Why is identity so important? In this episode I contrast two very different places we can look to for our sense of identity. One leads us down a path of despair. The other, a hope and a future.
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Whether you're a war veteran or abuse survivor, staying silent keeps us from the very thing that could aide our healing and recovery, connection to others. It can also create generational cycles of managing pain through dysfunctional or maladaptive means. Here I talk with author Peyton Garland about how the message “Silence is Strength” gets passed down through generations. Let's break those cycles!
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Did you spend your childhood envisioning yourself “making it" only to grow up and realize you didn’t know how? In this episode I share my first step on the path of discovering the right career for me. Maybe it will inspire your next right step in choosing the right career.
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A cycle breaker is someone who sees a destructive pattern in their family and intentionally decides to break the cycle. I am a cycle breaker.
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In Episode 28, Marriage and Family Therapist Molly LaCroix joins me to discuss why it’s better to label behavior as toxic, not people. We don't minimize abusive behaviors but we discuss why it is helpful to distinguish between a person and their behavior.
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In Episode 26 of The All Gifts Podcast, psychologist Alison Cook, PhD joins me to discuss how childhood wounds can show up in our spiritual walks and relationship with God. Alison is a counselor, a speaker, and co-author of the book Boundaries for Your Soul.
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In Episode 25 of The All Gifts Podcast, Jenn Whitmer, speaker, coach, writer, and self-professed “Joy-bringer,” joins me to discuss toxic work environments: how to spot them and how to deal with them without losing your joy in the process.
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I was delighted when a friend introduced me to Episode 24’s guest, Cindy Villanueva. We were both unwed teen moms who bounced back from that failure only to end up with divorce, domestic violence, and career setbacks as part of our stories. We both learned that we aren’t our failures. And, thanks to our faith, we’ve also learned that we aren’t what we’ve accomplished. Our identities are more than our degrees, careers, and even our children.
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If you’ve been through any kind of toxic situation whether it was a relationship or a certain work or living environment and you want to learn how to find the gifts in that, how to not only survive it but thrive because of it, then you’ll want to tune into this season. We will look at narcissistic, toxic people and situations. How to spot them and how to deal with them.
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From media to hi-tech, you can’t achieve big dreams without being comfortable with the risk of failure. When I learned this, I had to make a choice. I was going to either play it safe and avoid failure or go for it. And, since my dreams mean so much to me, I chose to get friendly with failure.
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This is the third episode in a three-part series called Spiritual Identity that explores deconstruction and inclusivity. Not everyone who listens to The All Gifts Podcast is a Christian. I hope to make it a welcoming space for anyone. So, in the spirit of inclusivity, in this episode, I demystify and define some common Christian religious terminology and concepts.
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Did you know that our journey with God has stages? And did you know that along that journey there are times of intense doubt where you question everything you once were taught and believed? If you are in that stage right now, what if I told you there is nothing wrong with you? That what you are going through is not only perfectly normal but that it’s also really, really good?
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Since I started The All Gifts Podcast, I’ve noticed that I cringe when I hear myself say I’m a Christian. I’ve even found myself saying, “All Gifts isn’t a Christian podcast.”
Being someone who sees the value in being self-aware and of course, vigilant about my relationship with God, I wanted to understand why. Why was I distancing myself from Christianity?
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In Episode 18 of The All Gifts Podcast I’m joined by Jodie Cooper, my first international guest! Jodie is Australian and writes children’s books for Christian families. Jodie and her husband have two small children. In this episode, we talk about how a few years in, Jodie found herself in an abusive marriage with punishing behavior, moods and tones used to manipulate and control.
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Episode 17 of the All Gifts Podcast, I’m joined by guest Molly LaCroix who obtained her master’s in marriage and family therapy at a seminary and writes about the intersection of faith and well-being. In this episode, she shares about being diagnosed with breast cancer in April of 2020 and how she relied on a spiritual practice she developed to deal with this in the middle of the pandemic.
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In Episode 16 of The All Gifts Podcast I discuss the harmful effects of Purity Culture with Dr. Camden Morgante, a licensed psychologist and college professor who writes about relationships, sexuality, women’s issues, and mental health.
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In Episode 15 of The All Gifts Podcast, I talk with Mary Kate Brown, a writer and homeschool mom of three little girls about her journey with the autoimmune illness Crohn’s Disease. Through the nine months it took to diagnose this inflammatory bowel disease, the birth of her third child, dealing with insurance, hospitalizations and eventually, major surgery, Mary Kate suffered.
When she was at the height of her physical suffering, Mary Kate became aware that she was also battling emotional wounds. She discovered that her inner life was affecting her physical body. God used her condition to unearth unhealed areas of her life and put her on a path of spiritual, emotional, and physical healing.
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This episode of The All Gifts Podcast is about the touchy topic of mothers and daughters in law. Joining me for the conversation is my daughter-in-law, Heaven Dampier. Heaven and I share our perspectives of what it was like to feel the tension between us, what we did about it, and the gifts we now have.
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This week’s episode of the All Gifts Podcast is about my journey overcoming marijuana and alcohol addiction. Author Jennifer Evans joins me to share a few laughs as we talk about the things that have helped us get and stay sober through the insanity of life, popular recovery language that no longer serves our needs, and how good it feels to be free.
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2021 is a time to rebuild. Lana Negrete, owner of Santa Monica Music Center, takes us behind the scenes of the news footage of the 2020 riots, describing the difference between the looters and the protesters. And shares how she, a small business and non-profit owner, used the pain of nearly losing it all to pivot her business and her perspective.
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