Category: podcast

Joy Is…Focusing on the Right Things

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“You are a living magnet. What you attract in your life is harmony with your dominant thoughts.” – Brian Tracy

My dad used to say that if he was working on a sermon about parenting, he was a better parent that week. Same went for forgiveness, faith, bearing witness, friendship, marriage, and on and on. I’m sure it surprises no one that what we focus on has a powerful effect in our lives.

But dang, it can be so hard to stay attuned to the good news. Which is one of the reasons that I found writer, poet, artist, and blogger, Dave Williams’ recent project Joy is ______ so compelling. Over the last five weeks, he opened his blog up to anyone who wanted to fill in the blank and give a description.

Vicki and I were delighted to participate in that project and then extend that note by being able to podcast with Dave about it on Episode 105: Joy Is…with Dave Williams.

Dave tells us how he was inspired by the spirit of his Aunt Diane. Celebrating her infectious personality after she passed away last summer was one of the motivations behind this project.

Another was the idea to strengthen the delight muscle. A suggestion in The Book of Delights by Ross Gay prompted Dave to want to cultivate the same upward spiral.

And Dave was also inspired by Teri Polen’s Bad Moon Rising blogging project that brings the WordPress community together.

In the end, Dave found and shared so much joy in this community project. He’s compiled a Joy Is _____ table of contents that we know will inspire you.

We’re confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we talk about what joy is and how to celebrate that as a community!

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 105: Joy Is…with Dave Williams

Episode 105 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Dave’s Blog: https://davewilliamswriter.wordpress.com/

Dave’s “Joy is…” Index of posts: https://davewilliamswriter.wordpress.com/2025/02/27/index-of-posts-in-the-joy-project/

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay on Amazon

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith;

(featured photo from Pexels)

A Classic Escape

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“You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.” – C.S. Lewis

Books have been one of my favorite escapes for as long as I can remember. There’s a picture of my mom and me crying as we read Charlotte’s Web when I was about 4-years-old. The way they transport us across space, time, and emotions is amazing.

I don’t read many classics these days (not unless you count Good Night Moon, that is). However when my friend, Christina Dudley released her latest book, Pride and Preston Lin, I knew I was in for a treat. It’s a fantastic adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved book Pride and Prejudice. And it is so much more than a contemporary retelling of the story. Christina’s dialogue and clever plot devices make it a compelling and devourable book.

I know because I hid from my kids for an hour so that I could finish it. Adding to the delights, Vicki and I were able to talk with Christina about it on the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast: Episode 104: Pride and Preston Lin with Christina Hwang Dudley.

Christina tells us about being an avid reader growing up and never realizing that none of the characters resembled her. So she shares with us her a-ha moment when she read her first Chinese American author. We also talk about how she found her path to writing.

Her inspiration and lessons learned are so interesting and powerful. From notes about the romance genre overall to the marketing tactics she has discovered, Christina generously shares a lot of great info, some of which she had to divine by trial and error.

In this episode, we not only talk about writing but also about the beautiful arc of characters. It’s a great takeaway of kindness and thoughtfulness that is sure to leave you inspired.

We’re confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the storytelling about a great book and more!

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 104: Pride and Preston Lin with Christina Hwang Dudley

Episode 104 Transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Christina’s website: https://christinadudley.com/books/pride-preston-lin/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199362002-pride-and-preston-lin

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

(featured photo from Pexels)

The Gift of a Good Host

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“If it’s the right chair, it doesn’t take too long to get comfortable in it.” – Robert de Niro

Not long ago I went to a luncheon at a friend’s house. The decor was perfect, the food was beautifully presented and delicious, the company was lovely.

And yet – I was uncomfortable. I was handed a glass of ice water with lemon when I arrived and there was no place to put it down. I kept my coat on because everything looked too perfect to be a coat repository. Everyone was standing around awkwardly before the meal began because it was too early to sit at the table and there wasn’t another alternative.

My takeaway was the being a good host is more than making things look “perfect.” It’s about making people comfortable. And this luncheon came back to me because this week on the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast, Vicki Atkinson and I turned the hosting duties over our HoTM partner, Brian Hannon. And he’s a very good host!

Brian’s roots as a journalist are on full display in this episode. He is such a fantastic interviewer. He coaxes out the lessons Vicki and I have learned in 100 episodes.

And he challenges us to think big to answer who would be on our celebrity guest list.

In some very delightful and prescient chit chat, we get to cheer on the Eagles in advance of their Super Bowl LIX performance.

Most of all, we have a great time celebrating the milestone of 100 episodes and taking a moment to appreciate what goes into starting, envisioning and maintaining a collaborative effort like a podcast.

We’re confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we tell stories about making a podcast!

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 103: Turning the Tables with Brian Hannon

Episode 103 Transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Episode 103: Turning the Tables with Brian Hannon on HoTM

Brian’s blog: https://writingfromtheheartwithbrian.com/

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

(featured photo from Pexels)

Always Learning

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“A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.” – Salvador Dali

One of the best benefits of having a podcast is scheduling time to talk about creativity and writing. It’s a wonderful practice of having intentional conversations that inspire.

The latest episode, Episode 102 Writer’s Lessons, is a great example of this. Vicki Atkinson and I talk with author and blogger, Melanie McGauran about writer lessons. Melanie always inspires us with her curiosity and willingness to learn. She is so generous to be willing to share her lessons with us.

She tells us the story behind her essay Growing Up Fast in 1978. We love the essay for its revealing look at her family dynamics and the complicated path she had to walk to get to go to college.

And then she shares some of the lessons she learned from a class she took with author Marin Sardy. She tells us about the chronological canyon and other pitfalls we can fall into.

Melanie shares some of the back and forth she had with Marin as she absorbed the feedback Marin gave her. We laugh that sometimes it’s hard to listen even if the source is an acclaimed author.

And then she extends the lessons with some wise and practical tidbits she picked up from a writing book by Steven Pressfield.

Melanie reveals his advice that hones in on the reader experience. And she shares some questions he provides to make sure content is relatable:

  • Is it fun?
  • Is it challenging?
  • Is it inventive?
  • Am I giving the reader enough?
  • Are they bored?
  • Are they taking me where I want to lead them?

We’re confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the writer lessons learned that help us improve and extend our storytelling!

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 102: Writer’s Lessons with Melanie McGauran

Episode 102 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Growing Up Fast in 1978 by Melanie McGauran

Melanie’s blog: https://leavingthedooropen.com/

Steven Pressfield – writing that inspired Melanie: https://stevenpressfield.com/books/

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith;

(featured photo from Pexels)

Trying New Things: A Journey Beyond Comfort

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“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I ended up where I needed to be.” – Douglas Adams

My nine-year-old daughter, Miss O has started walking by herself to the neighborhood grocery store. She comes back with the most fabulous things. Not only the lemon I asked for but great stories about what she saw and experienced out in the world. The crow tapping on a wire and the longest dog howl ever, for example.

Also, the lessons learned. The first time it was that the automatic door sensor doesn’t work for her so she had to tailgate behind a taller person. The second time it was that she didn’t know that the checker was trying to hand back her change so she gave him a fist bump. The third time it was that she needed to wait for her change.

There are so many things to learn when we try new things. And in that spirit, Vicki Atkinson and I went scriptless for the latest podcast with author and blogger Mark Petruska in Episode 101: Out of Our Comfort Zone.

This format was Mark’s idea – to do a podcast without any prompts. To be fair, it’s not that different than our standard format. Usually we go into an episode with three or so prompts of things to talk about. But as all you listeners know, we clearly go down any side roads and questions that occur as we talk.

But in this episode, we each came up with a question for the others to answer. No predetermined topics or heads up.

And you know what? It was fun. Kinda like a great dinner party conversation. It opened the forum up for off-the-cuff storytelling.

I’m confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of going out of our comfort zones to do unscripted storytelling!

We know you’ll love it!

P.S. I turned off comments on this post so you can just enjoy watching. If you want to comment, you can on the Episode 101: Out of Our Comfort Zone with Mark Petruska post.

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 101: Out of Our Comfort Zone with Mark Petruska

Episode 101 Transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Mark’s book – a brilliant thriller: https://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Kings-Mark-Petruska/dp/1614344604

Mark’s blog: https://markpetruska.com/

Other Episodes with Mark:

Episode 96: Embracing Tech and Non-Tech Change with Mark Petruska

Episode 65: How to Be the New Guy with Mark Petruska

Episode 41: Enter if You Dare with Mark Petruska

Episode 33: Love Lessons with Mark Petruska

Episode 26: Eye of the Tiger with Mark Petruska

Episode 18: No Time for Kings with Mark Petruska

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

(featured photo from Pexels)

One Hundred and Still Going Strong

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“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” – Thomas Edison

In the senior living community where my mom lives, there are several people over 100 years of age. My kids love hearing stories about them and meeting them in the hallway. After all, if you reach 100, you’ve probably learned a thing or two, right?

