Stay ConnectedHas something simple ever changed your life? A lunch box note changed mine. A few years ago, my husband wrote a timely message to our son that said: BE STRONG, PROTECT THE WEAK, LOVE EVERYONE. Those six words ignited our family’s mission to love others well.
Each week on Be Love. Do Good. podcast, we’ll share ideas, encouraging words, and stories that inspire you to love outside your comfort zone.
When we say love everyone, don’t we want to preface it with….everyone but…..or I can love almost everyone but….that big but gives us some trouble. So in this day and age, when Covid-19, and the upcoming election, and racial tensions have seemed to have us doing the opposite of love, how do we ACTUALLY live out this statement?
This week we are talking about our last phrase of our lunchbox note, Love Everyone, which will also be a series on our podcast this fall. You can go to our website www.bestronstory.com or check out episode 25 to see how a lunchbox note inspired our family, our company, our podcast and our new children’s book. Each month this fall we will be diving into each phrase, series style.
Each week in August I have talked about what each phrase has meant to us.
This week I will be going talking about what loving everyone can mean. I talk about how hard it is to hate someone close up, and if we really actually believe we are to love our neighbor, how do we do that if we don’t know them.
What I have found is that love always requires sacrifice. Always. True love always requires us to get uncomfortable. If we are truly about loving others most of the time it means setting aside our needs and wants and coming alongside someone else’s needs and wants.
There has never been a better time than the present, in this social climate to learn how to love others, even when we don’t want to.
Dive in with me this week to what this can look like.
On today’s episode we are exploring the second line of our “lunchbox note” phrase, PROTECT THE WEAK.
Head back to episode 25 if you don’t know about the lunchbox note that inspired our company, podcast, and new children’s book.
This fall we will be interviewing different guests who live out this PROTECT THE WEAK phrase on a regular basis. From rescuing those from being trafficked to being a safe place for those on the streets. Each week they will give us tangible ways for us to do the same in our own environment.
Listen in this week, as I explain this phrase and what it has meant to our family.
Did you know we have a new children’s book? Get The Lunchbox Note: a story of loving others here. The perfect message for back to school.
This month we are outlining our series that we will start this fall.
Same Podcast, new content!
We have never done a series before so I am super excited about it.
As most of you know we started our podcast because our community asked us to share stories of those we were meeting that were loving others well. For the past year and a half we have been sharing stories of those who are loving in creative ways in hopes of inspiring the listener to love others in their own way. Because we believe love shows up in different ways, big and small; and all ways make a difference.
But these next few months we are going to do our first series where each podcast is based on a certain topic. What we are doing is taking the phrase that has inspired us the most, you know the one that was written on the lunchbox note that said BE STRONG, PROTECT THE WEAK, LOVE EVERYONE. The one that inspired our company, family coaching, podcast and new children’s book that was just sold out in Target what??
This phrase was written to our son by my husband and if you haven’t heard that story you can go back to episode 25 and hear that entire story.
So this is what we are going to do this month. We are going to dive into each phrase.
BE STRONG
PROTECT THE WEAK
LOVE EVERYONE
And say what they mean to us
And then in September we will be focusing on the part of the phrase that says BE STRONG and interviewing others who inspire us to be Strong in whatever circumstance we may find ourselves. For many of us we have stories- stories of pain, heartache, things we have overcome, things that we are in the thick of, or maybe we are in pain so great we feel like giving up. We want our Be Strong series to help you keep going, to share stories of those who have been through something real hard and who have made it through to the other side.
We all have our definition of Being Strong and hopefully one or more of the interviews we feature during our BE STRONG series will encourage you.
LISTEN in to TODAY’S EPISODE as we talk about what it means to us to Be Strong!
Michelle McKinney is our guest today and she brings the FIRE and inspiration to know what our purpose is and live in it. She helps women design, define and bring their God-given dreams to life. She believes that every woman can fulfill her God-given purpose, and she is on a mission to help them get there. That’s why she started her company, Dreams Unleashed, to help others pursue their dreams.
My favorite piece of advice is when she says, “Our dreams are never about ME, they’re always about others”.
When we live into our gifts and purpose we are making others better and serving others.
She talks about advocating for ourselves which in turn helps us advocate for others.
If you are squelched in your dreams or don’t know what your purpose is, this is the podcast for you. And if you know your purpose this podcast will inspire you to stick with it.
