Podcast
BeTempered
Hosted by dschmidt5 · EN
We believe that everyone has the potential to achieve greatness, and that the key to unlocking this potential is through personal development. Our podcasts are designed to help you cultivate the skills and mindset you need to achieve your goals and live the life you want.
32episodes
Episodes
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BeTempered Episode 106 - PTSD, Forgiveness, and the Crown of Thorns with Tony Talbert
4d ago01:15:16Tap to summarizeA single decision at 100 miles per hour can ripple through families, friendships, faith, and the rest of your life. In Episode 106 of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Tony Talbert to unpack the night a drunk driver changed everything. What started as a celebration of his friend David’s recovery journey through addiction and service ended in tragedy just minutes from home, leaving Tony and his wife Donna carrying grief, trauma, and questions that don’t disappear when the headlines fade.Tony opens up about the realities of PTSD, survivor’s guilt, panic, flashbacks, nightmares, and the pressure many people feel to “move on” before they’re actually healed. He shares how EMDR therapy, honest prayer, and eventually visiting the young man responsible for the crash became part of a healing process that challenged everything he thought he knew about justice, forgiveness, and redemption.Then the conversation takes a turn none of us expected. On a freezing day in Richmond, Indiana, a homeless man asks Tony for help and leaves behind a freshly cut green crown of thorns. Weeks later, Tony receives a message he believes came directly from Jesus, and suddenly the nightmares stop. What follows is a powerful conversation about faith, suffering, purpose, and the kind of charity that restores dignity instead of creating dependency through practical support, accountability, and love.This episode is raw, emotional, hopeful, and deeply human.Listen now at https://betempered.com and support the mission at https://patreon.com/betemperedSend us Fan MailSupport the show
Transcribe →BeTempered Episode 105 - Living Through War and Holding Onto Faith with Kateryna Tabota
2w ago01:15:57Tap to summarizeWhat happens when your normal life disappears overnight? In this episode of BeTempered, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Kateryna Tabota to hear the real human side of the Ukraine war through the eyes of a wife, mother, and woman of faith. Her story moves from growing up in post-Soviet Ukraine, to serving in the medical field, to suddenly facing air raid sirens, uncertainty, and separation from family as war closes in around them.Katya opens up about raising children during chaos, leaving Ukraine for Poland while her husband was legally required to stay behind, and the emotional weight of wondering if your family will ever be reunited again. She shares how faith became her anchor during the fear, confusion, and constant uncertainty surrounding everyday life.The conversation also dives into the unexpected moments that changed everything. A scooter accident eventually creates the medical exemption that allows her husband to reunite with the family. Church relationships and the United for Ukraine sponsorship program lead them to Ohio, where complete strangers prepare a home for them before they ever arrive. From beds and groceries to a full tank of gas, Katya reflects on the kindness that helped her family begin rebuilding their lives in America.Dan, Ben, and Katya also talk about culture shock, learning English through customer interactions, rebuilding a career through nail licensing, and the hope of returning to medicine in the United States someday. It’s a conversation about resilience, faith under pressure, family sacrifice, and gaining a deeper appreciation for freedoms that are often taken for granted.This episode will challenge perspective, deepen gratitude, and remind listeners how powerful faith and community can become in life’s hardest moments.https://betempered.com https://patreon.com/betemperedSend us Fan MailSupport the show
Transcribe →BeTempered Episode 104 - 2 Years of Conversations That Changed Us
3w ago01:39:53Tap to summarizeTwo years later, we decided to turn the cameras around and let Brian Ballenger ask the questions. This episode pulls back the curtain on the real story behind the BeTempered podcast, how a mindset shift, a weight loss journey, and the idea of tempered glass became the foundation for something much bigger. Strength is not built in comfort. It is built through pressure, heat, failure, and choosing to keep going anyway. What started as a simple experiment turned into a movement centered around faith, resilience, discipline, and conversations most people are afraid to have out loud.Dan Schmidt, Ben Spahr and Shawn Ruebush open up about the moments they still wrestle with doubt, the pressure of staying authentic, and the messages from listeners that remind