What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things everyday? Take a break from the busyness of your lives to just stop & look around. Consider the things that we encounter all the time and overlook. Just think of all the lessons that we could learn from our children, in our homes, or our families. What if I told you that everyday, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths...would you believe me? I'm BJ Sipe, and welcome to the Set Your Mind Above podcast.
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BJ Sipe Podcasts
Send us a text Welcome back to a brand new season of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! We got Ava a realistic baby doll for Christmas, the problem was it was damaged in shipping. We let her open it, but promised we could get her another one. She responded that she loved the doll just the way it was, because that's how God loves us - it doesnt matter…
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Send us a text I failed to reach many of my goals over this past year physically - and that was due to three reasons: setbacks, busyness, and lack of consistency. Oftentimes these same three reasons keep us from attaining our spiritual goals. We must not give up despite setbacks. We must never be too busy for God's work. And we must strive to be di…
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Send us a text One of my runs in a fantasy football league finally came to an end after 14 weeks. This is a "Chopped!" league - which means you win or you go home. If you lose even once by having the lowest score in the league, you're done for the season. No second chances. No next week. No chance for redemption. How blessed are we that we do not s…
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Send us a text Our kids recently started doing the Elf on the Shelf tradition with me, and it has completely changed their mornings. They don't think about anything else first except for that little mischevious elf. They can't wait to wake up and see what new thing he has gotten into. Their joy and excitement convicts me. What is my routine when I …
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S5 E36 - Tracking Dirty Paws Through The House
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Send us a text Our newest dog, Rusty, has grown far bigger than we ever dreamed. He also loves to go outside and get filthy, so bringing him back inside is always a process. If one of the kids lets him in before we can clean him up, he will track dirt all through the house and destroy the place in a matter of minutes. The home is to be a sacred and…
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Send us a text Starbucks released a limited edition collectors item in a glass iced coffee bear cup. People went nuts over them, because each store only got a few each. But others saw this also as an opportunity to fool others, setting up fradulent sites to con others into purchasing what they thought was the real thing. We need to see the Kingdom …
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Send us a text I'm teaching my oldest daughter to ride a bike, and it is a lot harder than she expected. She keeps forgetting to pedal, so she stops moving forward, and that's when she tips over and falls. As Christians, our walk with Christ is much harder than many anticipate. But with God, all things are possible - we just have to keep moving for…
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S5 E33 - Failing To Finish: The Life of a Mariners Fan
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Send us a text I thought it was finally going to happen this year - the Mariners were only 9 outs from advancing to the World Series for the very first time. But in the end, they fell short once again. I guess I'll say what I've had to say ever year: there is always next season. But there is no next season with this life. We cannot fail to finish i…
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Send us a text We went on vacation to NC and took our two dogs with us. Our large puppy had never experienced stairs before, and I didn't realize that some dogs didn't know naturally how to go up and down them. He was terrified and I had to carry him before training him. It took a lot of patience and gentleness, but finally he figured it out over t…
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Send us a text We recently went to the Cincinatti zoo with some good friends, and one of the exhibits is for nocturnal animals. It was very dark, and at first the kids could not see a thing. Our friends reminded them to give it time, the longer they stayed in the dark the more comfortable their eyes would become. Unfortunately, we can become all to…
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S5 E30 - I like to eat, eat, eat, chicken and tomatoes
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Send us a text I love chicken and tomatoes. I eat them every week, and they are in many of the meals that we make as a family. However, after getting allergy testing done, it turns out my love for them might be what has been fueling a lot of my health issues. I'm allergic to them both. Sin works that way in our lives too, doesn't it? Before we came…
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S5 E29 - Our Salvation in Times of Trouble
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Send us a text This week has been full of bloodshed and tragedy in the US - from school schootings, merciless and senseless murders, and assasination - hearts are heavy. How does the Christian respond to this? #SetYourMindAbovePodcast
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Send us a text "You don't love me anymore" - these were the words of our soon to be 3 year old to her mother and me. Why? Because we told her that she had to eat her dinner. We had to laugh - kids can be so dramatic. The rules are there because we love you, kiddo. We're not all that different as the children of God. Sometimes we doubt God's love, b…
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Send us a text Fantasy Football is back! To draft a good team, you have to remember several things. One, you can't overload on one position - you need to cover all your bases, because each position is important. Second, you need depth - have compitent back ups ready to go. Third, you need to keep your eye on the waiver wire and expand your team. Th…
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S5 E26 - Guest Episode with Ava Sipe - "Vanity"
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Send us a text Today is a special episode - my daughter Ava has been asking to help with the podcast for quite sometime. Today, she finally got that opportunity - and she even got to pick the topic. She wanted to discuss the dangers of vanity. Tune in to hear a discussion between my daughter and I about what we should pursue in this life, and remem…
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Send us a text We had an unexpected life event last week, as my wife ended up in the hospital for a period of four days. Over those four days, we received an outpouring of love and support from our local church family. We needed help, and they responded. This is how God designed the church. It's not like a family, it is a family. Serving one anothe…
