CONTENT WARNING:

(Though we don't go into explicit details of cases and events, some topics in this episode can be difficult to hear)

Megan Carey is one of our dear friends and a helpful, loving member of our neighborhood, church and community.

Megan has worked a dedicated career to serving kids and their families during the worst moments of their lives.

We are privileged to hear Megan's story of working in Child Welfare and some of her amazing work serving children, teens and their families after cases of abuse of all kinds.

Megan shares how doing this important work has challenged her faith and shares the beautiful lessons learned BECAUSE of enduring these challenges.

We learn that Megan has a unique lens in which she views the world because of the experiences she has had in her difficult career. Attempting to look through this lens gives us insight into

-why others makes the choices they make

-how to treat those going through a challenge of their faith

-what to do if you are experiencing your own faith challenge

-some key takeaways for protecting children

This lens isn't always the rosy, comfortable perspective that we grow accustomed to looking through. As difficult as her work has been, Megan has endured through difficult cases because of her commitment to help others.

Megan, THANK YOU for a wonderful conversation and for giving a piece of yourself to help others.

Well...it's up to YOU!

Join us today in our discussion about happiness.

We are excited to reference credible people (in our opinion) who have a track record of being happy themselves and have done masterful work in helping others experience more happiness as well.

This was a great opportunity to reflect on the happiest times of our lives and what made them so.

Can you be happy despite challenging circumstances?

Can THINGS bring us happiness??

Thank you for listening to another episode of THIS IS LIVIN'!

In this episode we are excited to talk about principles of time management and the "Time Management Matrix" from the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

When thinking about your different roles throughout the week, what are some small changes you can make to show up better as that person?

Parent, spouse, employee, business owner, sibling, member of a community... these are a few of the roles many of us embrace week to week. Small changes like simply scheduling the time to fulfill some part of one of these roles can be the difference maker and help you be the best you can be in these roles that bless your life and the lives of others.

What does the Devil sound like? Could you identify his voice right now?How much do you let him chirp in year and how often do his comments explode into full blown frantic freight about life and your current situation?

Maybe you are having a wonderful day and out of nowhere you began to have ill feelings about someone or something. There is only ONE place that these thoughts come from. Let's learn together how to shut this guy up!

In this episode we are sharing more amazing insight from the book "Looking Unto Christ In Every Thought" by Dennis R Deaton.

Dennis gives amazing insight into recognizing the voice of the devil as well as tactics to defeating him.

Do you think you are the exception to giving your best effort and controlling your own outcomes?

We love you but you are not the exception and neither are we (despite having spent time thinking we were haha).

When it comes to our thoughts, we were taught early in our marriage to "pull the weeds and plant the seeds".

We have further learned from different sources a model that has helped be the owner of our thoughts and consequential actions.

All of the outside factors that we often blame for our circumstances (DNA, upbringing, sex, race, religion, money, etc...) are only factors and not determinants.

Listen along as we finally reach what the ONE DETERMINANT is to taking control of your life and shaping outcomes.

We are thrilled to introduce our great friend Kolby Collard!

Kolby has been a great friend and resource to us through good times and tough times.

One of the great strengths Kolby has is compassion for others through their challenges.

Kolby shares about his challenges with alcohol and drug addiction in his early life and provides a lot of encouragement to those who are in similar situations.

Listen along as we laugh and cry about this wild experience we call life.

Thank you Kolby!

Where do you look for validation?

Validation comes in two forms: ACCEPTANCE and APPROVAL.

The formula for Connection (which we all seek and need) is VULNERABILITY + VALIDATION = CONNECTION

Does "venting" to others help you feel better about the issue you are dealing with? Does is it help solve the issue you are venting about? What is the next step we can take, beyond venting, to actually solve our issues AND have the personal connections with others that we crave?

What environments should we use extreme caution in while venting and seeking validation?

Is all validation good?

What is the ultimate form of validation?

Listen along for an episode of experiences that explore these questions!

In this episode we talk about some breakthroughs we have had in taking accountability and personal responsibility of our lives and how it has positively impacted those around us.

Just like the title says, not everything that has happened to you is your fault, BUT the context we give those events and how we reframe them to serve us is what we want to focus on,

Ask yourself, "Who am I being" in every situation. Ask "How can I positively influence the world around me by first influencing the world within me".

We can't wait to share this powerful episode with you!

In this episode we go into the separate life coaching that we are both a part of at the moment.

Both coaches teach very similar principles and the root is having a happy, fulfilled and balanced life.

We break down the different areas of our life and how to approach improving them.

Everyone is different and will need more attention in different areas but the approach we are sharing with you can be applied to all of the areas.

For example, are you knocking it out of the park with money and your career but want to improve your health, spirituality and relationships?

Or are you completely happy and content with home life and leisure but would like to earn extra income to be able to serve and contribute more?

We have not mastered the balanced life but are happy to share what we have learned so far!

In this episode we are pleased to introduce Jon Harris!

Jon and his family have been amazing friends to our family.

We are excited to share our discussion with Jon about personal experiences and discoveries of how to avoid challenging habits in the first place. Some of these discoveries have come from scripture, modern revelation and learning from personal experiences.

This is another great episode that will make you feel like you are in good company with your challenges and encourage you through those struggles that WE ALL HAVE!

Thank you Jon for the great insight and tools to implement as we look for ways to live better lives and support those around us who are trying to do the same thing.