Lessons from Living

What does the most fulfilling retirement look like?  Our guest Chris Marquardt offers an excellent picture of that: he has made an intentional geographical move with his wife of 36 years to a corner of the world that gives him peace and happiness.  He has learned a new skill, bee-keeping, that has helped him through his own PTSD, having served in the military for 24 years.  And he h...

What's it like to walk with someone who is dying?  And what lessons can we learn from this experience of witnessing someone passing from this world into the next?  Enjoy an interview with an extraordinary doctor, Reggie Anderson, as he shares these truths with us.  We talk about how a horrific event in his young life separated him from God, despite having grown up in a faith-filled home.  He share...

When Jessica Spencer, her husband, and birth son decided to dip their toes into the waters of fostering children, they had no way to know that within days their little family would morph from 3 to 7!  This is Jessica's story of the often meandering process fostering can take to grow a family.  She touches on the training and evaluation required, getting that fateful call, and how parental rights c...

If you have ever wondered whether your spouse has been unfaithful, or even had that fear confirmed, this episode about surviving infidelity is for you.  Our guest, Kate Conwell, shares her journey from discovering her husband's infidelity to moving beyond this trauma to an even stronger marriage.  Today, Kate and her husband model this kind of healthy, growth-focused behavior resulting in a renewe...

Self-described "nobody," Barbara Demorest, describes how a personal encounter with cancer inspired her to find a solution for a common problem facing breast cancer victims.  She said "Yes," when many others may have taken a pass.  We talk about walking through open doors, not stressing when a door closes, the hazards of putting limits upon ourselves, how impostor syndrome impacts our ability to st...

David Zach is the lead singer and songwriter of Remedy Drive, a rock band.  He also is an undercover operative for an anti-sex trafficking organization, the Exodus Road.  David talks about how this association came to be, how his past prepared him for this work, and the impact  working undercover has on his family.  David shares his creative process.  We talk about the way sex trafficking is portr...

What does one do when faced with the worst kind of choices?  Alvaro Rivas literally found himself with a gun to his head, when the Nicaraguan government claimed he was a spy because of his work with American ministries.  He knew that he risked imprisonment or death if he remained in his native country; the only option was to flee to freedom.  The problem?  His wife and children could not join him...

Beth considers this time of refresh and renewal, and the ways we might evaluate where we stand at the cusp of this new year.  She also discusses plans for the podcast in the new year, and how YOU can be a part! Notes: Ten Questions to Diagnose Spiritual Health , Donald Whitney

Following a devastating breast cancer diagnosis, Lindsay McDonnell did all of the right things, including challenging accepted traditional medical protocols and procedures.  Yet, it returned not once, but three times.  Today, Lindsay lives with a body full of cancer, but is stable, and has developed a new mission: coaching others who are now enduring what she has overcome before.  She is brave bey...

Erwin Raphael McManus offers a thought-provoking, motivating treatise in The Last Arrow, published in 2017.  In this episode, Beth discusses some of McManus' themes, such as what is represented by arrows, why we tend to hold back from pursuing our most important goals, how God uses ordinary people to accomplish his purposes, the importance of community, how to take action, how to guard against the...

Dennis Mellen knew from the age of ten that he wanted to be a pilot, and set the entire trajectory of his life toward that goal.  At fifty-six, he had enjoyed his dream career for more than 30 years when tragedy struck, and his well-planned life was upended.  How does one move forward when the unexpected, unwanted wrench is thrown into the course of our lives?  Dennis models well how to navigate t...

Elijah Stacy has arguably accomplished more in his twenty years than most people do in a lifetime.  His mission, to minimize human suffering and propel human prosperity so that humanity can have a better quality of life, directs all of his actions.  What motivates a young adult to develop a super-sized mission which focuses on others and not themselves?  Perhaps the fact that he was diagnosed with...

If you are feeling kind of ho-hum about your life right now, this episode is for you!  Shawn Anderson shows us how to add adventure into our lives, and he would know: he has walked across eight countries and biked across America coast to coast twice!  We'll learn how to stare fear in the face, and walk through life with intention.  Hesitating to take action on a project or plan?  We'll learn to ge...