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Send us a text As my grass started growing back in after a fresh cut, I noticed a distinct pattern to how entire strips of grass were longer than the sections next to it. As I looked at my mower, I discovered that one tire was going flat, and therefore it was unbalanced. It left my yard looking like a terrible haircut. Imbalance in our lives can le…
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Send us a text My good buddy Jacob Stout, who is a very talented golfer, was recenlty golfing with another friend of his. He hit a decent shot, but he wasn't pleased with it. When he got in the cart, his buddy goes, "You know you'll never be good, right? You'll only be better." Isnt' that the truth with our spiritual walk as well? There is only one…
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S5 E22 - Kerr County: The One Whose Words Hold Power
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Send us a text My mind has been on the residents of Kerr County all week, after the flash flooding and mass devastation that has occured. 120 are confirmed dead with 170 still missing. I cannot imagine that kind of loss. My words can do little to help them or make things better...but I can direct my words to the One who can. God's words have power.…
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Send us a text We took the kids with their grandparents to the Lexington Children's Museum, and the big hit was the bubble room! Bubbles are a lot of fun, but they are for just a short moment and then their fragile shape pops and is gone. Then you forget them, and move on to another bubble or another room. Our lives are like the bubble room - here …
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Send us a text The kids were enjoying making paper airplanes this afternoon, but Finley refused to throw hers. She kept a death grip on it. When I inquired why she wouldn't let it go, she responded that she had worked so hard on it. We have a hard time of letting go of things we have poured a lot of ourselves into. Our children, a church, our money…
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Send us a text As we traveled back from camp, my friend Will and I were taken back by some signs being sold at Buc-ee's. They were mocking Scripture, particularly from the book of Joshua, and making light of the things God has said. It was startling, but not surprising. We are called to be holy, because God is holy. And a such, that means he should…
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Send us a text I was attacked by a swarm of cicadas while on the mower last night, and in trying to swat them away I knocked my earbud off into the grass. It was expensive, important, and very small. So I spent 20 minutes on my hands and knees until I finally found it! Do we realize that God values souls equally? He came to seek and save the lost. …
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Send us a text We had a tornado go through very close to us this morning, within about 5 miles, but we received no watch or warning notifications. The National Weather Service is having some updates that prevented us from being told - and I'm thankful that we are safe, but others were not so fortunate. Ezekiel is called a watchman for the house of …
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Send us a text In life, we have full circle moments when things you once did are things you find yourself doing again - but as a parent. I had that this week, from t-ball with my son to reading them Calvin & Hobbes together, we had many full circle moments. As I tucked my kids in, my son said, "Dad, I'm just like you." And he will be - he watches m…
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Send us a text Someone kept trying to deliver a package to us that we were supposed to pay for. We had no idea what this package was. After going into the post office, it turns out it was a fraud - a fairly common scam. They post officer workers are trained in what to look for, and therefore we promptly rejected it. There are many fraudulent gospel…
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Send us a text I did my leg in, and I've been doing physical therapy as a result. You can't tell I have a problem looking at the surface, but deep underneath I really messed up my hamstring area. A lot of injuries are like that - and if left unchecked, can cause a lot of problems. Internally, we all have things that perhaps others cannot see on the…
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Send us a text Our local pharmacy was robbed at gunpoint yesterday. Thankfully, no one was injured and later on the suspect was aprehended. This kind of thing just doesn't happen that often here in our small town, so it took us all by surpise. It was unexpected, and many were not prepared for it. The Lord likens his return to a thief - because we w…
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Send us a text This week Kylie and I participated in the Passion WOD at CrossFit. 100 double-unders. 800m 95/65# barbell carry. 100 burpees. It was designed to remind us of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It was a hard workout, but moreso because of how emotional it was. Do we really understand just how much Jesus suffered for us? Tod…
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Send us a text A had the most horrid sound coming from my car, and after googling the car's symptoms I began to be worried it was going to be a huge fix. Turns out $40 it was something very small, literally. I guess that's the way it goes, usually the things we worry about don't ever happen. Jesus teaches us not to worry, to not be anxious. Usually…
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Send us a text We have had an incredible amount of rain from the storms, which is good considering we just planted 150 trees on the farm. That's quite the process - you have to prepare the soil, firmly ground it, and make sure it's oriented properly - pointed in the right direction. As a matter of fact, this is the exact process we must go through …
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Send us a text I recently had a conversation with a friend who helps to run a memory care facility. She told me that while some days are very hard for residents, the blessing of such a difficult disease is that the next day they have no memory of what happened before that made them so miserable or angry. Each day is a reset, a new day. Forgiveness …
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Send us a text Spring has sprung. What once was lifeless brown and dead is now starting to team with the signs of life. Trees are blossoming, birds are singing, and my spirit could not be more thrilled about it. Nature teaches us about the nature of God. We serve a God with the power to take dead things and bring them to life. He demonstrated such …
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Send us a text My son turned 5 years old today, and it seems like the last five years have just flown by. Life has a funny way of passing us by. A good friend reminded me last night that time is the only currentcy we spend without knowing our remaining balance, so use it wisely. Are we vigilant and intentional with our time? If not, we might end up…
