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Space for Life: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Tommy Thompson
Space for Life is a podcast with honest conversations designed to help cultivate the space we need for a more fulfilling and abundant life. Despite our culture’s wiring for excess and overload, our souls desperately need the very opposite. Space for Life seeks to help you take small steps into a spacious life.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 3 days ago1h 0m
Braxton Byerson on Who You Are Without the Applause
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 with middle school girls basketball, life after a divorce, and why the words young people need most are I'm with you.What You'll Hear in This EpisodeBraxton grows up in Chester, VA, rooted in faith and humility by parents who cared more about character than applause.All three Byerson brothers play together at Virginia Union, a first in CIAA history.Pro ball in Uruguay and China puts him outside his language and comfort zone, and teaches him to sit back and listen.Confidence, choices, and character become his trifecta for student athletes.Getting cut in sixth grade, then again overseas, and choosing to show up anyway.Coaching a middle school girls team that had won three games in eight years into the playoffs four years running.Writing Stay on the Tracks, getting certified as a life coach, and taking the leap when fear and trust in God cannot share the same seat.Why youth open up when an adult says I'm with you, and Galatians 6:9 as the line he leaves people with. Intro Military kid to Chester, Virginia Three brothers at Virginia Union Pro ball in Uruguay and China Confidence, choices, and character Who are you without applause The ring of existence Bigger than basketball Cut in sixth grade, then overseas Coaching middle school girls Writing and life coaching I'm with you Galatians 6:9 How to connect with BraxtonStay on the Tracks, A Journey of Patience and Perseverance You've Got This, The Student Trifecta for Academic Achievement https://braxtonbyersonent.carrd.co https://www.instagram.com/braxb_7/ https://vuusports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/braxton-byerson/966 Instagram and TikTok: braxb_7 Facebook and LinkedIn: Braxton ByersonLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org
- 2 weeks ago58 min
Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons on Identity After a Big Change
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 if Space for Life is over, and then reads Encore.Elizabeth leaves Milbank at 35 to be with her kids, moves to Tucson, and loses her identity.The difference between the roles we walk in with and the person under those roles.Tommy adds a line to his mission statement, I am God's son.How to make a plan so you don't base jump into a panic.Grief, the choice toward hope, and taking one small action when you are stuck. Season eight after a sabbatical Meet Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons Leaving big law at 35 Far from just fine The roles we lead with Who stays when roles go Tommy's encore after 40 years Call it a graduation Plan, don't panic Treat it like an experiment Structure that fills you Don't kill the dream Hope after a terrible change One small actionEncore, A High Achiever's Guide to Thriving in Retirement https://encoraco.com https://zelinkaparsons.com Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons on LinkedIn
- Aug 21, 202644 min
Greatest Hits: Lisa Ould on the Art of Emotional Stability
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, and how to stay in what Lisa calls your window of tolerance. Tommy gets personal too, sharing a formative story from his high school lacrosse days that quietly shaped how he has related to his own emotions ever since.What You'll Hear in This Episode:What the emotions wheel is and why most of us only have five or six words for what we actually feel.The critical distinction between experiencing an emotion, expressing it, and the choices you make from there.The counseling concept of the window of tolerance, and what it looks like to be in hyperarousal or hypoarousal.How your belief systems shape your habitual emotional patterns, and why naming those beliefs is the first step toward changing them.Practical guidance for the over-expressive person and the emotionally shut-down person, including how habits and movement can shift where you land.Tommy's high school lacrosse story, the moment he made a quiet vow to shut down his emotions, and the cost of that vow on both the hard feelings and the good ones.Why the goal is never to stop feeling but to grow your ability to stay present and functional while you do.How faith and scripture connect to emotional health by reshaping the belief systems that drive our habitual responses.Timestamps: Intro Emotions as part of how we're made The emotions wheel Feeling vs. expressing vs. choosing The window of tolerance Beliefs, emotions, and choices The person stuck in habitual negative emotion The emotionally shut-down person Tommy's lacrosse story and the vow he madeResources / Next Steps:Learn more about Lisa Ould and Barnabas Center at barnabascenterclt.com.Visit TommyThompson.com for more helpful content and resources from Tommy.If you enjoyed this episode, leaving a review helps others find the show.
