Gifting and ReGifting
Thank you so much for allowing us to share our love and lives with you. This is our 60th episode! YOU ALL are the greatest gift we could ever have received.
Thank you friends, for sharing your stories with us. We value you all so much.
HAPPY 2022!
Liz & Debi
Holiday Grace
Holidays can be hard for reasons both known and unknown. Give yourself and one another grace. Be kind.
Giving Thanks
At the time of this recording, Liz is appearing in the stage play, "Merry Christmas, George Bailey" which is a radio show based on the 1946 movie, "It's A Wonderful Life". Both the play and the movie remind us that we are ALL connected in ways we might not recognize or realize.
We are all going through STUFF. Let’s find reasons to be grateful and people to bless. We just don’t know what humans around us are going through. Hug a friend or family member and tell them how much you love them. We just don’t know which day will be our last day.
The Power of Your Instincts
Most of us have never lived in a time where we've had to work so hard to find truth, science, and good solid helpful information. It's so easy to dismiss the "others" as crazy, mislead, or just simply wrong.
Standing in your power sometimes means letting others stand in THEIR power. Let's all commit to creating paths to understanding and compassion.
Dancing With Commitment
The show must go on! This is more than a theatre mantra - it's a life mantra.
No matter what happens, the curtain goes up and the show goes on. Liz and Debi have performed under incredibly hard circumstances, because people were counting on us and not showing up just wasn't an option. We've performed while dealing with the flu, with family struggles, through the pain of loss, and so much more. Liz even showed up at work and at the theatre when her child went missing.
The show will go on with or without us, so why not make it a priority to show up and be part of the action!
www.debiruud.com
www.dancingwithskeletons.net
Being a Bridge Builder
Being a bridge builder can sometimes look like contrarianism. Pushing against the status quo can get you into trouble, but speaking truth is always worth the risk. Being brave means taking risks and speaking truth.
Dancing With Spirituality; Part 2
Debi and Liz both took very long paths to finding spiritual freedom. On this episode, they continue their conversation about how they sifted through the religious confusion.
Dancing With Spirituality
Liz grew up being afraid of stepping outside the "God" box. Debi learned that same fear when she was a young wife and mom. Being married to a pastor meant there were always eyes on her.
And then they found Spiritual Freedom.
If you want to dig deeper into the “Everything Is Spiritual” freedoms, we recommend visiting www.RobBell.com and www.NonpartisanEvangelical.com
www.debiruud.com
www.dancingwithskeletons.net
Dancing With Abortion
In the 1970's most conventional American Christians believed that abortion in some cases should be legal and safe. Most mainstream Christians supported Roe vs. Wade because they recognized that women getting "back-alley abortions" were being maimed and even killed.
In the early 1980’s the “anti-abortion” coalition worked to change its messaging. The “pro-choice” side was perceived as positive, while the “anti-abortion” side was perceived as negative. As soon as they successfully changed their marketing to “pro-life”, they were seen in a much more positive light. Today “pro-life” doesn’t mean “one who defends all life”, but rather it means, “one who doesn’t believe in a woman’s right to choose her own medical care”. In this episode, Liz expresses her anger at learning the extreme hatred that was taught to her kids by their Sunday School teachers when they were little. They were taught that women who had abortions were murderers and AIDS was God’s punishment for being gay. In her naïveté, she believed her kids were simply being taught to love God and love people, but she was wrong.
Rights AND Responsibilities
Everywhere you turn, people are declaring their "rights". We have the right to do this and the right to do that, blah, blah, blah. As a citizen of a modern and civilized society, we believe we also have responsibilities that KEEP our society civilized.
Compassion Fatigue
It seems so many of us are suffering from compassion fatigue. How are you dealing with all of this? Are you angry, frustrated, or just over it? Do you trust those in authority and/or in the science community? We’re still in this together. We’re here and we care!
The Polarized Come Together
President George W. Bush initiated the “No Child Left Behind” education movement. We started teaching students what to learn, but not HOW to learn. Teachers were (and are) being punished for not teaching to the test. Has that education mandate helped to raise a generation of people who don’t know how to seek good, true, and honest information?
