Curious Living

This is an uncomfortable topic - especially for clergy and others who serve the church. We understand anger toward the church. We get it. But how do we help those who are angry at the church and angry at those within the church keep their faith strong? It's hard ... especially in today's divisive world. Our guests today have some amazing insights to share and they do a great job exploring this curious question! 

Guest Info

Pastors Wes and Toni Ruth Smith are the lead pastors of Williamson's Chapel United Methodist Church in Mooresville, North Carolina. They have been serving the church for over 20 years and bring with them incredible wisdom and love for God and for the church. Their daughter attends Appalachian State University and their son is a junior in high school.

Links from this episode:

Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown

** This episode addresses more adult concepts and may not be suitable for a younger audience. Addiction is more prevalent in our society than we may realize. And, addiction is not limited to certain demographics - it touches them all. When we are in a relationship (any type of relationship) with someone who is struggling with addiction we may wonder if we will perpetually be the person picking our loved one up, getting them out of trouble, or being devasted by their actions. We wonder, "Will they ever heal and recover from this?" Our guest on this episode is a recovering addict and shares his experience with us. It's powerful. He donates his time and energy helping other men who struggle with addiction. This episode is full of hope if you find yourself in a relationship with an addict. Guest Info:

Logan is a born & raised Alaskan, married to his gorgeous bride Carrie, who herself is a 4th-generation Alaskan; and together they are raising 4 amazing but crazy little monkeys. Their life is a simple one - they love their family time, their dogs, and exploring the beautiful Alaskan wilderness. And yet, absolutely none of this should be possible today. For years, Logan did just about everything in his power to destroy his marriage and his life. Logan was a raging sex addict. Porn, affairs, hiring prostitutes, and more had simply become a way of life for Logan. He thought he had no hope. In 2016, God began to change all that. Through Recovery, God transformed Logan’s life and his marriage. Logan and his wife Carrie each now lead Recovery groups, doing what they can to give back by sharing the gifts that God has given.

Logan's Website

Logan's Instagram

 

Many parents have pondered this question. And, especially in today's financial climate, full-time working parents is becoming more of the norm. Yet there are increasing demands for our kids - the sports they participate in and the other extracurricular activities. Not to mention trying to help our children develop a deep faith and grow within a faith community. How does a working parent manage all of this? Anna has a lot of wisdom to share with us on this subject. 

Guest info:

Anna McLaughlin is a homeschooling mother of four, life coach, podcaster and investor. Over a decade ago, Anna left her demanding career as a corporate lawyer to be more present with her family. She became a reluctant entrepreneur a year later as she realized the kingdom impact of building something to serve others while helping her family financially. Combining her strategic bent as a former lawyer with her insights as a coach as well as her Holy-Spirit-led intuition, Anna encourages women of faith to uncover and own their unique God-given identity in all areas of their lives, so that they might serve with purpose and passion both at home and beyond. You can find her at sheconsidersafield.com or on her podcast, She Considers a Field.       Overwhelmed to Overcomer guide: https://sheconsidersafield.com/overwhelmed-to-overcomer-optin-via-flodesk/   The John Mark Comer book she mentioned:  https://amzn.to/3UIlORY

No one likes to be uncomfortable (if you do, I'd love to interview you for my next episode!). Many of us may even go to great lengths to avoid discomfort. But what if discomfort is how we grow, how we transform? What if we are missing out on great things when we avoid the hard things?

Guest Info

Erik Allen, raised in a broken home, battled addictions, jailed at 18, and became bankrupt at 21 only to turn everything around. Gave his life to Jesus at 24 and is now 19+ years sober, has a beautiful wife, and two kids, and is breaking the chains of divorce, abuse, addiction, and rejection. He is the host of The Erik Allen Show, and John Maxwell Certified Coach, helping men of faith feel confident in sharing their redemption stories & realizing our past and other people’s opinions of us don’t define our future.

http://erikallenmedia.com/ 

Our world has so many great tools and resources for those who are married. In many ways, our culture is geared toward married couples much more than toward single adults. And, in today's digital age, the dating scene has become one of skepticism, unrealistic expectations, and disappointment . . . especially for Christian singles seeking likeminded partners. Our guest on today's show encountered this while she was single and felt God's call to do something about it. This episode is eye opening and provides a great deal of hope for Christian singles seeking their life-long mate.

Guest Info

Michelle Apples is the visionary founder of The Christian Singles Hub, a pioneering platform uniting Christian singles globally. Born from her passion for fostering meaningful connections within the Christian community, the Hub provides resources, events, and networking opportunities tailored to singles' unique needs. Michelle's leadership and commitment to empowering singles reflect her belief in the transformative power of faith and community, making her a respected mentor and advocate in the Christian dating sphere. Her beautiful journey of overcoming trauma, obstacles, and limitations to pioneer new endeavours and develop leaders is an inspiration to women and aspiring dreamers everywhere.   Also here is the link to my website: https://thechristiansingleshub.com/

How does God interact with us? How would God like us to see and perceive Him? What type of relationship would God want to have with us? How do WE want/need to connect with God? Great questions that many followers of Jesus ask as they work toward deepening their faith. At times, we struggle to answer this question because we were brought up believing that God is beyond us and out of reach so having a "relationship" with God sounds strange. Others of us are simply trying to determine God's will in our lives and how that ties into how we are choosing to lean in and deepen our relationship with God. Either way, it's a great question that is explored in this episode with someone who has explored that question for himself and leaned into it so deeply that he has committed his life to helping others answer this question for themselves.

