Good Things Podcast

Have you ever found yourself doing something that is completely not worth your time just because you feel like it needs to be done? In my conversation with Amanda Ritchie today we talk about using our time wisely a.k.a. planning and prioritizing. 

Amanda shares how she went from an anxious, type A planning controller to having no plan at all and just putting out fires each day by dealing with what was most urgent to where she is now - planning, but learning to hold those plans loosely and under God's good authority. 

Amanda mentions a 12-step program she took through her church called Re:generation Recovery. If you are interested in learning more about that or participating in it you can find that information here. There are locations throughout the United States that host these groups, so there may be one near you.

Amanda also mentions the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule. A more detailed description of that can be found here. 

The three questions Amanda asks herself when she sits down to plan are:

She also said, "When I sit down to plan, I want to pray." This is something I am going to work on doing - praying as I plan.

When I was in college, or maybe even after that, my dad started a Thanksgiving tradition of making everyone in our family write out a list of five things they were thankful for that year. 

In this episode I share my "Thankful List" for this year. My family doesn't really continue this tradition since my dad passed away, but I still generally do. I like reflecting back on what God has done in the past year and seeing how He has specifically cared for me.

I hope you'll enjoy my list and I'd love to hear what you are thankful for this year!

Valerie Woerner is one of my favorite authors. Her writing is simple and practical and, for me, very relatable. So I was thrilled and nervous to interview her for this episode! She and I talked a lot about her new book, "Pray Confidently and Consistently", and because of that we got to talk a lot about prayer and how God's plan can be so much bigger and better than our plan often is. Val has written several books and also owns Val Marie Paper, a company that focuses on making prayer journals for everyone to help them connect better with God in prayer. You can find all her books and prayer journals here. 

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Val as much as I did! If you want to hear more about Val, you can follow her on instagram @valwoerner or @valmariepaper. 

In this episode I had the privilege of talking with April Brover of Happy Hymnody. Happy Hymnody is an online community of believers who learn a hymn a month together. April selects the hymn, provides background information about the author, beautiful free printables with lyrics and music, as well as a video of the hymn being sung, often by her family or others in the Happy Hymnody community. 

She and I talk about homeschooling, hymns, worship, and so much more. April's enthusiasm for worshipping Jesus through song is contagious and her delight in sharing the rich theology of hymns is inspiring. To participate in the Happy Hymnody community visit April's website here or follow her on YouTube or Instagram.   

In the part of our conversation about hymns she loves April mentioned City Alight and Indelible Grace.  April's good thing was the homeschooling quarterly magazine Commonplace Quarterly, which she also gets to contribute to as a writer.

Scharlee says goodbye to the show. The podcast will continue, though, with Emily as the solo host with some really exciting interviews coming up through the end of the year.

Tired of all the bad news, especially about the Middle East? 

You will be encouraged and inspired listening to our conversation with Tom and JoAnn Doyle as we talk about their ministry to the Muslim people in the Middle East and in the United States. Tom and JoAnn share multiple stories about God's goodness, provision, and perfect timing. Their joy is contagious and their commitment to sharing the gospel with the Muslim people is encouraging and convicting. We know you'll love their stories and will want to share this episode!

For more amazing stories of what God is doing in the Muslim world, buy Tom and JoAnn's books here.

To find out more about Uncharted Ministries and Not Forgotten Ministry go here (UM) and here (NFM).

To watch the videos testimonies that Tom mentioned of Muslims who've come to know Christ go here.

We hope you are encouraged and challenged to show the love of Christ to the Muslim people in your community - whether it's through praying for those you see, having conversations, developing relationships, partnering with Tom and JoAnn's ministries, or just letting someone feel seen by taking the time to smile at them. 

In this week's episode Scharlee shares on a topic she is passionate about - the Bible as the only truly valid source of authority. 

Scharlee and Emily discuss the Four Sources of Authority that pretty much shape all religious thought (and even most philosophical thought) and how only through holding ideas up to Scripture can we hold onto the Truth.

Verse from todays episodes include:

Resources mentioned on this episode include:

Are you a summer forever or a summer for never person? 

On this episode Scharlee and Emily discuss summer - when it actually begins and ends, favorite summer memories plus some bonus non-summer memories, and good things about summer. 

While neither Scharlee nor Emily will be sad to see summer go, they both have things they enjoy about it.

The place in South Dakota the Glenn family visited was, in fact, called Keystone. More information about that can be found here. Also, the Corn Palace is actually in Mitchell, South Dakota, not Nebraska. More information about that can be found here. And, just in case you are wondering, South Dakota is actually quite beautiful. Here is information about the Badlands National Park, in case you are now planning your next vacation to South Dakota. 

Also, Emily deeply apologizes for her feigned southern accent. Please forgive her, Southerners. She thinks your accents are delightful and wishes she could imitate one better.

In this episode Scharlee and Emily wrap up their series on rest by talking about practicing Sabbath. They provide some Biblical background for Sabbath and discuss practical ways to give Sabbath a try. 

Books they reference include "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry" by John Mark Comer and "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" by Peter Scazzero.

Scripture references include Exodus 20:8-11 and Romans 14:1-17.

The peanut butter cookie recipe Scharlee shares is:

1 cup sugar of choice (she used Monk Fruit Sugar "In the Raw" brand from Walmart)

1 cup peanut butter

1 egg

Mix all ingredients to combine. Roll into walnut sized balls and roll in sugar of choice (she used coconut sugar) and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes.

We hope you enjoy this episode and the peanut butter cookies!

Do you ever feel so overwhelmed by the things you have to do you want to run away and scream? Asking for a friend.

Today Scharlee and Emily talk about doing less - how to do that and how that contributes to our ability to rest in the Lord. This concept sounds trite and easy, but it turns out, doing less can actually be quite a challenge in Western culture. 

Verses we share in today's episode are Matthew 11:28-30 from The Message paraphrase, Psalm 37:7a (not 37:37 as Emily accidentally says, KJV), Psalm 116:7 (NIV), and Proverbs 4:5-6 (NIV).

Books we reference in the show are: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, and Teaching From Rest - A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace by Sarah McKenzie.

Also, Scharlee mentions Susanna Wesley, mother of two famous sons, Charles and John Wesley, along with seventeen other children, ten of whom died before she did. To read more about this remarkable woman click here.

Finally, Emily misspoke when she called Dave Ramsey's class Money Wise, it is actually called Financial Peace University. More information about that can be found here.