There’s hope. People are starting to come together. Grace finds a way to come to the middle.
Deconstruction With Pastor Paul
Paul Swearengin grew up in a conservative Evangelical Christian home. His dad was a pastor, and after a rebellious period, he too became an Evangelical Christian pastor. Paul and his wife Ashley planted a church in Fresno, California, but his heart was unsettled.
Spiritual deconstruction is hard and it involves losing friends and family you never thought you’d lose. Living with peace and integrity, however, is worth it all.
Get Paul’s book, “When Joseph Comes To Town”
www.pastor-paul.com
Dancing With Yoga
Growing up in the traditional Christian tradition, Liz was "warned" about the dangers of spiritual practices like Yoga. Likewise, Debi was discouraged from engaging in Yoga after she became a Christian as a young adult.
Today Debi shares the calm and joy she recently experienced when she spent the weekend at a Yoga retreat with her daughter Karter. In today’s climate, isn’t finding peace in the storm of life something we all want? We’re all doing our best to move forward with the lessons we’ve learned and the growth we’ve experienced.
The Importance of “I’m Sorry”
“Love means never having to say you're sorry" is a catchphrase based on a line from the Erich Segal novel Love Story and was popularized by its 1970 film adaptation starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal. But, is that really what love looks like?
The Art of Repair
As the world slowly opens up, we appreciate the places in which we feel safe. Although a lot of relationships broke during the pandemic, many people found new and deeper connections. Today we celebrate those connections and the healing they bring.
Everyone is talking about the “new normal”. Have you found yours? We’re definitely still trying to navigate through the murky waters of post-pandemic reintroduction to community and life.
The heart and body wants to heal. Liz and Debi are open to finding that healing in some non-traditional places like bar planks, stalled cars, torn shirts, and small towns. Today we celebrate the wisdom and healing that comes when we open our hearts and minds.
The Brave Little Toaster
www.dancingwithskeletons.net
Depression and Hope
In this episode we briefly discuss suicide. If you're not comfortable with that topic, please feel free to skip this episode.
Childhood trauma can affect who we are and how we react to the challenges of life. There is no shame in getting the help we need.
We want you to know there is always the light of hope. If you find yourself struggling and thinking of suicide, please reach out to someone you can trust or the suicide hotline at 800-273-8255.
https://www.dancingwithskeletons.net
https://debiruud.com
Yes/And
Actors use an improvisational tool called yes/and. The words no, I don't think so, you're wrong, etc.... instantly stops the scene. On the other hand, the words, yes & and keep the scene moving forward. Likewise, when in conversation with others we use the words, no, stop, or you're wrong, we stop healthy conversations and relationships in their tracks.
Loyalty and The PanDAMNic
Many believe people aren't returning to their pre-pandemic low-wage jobs because they'd rather sit at home and "be lazy" rather than be "loyal" to their employer. But, is this characterization true or fair?
Debi lost her beloved dog Bella this past week. Bella was the most loyal pet Debi had ever had the privilege of loving and she often called her the “Jesus dog”. If you’ve owned a pet, you know what loyalty REALLY looks like. They give more than they take and they love you unconditionally.
The past year and a half has been really hard - it’s been a panDAMNic and we’re ready for it all to be behind us. But what a shame it would be if we failed to learn the lessons the virus came to teach us.
Blow Out The Candles
It’s Debi’s 59th birthday and today we look back on who little Debi and little Liz wanted to be when they grew up. Debi wanted to be a singer and Liz wanted to be an actor. As they look back, they realize they really did always know who they were and what they wanted to be. Life and discouragement has tried to derail them, but they found their way to the people they were meant to be.
In today’s podcast episode we talk about who we wanted to be when we grew up, what got in our way, and how we overcame some of the obstacles. We pay homage to some of the people who encouraged us, recognized our gifts, and gave us the courage to pursue our dreams. In this episode, Debi asked Liz to talk about a post she put up on Facebook. In the moment, Liz managed to mangle it all up, but below you’ll see the image and understand the post. Imagine an empty room. Now tell yourself this truth: In this room is everyone whose opinion about you matters. Now go be the change you want to see in the world.