Silver Linings: Spirtuality in Life
by Lost & Found - Ministry of the Shepherd
Silver Linings offer suggestions in a simple basic way for living a relaxed and balanced life through the power of attitude, thinking, and creating your own stress-less life. Silver Linings presents inspirational stories, shared life experiences or nuggets of motivating, practical and insightful wisdom with focus on action principles, encouraging you to make decisions that positively affect your life. There are messages that speak to the human heart; up-lift the spirit and help fly above the mundane and ordinary, to soar to new and exciting heights.Silver Linings can inspire you towards the achievement of your dreams, to grow, expand, and meet the challenges of your daily life.
Episodes
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Episode 47: Doing the Inner Work
Most of us want bigger, better, more abundant lives. Yet we aren't willing to do the serious inner work to break our existing limiting beliefs and painful stories to create room for the Spirit to fill us with the gifts of true transformation. It's reasonable. We are instinctually...
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Episode 46: Go the Extra Mile
Jesus teaches: “Should anyone press you into service for one mile,* go with him for two miles” [Matthew 5:41]. When Jesus spoke these words, the country was under Roman occupation, and the law allowed Roman soldiers to compel Jewish civilians to carry their luggage or heavy armour for one Roman...
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Episode 45: Returning Home
The prodigal son was impetuous, selfish, self-centred. He wanted it all and he wanted it now. He stupidly squandered all he had – his wealth, his talents, his gifts. Deserted by his fair-weather friends, he spiralled into despondency, left to his own devices, meagre though they were. Humiliated,...
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Episode 44: Accepting Divine Love
Despite his belief in the love of God, Terry Lees admits he once harboured the feeling that he did not always deserve that love, that he was not worthy, nor had he earned it. Terry saw himself as a sinner and, in truth, unable to fully accept that God could love him unconditionally, unreservedly....
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Episode 43: Live a Life of Wonder and Awe
One of the teachings of Jesus is: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” [Matthew 18:3]. When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple to be presented, they met two elderly adults who were able to look at the world with the awe...
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Episode 42: A Living Eulogy
How often do we get the opportunity to hear our own “eulogy’ while still alive? “Dad, this is going to sound a lot like a eulogy.” These were the opening words of an eldest daughter at a family birthday party gathering to celebrate her father’s 80th year. A gathering of daughters, sons,...
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Episode 41: The Breath of Life
Do we ever really stop to reflect on the air that we breathe? Or do we just take it for granted? Air is the first essential need of life on earth. Besides the need for oxygen in the air for breathing, air plays an important role in human life and nature. All living beings, plants and animals are...
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Episode 40: Look to the Stars
Contrary to popular belief, God and science are not irreconcilable opposites and the Catholic Church is not in conflict with scientific theories on creation. Far from seeing science and faith as incompatible, the Church considers that they can and should coexist, illuminating different aspects of...
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Episode 39: Our Life Span Explained
It’s said that laughter is the best medicine. It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter strengthens your immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects you from the damaging effects of stress. With so much power to heal…
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Episode 38: Silver Linings from Anthony de Mello
Anthony de Mello was an Indian Jesuit priest, spiritual teacher, writer, and public speaker, de Mello wrote several books on spirituality and hosted numerous spiritual retreats and conferences. He continues to be known for his storytelling which drew from the various mystical traditions of both...
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Episode 37: Act As-if
The Act as-if technique has been used for centuries by philosophers, spiritual leaders, and motivational speakers to help people change their behaviour, achieve their goals, and improve their lives. The idea behind act as if’ is simple: if you want to change something about yourself, start acting...
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Episode 36: What is Time?
How often have you heard the statement: "If only there were more hours in the day?" Time favours no one. We all have the same amount of time each day - 24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. We are all equal in that respect. No one receives any more or any less. The Ancient Greeks spoke of...
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Episode 35: Optimism and Faith
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," a tongue-in-cheek comedy song written by Monty Python member Eric Idle, first featured in the 1979 Python film Life of Brian and was a Top 10 hit in the Australian Music charts. It is a theme song for optimists. An optimist is a person who engages in...
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Episode 34: I Know the Shepherd
In Silver Linings, Terry Lees shares two stories about the Good Shepherd. One story is about a priest teaching a group of young children about the Good Shepherd, while the second recounts a Shakespearean actor who would always end his performance with a dramatic reading of Psalm 23 with the...
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Episode 33: Say G’day to the Creator
The song “G’Day G’Day” written by Rob Fairbairn and sung by Aussie icon Slim Dusty captures the essence of the Australian way of life. Its lyrics celebrate friendship, connection, and inclusivity. In Silver Linings, Terry Lees shares that he says “g’day” a lot. It is a typical Aussie greeting, an...
