The Christian Habits Podcast show

The Christian Habits Podcast

Summary: Do you ever feel like you can’t change no matter how hard you try? On the Christian Habits Podcast, we’ll talk about biblical transformation through the renewing of the mind. This is a practical, hands-on podcast that will help you break free from the things that control you: things like bad habits, idolatry, overeating, and negative emotions such as worry, insecurity, anger, and stress. We’ll also talk about how to develop a close relationship with God as we develop the habit of going to Him for help with life.

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 How to Stop Being Angry – 12 Tips | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 29:01

Do you ever get irritated with friends who believe differently than you do about politics or Covid? Do you get annoyed with the faults of a spouse or family member? Do you get frustrated with people who drive at a different speed than you drive? If so, today’s post and podcast will help. We’ll be discussing how to stop being angry. Before we do that, though, let’s look at what anger is. What is anger? When I first started helping people let go of anger, I discovered people have different definitions for anger. Many picture anger as the person who is yelling and swearing, but anger is more than that. It also includes resentment, irritation, annoyance, and frustration. Often we stuff feelings of anger because we feel bad about it. But if you stuff those emotions for too long, you may not even know you’re angry. How do you know you’re angry? If you’re used to stuffing or denying your anger, it will be hard to spot it in the beginning. Look for times when you feel out of sorts. Then think back to the last few hours. Did something just happen to upset you? Did you read something on the news? A post on social media? Did someone say something hurtful? Ask yourself, “What emotion am I feeling?” This will help you begin to recognize your emotions. Anger, resentment, irritation, frustration, and bitterness all fall into the category of anger. Judgement and pride are accompanying emotions. What causes anger? Have you ever been in a situation where you were angry and your friend wasn’t? Even though you were both witnessing the same thing happening? We all get angry at different things because of our different life experiences, beliefs, and personalities. If we know why we’re angry, it will be easier to stop being angry. Begin by asking yourself, “Why am I angry?” Here are a few reasons we get angry, irritated, annoyed, or resentful: * We think we’re right–and get mad at all those wrong people out there. * We think others need to make us happy–and get mad when they don’t. * We think life should be easy–and get frustrated when it’s not. * We think we shouldn’t have to suffer–and get mad when people expect us to do things that are hard. * We compare our strengths to other’s faults–and get mad when they’re not more like us. * We care too much about what others think–and get mad when they don’t give us enough praise or affirmation. * People we love do scary things–and our fear comes out as anger. * People we love say and do things to hurt us–and our pain comes out as anger. * Politicians do things we think will harm people or destroy our way of life–and our fear comes out as anger toward both the politicians and all the people who follow them. Is anger bad? Any time I teach on anger in a Bible study, I’ll always have at least one person in the room bring up righteous anger. The idea is that there are good forms of anger and bad forms of anger. The problem is that even if there are good forms of anger, we engage in the bad form 95% of the time. So rather than defend ourselves for the 5%, we’re better off if we work on the 95% of unrighteous anger! It’s true that God is angry in the Bible at times and since we know God never sins, we know it’s possible to be angry and not sin. But Romans 3:10 tells us that “none is righteous, no not one.” So my question is, can an unrighteous person have righteous anger? That question is up for debate and people will answer it in different ways. One of the ways people answer it is to point out how you need righteous anger to right all the wrongs in the world–to hel...

 How To Renew Your Mind | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 40:29

