A More Excellent Way with Dr. James and Nicola (KLRC)

In this episode we explore the role that gratitude plays in relationships.

In this episode we talk about what gratitude is and how it encompasses our whole being.

On this episode we sit down and talk about healing conversations around racial tension with our family from The More Than Small Talk Podcast.

Today we're revisiting this important conversation. So often you can get caught up in what it’s like to be on the receiving end of other people, but how often do you stop to think about what it is like for others to be on the receiving end of you?  In this episode, we reflect on taking time to process what it may be like for others to be on the receiving end of ourselves.

On this episode Nicola and I talk about the God’s love and how is the foundation for how we connect with ourselves and with others.

Warning: This is a Sex talk for Adults In this episode, we Interviewed Dr. Laurie Watson Ph.D., MA, LMFT, LCMHC, Director of Awakenings, and certified sex therapist. Dr. Watson has thirty years of experience working with couples and individuals about love and sex. She’s the host of the popular podcast, FOREPLAY RADIO—Couples and Sex Therapy ranked in the top 10 in iTunes under Sexuality. Laurie authored her first book Wanting Sex Again—How to Rediscover Desire and Heal a Sexless Marriage (Penguin) in December 2012. Excellent Points • Everybody, at some point, struggles with sexual problems. • The mindset that sex is supposed to happen naturally is a massive block to talking about sex or being able to fully experience the joy of marriage. • Talking about sex does not ruin the mood. • We need to be sensitive to how we are using sexual desire, because the other person may want to feel desirable • While we want to talk about the mechanics of sex or hearts matter as well. Laurie Watson

On this episode we got to talk to the Imhoff’s about their service to the community. We get to hear about how their journey through their own pain moves them into joining others who are hurting. It was moving to hear how their service to the community also serves to strengthen their own bond.

On this episode James shares about his emotional process during the Covid-19 response, and we take time to talk about handling emotions in general.

In this episode, Nicola and I go back and reflect on our conversation with the Hicks family.  We discuss what we learned from them and how other couples can learn from their story. Please, go back and listen to episode 55 before you listen to this episode.

In times when the stress level abnormally changes, or there is a new sense of uncertainty it can put strains on our sense of well being and on our relationships. So how do we handle those times within ourselves and within our relationships? The first and main way is recognizing and accepting our total dependence on God. Secondly, recognizing we are connected to each other and that what we do impacts one another. We hope this episode helps you go about your relationship with God and with each other even during these uncertain times.  

Over the next couple of episodes, Nicola and I will be taking time to go back and review some of the conversations we have gotten to have with our friends recently. In this episode, we discuss our interview with the Brooks family and their experience of adopting children from different ethnic groups. Here are some of our main takeaways: -Their willingness to reevaluate their view of their ethnic group and how they experienced other ethnic groups growing up.-They were intentional to learn and to join their children in their experience.-They were willing to try on the frame of how their children may experience the world differently because of their ethnicity.-They're willing to learn and seek help.-Their experience has helped bolster their advocacy and application of the Gospel.-They were willing to ask hard questions of themselves and their perspective of the world.

We had the privilege of talking with our friend Debbie about her experience of singleness. We discussed the mixed messages that singles often experience from their friends, family, and faith community. Debbie shared this profound thought with us, "I feel called to live out both the joy and grief of singleness—I don't have to choose one or the other." We hope this episode comforts and encourages our single listeners, and also equips the community to do a better job of walking alongside those who are single.

  In this episode, Nicola and I interview our friends, the Hicks Family, who recorded this while they were ill. We talked to them about how they have grown in the ability to communicate with one another. We were moved by their vulnerability and how intentional they have been to grow in their marital bond. What really struck us was how they both owned how the moves they made at times contributed to the very issues that frustrated them.  

On this episode we had the pleasure of talking with Rickey and Brittany Booker about coming together to get their finances in order. They shared about what led the two of you to begin the journey of becoming debt free, and how the process impacted their relationship with each other and with God.   Here is a link to their interview on the Dave Ramsey show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1fnfTJ5S2Y (their interview begins at about minute 28:17)   Brittany also does consultation for home organization. You can reach her at Uapbbbrittany@yahoo.com.   You can follow us on Facebook @amoreexcelway (https://www.facebook.com/amoreexcelway/) and Instagram @amoreexcelway (https://www.instagram.com/amoreexcelway/). You can email us at amoreexcelway@gmail.com.

In this episode, Nicola and I have an engaging conversation with Dr. Page Brooks and Dr. Ashley Brooks. They shared their journey of coming from a predominately white background and then adopting transracially. They discussed how their presuppositions were challenged and changed. They also shared about helping their kids process their adoption and their ethnic identities.   Dr. Paige Brooks is an Army Chaplain, Pastor of Canal Street Church: A Mosaic Community, and Mission Lead over Mosaic Ministries.   Dr. Ashley Brooks is VP of Wholistic Services and Trauma-Informed Care at the Restoration Initiative for Culture and Community, and she founded the Restoration Counseling in New Orleans.   The Restoration Institute Webpage http://therestorationinstitute.com   Restoration Counseling Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/172130099546419/   Restoration Counseling Websitehttp://www.restorationnola.com

On this episode we take time to help make sense of the struggles in relationships with emotional struggles or mental health issues. The truth is that we all struggle emotionally but because of medical reasons and life experience some have suffered more than most and it can make connecting in relationship harder than normal for all involved.

Nicola and I have been talking about not taking the people in our lives for granted, and we have also felt challenged to be intentional about giving of ourselves into the lives of others around us.

We take time to let you know more about what our visions and hopes are for this podcast. We flesh out more about how we try to help you flourish in your relationships with God and each other.

It’s our anniversary! In this episode and the  previous episode, we took time to reflect on what we would say to the earlier married us. You know, the us we were in years one to five. This episode is Nicola speaking to the younger married version of herself. It was definitely great to look back at the things we struggled with and see how we have grown. We were also inspired by seeing the growth and realized we will continue to grow and that we can trust the process God has us in.

It’s our anniversary! In the next two episodes, we take time to reflect on what we would say to the earlier married us. You know, the us we were in years one to five. This episode is James speaking the younger married version of himself. It was definitely great to look back at the things we struggled with and see how we have grown. We were also inspired by seeing the growth and realized we will continue to grow and that we can trust the process God has us in.