Scattered Moments

What keeps a life from coming apart? On this episode of Moments Almanac , we journey from the quiet monastery of Benedict of Nursia to the dueling grounds of Weehawken, where Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr settled a grievance with pistols at dawn. One man left behind a simple rhythm of prayer, work, and rest that has shaped Christian communities for fifteen centuries. The other two left a cauti...

On this episode of Moments Almanac , we journey from Renaissance France to a Tennessee courtroom, with a stop at one of London's great fires, discovering what three very different events have to teach us about conviction, humility, and Christian witness. Meet John Calvin , whose lifelong pursuit of Scripture and scholarship helped shape Protestant theology. Stand in Dayton, Tennessee , as the...

Discover the quiet strength found in Psalm 1. In this episode of Psalms Meditations , we reflect on the opening words of the Psalms and the beautiful image of a tree planted by streams of water. In a world that prizes speed, visibility, and constant achievement, Psalm 1 reminds us that the deepest work of God often happens beneath the surface. Together we'll consider what it means to delight...

On July 9, history offers two very different tragedies. In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, a Chinese governor lured missionaries and Chinese Christians into a place that promised safety—only to order their execution. Among them was a fifteen-year-old believer who refused to deny Christ. Eighteen years later, on the same date, two passenger trains collided at Dutchman's Curve near Nashville,...

Same date, two New England moments, one hard question: can you force someone into real faith — or scare them into it? On July 8, 1663, Roger Williams's Rhode Island secured one of the first charters on earth guaranteeing full liberty of conscience. On July 8, 1741 — seventy-eight years later — Jonathan Edwards preached the most famous fire-and-brimstone sermon in American history at Enfield,...

Welcome to Psalm Meditations , an ongoing series from Scattered Moments —quiet, reflective journeys into the songs of Scripture. Some passages of the Bible are meant to be studied. Others are meant to be lived. The Psalms have a remarkable way of finding us in our joy, our grief, our questions, and our hope, giving voice to prayers we didn't know how to pray. In this episode, "Hidden Roo...

Three doors. One calendar date. Three very different choices. On July 7, Lottie Moon leaves the comfort of home to carry the light of the gospel to China. Decades later, a misunderstanding at the Marco Polo Bridge erupts into a war that will cost millions of lives. Then, in 1944, the faithful ministry of George W. Truett comes to a close after nearly half a century of opening the doors of the chur...

Some passages of Scripture don't simply teach us—they find us. In this reflective episode of Scattered Moments , we journey into the haunting beauty of Psalm 42, where waves, tears, longing, and hope meet in one of the Bible's most deeply personal prayers. Through an original spoken-word meditation, we'll explore how our deepest disappointments can become the very places where we en...

On July 6, 1415, Jan Hus was condemned and burned at the stake for insisting that Scripture — not church councils — held final authority, a conviction that would resurface a century later in Martin Luther. On July 6, 1885, Louis Pasteur risked his reputation to give an untested rabies vaccine to a dying boy. Two men, centuries apart, staked everything on a truth they couldn't yet prove — and...

Some laws reveal the way the universe works. Others reveal the condition of the human heart. On July 5, 1687, Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica introduced the laws of motion and gravity, describing an invisible force that acts with perfect impartiality. One hundred sixty-five years later, on July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass stood before an Independence Day audience in Rochester, New York,...

25 Ways to Share Grace Grace isn't just something we receive from God—it's something we're called to pass along. In this episode of Scattered Moments , Matt Tullos explores twenty-five simple, practical ways to show grace in everyday life. From the words we choose to the way we listen, serve, react, and walk with God, these aren't grand gestures reserved for extraordinary peopl...

Every Fourth of July, we celebrate with fireworks, flags, and familiar stories. But hidden beneath the celebration are fascinating moments that many Americans have never heard. In this special Independence Day edition of Moments Almanac , we uncover ten little-known facts about July 4, 1776—from the surprising day America actually voted for independence to the real story behind the Liberty Bell, t...

Twelve spies entered the same land. They walked the same hills, carried the same fruit, and looked at the same giants. Yet ten came back talking about fear, while two came back talking about faith. In this dramatized reading, journey into one of Scripture's most unforgettable moments from Numbers 13. With multiple voices, a touch of humor, and a timeless challenge, this episode reminds us tha...

