Being Human with Steve Cuss

Find out what the “Six White Boomers” means for Australians during the holidays in this special Christmas week episode of Being Human with Steve Cuss. Steve gets cozy alongside The Bulletin co-hosts Russell Moore and Clarissa Moll for a candid, funny, and deeply comforting conversation about Advent, Christmas carols, and the “mental and emotional load” many people carry this season. Together they explore joy and grief at the manger, the hope of Emmanuel (God with us), and how the nativity story—through figures like Joseph, the shepherds, and the light in John 1—invites us to bring our whole selves to Jesus and be “human-sized” again.  Episode Resources: Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God How A Charlie Brown Christmas Almost Wasn’t (The New Yorker) Bing Crosby - Christmas Classics “In the Bleak Midwinter” (Christina Rossetti poem + Gustav Holst tune) Boney M’s Mary’s Boy Child https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/just-drop-the-blanket/ A Charlie Brown Christmas: Linus reciting Luke 2:8-20 Russell Moore’s Always Festivus and Never Christmas (article) White Christmas (movie trailer) The Bells of St. Mary’s (movie trailer) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (trailer) The Nightmare Before Christmas (“What’s This?” clip) Six White Boomers (Australian Christmas song about kangaroos) Wombat Divine (Australian children’s Christmas story) Biblical Passages Luke 2:8-10 (ESV) Matthew 2 (ESV) John 1 (ESV) Romans 8 (ESV) Sign up for Steve’s Newsletter & Podcast Reminders: Capable Life Newsletter Get Your Copy: The Five Steps to Christmas Sanity PDF New Candles, Advent Prayers, and Journals: https://www.stevecusswords.com/ Join Steve at an Upcoming Intensive:  Capable Life Intensives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Host Steve Cuss explores the mental and emotional burdens we carry, drawing on Jesus’ teaching about a light yoke. Reflecting on the Christmas story from Luke 2, Steve shares personal traditions and discusses how God enters our struggles. He connects the nativity’s humble setting to themes of power, history, and care for the marginalized. The episode blends spiritual insight, personal anecdotes, and cultural commentary, inviting listeners to find hope and rest during the Christmas season. Episode Resources: The Long and Winding Road moment from the Get Back documentary More about Augustus (63 BC - AD 14) Oh Holy Night performed by Vince Gill O Come, O Come Emmanuel performed by Shane & Shane Books & Biblical Passages Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV) - Jesus’ teaching about burden & yoke Luke 2:1–20  (ESV) - The birth of Jesus and its surrounding circumstances Philippians 2:5–11 (ESV) - Jesus took the form of a servant Luke 15:3–7 (ESV) - The parable of the lost sheep John 10:1–18 - The Good Shepherd Luke 10:25-37 (ESV) - The Good Samaritan Story Luke 2:41–52 (ESV) - the “lost boy Jesus”  Sign up for Steve’s Newsletter & Podcast Reminders: Capable Life Newsletter Get Your Copy: The Five Steps to Christmas Sanity PDF New Candles, Advent Prayers, and Journals: https://www.stevecusswords.com/ Join Steve at an Upcoming Intensive:  Capable Life Intensives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosts Steve and Lisa Cuss share five practical tips for maintaining emotional and mental well-being during the Christmas season. They discuss handling family tensions, grief, and the pressures of holiday preparations, emphasizing self-awareness, emotional preparation, and setting boundaries. Blending personal stories and spiritual reflections, they encourage listeners to notice their emotional states, manage reactions, and make space for both joy and sadness. The episode offers compassionate, human-sized advice to help listeners create a peaceful, connected, and meaningful holiday experience, even amid challenges.  Episode Resources: Secure your copy of The Five Steps to Christmas Sanity PDF Listen: Anxiety, the Nervous System, and Your Window of Tolerance: Lisa Cuss & Clarissa Moll John Chapter 1 (ESV)  Revelation 21:3-4 (Eugene Peterson’s The Message) AA Meeting Guidelines Sign up for Steve’s Newsletter & Podcast Reminders: Capable Life Newsletter New Candles, Advent Prayers, and Journals: https://www.stevecusswords.com/ Join Steve at an upcoming intensive:  Capable Life Intensives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Being Human, Lisa Cuss explores how anxiety and stress push us outside our God-given window of tolerance. With monthly co-host Clarissa Moll, Lisa unpacks how the nervous system reacts to overwhelm, the difference between hyperarousal and hypoarousal, and practical tools for grounding, breath prayers, embodied faith, and reconnecting with God’s presence. This conversation on emotional health, trauma, and Christian spiritual formation can help you stay rooted in God’s presence, reduce reactivity, and remain human-sized in stressful situations. Episode Resources: Learn about Dr. Daniel Siegel’s work Learn more about the Window of Tolerance  How to recognize Hyper arousal and Hypo arousal  30 30 Grounding Techniques to Quiet Distressing Thoughts Book recommendations on the Apostle Paul and His work as community Builder Read John 1:14 (ESV) Mark 12:28-31 (ESV) More From Clarissa Moll: Clarissa Moll’s The Bulletin podcast Explore Clarissa Moll’s website Read Clarissa Moll’s substack Sign up for Steve’s Newsletter & Podcast Reminders: Capable Life Newsletter New Candles, Advent Prayers, and Journals: https://www.stevecusswords.com/ Join Steve at an upcoming intensive:  Capable Life Intensives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosts Steve and Lisa Cuss explore how to manage your mental load, emotional load, and anxiety by revisiting powerful conversations with Clarissa Moll, Lysa TerKeurst, and Abby Thompson. Together, they unpack how emotional and mental “fields” work, how anxiety spreads between people, and what it means to stay human-sized instead of reacting by getting bigger or smaller. Clarissa shares insights on reactivity and the “mama bear” instinct, Lysa offers transformative wisdom on boundaries, codependency, and healing from unwanted divorce, and Abby brings a Gen Z perspective on comparison, social media, and the slow work of God. It’s a practical guide for anyone seeking Christian emotional health, anxiety management, spiritual formation, self-awareness, and healthier relationships rooted in God’s presence and peace. Episode Resources: Abby Thomspon’s Growing Lysa Terkeurst’s Surviving an Unwanted Divorce Steve Cuss’s book Managing Leadership Anxiety: Yours and Theirs  Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (“crappy first draft”) Learn more about: Kosuke Koyama More From Clarissa Moll: Clarissa Moll’s The Bulletin podcast Explore Clarissa Moll’s website Read Clarissa Moll’s substack Original Episodes Links: How to Stay Human-Sized: Managing Anxiety, Reactivity, and Faith with Steve Cuss & Clarissa Moll Lysa TerKeurst on Surviving an Unwanted Divorce and Finding Healing Through Faith Abby Thompson on Overcoming Anxiety in the Big City Sign up for Steve’s Newsletter & Podcast Reminders: Capable Life Newsletter New Candles, Advent Prayers, and Journals: https://www.stevecusswords.com/ Join Steve at an upcoming intensive:  Capable Life Intensives Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices