Space for Life – Details, episodes & analysis

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Space for Life

Tommy Thompson

Education

Religion & Spirituality

Frequency: 1 episode/11d. Total Eps: 212

Space for Life is a podcast with honest conversations designed to help cultivate the space we need for a more fulfilling and abundant life. Despite our culture’s wiring for excess and overload, our souls desperately need the very opposite. Space for Life seeks to help you take small steps into a spacious life .

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http://tommythompson.org
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https://tommythompson.org/
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https://tommythompson.org/store/
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommy-thompson-teacher/
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The Theology and Physiology of Why Sleep Matters with Brett McCracken

Episode 210

Thursday, October 1, 2026 • Duration 01:15:57

Brett McCracken has written about faith and culture for 20 years. His new book, The Wisdom of Sleep, starts with a simple question: why would God design people to be unconscious for a third of their lives, especially now, when a phone makes it easy to stay on? He and Tommy talk about sleep as a gift you receive, what scrolling does instead of rest, and how a bad night shows up in the people around you.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

Why a few minutes of scrolling feels like rest and leaves you more tired.
Why God resting on the seventh day still matters when work can follow you home.
How the garden, the wilderness, and heaven are all about rest, and where sleep fits.
Why the single best thing you can do for your health is something you lie down and receive.
What dreaming does with the conversations and inputs of the day you just lived.
When sleeplessness is a disorder you should get help for, and when it is a choice.
Why sleep looks like death on purpose, and why waking up points at resurrection.
How a bad night changes how you show up for your family and your work.

(0:00) How he started writing (9:52) Parenting made sleep urgent (12:45) Technology gives you a reason not to rest (18:16) Why God made us sleep (24:14) Rest was the point, then we lost it (31:36) The best thing for your health is received (38:25) What your brain does while you dream (47:28) When poor sleep is a choice (53:50) Sleep looks like death on purpose (1:01:06) How your sleep lands on other people (1:06:52) The last 30 minutes, and the gaps in the day

The Wisdom of Sleep is available in print and as an audiobook Brett narrated. More of his writing is at The Gospel Coalition, and his other books are at brettmccracken.com.

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Braxton Byerson on Who You Are Without the Applause

Episode 209

Thursday, September 17, 2026 • Duration 01:00:14

Braxton Byerson grew up in a military family, played with both brothers at Virginia Union, then took the game to Uruguay and China before the ball stopped bouncing for him. Now he coaches, speaks, and writes about confidence, choices, and character, including the hard question he puts to young men: who are you when you do not get applause? Tommy talks with Braxton about getting cut, starting over with middle school girls basketball, life after a divorce, and why the words young people need most are I'm with you.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

Braxton grows up in Chester, VA, rooted in faith and humility by parents who cared more about character than applause.
All three Byerson brothers play together at Virginia Union, a first in CIAA history.
Pro ball in Uruguay and China puts him outside his language and comfort zone, and teaches him to sit back and listen.
Confidence, choices, and character become his trifecta for student athletes.
Getting cut in sixth grade, then again overseas, and choosing to show up anyway.
Coaching a middle school girls team that had won three games in eight years into the playoffs four years running.
Writing Stay on the Tracks, getting certified as a life coach, and taking the leap when fear and trust in God cannot share the same seat.
Why youth open up when an adult says I'm with you, and Galatians 6:9 as the line he leaves people with.

(0:00) Intro

(3:50) Military kid to Chester, Virginia

(7:45) Three brothers at Virginia Union

(9:15) Pro ball in Uruguay and China

(15:15) Confidence, choices, and character

(19:25) Who are you without applause

(20:45) The ring of existence

(27:10) Bigger than basketball

(27:35) Cut in sixth grade, then overseas

(33:15) Coaching middle school girls

(38:15) Writing and life coaching

(48:30) I'm with you

(57:05) Galatians 6:9

Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons on Identity After a Big Change

Episode 208

Thursday, September 3, 2026 • Duration 58:36

You're in a known place, and then you're not. Parenthood, an empty nest, grief, a career, retirement. Tommy spent the summer wondering if this was the year he let Space for Life go, then he found Encore. Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons left big law at 35 to be with her kids, called it front ending retirement, and lost her identity anyway.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

Tommy takes a sabbatical, wonders if Space for Life is over, and then reads Encore.
Elizabeth leaves Milbank at 35 to be with her kids, moves to Tucson, and loses her identity.
The difference between the roles we walk in with and the person under those roles.
Tommy adds a line to his mission statement, I am God's son.
How to make a plan so you don't base jump into a panic.
Grief, the choice toward hope, and taking one small action when you are stuck.

