Tag: inspirational app

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Focus On The Savior: 2 Full-Length Talks by John Bytheway

Do you feel distracted? Overwhelmed? Confused? Busy?

Between work and school, carpooling and chores, your schedule probably feel so chaotic that you’re left gasping for air at the end of the day.

How can you possibly decide where to invest your time and energy when your entire world appears to “be in commotion“?

The Main Thing

At some point, we will all have to take a step back and really “zero in” on what the main thing is at that time.

Take basketball, for example.

Whenever we practice, we do so with the intent to win the next game. That’s the main thing. Perhaps we work on our passing; or maybe we work on our shots. We practice and practice until we see consistent improvement, all with the the main thing in mind.

When it comes game time and we’re out on the court, we know we have to “zero in” and focus in on the main thing.  Everything we do during the game is centered around the win. We use pep talks and routines, audience members and teammates, to keep ourselves focused throughout the entire game, knowing that the opponent is tirelessly searching for a weak spot in our game to break through. He’ll smack-talk or wave his arms..anything he can do to distract us enough to steal our focus from the main thing and succeed at his own game.

In life, Satan is the opponent and The Main Thing is our Savior, Jesus Christ.

In his latest full-length talk, The Main Thing: Keeping Your Eyes Focused On Christ motivational speaker John Bytheway teaches us how to filter out the distractions of the adversary. Using his uncanny humor and fun personality, John reminds us how keeping our focus on Christ will not only strengthen our faith, but will also help us weather any opposition we have to face.

Powered By The Son

The sun is one of the most powerful sources of energy in the world. Solar power not only can help plants to grow, but it can be concerted into electricity to power cars, lights, pools, heaters, and even homes!

Though the sun is such a powerful energy, John Bytheway suggests that TRUE power comes the Son.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can help us through any hurt, any trial, any heartache. When we seek to be Powered By The Son, we can seek to face His light and position ourselves to be powered by His eternal source.

How to Watch or Listen 

▶ These full-length talks are both part of Turtle Talks on the Our Turtle House App. Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

Audrey Baugh spent 15 years of her professional career as an inspirational singer/songwriter and motivational speaker. Now, she happily dedicates her time writing, designing, networking, and managing the marketing content of the Our Turtle House App! Audrey is a wife, a mom, and an avid dog owner who just wants to create pretty things, inspire people, love unconditionally, and eat yummy food.
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Why Are We Called “Our Turtle House”?

You know us by our app.

Perhaps you’ve attended one of our live events.

It’s even possible that you’ve heard a bunch of our special guests say the name “Our Turtle House” on their social media platforms.

But, what does that even mean? Better yet, where in the world did that name even come from!?! 

The “Back” Story

The story stems back to 2004 when one of our founders, Meg Johnson was hiking in Southern Utah on a red rock trail near what is called Turtle Rock. She began exploring the boulders along the trail, leaping from one to the next to the next.

As she leapt to the last red boulder in her view, she discovered that there actually wasn’t a boulder there to catch her after all!  Instead, she had just leapt off a 40-foot cliff.

Meg landed on her hands and knees, the impact of the fall breaking both femurs, both wrists and 3 bones in her neck. She was life-flighted to Salt Lake City where Meg was pronounced a quadriplegic (paralyzed from the chest down without the use of her hands).

The road to recovery was long and difficult; Meg was often plagued with discouragement, but never defeat. Throughout it all, Meg made a conscious effort to focus solely on optimism and gratitude. She wanted to turn what most people would consider a “devastating accident” into a sacred spiritual experience.

The App Is Born

Ten years after the accident, Meg wanted to do something fun and inspirational to celebrate. She had been doing a lot of motivational speaking and thought it would be fun to do something for an audience. She contacted fellow inspirational speakers Hank Smith and John Bytheway and together they presented a “When Life Gets Hard” Conference.

Then they did another.

And another.

Audiences loved the conferences so much that Meg, Hank, and John decided it would be fun to create a way that audiences all over the world could access these talks, so the idea of forming a membership site evolved. The site would need to be:

  • All-inclusive
  • Family-friendly
  • Both fun AND inspirational
  • Filled with a wide variety of content
  • Something even the youth would enjoy
  • And, finally, easily accessible.

Once they had a vision in they built that site, which then turned into an app: Our Turtle House…a family-friendly app filled with gospel-centered fun!

The “House” Tour

Filled with thousands of hours of exclusive podcasts, talks, firesides, and devotionals, The Our Turtle House App is home to unlimited entertainment from Hank, Meg, and John as well as hundreds of popular guest speakers like Al Carraway, John Hilton III, Jody Moore, Anthony Sweat and more. 

