Send us a text This week I have a very transparent and real conversation with Becky Johnson. In 1997, she had to make the heart-wrenching decision to quit her senior year as a college swimmer due to a debilitating condition that caused her neck to involuntarily pull to the right. Despite intensive therapy and support from trainers, her performance declined, and she ultimately left the sport. This issue persisted even after transitioning to triathlons, where she continued to struggle with her con...
Jun 12, 2025•50 min•Season 4Ep. 75
Send us a text My guest today is Michelle Ruddell. Michelle is a speaker, author, and semi-retired teacher who lives in Central Texas. She speaks to women's groups about how to find joy in the middle of tough circumstances. her book, "Welcome to the Club, I'm Sorry You're Here", was written to offer hope to grieving parents. Michelle shares with us the story of losing her 5-year-old child over 30 years ago, how a neighbor told her she would never be happy again, and how she has consciously learn...
May 15, 2025•32 min•Season 3Ep. 74
Send us a text In this episode, I have the privilege of talking to Tanya Hackney. Tanya graduated with a B.A. from Middlebury College in 1997, where she majored in English and double-minored in French and Education. She married her high school sweetheart and taught kindergarten in Atlanta, Georgia before transitioning to homeschooling her own five children aboard sailing vessel Take Two. She’s lived aboard, traveled, and written for the Take Two Sailing blog for the last fifteen years. She has a...
May 01, 2025•44 min•Season 3Ep. 73
Send us a text This episode is hosted by Hunter. To be completely honest, we were having a hard time finding a moment we could all sit down together to record so he took the bull by the horn and did his own episode. We had no idea what he was going to talk about until he recorded it. He "killed" it. Maybe he said the title of our podcast wrong, but he definitely knows what to talk about when it comes to creating JOY. Drive-A-Logue link: https://drivealogue.com/?sca_ref=4141865.xLTkWKLvJW Put NJT...
Apr 03, 2025•21 min•Season 3Ep. 72
Send us a text How does MUSIC bring one JOY? IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT: Benefits of music How we have used music to: Lift a family member up Start our day joyfully Alleviate a long car ride What have we tried that has worked? What have we tried that has failed? One action step Drive-A-Logue link: https://drivealogue.com/?sca_ref=4141865.xLTkWKLvJW Put NJT in the coupon box for a 20% discount! Lauren's Book, My Dad Died From ALS and How I Found Joy 30 Years Later https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0...
Mar 20, 2025•23 min•Season 3Ep. 71
Send us a text This topic came up at the end of our dinner time. Addison announced she wanted to talk about something. This is the usual in the Raymond Household. Important topics come up during our dinner time. I pulled out my phone and started the voice recorder. She pitched us in making her curfew later...to 12:30 or sometimes to 1:00 am. What are her reasons? She wants to practice time management before she goes to college in a year and a half. How do Mark and I respond? We have similar resp...
Feb 20, 2025•29 min•Season 3Ep. 70
Send us a text Ahhhh, social media! The bane of my existence with my children! The 13 year old is pitching his reasons why he wants Instagram! We let his sister get Snapchat when she was 13 and if we could rewind, we would NOT have allowed that for at least a couple years later! So now Hunter is trying to convince us why he wants IG. There are very clear reasons why as you will hear in this episode. Adding social media comes with a host of problems such as; more time spent on the screen, arguing...
Feb 06, 2025•25 min•Season 3Ep. 69
Send us a text This episode was recorded right before the holidays. I found an interesting article in the AARP magazine that talked about memory and steps on how to improve your memory. Even though AARP is for "old" people there were some great pieces of information about the distractions that notifications play in our lives. Every time our phones beep, we pick up the phone immediately and it derails our brain from the task we were focused on. It actually takes some time for use to refocus. I ha...
Jan 23, 2025•23 min•Season 3Ep. 68
Send us a text Jennifer Faye Colombo is a watercolor artist living in Connecticut. Her intention is to give the viewer an opportunity to tune into calm, peace and joy through her various collections. Jen is super grateful to live near the water, her happy place that influences many of her paintings. In addition to painting, Jen creates journals and card decks to support others on their journey. A Pocket Full of Joy is one of her card decks created as reminders to find joy daily including the lit...
Dec 19, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 66
Send us a text In this episode, I interview Jason Wolbers. Jason is a successful business owner, husband, dad, positive influencer, and author of the book The Power of a Positive Mindset! His purpose is to help people to develop and maintain a more positive mindset and all around outlook in life! Jason shares how he grasped onto this positive lifestyle after being anxiety ridden for many years when he was younger. He also shares his inspiration for his book and how he supports others in living a...
