Positive Talk with Kevin McDonald and LaSharnda Beckwith

0:00There is a moment in every life when you decide to rise, to stand taller than your fear, to speak louder than your doubt, to chase the vision that sets your soul on fire. This is that moment and here. We walk it together with stories that awaken voices that inspire and truce that set you free. This is positive talk with Kevin MacDonald where hope has a voice, and that voice is yours. And welcome to the show everybody and I have a great show for you today. I got to tell you and Michelle is here. She's incognito because she can't do anything with her hair unfortunately today. So, Michelle, how are you? I'm doing great, Kevin. If only that was the absolute truth, I think it'd be so simple wouldn't you? But I am so honored today to be able to be here with Dr. LaShonda Beckwith. He is a CEO and has a company called the Lutheran Social

1:01Surfer Services in Southern California. You can visit her website which is isssc.org. But welcome doctor. Thank you so much for joining us. How are you today? I'm great. Thank you. Thank you for the introduction and thank you for allowing me to be able to come to your show and be able to talk about what we do at Lutheran Social Services Southern California. And our website get back and make a correction is sssc.org. Thank you so much for introducing the organization to your listeners. And you know, I was looking at your website and boy, have you got an organization? You have built this into quite and I'm not sure what your role in building it was. You're now the head bottle washer and in charge of it all. But you got a whole group of PhDs and doctors and really talented people that are dedicated to the concept that we all should be able to live our

2:05lives in peace and harmony with enough food and a roof over our head and and all of the things that we value and believe I think it's a human right personally that we all need to work together to achieve that. Unfortunately, and your services that you're offering today are more valuable than they've I think ever have been. Would you agree with that? I absolutely agree with everything that you just said and I like the title of your show. Positiveity is really important to me. And when you're in times of struggle, times of stress and just maybe at your whits in don't know what to do. I don't want to say that positive thinking is the only thing but we have to look at situations optimistically and that's what we do here, Lutheran Social Services. We try our best to make sure we meet people where they are and offer them opportunities for housing,

3:12through housing, wraparound services and that's a term that's used in the social services around but it really is about counselling, intensive care, case management, those types of things, financial literacy, education, whatever we can do to kind of help folks really look to see if they can rise above where they are. Well, and I want to get this out early and often so Michelle, make sure you write this down because this is a nonprofit organization that depends in many ways on donations and the kindness of people who have who are willing to help people who have not or are in a space. But as Dr. and I were talking before the show began, most of us are one, two, maybe three paychecks away from being in a situation where you need help and some of that is totally and completely out of our control. Do you agree with that? I do. I was listening to

4:16a young man just recently. He talked about how he and his wife had, his wife went back to school, she was finishing her degree, a researcher and they were living off a $60,000 a year, didn't have any children or anything and then finally had one kid and then the wife graduated, they built this business. It was a pretty profitable business and dealt with environmental issues and they were making in excess of $200,000 a year and then all of a sudden because of some of the changes in policies and different things like that, there was funding that was stripped from the research area where his wife was actually being able to get these research grants to help with the business and they no longer have that income and that's what I mean when I'm saying that you can make a lot of money today and think I'm okay but the smallest thing can happen and you can find yourself on

5:16the food lines because he said he knew nothing about for example snap, he didn't know what it was and because they were struggling so much somebody said to him you may qualify for snap and he had no idea what it was and these were not people that were droggies or people that you know they were folks that were contributing members of society and something happened that affected their funding and the money that they were accustomed to living off of was now gone and so they relied on the snap benefits because those benefits help sustain his wife and they now have two children so yeah there's we are here to make sure that folks understand that you know your donations they go a long way we rely a lot on government funding whether it's state federal or even local funding but a lot of what we're doing now is coming out of our own pockets and this isn't a

6:18brag or anything like that those of us that are able to do so to just buy a gift card so that we can give it to folks so that they can go and get $25, $50 worth of groceries it doesn't sound like much but it's a big deal so yeah it's a it's a huge deal and and Michelle I'm gonna tell you another story that you haven't heard about me are you ready I'm ready and I was young or then I am today I was and this goes back to the late 70s in fact I was an assistant manager at a Denny's and I was working 60 hours a week I was making $180 clear a week and and so I was living with another guy and he suddenly decided he was gonna move out and I couldn't afford to pay for rent for the whole thing and so I we ended up I had I not had a beautiful sister who was willing to