The Our Turtle House App also has loads of resources for your weekly “Come, Follow Me” gospel studies. Download or print weekly lesson plans and stream podcasts centered around the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Plus, watch or listen to over a dozen new releases each week.

Here’s what you’ll get with a full Our Turtle House App membership:

  • TURTLE TALKS: Remember talks on CDs? Yeah they’re like that. We’re home to dozens of hilarious full-length talks filmed in front of a live studio audience.
  • COME, FOLLOW ME LESSON PLANS: Lessons designed with your family in mind. Conveniently customized for families, teens, and children alike.
  • BYTHEWAY PODCAST: Join John Bytheway as he gives additional insight into this week’s “Come, Follow Me” curriculum the “Bytheway” way. 
  • DIGITAL FIRESIDES: Weekly firesides from a panel of special guests. Originally airs every Sunday night at 6pm MT.
  • HANK HELPS PODCAST: A powerful Q&A podcast where Hank Smith gives in-depth answers to questions submitted by listeners.
  • DOING GOOD PODCAST: Stories of people who change the world every day in their own way. Host Carmen Rasmusen Herbert interviews guests from across the United States that are doing good things with their lives. 
  • MEG’S TRIAL TIPS: Quadriplegic Meg Johnson is no stranger to trying times. Still, she’s discovered hundreds of tips to help her get through life with an optimistic attitude and now she wants to share them with you.
  • ARMOR UP: DAILY DEVOTIONALS: Start your day the Armor Up way with short morning devotionals geared towards teens and young adults! 
  • MARK MY WORDS: Read or listen to weekly short inspirational stories written and narrated by Mark Williams.
  • SCRIPTURE POWER: The entire household will love learning scripture stories and learning to implement their modern-day applications.
  • FOLLOW HIM PODCAST: Quickly becoming one of the most popular LDS-based podcasts, Hank and John host guests who specialize in different aspects of church history and scriptural curriculum. 
  • TEACHING HELPS: A Vlog miniseries by Hank Smith to help the teacher/instructor in all of us with classroom management skills.
  • HAPPINESS 101 COURSE: Your six-week course to a happier life!
  • PLUS…members get exclusive ticket discounts to all our live events!
  • And more coming soon!!!

▶ Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

Audrey Baugh spent 15 years of her professional career as an inspirational singer/songwriter and motivational speaker. Now, she happily dedicates her time writing, designing, networking, and managing the marketing content of the Our Turtle House App! Audrey is a wife, a mom, and an avid dog owner who just wants to create pretty things, inspire people, love unconditionally, and eat yummy food.
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The “Magical” Answer: Overcoming My Discouragement & Doubt

My name is Audrey. I am a creator, a singer, and a performer. I am the Our Turtle House Sales Manager/blog writer…and I have lived most of my life battling severe anxiety and fear. 

This post is written very carefully because the blog is not about me–it’s about Our Turtle House.

Plus, I know that blog writers are typically heard and not seen and I intend to keep it that way.

But sometimes our prayers are answered by other people’s experiences and it’s often through someone else’s vulnerability that we find comfort in our own, so I’d like to tell you a story of how my unspoken prayer of discouragement and doubt was answered…by a magician.

My Story

Throughout my childhood, I experienced some severe trauma that resulted in anxieties and fears that have accompanied me into adulthood. I’ve done a pretty good job managing them, for the most part, but occasionally they rear their heads and I have to really concentrate at keeping them at bay.

For the past four years, I’ve been living at the pinnacle of my own personal “Liberty Jail“, my individual place of extreme pain, loss, heartache, and suffering. This isn’t the platform to share any of the gritty details; the details won’t contribute to this particular blog post at all, so I won’t. What I can tell you, though, is that life has been utter chaos.

For someone whose unwritten (but often spoken) motto is “Messes are stresses”, additional chaos has been a real struggle.  Stress levels were astronomical. The harder I tried, the harder things got; and the harder things got, the more my childhood trauma resurfaced. Fear, anxiety, and defeat became my constant companions as I tried to juggle life’s new demands. After a severe case of adrenal fatigue settled it, discouragement suddenly made its way into my circle as well.

Life was out of my control. It was too hard.

I was suddenly hit with an unhealthy dose of low self-esteem and an even lower self-worth. I questioned everything I ever knew to be true about the love of God and the Savior’s power to make all things right. As I began to doubt, I began to fear God; as I began to fear God, I began to fear prayer. I was caught up in a cycle that I didn’t know how to break.

