Episodes

In 1650, Archbishop James Ussher calculated that creation began on the night preceding October 23, 4004 BC. His extraordinary attempt to date the beginning of the world takes us back to the opening words of Genesis: darkness, the Spirit of God, and the command, "Let there be light." On October 23, 1983, Navy chaplain Danny Wheeler was buried beneath the rubble of the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut. Trapped for five hours, he discovered an unexpected peace in the darkness. Two days earlier, h...

On October 22, 1844, thousands of believers waited for Christ to return. When morning came, their hopes lay shattered in what history remembers as the Great Disappointment. Exactly 118 years later, President John F. Kennedy addressed a frightened nation about Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. This time, Americans weren't hoping for the end of the world. They were praying it wouldn't come. Two October nights. Two very different expectations. And one enduring lesson about faith, uncertainty, and ...

On October 21, 1805, Admiral Horatio Nelson prayed for victory at Trafalgar—and for humanity to prevail after the battle. Hours later, he was dead. Exactly forty-nine years later, Florence Nightingale departed for the Crimean War with thirty-eight nurses, determined to care for the wounded whom victory had left behind. Two extraordinary lives. One remarkable date. And a reminder that winning the battle is only half the story. What we do for others afterward may be our greatest victory. Moments...

When the Fire Has Finished | October 20 What remains when everything you've worked for goes up in flames? Three men, born on the same date centuries apart, discovered that some things are stronger than fire, tragedy, and loss. Christopher Wren helped rebuild London's churches after the Great Fire of 1666. William Ward watched twelve years of missionary printing work turn to ashes in India, only to discover that the work of spreading God's Word was far from finished. And Horatio Spafford, deva...

Containers We Are | Scattered Moments What if the greatest freedom in life comes from realizing it's not about us? Drawing from 2 Corinthians 4, this spoken-word reflection explores the extraordinary treasure God places in ordinary, imperfect people. We are cracked, fragile jars of clay, yet entrusted with the glory of Christ. We don't have to be extraordinary. We simply have to belong to Someone who is. Because our worth isn't found in the container, but in the treasure we carry. And even cr...

The Price of a Seat | October 19 | Moments Almanac Sometimes changing history begins with something as simple as taking a seat. On October 19, 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. joined a group of courageous college students at Rich's department store in Atlanta. Their request was simple: the right to sit down and enjoy a meal like everyone else. Instead, they were arrested. What began as a peaceful sit-in would send King to a Georgia prison, draw the attention of a presidential candidate, and becom...

The Poet Who Wrote Her Way to Freedom | October 18 She crossed an ocean in chains. Years later, her words crossed that same ocean in a book. Phillis Wheatley was only seven years old when she was taken from Africa and sold into slavery in colonial Boston. But within that young girl was an extraordinary gift. She learned to read, mastered classical literature, embraced the Christian faith, and became one of the most remarkable poets of her generation. Her brilliance was so unexpected in a soci...

Scattered Moments | Psalms Reflections | Bonus Music Episode What do you pray when you don't know which way to go? When the road ahead is uncertain, the memories behind you are painful, and all you really want is to know that God is near? Inspired by Psalm 25, "Teach Me Your Ways" is a tender, prayerful song about trusting God's guidance, remembering His mercy, and finding peace in His presence. Drawing from David's heartfelt plea, the lyrics move between the longing to know God's ways and th...

She was once the fastest woman in the world. But her greatest victory would come when she could no longer run. On October 17, 1964, Australian sprinter Betty Cuthbert raced into Olympic history, winning her fourth gold medal in a remarkable comeback that seemed almost impossible. She believed God had called her back to the track, and she answered that call with everything she had. But just five years later, multiple sclerosis began stealing the very strength that had made her famous. The woman...

Some roads lead us to beautiful places. Others leave us carrying regrets. And some disappear around bends we cannot see, leaving us wondering what comes next. In Psalm 25, David stands somewhere between the roads behind him and the uncertain path ahead. His prayer is remarkably honest. He remembers the sins of his youth, acknowledges the troubles surrounding him, and confesses his need for God's guidance. Yet instead of demanding answers, he offers a simple, profound prayer: "Make your ways kno...

One man was born on October 16. Another died on that same date, just 54 years later. Both devoted their lives to making the Word of God understandable to ordinary people. Noah Webster, famous for his dictionary, believed his most important work was revising the King James Bible for American readers. Henry Martyn, a brilliant young missionary, sacrificed comfort, career, and ultimately his health to translate Scripture into the languages of India and Persia. Neither lived to see the full harves...

The Man Who Gave the Rock a Melody | October 15 Some people leave behind monuments. Others leave behind books. Thomas Hastings left behind a melody—and nearly two centuries later, the church is still singing it. Born on October 15, 1784, Hastings entered the world with albinism and significant vision difficulties. Largely self-taught, he became one of America's most influential composers of sacred music, devoting his life to helping congregations lift their voices in worship. His most endurin...