7:22help me out and take me in I would have ended up living in my car and I had a job working 60 hours a week and still could not make it work and that happens to a lot of people and and or or like right now unemployment or the job situation is not looking good and if you lose your job there's no guarantee that you're going to get another one my my son is was terminated from his job and he's a diesel mechanic with crane mechanic experience very unique field and he can't find work anywhere so it's not a per you know those of us who are better off and who can say well you know these people whoever these people are are not taking care of themselves or making wrong decisions um times life just happens and it happens to all of us and thank goodness there are organizations

8:26like the organization that you had the Lutheran Social Services that are able to help people because especially in Southern California it's expensive to live there I don't know if you noticed I have noticed I've absolutely noticed it's very expensive to live here in Southern California it's expensive to live in California here yet right I want to say this though you know I think about the Lutheran culture and back in 1944 when people were returning for more it was Lutherans that came together it was a Lutheran church in San Diego they literally set up these welfare stations so that they could feed and take care of veterans I wonder if I understand that so imagine these are our soldiers returning home and so you had Lutherans that cares so much about making sure that these veterans were taking care of so that's kind of how Lutheran that is how Lutheran Social Services Southern California came about and then in 1946 what happened is the ones in San Diego met up with

9:32ones in Los Angeles and they created Lutheran Social Services of Southern California and they they I didn't even come from a Lutheran background but I tell you what I love about the Lutherans and I'm soul on what we do is that every person that I've met in that in this this background in this tradition they have in their ethos this idea of service and how they take care of people every church that I'm aware of they're either they have some type of food kitchen or something and so it's only natural there's LSS's throughout the United States we're not the only one so I want you to know if you're in your local area there's probably an LSS with a president CEO just like me and they deal with senior citizens and you know elder care and all of that immigration and foster care in that but here in Southern California we our need is for helping the homeless it's affordable housing it's right now again we're focused on feeding people

10:38making sure that people are able to sustain their lives their livelihood but we do so many other things that I've already mentioned mental health care social services types of services such as housing counseling education people with disabilities just we do probably more than 20 different types of programs in Lutheran Social Services of Southern California. Well I know I'll tell you this in Michelle here's another thing you don't know about me maybe I don't know maybe I've talked about it I can't remember everything I talk about from time to time but I grew up Lutheran I was Missouri Senate and and I had still hold I'm not even sure the church is still there because I moved away from it but I still hold the number of perfect attendance months of 10 years and two months I went to a parochial school called Concordia Lutheran School and we're taught by some of the coolest people on the planet who made virtually nothing as teachers go because it was

11:44all privately funded and they so they're the core element of service has always been part of the Lutheran core mission and and so I appreciate what you guys what you guys do and did you know that about me Michelle yes I did okay now that I'm a little older I tend to repeat myself you know you need to stop me when I do that Michelle because I've met older people and they and they tend to repeat the same story again and again and again I don't know heaven your spirit is so young so when you tell the same story you don't tell it exactly the same or the the message behind it is different even if it is from the same story and I think that's pretty cool oh you keep do I'ma let you keep doing it well thank you my dear and and and so but I'm I met so many people that are interested in giving service to others and not taking it upon themselves to be better

12:52and stuff and I also drove a bus for 12 years so I know what's in Seattle so I know the homelessness situation and how some people yeah there's some people that didn't get addicted to drugs and that kind of stuff but there are many people who just can't find a place to live that's affordable and I live in King County and doctor I gotta tell you we're getting almost as expensive as seven Californian of these days yeah yeah you know before moving to California I lived in Texas and you know there was this there's this idea of law we just get back to Texas it'll be a whole lot more affordable that type of thing and actually if you go to Texas you'll see the housing has just shot up because you know people were moving there and so the housing is just as expensive maybe not quite as expensive as it is here in Southern California but either way I think it's all relative if you know people need affordable housing period that's what they need

13:56and that's that is you know it's it's a human right I yeah I know I may be in the minority here but I think everybody in this country needs to be able to eat they need to be able to have health care and the need a place to be able to call home where they can put their head down at night and get a safe leap Michelle do you agree with that 100% I do and I want to talk about that more when we come back from break because there's all those extras too right it's it's not just having the the food and the housing and the this and that but also life I mean they're trying to get jobs and trying to sustain that and having all these things maybe last minute things come up let's say they finally were able to get a car and something goes wrong and now it's it's the car it's the rent and then what about the job and it it all ties in with itself so I'm curious on exactly some of the some of the ways you do have to help people through these situations absolutely and also I think one of the biggest things and we'll talk about this too when we come back

