Help for those serious about successful reintegration. Special Thanks To Radioguestlist.com
Episodes
Sunday Dec 12, 2021
Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers
Sunday Dec 12, 2021
Sunday Dec 12, 2021
Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a great Christmas season! We'll be back in APRIL with a batch of new episodes.
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (223)
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Hi there!
I hope everyone is well!
It has always disappointed me to see people get out of prison and go right back to their old, destructive behaviors. Frankly, I think for some of us it's really easy to fall back into that trap . I haven't personally had to deal with that however and I think, for me, it comes from prison and parole being a punitive experience - for me. I don't want to go back!
Last week, there was an incident in Houston that was a reminder to me of how easy it can be to allow yourself to create a detrimental thought life. We should never forget that behaviors begin with thoughts. Those thoughts can start so very easily!!
This guy, Travis Scott, the rapper who put the fatal Astroworld music festival together is the topic of my discussion on this episode of the podcast. I basically posit that we, as people who have lost years of life and suffer the enduring consequences of being a convicted felon, should be careful about what we allow to enter our thought life. I further believe that rebellion and violence laden song lyrics, running as the backing track to our daily lives is very dangerous. Why would we allow a thug like Travis Scott any where near our lives in any capacity?
Remember, if God is for you, who can be against you?
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (222)
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Welcome!
My guest this week has dealt with and is dealing with a level of adversity that should give us all cause to reflect on what we are doing to deal with the adversity associated with reintegration. Terry Tucker has cancer and has been fighting it for over 9 years. His attitude and determination inspire me and when we started the interview I wanted to find out how he achieved his positiveness. Terry explains his methodology as we chat on this episode. As always, I am sure there is something in his story that you can use in your struggle.
You can check out more about Terry Tucker here: motivationalcheck.com
If God is for you, who can be against you?
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (221)
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Tuesday Sep 07, 2021
Hello and welcome!
My guest this time is Pete Cossaboon. Pete did a little bit of federal time and because of his conviction had to reinvent himself. He's done a a fantastic job of turning his adversity into a successful and satisfying way of life. Pete is a life coach and has several on-line courses which look great and I recommend you take a look at what he has to offer. However, our paths cross with Pete at the point where he turned his situation around. Join me as I talk with Pete about what it took to do that. I think you'll find there are helpful ideas in his story.
If God is for you, who can be against you.
Wednesday Jun 23, 2021
Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (217)
Wednesday Jun 23, 2021
Wednesday Jun 23, 2021
Hello!
Sometimes I think it's good to focus on ourselves. We' are not being overly self-centered when we think about, consider, and execute strategies to improve "anything" about ourselves. By the word "anything" I mean aspects of our physical and mental health. As we all know, the hurdles to be jumped to achieve successful reintegration are very, very, tall. In my opinion, taking inventory and addressing our physical and mental health is an important part of life after incarceration.
My guest this week, Jenny Mannion, has some ideas on how to address these rough spots - whether they be physical or mental. This is the focus of my chat with Jenny and I think you will find what she has to say insightful and worth exploring.
Jenny Mannion ( click for more info. on Jenny)
Remember, if God is for you, who can be against you?
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (216)
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Monday Jun 07, 2021
Hello!
Let's do some thinking about expectations. Is it possible to expect too much from ourselves? Is there a difference between expectations and goals? How about our expectations of other people? How do we keep our expectations reasonable?
My guest on this episode, Ben Winter, helps us figure out how to manage our expectations. He wrote a book about this, What To Expect When Having Expectations. Check out my interview with Ben Winter.
If God is for you who can be against you?
Sunday Feb 28, 2021
Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (215)
Sunday Feb 28, 2021
Sunday Feb 28, 2021
Welcome!
I hope you're doing well!
I've been thinking for quiet some time that doing an episode on sex addiction would probably be a good thing to do but frankly, actually going about doing it has seemed a little awkward. I've looked at guests to interview and there are some experts in recovery with professional credentials that I may still try to interview. But ultimately, I decided to share some facts, look at the negative issues that arise from sex addiction, and share some resources for getting help.
As we work to become productive citizens, we don't need something like this getting in our way!
Bottom line: Sex addictions are a very bad thing. Nothing good comes from porn in general and I'm convinced it's a one way street that goes nowhere. If you need help, it's available for free. I've included three resources below.
If God is for you, who can be against you?
S anon - for familiy members of addicts
sexhelp.com - povides a self evaluation and therapist search tool
Monday Jan 18, 2021
Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (212)
Monday Jan 18, 2021
Monday Jan 18, 2021
Hello and Happy New Year!
Hello everyone! I hope this year brings wonderful things to you!
I wanted to spend some time talking about the National Institute of Corrections. The National Institute of Corrections is an arm of the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I'm sure they do great work...except for issues of reintegration. Inconsistent data and kicking the can down the road are immediately apparent when it comes to this government agency caring about what happens to people when they leave prison. Their general philosophy, appears to me, to pass the buck to an issue of public policy instead of addressing reintegration in any meaningful way for prisoners on their way out. They give lip service, in my view, to the issue to avoid political incorrectness and to keep from appearing to have no empathy. They aren't getting it right and it doesn't appear to me that they really much care to. I point out some things I've noticed about these guys on this episode.
I also wanted to spend a little time talking a little bit about dealing with stress. I hope there is something in that discussion that you can use!
As always remember, if God is for you, who can be against you?