Latent Treasures

Our guests today are chaplains with their local county fire department. They have had that role for roughly 17 years now. Prior to that they were in leadership and ministry of their church for over 20 years. One might think they have always had this great foundation of faith and theology which led them down this path but you’ll soon learn their experience was quite the opposite. In case you were under the impression that we can script out our lives and plan all the plot twists ourselves, you might wanna stay tuned in! Both Larry and Dianne’s lives are a triumphant example of how wonderful and powerful God’s love for each of us is. Both experienced significant trauma as children, both had exposure to quote unquote CHURCH as children, but the messages never connected. Both of them were about to switch cities with each other on the exact same day as one joined the Navy and the other was headed to University - but as God’s sovereignty would have it, the University plans changed, allowing the two of them to meet shortly after. And while we’d love to say the rest is history after they met, their relationship was anything but smooth in the early years. This story has so many lessons of value, I have a feeling almost anyone who will ever hear this episode will learn from and relate to some aspect of their stories. This show is special, not only in the ways it show’s God’s presence in our lives and how he cares for us, but also because Larry and Dianne are good friends of mine…in fact they are my uncle and aunt respectively and both have had a personal impact in my faith development as well as I enjoyed a few years in their youth ministry when I was a young lad.

Cheyenne Summers may be a familiar name to our listeners because she has been partnered with us since day ONE providing our cover art. We chose her art both because it is filled with great emotion and feeling and because she’s a wonderful example of a former foster youth who has risen above the circumstances she faced her entire childhood and who is transforming not only her own family’s life but inspiring and transforming the lives of others who, like she previously lived, are now challenged with truly difficult times. We are so happy she spent time with us this week and shared her story. She provides insight into the mind of a foster child - as she was one almost her entire childhood. She uncovers what it’s like to have a fully dependent adult sibling. Tells us why so many of her childhood friends had no idea of her circumstances. Shares her experiences with mental burnout, what flags to watch for and how to possibly mitigate burnout - a lesson I know many people here in 2020 are struggling to figure out - and more. Her accomplishments professionally are already stacking up and her future is indeed bright, but if you’d like to support her and her family now - which you may well be motivated to do after hearing her story - remember her art is available for sale, linked in our full show notes on BtheChurch.org and she’d love to have you explore her work posted on her Etsy page or even be contacted for a new commission if she can retain creative direction. We hope you enjoy this episode. It is raw, there are some sensitive topics discussed that may not be ideal for younger audiences to hear, so please use discretion in listening and who might be able to hear the broadcast. In my opinion, though I’m no official, I’d consider this conversation to be PG-13 at times.

How many of you remember the television show from way back in the 80’s called Eight is Enough? I may be giving a little too much insight into my growing age - as if my grey hair didn’t do that for me already, but today we enjoy a real-life example of that sort of craziness! Mike Wise joins us again and has brought with him his whole family including his wonderful wife and their four kids as well as their stories of being a foster family - or resource family as some areas choose to call it. Their family of 6 was often a family of 8 or more as they cared for and continue to care for children and especially sibling sets that need a loving home during some really trying times. This was our first chance to record and share with you the perspective of the kids of a foster family who have been emerged in this role for over 10 years of now. We find out what it was like to share their parents and siblings with the kids who came to them from all kinds of different backgrounds and of all ages, etc. This was a very fun conversation and I think you’ll find it wonderfully engaging as well.

History is full of examples of men and women who were broken and troubled, then encountered the Living God and became both empowered and transformed in ways that God uses to bless His creation deeply. Our guest today is my friend Victor. While his life’s journey isn’t necessarily totally unique, it was a life that was easily thrown off track and temptations to pursue his own desires resulted in some problems that no one really wants to face. Thankfully, his story reaches a point of dramatic change, change that radically improved both his own life and the life of many around him. The maturity and wisdom he has received through his experiences are truly a gift of the Spirit and like many who have known him even longer than I have will attest, he is nearly unrecognizable compared to the man he was previously. He’s been blessed by the construction industry and has worked hard to become one of the most trusted and skilled General Contractors in the southern California area after years of being a flooring specialist only. You can find all of his links and business info in our show notes at B the Church. org as well as see pictures of him and his wonderful family.

