Small Steps with God

About Small Steps with God

Small Steps with God is a practical guide to learning how to study the Bible thoughtfully and faithfully. Through clear teaching on exegesis, historical context, and careful reading, this podcast helps listeners move beyond surface-level interpretations and grow in confidence as students of Scripture. Episodes explore how meaning is drawn from the text—not read into it—along with series like MIRRORS, which examine biblical figures and historical groups to reflect on faith, obedience, and daily life. This is a place for steady growth, honest thinking, and learning to walk closely with God—one small step at a time.

Publisher

Jill from The Northwoods

Category

religion & spirituality · religion & spirituality · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

13 Oct 2022

Latest episode

4 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

169 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Aug 2026

   165 - C.S. Lewis's Paradox: Taking The Next Right Road

   Have you ever known — actually known — that you were on the wrong road, but kept walking anyway? I've done that literally, driving lost and just deciding to see where it goes. But I've done it with my life too: moving forward, making real progress by every visible measure, while some part of me sensed I wasn't heading in the right direction at all. This episode is about that particular kind of faithfulness — the one that looks like turning around. C.S. Lewis's Paradox In Mere Christianity, Lewis argues that progress means getting nearer to where you actually want to be — and if you're on the wrong road, going forward just gets you further away, faster. "The man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man." Our culture treats turning back as failure and pressing on as virtue; Lewis says the opposite is often true. Refusing to turn back when you know you're wrong isn't determination — it's being stuck and dressing it up as strength. A Wrong Road I Was On I was pushing hard toward graduate school and a career as a professor — a full ride, years of undergraduate work invested. Then I became a Christian at 22, and it suddenly struck me: I was going the wrong direction, even though that direction looked appealing and I'd already invested so much in it. The Silver Chair's Four Signs In C.S. Lewis's Narnia story, Aslan sends Jill and Eustace on a quest with four signs to remember, warning that things won't look the same once they're down in Narnia. They walk past the first sign, miss the second, and cross straight over the third without recognizing it. The turning point isn't a clever forward move — it's their companion Puddleglum stopping everyone and forcing them to say out loud: we missed it, we have to go back. Pharaoh and Jonah: Two Ways of Seeing the Sign Pharaoh doesn't miss the ten plagues — they're unmissable, one after another. He sees clearly and chooses to keep walking anyway, hardening his heart every time. Jonah is the mirror image: he reads God's instruction perfectly, understands it completely, and runs the opposite direction on purpose. But Jonah's story doesn't end on the boat — after the storm and the fish, he does the one thing Pharaoh never does. He turns around. The Prodigal Son, Found The son who took every wrong turn available, spent everything, and ended up feeding pigs finally comes to his senses and heads home. What he gets isn't a lecture or a probationary period — his father was already scanning the horizon for him. Turning back wasn't the humiliating part of the story. It was the part where he gets found. Three small steps for the road you're actually on: name one road, honestly, that you've kept pressing forward on even though you've known for a while it's the wrong direction. Ask yourself what's driving that — is it pride like Pharaoh's, watching the signs and staying the course anyway? And let the turning back be met the way the prodigal son was met — not with shame, not with a fresh set of hoops to run through, but simply as coming home. If you want to sit with this more: Lewis makes the direct argument in Mere Christianity, tells the full story in The Silver Chair, and Luke 15 gives you the ending all of this points toward. I'm Jill from the Northwoods. Find everything at jillfromthenorthwoods.com. Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ (https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/) - Find my podcasts, videos, downloads and ways to contact me https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod (https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod) https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill (https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill) Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com (Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com) “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com (http://netbible.com/) copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ (https://www.bible.ca/maps/) or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ (https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/) Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com (mailto:permissions@faithlife.com). Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal experiences, faith journey, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, theologian, or counselor. Any spiritual reflections, devotional thoughts, or suggestions offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, faith community, or professional mental health provider. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

2. 

   28 Jul 2026

   164 - Art as Worship: A Biblical Case for Creativity

   Strip every work Christian faith ever inspired out of Europe, and the skyline changes completely — no cathedrals, no Bach, no Michelangelo, no illuminated manuscripts, no universities that grew out of monastery schools. In this episode, I ask a question most Christians don’t spend much time on: not what we should avoid in culture, but what we should be creating. Pope Leo’s Challenge to Writers A recent address to a gathering of writers got me thinking, even though I’m not Catholic — the reminder that stories preserve memory, search for truth, and cultivate compassion applies across every Christian tradition, not just one. Bezalel: The First Person Filled with the Spirit Most people picture a prophet or a king when they think of someone “filled with the Spirit of God.” The first person given that description in Scripture was an artist — commissioned to build the tabernacle with gold, wood, precious stones, and woven fabric. That detail says something about God’s own character. David, Solomon, and the Prophets as Artists David was a poet and musician whose songs are still sung three thousand years later. Solomon explored wisdom through poetry. The prophets communicated some of their most vivid truths through imagery — Ezekiel’s wheels, Isaiah’s seraphim, Daniel’s visions. Even Jesus taught primarily through stories, not abstract theology. The Monks Who Preserved Civilization Year after year, monks copied not just Scripture but classical works from Greece and Rome, preserving them for centuries with painstaking care. Without realizing it, they became the bridge that carried much of Western knowledge forward — and that copying was itself an act of faith. A Call to Make Art Again Christians once understood, almost instinctively, that creating something beautiful was itself a form of worship. I make the case for why it’s time to make that stand again — not instead of speaking truth, but alongside it. If you create — music, carving, writing, anything — I’d genuinely love to know how your faith shows up in it. Find every show I do at jillfromthenorthwoods.com. Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ (https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/) - Find my podcasts, videos, downloads and ways to contact me https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod (https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod) https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill (https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill) Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com (Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com) “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com (http://netbible.com/) copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ (https://www.bible.ca/maps/) or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ (https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/) Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com (mailto:permissions@faithlife.com). Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal experiences, faith journey, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, theologian, or counselor. Any spiritual reflections, devotional thoughts, or suggestions offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, faith community, or professional mental health provider. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

3. 

   21 Jul 2026

   163 - Stop Polishing Your Prayers (and Your Life)

   “How are you?” “Fine. Busy, but good.” We’ve rehearsed that answer so well we barely notice we’re doing it — and here’s the uncomfortable part: we do the exact same thing with God. We walk into prayer already polishing the message before we hand it over. This week I want to talk about why we do that, why it’s not what God actually expects from us, and why realizing that is one of the most freeing things you’ll learn about who he is. The God Who Already Sees the Heart Scripture doesn’t say God watches our outside behavior — it says he sees the heart. That sounds terrifying if you picture God as a judge cataloging every failure, but that’s not the God of Genesis 3. When God asks Adam, “Where are you?” it was never a request for information — it was an invitation out from behind the fig leaves. What This Reframes About Prayer If prayer isn’t informing God of anything he doesn’t already know, then it isn’t a status update — it’s agreeing with God about what’s actually true in your heart, instead of negotiating, defending, or dressing it up first. Confessing Sin Isn’t the Same as Whitewashing Suffering This episode draws a line I think gets blurred constantly: sin needs repentance, but suffering was never something you were meant to hide from God. Treating joy, peace, and hope like moods you have to maintain 24/7 — instead of fruit that grows over a lifetime — is where the real damage happens. A Fifty-Year Marriage and a Whitewashed Prayer I walk through a picture that’s stuck with me: someone caring for a spouse who is slipping away, tempted to hand God a polished “we trust in God” instead of the anger and exhaustion actually underneath it. God’s response to real honesty isn’t judgment — it’s “I know how heavy this is.” Vertical and Horizontal Honesty Confession restores your relationship with God — but somebody still needs to sit with you. This episode makes the case that honesty with God and honesty with the people around you were never an either/or. If you’ve ever felt like you have to look more “put together” as a Christian than you actually are, this one’s for you. You can find everything I do at jillfromthenorthwoods.com. My email is jill@startwithsmallsteps.com. Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ (https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/) https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod (https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod) https://twitter.com/schmern (https://twitter.com/schmern) Email the podcast at (mailto:jill@startwithsmallsteps.com) jill@startwithsmallsteps.com (mailto:jill@startwithsmallsteps.com) “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com (http://netbible.com/) copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ (https://www.bible.ca/maps/) or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ (https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/) Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com (mailto:permissions@faithlife.com). Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal experiences, faith journey, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, theologian, or counselor. Any spiritual reflections, devotional thoughts, or suggestions offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, faith community, or professional mental health provider. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

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