Curious Living

In today's divisive culture we may be finding it harder than ever to express our faith openly - especially in the workplace. In this episode, we unpack this challenge and learn ways to overcome our fear of providing "sacred" leadership in all aspects of our life. Peggy provides incredible insights that can help us navigate this hostile climate and be the people God is calling us to be in the world.

About Our Guest

Peggy Bodde has been a corporate manager or leader for over thirty years and has spent her entire career mentoring women in business. She recently resigned from her position as a senior vice president to become a full-time writer. Peggy continues to pursue her passion for mentoring women by providing free career and leadership coaching.

https://peggybodde.com/

What a cool thing to ponder! How is cooking related to scripture? That is the curious question we are pondering on this episode and I'm sure you will be as intrigued by this conversation as we were!

Guest Info:

Jill Dobrowansky resides in Manahawkin, New Jersey, with her husband of 30 years, Eric. Together, they have one son who recently married the woman of his dreams. Jill has been a teacher and administrator in the public school system for 18 years. She is a proud member of Bayside Chapel, where she is part of the leadership team for Wonderfully Made Ministry and Night to Shine Prom. Jill is also a speaker, blogger, and host of the Feed Your Spirit Podcast. She believes that when we share our stories with others, we glorify God and His love and grace for us. When not spending time writing or interviewing guests, Jill loves to read, cook, and spend time outdoors. Find Jill online at 2 Scripture Sisters, on Facebook or Instagram.

https://2scripturesisters.com/

Sometimes we feel like we are not able to truly make a difference as just one person. Then, we just give up or move on saying, "the larger, more powerful groups or entities will make the difference - I'm just not significant enough." But we ARE powerful enough to make a positive change in this world! Our guest for this episode helps us identify the many ways we can be a catalyst for change.

Guest Information

Rick Ornelas wasn't always interested in helping others on a global scale despite being pushed repeatedly in that direction by near-death experiences, family tragedies, and deaths. It wasn't until the ever-worsening times of 2020 when he was laid off, isolated, and desperate that he finally got the wake-up call.

His awakening came in the form of divine inspiration and an awe-inspiring spiritual connection when he least expected it. He went from isolated and hopeless, to writing a best-selling book in under three months while envisioning and creating an incredible future. This fulfilled the dream he had been ignoring for years: to build a community of amazing souls to spread positivity, hope, and love while creating a ripple effect throughout the world.

Rick is an author, speaker, and professional coach who teaches men and women to unlock their amazing potential to create an incredible future and change the world around them.

With a Social Sciences/Communications degree and over 25 years of additional study, he has trained over 10,000 hours in Communication, Sociology, Interpersonal Relationships, and Leadership. He's the author of 12 Hours of Heaven; Lessons for a Better World and founder of I Spark Change, a global movement and online community of those who seek to make the world a better place one act at a time.

He's been dubbed a "Positive Change Expert" as the I Spark Change community has grown at a phenomenal rate of over 800%in just a few months.

Rick has been featured in multiple media outlets, including national/international television and radio. He's a regular writer for Lifehack and a guest contributor for various websites.

This has to be one of my favorite interviews so far. I literally could have talked with El for hours! I believe you will tag this as one of your favorites, too, as El's contagious joy leads us to find our own joy in the midst of, what seems to be, a joyless world. She offers wise and easy tools for us to find joy even in challenging situations in life. And, she provides some of the best advice I've ever heard about how to change our attitude and our negative thoughts. Really good stuff!

Guest Info

El Edwards is an irrepressible silver-lining spotter with a compulsion to say the stuff most other people only say in their heads!

She helps us have fun again, embrace who we are when we're not trying to live by anyone else's expectations, to step into the incredible story God's written for our lives. To be who God created us to be when He dreamed us into existence with His love. Are you ready to work with El to explore who you are? (Because when you know Whose you are, the real fun can begin!) Find out more about the Itchy Soul Playground, doing life with God in her online community. Visit https://youier.com/join/

We have all been there . . . grieving, frustrated, hurt, angry. We have all had to endure times in our lives when we are devastated and wondering how God could allow such a horrible thing to take place. We cry out to God and ask "why?"

Our guest in today's episode has also had moments like this and she shares how she struggled, cried out to God, and found hope along her own journey. You won't want to miss this!

Show Information

Elizabeth Meyers is an Air Force Academy graduate, the wife of a full-afterburner fighter pilot, and the mother of eight energetic children. This dynamic combination leads to no small amount of chaos in her day-to-day life.

The sudden death of her pre-born son, Timothy, radically altered the course of Elizabeth's life. Having come through a season of doubting God's faithfulness, she shares her personal journey from trial to triumph to help others overcome adversity so they can live with joy and purpose. In addition to being an author, Liz is also the host of the weekly podcast Resilient Life Hacks where she and her fascinating guests share a message of hope and healing through inspirational stories and practical applications. As a motivational speaker and Bible teacher, Elizabeth enjoys expressing theological concepts through relatable metaphors that enhance personal understanding of big ideas for ordinary people. Through her online coaching and mentoring, Liz equips her clients to overcome adversity and thrive in their purpose by building a stronger spirit, soul, and body. She also offers coaching for those interested in starting their own podcast. Elizabethmyers.me - this is her website that has the free prayer guide she mentions in the episode

resiliantlifehacks.com - check out her podcast!

elizabethmeyers.me/freebook/ - Download her free book!

