Dayspring Fellowship Podcasts

Healthy Correction: Stop Being So Nice Wired: Brain Science & Spiritual Growth October 9, 2022 In Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s novel, Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Alice asks the Cheshire Cat, “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” The cat replies, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” Good point. But to Alice’s credit, at least she was willing to ask for some input!   An article on the ABC News website states that according to research from AAA, people older than 55 generally have the best sense of direction, getting lost just 26 times a year, on average. Which is surprisingly better than the satellite-navigation generation -- drivers younger than 25 got lost, on average, 37 times a year.   Sooner or later, we all need input as we navigate the challenges of life. Having the benefit of another’s perspective can help us figure out which way to go, what step to take, what correction to make, if we’re willing to listen.   We are wrapping up our series, Wir

Group Identity: What Kind Of People Are We? Wired: Brain Science & Spiritual Growth October 2, 2022 If you’ve ever driven Interstate 5 on an autumn Saturday in the Willamette Valley, you know that the freeways are often filled with vehicles decked out in the colors of the Oregon State Beavers or the Mighty Oregon Ducks.   Beaver fans in black and orange, with flags, signs, and pompoms head for Reser Stadium. If you’re a Beaver fan, I commend you. You’re incredibly resilient. Being resilient takes practice, and you’ve had plenty of opportunities to develop yours over the years! And Beaver fans are loyal, which is another admirable trait. Lose or lose, you hang in there, cheering your team on. You know what it means to be a Beaver Believer and you are all in. Way to go. All kidding aside, the Beavs are off to a great start this season and I’m rooting for you...really... at least until November 26.   If you’re an Oregon Duck fan, your entire fall wardrobe is green and gold; you might wear black, but only wi

Hesed: Our Relational Glue Wired: Brain Science & Spiritual Growth September 25, 2022 It was invented by accident in 1942. Working with a team of researchers, Dr. Harry Coover was experimenting with chemicals known as cyanoacrylates. They were working to create a clear plastic that could be used for precision gunsights by soldiers in WW II. As they worked, they discovered that the chemicals were exceptionally sticky, which made them very difficult to work with! They stuck to absolutely everything! The cyanoacrylates were rejected as a workable substance for the project, so researchers moved on to other options.   It wasn’t until 1951, while working for Kodak’s chemical division, that Coover rediscovered cyanoacrylates and realized these sticky adhesives had some unique properties; specifically, they bonded without any need for heat or pressure. He and his team tried the substance with a variety of items; and every time, the items became permanently bonded together.   In 1958 this ultra-sticky stuff was r

Joy Wired: Brain Science & Spiritual Growth September 18, 2022 Joy. Oh joy. Joy is what brings us together today. I’ve got joy. Joy, joy, joy, joy... down in my heart. Waaaaay down in my heart. That’s where I keep it. I’m saving it for a rainy day. It’s tucked away, safe and sound. You never know when you might need it and I don’t want to run out.   Ok... that was hard! I’m Chris Voigt, Lead Pastor at Dayspring Fellowship in Keizer, OR. And those of you who know me, know that I’m a lot more like Tigger than Eeyore! But for all the talk and singing and scripture about joy that is deeply embedded in our faith, a lot of Christ followers have neglected to let it show on their faces!   Organization guru, Marie Kondo is known for asking “Does it spark joy?” when helping people decide how to declutter their home or work environment. The implication is that our joy is fueled by the things around us, the stuff we’ve acquired. When it no longer sparks joy, get rid of it and find something new. And if you look at th

How Do People Grow? Wired: Brain Science & Spiritual Growth September 11, 2022 Gardening season in our area is coming to a close. The skies have been a little dusty lately as farmers across the Willamette Valley have been harvesting crops and mowing fields. The local fruit stands are filled with late summer produce; and for those who enjoy preserving the season’s bounty, this is a busy time of canning, freezing, and drying all sorts of deliciousness from the garden. Raise your hand if you enjoy gardening. Oh... well, I guess that doesn’t work as well online as it does in person. How about comment below if you enjoy gardening and tell us what your garden has produced this year!   Gardening would not be on my list of favorite ways to spend my free time. It’s just not my thing. I do have a few strawberry plants in the backyard, though that’s mostly so I can enjoy them with my granddaughter, Avery. But I’m certainly thankful for the people in my life who bless me with the literal fruits of their gardening lab