On July 3, history remembers one of the Civil War's most devastating assaults—and a little-known church council that forever shaped how Christians understand grace. At Gettysburg, thousands of soldiers marched across an open field toward a stone wall they could not take. More than thirteen centuries earlier, bishops gathered in Orange, France, to answer a different question: Can we make our o...

On this episode of Moments Almanac , we explore two lives forever connected by one remarkable truth: God's grace was never meant to require a translator. On July 2, a young Martin Luther was thrown to the ground by a terrifying thunderstorm that changed the course of his life. Sixteen years earlier, Thomas Cranmer was born in England, destined to become the quiet architect of worship in the E...

What can a hotel Bible and a cell possibly have in common? On this episode of Scattered Moments , we visit two remarkable events that happened on July 1. In 1899, two traveling businessmen founded the Gideons with a simple vision: place God's Word where weary travelers could find it. Thirty-eight years later, on that same date, German pastor Martin Niemöller was arrested by the Gestapo for re...

June 30: When Darkness Couldn't Silence the Music Two moments. Forty years apart. On June 30, 1934, Adolf Hitler launched the Night of the Long Knives, proving how easily evil can disguise itself as order. Forty years later, on June 30, 1974, Alberta Williams King—the mother of Martin Luther King Jr.—sat at the organ of Ebenezer Baptist Church, playing The Lord's Prayer , when a gunman o...

Bitterness rarely announces itself as bitterness. It often disguises itself as justice, hurt, or the quiet conviction that we have every right to hold on just a little longer. In this spoken-word episode of Scattered Moments , Matt Tullos explores the devastating path resentment can carve through hearts, families, friendships, and even churches—and the greater invitation Christ offers at His table...

On June 29, two very different fires tell the same story. In 1613, London's Globe Theatre—the stage that gave the world Shakespeare's greatest plays—burned to the ground in less than an hour. The building was lost, but the words escaped the flames. Centuries later, we still speak many of the phrases first heard beneath its thatched roof. Two hundred forty-eight years later, Elizabeth Bar...

What does faithfulness look like? Sometimes it looks like carrying a bucket. Sometimes it looks like carrying a Bible. In this June 28 episode of Moments Almanac , we remember two ordinary people separated by sixteen centuries who simply picked up what the moment required. Irenaeus of Lyon defended the truth of the Gospel when false teachers threatened to reshape it, becoming the earliest Christia...

On June 27, two remarkable lives remind us that God delights in giving people a voice. In 1736 , a young George Whitefield stepped into the pulpit to preach his very first sermon. He began awkwardly, surrounded by family and friends, but before long the Holy Spirit filled him with boldness. That hesitant beginning would grow into one of the most influential preaching ministries of the Great Awaken...

On June 26, two men stood under extraordinary pressure and uttered words that history has never forgotten. In 363 , the Roman Emperor Julian—remembered as "Julian the Apostate"—died after spending two years trying to reverse the rise of Christianity. Tradition says his final words were, "Thou hast conquered, O Galilean." Sixteen centuries later, in 1963 , President John F. Kenn...

On June 25, two remarkable moments—separated by more than three centuries—ask the same enduring question. In 1530, Philip Melanchthon stood before the Holy Roman Emperor as the Augsburg Confession was read aloud, declaring the convictions of the Protestant Reformation before the most powerful ruler in Europe. In 1865, Hudson Taylor sat alone on a beach in Brighton, England, and prayed for twenty-f...

On June 24, 64 AD, Emperor Nero began the brutal persecution of Christians in Rome. Men and women were arrested, crucified, and even burned as human torches in the emperor's gardens. Nero believed fire could silence the faith. Nearly fifteen centuries later, on the same date, John of the Cross was born in Spain. Imprisoned by his own religious order and confined to a dark cell, he discovered...

On June 23, 1683, William Penn signed a remarkable treaty with the Lenni Lenape people of Pennsylvania—a peace agreement built not on force or fear, but on mutual respect and trust. Penn believed God's law was already written on the human heart. Nearly two centuries later, on June 23, 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention that would change the way ideas travel thr...