The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast (That Sounds Fun Network)

Episode: 1KHO 649 – When Lost Dreams Become Sacred Paths | Mikella Van Dyke, Chasing Sacred

Date: December 14, 2025
Host: Jenny Erich
Guest: Mikella Van Dyke (Author, "Chasing Sacred"; Founder, ChasingSacred.com)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Jenny Erich sits down with Mikella Van Dyke, author of "Chasing Sacred," to discuss how lost dreams can become sacred paths. They explore Mikella's unique childhood as a missionary kid in Thailand, the personal upheavals of changing continents and careers, and how outside play and spiritual practices intertwine to shape identity and family life. Core to their conversation is the Inductive Bible Study method and how mothers (and anyone, really) can find comfort, hope, and wisdom through Scripture—even when dreams are redirected or lost.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Mikella’s Origin Story: Childhood as a Missionary Kid

• Grew up on the Thai/Myanmar border: Parents were Bible translators; lived in a refugee camp and later Chiang Mai.

  “It shapes a lot of the book where I talk about the importance of God’s Word… I saw my parents sacrifice over and over and over again to get God’s word into a different language.” (B, 01:48)

• Third Culture Kid experience: Felt isolated after moving back to the U.S. in ninth grade—not fully fitting into either culture.

  “You don’t fit into Thailand, but then you also don’t fit into the US… it's really came with quite the identity kind of crisis that I still am unpacking to this day.” (B, 04:25)

2. Identity, Isolation, and Pursuing New Paths

• Cultural Whiplash in U.S. High School: Overwhelmed by American pop culture and affluence:

  “I actually spent my first day in the high school in the bathroom crying with my lunch…I felt like I was so not understanding the culture.” (B, 05:36)

• Parents’ Retrospective Regrets: Realized frequent moves were destabilizing for their children’s identities.

  “Looking back, they actually have a lot of regrets…they talk a lot about how they wouldn’t have moved us as much.” (B, 07:05)

3. Dreams Deferred: From Dance to Motherhood to Ministry

• Sacrificing her dream of professional dance after unplanned pregnancy; transition prompted identity crisis.
• Finding comfort in scripture & launching Chasing Sacred:

  “I started digging into the Word during actually those seasons of, like, downtime…and I found so, so much comfort in the pages of Scripture...I ended up growing this online ministry called Chasing Sacred.” (B, 09:09)

• Inductive Bible Study Method: Despite lifelong exposure to the Bible, methodical study revealed new depths.

  “Growing up all my life so familiar with scriptures… it was actually new to me, the inductive Bible study method. And because it blew my mind so much, and I was so incredibly moved… I ended up just teaching as many women as I could.” (B, 09:09)

4. Honesty, Resentment, and God’s Grace

• Permission to grieve lost dreams:

  “I was angry at God. And I think what happened is that I had to be really honest with God…honesty with God is where intimacy grows.” (B, 12:37)

• Embracing New Callings: Letting go opened doors to deeper meaning in motherhood and a new ministry;

  “He birthed a new dream and a new desire…in motherhood, I found so much joy and such a calling.” (B, 12:37)

• God’s Surprising Paths:

  “God can do more with my surrender than I could ever do with my control…Expectations are premeditated disappointments.” (B, 15:28)

5. A Life Rooted in Family, Nature, and Communal Living

• Family commune in New Hampshire: Daily outdoor play, dirt biking, fishing, shared freedoms and connection.

  “My kids dirt bike to their cousins every single day…we live on a pond…” (B, 14:16)

6. International Family Mission: Little Lambs International

• Family commitment to orphanage in Guatemala—each year, the family works and serves together.

  “It is one of the most growing up experiences I think for them that they have every year because they go and they work really, really hard and they're just immersed in this other culture.” (B, 25:25)

• Non-adoptive model focused on “raising change-makers” in Guatemala.

  “What [the founder] wants it to be is almost like this…raise leaders for the country of Guatemala.” (B, 29:29)

7. The Inductive Bible Study Method (Key Segment: 34:45–38:36)

• Three step process: Observation, Interpretation, Application
  • Ask: Who wrote this? Who was it for? What is the context?
  • Observation: Read widely for context, mark up repeated words/themes.
  • Interpretation: What does it mean, especially for original hearers/readers?
  • Application: What does this mean for me? What does it show about God’s character?

