Click here to read the episode highlights.

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected]. 

Be sure to subscribe to Dr Chip Dodd’s new Substack. He will be sharing two to three articles a week, beginning December 2nd. The topics focus on healthy relationship, personal growth, and leadership. 

Dr Dodd continues to focus on his mission of almost 40 years, helping people see who they are made to be, so they can do what they are created to do. The articles in December focus on living fully, loving deeply, and leading well during the holidays. 

It is the month of Christmas. How are you going to keep Christ in Christmas this year? I recommend spending a few minutes each day in December reading The Jesse Tree: A Christmas Devotional.  This devotional will take you through the Bible, from Genesis to the birth of Jesus. Each day focuses on God’s protection of the royal line of Jesus and God’s plan of redemption for His people.

Chip begins the episode reading an article called, “I Believe It Like Air” that he puts out every year. It is a statement of believing in the miracle of Jesus’ birth, as much as he believes in the air he breathes moment to moment. (This article is also included in Substack on December 23.)

So many of us never actually grow-up, which is to face that we are primarily emotional and spiritual creatures who find fulfillment in relationship. Our fulfillment comes from being able to connect to our own hearts, the hearts of others, and the heart of God.

“Adults” are people who wear masks to hide what they don’t know, to cover up the vulnerability that exposes their neediness. 

Grown-ups develop maturity by being in need and growing and becoming more and more response able. Adults do not mature beyond their ability to mask vulnerability.

“Adults” lose the meaning and wonder of Christmas. Grown-ups live it fully with a faith that can contend with tragedy.

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

 You have established strength,

Because of Your enemies, 

That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

(Psalm 8:2, NKJV)

Click here to continue reading the episode highlights.

Click here to read the episode highlights. 

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected]. 

It is amost Thanksgiving, and Christmas is just around the corner. How are you going to keep Christ in Christmas this year? I recommend spending a few minutes each day in December reading The Jesse Tree: A Christmas Devotional.  This devotional will take you through the Bible, from Genesis to the birth of Jesus. Each day focuses on God’s protection of the royal line of Jesus and God’s plan of redemption for His people.

We are made for more

October to April opens up the most magical time of the year and potentially the most painful.

As the fall approaches and the “harvest” season settles into our consciousness, we begin to long for what the holidays are created to offer, family, friends, and fellowship. 

The windows of the “soul” open to our heavenly longings as the holiday season of anticipation begins. The window remains open until the new year begins, our resolutions have turned back into daily life, and we lift the “heavy burden” of getting back to work—we prepare to pay our taxes in April!

If we allow ourselves to long for what we dream the holidays can offer, we will also need to allow ourselves to grieve what they cannot give us—heavenly completion on earth: 

It is okay to grieve

The family gatherings will not live up to what we dream at the worst, and they will end with departures at their best.

The friends we love to be with will need to return to their places of other purposes.

The fellowship that blesses us will also come to an end.

We can experience heavenly hints of completion, but not get to remain in the place of completion. 

The holidays awaken us to holy moments of seeing how life could be, or is created to be, but this is still not heaven. 

In the movie “Field of Dreams” a character asks, “Is this heaven?” The answer to the beautiful question of hope is, “No, this is Iowa.” We can taste heaven here during the holiday season, but not keep it or possess it; we can only take time to live it by bringing family and friends together in fellowship.

Click here to continue reading the episode highlights. 

Click here to read the episode highlights!

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected]. 

It is already November, and Christmas is just around the corner. How are you going to keep Christ in Christmas this year? I recommend spending a few minutes each day in December reading The Jesse Tree: A Christmas Devotional.  This devotional will take you through the Bible, from Genesis to the birth of Jesus. Each day focuses on God’s protection of the royal line of Jesus and God’s plan of redemption for His people.

2 Helpful and free resources along your parenting journey:

Characteristics of a Functional Family

8 Feelings for Children Chart

I recommend purchasing a copy of How Are You Feeling Today? 

This children’s book about feelings will help you get started in guiding your children to understand express their feelings. This would be a great Christmas present for the children in your lives.

There are four characteristics that every parent needs to “allow” children to experience, so that they can grow into thriving grownups.

Parents often struggle with their own past experiences and their intolerance of feelings. Sadly, they often don’t develop the ability to know how to deal with the feelings that come when a child has to struggle with life’s experiences.

Click here to continue reading the episode highlights.

Click here to read the episode highlights.

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected]. 

It is already November, and Christmas is just around the corner. How are you going to keep Christ in Christmas this year? I recommend spending a few minutes each day in December reading The Jesse Tree: A Christmas Devotional.  This devotional will take you through the Bible, from Genesis to the birth of Jesus. Each day focuses on God’s protection of the royal line of Jesus and God’s plan of redemption for His people.

2 Helpful and free resources along your parenting journey:

Characteristics of a Functional Family

8 Feelings for Children Chart

I recommend purchasing a copy of How Are You Feeling Today? 

This children’s book about feelings will help you get started in guiding your children to understand express their feelings. This would be a great Christmas present for the children in your lives.

The Remaining 6 Characteristics of a Healthy Family:

In healthy relationships six general principles create a foundation for emotional, spiritual, and relational development:

Click here to continue reading the episode highlights.

