You Were Made for This

Today's episode is about being thankful we can be the person God created us to be, in whatever form that may take. It's the third in our Thankfulness series, leading up to Thanksgiving Day next week here in the US. Our Canadian friends beat us to the punch with their own Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. We started our series with episode 129, Thankful We Don't Always Have to be Right...

A few weeks ago Episode 125, dropped, How to Relate When They Come Home From College . It evoked interesting responses from two listeners. If you missed that episode, I'll have a link to it at the bottom of the show notes. Both responses reminded me of something we can be thankful for as we close in on Thanksgiving Day here in the US. Namely, we can be thankful we have the privilege of creating me...

Be thankful we don't always have to be right, for it will free us from having to defend ourselves, which allows us to relate better with people. It's the topic we consider in today's episode. We can now put Halloween and all its creepiness in our rear-view mirror and head toward Thanksgiving Day here in the US, a much more meaningful holiday. We'll come upon it in just four weeks, the 4th Thursday...

Do you need more joy in your life? Have you ever felt that you're going through the motions during your day, and while nothing particularly awful is happening, not much good is going on either? I went through a stretch like this recently. During days like this, I realize I could use a little more joy in my life. It surprised me a few weeks ago when I found some of the joy I was lacking. Of all the...

Hello everyone! I'm so glad you've joined us today for episode 127, "Don't Let Fear Drive Us Apart." Center Stage in Paris A missionary friend serving in Paris wrote the following in a recent newsletter I received. It's about the proof of vaccination that's now being required there. "...uncertainty continues to be the order of the day. The Passe Sanitaire , literally, "Sanitary Pass" continues to...

I didn't see this coming, but episode 121 that aired five weeks ago, "The Relational Energy of Fall," had the most listener response of any podcast episode this year, and I think for any of the past episodes since the podcast began in late November of 2018. Keep listening to hear what listeners responded to because I think you'll be encouraged as you hear how sometimes God uses strangers to care f...

A podcast listener recently contacted me for some relationship advice. She asked, "Our son, who just started his freshman year of college, is coming home for the weekend, and I wonder if you have any suggestions for how my husband and I should relate to him?" I do. It's to apply the ORA principle. O bserve. R emember. A ct I know some of the rest of you are facing this same issue now, or have alre...

Hello everyone! I'm so glad you've joined us today for episode 124, "Resting In Our Identity Frees Us to Love Well" Background to today's program Last week's episode, no. 123, was all about asking two questions to deepen our relationships, namely, what are you looking forward to? and what are you dreading, or not looking forward to? Someone had recently asked me these two questions and I wanted to...

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 123, "Ask Thoughtful Questions and See What Happens" In last week's episode, no. 122, "The Questions We Ask … and Fail to Ask," I suggested that to deepen our relationships with people try asking the two questions asked of me recently. Namely, what are you looking forward to? And, what are you dreading? Since I suggested that you give this a try, I thought I s...

Hello everyone! I'm so glad you've joined us today for episode 122, "The Questions We Ask …. and Fail to Ask." We've talked about asking questions before in this podcast and the role they play in deepening our relationships. Episodes 96 and 97, for example, come to mind. I'll have links to them at the end of the show notes. I was recently reminded of the power of questions at a family camp that Ja...

Hello everyone. I'm so glad you've joined us today for the start of Season Six. We begin with Episode no. 121, "Experience the Relational Energy of Fall." I don't know about you, but I find renewed motivation right after Labor Day in the US when school buses take to the road again. Cooler days with earlier sunsets reinvigorates my energy level to notice all the goodness life has to offer, especial...

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 120, "The Best Relationship Advice From This Summer." Did summer go by too quickly for you? It did for me. "Summer deserves a speeding ticket," as someone once said. Another author commented, "A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer's wave goodbye." Before we wave goodbye to summer, and to season 5 of this podcast, I want to share the best relationship adv...

