Our latest podcast episode features an enlightening discussion with Carol McLeod, an acclaimed author and speaker renowned for her ability to inspire women at conferences nationwide. She joins the program to delve into her new book, ‘Today is a Verb’, which advocates for living each day with intentionality and purpose.
Carol McLeod shares the story behind her intriguing book title, ‘Today is a Verb’. It all started with a routine doctor’s visit where she was advised to walk intentionally, not shuffle, to maintain balance and prevent falls. This advice sparked a revelation in her about how she was living her life and fueled the writing of her latest work.
Amid life’s inescapable routines, Carol argues that while we may not control our circumstances, we can choose our attitude towards them. She encourages listeners to approach life’s demands with joy, kindness, and faith. This mindset isn’t just wishful thinking, but a profound shift achievable through a partnership with the divine, infusing each moment with gratitude and purpose.
Highlighting a personal ordeal, Carol shares a turning point in her life when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer a decade ago. Instead of succumbing to despair, Carol reimagined her medical appointments and treatments as divine opportunities to spread the message of hope and love. This transformative perspective turned her cancer journey into a mission of divine significance.
Carol further emphasizes the importance of living with biblical intention, urging listeners to reclaim joy and purpose, even in mundane tasks. She expands on this by sharing principles from her book that encourage readers to approach each day with verbs like rejoice, forgive, and smile, transforming daily existence into a vibrant, purposeful adventure.
The conversation wraps up with Carol reflecting on her past struggles with depression and her quest for true joy. Experiencing joy, she explains, is understanding it as the ‘atmosphere that surrounds the throne room of God’. Thus, by cultivating a connection with the divine, we can carry this heavenly joy into our daily lives.
To conclude, Liz and Carol discuss the essence of living every day on purpose and making every day count, regardless of circumstances. Carol’s warm, inspiring message encourages listeners to step into each day with confidence, trusting that they are divinely placed and qualified to transform their world.
Liz talks with best-selling author, Carol McLeod, about her new book titled “Today is a Verb.” Today is a Verb, is a game-changer for anyone tired of letting life just happen to them. This book is like a daily shot of espresso for the soul, waking you up to the power of intentional living. Carol is President and CEO of Carol McLeod Ministries and popular speaker at women’s conferences. Carol’s Significant Women podcast ranks top 10 percent of all podcasts internationally.
00:13:20 Conclusion and Where to Find More Information
SPEAKER 01 :
This is Liz Frenzel with Crawford Media Group, and today we're talking with Carol McLeod, best-selling author and popular speaker at women's conferences. Welcome to our program, Carol. Liz, I'm so happy to be with you today. Thanks for having me. Well, we are excited to talk about your new book titled Today is a Verb. That's an interesting title. Tell us what you mean by that and what inspired you to write it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, I'd love to. So, Liz, several years ago, I went for my annual physical. And at the end of it, my sweet doctor said to me, Carol, you're getting older. And I thought, what? What are you talking about? That's not true. I rebuke that. I know. And then he went on to say, you know, as we grow older, there are certain disciplines or habits we have to build into our lives. And he said one of them is this. He said, Carol, I don't want you to shuffle. He said, older people tend to shuffle. They don't pick up their feet. And because of that, they lose their balance and they trip over things. They stumble over things that normally wouldn't have caused them to stumble. He said, so I want you to be very intentional and pick up your feet as you walk. He said, almost like you're marching. And you know what, Liz, as he was saying that to me, the Holy Spirit was also talking to me and saying, and the Holy Spirit said, Carol, this is a message for how to do life. You've got to quit shuffling through life. You've got to pick up your feet and go through life intentionally. So I came up with this title, Today is a Verb, and it really just means to live with biblical intention, to live with a heart filled with gratitude and even a mindset that Of expectation. One of the things I say, Liz, listen, I'm going to happen to life rather than just let life happen to me. So that's what I mean by todaying or today as a verb.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I love that because as we were talking before our interview, it's basically, I think, what we talked about was the frame of mind. Yes. How old do you think you are in your mind depends, I think, affects how old our bodies feel.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, you know, the scripture, as a man or a woman thinks within himself, So is he. And no matter what our birth certificate says, we have to keep this useful, this expectant state of mind. We must keep a sparkle in our eye and a spring in our step. You know, so much about life we can't control. We can't choose. Taking care of aging parents, we have to do that. Maybe working for an exacting boss. Like, you have to do that. You have to do the dishes. You have to pay the bills. So there's so much about life you just have to do. But, Liz, you get to choose how you do your have to. And so we can pay the bills with faith. We can be a caregiver with kindness. We can serve a difficult boss with joy. That's what it means to live joyfully. with biblical intention. You know, I just think that we as human beings, as the sons and daughters of the Most High God, we have allowed ourselves to settle into the swamp of the mundane when really we've been created to join with the Father in creating a life of joy and wonder and awe. So that's a glorious assignment, and I'm going to take him up on it.