Perhaps you know a senior who is lacking purpose, or not feeling fulfilled.  Perhaps you ARE that senior!  It’s time to find another way of living, and author Sharon Rolphe is here to share her secrets.  Sharon is a stunning 74-year-old, but her wisdom transfers across generations, so this episode applies to the younger crew, too.  We talk about having a possibility mindset, being open to God’s wo...

Do you experience any conflict in your relationships?  Are all of your conversations peaceful and productive?  Did you think that strife and struggle was just a part of any human relationship?  Well, maybe not!  Doug Noll, author of DeEscalate: How to Calm an Angry Person in 90 Seconds or Less , is here to teach us his methods.  You'll hear how Doug's protocol has been successfully used in prisons...

Heather Hutchison has lived her entire life with a disability, as well as anxiety, depression and suicidal inclinations.  After a close call which nearly cost Heather her life, she received the help she desperately needed, and did the hard work to reach a place of healing.  Today, she has a new mission reaching out to others about victorious living, even with health challenges, and advocating for...

Why is it important to figure out your purpose, and pursue it with intentionality?  Terry Tucker, who has been living with a rare form of cancer for ten years, and enduring all that is required to stay alive, knows quite a bit about the power of purpose.  We talk about how you find your purpose, stepping outside your comfort zone, why some people blame God (or anyone but themselves), how to avoid...

Life coach Robyn Moore describes the process of taking captive your thoughts, and therefore taking back your life from forces that seek to control you.  This is scriptural, described in 2 Corinthians 10:5 as "taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."  Robyn tells her personal story of how her life was transformed, once becoming familiar with this process.  Now, she seeks to shar...

Ken Wimberly has earned much wisdom over the years, finding success in both business and family life.  He shares tidbits about relationship-building, connecting others, finding purpose, manifesting a goal, daily rhythms, being people of action, living with intention, managing time, being selective about a news source, impacting a community through business, why one should live frugally, and his la...

As a young nurse practitioner, balancing family and career life, Lauren Duroy found herself with a whole lot of stress and feelings of overwhelm, and few solutions.  She decided to change that, and now shares her time hacks, memory methods and foundation of faith on her own podcast.  In this episode, Lauren shares some of these tips, as well as discussing how to be bold in your faith, recognizing...

Cathy Nesbitt is here to share about vermiculture composting: her vision of ridding our earth of garbage, in exchange for rich humus we can use in our gardening.  What might surprise you is that Cathy has much wisdom about all areas of life, from discerning divine thoughts to why people hold themselves back from pursuing their dreams.  She's also a laughter yoga expert: who knew?? A super fun conv...

Author Emily Thiroux Threatt intimately knows the subject she shares, having lost two husbands, and many other family members besides.  But you don't have to have suffered a loss by death to have suffered loss, as Emily explains:  we have all experienced loss in our lives, and can learn how to walk the experience in as positive a way as possible.  In addition to grief, we talk about gratitude, liv...

Author Marni Foderaro discusses how God intervenes in one's life--as a woman who was raised as an atheist, but came to belief in God as a young  child, from simply witnessing God's hand in her own life.  Today, she believes there are no coincidences, but only expressions of God's faithfulness in our lives.  We discuss dealing with adversity, why it's important to tell our stories, why everyone has...

Having experienced significant trauma as a young person, Mr. Jay The Relationship Coach knows how to deal with adversity and triumph.  He also recognizes the dangers a damaged psyche can pose in any relationship, and how a relationship can grow and be successful, despite these challenges. As a Certified Betrayal Trauma Coach, Mr. Jay knows how to navigate the challenging waters of relational betra...

As a professor of mathematics, Katie Nall recognized that some of her students were incapable of being successful, simply because of the anxiety they associated with the subject.  This began a journey that found Katie exploring and investigating different methods of reducing anxiety, one of which finally did the trick!  Follow along, as Katie outlines this journey, and then teaches Beth how to per...