Coaching The Bible

Episode 31 coincides with the conclusion of the Book of Leviticus! (That happened way too quickly!!) How much of what happens to us in life is a direct result of our actions? It's a heavy question, I know, and not one that is answerable in a single podcast. Allow me though to continue with the following: When the Bible describes incredible blessings and horrific curses in this week's reading do we...

We have reached episode 30!! Definitely worth a moment or two (or three) of gratitude and appreciation! Thanks for being with me each week along this journey. I know that it's not a given, so I appreciate it. Thank you! This week's topic is one I think many of try to avoid: being vulnerable and our capacity for vulnerability. We avoid it, I avoid it. I can admit that, which made preparing and pres...

So this week we went on location! Our episode was recorded live from the local baseball field, and incredibly that fit right into our topic for the week. This week: On Sanctity & Holiness How do you mesh work life and spiritual life? Where does sanctity and holiness fit into the work environment? Or perhaps it doesn't at all? If you are the leader, is there a way to balance those different asp...

Have you ever heard the quote: 'The only thing to be doing behind someone's back is patting it'? Well, that idea was shared with me years ago in one of the office environments in which I had worked. Unfortunately, the person who shared it, didn't live by it, but the idea stuck with me and very much rings true to me. What is it that we are or are not doing behind the backs of our teammates? Are we...

We ALL make mistakes. We do and it's ok. The question is what do we do when that happens? What's our approach post-error? Do we own it? admit it? blame others? How can we learn to lead through our mistakes? Well, Moses teaches us a powerful lesson in owning our mistakes and we will build on that idea with the help of some business leaders and well-known commentaries. This week's episode: 'On Ownin...

What can we learn about preparation from the Priest who 'took out the trash' each day in the Tabernacle? What can we learn about preparation from the Priests in the lead-up week to the inauguration of the Tabernacle in the desert? Why do we need to prepare at all? What's the benefit? How does it help? Let's learn! Episode 26 of Coaching With The Bible: On Preparation

Welcome to Episode 25 of Coaching With The Bible! Looking forward to Leviticus?  OF COURSE YOU ARE! WHO WOULDN'T BE?!? We begin our journey with this book discussing a bit about animal sacrifices, but don't worry, we don't get into the nitty-gritty of the offerings themselves as we focus on the person making the 'sacrifice.' So, let me ask a question to start us off: What are 'Intentional' ab...

As we did at the end of Genesis, I thought I'd share a short BONUS summary episode for Exodus as well entitled: 'Exodus: Upon Reflection II'  Exodus included 10 episodes, and twice we strayed beyond the weekly reading to be mindful of upcoming holidays. As I mentioned in our prior 'Upon Reflection' episode, reflecting gives us an opportunity to take a moment to appreciate, give gratitude, gro...

What do we mean when we say 'I don't have time'? What do we mean when we say 'Time is money'? What exactly are we 'managing' when we speak of 'time management'? Is that even possible? How often do we think about the time we have, the time we use and the time we waste? On this week's episode, we begin to explore the depths and reach of time, through a basic understanding of the 1st commandment hand...

How well do you handle a crisis ?  Are you calm, cool, and collected, or are you a mess? Are you a manager at that moment or a leader? How are we to deal with crises in our world? What do the actions and reactions of Moses, Aaron, and the people teach us about crisis moments and what can we incorporate from the experts on the subject? How can we (too!) not let a good crisis go to waste? This...

The Book of Esther teaches us many things and perhaps none as great as the lesson of finding your why and purpose in life. We'll take a look at a key moment in the story when Esther and Mordechai 'discuss' her going to the King to save her people and what that meant for her in the moment and in history.  How did that clarify Esther's 'why' and 'purpose' and how did Mordechai explain that to h...

In this week's episode of Coaching Through the Bible , we discuss the idea of creating 'sacred space' in our lives to maximize and optimize our productivity. Our discussion uses the biblical Tabernacle designed by God, constructed by Moses, and contributed to by the People of Israel. We will bring in ideas from ' Deep Work ' by Cal Newport, in particular the design of the Eudaimonia Machine , &nbs...

Empathy is one of the characteristics that we ALL need to work on. While some of us are more naturally empathic, others (including me) are not. So, what is empathy? How does it differ from sympathy? What are the limits of it and how do we grow it? Lastly, of course, how do we learn it from and see it in the bible? Enjoy!

In this week's episode, we dive into the super-interesting interaction between Jethro and Moses and we ask ourselves: have we ever been either of these two in a situation of giving or receiving advice? Jethro arrives, he watches, he listens and then he dispenses incredible insight as to running a better, more efficient and effective judicial system and...Moses listens!!! and completely!!! Amazing!...

The Nation Doth Complaineth Too Much! As the people of Israel leave Egypt and cross the sea, they become habitual complainers, or at least so it seems.  Why is that? And why do we complain so much? Is it ever constructive or valuable or even helpful? Can we change our habits? I hope so!

The 'hardening of Pharaoh's heart' perhaps is an idea about being stubborn...

Why do we set the bar so low on our expectations of ourselves? Why do we constantly make excuses for ourselves? Is that ever ok to do? What does Moses have to teach us about these two issues and why does he mention again the idea that he cannot speak? This week we go deep on expectations, excuses, impostors, and self-handicapping as we continue to Coach Through The Bible! Happy Learning!

Why are 'All Beginnings Difficult'? We know that statement to be true from our own experiences, but why is it so and is there anything we can do to reduce the difficulty and succeed sooner? Let's learn from Moses this week and his first meeting with Pharoah! Exciting stuff!

Summarizing all that we learned during our 12 weeks inside the Book of Genesis.  Reflecting gives us a moment to appreciate, give gratitude, grow, and learn again both from what did and did not do well the first time through the book. We covered key personalities and went 'deep' on the following topics: Accountability Growth vs Comfort Passion Leading Up Loyalty Grit Gratitude Self Confidence...

When Jacob comes to bless his children at the end of his life, he is quite tough on sons 1 through 3. In fact, it might be hard to even view what he tells them as blessings! In truth, we learn deep lessons about honesty, integrity and perhaps most importantly, growing from failure from what it is Jacob says to Levi and then how the descendants of Levi play that out over time. Learning to succeed f...

How do we learn to develop or even change our thinking on anything? How do we grow to evolve our perspective on life's events good or bad? Joseph gives us a window into perspective when he forgives (twice) his brothers and tallies it all up to God. Let's learn!

Let's learn about listening from Joseph in his first interaction with Pharoah. See how he displays incredible 'active listening' skills that get him to the place where he can provide the ultimate piece of interpretation and advice!

We don't typically think of the 12 Tribes in terms of being a 'team', yet so much of the literature and research on team-building and its opposite (dysfunction) can be extracted from their story, and in particular the beginnings of the story of selling Joseph down to Egypt. 

What is happening to Jacob when he is alone in the night? Who is the person he wrestles with? How is he different than he was before the fight happens?  This week, we explore the ideas surrounding confidence and the role it plays in Jacob's life and in ours. Enjoy!

How do we learn about gratitude? Who do we learn about it from and what does it tell us? What can we do in our own lives to increase our gratitude and appreciation for all things good?   Take a listen to a Harvard professor, a matriarch  and a 2nd grade student...