Smiling at the Future

Pastor Philip De Courcy charts us through the murky waters of indecision by answering the following questions: God has given us the stewardship of making decisions in life, but can you expand on the blessing and challenge this presents? What are common reasons behind indecision? Should someone seek to have "peace" before moving forward with a decision? When is it appropriate to take a step of faith? What posture should we have before the Lord when making decisions? If I make a decision that doesn't turn out so well, am I now living God's “second best?” Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024“Off Color” Series by Philip De Courcy: https://ktt.org/sermons/series/off-colorRecommended Books: “How to Know God’s Will” by Wayne Grudem “Decisions Made Simple” by Tim Chester“Found God’s Will” by John MacArthur Related Episodes: 85. Navigating Decisions with Chris Hamilton 48. How to Make Decisions with Chris Hamilton 

Author Pam Hardy helps us hold onto reality and hope at the same time by answering the following questions: What are reasons people tend to lose hope? How is hope cultivated in a believer's life? Should believer's hope for things in this life, or is our hope only on eternal matters? If someone loses their balance in the area of hope, what are the symptoms they may see? If someone doesn't have a firm grasp on reality, how might this negatively affect their life and decisions? Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024Pam Hardy’s Book: “Keeping Your Balance: Navigating Wisely Through the Challenges of Life” 

Returning guest Lynne Brown addresses the common struggles of feeling left behind in life by answering the following questions: How can we avoid comparison to our peers when they seem to be moving effortlessly through life and we feel stuck? How do you answer the “What’s new?” question when nothing is new? How can those getting married later in life navigate the imbalance of having children later in life, or being in the newlywed class with couples much younger than them? Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024Lynne Brown’s Newsletter “Faith: A Refusal to Panic”: https://lynnemariebrown.substack.com/

Pastor Smedly Yates sharpens our perspective on those seasons of waiting by answering the following questions: Why does God have us wait, and what is He accomplishing in us through waiting? How should Christians wait? What are wrong ways people respond to waiting? How can we grow in embracing delayed gratification? And how can we enjoy and trust God’s plan when we are longing for something else? Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024Smedly’s book: Wait: Waiting on God in a World that Won’t Wait 

In this second episode on keeping Christ central in the home, biblical counselor Marie Clark highlights the relationships and roles within the family by answering the following questions: Why is it important for Christians to understand their God-given roles and how to live them out for the harmony of the family?  How do you go about developing a family culture? How do you keep practices like praying before a meal from becoming simply ritualistic? How would you encourage the woman who has a more passive husband in leading the family spiritually? Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024

Biblical counselor Marie Clark shares from God’s word and her own personal experience on how to keep Christ at the center of your home by answering the following questions: What are the priorities a woman should focus on to keep Christ magnified in the home? What can we do if burdens from our past create fear for our future? How can we temper our desire to have a beautiful home without becoming materialistic? How can we successfully accept and blend family cultures when we get married? And what are the daily habits you and your family have built in to keep Christ at the center of your home?Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024

Wife and Mom of 6, Cathy Olewiler shares her experience of how developing a life purpose statement helped shape their family life and culture by answering the following questions: What are the rewards of setting a life purpose statement for your life? How would someone go about developing a purpose statement? How do you say “no” to good things and keep from getting sidetracked with side issues rather than the main thing? What do you do when you feel overcommitted? How can you encourage your husband to lead in creating a family purpose statement? Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024

Author and biblical counselor Martha Peace shares practical wisdom on how to navigate PMS symptoms by answering the following questions: What is God doing in our hearts through PMS? When do overwhelming emotions cross the line from being simply physical symptoms into being sinful responses? How should we respond when God does not deliver us from a long-standing trial? Why is it essential to think and act rightly even when we don’t feel like it? Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024

The common tendency to overthink can be overcome, and Taylor Jones provides helpful insight in this process by answering the following questions: What is "overthinking"? What are the fruits produced by mature thinking, and the negative fruit produced by overthinking? Is it possible to overthink the Christian life? How can we curb the tendency to overthink ourselves, and our relationships? And how do we move from being preoccupied with ourselves to worshiping Christ? Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024Recommended Resources: Biblicalcounseling.com"Self Image" booklet by Lou Priollo "When People are Big and God is Small" by Ed Welch"Trusting God" by Jerry Bridges

Biblical counselor Marie Clark helps us understand the negative women in Proverbs so that we can avoid being characterized as lacking discretion, being contentious, bringing shame to our husband, tearing down our house with our own hands, or being an adulterous woman. Website: smilingatthefuturepodcast.comEmail: smilingatthefuturepodcast@gmail.com Support The Podcast: ⁠⁠https://donorbox.org/smiling-at-2024