14:57one of the biggest things that we have to worry about now is mental health because I think there's an underlying theme of that going throughout the society and many many people are walking around with mental health issues and they're not getting the help that they need again we're talking with Lashanda Beckwith doctor I'm sorry I owe you an apology doctor Lashanda Beckwith and she's a CEO of the Lutheran Health or social service yeah Michelle who am I talking to again I'll help you the Lutheran Social Services of Southern California go check out the website which is lssc.org and we'll be right back and if you got 10 bucks that they can use it we'll be right back here's another point to ponder from positive talk radio what is the easiest thing to justify it is a small transgression the one no one will ever see no one will ever know the tiny

15:58exaggeration on the expense report the extra minute you took on your lunch break the packaging you tossed in the wrong recycle bin because it was closer in those moments the question isn't will I get caught the question is will I know it isn't about avoiding punishment it's a silent agreement to make with yourself when you choose to do the right thing to return the wallet fix the mistake to respect the empty space you aren't impressing the world you're earning your own respect that small choice made entirely in private is how you build a life you never have to look away from the only audience that matters is you and welcome back to you positive talk with Kevin McDonald and Michelle and Dr. Lashanda Beckwith did I get that close it's close it's good it's fine okay Michelle what say is it pronounce your name correctly please Dr. Lashanda Beckwith

17:06that's it a very good thing it's all right I wait you see the doctor there's something that you're going to have to learn the you they if you were around me for any length of time for some where I was a salesman most of my life and I can't remember names or pronounce them correctly most of the time so isn't that true Michelle it is true I mean sometimes I get called other people's names on our team and I just roll along with it so I know where the thinking comes from and before we jump into talking about specifics I wanted to say too if you're somebody listening who who has gone through something like that or know somebody or even just has that little bit that you can help it makes a huge difference if you can pull out some of the food that is in your pantry that you haven't used or touched or you're going on vacation or any of these kinds of things and you you think to yourself hey you know I could help somebody with what I do have please be that person makes you feel good too and it raises the vibration of the universe so I will let Kevin kind of guide us into which route we can take this conversation because I do think that talking about

18:08the mental health needs to be priority it is amazing to me that one of the first things that we cut as a society is funding for medical help for people that are having issues and mental issues and and I think we all do at one point in time and I would love to be able to see more organizations like you do because I know that you work with that quite a little bit and you have and you help people with that in the get housing and to get food you you feed you have fed thousands upon thousands of people and got and created these meals I got to ask you doctor that must make you feel good from the not from the standpoint itself and grand disment but from the standpoint that you are of service which I personally think is the highest calling that there is of being service to another we do feel good about it and you're right not because of you know trying to promote ourselves but because I mean every year or twice a year quite frankly

19:15we'll go I go out and I'm the project hand which is one of our feeding areas in Tula Vista, California and we have another one that these are robust sites in Long Beach, California but I'm usually at the one in Tula Vista there's cars wrapped around the block two or three times and they're driving through and we're giving them you know food it is an honor to be able to serve people but it's what I really get to me sometimes is when we run out of food and and we thank the rotary club who's out there directing traffic for us and when they have to stop the cars from coming through that can be just heart-wrenching when you don't have enough food and trust me we give out a lot of food at those particular sites or we've done this past week because of what's happened you know in our communities we've actually now we're in six different counties in Southern

20:20California we have over 20 sites and we've decided to at least put back lunches or some type of food some non-perishables at all of our sites even the sites that don't give out food so it varies are rewarding to want to help people but it's also heart-wrenching when you don't have enough when you run out and folks are wanting to and you can see it you're standing in and you can see they they need food and so yeah that's that's what a rubber meets the road as far as I'm concerned what we've started to do is coordinate with various churches throughout the counties where we're in and and we're asking them to connect with us with the site directors and help to support those sites with food non-perishables that because people just walk in on the street and so we want to have something to give to them and and that tells you when people have a real heart for what's happening and they know the impact of what's happening when folks aren't getting their benefits so