them these stories truly matter. They reflect on how hearing the testimonies of guests over the past two years has changed the way they see addiction, trauma, recovery, and the people around them. This conversation dives deep into vulnerability, grace, imposter syndrome, forgiveness, and why being fully present in everyday life can completely reshape relationships, faith, and purpose.The episode also gets practical. The guys talk about parenting in a digital world, social media boundaries, smartphone restrictions, and why uncomfortable conversations inside the home matter more now than ever before. They connect discipline to consistency through daily routines, early mornings, and intentional habits that build stronger families and stronger communities. They also share what is ahead for the BeTempered Foundation, the BeTempered Standard for schools, and local outreach efforts like Care Cycle and hygiene support initiatives.If BeTempered has ever encouraged you, challenged you, or helped you feel less alone, share this episode with someone who needs it. Subscribe, leave a review, and help us continue spreading stories that remind people they are capable of more than they think.Learn more at https://betempered.comSupport the mission at https://patreon.com/betemperedSend us Fan MailSupport the show
Transcribe →BeTempered Episode 103 - From Survival to Calling with Dennis Alejo
4w ago01:16:09Tap to summarizeA bowl of porridge does not look like a life plan, but for Dennis Alejo it was the first glimpse of something different. Sitting down with hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr, Dennis walks through a childhood in the Philippines shaped by hunger, instability, and survival. Introduced to alcohol at eight and working just to eat, long term thinking was not part of the equation. It was day to day, moment to moment.What begins to change his life is not a single breakthrough but people. Small acts of kindness. Mentors who keep showing up. A faith that slowly moves from something he hears about to something he lives out.Dennis shares what it was like leaving a system where poverty feels constant and stepping into the United States where structure, planning, and opportunity can actually change outcomes. He reflects on a defining moment with a retired US Marine who told him he would one day be a pastor in America, and what it took over the next decade to see that become real.The conversation also gets practical. Dennis talks about building a digital marketing agency with purpose and connecting that work to Kingdom Legacy Ministries so business fuels real impact. Through that mission, thousands of children are fed each month, kids are given the chance to return to school, and young people are trained with digital skills that create opportunity that multiplies.This episode is about identity, forgiveness, and the idea that the fire you walk through can become the strength you carry. It is a story about breaking cycles, finding purpose, and choosing to build something that outlives you.Listen now at https://betempered.com Support the show at https://patreon.com/betemperedSend us Fan MailSupport the show
Transcribe →BeTempered Episode 102 – When Life Cracks and Faith Rebuilds with Joe Swartzel
Apr 2401:15:08Tap to summarizeSome people know what to say when life is smooth. This episode is for when it isn’t. When work feels heavy, marriage feels strained, and you’re quietly asking yourself, “Is this all there is?”Joe Swartzel joins us with a story that doesn’t hide from the hard parts. A longtime bricklayer known for his smile, Joe shares what that smile has carried through. A childhood marked by constant moving and a mother who was legally blind shaped his sense of responsibility early. Sports, mentors, and coaches helped build his foundation, but life eventually tested everything he thought he knew.Joe opens up about walking through divorce, raising kids across two homes, and the weight that comes with trying to hold things together when it takes two people to save a marriage. He takes us to a defining moment. Standing under a massive moon after a night of drinking, asking God if life was really meant to be nothing more than work and weekends. That question led to a turning point. Not a quick fix, but a real surrender that changed the direction of his life.We also talk about what healing actually looks like after divorce. What kids like Justin and Kristen carry quietly. Why blended families need guidance, patience, and grace instead of judgment. Joe and his wife Lisa now use their story to serve others, creating space for people walking through addiction, brokenness, and rebuilding.This is a conversation about faith that shows up in the middle of the mess. About resilience that isn’t loud, but steady. And about what real community looks like when people choose to walk with each other instead of turning away.If this episode speaks to you, share it with someone who needs it. These are the stories that remind us we’re not alone.Learn more and support the show at https://betempered.com Join the community at https://patreon.com/betemperedSend us Fan MailSupport the show