Mesmerized By Deception

One of my favorite parts of my job is to emcee at the Turtle Talk Live Events. I love to be on stage, interacting behind-the-scenes with all of our audience members, and getting to know the motivational speakers who deliver powerful inspirational messages. It’s kind of a dream job, really.

In October 2021, I was at the peak of my chaos. I emcee’d at an event where Brad Barton was one of the keynote speakers. As a magician, he mesmerized the audience with magic tricks that he tied into important gospel principles. As his routine went on, Brad began unveiling the 3 techniques of a magician:

  • Sleight of hand: Tricks of psychological manipulation, timing, story, and natural choreography.
  • Misdirection: Tricks with a purpose of getting the audience’s eyes off of looking at the main thing and looking at something else instead.
  • Mental Conditioning: Tricks that get your mental momentum going in one direction while the magic happens someplace else. These are also known as the most powerful tricks of a magician. 

All magic tricks can fit into one technique or a combination of them; and all are designed to mesmerize their audience by deception. To accomplish this, the magician creates a powerfully deceptive illusion to delight and confuse the audience: it looks real, it sounds real, it almost even feels real. Yet, in the end, after you’ve seen a really good magic show, you are left with nothing but questions, confusion, and wonder. 

Brad then asked, “Can you see where this is heading? Can you see how this is going to tie into a powerful spiritual fireside?”

As I began to feel the Spirit, that feeling triggered my anxiety, spun me into doubt and fear set in. I emceed my way through yet another anxiety attack.

The Devil’s Techniques

Brad’s Turtle Talk message revolved around unveiling Satan’s most powerful illusions: Discouragement. Doubt. Confusion. Hopelessness. Rage. Anxiety. Fear. His mission statement can actually be found in 2 Nephi 2:18 where it reads:

“and because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.”

He wasn’t satisfied with a few of us. He doesn’t even want most of us. He wants us all and THAT is the devil’s mission statement.

“For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good..and thus the devil cheateth their souls and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.” (2 Nephi 28:20-21)

Satan’s techniques have been carefully honed over thousands of years and have found their way into the hearts of many, using the same techniques as a magician. Here are a few Brad’s talk helped me identify in my own life:

  • Sleight of hand: Ironically, Satan glides very naturally, often unnoticed, in and out of my life when I am at my lowest. Whispers of doubt, discouragement, and fear often appear during the most pivotal points of my life’s story.
  • Misdirection: I made a mental list of things in my life that are taking my eyes off the main thing. I could identify ways I was wasting my time, habits I had developed, thought-processes I had allowed to evolve. All had distracted me from focusing on the Savior and on my true purpose here on earth.
  • Mental conditioning: I was surprised at how many behaviors I could rationalize as being “no big deal”. Little by little, I began to mix up the real with the fake. It all started with a thought and, before long, my anxiety and fear began to take me so far down the “what if” road of the future that I failed to recognize the miracles of today.

These are only just a few examples that appeared in my life. I’m certain that Satan knows us so well that there are numberless, individualized traps that we could all potentially fall into.

And what are you left with in the end? Nada.

(Well, actually you’re left with questions, confusion, and even more wonder, but really those boil down to “nada.”)

The Savior’s Techniques

Now, compare what we just learned about the Devil’s techniques to the ones that our Savior uses.

Because the Godhead is so united, the Savior’s mission statement can easily be summed up by the same that God has proclaimed:

“For behold, this is my work and my glory–to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”  (Moses 1:39)

And what “techniques” does the Savior use to influence us? Certainly not the same as a magician. His techniques all stem from a higher, holier place. In studying Brad’s talk, here are a few that I identified in my own life:

  • Love: Everything the Savior does has always been centered around His love for me. Everything. “Greater man hath no love than this...” (John 15:13)
  • Free agency: Because of his belief in free agency, the Savior will never manipulate, deceive, or force me into making any decisions. Instead, He’s there help us as we choose our own path. He even sacrificed His own life hoping that we will ultimately choose to return to live with Him and Our Heavenly Parents again someday. He gave us everything, but still He leaves the choice up to us.
  • Peace: A lot of the fears and anxieties I struggle with stem from a fear of “the unknown,” both in the past and in the future. Though I may still have unanswered questions, Christ is not going to leave me in a spirit of confusion and wonder. There’s a reason that the Savior is called “The Prince of Peace.” When Christ is present, peace is found. 

No. The techniques of the Savior are not magical, manipulative tricks that leave us feeling empty and confused. Instead, the techniques He uses are designed to leave us filled with  hope, comfort, and mercy.