- Aug 6, 202655 min
Greatest Hits: Ana Megrelishvili on the Transformative Power Of A Silent Retreat
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 now changing the lives of many after fully understanding her purpose in life. She talks about the origins of her non-profit Christian Professionals Network Worldwide and how they are addressing the worsening state of homelessness in the country.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org
- Jul 23, 202646 min
Greatest Hits: Justin Earley on the Art of Real Friendship
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, covenant friendship. This conversation traces the biblical roots of why friendship matters, what it actually takes to build it, and why one honest hour a week with the right person might be the most life-changing thing you can do.What You'll Hear in This Episode:Justin's unlikely path from English major at UVA to missionary in Shanghai to Georgetown law school and Richmond business attorney, and how that journey gave birth to three books.The collapse Justin experienced in his first year of lawyering, and how that season of anxiety and panic attacks led directly to The Common Rule.Why Justin believes loneliness is one of the most dangerous conditions of our time, one most people are living with but would never self-diagnose.What Genesis reveals about why God made us to be fully known and fully loved alongside other people, not just with him alone.Why having a full network of acquaintances and connections is not the same as friendship, and can sometimes make the loneliness worse.The concept of covenant friendship and its ten ingredients, from vulnerability and honesty to geography, time, and worship.Why vulnerability is the hardest thing to get your heart around, and why scheduling is the hardest thing to actually follow through on.Why one honest hour a week with the right person is all it takes to begin changing your life.Timestamps: Intro Justin's background and three books Anxiety, collapse, and the birth of The Common Rule Why Justin wrote Made for People The epidemic of loneliness The theology of friendship in Genesis Ten ingredients of covenant friendship One hour a week is enough Where to start if you feel aloneResources / Next Steps:Pick up Made for People on Amazon and leave a review to help others find it.Find Justin and all of his books at justinwhitmoreearly.com.Visit TommyThompson.com for more helpful content and resources from Tommy.If you enjoyed this episode, leaving a review helps others find the show.
- Jul 13, 202635 min
Greatest Hits: What You Can Learn from Your Stress
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 letting stress run the show, from the simple act of slowing down to the deeper work of engaging your faith in a way that actually changes how you feel.What You'll Hear in This Episode:Why stress has become epidemic in modern society and how the American dream may be quietly fueling it.The barometer concept, treating stress not as noise to ignore but as a signal with something real to say.A quick review of five practical tools from a previous episode, covering morning routines, breathing, mini getaways, and distractions.Tip 1: How to take a step back, ask why you are stressed, and why naming the source gives you power over it.Tip 2: Why rushing and stress are inseparable, and what intentionally slowing down actually does to your nervous system.Tip 3: How narrowing your focus to one or two truly important things cuts through the overwhelm of a long to-do list.Tip 4: The discipline of simplifying, identifying what can wait and letting yourself cut it without guilt.Tip 5: How faith functions as the deepest stress barometer of all, and what it looks like to live like what you believe is actually true.Timestamps: Intro Stress as a barometer Why stress has become epidemic Review of five previous tips Tip 1: Take a step back Tip 2: Stop rushing Tip 3: Focus on the important Tip 4: Simplify Tip 5: Engage your faithResources / Next Steps:Visit TommyThompson.com for more helpful content and resources from Tommy.If you enjoyed this episode, leaving a review helps others find the show.
- Jun 25, 202640 min
Greatest Hits: What I Learned from Taking a Year of Jubilee
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 he never saw coming. Whether or not a full year off is possible for you, this episode is full of wisdom on what it looks like to rightsize your life and recover the rhythm between doing and being.What You'll Hear in This Episode:The biblical concept of Jubilee and why Tommy used it as the framework for stepping away from work he loved.Why Tommy believes he was heading toward burnout but needed a different word to give himself permission to slow down.The unexpected health transformation that came out of clearing his schedule, something he says categorically would not have happened otherwise.The surprising freedom and joy that came from realizing how small he and his work actually are in the grand scheme of things.Why halfway measures like cutting back on one thing never give you enough of a break to actually reset.What Tommy calls mini jubilees, shorter but fully committed disconnects that anyone can build into their life.The balance board metaphor, and why staying in rhythm means constantly adjusting rather than finding a permanent steady state.Timestamps: Intro Tommy and Patricia reconnect What is a Year of Jubilee Approaching burnout The unexpected health transformation The freedom of being small What if you can't take a year off Mini jubilees done right Rightsizing life and finding rhythmResources / Next Steps:Visit TommyThompson.com for more helpful content and resources from Tommy.If you enjoyed this episode, leaving a review helps others find the show.
- Jun 11, 202634 min
Greatest Hits: Litt Thompson on Creating Space to Think About What Matters Most
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 five-part formula for carving out intentional time to think deeply about your life, and why he believes it is the second greatest secret to life next to knowing Christ.What You'll Hear in This Episode:The early 1990s savings and loan crisis that pushed Litt and Tommy to the edge of burnout, invisibly and simultaneously.The morning Litt spent alone in a university library with nothing but a legal pad and a pen, and why it became the most productive day of his career.How writing one focused question at the top of a page and going deep unlocks a level of creativity you cannot access in the middle of your normal day.Why so many of our stressors are fears in disguise, and how creating space helps you tell the difference.Litt's five-part formula for intentional solitude, including why place, time, and removing distractions all work together.Why this practice applies to everyone in every stage of life, not just entrepreneurs and leaders.Timestamps: Intro Tommy introduces Litt Thompson The 1989 business storm Litt's first day off the freeway Legal pad and the blank slate From crisis tool to life practice Litt's five-part formula This applies to everyoneLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! http://tommythompson.org
About Space for Life
Space for Life is a podcast with honest conversations designed to help cultivate the space we need for a more fulfilling and abundant life. Despite our culture’s wiring for excess and overload, our souls desperately need the very opposite. Space for Life seeks to help you take small steps into a spacious life.
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