My favorite 'Good Stuff' blogs (part 1)

I was going to do 'top 10', but I just can't

Dec 26, 2025

I offered my first ‘Good Stuff’ blog in September.

I was already reading over 250 Substack publications a week - well, skimming, at least - and I found so much amazing good stuff! Especially about the church, life with God, and how to live a meaningful life. And running.

I couldn’t help but share! Others seemed to like the recommendations, and this has become one of my favorite things to do.

So I thought I’d do a roundup of my favorite ‘Good Stuff’ posts for the last two weeks of the year.

I started with the idea of doing a ‘top ten’ - but there’s simply no way I can narrow my favorite writing down to just 10 articles (even in only 4 months!). I’m so grateful to be part of this virtual community of brilliant, faithful writers.

So here - in random order - are the first 15 of my favorite thirty blogs of 2025. I’ll share the rest on New Year’s Eve…

When You Can’t Afford Your Secrets Anymore

by Kate Bowler

‘There is a fine line between humbled and humiliated. But wow…you know when you’ve crossed it.’

Finding Joy in a Sad World

by Beau Stringer
’Joy as holy rebellion.’

What Columbine Taught Me About Grief, Prayer, and Change

by Loren Richmond Jr.

‘And what stands out in my memory is not anger. Not rage. Not endless political debate. What I remember most is grief.’

The Bible We Almost Had (And How the World Would Be Different)

by Joe Boyd

‘Whole streams of theology — apocalyptic end-times, sacrificial atonement, faith vs. works — rose or fell based on a handful of close calls.’

Death asks the bigger question

by Jack Bentz SJ

‘We can, on our braver days, try emptying ourselves for others, moving outwards towards them in trust rather than withdrawing into ourselves from fear.’

PROTECTING THE INSTITUTION

by Rich Swetman

‘If churches want to recover trust, they must do the opposite of what institutions instinctively do. They need to center on the vulnerable, bring issues into the light, and hold leaders accountable, even when it hurts.’

It’s all a lie: you DON’T have to be “original”

by Christina Lynn Wallace

‘…this unoriginality didn’t stop him from writing his beautiful book, and in its lack of uniqueness, I felt uniquely seen. No longer a fraud but a “beholder” of the beauty which I was invited to grieve and cultivate.’

Let’s Talk About Sex

by Pastor Sierra Ward

T’o me these aren’t questions about sexuality (we can ask the same questions about donuts, drinking, church attendance, and exercise), but really speak to the deeper issues about how we live our faith and our naturally rebellious hearts and desires. Will we do what we want when we want to (regardless of what that is)? Or is there some larger ethic that we should follow?’

Dear Kids...

by Larissa Phillips

‘Here’s a secret of life: some of the best things in life are not necessarily “fun”. I don’t know why grownups talk about fun all the time to children, because even your parents know this. It’s why they brought you here instead of to the circus. You are here to work.’