Guest Info

Shawn Paul has been a devoted believer in Christ Jesus for over 30 years. He is known as an encourager of people and his passion lies in inspiring individuals to run their race in Jesus. He is the founder of LifeisJesusChrist.com, a website where he encourages people through podcasts, videos, and blog posts.

He offers a diverse range of experiences to share, from being a Christian business owner to serving as a full-time missionary in the mission field. Today, he impacts people’s lives around the world.

 

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Sometimes we don't realize how often, and in how many ways, God speaks to us. God speaks, but are we listening? What is God saying to us today? And, in what creative way is God communicating with us today?

Guest Info

Morgan McCarver was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Her work is inspired by her past and present female mentors and her connection to Victorian corsetry through her scoliosis journey. She received an art degree with a ceramics concentration and a double minor in art history and business in 2019 from Anderson University in Anderson, SC. McCarver was honored to receive the 2019 Outstanding Art Major Ceramics Award her senior year. As a 2020 701 Center for Contemporary Art prize finalist, she had the honor of being the youngest artist to ever make it that far. She is a multi-award-winning artist who recently received an Artist Support Grant to attend a national ceramics conference. She has had the honor of displaying her work in 3 solo exhibitions, “FemininiTEA” 2020, “The Strength of a Wildflower” 2022 and “Postures in Porcelain” 2023. She recently completed a residency at Edgewood Cottage in Blowing Rock Summer 2023 and participated 2022 as well. Her first book, “God the Artist: Revealing God’s Creative Side Through Pottery,” released with Morgan James Publishing January 9, 2024. 

She has had the honor of guest speaking on over 30 podcasts as well. McCarver has studios in Asheville, NC and Spartanburg, SC. Her art can be found in various galleries around the Carolinas and Tennessee. 

https://www.morganmccarver.com/

Those of us who want to make a difference in the world sometimes feel as though we don't have the power to do so. Could it be as simple as loving others? Our guest on this episode shares intriguing insight into how love really can change the world.

Guest Info

Paul Zolman is the author of "Role of Love." In His wisdom, He placed us in a variety of circumstances that require us to find our way back to His pure love. So, what qualifies Paul Zolman to speak about love? His childhood experience of the opposite of love. From that austere beginning, and the distaste it formed inside him, he searched for and eventually created a method that transformed his life from anger to loving everyone. Growing up in a family of abuse, physical touch became his preferred love style, only because of the regularity. He could almost count on it. It was consistent. He came to think that was the way to express love. But deep inside, he knew that was a twisted belief. He wanted a better life for himself, which is why he created a paradigm shift that works. In this book, you’ll find what helped Paul Zolman move from a childhood boot camp of abuse to being a person who loves everyone and can find good about anyone in any circumstance. This is truly the role of love.

https://roleoflove.com/

Artificial Intelligence has developed at accelerated levels over the past few years. Since the introduction of Chat GBT, it has now become an everyday tool for all of us. We are either excited about the possibilities or frightened of them (or somewhere in between). Our guest on this episode is a best-selling author who has written about AI in his novels. Through his extensive research (and his military background) he has so much to share about our curious question. 

Guest Info

International bestselling author Jeffrey Wilson has at one time worked as an actor, a firefighter, a paramedic, a jet pilot, a diving instructor, a Naval Officer, and a Vascular and Trauma Surgeon. He is a U.S. Navy veteran who served more than fourteen years, with multiple deployments as a combat surgeon with Naval Special Warfare (SEALs) and a Joint Special Operations Task Force. He has served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and many other places.

 With fellow veteran Brian Andrews, they write, as Andrews and Wilson, multiple #1 bestselling thriller series including the TIER ONE series, the SONS OF VALOR series, the faith-based thriller series THE SHEPHERDS which has been optioned by Sony Affirm for Television, WEB Griffin’s Presidential Agent Series, and now Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Sr. Series for Penguin beginning with ACT OF DEFIANCE coming May 2024 on the 40th anniversary of THE HUNT FOR THE RED OCTOBER. Other works include the speculative thrillers THE SANDBOX and the upcoming FOUR MINUTES.

 Andrews and Wilson have now taken their storytelling to Hollywood, with more than a dozen of their stories optioned and in development for both television and Feature Film with major studios including Sony, MakeReady/Endeavor, Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Skydance, PictureStart, Walden, and the Cross Brothers who are adapting their wildly popular TIER ONE Series of books as a streaming television series. All of their media projects have Andrews and Wilson attached as producers and they are screenwriters for several as well.

 Jeff and his wife, Wendy are Virginia natives who, with their four children Ashley, Emma, Jack, and Connor, now call Tampa, Florida home. He is a passionate supporter of his fellow veterans and in particular the SEAL Legacy Foundation, Folds of Honor, and All Secure Foundation. He leads a Men’s Military ministry for a large church in Tampa, Florida.

 www.andrews-wilson.com

 

Many of us have either read the book and/or watched the movie at Christmastime. But have we truly listened and watched for how Dickens weaves Christianinty into the story of "A Christmas Carol?" If you, like me, have not paid that close of attention, this episode is for you! 

Guest Info

Reverend Cheryl Kincaid is a Presbyterian Minister who studied Marriage and Family Therapy at Bethel Seminary and has a Master of Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary. Rev. Kincaid seeks to tell the story of God’s comforting redemptive grace amid an imperfect world. Pastor Cheryl is now the Head of Staff at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Enfield, Connecticut.

Rev. Kincaid is the author of four published books and is the winner of the 2013 Independent Christian Publishers Illumination Reward for bible study.    Visit Pastor Cheryl Kincaid's website at https://revcherylkincaid.com/. Visit her website on Charles Dickens faith journey at http://www.dickensandchristianity.com/