Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) - Episode 471: The Soul of the Helper with Dr. Holly Oxhandler
 
There are many kinds of helpers in our world, the caregivers among us. They are the social workers who serve the vulnerable, the nurses and doctors who treat the ill, the teachers who instruct the young, the first responders who rescue the imperiled, the faith leaders who comfort the congregation, the volunteers who support the community. And whether or not it is our professional calling, each of us is likely to serve as a caregiver at some point in our lives, as a parent raising a child, for instance, or as a loved one caring for an aging relative. These and many other efforts to serve are among the most noble pursuits we can imagine, but they come with a danger worth recognizing.
In their devotion to the well-being of others, caregivers routinely put their own well-being  last and can unintentionally burn themselves out physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Their self-neglect, paired alongside a deep desire to help others, has the potential to stir up feelings of anger and resentment, leading to a sense of guilt and shame. They often believe that if they were to grant themselves any rest or grace, they would be at risk of failing in their duty.
In The Soul of the Helper, Dr. Holly Oxhandler shows caregivers and fellow helpers a more self-compassionate way to cope with their overwhelming responsibilities and to attend to their own needs, particularly when it comes to their mental health and spiritual journey. She invites them to pause and realize that if they let their personal resources run dry, they cannot possibly care for others as fully as they wish. In fact, their efforts are likely to cause more harm than good.
With a background in spiritually-integrated mental health, Dr. Oxhandler teaches helpers a seven-step process to slow down and reconnect with the stillness within themselves. It is in this space of stillness that Oxhandler guides helpers to reconnect with the “sacred spark” within their soul. By allowing themselves to enter that stillness, caregivers will recognize that they, too, are worthy of care. And with that realization, they will see anew the sacred spark that dwells inside everyone else, especially within those they’re helping.
As a social worker, researcher, and person of faith, Dr. Oxhandler writes in a warm and welcoming style, shares many relatable stories, and widens her scope to include believers of all faiths and spiritual traditions. Her book is for caregivers everywhere who sense the sacred spark within them saying, in effect: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Links for Dr. Holly Oxhandler
Web Site: https://hollyoxhandler.com
Twitter: (@hollyoxhandler) · https://twitter.com/hollyoxhandler
Amazon Affiliate Book Link: https://amzn.to/3y8s4ce
 
Below are some trusted organizations that you can partner with to meet needs of refugees from Ukraine and around the world.
Fred Heumann's Article in Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/february-web-only/ukrainian-christians-church-worship-songs-war-and-peace.html
Serve Ukraine Web Link: https://actintl.givingfuel.com/serveukraine
Nazarene Compassion FB: https://www.facebook.com/nazcompassion
Caritas does great work in Crisis: https://www.caritas.org/2022/02/carit...
Mercy Corps is fantastic: https://www.mercycorps.org/blog/human...
A local Ukrainian non profit that has been serving traumatized children for years: https://voices.org.ua/en/
Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus
Tell your Senators you support meaningful bipartisan immigration reform 
Urge President Biden Not to Leave Behind Persecuted Afghans 
Project Alpha 
Afghan Advocacy Resources 
Protecting Ukrainian Refugees 
https://alinoorani.org/
Rick Lee James Official Web Site
https://www.RickLeeJames.com
Shine A Light In The Darkness - The Latest Single From Rick Lee James 
Get The Single: https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/shine-a-light-in-the-darkness
Music Video:
 
Rick Lee James Playlist on Spotify:
https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa
Just for fun
Sign Petition For Weird Al Yankovic Super Bowl Halftime Show https://chng.it/FgrK2kFZ

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) - Episode 470 - Have You Heard About Greg?
 