This time we dive into a second conversation with a financial advisor, master’s level Crossfit competitor and busy family man, Jim Losey Jr. Like so many of our guests, his best qualities are not leveraged for notoriety or fame or profit, he just humbly goes about his day with a passion for God and for being excellent. The result is seen in his family and their centeredness, his business and his very satisfied clients, and his dedicated pursuit to be one of the best athletes in the world at his age. To say he has a motor and incredible levels of determination is only the start of how Jim Losey Jr inspires, motivates and leads people around him. He’s also a terrific example of a financial advisor who has carefully designed his business model to be in alignment with his clients needs and objectives as together, they design strategies and find the right tools to make his clients successful. Jim has a passion for helping people find ways to be creatively and efficiently generous with their money as well. Today you'll learn about a few special AND a few fundamental strategies that can be used to help you plan to maximize your assets, to impact the world in ways you'd prefer to see. 2629 Townsgate Rd., Suite 245Westlake Village, CA 91361 Map and Directions Phone: (800)200-8028(805)446-4600 Fax: (888)808-8810 jim@wealthcarealliance.com

Have you ever thought you knew someone pretty well? Then later find out they had this massive hidden talent!? Our guest today is Ramy Antoun. He was both a classmate and teammate of mine back in college - and I knew he was a cool and funny and entertaining back then, but I had no idea that he was a VERY capable musician! I knew he liked music and spent some time with others jamming a little for fun, but that was about it. Fast forward about a decade and I found out he was touring with some MAJOR names in music on the drums and had become a very sought after talent in many studio, live and production settings. We dive into part one of our interview with Ramy learning what the early stages of his career were like and discovering how some of his experience behind the drums actually led to a massive life change. Ramy also mentors musicians, works as a creative director, has put out his own music with another writer and has established a high end drum manufacturing business. You’ll quickly learn he’s no stranger to hard work and his positive energy and love of people have been blessing others for a long time. Keep an eye on this guy, check out his killer drums at ANFDRUMCO.com, and be sure to follow him on instagram. Not only will you be entertained but you’ll also get some amazing cooking ideas and some quality cigar insights.

Today’s guest is Talitha Phillips, CEO of Claris Health. The organization, as their name suggests, works to give their patients and clients CLARITY regarding critical health questions ranging from nutritional health to sexual health. Their wholistic approach walks with their clients through their entire journey and is a major reason why they are seeing so much success with those they serve. Talitha is known as the heartbeat of Claris Health and after 19 years of loyal leadership, it’s not hard to understand why. Despite many highs and lows, she’s lead the organization through massive growth and has vastly expanded their reach. She studied Organizational Communication at Pepperdine University and didn’t expect to end up working with Claris Health. We think you’ll discover that the way her path unfolded is quite inspiring and encouraging. It’s a wonderful example of how God can use some of our darker or more challenging times in our lives to bless not only us, but many more if we allow Him to use our scars for His purposes.

This time we dive into a conversation with a financial advisor, master’s level Crossfit competitor and busy family man. Like so many of our guests, his best qualities are not leveraged for notoriety or fame or profit, he just humbly goes about his day with a passion for God and for being excellent. The result is seen in his family and their centeredness, his business and his very satisfied clients, and his dedicated pursuit to be one of the best athletes in the world at his age. To say he has a motor and incredible levels of determination is only the start of how Jim Losey Jr inspires, motivates and leads people around him. He’s also a terrific example of a financial advisor who has carefully designed his business model to be in alignment with his clients needs and objectives as together, they design strategies and find the right tools to make his clients successful.

Tamalani or Tami Barnett was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Ms. Barnett grew up with a passion for helping families become whole and for protecting vulnerable children. She has bachelor's degrees in political science and sociology from Pepperdine University and a Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law. Ms. Barnett is a National Association of Counsel for Children Certified Child Welfare Law Specialist. She has sixteen years of experience working with children in foster care. This includes nine years at the Children's Law Center of California as a staff attorney for children and as the director of the attorney conflict panel. While at CLC Ms. Barnett lead the initial efforts for the firm regarding child sex trafficking identification and prevention. Ms. Barnett opened a private adoption law practice in 2008. In 2020 she joined FamilyBuilding, a law firm that assists with independent, agency, dependency, relative, stepparent and adult adoptions. She engages the community through trainings and public speaking on the topics of foster care, adoption, reunification and child welfare law. Ms. Barnett is the full time executive director of a nonprofit she co-founded called RaisingHOPE, Inc that empowers children in foster care to achieve their dreams through resources and relationships. RaisingHOPE provides funds, mentoring, life skills and advocacy for children who are experiencing foster care. She has a passion for coaching and providing resources to young adults aging out of the foster care system. Her heart is to show the love and hope of Christ to the vulnerable. Ms. Barnett and her husband, Clark, have been married for 17 years and they have two children. The Barnett family enjoys walks, the beach, board games, movies, the theater and one half of the family enjoys camping (not Ms. Barnett's half!). info@raisinghope.org 501(c)(3) Tax ID 47-1788053 1534 North Moorpark Rd, Suite 213 Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 805-491-KIDZ Facebook: raisinghope4kids Twitter: @raisinghopeinc Instagram: raisinghopeinc "RaisingHOPE empowers children in foster care to achieve their dreams through resources and relationships."

