Welcome to my podcast where I share my thoughts and ideas on various mental health and life improvement topics such as anxiety, depression, marriage/family, end-of-life, and faith. Who am I? Professionally, I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have been working in the mental health field since 1987. Currently I specialize in treating people with severe anxiety disorders. Personally, my wife and I try to keep up with our expanding family while living the farmstead faith-based lifestyle. ...
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Bad things happen in life, and none of us are immune to that. Sometimes it may be personal, or in our communities, or even on a national level. There’s been some challenges that I have been facing regarding a recent tragedy in our community, and a near tragedy on the national stage. When these situations happen, I try to use critical thinking to un…
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If you have a broken or damaged part on a car, do you keep driving with that or do you replace it with something better? Well, that’s what today’s podcast is about: the idea that if you want to have success, you need to replace things that are harmful with things that are helpful. I’ve got a big list of items so grab some coffee and let’s get start…
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You’ve probably heard of the book The Giving Tree, but I want to share with you a true story about The Giving Hole that has been in the making for thousands of years. And by the way, I use this giving hole every day. What could it possibly be? Join me for today’s podcast and find out.
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Have you ever seen a bed race at a small town festival? Have you been to a tractor pull and been close enough where you felt like you could reach out and touch the tractors as they go by? If not, maybe you need to find one of the small town festivals in your area this summer, because our local town is having one this weekend and fun, happiness, and…
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This past week has been a busy one, but I found a lot of things in common that center on the theme of discovery. I’d like to talk with you about that today, so grab your coffee and let’s get started.
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When it rains, it pours, whether you are recording a podcast or facing issues in life. On today's episode I want to share with you my thoughts on coping with life's rainstorms and how to turn them into a more positive experience.
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May is the month of graduations, and I have been to 2 graduations and 3 graduation parties. With all these graduation celebrations I have been thinking back to my own high school and college graduation, I thought I would share some of my thoughts and memories with you today.
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Today’s episode is the last in a series of life lessons that everyone should develop. It is based on a list from a March 1933 edition of Harpers magazine.
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I am continuing with this series on life skills based on a 1933 article from Harper’s Magazine.
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Today I am continuing with part three of my series of life skills from a 1933 article from Harper’s Magazine.
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Today we continue with part two of our series of important life skills as listed from a 1933 article in Harpers magazine.
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On today’s episode, I am starting a short series regarding an article from March 1933 Harpers magazine having to do with important life skills that every man should be taught. I think these skills are ones that every man and woman should be taught and done at a young age, to be a well-rounded, functional, and self-sufficient adult. Take a listen an…
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Every day we have the opportunity to see miracles. Yesterday my wife and I along with several friends were able to see the 2024 great American eclipse, and later that evening we got to experience another wonderful miracle. What was it? Listen to today’s podcast and find out!
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There are different ways of looking at other people, and sometimes the way we see other people says more about ourselves in them. What am I talking about? Listens to today’s podcast and find out!
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On today’s episode I want to talk about green flags in relationships, which is kind of the opposite of the red flags that we already know to look out for. Green flags are those positive traits that help make a relationship with someone a good relationship. What are these green flags? Let’s explore them on today’s episode.…
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While I’m enjoying sitting outside here at the farm. I want to share with you, the story of stumpy, and why he is a valuable part of our farm.
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What do you say when you have chickens and ducks in 11 different areas on your homestead, and that doesn’t count the incubators in your spare bedroom? You say life is for the birds! And that is our topic today.
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Can you see your reflection in boiling water? Of course, not. If life appears to be boiling, how accurately are we actually seeing it? We’re going to look at these two questions in many more on today’s episode. Grab your coffee people and let’s dig in!
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Today I wanna share with you an account of life 200 years ago in the frontier of Madison County, Illinois, which is where Alton, Illinois is today. The account is taken from a newspaper interview from the year 1875 with the interviewee being born in 1809. It is an amazing account regarding the details of life, and it makes one wonder how we would f…
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Merry Christmas everyone! Today I would like to read to you the Christmas story from the book of Luke.
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Learning something new can be a challenge, especially as we get older. if you want to be more effective at learning new things, you may find it helpful to look at a model called the learning pyramid. Let me share with you today regarding this process and how it works.
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This past weekend my wife and I joined with my two cousins for a trip to Branson, Missouri, and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. We had a great time, and I wanted to share what we did, the fun we had, and to encourage you to make a trip there as well!
