55 Degrees: Recent Episodes
Kevin Shinn
Good ideas are like red wine. They take time to develop. Here's a collection of my thinking in the area of faith, grief, and recovering a new sense of identity.
Thanks for listening.
The recent news of yet another noted leader in the evangelical world is making the news for revelations of sexual misconduct. Instead of explaining the details, here is an article outlining the allegations against apologist and teacher, Ravi Zacharias.
The Contender. A poem by Kevin Shinn, ©55 Degrees, 2020
When a partner leaves, either through divorce or death, their physical presence might be missing, but any unresolved conflict doesn’t go away with them. In my case, I’m now forced into a one-way conversation.
When I was preparing to get married in 1990, the couple that did our pre-marriage counseling gave me this advice. They said in their many years of being together, the two things that were most important was praying together and resolving conflict together. I have new insight into this wisdom today.
I wrote this poem last June shortly after a session with my therapist who helped me identify the unsolved mystery. Her physical body was absent, but she left behind a lot emotional inventory for me to sift through without her. Much of my energy in therapy has been an attempt to resolve that conflict on my own, knowing that I have no hope of ever being able to properly resolve it together.
I likened my marriage as a boxing match with me as The Contender, going up against the 5 ft four, 110 pound Heavyweight Champion of the World. And if you knew her, you know I’m not exaggerating. She was an incredibly tough person. In the world of the Enneagram, it was Type 8 versus Type 4. Two very different kinds of strong going head to head. My greatest motivation collided with her deepest fear. And therein was the needed insight for much of the conflict that we experienced.
This was one of my earliest and certainly my favorite poem that I’ve written. I think it’s because it communicates something I felt for a long time but was not sure how to express. This is the beauty and necessity of poetry
When I was a young boy, my father made it clear to me that there were certain words he did not want me using. As a father with children of my own now, I see that my Father in Heaven feels the same about the language I use to describe my relationship with him. In this episode, I describe how leaving The Church As We Know It has led me to a new language to describe my current faith journey, and the new freedom it has produced in me.
This is the fourth and final episode in sharing my experience of dreams and visions and the process I follow once I receive them. Dreams are for the dreamer first. The dream will shape the dreamer as it is carried and held for its proper time.
Thanks for listening.
The prophet Daniel was a dreamer with whom I identify in my own experience of dreams and visions. In no way am I claiming to receive apocalyptic information equivalent to his, but the process of receiving a dream or vision is very similar to what he went through. The dream is first for the dreamer, and the dreamer must give it time to shape her life and character. In this episode I tell a story of how I saw a vision of a watchman and how I allowed it to influence my faith for over 20 years.
Thanks for listening.
I’m continuing to explore this odd topic of Dreams and Visions that has been a part of my story most of my life. There isn’t a lot of information out there that I trust or feel comfortable with on this subject so I’ve been left to dwell on this privately. But I want to share some of my insight here today and trust that it might bring some clarity to your own story.
I want to explore this odd topic that has been a part of my story most of my life. It's the category of Dreams and Visions. There isn’t a lot of information out there that I trust or feel comfortable with on this subject so I’ve been left to dwell on this privately. But I want to share some of my insight here today and trust that it might bring some clarity to your own story.
The book I referred to is The Body Keeps The Score by Dr. Besel van der Kolk
It’s been a year since my wife passed away. Here are some ways I have dealt with that loss that have been helpful in moving me toward recovery and improved emotional health.
It's been a year since my wife passed away. Here are some ways I have dealt with that loss that have been helpful in moving me toward recovery and improved emotional health.
My wife of nearly 30 years passed away on November 2, 2019 after a long battle with ovarian cancer. These are the words I read to the hundreds of people that attended her memorial service. I share them with the same desired outcome as I do with anything I write. I hope that you will hear a bit of your own voice through mine. You may not have lost a spouse like me, but that doesn't matter. You have your own stories of loss. And all loss needs to be grieved.
The songs I mention in the eulogy are linked to Spotify below:
Hold My Girl by George Ezra
Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers
Beloved by Mumford & Sons
It's my belief that God longs to communicate to us as His beloved children, yet I was taught to buy into an idea that He is mysterious, hard to hear and easy to miss. I now think the opposite. God is as near to you as your own breathe and His desire to speak has been evidenced by a knocking that you may have heard but not recognized. And I would be willing to be that it has been there for quite some time.
