Lead Your Life

How well do you sleep at night? For Fredric Almond, growing up as any normal 11 year old in South Central L.A., sleep was never an issue until one night a burglar broke into his home and a horrific confrontation led to his mother's life being taken and Fredric receiving 39 stab wounds. The doctors predicted Fredric would die but he didn't. Fredric lived. And Fredric didn't just live to continue a life of bitterness, hate, and anger towards his perpetrator, Fredric learned the art of forgiving deep. He now lives for the purpose of helping people heal from their emotional and physical scars. Fredric is a father, church leader, and author of the book, Scarred for Life, based on his life story.

Let’s face it. Christianity has never been attractive in the past and is even less attractive today but the reasons are different. In the past Christianity was seen as a rebel religion started by a radical leader called Jesus Christ. As a result the church was heavily persecuted. Today, there’s no persecution but when people think Christianity they think scandals and hypocrisy and when they think of it as a religion they see it as irrelevant, stale, and lacking in substance. Is this accurate? Join me and Dr. Sven Ostring, Ministry Strategist, as we probe this important question of why Christianity stinks for millions of people world-wide and the root cause of this perception.

Who’s your favourite superhero? Superman, Spiderman, Batman, or the Avengers? In this month's episode, I interview Daniel Hudgens, the graphic designer and associate director of the Amazing Facts Centre of Evangelism (AFCOE). As a young boy, Dan loved immersing himself in the imaginary world of Star Wars, comic books, and action heroes. He could see there was a supernatural battle taking place between good and evil. He sensed there was more to life than the status quo but didn’t know where to find the answers. Through much searching, Daniel found the answers not in a comic book, but in God’s book which reveals the ultimate battle between good and evil, involving everyone living on this planet. Daniel has dedicated his life to sharing this truth which shows Jesus is the real Superman and the Bible is the book that provides the answers to life’s most difficult questions. To find out more about Amazing Facts check out: www.amazingfacts.org 

Join us for this special podcast with Dr. Mary Barbera, award-winning expert on Autism. In the 1980's, when Mary's son was diagnosed with autism, the likelihood of having a child with autism was 1 in 500; today it's 1 in 50! Chances are you may have a child displaying signs of autism or may know of a friend or family member with autism.  Find out how Mary transformed herself from an overwhelmed and confused parent to becoming a pioneer in this field, working tirelessly to bring hope to countless families around the world whose children may be showing signs of autism and the steps they can take to help them reach their highest potential! Incidentally, this podcast also aired on Mary's own podcast, Turn Autism Around, to celebrate her 200th episode which recently surpassed 1 million downloads! Find out more about Mary's work at: www.marybarbera.com

Love shouldn't hurt, right? But many times it does and often from those closest to you. In this month's podcast we interview Danni Synot, founder and CEO of Brave Enough, who reveals her extraordinary journey to overcoming abuse, embracing forgiveness, and living an empowered life to help others stuck in the cycle of abuse. It's Danni's God-given passion to help others heal and find hope and freedom in the love of Jesus.  ​Danni is a dynamic television & radio presenter featured on various networks around the globe. She is also a Christian speaker, author of the book "Every Heart’s Cry", and a qualified counsellor. To find out more about Danni, check her out on Brave Enough (www.braveenough.org) and watch her multi-award winning Beyond the Search Series (www.beyond.info).

How can you time things perfectly in life? How do you know the right time to make decisions? For example, how do you know the right time to start a new ministry if you're a church leader? How do you know it's the right time to get serious about a relationship? Or, when's the right time to shift jobs or even careers? A lot of us make decisions based on intuition or guesswork. Some describe timing things perfectly as an art and some describe it as a science. But could it be that timing things perfectly is more about devotion - having an intimate and personal relationship with God who knows all things? In this month's podcast, we interview Zac Page, pastor of the Templeton Hills Church in California, who realised the value of timing things perfectly when he and his church embarked on the journey to build and establish a thriving community farm at the start of the pandemic. You will discover how multiple mistakes were avoided, many decisions timed to perfection in what could only be attributed to divine guidance, as Zac discovered the power of devotion in letting God take the lead. Three key principles to watch for when it comes to timing are: 1. Begin with prayer; 2. Form a team; 3. Move forward through obstacles. Hope you're blessed as much as I was! Check it out!

