Beautiful Shifts

Tonia Tewell: Holding out HELP for those coming out of polygamist cultures

Tonia Tewell, founder of Holding out HELP - a non-profit helping people out of polygamy/religious extremist sects - shares her story of growing up in an unstable home, which led to being taken in by her school principal and his wife at age 12, offering Tonia and her siblings safety and unconditional love for the first time. Later in life Tonia moved to the Salt Lake City, Utah area with her husband, began having children, and soon after was diagnosed with stage four cancer. She resolved that if she survived she would serve those coming from broken backgrounds who needed help and unconditional love, just as she had as a young girl.
 
The cancer went into remission and in 2007 Tonia's passion for those who come from a polygamist background grew after taking in a family from the local AUB/Allred polygamist community. In 2008, she launched a non-profit organization called Holding out H.E.L.P. (Helping, Encouraging and Loving Polygamists). Her desire is to encourage and give hope to those who chose to leave polygamist cultures providing them resources, support and love. In her free time Tonia loves the outdoors, bible study, dates with her daughters and crime shows. 
 
Tonia's story of overcoming difficult life situations, providing help to the most vulnerable, and paying forward kindness and love. A big thank you to Tonia for sharing her story with us! We loved talking with her and know you will love her too! 
 
Find Holding out HELP online at http://holdingouthelp.org where you can learn more about the services they provide to those coming out of polygamist sects and how you can get involved and help. Also, sign up to attend their upcoming Silent Auction & Benefit Dinner on March 10 in Draper which includes live music, guest speakers, and meeting the cast of Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey. 
 
Find/follow Holding out HELP on Instagram @holdingouthelp
And on Holding out HELP on Facebook 

Janet Mumford: Surviving a skydiving accident, learning patience and resilience through adversity, and life lessons on rebuilding and getting through hard things

Janet shares her story of how her life almost came to a halt one day that will forever be defined as life before and after her skydiving accident, in the fall of 2020. Experiencing debilitating injuries, her natural determination combined with lessons she had learned prior to the accident through therapy and working on mental health and inner strength helped greatly in her path to healing. She shares many takeaways that can be applied to getting through hard things in life and learning from setbacks, such as how growth comes in small steps, finding something to hold onto, trusting ourselves, and how our human minds and bodies are truly amazing.
 
Janet is a 43 year old mom of two adult kids, full time dental hygienist and a part time online health and fitness coach. She explains that learning patience and resilience through adversity while trying to gain back what you once had is a challenge, but those exact things motivated her as she rebuilt and grew more than she ever thought possible. 
 
Thanks so much to Janet for sharing her story with us and being an amazing example of strength and resilience. It's inspiring to hear and see all she has overcome and to see where she is today! 
 
Find Janet on Instagram @janetmumford23 where you can see more of her amazing recovery and reach out to her about her health & fitness coach/certified nutritionist business. 
You can also find her on Facebook - Janet Mumford
 
Thank you for listening! You can follow Beautiful Shifts on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook. 

John & Brooke Buck: Adventures as a couple in Major League Baseball career, navigating baseball life and family life, supporting each other’s dreams, and prioritizing relationship and love that lasts

Today we get to hear from John and Brooke Buck - our first couple interview! They are genuine, fun and have a great love story, and we are so glad it worked out to release this on Valentines Day.
 
John and Brooke share how they were high school sweethearts and got married as John was pursuing playing professional baseball. John's career as a baseball catcher led to adventures moving around the U.S. playing many years in the minor leagues and 12 years for major league teams including the Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, Pittsburg Pirates, Seattle Mariners, and the Angels of Anaheim. They share about the ups and downs of starting a family including fertility treatments and the premature birth of their twin boys, and enjoying and embracing new places and experiences. Eventually John chose to retire and later supported and encouraged Brooke in her goal of going back to school to become a nurse. Brooke is now a NICU nurse at Primary Children's Hospital. 
 
John and Brooke are a fun, positive couple and have great takeaways about life and cultivating lasting relationships. They currently live in Bluffdale, Utah, with their three boys. Brooke loves being a nurse working with premature babies, and John enjoys coaching youth sports teams and hosting a baseball podcast, Behind the Dish @behind.thedish, along with other projects.
 
Thank you so much to John and Brooke for being on the podcast. We love their story and are grateful we got to hear and share it! 
 

