Spoonie Tea Time: Recent Episodes
Holly Conklin
We live in an age that glorifies science and rationalism. While these are good things in the right context, idolising either can blind us from true knowledge and can lead to brokenness and death.
[0:22] Life Update (loosening restrictions and vacation)
[2:52] Book Time (1 Enoch)
[13:34] Main Topic
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When faced with persistent physical suffering, it can be easy to view our bodies as a prison, but traditional Christianity teaches something far more beautiful. Holly discusses feeling trapped in her own body and how Christian practice has helped her value the material world as well as the spiritual.
[0:22] Life Update (changing podcast schedule)
[2:25] Book Time (The Singularity Trap by Dennis E Taylor)
[8:43] Main Topic
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
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The life of the world to come is impossible to imagine, and often difficult to even think about, yet we're called to set our minds on such things. Doing so can keep this life with all its pains in perspective and encourage us to persevere towards a wondrous future.
[0:22] Life Update
[2:03] Book Time (The Glory of Heaven by John MacArthur)
[14:16] Main Topic
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All of us, and especially the chronically ill, need to be careful about what we eat if we want to be reasonably healthy. Many view dietary restrictions as a burden, but thousands of years of religious tradition teaches something else: that fasting can be a source of transformation that leads to joy and celebration.
[0:22] Intro (knowing your limitations)
[2:02] Book Time (Zero G by Dan Wells)
[7:31] Main Topic
For more resources, see Dn. Michael Hyatt's two-episode podcast series on fasting.
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
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Our hopes and dreams naturally change over the course of a lifetime. In this episode, Holly reflects on how her own career goals have been shaped over the years by societal pressures, chronic illness, and self-awareness.
[0:22] Intro
[2:32] Book Time (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)
[16:19] Main Topic
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Continuing with our unofficial series on finding joy in suffering, Holly discusses how chronic illness helped her move past apathy and distraction and live more in the moment.
[0:22] Intro (new Facebook page, the Amon Sûl podcast, and DoxaMoot Online: Tolkien, Enchantment and the Christian Life)
[3:11] Book Time (Thrive: A Guide for Life's Journeyby Noah Bolinder and Randy Conklin)
[9:49] Main Topic
For more resources, check out Jonathan Pageau's discussion on acedia, Dr. Nicole Roccas's book Time and Despondency: Regaining the Present in Faith and Life, and Dn. Michael Hyatt's podcast series on the book.
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee.
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Humility tends to be vastly underrated, yet it is the foundation for every other virtue. Through humility we are able to seek God, our only hope of becoming fully human and fully alive, free from the brokenness and death that plagues each of us. Continuing last episode's discussion on joy in suffering, Holly reflects on how chronic illness has been humbling her, and why this is a source of celebration.
[0:22] Intro (flare ups and living with parents)
[3:05] Book Time (Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë)
[8:54] Main Topic
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What are we to make of the Bible's commands to take joy in suffering? Holly discusses the transformative power of suffering in her own life, and how her understanding of these kinds of Bible verses deepened with life experience.
[0:22] Intro
[2:30] Book Time (One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)
[8:55] Main Topic
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Happy anniversary of two weeks to flatten the curve! We've been in lockdown for a full year now. While there is much to complain about, God is still in control and working through these odd times. Holly reflects on the good in her own life that has resulted from the lockdown.
[0:22] Intro
[1:48] Book Time (Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo)
[8:03] Main Topic
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Modern storytellers are increasingly painting villains in a more sympathetic light, such as by recasting them as the hero or by giving them relatable motivations. Holly reflects on how this trend has shaped her own way of interacting with evil.
[0:23] Intro (adjusting to newfound energy)
[3:18] Book Time (The Great Train Robbery, Michael Crichton)
[10:14] Main Topic
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
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2021 is looking just as insane, if not more so, than 2020. So what are we to do with all this crazy news flooding our feeds? In this episode, Holly reflects on ways of engaging with current events in a way that doesn't fill us with pride and anxiety.
[0:23] Intro (the Joker movie, and Jonathan Pageau's commentary on it)
[4:12] Book Time (Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson)
[9:19] Main Topic
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
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For this Valentine's Day special, Holly suggests five ways you can love and support the spoonie in your life, whether they are a significant other, family member, friend, or perhaps even an acquaintance.
[1:09] Intro (lockdown loneliness)
[4:16] Book Time (Stan Lee's Alliances: A Trick of Light)
[16:32] Main Topic
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
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The spoonie life is often a lonely one, especially during a nation-wide lockdown, but solitude doesn't have to be a bad thing. In fact, Christians have sought out solitude from the beginning in order to commune with God and wrestle with their demons (sometimes literally). Holly discusses how she has been trying to make the most out of enforced isolation by learning from monasticism and reflecting on the spiritual reality. She also discusses the Penguin Classics collection Early Christian Writings and how the lives of Sts. Herman of Alaska, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna can inspire and challenge us when faced with disease and death.
For more resources, see The Life of Antony by St. Athanasius, The Lord of Spirits podcast, and Dn. Michael Hyatt's podcast series on the apostolic fathers.
[0:24] Intro (St. Herman of Alaska)
[2:44] Book Time (Penguin Classics' Early Christian Writings)
[8:55] Main Topic
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
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Feeling productive isn't always easy, especially when facing significant health challenges. Holly discusses her own struggles with being productive and how her illness has helped her view restful activities in a new light. Also Dn. Nicholas Kotar's novel Song of the Sirin, his podcast In a Certain Kingdom, nonsensical Covid regulations, and why traditional prayers are wonderful tools.
For prayer ideas, see St. Philaret's morning prayer, these intercessory prayers, and these introductory prayers. Also, every (biblical) psalm ever.
[0:24] Intro (lockdown #2)
[2:36] Book Time (Song of the Sirin by Dn. Nicholas Kotar)
[7:57] Main Topic
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
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What's the point of life when everything that previously gave you purpose is stripped from you? Holly discusses feelings of worthlessness that commonly accompany chronic illness, systematic mass murder in Denmark, and why and how to see value in every human. Also Metropolitan Kallistos Ware's The Orthodox Way, Brandon Sanderson's Elantris, and what zombie lepers have to do with the Christian destiny.
[0:23] Intro
[2:33] Book Time (Elantris—SPOILERS)
[9:24] Main Topic
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
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Providing context for future episodes, Holly gives a brief overview of her journey with arthritis. She talks about first noticing symptoms as an undergrad, getting the unexpected diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis, and where she is at today. Also Kenneth Oppel's Silverwing and why animal protagonists can be so much fun.
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
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What are spoonies and why should we care? Holly discusses Christine Miserandino's influential blog post that describes what it's like to have a chronic illness. Also Sarah J. Maas's novel Throne of Glass and why Harry Potter is way less interesting than every other character in the eponymous series.
We'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send a message through our website, or follow us on social media @SpoonieTeaTime. If you'd like to support more content like this, you can make small one-time or recurring donations through Buy Me a Coffee. Every little bit helps!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/spoonieteatime/message
