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Episode 43: Teenagers, Mud Huts, and the Power of a Purposeful Pause
Season 1 Episode 43
What if the most powerful change in your life starts with a breath-long pause and a single, small step? We take you from a chaotic church gym to a gritty training village where teenagers haul water, cook over smoky fires, and learn why a clay stove can save a life. The stories are vivid—two days in a simulated slum, cardboard walls shaking under the fists of “slumlords,” kids who miss Taco Bell but gain gratitude—and the insights are practical: perspective is not a lecture; it’s an interruption. That interruption is the purposeful pause.
I open up about losing my first business, stumbling into youth ministry with more heart than credentials, and discovering that teaching while still healing can forge unbreakable bonds. We revisit my childhood hunger and the teachers who stayed silent when I announced I was leaving school. Those were missed pauses that could have changed my path. Today, we name that pattern and flip it: be the pause for someone else, and claim it for yourself when urges or overwhelm hit. The pause is not empty—it’s a tool that restores choice.
You’ll walk away with a clear, humane framework for real progress: pause to notice, then add one plus-one step. Drink water before the craving wins. Send one text you’re avoiding. Take one lap when you want to quit. Make one healthy choice and stack it tomorrow. Progress compounds when you honor small steps and remember you’re not starting over—you’re carrying forward everything you’ve built. If teenagers can return grateful for cafeteria food and clean water, we can leave this moment grateful for the space to choose again. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a gentle nudge, and leave a review telling us your next “plus one.”
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Published on 1 week ago