Hi, and welcome KCIW listeners at one hundred
point seven FM or online at kciw.org,
Brookings, Oregon. Hi to our syndicated listeners at
KZZH
ninety six point seven FM Access Humboldt, Eureka,
California,
and our listeners at KSKQ
eighty nine point five FM Ash Land and
ninety four point one FM Medford, Oregon.
This is Joyously Free Radio with me, Joni
Lindenmayer,
the best selling author of None Better, an
amazing love story and coauthor of Joyously Free
and Healing Religious Hurts. I'm so glad that
you are tuning in today. I'm a resident
of Harbor, Oregon, a retired high school teacher,
a recent author who has published three books
in two years, created an audiobook, and with
friend and film producer Mike Gorse, created a
short film called Wowzer.
That's a definite c. We are on a
roll. But most of all, right now, right
here, this very place, I love life and
love being the producer and host of this
high energy,
joyously free radio gadio show
so named by Will and Viv. This show
talks about LGBTQ plus stories and tips along
with religion, church, faith, spirituality,
and most importantly,
joy. It's about joy and freedom and how
we can radiate and spread that. It's also
the title of my second book, Joyously Free,
coauthored with Elizabeth Ann Atkins of Two Sisters
Writing.
In this radio broadcast,
just as in my everyday life, there will
be no hate speech, no hate behaviors, and
no bullying. It will be blasted with with
what I call the three c's, courage, confidence,
and collaboration.
So together on this radio gatio show, let's
sparkle and seek understanding.
Think out of the box or no boxes
at all and be open minded as an
open parachute.
Let's begin with our daily salutation.
I'm going to say it's a brand new
day, and if you could respond with it's
never been lived before. Let's see how we
can do. It's a brand new day. And
it's never been lived before. Oh, I love
it. I love it. You're gonna inter be
introduced to Judy in just a second. She's
a fireball. Thank you for saying that.
Yes. And you're just sitting right across the
table from me looking eyeball to eyeball. But
before we get into our interview, let's again
open our hearts, do our little prayer this
morning, ask the divine to shine light on
our community
and our world.
I excitedly believe in hope, in the power
of the spiritual,
and that Jesus,
God, spirit, whatever
name you put on a higher being is
always with me and always with you. So
be not afraid or troubled,
saddened or depressed.
Joy and peace are an internal expression of
love and harmony.
It's already within us, and all we have
to do is reach deep within and let
it out.
Let's center ourselves.
Take a calm, deep breath in with the
good
and out with doubt.
Again, breathe in through your nose with hope
and out from your mouth with fears.
Last one,
take a big deep breath in with joy
and out
with any worry or despair.
In the name of mother Earth, creator God,
Jesus our redeemer, blowing winds of the Holy
Spirit, we say, hi, light. Hi, love. Hi,
God. Hi, spirit. Thanks for being with this
beautiful day.
The quote I picked today, it's it's a
funny one because I have this funny little
journal thingy that I have in my prayer
corner at home. But I love this one,
and I thought of my my guest speaker
today. And the quote goes like this.
Jesus is watching, but police have radar.
When I read that, I saw that, and
it's like I just started chuckling inside.
Jesus is watching, but police have radar. I
guess what that sent to said to me
was
everywhere I go, whoever I'm in contact with,
whatever nature thing I'm involved in, whatever book
I'm reading, Jesus is with me. And I
don't have to be worried about anything because
of that. But I also, on the other
hand, when I get in my car, I
have to remember Jesus is with me, but
I know the police have radar. So, Joni,
watch where you're going. Pay attention to the
other drivers. Be polite. Be kind. Don't speed,
and and make it a good day. So
it sounds funny, but that's sort of my
my spirituality of driving and and and life
today.
Oh my gosh. Let us end our loving
prayer by lifting up our friends and family.
May you find
healing,
praise,
gratitude, whatever's on your heart today.
May we thank the Holy One for hearing
us and being with us. May we be
blessed to do bigger things for more people.
So with that, amen.
Well, KCIW
listeners, KZZH,
and KSKQ listeners, all of us, let me
introduce you to a friend of mine. Her
name is Judy Howard.
And to me, she is an author,
a podcaster, and a motivational
speaker.
