Podcasts

The Dignity Index

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On some things I’m slow, but hey, I’m moving.

I just discovered yesterday that I can create a playlist of podcast episodes on my app. Who knew?

I came across it trying to figure out a shortcut to relisten to two episodes I experienced while driving back and forth to Georgia for Thanksgiving. These episodes shook me in ways my soul said, “Do it again.”

Yes, one of the episodes was from Everything Happens. The guest was Tim Shriver-educator, author, and longtime Chairman of Special Olympics.

Many takeaways. But the one I’d like to shine a light on is The Dignity Index. Development beginning in 2021 and launched in 2022, the Index is an eight-point scale for measuring how we talk to each other when we disagree.

The Dignity Index is designed to draw our attention away from biases and toward the power we each have to heal our country and each other.

This seems to be needed like no other time. In whatever arena you choose, dignity is often disregarded and sometimes replaced with contempt, which is represented by the lower four scores on the Index.

The Index is a tool for learning, awareness, correction, and uniting. We all can use more of that. I know I can; thus, the episode is on my playlist.

Where in your relationships is dignity lacking, maybe even absent due to contempt? What role might you have to ease divisions, prevent violence, and solve problems? What are you willing to do?

Lunch was Joyful

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I had a four-hour drive yesterday. Lots of podcast listening.

One episode shared this quote about joy from an author new to me.

Joy is the experience of being with someone who is glad to be with you. –James Wilder

It resonated with me because of my lunch encounter Thursday. I used the word joy to describe it, believe it or not.

I left the office around 1:30 not sure where lunch would find me. Turning left on Bee Ridge, it hit me. I wasn’t in a hurry, and I felt a little celebratory. I knew where to go.

Focaccia Sandwich and Bakery!

From the minute I walked in until I left, my heart was full. Besides the fact that Nick makes great food (the sandwich in the photo was the best yet), the shop exudes life. And joy is a perfect descriptor.

So why do I say Wilder’s quote applies to Nick, the owner?

Reason #1: Nick remembers everyone’s name. He makes you feel like he made that sandwich just for you. And when I say made, I mean the recipe, the presentation, the ingredients-the whole process. He wants his food to bring you joy. He’s glad you are there.

Reason #2: Nick works with joy. I’ve yet to see him have any look on his face but a mixture of pleasure, contentment, and happiness. His shop is just eight months old and has every sign of being around a long time. People want to be around joy.

I say thanks to Nick and all those in my life who bring joy. Who are those people in your life? Return the joy. Let them know you are grateful.

Hurrying Is Human

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To begin his podcast episode entitled “Quiet Compounding,” Morgan Housel shared this quote by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu: “Nature is not in a hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” Housel then added these thoughts:

So think about giant sequoias, and advanced organisms, and towering mountain ranges. Nature builds the most jaw-dropping features of the universe, and it does so silently without trying to get attention-where growth is almost never visible right now but is staggering over long periods of time

Because his podcast is about money and finances, you can imagine where he goes from there for the next six minutes (click here to listen). When I heard this, my mind went down the personal growth lane. For that matter, life in general.

Of all the thoughts available to chase, mine went toward the gift this visual offers. Along with our striving for vocational success or relationship health or spiritual depth often comes a dump truck load of impatience. The vision demands speed, the approval starts the countdown, and the comparison creates competition.

Culture loves demands, countdowns, and competition. The countercultural eternity in our hearts draws us to pause, reflect, and look up.

May we grow in our trust that what God is after in every part of our lives will be accomplished at the right time. Rushing is futile. Hurrying is human.

Photo by Patrick Mayor on Unsplash

Perseverance

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Catching up today on one of my favorite podcasts, Being Known.

It’s season 9. They are reviewing chapters from Curt’s latest book, The Deepest Place to deepen our understanding of suffering and the formation of hope.

I hadn’t finished episode 7 on Perseverance, so that’s where I picked up. It was interesting timing.

I’ll post the video for the entire episode for you to view, but here are the lines that spoke most to me:

When we are willing to persevere, we discover over time that we are becoming something different than who we were…It’s often the case that we are not the first to recognize that…Someone else who’s watched us would say we are not the same person.

I love being able to point this out to my friends. They’ll say something that either shows their growth or reveals they have yet to see it. I try to interject my observation to reinforce the work they’ve done, the change they’ve accomplished, and the encouragement to keep going.

Need a shot of reinforcement? Check out the episode.

Reset-It’s A New Day

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Not once, not twice, but three times this week I heard the word or concept of resetting. Interestingly enough, the first time was in my own head.

Wednesday morning I was reflecting on an interaction from the previous day. When I greeted the individual that morning from the previous day’s interaction, their reaction made me think, “They are really great at resetting.”

Here’s what that means to me. Nothing was held over. It was a fresh start-in more ways than one, a new day. You’d have no idea if any frustration, irritation, or bitter seed had been caressed. Odds are it was because they have a practice of resetting.

This was followed by my hearing the latest episode of At the Table on Thursday morning. The topic: Hit the Reset Button. Their team replayed the previous day’s 34-minute meeting where they reinforced clarity on the team as a way to enter 2024. A key principle in that discussion: “People don’t need to be instructed as much as they need to be reminded.” Sounds like another definition for resetting.

So I have two opportunities for you to reset. The first one is to answer some version of this question: “What reminder best keeps me on track?” Whatever it is, print it, post it, memorize it, schedule it, share it, journal it, find all the ways possible to keep it in front of you.