The Magical Answer

The Our Turtle House editing team was inspired when they gave Brad’s talk the title, “Don’t Get Tricked: Magic, Lies, & Revealing the Loving Grace of God”.  

I’ve pondered this talk several times over the months and I believe I have found my own personal answer to all the prayers I couldn’t/wouldn’t/didn’t pray. For me, the magical answer was to develop a firm and unwavering testimony of the power of Satan in my life. I needed to fully comprehend that he does exist, that he is a powerful being, and that he knows me every bit as much as the Savior does.

In fact, he knows me so well that he custom-designed a strategy of small, subtle tactics just for me; tricks targeted at the weaknesses he knew I had; distractions that he knew would keep me from my main focus in life.

These ploys looked real, sounded real and felt very real, yet, in the end, they left me with nothing more than questions, confusions, and wonder.

In fact, I began to know this so intensely that I even wrote my testimony about it:

Now, please don’t get me wrong.

I am not “magically cured”. I still have fears and anxieties that stem from my own personal experiences.

In fact, I rely heavily on the beauty of modern medicine and professional therapy/counseling to help me navigate the journey of healing, and encourage you to do the same when needed.

I recognize the complications of clinical depression and anxieties and understand that this is not everybody’s story. It is only my own. I don’t claim to even pretend to have all the answers for everyone.

I also understand that we all have our own individual struggles and that my struggles probably aren’t your struggles and vice versa. 

However, my understanding of Satan and God and Jesus Christ and their roles has increased substantially because of this talk. I’ve been able to more easily recognize the everyday techniques Satan uses to trick his way into my life. I’ve also discovered ways that I can hold him at bay.

I would encourage you all to take just 47 minutes out of your day to watch Brad’s talk with your entire family. Perhaps you, too, can contrast the techniques that Satan uses in your own life with the techniques the Savior offers to counteract them. 

▶ Watch or listen to Brad Barton’s full Turtle Talk here: Don’t Get Tricked: Magic, Lies, & Revealing the Loving Grace of God

Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

Audrey Baugh spent 15 years of her professional career as an inspirational singer/songwriter and motivational speaker. Now, she happily dedicates her time writing, designing, networking, and managing the marketing content of the Our Turtle House App! Audrey is a wife, a mom, and an avid dog owner who just wants to create pretty things, inspire people, love unconditionally, and eat yummy food.
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12 Scriptures for a Healthy Relationship by Hank Smith

Take me to the series

Marriage. Parenting. Neighbors. Friends. Employers. Classmates. Colleagues. Customers.

Everywhere we go, we form a bond with someone somehow. Some connections are quickly created in passing, while others, like marriage, are made to linger longer. Regardless of the status, all relationships are opportunities to grow and develop as our souls become more like our Heavenly Father.

Scriptures for a Healthy Relationship

In his latest Hank Helps miniseries, inspirational podcaster Hank Smith addresses Scriptures for a Healthy Relationship. In this twelve-part series, Hank discusses select verses from the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants that he has found useful in strengthening his own relationships. And, while a lot of the discussion in these episodes revolve around marriage and children, the principles could be applied to any form of relationship in their life that needs a little TLC.

Each episode ranges anywhere from 7-15 minutes long…the PERFECT length for listeners to fit into their already over-scheduled lives.

While these episodes are great to listen to on your own, we highly recommend listening to them with a spouse, parent, adult child, friend, neighbor, or anyone else you might want to improve your relationship with.

These scriptures may look familiar to you; you’ve probably heard most of them before…but you’ll be AMAZED at how Hank Smith takes the familiar verses and sheds so much new insight that can help change your relationships forever!

What Listeners Are Saying

***We created a focus group and let a few people access all of the episodes before they were released. Here are some of their reviews:

  • Renie: “I thoroughly enjoyed all of these episodes. Hank makes it easy to look inward because of his humility and the examples he shares. He explains why the ideas he puts forth will improve relationships both psychologically, spiritually, physically and emotionally with just the right amount of scientific studies and personal experiences. I appreciate Hank’s vulnerability and the sacred things he shares. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to enjoy this mini series.”
  • Denise: “I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to listen to this series! So many things sparked thoughts and impressions that I hadn’t had before. I was familiar with all of the scriptures, but several of them had a new light shined on them, and what a great view! I look forward to the improvements that this can make, not only in my relationships, but also in my life on a personal level.”
  • Holly: “I loved listening to these episodes! I was blown away by how simplistic but profound the thoughts expressed were. I felt extremely uplifted and enjoyed every minute of this series.”
  • Camie: I wish I could have listened to this 20 years ago when I was a young wife/mother. I would recommend this to everyone I know. I gained a lot of great information to help in all aspects of my life including interacting with family, friends, and co-workers. I have had a few relationships that I have been struggling with the last couple of month and this was very helpful, as it helped me look more inward and see how I can work on myself instead of trying to fix them.
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Ready to Listen?

