254 - How to Apply Half-Marathon Preparation to the Rest of Life
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
Release Date: 05/19/2026
254 - How to Apply Half-Marathon Preparation to the Rest of Life
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
I sign up on a whim. One half-marathon for Saturday, through hilly horse country. My calves are still tight from three runs the same morning, because my impetuous mind decided to run to the start line of a community 5k, which also meant I had to get home on foot after the race. Honestly, my only hope of non-stop running for the half is contingent on keeping a slow, steady pace. And resting. Funny how sometimes the best way to prepare is literally to take a break. To slow to a walk. To sit in the sun. To stretch. To strengthen with pilates. Fear tells me to cram-train, to sprint up...
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253 - How to Make Whatever You Are Doing Be Unto the Lord
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
Sometimes you are doing too much, and you know it from the tumble of thoughts burying the task that truly needs your attention. You find yourself making slow progress in several areas simultaneously. At every spin, you find more before you that could be straightened, sorted, or scheduled. Oh friend, I get it. I admit I mostly (okay, only) wipe out the interior of my fridge when I should be packing for a trip. I tidy the pantry and put wheels to a wild whim of an idea when I have barely enough margin for the minimum. I make spontaneous updates to pages on my website that don’t need to be...
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252 - How to Reignite Faith When My Routine Gets in the Way
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
Sometimes I can get stuck in my routine. I start my morning the same way every day I can. I fall into a rhythm with school and gymnastics and church. I even put plates a certain way in the dishwasher–every time. In the midst of the repetition, faith can begin to feel a bit monotonous. Perhaps you’ve experienced this. You might feel like you’re on autopilot, mudding through the motions, willing your heart to be in it. Maybe you’re struggling to keep up with the minimum because the needs that take your time? Well, they keep multiplying. Links mentioned: Turn Your Loneliness...
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251 - Play Worship Songs on Repeat: One Revolutionary Way to Listen
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
It feels like summer, and I sit on the step with Seph Schlueter singing through my portable speaker. Funny how you can play worship songs on repeat, but they move you forward, rather than in circles. Yes, you are essentially listening on loop, but the lyrics unravel your reservations and amplify your expectancy with every replay. Links mentioned: playlist. Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days Read the written version of this episode
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250 - Three Remarkable Truths That Will Make Your Life More Stable
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
Perhaps it’s grief, your physical health, or some other life disruption that makes the ground gallop beneath you. And it’s all you can do right now to keep putting one foot forward at a time. Here are three truths that will steady you when life feels unstable. Links mentioned: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days Read the written version of this episode
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249 - How to Know God Is Good and Great When You Can’t See Him
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
“Did you see what I wrote on the mirror?” He’s giddy insistent. First, he points to words I don’t even see in the disappearing, post-shower stream. God is good. God is great. Bless his 9-year-old heart, reminding me that even when we can’t see how, God’s steadiness writes a never-ending story. Links mentioned: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days Read the written version of this episode
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248 - When You Miss the Sunrise, Here’s How to Still Fill Your Morning With Hope
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
It sounded like a prank call, but I promise we were serious. Seriously set on seeing the sunrise in a city where we’d spend spring break. This was before the days of smartphones to check the weather app. So we did what made most sense to our college student brains—call local numbers in the phone book to ask when the sun rises. I think of it now as radiant pink entrances us en route to school. These sunrise spottings almost make me like Daylight Savings. Almost. Since I started running, I catch every sunrise I can. I time my runs down to the minute so I can capture the colors from...
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247 - How to Make Easter 2026 Meaningful in the Middle of Spring Break
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
Lately, it seems we’re walking the thin line between breaking and believing. Lighting candles because we need a flicker of hope. Lengthening hugs because we all need the warmth of presence. How do we make Easter meaningful in the middle of spring break–and all sorts of honest aches? Links mentioned: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days Read the written version of this episode
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246 - One Easy Way to Align Your Life With Christ
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
You were made to delight the very heart of Christ. Your words are meant to move the heart of God. Your devotion undoes Him. Your worship declares Him worthy. Your one surrendered life, aligned with His, honors Him. Links mentioned: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days Read the written version of this episode
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245 - How to Define Amen: What You Need to Know About Faith
Ripple-Effect Faith with Twyla Franz
Amen isn’t an ending, but an acknowledgement that God can be counted on. It’s agreement with what already beats in the heart of our Lord. It’s coming alongside God’s already, willingly-spoken “yes.” Links mentioned: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days Read the written version of this episode
info_outlineI sign up on a whim. One half-marathon for Saturday, through hilly horse country. My calves are still tight from three runs the same morning, because my impetuous mind decided to run to the start line of a community 5k, which also meant I had to get home on foot after the race.
Honestly, my only hope of non-stop running for the half is contingent on keeping a slow, steady pace. And resting.
Funny how sometimes the best way to prepare is literally to take a break. To slow to a walk. To sit in the sun. To stretch. To strengthen with pilates.
Fear tells me to cram-train, to sprint up more hills, to prove (pre-race) to myself that I can make it that many miles. But muscle memory brings quiet assurance that I’ve gone the distance. My own permission slip from my last half-marathon says it’s okay to break pace, to walk a spell, to simply finish.
This close to the race, rest will get me further than distance training.
And maybe it hits close to home in other areas of my life too. I’m a work-in-progress when it comes to rest. Sometimes my stubbornness is misdirected, and I strive for excellence in relatively inconsequential areas. Too often, I keep my proverbial plate full by working ahead in order to create margin for a future version of myself (who will simply find something else to perfect or create). You see the cycle. Perhaps you can pinpoint the same pattern in your own life.
Links mentioned:
- FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
- Read the written version of this episode HERE.