Many churches are opening as COVID restrictions are lifted. Yet, churches are finding that the number of people that used to worship on their campus is much lower than before. Part of that is due to the concerns some have for their health as well as those who may not be vaccinated yet. However, there is a part of our faithful population that has become accustomed to worshiping at home. We will always have an online option for folks and we value the need for that type of access for those who are unable to attend in person. But, the question is, will people come back? Will they value in-person worship again? Why is it important that we worship in person?

On this episode, you'll hear from our host, Rev. Monica Humpal, and our producer, Derek Fields. As ministry professionals, they will discuss the value of worshiping in person and how this may evolve moving forward.

Easter is the ultimate reminder of new life, new growth, and how even after a lifeless winter there can be something new. We have all experienced a very long time of feeling lifeless - of feeling as though we want something new. With Easter just around the corner, we can embrace the "newness" it brings and especially how God makes all things new. In this episode, Pastor Jan shares not only some great insights on this concept of God making all things new, but shares some interesting history about "Easter" that answers some burning questions we all have.

Rev. Jan Brittain has served as the senior pastor of Williamson's Chapel United Methodist Church since 2011 and has been serving the church for over 40 years. Pastor Jan has a passion for preaching and teaching and a special love for her sweet grandson and puppy, Josie B. You can watch Pastor Jan's sermons by clicking HERE.

As followers of Christ, we are called to share the good news of the Gospel with others. We want to do this, and we know we are called to do this, but so often we hesitate. We worry about how the other person will respond. Will they get angry? Will our words push them further away from God? Will we be able to defend our faith if they ask questions? What if we say the wrong thing?

Our guest for this episode, Rev. Joe Precht, oversees the witness ministry of Williamson's Chapel UMC and shares some amazing insights with us on how to effectively share the Gospel of Christ with others. Listen and find out key elements to doing this effectively and without fear of others' responses.

Show Notes

Rev. Joe Precht is the Associate Pastor for Worship, Witness, & Young Adults at Williamson's Chapel UMC. Joe has a B.A. in English from the University of Florida and an M.Div. from Duke Divinity School. Having served in a wide array of contexts––from the Democratic Republic of Congo to rural North Carolina––he is continually awed by the variety of God's grace. In high school, kneeling at the Communion table, he received his call to pastoral ministry. His deepest desire is to bring others "to know Christ and the power of his resurrection." Joe is married to Mackenzie. They have two young children, Lillian and James.

It's difficult to remain positive these days - especially when so many around us seem to be negative all of the time. How can we overcome all of this negativity?

Life coach, Kerry Rasenberger, joins us in this episode to provide wonderful tools for us to put to use when we are trying to stay positive in today's negative world. Make sure you check out the show notes below to make note of the lists she provides in the show.

Show Notes:

Kerry was born in sunny California and has lived all over this great country, North Carolina has been her home for the past twenty-three years. As a career-oriented mother, has been deeply invested in her children's lives, schools, sports and activities for over nineteen years. When her youngest of two children was approaching university, she came to the sudden realization that she was about to lose a significant part of her identity and external focus. That, among so many other changes that accompany midlife, forced her to explore her "what's next?".

Having had an expansive corporate career and over 25 years of experience coaching executives, staff, and clients to achieve their goals, she found herself turning back to the roots of what gave her purpose in those years - empowering others. Now as a certified and experienced life coach, her passion is to improve the human experience and help others find self-fulfillment. Every person has the power for positive change already -- they just need a little help finding their new path.

When Kerry's not coaching and empowering fellow women, you can find her outdoors hiking in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina with her dog Bear, exploring small, local towns, finally having lunch with her girlfriends again, and cherishing every moment with her kids before they go off to college.

Kerry's coaching website: https://www.kerryrasenberger.com/

10 ways to bring positivity back into your life.

1. Acknowledge you are in a Negative Mindset
2. Make simple changes that give you success
3. Gratitude - show it, feel it, live it!
4. Perform acts of Kindness
5. Self Care/Self Love
6. Reduce negative influences
7. Reframe your thoughts - I can't to I can.
8. Try to find the good in bad situations
9. Be fully present
10. Smile more because it is contagious

7 ways to stay positive around negative people:

1. Redirect your conversation
2. Set Boundaries
3. Step away from technology when it's getting negative
4. Give yourself a positive pep talk before seeing someone negative
5. Remind yourself that everyone has their own journey.
6. Don't take their negativity personally
7. Surround yourself with positive people

Marriages tend to take a back seat whenever life throws a curveball at us. The kids are in two different ball leagues and they are mostly out of town. His job requires traveling now. The kids are having to do virtual school now and need a lot of help with their school work. Her mom moved in with them after her father died. You get the picture.

Life will always get in the way. But, our marriage, that life-long commitment we made with another human being, needs to remain a priority. The question is, how do we do that when all of these other things get in the way? Ted Lowe, the founder of marriedpeople.org, has some fantastic insights for those of us who are married and struggling with how to make our marriage a priority amidst the chaos of life.

Show Notes

Ted Lowe is a speaker, author, and the director of MarriedPeople.org, an organization with the mission of helping you do marriage better. Prior to founding MarriedPeople, he served for almost 10 years as the director of MarriedLife at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, Ted is the author of the book Your Best Us. He is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary, in Pasadena, California. He lives in Cumming, Georgia, with his five favorite people: his wife, Nancie, and their four children.

• Your Best Night In (free event Ted mentioned)
• MarriedPeople Podcast