09/29/2026
What do I listen to while I’m working?
I’m glad you asked.
Most days, it’s Bott Radio Network playing in the background while I turn wrenches. But over the last week or so, I’ve been digging into some free audiobooks.
Right now, I’m listening to The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey—for the second time.
I wanted to share that because I have a feeling somebody out there may need the same reminder I didn’t even realize I needed.
Sometimes I get so focused on the holiness of Christ that I lose sight of the fact that Jesus also lived a real human life.
He experienced joy. He loved people. He felt compassion.
But He also experienced rejection, disappointment, sadness, loneliness, and profound grief.
Sometimes I get stuck inside my own head and convince myself that nobody else feels the way I do. That nobody understands how quickly a perfectly good day can turn heavy, sad, or overwhelming—sometimes without any obvious reason at all.
Then I’m reminded that we serve a Savior who doesn’t look at human suffering from a distance.
He stepped into it.
He lived among us.
He wept.
He hurt.
He loved.
And He understands.
And whether I’m changing a set of brakes, building an estimate for a failed CP4 fuel system, scrubbing toilets, or trying to get coffee stains out of the carpet at church, time seems to fly by when I’m listening to and trying to learn more about my Savior.
There’s something about working with my hands while feeding my mind and heart with the things of Christ that makes even the longest jobs feel a little different.
This book has been an incredible listen for me. When it ended the first time, I immediately started it over because I knew there were things I missed.
So if you see me under a hood, cleaning up at the church, or somewhere in between with my headphones in, there’s a pretty good chance I’m listening to a sermon, an audiobook, or something else that helps me know Jesus a little better than I did yesterday.
And maybe somebody reading this needed that reminder today too:
Our Savior knows what it is to be human. And whatever kind of day you’re having, you’re not bringing something to Him that He cannot understand.
“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” — Hebrews 4:15 KJV