▶ Scriptures for a Healthy Relationships are an exclusive miniseries housed on the Our Turtle House App. Listen to the entire series, beginning here.

Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

Take me to the series
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How to React When Your Missionary Returns Home Early

His son was called to serve full time in the Madagascar mission. Three days before the son was to leave the Missionary Training Center and fly to Madagascar, David and his wife got a phone call to come immediately to pick their son up–he was having a nervous breakdown and was being sent home.

What would their friends and family think? What could they possibly say to help others understand what was happening? Even more importantly, what resources are available to help both themselves and their son understand this challenging experience?

This story is not much different from a myriad of other missionary stories that have come to light in recent years. However, for David T. Morgan, PhD, and his wife, the greatest challenge was that this happened to their son 10 years ago, a time when not a lot of missionaries were actually coming home early. An early release was practically unheard of…and even less talked about. 

Six years later, David got a phone call from his fourth son’s mission president in Mexico. He, too, was experiencing some mental health struggles and was being sent home. This time David and his wife were prepared to help support their son and many others through what would be a pivotal point in their son’s life.

What had they learned that made the difference?

Emotional Resilience

Emotional resiliency is the ability to cope with life’s ups and downs, to adapt to stressful situations, to adapt to uncertainty, challenges, and adversity.  “At the heart of emotional resilience,” David states, “is learning how to improve because of our trials and not just endure them or get worse because of them.”

In a nutshell, becoming emotionally resilient means you learn to engage with trials, take them head on, and make your way through them. It means learning through your trial, becoming even stronger through your challenge and using that experience in a way that others can learn from you. 

An emotionally resilient person learns to discern whether the situations are simply undesirable (meaning they’re just not what you wanted to happen) or whether they’re completely unacceptable (meaning they are morally and ethically wrong). In learning to discern between these two outcomes, you become willing to learn through the challenge or process and put yourself in a place to teach those around you. The more situations we can categorize as undesirable, the better we will be able to cope with life’s difficulties when they come.

Emotional resilience helps us learn how to deal with things as they happen so instead of running and screaming, we say “I can do this, we can make it through this and how can I get stronger as a result of it.”

David and his wife were able to look at the good that this trial could bring to themselves and to their son and use that to teach other people going through similar situations.

Return With Honor

Some young adults can live their entire childhood without having any symptoms of a mental health concern. It is not something they are typically prepared to manage on their own. Many of the youth are called to preach the gospel in foreign countries or new parts of their own country. Surrounded by new cultures and customs, many are easily blindsided when a situation suddenly triggers anxiety, depression, panic attacks compulsive behaviors, or any other disorder.

While many are able to adapt and work their way through the situation, perhaps you’re one of the many who return home to receive some additional support. Whichever scenario you are now in, please note that all faithful missionaries are equally as noble and valiant in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

So, as a returned missionary, what can emotional resilience look like for you? It certainly depends on the individual, their experiences and their own personal needs, but here are some suggestions you might consider:

  1. Acknowledging that you did the best you could and that there is no shame for coming home to take care of a mental health need.
  2. Knowing that perhaps the best thing for you was to come home and receive additional help.
  3. Being proud of the time you served and that you served both valiantly and nobly.
  4. Accepting that what you’ve done and how you served is good enough.
  5. Embracing that whether you are out for two years or two months, the Lord accepts your effort and considers that your mission and you have returned with honor.
  6. Learning to interpret whether your situation is undesirable (just not something you wanted to happen) or absolutely unacceptable.
  7. Remembering that it’s all about becoming who you need to become, not about getting what you want to get.
  8. Stop saying “Why me?” or “My life is over!” Instead, try an affirmation such as “Maybe this really is for my good.” or “This is another opportunity for growth. How can I engage with this?”
  9. Above all, trusting that perhaps the reason Heavenly Father allowed you to be called to the place you were was because He, in all His infinite wisdom, knew that it wasn’t all about the mission; it was more about the fact that someone (maybe even you) had something to learn through the process.

When David’s oldest son came home, he spent a year getting the help he needed and then was reassigned a year later to Chicago. It was here that he met a sister missionary and, after they both completed their missions and returned home, they got married for time and all eternity.