Michelle gives us some tangible ways to know our gifts and steps to live into them.
She is literally coaching us through this podcast and you can use many of the tips she talks about RIGHT NOW.
Click here for the full show notes and how to get in touch with Michelle.
Coaching with Michelle McKinney
Dreams Unleashed- get your coaching now
http://www.dreams-unleashed.com
Instagram:
Michelle.mckinney
https://www.instagram.com/michelle.mckinney/
Books we reference:
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
Today we are talking about one of the best, when it comes to caring for those in the margins. She defines the marginalized as those who are not in the main narrative. Some people can be obvious and some not as much.
Danielle talks about no matter where we live or what we do it is our responsibility to find and learn from those who have been pushed out of the main story.
This has to be one of the most important interviews I have ever done. She gives us practical ways to listen and learn from those we may have never known. Whether it be refugee, homeless, those in foster care, etc... Danielle’s goal is to live a life of love and she gives us very practical ways in how to take the first steps in becoming love in our communities.
As a 20 year veteran of the Salvation Army, Danielle has fought for those who are marginalized or have felt less than. Danielle Strickland is currently based in Toronto, Canada. Her aggressive compassion has served people firsthand in countries all over the world. From establishing Justice Departments for The Salvation Army, to launching Global anti-trafficking initiatives, to creating new movements to mobilize people towards transformational living. Danielle trains, advocates, and inspires people to live differently.
Danielle is the author of 5 books with her most recent being The Ultimate Exodus: Finding Freedom From What Enslaves You and The Zombie Gospel: The Walking Dead and What it means to be Human. She is host of DJStrickland Podcast, Co-founder of Infinitum, Amplify Peace, Brave Global and Women Speakers Collective. Danielle is a mom of 3, wife to Stephen Court and has been affectionately called the "ambassador of fun".
Click here for more show notes: https://www.bestrongstory.com/be-love-podcast
How to connect with Danielle Strickland:
https://www.daniellestrickland.com
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/daniellejstrickland/
Facebook:
Today’s guest is a kindred heart. He loves those that many people see as invisible. He spends a lot of time with the homeless and gives us tips to keep our eyes open to others who many just disregard. We talk about the years when someone gave him a chance when he was a young boy and in poverty himself. We talked about when he lived on the streets so he could truly understand those he was going to serve. Get ready for your hearts to be open.
Terence believes EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE SEEN.
Terence Lester is an author, non-profit leader, activist, and founder of LOVE BEYOND WALLS and THE DIGNITY MUSEUM, and just released his latest book, I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People.
His awareness campaigns have been featured on MLK50, USA Today, NBC, and so many others. They have been viewed by millions of people worldwide. In 2018, Terence led the March Against Poverty as he walked from Atlanta to Memphis (386 miles). He finished the march and spoke at the historic Lorraine Motel for the 50th Anniversary of MLK’s assassination.
Terence’s unique approach combines storytelling and digital media to help illustrate social justice issues and holistic approaches to solving these ailments.
In 2013, Terence founded the non-profit, Love Beyond Walls, and has helped hundreds of individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty rebuild their lives. They also have just started the Dignity museum which is an interactive museum for people to understand homlessless.
We have so much to learn from Terence, I am excited for him to teach us about poverty and how we can open our eyes to Invisible people.
To learn more about Love Beyond Walls and The Dignity Museum click here: https://www.bestrongstory.com/be-love-podcast
This week we have the hilarious Melissa Radke (comedian, author, viral video sensation, and star of the show Radkes on USA Network. I am so excited to share this interview. She is not only everyone’s immediate best friend because of her realness, but she teaches us about persevering when others have torn you down. Melissa grew up as a talented singer, but after multiple producers turned her down and told her awful things about her appearence, she fell into a depression. And then when she turned 40 she had a change of heart. She was making a commitment to live ONE WHOLE YEAR of BRAVE, no matter what, she wrote the best selling book EAT CAKE, BE BRAVE out of her experience.
Her hilarious videos have been viewed more than 40 million times worldwide and her family just finished with the first season of The Radkes on USA network.
She inspires us to be unapologetically ourselves. She teaches us to be brave even when others try to keep us small.
I promise you will laugh out loud after listening, but also be encouraged to be the you, the you were always created to be.
