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“Tight Around the Middle”

Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

Release Date: 10/01/2019

This Sucks... show art This Sucks...

Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

There is going to be a very good chance that you think you know what I'm going to say on this podcast, but you don't. I can promise you that, because up until about 12 hours ago, I didn't even know what I was going to be saying on this podcast. I actually had an interview scheduled this week, but aren't we living in a time when we never know what's coming? This podcast wasn't in the cards for me either, so please keep listening until the end. David Radke will be joining me on today's show. In order to earn a living, I create content. I write books. I travel and I speak. I write online courses...

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Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

I'm excited about today, because my guest is ordinary. She is ordinary, the topic is ordinary, and you all know how I feel about ordinary. We talk about a mundane event that lots of people go through, but she is handling it in extraordinary ways. I haven't done a podcast on this subject, yet it's so prevalent. I'm talking about divorce. Last fall, I met Kelly Mathews, and I thought she was so kind and so beautiful, but her story was painful. It was the story of a loss of a relationship and the loss of a marriage. When I met her, I was wondering how she was still standing and still smiling. I...

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Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

Over the next two weeks, we will be talking to women who were suddenly faced with a decision. Maybe the decision came after years of being at a dead-end job, and they simply had had enough. Maybe, it came after a divorce. We will be talking to these women who found themselves having to make a choice about what will be next. What will they do? Will they live? Will they die? Will they get stuck? Will they continue waking up every day putting one foot in front of the other? There are some really powerful and relatable stories coming your way over the next couple of weeks. Our Guest today had no...

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Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

Dr. Justin Coulson is an honorary fellow at the Center for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne. He has three best-selling books about family life and parenting. He writes, consults, and teaches about the intersection of psychology, family, and well-being. He's a TEDx speaker and a regular TV expert guest. He's a contributor to major Australian media outlets. He's also contributed to the New York Times.  He had a successful radio career and then returned to school in his late 20's where he earned his psychology degree and his PhD in psychology. Since then he has written...

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Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

Katherine is a nurse practitioner who worked for many years at a very good OBGYN practice here in town. She left this practice to go work at the health clinic. A month later, she said it was one of the most fulfilling things ever. She's working with people and especially teenagers on the issues that are the most near and dear to her heart. Her work is about sex and our bodies.

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Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

This is the first time I've rereleased an episode. I'm interupting our season on teens, social media and sex to rerelease an episode that came out around Christmas time with my friend Billie Jean Johnson. This was a powerful episode. I heard from so many of you that this episode moved you, challenged you, and made you think that you might want something more or different from your life. Billie Jean was facing one of the hardest challenges of her life, and she lost. At least, here on Earth. On Thursday February 13th, Billie Jean took her last breath. Now she is probably healthier and happier...

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Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

There's a running list of things I don't understand and one of them is the internet. The internet is constantly changing. It goes deep and wide. Another thing I don't understand is teenagers. We may just use the internet for the things that we normally do like podcasts, shopping Facebook, and the rest. But teenagers, what do they do on the internet? Do they feel the same as we do and just use the internet for Amazon Prime orders, social posts, and reading safe blogs? I may not understand teens and I may not understand the vastness of the internet, but I've come to my senses when it comes to...

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Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

About 10 years ago, I wasn't doing any of the things I'm doing now. I wasn't writing books. I wasn't hosting podcasts. I was sitting at home and watching other women go first. A lot of us find someone who is doing what we want to do and we follow them and root for them and listen closely when they speak. I was at home watching Rebekah Lyons. I've loved her from the moment I heard her speak. This might surprise some of you, after hearing this interview, because we couldn't be more different. She is all love, light, kindness and gracefulness.  I've watched her long enough to know that what...