If someone told you to have a quiet time, you’d know what to do: read your Bible and pray. But what if they told you to renew your mind? Would you know how to renew your mind? Maybe not. The renewing of the mind doesn’t have a clear protocol like a quiet time has. Maybe that’s because it’s so messy. How is the renewing of the mind different than a quiet time? With a quiet time, you know you’ve done it when you’ve “read your Bible and prayed.” With the renewing of the mind, you know you’ve done it when you’re seeing life–and more specifically, your current situation–from a biblical perspective. It might take a simple prayer to get to that point, a long truth journaling session,  a Bible passage, a chart, some Scripture meditation, a five minute run-through of some questions, or any number of things. In order for it to be a true renewing of the mind experience, our thinking needs to be transformed. And in order for our thinking to be transformed, our minds need to be actively engaged. Listening to a sermon while we clean the kitchen and talk to the kids isn’t going to cut it. Neither is having a quiet time just so we can check it off our list for the day. What does it mean to renew your mind? So what is the renewing of the mind? How do you do it? (Note: I give many practical examples of how to do it on the podcast version of this blog post. You can also find examples in the links at the bottom of this post.) Paul talks about the renewing of the mind in Romans 12:2 where he says: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Paul goes into more detail in Ephesians 4:22-24: “That, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Paul tells us that the renewing of the mind involves a taking off and a putting on. We do this in several different areas: * Take off the old self and put on the new self. * Let go of our cultural perspective and put on a biblical perspective. * Take off lies and replace them with truth. * Let go of what we learned growing up and put on what we learned in the Bible. So we’re not just reading the Bible–we’re taking everything we’ve learned in the Bible, talking it all over with God, and actively trying to look at life through His eyes. You can’t do that without a working knowledge of the Word. You also need a willingness–and a desire–to change. And you need time with God as He is the One who renews our minds. What does God do through the renewing of the mind? In a sense, the Holy Spirit is acting as our counselor, peeling away the lies so we can see what life is really like and how we should respond to it.

 Finding Hope When Life is Hard with Ginny Owens | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 38:56

In this episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, I talk with Ginny Owens, an award-winning singer, songwriter, author and speaker. Ginny candidly shares biblical wisdom for finding hope when life is hard which can also be found in her new book: Singing in the Dark, set to release on May 1st, 2021. Some Things Ginny and I Discussed on the Podcast * The “habit” of praising through the story of Leah in the Bible * Practicing praise * Singing God’s hope * Replacing the negative “songs” in our heads with songs of praise * Learning the secret of contentment, according to Philippians 4:12 * How Ginny develops her “daily song,” and meditates on the word of God * Misconceptions about prayer * Learning to pray prayers that are “not polite” Resources Discussed on the Podcast * Singing in the Dark by Ginny Owens About Ginny Owens Ginny Owens has had an award-winning career that encompasses two decades as a singer/songwriter, recording artist, author and speaker. During that time, Owens has released 10 albums, five EPs and two Christmas projects garnering critical success, chart-topping radio singles, and numerous film and television placements. She continues to inspire others with the truth of the gospel through personal stories, songs and Bible teaching. In 2014, Ginny released her first book, Transcending Mysteries: Who is God And What Does He Want From Us, co-authored with Andrew Greer and published by Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins. Her most recent set of EP’s, entitled Expressions I and Ii (November, 2020; February, 2021) have amassed millions of streams across multiple platforms. Ginny currently resides in New York City and is in her final year of a Master of Biblical Studies at seminary. Connect with Ginny on Twitter at @GinnyOwens, on Instagram at @GinnyOwensOfficial, and online at ginnyowens.com or facebook.com/GinnyOwensMusic. How to Listen to the Podcast * To listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts: click here * To listen or subscribe on Android: click here * To listen or subscribe on Stitcher: click here * To listen or subscribe on Google Play: click here * To listen or subscribe on Spotify: click here * Amazon Alexa: To listen on Amazon Alexa, say, “Alexa, play the Christian Habits Podcast.”

 How to Meditate on Scripture | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 22:09