David’s son has become emotionally resilient enough to see now that, even though the events were challenging to go through at the time, he now recognizes that the process led him to an area where he meet his future bride.

God Has a Plan

Whether it’s coming home early from a mission or going through a divorce, losing a loved one or getting your first bad grade on a test, we can all become more emotionally resilient in any difficulty. By applying the suggestions mentioned above, our hearts will be softened and we will create a stronger bond with our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

“Remember that God has orchestrated [this situation] just like a good coach on a sports team,” David states. “Perhaps He’s saying, ‘I have a plan for you. I have a way for you to go from where you are now to becoming much, much better by doing this. As long as you follow what I tell you then you’re going to get really good at doing this.’ “

When you are willing to put your faith in God, you will allow a path for the healing power of the Atonement to enter into your life.

And with the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His power to save us, you’ll find that there really aren’t any unacceptable outcomes.

With the Savior’s power, what can break but can’t be fixed?

Nothing. Because, with Him everything can and will be fixed.

▶ Taken from a recent Doing Good Podcast with Carmen Herbert. Listen to the full episode here: Building Emotional Resilience for Life by Dr. David Morgan.

Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? No Problem! Get your free 7-day trial here.

Audrey Baugh spent 15 years of her professional career as an inspirational singer/songwriter and motivational speaker. Now, she happily dedicates her time writing, designing, networking, and managing the marketing content of the Our Turtle House App! Audrey is a wife, a mom, and an avid dog owner who just wants to create pretty things, inspire people, love unconditionally, and eat yummy food.
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10 Quotes to Help You Look Beyond Your Present-Day Challenges

Life can be so heavy at times, making it hard to see past the challenges of today. As Latter-Day Saints we try to keep an eternal perspective, knowing that the trials and tribulations we experience today will help us grow into something infinitely better, but the truth is: that can be hard when you’re right in the thick of it all.

There is no doubt that no one has a magic wand to make all the hard stuff disappear, but we certainly lighten each other’s loads simply by finding little ways to help each other look beyond our present-day challenges.

One of our favorite ways is by sharing inspirational quotes that we hope will give you faith in the future and no one is more inspiring than our very own Meg Johnson, so we’ve compiled 10 of our favorite “Meg quotes” from her latest motivational talk Glide Through Life: Looking Beyond Your Present-Day Challenges.

▶ You may also like: Top Ten Motivational Talks by Meg Johnson

“When we show love for the world around us, we can take ourselces from being so sad to the point of tears to so happy to the point of tears. -Meg Johnson

“Sometimes we want to postpone our joy for when a trial is over, but why wait?” -Meg Johnson

“I can still be happy.” -Meg Johnson

“There’s always something to be grateful for.” -Meg Johnson

“Whatever you focus on will grow.” -Meg Johnson

“Heavenly Father, please bless me with love for everything I see.” -Meg Johnson

“We could GLIDE seamlessly through life if we would just be grateful for the things we have.” -Meg Johnson

“On the other side of ‘awful’ you will discover a new you and a new perspective .” -Meg Johnson

“I was as grateful as I could be.” -Meg Johnson

“Why wait until things are over to be happy when you could be happy right now?” -Meg Johnson

All quotes taken from Meg Johnson’s latest full-length talk “Glide Through Life: Looking Beyond Your Present-Day Challenges“. Click here to listen to the full talk with a FREE 7-day trial of the Our Turtle House App.

Audrey Baugh spent 15 years of her professional career as an inspirational singer/songwriter and motivational speaker. Now, she happily dedicates her time writing, designing, networking, and managing the marketing content of the Our Turtle House App! Audrey is a wife, a mom, and an avid dog owner who just wants to create pretty things, inspire people, love unconditionally, and eat yummy food.
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It’s An OTH App Easter “Egg” Hunt!

Egg-citing for your
whole family!

Get the family together and take them on a virtual Easter Egg hunt with the Our Turtle House App! They’ll LOVE the surprise that discovering each “egg” will bring and you’ll love that each episode has an inspirational message within it.

Part of the fun will be watching to see which motivational speaker will appear on the screen: will it be Hank Smith? John Bytheway? Meg Johnson? or maybe it will be one of our popular Our Turtle House guest speakers? Scan the QR code to find out!

How to play along:

We’ve created a map of 12 Christ-centered episodes (“eggs”) that are hidden throughout the Our Turtle House App and it’s time for you to scramble to find them.

Just follow these simple instructions:

1. Right-click to save and print a copy of the Our Turtle House Easter Egg Map.
2. Scan the QR code to reveal the episode.
3. Watch/listen to the message.
4. Repeat until you’ve completed the hunt!

