Starting Right

A box of donuts doesn’t sound like theology, until you watch someone pay for every single one. We share a story from a college classroom where Dr. Christensen promises a “party,” then sets an unexpected rule: one student, Steve, must do push-ups so each person can have the opportunity to receive a donut, whether they want it or not. What starts as fun turns heavy as the cost piles up, the room grows tense, and Steve keeps going anyway. 

That’s where the Parable of the Donuts stops being about dessert and becomes a sharp, memorable picture o...

The smallest frustrations can turn into the biggest reactions, and most of us have lived that story: one more muddy footprint, one wrong tone, one extra delay and suddenly we’re snapping. We unpack why that blowup is usually the result of a slow buildup of “small stuff,” the kind that quietly stacks emotional weight on your shoulders until your patience runs out.

We lean on a deceptively simple practice: spend a moment each day thinking of someone to thank, then thank them. That one habit reshapes your focus away from negativity and toward what is good and st...

Control can feel like confidence, until it starts running your life. Today I’m talking to the part of us that needs every detail managed, every person predictable, and every outcome locked in. I’ve lived in that space, and I know how quickly “being responsible” can turn into obsession, stress, and strained relationships.

I walk through the story of Paul, who didn’t just change his name from Saul, he had to change his posture toward control. Even after coming to faith, he pleaded three times for God to remove a thorn in the flesh. God’s answer cut...

Imagine hearing about a cross-country road trip so extreme it sounds made up: two guys set out in 1930 to drive from New York to Los Angeles and back without ever turning off the engine. The car keeps running for weeks, reporters chase the story, and the stunt becomes a rolling headline with Texaco backing it. Then the detail that changes how you hear the whole story lands: they complete the entire route in reverse.

That odd, stubborn backward drive becomes the perfect metaphor for spiritual life when “pressing forward” isn’t working. I connect the road trip to Rev...

A blind woman in 1800s New York writes more than 8,000 hymns and somehow makes generations see God’s love more clearly. That’s the true story of Fanny Crosby, and it’s the heart behind today’s short devotional from Starting Right. We talk through why her songwriting still lands with power, not as nostalgia, but as lived faith turned into words you can carry into an ordinary morning.

We follow Crosby from her years of service in the Manhattan slums to the surprising moment “Blessed Assurance” was born. A visit to Phoebe Knapp’s mansion in Brooklyn turns...

When life squeezes you hard, your first instinct is to say, “I’ve got nothing left.” That’s why I keep coming back to one of my favorite Old Testament stories, the widow and her oil from 2 Kings 4. It starts with grief, debt, and a mother terrified she’s about to lose her sons and it turns on one quiet question from Elisha: “What do you have in your house?” 

I read the passage straight through, then slow down to pull out two practical lessons for real life. First, we often believe we have nothing, when the truth is we hav...

Your stomach drops, your face gets hot, and all you can think is, “I cannot believe I just did that.” Embarrassment hits fast, and it can feel way bigger than the moment itself, like it rewrites how you see yourself. Today, we sit with that feeling honestly and talk about how to move through it without letting shame drive the rest of your day.

I share a story about a young man traveling abroad for the first time who gets warned about pickpockets in a packed subway. When someone bumps him, he’s sure his wallet is gone...

A blind beggar sits outside Jericho, listening to footsteps and rumors, wondering if life will ever change, and then he hears the name that rewrites his future: Jesus. I walk through the story of Bartimaeus from Mark 10:46-52 and the moment he decides hope is worth getting loud about, even when the crowd tells him to be quiet.

We talk about what makes Bartimaeus so relatable: long days of limitation, the ache of waiting, and that feeling that your “destiny” has already been decided. Then we zero in on the turning point, when he cries out, “Jesus, Son of...

A 1964 radio commentary shouldn’t feel like a breaking-news transcript, but that’s exactly what happens when we read Paul Harvey’s “If I Were the Devil.” Danny Mac brings the piece back to life and lets it speak for itself, line by line, as it describes how a nation can be weakened through distraction, division, media influence, the erosion of family, and a slow reshaping of what people call right and wrong. It’s sobering, and it’s hard not to think, “That sounds like it was written today.” 
I make sure to play this episode every election year as we...

When you’re praying hard and nothing seems to move, the silence can start telling stories: maybe God isn’t listening, maybe it won’t change, maybe it’s already over. We push back on that spiral with a five-minute morning reset rooted in Scripture, worship, and a stubborn kind of faith that refuses to quit.