The Bullet and the Prize | October 14 Two men. Two October fourteenths. Fifty-two years apart. One was struck by an assassin’s bullet. The other received the world's most prestigious peace prize. Both would leave an extraordinary mark on history. On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest while campaigning in Milwaukee. A folded speech manuscript and a steel eyeglass case helped slow the bullet. Remarkably, Roosevelt insisted on delivering his speech anyway. On October 14, ...

Thirty-three men. Sixty-nine days. Nearly half a mile beneath the earth. On August 5, 2010, a massive collapse at Chile's San José Mine trapped 33 miners deep beneath the Atacama Desert. For 17 days, the world feared they were dead. Then a drill returned to the surface carrying seven remarkable words: “We are well in the shelter, the 33.” What followed was one of the most extraordinary rescue operations in modern history—a story of courage, ingenuity, prayer, and hope against impossible odd...

Patriotism Is Not Enough | October 12 On October 12, 1915, British nurse Edith Cavell faced a German firing squad in Brussels, Belgium. Her crime? Helping Allied soldiers escape German-occupied territory during World War I. But Edith Cavell's remarkable story is about much more than wartime courage. It is a story of faith, compassion, and a love that refused to surrender to hatred. On the night before her execution, Edith shared Holy Communion with an Anglican chaplain and joined him in recit...

He challenged the church, defended the authority of Scripture, and helped ignite the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. But on October 11, 1531, Huldrych Zwingli's remarkable life came to a violent end—not in a pulpit, but on a battlefield. In this episode of Moments Almanac, we explore the fascinating and sometimes troubling story of a reformer whose convictions changed Christianity. From a controversy over eating sausages during Lent to his famous theological disagreement with Martin Luth...

On a cold winter evening in seventh-century England, a small sparrow flew through a great banquet hall, passing briefly from darkness into warmth and light before disappearing into the darkness again. That simple image became one of the most memorable illustrations of life and eternity in Christian history. On October 10, 644, Paulinus of York died in Rochester, England. Years earlier, this Roman missionary had helped introduce Christianity to King Edwin of Northumbria. According to the histor...

Some salvation stories unfold quietly. Others are rescue missions through the wilderness of pride, doubt, shame, and brokenness. Mine was the latter. In this deeply personal episode of Scattered Moments, Matt Tullos reflects on his own need for radical redemption—not simply a Savior who would forgive his sins, but a Warrior who would pursue him through the tangled jungles of the flesh, the firestorms of anxious thoughts, and the ancient strongholds of the human heart. Drawing from Luke 19:10,...

On October 9, 1635, Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for spreading what authorities called “new and dangerous opinions.” His radical ideas? That government should not control religious belief, that worship should never be forced, and that Native Americans had legitimate rights to their land. The Puritans had crossed an ocean seeking religious freedom, yet Williams dared to ask whether that freedom should extend to those who disagreed with them. His convictions cost...

On October 8, 1871, D. L. Moody stood before a packed Chicago audience and asked one of the most important questions a person can face: “What shall I do with Jesus?” He told them to think it over and return the following Sunday with their answer. They never did. That night, the Great Chicago Fire swept through the city. Farwell Hall burned, and Moody later said he deeply regretted ever telling people to wait. Forty-seven years later, on October 8, 1918, Tennessee native Alvin York faced a ver...

On October 7, 1780, the Battle of Kings Mountain became a turning point in the American Revolution. Just days earlier, the Overmountain Men had gathered at Sycamore Shoals, where Presbyterian minister Samuel Doak prayed over them before they crossed the mountains to confront British Major Patrick Ferguson. Ferguson had reportedly boasted that even God Almighty could not drive him from his position. But on Kings Mountain, Patriot militia surrounded his forces, Ferguson was killed, and the Loyalis...

On October 6, two great English voices fell silent, 356 years apart. In 1536, Bible translator William Tyndale was executed at Vilvoorde, leaving behind a final prayer: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” In 1892, Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson died after a lifetime of words, including his haunting meditation on death, Crossing the Bar. In this episode of Moments Almanac, we bring their stories together—one man who gave his life to put Scripture into the language of ordinary people,...

Huldah — The Woman the King Needed to Hear 2 Kings 22:8–20 | 2 Chronicles 34:14–28 King Josiah inherited a nation that had wandered far from God. His grandfather Manasseh had encouraged widespread idolatry, the temple had been neglected, and Judah had largely abandoned the covenant. Josiah became king at only eight years old, and as a young man began seeking the Lord and confronting the idolatry around him. Then came an extraordinary discovery. During repairs to the temple, Hilkiah the high p...

Jonathan Edwards was born on October 5, 1703, and became one of the most influential theologians in American history. But tucked inside the final chapter of Edwards’s life is the remarkable story of a little boy who, before his third birthday, lost his father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother. That orphan was Aaron Burr Jr. In this episode of Moments Almanac, we follow the extraordinary chain of events that connected Jonathan Edwards, the presidency of Princeton, a smallpox inoculation, a ...