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Music: Cade Popkin

Brenda Yoder

If you feel trapped in a chaotic, relentless, demanding lifestyle, there is a way to a more peaceful life. Brenda L. Yoder, a counselor, career woman, and busy mom who’s raised her kids on a farm in the heart of Amish country reveals practical skills in Uncomplicated: Simple Secrets for a Compelling Life, a well of timeless wisdom from the Amish, homestead lifestyles, as well as past generations

Connect with Guest:

brendayoder.com

Midlife Moms Podcast

IG: @brendayoderspeaks

Facebook: @brendayoderspeaker

Takeaways

• Living an uncomplicated life involves returning to the basics of humanity and how God wired us.
• Technology and social media can complicate our lives and hinder our ability to discern what is true and relevant.
• Being a good neighbor and practicing stewardship requires taking risks and balancing wisdom and faith.
• Living an uncomplicated life means being a good steward of the opportunities God has given us.
• Living an uncomplicated life is not about where we live, but about who we are called to be in today’s generation.

More Stand Alone Episodes:

Shannon Popkin (00:00)
Brenda Yoder, welcome to Live Like It’s True.

Brenda Yoder (00:02)
Thank you Shannon so much for having me on today.

Shannon Popkin (00:05)
Well, you are one of my friends in real life, which is always fun to have, on the podcast. So we’ve got a lot of history, don’t we? Yeah,

Brenda Yoder (00:13)
We do.

Shannon Popkin (00:14)
I think most significant to me is we were part of a mastermind group for several years, and just really enjoyed sharing life with you there, talking shop a little bit. But, we mostly just shared our lives in that group and that was very life -giving to

Brenda Yoder (00:30)
Yeah, I think so too. And I think when you’re in the writer speaker world, it’s so important to have those in -person friendships and encouragement outside of work because it can be work that is really isolating. And I loved your encouragement and opening up your home and your heart. And you do that here on the podcast for others too.

Shannon Popkin (00:49)
Yeah, yeah, no, was great.

I remember a couple phone calls that you and I had, I think it was during the pandemic where I was having to melt down and you were like, okay, let’s calm, you know, let’s think about this carefully. And you know, you just are such a, you have a very calming wise presence and I just really appreciate that about

Brenda Yoder (01:09)
Thank you very much.

Shannon Popkin (01:10)
So I’m gonna read your professional bio for those who don’t know you. You are a counselor, a career woman, and a busy mom who raised your kids on a farm in the heart of Amish country. And that’s the background that you’re bringing to this new book you’ve written, Uncomplicated, Simple Secrets for a Compelling Life. So I’m just curious, how have the different parts of your life all contributed to making this the right book for you to write?

Brenda Yoder (01:36)
I think different elements, part of it is being a counselor. there have been some parts of my life as a farmer’s wife and really living in a community that is grounded in back to basics where I’ve transferred that into the counseling office several times. And then also in my work as a public school educator, as a counselor and teacher.

understanding that we are always learning from our environments around us. I used to teach history and I think that how I am made is kind of like someone who’s always got one foot stuck in the past where things are not as complicated.

And yet God has given me the opportunity to live very much in a secular world professionally, but then also in the internal spaces of people’s lives where life is complicated, our humanity is complicated. And yet God has created us as humans really with some basic systems that we have quickly forgotten with technology, AI, social media that really

shipwreck us. And I kind of feel like I’m over here on the shore saying, hey guys, just come back a little bit. let’s get back to basics of humanity and how God wired us and then take that in this complicated world and really learn that it doesn’t have to be so difficult.

Shannon Popkin (02:50)
Wow, It’s so true. there are so many parables about our reality just in nature, like in the fact that there is a sunrise and a sunset. Our bodies have rhythms where we must eat and sleep and we’re born into families, right? We’re born with a mother and a father and…

God wants us to understand from this context, And I think you’re right, like progress keeps pressing us,

to the fantastical, the amazing, the new, and leaving behind the old steady rhythmic patterns of life. And yet, I’m not saying it’s ungodly to be, and I don’t think you are either, to be enamored with progress and to want the latest and greatest technology. And yet, I think

Brenda Yoder (03:20)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (03:39)
we are prone to being shipwrecked by them. Can you give a couple examples of how the progress is pressing us into things that are harmful for us or negative

Brenda Yoder (03:49)
Yeah, I think one of the simple things is really what we put before our eyes. So one thing I really realized during the pandemic is that for me in a community where I don’t live with horse and buggy, I live with all the modern technologies, but my neighbors don’t. So physically seeing a horse and buggy go down the road during the pandemic when culture around us did not know how to deal

basic things such like food distribution. And then I was sitting on my front porch and I saw my neighbors go by with horse and buggy, which we see all the time, but it showed me that old processes, human processes still work.

