Chiseled Ep 134 - Falling in Love with Christ - Marie Miller

Chiseled Ep 134 - Falling in Love with Christ - Marie Miller

Many young people dream of performing on big stages. Few get the opportunity before adulthood. For Marie Miller, that dream began at age seven. Raised in a musical family, she spent her childhood performing bluegrass, singing and playing both mandolin and guitar. At 15, her father took her to Nashville. By 17, she had signed with Curb Records [https://www.curb.com?utm_source=chatgpt.com] and later earned a No. 1 Christian radio hit with "You're Not Alone." Her career took her from opening for pop artists and performing at Disney World to sharing stages with artists such as The Backstreet Boys, The Wallflowers, and Five for Fighting. Yet her most memorable performance came before a crowd of 750,000 in Philadelphia during the visit of Pope Francis, where she appeared alongside Aretha Franklin and Andrea Bocelli.  As her faith deepened, Marie felt called in a different direction. Choosing purpose over popularity, she stepped away from the nightlife and embraced a mission centered on faith, family, and service through music. Inspired by St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her message of "The Little Way," Marie shares powerful insights on surrender, humility, courage, and resisting the pull of fame. In this episode of Chiseled, Marie discusses trusting God's plan, finding joy in ordinary acts of love, and why the brightest spotlight isn't fame—it's God's love.

Chiseled Ep 133 - The Power of Your Thinking - Adam Buttorff

There's an adage that says when people reveal themselves to you, believe them. I like to add an adjunct to that: when someone tells you who he is trying to become, support him. When Adam Buttorff describes himself as a "heathen," a "SOB," and "depraved," I know he's talking about someone he was. When I hear him describe his love for God and commitment to Christianity, I encourage it. It's no surprise Adam clings to the Lord. He has been tried in his personal and professional life. As a husband, he lost the love of his life — his wife and the mother of his children — to glioblastoma. As an investor before the 2008 market crash, he was nearly wiped out. But rather than rejecting God, he sought His embrace. "I was really angry with God, but I was also very thankful to God because I felt like he just helped me and brought people around me," he said. "I never for once felt godforsaken." After his wife's death, Adam started using his relationship with God to help others. He's now a business coach, trainer, author, and public speaker who imbues his Christianity into the services he provides. With fewer years ahead of him than behind him, as he says, he is still deep in real estate investment, but he's not wildly swinging for the fences as he did. Instead, he's a "steady Eddie." That stability has not only let him focus on raising his children to the young men they've become, but also it has helped him teach others how to make every day a gift and "turn a setback into a comeback." Adam acknowledges that just as it wasn't easy for him, it can be equally hard for others. "People love the results of growth, they just don't like to go through growth," he said. In this week's episode of Chiseled, Adam shares his faith journey and how it informs his every action, decision, and suggestion. For me, I believe the person he is becoming is exactly who he is meant to be. I hope you enjoy his story.

Chiseled Ep 54 - The Winston Project - Cindy Aronstam

Lots of people love their pets, but few turn the loss oftheir dog into a life mission. But that's what Cindy Aronstam did after herbeloved English bulldog Winston passed away. Cindy, a real estate agent in San Diego, hadalways been a dog lover. Her parents had a dog before she was born. She grew upwith them. When she got her first dog of her own, she picked an English bulldogwhom she named Winston. Winston lived well beyond the 8–10-year lifespanof most bulldogs to almost 14 years old. His passing was so sorrowful to Cindythat she would take walks with her husband and stand behind him so that shewould be protected from seeing other people's pets. Two days after her beloved bulldog Winston passed,Cindy spotted a golden retriever with a gray beard and soulful eyes. She pulledaway from her husband Jim and asked the owner if she could pet the animal. Asshe bent down to touch the dog, the owner told her, "This isWinston." And she knew that the loss of her pup wouldn't be in vain. Fast forward and Cindy and Jim now have Harry, a"foster fail" that they were supposed to temporarily care for untilhe found a home. Turned out that Harry already was home, and Cindy foundrenewed purpose in helping not only her new pup, but all dogs. Soon after, Cindy and Jim started The WinstonProject, which aims to raise funds for shelters and rescues so they can do thework of saving animals. She says, hopefully, one day, the need for shelterswill be eliminated altogether. If you haven't heard the story of how my familygot our current dog, I share it in this week's episode of Chiseled. If you're adog lover, this episode with Cindy may well bring you to happy or sad tears,but it's a joyous and purposeful journey.  Cindy and Jim's Winston Project, which is now officiallya 501 c(3) nonprofit, is had its first annual gala in San Diego on June 8,2023. You'll probably feel the urge to donate after hearing Cindy describe her relationship with Winston, the WinstonProject's goals, and her passion for saving animals. You can find more about the gala and the WinstonProject on Cindy's website [https://winstonproject.org/] as well as on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/groups/826963361607623] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/winstonproject/]. And if you're looking for Cindy for real estatein the San Diego market, you only need to look up "the bulldog realtor [https://thebulldogrealtor.com/]." Appropriate, don't you think?

