Welcome to the last episode of the 2021! In this series so far, we have talked plenty about having courageous conversations with others. But what about having a courageous conversation with ourselves? As a new year approaches and we begin to reflect on the year that has passed, we find ourselves crafting new New Year resolutions and making changes in order to become the “best version of ourselves".  What we may forget to ask is "do we know what version of ourselves we working on to begin with?" Join us as we talk about key aspects of a courageous conversation that is pointed inwards, our favourite holiday traditions (hot chocolate and cheese anyone?) and leave you with a challenge for the holiday season! 

Welcome to episode two of this series: Frameworks for Courageous Conversations. We are joined by Lance Dixon - Equity Diversity Justice and Inclusion Consultant for the Calgary Catholic School District, a descendant of African American refugees who fled Jim Crow and settled in Africville, a descendant of  Irish immigrants, a lover of storytelling, an educator, and so much more.  

Lance has spent years in equity education, teaching about and fostering courageous conversations. And this week, he walks us through Glen Singleton’s framework for courageous conversations, including: 
- setting a conversation compass
- the four conversation position approaches
- 6 conditions for courageous conversations. 

We also dive into a profound discussion on post modernism, relativism, truth, and sooo much more. This is a conversation that you need to listen to twice, take notes, and share with EVERYONE you know.
Thank you Lance for taking the time to share your heart, and for being vulnerable with us. 
Enjoy the episode! 

Welcome to our last series of the year! With the holiday season approaching and time with family and friends increases, we often have to navigate away from numerous conflict causing topics—politics, relationship status, lifestyle choices, and now healthcare, COVID-19 vaccines, and so much more.  What if, rather than avoiding particular topics and pretending the undercurrent tensions in the room don't exist, we learned how to  have healthy conversations about them?  For the rest of 2021, we will be talking about what it looks like to  initiate and participate in courageous conversations —conversations that are honouring of each person involved, come from a place of humility, address tensions, and  handle discomfort with grace. 

This episode's topics include: 
-  What keeps us from having courageous conversations?
-  Validating the person even if we disagree with the perspective 
-  Creating brave space and using "I" statements  

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the last episode of our series: Are You Happy? 

If you been following closely, you will know that this series has been focused on trying to answer the question Are You Happy, and in trying to answer that question, we (and our guests) have tried to first define what happiness is. Today, as we lead up to our final attempt to answer the question "Are you happy?" we first start wondering what it means to be #blessed. Are we truly happy, or are trying to be happy because we appear #blessed? 

As your co-hosts, we did our research and excitedly provide you with two perspectives for what  being "blessed" means—one from the OG Greek and one from  good ol' IG. 

Listen along to the concluding episode of this "happiness" quest and find out our own personal answers to the question "Are you happy?"

Resources: 

Exploring My Strange Bible Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/exploring-my-strange-bible/id1271147429?i=1000412405073

Bible Hub Blessed Definition:

https://biblehub.com/greek/3107.htm

Welcome to the sixth  episode of season two and the third episode of our Are You Happy? Series. For this podcast, we are joined by Alex Akade, a long time friend of both of us. Alex is currently a Computer Science major, lover of stock market trading, chess, and a good thought provoking conversation. This is why we had him on to speak with us about happiness in in the midst of transition. 

So far, in this series, we have spent plenty of time talking about how we define happiness, but what happens when we go through major life changes? Our definitions change too. Alex speaks candidly about how he has come to a place of not letting others define happiness for him, of going back to his Nigerian roots in remembering the simplicity of joy, and the importance of keeping life pressures and responsibilities in perspective. 

Thank you Alex for hanging out with us on this episode! We are grateful for the wisdom that you shared.

Welcome Episode 2 of our Are You Happy series! 

First, we are joined by sisters Jesam and Nini Onun, who provide their unique perspectives in efforts to help us help us answer the question "as adults, have we overcomplicated the concept of happiness, or as kids was the concept of happiness oversimplified to us".  

Secondly, with Jesam, we explore questions around how social  and cultural determinants can  impact peoples' definitions of happiness. Do we have the ability to define happiness for others? How do understandings of happiness differ between cultures? 

Join us for a whirlwind conversation, sprinkled with a little sociology,  psychology, and a lot of good thoughts for reflection. 

Disclaimer: we do touch on topics that can be triggering, such as substance use disorder between 27:48 -28:30. 

Welcome to our newest series: Are You Happy?

So much of North American culture is focused on attaining happiness. But, when we really sit down to ask ourselves what it means to be happy,  we can quickly find ourselves with more questions than answers. In this first episode, Paula and Olejuru wonder about happiness, its definition, our childhood understandings of it, and whether it relates to concepts of joy, contentment, purpose, and blessing.   

Are you happy?  Join us in this series as we explore this question and invite everyone to attempt to answer it for themselves. 

In this week’s episode, Olejuru and Paula reflect on a key question proposed by our guest from Episode 2: “If everything you have is taken away, so to speak, then who are you as an individual?"

Too often, identity seems to be based upon the things we are doing and what we have. When it feels like we are not doing enough compared to others, we can feel a sense of loss or inadequacy. How, then, do we make sure our identity does not become rooted in the approval of other people? What happens when we we evaluate the labels we accept for ourselves and freely step into the space outside of that box?  

Enjoy this special episode on identity as we conclude our Rise and Grind series!