Like an athletic team running plays out of their playbook, we become skilled at running plays out of ours. However, those plays are not running or passing plays. Rather, they are intuitions- feelings and thoughts about people and the circumstances that confront us. Our reactions to these situations are so automatic, they operate in our subconscious. In these three episodes of Breaking Bread, Physician Keyna Martinez helps bring our playbook into our conscious awareness so we can learn, adjust an...
Mar 20, 2023•26 min
Tragedy comes to us unannounced. It is a shock in the human experience. The new and unwanted reality has a way of troubling us to the core. Yet hope can emerge if a community is present to care for the troubled. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Ted Witzig Jr. speaks to those in the caring community. There are some things to know about support in times of crisis that will prove helpful to the troubled. Show notes : Definition of tragedy : Tragedy is a sudden, shock inducing experience that laun...
Mar 06, 2023•26 min
We do what we can to prevent our children from being exposed to pornography. But what if they do become exposed? First time exposure to porn can have long lasting effects on the young mind. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Brian Sutter and Jacob Feucht coach parents on the do’s and don’ts of engaging our children after exposure. Show notes: Consider the following tips if your child has a first time exposure to pornography. What NOT to do: Avoid shaming. This can lead to isolation. Avoid despai...
Feb 20, 2023•22 min
Difficult children demand a lot from parents. Wonderfully, easy children do not. Yet, the easy child should not be overlooked. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Craig Stickling reads a letter from an easy child to her parents. It helps us see the errors we can make when neglecting our easy ones. Moreover, the undue burden that can be placed on them unwittingly. Show Notes : Definition : Some children require a lot of parenting. Whether it is a streak of rebellion or special needs, these childre...
Feb 06, 2023•25 min
Marriages can find themselves in places of despair. Marriages often assume the problems are symptoms of waning affection. Yet what is actually present is neurodiversity. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer educates us on the impact ADHD can have on marriage relationships and the hope that can be breathed into a marriage when this is understood. Show Notes : What is neurodiversity ? The neurodiverse brain is contrasted with the neurotypical brain. The neurodiverse brain thinks, respond...
Jan 23, 2023•27 min
The new year carries a sense of hope for needed change. In this episode of Breaking Bread, the clinical staff from ACCFS share four words to help inspire and guide the changes we need to make. These simple four verbs will be easy to remember and promise helpful practical action. Show Notes : Four simple action words that can motivate and guide positive change for our new year. Walk – Slowing down is necessary for us to live well. It puts us in a position to live mindfully. Cultivate – Fostering,...
Jan 09, 2023•20 min
God saves his people into families. A nurturing community where souls are cared for and loved. In this episode of Breaking Bread, ACCFS’s church outreach team shares the vision that propels the work they do. Show notes : Vision: By God’s grace, the Church Outreach division of ACCFS is committed to supporting the local church by providing resources and teaching that equips the local church to care for its members.
Dec 26, 2022•15 min
Often, our bodies seem like a liability to our emotional, relational, and spiritual health . After all, our flesh is weak. Yet Jesus beautifully sanctioned the bodily experience when He came to earth in the flesh. He showed us that our bodies should not be scorned but instead listened to and exercised to the glory of God. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Brian Sutter and Isaac Funk help us see the role our bodies play in our emotional and spiritual health . Show notes : Common Misconceptions: ...
Dec 12, 2022•21 min
Jesus saw more. He saw what others missed in a setting. He saw what mattered in an interaction. He understood the reasons for a situation when others overlooked it. Jesus saw more. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Arlan Miller and Matt Kaufmann highlight critical purpose for the elderly among us. Help us like Jesus helped his disciples – help us see more. Show Notes : Help us see what others miss: Just as a passenger in a car can see more of the surroundings than the driver, we need the elderl...
Nov 28, 2022•15 min
“Grief can’t be avoided; it waits for you to walk through it.” June Knobloch said this. She and her husband understand grief deeply after suffering the loss of their son Jeff to suicide. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Del and June share their story of grief and how they walked through it. Resources: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline This Lifeline is for people experiencing a crisis and is available 24/7 in the United States. If you need help for yourself, a friend, or family member, call or ...
