The #AskSteveAustin Podcast

In Episode 38 of The #AskSteveAustin Podcast, Steve Austin is honored to have Trey Pearson on the show. In this episode, Trey shares songs from his new EP, "Love is Love", plus dives deep into his story of coming out of the closet while he was married to a woman.

Source: treypearson.com

Some questions from today's conversation:

What’s it like growing up in a conservative home, being taught that sexual orientation is a matter of choice, and having to suppress your thoughts and feelings and desires?

And what advice would you give to the teenager, being raised in a conservative family and/or evangelical Christianity, who is just waking up to who they really are?

You were married to a woman for 7 years before you came out as a gay man, what was the tipping point for you?

What do you want to say to the gay man, who is scared to death, hiding behind the mask of a heterosexual marriage?

From TreyPearson.com: 

With his band Everyday Sunday, Trey Pearson has sold hundreds of thousands of records, and amassed millions of streams. He has scored 5 #1 U.S. singles and 20 Top 10 hits. His song “Wake Up! Wake Up!” was the most-played Christian rock song of 2007, and his 2009 album, “Best Night of Our Lives,” broke onto the coveted Billboard 200 chart. Pearson has toured in all 50 states and 20 countries, playing with top Christian musicians such as Toby Mac, Switchfoot, MercyMe, Jeremy Camp, Relient K and others.

Recently, Trey Pearson, the founder and owner of Everyday Sunday, has come out of the closet to make national news. His announcement started a national conversation with a television appearance on The View. It has been covered by The New York Times, Billboard Magazine, CNN and more, as he became the most trending topic worldwide on Facebook.

Trey is so generous and so excited about this album that he wants to give away one autographed copy of his brand-new Album, love is love. For your chance to win, follow me on Twitter @iamsteveaustin and Retweet my pinned post that’s all about today’s episode. I’ll announce the winner of the autographed copy of Love is Love at the beginning of next week’s show.

You can also listen on iTunes.

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*Music: Bensound.com

"The Good Grief" and "Love is Love" by Trey Pearson. Both songs shared with permission.

Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.

-Henri Nouwen

Who are you? At the core of your being – who are you? Steve Austin’s weekly affirmation #5 is all about being at peace. When we learn to live in peace with God, others, and (most importantly) ourselves, the wind may howl, the waves may crash, and the thunder may boom all around us, but our hearts remain unshaken.

Welcome to the 5th and final week of Steve Austin’s affirmation episode. This week's theme: peace. This special feature is a mix of affirmations, meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Steve hopes it encourages you to get silent, look deep into your soul, below the surface of all the noise and find out who you are at the core of your being.

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Order your copy of Self-Care for the Wounded Soul: 21 Days of Messy Grace, by Steve Austin today on Amazon.

*Music: BenSound.com

In episode 36 of The #AskSteveAustin Podcast, Steve Austin chats with J. Dana Trent about her new book, For Sabbath’s Sake: Embracing Your Need for Rest, Worship, and Community. If you’re burned out and ready to learn how to create a sabbath plan in this busy, 24/7 world, this is the episode you’ve been waiting for!

Show notes:

Get your free copy of Steve Austin’s Amazon best-selling e-book, From Pastor to a Psych Ward. Sign up here.

Sheena Jeffers' article: 5 Ways to Stop Sleeping Your Life Away

Join the Exclusive #AskSteveAustin Facebook group by supporting the show at Patreon.com/iamsteveaustin (click here)

Follow Steve Austin on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

Listen to the show on iTunes.

T-shirt of the month: Love is the Absolute Truth

Interested in life coaching? Click here.

Are you a pastor? Interested in life coaching? Use the discount code: IAMAPASTOR when you purchase my Elite Coaching Package at iamsteveaustin.com and save 20% this week only!

Music: Bensound.com

“Rest in You” by All Sons and Daughters, used with permission

Today’s questions:

What are the roots of sabbath and why is it applicable in today’s world?

How can we begin to see Sabbath as liberating, rather than just one more thing to add to our already insurmountable to-do list?

For those of us who identify as clergy, or even spiritual helpers, self-care often gets tossed to the wayside, due to the various tasks that seem to beg for our immediate attention. What are a few tips you’d give to those who are too busy to practice much Sabbath on Sundays?

What issues does the church (as a whole) need to address when it comes to sabbath-keeping?

What do you mean when you say relational Sabbath?

What are some practical tips for overcoming obstacles and keeping sabbath in a noisy, 24/7 world?

You talk about crafting a sabbath plan. Where do we even begin?

Stealing Sabbath Back (series from 2014) http://jdanatrent.com/2014/09/new-blog-series-stealing-back-sabbath/

The Rev. J. Dana Trent is an ordained Baptist clergywoman, award-winning author and World Religions faculty member at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, NC. Her work has appeared on Time.com, Religion Dispatches, Religion News Service, The Christian Century, and Sojourners. Her second book, For Sabbath’s Sake: Embracing Your Need for Rest, Worship, and Community, is available now. She loves naps with cats, vegetarian food, and teaches weight-lifting for the YMCA. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @jdanatrent on Facebook.

In Episode 35, Steve Austin chats with his friend and life coaching colleague, Sheena Jeffers, about practical and powerful ways to recover your life.

So many people feel buried under piles of shame, secrets, fear, and unrealistic expectations. If you’re tired of just barely getting by, and are ready to start living the fullest life possible, this is the conversation you’ve been waiting for!

Sheena Jeffers is a writer, dancer, yoga teacher, and wellness life coach currently living full-time on her sailboat in Norfolk, Virginia. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Sheena grew up the granddaughter of a Southern-Baptist preacher in a small town.

She studied English and Journalism at Virginia Commonwealth University and after graduating college, she started the internationally-known dance education blog, Ballet Shoes & Bobby Pins.

She wrote for Answers.com while completing graduate school where she studied innovative learning techniques through the arts.

Sheena founded and co-owns WELLwomen, Inc., a corporation dedicated to the replenishment of women. She promotes wholehearted living through private yoga and life coaching sessions, as well as her writing on her blog www.sheenajeffers.com and www.seaslifeforgood.com.

Sheena lives on a 43-foot Catamaran named Seas Life, and hopes to bring wellness to the world around her wherever she travels.

Show notes:

Today we’re talking about some of life’s big questions:

Who are you?

Why are you here?

Where are you going?

After listening to today’s episode, listeners can go to AskSteveAustin.com and click on the show notes for today’s episode to sign up for my FREE Self-Discovery Starter Kit. (http://bit.ly/2wnYQ5A) This free resource includes a series of 4 emails with printable worksheets for each day.

4 Steps to Recover Your Life:

Self-Discovery (blog link)

Self-Care (blog link)

Silencing the Inner-Critic (newsletter link)

Self-Expansion (blog link)

In his book, Before Happiness: 5 Actionable Strategies to Create a Positive Path to Success, Shawn Achor says, “When we expect the worst, we ignore important opportunities, squander valuable resources, and miss the viable solutions - and thus end up with the negative outcome we most fear.”

Fear vs. faith - Don’t call it a dream. Call it a plan.

In a recent article for Success Magazine, Jim Rohn said the three components of any powerful goal are these: It must be inspiring. It must be believable. It must be one you can act on.

Music: BenSound.com

“I believe that the greatest truths of the universe don't lie outside, in the study of the stars and the planets. They lie deep within us, in the magnificence of our heart, mind, and soul. Until we understand what is within, we can't understand what is without.”

― Anita Moorjani

Do you ever have those moments where your skin tingles a little extra, like someone else’s guardian angel just whisked by in a hurry to get to their next assignment? Those moments where you’d swear God was sitting right next to you, be it in the car, at the office, or the coffee shop? It doesn’t have to be for any reason in particular, and the space doesn’t have to be particularly sacred, but do you ever have those days where it seems like God is whispering things - yet unknown - to the deepest parts of your soul?

Your ways, O Lord, are higher and

Your knowledge is immense;

So give us strength to trust You when

Life doesn’t make much sense. —Sper

Logic might say it was just a strand of hair that tickled my neck. Or the air conditioner being turned on in the office. It could have been a nerve-ending gone haywire. Or a random case of goosebumps.

Maybe so. Maybe not.

The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion.

- 1 Corinthians 2: 14-16

These rare and precious moments happen to me from time to time, and all I can say is that they feel like God. I can’t argue it with logic. I can’t explain it away with science. I can only tell you that in those brief moments, time stands still, and I sense the embrace of God. Those silent few seconds, when no words are audibly spoken, deep things are being written on my soul.

In the silence, I’m transported to another dimension. I close my eyes, and I feel grace washing over me. I know it’s grace, and not just a whiff of the honeysuckle outside my window because the honeysuckle has never given me eternal hope in the midst of trying times. This silence - this washing - the Comfort belongs only to the Holy Spirit of God - an invisible Connector between my soul and my Creator.

In Acts 17, some Greeks inscribed a message TO THE GOD NOBODY KNOWS, but the greatest mystery of faith is that this seemingly unknown God is intricately familiar to every woven fiber of my soul.

THE GOD NOBODY KNOWS isn’t a human-made statue. It’s not an idol, carved by hand. God doesn't equate to dogma, devised by the imagination of those who hunger for power. The God of Mystery is thicker than the incense that fills the altar. And in that Mystery, I store up hope for future days when my heart is overwhelmed.

So to whom will you compare me, the Incomparable? Can you picture me without reducing me? I am God, and there is none like Me. - Isaiah 46:5-9

It’s easy for me to get caught up in trying to answer all of life’s big questions. In this season of my life, there seems to be a new existential crisis at every turn. Should I take the Bible at face value? Is the Jesus of the Bible the only way to God? Can I embrace my faith without abandoning my intellect? While the old me sought solutions for these and many more stumbling blocks, the new me is learning the power of the pause.

With each breath, God is whispering truth to my soul:

Breathe in: I love you.

Breathe out: I am here.

Breathe in: I will never turn my face from you.

Breathe out: I am more than your wildest dreams.

For in Him we live and move and have our being. - Acts 17:28

I’m leaning in. I’m taking deep breaths. At this point, I’m not even asking what God is saying. Instead, I am embracing Divine Mystery.

Is it time to rethink church? In Episode 33 of The #AskSteveAustin Podcast, Steve Austin welcomes Ryan Dunn to the conversation. Lots of folks have been wounded by the church. And others feel that the church has lost touch with modern life. Does that sound like you? Or are you a clergy person, struggling to connect with those who have walked away from traditional church? If any of those examples sound like you, don't miss this episode!

Show notes:

Is church just a thing we do for an hour on a Sunday morning?

What do we think about when we think about church?

What is it about the Church that makes you want to walk away?

Can people of faith really ever walk away from the church?

What advice do you have for pastor’s to re-engage with people who have walked away?

"Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Doors" - why does this phrase matter today more than ever?

How should the church respond in trying times like these?

The church should be an invitation to authenticity and intimacy.

How does someone continue to live with their questions, but not run (or disengage) from a church who is constantly giving them the answers?

A lot of times when it comes to faith, we’re aiming at moving targets.

What if we created a church community around the questions?

One Thing Depressed People Need from the Church (by Steve Austin)

Scars and Church (by Steve Austin)

Music: “Sunny” https://www.bensound.com

Ryan Dunn bio: Convinced that social media is increasingly where people gather, Rev. Ryan Dunn seeks to help the church meet the world through online relationship building. He currently serves with United Methodist Communications as the chief blogger, editor, and social media minister for the Rethink Church initiative. His prior work experiences include youth pastor, sports blogger, web marketer, and radio producer.

On Sunday, November 5th, I’m participating in the Out of the Darkness Walk in Birmingham and my personal fundraising goal is $1,000. Want to support the cause? Click here to donate!

Also, are you looking for a safe community, where you can kick your shoes off and just be yourself? Join the OFFICIAL #AskSteveAustin Facebook group. You can join for as little as $1/month by going to patreon.com/iamsteveaustin

Steve Austin is a life coach, speaker, and author of Self-Care for the Wounded Soul. Steve's goal is to help you create a lifestyle of focused emotional health and clarity. Looking for more ways to create space? Subscribe to Steve Austin's free weekly newsletter by clicking right here.

We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.

Love is not something we give or get; it is something that we nurture and grow, a connection that can only be cultivated between two people when it exists within each one of them – we can only love others as much as we love ourselves.

-Brene' Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

WEEK FOUR'S THEME: I AM CONNECTED

Who are you? At the core of your being - who are you? Steve Austin's weekly affirmation #4 is all about being connected. When we are connected to God, others, and (most importantly) our selves, it is hard to feel alone. Thomas Merton said, "“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.”

