Podcast

079: Thankful for Simple Gifts Found in Relationships

By John Certalic on November 25, 2020 0

Be thankful for the simple gifts found in relationships. They show us how to relate to God, ourselves, and others. They are a great gift.

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 79, our Thanksgiving episode.

Imagine for a minute it’s Thanksgiving Day here in the US, and you are sitting around the table with your family eating your Thanksgiving dinner, and you ask everyone around the table what they are thankful for this past year.

I say “imagine” because Dr. Fauci and others have urged us to avoid family get-togethers altogether. Without regard to what you decide to do in this matter, how would you complete the sentence starting with, “In 2020 I am thankful for….”? [Read more…] about 079: Thankful for Simple Gifts Found in Relationships

078: Fulfilling Relationships Don’t Just Happen

By John Certalic on November 18, 2020 0

Welcome to episode 78, where today we explore an important element of a fulfilling relationship.

If you’re a new listener to this podcast, you will soon realize that we’re all about relationships here. We’re all about finding the joy God intends for us in our relationships because that is what He made us for. Our relationship with people, with the world around us, with ourselves, and most importantly, with God himself.

Each episode is designed to share some nugget of truth we can act on to make our relationships fulfilling and joyful. Fulfilling relationships don't just don't happen on their own, they require effort on our part.

Today, for example, we’ll be looking at one key principle of a healthy and fulfilling relationship each of us can work on to make our relationships the best they can be. [Read more…] about 078: Fulfilling Relationships Don’t Just Happen

077: To Impact the World is Easier than You Think

By John Certalic on November 11, 2020 0

Hello everyone and welcome to episode 77. Before we begin, I need to let you know of 2 computer glitches affecting the podcast, both of which have been fixed. 1.) Prior episodes were only playing the most current episode. 2) You couldn’t leave a comment in the “Leave a Reply” box at the bottom of the show notes. Thanks to listeners who pointed out these two problems, which have now been corrected!

On to today’s episode.

Every now and then, many of us in our more reflective moods will wonder if how we are living really makes a difference. Are we impacting the world in any meaningful way?

To answer this question, I’m here today to tell you that it’s easier than you think to impact the world. I will give you several examples in today’s show, using listener feedback to 2 recent episodes of You Were Made for This. So please listen in. [Read more…] about 077: To Impact the World is Easier than You Think

076: Participate in All Saints Day Like This

By John Certalic on November 4, 2020 2

We can participate in All Saints Day by remembering the wise people who’ve gone before you. Follow their example and become a role model for others.

Hello everyone and welcome to today’s episode, number 76. It’s our annual All Saints Day episode, which we’re starting for the first time here at our studios at One Podcast Plaza in New Berlin, Wisconsin.

Each year All Saints Day falls on November 1st where Christians around the world remember and honor those who have passed on to the next life. (We’re a few days past November 1st, but we can still participate in it.)

In the Roman Catholic tradition, in which I grew up, All Saints Day is a Holy Day that honors the canonized saints of the church by going to mass.

I’m not Catholic anymore, but I found that other Christian traditions have embraced this custom of honoring Godly people who have gone before us. However, the “saints” I’m talking about are not the people with celebrity status you find with Roman Catholic saints. [Read more…] about 076: Participate in All Saints Day Like This

075: Getting a Letter Helps People Who Feel Isolated

By John Certalic on October 28, 2020 0

Getting a letter helps people who are feeling isolated & lonely. Composing and mailing our thoughts to someone connects us with them. That's the topic of today's episode.

Hello everyone and welcome to today’s episode where today we consider a simple thing we can do to nurture our relationship with people.

Some of us are doing better than others in coping with the pandemic we’re living through here in 2020. For those of us who are, and who want to help those of us who are not, you may find today’s episode helpful.

I recently came across an idea you might want to consider if you have people in your life struggling with the isolation we are experiencing during these difficult days. Listen in as we consider an old-school strategy that research has shown to be effective in caring for the emotional health of people close to us. [Read more…] about 075: Getting a Letter Helps People Who Feel Isolated

074: Relationships During Elections

By John Certalic on October 21, 2020 0

Hello everyone and welcome to today’s episode where today we talk about relationships during elections, and how we can better care for each other during them. We’re doing so at the suggestion of a listener from Pennsylvania.