Greg O’Brien and Rick Lee James
 
Greg O’Brien, producer and star of the documentary “Have You Heard About Greg?”
Have You Heard About Greg? (HYHAG) puts a human face on the most terrifying disease of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The heart of the story is the resilient spirit of the O'Brien family that has already lost several family members in their fight against Alzheimer’s. Greg O'Brien, a lifelong award winning investigative reporter, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's at the age of 59 and has committed his QTR (Quality Time Remaining) to getting people talking about this quiet killer and increase the research funding. This is a unique cinematic journey through Alzheimer's with Faith, Hope and Humor featuring an array of dedicated experts who have joined the fight who will hopefully inspire you to get involved.
There are over 6 million people living in the US who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s/Dementia. The goals of the film are to get people talking about a far more impactful and much more damaging quiet pandemic that threatens to destroy the US health care system along with millions of lives by 2050. This threat is real.
Web Links:
Film Web Site: https://www.hyhag.com/
Amazon Affiliate Book Link to Greg’s Book (On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's): https://amzn.to/3KozURG

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 469: Will Willimon - Listeners Dare
William Willimon: Author of Listeners Dare (Amazon Affiliate Link)
Will Willimon has long been a trusted colleague for working preachers. He is known for his encouragement of his fellow ministers to enjoy telling the truth of Jesus Christ. He is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke University Divinity School, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, and is a retired Bishop of the United Methodist Church. For 20 years as Dean of the Chapel at Duke University, Will became known as one of America’s most engaging preachers.
His new book, Listeners Dare,  (a companion to his previous book,  Preachers Dare) is for anyone who listens to sermons—which includes preachers, since there’s no way to preach without gaining skills as a listener. Listening is a human skill, but as God’s word is proclaimed, the hearer experiences a vocal mix of preacher, listener, and God.
 
Buy on Rick Lee James Amazon Affiliate Link :https://amzn.to/3OfEbK6
Web Links:
Amazon Book Link to Listeners Dare: https://amzn.to/3OfEbK6
Peculiar Prophet Blog: https://willwillimon.com/blog/

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 468: Nostalgic Future Podcast
On Nostalgic Future, Joe Cook and Chris Marchand explore their pop culture obsessions in an attempt to prove that the past is the only way forward. Each episode will focus on a piece of pop culture history, often something that has been influential to Joe or Chris. Joe has a history in radio, both DJ-ing and managing at stations, and Chris is a teacher, musician, and author of a book on the history of Christmas. For several years now they’ve also hosted the Between the Songs podcast, which is on the music of Rich Mullins. The new podcast, among other subjects, will have conversations about Quantum Leap, Beatles movies, music from the 90’s, and weird cartoons from the 80’s.
Web Links:
Nostalgic Future on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pastfuturepod
Podcast Page: https://anchor.fm/nostalgic-future
Ukraine Relief
Below are some trusted organizations that you can partner with to meet needs of refugees from Ukraine and around the world.
Fred Heumann's Article in Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/february-web-only/ukrainian-christians-church-worship-songs-war-and-peace.html
Serve Ukraine Web Link: https://actintl.givingfuel.com/serveukraine
Nazarene Compassion FB: https://www.facebook.com/nazcompassion
Caritas does great work in Crisis: https://www.caritas.org/2022/02/carit...
Mercy Corps is fantastic: https://www.mercycorps.org/blog/human...
A local Ukrainian non profit that has been serving traumatized children for years: https://voices.org.ua/en/
Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus
Tell your Senators you support meaningful bipartisan immigration reform 
Urge President Biden Not to Leave Behind Persecuted Afghans 
Project Alpha 
Afghan Advocacy Resources 
Protecting Ukrainian Refugees 
https://alinoorani.org/
Rick Lee James Official Web Site
https://www.RickLeeJames.com
Shine A Light In The Darkness - The Latest Single From Rick Lee James 
Get The Single: https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/shine-a-light-in-the-darkness
Music Video:
Rick Lee James Playlist on Spotify:
https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa
Just for fun
Sign Petition For Weird Al Yankovic Super Bowl Halftime Show https://chng.it/FgrK2kFZ