I think in the process of writing uncomplicated, but also in the process of working with young kids in a K through four school we need to see things modeled for us. And when we see things modeled for us, then there’s an eight calming presence that happens in our brain. Then that lessens our anxieties, our

goes into a more rhythmic calm breathing pattern. And we become regulated because we see with our eyes, our brain says it’s going to be okay because look, this is happening and you don’t need to freak out. You don’t need to have anxiety. Just like when a newborn baby

is startled or they get scared by a loud noise and they look to their mother or caregiver’s face. And the response of the caregiver’s face either accelerates that child’s being alarmed or it calms them. And when we as a society remove ourselves from God’s natural rhythms such as nature or natural processes, and when we replace it with social media, with

all of this artificial visual images that give us a million messages in the course of our day. We do not have the capacity, our brain doesn’t have the capacity to sort through all of those different images and the messages. And so we end up just soaking in like a sponge, everything that’s coming before our eyes without

Shannon Popkin (05:36)
Mm -hmm.

Brenda Yoder (05:57)
stopping and pausing to really think through what is relevant, what is true, what is harmful, what is not harmful. And so it’s more than just slowing down. In writing on complicated people, I’ve realized people tend to think, a simple life means that you don’t have trouble. And I’m like, no, actually life is complicated.

Shannon Popkin (06:04)
Mm -hmm.

Brenda Yoder (06:20)
Uncomplicating your life really is about sifting through not just physically what we have in our spaces, but what we have in our mental spaces, what we have in our heart, what we put before our eyes, where we put our body. the rise of depression and anxiety is very much tied to the amount of social media. Jonathan Haidt has a lot of research out, especially in his brand new

Shannon Popkin (06:34)
Hmm.

Brenda Yoder (06:46)
the anxious generation about that. you know, God did not create us as humans to dwell in a space of overload. He designed us to be interdependent on Him, on nature and other people. And we really just have to bring ourselves to a place where we pare down what we’re allowing.

our mind and our heart and our body and our eyes to interact with.

Shannon Popkin (07:10)
So good. I’m just thinking like lift your eyes, right? Lift your eyes lift your eyes to nature. Lift your eyes to the face of a loved one. You know, lift your eyes to the Lord through his word, right? And you consistently help us do that. you take these beautiful pictures of your, do you call it a farm? I think you call it a farm or is your home your homestead?

Brenda Yoder (07:14)
Mm -hmm.

Mm -hmm.

Yeah, we, yeah, it’s our property. We have a seven acre property ourselves that is nested within a family farm. we have our own little spot that’s in a bigger, about 1 ,500 acres family farm that we share with Ron’s brothers.

Shannon Popkin (07:41)
Okay, okay.

my goodness. Okay. But they’re just beautiful, like these beautiful scenes that you and I feel like, just rest my eyes. Like you draws back to nature. I love that too of like, we need to look, look at each other’s faces. Like there’ll be times that my husband, my son still lives with us

Brenda Yoder (08:00)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (08:09)
My husband and son and I, I’ll look up and we are all three looking at our phones, right? And we’re in the same room and we might be just standing suspended between two things we’re planning to do. And we’re just like, like in this zombie state, it’s ridiculous. And so you’re exactly right. All of these messages are entering our brains and it’s hard for us to untangle them and to sort through. Like I think you said, what is true? What is like, is this true messaging?

Brenda Yoder (08:13)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (08:36)
Is this worth my time? And just simply scrolling, I mean, you’re getting a conglomeration of what everybody else wants you to think about. And it’s not necessarily, they may not have the best intentions for you. mean, yes, I think being mindful of all that. So, in the book, you have included 10 timeless virtues.

Brenda Yoder (08:44)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (08:59)
mindsets and behaviors drawn from past generations to overcome practical obstacles and solve daily challenges with a calm presence, authentic faith and a voice of reason. My goodness, what a compelling description, Brenda. I love that. Can you give us the 10 timeless virtues and we’re gonna zone in then on one of these timeless virtues and we’re gonna look at a story from the Bible that kind of exemplifies that, but go ahead

and give us all 10 if you don’t mind.