I hope my stories can help you hear that knocking.
Thanks for listening.
Thanks for listening.
I’m wondering if you’re like me, hoping that faith is more than just approved activity, more than a sanctioned set of beliefs and strong sense of duty. If you’re like me, we are asking if faith can take us to a better way of living, to a genuine sense of peace, a brilliant expression of love and a restored sense of good when it comes to the Good News.
In this episode, I share my experience of how my identity shapes what I think about God and how that identity is continually in a process of maturity and growing up. I also propose that what I currently feel about God is not to be dismissed. I see it as His invitation to understand who He is at a deeper level.
Thanks for listening.
I’ve titled this series, The Faith I Always Wanted. Living according to faith has been something I've been doing since I was 17 years old. And along the way I found myself questioning my faith with one primary query: “Is there more or is this as good as it gets?” Because there was something always nagging me when I would face a hurdle in life or when I would observe a lack of kindness or goodness among those who claimed my same faith. Surely there had to be more.
Living according to faith has been important to me since I was 17. But the faith that was handed to me at that age wasn't sufficient for the trials and hardships that would come as my days unfolded. Faith had to upgrade if I was to continue in it through the rest of my life.
This is a series of episodes that describe that process for me
I plan to outline what a life of faith has looked like for me beginning at age 17 and what it looks like now at age 57.
I will talk about how I have tossed overboard much of what was handed to me over the years in the name of faith that I no longer deem necessary.
I will share about how I hear from God and have entered into an ongoing conversation with Him. I’ve come to reject the idea that God is elusive, difficult to hear and hard to understand.
I will describe the role that dreams and visions play for me. Hopefully I can take away some of the weirdness and mystery.
I will describe my thoughts for social change and spiritual awakening and how a life of faith is the most beautiful antidote to the rage and anger rampant in the spirit of the age today.
Make room.
Thanks for listening.
This is the 5th in the series of stories behind the stories in my book bread&cup: Beyond Simple Food and Drink. In these episodes, I wanted to give a little more context behind writing the book, but also to bring it to the point of what’s next? What’s beyond simple food and drink for me?
Owning a restaurant was about more than being a chef and cooking great food. Cooking was secondary to the joy of providing hospitality It was my desire to build a place where people could find rest, if only for a short period of time, under my watch and care.
I believe the time is ripe for a new pandemic, one that sees the spread of kindness with a world-wide effect. Being hospitable is a great vehicle for that to grow.
Kindness is not to be confused with weakness. It is stronger than the rampant anger that is so prevalent.
Make today count.
Pursuing a dream is rewarding and personally fulfilling, but what happens when that beautiful dream turns into an ugly nightmare?
In this episode, I share my experience of what it was like to go through the crushing sense of failure in closing my business. Its less about what I would have done differently and more about how I got through the worst part to emerge on the other side with renewed hope for my future.
This is episode 4 in my series detailing some of the back story behind my book, bread&cup: Beyond Simple Food and Drink. You can order a copy on my website shop or at Francie & Finch Bookshop in Lincoln, NE
Make Today Count.
When I opened my restaurant in 2007, there were very few farmers who understood what we were trying to do to provide as much locally sourced food on our menu as possible. By the end of our 10 year run, I was turning farmers away. I had too much supply.
The demand changed when a new sports and entertainment arena opened just two blocks from our front door. Demand for our style of food decreased, which led to our eventual closing in 2017.
But circumstances change. Who would have predicted COVID-19? I can't blame circumstances for my demise. I must always be ready to rethink, reimagine and risk again.
Make today count.
Three years after our restaurant opened, my wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In this episode I tell about the support we received from our community as people came around us during the difficult time.
It makes me proud of what we built and the role it played in our community. We created more than a restaurant. We fashioned a place of connection, of conversation and celebration. The memories will carry on for a lifetime.
Here is a link to a YouTube video of the Breaking Bread event that was held in benefit of Karen's treatment.
Watch Breaking Bread - The Karen Shinn Benefithttps://youtu.be/8WlZivxqw8U
I self-published a memoir/cookbook in January 2020 about the 10 year life span of my little restaurant, bread&cup, in Lincoln NE. The COVID disruption slowed down my plans to promote the book, so I am picking those plans once again by sharing about how I chose to write it.