Don’t have the Our Turtle House App? Download your 7-day FREE TRIAL here! 

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8 Full-Length Talks for You & Your Teen

Depression. Happiness. Anxiety. Joy. Confidence. Comparison. Guilt. Hope. Distraction. Focus.  Trust. Fear. Unity. Division. Danger. Safety.

And all of these every day before 10am.

Most of us wake up every morning and begin our day by diving into the endless world of news and social media. We “connect” with whatever is on our current feed, but doing so forces us to experience a vast roller coaster of emotions within a short amount of time. This process cycles over and over again as we mindlessly scroll through the reports of other people’s lives. 

Our adult brains are typically developed enough to be entertained for a bit, filter the junk, and move on.

But what about your teenagers?

Despite what they may think, their brains still have a few years to grow.

They’re probably overwhelmed with the yo-yo affect that the typical, everyday life now brings and just need a noninvasive connection to truth.

The Our Turtle House App can help you with that.

We’ve selected eight fun and inspirational full-length Turtle Talks that will help you help your teens stay rooted in truth.Watch or listen to some of the best motivational speakers in the industry as they address some of the difficult challenges you and your teen are facing.

Your teen will love the humor and you will love the Spirit.

Listen to all of the talks now on the Our Turtle House App. Don’t have the app? No worries! Download a FREE 7-day TRIAL here.

Here they are in no particular order:

Feeling frustrated with life? Trying to find out who you REALLY are? Laugh and learn with Dr. Matt Townsend as he shows you how to unlock your mind and body and experience the power that comes from being "at one" with God.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, life just doesn't go the way you want (or expect) it to! What do you do when life gets you down? Join Hank Smith as he talks about different ways you can face life's most frustrating setbacks with faith.
How do you deal with the "gap" that exists between where you are today and where you want to be? Join Ganel-Lyn Condie as she shares her inspirational perspective on how Christ can help us safely bridge the gaps in our lives.
When Peter saw Christ walking on water, he wanted to walk on water, too–and he did...until he stopped focusing on the Savior. Join John Bytheway as he shares how keeping your focus on Christ will, not only strengthen your faith, but will also help you weather any storm you have to face.
Do you understand how POWERFUL gratitude can be in your life? It's so much more than just being "thankful" for things! Join Kevin Clayson as he shares how you can use the power of gratitude in your life to change your future and shift the trajectory of your eternity.
There are plenty of things to be afraid of in this life: spiders, heights, public speaking...So how do you build the type of confidence that not only helps you face your fears, but also helps you feel more confident and sure of yourself? Join Eric D. Richards as he teaches you the spiritual strength to take on any challenge.
Parents may frustrate you sometimes and you may even find them annoying sometimes (especially if you're a teenager.) Join Hank Smith for this hilarious Turtle Talk where he teaches us about the many ways your parents are here to help you succeed as a Child of God.
Heavenly help is on the way! Laugh and learn with Meg Johnson as she takes us on a "stroll" down the halls of the temple and shows us how to unlock the doors of angelic assistance.
Audrey Baugh spent 15 years of her professional career as an inspirational singer/songwriter and motivational speaker. Now, she happily dedicates her time writing, designing, networking, and managing the marketing content of the Our Turtle House App! Audrey is a wife, a mom, and an avid dog owner who just wants to create pretty things, inspire people, love unconditionally, and eat yummy food.
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Spiritual Beings in a Human Experience

Have you ever felt inadequate? Have you ever felt VERY inadequate? Do you feel like to be something great, you have to be something that someone else already is?

Welcome to the human experience…

…an experience where we are blinded to our true selves…

…and spend our entire existence trying to remember who (and whose) we really are.

We forget that we are, in all actuality, supreme spiritual beings; breathtaking beings; beautiful, capable, talented beings. Each one of us is a spiritual being living in a human existence where our potential beyond any earthly measure.

And, yet, we spend all of our time comparing ourselves to all the other beings we see. We compare talents. We compare houses. We compare handwriting and typing speeds. We compare grades. We compare bodies and voices and hair colors and educational degrees.

We compare everything.

And when we get caught up in this trap of comparison, we become insecure with who we really are.

Surprisingly enough, pretty much everyone is insecure about pretty much all the same things.

 

Loosely translated, this means that the same insecurities that you are struggling with are the same ones most of the universe is struggling with. And what is at the top of most every human’s struggle list? Inadequacy.

We think we’re not enough.