Let’s hope so because Vicki Atkinson and I are celebrating our 100th episode of the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast. I’m just so incredibly grateful that Vicki, my podcast partner and dear friend, was and continues to be willing to do a storytelling and author podcast with me. Despite the fact that we’ve never met, this has been such a rich collaboration in which I’ve learned SO MUCH from the ever insightful, engaging, and sunny, Dr. Vicki!

We’ve also learned a bit about podcasting over these two years. So we sit down to mark the moment and answer four questions:

  • What were our favorite stories?
  • Do we have a biggest a-ha moment?
  • What have we learned as hosts?
  • Goals for the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast in 2025?

Vicki shares that she actually went back and listened to the very first episode. She says that instead of the cringe-worthy moment she expected, it was worth listening to our goals of being authentic and vulnerable.

We also spend some time laughing about the technical difficulties we’ve encountered along the way. In spite of those, we’ve forged through and added features like captions and transcripts to make the podcast more accessible.

In this celebratory moment, we honor all the incredible and inspiring guests we’ve had on and applaud our wonderful listeners and subscribers. We couldn’t be more grateful for all of you who’ve accompanied us on this journey.

I’m confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of storytelling and pause to celebrate before we move on to the next 100 episodes!

We know you’ll love it!

Please help us celebrate 100 episodes by subscribing on YouTube and Spotify!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 100: Celebrate with Us!

HoTM Episode 100 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

GRATITUDE for the Guests that have joined us on these 100 episodes – sometimes even more than once!

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith;

(featured photo from Pexels)

For the Love of Pete

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“What we love, others will love and we will show them how.” – Wordsworth

No, I don’t mean that title as a mild oath. I mean it literally. We love talking with Pete Springer. He is such a connector in this WordPress community. And for every conversation we have with Pete, I walk away feeling uplifted, entertained, and inspired.

This holds for the latest podcast that Vicki Atkinson and I did with Pete: Episode 99: The Gift That Keeps Giving with Pete Springer. In this episode, the inspiration comes in remembrance of his great mentor and friend, Nancy Wheeler.

Nancy showed how to give the gift of herself, to quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. In her years as a teacher, principal, mentor and community member, she lived a life full of service and joy.

Pete tells us the stories that are so uplifting and exemplary. Of how Nancy empowered others, created relationships, took people under her wing, and knew how to bring out talent.

In each example, we get a glimpse of how to live with a big and open heart. Pete paints the picture of how one person can do so much!

I’m confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of storytelling about how to give the gift of ourselves.

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 99: The Gift that Keeps on Giving with Pete Springer

Episode 99 Transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Pete Springer – Passionate Teacher and Future Children’s Author

My Heroine – Pete Springer

They Call Me Mom – Pete’s beautiful book

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith;

(featured photo from Pexels)

For the Love of Soup

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“You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there.” – Maya Angelou

When I was in elementary school, I lived one block from school. One of the best things about the proximity was that I could walk home for lunch. What I remember most about those lunches is that my mom often fed me soup: split pea, tomato, potato, and chicken noodle.

Fair to say, I have a lot of fond memories about soup. So I really enjoyed the Episode 98: Soup’s On podcast conversation I had with Vicki Atkinson and blogger and teacher, Beth Kennedy, over a big pot of soup.

Metaphorically speaking of course because we’re separated by three different time zones. But otherwise, we can really stretch the goodness of soup.

Beth tells us why she likes soup so much to inspire more than 20 posts over the years. We discuss the multicultural as well as the community aspect of it.

Vicki and I ask about how she finds the terrific quotes to go with the hearty content. Beth shares some of the unusual sources that you wouldn’t expect in a quote about soup.

We laugh about the different concoctions we’ve made and share the recipes – not only for a wonderful meal but also for community and connection.

We also talk about the Himalayan stew that inspired Beth’s post and how it’s like the melting pot of Everest Base Camp.

This is a great episode that will feed you on many levels. With an accompanying recipe, it’s great inspiration on the literal level. But also on the story-telling, creativity, and collaboration levels as well.

I’m confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of storytelling over a cup of good soup.

We know you’ll love it!

P.S. Please click through to the Episode 98: Soup’s On with Beth Kennedy post for Beth’s Some Like It Hot Chili recipe.

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 98: Soup’s On with Beth Kennedy

Episode 98 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Beth’s Blog: https://ididnthavemyglasseson.com/

Good Soup by Beth

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about her beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

(featured photo from Pexels)

A Story of Resilience, Love and Thriving

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“One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.” -Brene Brown

One of the things that Vicki Atkinson and I hear from podcast guests is that we are warm and welcoming. A lovely thing to hear. But I’d flip that around and say that what makes it work is that our guests are open and courageous.