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 467
The Jesus Music with John J. Thompson
On this episode I’m joined by John J Thompson, former Associate Dean of Trevecca Nazarene University’s School of Music in Nashville, Tennessee. He’s a speaker, producer, author, artist, and the founder of the podcast “True Tunes.” He is an expert on all things Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). As a consultant and historian he was interviewed for the new documentary “The Jesus Music Film”, which is now steaming on Hulu.
“The Jesus Music” interviews some of Christian music’s most recognizable stars, including Amy Grant, TobyMac, Kirk Franklin, Michael W. Smith, Michael Tait, Lauren Daigle and more. The film retells a nostalgic history of “Jesus music” — which would later be called contemporary Christian music. 
“The Jesus Music” offers an insight to the lives and careers of some of Christian music’s most talented creators while legitimately criticizing churches for their lack of support and discussing the problem of racial segregation in Christian music. 
I invited John to have a visit on the podcast today to dive deeper into the conversation that Film initiates.
Web Links for John J Thompson:
Bio: https://truetunes.com/john-j-thompson-bio/
True Tunes: https://truetunes.com/
Books: https://amzn.to/3jzKp9L
The Jesus Music Film: https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/the-jesus-music
Ukraine Relief
Below are some trusted organizations that you can partner with to meet needs of refugees from Ukraine and around the world.
Fred Heumann's Article in Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/february-web-only/ukrainian-christians-church-worship-songs-war-and-peace.html
Serve Ukraine Web Link: https://actintl.givingfuel.com/serveukraine
Nazarene Compassion FB: https://www.facebook.com/nazcompassion
Caritas does great work in Crisis: https://www.caritas.org/2022/02/carit...
Mercy Corps is fantastic: https://www.mercycorps.org/blog/human...
A local Ukrainian non profit that has been serving traumatized children for years: https://voices.org.ua/en/
Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus
Tell your Senators you support meaningful bipartisan immigration reform 
Urge President Biden Not to Leave Behind Persecuted Afghans 
Project Alpha 
Afghan Advocacy Resources 
Protecting Ukrainian Refugees 
https://alinoorani.org/
Rick Lee James Official Web Site
https://www.RickLeeJames.com
Shine A Light In The Darkness - The Latest Single From Rick Lee James 
Get The Single: https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/shine-a-light-in-the-darkness
Music Video:
Rick Lee James Playlist on Spotify:
https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa
Just for fun
Sign Petition For Weird Al Yankovic Super Bowl Halftime Show https://chng.it/FgrK2kFZ

Episode 466 - Historian Julian Zelizer
About the author: Julian E. Zelizer is a history and public-affairs professor at Princeton University. He is the editor of the new book The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment.
The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment
Amazon affiliate book link: https://amzn.to/3jBOkTc
Links for Dr. Julian Zelizer
Books by Dr. Zelizer: https://amzn.to/3xxXGYF
Princeton Web Site: https://history.princeton.edu/people/julian-e-zelizer
Ukraine Relief
Below are some trusted organizations that you can partner with to meet needs of refugees from Ukraine and around the world.
Fred Heumann's Article in Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/february-web-only/ukrainian-christians-church-worship-songs-war-and-peace.html
Serve Ukraine Web Link: https://actintl.givingfuel.com/serveukraine
Nazarene Compassion FB: https://www.facebook.com/nazcompassion
Caritas does great work in Crisis: https://www.caritas.org/2022/02/carit...
Mercy Corps is fantastic: https://www.mercycorps.org/blog/human...
A local Ukrainian non profit that has been serving traumatized children for years: https://voices.org.ua/en/
Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus
Tell your Senators you support meaningful bipartisan immigration reform 
Urge President Biden Not to Leave Behind Persecuted Afghans 
Project Alpha 
Afghan Advocacy Resources 
Protecting Ukrainian Refugees 
 
https://alinoorani.org/
Rick Lee James Official Web Site
https://www.RickLeeJames.com
Shine A Light In The Darkness - The Latest Single From Rick Lee James 
Get The Single: https://rickleejames.hearnow.com/shine-a-light-in-the-darkness
Music Video:
Rick Lee James Playlist on Spotify:
https://t.co/S7nCRl0xqa
Just for fun
Sign Petition For Weird Al Yankovic Super Bowl Halftime Show https://chng.it/FgrK2kFZ

