[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is the Morning Journey. Rewind with Mark and Brittany. Never miss a moment.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: This week on the Morning Journey podcast, Mark and Brittany share how to be joyful in the power of prayer. A message from Darren from We are messengers. And did you know that grapes can help you not get burnt this summer? Also try being the one that says hello to someone. Don't forget to check out this month's Hope blog and hire that water watcher for all your summer pool parties.
[00:00:24] Speaker C: Mark and Brittany, be joyful.
[00:00:26] Speaker D: Yes. The J in June, we're saying, stands for joy. And there are things you can do to experience joy this month. Go for a walk in the sunshine. Start the day with gratitude. Call or text someone you love. Have a picnic in the park. Try a new craft that could bring you some joy. Or if you're like me, frustration because I'm not very crafty.
But you can buy yourself flowers, get a favorite snack, spend some time in nature. This one's a good one, but a hard one. Take a break from social media.
[00:00:52] Speaker C: Yes, yes. Yeah, that is a good one.
[00:00:56] Speaker D: So you can do just small acts of kindness for someone else. Read a book just for fun. Listen to the journey. It'll make you happy.
But just remember to experience joy in the month of June. I turn y' all on in the morning when I get in my truck. It's helpful when I'm taking the kids to school. Here we go.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: It's the morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:01:15] Speaker C: Well, the scripture instructs us to pray. Pray without ceasing. And now there's some new information out about the power of prayer. Not surprising that when we pray it can reduce pain and anxiety.
[00:01:28] Speaker D: Yeah, for anyone who has a relationship with Jesus, you know that prayer is powerful. But even for those who don't consider themselves religious or even expect prayer to help, they found that five minutes of in person prayer with a believer has been known to clinically reduce anxiety and proven to help pain cease as well. And so part of that is like the physical contact, being present with someone and all of that. But the other part is we know that God has the power to heal and, and if you were two or more gathered, his presence is there. And so it makes a lot of sense to me.
[00:02:00] Speaker C: It really does. And that's all in the scripture. You know, we are instructed to pray, so we know that as believers. But the fact that people are realizing that even for somebody who may not be a follower of Christ, that there is a benefit to prayer.
[00:02:16] Speaker D: Yeah, they said anxiety relief. Held up at follow up appointments. Two and six weeks later, pain relief had faded by six weeks as well. And so if you are in need of some prayer today, seek a friend, get that help, get that in person prayer. Because there is something powerful about touching a person, being with them, being present and praying in the name of Jesus,
[00:02:38] Speaker A: uplifting and encouraging, because you need it now more than ever.
[00:02:43] Speaker C: You betcha.
[00:02:44] Speaker A: The morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:02:46] Speaker C: Darren from We Are messenger shared some really good thoughts on. On the importance of spending time with Jesus. Not just on stage in a concert, but daily away from the stage and away from the audience.
[00:02:59] Speaker D: I feel like a lot of times we put our artists on a pedestal and we think they've got it all together. They're singing these great songs about Jesus. They're leading all these people to Christ. But he said the greatest challenge for many of the artists is spending time with Jesus, honoring Him and loving him when nobody is around. He. He said it's easy to love Jesus, that we've. The Jesus that we've monetized, a Jesus who's given us some talent and a platform. When people are singing our songs and the applause is ringing in our ears, he said it's harder but infinitely more important to want God to be devoted to him and to be intimate with the King in the quiet, secret places of our lives. He says that's where the battle is won, not on stages. And that's a great reminder for us, too. A lot of times I feel like, I mean, even as you're listening to me and Mark, you probably think, oh, they've got it together. But we don't either. We're still learning every day. And it's just such a great reminder that if we don't spend that personal time with Jesus and develop that relationship, we can't pour that out and show love and compassion to others because we don't have that in us. And so I think that's a great reminder.
[00:04:03] Speaker C: It really is. And that's all of us, everybody. We all need that time alone with God to really learn more about him and what he truly has for us and wants us to do.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: Start on a positive note. You're on the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:04:21] Speaker C: Well, if you are headed to the beach, if you're going to be spending more time out in the sun, make sure you eat grapes. Now. I like grapes. I never thought about grapes as a protectant for your skin, but according to some new research, that is the case
[00:04:36] Speaker D: now you have to eat three servings of grapes a day for about two weeks, which I don't know how much three servings of grapes of grapes is, but it sounds like a lot. And you have to do it consistently for two weeks. But once you do, your body will actually produce less of a chemical linked to cellular damage from sun exposure. Now, I don't think it matters what kind. I don't think, like, it makes a difference between red or green grapes. But that's what they're saying now. And the funny thing to me is that we all know grapes, if you leave them out in the sun, turn into raisins.
