We are back at it again, talking about how our personal upbringing has shaped our perspective of mental health. It definitely gets a little personal! We also talk briefly about how we try to parent our children and establish a legacy that promotes positive mental health for their future.

The AOLP crew chop it up about being sleepy, worshipping TV, & hunger before jumping into the real topic of the night -> Mental Health: How to stay mentally healthy, what to do if we become mentally unhealthy, and how does our mental health affect our spiritual health? As with all of our discussions, we aren't experts and don't agree with each other on every point, but we all agree that if you are depressed and/or suicidal, please know that God loves you & there are people who care about you. If you are hurting & need to talk with someone, go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org or call 1-800-273-8255

The crew discuss the reality of how race and class directly affect incarceration rates through injust laws that perpetuate a cycle of arrests that target poor and minority groups, increasing fatherlessness. We chat about how the Gospel shapes our response & practical ways we can press into this issue.

The All of Life crew chat about Harriet the movie, being creative, and being openly passionate in a church service. We also wrestle with the value and use of the phrase "Toxic Masculinity" and whether it is redemptive or has usefulness from a gospel perspective. We discuss where it fits in the redemptive narrative and how we use vs how we've heard others use the phrase.

Often, the Church has programs and groups that split men and women up and if we're honest, a lot of the reasoning is centered around the possibility of sex being brought up as a topic. The All of Life Crew discuss the merits of this for the Church and whether it is truly beneficial, whether we think there is a place for it, and if the Bible supports these separations.

Melissa is back! After catching up real quick, the conversation gets going and it gets heated. We started out asking why Christians don't talk more openly about sex, but quickly pivoted to whether the sex life (among many other things) of a Christian, can and should make non-Christians jealous and entice them to Christ and salvation or not. How does a conversation about sex fit into the "all of life" paradigm?

Melissa is taking some time off and the rest of the crew missed her a lot! Tanisha, Noah, and Anthony talk about Sonoran hot dogs and how we're like the Ninja Turtles. Once we settled down, we spoke about how people in the Church have developed a habit of cutting "toxic" people out of their lives and whether that honors Jesus or whether that concept is rooted in something else. When is it a good time to walk away from a relationship? When should we press in?

***TRIGGER WARNING***

We do discuss how physical and sexual abuse fits into this question, but want to clarify over and over again, if you are in any way, shape, or form experiencing physical and/or sexual abuse, please do all you can to get out of that situation

The crew discuss how the Church can be a good place for abusive people to find harbor, but also how a lack of transparent community and accountability causes people to hide sin and hurt people. We even hit on how many churches will elevate people based on their resume or skillset, but aren't truly known by the people, and how that can and has resulted in hurt.

The ALL OF LIFE crew discuss ways the tension in relationships between men and women, married and unmarried. We also have a producer officially joining the crew, J-Fresh (Joel).

Anthony, Noah, Melissa, and Tanisha discuss how we've seen the Church in America get it right and where we've seen turmoil and concerns, but in our own lives and throughout history.