21:25yeah so what countries is this happening again in we have we're in six counties in Southern California we're in San Diego and Riverside San Bernardino Orange lost LA and Ventura oh so this is happening in the United States of America it's happening in the USA yes holy as you you would if if somebody was just tuning in and by the way if you're just tuning in shame on you but if they're just tuning in now and they are saying what what third world country are you talking about that they're running out of food to feed people and it's in Southern California in the United States of America that to me is just an absolute crime we we should take care of and this thing about SNAP and I don't I have no words for it to have you any yeah I have words for it

22:26well you're I don't think you're allowed to say some of those words I think what we're missing is a big picture and that is there's a stereotype right that's attached to poor people is a stereotype attached to certain groups and and you know we we've I don't know how many times I have to say it again that any one of us could be in that situation but there's this stereotype that there's this person and maybe they have eight kids and they're on SNAP and you know they're abusing the benefits and all of that and some of the the dollars I've heard they're just exaggerated when I say oh and this person gets four thousand two hundred dollars a month and all of that and you know that there's a ceiling of what households can get when it comes to SNAP but the reality is when it comes to some of these programs you're we're missing that there are senior citizens that are on fixed income and they're now having to decide or they have to decide between getting medicine and eating there are people with disabilities that are benefiting from these programs and they're

23:31children that's benefiting from these programs and so I think that when we stop and really get to know somebody that may be on those and you realize that sometimes there's these exaggerations about everybody's abusing you know SNAP that's just not the case I'm sure there's some just like with anything but not not in every case well kids I want to paint a picture for you guys I live in a 55 plus community and there are people here that have been retired for 25 years and the retirement when they retired was and they're on social security and they have no other means and some of them are trying to live on 11 twelve hundred dollars a month which gives them 50 bucks in food maybe if they don't have to buy medicines which are expensive as well and to make a senior citizen who's been here for 70 80 90 years and and and to expect them to make those kind of

24:35sacrifices we need to we just need to do better and it we need to support organizations like yours because it is it's important and you guys get back in a myriad of ways and one one of the things is you also provide help with mental health and and counseling and that sort of thing don't you? We do we do I want to plug that we started a project back in 2022 actually it was a vision when I first came on in 2020 but we were in Colbert and we started to look at I wanted to do these wellness campuses and so we were blessed to be awarded $35 million from the state of California and we were blessed to get $5 million from the city of San Bernardino and of course we put Lenny into this project and we're about to open our San Bernardino community wellness campus that will house 140 people we have a 70 bed min shelter that's sitting on that campus right now

25:39and we have a federally qualified clinic that sits on that campus I say all of that to say this is that from the intake when people enter and from them going and be assessed mentally as well as physically by the folks in the clinic professionals that are there and then having them go through programs workforce development programs to prepare them to go out and into the world and hopefully transition out of the interim housing that we are building for them into something more permanent and affordable and then become contributing community folks again that that's a process that takes place and you have to help people get there and so we're very proud of in areas where we do these assessments we have folks in our rural areas that's dealing with children with mental health issues and we there are qualified clinicians and therapists that we have in those areas and that's

26:43what we'll have on that campus and so we're we have a vision that we've been blessed to execute on and to get funding to help us get that up and going and then the next step will be our long beach community wellness campus so we're very excited about the services that we'll be providing which includes behavioral health out at our San Bernardino community wellness campus. Congratulations that's a that's a really big deal and Michelle you're younger there aren't any kids with mental problems are there? Oh man. Now I we've a new joke that has kind of arise is of the mental health because we kind of are using that in a way I see especially the younger generation to allow that to make connections and being more open to it and helping you oh well I've got that too you know we've all got something type of thing and but that's why we need to pay more attention to it because it's not that's not how our kids should be connecting and feeling like

27:46they're they're involved of course that that everybody has their things but it brings more attention to me for the ways that they label themselves and the way that they think of their future and the way they see what is possible because it's it's really all wrong and when you work on the mentality of a child you change the trajectory of their entire life so I think that is why it's so important because I know that if my kids are growing up with their kids we need to do some work and and uh doctor I got to tell you like I said I drove a bus for 12 years and I saw an abundance of people that especially kids who lack hope I never thought that we'd have a place where kids would say I'm not going to be able to you know this is the land of the free and this is we can theoretically we can do anything we want to but we have kids graduating from school we can't read at a proficient level and so we've got we've got lots of issues it does it seem overwhelming