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Episode 32: Just Checking-In Today
In Silver Linings, Terry Lees shares a poem about a man named Ben and his way of praying. Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. Terry recounts that life is more than a journey, it’s an adventure, an epic one, much like the...
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Episode 31: The Perfect Man and One Solitary Life
Christmas Day celebrates the life of the most extraordinary man who ever lived. Yet, just who was Jesus? In Silver Linings, Terry Lees share two articles that provide answers you might not normally expect to find in traditional media but, in these cases, that’s exactly where they were published....
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Episode 30: Christmas Gifts from God
In Christmas Gifts from God, Terry Lees explains why he loves Christmas, his favourite time of year, a time to be with family, foster love, togetherness and sharing, reaffirming and strengthening of the positive values that bind us together. It’s a time to celebrate life, the past year, remember...
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Episode 29: On Santa's Team
In Silver linings, Terry Lees shares a touching story of what happened when a young boy was told “There is no Santa Claus.” It is a story which highlights the meaning of Christmas is a time of joyful giving. As Jesus teaches: Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together,...
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Episode 28: You Are Loved
In Silver linings, Terry Lees shares: Years ago, one of my loved ones shared an amazing experience. Due to a crisis in her life, she felt depressed, suffering low self-esteem. While at work filling the cereal shelves of a supermarket, a loved one came across a small card deliberately placed. The...
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Episode 27: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
“I will honour Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!" Charles Dickens wrote these words in his famous story, A Christmas Carol....
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Episode 26: You Were Made to Soar
Eagles are born with big, heavy wings. They learn to fly without actually flapping their wings. They do this to conserve energy. Instead, they rely on wind thermals, a gust of wind that will rise from the atmosphere. The wind lifts the eagles and with a mix of flying and soaring they rise. Their...
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Episode 25: I Can’t Wait for Christmas
The blessed Feast of Christmas was established over 2000 years ago to honour and glorify the birth of the most important Man who ever lived. In Silver Linings, Terry Lees speaks of the real Santa Claus and of the true meaning of Christmas, as he recalls a flood of memories from his own childhood....
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Episode 24: Christmas Everyday
It’s Christmas time and leading up to Christmas, Christmas songs abound. You hear them on the radio and television, in shopping malls and stores, as you’re wandering the grocery aisles or waiting to get your car serviced. They flow from concert halls, school auditoriums and church sanctuaries. In...
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Episode 23: Let it Go
Nelson Mandela, the first black President of South Africa and the first President to be elected in a fully representative election, spent 27 years in prison, right up until apartheid ended. He had every reason to hate the people who put him there and his captors. In Silver Linings, Terry Lees...
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Episode 22: Footprints in the Sand
People of faith believe that God is always with us. At some times we fail to recognise God’s presence. “Footprints in the Sand” is frequently framed for display in living rooms and bedrooms. You can buy keychains and tea towels and decorative plates featuring this well-known piece of writing.…
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Episode 21: The Happy Homeless Millionaire
Have you heard the story of the millionaire who gave away everything he owned to become homeless and happy? He told of having no regrets about walking away from a lucrative shearing business that made him a "millionaire" to sleep under a tree in a Launceston Park. It’s a remarkable true story and...
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Episode 20: Love in Relationship
Relationship begins with people. Interaction with other human beings is something we crave and need in our lives. We rely on the strength of human relationships to survive and thrive. We are born into the world vulnerable, weak, and in need of physical and emotional nurturing. Immediately, we…
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Episode 19: Who Are You Really
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself who you are? Not who you think you should be, but actually who you already ARE. Life Coach Allanah Hunt teaches Once upon a time you were free to think, feel and behave in a way that was a true reflection of you. It didn’t last long as very soon, people…
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Episode 18: One Thousand Marbles
How do we spend our time on the planet? Do we fill it with mindless activity, or do we consider it a precious gift? In 1,000 Marbles, author Jeff Davis shares a modern parable about discovering and appreciating life's finite nature. In Silver Linings, Terry Lees shares how the concept of 1,000...
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Episode 17: Love is What We are Born With
“Most of us long for stronger, more creative and rewarding ways of loving each other.” Bestselling American author and spiritual leader Marianne Williamson says: Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here. Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the...
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Episode 16: Every Journey Changes Us
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. A spiritual mentor came into my life several years ago, not long after I experienced dramatic turmoil in my life. She played a momentous role in my spiritual transformation and development and as is the nature of such things,...