This week’s sponsor is Meg Delagrange. She’s a designer and marketer for small to medium-sized businesses who want to grow and make a difference. She does logos, ad campaigns, and websites. She also does marketing consultations when you just need someone to brainstorm with. Meg even made our very own BE LOVE PODCAST LOGO. She is offering a 30 minute free consultation for anyone who mentions Be love podcast.
https://www.megdelagrange.com/
For more information on Melissa check out the rest of our show notes.
In this episode, Arielle Estoria shares one of her soulful spoken word poems, we talk about society’s image of a healthy body, her latest modelling gig for Kim Kardashian's new shareware line SKIMsand and what it means to love yourself well. You don’t want to miss the end when she speaks worth over us in spoken word, it gave me goosebumps and brought me to tears. I want every person to feel the truth of what she is speaking.
Arielle’s motto “Words are not for the ears but for the soul” helps pierce the audience’s soul and blooms awareness of identity and worthiness. Her words help instill and remind individuals of their value through words.
Arielle Estoria broke into the competitive slam world of Spoken Word poetry in 2012. Arielle then branched out as a freelance contracted poet in 2015. She has shared her work through spoken word and themed keynote talks with companies such as Google, Sofar Sounds, Lululemon, Dressember, Tedx, the SKIMS campaign by Kim Kardashian and more. She has consecutively emceed annual conferences such as Yellow Conference for creative and entrepreneurial women, Hair Camp, a conference for Hairstylists in the industry, and Anchored in Love for teenage girls featuring surfer Bethany Hamilton. Arielle has lead writing, social media and self-acceptance workshops in various settings ranging from students to professional development spaces.
Arielle is the Co-Author of two self-published collections of poetry: Vagabonds and Zealots (2014) and Write Bloody Spill Pretty (2017) which can both be found on Amazon.com. In 2016 she released her EP of poetry and music titled Symphony of a Lioness which can be found on Itunes, Apple Music and Spotify.
She is one of those bright lights that have come on the scene. A voice for women, love of self, encouraging women to be who they were created, and capturing the essence of light and love.
You won’t want to miss this episode….
Check out our show notes here to get the spoken word poem that Arielle speaks over us at the end.
Have you ever wondered if you could make a difference right where you are with your gifts and talents, where you live, in your community? Today is the perfect conversation for you.
Today I am talking with Chris Marlow, CEO of Help One Now an organization that empowers families in developing countries to help end extreme poverty, and author of the book, Doing Good is Simple:Making a Difference Right Where You Are, which you know is what we are all about here at Be. Love podcast.
Chris and I talk about injustice and how we can come together to listen, learn and help. We talk about the simple ways every single one of us can come alongside another in service.
Chris breaks it down for us in ways we can love others today, right where we are.
Get his book: Doing Good is Simple: Making a Difference Right Where You Are
Instagram: chrismarlow
Learn about HELP ONE NOW organization: https://helponenow.org/home/
Show notes: https://www.bestrongstory.com/be-love-podcast
As we go into summer I wanted to have on one of my favorite parents on the show to help us with some intentional parenting ideas. Jess Klasnick is a mom of three, wife to Matt, and lives in Breckenridge, Colorado. Her family had a conversation one day about what mattered to them, and the result of those conversations meant upending their current life to follow that dream. They traded the goals of having a Fortune 500 job that kept their family apart to finding a way they could spend more time together.
They sold all their possessions, saved up money, and traveled the world for a year, think “the bucket list family” and then after they decided that they still wanted to live a life of intentionality. For them that meant moving into a 2 bedroom condo in the mountains and choosing a different way to live.
Jess gives us some incredible questions to ask our family. She gives us tips on how to prioritize our family time and she also gives us some great advice on how to dream and follow those dreams. Because building a life you dream about with your family matters.Jess gives us the courage to be confident in having different values for our families.
Every family will be different, but I believe coming out of quarantine there were some things we all learned and things we can all prioritize better. Jess helps us get to the heart of what we desire as a family.
We also talk about some great ideas for summer with our kids; ways to help them be responsible, learn new things, work as a team. Think ideas on chores, house managers, giving our kids the freedom to fail and try again. Ideas you can start today.
You will want to follow Jess’s journey at https://www.recalculatinghappiness.com/travel-family-blog
And her instagram account which gives tips weekly on so many things from:
Traveling the world with kids, simplifying your life, parenting tips, and so much more.
Instagram: recalculating.happiness
Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/recalculating.happiness/
Head to our website for more show notes: https://www.bestrongstory.com/be-love-podcast
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