28:47to you at times of course there's times when it seems overwhelming but I don't stay in that space very long I'm very I am very much a faith woman and my my uh faith sustains me so I I don't early I understand the value of therapists and clinicians and all of that that though absolutely important for me however uh it's about my faith and so and I'm just going to speak for myself because I don't want to say well if you don't believe like this you know then you must not be believing the way you need to because that's not what I mean when I talk about myself when I feel like I'm getting drug into this dark place where I'm like oh my gosh I'm just tired of this I don't think I've ever quite gotten there I've certainly been overwhelmed and wanted and just wondered but then I I I pray and I I read scripture there's just things that are really important to me that

29:48keep me grounded and and I also believe that what I do is a calling so I think there's a different way that I look at my job and what I do because I see it as truly a calling of ministry I've had a career and and this is a career too but I had 27 years in the federal government retirement from there and I was 10 years in higher education uh and and and and left there to come to this and I believe that this is where I'm supposed to be um you know I do blogs and podcasts and all kinds of stuff trying to let people know that there's always oh there is hope uh and uh you know it has a lot to do also with who you surround yourself with I that's why I'm proud of our folks that are in Tulavista being in the school system with young people and and and helping young people see it they can apply to colleges too and then so many of our young people that have gone through our program I believe Gabby's program is a 90 probably 99.5% success rate those students getting through

30:52high school and in getting into some of the top schools our folks offer people hope um they may not be able to pray with people or we don't force our faith on people but I bet you that they are secretly praying for them and and wishing the best for them and doing all that they can to make sure that folks have access and that they are help and that they can call on them whenever they need to and we see I see this over and over again we have excellent people that are out in the field working with folks because they just they care a lot by the way we're talking with La Shanda Beckwith and Varia and I got it very good and we need to take our halftime break and but go to our website again which is Prashel oh SSSC dot or check it out if you're somebody in the area and this is ringing a bell or you're somebody who wants to help like Kevin said $10 $100 you know

31:53whatever your heart chooses or you know if you're one of those people that has got a billion dollars what's a million it's nothing if pocket change to you and you can give it to you're not going to spend that money anyway don't give it to your kids spend it you know in the help society get better and for us to all work together and to become more like connected and more like one than we are now that would that would make me very very happy which is why we call this positive talk radio and you're listening and we'll be right back right after this you were listening to brushwood median network the best insidicated talk news and entertainment shows are you looking for your daily dose of inspiration they connect it to all your favorite shows music and news with the brushwood median network app from positive talk radio to greatest vibes unplugged and so many more

32:55uplifting voices around the world everything you need is right in one place it's easy to use too always available and designed to keep you inspired 24 hours a day go to brushwoodmediannetwork.com and download the app and you will always have brushwood media available on your smartphone download it now and make inspiration and music and conversation part of your every day and welcome back to positive talk my name is Kevin McDonald but shell is here and doctor I got to say I know that there's somebody in the room with you off camera and stuff uh how are we doing are we doing okay we're doing great to we are absolutely doing great so why I hope that person who's to your right is is happy happy happy they're happy they're happy

33:58that's checking they're checking lighting and different things like that that's that's what they do oh that is that is so cool and uh and by the way again we're talking with doctor Lashandra there's no r Kevin there's no r Lashanda Beckwith she's the CEO head bottle washer and has had quite a career in all the things that you've done in federal service by the way thank you for your service and and in higher education and now when they came to you I assume somebody came to you and said you know doctor you should work with us and we think you would have a great time what was your initial reaction was like uh are you sure or did you know that this was your calling it's so funny because when I tell the story it I think it's strange to people but we I had just we went into lockdown it as all of us remember back in March of 2020 and I think you know

34:59decided to okay maybe I'm gonna move back to Texas different things like that but one Sunday morning all of a sudden I get this call and I'm sitting watching TV and I just pick up my phone we're really not looking at it to see who was calling and it was this lady and she was talking to me about this nonprofit and I said how did you get my phone number and that's another story all together but in any case she said that uh her assistant said that we were supposed to talk this Sunday morning I honestly did not remember that but we talked and we connected and to make a long story short a lot happened quickly I mean she and I just really connected so well and then when I met the board chair he and I connected so well the nominating committee and all of that but after I got hired with lute and social services all of a sudden I think it was a year later she passed away and she was younger to me I think at the time he may have been 50 something years old and it was just a shock to my system and I truly believed to this day that she was an angel sent just for that

