Between the Covers Podcast

Let's talk about a way we can find hope. Thanks to White Homework for providing another inspiring quote! Today's episode comes from the quote, "I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I can see the light in all of you." This has been helpful since the time of the recording and now with the looming Big Beautiful Bill making it's way through, having ally nations warn their citizens that the U.S. isn't a safe place to trav...

Today we have a hard topic. With the recent violent acts that continue to escalate in the U.S., I believe it's important to discuss that violence is rarely the answer to a given situation. The one exception for me is in self-defense. If you are taking a gun to counter protest others, you're not there to defend yourself. If the intrusive thoughts are telling you to drive your vehicle into a crowd of people who believe in something d...

Let's talk about using our creativity to change use instead of shame. If you're like me, then you have a lot of experience with shaming yourself or being shamed by others in order to get us to change. It doesn't work. In fact, I would go so far as to say it never works. If it did, we wouldn't be here having this conversation because we'd have it figured out by now. Curiosity is one of the most powerful tools I've learned to use whe...

For this month's hero's study I continue my interviews with my friends. Today, it's Katie Shobe, a pet and book lover, gamer, and all around great person who has so many different interests and hobbies. You'll have to hear from her mouth what it is that she enjoys. Katie has overcome some challenges in the last few years that I've been able to support her through and have seen first hand the integrity and perseverance of someone wh...

Let's talk about reaching out. It's something that's come up many times from myself and others in previous episodes, and yet it's more important than many people give it credit. Knowing that we're not alone and there are others supporting us in whatever our endeavor is helps us reach the fullness of our purpose, yet there's a siren song of independence, fear, and even pride that keeps us from even sending a text to someone saying w...

Let's talk about finding your purpose. Have you ever felt like you're wandering without direction in life? Just making it by without much of a goal? I've had many conversations in the past about our purpose and it's something that is important for us to determine for direction in our lives. Let's look at some ways that we can find our purpose and how that can move us to being heroes in our day to day.

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Let's talk about the power of our creativity. This is one of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal. It can do wonders to create our future, whether that's for our benefit or detriment. Here we'll discuss what it can do and how we can use it to help us become more the heroes of our stories.

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Let's talk about using our voices. It's been quite the journey for me to get to a place where I'm comfortable to use my voice. How easy is it for you to speak up for your needs, wants, and desires? Do you find your words getting stuck in your throat before you can even speak them? As someone who has wrestled with the value of his voice, I want to assure you that your voice matters. People need to hear what you have to say.

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For this month's hero's study, I interview my good friend Ben Gibson! He's the one who introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons, created a safe space for me to ask questions during my faith deconstruction, and is a devout Christian who loves people, play, and laughter! He has some great nuggets to share in this interview.

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Let's talk about hypocrisy. I grew up hearing this term a lot in my Christian upbringing and it's something that is showing up more and more these days with the rise of white Christian nationalism. What is hypocrisy? According to Jesus, it's focusing on cleaning the outside than the inside, or making ourselves look good when our character doesn't match what we present. It comes from actors putting on masks in order to play other ch...

Let's talk about one of my all time favorite TV shows: Corner Gas. It's a Canadian sitcom that takes place in the fictional, rural town of Dog River, Saskatchewan. Zaniness ensues, I laugh a lot, and many of the characters have qualities that resonate with me. We're going to look at what some of the quirks are, how they resonate with me, and hopefully you can join me on a trip down memory lane of such a fun show.

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Let's talk about guilty pleasures. Actually, let's talk about pleasure in general. Namely, why does pleasure need to be guilty? Do you have something (or multiple things) that you would define as a guilty pleasure? Why is that? Turns out, many of us have been raised with societal norms that pleasure is a bad thing, maybe even sinful if you grew up Christian like I did. I encourage you to challenge these thoughts. Why does pleasure ...

Let's talk about another hero. This one is a friend of mine, Dan Fredrickson. A nerdy guy, happily homosexual and engaged to his partner, John. He struggles with imposter syndrome and low self-esteem. He's one of my dear gay friends who manages a movie theater chain and I've had the pleasure of getting to know him since 2020 in our D&D group. We talk about politics, life, and dynamics of heroes.

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Let's talk about empathy and how many powerful and vocal people are calling it a sin these days. As an empath, I disagree with this sentiment. The biggest thing for me is that being empathetic is something that has helped me change my views. It helps me connect with other people. It opens my eyes to the plights of others. It's something that makes me love others on a much deeper level. Removing empathy makes it so that these people...

Let's talk about our appearance and how we often want to control our appearance to others. Thanks to Benji Faye and Tori Douglass of the White Homework podcast for inspiring this idea in their work sharing about their struggles with racial justice. We do A LOT to appear a specific way to others and often are trying to hide the suffering we're going through. With many conversations I have with clients, this is almost universal. Let'...

Let's talk about making our own decisions. With so many influences on what we should do, say, believe, and how to live our lives, it's more important than ever for us to make the best decisions for ourselves. I have conversations with people often where they are asking me for advice on how to handle certain life decisions and the best thing I can do is to ask questions to get them to decide for themselves. Whether it's because we d...

For this month's hero's study we are looking at one of the protagonists in the book series The Seven Realms: Princess Raisa ana'Marianna of Fellsmarch. I love how this character is one who displays dogged determination, grit, and wrestles with the complexities of court decorum and political intrigue, while also allowing herself to be the badass princess she is. She's not afraid to love, fight, and argue, and she stands up for herse...

Let's talk about focusing on ourselves. With many conversations I have with family, friends, and even clients, many of us are raised to focus on others and to give of ourselves. Naturally, we're raised to share toys and space with others, yet there's also a deeper, more nefarious teaching at play that it's selfish to invest in ourselves. Where do we get the resources to give to others if we're not investing in ourselves?

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Today, let's talk about the concept of garbage in, garbage out. It's something I've heard from both the mental and physical health departments of this concept. We are capable of producing what we put in. Want to get healthier physically? Eating overly processed foods isn't going to help with that. Finding yourself in a negative mindset all the time? There's a good chance your taking in a ton of negativity.

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