The second opportunity is to check out two songs that are on my 2024 playlist. They both focus on the theme of each day is new. One is by TobyMac; the other by Danny Gokey. Take a listen and reset.

Check out a New Podcast, 3-Minute Reset

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Yesterday I posted about developing your own Bible reading plan. As a follow up, I want to share a new podcast with you that I just learned about today.

I follow Pat Lencioni’s podcast At the Table. Listening to the latest episode on my drive to work this morning, they shared about his partnering with Chris Stefanick to start a new podcast entitled 3-Minute Reset. Daily episodes began January 1.

The 3-Minute Reset is a simple, daily discipline focused on spending a moment in thought and prayer, and rediscovering the peace that is always available to us.  I checked out the first episode during lunch today. I recommend you check it out also.

Thank You, Tim Mackie!

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Last June I shared a post about starting a monthly “remembering” practice. This morning in my remembering, I chose to listen to a podcast episode about the Passover.

The episode is from the Exploring My Strange Bible Podcast. Exploring My Strange Bible is Tim Mackie’s personal podcast, produced by BibleProject. It’s an anthology of Tim’s lectures, sermons, and classroom teachings collected over 10 years.

I’ve only listened to a few episodes. What I have found so far is worth sharing. Mackie accomplishes his mission of exploring the Bible for everyone-those who’ve explored it for years and those who’ve just started or aren’t sure why they should.

For this episode, I’m guessing 90% of listeners will learn something that will enhance their next “remembering” opportunity. I know I did.

Today I remembered through the lens of those closest to Jesus sharing Passover with him. Thank you, Tim Mackie, for enhancing and deepening my remembering.

Storytelling: Finding Joy

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My ongoing search to find podcasts that interest me has recently delivered a gem. The podcast is Being Known Podcast with Curt Thompson and Pepper Sweeney. Here’s their description of their podcast’s purpose:

In a world in which we experience such deep desire and such great grief, we find coursing through all of it our unquenchable longing to be known. But we don’t want to stop there, for we know in our bones and blood that we desire to be known in order for us to create and curate beauty and goodness in the world — together with our friends and, in our best moments, even our enemies — in every domain of life that we occupy.

I just finished listening to episode #4: Story. So many good thoughts-some new and some reminders-about what story is, how we tell ours, and why we need to.

A lot of what I’m doing in life in my storytelling is I’m looking for ways to find joy in a world that I know is not easy to live in. -Curt Thompson

This week I’ve had to find joy in a world not easy to live in. The story told about me, that I told myself, and that I shared with others led me to renewed joy. Thank you, Curt and Pepper, for conversation affirming my joy.

Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash

So…What about “Spiritual Distancing”?

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Here’s a clear truth from the last few weeks: we’ve learned some new words and phrases. And one of the most repeated I’ve heard is “social distancing.” We introverts know all about that, but this usage doesn’t quite mean the same.

And so it has people talking-even wondering if it’s quite right. See this post from a Facebook friend.

In talking about this with a staff member today along with the choices churches are facing due to “gathering” restrictions, it hit me that we are dealing with another thing for many people; I’ll call it spiritual distancing. For some, this isn’t a new thing. They already keep their distance from spiritual people and conversations. So what about those who are not only being restricted socially but in some sense spiritually?

Multiple answers abound, thanks to the Internet. If you are hungry and resourceful enough, you can find spiritual food to keep you close and healthy rather than distant and wondering. Here are my top two suggestions:

  1. Podcasts…if you haven’t dipped your toe in this ocean, now would be a great time to get wet. Two suggestions: 1) Most well-known pastors/authors have podcasts. Search for them and subscribe. 2) My preference is to search for episode topics rather than follow the same person. For instance, you could search “prayer,” “faith,” “peace from God,” or “overcoming fear.” Search and find voices God can use to overcome spiritual distancing.
  2. Youversion…the best Bible app. I have to be honest. I haven’t tried any others. But there is so much to like about this one. One element that can tremendously impact spiritual distancing is the reading plans. There are loads of options. And maybe the best kept secret about the app is that you can invite friends to read the plan with you and offer conversation between all those reading the plan. That brings spiritual people closer to one another and hopefully closer to God.

My encouragement to you is this. Whatever some one or some thing may create to force distance between you and God, stand up. Resist. Draw close. Feed that hunger. Connect. Avoid spiritual distancing.

Vulnerability

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One effort, and it is for me, to achieve better and deeper this year is to listen to more podcasts. I don’t tend to follow every episode of a podcast; therein lies my effort. Rather than just tune in for every episode dropped, I have to search for episodes that speak to what I’m looking to receive, areas of growth I need to pay attention to.

My friend Mark cohosts a podcast called The Next Man Up. His target audience is fathers. Since I’m not his target, I tend not to tune in to every episode. Reality is, though, most of the content is for men in general; so regardless of your stage of life as a man, you get something from each episode.

For example, I just listened to Episode #91. The subject is vulnerability, which men stink at. I’m not the worst at it, but I’m not the best either. But I know this, if a podcast episode has the name Brene Brown in the show notes, I’m probably going listen. I haven’t regretted doing so yet.

Guys, I’m not going to rehash the episode’s content. Odds are pretty high you need to get better in this area also. Click on the link. It’s a good use of thirty minutes today.