(0:00) Season eight after a sabbatical

(2:55) Meet Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons

(4:04) Leaving big law at 35

(7:40) Far from just fine

(12:17) The roles we lead with

(16:16) Who stays when roles go

(23:11) Tommy's encore after 40 years

(25:14) Call it a graduation

(33:50) Plan, don't panic

(38:08) Treat it like an experiment

(41:50) Structure that fills you

(47:28) Don't kill the dream

(50:40) Hope after a terrible change

(54:50) One small action

Encore, A High Achiever's Guide to Thriving in Retirement

Greatest Hits: Lisa Ould on the Art of Emotional Stability

Episode 207

Friday, August 21, 2026 • Duration 44:02

Tommy revisits a conversation with Lisa Ould, executive director of Barnabas Center and decades-long counselor, on one of the most personal and underaddressed topics he has taken on across all of Space for Life. Whether you tend to suppress what you feel or find yourself regularly overwhelmed by it, this episode offers a clear framework for understanding where emotions come from, why they matter, and how to stay in what Lisa calls your window of tolerance. Tommy gets personal too, sharing a formative story from his high school lacrosse days that quietly shaped how he has related to his own emotions ever since.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

What the emotions wheel is and why most of us only have five or six words for what we actually feel.
The critical distinction between experiencing an emotion, expressing it, and the choices you make from there.
The counseling concept of the window of tolerance, and what it looks like to be in hyperarousal or hypoarousal.
How your belief systems shape your habitual emotional patterns, and why naming those beliefs is the first step toward changing them.
Practical guidance for the over-expressive person and the emotionally shut-down person, including how habits and movement can shift where you land.
Tommy's high school lacrosse story, the moment he made a quiet vow to shut down his emotions, and the cost of that vow on both the hard feelings and the good ones.
Why the goal is never to stop feeling but to grow your ability to stay present and functional while you do.
How faith and scripture connect to emotional health by reshaping the belief systems that drive our habitual responses.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro

(4:11) Emotions as part of how we're made

(6:20) The emotions wheel

(10:18) Feeling vs. expressing vs. choosing

(15:40) The window of tolerance

Greatest Hits: Ana Megrelishvili on the Transformative Power Of A Silent Retreat

Episode 206

Thursday, August 6, 2026 • Duration 55:49

Ana Megrelishvili went through a troubled childhood: her family was poor and in disarray, and her own father sexually abused her. Nevertheless, she did not let trauma shape her identity, and she eventually found healing and peace after going on a silent retreat. In this episode, Ana joins Tommy Thompson to share how she immigrated to the United States, overcame her resentment of God, and is now changing the lives of many after fully understanding her purpose in life. She talks about the origins of her non-profit Christian Professionals Network Worldwide and how they are addressing the worsening state of homelessness in the country.

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org

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Greatest Hits: Justin Earley on the Art of Real Friendship

Episode 205

Thursday, July 23, 2026 • Duration 46:42

Tommy Thompson sits down with author and attorney Justin Earley to talk about one of the most underdiagnosed crises of our time, an epidemic of loneliness that most people are living with but can't even name. Justin is the author of The Common Rule, Habits of the Household, and his most recent book Made for People, which makes the case that we were created not just for connection but for deep, covenant friendship. This conversation traces the biblical roots of why friendship matters, what it actually takes to build it, and why one honest hour a week with the right person might be the most life-changing thing you can do.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

Justin's unlikely path from English major at UVA to missionary in Shanghai to Georgetown law school and Richmond business attorney, and how that journey gave birth to three books.
The collapse Justin experienced in his first year of lawyering, and how that season of anxiety and panic attacks led directly to The Common Rule.
Why Justin believes loneliness is one of the most dangerous conditions of our time, one most people are living with but would never self-diagnose.
What Genesis reveals about why God made us to be fully known and fully loved alongside other people, not just with him alone.
Why having a full network of acquaintances and connections is not the same as friendship, and can sometimes make the loneliness worse.
The concept of covenant friendship and its ten ingredients, from vulnerability and honesty to geography, time, and worship.
Why vulnerability is the hardest thing to get your heart around, and why scheduling is the hardest thing to actually follow through on.
Why one honest hour a week with the right person is all it takes to begin changing your life.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro

(0:47) Justin's background and three books

(9:19) Anxiety, collapse, and the birth of The Common Rule

(17:54) Why Justin wrote Made for People

Greatest Hits: What You Can Learn from Your Stress

Episode 204

Monday, July 13, 2026 • Duration 35:02

Tommy Thompson and co-host Patricia Clark revisit a conversation that cuts to the heart of one of the most common struggles in modern life. Rather than treating stress as something to push through or accept as inevitable, Tommy makes the case that stress is a barometer, a signal worth reading about what is really going on beneath the surface. This episode walks through five practical ways to stop letting stress run the show, from the simple act of slowing down to the deeper work of engaging your faith in a way that actually changes how you feel.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

Why stress has become epidemic in modern society and how the American dream may be quietly fueling it.
The barometer concept, treating stress not as noise to ignore but as a signal with something real to say.
A quick review of five practical tools from a previous episode, covering morning routines, breathing, mini getaways, and distractions.
Tip 1: How to take a step back, ask why you are stressed, and why naming the source gives you power over it.
Tip 2: Why rushing and stress are inseparable, and what intentionally slowing down actually does to your nervous system.
Tip 3: How narrowing your focus to one or two truly important things cuts through the overwhelm of a long to-do list.
Tip 4: The discipline of simplifying, identifying what can wait and letting yourself cut it without guilt.
Tip 5: How faith functions as the deepest stress barometer of all, and what it looks like to live like what you believe is actually true.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro

(1:53) Stress as a barometer

(4:13) Why stress has become epidemic

(10:15) Review of five previous tips

(11:57) Tip 1: Take a step back

(17:10) Tip 2: Stop rushing

(20:32) Tip 3: Focus on the important

Greatest Hits: What I Learned from Taking a Year of Jubilee

Episode 203

Thursday, June 25, 2026 • Duration 40:41

Today we're revisiting one of the more meaningful early episodes from Space for Life, a conversation with friend and co-host Patricia Clark recorded shortly after a full year sabbatical he called a Year of Jubilee. Tommy reflects on why he needed to step away, what he discovered when God took the year in a completely unexpected direction, and how creating that space led to a health transformation he never saw coming. Whether or not a full year off is possible for you, this episode is full of wisdom on what it looks like to rightsize your life and recover the rhythm between doing and being.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

The biblical concept of Jubilee and why Tommy used it as the framework for stepping away from work he loved.
Why Tommy believes he was heading toward burnout but needed a different word to give himself permission to slow down.
The unexpected health transformation that came out of clearing his schedule, something he says categorically would not have happened otherwise.
The surprising freedom and joy that came from realizing how small he and his work actually are in the grand scheme of things.
Why halfway measures like cutting back on one thing never give you enough of a break to actually reset.
What Tommy calls mini jubilees, shorter but fully committed disconnects that anyone can build into their life.
The balance board metaphor, and why staying in rhythm means constantly adjusting rather than finding a permanent steady state.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro

(1:15) Tommy and Patricia reconnect

(2:01) What is a Year of Jubilee

(5:41) Approaching burnout

(9:21) The unexpected health transformation

(17:34) The freedom of being small

(23:48) What if you can't take a year off

Greatest Hits: Litt Thompson on Creating Space to Think About What Matters Most

Episode 202

Thursday, June 11, 2026 • Duration 34:42

Tommy Thompson brings back one of the earliest and most beloved episodes from Space for Life, a conversation with his brother and 40-year business partner, Litt Thompson. After a business crisis in the early 1990s pushed Litt to his breaking point, one desperate morning spent alone in a university library set him on a path he has been following for over 25 years. In this episode, Litt shares his five-part formula for carving out intentional time to think deeply about your life, and why he believes it is the second greatest secret to life next to knowing Christ.

What You'll Hear in This Episode:

The early 1990s savings and loan crisis that pushed Litt and Tommy to the edge of burnout, invisibly and simultaneously.
The morning Litt spent alone in a university library with nothing but a legal pad and a pen, and why it became the most productive day of his career.
How writing one focused question at the top of a page and going deep unlocks a level of creativity you cannot access in the middle of your normal day.
Why so many of our stressors are fears in disguise, and how creating space helps you tell the difference.
Litt's five-part formula for intentional solitude, including why place, time, and removing distractions all work together.
Why this practice applies to everyone in every stage of life, not just entrepreneurs and leaders.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro

(1:25) Tommy introduces Litt Thompson

(3:20) The 1989 business storm

(5:20) Litt's first day off the freeway

(9:37) Legal pad and the blank slate

(15:33) From crisis tool to life practice

(21:15) Litt's five-part formula

(29:18) This applies to everyone

Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org

What It Takes to Be a Sturdy Adult with Keith McCurdy

Episode 201

Thursday, May 28, 2026 • Duration 01:09:52

Keith McCurdy is back on Space for Life for a follow-up to his episode on raising sturdy kids. This time the focus shifts to the adults, because it takes a sturdy adult to raise a sturdy child. After 40 years in mental health and tens of thousands of families, Keith shares why healthy struggle is the engine of growth, how to stop letting your emotions run the show, and the practices that build the kind of strength to do hard things and stay rooted in what actually matters.

What You'll Take Away:

Why healthy struggle is the engine of growth and maturity for adults, not just kids.
How to stop letting emotions run you with the "no parenting above a five" rule.
A simple framework for processing your past: honor what's honorable, respect what's respectable, and forgive the rest.
Why most things that feel like emergencies are not, and the question to ask yourself in the moment.
The four Ps that keep adults chasing the wrong identity, and what to chase instead.
How forbearance and forgiveness function as the glue of every healthy relationship.
Why cultivating relationships takes the same intentional effort we give our hobbies and our work.
The one small step Keith recommends to start with today.

Timestamps:

(0:00) Intro

(3:19) Why sturdiness matters now

(10:35) Short term happiness vs long term wellness

(19:48) We are not victims of our history

(25:49) Are your emotions running you

(27:14) The emotion Richter scale

(38:38) The four Ps of false identity

(43:54) Why we should not avoid struggle

(54:35) The practice of forbearance

(1:03:15) Start small with one thing

Space for Life – Details, episodes & analysis

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Space for Life – Details, episodes & analysis

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