Dec 05, 2024•37 min•Season 3Ep. 65
Send us a text I love our family dinners! This is the time for us to connect about our day, what is happening personally and to hold family meetings. Our favorite place to hold these meetings is at the dinner table. This week we discuss our puppy, Pearl, who is getting into items that are left out, specifically food. We also discuss with the kids their future in their orchestra for the remainder of the school year, and finally how to make some changes in cleaning up things that do not get cleane...
Nov 21, 2024•25 min•Season 3Ep. 64
Send us a text SPECIAL GUESTS: My niece Toni and her boyfriend Austin. Being in their early 20's they will share how they view: Joy What brings them JOY What takes them out of JOY How they get back to JOY Hear what they have to say about social media, how it affects joy, and how "being in the moment" is essential to joy. This episode is very valuable and enlightening not only for our children and young adults, but for all of us. I learned so much and we hope you do too! Drive-A-Logue link: https...
Nov 11, 2024•31 min•Season 3Ep. 63
Send us a text This episode is a conversation with Carla White. Carla is a Spark Igniter! She’s on a mission to empower high performing women to heal emotional overwhelm & exhaustion so they can finally give themselves enthusiastic, unapologetic Permission to Play… to reignite the Spark within, find joy, and boost their energy using the power of FUN. She is a 4x international best-selling author, including her book Reignite Your Spark & contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Spiri...
Oct 24, 2024•45 min•Season 3Ep. 62
Send us a text What are Powerful Moments? Why are they important? Hear some examples from the book The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath Addison shares how she created a powerful moment for a teacher. Hunter shares how he created a powerful moment for a stranger. How can you create powerful moments for your family, friends, colleagues, etc? The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath https://www.amazon.com/The-Power-of-Moments-audiobook/dp/B074TZFTDG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3G2SU6A2CAIKG&keyword...
Oct 10, 2024•19 min•Season 3Ep. 61
Send us a text This episode is a wonderful conversation with Liz Carroll who shares her experience with JOY. Liz Carroll is a life-long student and teacher of making mindful money moves. Originally believing she was "bad with money," Liz did the hardwork to rewrite her money story. She needed to drop limiting beliefs about how a woman can earn and manage money to set her up for financial success in a way she would commit to and follow. It worked. Liz attained financial independence and retired e...
Sep 26, 2024•36 min•Season 4Ep. 60
Send us a text This episode is a FANTASTIC conversation with Zak King. Zak runs The Center For Advancement In Cancer Education (aka BeatCancer.Org). They are a 47 year old non profit organization helping people heal or prevent cancer using holistic modalities They do so through a variety of free programs such as free counseling with their in house doctors, free weekly Q&A sessions, etc, and they also sell educational courses in order to fund the free programs They have trained and certified ...
Sep 12, 2024•35 min•Season 3Ep. 59
Send us a text Another one of my favorites that I can listen to again and again! In this episode, we talk with Michael Jann and Michele Jourdan. Michael is an Emmy-nominated late-night comedy writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon . Michele is Mike’s wife, writing partner, and a gold-medal-winning body-builder. She likes working out so much, she actually married a dumbbell: Mike. Their story is deeply personal: Their 27-year-old son Max’s mental brea...
Aug 29, 2024•29 min•Season 3Ep. 58
Send us a text This week I chat with Michelle Steiner. Michelle lives with an invisible disability. She has articles published on The Mighty, Non-Verbal Learning Project, Dyscalculia Blog, The Reluctant Spoonie, Kalopina Collective, Imagine the World as One Magazine, and Word Gathering. Her photographs were featured in Word Gathering Independent and Work Ready. She works as a paraeducator in a school with students with disabilities. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two cats. Michel...
Aug 15, 2024•27 min•Season 3Ep. 57
Send us a text This conversation with Adam Brooks is very informative. He has some great tips for parents on how to navigate screen time and social media with children. Learn how he went from a special education teacher to speaking to and working with teens and parents. Adam is definitely out to make a difference in the world of children. You can even hire him to come talk to your community. I learned so much from him and really enjoyed this conversation. Drive-a-logue Game: Go to the link below...
Aug 01, 2024•46 min•Season 3Ep. 56
Send us a text It is SUMMER!!!! School is out, activities and sports are done, now it is time to play and relax! How do we still make sure we read, limit screen time, not argue about the things that frustrate us, and use our time together to have FUN and create JOY? Mark came up with three questions for us to think about at the beginning of June. 1. What do we want to for reading this summer? 2. What does screen time look like? 3. What is it that makes you frustrated that creates nagging, being ...
