We have two options, fear or love, but most often fear determines our decisions. Guest Kevin Thompson, author of Fearless Families, breaks down fear and helps us identify where it hides in our lives. Our outcomes can become better and we can live fearless lives.

#10: Becoming Fearless

Part Two in discussion about fear with guest, Kevin Thompson. You will learn how to live fearlessly in your homes, in your business, in your relationships, and secure your best future possible with courage.

Kevin Thompson is the author of Fearless Families, available on Amazon and everywhere books are sold.

#11: Being Fearless

Guest, Shelly Johnson, joins the podcast to discuss nutrition and lifestyle and behavior modifications that result in a healthier you. Her passion and focus is in the mind and body connection for optimum health. Shelly Johnson is a Board Certified Licensed Nurse Practitioner, health coach, and writer.

#12: Total Health

What can be done to enhance your beauty and why does it work? Fillers, injections, Botox, lasers, fat blasting, there is science behind it all. Dr. Sandy Johnson, nationally renowned, Board Certified Doctor of Dermatology shares all the options available in treatments and skincare that have given a renewed confidence to women and men in their appearance.

#13: The Science of Beauty, Dr. Sandy Johnson

In one of the most atheistic countries in the world, one couple is striving to make a difference among the youth, culturally. Justin Holden left everything behind as he moved to the Czech Republic from the U.S. In this episode, he gives a snapshot of what it's like to be young and growing up there, learning a new language in record time, and how he and his wife now hope to inspire cultural change where early sex is a tradition encouraged by parents and porn is common and accepted. Creating a network of trust, they are inspiring that change and building leaders.

#14: Inspiring Cultural Change: Sex, Porn, and Cultivating Leaders

A woman who followed her dreams and beat all the odds to be a significant voice and a hand of hope and encouragement to the underprivileged in Europe and the Middle East, guest, Gail Stathis, with her mindset, her mission, and her determination is an example for us all.

#15: A Love for Europe, Greece, and the Middle East

What does travel and vacation look like as the world opens back up? In this episode I talk with John Hendrick, a Certified Travel Counselor. We discuss where to go, how to find the best deals, what to steer away from, and how to make the most of anticipated travel and vacations now and in the upcoming year.

#16: Travel Post Covid, Everything You Need To Know

Jesse Iwuji is resolute about the direction for his life. Son of immigrants from Nigeria, he was determined to achieve athletic excellence which got him noticed by the Naval Academy where he was recruited and played college football. While earning an education and a career, the United States Navy, he followed his passion for racing and is now climbing the ranks of NASCAR. Jesse is a motivational speaker and successful businessman. He shares in this episode his path to success, the discipline it took to achieve his goals, and his plans for the future.

#17: Winning the Race, with Jesse Iwuji

Sexy Saturdays is a new five-part series in the Rise Up podcasts. Guests Justin and Lucie Holden, a multicultural couple, join from the Czech Republic and candidly share everything on the topic of sex. In this episode we talk about the importance of knowing your, and your partner's, love language, what love language is, achieving great communication, resolving conflict, and make up sex.

Sexy Saturdays - 1: Love Language, Communication, and Make Up Sex

Jameson Titus is a successful entrepreneur and businessman who was called into the legacy his parents were building in India providing humanitarian aid to the most underprivileged in society. In this episode Jameson and I discuss the pandemic sweeping across India, the infrastructure, education, and the disparity and inequality present in the country.

#18: India - Loved, Forgotten, or Stagnant?

In this episode we discuss Sex: Before and After Marriage. I speak with Justin and Lucie Holden, who waited until marriage to have sex. You will find out why they waited, how they waited, and the result of that decision on their relationship now. We discuss temptation, doubt, emotions, compatibility, boundaries, meeting one another’s expectations and fulfilling desires, how to improve communication, and puritanical culture.

Sexy Saturdays #2 - Sex: Before and After Marriage

In this episode I have an in-depth conversation with a young lady who battled with and overcame an addiction to pornography. Guest, Lucie Holden, explains how she became involved with porn, the quick progression towards addiction, and how she now lives free. Now married, a Masters in Education, and a thesis written about pornography, her passion revolves around discussion of the topic and helping as an online coach those who struggle with pornography.

Sexy Saturdays #3 - What's Wrong with Porn?

We welcome back a young man, Cameron Dye, who last year shared with Rise Up listeners about Generation Z. A year later, post election year, post 2020 and the pandemic, we will again hear from him regarding his generation, Gen Z, what has changed, what has remained the same, what are they passionate about, their morals, their hopes, political views, and how they envision the world being better for all people.

#19:  Gen Z, One Year Later - What has Changed or Remains the Same?