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Episode 15: Healing Power of Touch
Touch is the first sense by which we encounter the world, and the final one to leave us as we approach death’s edge. ‘Touch comes before sight, before speech,’ writes Margaret Atwood in her novel The Blind Assassin. ‘It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth.’ Join…
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Episode 14: Who Are You God?
Why do people believe in God? For most people in the world, the answer seems obvious: Because it is self-evident that God exists. From the point of view of the believer, the really puzzling question is how anyone could not believe. Although many people in industrialised societies have abandoned...
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Episode 13: Mr Eternity
On New Year’s Eve 1999, the eyes of the world were on Sydney and 2 billion people from around the world watched as the city to soon host the Olympic Games, welcomed the new millennium January 1, 2000. Sydney celebrated before any of the other great cities of the world and during the ‘Y2K’…
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Episode 12: It’s Okay To Talk
Everyone feels sad sometimes, just like everyone can feel joyful, angry, proud and a range of other emotions. Everyone has feelings, and those feeling are always changing. Sometimes we feel happy and sometimes we feel sad. Whatever the feeling, it is real and a part of living. Feeling better can...
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Episode 11: One Solitary Life
On Christmas Day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. But just who was Jesus? Jesus was the perfect man. No mind but an infinite mind could have left behind those things which Jesus gave the world as a heritage. You are invited to listen to the Christmas Day Silver Linings podcast as Terry…
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Episode 10: Santa’s Prayer on Christmas Eve
Saint Nicholas who had a reputation for secret gift-giving, such as putting coins in the shoes of those who left them out for him, and thus became the model for the mythical Santa Claus we know today. So, even within the real meaning of Christmas, we can still leave room for that mythical Santa...
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Episode 9: The Real Santa
Do you know the story of the real Santa Claus? Yes, there is a Santa Claus. However, we know him more as St. Nicholas. Stories commonly told today about Santa Claus are based on legends surrounding the life of St. Nicholas, considered a patron of children for his generosity to them during his...
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Episode 8: The Legend of the Candy Cane
A Legend is a very old story or set of stories from ancient times, or the stories, not always true, that people tell about a famous event or person. One such Christmas legend is that of the Candy Cane. And, you might be quite surprised to discover that this sweet Christmas treat is a special...
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Episode 7: An Epic Christmas
At Christmas, Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Traditional Christmas decoration often can be admired, and festive celebrations can be joined in most countries, even in many of the countries where Christianity is not the religion of the majority of people.…
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Episode 6: Eye of the Tiger
In his book The Song of the Bird, Anthony de Mello relates the story of the tiger and the disabled fox. Some people have the view of spirituality as mostly sitting and waiting on God. The problem is that if God only acted directly, why would I need others? It’s my experience that most often the…
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Episode 5: Living in the Present Moment
What is it in us, as we move into adulthood, that takes away the joy of living in the present moment as we did when we were children? Happily, though, we can learn from children. Young children are masters at living in the present moment. They are also such wonderful teachers. Even in the Old...
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Episode 4: The Green Thing
The young Check-out cashier suggested to a much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment. The woman apologised to the young girl and then sighed, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days." The young clerk...
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Episode 3: Frolic in the Rain
Frolic in the Rain Rain is a blessing after a drought, a symbol of God's love and teachings to spread over the world. It’s always very special when the wet season comes and the rain pours down upon this parched land of ours, setting the dry rivers running and bringing a new freshness to the...
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Episode 2: The Seed in the Mud
The Seed in the Mud Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. The seed buried in the mud believed it had no chance to grow. Life isn’t always fair, but, without a struggle, there can be no progress. The wise Apostle Paul reminds, that hardship develops perseverance, and...
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Episode 1: Ask – It’s That Simple
Ask – It’s That Simple "Young man, you’ll never get anywhere in this world unless you ask for what you want from life!” This was wise advice, I never forgot, from the boss in my first public service job in Canberra. One of life's fundamental truths states: Ask and you shall receive. The world...
About this show
Silver Linings offer suggestions in a simple basic way for living a relaxed and balanced life through the power of attitude, thinking, and creating your own stress-less life. Silver Linings presents inspirational stories, shared life experiences or nuggets of motivating, practical and insightful wisdom with focus on action principles, encouraging you to make decisions that positively affect your life. There are messages that speak to the human heart; up-lift the spirit and help fly above the mundane and ordinary, to soar to new and exciting heights.Silver Linings can inspire you towards the achievement of your dreams, to grow, expand, and meet the challenges of your daily life.
Hosted by
Lost & Found - Ministry of the Shepherd