  • Because we don’t sing like so-and-so, we are not enough.
  • Because we don’t get that promotion, we are not enough.
  • Because we don’t fit into that size of jeans, we are not enough.
  • Because we don’t get perfect grades, we are not enough.

Our list of inadequacies starts at a young age and goes on and on and on and yet, nearly everyone you come across has the exact same feelings of inadequacy. So what can we do to escape the trap of comparison?

In his new teen-centered Turtle Talk, Spiritual Beings in a Human Experience, Dr. Matt Townsend shares multiple comical stories about how he came to understand that his struggles were not his identity…and neither were his mistakes.

Your entire family will literally LOL as Dr. Townsend recounts how embracing the nickname “loin boy” and purchasing a snorkel from a world-famous swimmer have influenced the person he is today.

After his health forced him to walk away from his radio career, Dr. Townsend felt a little bit lost. “I had to figure out who I was,” he said. “I lost my identity and gained a new one.”

What was the new identity? It can be summed up in the following quote by Boyd K. Packer:

You are a spiritual being in a human experience.

You were already pretty amazing when you came to earth. What more can you possibly do on this earth that is going to WOW your Heavenly Father!?!

Nothing. He already knows that you are enough for Him.

So shouldn’t you see yourself as enough for you?

Listen to Spiritual Beings in a Human Experience by Dr. Matt Townsend exclusively on the Our Turtle House App. Don’t have the app? Get a FREE 7-day TRIAL here and begin listening today.

Audrey Baugh spent 15 years of her professional career as an inspirational singer/songwriter and motivational speaker. Now, she happily dedicates her time writing, designing, networking, and managing the marketing content of the Our Turtle House App! Audrey is a wife, a mom, and an avid dog owner who just wants to create pretty things, inspire people, love unconditionally, and eat yummy food.
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The Healing Power of Humor

Children laugh over 300 times a day on average. Adults, on the other hand, only laugh an average of 15 times daily. At what point did we, as a society, forget how important it is have laughter be our companion?

When we laugh, we release endorphins that are scientifically proven to help heal, not only our mind and spirit, but also many aspects of our physical body.

Research proves that humor:

  1. Reduces pain.
  2. Helps human beings cope with stress.
  3. Reduces anxiety.
  4. Relieves tension.
  5. Burns calories.
  6. Improves the immune system.
  7. Protects the heart.
  8. Lowers the blood pressure.
  9. Heals injuries.
  10. Clears the mind.

If those payoffs aren’t enough to tempt you to laugh a little bit more, the social aspects of laughter are immeasurable. Humor is known to create relationships and establish social bonds.

People who laugh together have better quality relationships with each other. Humor and laughter connect the souls which is why, in a recent Hank Helps Podcast episode, Hank Smith stated, “The act of laughing is a social phenomenon.”

our-turtle-house-hank-helps-podcast-hank-smith-quote

Let us help you with that.

Out of the thousands of episodes on the Our Turtle House App, every single one is built around fun and inspiration. Our Sunday evening Digital Firesides are filled with banter and candid humor sure bring a smile. The lighthearted Mark My Words: Inspirational Stories are sure to make you chuckle. Even the Follow Him Podcast has a tagline that says “We love to learn. We love to laugh. We love to learn and laugh with you.”

With you. Those are the key words. Not at you, not behind you, not in front of you…but with you. Even (and especially) during the dark and lonely times of your life.

“You can laugh through the difficult times. It’s okay to give yourself permission to do that and give others around you permission to do it,” podcaster Carmen Herbert said on her latest Doing Good Podcast episode.  Carmen interviewed fellow podcaster/comedian Lisa Valentine Clark, who lost her husband to A.L.S. just eighteen months short months ago. In a time where Lisa could have fallen into a routine of sadness, she instead chose to use humor to buoy up herself and her five children as they embraced an unpredictable future.

“I try to think less of my ego and this life, now, and more of my connection with other people and I think that feels like more doable, more connective, more fun, more rewarding, more satisfying.” -Lisa Valentine Clark

With all these scientifically proven evidences,  is it any wonder, then, that even our prophets have encouraged us to smile, to laugh, and to enjoy life as it is?

Listen to all these episodes and more on the Our Turtle House App.
Don’t have the app? Download a FREE 7-DAY TRIAL here.

Audrey Baugh spent 15 years of her professional career as an inspirational singer/songwriter and motivational speaker. Now, she happily dedicates her time writing, designing, networking, and managing the marketing content of the Our Turtle House App! Audrey is a wife, a mom, and an avid dog owner who just wants to create pretty things, inspire people, love unconditionally, and eat yummy food.