In this episode, I tell the story of how the idea for the restaurant began in December of 1994 and some of the thought process that led to my decision to leave my collegiate ministry career to follow my dream of owning a restaurant that had a primary focus on creating an environment for conversation and reflection
I explain some of the dynamics and risks associate with working with a spouse. I share about the demands on my body that I eventually had to reckon with. I try to give a clear picture of the rigorous, yet rewarding work of starting a restaurant.
If you are in Lincoln, you can pick up a copy of my book, bread&cup: Beyond Simple Food and Drink, at Francie & Finch Bookshop at 130 S 13th in downtown Lincoln, NE. or on my website at www.55degrees.us/shop
This is Part III of a 3-part series.
One of the most helpful discoveries for me in the last two months in dealing with grief has been the Enneagram. Unlike a personality test or profile, I found this tool to be particularly helpful in helping me bring closure to the unresolved conflict between my late wife and me. The finality of death ensures that conflict will never get talked through. But through the Enneagram, I've been able to find some missing pieces that helped me complete the picture that was my marriage of nearly 30 years.
This is Part II of a 3-part series.
One of the most helpful discoveries for me in the last two months in dealing with grief has been the Enneagram. Unlike a personality test or profile, I found this tool to be particularly helpful in helping me bring closure to the unresolved conflict between my late wife and me. The finality of death ensures that conflict will never get talked through. But through the Enneagram, I've been able to find some missing pieces that helped me complete the picture that was my marriage of nearly 30 years.
One of the most helpful discoveries for me in the last two months in dealing with grief has been the Enneagram. Unlike a personality test or profile, I found this tool to be particularly helpful in helping me bring closure to the unresolved conflict between my late wife and me. The finality of death ensures that conflict will never get talked through. But through the Enneagram, I've been able to find some missing pieces that helped me complete the picture that was my marriage of nearly 30 years.
For more information about the Enneagram, here are a few resources.
Discovering the Ancient Enneagram by Richard Rohr
Thanks for listening.
This is my inaugural episode on my personal podcast side of 55 Degrees. I've been writing a blog for years and have decided to expand my work into publishing spoken word as well as in written form.
It's my desire to use my voice to help you hear yours.
A paradox is the existence of two contradictory statements within the same situation. The global pandemic has caused severe loss, while at the same time, offers new opportunities for improvements, changes and discoveries to be found in the midst of it.
Much like my writing, future episodes will address personal discoveries, especially things I am learning about grief, recovery and hopefulness. It's my desire to use my voice to help you hear yours.
Thanks for listening
ks
Thank you for taking time to pay attention to this introduction to my new podcast, 55 Degrees. I have been writing a blog for about 15 years, mostly about food through the lens of my work as a chef. But what many people don’t know about me is that I was a pastor for 18 years before I made the jump into my professional pursuit of cooking and owning a restaurant.
Towards the end of my ministry career in 2005, I realized I was telling students 15 old stories. I was relying on the past to reinforce my current faith. There was nothing new, nothing fresh flowing out of my heart. And thus my reason for leaving ministry was this; I had to leave the ministry to find my faith again.
And, wow, did I ever find it.
This podcast is the way for me to tell some of these new stories.
On Tuesday, November 22, 2016, I had an epiphany that set in motion a brand new era of my faith. And wherever faith is, there is life, and wherever life is, it’s compelled to be shared. So this podcast is simply a guy telling new stories in hope that though my voice, you might in turn, hear your own.
In future episodes, I’ll talk about how faith is producing a new sense of rest in my body and the role that sleep has taken in bringing my body toward wholeness. I’ll share some of the new dreams I am having, and visions that are pictures of a better future I am pressing toward. I’ll share about what I mean when I say I am hearing God’s voice and what it looks like to have a conversation with God. I’ll tell you how I read the Bible differently now and how I embrace the promises within that are intended directly for me.
There are two major pet peeves of mine pertaining to podcasts. I hate it when the host gets on and the listener has to wade through several minutes of drivel and chit chat before any content is started. The other is when the host says, “I don’t really have anything planned today, we’re just going to see where this goes.
I promise I will not do that to you.
If you're going to trust me with your time to listen, I will honor it by presenting stories that matter to me. I will not be winging it. I’ll be very intentional.
And since I’m just an average dude telling stories, I don’t have sponsors to satisfy and therefore you won’t have an ad to fast forward through.
So here we go. Thanks for listening.