Click here to read the episode highlights. 

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected]. 

It is already November, and Christmas is just around the corner. How are you going to keep Christ in Christmas this year? I recommend spending a few minutes each day in December reading The Jesse Tree: A Christmas Devotional.  This devotional will take you through the Bible, from Genesis to the birth of Jesus. Each day focuses on God’s protection of the royal line of Jesus and God’s plan of redemption for His people.

2 Helpful and free resources along your parenting journey:

Characteristics of a Functional Family

8 Feelings for Children Chart

I recommend purchasing a copy of How Are You Feeling Today? 

This children’s book about feelings will help you get started in guiding your children to understand express their feelings.

TO ALL PARENTS:

There are six basic principles to creating a functional relational system, one in which relationship and health is the primary concern, whether it be a family, friendship or marriage:

Click here to continue reading the episode highlights.

Click here to read the episode highlights. 

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected]. 

2 Helpful resources along the parenting journey:

Link to 8 Feelings for Children Chart

How Are You Feeling Today

The research in the book, The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness supports everything that is contained in each and every episode of Living with Heart: From Birth to Death. The authors state, “Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period” (page 10). The 85-year longitudinal study, which is ongoing, concluded that, “Relationships are not just essential as stepping-stones to other things, and they are not simply a functional route to health and happiness. They are an end in themselves.” (page 51).

The Good Life, by Robert Waldinger, MD, and Marc Schulz, PhD.

Living with Heart podcast content focus is always about how we are created to find fulfillment through relationships. 

We are created as emotional and spiritual creatures, created to do one thing in this life and that is live fully. 

We cannot live fully unless we are doing so in relationship with ourselves, others, and God. The Voice of the Heart by Chip Dodd, PhD.

Digital age

Since the early 21st century our children have been living in a time unlike any other in history. The technological advances, starting with the internet, then the cell phone, and now AI, have presented parents and children with a significant dilemma, one that will require some difficult choices to combat the negative consequences of our extraordinary advancements. 

Click here to continue reading the episode highlights. 

Click here to read the episode highlights.

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected]. 

2 Helpful resources along the parenting journey:

Link to 8 Feelings for Children Chart

How Are You Feeling Today

The focus of this season on “Living with Heart: From Birth to Death” is parenting. Some of the content in these episodes loosely connects to the book, Parenting with Heart by Stephen James and Chip Dodd. 

Taking responsibility as a parent is referred to in several ways:

Taking responsibility as a parent means that a parent accepts that they are a work in progress, as is every child. We are all WIPs (works in progress). 

A WIP recognizes that humility is an essential factor to be a healthy, responsible parent.

A WIP has healthy shame, identified by five basic recognitions:

The responsible parent is a WIP who:

The responsible parent also faces and is humbled by these realities:

These four realities that are faced by the parent, give permission to the parent, and child alike, to live with imperfection and still pursue excellence.

Basically, there is no finish line. 

By having an attitude and disposition that focuses on growth, not perfection, parents create a healthy environment of children.

Ultimately, the responsible parent is a person who lives the Golden Rule.

Jesus said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12, NIV).

Click here to continue reading the episode highlights.

Click here to read the episode highlights.

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected]. 

What is the meaning of remember?

Three helpful attitudes to develop to help parents “re-member”

What is distance?

Distance is to remember that the parent lives in another “time-zone,” called the future in relation to a child. 

A child struggles in a place that the parent has gone beyond. Either the parent can recall the heart ache or the heart delight, and can relate to the child, or the parent’s need to ignore or suppress their experience will block emotional and spiritual connection to the child. 

Click here to continue reading the episode highlights.

Click here to read the episode highlights.

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected]. 

2 Helpful resources along the parenting journey:

Link to 8 Feelings for Children Chart

How Are You Feeling Today

Four realities that no one will defeat, this side of heaven.

No one can become perfect, even though we carry a picture of it in our hearts. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV) says, “He has set eternity in the human heart.” No matter our determination or information, we humans will always have to struggle with mistakes and sin. 

Death and the unpredictable are a part of this life. We cannot know the future. We are dependent upon our need of each other and God. If we do not face, feel, and deal well with our neediness in a healthy way, we will become defended against the pains that come with love. No one can change or defeat this fact about life. If we don’t learn how to need others and God, it increases the negative consequences we don’t want for ourselves or those we love.

Doctors are practicing, and lawyers are practicing. Parents are also practicing, as are children. We are not works of perfection. We have to keep learning and risking without knowing all of the outcomes. We are in this life together; the more proactive everyone is in helping each other practice living fully and loving deeply, the better the outcomes. 

Whether we are eight, twenty-eight, or eighty, we are still asking many of the same questions throughout our lives, like, “When will we get there?” “How much will it hurt?” or “Will you be there to get me?” No one has all the answers to life. We have to keep learning how to live, even as we gain wisdom about doing so, hopefully. There is not a destination of “having it all together.”

We are all works in progress.

Rather than the facts of reality defeating us, they can actually give us permission to gain more humility. 

Click here to continue reading the episode highlights.

The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected].