Welcome in to the Friday Refresh…brought to you by the Adventures of Ben and Travis and the Joy Rider. In this new book Ben and Travis are taught a big lesson by Travis’ big brother Bradley. He was born with cerebral palsy but lives life the fullest. When Travis wrestles with emotions from the way people are acting toward his brother, Bradley takes Ben and Travis on a ride in some monster trucks to help them learn to manage those emotions and expectations. It’s a powerful story for all ages. Go preorder your copy today at Benandtravis.com. Jacob’s artwork is once again phenomenal and we cannot wait for you to see it for yourself. BenandTravis.com/store to find the book and other good merchandise!

Thanksgiving holiday is upon us. Time for food, family, friends, fellowship, & football! Whether you are eating at your grandparents house, a church fellowship hall, or a Dennys, I hope you are finding the chance to be with some of the people you love the most. I hope you enjoy some time in the woods or some time at a shopping mall. And while you do, I hope you can slow the bustle for just long enough to breathe in the fall air and the blessings that you have been awarded. Count them. Ponder them. Give thanks for them.

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This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Welcome in the Friday refresh brought to you by Team Ben and Travis for St Jude Marathon weekend.

I have reached my goal but one team member is still trying to reach his! Go help Josh Thorne get to his goal of $4000

Go to BenandTravis.com and click the St Jude link.

That’s BenandTravis.com and the St Jude link.

What if…

Those can be quite powerful words. Sometimes it can be powerful in positive ways. A lot of people have accomplished amazing feats by starting with those words.

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This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Welcome in the Friday refresh brought to you by Team Ben and Travis for St Jude Marathon weekend. We have several people  who have signed up to run on our team and many more who have given to this great cause. You can donate here https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/Heroes/SJMMW?team_id=315929&pg=team&fr_id=158671. Josh Thorne and I are still trying to reach our $4000 commitment each and we could use your help. That’s BenandTravis.com and the St Jude tab.

What does your pyramid look like? Is it fully constructed? Or is it stuck in the middle of construction somewhere?

I guess I should explain before I ask questions like that.

I’m sure at some point in your high school or collegiate career you have come across Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Abraham Maslow proposed that these five needs are the motivators behind human behavior. They start at the bottom of the pyramid with the most basic of needs and work up to the more complicated and self-realized toward the top.

Initially it was believed the lower goals always had to be completed first with a linear view of how they are accomplished, it is accepted now that different individuals and cultures may achieve various levels at different times.

Links mentioned in this episode:

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Welcome in the Friday refresh brought to you by Team Ben and Travis for St Jude Marathon weekend. We have several people  who have signed up to run on our team and many more who have given to this great cause. You can donate here https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/Heroes/SJMMW?team_id=315929&pg=team&fr_id=158671. Josh Thorne and I are still trying to reach our $4000 commitment each and we could use your help. That’s BenandTravis.com and the St Jude tab.

This coming Monday I plan to load up with three of my friends and go west. Well, west, then north, then more west. It will be quite a long ride—26 hours or more to be exact. But knowing the company, I’m counting on it being an epic journey.

We went on this trip together several years ago and we have been wanting to take a trip back to Gillette Wyoming to hunt pronghorn ever since. So we finally made the trip happen this year. Unfortunately I didn’t get drawn for a pronghorn tag but was able to secure a whitetail doe tag to at least get to take a shot at something.

So tonight I spent a little time at the range. I needed to make sure that my equipment was still true to form from last year’s whitetail deer season in Alabama. Three shots at a steel plate at 200 yards confirmed I am indeed ready to head out. My sights were on and my rifle true. Now to pack up and hit the road on Monday morning.

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This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

In memory of Tabitha Lynn Gean (4/10/82-9/23/99)

Welcome in the Friday refresh brought to you by Team Ben and Travis for St Jude Marathon weekend. We have several people  who have signed up to run on our team and many more who have given to this great cause. You can go to BenandTravis.com and go to the St Jude link. Josh Thorne and I are still trying to reach our $4000 commitment each and we could use your help. That’s BenandTravis.com and the St Jude tab.

