled for a good […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 15: Exploring the Interplay of Depression, Hope and Trail Running — with Missions Pastor, Mental Health Advocate, and Trail Runner, Benji Zimmerman
About 5 weeks ago I was perusing through Instagram and I came across the feed of lvtrailrunner. I have been following lvtrailrunner (aka Benji Zimmerman) online for quite a while, and I have really been inspired by what he posts, especially his amazing trail running photos. But something different caught my eye this day…it was […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 12: How Engaging in Adventure and Play Creates Space, and Leads to Hospitality — with Pastor and Writer Dr. Drew Sams
This episode was definitely a Rhett Smith Podcast first. My brother-in-law Drew Sams and I went for a long 10 mile trail run earlier in the day, and spent our recovery time hanging outside in his backyard jacuzzi. And so we decided to just record the conversation there. So you are going to hear some […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 11: Exploring 7 Spiritual Practices for Busy People — with Pastor, Spiritual Director, and Professor, Timothy Smith
We all live in a very busy, very fast paced culture. And in our constant hurry it is often our self-care that goes by the wayside. We stop taking care of ourselves physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, often finding ourselves in a worse predicament than when we began. In this episode I really wanted to […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 10: Are You Living a Good Story? How Comfort, Anxiety and the American Dream Can Keep Us From Living a Compelling Life — with Author, Storyteller, and Communications Pastor, Scott McClellan
In the Summer of 2008 I was sitting in my inlaw’s home office working on their computer. My wife, 1 year old daughter and I had just moved from Los Angeles to Dallas to live a more compelling story, but we knew very few people except for some family we had in the DFW area. […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 4: The Connection Between Our Fitness, Food, and Faith — with Ultra-Athlete and Food Advocate Sarah Stanley
About two years ago I came across Sarah Stanley online which led to a few email exchanges about running and health. And over the course of the last two years I have been both continually impressed and encouraged as I have watched her explore the outer limits of her abilities (physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually) […]
Rhett Smith Podcast 3: Navigating Transitions, Finding Your Passion, and Letting, Go — with Pastor, Chaplain and Spiritual Director, Dr. Timothy Smith (aka my dad)
My dad is an amazing guy. Besides being my father he has taken on many roles over the course of his life such as church planter, pastor, professor, prison chaplain, hospice chaplain, writer, teacher, speaker, spiritual director, radio show host…and co-founder of Water from Rock which is a non-profit ministry based in Scottsdale, AZ, and […]
Difference Between Studying and Reading the Bible
When I work with people in therapy we often talk about the importance of being physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy. And one of the primary ways that many people who foster their spiritual growth is through their participation in the Bible. That may be through reading, memorization, study, teaching, preaching…trying to live out what […]
Runnning as a Meditative and Prayerful Practice
In yesterday’s post Running as an Antidote for Anxiety and Depression, I told you about why I love running and how it has transformed my life. One aspect that I didn’t tell you about is how running not only helps with my anxiety and depression, but it’s a great activity for my prayer life. I […]
Talking About Mental Health in the Church
Unless you have either experienced anxiety and depression yourself, or have sat present with those who have, then it’s pretty easy for us to make trite comments or give cliche answers to those around us. This is probably the single reason why I wrote The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?. I […]
Why Ministry Leaders Don’t Get the Help They Need! (And What They Can Do About It)
I’ve grown up in the Church (son of church planters, pastor, spiritual director, chaplain). I’ve participated and volunteered in the Church my entire life. I’ve been on staff of churches for about 15 years. I love ministry, but I also know there are some inherent dangers in working in ministry. Burning out. Constant people pleasing […]
The Meaning of a Word is “Embedded in the Story”?
“Dictionaries are wonderful tools and we would be the poorer without them, but in Gospel matters they are among the lesser helps. The reason is that everything in the Gospel is personal, relational, and embodied in particulars. There are no generalities. Every word is embedded in the Story and, in the most comprehensive sense, incarnate […]
“You…We are the Beloved sons and daughters of God.” — Henri Nouwen
I love this video clip of Henri Nouwen preaching (this is a short clip — 8 minutes and 55 seconds — well worth your time). His many books have been influential in my personal life and in my work as a pastor and therapist. Here we get a good sense of what it means to […]
Epic Podcast Interview with Rich Roll and Byron Davis
As I have mentioned before, I’m totally digging the Rich Roll Podcast. Just ask my wife — every time I listen to one, the first words out of my mouth are “you have got to listen to this interview.” The podcasts assemble a wide variety of people from athletes, coaches, entrepreneurs, etc. Very fascinating. The […]
Mindfulness — Presence and Curiosity in Conversation
In my newsletter this month I made a plea to my readers to simply “Be Present and Be Curious” with themselves and their relationships. Doing those two things can reap huge rewards in relationships such as connection, intimacy and understanding. And so today, I want to close out my blog posts for the time being […]
Mindfulness — Connecting Breathe to Our Prayer
In the last couple of posts I’ve been talking about the importance of focusing on your breath as it relates to being more mindful — paying attention to your life. It’s a practice that is overlooked, but I think that is essential to being more attune to each moment. Another way to say it is […]