My guest this episode is Cari Freeman. Cari meets with young ladies and girls who are in one of the most challenging, vulnerable, and scary times of their lives. She meets with those who find themselves searching for answers and resources, often considering themselves alone and pregnant. She is a Pregnancy Client Advocate, a first face of compassion and understanding to pregnant young ladies and girls. Cari shares conversations she has every day, in all situations, with pregnant young women on their path to making some of the most important decisions of their lifetime.

#20: A Conversation with a Pregnancy Client Advocate

Keeping love alive and vibrant after marriage can be a struggle and why this episode is so relevant. Guests, Justin and Lucie Holden, a young married couple, are keeping the spark alive. Through the sharing of their experiences, they give examples and tools to strengthen marriages and relationships. We talk about relationships during Covid and the impact lockdown had as two separate people spent every waking moment together. We discuss forgiveness, change in partners, drifting away from the love once shared, prioritizing each other, the importance of being open and vulnerable, and learning to celebrate differences rather than allow it to bring distance. From when to seek therapy, to meeting one another’s expectations, to intentional communication, to planning sex verses spontaneity, this episode covers a wealth of topics marriages encounter and offers encouragement, understanding, and hope for a great relational future.

Sexy Saturdays #4: Keeping Love Alive After Marriage

In the age of social media, what is the impact on Christianity? Is it creating opportunities for community, friendships, and growth? In this episode, I speak with an Instagram account phenomenon, with 104K followers, averaging 2.5M impressions and 75,000 content interactions per week. The account, Christians Who Curse Sometimes, has become a platform discussing difficult and controversial topics among Christians. The owner of the account is anonymous and in this episode I come to know him as “Mike.” He is in a unique position to have a pulse on the issues that Christians struggle with, and we dive deep into discussion. To say that this conversation was amazingly insightful is an under statement. I left with the questions in my mind: “Are Christians and churches using social media to its full potential, and how can we invite dialogue that opens pathways for growth, understanding, and better communicate among the Christian community?”

#21:  Christianity in the Age of Social Media

A comprehensive, historical account of Israel beginning from the 14th Century BCE to present day Israel. Guest, Scott Martin, brings dates, events, and relevance to the topic of Israel.

#22: The History of Israel

Guest:  Lia Childress, LAC, a Licensed Therapist. We discuss the unique needs of this current generation: multi-generational language barriers, loneliness, emotions, isolation, communication, relationship building, conflict resolution, constructive coping mechanisms, positivity verses validating compassion, and much more. There is also direct addressing of the listening audience who are hurting, in a mental health crisis, or those who need to know that someone cares.

#23: Mental Health and Gen Z

Ann Kinder, Kinder Financial Strategies, is the guest on this special episode. We discuss life choices that set young adults up for success. From defining goals to managing expectations, this episode is a must listen for entering into an independent life.

#24: Adulting 101

Ann Kinder, Kinder Financial Strategies, is the guest on this episode. We discuss beginner career and financial best practices for young people entering the workforce and starting adulthood.

#25: How Young People Can Get Ahead in 2023

In this episode with guest, Lia Childress, LAC, a Licensed Therapist, we discuss how to resolve conflicts, anger issues, triggers, boundaries, behavioral patterns, injustice and safe spaces, and the impact mental health issues have on society. Lia gives tools for practicing mindfulness, gaining emotional strength, and healing to live your best life with success.

#26: Conflict Resolution

In this episode with guest, James Perry, we discuss mentorship, reaching youth, team building, influence, and the stigma associated with Generation Z. As a leader and mentor in his community and uniquely qualified to address an audience of Gen Z listeners, James lends an authentic voice to the issues this generation is facing.

#27: Reaching a Generation through Mentorship

Amanda Bettencourt is a multi-million dollar producing real estate agent in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Amanda discusses her early career, how she started out and achieved success. She shares about her early career, mentoring, current goals, social media strategies, influence, networking, image, and the art of the hustle.

At age 28, Amanda Bettencourt stepped into the real estate game with a humble heart and a strong hustle. She is devoted to family, a wife of 8 years to Aaron, a mom of two daughters, ages one and two, and has successfully balanced both family and career. Born and raised in the swamps of Louisiana, her southern charm and strong work ethic have propelled her to the top in the business. Amanda is an award winning real estate agent earning titles of Excellence, Rookie of the Year, Silver Award for sales volume, and works with the award winning real estate firm voted best of the best, O'Neal Real Estate.

#2: Amanda Bettencourt - Multi Million Dollar Producing Real Estate Agent, The Art of the Hustle

Life can be messy, difficult, and hard to navigate. Matt Huie unravels a few of life's issues, gives hope, and tells his success story through the caring lens of his journey.