Brenda Yoder (09:29)
Sure, and I’m just gonna say that these are kind of virtues, skills. I had someone ask me like, what are these? Are these life lessons? Are these values? Are these skills? And I kind of laughed because really, again, we’ve complicated things because what we believe is what we think is what we do. That’s cognitive behavioral therapy. That’s human behavior. So these are just things that we are putting before us. And so you’re exactly right. They’re virtues, they’re life skills. They’re things that the more we practice, the more we get more familiar with them, but they include.

contentment, resourcefulness, prudence, which is that careful forethought before you act, practicality, fidelity, forbearance, and equanimity, which are big old fashioned words for having a calm even mindedness in difficult situations, stewardship, interdependence, groundedness, and humility, and then foresight as it pertains to heritage and legacy.

Shannon Popkin (10:21)
Okay, very nice. And okay, so the one that we’re gonna kind of zone in on is stewardship. That’s the chapter of your book that we’re gonna kind of have in the backdrop as we talk about the parable of the good Samaritan. And so I don’t know that I would have necessarily thought of stewardship as pairing with this, know, with like, that’s not my immediate takeaway is like, I’m a steward. And yet,

when I read your chapter, I’m like, yeah, I do see how this works together. what I wanna do is just kind of reshare this story. I’ll just give a quick summary of it. And if our listeners want to do a deep dive into the story, we had a recent episode where Amy DeMarce Angelo and I really dove deep on this story. She wrote a whole book.

called Go and Do Likewise, So let me just tell the story and then I wanna focus on two things that pair with what you’re sharing here, Brenda.

So the story goes, it’s found in

Luke chapter 10 25 through 37 and there’s this expert in the law who stands up to kind of challenge Jesus and he says, teacher how can we have eternal life? And you know that’s Jesus has asked that several times in the gospels and

he turns the guy back to his Bible or to his scroll, his Old Testament, what’s written already. the guy answers correctly, love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength, and then love your neighbor as yourself. And so this man, he wants to get specific. mean, you can’t really qualify how you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. that’s kind

internal work, but he points to the external. Jesus says, love your neighbor as yourself. And he’s like, okay, so wanting to justify himself, he’s like, who’s my neighbor? this guy, he wants to draw in the boundary lines to make sure he’s doing it all right. So who’s my neighbor? what’s the parameter? Who qualifies as a neighbor and who’s not a neighbor? And so then Jesus tells the story about the Samaritan, the good Samaritan. And

He tells the story about a man who’s headed from Jerusalem down to Jericho and as he’s traveling, he gets attacked by robbers and he’s beat up and he’s robbed and he’s left bleeding on the side of the road. And so there are two different Jews who kind of step around him. They go to the other side. The first is a priest and the second is a Levite. these are the good guys. These are

thought to be the good neighbors, but it’s the Samaritan who’s passing by. Samaritans were their enemies. There was a lot of racial prejudice and tension between the Samaritans and the Jews. And so it’s the Samaritan who sees the man bleeding and he comes over and he uses oil and binds up the man’s wounds, brings him to some sort of hotel and pays for the guy to be cared for there.

And he’s like, if there’s any additional expenses, I’ll cover it, just take care of him. And then Jesus turns the question back to the guy who originally asked. And he says, which of these three proved to be a neighbor? this man, he wants to justify himself. Who’s my neighbor? And Jesus turns it back and says, who proved to be a neighbor?

And of course he answers that it was the Samaritan. And so the first thing that stood out in this story for me was how Jesus turned the tables And makes us identify with a man who gets beat up and robbed. And he’s like, OK, if you’re the one bleeding on the side of the road,

how do you want those parameters to be drawn? Your next door neighbor, you someone within a mile from you or just anybody who encounters you. And of course we want the boundaries to be wide when we’re the one in need, right? But I think it’s the second thing that I notice in this parable that makes this complicated. I mean, that first what I just shared like that, it’s so uncomplicated.

Brenda Yoder (14:02)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (14:18)
Let’s just be kind and show mercy to everyone. But the thing that stood out in my conversation with Amy DeMarceangelo was the risk involved with mercy. So there’s risk, right? When we were talking, I told her there was this image on Facebook where somebody had put a picture up that it was like this road and there were these boards with nails sticking up in the board.