“Miracle in the Works” by Brian and Katie Torwalt reminds us that God is working and we can trust and believe him even when we don't see the answer.  We anchor everything in 1 Timothy 4:10, a verse that tells the truth about real life: we...

Grief has a way of emptying your mind and stealing your next step, so what do you do when you’re driving home with news you never wanted to hear? We tell the true story Darlene Zschech shares from her book, Extravagant Worship: a devastating doctor’s visit, a brokenhearted ride home, and a quiet prompt from the Holy Spirit that felt almost unbearable, “Sing.” 

We walk through why that moment matters for anyone living through loss, anxiety, or a season that makes no sense. Worship isn’t a mood or a performance. It can be an act of obed...

God doesn’t sit on a throne waiting to grant demands like a genie and that one truth changes how we pray, work, and give. We start with a hard reset on expectations, then zoom out to a powerful biblical pattern: God often chooses to build His kingdom through people, not shortcuts. If you’ve ever wondered why your prayers feel unanswered, or whether your daily job has spiritual value, this conversation gives you a grounded, hopeful way to think about purpose.

We walk through the Old Testament picture of prophets and priests leading with God’s word w...

Fire can feel cruel when you’re standing in it, but what if it’s also doing something precise and necessary?  Have you ever watched a silversmith work?  He is  able to take the raw material and melt it down with extreme heat, and the use it to create something beautiful.  That sounds a lot like how God sometimes works in us.  Listen today to find out more.

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You can learn a lot about life by doing one thing most of us never do: watching the credits all the way to the end. After a movie night surprise, we turn to Colossians 4:7-10 and find a set of names that rarely get the spotlight, yet carry massive weight in the early church: Tychicus, Onesimus, and Aristarchus. Their stories shine a bright light on behind the scenes ministry and why quiet faithfulness often moves the gospel farther than public visibility ever could. 

We walk through what each man contributes and why it matters today. Tychicus shows t...

Thanksgiving can feel like a warm meal and a full table, but I want to take it deeper than tradition. Today we ground gratitude in Scripture, starting with Psalm 100:4 and the simple, challenging idea that thanksgiving is a way we enter God’s presence with open hands. When we remember why Thanksgiving was established in the first place, we see it as a deliberate pause to acknowledge God’s provision, protection, and care across the year, not just a day to eat too much and laugh about it afterward.

We also get honest about why gratitude can feel...

A lawn chair, a stack of weather balloons, and a man who drifted toward the ocean at 11,000 feet. It’s a story you can’t unhear, and we use it to ask a bigger question: what does boredom do to our choices, and what does God offer instead? This Friday Roundup pulls together the most meaningful moments from the week, built for a quick, five-minute start that still leaves you grounded, challenged, and encouraged.

We revisit Music Monday with “Gonna Be Good” by Tea and sit with lyrics that echo Jesus’ teaching about worry: the birds don’t panic abou...

The town of Hum in Croatia is officially the smallest town in the world.   It's size is less than a football field and the population is a mere 30 people.  Yet  somehow has two churches, and that odd little detail opens the door to a bigger question: what happens to our faith when we try to do it alone? We share the story of Hum, Croatia and use it as a simple prompt to think about belonging, spiritual health, and why Christian community is not optional for long-term growth.

We would love to hear your com...

A lawn chair, forty five weather balloons, a tank of helium, and a BB gun. That’s not a movie plot, it’s the true story of Larry Walters, a truck driver who wanted to fly so badly that he turned his backyard into a launch pad and accidentally floated to about 11,000 feet. We tell the whole story, from the dream that started it to the moment a pilot reports “a guy in a lawn chair” near Los Angeles International Airport, and the Navy helicopter rescue that finally brings him back to Earth. 

But the real reason we share...

Childhood has changed fast, and you can feel it the moment you sit down with a teenager and watch how different their world is from the one you grew up in. After spending time with our grandchildren and sharing a simple moment around a new video game, we step back and talk honestly about the dangers, pressure, and confusing messages kids face today and why grandparents still matter more than ever. 

We lean on two anchors: lived experience and lasting truth. I read a striking letter Paul Harvey wrote to his grandchildren in the early 1970s, full o...

Monday can hit like a wave, and if you’re already tired before the week even starts, you’re not alone. We’re keeping it simple and steady with a five-minute  devotional designed to lift your focus and give you a clean start to the day. Grab your coffee, take a breath, and let worship music do what it does best: move you from stress to trust.