Episode 465
George Ross - President of CCLI
As President of Christian Copyright Licensing International, Inc. (CCLI), George Ross strives to innovate and improve experiences for CCLI’s customers and rights holders and continues to ensure CCLI is a market leader by simplifying the complexities of copyright. George has over twenty years of leadership experience and a strong track record of creating and deploying multilingual solutions that serve a global audience.
Prior to his role as President, George served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer for 3 years and Chief Technology Officer for 9 years. During that time, he was focused on building strong teams that deeply integrate into the business by pulling on his own depth of experience as a strategic technical consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies and leading universities and a good old-fashioned willingness to roll up his sleeves. George is a recognized expert in web technologies with national speaking credits and publications to his name.
CCLI Web Site: https://us.ccli.com/

Episode 464
Oletha Barnett, author of Diversity of a Different Kind
Oletha Barnett is a theologian, a lawyer, and a conflict resolution specialist who has directed the conflict resolution ministry at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX for decades. She was commissioned by the Elder Board for conflict resolution work. She is also an adjunct professor at Southern Bible Institute & College, and founder of Conciliation Services LLC, which provides services to churches, other organizations, and individuals
She serves on the Board of Peacemaker Ministries, is a Certified Christian ConciliatorTM, Certified Management Specialist, Certified in Christian Prevention Relationship Enhancement, and Certified Human Behavior Consultant. She holds a BS in Mathematics, Juris Doctor, and Master of Arts in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary.
In her new book Diversity of a Different Kind, Oletha Barnett offers a unique viewpoint to resolve conflict, heal wounds, restore relationships, address and correct sin, and unify the churchIn a world rife with the issues of division of every kind.
Conciliation Services Web Site: https://conciliationservices.com/

Bonus Episode: Solving Guns - Polilogue Special
 
Almost every Monday on my morning run, you will find me listening to some of my favorite podcasts. One of the first podcasts I always listen to during my Monday routine is Polilogue, a show about the substance and style of the Sunday morning news shows. The show is hosted by Brendan Steidle and Naomi Soto, and they really know their stuff.
This past Monday, April 4th, Polilogue premiered an incredibly important new series which asks the question, “how do you solve gun violence when legislation fails?”
Polilogue’s new series on Solving Guns began out of frustration. Why couldn’t the United States meaningfully reduce gun violence? If passing laws kept failing—couldn’t we try something else? Aren’t there other ideas? Solving Guns is an effort to understand and present new ideas to solve gun violence—without legislation.
I reached out to Brendan Steidle after I heard the first episode of this new series and asked if I could have permission to share it with my listeners, in hopes that we can get it into as many ears as possible.
Brendan graciously agreed to allow me to share the episode with you, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to share it with you here as a bonus episode of Voices In My Head.
My dear listeners, I have three things I am asking you to do:
Listen to this important episode with an open mind.
Go to https://polilogue.com/ and subscribe to the Polilogue Podcast
Visit the web site https://www.solvingguns.org/ where you can find episodes in written form as well as a video version.
My thanks again to Brendan and Naomi for allowing me to share this show with my audience, and congratulations on the birth of their second child. Together, I hope we can make the world a more peaceful place for our children to grow and thrive.
Blessings,
Rick Lee James
Web Sites You Will Want To Visit:
https://polilogue.com/
https://www.solvingguns.org/
 

Episode 463
Unraveling The Lie-Knot with Sheryl Giesbrecht Turner
All of us are products of our upbringing and experiences and whether we realize it or not, have come to believe things about ourselves that aren't true. Those false beliefs hold us back. They are like recordings that constantly play in our minds, condemning us, accusing us, shaming us and blaming us. Is it possible to silence these thoughts that have tied us in knots for so long? Can we ever find peace?
 
In her newest book, Unraveling The Lie-Knot Sheryl Giesbrecht (geese-breck) Turner dives into these false beliefs that hold us back. Sheryl served as Focus on the Family's pastors' wives columnist for four years. Hundreds of her columns, magazine and devotional articles have appeared in Focus on the Family Magazine, Just Between Us, Discipleship Journal, CCM, Walk Thru the Bible’s InDeed and Tapestry publications. 
Sheryl's Official Web Site: https://sherylgt.com/