Matt Huie is passionate about helping people. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Management from John Brown University. He has been married to the love of his life, Erica, since 2014. They have an amazing daughter, Redden, who turns two this year. Matt is the Community Pastor at Christian Life Cathedral in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

#3: Matt Huie - Finding Your Life Partner, Overcoming Loss, and Being Human

Ambition, drive, and determination to reach the next level in success is candidly discussed as weekday news anchor, Laura Simon, tells her story of improvement, the steps taken, gaining confidence, and being your own best advocate in your career.

Laura Simon is a news anchor, journalist, and motivational speaker. She also hosts an online series called "Simon Says" aimed at motivating, uplifting, and inspiring others. As a St. Louis native, Laura takes pride in her Midwest values and strong work ethic. She is a Columbia College Chicago graduate. During her sophomore year, she got a competitive internship at NBC Chicago where she was able to learn from some of the best anchors, reporters, and producers in the TV news business.

Laura officially started her journalism career at KTVO, the ABC affiliate in Kirksville, Missouri, and Ottumwa, Iowa. She joined 5NEWS (KFSM-TV), the CBS station in Northwest Arkansas in 2014 as a weekend anchor/reporter. She was promoted to weekday morning anchor in 2018 where she continues to deliver news impacting people across Northwest Arkansas, Southeast Oklahoma, and beyond. She has a passion for health and fitness and loves sharing tips about how to make wellness a priority while navigating a busy life and career.

#4: You Are Your Superpower - Laura Simon

Age 25 or younger, Generation Z, has more hot button issues thrown at them than any prior generation. Gen Z navigates this unique set of challenges with perspectives that will shape the future. In this episode we talk about social and civil justice issues, abortion, politics, leadership, socialism, capitalism, college decisions, and much more. This is a very candid and raw dialogue processing through decisions, shaping mindsets, and understanding the change that Gen Z wants and why. From the perspective of an articulate 19 year old, who speaks in behalf of and to his generation, this is relevant to us all and worth a listen.

Guest, Cameron Dye, is a Licensed Realtor and entrepreneur working out of Northwest Arkansas. He is an avid student of business and economics, and at 19 years old is a self proclaimed personal development junkie, with a passion for helping people and a desire to build organizations that will create lasting change.

#5: A Talk with Gen Z

It took 10 years to revitalize her dream and passion to bring people together over a cup of coffee. But once the vision was again stirred, progress happened quickly.  In 2014, she and her husband began roasting coffee in their kitchen and by 2016 they had begun renovating a building to open up their first brick and mortar coffee shop. By 2019, a second location was planned with a launch date of early 2020. They opened those doors in the middle of the global pandemic. What did they do and how did they not only survive, but thrive, during a time other businesses were shut down during uncertain times.

Kaity Gould is the awesome guest on this episode. Born and raised in San Luis Obispo, California, Kaity met her husband (Gabe) in San Diego, where he was stationed in the Navy. They married in 2004 and then moved to Sydney, Australia, after he was discharged. During their time there, he attended Hillsong bible college and she worked as a barista which was her first exposure to fresh roasted, craft coffee, and where the dream was birthed. After moving back to the U.S., living in several states, they made Fort Smith, Arkansas, their home. They have four children, ages 6-12. This is the story of their adventure as entrepreneurs and business owners.

#6: Resurrecting Dormant Dreams to Launch Successful Businesses

Hope, caring, solutions for the hurting, and healing emotions and relationships during a discussion with Licensed, Professional Counselor, Ben Storie.

Ben Storie is a Licensed Professional Counselor, speaker, teacher, and writer. His counseling experience includes work in residential treatment, community counseling, and private practice. He is certified in Emotionally Focused Therapy, a research-based model of therapy that focuses on restoring relationships by strengthening core connections between loved ones. His approach focuses on repairing past wounds that are interfering with relationship health. Creating a safe, supportive, accepting atmosphere is the core of his work. He and his wife, Tonya, are the owners of Relationship Solutions, a counseling practice located in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

#7: Healing Emotions, Relationships, and Mental Health, A Talk with a Licensed Counselor

Americans have bought more firearms in 2020 than in any other single year. Now, safety and training is critical. Who should own a gun, who should not, what are the laws, and what is the debate regarding guns? This informative podcast covers concerns on this hot topic.

#8: Responsible Gun Culture

Hard questions answered about the Christ Follower's Faith.

#9: Q & A - The Christ Follower's Faith

Caring conversations that affirm hope and healing, bring awareness to cultural and societal issues, humanitarian causes, and reflect the dreams of success to which we all aspire. Rise Up with Julie B.

Rise Up with Julie Baumgartner

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