Transcribe →BeTempered Episode 101 - The Impact of One Voice at the Right Time with Coach Murph
Apr 1701:41:17Tap to summarizeCharles “Murph” Byrne didn’t become a coach because of wins. He became one because he showed up in the hardest moments when people needed someone to steady them, guide them, and refuse to let them quit.In this episode of the BeTempered Podcast, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Murph to unpack a life shaped by loss, discipline, faith, and the kind of mentorship that changes everything. From growing up in Oxford, Ohio to navigating the sudden loss of his father, Murph shares how anxiety, grief, and unanswered questions didn’t break him, they built something deeper.This conversation gets real about what coaching actually means when the scoreboard is gone. Murph talks about the mentors who stepped in at the right time, the small moments that leave a lifelong impact, and why discipline, when done right, is one of the strongest forms of love. He also opens up about marriage, reconnecting with his wife Barb, and the turning point in his faith journey, giving his life to Christ in 2014, baptized in 2015, and continuing to grow every day.There’s weight to this one. The kind that stays with you. The kind that makes you look at your own life a little differently.If you’ve ever battled anxiety, carried loss, or needed someone to believe in you when you didn’t believe in yourself, this episode will hit home.Watch and listen at https://betempered.comSupport the show at https://patreon.com/betemperedFollow BeTempered for more real conversations about faith, resilience, and growth.Send us Fan MailSupport the show
Transcribe →BeTempered Episode 100 - Real Stories From People Who Stopped Hiding and Started Healing
Apr 1001:29:13Tap to summarizeEpisode 100 isn’t polished and that’s the point.This time, it’s not one guest sitting across the table. It’s a room full of people who have lived it. People who have carried addiction, trauma, loss, shame, and still chose to show up anyway.On this episode of the BeTempered Podcast, hosts Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr step into something different. You’ll hear voices from past conversations and new ones stepping forward for the first time. Stories like Joni Reed and others who reached a moment where saying the hard thing out loud changed everything.You can feel it happen in real time. That moment where the weight comes off. Not just for the person speaking, but for everyone listening.We talk about addiction recovery, eating disorders, trauma that stayed buried for years, and the ripple effect of honesty. The kind that breaks cycles. The kind that makes faith personal again.If you’ve followed this journey, you’ve heard stories from people who looked fine on the outside but were fighting battles no one saw. Episode 100 brings that all into one room. No filters. No pretending.We also get real about what this has cost. Carrying these stories doesn’t come without weight. It affects marriages, families, and energy, and we don’t avoid that conversation.Then we look ahead.The BeTempered Standard is coming. A program focused on students, resilience, and real conversations before life forces those conversations later.If you’ve ever felt like you’re carrying something no one else understands, this episode is for you.Watch and subscribe at https://betempered.com Support the mission at https://patreon.com/betemperedSend us Fan MailSupport the show
Transcribe →BeTempered Episode 99 - She Looked Fine But Was Falling Apart with Cindy Lee
Apr 301:44:58Tap to summarizeCindy Lee shows up with energy, humor, and a presence that lights up the room. But behind that is a story most people would never guess. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 28, battling relentless fatigue, surviving a head-on crash that left her with guilt she couldn’t shake, and walking through a career shift that pushed her into a level of depression she didn’t think she’d come back from.In this conversation with Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr, Cindy opens up about what MS actually feels like day to day. The triggers. The mental fog. The constant adjustments just to function. But more than that, she talks about choosing not to let it define her outcome.This episode goes deeper than just illness. It hits on burnout, purpose, and the quiet weight of holding everything in while looking completely fine on the outside. Cindy shares the moment she finally told the truth after years of silence, and how leaning into service became the thing that kept her going. From probation work to leadership roles, she believes people only change when they feel seen and held accountable.If you’ve ever felt like you’re barely holding it together behind the scenes, this one is going to hit.Watch, listen, and share with someone who needs it.https://betempered.com https://patreon.com/betempered Send us Fan MailSupport the show
