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What a Gift Podcast

What a Gift Podcast

By: FOCUS
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About this listen

 What a Gift is a podcast by two friends who are not, by nature, the kind of people who look at life’s chaos and chirp, “What a gift!” But maybe we should be. So we’re practicing — one conversation at a time. Join us as we talk (and laugh, and sometimes complain) about the little things, the big feelings, and the weird in-between moments that make up life… and maybe figure out how to mean it when we say: “What a gift.”FOCUS Social Sciences
Episodes
  • The Christmas Episode

    The Christmas Episode
    Dec 22 2025

    Help us ring in our SECOND SEASON with a journey through all things Christmas! You'll be feeling warm and cozy in no time—just time your coffee sips carefully 😂


    This one was early, but look for new episodes on Thursdays wherever you listen! Don't forget to go to seekreplay.com for episodes 1 week ahead of everywhere else!
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    52 mins
  • Talking It Out & Social Media

    Talking It Out & Social Media
    Dec 11 2025
    What if your greatest strength is your biggest flaw, and what if your phone knows you better than you know yourself? This week on the What a Gift podcast, We dive into the skills of talking it out and the blessing and curse that is social media. We get honest, real, and unwrap the gifts hiding in healthy communication, online identity, and why letting go of unspoken shame is the ultimate relief.🎁 WHAT’S INSIDE 🎁The Gift of Talking It OutWe begin by discussing the human need and necessary skill of addressing conflict.Jule, an external processor, shares that she must instantly talk it out if she senses that the "vibe is off". She admits that she tends toward being an "anxious people pleaser" and has learned patience from her introverted husband, Chris, who needs time to process conflicts.Sarra reflects on learning healthy conflict resolution as an adult and her past tendency to keep conflict to herself, believing, "I'm just a burden. I'll just keep it to myself".They discuss the profound power of speaking shame aloud, noting that when hard things are "locked up inside of us, it's so easy to believe that it's our identity". As soon as something is spoken aloud, "it's separate from us".Confession and therapy are named as powerful places to speak the "unspeakable," allowing light to shine on problems and helping them find the truth.The Gift of Social MediaSarra unwraps the gift of social media, stating that she sees it as a tool that can be wielded in a healthy way.Jule shares how early social media (AOL Instant Messenger and MySpace) fundamentally rewired her brain chemistry, especially as a homeschooler. This era created an obsession with crafting her "brand," asking herself: "what color am I and what buddy icon am I".We discuss the constant pressure of being perceived, noting that social media changes brain chemistry to make users think all the time about how we are being perceived.Jule notes that TikTok has served as a mentor, teaching her new recipes and techniques like how to do her eyebrows.We stress the importance of gut checks to ensure we’re not measuring ourselves against fake curated lives.* * *Hit follow or subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes!Hang out with us and thousands of other Gifties at SEEK in January ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/3IPoew4⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AND when you register, use promo code FOCUSGIFT for exclusive pre-SEEK content, including never-before-released talks from Fr. Mike Schmitz, Sr. Bethany Madonna SV and more, AND a chance to win one of three $100 vouchers for FOCUS/SEEK Merch!LISTEN & FOLLOW US EVERYWHERE:🚨 Head over to Replay to watch the latest episode a week ahead of everywhere else! http://www.seekreplay.com/category/whatagift/Find it on YouTube → https://youtube.com/@whatagiftpodcastFind it on Spotify → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/4vnHBKphp6xEBUsJNerBdT?si=59poYSVvQVOzj8TOIaHPaQ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Find it on Apple Podcasts → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-a-gift/id1839023006⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:✨ Sarra’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/sarrara/✨ Jule’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/c0ppacabana/✨ FOCUS' IG: https://www.instagram.com/focuscatholic/Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠whatagift@focus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or leave a comment!Register on Replay to join our email list → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠seekreplay.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For more original content and early releases, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠seekreplay.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠What a Gift is a production of FOCUS. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.focus.org⁠⁠
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    40 mins
  • Chores & Traditions

    Chores & Traditions
    Dec 4 2025
    When you think about it, didn’t scrubbing the bathroom as kids teach us a lifetime of work ethic? This week on the What a Gift podcast, we're diving into the daily routines and intentional rituals that shaped our lives. We're getting honest, we're getting real, and we're unwrapping the gifts hiding in traditions and chores.🎁 WHAT’S INSIDE 🎁The Gift of ChoresWe begin by discussing the gifts found in household duties, reflecting on how both our fathers, who had served in the Navy, enforced a strict ethos of chores. Jule unwraps the gift of chores, recalling the family standard of Saturday chore day. Jule shares her resentment over having to clean the hall bathroom used by her two brothers (noting that they somehow can never pee directly into the toilet) while her brothers got to mow the lawn. Sarra recounts her own experience with chores, sharing that while growing up she sometimes felt like an indentured slave to her parents, the duties taught her skills, contrasting her experience with that of a former roommate who, upon finding a lamp bulb had burnt out assumed the entire lamp was broken.The Gift of TraditionsSarra unwraps the gift of traditions, stating that traditions help carve out special moments and prevent a week or a year from becoming a "blank homogeneous blob of days". Sarra shares a tradition from her time on a FOCUS team, where birthdays were celebrated with a special breakfast and a personalized song written by her team director and campus minister. Jule visualizes holidays as the "little special squares" on a Candy Land board of life. Jule remembers her mother’s dedication to building traditions, such as lining up in age order before opening Christmas presents, and singing "O come, O come, Emmanuel" during Advent dinners. The conversation focuses on the infamous Coppa Family Easter tradition, which was a highly competitive basket hunt requiring participants to follow a trail of cryptic, rhyming couplets written by Jule's dad. Sarra relates her own traumatic Easter story where her dad hid her solid chocolate bunny in an outrageous location.* * *Hit follow or subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes!Hang out with us and thousands of other Gifties at SEEK in January ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://bit.ly/3IPoew4⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AND when you register, use promo code FOCUSGIFT for exclusive pre-SEEK content, including never-before-released talks from Fr. Mike Schmitz, Sr. Bethany Madonna SV and more, AND a chance to win one of three $100 vouchers for FOCUS/SEEK Merch!LISTEN & FOLLOW US EVERYWHERE:🚨 Head over to Replay to watch the latest episode a week ahead of everywhere else! http://www.seekreplay.com/category/whatagift/Find it on YouTube → https://youtube.com/@whatagiftpodcastFind it on Spotify → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/4vnHBKphp6xEBUsJNerBdT?si=59poYSVvQVOzj8TOIaHPaQ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Find it on Apple Podcasts → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-a-gift/id1839023006⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:✨ Sarra’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/sarrara/✨ Jule’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/c0ppacabana/✨ FOCUS' IG: https://www.instagram.com/focuscatholic/Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠whatagift@focus.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or leave a comment!Register on Replay to join our email list → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠seekreplay.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠For more original content and early releases, please visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠seekreplay.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠What a Gift is a production of FOCUS. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.focus.org⁠⁠
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    41 mins
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