She makes things happen. And one of the
best things I love about Judy is her
humor in her writings and in who she
is. So, Judy,
welcome to the radio show Joyously Free.
Well, thank you, Joni. It's a pleasure to
be here. I'm so excited to sit down
with you and do this. It's,
I've I've
you've impressed me. Inspire me. Thank you. Thank
you. Thank you. Well, and I remember the
very first time we met. You attended one
of my book events, and I thought, who
is this lady in the straw cowboy hat
with a vivacious smile? And you were just,
like, so full of energy. I just had
to get to know you. And and that
and that's truly who you are. So how
are you today?
Well, I'm wonderful today. I've been,
preparing for this interview,
but I know that
the spirit is everywhere. Yes. I've crossed over
some line where I don't get so
stressed out about
when I'm on like this. Uh-huh.
So I know that,
he's in charge, and the words will come.
And we will all have a good message
out of this. Awesome. And it's never been
done before, like you said. It's never this
time has never been lived before, and I'm
ready to go. Right on. Right on. Right
on. Well, I know you've written several books.
But before you jump into talking about your
books and your podcast and your motivational speaking,
tell us a little bit about who you
are.
Who I am.
Well, I
I used to tell everyone
a long time ago, fifth over fifteen years
ago, that I was an author.
And, I mean, that I'm I see I'm
I'm into the present.
I stay in the present as much as
I I used to introduce myself as a
dog groomer. I was a dog groomer since
I was 11 years old. Oh, wow. And
I had my own business since I was
11 years old,
and
that's who I was. And I earned my
living that way
and
never thought much of it. I I liked
what I did. Uh-huh. I mean, there was
one time maybe I said,
maybe there's more than this, but it wasn't.
You know, somebody says, but you're doing such
good things for these people with their puppies
and their kitties and stuff. And that was
good enough. And
so but he so now when you ask
me, who am I?
I am so many things. Oh, good. Tell
us. Tell us. Tell us.
But mainly
why I'm here and why I am now
a published author of eight books
and a podcaster, and all this is because
I believe that I I have this message,
and I struggled with exactly what the message
is.
But
the fact is is I just know that
I inspire people. I when I started writing,
I started traveling across the country.
And
I was in my motor home with my
cat. My husband had passed away, so I
was doing this alone. And I would do
seminars and meet people in beautiful places and
all this. Mhmm. And
everywhere I went,
people would say,
you inspire me.
And I I I kept hearing that over
and over and over
until finally, I had to say to my
maker,
I says, okay. I hear you.
I just have and and I knew I
was supposed to take it to a a
higher level than just teaching writing.
So that's who I am. I'm here.
My my
purpose they did you know that they're calling
it now that Americans are in a,
a purpose crisis. Mhmm. I mean, there's always
something. Isn't there? Right. True. So We've been
around a while. Yes. Yeah. So anyway but,
I
am here to help people find their path.
I don't give advice because I've learned through
this journey that, you know, their way is
not my their way doesn't have to be
my way, and they don't have to walk
down the road. I went I used to
teach writing, and I thought they had to
do this book a certain way, and and
then they did it their way, and yet
it still transformed them. So I'm here to
help you find the right words,
the right thoughts,
so that you can be
who you're supposed to be
and for today. And that's joyously free. That's
authentic.
Yes. Because
joyfully to watch somebody
become
joyously
free
is,
like a high you'll ever have, and that's
my purpose is to get that high. And
it's and the only way I can get
it
is helping other people.
And you do that with mega amounts of
energy. You are ballistic in your energy in
sharing who you are and just your joy
of your own life. You know? I I
was reading your book last night. I I
love this book. It's called Coast to Coast
with a Cat and a Ghost.
I love this book. It's it's so full
of humor, but it's so packed with some
depth in there too.
Would you talk a little bit about how
you bring and inspire people through your books?
Well, I tell my story.
This that book was my very first book.
Now, like I told you all, I was
a dog groomer since I was 11 years
old. That's all I knew. I I didn't
I dropped out of college, like, because I
couldn't figure out what I wanted to do.
Mhmm. So So I had no college education.