Often before a trip, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night with my mind buzzing. I remember all I have to do and have a hard time getting back to sleep. That happened last night, so I got up and had my quiet time. I was having a hard time focusing so I decided to do some Scripture meditation. It wasn’t long before God’s peace washed over me and I felt better about the day. On today’s podcast and blog post, I’d like to talk about how to meditate on Scripture. What is Scripture Meditation? According to Google, the definition of meditate is to think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period of time. So when we meditate on Scripture, we’re not just reading through it. We’re taking time to really think deeply about it. And the deeper we think, the more it seeps into our bones so God can use it to change us. This morning is a good example. I began my quiet time stressed with all I had to do today. But by the end, I was completely relaxed and feeling peaceful about my day. That wouldn’t have happened with a quick read of a short devotional or a passage of Scripture. I needed to deeply interact with God and the Bible in order for it to change me. And thankfully God gave me the perfect Bible passage this morning in my regular reading to give me the help I needed today. What’s the Difference between Meditating on Scripture and Bible Study? Bible study is all about getting to know and understand God’s Word. That’s a good thing. But Scripture meditation carries it a step further as it’s about soaking in God’s Word and applying it to our lives, allowing it to shape us and change us. BillyGraham.org puts it this way: “When we meditate on the Word of God, we seek to make personal application of the Scriptures to our own lives and circumstances. This results in more than the intake of information; it transforms by leading to the formation of the individual into Christlikeness.” Below this paragraph, you’ll see an example of a Scripture meditation I did on Luke 8:4-15. You can see what I wrote in my journal, but I also spent time thinking about what I was seeing in the Word and talking to God about it. The little box on the left about halfway down the page was where I applied the passage to my own life, which led to some good prayer time with God and insights I could apply to my life. How Do You Meditate on Scripture? There is no written procedure in the Bible for meditating on Scripture, and I’m guessing you already have your own way of doing it. But I thought I would include a few tips here in case you haven’t tried it before. * Find a quiet comfortable place. You can meditate on Scripture anywhere, but it helps to have someplace you can completely focus on the Bible passage. * Choose a small portion of Scripture. This could be anywhere from one verse to three or four verses to a very short chapter of the Bible. If I’m meditating on Scripture for my quiet time, I’ll choose a longer passage than if I’m meditating on Scripture to break a habit. * Consider diagramming the Bible verse. I often do this in my journal. I’ll look at the verse and start drawing it out in my journal. This helps me make sense of it and see the connections between the different parts of the verse. You can see an example of this in my previous journal image and also later in this post. * Think about the imagery of the verse. If the verse describes God or someone else doing something, imagine what that would have looked like. For example, Zephaniah 3...

 8 Signs You’re People Pleasing and How to Stop People Pleasing | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 30:16

When I was in my forties, I didn’t even consider “no” an option. Instead, I did everything everyone asked me to do without even thinking about it. This led to stress, resentment, and sometimes doing things God didn’t want me to do. Not bad things, but things that weren’t right for that time in my life. In this post and podcast, I want to talk about people pleasing: how to know when you’re doing it and how to stop people pleasing. People Pleasing vs. Self-Pleasing vs. Pleasing God Before we look at how to stop people pleasing, let’s look at the difference between people pleasing, self-pleasing, and pleasing God. Most of us lean towards one of two camps: “I’ll do what I want to do!” or “I’ll do what you want me to do.” The second camp seems more loving but it’s not. Listen to what Paul says in Galatians 1:10: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” With people pleasing, we’re putting others above God and it’s hard to be loving when you do that. So no matter what camp we’re in, our goal should be to move out of that camp and land in the I-want-to-please-God camp–not the I’ll-please-myself camp. It can take years to overcome people pleasing. I should know because I’ve been working at it ever since I started writing this blog eight years ago! God has made great strides in this area of my life but I’m not all the way over it. Here’s the truth though: The more we focus on pleasing God, the happier we’ll be–especially when we remember that God gives grace. We’re not pleasing him to get Him to love us or accept us. He already loves us. This is also a good reason to please others–out of love for them rather than to get them to love us. 10 Signs You’re a People Pleaser If you’re a people pleaser, chances are good that you already know it. But it can still be helpful to look at a list of signs to be able to check yourself. When I googled people pleasing, I found this post. Since I can’t improve on it, I’ll share the link so you can check it out yourself: 10 Signs You’re a People-Pleaser. I also thought it would be helpful to include my own list of 8 signs you’re people pleasing in an unhealthy way. I came up with this list during a coaching session. I was having a hard time making decisions (because I want to make everyone happy), and my coach asked me to make a list of signs that I was making decisions in an unhealthy way. Following is the list I came up with. 8 Signs You’re People Pleasing in an Unhealthy Way * You’re committed at a level higher than the situation warrants. For example, let’s say you’re in a bad dating relationship and you’re doing everything you can to fix it because the other person really wants to stay with you. You’re committed at a level higher than the situation warrants. Leave that guy! Do it in a kind way but remember that his feelings are his responsibility, not yours. * You’re feeling a responsibility God hasn’t given. When my kids were little, I played piano at a church that had both an organist and a piano player. The organist was happy playing each Sunday, but the piano players (there were three of us) were busy and didn’t enjoy it as much so we rotated. I should have quit – they didn’t need me since they had an organ player, but I kept playing because I felt like I would make ...