Our Music Monday pick is “Gonna Be Good” by Taya, a voice you likely recognize from Hillsong Music and the iconic worship song “Oceans.” We talk about her transition into a new music min...

You can love Jesus and still feel totally baffled by the people around you. One person wants a plan, another wants a party, another wants peace, and another wants to lead the charge. So what if the friction you feel is less about “bad attitudes” and more about God-designed differences you haven’t learned how to read yet?

We start with 1 Corinthians 12 and Paul’s clear picture of the body of Christ: one body with many parts. Then we connect that Scripture to a practical, memorable personality framework from Dr. Gary Smalley and Dr. John Trent. Their temperam...

A ship goes down in the South Pacific, and one man makes it to shore alive: a preacher who is furious at God. He builds a life from wreckage, finds water and food, and still wakes up every day asking the same questions many of us whisper when life hurts: Where are you, God, and why won’t you answer me?

Then the worst thing happens. While he’s away gathering food, his hut catches fire and everything he’s built is swallowed by flames. He collapses in anger and grief, convinced this is proof that God has ab...

God can feel painfully quiet when you’re stressed, tired, and out of answers. That’s why so many of us end up saying the same simple line: “I need a word from God.” Today’s five-minute encouragement starts there, with the real-life emotion behind that prayer, and the honest question hiding under it: If God is with me, why does everything still feel so hard?

We go back to Judges 6 and sit with Gideon in the middle of a crisis. Israel is being crushed by the Midianites, and Gideon is literally hiding while trying to protect what littl...

Some mornings don’t need more noise. They need a reset. We open with a simple, sturdy line from Psalm 118:24: “This is the day the Lord has made,” and we treat it like a real decision point. Before the emails, before the headlines, before the stress spiral, we choose to rejoice and be glad, not because life is easy, but because God is good and his love doesn’t quit.

We talk about why gratitude is not shallow optimism but a daily act of worship that reshapes your mind and your reactions. When you don’t feel loved, Psa...

A half-wolf with a taste for chickens sounds like an odd place to find life advice, but Jack London's White Fang story hits a nerve fast. We start with a simple picture: instinct lunges toward what looks good, a steady voice calls it back, and over time a wild heart learns a new “law.” That’s not just animal training, it’s a map for daily self-control when no one is watching and the temptation is right in front of us. 

We connect that image to real life “chickens” the distractions and desires that grab our attention, promise quick...

Some worship songs feel like a warm blanket. This one feels like a spine. We’ve been reading through the Book of Acts and getting a fresh look at the New Testament church, where faith isn’t a weekend accessory. Believers share sacrificially, face life-and-death pressure, and still watch the Spirit of God move with power through miracles, spiritual gifts, and people coming to Christ in huge numbers. That contrast naturally raises a question I can’t shake: what did their church gatherings actually sound like, and what kind of lyrics helped them stand firm?

I found a surp...

You can know your “usual path” and still get hurt when one small thing changes in the dark. That’s the image I can’t shake as I talk through a moment we’ve all lived: waking up at night, trying to navigate the house without turning on the light, and suddenly slamming into what you didn’t expect. It’s funny until it’s not, and it’s a surprisingly honest picture of what uncertainty does to us when we keep moving as if nothing has changed.

Right now, a lot of us are facing a world that feels u...

When the world feels like it’s spinning out of control, your mind can start writing the worst ending possible. We hit pause on that spiral and reach for a different anchor: a song Danny Mac could not wait to share on Music Monday, Matthew West’s “Last Page of the Bible” featuring Anne Wilson. 

We talk about the moment Matthew West connected the song to one of Billy Graham’s most memorable lines, that he’d “read the last page of the Bible” and God says everything is going to turn out alright. From there, we get honest about...

The most dangerous temptations don’t look like disasters. They look like tiny detours that feel reasonable. Today we take a fast, focused look at C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters and why this classic Christian book on temptation and spiritual warfare still feels uncomfortably current. Lewis flips the usual approach by letting us overhear demons strategizing, and that “backwards” view makes the patterns easier to recognize in our own habits, thoughts, and priorities.

We talk through Screwtape’s coaching of Wormwood as he tries to keep a human “patient” from following God, and we name the subtle tac...

You can pray, ask the right questions, and still feel the sting of, “I haven’t seen God doing anything lately.” That honest frustration is where we start, because so many of us measure God’s work by what we can point to, prove, and post. I walk through a conversation with a friend who’s been faithful for years, yet feels like heaven has gone quiet, and I ask the question that changes the frame: what are you expecting God to do?

