Stories & Other Things Holy
Stories & Other Things Holy is a weekly podcast that invites you to step into the sacred in everyday life. Through intimate conversations and masterful storytelling, host Joshua Minden and storyteller Dr. Terry Nelson-Johnson weave together narratives that explore the depths of our human experience—our joys, our struggles, our unexpected moments of grace, and our shared capacity for transformation. Every episode is a journey into the heart of what it means to be human, where laughter meets vulnerability, where pain becomes a doorway to healing, and where the mundane bursts with mystery and wonder.
Whether you're seeking inspiration to navigate life’s challenges, a gentle reminder to slow down and savor the beauty around you, or a fresh perspective on the everyday miracles that connect us all, this podcast offers a space to reflect, grow, and be uplifted. With each story, Joshua and Terry invite you to discover how the sacred threads of love, humility, and resilience are woven through even the most ordinary moments, encouraging you to embrace the call to live fully and authentically.
Join us as we explore the profound power of narrative to reveal who we are, challenge what we believe, and remind us that we are never alone on this journey. Stories & Other Things Holy is more than a podcast—it’s a community of listeners finding hope and connection in the shared story of life.
Stories & Other Things Holy
"I Signed the Book of the Dead?!" A Lenten Wake-Up Call
Send Terry and Joshua a text using this link.
Join us for Episode 22 of Stories and Other Things Holy with Terry Nelson-Johnson. In this candid conversation, Terry recounts a funeral visit that took an unexpected turn when he accidentally signed the “Book of the Dead.” Far from a grim tale, this lighthearted moment leads to profound insights on the Lenten season, our mortality, and how embracing both can ignite hope.
In This Episode, We Explore:
- Terry’s near-death experience and how it reshaped his outlook
- The comedic yet meaningful mishap of signing the “Book of the Dead”
- How Lent invites us to “preregister” our own mortality
- The balance between remembering death and celebrating life
- The spiritual practice of facing our human limitations with hope
Key Takeaways:
- Engaging with our own mortality can deepen our appreciation for life
- Humor often arises in unexpected places, even at a funeral
- Lent as a season of reflection, humility, and spiritual preparation
- Remembering death isn’t morbid—it’s a call to live more fully
Join us on this journey of healing, grace, and renewal. If this episode resonates with you, please subscribe, share your thoughts in the comments, and consider joining our email newsletter for more reflections and grace-ercises.
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Terry Nelson-Johnson (00:10):
Stories and Other Things Holy.
(00:13):
I am intrigued when my life aligns with the liturgical calendar. I don't want to be presumptuous and assume that all that are gathered here under the umbrella of Stories and Other Things Holy sort of function with a Christian imagination. But my hunch is that many of you are sympathetic to it. So this story occurred during Lent, and it captures for me an element of the mystery of Lent. So many of you who are gracious enough to be in conversation with Stories and Other Things Holy know that I had a very significant near-death experience a couple of years ago, and I did a fair amount of work both psychologically and with spiritual direction to just get not my arms around it, I can control it, but that I could come to terms with that reality. And it was a significant reality to come to terms with.
(01:10):
So I'm about six months after that event, and I'm about to go considering going to my first funeral. And I knew that going to a funeral for the first time in the wake of this experience was going... I thought it would be taxing. And I wasn't sure how my spirit and my person would respond to it. So I thought to myself, I don't want to get there real early in case it's just too much. I really wanted to go because the person being celebrated was the wife of someone who had contributed to helping us begin a retreat program at their parish very substantially. And I was deeply grateful and I thought, I want to be there. So I go get in there a little late sitting near the back and I thought, I'm doing okay. I don't think I want to stay till the end.
(02:00):
They do this beautiful thing in the nars, they gather everybody, it's so beautiful, and the incense, and I could just feel like that could be too much for me. So I think I'll probably leave a little early. And then it occurred to me that the person that I came to support had not seen me, which was fine, except I wanted them to know that I was there. That seemed important to me. So I was looking for the little registration book, couldn't find it. And then I see it sort of an odd place. It's a little bit, they have a circular church and the baptismal fund is in the middle, and the registration book was a little bit to the side of the baptismal fund. I'm like, huh, okay. I thought if I go to communion a little towards the end, I can just exit that way, stop at the registration book, register.
(02:46):
It's all good. So I do that, get to the registration book. Notice that there's no place for the address. But I'm like, I don't need a card. I just want him to know that I was here. So sign my name. We're all good. Then I start to leave a little early. Another person who was also affiliated with helping us start this retreat program caught me as I was leaving. They're like, Hey, I saw you going to communion. I'm like, it's like, and I noticed that you signed the Book of the Dead. I'm like, what? It's like, yeah, that's the book that the family signs acknowledging that they're releasing their family member into the arms of cup. I'm like, wait a minute. You're telling me that I pre-registered in the Book of the Dead? Is that, and then we were both the last place I would imagine laughing. And the last time I would imagine laughing, I come to a funeral, it's going to be way too much for me. And I preregister myself in the Book of the Dead. Are you kidding me?
(03:47):
And I laughed all the way, all the way home. And then what I would tell people, like of course, you pre of all people to preregister themselves for the Book of the Dead, you're, it told my siblings, I took care of it for you during the liturgy of my funeral. You won't have to go up there. But here's the thing. Isn't that what Lent asked us to do is to preregister ourselves in our own imagination, for our own mortality? Isn't that the spiritual exercise or one of the spiritual exercises of Lent, reengage with re dance, with wrestles, with this reality? And we begin lent with, remember, you are dust. And to dust, you shall return. And an old Catholic piety would have us wake up in the morning, and our first prayer every day would be, remember death followed by an ellipsis in our soul? And then remember life, and then get up and then move into the day. Remember death. And it's not a morbid, it's not a morbid prayer. It's a prayer of engagement, deep and profound engagement. And then all the scientists, folks who are telling us, maybe we should alter the Ash Wednesday thing, to remember that you came from Stardust and you are returning to stardust. We were made of everything and we're returning to everything. And so ultimately, lent is a bootcamp for hope. And so I invite us all to pre-register in the Book of the Dead, celebrate... celibratively. Bless us, Oh Lord, for these, thy gifts, which we are currently receiving, from thy bounty, through Christ, Our Lord, Amen.
(06:07):
Stories and Other Things Holy.