Holly Wever: Loss, acceptance, and value of connection - Sister’s addiction and eventual overdose leads to forming nonprofit Second Chance 5K, learning and sharing valuable life perspectives

Today we are grateful to hear from Holly, who is thoughtful, wise, and has many great perspectives and life lessons on going through difficult things. 
 
Holly shares the experience of having her younger sister, Kristi, struggle with drug addiction for many years, which led to an accidental heroin overdose. Through sadness, regret, and acceptance, Holly became inspired and motivated to start a cause in Kristi's memory to raise awareness and funds for those in addiction recovery. Holly shares what she has learned about the importance of connection, empathy, and listening to understand, as well as the concepts of impermanence and equanimity, and that our cracks and imperfect lives are an opportunity to let light in. Holly loves teaching and practicing yoga, eating Nutella, and spending time with her four kids and husband, Tod.
 
Holly co-founded the nonprofit organization Second Chance 5K in 2017 with her friend Jennie Slade, who lost two sisters to overdose. Second Chance connects communities impacted by substance use disorders and celebrates second chances for those in recovery. On March 25th they will hold their 6th event in Las Vegas, Nevada. Learn more about Second Chance and how you can get involved and help below. 
@secondchance5k on Instagram
www.secondchance5k.org
 
Other organizations/resources Holly mentions in this episode: 
Shine a Light Foundation @shinealight on Instagram 
Darren Waller Foundation @darrenwaller_fdn
 
Thank you so much to Holly for taking the time to share her story with us. Also, listen to Holly's mom Karen's episode released last week (episode #17). 
 
Thank you for listening! 
 
Find Beautiful Shifts on Facebook and on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast

Karen Cushenberry: Heartbreak, resilience and hope - Early passing of husband, daughter’s accidental overdose, and MS diagnosis, continuing on with gratitude and hope

Today we get to hear from Karen, a mother of four and life-long educator, who has lived a life full of service, love, friendship and family. Karen shares with us many life transitions that unexpectedly came into her life, including her husband's health declining at a young age, becoming a caretaker and the breadwinner for her family with young children still at home, and the eventual loss of her husband several years later. After adjusting to life on her own she found love again, and soon after suffered the heartbreaking loss of one of her twin daughters to an accidental drug overdose. Later Karen was diagnosed with MS and shares how radical acceptance has gotten her through this diagnosis. 
 
Karen tells her story with openness and candor, and shares the message that whatever happens and whatever we are going through, eventually it will be okay. Friendship and showing up for each other through hard times is a theme in her story, and we loved the many examples of this throughout her life she shared. We greatly admire her resilience and ability to continually look toward gratitude and hope.
 
Thank you so much to Karen, we feel honored she shared her story with us and loved our time talking with her. Watch for Karen's daughter Holly's episode coming next week.
 
Thank you for listening!
 
Follow Beautiful Shifts on Facebook and on Instagram at beautifulshifts_podcast. 

Kim Christenson: Living with intention - Lifelong writer and stay-at-home mom on becoming an entrepreneur, pursuing a master’s, journaling and travel, writing on evolving faith, and intentional living

Kim joins us today to share about many life transitions and valuable perspectives! We talk about her moving to Australia as a teenager, going from being a stay-at-home mom to founding Loom Journals and merging with Promptly Journals, recently beginning a master's in creative writing, and the process of becoming an author. She shares thoughts on the value of journaling and how it has impacted her life, traveling, and how writing on evolving faith has benefited her spiritual journey and helped others. Kim shares how being intentional in our lives through goals and transitions helps achieve the results we want, and how cultivating an abundance mindset, including drawing on gratitude, can be extremely beneficial. 
 
Kim has been a writer her whole life and recently began teaching a creative writing course for kids she created called Write for Life. She is currently a book reviewer on Good Things Utah, has been a magazine, newspaper, and broadcast journalist, and is working on her third novel. She writes and shares book recommendations and more on her website and Instagram page Talk Wordy to Me. 
 
Thank you so much to Kim for coming on the podcast, we loved the conversation!
 
Find Kim on Instagram @talkwordytome_
And www.talkingwordy.com where you can find her writing courses, her newsletter, writing tips, and book recommendations.
 
Thank you so much for listening!
 
Find Beautiful Shifts on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook here.  

Kattia Garn: Colombian-American on marrying an American and combining cultures, moving through grief, and cultivating love for life

Kattia shares her story of moving to the U.S. from Colombia, marrying her American husband, and the joys, challenges, and humor of combining cultures. She tells about growing up in Colombia and the amazing examples of service her parents were. She recently went through the transition of her father's passing and shares how she has moved through grief by focusing on gratitude and being an example of strength for her daughter. We get to hear Kattia share many beautiful perspectives on life and living it to the fullest. 
 