Brenda Yoder (14:26)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (14:41)
like three quarters of the way across the road. So you couldn’t go around them. And the question was, what would you do if you came across this? And in my head, I’m thinking, well, duh, you’d get out and move it, and then drive past. And so I’m like, what am I missing here? And I read some of the comments and someone said just what I had said, And then someone else responded, yes, and then you’d be dragged off into the woods and you would be robbed. And I was

Brenda Yoder (15:03)
Hmm.

Shannon Popkin (15:04)
yes, I am that person who would be dragged off into the woods because I’m so, I just have grown up in a world where I don’t have to worry as much about risk, there are people who are much more wise. And so in my conversation with Amy, we were talking about how like, okay, if this guy is bleeding on the side of the road, what everybody else is aware of that you and I might not be is,

those robbers are still close by. And if you come over and help the guy, well, you could be beaten up and robbed too. And so it took great risk, right, to go and help the man. And so that’s where I feel like this issue gets complicated. So talk to us about stewardship and how that relates to this conversation about being a good neighbor.

Brenda Yoder (15:40)
Mm -hmm.

Yeah, so I’m really glad you brought that up because I gave a couple of examples of taking the risk to help someone in this chapter. I just wanted to define stewardship real quick because it may be a term that a lot of people only think about financial stewardship perhaps, but stewardship, a steward of someone or something is guided by responsibility and accountability for what is entrusted to their care both now and in the future.

Shannon Popkin (15:50)
You did.

Brenda Yoder (16:09)
So I want people to really think about that. Stewardship goes beyond just giving a tithe. It goes into what we are entrusted to, to care and protect, stewards nurture and protect rather than harm or exploit. And that is the difference. Stewards, I tend to think about it as hospitality on the go.

It’s an element of we are to be representatives and to care for those that God puts entrusted in our care. So to me, that looks like those who are vulnerable and if God has put them in our care, is God is calling us to steward them. We don’t harm them, we protect.

Shannon Popkin (16:47)
Yeah.

Brenda Yoder (16:48)
But really protecting in any sense and even really loving anyone, always has a risk. I’ve always told my kids when they’re young, if you date someone in high school or junior high, you’re going to end up having a broken heart. Right. Loving someone requires risk. Caring for someone, giving of yourself to someone always entails risk because we could be rejected. We could be hurt. So part of the reason that

Shannon Popkin (16:53)
That’s so true.

Brenda Yoder (17:13)
being a good steward in a good Samaritan situation doesn’t have to be so complicated is that we really have then taken on fear. You know, everyone talks about fear versus faith and it’s not this careless, be ignorant. It’s a fine line of being as wise as a serpent but as innocent as a

And Jesus uses that when he says, are going out into the world. You are to be as wise as a serpent, as innocent as a dove. So then as we go about and as we come upon a vulnerable situation, we are to be as wise as a serpent, but as innocent as a dove. We also need to trust the Lord that if God has brought us upon a situation and we have the resources to help, but we walk away and we don’t help.

Shannon Popkin (17:42)
Mm -hmm.

Mm

Brenda Yoder (18:01)
with the resources we are given, then we’re responsible to God for that. That’s part of that responsibility and accountability. So I give an example in the book of, because of my work as a therapist who’s worked domestic violence, foster care, I’m trained in sex trafficking, and I do child abuse prevention. So I see things differently than maybe the average person

But there was a situation a couple years ago where I was going to a speaking event and I noticed on the side of the highway that a semi was pulled over, the door was open and there was a woman walking quickly several yards ahead and the person who was in the semi had gotten out and was walking past her. And I immediately knew that there was danger for the woman.

I immediately knew that if I stopped, there could be danger for me. But I also knew that stewardship and love helps, but it doesn’t harm. So if I were to drive away and just leave that situation and say, not my problem. But I knew more because of my role as a therapist in these spaces that I was also accountable to God.

I slowed down and I just pulled over as the woman was approaching, rolled down my window again. So here I was being safe for myself. It required risk. You’re exactly right. But I was safe myself. I locked my doors. I rolled my window down so I could talk with her and I asked her, are you safe? Do you need help? And she looked at me for a moment and she said, no, I’m walking to Ohio. I was a few yards from the Ohio line.

