Podcast
Daily Got a Minute Message with John Ed
Hosted by John Ed Mathison · EN
In each episode of “Got a Minute,” retired Methodist minister John Ed Mathison will share a small piece of wisdom to help you through your day.
72episodes
Episodes
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Quit Making Excuses
Yesterday00:00:58Tap to summarizeVictoria Nodiff-Netanel wanted to teach miniature horses to play a portable piano. It sounds impossible. Instead of finding an excuse, she started teaching them to run their muzzles across a keyboard creating tunes that might not be totally correct but are at least very entertaining. They visit hospitals and try to offer encouragement to children who have been rescued from abusive households and families that have been displaced by last year’s wildfires. She said, “It’s pretty hard not to smile and feel joy when you see a little tiny horse playing a keyboard.” Today, are you willing to quit making excuses and try something that most folks say can’t be done? If Victoria can teach a miniature horse to play the piano—God can help you accomplish what He leads you to do.
Transcribe →America's Greatest Invention
2d ago00:00:59Tap to summarizeWhat is America’s greatest unsung innovation. I saw that title and it intrigued me. It was not the internet or the light bulb or airplanes or refrigerators, but it was one guy named John Dorr who proposed as a lifesaver a white line on the right side of the road. You depend on it every day without thinking about it. The white line gives drivers somewhere to aim their eyes at night other than oncoming headlights. It was cheap and helpful to everyone who drives. A simple white line, and some special paint, and a great idea have reportedly saved the lives of thousands of people. What you do might seem to be simple and not cost very much, but could be extremely important. How creative can you be today?
Transcribe →False Front
3d ago00:00:59Tap to summarizeWhat do you do to make yourself appear that you are really tough? There’s a new craze in Russia where a person who wants to be extremely masculine looking can pay to get “cauliflower ears” which is usually seen on boxers and MMA fighters. It costs about $80 per ear. The cauliflower ears naturally develop when frequent blows to the ear cause blood clotting and fluid around the cartilage. A psychologist said that this simply gives an appearance of “ostentatious masculinity.” The psychologist goes on to say that it’s really not as convincing as the people who pay $160 think because it can be so easily spotted. Don’t try to put up a false front—just be the person God created you to be and don’t try to make a false appearance.
Transcribe →Consequences
4d ago00:01:00Tap to summarizeSome things seem to never go away, even if we try to forget about them. You can ask a Chinese man named Deng who is 67 years old and was recently hospitalized with excruciating abdominal pain. Thirty years earlier, he had swallowed a cigarette lighter when he was drinking and took a dare. His mistake is still plaguing him 30 years later. He underwent a gastroscopy to find the source of the pain and the doctors saw it. It was actually a blackened object that had been corroded by stomach acid. To their amazement, when they retrieved it, the lighter still worked. Deng said that he had tried to forget all about it. He didn’t expect it to stay that long. When you do something wrong, it will show up later with bad consequences. Confess, receive God’s forgiveness, and you can have a different future.
Transcribe →Make Someone Happy
5d ago00:00:58Tap to summarizeHow is the best way to relate to someone going through a tough time? Sam Aggarwal owns a bagel shop in Wyckoff, New Jersey. He has a customer, Megan Ragucci, who is 10 years old and has lost her hair because of an autoimmune condition that has no known cure. People stare at her and think she has cancer. She is quick to say, “I’m bald, not sick, so it really bothers me when people treat me like there is something wrong with me.” When Megan came into Sam’s bagel shop for her regular visit, Sam invited her to watch as he shaved his head. He said he wanted to look like her because she was so pretty. It was the best medicine that Megan could’ve received. Sam put a big smile on Megan’s face. He said he had never seen her so happy. What can you do today to make somebody happy?
Transcribe →Finding a Cure
1w ago00:00:58Tap to summarizeBryan Johnson is a former tech CEO and famous for saying that he expected to live to be 160 years old. He discovered that he has autoimmune gastritis. Bryan put together a team to look for a cure for this disease, which reportedly has no cure. He doesn’t believe that any disease is incurable. He is a determined man with a positive goal. Don’t count him out. He wants to cure the source of the problem and not just the symptoms. We have physical, mental, and spiritual challenges. Do you just treat the symptoms, or do you ask God to help you treat the source? He is the Great Physician and He can help you live beyond 160 years—His cure for your problem can help you live for eternity.
Transcribe →Learning Well
1w ago00:00:58Tap to summarizeBe ready at all times to offer help to an individual in trouble, even if you think it’s just a learning experiment. EMT students at Wisconsin’s Fox Valley Technical College were taking a practical exam to see how they could handle a simulated heart attack exercise involving the instructor, Karl Arps. He was the “patient” but he underwent an actual heart attack. The EMT students knew what to do. He later underwent triple bypass surgery. I guess he wondered how well his students were listening. When he was actually having a heart attack during a practical test, he discovered that they had really listened well. When you are in a learning process, listen well. When you have an opportunity to exercise what you have learned, do it with excellence.
Transcribe →Tough Decisions
1w ago00:00:57Tap to summarizeWhen do you call off an event because you think it might be too dangerous? Western Australia has an annual Lake Argyle Swim and has over 400 swimmers who compete in the contest. A day before the contest, a freshwater crocodile attacked four people in that same lake. They went ahead with the event and maybe the crocodile was scared to attack 400 swimmers. The secretary of the Darwin Swimming Club said that the crocodile may have given all of them motivation to swim faster. I’m not affirming the decision to have the contest a day after the attack by the crocodile. I’m not sure what would be the best decision—but it’s one of those things that happen in life where somebody has to decide. How do you make tough decisions?
Transcribe →The Right Recognition
2w ago00:00:58Tap to summarizeA French professor wanted to be recognized so he designed a glitzy international gala and awarded himself the top prize. He actually is a professor of Philology which is the study of language through historical texts. He accepted the Gold Medal of Philology at an event at the National Assembly in Paris. They had Novel laureates and government ministers attend and discovered that the whole thing was a hoax and a poor creation by a man who wanted to be recognized. The best way to be recognized is not doing something for yourself, but doing something that makes a difference in the life of people. Receiving the applause of your peers is nothing compared to hearing God say, “good job.” Where do you get your affirmation?
Transcribe →Thankful Hearts
2w ago00:00:59Tap to summarizeKayla Kunz was eating lunch with her two sons, Oscar and Harrison, at a Panda Express in Pooler, Georgia. They saw two soldiers eating there and asked if they could go and say thank you to the guys. They approached the soldiers and in a simple but powerful gesture thanked them for their service. We were able to celebrate a 250-year birthday of America because of men like those two soldiers who served our nation and many of them died. The 250-year celebration needs to go on every day as we thank people and God for how they have given us a future. We need more boys like Harrison and Oscar. Are you willing to offer a thank you today to people who are making a difference in our country? That doesn’t take much talent, but it does take a thankful heart to give the time to say thank you.
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