Jul 04, 2024•23 min•Season 3Ep. 55
Send us a text I'm so excited to share this conversation with Martha McBride. We connected over social media and found we have a lot in common, especially our goal to live in JOY daily. Martha shares her experience with a bad breakup that led to depression and how she was then able to get out of that. She also shares how she knows she is living in a state of JOY each day. One way she knows is if she is singing. Not just songs on the radio but even when she can't find her keys. Haha! I love it! S...
Jun 20, 2024•48 min•Season 3Ep. 54
Send us a text This weekś episode is a conversation with Linda Rossi. Linda was born in Greensburg PA and now resides in Pittsburgh. She acquired her Associate Degree in Human Service which led to her 16 year career with helping to offer her support,encouragement and resources to families in need. She’s a writer of various artistic styles including the self-help genre, poems, and personalized quotes. She has a passion for helping people to improve their lives and empower them with simple techniq...
Jun 06, 2024•29 min•Season 3Ep. 54
Send us a text What is active listening? What are our positive active listening behaviors? What are our negative active listening behaviors? Action steps we will put in place for ourselves to create better communication between us. Action steps you can put in place for better communication. Drive-A-Logue link: https://drivealogue.com/?sca_ref=4141865.xLTkWKLvJW Put NJT in the coupon box for a 20% discount! Lauren's Book, My Dad Died From ALS and How I Found Joy 30 Years Later https://www.amazon....
May 23, 2024•26 min•Season 2Ep. 52
Send us a text Today I speak with Belinda Hearn. Belinda is a women's transformation & EFT Tapping coach with a passion for empowering and helping others unleash their highest potential. Belinda is a guiding light on the journey to inner healing, emotional balance and resilience. Her unique blend of knowledge and practical guidance empowers individuals to find calmness, break through barriers, and transform their lives. Belinda believes that everyone has the potential for growth and healing,...
Apr 25, 2024•30 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Send us a text In this episode, I interview Jason Wolbers. Jason is a successful business owner, husband, dad, positive influencer, and author of the book The Power of a Positive Mindset! His purpose is to help people to develop and maintain a more positive mindset and all around outlook in life! Jason shares how he grasped onto this positive lifestyle after being anxiety ridden for many years when he was younger. He also shares his inspiration for his book and how he supports others in living a...
Apr 11, 2024•37 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Send us a text In this episode we share the importance of sharing highs and low as a family. They allow a family to connect with each other after a day apart, and opening up lines for deeper communication. We share how we do it and we even share our highs and lows that we had on this particular day. Take a listen and please share with us how you do this with your family. If you don't, start putting into practice. It may seem weird at first, but I guarantee it will create better and stronger comm...
Mar 29, 2024•14 min•Season 2Ep. 49
Send us a text This episode is hosted by Hunter. To be completely honest, we were having a hard time finding a moment we could all sit down together to record so he took the bull by the horn and did his own episode. We had no idea what he was going to talk about until he recorded it. He "killed" it. Maybe he said the title of our podcast wrong, but he definitely knows what to talk about when it comes to creating JOY. Drive-A-Logue link: https://drivealogue.com/?sca_ref=4141865.xLTkWKLvJW Put NJT...
Mar 14, 2024•8 min•Season 2Ep. 48
Send us a text Are you ready for some great short stories? In this episode I read some quick bios of people who live in JOY daily and how they inspire others. These are people who reached out to me who want to be interviewed. Each one I read is inspirational and you can tell they inspire many people. I will be interviewing them all and can't wait to share their stories and how they pass JOY along. ' In the meantime..enjoy what you hear! Drive-A-Logue link: https://drivealogue.com/?sca_ref=414186...
Feb 29, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Send us a text Itś hard to find JOY when we are suffering from traumatic events whether past or present. I was looking up articles recently to see how JOY and trauma relate to each other and found this great blog post about it. https://tinybuddha.com/blog/why-joy-is-important-for-healing-developmental-trauma/ by Irina Bengston Even though it is specific to developmental trauma, I believe what the author says can be put into play in all kinds of trauma or when dealing with a traumatic event. I wa...
Feb 15, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Send us a text This episode is about......NOTHING! We didn't have a chance to sit down and record. Our next episode will be about a traumatic event that happened to us in December and how we have been navigating joy. It has taken us some time to process all that happened and we are ready to reflect and chat about it. It will be coming in 2 weeks! Thanks for listening! Drive-A-Logue link: https://drivealogue.com/?sca_ref=4141865.xLTkWKLvJW Put NJT in the coupon box for a 20% discount! Lauren's Bo...
Feb 01, 2024•2 min•Season 2Ep. 45