Nov 14, 2022•45 min
Laughter is relational, healing and necessary. In this episode of Breaking Bread ACCFS clinicians Ted Witzig Jr., Brian Sutter, Kathy Knochel and Kaleb Beyer enjoy a light moment together. But don’t underestimate the weighty benefits such moments bring to our mental health. Show notes : There are many matters that concern us: struggle, hurt , loss and sorrow abound. Yet, even among these, humor exists. Sometimes laughter springs from surprising places acting as a grace from our heavenly Father w...
Oct 31, 2022•27 min
Emotion is like fuel. The right amount, at the right time and for the right purpose, yields wonderful results. However, on a negative note, emotion is like fuel. That is why healthy people know how to regulate their emotions. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kathy Knochel and Brian Sutter coach us on how to do that. Show Notes : What is Emotional Regulation? People who have good command of their emotions use emotional regulation. In fact, emotions for these people are used in their life for th...
Oct 17, 2022•28 min
Disagreement in marriage is real. Anyone who is married understands the wisdom of being “equally yoked.” Fortunately, Christians are “equally yoked” on the basis of faith in Christ. Yet, there are many other ideals, values and dreams we might not be so “equally yoked.” In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer gives us a path forward for finding unity in the midst of the conflict this reality brings. Show notes: Background : Conflict around values and dreams are uniquely challenging because...
Oct 03, 2022•26 min
Youth is a time of life when all manner of ideals are being formed in a person: reasoning skills, social skills, character qualities, work ethic, and academics. And yet, greater than these is the formation of the image our kids will have of God. Their God image is the sum total of their beliefs and feelings about who God is. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Brian Sutter speaks to the importance of shepherding this important formation in our children. Why God Image is important? It is the lens ...
Sep 19, 2022•24 min
We live in a God-bathed world. He is everywhere and in everything. But too often, we are moving to quickly to see Him. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Isaac Funk coaches us on how to slow down so we can catch up with God. When we are restless with our ordinary lives, we are forgetting: Jesus took on flesh to show us that ordinary is okay. Posture is more important than performance. God is in the boring; the maturing Christian has eyes that see Him everywhere. Experiencing God is always done w...
Sep 05, 2022•18 min
Folding laundry, mowing the lawn, cooking, cleaning, fixing and working. Life is pretty ordinary. God must be disappointed in my life. Or is He? In this episode of Breaking Bread, Isaac Funk helps us understand the beauty that is possible in the ordinary.
Aug 22, 2022•18 min
Aren’t options great? So much to choose! Yet Kathy Knochel brings a surprising twist to the bliss of options. In this episode of Breaking Bread , she will help us see the shadow of options and the surprising value that comes by way of commitment. Commitment frees us in two ways. It frees us from and it frees us to . It frees us from options which frees us to focus . It frees us from distractions which frees us to invest. It frees us from paralysis which frees us to purpose ....
Aug 08, 2022•18 min
Attention is currency. It has purchasing power. No one needs to explain this to Facebook, Instagram and Snap Chat of course. But for those of us who spend our attention a little here and a little there, we may be surprised to discover attention is not just petty cash. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Arlan Miller and Matt Kaufmann connect the dots between what we pay attention to and who we become. Wonderfully, hope grows large. God intends to use our attention to grow us into the likeness of ...
Jul 25, 2022•18 min
Marital distress happens. Pain will occur. And when it does, our attachment styles will kick into full gear. Soon we will be behaving according to a script that was written a long time ago. However, these powerful scripts can be rewritten. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer explains what attachment styles are, how they are written, how they can be rewritten and the difference it makes in the marriage relationship. Four Attachment Styles: Secure Attachment – when distress occurs, pain...