And my husband had just passed passed away,
and I had started traveling in my motor
home. And
I was still had my business, but I
was wanting to semi retire. So I took
a writing a creative writing class,
and I thought I'd I took it just
for fun. I was not one of the
80% of the people who thought about writing
a book. It never crossed my mind.
Never ever.
And so, anyway, I took this creative writing
class, and the first exercise was a writing
prompt
to write about the color red for ten
minutes.
And I thought, oh, man. Who could possibly
write about the color red for ten minutes?
I wanted to do more serious writing, I
guess, or whatever I was there for. You
know? But, again, I was just doing it
for fun. But I wanted to be a
good student, so I started put my pen
to the paper and started writing about the
color red. And
the things that came out on my paper
was our cherry tree in the backyard and
how we picked cherries and how my mother
would take us teach us to put them
all in their basket of our bicycle and
go around the neighborhood and sell them. She
was always trying to teach us how to
be independent because she had wanted to divorce
my father, but he she would never get
any of his money, so she decided to
stay. And she's making sure that her girls
would never be dependent on a man, and
she did that with me for sure.
But anyway, so,
I took this class and when I started
writing, I'm I was just blown away,
but all of this was coming out of
my head that I didn't even know I'd
it was just blew me away. And I,
to tell you the truth, folks,
I I was hooked. I mean, what else
is in there? I was I just wanna
know what else is in there. And I
just and I said, if I'm gonna keep
coming to this class, I'll write a book.
You know? Now again,
I tell everybody in my seminars, thank God
I didn't know how hard it was to
write a book because I would not have
done it. I would be like so many
people that I meet. They're just afraid and
I don't think they're good enough or whatever.
And I remember my sister saying once because
she was she was kind of
I'd
she had an education. She
she married well, and, she was just so
much more than me because I was just
the redneck sister.
And I remember her
color red. Yeah. Yeah. Back to the color
yeah. Yeah. Right. So, anyway, she
she said she started helping me. She was
helping me edit because she had the education,
she said. And,
she says,
what do you I don't understand because it
was good. She was impressed by my writing.
Uh-huh. And she says, I don't know how
you do what do you do? You just
decide you're gonna do this and then you
just do it? And I don't believe that
I knew I did that's how I operate
in life, but that's what I was doing.
I decided I'd write this book and I've
destroyed it. I had
and for anybody who out there who has
thought about writing a book, believe me,
I said, you just gotta start it. Because,
I knew absolutely
nothing about writing a book. I didn't know
about structure. I didn't know building character. I
didn't know any of this stuff. Mhmm. So,
I'm self taught. Once I started I had
this obsession,
then I was on fire. And, when I
wasn't writing, I was reading about writing. I
joined critique groups, and that's where I got
a lot of my education.
So, anyway, I just want everyone to know
that
even if you were a dog groomer, you
could write books. I have eight published books
now. I'm a podcaster now. I do motivational
speaking, and I I I love my life.
Wow. I I love that. And you are
a storyteller in all of that. So just
like your example of red, that led to
so many other things, the cherry tree and
and what have you. You know? But you
are a storyteller with enthusiasm.
Oh my god. And you never imagined this.
No. Now I just wanna add that
it's not easy. The first
time I had to in a if you
don't know what a critique group is for
writers' critique group, authors come together or wanna
be authors, and we read our what we've
written to the rest of the group, and
each one goes around and comments on it
and gives us positive,
comments.
So I one week, I was had I
had written a a article,
an pair a chapter
about it I was doing this coast to
coast book, and I was going to talk
about it was
about my husband who had been abusive in
my marriage.
And when I I was gonna read that
portion to the class, and I knew
I was so stressed out because if when
I read this to them, they knew that
I was a woman who stayed in a
marriage that had been that was abusive.
Mhmm. And I was so ashamed the shame
I had for that, and I thought, oh
my god. What are they gonna think of
me?
And
I I I don't I just, I guess,
because I was so obsessed, but I did
it.
And once I did that,
nobody
said anything
badly about me.
They just went on, and I I said
I tell in my classes, I said, after
I I got over that hump, I'll tell
you anything now about my life. Right. I
have no shame at all. So but there
there are hard things.
And to be in a group where everybody
you think knows more than you
is difficult. Right. So there are challenges, but
one at a time, many steps, micro steps,
I got through it. Right. And you are
an inspiration.