 How to Create a Bible Routine You Can Enjoy | Brittany Ann | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 32:24

Do you ever struggle to read the Bible? Maybe you wake up in the morning, turn off the alarm, roll over, and think to yourself, Just five more minutes. Then you wake up again 30 minutes later and your Bible reading window has disappeared. You would love to create a Bible routine, but you can’t make it happen. Or maybe you’re like I used to be twenty-five years ago. You feel like you should read the Bible, but you’re kind of bored with it. Or maybe you’re so busy you feel like you don’t have the time for it. Whatever the reason for not following through on your goal to create a Bible routine, the good news is that God can help you change. On this episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, Brittany Ann from EquippingGodlyWomen.com talks about her book, Fall in Love with God’s Word: Practical Strategies for Busy Women, to help us create a Bible routine we can truly enjoy. Brittany Ann is an author, speaker, and owner of the popular website EquippingGodlyWomen.com, where she challenges, encourages, and equips Christian women to be “all in” in faith and family. Her work has been featured on CBN, The Christian Post, Crosswalk, and more. If you’re someone who wants to make reading the Bible a priority, Brittany’s website can help you. Things We Talked About on the Podcast * Reasons why we don’t read the Bible more often * How to change what we do so we actually want to read the Bible * Different things you can do in your quiet times to make Bible reading more interesting * How to find the best time of day to read your Bible * How to create a Bible routine you can enjoy * How spiritual attack affects a Bible reading habit * Brittany Ann’s advice if you’d like to start a quiet time habit Quotable Quotes * “I wanted to have a heart that wanted to read God’s word.” -Brittany Ann * “We have a very loving Father God who has wonderful things for us.” -Brittany Ann Resources We Talked About on the Podcast * Fall in Love with God’s Word: Practical Strategies for Busy Women by Brittany Ann * 21 Day Bible Reading Challenge on Brittany’s website Connect with Brittany Ann: * Brittany Ann’s Website * About the book How to Listen to the Podcast * To listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts: click here * To listen or subscribe on Android: click here * To listen or subscribe on Stitcher: click here * To listen or subscribe on Google Play: click here * To listen or subscribe on Spotify: click here * Amazon Alexa: To listen on Amazon Alexa, say, “Alexa, play the Christian Habits Podcast.”

 10 Lies that Make Us Give Up on New Year’s Resolutions | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 21:01

How do you feel when you hear the phrase, New Year’s resolutions? Excited? Defeated? Skeptical? In recent years, New Year’s resolutions have gone out of style in favor of goals. The idea is that New Year’s resolutions are vague, so they don’t work—but goals are more defined with action steps, so they work. I disagree with this philosophy. What I’ve found in my own life is that neither one will work unless I go about it the right way. Before we get into that, though, let’s look at the difference between New Year’s resolutions and goals. New Year’s Resolutions vs. Goals According to Google, the definition of resolution is “a firm decision to do or not do something” and the definition of goal is “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” With those definitions in mind, I would say a resolution is about stopping and starting habits, and a goal is more of a check-it-off-your list accomplishment, such as building a garden shed or writing a book. Both of those are good things. The problem isn’t in the word resolution or goal, the problem is how we go about trying to follow through on our resolutions and goals. Two Approaches to New Year’s Resolutions and Goals If we only use man-made tools (plans, lists, action steps, etc.), we’ll only be able to do the things we can accomplish in our own strength. For example, I’ve always been great at accomplishing my recreation goals because I’ve always been good at recreation. But I used to be terrible at accomplishing my work goals because I’m not naturally good at work–I can’t do those goals in my own strength. Thankfully, we don’t need to rely on our own strength. If we’re willing to go to God for help and lean on His strength, we’ll be able to succeed even if we aren’t strong in that area. We’ll still use our lists and plans, but we’ll go to Him when we can’t make ourselves follow the plan. At the end of this post, we’ll look at a 5-step process for achieving goals and resolutions using both practical tools and spiritual tools, but before we do that, let’s look at 10 lies that get in the way of our New Year’s resolutions and goals and 10 truths and Bible verses that will help us persevere and gain success with them. 10 Lies That Hurt – 10 Bible Verses That Help 1. This will be easy. At the beginning of the year, we’re all fired up. We think, This will be easy! I’ll just make a list of goals and then I’ll change! Unfortunately, change can be a long, slow process with a lot of glitches and failure along the way. We’ll be more likely to succeed if we have realistic expectations of the process. Jesus told us what to expect from life, and this is also true any goals or New Year’s resolutions we take on. These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but take courage; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 2. This is too hard. After we realize it’s not going to be as easy as we thought, we often jump to this conclusion: It’s too hard. This isn’t true! The truth is what we told our little kids when they were growing up: You can do hard things! Especially when we know that God is with us. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need. Hebrews 4:15-16 3. I can’t do it. This is the lie that always come after “It’s too hard” in my journal. I don’t know how many times I’ve written it. Hundreds, I would guess. But here’s the great thing. I’ve written this lie over and over,