So I love that the fruit that's supposed to protect us can't protect itself.
[00:05:13] Speaker C: You too can look like this
[00:05:18] Speaker A: good company makes for a great day. The Morning Journey with Mark and Britney.
[00:05:23] Speaker C: I think this is hard for a lot of people, and I think a lot of it has to. It's not that people are. Are unfriendly. Everybody gets kind of caught up in their own world and what they're doing, the busyness of life, I find that happening. But stepping outside of maybe what is uncomfortable for you and be the person
[00:05:42] Speaker D: that says hello, whether to a stranger or friend. I struggle with this because I'm the type of person who, if I don't know you, and sometimes even if I do know you, I don't want to talk to you. I mean, just to be honest, like, I'm in my own world, I'm trying to get things done or I just don't have the time. And so I kind of will avoid people. And so saying hello to someone, it's not really a commitment. It's not even sometimes a conversation. At most, it's a few seconds of just eye contact and a word. But it does make a big difference. It signals that you recognize another person, that they're not invisible to you, that you acknowledge them in the space that we're in. And it really can change someone's day. You never know. A simple hello can go a super long way. So if you struggle like me, maybe start practicing saying hello to people.
[00:06:28] Speaker C: We're just gonna worship, we're gonna be encouraged, and we're just gonna be together.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: That's the idea. You're on the Morning Journey with mark
[00:06:37] Speaker C: and Brittany John 8:36 says, so if the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. And that is the verse for Jamie McDonald's Hope blog.
[00:06:47] Speaker D: Yeah, she wrote the Hope blog this month. Also, the Insider went out this morning. So hopefully you're a part of that as well. Make sure you go to myjourney fm.com click on the Hope blog, click on encouraging words and find several Hope blogs from some of your favorite Journey artists.
[00:07:01] Speaker E: I just kind of channel surfing through the radio.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: Families are catching on and I'm like, wow, this is pretty cool to the best way.
[00:07:08] Speaker E: But now this is the only thing I listen to now to wake up. My style of everything has started to change.
[00:07:12] Speaker A: It's the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:07:15] Speaker C: Well, with summer coming on, more families are going to be hitting the pools and there will be a bunch of neighborhood pool parties, the backyard pool parties. And something that has become a thing is water watchers.
[00:07:28] Speaker D: I didn't know this existed.
[00:07:30] Speaker C: Yeah, these are people that are dedicated to keeping an eye on the pool to make sure that everyone is safe and and helps those in need. At one particular party, there were three kids that slipped beneath the surface of the water and needed help. And the water watcher, the person that was dedicated to paying attention, had to pull them out of the pool.
[00:07:49] Speaker D: Now, this is basically like hiring a private lifeguard. So you can hire somebody so that you and your guests at the party don't have to be the ones to do it. You can hire somebody that's CPR certified that knows what to look like because it can happen so fast. In fact, this past weekend I was at Smith Mountain Lake, and my daughter and another girl had floaties on. And so they were swimming just fine. But a girl, and they say the prime age for drowning is about 7 because they're capable enough to get out in the water. She was probably about seven or eight, came out there with them. And because the water level at the lake's so low, they could touch for most of it. But the second she couldn't touch, she panicked. And luckily I was next to her and was able to get her to where she could touch and get her out of the water. But, I mean, it happens in seconds. And there was no flailing or screaming. The lifeguards at the beach didn't notice what happened. Her parent was down the beach, didn't see what happened. Wow. It can happen so quickly. And so it's so important.
Even if, like, you have a neighborhood pool that doesn't have a designated lifeguard, you or your spouse need to always have an eye on your child, even if they're in a float, because you just never know. Other kids could pull them under. Like, you never know what could happen. And it's so sad to see that, like, drowning between ages 1 and 4 is, like, the number one cause of death for kids ages 1 to 4 is drowning.
[00:08:59] Speaker C: Yeah. And the water watcher is that person. They. They agree to not be on their phone. This is. That's a big part of the problem, is that in many cases, the adults, they're distracted by their phones and they're not paying attention to what's happening in the pool.
