On this week’s podcast episode, Nathan and Vivianne Foster discuss how to welcome Christ—looking to Jesus’ parents as a picture of consent, receptivity, and hospitality.
Show Notes
Vivianne's Christmas Pie Recipe
This recipe was invented as my mother and I struggled to figure out the perfect way to enjoy Christmas Day together without fussing over ten different casseroles that needed to go in and out of the oven, and magically all be ready at the same moment. Having a French Canadian heritage, meat pies — called tourtieres are a big thing for us. This one takes things a step further: essentially everything you’d find on your Christmas plate goes IN the pie. If it feels too risky to swap out your complicated chaotic menu for this sumptuous simple main dish, take a risk by using your leftovers to make this pie. If you can’t handle recipes that simply paint a picture, and omit detailed measurements, I highly recommend not embarking on this adventure. For the rest of you, here we go:Pie crust: Use whatever savory pastry recipe you usually make, adding some fresh or dried herbs, cut up (eg: thyme, rosemary, sage)
Filling:
You’ll need enough to fill each pie you’re going to make, which I usually eyeball as I mix and add ingredients into a very large mixing bowl, so that the total amount in the bowl is sufficient to fill the shells. Make the ratio as seems fit to you:
In a big bowl, combine:
Cooked turkey, shredded into chunky pieces, or cut
Cubed bread, preferably sourdough, preferably dry so that it doesn’t turn to mush, cubed. (You can toast cubes of fresh bread in the oven if you don’t have any stale bread)
Fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped, but raw (so that each berry is at least halved, but could be in quarters)
Diced apples
In a cast iron frying pan, set to low medium, cook a pound of bacon, slowly; I usually have to do this in two batches, and set on cutting board to cool before chopping into small pieces.
Keep the rendered fat from the bacon in the pan, turning the heat up to medium and adding:
A few diced onions, or a larger amount of leeks
A few diced potatoes (small diced)
Once potatoes seem tender but not soft, remove from heat, pouring onion and potato mixture into main bowl, along with bacon bits.
Stir the mixture to combine, adding a very generous amount of dried sage (I use at least 1/4 to 1/2 a cup for 2-3 pies. Add as you wish: pepper and salt. Add one egg per pie into the main bowl, mixing thoroughly to moisten the mixture.
You will need a minimum of 6 cups of filing per pie you want to fill. Spoon mixture into pie shell, mounding it up in the middle. Cover with pastry top, and cut a few designs in the top to allow hot air to escape. Cover with foil and bake as per your usual preference for baking pies, or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze if you don’t plan on cooking within a day.
We usually set aside a family afternoon for assembling the pies and freeze them, then bake from frozen the day of Christmas. A fun part of our tradition is using Christmas cookie cutters to make designs appliquéd on top of the pie. Have fun!
Artist, author, and speaker Scott Erickson joined Nate for a conversation about creative expression as a way to speak truth, notice God's work in our lives, and excavate prayer and adoration for Christ.
Show Notes
Scott Erickson is an artist, author, and performance speaker who mixes autobiography, mythology, and aesthetics to create symbols and moments that speak to our deepest experiences.
He is the author of five books, the creator of two touring one man shows, a spiritual director to brave women and men, and a professional dishwasher for his food blogging wife.
He lives in Vancouver, WA and is most loved by his wife, three children, and two out of three cats.
Instagram - @scottthepainter
Brad East joined Nate on Life With God for a helpful conversation about how our use of technology must be governed by the overarching goals of spiritual formation in Christ.
Grace Hamman talks with Nathan about medieval wisdom for how to cooperate with God’s grace to set aside vices (anti-love impulses) and put on virtues (loving, Christlike impulses).
Grace Hamman, Ph.D. (Duke University) is a writer and independent scholar of late medieval poetry and contemplative writing. She is the author of Ask of Old Paths and Jesus through Medieval Eyes. Her work has been published by academic and popular outlets, including Plough Quarterly and The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Grace hosts a podcast called Old Books with Grace which celebrates the beauty and joy found in reading the literature and theology of the past. Grace holds a doctorate in English, specializing in medieval literature and theology, from Duke University. She lives near Denver, Colorado with her husband and three young children.
On Life With God this week, Nathan speaks with Andrew Ranucci, a spiritual director and mentor in the Next Frontiers program, about transitioning from pastoring a congregation to pastoring pastors. (The final day to apply for the 2026 Cohort of Next Frontiers is Friday, October 31, 2025.)
