Beyond the BBQ: Celebrating the 4th of July With More Than Food
Lifting the Lifters
Food is a central part of celebrating! It is a way we show love, how we like to gather, how we enjoy each other's company, and such an integral part of gathering! However, when dealing with dietary restrictions or just trying to observe what you are eating, it can feel isolating and a big frustration. To the point that you may just want to stay home! Don't do it! In this podcast episode, we discuss making our celebrations for the 4th of July and other holidays more than just about food, using these four suggestions. Plan Activities Beyond Eating. Embrace a Healthy Menu. Practice Mindful...
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10 Steps to Clarity
Lifting the Lifters
Jarred gave me a carwash pass for Mother’s Day, and after lots of lugging, shuttling, and adventuring, one day I noticed how bad my car needed to be washed, specifically the windshield. It was so dirty! So I pulled through the carwash, and when I got out, it was like a breath of fresh air! Being able to see through that dirty window, it was like a whole new world was opened up! It reminded me of the same experience I’d had when I put a new screen protector on my phone after the previous one had been cracked and damaged. Same experience. A breath of fresh air. The word I would...
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Waves and Weaves: Summer Patterns You'll Love!
Lifting the Lifters
I love a good, tight pattern. I love to see straight lines, uniform paterns, and regularities. My eye doesn't just love a good pattern, but my brain does too! Brains love patterns because they create safety, control, ease, and comfort. With summer underway, are you creating a good summer pattern, or are you still struggling to get a good one going? Well, if so, this podcast is for you! In today's podcast, we discuss why patterns are helpful, why some of our patterns are not so helpful, and how to recognize the patterns in our lives. Then we discuss how to create a summer pattern that weaves in...
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Marriages Are Like Rock Formations
Lifting the Lifters
Do you remember your 5th-grade science classes, where we learned about rocks, weathering, and erosion? Where there is molding and shaping, weathering, and change? This week, I took a journey back to those classes as I recalled the processes and related them to Jarred and my marriage. We celebrated 25 years this week, and it has been a ride for sure! There has been molding and shaping and building during those 25 years, and they have come through our life together, the family we have created, the work, the hobbies, and our homes! In this episode, we talk about what builds,...
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It Takes A Village
Lifting the Lifters
It's that time of year when graduations are happening in every corner, and it's exciting! The graduates of 2025 are giving commencement speeches and spreading their wings to take on their next adventure! We celebrated Meg's graduation last week, and I have been overwhelmed by the support she's had throughout her life that has molded and shaped who she is. While I hope I've been an influence for good in her life, I recognize that Jarred and I are not the only ones who have been on her journey! It has taken a village! It takes a village is a phrase that signifies that raising a child, or...
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Water: The Chill Pill You're Missing
Lifting the Lifters
You’ve heard the term: Take a chill pill! Or take a chill pill and call me in the morning! What does that even mean?! Well, to put it simply, it means to relax! There are, in fact, pills that we can take to relax, but that’s not always the most healthy or beneficial. There are other solutions to help us manage our stress because It is inevitable. We all have stressful situations, relationships, and circumstances. It isn’t really something that we can get away from. How do you cope with stress? Some of us lash out. Some of us buffer or use other sources like food, work, and...
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Grace Instead of Mom Guilt
Lifting the Lifters
Mom Guilt. This is a real thing. A day doesn't go by that we don't experience this phsycological phenomenon. All of the should have dones, could have dones, the mistakes we've made that we'd like to change. The times we did show up as our best, or show up at all. We all have an expectation of what a "good mom" looks like, and spend a lot of time feeling guilt for these expectations. These persistent feelings of guilt can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, or just a flat grumpy mom! And if they stay for long, can lead to bigger problems. This stress we feel is very...
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Compensation
Lifting the Lifters
These past few weeks I’ve been working on my golf game, again… it seems as if that is a never ending battle. Once you get something going good, there’s another issue that arises. I have a golf coach who is amazing and so patient with me. She came and we worked on a few things and when I went and played a few rounds, the things we worked on worked! I was hitting straighter and more consistently. Then, something happened, and I started hit to the right. The far right. Not just a little. So our efforts with my last couple of lessons have been on correcting...
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The Power of Pondering
Lifting the Lifters
Have you ever considered adding pondering to your day-to-day? Pondering is a time to reflect, think, and meditate. In our fast-paced, go go-go-go, hurried world, it seems counterintuitive to slow down, ponder, and reflect. Slow down to speed up? Yep! That's exactly right. There is great power in pondering. And the benefits are pretty remarkable. Improved decision-making: Pondering allows for thoroughly weighing options and potential consequences, leading to more informed and rational decisions. Deeper understanding: Pondering can reveal deeper insights and a...
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There Was a Queen Once
Lifting the Lifters
There was a queen once.... Do we look in the mirror and see that we are the queens and kings? Do we see that? Or do we see the person that could be better, isn't good enough, has no value, talents, or worth? In this podcast we talk about an experience Megan had with a little girl who handed her a Burger King crown after a loss at a pageant. This crown reminded us both, we are queens even withouth the "title." Do we act that way? Do we see ourselves in a way that we put our best foot forward and connect, create, and spread light? Listen in as we talk more about this, how this...
info_outlineIt's March Madness! And, we’re all rooting for our college basketball teams and brackets! We’ve all been following our teams, watching games and highlight reels of upsets, wins, victories, and celebrations. It’s easy to just breeze on by and not pay much attention to the other team. The losers of the games. One morning I had the TV on watching ESPN and the highlights of the winners, but then they switched to a reel of the teams that had upsets and losses. They did press conferences with many, and there were tears. BIG tears from players, coaches, and one young coach even had his 10 year old boy next to him during the press conference and he just cried and cried.
Those players and coaches have put in HOURS of work, practice, training, and time, and their season has come to an end. Unfortunately, there has to be a winner and loser in these games. There has to be one that walks away with the chance for one more game, and there has to be one that is done.
I was quickly reminded after watching this that this, my friends, is life. This is part of mortality. The highs and the lows, and it’s very easy to forget. It’s very easy to love the highs when they are high, to think “we’ve made it” and that it will last forever. And then, when there’s a low, it’s easy to get frustrated, resistant, mad, and gain the perspective that this “low” will last forever, never end. But this is not the case! These “losses and low points, they are part of the plan. They are part of life. And it doesn’t serve us to resist the lows.
If we want to make our lows a little less low, we need endurance.
How? What does endurance look like and mean for you and I?
Today's podcast is Six Tips to Enduring Well:
- Believe that you are made for this!
- Work
- Learn
- Be Humble
- Pray and Express Gratitude
- Write down your experiences.
Listen in to hear more!
Lessons on Endurance by Ty Hopkins