Welcome to Week Four of Steve Austin's weekly affirmation episode. Each week, this will be a mix of affirmations, meditation, contemplation, and prayer. Steve hopes it encourages you to get silent, look deep into your soul, below the surface of all the noise and find out who you are at the core of your being.

If you have a suggestion for this weekly feature, please email Steve at [email protected] today. If you'd like to suggest a topic or request Steve's perspective on a particular word, please reach out!

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Music provided by Tony Anderson. Check out Tony's website here. Tony says, "What I write is simply an overflow of interactions I have with my own brokenness. Some of it comes in dreams - other times it emerges from seasons of sorrow, humiliation, warfare, joy, and pain. In each piece, I am audibly sharing my heart, and it is the highest privilege to hear from people who resonate with it." Music from the score of "The Heart of Man". Get information on the film here.

In Episode 31 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast, Steve is joined by two of his IRL friends, Dennis Gable and Angie Von Slaughter. Dennis and Angie are designers who know a thing or two about messy grace and vulnerability. Listen to this powerful conversation between three great friends.

Show notes:

Story and the power of vulnerability

VLNRable app

What does it mean to be held with open hands?

When we say “design” or “art”, are we talking about the same thing?

At the root of design is problem-solving.

Self-Care for the Wounded Soul, by Steve Austin

Article by The Atlantic about Alice Rawsthorn and her book, Hello World: Where Design Meets Life

“Design is one of the most powerful forces in our lives, whether or not we are aware of it, and can also be inspiring, empowering and enlightening,” - Rawsthorn

"I find the old-fashioned assumption that design is somehow inferior to art to be deeply damaging." - Rawsthorn

"As digital products become ever more powerful and versatile, design has an important role to play in enabling us to use them confidently, efficiently and, if we're very lucky, enjoyably." - Rawsthorn

“If you believe in design as a powerful and productive medium that can help to build a better life, it stands to reason that we need the best possible designers to do so,” she continued. “We are not likely to get them if design is seen as so marginal a discipline that its practitioners are eager to reclassify themselves as artists. Also, the richer, more diverse, and [more] inclusive design becomes, the more compelling it will seem, thereby enabling it to attract the high caliber of designers that society needs.” - Rawsthorn

When you ring the doorbell at someone’s home, do you use your index finger or thumb?

“If your identity is broken, your life is broken.” -Mike Foster

“There’s no greater place of freedom, being a human, than to look in the mirror and like who you see.” -Dennis Gable

"Design should always be in the service of a better life." - Rawsthorn

“Hope is in the struggle. Joy is in the rebuilding.” -Dennis Gable

CXMH Episode with Kay Warren

“Hope is the thing with claws.” - Steve Austin

8 Habits of Love, by Ed Bacon

“We have this really weird way of compartmentalizing ourselves, but that’s not how it works. God is everywhere, and in all, and accepting, and loving, and sitting with us in it all.” - Angie Von Slaughter

“The biggest problem with the church is that we have this fallacy that we have to be perfect to lead and help people. People are leaving the church in droves because they want realness.” - Angie Von Slaughter

“We forget to give people permission to be fully human. We were human before we were ever anything else.” - Steve Austin

“Not one of us are alone in the macro details of our life.” - Dennis Gable

Bios:

Dennis makes a living as a creative director & designer. He's lives in PHX with his wife & two phenomenal children. He cares deeply about people getting out of the place they're in and moving forward into something greater. Dennisgable.com

Angie Von Slaughter is a Phoenix-based creative, musician and speaker. She is the Founder of Mousse Creative, a branding & design agency as well as Co-Founder of VLNRABLE, an app, and podcast that dives into vulnerability and living genuinely. After years of living a partitioned life, she seeks to guide others down a path of wholeness. She frequently speaks on authenticity,

Tired of #LameChristianSex? In Episode 30 of the #AskSteveAustin Podcast, Steve Austin interviews Katie and Candice from Free Sex Pod about how to get more sex.

At the core of your being - who are you? Steve Austin's weekly affirmation #3 is all about wholeness. Being whole - mind, body, and spirit - is Heaven on earth. David Wilkerson said, "Tears come when the last barrier is down - when you surrender yourself to health and wholeness."