[00:09:13] Speaker D: Yeah. In this case, the dad was talking on his phone way down the beach away from his child who did not have a float on. And so it can happen so quickly. Make sure, if you're going to have a party, just hire a water watcher. If you don't want to, you know, designate someone at the party to do it, hire somebody to do it. Because what looks like splashing and having fun one second can turn really dangerous the next. So it is summer. We want everybody to have a good time. That's your little psa.
[00:09:37] Speaker A: This morning start on a positive note. You're on the Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:09:44] Speaker C: Our baby bottle campaign is going on right now. This will continue through Father's Day. This is our partnership with the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center. It's an opportunity for you to get involved with all of the great work that they and you have an opportunity, even if you're not in central Virginia, to be a part of this this year because it is a virtual baby bottle campaign.
[00:10:05] Speaker D: In the past, we've done it where you have to come by, pick up a bottle, fill it up, bring it back, and it's really limited the scope of our impact. And so we decided this year to go virtual. So if you go to myjourney fm.com, you can find it right there. You can donate wherever you are, but the Blue Ridge Pregnancy center does a great job helping people who find themselves in unexpected pregnancies to.
And so if you would love to get involved and to donate, we would so appreciate it. It runs now until Father's Day.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: A great way to start your day, the Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:10:35] Speaker C: Well, the Journey podcasts are there to encourage you, to inform you. Those include Diary of the Mom Squad, the Hope Podcast, Hometown Journal, and then the Morning Journey. Rewind.
[00:10:46] Speaker D: Yes. So make sure you go to myjourneyfm.com and click on the link so that you can get all the podcasts that we offer. The Hometown Journal is hosted by Mark. It features community updates and events and things that are going on. And then the Diary of the Mom Squad is hosted by me and Kate. This month, we're talking to Doula about birthing because Countdown is on. It's June 1st. I'm due on the 25th, so getting a little nervous, but it was nice to talk to.
I actually had classes with the stool list. It was nice to talk to her again about that. So that'll drop next week. And then we have the Morning Journey rewind so you never have to miss anything with us. And then Laura has the hope cast there as well. So there's a podcast for
[email protected] turn
[00:11:27] Speaker A: on hope and encouragement. It's the Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:11:33] Speaker C: If you haven't done so already and you're using the My Journey FM app, click that link that says map the app. We've got just a little thing we're doing for fun to find out just how far the journey goes. It's been great to see all of the responses and the comments from people in Virginia, North Carolina, other states, other countries listening to the Journey via the app.
[00:11:54] Speaker D: We love giving you a shout out as well. John and Palmyra listening. Thank you, John, for listening. Hello, John, this morning and Janice checking in from New Hampshire.
[00:12:03] Speaker C: Hey, Janice.
[00:12:04] Speaker D: I had to like, remember my state abbreviations. I haven't seen that one anyone? I'm pretty sure NH is New Hampshire though, so thank you, Janice, for listening via the My Journey FM app. If you don't have the app, you can download it very easily. It's absolutely free via your app store. Just search My Journey FM and share the app with your friends as well.
[00:12:21] Speaker A: We just wanted to say thanks for making us part of your day. It's the Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:12:27] Speaker C: We live in a world of studies. It seems like every day there is a new study. Do this. Try this. It will help you live longer. It will be better for your health. Sometimes I do wonder about these. A new study out says men who can do 40 push ups have a 96% or 96% less likely to have heart problems.
[00:12:48] Speaker D: I mean, we did all of our push ups based on age not that long ago here at the station and we all were able to do those but completed those. There's no way I could do 40. 40? You think you could do 40?
[00:12:57] Speaker C: I don't know that I could do. There was a time when I think I could because I had kind of built up to that. But no, I could do, probably could do. I could do 20.
[00:13:07] Speaker D: The problem with me is like I struggled to move my arms the right way. Like when I do a push up, my arms go out instead of like back by my side. And I don't know like if that's something wrong with me. But this study, just in case you're, like, stressed out about it, it involved active male firefighters who obviously could drop and probably give you 40 in a heartbeat. So it says it might not apply to women, older adults, or sedentary people.
[00:13:32] Speaker C: It might skew the results just a little bit.
[00:13:34] Speaker D: Just a little bit. So if you're a firefighter, you're probably 96% less likely to have a heart attack. There you go. That's a more accurate study.
[00:13:43] Speaker A: Thanks for catching up on the morning Journey Rewind podcast with Mark and Brittany.