An important quality to look for in a friend is reflective thoughtfulness. It will help us become more reflective and thoughtful ourselves. It's the topic for today's episode, "An Important Quality to Look for In a Friend." Before we get into today's program I want you to know this is the second last episode of season 5 of You Were Made for This . Next week, September 1, concludes season 5 with ep...

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 118, Relationship Lessons from 3 Unlikely Places. If we pay attention, it's interesting how we can pick up little nuggets of relationship lessons from unusual places. In today's episode, I describe three of these unlikely sources of interpersonal relationship lessons. One is from a CNN interview, another from a Saturday morning men's coffee get-together, and t...

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 117, What to Do When People Criticize Us. Unless you've been raised by wolves and live in a remote forest out in the wild, it's impossible to go through life without being criticized at one time or another, for one thing or another. How to respond to criticism is a relationship challenge. Do we go on the defensive and confront our critics? Or do we cower, and...

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 116, "Finding Joy from a Thank You note." Most days of the week I take a 30-minute walk early in the morning around our neighborhood. On one recent morning, I was feeling especially down for no apparent reason. I get that way sometimes, and taking a brisk walk seems to help. At the end of my morning walk, I go to our mailbox to get our newspaper delivered to t...

One way we can foster deep and fulfilling relationships is by becoming more self-aware. It helps keep our relationships from slowly drifting to the shallow end of the pool, where they're just not as much fun as they are in the deep end. The problem is many of us are not nearly as self-aware as we think we are. How to become so is a challenge, which is the topic of today's episode. So keep listenin...

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 114, "Learn how to Age Well in 2021." Before we get started Several weeks ago a family friend stopped over to our house, and on her way out the door, she said, "Oh, by the way, I listened to your podcast this morning [ episode 109, Rekindle Relationships by Remembering ]. It made me feel guilty about a friend of mine who lost her husband a year ago. So I calle...

Our choices define us, not our personality. We are what we choose to make happen, and how we choose to respond to whatever may happen to us. Hello everyone and welcome to episode 113. If you've listened to this program for any length of time you know I say at the end of each episode that I would appreciate hearing back from listeners with any reaction they have to that week's episode. Up until jus...

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 112, Three Ways to Listen Well in 2021. When I give workshops on how to listen well I like to give examples of both good and bad listening. I usually use samples of both from Facebook posts or catchy cartoons. But these are just visual. What I really would like to use for examples would be video clips from both ends of the listening spectrum. Sometimes movie e...

Often when we're tired and burdened, Jesus shows up in unusual ways, inviting us to find rest in him in the midst of difficult circumstances. Keep reading to learn How to Find Rest in Difficult Circumstances. Have you ever found yourself so weary and tired because of a relationship issue, where there didn't seem to be any attractive options to deal with that issue? I bet you have. Today's episode...

Relationships we pursue, that we choose, can be fulfilling because they meet a need we have. We have a measure of control in these relationships. They are the low-hanging fruit of the relational world. But relationships we didn't choose can be just as fulfilling and life-giving. Keep listening to hear how.  Breakfast with our grandsons The other day Janet and I took our twin grandsons out for brea...

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 109, Rekindle Relationships by Remembering. Because of the global pandemic, it had been about 15 months since my wife Janet and I last saw our friend in person. I'll call her "Katherine," a name I'm making up because she is a very private person and dislikes any attention drawn to her. She'll probably cringe when she hears this episode. But as we near the tail...

The most rewarding relationships are often found within our own families. But they can also be the most challenging, as well. Fortunately, people of faith can draw comfort from Jesus knowing that he understands what it's like to grow up in a family that has difficulties when it comes to relationships. Because he grew up in such a family himself. A family that rejected him. Listen in to learn how k...

"Seeing is believing" isn't always true. We believe what we want to believe, even when what we see and experience contradicts our beliefs. Learn how to get past this in today's episode, number. 107 You've probably heard this one before, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown." Today we'll take a look at the origin of this centuries-old saying, and how it relates to another old...