Chiseled EP 132 - Where is God in All This? - Becky Galli

If you've been listening to Chiseled, you know I have amazing guests who share personal stories of overcoming hardship, living through the paradoxes of faith, and using everything they've learned to help others. Every guest on this show has discovered a purpose in pain or testified about a lesson learned from conquering their own challenges. It's a blessing for me to have interviewed each of them and to help tell their tales. And, oh my, this week we got a doozy. Becky Galli was hit with all of the worst kinds of troubles: a sibling's childhood death, two special-needs children, a divorce, and her own unexplained paralysis. But did she let it get her down? Yeah. She did. Naturally, she asked, "Why me?" "What am I, Calamity Jane?" she joked. "The Job or Jobette; it's a lot. It was a lot and I felt that, where is God in all that?" But Becky decided to stop sitting at "the edge of a pity pit" and look at the "evidence" of her own endurance. "If you can look back at the times that you've been sad and you've gotten through it, that evidence kind of gives you confidence that you will get through this too." Becky was lucky to have an example set by her father, a minister and author of the book, "Sit Down, God, I'm Angry." Knowing she had permission to get angry with God, Becky worked through her sadness by writing her sorrows down, allowing others to carry her load when she was unable, and keeping the faith, even when she was challenged in every way. With the help of a friend and a burgeoning internet, Becky turned her misfortunes into a series of op-eds at The Baltimore Sun. Her writing career took off from there. She started writing short stories with reflective questions that turned into the book, "Rethinking Possible." She has now written 400 columns, countless blogs, and is working on her third book. It's got a working title I love: "Losing Without Losing It." Becky also works as an advocate for Pathfinders for Autism, an organization that helps parents of children with autism locate educational resources and assistance. I've had the fortune to get to know this group and I'm better for it.  I'm also fortunate to convey Becky's advice on dealing with adversity: stay strong, keep the faith, and keep moving through it. And I hope you keep enjoying each episode of Chiseled.

Chiseled Ep 131 - Procrastination Proof_ Never Get Stuck Again - Jon Acuff

Sometimes when I interview someone very affable and professional, I think to myself, "No wonder this guy sold a million books." That's how I think about today's guest on Chiseled, Jon Acuff. Jon is so funny, polished, and purpose-driven that he fills the screen and every room he enters. Some would say, Jon was born winning. He was fortunate enough to grow up the son of a minister in a household where humor was everywhere. "Our dinner table was like an open mic night," he says. But married with kids and at a dead end in his career, Jon was in his 30s before he realized that the "stage and page" — public speaking and book-writing — drove his sense of purpose and meaning. So, he decided to re-invent himself. Drawing from his youth, Jon wrote his first book as a satire about church life. Later, having worked for financial adviser Dave Ramsey, his second book was a satire about money. Having now finished his 11th book, Jon is an expert in writing about how to avoid procrastination and give yourself permission to find your purpose and live your dreams. As Jon explains this week, many of the barriers to success are mostly within ourselves. But people often blame events outside themselves — the economy, government, or parents — for not getting started on a plan to achieve their goals. "A lot of people are going, 'Until this happens, I can't do it,'" he says. "For me in my mid-30s I realized I was waiting for someone else to change my career, and unfortunately, I realized, 'Oh wait, it's me. The one who has the most skin in the game in Jon Acuff's career is Jon Acuff,'" he said. I met Jon when he was a speaker for a Buffini Coaching event. He's not a realtor; he's a corporate leadership speaker. He is also a great joke teller and even shares how to craft a joke to get the laughs. Jon has clearly thought through — as a result of living through — what prevents us from reaching our goals. He offers several bits of advice on overcoming barriers. "Stuck doesn't have an expiration," he explains, noting that it's a lifelong challenge to break through the blocks. He adds that he follows his own advice every day — waking up in the morning and asking himself, "What are the things I'm trying to do? What are the dreams I'm building? What's the mindset I want going into this? How do I set this ahead of time. How do I figure this out? How do I have a great attitude about this?" Those are a lot of questions, and you don't have to be a born entrepreneur or even an especially positive person to answer them. However, what you need to succeed, according to Jon, is to stop listening to the broken soundtracks in your mind. So, push through the skip in the vinyl record of your mind and give yourself permission to pursue your dreams. You can start by listening to this entertaining and inspirational episode of Chiseled.