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This morning I found a booklet I received in the 1980s that talked about the progression of counties in the state of Illinois. I love this little book because it’s an obscure topic and it gives me the ability to dig deeper and opening up a door of understanding, a few people ever think about. On today’s podcast I talk about several different topics…
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Today we’re gonna look at the wisdom of two individuals on how to handle when things don’t go as planned. First, we’re gonna look at the jazz musician, Miles Davis, then look at the actor Michael Cain. Pretty good stuff for today’s episode.
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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Just a few positive thoughts on the Pilgrims, their challenges, and why we give Thanks.
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Good morning from the Deerstand! I decided to record on location from the Deerstand known as Jerry’s Playhouse. It’s still dark out as I begin my recording, thinking about past deer hunts, my friend, Jerry Niccum, swapping deer stories, coffee clubs, and how we don’t get together to visit in person like we used to. So grab your coffee and a doughnu…
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Yesterday, while cleaning out our old farm cellar, I grabbed a bottle of my dad’s wine that he had made years ago. On today’s podcast I want to share the backstory of this wonderful gift.
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As deer season quickly approaches, I am filled with memories of my dad hunting from his Magic Deerstand.
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Last episode, I was talking about preparing for winter, but today’s episode I want you to enjoy Indian summer and everything about it.
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Burr! It’s cold outside! As winter weather starts creeping in I want to challenge all of you to plan what you hope to do this winter as you spend more time indoors. Maybe there’s certain activities that you’ve been putting off that you may want to add to a list to complete or accomplish. Maybe there are new skills that you would like to learn. Mayb…
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Today we take a quick look at how we can change, for the positive, or for the negative, based upon the people that we are around.
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Happiness and Joy are often interchanged, but are very different. Let’s dive into this topic and see what we should pursue and how to go about it.
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Today I wanna share with you a story about a farmer and a donkey, a tragic situation, and an unexpected solution that we can apply into our lives today.
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Today, we wrap up our review of the book, The Triumphant Marriage by Neil Clark Warren. At the end of his book he includes 25 additional secrets from the 100 couples that he interviewed, and we will review each of those in today’s podcast.
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How does compatibility in faith impact your marriage? Find out as we explore Secret 10 in the book The Triumphant Marriage.
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Today we examine the role of children in a Triumphant Marriage.
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Having mutually satisfying sexual relationship is a key component to a strong and healthy marriage. Let’s talk about that on today’s podcast.
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Conflict is inevitable, so let’s talk about some healthy ways to deal with it.
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Good communication is vitally important for a successful marital relationship. Today we are covering Secret #6 from the book The Triumphant Marriage by Neil Clark Warren.
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How important is chemistry and romance to a successful marital relationship? I’ll give you a hint, it’s very important, which is why were talking about it on today’s episode.
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On today’s podcast, we continue with secret number for get healthy! A triumphant marriage requires to emotionally healthy people.
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In today’s episode, we continue reviewing the book by Neil Clark. Warren called The Triumphant Marriage by addressing Secret #3: Maximize the Trust Factor.
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On today’s episode, I talk about the importance of having strong skillful and committed partners in a marital relationship.
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This is the first episode based on the book The Triumphant Marriage, by Neil Clark Warren. Today we address the topic of casting a vision for your marriage.
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This morning I give a few updates on all happenings around the Farmstead since the last episode of the podcast, and have a conversation about priorities in life.
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This morning I am picking green beans in the garden and looking at not just the produce but also the weeds that didn’t get pulled out. Life is a lot like a garden: we want to have produce, but we don’t want the weeds, so how do we deal with that? That’s our topic today, so grab your cup of coffee!
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Short podcast today from the San Diego Airport with thoughts about setting and following through on goal.
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The other day, one of my grandkids asked a question about the differences between a house and a home. After giving him my answer, I found myself pondering ever since about the difference between a house, and a home, today, I want to share with you, some of my thoughts on that question, and I want to share with you the story of a little old couple a…
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Yesterday was the 42nd anniversary of MTV going live on the air. As one from the first year of the Gen X crowd MTV played a big part in my life in the 1980s while I was in college. Today I just want to reflect on music and its influence on my generation.
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In the movie, Steel Magnolias, the character of Clarisse, played by Olympia Dukakis, loved giving veiled insults in her southern charming way. Unfortunately, we can often give ourselves not so charming insults when we find ourselves in certain situations. On today’s episode, let’s talk about this and look at a process on how to make a positive chan…
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