Transcribe →BeTempered Episode 98 - The Downward Spiral No One Talks About with Donald Reed
Mar 2701:54:58Tap to summarizeRock bottom doesn’t always look like chaos. Sometimes it looks like a normal life slowly coming apart behind the scenes. In this episode, that’s exactly where the story begins before everything spirals.Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Donald Reed, whose journey didn’t start with addiction, but with identity loss, divorce, and depression that cracked the door open just enough. What followed was a rapid descent into cocaine, pills, meth, dealing, and ultimately the needle. Donald breaks down the real psychology of addiction, the constant bargaining, the shame that fuels the next hit, and how each return pulls you deeper than the last. From trap houses to an overdose that should have ended everything, his story doesn’t hold back.Then comes the moment no one expects. Arrested in his own hometown, handcuffed on a front step, Donald feels something he hadn’t felt in years…peace. That moment becomes the turning point into a faith-driven recovery shaped by jail ministry, confession, Scripture, and real accountability.Now over eight years sober, Donald and his wife Joni Reed are helping others find their way out through Crossroad Christian Recovery Center for Women, a no-cost residential program in Richmond, Indiana. Supported by donors, churches, volunteers, and prayer, their mission is restoring lives and rebuilding families.If you or someone you love needs help or wants to support the mission, visit https://www.crossroadchristianrecovery.org/If you feel stuck, this conversation is a reminder that change can start with one honest moment.Watch and listen at https://betempered.comSupport the mission at https://patreon.com/betemperedSend us Fan MailSupport the show
Transcribe →BeTempered Episode 97 - The Reality of Addiction and the Power of Faith with Joni Reed
Mar 2001:54:05Tap to summarizeSome stories do not build slowly. They hit you with the reality of what trauma and addiction actually do, and they force you to sit in it before showing you what redemption can look like.Dan Schmidt and Ben Spahr sit down with Joni Reed for a raw and honest conversation about a life shaped early by chaos, fear, and instability. Growing up in a home marked by severe mental illness, repeated suicide attempts, and abuse, Joni learned how to survive long before she ever had the chance to just be a kid. What looked normal from the outside was anything but on the inside. This part of the conversation puts words to the kind of pain that often stays hidden and unspoken.As the years go on, the story moves into addiction. What started as early substance use turned into opioid addiction, IV drug use, and a cycle that took over everything. This is an honest look at what that life actually feels like. The physical pain of withdrawal. The mental obsession that never shuts off. The constant loop of trying to get out while being pulled right back in. Joni shares what it was like to lose her nursing school dream on the final day, why consequences alone never created change, and how addiction slowly strips away everything that once mattered.The conversation also dives into the role of Suboxone, the complexity around recovery paths, and how grief can become fuel for relapse. There is a turning point where things get even darker as meth enters the picture, leading to the loss of nearly everything, including custody of her children. This episode does not soften any of it. It tells the truth about how far things can fall.Then everything shifts.At her lowest point, when there seemed to be nothing left, a prison Bible shows up and something begins to change. Through conviction, repentance, fasting, and learning to truly listen for God’s voice, a different path starts to form. This is where the story moves from survival into transformation. Not just sobriety, but a complete change in identity and purpose.Joni Reed now has more than eight years of sobriety and serves as the Executive Director of Crossroad Christian Recovery Center for Women in Richmond, Indiana. She now walks alongside women who are facing the same battles she once fought, helping them find real freedom through faith, structure, and support.This episode is for anyone who has struggled with addiction, experienced trauma, loved someone in that fight, or wondered if change is still possible.If this conversation impacts you, share it with someone who needs it and help us continue to bring these stories to light.Listen, follow, and support BeTempered:https://betempered.comhttps://patreon.com/betemperedLearn more about Crossroad Christian Recovery Center:https://www.crossroadchristianrecovery.org/Send us Fan MailSupport the show
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