Jul 11, 2022•24 min
I should know by now that yelling seldom works. Moreover, it most often works against me. Fortunately, we don’t have to be screamers. On this episode of Breaking Bread, Brian Sutter explains how an introspective person makes gains on his/her anger. Emotions respond to an impetus and fuel a response. While some emotions fuel a deactivation of our system, anger activates our system. The impetus’ that provoke anger and the response it fuels are often constructed from our past experience with the em...
Jun 27, 2022•20 min
Solomon the wise said, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.” Those of us who have lost the battle of self-control know just how mighty “the slow to anger” are. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Brian Sutter helps us understand the emotion of anger. He explains its purpose, how it works and how to live wisely in your own experience so that you might be slow to anger.
Jun 13, 2022•17 min
The church is God’s family. To participate in church, is to participate in “together.” What if “together” is difficult for you? In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kristen Schwind and Ron Messner give voice to the introvert in church. They highlight both the weaknesses and the strengths our personalities pose in how we experience the “together” aspect of church. Who is an introvert? A person who finds solitude as life-giving and human interaction as life-expending. Who is an extrovert? A person w...
May 31, 2022•28 min
The communication process is hard enough with just words. Add emotion to the mix and sometimes we might as well be speaking a foreign language. This is because the present moment meaning we attribute to emotions has been constructed in the past. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer untangles the knot spousal communication can find itself in because we are not decoding the emotions in the room correctly. There are six basic emotions common to all people: happiness, sadness, surprise, sh...
May 16, 2022•26 min
Identify formation follows a simple path: Exploration to Commitment. Exploration must precede commitment. Commitment must precede a settled identity. Yet, taking the path is not necessarily easy. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Ted Witzig Jr. explains some of the finer points along the journey to belonging, purpose and worth.
May 02, 2022•15 min
Identity answers the question, who I am and who I am not. An answer that is multi-faceted -both objective and subjective. Sometimes obvious and other times obscure. And to make it trickier, it shifts over time. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Ted Witzig Jr helps us understand the nature of identity formation and how we can better steward this area of our life. Show notes: Identity is: The sense of self - who I am and who I am not. Aspects that make up identity: Demographics: age, sex, address...
Apr 18, 2022•14 min
We don’t like it when things are out of reach. Especially when they are good things. But sometimes they just are. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Brian Sutter helps us understand what health looks like amid the disappointment of our inabilities. Definition: Limitations are those things that we cannot do or achieve regardless of effort or resources. Potential examples: IQ, Physical limitations, Mental limitations, Human developmental stage, Economics Reality : Limitations are often sources of ...
Apr 04, 2022•24 min
Many explanations for our present realities harken back to our past. After all, who of us has not been shaped by the layers of life upon life? The marriage relationship is a crucible whereby these past experiences have a very present voice. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kaleb Beyer explains the impact past trauma plays in present marriages. Understanding this unwelcome visitor in our today marriage relationship provides a great deal of explanation for the interactions we experience between ...
Mar 21, 2022•24 min
The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. This classic Bible verse from the Psalms sums up the whole of contentment. Yet, there are some well-worn pitfalls. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Tom Waldbeser and Isaac Funk address these and how they can be avoided.
Mar 07, 2022•17 min
Contentment is not the ability to do without. Rather, it is possessing all that matters. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Tom Waldbeser and Isaac Funk present this possession from which contentment is a byproduct. Contentment is: A state of mind. Being satisfied. A learned experience. Contentment is hindered by: Entitlement Contentment comes by way of: Understanding our limitations. Managing our expectations. Abiding in Jesus. Knowing God. Taking our pain to God. Offloading our desires onto Go...
Feb 21, 2022•23 min
Sometimes caring comes with a cost. An emotional tax. Overtime we can become spent, tired, irritable and overwhelmed. Living in a world with lots of cares, compassion fatigue is real and is having its impact. In this episode of Breaking Bread, Kathy Knochel and Brian Sutter help us understand how to maintain a measure of health while at the same time engaging in a hurting world. The brokenness of our world is brought to our awareness in increasing measure. From pandemics, natural disasters, wars...
Feb 07, 2022•27 min