 How to Stop Being Depressed During the Pandemic (or in Regular Life) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 21:01

If I were to ask the question, “Have you been depressed at all during the pandemic?” my guess is that every single one of you would answer that question with a yes. I know I have. Many days are great, but there are also those days when I feel like I’m going to go stark raving mad crazy if this doesn’t end soon! That’s why I thought I’d do a blog post and podcast on how to stop being depressed during the pandemic. If you’re reading this after the pandemic, the tips will help for regular life as well! The first thing I want to show you is how I came up with the tips. I find that if I renew my mind first, it’s easier to see how to handle life. The following is an option chart I made to renew my mind about this issue. This isn’t a chart to brainstorm options–it’s a chart to analyze the options we’re currently taking to see how they’re working out for us. The left column shows the options we often take during a crisis. I always put the healthy option choice at the bottom of the chart (the one we don’t often take!). The second column shows how that option affects our peace and joy, the third column shows how it affects our relationship with God, and the last column shows how it affects our lives.  An up arrow means that it improves that area (peace and joy, relationship with God, life) and a down arrow means that it makes it worse. After you’re through filling out the chart, take a minute to look it over and ask, “What’s my best option?” I’ll often find that I’m taking those middle options that don’t get me where I want to go in life. The option that requires giving up my “rights”–and also putting out some effort to change life–is pretty much always the best option. I may know that intellectually before I renew, but filling out the chart helps me to see it at the gut level. These are the tips I’ve come up with about how to stop being depressed based on the results of the chart. How to Stop Being Depressed during the Pandemic (or in Regular Life) * Get a biblical perspective of the situation. From a cultural perspective, there’s nothing good about trials (and a pandemic certainly qualifies as a trial), but from a biblical perspective there is. God uses trials to help us grow: to mature us, build our character, and help us grow closer to Him (James 1:2-4). Also, Jesus reminds us that life is about loving God and loving others. We can still do both during the pandemic, so life isn’t terrible! It’s only terrible when we think life has to be fun and exciting or safe or free to do whatever we feel like doing. If you’re struggling with how to respond to the trial of the pandemic, ask yourself, “How would Jesus respond if He were living in your state or country during a pandemic?” Then don’t get annoyed with your friend or neighbor if they come up with a different answer. * Renew your mind as soon as possible when you become upset. There’s lots of different ways we get upset during the pandemic. We’re fearful. We’re annoyed. We’re bored. We’re grieving. And we’re probably regretting some of our coping mechanisms. When we let those negative emotions simmer for too long, they morph into depression. You can avoid that by renewing as soon as possible. Try truth journaling to renew, or answer the questions in I Deserve a Donut (and Other Lies That Make You Eat) or the