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“What if?” It sounds small, but it can hijack your whole day, and it loves to show up at night when everything is quiet. Today I’m taking on that worry spiral head-on and giving you a simple, five-minute mindset shift you can carry into work, family stress, health scares, and all the unknowns that like to camp out in your thoughts. 
Here is what “what if” really does: it multiplies fear, steals sleep, and convinces you the worst case scenario is the most likely one. Then I tell a sharp story from ancient Sparta. When Philip II threatened...

A brave mouse from Narnia might be the last person you’d expect to challenge your faith, but Reepicheep does exactly that. I’m Danny Mack, and today on Starting Right I share how reading The Chronicles of Narnia as an adult opened my eyes to the Christian theology C.S. Lewis threads through the story, especially in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. When Reepicheep reaches the very edge of Aslan’s country and chooses to go on with Aslan, it becomes a powerful picture of courage, surrender, and what it means to long for heaven without fear. 

Today's episode was originally broadcast on June 3, 2024.  The message is just as relevant and powerful today as it was then.. Enjoy and be blessed

Some lines don’t just sound good, they expose what you’re really standing on. Today’s five-minute Monday reset is built around one of those lines from Anne Wilson’s “Sunday Sermons”: “The devil’s gonna try and take me out of that church, but you can’t take the church out of me.” I share why that lyric hit me so hard and why this song is more than a catchy track, it’s a testimo...

The strangest crashes often come right after a win. One day you’re handling everything, serving everyone, pushing through on faith and grit. The next day you wake up and think, “I’m just tired of the stress of being me.” That’s the honest place we start from today, and it’s exactly where Scripture gets painfully real.

We open 1 Kings 19 and sit with Elijah after Mount Carmel, after the fire-from-heaven moment, after the public victory. Jezebel’s threat sends him running, and he ends up alone under a broom tree asking God to take his life. It’s a v...

Teaching can feel like standing in the middle of a storm while trying to light a small, steady lamp. Today I’m dedicating this short morning episode to teachers everywhere, the ones in public school classrooms, Christian schools, and homeschooling families who keep showing up because they love kids and care about what happens to them.

We talk honestly about the pressure many educators feel right now: the constant demands, the limits on what you can say or do, and the uneasy moments when expectations don’t line up with what you believe. If you’ve ever felt t...

One sentence can pull you out of a spiral. King Richard the Lionheart is known as a fearless warrior, yet even he has a moment where he retreats because the odds look impossible. Then an advisor rides up and says, “Don’t forget who you are,” and everything changes. The battlefield doesn’t suddenly get easier, but Richard’s identity snaps back into focus and his next move follows.

That story sets up a five-minute morning reset for anyone who feels overwhelmed, worn down, or quietly afraid about what’s coming next. We talk honestly about how easy it is t...

Someone looks you in the eye and says, “I don’t believe God exists.” Your mind races, your heart pounds, and even though you feel sure of what you believe, the words don’t come. That tension, knowing something deep down yet struggling to explain it clearly, is where we start today.

We talk through one of the most common objections people raise: if God is real and loving, why is there so much suffering? We name the realities people point to sickness, abandoned children, starvation, racism, political unrest, and even pandemic loss. Then I share a simple...

Bad advice can sound confident, especially when you’re tired, stressed, and just trying to make it through the day. I open with James 1:17, a grounding reminder that every gift God freely gives is good and perfect, then I point to the Bible as something more than comforting words. For me, Scripture is God’s “how to” manual for real life, packed with promises you can hold onto when things get heavy.


If you want practical Bible teaching, and a stronger sense of identity in Christ, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What pro...

A stopped river is impressive. The part that can change your daily life is what God asks for next. I start with a quick pop quiz about Scripture, then walk straight into Joshua’s crossing of the Jordan River, when the priests step into flood-stage water carrying the Ark of the Covenant and God makes a way on dry ground.

But the heart of the message is the follow-up: God tells Joshua to pull twelve stones from the middle of the river and stack them as a memorial. Why? So that when children ask, “What do these ston...

Some friendships are loud when everything is fun, then quiet when things get messy. We start today with a gut-check definition that cuts through the noise: a real friend walks in when everybody else walks out. If you’ve ever felt abandoned in a hard season, or you want to become the kind of person others can count on, this short morning episode is for you.

We open Mark 2:1–12 and step into a packed house in Capernaum where Jesus is teaching. Four men carry their paralyzed friend, but the crowd blocks the door. Instead of turning around with...