A few days ago I posted something on social media. I hadn’t really said a lot over the years online about the thing that pushed me towards counseling as a profession. It wasn’t the final push but it started the interest and the journey.

It was of the day my girlfriend was killed in a tragic car accident. This week was the 26th anniversary of that event and there have been other tragic events that have taken place locally that hit close to my heart. I felt the lessons learned then, could also help some now.

What I learned was sometimes all the world needs is for one person to be vulnerable and it leads to others opening up like they haven’t been able to before.You can find the full post here: https://www.benandtravis.com/blog/in-memory-of-tabitha-lynn-gean

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This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

This is your Friday refresh brought to you by the Good Ole Fashioned Dislike Podcast.

Every Monday of the football season you can catch an episode of fun with Travis as he and the panel of dislike choose a game being played that week and what they like about or dislike about the teams, their school, their city, or any other random material about them -- many times...or most of the time based off non-football things.

It’s a fun couple of minutes to start your day. You can listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-old-fashioned-dislike/id1643163790

Remember” is a positive word. It is a wonderful concept.

I wonder how many times in a lifetime we will hear “Remember when?”

Links mentioned in this episode:

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Welcome in to the Friday Refresh brought to you by Team Ben and Travis for St Jude Marathon Weekend. We are trying to raise all we can to help end childhood cancer. You can find links to give at BenandTravis.com or our social media. Or you can reach out and we will send you the link you need. Help us help the kids who are going through these unimaginable difficulties. Go to BenandTravis.com and go to the St Jude tab.

I attended a prayer service on Monday for the local elections that were to take place on Tuesday. It was a powerful hour of strong prayers, thoughtful readings, and encouraging fellowship. One of the individuals that led a prayer used a phrase that I had not heard in many years and it made me pause and consider myself and our community of faith for just a few moments.

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This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

The episode is brought to you by the Tony "Pop Pop" Rogers Stayin' Alive Disco Dodgeball Tournament for St. Jude! Register you, your team or donate at benandtravis.com/dodgeball!

What do rabbits eat? Most people would immediately say carrots. Bunny rabbits at Easter have carrots on attached to them. Pictures that kids color usually have a carrot close by. It seems to be a no-brainer because of how much rabbits and carrots appear together.

What if I told you that carrots are actually terrible for rabbits? That carrots have a high sugar content, and while a very small dime sized snack of a carrot might be ok for a rabbit on occasion, they are actually very detrimental to their health if eaten in high quantity?

Links mentioned in this episode:

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

This is your Friday Refresh brought to you by the Stayin Alive Disco Dodgeball Tournament that takes place at Mars Hill Bible School in Florence Alabama on August 16, 2025. All proceeds benefit St. Jude Research Hospital. Festivities will begin at 10 AM.

I was speaking to someone the other day who seemed to be pretty down on the young people of today. Granted, he works in a field where he interacts with young folks entering the work force and I’m sure he experiences the worst in people from time to time.

However, as I heard him make a few comments that seemed to be down on younger people, I couldn’t help but think about all the things I’ve witnessed this summer.

May ended with watching several kids graduate who already had in their minds what they wanted to spend the rest of their lives doing. Some heading to college while others going straight into the work force. I’ve watched the commitment over the past few years of those who have chosen both of those paths and been impressed.

Links mentioned in this episode:

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

This is your Friday Refresh brought to you by the Stayin Alive Disco Dodgeball Tournament that takes place at Mars Hill Bible School in Florence Alabama on August 16, 2025. All proceeds benefit St. Jude Research Hospital. Festivities will begin at 10 AM.

The first half of my summer has been pretty! So I took a little break from the Friday Refresh for a couple of weeks.

Links mentioned in this episode:

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm