I Need to Take a Step Back

Episode SummaryIn this episode, I step away from my normal format and simply talk about where I am right now. After more than 300 episodes, multiple podcast series, book ideas, websites, teaching, and constantly creating, I’ve reached a point where I’m mentally and physically exhausted and realizing that something has to give.I share some of what my family has been carrying, including my brother’s recent hospitalizations, concerns about my dad’s health, and the emotional weight of returning to the same hospital floor where my mom died in 2024. At the same time, I’m trying to be present as a husband, a dad to three kids at very different stages of life, and a teacher beginning another school year.I reflect on something my grief therapist told me: something has to give right now—not everything and not forever, but something. I’m beginning to understand that putting something down is not the same as quitting it. I still love Be a Funky Teacher, Saturday Stories, Sunday School for Teachers, the Teachers Are Not Broken series, and the projects I want to create, but they do not all have to happen right now.I don’t know exactly what comes next, and I’m giving myself permission not to know. I want to spend a little less time producing my life and a little more time living it—being a husband, dad, brother, son, teacher, and simply myself. This isn’t goodbye. It’s me creating some space and trusting that when I’m ready to sit behind the microphone again, I will.Show NotesWhy I’m stepping back from a publishing scheduleReaching more than 300 podcast episodesFamily health challenges and emotional exhaustionReturning to the hospital where my mom diedBeing present for my wife and childrenThe difference between quitting and putting something downGiving myself permission not to know what comes nextSpending less time producing life and more time living itKey TakeawaysExhaustion does not always mean something is broken.Something important can be put down temporarily without being abandoned.Grief can return unexpectedly through places, memories, and experiences.Constant creativity and productivity can eventually become another obligation.Family seasons and time with the people we love do not last forever.Sustainability sometimes requires refusing to create another schedule.It is okay to say, “I don’t know what comes next.”