|
Reader, I noticed recently that I’ve become more unsettled agitated. All the violence we’re seeing here in the US is getting to me. People stabbed on light rail trains. Speakers shot dead on college campuses. Children gunned down at school. So much evil. Is this getting to you, too? I realized I need to spend less attention to the news these days. So I’ve withdrawn from it a bit, and am looking to fill my mind with something more positive. In doing so, I’m drawn to Philippians 4:8 in the Bible, where the apostle Paul says: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
So I tried to think of things that are honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable, along with things that are excellent and worthy of praise. I wanted to come up with a list to focus on. But all I could come up with were generalities. The same things you would probably put on your list. Generalities weren’t going to cut it for me, I needed something specific and concrete to focus on so all the evil going on in the world wouldn’t weigh me down. After sometime thinking about this, two things emerged that settled me down. and they both had to do with gratitude. The first happened last Saturday morning when Janet and I took our 23-year-old twin grandsons out for breakfast. They live busy lives and the fact they even want to spend time with us is remarkable. For me, it certainly is a concrete example of what Philippians 4:8 is all about. I tend to forget what a blessing our time with these guys has become. I need to remind myself of this when I’m agitated about other things. The second example of Philippians 4:8 in action is something grandson Grant told us at our breakfast. He works at a regional medical facility in our area as a pediatric psychometrist. He told us of a new initiative at the hospital for developmentally disabled young adults that he is excited about. They’ve a developed a program to teach these special-needs men and women basic life skills, and then provide them jobs they can handle at the medical facility. All to give them as normal a life as possible. What a great idea. Not only individuals, but institutions can do what what is honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. They can do things that are excellent and worthy of praise. It warms my heart to think about this. What about you? What examples of Philippians 4:8 can you think of that go beyond generalities. I’d love to her about them. Until next time, I wish you all the joy that you can wish.* John Certalic *The Merchant of Venice, Act III, scene 2 P.S. Season 10 of the podcast starts October 1st. Here are the latest two episodes from season nine in case you missed them. |
Articles
“At the end of the day, nothing matters MORE than relationships.” — John Certalic
My Favorite Quote This Week
Hi Reader, I may have mentioned this before, but I think it would be fun to do a weekly podcast about interesting quotes. Quote the quote, then talk about it. For example, I recently read a book by Mary Pipher, Letters to a Young Therapist. Each chapter is a letter to the author’s niece who is a newly minted psychotherapist. As one with decades of experience in their shared profession, Pipher offers up nuggets of wisdom she’s learned along the way. I didn’t get the sense she's a person of...
Relating with People Who Don’t Talk Much
Reader, One of the things I enjoyed about writing my book THEM in 2016 was coming up with a quote to put at the top of the page for each chapter. I love it when other authors do this. Here’s the quote I found that encapsulated the theme of chapter one of the book: The older I grow, the more I listen to people who don't talk much. - Germain G. Glidden Today’s podcast episode is about how to do what the quote describes. I tell two stories from the book that give examples of putting the quote...
Reaction to Our Most Popular Blog Post Ever
Reader, I was surprised by the amount of reader reaction to our blog post of January 24th. It’s the most we’ve ever received. Joy From An Unlikely Source” was about the death of Herb Kohl, former owner of the NBA Milwaukee Bucks and United States Senator for 24 years. He passed away at the end of 2023 and I shared some of the tributes paid to him. The stories people told about him personify what I say at the end of each podcast episode, “spread a little relational sunshine with the people you...
5 Things to Watch For In Your Next Conversation
Hi Reader, Sports journalists often write about what to watch for in upcoming sporting events. Articles like “5 Things to Look For In the 49er’s - Chiefs game” were common leading up to the Super Bowl earlier this month. Today’s You Were Made for This podcast uses the same format, “Five things to Watch For In Your Next Conversation.” Click here to listen in to episode 213. You’ll hear a few things you may not have heard before that will help deepen your relationships. Until next week, I wish...
Relational Curiosity and Joy
Hi Reader, If you’re new to our You Were Made for This podcast you should know that a new episode drops the first and third Wednesday of each month. The last episode was no. 212 which aired last week, “Little Things We Do Matter the Most to People.” For the Wednesdays without a new episode, like this one, you will find an email/blog post. For example, today I thought you might be interested in how our podcast is encouraging people. Hopefully it’s encouraging you, too. Here are three recent...
Little Things Mean a Lot
Reader, The most recent episode of our You Were Made for This podcast, no. 211, was about a group of guys and what they did at a Saturday morning breakfast to honor their wives. If you haven’t heard it, click here to listen to the “Men with Waffles” episode. Today’s episode, no. 212, describes what happened ten years later to the men at that breakfast, especially one in particular. Click here to listen to examples of how the little things we do for people often matter the most to them. One...
What Do You Do When This Happens to You?
Reader, One of our You Were Made for This listeners once told me, “I really enjoy hearing feedback from other listeners to the podcast.” I’ve have some for you today. An episode from a few weeks ago, no. 210 - “Word of the Year for 2024: Curious” referred to another show on the same topic, no 063, “Six Reasons Why We’re not More Curious About People.” Episode 063 was from a few years back, and a listener by the name of Amy recently listened to it and left this comment: I bookmarked this...
Joy From an Unlikely Source
Reader, Last week’s podcast episode, no. 211 “A Men’s Breakfast Like No Other,” is one of my favorites. Click here if you missed it. Especially if you’re a woman and want to know what men talk about when you’re not around. Today I'm sharing an example of what I’ve been saying at the end of every podcast episode (I think) since the very first one back in November of 2018. It’s an encouragement to Spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for...
When a Friend Visits from Out of Town
Hi Reader, A few weeks ago a friend who moved away texted me to ask if we could meet for breakfast while he was in town over the Christmas holiday. It’s always a delight when we get together and get caught up on each other’s lives. We picked up where we left off the last time we talked. It was like he had never moved, even though it had been almost 9 years since he did. Today’s podcast episode is about what our breakfast reminded me of - another breakfast we were both involved in 13 years...
Search Our PodcastsArticles
Search to find what you’re looking for
