Home Podcasts Space for Life
Space for Life

Space for Life

Tommy Thompson 212 Episodes Oct 1, 2026

Space for Life is a podcast of honest conversations about making room for a more fulfilling and abundant life. It pushes back against a culture of excess and overload, arguing that our souls need the opposite. Through small, practical steps, the show helps listeners move toward a more spacious and intentional life.

Episodes

The Theology and Physiology of Why Sleep Matters with Brett McCracken
The Theology and Physiology of Why Sleep Matters with Brett McCracken Oct 1, 2026 4557 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 a
Braxton Byerson on Who You Are Without the Applause
Braxton Byerson on Who You Are Without the Applause Sep 17, 2026 3614 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
Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons on Identity After a Big Change
Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons on Identity After a Big Change Sep 3, 2026 3516 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 EpisodeTommy takes a sabbatical, wonders
Greatest Hits: Lisa Ould on the Art of Emotional Stability
Greatest Hits: Lisa Ould on the Art of Emotional Stability Aug 21, 2026 2642 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,
Greatest Hits: Ana Megrelishvili on the Transformative Power Of A Silent Retreat
Greatest Hits: Ana Megrelishvili on the Transformative Power Of A Silent Retreat Aug 6, 2026 3349 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 n
Greatest Hits: Justin Earley on the Art of Real Friendship
Greatest Hits: Justin Earley on the Art of Real Friendship Jul 23, 2026 2802 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, cov
Greatest Hits: What You Can Learn from Your Stress
Greatest Hits: What You Can Learn from Your Stress Jul 13, 2026 2102 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
Greatest Hits: What I Learned from Taking a Year of Jubilee
Greatest Hits: What I Learned from Taking a Year of Jubilee Jun 25, 2026 2441 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
Greatest Hits: Litt Thompson on Creating Space to Think About What Matters Most
Greatest Hits: Litt Thompson on Creating Space to Think About What Matters Most Jun 11, 2026 2082 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 f
What It Takes to Be a Sturdy Adult with Keith McCurdy
What It Takes to Be a Sturdy Adult with Keith McCurdy May 28, 2026 4192 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
Shola Richards on Practicing Kindness in an Unkind World
Shola Richards on Practicing Kindness in an Unkind World May 19, 2026 3542 In this episode, Tommy sits down with Shola Richards, known as The Kindness Extremist and Brother Teresa, to talk about what kindness actually looks like when life gets hard. Shola shares his story of moving from bullying, burnout, and a near tragic moment on an LA freeway to building a global mission around freakishly practical kindness. The conversation gets into the real difference between nice
How to Uncover Your Purpose with Patricia Clarke
How to Uncover Your Purpose with Patricia Clarke Apr 30, 2026 3593 Tommy reunites with close friend and collaborator Patricia Clarke for a rich, wide-ranging conversation on one of life's most important and most misunderstood questions: what does it actually mean to find and live a life of purpose? They bring two completely different approaches to the table, one intuitive and spontaneous, one intentional and structured, and together they land on something that ap

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