Next Frontiers is a program that runs from January through November 2026, and is designed to help mid-career pastors thrive in congregational leadership during times of transition in ministry. The key features of the program include opportunities for reimagining our pastoral identity, fostering spiritual renewal and engaging in meaningful relationship with veteran ministers. The overarching purpose of this program is to provide resources that will sustain ministers in the “long obedience” of their profession. Learn more.
Explore the Renovaré Book Club - renovare.org/bookclub.
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In episode 305 of Life With God, Nathan speaks with Stanley Hauerwas, a theologian with a wide and profound influence. Also joining the show is Tish Harrison Warren (who has written the foreword to a new book showcasing Hauerwas's core ideas) about how Stanley shaped her life and ministry.
Registration is now open for the Renovaré Book Club: renovare.org/bookclub.
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Nate talks with Terry Wildman, lead translator of the First Nations Version of the Bible, about the way that cultural translation brings the beauty and meaning of scripture to the surface for people ready to hear the good news.
Registration is now open for the Renovaré Book Club: renovare.org/bookclub.
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Trevor Hudson joined Nathan on the Life With God podcast to discuss his latest book, In Search of God’s Will—which will be our first group-read in the Renovaré Book Club starting this Fall.
Musician and theologian Julian Davis Reid talks with Nate on Life With God about the invitations of Scripture and Black music to receive God’s rest—and to help others rest—while living in the tension of a world where so much is still not right.
Show Notes
The song "Nerve to be Super (For Michael)," played during the episode, is from Julian's upcoming record, Vocation, which will be out in September.
Visit juliandavisreid.com to learn more about his various offerings, to book a Notes of Rest experience, or to learn about original music releases and records (such as Notes of Rest Hymns Vol. 1 and BEHOLD with the band The JuJu Exchange).
You can also find Julian's newsletter and stay up to date with news by subscribing at juliandavisreid.substack.com.
Nathan Foster sat down with Renovaré's president, Ted Harro, to discuss bold new ministry initiatives at Renovaré that will carry the founding vision forward to a Church and a world in need of renewal.
Producers Brian Morykon and Grace Pouch interview Nathan Foster about his role as the host of Life With God and about the podcasting medium as a place for listening and growing together.
On episode 299 of Life With God (recorded live at the RēGathering conference), professor and author Rebecca DeYoung talks with Nathan about what to do when we feel angry.
Show Notes
Resources by Rebecca DeYoung
Other related resources recommended by Rebecca
Venezuelan-Canadian author Paola Barrera joins Nate on Life With God to discuss her story of immigration and how it shaped her outlook on God’s kingdom.
President and CEO of American Leprosy Missions (Hope Rises International) Bill Simmons speaks with Nate about burnout and the Sabbatical experience that brought deep healing to his soul.
Show Notes
Bill Simmons is President and CEO of American Leprosy Missions (soon to be Hope Rises International), part of his two-decade journey leading national and international organizations. Bill brings deep insight to the intersection of organizational leadership and spiritual formation, and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies in spiritual formation at Gordon Conwell Seminary. Bill holds a BA from the University of Tennessee. Bill and his wife Cindi live in Greenville, SC.
Nathan speaks with renowned author Kathleen Norris about writing about her sister in her new book, Rebecca Sue: A Sister’s Reflections on Disability, Faith, and Love.
The McMinn's join Nate to talk about life on their farm and finding the right pace for a flourishing life.
In this audio meditation, Nathan Foster weaves together a selection of beautiful and challenging sayings by 17th-century spiritual director, Jean Pierre de Caussade that invite us to embrace God’s formation deep into our souls.
Nathan talks with Walter Strickland about his new book Swing Low and the way that the African American Christian experience adds crucial wisdom to living a with-God life.
Amanda Opelt talks with Nathan about finding her theological assumptions challenged during a season of deep grief. The two discuss the difference between wholeness and happiness and between goodness and prosperity in this music-filled episode.
James Catford joins Nathan to talk about Jean-Pierre de Caussade's 18th century classic book on trust, Abandonment to Divine Providence — book 4 in this year's Renovaré Book Club.
Show Notes
James Catford joins Nathan to talk about Jean-Pierre de Caussade's 18th century classic book on trust, Abandonment to Divine Providence.
Join several thousand readers in the Renovaré Book Club to read Abandonment to Divine Providence (reading begins March 3, 2025).