Final Words Harnessing the Power of Words September 4, 2022 If the search engine results on ‘Famous Last Words’ are any indication, there is an enormous fascination with the final utterances of those who have died. So, what’s the big deal with last words? We spend all day, every day, speaking, thinking, and listening to words. From meaningless chatter, observations about the weather, and bad jokes, to friendly banter, productive dialog, and words of encouragement, we are constantly communicating, in one way or another. Why would last words be so significant?   What would you say if you had the luxury of knowing the next words you speak would be your last? And maybe that’s it... it would be a luxury, because, often, there’s no way to know.   In 1776, Revolutionary War spy Nathan Hale was hanged by the British after he was captured during a failed espionage mission in Long Island. He had a pretty good idea that his end was coming. His famous last words were, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for m

Can We Talk? Harnessing the Power of Words August 28, 2022 Imagine with me for a moment...   You’re short on time. You’re leaving, parting ways, it’s hasta la vista, baby.   Could be that you’re just headed to bed or taking off on a weekend road trip;   maybe you’re moving to another part of the country or a different one altogether;   or perhaps you know that you’re coming to the end of your life (as all of us will, sooner or later).   Every night, before I go to sleep, I say, “I love you,” to DeeDee. I know it’s kind of a gruesome thought; but, if she were to die in her sleep, she would die knowing I loved her; and if I died in my sleep, those would be the last words seared into her memory…haunting her for the rest of her days.   In every “leaving” scenario, there are words that should be said; it might be instructions to give, cautions to share, values to communicate, or a relationship to mend. What things would be most important for you to say to the people in your life if you were leaving them behind, wh

Close The Gap Harnessing the Power of Words August 21, 2022 The purpose of a bridge is to allow people or cargo easy passage over an obstacle by providing a route that would otherwise be incredibly difficult or impossible.   The obstacle might be small, like a creek or stream, or it could be something larger; a deep canyon like the Royal Gorge in Colorado, or a mighty river like the Columbia here in Oregon. The obstacle creates a chasm or gap that separates one side from the other. In order to cross, we need a bridge.   I’m Chris Voigt, Lead Pastor at Dayspring Fellowship in Keizer, Oregon. We are in week 3 of our series Harnessing the Power of Words.   Much like the landscapes of our world, our relationships can be scarred by obstacles that create gaps in communication and understanding between people. Which can turn into distance or even disconnection from people we love. If the gaps are small, we might be able to bridge over them easily. But if the span between people has grown and the distance is signific

Careless Words Harnessing the Power of Words August 14, 2022 I think I’m pretty good with words. I’m an avid reader, which has helped me develop a good vocabulary. But recently I ran across an article from Reader’s Digest titled 100 Funny Words You Probably Don’t Know. Ok... challenge accepted. Let’s see if you know any of these...   Octothorpe. You may not know what it means, but I bet you know what it is. You probably call this symbol a pound sign or a hashtag—but its “official” name is an octothorpe!   Collywobbles. This word is used to describe nausea and bellyaches. Next time you want to show off your repertoire of amazing words, tell your boss that you’ve got a case of the collywobbles and can’t come to work tomorrow.   Or how about smicker? This word is like if “ogle” had an affectionate and innocent counterpart. To smicker at something means you are admiring a person, and it’s visible from your expression.   Crapulence is a lack of self-restraint, especially when drinking. Next time you’re on a night

You Don't Say Harnessing the Power of Words August 7, 2022 Fifty years ago this month, the Disney classic Bambi was released. In the movie, Thumper, Bambi’s little rabbit sidekick, says a line that’s become rather famous. In fact, it’s actually called The Thumper Rule. I’m sure you’ve heard it, even if you didn’t see the movie! Maybe your mom said it when you were squabbling with your siblings. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.” Not bad advice, for a bunny!   But a 2005 study by Robert Schrauf, an anthropologist and professor of applied linguistics at Penn State, revealed that regardless of age or culture, people have far more words in their vocabulary that express negative rather than positive emotions. In his study, Schrauf says, "Half – 50 percent – of all the words that people produce from their working vocabulary to express emotion are negative... only 30 percent are positive and 20 percent are neutral." Apparently, though we’ve all heard The Thumper Rule, we haven’t figured out