36:03time and just dealt with me so superbly and connected me to the right people and I believed that I was supposed to be here the way things kind of worked out so yeah it it is amazing isn't it how things just naturally happen especially when you open your heart open your mind to the possibilities and I want to want to talk a bit briefly about that because possibilities and trusting putting out by prayer or meditation however your choose to do it put out there that you want to live your best life and you want to be of service to others and you know what will happen Michelle tell tell us what will happen man I would like to say miracles miracles happen because it opens you into a space where you can receive those things where you can see that and I was thinking about it doctor is a lot of a lot of people don't really see what is around to help them

37:04when they're when they're in in that fog and I also think of people who have had experiences where they've they've felt what that is like and they've wanted to share it and continue it forward and they had a bad experience don't let that shut you down it's a part of life take that as a lesson learned that you know that you got to stay it helps you almost connect with yourself and know who you are more um doctor have you seen that help happen with people where they just if something clicks and they're all the sudden just start making all these moves and and doing all the all the things they thought weren't possible just because they tried I do it's it's funny that you had mentioned that you know I've done several books um and it really all of my books really is about positivity and about faith and different things like that but I'm so so on a positive self-talk right and and it's hard for people to do that if they've never been exposed to that type of thing they they don't know how to talk to themselves right and I you say to folks long

38:08before I started writing about it be careful about how you're talking to yourself I was at a place once and I was working with this young lady and she either she dropped something and or she was working on this this piece of furniture and I heard her say at least three or four times before I finally said something this is many many many years ago not at Lutheran Social Services I was we were in retail and she and I heard her say I'm so stupid I'm so and she just kept saying that and then finally I remember I said there and I won't I called her name and she looked at me I says don't say that to yourself we need to you know if people haven't been around or been exposed to what this what how powerful self-talk can be then they they they'll they'll say things themselves and is they're sabotaging themselves but I have seen when you keep saying it to folks saying it when I was working with the Army and Air Force Exchange service for instance women that never even imagined going to college or graduate school I brought the some of the universities onto the

39:14site where we were that was encouraging them to go to school and many of the many of them went back to school and got their degrees and now you know their senior executives within the Army Air Force Exchange service but they need it somebody that believed in them and that encouraged them and told them that they could do it I've always been that way when it comes to women's issues anyway because I think that sometimes women in particular they'll they'll internalize somebody saying that they can't do something and they won't even try think about it women may make less than men and Kevin I'm just going on a tentative here just for a minute oh no feel free to tangle away and when I was dealing with younger women a couple of years ago maybe ten years ago 20 years ago I would say when it's time for your evaluation ask for what you want and they're like how I'm says don't always negotiate your salary because when it's time for you to go in and and it's time for you to you know sit down and talk about your performance

40:16your male counterpart they're going to talk about all the great things they've done and they're going to want they're going to talk about big bucks they're going to talk about what they deserve you on the other hand's going to be humble and whatever somebody tells you they're going to give you many times I'm not going to say 100% of the time but a lot of times women would just say okay and they would feel grateful and and I'm just not a woman like that and and I I and make no mistake I wasn't raised around fight collar executives in my family I was raised around pastors that's what my family that's what they were so but I had to learn all of those things no I had to learn those things I wanted to imitate people they were just things that I wasn't raised around I had to learn and I had to be around mentors and I haven't I've watched people and did things differently and so um they'll talk with some of us think it's easy because we're accustomed to doing it but I think that we had to learn how to do it too and so we have to help

41:17people understand don't count yourself sure don't don't do that and and do it encouragingly not so that they feel that they're being put down or anything because they haven't learned a skill yet well have you have you heard the gospel according to Yoda I have not I have not yeah on Star Wars and Luke Skywalker said well you know I'm going to try and and Yoda said do or do not there is no try when we come back from this break and it's just a brief one so it's just uh 30 seconds when we come back from this I want to ask doctor about some words that I think as a person you need to eliminate on your vocabulary and Michelle you can help me with this okay you got it we'll be right back here's another point to ponder by positive talk radio after the longest night the sun rose again it painted the sky with colors no one had seen before that's how