 10 Tips to Help You Stop Procrastinating | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 10:46

Do you ever find yourself putting off a dreaded task for weeks or even months or years? I have been known to procrastinate a 10-minute job for ten years. Thankfully, God is slowly changing me in this area. Here are ten tips I’ve been using to help me stop procrastinating. Hope they help you as well! 10 Tips to Help You Stop Procrastinating * Find out why you’re procrastinating. When you feel like procrastinating, ask, “Why am I procrastinating?” Sometimes just hearing the answer to that question will help you stop procrastinating. For example, if the answer is “I don’t know how to do it,” then the first step is to ask someone how to do it or watch a YouTube video. When the reason for procrastination is hazy, we can’t find a solution to the problem because we don’t know what the problem is. * Ask, “What’s the first step?” Often, we procrastinate because we see that huge project all at once the minute we think of it. It seems so overwhelming we don’t want to begin. When we only think of the first step, it seems more manageable and we’ll feel like doing it. * Break your project into smaller tasks. Sometimes it helps to break the project into little steps before you even start. That way when you ask, “What’s the first step?” you’ll have a ready answer which will make it easier to start. You could even get a project notebook that contains steps for all your projects or use Todoist, Trello, or some other productivity app to create project task lists. * Set up your project the night before. Sometimes the hardest thing is to just get the job started. It really helps to lay out everything you need the night before. Something about doing that just makes it easier to start the next morning. This could work for making dinner as well. Decide on what you’re having in the morning, take out some of the ingredients, and it will be easier to start the meal later. * Start with an easy, non-threatening task. Sometimes it helps to do an easy task before you tackle your dreaded task just to get your work motors revved up. For example, you could sweep the kitchen or vacuum the floor or walk the dog around the block. Anything to tell your brain that, “Hey, we’re going into work-mode now.” If you do that, set a time to start your hard work. So for example, you might start sweeping at 7:00 and say, “From 7:30 to 8:30, I’ll work on that difficult project.” This will help you get it into your mind that yes, you are going to work on that dreaded project today! * Give yourself a pep talk. While you’re doing that easy task, give yourself a pep talk about the hard task. Tell yourself how good it will feel to accomplish it. Tell yourself, “You can do this!” Maybe even picture yourself working cheerfully away at your task. Anything to get you in the mood to do it. When the set time comes to do it, resist the urge to wait “just another five minutes.” Instead, treat it like you’re going to a job outside your home and you have to get there on time! * Try to make it as fun as possible. While you’re actually doing the job, try to make it as fun as possible. Put on some great music. Get a friend or family member to work alongside you. Or go to the bakery where it is at least a fun atmosphere and you can have a cup of coffee by your side if it’s something you can do at the bakery. * Take advantage of momentum. Have you ever tried to push a car down the street? It’s hardest at the beginning. But once you get it rolling it doesn’t require that much effort. That’s also true of our most dreaded tasks. The hardest part is to get it rolling. Try to work on it every day but Sunday so you can take advantage of the momentum. 9. Be thankful. Do you ever catch yourself complaining when you’re working on a really hard job? Those negative thoughts sap our energy. Reverse them by being thankful. As you do your job say things like, “Thank you, God, for helping me work on this today.

 Secrets to Self-Control with Drew Dyck | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 23:57

Do you wonder if there really are secrets to self-control? Do you feel like you’re stuck and just need to live with it? In today’s episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, Secrets to Self-Control with Drew Dyck, I visit with Drew about his book, Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science.  Drew gives us some great tips on how to preserve willpower and strengthen self-control even after failing at it over and over again. You’ll find hope for the battle and practical help for the day. Drew Dyck is an acquisitions editor at Moody Publishers and a contributing editor at CTPastors.com, a Christianity Today publication for church leaders. He is the author of three books: Generation Ex-Christian: Why Young Adults Are Leaving the Church…and how to Bring Them Back, Yawning at Tigers: You Can’t Tame God, So Stop Trying, and Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including USA Today, CNN.com, The Huffington Post, Christianity Today, Books & Culture, and Relevant Magazine. Things We Talked About on the Podcast * What got Drew into writing about self-control * How to strengthen and grow your self-control and your willpower * What to do when your willpower is depleted * How to creating bright lines can help with self-control * Do we really need self-control as Christians? * How to gain self-control with our phones * Setting boundaries with phone usage * Drew’s advice for the person who keeps failing at strengthening their self-control Quotable Quotes: “If you wallow in that guilt and you just beat yourself up, what follows is actually more bad behavior; so you need to internalize that grace, cut yourself some slack, forgive yourself, and move on from there.” – Drew Dyck “The key is to strive, but to strive with God’s Spirit, instead of against God’s Spirit.” – Drew Dyck Resources We Talked About on the Podcast * Your Future Self Will Thank You: Secrets to Self-Control from the Bible and Brain Science (A Guide for Sinners, Quitters, and Procrastinators) by Drew Dyck * Generation Ex-Christian: Why Young Adults Are Leaving the Church…and how to Bring Them Back by Drew Dyck * Yawning at Tigers: You Can’t Tame God, So Stop Trying by Drew Dyck How to Listen to the Podcast * To listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts: click here * To listen or subscribe on Android: click here * To listen or subscribe on Stitcher: click here * To listen or subscribe on Google Play: click here * To listen or subscribe on Spotify: click here * Amazon Alexa: To listen on Amazon Alexa, say, “Alexa, play the Christian Habits Podcast.” Connect with Drew Dyck *