When Dreams Can't Come True Love, Dates & Heartbreaks July 31, 2022 I’ve never met a kid who didn’t have a dream or two, or twelve, for their future. Even if they can’t put it into words; even if their answer to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is “I don’t know,” at some level they DO know that they want what every child wants... to belong. To someone, somewhere. We all want to be wanted.   When our daughter, Lexi, was little, she loved to dress up as a princess, playing, pretending and dreaming about her future prince. No kid dreams about growing up and being alone. Because we all want to be wanted.   But childhood dreams don’t always come true. And even if, eventually, you found your prince or princess, it probably didn’t happen without some heartbreak along the way. And we all know that even healthy relationships have their fair share of heartache.   I’m Chris Voigt, Lead Pastor at Dayspring Fellowship in Keizer, Oregon. We are wrapping up our series, Love, Dates & Heartbrea

Groundhog Date Love, Dates & Heartbreaks July 24, 2022 You’ve probably heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Humans are creatures of habit. Those habits we live by can either be good ones; or, as is often the case, they can be not-so-good ones. The development of habits, whether they are good or bad, is the same... you keep repeating the same behavior, making the same choice, over and over and over. Eventually, your repeated choice creates a pathway in your brain – just like repeated footsteps create a path in the woods – that leads you to a particular destination or result. If you want to get to a different destination, you’re going to need to take a different path. But clearing and creating a new path is hard work!   I have a habit of working out every weekday. Some days I run; other days I go to the gym. Recently, I shared that I have a new fitness goal... to be able to do one handstand push-up by the end of summer. I

Five Rules For Dating Love, Dates & Heartbreaks July 17, 2022 It seems as if there are rules about absolutely everything.   Every family has their own household rules. Things like, “If you made the mess, you clean it up.” Or, “No cell phones at the dinner table.” Maybe, “Homework before screen time.” You know what I mean.   Every sport has rules. There are rules for driving, rules for grammar, rules of law, and rules for games. If you’re playing dominoes at my house, I don’t care what the rules on the box say, we’re playing by Voigt rules! Which brings up an interesting point... rules can change from one place to another. There are differences between the driving rules in Italy versus the United States versus Peru. Actually, in Lima the rules are more like suggestions, but you get the point. It’s important to know and follow the rules that apply in your setting.   The word ‘rule’ can be traced back to the Latin word ‘regula’ which meant ‘straight stick, bar, or ruler.’ The root word, reg, means ‘to move o

The Fine Print Love, Dates & Heartbreaks July 10, 2022 Between the German fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm and classic Disney princess movies, the phrases “Once upon a time...” and “...they lived happily ever after” have pre-disposed generations of girls and boys to believe that happy endings require only a little bibbity bobbity boo and a sprinkle of magic.   And though we all know that to be successful, real-life relationships require a lot more than that, somehow, we seem to think that we can have the fairy tale ending as long as we find the right person and wish upon a star. There’s just something about the idea of having to work to build a great relationship that sounds so... unromantic. But in the real world, if we want the fairy tale, we need to know how to navigate the gap between once upon a time and happily ever after.   Last week we began a 5-part series called Love, Dates & Heartbreaks. We’re looking at what it really takes to build and sustain healthy, successful relationships so

The Right Person Myth Love, Dates & Heartbreaks July 3, 2022 How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach...   These opening lines of Sonnet 43 are often wrongly attributed to Shakespeare. But William didn’t have a monopoly on the writing of sonnets or the topic of love. Sonnet 43, more commonly known as How Do I Love Thee was written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She wrote the poem to the man who would become her husband, Robert.   The year was 1844 and Elizabeth was one of the most well-known and best-selling writers in England. The popular, handsome and younger Robert Browning, who was also a poet, decided he wanted to meet her. She agreed and upon meeting, they talked together for hours. Their connection deepened as they began corresponding with long, passionate letters. Elizabeth and Robert were in love.   This week we’re beginning a 5-part series called Love, Dates & Heartbreaks. We all know it’s complicated. Love…complicated. Dati