42:22life works darkness never lasts forever no matter how long the night feels your sunrise will come hold on right always finds its way back you're listening to positive talk radio where stories of hope live and welcome back to positive talk and we are entering our last segment and glad everybody's here and this is going to be a teaching moment I hope it is for everybody because I think what doctor just said about self-talk is so vital number one you in my humble opinion if you don't love yourself you're not capable of loving everybody else to the degree with which they deserve and you deserve to love yourself for shall there's some words that that we have banned that I have banned from our use and I'm going to say a few and see if you can remember a few more can we do that? Ah sure let's do it um first of all I can't I'm stupid I don't deserve it I don't belong

43:30can you come up with some more about never how about is it any other that's exactly what I'm not um I don't have I am not capable I even I don't want to can be so perishable for us anything that is a low vibration probably just and and correct it there's something I learned with my mom that was from um I think it was from depart Chopra and he said he said after you say that to yourself when you're correcting it you don't have to force yourself to think all these other amazing things that you don't believe just say cancel cancel cancel cancel that out and then move forward and then do it again and say oh hey I've got this or I'm capable or I will and I can and I have Kevin has completely changed my language with myself doctor and it's shown so many other places in my life that I didn't understand how crucial it was you know doctor I have to tell you real quick um and then I want your input there was a time when because it's easier it is so

44:35much easier to self depreciate who you are and and to use that as humor I'm I'm too fat I'm too slow I'm too bald I'm too this you know whatever it is and I had him I had somebody tell me one time on one of my shows she said I really wish you would stop that about what and she said depreciating yourself because you don't deserve that and nobody does but if you don't talk well about yourself nobody else is going to either doctor do you agree with any of that absolutely agree with that I know that sometimes people use humor and they self deprecate right and they'll say things about themselves um man I could never do that or I I could never own that or I could never and I'm gonna say this I know this is something to self I was silly but it's it worked for us many many years ago when the book the secret came out oh yes I read it and I literally just almost slept with that book but

45:35anyway I read it my husband read it my son read it right we we're we all read the book right even though I've always been the type of person that believed in speaking into into existence what you want and I that's a biblical principle I'm just saying that's I didn't come from the secret I want people understand that so um so I've always been that way but the person that came to me and said that that changed his life and he had been raised that way was my son and it's true and and and I won't tell some of the stories of things that we spoke we believe we spoke into existence and they did happen they did happen I just believe it there's it's it's it's not magic it's the it's a power in our tongues right it's it's um and I don't I don't believe in all that prosperity stuff but I do believe that when you speak a certain way you will then behave a certain way so if you're speaking as if you'll get it then you'll start to change your your habits or the way you do things so that you can align yourself to get certain things but if you automatically saying that

46:40I'll never get that job I'll never finish this degree I'll never do this and that well you'll I don't want to call it lazy but your attitude towards those things won't be as ambitious or as um exciting uh as somebody that's I'm gonna get this it may take me 10 years but I'm gonna do it and don't even say that just say I'm gonna do this and just stick with it and I always say that if something comes up that throws you off a bit it's okay brush yourself off and get back up that's okay failing forward just just brush yourself off and folks say it's not that easy sometimes folks think that if you're at a good place it's you've never ever experienced any of the setbacks and that's just not true I have to say to a young lady who told me I didn't understand because of my degrees she says I absolutely didn't understand I says do you know that I couldn't pass statistics and in my first degree and I said in a garage crying my eyes out of my eyes and

47:42was that a door asking me why was sitting out in the car and I was like because it's about a professor talking to me and really talking to me like I was stupid and so suppose that had stopped me okay so we've all experienced where people underestimated us or didn't think highly of us or didn't think that we were smart enough or pretty or not for you know whatever it is but that's why the self talk piece and also the stuff that we consume the stuff that we consume in our minds and the stuff we read we watch all those things all that has something to do with how we speak and how we see the world so if you're constantly consuming junk instead of stuff that's edifying that can help break that that that that mindset of negativity that's how you're going to get you know be stuck there or so it's just so many ways of being able to overcome that that's all I'm saying about that. No you're that that is perfectly said that is perfectly said and Michelle said something we also do a music show for a brushwood media network and