You say you inspire people. That's your mess
message and miss mission, I guess. But you
are the inspiration because of what you've been
through, how you've been a survivor, how have
you found your authenticity.
And and I love hearing this. Yes. I
love hearing this.
When
after I'd been writing and doing seminars and,
you know, I kept getting this message from
up above that says, you know, you are
an inspiration. People were telling me this all
the time. And I said, I've gotta take
it to the higher a higher
level because I can hear that there are
signs out there. If you're looking for your
purpose, there are signs. You just have to
watch and listen for them. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Mhmm. But,
when I I wanted to I says, well,
I'll become a motivational speaker because I know
I'm motivating people already.
And the thought of that just
turned my stomach into a rock.
I thought, oh, oh, man. I can't do
this. Who wants to hear from me? You
know, we do all of the self talk
that
that put ourselves putting ourselves down. And so
I had all of this negative talk. I
says, first of all, I I was 64
years old at that time. I was 64
years old. I don't have any degrees, so
I have no formal education.
I've been a dog groomer all my life.
Who would wanna hear what I had to
say?
And I put it on my business card
anyway.
And I thought, well, let's just see what
happens because I knew I wouldn't do it
unless somebody asked me. Oh. That's how I
put it. And for about six months, nobody
even noticed that it said motivational speaker on
my card. And about six months after that,
when every time I handed out my card
and my card was busy. It had all
the titles on my book and and all
pictures of my cat and
motor home and all this. Anyway, they looked
at the card and they out of all
of that, they've zeroed in on
motivational speaker instead of author. And
and and and and I I felt like
a deer in the headlights. I says, oh,
god. They're gonna ask me to be a
motivational speaker at their group.
And but, and I finally did get the
gig. And then,
at the the hours before I was to
speak, It was during 2020 when the lockdown
happened, and the organization
got word that they had to cancel the
show. Mhmm. So anyway but either way, I
and again, I said, well, what is that
message from above? I I said and it
wasn't time. I because I back I'm such
a different person than it was back in
2020,
and I hope to God I'll be a
different person,
five years later from now. So because but,
anyway, so so,
I'm just saying,
we we run into obstacles,
and you just have to set it up
to pull this mind that drives you crazy
most of the time. That self talk is
so important, isn't it? It sounded like you've
turned that negative self talk into positive self
talk and and moving forward. Yes. Exactly.
Yes.
And that's what happens in your book. Yeah.
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Or books. Books. Yeah. Books.
Yes. Yes. Yes. And think about that, listeners.
This is really incredible. We're sitting here with
an author who's written eight books. She's energized.
She's a motivational speaker, and she's a podcaster.
Yes. You have something to say. Yes. You
have something to say. And not just say
you bring out the best in other people,
Judy. You absolutely do. You know? What do
you enjoy the most? Is it the podcasting,
the writing,
or the motivational speaking? What do you enjoy
the most? The writing. The writing. And when
I started my podcast,
I I get I do get obsessing about
things. So I push my my work in
progress, the book that I'm working on now,
aside.
And so I've been working on the content,
which content for a podcast is totally different
than writing,
as a creative writing. And,
and so I made the decision this because
I've been shoving it to the side.
And so, anyway, this this year, I said,
I've gotta finish this book. It's called A
Trillion to One.
And, it's about my parents,
although it's gonna be a novel.
And, I've started writing again, and I thought,
oh my god. I just love this. This
is when you can can go into
that special place where nobody else lives but
you and your characters, and it's just, like
I
I've forgotten I'd almost forgotten what how that
is. So And that's an awesome title. What
what does that mean to you? A trillion
to one. A trillion to one. Well, that
title no. I
I that's a working title, but I just
love that title. Uh-huh. So when I I
came when I came to Brookings, I started
a writing critique group because I'd been traveling
and I miss my critique groups. And so
now I've started this group. And,
to be honest with you and and I
have a I have had a
prejudice and aversion to people like you, Joni,
that that are always talking about Jesus. I
said, you're all Jesus freaks. And I I
just and I there's a long a story
behind that too of why I I understand
why. But, anyway, I knew part of it
was the language. But, anyway, everybody who came
into my critique group, all they wanted to
write their story about was how Jesus has
saved them. And I says, oh, dear god.