Giving Peace Away Peaceless: Finding Peace in a Peaceless World June 26, 2022 After the last couple of years, most of us have become hyper-sensitive to the thought of being ‘contagious.’ No matter what you believe about the source of Covid, the government response to Covid, masks, quarantines, lockdowns, and vaccinations, I think we can all agree that this ‘bug’ is contagious.   The thing about having something that is contagious is that if you have it, you almost can’t help but share it. Unless you do something very intentional to stop the spread, it’s gonna get out! And that’s really the whole ‘problem’ if you want to think about it that way. Those communicable things inside us leak out in one way or another and spread to other people.   Usually, we think of being contagious as a bad thing. But yawning is contagious. And laughter can be contagious. Aren’t we all drawn to people who make us feel good? Their positivity can be contagious! And isn’t it easier to keep working on a project if you have someone wor

Growing Peace Within Peaceless: Finding Peace in a Peaceless World June 19, 2022  The Willamette Valley in Oregon is known as the grass seed capital of the world. Not so good news for those of us who suffer with allergies to grass pollen, this time of year can be downright miserable! But did you know that the Willamette Valley is perhaps the most diverse agricultural region on earth, producing more than 170 different crops? In addition to grass seed, the growing conditions of our area are also excellent for a wide variety of vegetables, tree fruits, berries, hazelnuts, wine grapes, hops, grain, hay, peppermint, and Christmas trees. In other parts of Oregon, crops such as pears, apples, wheat, corn, watermelon, sugar beets, garlic, onions and cranberries are produced.   But did you notice that certain things grow better in certain areas? And nowhere on the list of crops in Oregon will you find things like coconuts, pineapples, oranges, papayas or mangoes. That’s because the conditions in Oregon aren’t naturall

Aligning For Peace Peaceless: Finding Peace in a Peaceless World June 12, 2022 When we use the word ‘true,’ we most often use it to mean the opposite of ‘false.’ But like many words in our English language, ‘true’ has more than one meaning.   In the construction world, ‘true’ means that everything is lined up correctly. All of your lines should be perfectly vertical (or plumb), horizontal (or level), and every corner should be exactly 90 degrees (square).   If everything is ‘true,’ then whatever you’re building won’t be slanted, tilted or sloped. If nothing is leaning in any direction, everything will line up straight; and whatever you’re constructing will be ‘true.’   For most people, it’s hard enough just to draw a straight line, much less build something that’s straight. And you can’t just assume your building materials themselves aren’t crooked. So, how can you know whether your lines are accurate and everything is aligned correctly? Well, there’s a handy dandy tool called a level. Actually, there are sev

What Is Peace? Peaceless: Finding Peace in a Peaceless World June 5, 2022 We all want it, but you can’t just order it from Amazon or pick it up at the store on your way home from work. In fact, you can’t buy it, but it can be stolen; you can’t borrow it, but you can make it! Once you’ve got it, keeping it can be a challenge. Do you know what it is? Close your eyes for just a minute. What images come to mind when you hear these phrases? “Peace and quiet.”   “Peace of mind.” “Give peace a chance.” “Peace out!” What everyone wants but all struggle to find is real, lasting peace. Wikipedia defines peace as, “A concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.” I guess that’s a good enough place to start; of course, we all want our lives to be free of conflict, hostility, violence and filled with friendship and harmony. But is that really all

Resurrection & Transformation The Gospel of John May 29, 2022 Most people are resistant to change. Granted, there are a few of you weirdos out there who get excited about it; but most of the time that excitement is due to the fact that you are the one facilitating or initiating the change. For the most part, we are rhythmic creatures who prefer familiarity, comfort, security and routine, even if those rhythms might be detrimental to us. And there’s a reason for that.   Our brains are hardwired to resist change. There’s a part of the brain called the amygdala that interprets change as a threat and signals the release of hormones that cause us to respond to that ‘threat’ in one of three ways: fear, fight, or flight.   But what would life be like if we didn’t welcome change; if everything, including you and I, just stayed the same?   What if ancient Greek astronomer Eratosthenes hadn’t questioned the idea that the earth was flat and discovered that, instead, it was round?   What if people like Benjamin Frank