48:46Michelle said something highly illuminating about this topic do you remember what that was Michelle oh man I'm gonna let you beat me which is no way I say I have no idea what you're talking about and we're gonna go next and well the way he said it was so amazing I'm curious now too she she said if you believe you can or you believe your can't you're right and he's right and that is that is so fundamental to why we are here and by the way I want to talk about timing because sometimes we ask for things and we may not be ready that's right we may need to have a little bit more seasoning or we may need to have a little bit more experience if but if we say yes to these things they will show up because it's all in divine timing and it all comes from God and if you believe that if you well let me strike that if you know that yeah then great things can happen in your life you know 23 years ago I was a district sales manager for a major food

49:51company I had 11 reports I had a wife I had the house I had the dog I had the cat I had the kids and I wasn't happy I didn't know how I was going to apply it didn't know where I was going to end up but I opened myself up and said lead me and you know where it led me to this interview with Dr. LaShondra Beckwith I hear on positive talk 20 years later because that is what I was here to do and it is my way of giving back and my way of supporting you we need to talk more about your work you're the organization how people can donate to it and how they can reach you if they want to donate time effort money prayers gratitude all of those things have I missed anything food oh good that's where my mind goes Dr. we've got just a couple a couple of minutes left and I just want to make sure that you we have enough time to do two things to tell us how

50:56somebody can benefit the the organization how they can give back and also something that's in your heart to tell our audience anything you would like them to know well first of all I want to thank you and Richelle for having me on the show today is it's it's been a joy to be able to interact with the both of you but although I can't see her on screen I just feel a presence and I love the enthusiasm that's that's coming through the screen um to the people that are listening I want folks to believe that we're all placed on this earth for purpose and that we are all here to take care of one another I don't care if you're a billionaire million there a thousand there whatever you are I believe that we're all here to take care of one another we're here to be in fellowship with one another and to me that means caring for one another not to look down on folks because we don't ever know where we're going to end up and it's not just that let's just have

51:57hearts of compassion and empathy and care for for love our neighbors you know how that type of thing uh at LSSSC I see our folks doing the work every day they're not goofing off they're caring for people every day but I like for folks to uh do is we per I'm gonna say we always need funding funding is the thing that we need but we we appreciate and do care for taking care of the needs of people through giving people food and clothing and all types of services you mentioned before about mental health mental health that's a service that needs funding that's just the way it is especially in a climate that we're in today where a lot of the funding is cut and by the way remember our trillion dollars was taken out of Medicaid and we 70% to 75% of the people that we serve they are on Medicaid and and so um if we could get folks to come alongside and support us become

52:59monthly donors uh if they would even pledge and pay in payments or something that's fine but that would be so that we can uh provide services in a time where funding is being cut and that is the Medicaid type of funding and what I mean by that you say well why is that important we get paid for the people that we see and that is people that are on Medicaid and so if the funding for Medicaid is cut that means we're gonna have to cut staff and we provide less services than we provided in the past so if you care um we so appreciate any support and for the folks that want to reach out to us as you've mentioned we are at lssc.org you can go to our website and there'll be a phone number on there uh where you can reach out to us there's also a donation page on our website that you can go to and uh we and then of course praying for us that's important at least to the folks that are at

54:03lssc we believe in the power of prayer and so we hope that you've sent us thoughts and prayers uh and in the work that we did and again we've been talking with Dr. Lashondra Beckwith I got it right I think Lashondra did I do it again that's okay I I answer to almost anything thing go and um and I did want to make this statement as a parting gift for everyone you know every major religious or or spiritual book that is out there at one point or another it all says love your neighbors yourself that is the highest calling and that is how we should all be it doesn't matter what color you are it doesn't matter who you love it doesn't matter any of that stuff is all superficial we're all in our core human beings and children of the divine children of God so we need to take care of each other regardless and I know that doctor you agree with that I do

55:06and I want to thank you so much for being here it's been a pleasure you're going to have to come back Michelle she's got to come back maker huh can you maker yes sorry I'm not giving you that option we have so much more to pull out of you and also thank you so much for sharing right there at the end I wanted to bring acknowledgement to where you said um once you realize that if you can't find help or you don't know where to turn create that opportunity for yourself um because we're all kind of doing it so thank you so much again for being here spending this time with us and yes please come back at the earliest convenience thank you for being part of positive talk with Kevin McDonald where stories inspire and voices remind us of what truly matters may today's conversation give you hope courage and a reason to keep moving forward and just remember till next time be kind to one another because each other's all we've got