And then I looked at her again and I said, are you sure? And she paused and she said, yes. So I respected her answer. I went on, but something in my spirit still said there was more I could do because I was very concerned about the signs of trafficking. And so I pulled over on a side road and I just called 911 and I said,

Shannon Popkin (19:48)
Mm -hmm.

Brenda Yoder (19:58)
I’m afraid someone’s in trouble, looks like it could be a trafficking situation. I gave them where the location was, just described to them what was happening, and then I went on. So that’s one example of how to use what God has given us. And it’s really about resources. God has given us all of us different resources. That’s a situation that even being trained could have been dangerous for me, but I also…

Shannon Popkin (20:08)
Mm -hmm.

Brenda Yoder (20:23)
had the resources to act on behalf of someone else who was in a vulnerable position. And I think that’s what a lot of this comes down to some people may think, well, you live in Shippit Shawana, you don’t have the problems of the city. I’m sorry. I’ve worked in public schools both urban, suburban, rural, and nothing surprises me. I’ve been in very

Shannon Popkin (20:26)
Mm

Brenda Yoder (20:42)
risky situations. I think sometimes it’s just a matter of sifting it out with God to say, you have brought me upon this nail, this block of wood that has all these nails in it. If I saw a vulnerable person approaching that, would I act, if I have the resources,

Shannon Popkin (20:55)
Yeah.

Brenda Yoder (21:04)
the intelligence and the skills to help someone who is in a vulnerable situation. What is the best thing to do? And I just think that God gives us wisdom and guidance to act out of responsibility rather than fear.

Shannon Popkin (21:17)
Yeah, the word that’s coming to mind is compassion. I mean, think Jesus uses that word in this story. He says that the Samaritan showed compassion. compassion involves like empathy. It’s like seeing this other person’s need and their risks, not just your own risk. Yes, always evaluating. But Brenda, I had a situation when you were talking about that.

reminded me where I was on the side of a road. I was a young mom and had a two -year -old and a baby and had gone to visit a friend and ran out of gas. just completely, this was me, I was just a very, I still am a very scatterbrained person and I ran out of gas and was like, my goodness, what’s going on with my car? And so,

I pull over on the side of the highway and this was before cell phones and I’m thinking, okay, what do I do? And so I’m waiting, I’m waiting, it’s winter, it’s cold. We had heat in the car for the moment, but it’s gonna get cold. And so I just started praying like, Lord, I don’t know what to do. Well, this semi truck pulled over and this guy got out and asked

Brenda Yoder (22:06)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (22:25)
are you okay? Can I help you? And I’m like, well, I think I’ve run out of gas. And he’s like, you know, hop in, I’ll take you. So I mean, honestly, my heart was pounding because I’m like, I don’t know you, like, this is scary. But I am kind of like at the mercy right now of a stranger being able to help. I don’t, it had been a while.

Brenda Yoder (22:35)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (22:45)
since somebody pulled over and I didn’t know, like it was kind of out in the country kind of place. So I got in the cab with this truck driver with my baby and my two year old. And so then we get to the gas station and I realized, my goodness, I have no cash. I have no, I don’t even think I had a credit card for some reason. I don’t know, maybe I had forgotten my wallet or.

I don’t remember what it was, Brenda, but I was like, I feel so dumb. Well, he not only paid for the gas can, And then he drove me, you know, back and exit and then back to my car. This man went the extra mile. He showed such compassion on me and he was kind. He was respectful. It was like,

Brenda Yoder (23:19)
Mm -hmm.

Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (23:28)
Thank you Lord that you sent someone who had compassion and had empathy. And I think in order to even see the person on the side of the road, right, you have to imagine how that feels to be them. And I’m not just talking about roadside situations. I mean, we’re talking about all the situations in life, right? Where someone is going through grief, they’re going through loss, they’re going through conflict, they’ve gotten bad news.

Brenda Yoder (23:32)
Mm -hmm.

Mm -hmm.

Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (23:54)
they’re in a financial crisis, in a relationship crisis, all of these different situations that overlap our lives. I feel like in our day and age, we can really just be withdrawn and not even thinking, not even seeing. Like we talked about lifting our eyes and seeing other people. It’s really not complicated.

Brenda Yoder (24:05)
Mm -hmm.

and I think that’s why I chose this particular virtue or skill is because in kind of, again, going back to the community that I live in, we’re an Amish Mennonite community. Actually, we just voted one of the best small towns in America. And also, we’re a very big tourist area. We also voted the best Midwest tourist destination just this year.

Shannon Popkin (24:28)
Wow.

Brenda Yoder (24:34)
So people come to our area and they see something different. And I hear it from the guests in our, we have an Airbnb in our home. And so I hear it from our guests who say there’s something different here. And I think that’s the piece is that while, the Amish Mennonite faith practices are about community and are about stewardship. Stewardship is actually in the Mennonite confession of faith is actually a virtue that we take.

as part of what we do. We’ve been doing it for generations But I think when you see others, I think that’s it, is that as a faith community that is about other people, I think living, when you live in the rural community, you’re always looking out for each other. When our cows get out of the fence, people stop by and come and tell us, your cow is out. They will even stop and

heard the cow off the road and put it in the fence, not just because it’s a danger to someone on the road, but because they know that that’s just what good neighbors do. And so again, I think not just in real recent history, but I think over the last probably 40, 50 years as we’ve become more individualized as a society and even within the church.

Shannon Popkin (25:33)
Right?

Brenda Yoder (25:45)
we have lost this neighborliness of no matter where you live, whether it’s in the city or the country or in a subdivision, in an apartment complex, we don’t get to know other people. we do our thing, we come home, we include our small circle of people. And I just don’t think that’s what God calls us as Christians.

You know, working in public schools, I intersect with every walk of life demographic in a community. I work with the wealthy, I work with those who are homeless and whose kids come to school because they’re living in a tent at a campground. It’s about helping everyone

Shannon Popkin (26:16)
Mm -hmm.

Brenda Yoder (26:26)
if Christ lives inside of us, Christ went across those boundary lines in order not just to help someone, but to build a relationship with people. And Shani, you talked about the eyes and the reason that the eyes are so important is even when our eyes

The pupils of our eyes, they connect with someone else’s eyes, releases oxytocin, which is the bonding hormone. That’s a natural process. That’s how God wired us, even when it’s a stranger. So even when we look someone in the eye as we’re going through the drive -through of McDonald’s, getting our Diet Coke, which would be my order, when we look in the eyes of that person who we don’t know, even if it’s for a few seconds, and we say, how’s your day going? Thank you so much. I hope you have a great day.

Shannon Popkin (26:49)
Mm

Yeah.

Brenda Yoder (27:09)
That releases oxytocin in their brain, which is the bonding hormone. And we never know that person’s story that day. They may be in a situation where the only thing that comes across their eyes and ears is violence because they’re living in a home where there’s family violence. They don’t know Jesus. They’ve never been to a church. And so the only highlight of their day is going to work.

Shannon Popkin (27:25)
Mm. Mm. Yeah.

Brenda Yoder (27:34)
I think as Christians, if we took ourselves outside of what does feel comfortable and crossed lines like the Good Samaritan parable shows us how to do, we would not be as frightened to cross some of those lines that feel vulnerable and scary to us because we would have a little bit, again, confidence and wisdom. Wisdom comes with trying something and realize, that wasn’t so smart. I’m going to do that differently the next time.

Shannon Popkin (27:48)
Mm -hmm.

Mm

Brenda Yoder (28:01)
So it doesn’t have to be complicated. I think we just have to practice it more. And it doesn’t have to look like the most risky situations. It just looks like starting to notice others and realize the importance of our impact as a Christian, Christ living in us and being the hands and feet of Jesus to someone else.

Shannon Popkin (28:06)
Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, that’s so good. I am thinking of the idiom that Jesus used

The idiom is, you have a bad eye? like they used having a bad eye to express stinginess. And the idea behind that was like, you’re not even seeing the person next to you in need. Like your eyes must be bad. Don’t you even see that this person beside you is in danger? They have a need or they’re a human being and they’re worthy of your honor and your respect.

Brenda Yoder (28:40)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (28:50)
And the idea of, of like your community watching out for somebody’s cows or their, even keeping an eye on each other’s property, that’s,

That is not city life. That is not, right? And so I tend to think of this as, we went from like riding on the bus to having our own car to driving into a driveway in a garage door that goes down, like you just, back when you were a kid riding the bus with others or taking public transit,

Brenda Yoder (29:10)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (29:21)
You’re just rubbing shoulders. Your eyes are open. You don’t have a bad eye. don’t forget your neighbor as easily. But what I’m hearing you say is like, okay, you can live with acres and acres around you and still have a good eye and see the other people that you are a steward to do them no harm, to do them good. What if we had that sort of mindset?

Brenda Yoder (29:24)
Mm -hmm.

Yeah, and I think that’s why this book I’m really passionate about those things and really wanting people know like, it’s not about where you live, it’s not about your environment. God has created all of us as humans with the same processes.

I think of my niece who lives in Manhattan and she doesn’t own a car. She rides the subway everywhere she walks and

She’s taking the same principles, living them out in a different way, in entirely different circumstances, but it’s about seeing other people. it is less about where you live and it is more about

Shannon Popkin (30:17)
Mm -hmm.

Brenda Yoder (30:22)
who we are called to be in today’s generation. And I think that’s my challenge to the readers and to the listeners is that every point in time, even biblical times, humans had the same problems, just a different set of a scene of what it looked

Shannon Popkin (30:38)
Mm -hmm.

Brenda Yoder (30:38)
And God has created us no different. We don’t evolve. We adapt to be who God has called us to be in a time and place. So when it comes to stewardship, Victor Frankel, who is a Holocaust survivor, he talked about, we all can either exist in life or we can color in the circle around us that God has given us. So when I think of stewardship,

I think of the woman who is a young mom and she lives in an apartment in a city and far away from her family. Or I think of the college student who is on fire for Jesus but is going to a secular university. Or I think about the midlife woman who is in her job and she loves her job but it’s getting more difficult because society is getting complicated. It doesn’t matter where you live.

God has placed us to steward what is around us. And some days that’s on a daily basis. That means if we’re in a meeting, has given us stewardship for that space. We are to give generously, I love that idea of the bad eye, we are to give generously of what God has given us the capacity to give in a way that’s healthy and

Shannon Popkin (31:38)
Mm

Mm -hmm.

Brenda Yoder (31:51)
And we offer those things to Him. It’s not about being blindly foolish. It’s not about doing things on the extreme. uncomplicated really is a call to back to center, And coming back to what is God calling me to do in this moment to be a faithful steward with what He’s entrusted me

Shannon Popkin (31:57)
Mm

Brenda Yoder (32:11)
in the environment around me. How can I color my circle in?

Shannon Popkin (32:13)
I love that.

Yeah, that’s so good. I’m going to read a quote from page 126 of your book. You told the story about this homeless man who stopped at your front door and your husband so kindly like sat with him for hours waiting for his ride to come. You fed him dinner. I thought it was, good probably that he was on the porch, right? you know, that was like that was appropriate. and you you called your husband you didn’t

Brenda Yoder (32:37)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (32:41)
leave the kids to fend for themselves. You called your husband and got a ride for him. But you said after that story, whether it’s a stranger at your door, your family, a neighbor or an animal, God calls us to steward those he puts in our care. It’s a quality that permeates my local community and is an important part of an uncomplicated life, And so.

how do we live like this Good Samaritan story is true. how do we steward Good Samaritan opportunities that are all around us in life? Well, we lift our eyes, we have a good eye. We see the people around us. We take a break from all of the messaging and the images coming in through our phones or our screens,

Brenda Yoder (33:14)
Mm -hmm.

Shannon Popkin (33:22)
We take a break and we look into the eyes of another human being. We make space and we make time for that and we respond appropriately. So Brenda, thank you so much for this amazing conversation about an uncomplicated life. I hope that our guests will get a copy of the book. Can you tell us a little more where to find you and find the book?

Brenda Yoder (33:41)
Sure, they can find me on Instagram at Brenda Yoder Speaks. I’m also on Facebook at Brenda Yoder Speaker. They can find the book Uncomplicated Simple Secrets for a Compelling Life on Amazon, all your favorite online bookstores, but also some in -person bookstores too. And ask for it at your library, get it on their shelf. And I would love to hear from you. They can also go to my website, BrendaYoder

Shannon Popkin (34:03)
Okay, we’ll send links to all of those things in the show notes, but thank you so much for joining us and yeah, go live like it’s true. Go be uncomplicated, right? And steward your good Samaritan opportunities.

Brenda Yoder (34:13)
Right?

Thank you, Shannon.