SPEAKER 01 :
Right. You know, I was listening to a podcast and kind of said the same thing where he said, show up where you are confident because God puts you there and be confident that you belong there, not because you're better than anyone else, but because that God has qualified you and he trusted you and put you there. Right, right.
SPEAKER 02 :
You know, I just really want to put the dream, the vision in people's hearts. I often say, Liz, I can't change your circumstances. Oh, how I wish I could, but I can't. But what I can do is help you process those circumstances through the eternal lens of Scripture. And I think it's time for all of us to grab hold of the mindset that that every remarkable day that we live and breathe on planet Earth, we've been commissioned by our Creator to demonstrate the joy of Heaven's glory right smack dab in the middle of Earth's pain. And of course, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to do that, but the point is we can do it with the power of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, in your devotional, you emphasize that joy comes with this type of living. What about this focus on today leads to experiencing God's joy more?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I think you become more aware of who he is, Liz, and what he's able to do. For me, changing the way I did life, like tweaking it to say, okay, today is a verb. I get to wring the joy out. of an ordinary day it it gave my life purpose beyond the mundane and of course I realized how much I needed him that that I couldn't do it with a bubbly personality I couldn't do it with my income level or my education I I couldn't do it by thinking positive thoughts Liz I had to partner with my creator and to revamp the way I was doing life. Okay, let me give you an example. So Liz, 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with very aggressive cancer. The doctor said I was going to die. They said two years will be your life expectancy. And I remember that first night when Craig and I went home, and we did, we let ourselves cry one night, okay, I'll admit that. But then I looked at my husband and I said, he just won. I said, honey, listen. There is only one reason why God would allow cancer to invade my body, because I didn't believe that God caused it. But we live in a fallen world. That's a conversation for another day. But I said, because somebody out there needs Jesus. I said, Craig, somebody whose path we're going to come across in this journey needs Jesus. So, Liz, every doctor's appointment became a missions trip. Every surgery became an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every vile test I had to go through, it wasn't about the test. It was about who was giving it and being able to give them the love of Jesus. It changed this horrific, traumatic experience into a divine assignment. So, you know, there's that. But also, I know that a lot of your listeners, they're not going through trauma right now. They're just going through the mundane experience. And so when you embrace this lifestyle that today is a verb... We're talking about my new book, and it's like a little bit of a deep devotional. You can't do it in 3 to 5 minutes a day, but maybe 10 to 12 minutes a day. And there are 30 days, and each chapter is a verb. Remember, forget, walk, smile, rejoice, forgive. And so embracing life this way... You know what to do. When somebody wrongs you, you know what to do. You forgive them. When you're concerned or worried, you know what to do. You pray. When memories of a difficult past threaten to consume you, you know what to do. You forget. When you meet a stranger or a discouraged friend, you know what to do. You smile.