  “What I love about [Inductive Bible Study] is it's a question asking method…approaching Bible study in a way that you're asking like, who wrote the book, who was it written to, why was it written? And it helps us to uncover the context.” (B, 34:45) “Never read a Bible verse…just read the surrounding context.” (A, 36:02 quoting Greg Koukl)

8. Reading for Heart as Well as Head: Application and Anchoring

• The Bible as an anchor during chaos:

  “We can have an anchor in the Bible. The Bible is a lifeline to those experiencing the chaos of this world. It can give us firm footing, no matter what we're facing.” (A, 47:39)

• Practical advice for busy mothers: Quick daily readings, breath prayers, and forming consistent small habits.

9. On False Teaching and Cultural Context

• Importance of context: False teachings often arise from removing passages from original context.

  “When I look at false teaching so many times it's just passages taken out of context…look at the exact passage they’re quoting and then look at the context of it.” (B, 51:44)

10. Notable Memorable Stories

• Performing for the Princess of Thailand:

  “We had to, like, crawl on our hands and knees to her because there's just so many different things, culturally in Thailand that you're supposed to do. So…we weren't allowed to look up, and then we like, crawled back…” (B, 23:34)

• Hiking in the Himalayas: A favorite outside childhood memory.

  “We hiked for seven days as a family, and it is some of my best childhood memories. I still look back, and I remember the entire trip because it was so fun.” (B, 53:32)

• Geckos, frogs, and mud pies: Universality of childhood play.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On surrender and expectation

  “God can do more with my surrender than I could ever do with my control.” (B, 15:28)

• On disappointment and God’s plans:

  “Those are the things that you can't ever imagine are coming down the road when your dream dies and you're really resentful…And I think very naturally so, because you've poured your whole childhood and this is your love, this is your first love. Is dance.” (A, 16:03)

• On honesty with God:

  “Honesty with God is really where intimacy grows.” (B, 12:37)

• On the application of Scripture:

  “The Bible is meant to be applied…It needs to be both [head knowledge and heart knowledge]. When it transforms our hearts, our lives will change.” (B, 44:23) “I always say grace is my first initial way to respond…because sometimes people are just misinterpreting a passage and they don't know. They're not trying to mislead people.” (B, 48:07)

• On encouraging families to travel and serve together:

  “It's such a bonding experience. You leave like in such a way that you're so bonded as a family…we try to build that family structure of, like, this is who we are as Van Dykes and this is what we're passionate about, you know?” (B, 28:43)

Important Timestamps

• Mikella’s Missionary Kid Childhood: 01:48–07:57
• Losing and Grieving Dreams: 09:09–13:52
• Family Compound/Nature Life: 13:56–16:27
• Little Lambs International (orphanage in Guatemala): 25:04–29:29
• Importance of Daily Spiritual Habits: 32:13–34:45
• Inductive Bible Study Method (explained): 34:45–38:36
• Applying Historical Context (Rahab discussion): 39:17–51:32
• Addressing False Teaching: 51:44–52:30
• Favorite Childhood Outdoor Memory (Hiking): 53:32–54:27

Final Thoughts & Takeaways

• Lost dreams, when surrendered, can open sacred, unexpected new paths.
• The Inductive Bible Study method offers an accessible, context-rich framework for deepening faith and building daily spiritual habits—even in busy seasons.
• Outdoor play, rich experiences, and cross-cultural service are formative for children’s development and family unity.
• God works through our honesty and struggles, not in their absence—and sometimes those hardest transitions are the beginnings of our most meaningful impact.

Find Mikella and More Resources

• Book: "Chasing Sacred: Learn how to study scripture to pursue God and find hope in him"
• Website: ChasingSacred.com
• Little Lambs International (Guatemala Orphanage): Little Lambs

For listeners seeking hope, practical guidance in Bible study, or ideas for building a more connected, purposeful family life (indoors or out), this episode is insightful, encouraging, and heartfelt.