There’s something about elections that stirs up emotion in people. And it’s not just in Pennsylvania. It’s the rest of the world, too.

A recent election in Kyrgyzstan, for example, prompted a large page-1 photo in the Wall Street Journal. Its caption: “Vote Dispute Plunges Kyrgyzstan into Chaos.”

Expressions of political preferences polarize people. They harm relationships. They divide people more than they bring us together. [Read more…] about 074: Relationships During Elections

073: Could Curiosity About Others Minimize Racism?

By John Certalic on October 14, 2020 0

Curiosity about others minimizes racism as we minimize our pride. Humility seeks to understand difficulties others experience that we haven’t.

Hello everyone and welcome to today’s show where today we consider several interesting responses from our listeners to a recent episode.

The first is an email in reaction to episode 70, Building Relationships Eases Racial Tension. It’s from Thomas, a listener from West Africa:

Listener response no. 1

Dear John,

Greetings from [a West African country].

Thank you for interviewing Kevin about his perception of and suggested solutions to racial matters in the US. I am touched by his proposed solution, particularly, about the role Christians could play.

When I come to the US and worship with Americans I am struck at the racial components of most churches. If it is white, it is white; if it is black, it is black. I see very little effort Christian leaders and Christians in America toward the blending of the color of worshippers and ministers in many American congregations…
[Read more…] about 073: Could Curiosity About Others Minimize Racism?

072: What I Learned From a Grieving Friend

By John Certalic on October 7, 2020 0

Death teaches us how to live when we join someone in going through their grief. What I learned from a grieving friend can benefit all of us.

Welcome to today’s episode, no. 72, where today we consider what we can learn from a grieving friend.

In last week’s episode, number 71, How to Help a Grieving Friend, I talked about the shocking news Janet and I received from our missionary friend, Martin, concerning the sudden and unexpected death of his wife, and our friend, Suzanne. I talked about ways we can help a grieving friend, even as we ourselves grieve.

For today, I want us to reflect upon what we learn in walking together with a friend through his or her grief. There is much we can benefit from if we pay attention. For me, I find it starts with a rather haunting verse about death found in the Old Testament. A really unusual verse. Listen in as I explain. [Read more…] about 072: What I Learned From a Grieving Friend

071: How to Help a Grieving Friend

By John Certalic on September 30, 2020 0

To help a grieving friend starts with being present and joining God in comforting those going through difficult times. Hello everyone and welcome to episode no. 71, where today we discuss how to help a grieving friend.

Before we get into that, I have some listener feedback to share with you from episode 69, When our Kids Go Off to School for the First Time.

Hey John, I have enjoyed the past two weeks and happy for your new season. This is a bright spot in the middle of the pandemic. I am wondering if I will ever get out of England. ~ Dorcas

Great podcast John! I love your action step of writing a notecard to parents who are sending their kids to school for the first time. Well done! ~ Teri

On to today’s episode.

We’ve all been there. A friend loses someone important to them through death. We care, but we don’t know what to do. Today’s episode is about what happened to me recently when a friend died, and what I did to help a grieving friend. [Read more…] about 071: How to Help a Grieving Friend

070: Building Relationships Eases Racial Tension

By John Certalic on September 23, 2020 0

Building relationships eases racial tension. A solution to racism is to be more like Jesus and build relationships with people not like us. That's what today's episode is all about.

I sometimes wish we could speed up the calendar this year, turn a few more pages at a time to bring 2020 to a close. With all the turmoil over Covid-19, the presidential election, and heightened racial tension in the US, I would just like to wipe the slate clean and start over again. How about you? Are you with me on this?

During this time we’ve gotten so many conflicting answers as to how to solve these problems, that you don’t know who to believe anymore. Well in today’s episode I interview someone who actually has a solution of where to start in solving the racial tension here in America. [Read more…] about 070: Building Relationships Eases Racial Tension