I says, I don't know if I can
handle this. I know you're putting this in
my path I don't know. And I have
to get over this. And,
so, anyway, as I as I as I
we they wrote their stories and everything, and
it wasn't just that they were talking about
Jesus, but their lives and everything else, and
and their parents, and you talk about that
in memoirs. And and I realized, all of
a sudden, it came to me how lucky
I was
to have the parents I had.
And I had gotten pregnant when I was
16 in high school.
And,
when I tried to go back to high
school
to finish after I had the baby,
they
they wouldn't let me come back. And I
know my father had to have marched into
that high school and said, you're going to
let her return and get her degree.
And, and I think I it's the only
way it could have happened, because I knew
he was I didn't know for sure, but
I know he was that kind of guy.
There's no other way I could have got
back. Wow. So I had to sit in
the back of the class, not talk to
anybody.
And if they had any social events, I
was to wait in the principal's office. Oh,
wow. And when everybody told me that, you
know, when I tell my story, they go,
oh, that's terrible. They treated you that way.
Now I in my mind, I that was
religion, in my opinion. Oh. But that that
did that, that created that situation.
But in my mind, I told everybody, everybody
says, oh, it's terrible they treated you that
way. And I said, you know what? I
it didn't bother me.
It didn't bother me.
And, I just dealt with it. It wasn't
until I was 70 years old that I
find out that that was the crux of
why I hated
religious people. Yeah. So,
that was an insight. That was an insight.
It was. And what a thankfulness to your
dad for doing that, marching in. So the
title. We're on the title. So, anyway, the
title, I decided, you know,
I am so lucky to have the parents
I had,
and
and I was watching these other people going
through, you know, talking about their parents and
stuff. And I thought, I wanna write their
story because I really don't know it. We
weren't a a family that talked, so I
my father had been a race car driver,
and my mom went with him for sixteen
years before I was ever born. So, anyway,
all of that, they're they're religious
because I was brought up with no religion.
Anyway, so that's
about it's about I I I just want
people to know with all of this that's
going on in the world,
that not some things just never change.
You know, with we are
people have struggled with these same issues over
and over and over again
throughout life.
And Mhmm. My parents went through
Auschwitz?
Where where you're being criticized for your religion.
Ostracism.
Yeah. And,
so we've all struggled with with issues, social
issues, let's just put it that way. And
it's no different today than it was yesterday.
So
And we can all get through it. Yes.
So we all get through it, and they
got through it. Using humor to do that
or however you can tell your story. Yes.
And and that's how you do you tell
your story. You have the humor. You have
everything impact in these books, and it's part
of who you are. Yes. So so would
that be, like, your final tip? Is that
what what would be your final tip? Well,
I have some You've got thirty seconds to
do. Thirty seconds?
I
I want to tell the readers to
to remember
this. Your thoughts
become words, your words become actions,
your actions become habits,
and your habits
become the values,
and your values
become your destiny.
So be careful of what you think about.
And how you say it. Yes. Oh my
gosh. Oh my gosh. That's phenomenal. That's a
great ending to this. This has been phenomenal.
It goes by so fast with you every
time I'm with you. So I I wanna
thank you from the top of my heart
for being here and and telling your story
and doing all the things that you do
in being you. Thank you so much, Judy.
Thank you. Well, thank you for this opportunity.
Absolutely. I love sitting down with you. Oh
my god. And we wanna thank all the
listeners, you know, from all the radio stations,
all the locations around. We hope you've been
inspired and love, Judy, as much as I
have today. You know, you can always
get a hold of us at KCIW.
But let's thank also other people to thank
would be Mike Gorst on sound, Tom Bozak,
Candice, and Rose. I wanna thank Steve and
Sally and Todd for sponsoring joyously free. And,
everybody, I think Judy's last tips, I'm gonna
ask her to read it one more time
before I sign off. Can you read your
last tips for the listeners?
Your thoughts remember this. Your thoughts become words.
Your words become actions.
Your actions become habits,
and your habits
become
your values.
Awesome. Guess what? Your values become
your destiny.
Awesome. So everybody, smile big. Wear bright colors.
Have a great day. Thanks again, Judy.
Thank you.