I have a confession to make. I am a recovering people pleaser - and I still struggle with it today.

As my faith has grown, I've discovered there's a very fine line between people pleasing vs. loving and serving others as God calls us to.

So here's my question for you today.

How do you know when you're taking action for all the right reasons or all the wrong reasons?

The wrong reasons? To gain others love, acceptance, and approval.

The right reasons? Because you truly want to from a place of love.

The truth is people pleasing is a big fat lie -- both to yourself and to those you're doing it for.

And a life filled with people pleasing leads to many negative emotions like resentment, guilt, overwhelm, and obligation.

What I've figured out is it's important to take some time to think about how this applies to your life and the things you do for others.

You might be surprised by what you discover.

Join me to learn how to determine if you're people pleasing or loving others and - if you discover you're people pleasing - what steps you can take to change that.

Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.  Galatians 1:10

Do you struggle giving yourself the same grace you freely give to others?

Don't worry - you're not alone.

We all create this perfect, ideal image in our brain of what our human life should look like.

Then when it inevitably falls short, we blame and beat ourselves up.

And our brain doesn't do us any favors because it's constantly pointing out other women who seem to be living that perfect, ideal life we want.

So it's telling you it's a YOU problem.

But that’s a lie. All you're seeing is their highlights.

There's a healthy alternative to this destructive thought pattern - it's called giving yourself grace.

You can do exactly that through understanding how God designed our human experience and by simply controlling things fully within your control - like your thoughts.

Join me to learn God's truths about this and 3 steps you can start implementing in your life today to give yourself grace.

But he answered me, “My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness...”  2 Corinthians 12:9

Are you constantly trying to bring more comfort into your life?

For many of us that’s our default mode.

And the world provides so many convenient and easy options to avoid and numb ourselves anytime we feel any discomfort.

Food, alcohol, Netflix, social media, online shopping to name a few.

The truth?  Our discomfort actually has very important messages for us.

But when we avoid and numb ourselves from it we're unable to receive those messages.

We're not living the full human experience God designed us to have.

Worse of all, we aren't able to respond appropriately to our discomfort -- and doing that is THE path to our most abundant, thriving human life.

Join me to learn how God uses discomfort to communicate with us and how to respond appropriately rather than trying to avoid and escape it.

Consider it pure joy...whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:2-4

Do you have a "that" person in your life?

You know that person you can never see eye-to-eye or get along with.

Or that person that always pushes your buttons - leaving you upset and on-edge.

Well here's something amazing I have to share with you.

You're always in control of the relationship - and these people can teach you so much about yourself.

In fact, that might be the very reason God has placed them in your life.

Instead of showing up angry, defensive, frustrated, or apathetic - we can show up exactly how we want to.

And doing that will be a relationship game-changer - no matter how difficult it is.

Join me to learn how you can start doing this in all your difficult relationships.

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  James 1:19

Do you ever see this thought pop in your head?  You should be doing ALL the things right NOW!

Well hello primitive default brain. Thanks for sharing that thought with us.

Here's the problem - it's ALWAYS a lie.

And there's a great reason it tries to feed us this lie.  Because it knows what that thought leads to.

Overwhelm, exhaustion, confusion - a desire to give up and do nothing.

So what can you do?

We overcome this lie with the prefrontal rational brain God gifted us with.

We put the power of constraint to work in our lives.

We prioritize and focus on what's most important now because we know that's what will lead to real progress and success.

And we know we'll have time for the next priority after that.

A focused brain drives empowering thoughts and feelings that produce real action and the results you truly desire.

A scattered brain produces jumbled thoughts and feelings that lead to actions that fail to move the needle and deliver real results.

Join me to learn how you can start applying the power of constraint to your life and create the real results you desire.

Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.  Proverbs 4:25 MSG

God's design of our human bodies is so incredibly detailed and intricate.

This includes how they tell us when we're hungry and how they produce energy.

The problem is our bodies can lose touch with our natural hunger signals. They can struggle to utilize both of their fuel sources.