 How to Mend a Broken Relationship with Blythe Daniel and Helen McIntosh | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 31:41

Are you struggling in one of your relationships? It could be a friend, an adult child, a sibling or parent, or even a spouse. In today’s episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, I visit with Blythe Daniel and Dr. Helen McIntosh about how to mend a broken relationship. Helen and Blythe are a mother-daughter team who coauthored the book, Mended: Restoring the Hearts of Mothers and Daughters. Although the book is directed toward mother and daughter relationships, they offer all kinds of tips to mend any strained or broken relationship. Here are a few of the things we’ll be discussing on the podcast. Things We Talked About on the Podcast: * How to initiate a conversation about your relationship * Sample questions you can use to start a conversation * Where to go to have conversations * The importance of showing respect and how to show respect in a conversation * What to do if it doesn’t seem like the other person wants to talk * What to do if you’re trying to mend a relationship with someone who doesn’t like relationships or someone who avoids conflict * Three types of forgiveness you need when mending relationships * Why there is hope for your relationship Resources We Talked About on the Podcast: * Mended: Restoring the Hearts of Mothers and Daughters * Our Mended Hearts website – This authors’ website includes all kinds of resources including a printable pdf that includes seven ways to start a conversation to help begin a discussion with the person you’re in a strained relationship with. Just click on the link and scroll down to the freebie section to find that printout and other helpful resources. * Anger questions on the I Deserve a Donut app How to Listen to the Podcast * To listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts: click here * To listen or subscribe on Android: click here * To listen or subscribe on Stitcher: click here * To listen or subscribe on Google Play: click here * To listen or subscribe on Spotify: click here * Amazon Alexa: To listen on Amazon Alexa, say, “Alexa, play the Christian Habits Podcast.”  

 Spiritual Attack: 10 Tips for Spiritual Warfare | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 17:43

When I first started writing, I noticed that I’d often get attacked at different stages of the process–especially when I was beginning something new. I’ve since studied spiritual attack and discovered there are many things we can do to be successful in spiritual warfare. We’ll discuss those things on today’s episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, but I’ll also include the information below in case you don’t have time to listen to the podcast. Examples of Spiritual Attack in the Bible There are four different stories in the Bible about Satan influencing or interacting with people.We’ll go into these more in depth on the podcast, but I’ve listed the Scripture passages below so you can read these on your own. * Eve – Genesis 3:1-8 * Job – Job 1:6-12 * Jesus – Matthew 4:1-11 * Peter – Luke 22:31-32 Types of Spiritual Attack There are two different types of spiritual attack shown in the Bible–a physical attack and an attack of the mind. Here are examples of each: * Physical: Satan attacked Job’s health, his crops, his animals, and his family. * Mental: With Eve, Satan made sin look attractive and caused her to question God’s goodness and reasonableness and also God’s commands. With Jesus, Satan tempted Him to turn the stones into bread, throw himself from the top of the temple, and to gain all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. With Peter, Satan tempted him to worry about what people would think and to focus on his own safety rather than being there for Jesus. What can we learn from people who were attacked in the Bible? * Satan often attacks at the start of things. Eve was attacked at the beginning of the world. Jesus was attacked at the beginning of his ministry, and Peter was attacked at the beginning of a new phase of ministry–one without the physical presence of Jesus there. We’re like the people in the Bible–we often experience spiritual attack at the beginning of a new ministry, a new job, a new phase of a relationship (such as married life), or a new try at breaking free from a bad habit or sin. * Satan often attacks when we’re weak. 1 Peter 5:8-9 says,”Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” Prowling lions don’t go for the strongest animal in the group. They go for the one who is weak. The one who is separated from the group. The one is vulnerable to attack. So at different stages in our lives when we’re super discouraged or alone or sick or weak in some way, that’s when we’re most open to attack. We see this in the Bible. Satan attacked Jesus when he was hungry from 40 days of fasting. He attacked Peter when Jesus was being tried and it looked like everything was going south for their ministry. * If Satan attacks, it’s not a sign that you’re a bad Christian. Sometimes when we’re struggling with temptation, we think, oh, I’m such a bad Christian, but this isn’t true. Jesus told us we’d have trials in this life and Romans 3:23 tells us we’re all sinners. The truth is, we’ll be tempted until the day we die, and we’ll give into temptation until the day we die. Yes, we need to work on growth and gaining victory in our areas of sin, but we also need to realize we won’t be perfect until we s...

 Building Racial Unity – A Conversation between Friends with Ngina Otiende | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 31:40

Have you ever been hurt by prejudice? Or have you watched others dealing with prejudice and wondered how you can help? On today’s episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, I visit with my friend Ngina Otiende about how to heal and help. Ngina and her husband moved to the United States from Kenya nine years ago, so they’ve experienced life as both a majority and a minority. On the podcast, we’ll visit about some of the differences between living life as a majority and a minority, plus talk about some ideas for how to help build unity. Resources We Talked About on the Podcast * Ngina’s blog: IntentionalToday.com * Unashamed and Free Podcast How to Listen to the Podcast * To listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts: click here * To listen or subscribe on Android: click here * To listen or subscribe on Stitcher: click here * To listen or subscribe on Google Play: click here * To listen or subscribe on Spotify: click here Ngina Otiende is a Certified Marriage Breakthrough Coach™, author, and blogger. Ngina helps newlywed wives navigate the early years of marriage at IntentionalToday.com.

 Allen Arnold: Life with God vs. Life for God | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 36:41

Do you ever find yourself going about your daily work and not remembering God is there? I do sometimes. It’s easy to do when we get busy. On today’s episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, Allen Arnold talks about how to do life with God–remembering Him throughout the day and visiting with Him about life and work. When we visit with God throughout the day, life goes much better. First, He helps us to do things we can’t do in our own strength. Second, we enjoy life more. And finally, we grow closer to God as we learn to rely on Him and look to Him for support.  Here are a few of the topics we discussed on the podcast: Topics We Discussed on the Podcast * What it looks like do life with God on a practical level * How to pursue growth without feeling like you have to be perfect * Living each day with expectancy vs. expectations * A Christian definition of success * How to do life with God when you’re pursuing a goal you’ve failed at before. Resources We Talked About on the Podcast * The Story of With by Allen Arnold How to Listen to the Podcast * To listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts: click here * To listen or subscribe on Android: click here * To listen or subscribe on Stitcher: click here * To listen or subscribe on Google Play: click here * To listen or subscribe on Spotify: click here Allen Arnold is the executive producer of content for Ransomed Heart Ministries with John Eldredge. He currently speaks to groups on the subjects of identity, creativity, and intimacy with God.

 Breaking Free from Idolatry with Brad Bigney | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 36:13

I first came across Brad Bigney’s material at a biblical counseling conference in Bozeman, Montana. Brad had written a book on breaking free from idolatry and I found his material super helpful. Today, I’m excited to have him on the Christian Habits Podcast. Here are a few of the topics we’ll be discussing: Topics We Talked About on the Podcast * What is idolatry? * Do you have idols? * How do you know what your idols are? * What are three questions you can ask to determine whether or not something is an idol? * How does idolatry affect your relationships and marriage? * How do you break free from idolatry? * How do you get to the point where you’re willing to let things go? Brad is an ordained minister with the Evangelical Free Church of America, and is a graduate of Columbia Biblical Seminary, with his Master of Divinity. He’s a certified biblical counselor with ACBC (Assoc. of Certified Biblical Counselors), author of the book Gospel Treason: Betraying the Gospel with Hidden Idols, as well as a national conference speaker. He and his wife, Vicki, have been married since 1986 and have five adult children. Resources We Talked About on the Podcast * Gospel Treason: Betraying the Gospel with Hidden Idols by Brad Bigney * Brad’s website: bradbigney.com * Brad’s sermon series on Idolatry * Lost in the Middle by Paul Tripp Other Resources for Breaking Free from Idolatry * Counterfeit Gods, by Timothy Keller * Motives: Why Do I do What I do?, by Ed Welch * Barb’s blog series on Idolatry How to Listen to the Podcast * To listen or subscribe on Apple Podcasts: click here * To listen or subscribe on Android: click here * To listen or subscribe on Stitcher: click here * To listen or subscribe on Google Play: click here * To listen or subscribe on Spotify: click here

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