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Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

Melissa and David are here today to answer listener questions. Melissa loves it when people ask questions. We appreciate you trusting us with all of the things we'll be talking about today and on future episodes. The last couple of weeks have been dedicated to something that Melissa just can't wrap her mind around. We've been talking about being still, organizing, and decluttering our homes and our hearts, space, and putting your phone away.  If someone would have told me that in the year 1994 when David and I got married that someday David would be checking his phone while we were having...

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Ordinary People. Ordinary Things. with Melissa Radke

A few months ago I got a book in the mail titled . Imagine that frozen moment in time, when I was holding this book while standing in my kitchen surrounded by, you guessed it, clutter! In spite of the stuff that creates clutter, today's podcast isn't about removing physical clutter. It's about removing noise, stress, and over commitments. This show is for anyone who wakes up from a nap and says, "I wish I could do that again."  It's for people who buy books and find them later dusty and unread. It's for those who meet God on vacation or in quiet moments and wish they had more times like...

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I often get asked why I chose Ordinary People Ordinary Things for the name of this podcast. I wanted to do a podcast, because I like to hear myself talk, and I have some pretty good things to say along with some ridiculous things to say. I'm not famous. I'm not wealthy. I'm just ordinary me, so that's how I named the show. I interview ordinary people, and chances are, you are ordinary too. Some of the best lessons I've ever learned were from ordinary people. 

When we take a second look, we realize that the things we do everyday aren't ordinary at all. Maybe it takes fresh eyes to see that my role as a parent is a living breathing miracle, and I'm lucky to get to do it. There are miracles all around us in the ordinary. This is why today's guest is so important. Lisa Jo Baker is a fangirl of ordinary life, author, speaker, co-host of the Out of the Ordinary Podcast and champion of women and Netflix. Lisa-Jo lives just outside of Washington DC with her husband of over 20 years and 3 of the loudest kids you've ever heard, and I’m thrilled to talk with her today.

Show Notes:

  • [03:34] Lisa-Jo is from South Africa. She is named after her mom Jo. Her son is Jackson Jo. 
  • [05:28] The designer for the book cover asked Lisa-Jo for a placeholder photo. This photo ended up being used on the cover. It captured Lisa-Jo as she really was while throwing a kids birthday party surrounded by friends. 
  • [10:00] Lisa-Jo was an attorney and practiced human rights law in the Ukraine for the UN. 
  • [10:26] She writes and speaks and is still an advocate for women. I started blogging and several books were born out of it. 
  • [11:16] She went from advocating as an attorney to being an advocate as a writer. Her husband is a professor of political science. She also has three kids.
  • [12:59] I share the introduction to Lisa-Jo's book The Middle Matters.
  • [14:39] The middle is the place where our lives really live.
  • [16:43] Most of us live very ordinary days, but our kids are interested in our stories. Lisa-Jo's book is like a snapshot of her life. Most of our lives are lived in the middle.
  • [19:35] Lisa-Jo wants to help women embrace those middle moments. It's about seeing the day not seizing the day. 
  • [21:21] It's a challenge to write or work and still capture those ordinary moments. 
  • [22:18] Lisa-Jo needs to be anchored to people who see her real self. 
  • [25:40] Lisa-Jo shares her feelings about her muffin top. She is also happy to share her age. 
  • [30:01] Nobody is as critical of us as we are. Women should be proud of their bodies.
  • [34:02] We shouldn't let people put labels on us as teens or college age girls. 
  • [36:44] We don't have to live in a storybook. An ordinary love is perfect and beautiful. 
  • [40:05] On the outside we age, but on the inside we feel kind of frozen in time.
  • [41:02] Lisa-Jo wants to give people new glasses and a new way to see their own lives.
  • [43:18] Lisa-Jo answers the rapid fire questions. She loves a South African restaurant called Spur and eats a mushroom burger. 
  • [45:03] Friendship is a safe place with grace and space.
  • [48:06] We need to say out loud that we are paying attention to what matters.

Thanks for joining us on Ordinary People Ordinary Things. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review. Just like your mother taught you.

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