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S5 E6 - Overnight Infections & Watching Ice Melt
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Send us a text Our youngest has another double ear infection, and it came on fast. There was no warning, and suddenly she was miserable. As I held her tonight, I sat and watched my ice melt in my glass - it was slow, and it was subtle. What a contrast. We need to remember that spiritual growth and spiritual deterioration are not like an infection -…
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S5 E5 - Count It All Joy When You Face Various Snowballs
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Send us a text We got a big snow dump again, and the kids wanted to go outside and play in it. This was the best kind of snow, the kind that packs tight so you can make snowballs and snowmen. The kids asked me to teach them how, and I explained you have to apply pressure and press the snow in your hands - that's what makes it stronger. Life works t…
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Send us a text Kylie and I have been doing a healthy living challenge, and at the start it was very tough - especially what felt like a very restrictive diet. But the longer we've done it, the better we've felt. I've started to realize how poor my diet was before, and it wasn't the way I was designed to eat. Our new way of life is freeing - and I d…
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Send us a text Bee's a pretty incredible. The female honeybee is capable of stinging a predator or what she considers dangerous, but not to protect herself - to protect the colony. Her act is self-sacrificing and selfless. She lays down her life for others. That is the nature of love. It puts the needs of others first. That is the kind of love Jesu…
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Send us a text My grandmother a few days ago was put on hospice care, and I called to tell her goodbye just the other night. In Christ, we don't grieve as those who have no hope. She has fought the good fight, she has finished the race, she's kept the faith. Death is a part of life, and we will all face it. But for Christians, death is a release fr…
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Send us a text I noticed a table at our local Chick-Fil-A I had never noticed before. It said the following, "This table was built by artisans from A Better Way Ministries. The materials used were salvaged from unwanted and abandoned homes. The hands that built it belong to a person who also once felt unwanted and abandoned. Love, compassion, and g…
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S4 E31 - A Discliplined, Daily, Lifelong Choice
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Send us a text Happy New Year Everyone! Are you ready to change? If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you. Make the right choice. Being a disciple isn't a New Year resolution. It is a discliplined choice that you make all year long for the rest of your life. Is it time? #SetYourMindAbovePodcast…
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Send us a text It happens every year with young children. You get them the things on their wishlist for Christmas, but then later on Christmas morning, you find them not playing with the gift - but the box it came in. We are not unlike children. God designed this world and the things he has made to direct us back to the real gift, himself. Unfortun…
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S4 E29 - Treasure These Moments In Your Heart
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Send us a text Having three young children, especially around the Holidays, can be very chaoitic. But while that's true, I need to remember how quickly this stage flies by - and how much I will miss it. I only get one chance to impact my children, how will I use this time? Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, took moments to take in his upbringing and t…
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Send us a text "It's A Wonderful Life" is my alltime favorite Christmas movie, and among my favorite movies period. The story climaxes with two expressions concerning George Baily - one a note written by his guardian angel Clarence, "No man is a failure who has friends." The second, a toast from his kid brother Harry, "To my big brother George, the…
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Send us a text I recently started drinking Mushroom Coffee, and it is as bad as you can imagine. It's hard to swallow. I thought about just quiting, but I decided to try and doctor it up with oatmilk and honey and found that is much more enjoyable. I don't taste the rougher things anymore. Sadly, many people treat Jesus this way. They don't like hi…
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Send us a text I was at Starbucks the other day when this lady came in wearing a shirt that made me do a double take. It said, "Not aspiring to be humble." Wow...it's one thing to be proud out of ignorance. It's another to be proud by choice. Without humility, we cannot love. Without humility, we cannot be transformed. Without humility, we are enem…
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Send us a text Have you ever cleaned underneath your couch? You never know what you might find under there. On the surface your sofa looks clean, but when you dig a little deeper and pull it back - there are all kinds of things hiding beneath the surface. If we are not careful, this is the way that we can be spiritually in our lives. On the surface…
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S4 E24 - The Church Needs Reading Buddies
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Send us a text I started a program called "Reading Buddy" with a local elementary student. It turns out, he is a wonderful reader that just lacks confidence. With some encouragement, he has already grown tremendously, but more than that, we have grown close to each other. This is exactly the kind of relationship Paul & Timothy would have, and the k…
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S4 E23 - Sometimes the Worst Brings Out the Best
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Send us a text Hurricanes have devastated Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee. You absolutely hate to see the destruction and hardship caused to others by these storms. Our prayers go out to all those suffering. But even in the midst of so much loss, there has been so much good in response. Christians have banded together to serve others and hel…
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Send us a text Hurricane Helene came through and did some damage to our area, but absolutely nothing compared to other areas of the country. At first, our kids were pretty upset about no power and no tv/internet. But once they learned that that other people were losing their entire homes and communites, that was no longer important. They needed som…
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