      In this episode, our storyteller is Julie Castro. Julie Castro resurrected Fiesta Publishing, the company her mother co-founded over 20 years ago in order to publish the book she wrote, On Earth as It Is in Heaven, a Personal Allegory.  It was the catalyst for her call to ministry, a call she didn’t know existed until a few years ago.  Obedience to God’s instruction to write the book opened the door for Julie to assist with the women's ministry at her local church where she was responsible for minor tasks; this led to her current position as the women’s ministry director. Her faithfulness with the small things then opened doors to minister at local churches, pray for the Body of Christ and serve other ministries. Being unconventional in her walk with Jesus, Julie does not limit how the Lord wants to use her and the messages she shares. She passionately pursues Jesus, and her relentless fire for the Holy Word of God is leading her toward her destiny.  Website:  www.fiestapublishing.com Email: info@fiestapublishing.com​ For more information on this episode, please visit www.giverciseshorts.com

Episode 21: Giving an Exercise of Faith-Julie Castro

​Givercise™ Shorts is a Christian storytelling podcast about inspirational fitness, health, and lifestyle experiences. ​Our mission for this podcast is to share Christian inspirational words through storytelling in order to build a strong community of faithful people. We encourage our listeners to capture the message of each story to be remembered as a nugget of encouragement. Visit:  www.giverciseshorts.com

Personal Journals

Society & Culture

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Religion & Spirituality

Other

Spirituality

Christianity

Buddhism

Hinduism

Judaism

Islam

 There’s something very special about Damien. Actually, “special” may not be the best word. In times like   these, in the world that we live in, there’s something relevant,  significant and necessary about Damien---   and people like him.  You can go to pretty much any search engine, put “Damien Horne” in the search field and read about his   life story and credentials. The cliff notes is that he’s from Hickory, North Carolina. He’s one of 12 children (a   blended family). He’s a middle child, adores his mother, is the first in his family to earn a high school   diploma and now devotes a lot of his time and resources trying to make a better life for his loved ones   and those around him. Although they din’t grow up with a lot of monetary wealth (barely any to speak   of), Damien’s mother had a love for God that inspired him to develop a personal relationship with Christ   at the age of 7.   It’s there where his hope journey began…   The loss of a brother, experiencing family members being incarcerated and figuring out how to make   ends meet led Damien to want more for himself. As a young adult, he first moved to LA. After being   homeless a couple of years, he returned back to North Carolina and saved enough money to move to   Nashville. Damien found himself homeless again. Only this time, a country star by the name of John Rich   (of Big & Rich) put a nice chunk of change in his guitar case---and extended an invitation…to basically a   whole new life.  As a musician.  As a public speaker.  As a world changer.  From Faith Hill and Keith Urban to Robert Randolph and John Legend, Damien has either opened up for   or performed alongside these award-winning artists. He’s been a part of a country trio known as The   Farm. He’s also had a publishing deal with BMI and released several solo projects including his latest EP   The Love Saga Vol.1. Yes, he has a few bragging rights.   But if you were to ask Damien what he’s most passionate about, his answer might surprise you. After   receiving his associate’s degree from Free Will Baptist Bible College and becoming an ordained minister,   Damien is intentional about giving back.    Giving back by sharing his testimony.   Giving back by serving at his home church, The Salvation Army.   Giving back by offering words of encouragement, support and faith---anywhere he can.     Damien recently started a blog that centers around his mission to surround others with hope. It’s called       encourageinspiremotivate.com. Each week, there are new videos and articles on platforms he’s   committed to: homelessness, human trafficking, prison ministry, world outreach, youth, adoption and   the Word.  For more information on this episode, please visit www.giverciseshorts.com

Episode 19 - Making Music Work...Out! - Damien Horne

In this episode, our storyteller is Kathy Strahan. As a totally blind person (since age two), she naturally inspires people. Inspire them just by being her. She sees herself as a regular person who finds that blindness for her is the least of her life’s challenges. For most people, her attitude about her blindness is surprising and inspirational. Especially when they observe that she has a regular life. She is Married to a sighted guy. Running their household. Teaching others about preparing healthy meals, making healthy lifestyle choices, ditching the standard American diet and learning how to optimize their nutrition etc. One of her favorite scriptures is: Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” Even as a small child she’s always been someone who encourages others to be the best they can. What she teaches her subscribers is that healthy living is a journey. There is no need to make massive changes all at once. Go one small step at a time. She encourages her readers to go within and see what changes make sense right now.  She has found that the first step that will give the biggest bang and major bounce to better health is to “dump the junk”.  Dump anything that comes packaged from one of the major food manufacturers. If the item has more than 3 ingredients that you cannot pronounce and you have never heard of then it likely is not good for your health.  Then the next step is figure out what to replace the junk with.  Her book has lots of good ideas for how to prepare healthy meals that taste good, cost less, and that will help you fast-track your body to health and vitality. For more information on this episode, please visit www.giverciseshorts.com

Episode 18 - The True Story of Food Addiction: Your Own Will Power Won’t Move the Needle Here - Kathy Strahan

In today’s episode, our storyteller is Elliott Katz. Elliott
Katz is a professional speechwriter in Toronto and the author
of seven nonfiction books. Audiences find him informative and
lively. He teaches the principles in this book to men and women,
and speaks at seminars and conferences. After the end of a
relationship, Elliott Katz sought to learn about being a man in a
relationship. He found books on marriage and relationships said
little to him. He found powerful timeless insights in the lessons
that fathers and other older male role models taught younger men.
People started seeking his advice and found these improved
their relationships. They often asked, “Why didn’t someone tell me
this before? Moving beyond the trendy ideas about a man’s role
– that just don’t seem to work – Elliott Katz shares insights on
being a man that have withstood the test of time. Interestingly,
these insights are the traits that he heard many women complain
were lacking in men today. 
To learn more about this episode, please visit:
http://www.giverciseshorts.com 

Episode 17 - Why women love strong men: Being the Strong Man A Woman Wants - Elliott Katz

In this episode, our storyteller is Alexis Nicole White. ALEXIS
NICOLE WHITE was born in Gary, Indiana, where she lived with
her grandparents. Raised an only child, Alexis developed a passion
for the arts; reading, writing and acting. As early as middle
school, she began to expand upon her creative talents by writing
books, plays and even publishing poetry. In college, her talents
grew into professional journalism with blogging, radio and
television.  After moving to Atlanta to pursue her career in
journalism, Alexis’ passion for writing became stagnant after not
being able to secure a full-time paying position. Still, she has
used her voice to empower the disenfranchised and promote awareness
to various social problems. Currently, Alexis is raising awareness
to emotional abuse disguised in forms of deceit, mischief and
betrayal in her memoir, The Covered. 

Today, Alexis is a multi-faceted powerhouse.  As an
entrepreneur, inspirational speaker and entertainment personality,
Alexis is dominating every avenue of entertainment. The story you
are about to hear is called The Covering of God's
Protection.
For more information on this episode, please visit: www.giverciseshorts.com
 

Episode 21: Giving an Exercise of Faith-Julie Castro

Download our free app to listen on your phone