We met author, public speaker, and parental advocate Vickie Rubin through our mutual blog friend, Ab. I love that because they both have such genuineness. We get to see in action how they show up for life. Whether at home or in their roles as advocates, they come alongside others to see them and share stories that make everything a little clearer and brighter.

So in the latest episode (and last episode of 2024) of the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast, Vickie gives us the elevator pitch for her book, Raising Jess. She jokes that it’s long enough to require an elevator in the tallest building in Manhattan. Fitting, because there is so much goodness in her book about raising her child with a chromosome deletion: mother’s intuition, decisions about whether to have more children, the grandparent’s point of view, and more.

Vickie’s openness and support of others are so inspiring. In her work supporting other families trying to navigate the systems to get resources for their children and in Facebook communities, Vickie is a powerful parental resource and advocate. By telling her story, she continues to help others navigate their own challenges.

Vicki and I ask about what’s next for Vickie. She’s recently published an article in Newsweek and she tells us about the writing classes she taking.

This is a great episode that not only focuses on the resilience, love, and thriving of one family but also inspires the same in everyone who listens. When we share our stories, we empower others and Vickie illustrates this so well.

I’m confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of storytelling – in our books, our podcasts, and our lives.

We know you’ll love it!

On a programming note – this is the last podcast for 2024. Our next episode featuring the amazing Beth (i didn’t have my glasses on… blog) will drop on Jan 10th, 2025.

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 97: Raising Jess with Vickie Rubin

Episode 97 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Vickie Rubin | Author & Advocate | Special Needs Parenting
Thankful for Superhero Healthcare Folks: Bones, Scopes & Hopes
Newsweek Article: Mom’s Diagnosis Was Crushing Enough, Then She Gave Me an Ominous Warning

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

(featured photo from Pexels, quote from Finding My Way to Forgiveness by Vicki Atkinson)

Companionship and Change

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“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” – Alan Watts

The other day I was switching over my company’s domain from another provider to WordPress. My hand hovered over the “Submit” button as I went through my mental check list one more time.

No matter how many times I do these things, they give me pause. But I was emboldened by a recent podcast conversation Vicki and I had with long-time blogger, Mark Petruska about embracing tech and non-tech change. Isn’t it amazing how knowing you are in good company helps? It certainly is one of the great benefits I get from doing these podcasts.

Vicki Atkinson and I loved this conversation with Mark. It’s his 15th year blogging on WordPress. And he blogged on a different platform before that. Clearly, he’s a pro.

So he walks us through the many things that he’s done to keep things fresh over the years. Switching themes, changing site names, even combining two blogs and changing URLs.

His advice as a veteran? Know the purpose of your blog and keep it in mind as you redesign.

Mark tells us about December snow and, for us relatively new people to WordPress, it’s some cool history.

One of the takeaways that I love from this conversation is that Mark talks about site design as a creative act in and of itself. So if we are ever stuck in a writing rut, it’s one idea to get us out!

This is a really encouraging episode that on the surface is about  the considerations behind designing a good site and all that goes in to a WordPress blog. But really it’s also about knowing your purpose and embracing change in any area. Mark’s long experience is both illuminating and emboldening.

I’m confident you’ll love the scenic and beautiful places we explore as we share the power of storytelling – not only in our words but also in our site designs.

We know you’ll love it!

Search (and subscribe!) for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or Pocket Casts OR Listen to it from your computer on Anchor: Episode 96: Embracing Tech and Non-Tech Change with Mark Petruska

HoTM Episode 96 transcript

AND subscribe to our YouTube channel to see a video clip of each story: @SharingtheHeartoftheMatter.

Links for this Episode:

Mark’s book – a brilliant thriller: https://www.amazon.com/No-Time-Kings-Mark-Petruska/dp/1614344604

Mark’s blog: https://markpetruska.com/

Other Episodes with Mark:

Episode 65: How to Be the New Guy with Mark Petruska

Episode 41: Enter if You Dare with Mark Petruska

Episode 33: Love Lessons with Mark Petruska

Episode 26: Eye of the Tiger with Mark Petruska

Episode 18: No Time for Kings with Mark Petruska

From the hosts:

Vicki’s book about resilience and love: Surviving Sue; Blog: https://victoriaponders.com/

My book about my beloved father: Finding My Father’s Faith

(featured photo from Pexels)