When we better understand God's amazing design, we can better understand how to properly care for it.

God's truth is our human body is a special gift from Him -- and He wants us to be good stewards of all His gifts.

These dots are easy to connect. The better we care for our bodies, the more vitality and energy we'll experience in our human lives.

And who doesn't want that?

Join me to learn what drives our over-hunger and how you have full control to start changing this in your life today.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous... Psalm 139:14

Do you ever feel like you're not in control when you eat?

There's a reason for that -- our overdesire for food -- and how that conditions us to eat whether we want to or not.

The world today makes it very easy to get there because...

...we're always surrounded by delicious tasting food

...food is an acceptable escape from our negative emotions

...the food we turn to creates a response in our brain that tells us it’s very important to have again.

See how this becomes a self-perpetuating cycle?

Before long we're eating on autopilot without any awareness of why or how much we're eating.

But like almost everything in our human life, we have a choice.

We can simply shrug our shoulders or we can build awareness and understanding that will enable us to grow and change.

Join me for this podcast to learn 4 effective steps you can follow to start changing this in your life today.

It’s not good to eat too much honey, and it’s not good to seek honors for yourself.    Proverbs 25:27

So many of us spend WAY too much time on this one thing.

Worrying about and trying to control other people's opinions about us.

Why?  Because...

...our primal default brain tells us it's REALLY important (actually it's not)

...we think we can (but we really can't).

...we overestimate how much other people think about us (they're mostly thinking about themselves).

What this creates is your own personal charade - a watered down and inauthentic version of you - that you feel you have to keep up.

Which makes it difficult - if not impossible - to live a life true to you, the life you want, the abundant life God has planned for you.

Confession time!  I spent most of my previous life in this mode but it allowed God to show me His truth and now share it with you.  So listen to this podcast to learn how you can start living a life true to you - no matter what others think.

It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the Lord, you are safe.  Proverbs 29:25

There was a time in my life when the only thing I was truly excited about was going out with friends.

One guess what I spent WAY too much time of my life thinking about and doing back then?

You guessed it - going out with friends.

And when it came to making real changes to my life to create a life filled with excitement, purpose, and passion - I was at a loss.  I had no idea it was even possible, yet alone how to make it happen.

Now I know - and I also know this is a gift God freely gives to all of us.  You have EVERYTHING you need right now to make the same happen in your life.

I understand why you might not believe that, because I didn't believe it back then either.

That's why I'm committed to be an example to show you how you can do this and how this is something God strongly desires for us in our human lives.

One amazing God-given tool to help you do this is to recall your forgotten childhood skill of imagination.  Imagine the person you want to become and the exciting life that person is living.

Our brains much prefer to live in our past - that always leads to more of the same.

When you imagine an exciting future and commit to learning how to grow into your future self, you'll discover how much wisdom that person can share with you TODAY!  You'll instantly start bringing more excitement, passion, and purpose into your life.

Join me on this podcast to find out how to apply this to your human life -- a life filled with so many possibilities -- and God's truths about it.

"So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And I tell you, ask, and it will"  Jesus in Mark 11:24

Quick!  Think of ALL the amazing possibilities in your life you're excited about.

Did you struggle to think of anything?  Did it take some time to come up with one or two things?

If so, understand there are very good reasons why this happens to many of us as we age...BUT also be aware you're likely living your life with a scarcity mindset.

Why should you care?

Because a scarcity mindset...

...creates a smaller world with limited possibilities

...makes us stagnate and keeps us stuck

...tells us this is how life is going to be and there's nothing we can do about it

...is not God's truth

Does any of that resonate with you?

God doesn't put limits on us, we put limits on ourselves (with the help of our primitive, default brain).

Join me on this podcast to find out what mindset you're living with and how you can start to recapture an abundance mindset that will re-ignite your excitement for the oh-so-many possibilities available to you in your amazing human life!

"And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Jesus in Luke 11:9