SPEAKER 01 :
So I hope that brings light to the topic, Liz. Well, it does. And, you know, you said none of us knows how long we have on this earth and we can't be sure how many tomorrows God has planned for us. Obviously, he planned more than two years for you. Right. And I think... Here I am 10 years later. Yes. You know what? That's just a testament to what the verse you called earlier as far as, you know, as a man thinks, so is he. Because I've heard stories about doctors not telling patients how long they live and actually... heard that you shouldn't really tell them how long to live because basically they'll either die before that or plan on, okay, that's all I have versus the fight that, you know, if they don't know, they can move on and say, you know what, I'm just living this day just like you did. And, but you did it in on purpose.
SPEAKER 02 :
I did.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. And I think that's the key.
SPEAKER 02 :
It is. We have to live life on purpose. You know, one thing that concerns me lives about our generation. And I, things that we're about in the same generation is that so many people that we're observing, they're dying before they're dying. They die before they die. They give up before they die. And I say all the time, I am going to cross my finish line sweaty, not rusty. I'm going to go for it every day that I've been given. This is fun to talk about, Liz. We serve an eternal God who has placed us in time. And time is our springboard to eternity. And I can actually experience heaven on earth or eternity on earth when I choose to live with biblical intention. Liz, part of my story is I went through a deep, dark depression in my 30s. And And so I was very intent on discovering what that word joy meant. And I looked into Bible concordances and dictionaries, and let me tell you, the meanings were very weak. They were very insipid. The meanings of joy in a Bible dictionary are joy, gladness. I thought, no, that is not it. And so I went on this search. I was determined. And I have my grandfather's theological library here. He was a Cornell-educated lawyer who became a theologian later in life. And I found one of his Bible dictionaries. Liz, the copyright is 1861. It like falls apart. And this is what it says. This is the definition of joy. The atmosphere that surrounds the throne room of God. What? And so when we marinate in his presence, Liz, we get to bring joy. the atmosphere of the throne room of God to our lives, to our people, to our circumstances, to our pain.
SPEAKER 01 :
to our heartbreak, who wouldn't want that? Exactly. You know, you said, there's no such thing as an unremarkable day when you know the Lord. Explain, because this goes right in line with what you were saying. So explain that, how people go through circumstances like we've been talking about, and situations, and how do you find joy? Explain what you mean by there is no such thing as an unremarkable day when you know the Lord.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, I love that question, Liz. A couple weeks ago, I was telling my staff, I guess it was a month ago now, hey, this is the only January 25th, 2025 you will ever get to live, so make it a good one. And I think that needs to be our mindset. Like, this is it. This is the only day with this date on it we will ever get to live. Liz, every morning when I get up, as I'm on my way to brush my teeth, I say out loud, This is the day that the Lord has made. This girl is going to rejoice and be glad in it. And then when I'm walking to the kitchen, I say it out loud again. This is the day that the Lord has given to me. He made it just for me. I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it. And it changes my perspective. So then if I have a difficult relationship with one of my children, or if Craig and I have to pray for a bill to be paid, or if I see my mom getting more and more forgetful, or if I'm in a fender bender, I can still say, this is the day the Lord has made. I'm going to rejoice and be glad in it. I'm going to bring praise and worship and glory and honor to this day. And that changes it from unremarkable to remarkable. That the reason I live and breathe and move and have my being is is to worship Him. That's the reason I'm still alive. And honestly, Liz, that turns every day into a holiday, doesn't it?
SPEAKER 01 :
It does. You know, that's so good. We're visiting with Carol McLeod, bestselling author and popular speaker, about her new book titled Today is a Verb and How to Make Each Day Count. Carol, where can our listeners go to learn about your ministry? And I know you have resources there and also to get this fabulous book.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, thank you, Liz. My website is carolmcleodministries.com, and then my books are available, you know, wherever books are sold, Amazon, Books a Million, Christian Books, or at my website. And I'd love all of your listeners to check that out.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, I do encourage our listeners to get this book. Start todaying. Do each day as a verb. Carol, thank you so much for joining us today. Liz, I loved it, and I cannot wait to have coffee with you someday.