Do you ever feel "sick in the stomach" or get "butterflies in your tummy"? Chances are your gut it trying to talk to you! In this month's podcast join my conversation with Candice Berghan, qualified naturopath and clinician, as we talk about everything related to gut health and the kinds of foods that will make your gut feel happy. Candice shares some amazing new research on the two-way connection between the gut and brain: why what you eat impacts how you feel, and how you feel can cause a physical reaction in the gut - literally! Candice has worked in a number of health retreats and day spas inspiring people to take charge of their health and well-being. Recently starting the Oakwood Wellbeing Centre in sunny Queensland, Australia, Candice provide clients with a range of treatment options and access to an amazing organic farm on the property of the wellbeing centre itself! If that doesn't make Candice busy enough she is also a vegan cook, international speaker, recording artist, and most importantly comes with her own unique sense of humour. Check Candice out on Facebook: @OakwoodTrainingCentre; Insta: oakwood_training_centre; YouTube: Oakwood Training & Wellbeing Centre

What's it like to become a leader when you're still young? In this month's podcast with Pr. Cristian Copaceanu we discuss what it takes to step beyond the status quo and step into your calling as a young person. Cristian amazingly had the vision at the age of 24 to start a Christian-based radio station to  reach his community in the country. He made this a matter of prayer and found people suddenly sending finances to make his and church's dream a reality. What started with one radio station multiplied over the years to become a national network of over 170 stations reaching over 7 million people in Australia (that's 1 in 4 Australians!) It's no surprise this radio station has been called "Faith FM". Faith FM airs content on the Bible, health, marriages, and parenting. You can check it out at: https://faithfm.com.au/   Cristian reflects that young people have a powerful asset available to them: energy and time. Looking back on his experience with Faith FM he encourages young people to do greater things for God when they dream big but start small, step out in faith, and trust that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think!

Do you ever get negative thoughts floating around in your head? Just a few? Chances are you and I are plagued by negative thoughts all day, every day. In this month's episode we do a deep dive with Jennifer Jill Schwirzer to find out how you can escape the trap of negativity and embrace positivity. It all begins with growing with gratitude. Gratitude is your vaccine to keeping negativity in check. We do this by getting super practical and discussing:  1. The FAR technique (Finding, Arguing with, and Replacing your negative thought with something real and truthful);  2. Understanding how life is never going to be perfect and realising that gratitude grows in the midst of imperfection and challenges; 3. Doing three kinds of stretches: gratitude, social, and self-care. Want to find out more? Join us by listening this month and sharing with your friends so they also can be blessed! Jennifer experienced an explosion of interest in her counselling practice, Abide Network (www.abide.network), with the wake of the pandemic. She offers multiple workshops on anxiety and depression, trauma, and creating safe churches, so check it out! You can also connect with her on social media via FB, Instagram, and Twitter as Jennifer Jill Schwirzer and on her YouTube channel as Dr Jennifer Jill Schwirzer. Prior to starting her counselling practice, based out of Orlando, FL, Jennifer has been a musician, author of multiple books, and TV show host for a program called "A Multitude of Counselors." All round, she's an amazing person!

Have you ever wanted to take your passions in life and turn them into blessings for others? In this month's episode, we interview Dr. Calvin Kim and talk about how he did just that. Taking his passion for fitness and exercise, Calvin launched an international ministry called F5! F5 stands for faith, fellowship, fitness, fortitude, fun! The goal of F5 is to enrich lives through genuine “face to face” fellowship and exciting adventure challenges in a faith-enriching environment. In this episode we also talk about the recent findings of science promoting the benefits of exercise and find out just how much exercise is needed to stay healthy and finding the motivation to get started! You can check out the F5 ministry at: https://www.f5challenge.org/about Calvin Kim lives in the state of Washington with his beautiful wife and two daughters. He is an avid triathlete, runner, and rock climber. He loves to use his passion for fitness to connect with people. Calvin serves as the director of F5 Challenge.