Kattia has a love for dance and is a Zumba instructor, running a studio of over 80 women. She tells about being involved in Zumba's national convention and other Zumba events. She is the owner and CEO of Circle M Activewear, a quality fitness clothing brand made in Colombia and available throughout the U.S. She has studied law, international relations, and fashion design. Kattia lives in Weston, Florida with her husband, Jake, and their teenage daughter, Mia.
 
Find Kattia on Instagram at @katvans17
Kattia's fitness clothing Circle M Clothing: @circlemactivewear
 
Thank you to Kattia for coming on the podcast! And thank you for listening!
 
Follow Beautiful Shifts on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook here. 

Marci Briggs: Health and wellness seasons, parenting teens and how mindfulness can help us in parenting, and going toward the little sparks in our lives

Marci shares her story of choosing to focus on her health after many years of being a busy mom of three. She tells how she went from thinking goals were lame to being motivated to dive into health and weight loss goals so she could get back to hiking and doing outdoor activities she loved, and then achieving those goals. During the difficult times of Covid she learned grace for herself and others through the process of learning there are seasons in health, wellness, and all areas of life.
 
Marci's story is relatable, fun, and insightful as she shares many great perspectives she's learned along the way. We talk about parenting and how it can be challenging but also how each child is unique and has gifts we can learn from and enjoy. She encourages us to go toward the little sparks in life, and that she's found there is beauty in hope.
 
Thanks so much to Marci for coming on the podcast! We loved the conversation and all the insights and great perspectives shared. 
 
Find Marci on Instagram @marci_hb where you can contact her about her health coaching. 
Also find Marci on Facebook - Marci Harman Briggs
 
Find Beautiful Shifts on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast and on Facebook - Beautiful Shifts Podcast
 
Thanks so much for listening! 

Brandie Paterakis: Therapist’s perspective on overcoming self-doubt, navigating life transitions, and mindsets for the New Year

Brandie's knowledge of mental health, wisdom on her own life transitions, and advice on adding humor into our lives is a great way to start the New Year! Both of us have seen Brandie for therapy and love her and her perspectives. 
 
Today Brandie shares her story of overcoming self-doubt to tackle eight years of school leading to her dream of becoming a therapist. She shares mental health perspectives including pillars of self-esteem, navigating life shifts, difficult conversations, and the concept of radical acceptance. As our first episode of 2023 we also discuss how to watch for traps we fall into with goals and helpful mental health tips for the New Year.
 
Brandie is fun and wise and has a great sense of humor! We loved our conversation with her and feel this is the perfect episode to start off the New Year.
 
Thanks so much to Brandie for taking the time for us. And thank you for listening!
 
Find Brandie and her clinic Blue Bee Counseling Services online at bluebeecs.com
 
On Instagram @bluebeecounseling
 
Listen to her podcast Therapist Table Talk on Spotify and watch on YouTube: http://youtube.com/@bluebeecounseling5365
 
Find Beautiful Shifts on Facebook and on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast

Carla Swensen-Haslam: Law graduate advocates for asylum seekers at the US/Mexican border, and simple ways we can help the vulnerable in our communities

Carla, a dual citizen of Columbia and the U.S., shares how after playing college soccer at BYU and for the U20 Columbian National team, she had to discover her identity beyond soccer. She shares about being a professional soccer announcer for REAL Salt Lake and deciding to go to Law School to further her passion of learning about public policy and immigration law. As a practicing lawyer she recently had her first child and talks about the transition to motherhood.   
 
Carla shares about her experience advocating for asylum seekers at the US/Mexican border. We discuss the TEDx talk she gave earlier this year - Credible Fear: Stories of asylum seekers coming to the US (link below). Carla went from wanting to advocate for the vulnerable but not knowing how, to learning how to implement advocacy and sharing with others how to do the same. She shares simple and actionable ways we can get involved in helping the underprivileged in our communities. 
 
Watch Carla's TEDx talk here
 
Find Carla on Instagram @haslam.house 
 
Thanks so much to Carla for taking the time to talk with us! We loved the conversation and learned so much. And thank you for listening!   
 
Find Beautiful Shifts on Facebook and on Instagram @beautifulshifts_podcast.