Mortgages are one of the most complicated and yet important financial tools people deal with in the normal course of life. It’s an industry that can be intimidating to navigate, especially if you don’t have a trusted advisor already at your disposal. Our guest today is Mike Wise, a mortgage originator and owner of a mortgage company based in Westlake Village, CA. He exemplifies what it is to be a latent treasure in his work and personal life. In addition to having 20+ years experience in mortgage origination, he is a husband of 28 yrs, father of 4 children, is also an active board member of a foster care charity AND is an emergency foster care parent! If you’re unfamiliar with that, you’ll soon learn more about it! We discuss the climate for refinancing, new buyers and investors, as well as highlight what it looks like to run a mortgage company in ways that both honor God and provide a healthy life for all of the company employees. We thank our great cover art artist Cheyenne Summer and our music provider, Mary Rodgers. Their respective art can be found via their links on both our SoundCloud profile and the full show notes found at our website bthechurch.org. Please help us support them by checking out their pages.

This episode will have you pumped up and possibly reaching for some tissues for your tears. We were able to get my dear friend Kim Winston Bigler on to discuss all things Foster Care related. We at B the Church have had foster advocacy at the top of our priority list since day one, it’s the #1 need our ranch we’re developing is looking to address. When I met Kim, long ago, she added fuel to my already blazing fire for these kids in such a powerful way, it could never burn out. I have no doubt most of you will feel the same by the time this show ends! Kim had never intended to become a foster hero - and probably still doesn’t think of herself in that light, but like all of our guests, she’s let God lead her path and you’ll be amazed to hear her story! She founded James Storehouse, about 8 years ago and has since started a spin off organization in her Louisiana home town known as James Samaritan, where she is finding tremendous success activating the BODY to take action in filling the gaps the foster care system needs help filling. 
I adore this woman’s passion and I know you will too! She’s got a contagious spirit of hope and healing for this neglected community and I know this show will bless you!

In our interview with Ruth Campbell, a 17+ year Community Manager from Oxnard, CA; we get exposure to what it takes to be an excellent manager, how communities can seek out a good manager, and what some of the key reasons why a solid management company is needed. Ruth is an exemplary, service-oriented manager whose commitment to excellence shows in all facets of her business. For our real estate industry listeners, this will be a very valuable episode.

We had the chance to get to know James Townsend and his path from the Bronx, through South Jersey, then the University of Iowa, then back to Rutgers and all the way to the Chicago Bears and beyond! While James is certainly a deeply gifted athlete, he’s an even more gifted coach, husband and father. If you ask him, it’s all because he’s allowed Jesus to mold him into the man he is today. He feels God has blessed him so that he can be a blessing to others. His faith is obvious, not simply because he’s comfortable talking about it, but because he walks it out daily as a servant leader. This was recorded at a time when the 2020 racial tensions were just starting to explode (Late May) and it gave us a wonderful opportunity to talk about the lurking evil that is racism. James discusses how being transparent in our approach with each other can be the key to getting past some of the challenges. But he’s also realistic in knowing not all people have a heart that allows them to want to see an end to racism and he discusses how he deals with that challenge in light of both his own life, as well as his family’s. James continues to compete in Olympic style powerlifting events, runs a successful gym in Des Moines, Iowa and is father of three great girls, one who’s just graduated from High School and the two younger girls are developing just as impressively - no doubt the result of two amazing and loving parents.

Today we interview one of the fitness industry’s first popular figures (including the fitness tv show “GOTTA SWEAT” on ESPN) and three decades later, he remains a constant fitness influence. He’s a two-time member of the Kung Fu Hall of Fame with over 4 decades of Kung Fu training, mainly focused in combat (San Sao) and the internal arts of Qigong and Tai Chi. He founded and still runs his martial arts and fitness studio named “The Village with Gus Gates” and is a sought after speaker on Zen and self-protection. Additionally, Sifu Gus Gates hosts two YouTube Shows “Are You Safe” and “King Kong Palm” and has accomplished all of these while also being a father of two kids, now both grown.