Welcome to the second special episode of the summer break series on A Cup of Gratitude. This week we are talking about how important it is to take a step in the right direction. I am featuring a song by Erica Renee Mckinney, Erica has been a guest on the show and has become a great friend. I so admire her talent and her vulnerability. Erica is a Singer/Songwriter and Recording Artist from the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. This Mountian Native deeply respects her Mountian heritage and loves music close to her roots. Erica grew up all around rootsy music her whole life but never pursued a career in music until later in life when she decided to close down her very successful hair business of 16 years to pursue a music career. Recording from her in-home studio in 2019 after closing out the business earlier that year as an independent artist, she released her first full-length Album, “Come Praise the Lord,” in the Christian music genre with her first music video to promote her single “Come Praise The Lord”.  Flying to Fort Worth TX. With TenFourFilms in early 2021 and she released the single and Album in late fall of 2021. The North Carolina Native recently recorded in Nashville at “Wei Rock” a new single coming out this fall titled “Overwhelmed,” (Which we will be featuring today) followed by seven more songs, all surrounding her life lessons with overwhelm, burnout, healing, and finding your true identity and calling, which took place during the closing of her salon. Her passions include teaching others how to heal, recognizing and identifying the root, and strategically putting solutions in place for full recovery and longevity to prevent relapse with burnout. We have such a necessary teaching for you today Something we all struggle with and the promises from God we can count on

www.ericareneemckinney.com

Welcome to my Summer Break Series Special Episode Number One! This week I have a story for you straight from God's Heart. Let's take a look at where it all began: in the garden. At the end of this special episode is a new song from Laurel Taylor. Praying you are enjoying a beautiful summer day!

LAUREL TAYLOR IS AN ARTIST AND SINGER/SONGWRITER IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.  ORIGINALLY FROM ALABAMA, SHE MADE HER MOVE TO MUSIC CITY TEN YEARS AGO, RIGHT AFTER TURNING EIGHTEEN.  FROM THE AMERICAN IDOL STAGE, TO TOOTSIES ON BROADWAY, TO THE LOCAL CHURCH LEADING WORSHIP, HER VOICE AND SOUND SPEAKS TO EVERY CROWD.  LAUREL CARRIES AN EXCELLENT STAGE PRESENCE AND LIVE SHOW PERFORMANCE EVERYWHERE SHE GOES.  SHE HAS A RAW COUNTRY SOUND, MINISTRY MINDSET, AND HER OWN UNIQUE STYLE.  LAUREL USES HER LIFE STORIES TO SPEAK TO PEOPLE THRU HER MUSIC AND INTENTIONALLY WRITES FOR EVERYONE THAT LISTENS. 

https://laureltaylormusic.com/new-page-1

This week I speak with Sandee Macgregor who is the creator and founder of the website Sovereign Radiance, a hope-filled place for mothers to be encouraged with the truth of the gospel while reminding them they are not alone in their journey. She is also the author of the devotional A Mother-Daughter Devotional and Shared Journal Experience for Psalm 119, which encourages and enables the building of a deeper spiritual bond between a mother and her daughter(s) through reading a short Psalm 119 devotion segment together. Now she has blessed us with a new devotional targeted at mothers and sons. Using the same tender approach, she offers mothers a way to build deep relations with their sons using the book of Proverbs. Educated and trained as a teacher, Sandee continues to teach at home while pursuing her love of writing. She is a follower of Christ, a wife to Duncan for 27 years, and a mom to five children. we look at her childhood up to the present and find the beautiful thread of Jesus working in her life. You won’t want to miss this amazing episode!

http://sandeemacgregor.com/
Instagram @sandee.macgregor
https://www.facebook.com/sandee.macgregor/

*Theme Music “Blessed Time” by Ketsa 

This week I speak with Colette Lawrence a woman who has come to know and experience the Lord as the lover of her soul and the one who loves her beyond her comprehension. She is a faith walker, motivator, encourager, and an empowered woman who is called and equipped to serve women to walk in confidence and live their lives purposefully. Colette founded the M.E.E. Movement L.L.C. in 2019 as a faith-based empowerment ministry business that helps women of faith through life coaching, mentoring, and empowerment speaking. She lives by Romans 8:28 “For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His will.” We look at her childhood to the present and find the incredible presence of God in every season! You won’t want to miss this encouraging episode! 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MEEMovementLLC
IG: https://www.instagram.com/?hl=en
Website: https://www.themeemovementllc.com/

*Theme Music “Blessed Time” by Ketsa 

This week I speak with Amy Debrucque . She is a wife. mother. confidence coach. author. cancer survivor. encourager. Believer. Amy’s website offers free resources and a weekly newsletter filled with wisdom from guest speakers, experience, and helpful tools that meet women where they are but don't leave them there. Additionally, Amy has had articles featured in ThriveGlobal, Womenencouraged.com, InDependent, DisplayingGrace, ForEveryMom, YourTango, Today Parenting, and Darling Magazine. She has also been a guest speaker on multiple podcasts. Amy released her first book, Embolden in 2021 reminding women that although fear is normal, courage gets the final say. Her faith in God is what gives her the courage to be intentional in all areas of her life. We take a look at Amy’s childhood up to the present to see the beautiful work of Jesus in her life. You won’t want to miss this encouraging episode!

www.amydebrucque.com

https://www.amazon.com/em-bold-en-Amy-Blair-Debrucque/dp/1735632821/ref=sw_img_ci_mcx_mr_huc_d_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1735632821&pd_rd_w=DykkG&content-id=amzn1.sym.8a0bf4ec-7e38-4f5b-b977-bf5fbba319ee&pf_rd_p=8a0bf4ec-7e38-4f5b-b977-bf5fbba319ee&pf_rd_r=XFH1MN698TP7HB530T3X&pd_rd_wg=bvqvJ&pd_rd_r=e90c75b6-ba24-4aff-8636-e96c81c133fc

*Theme Music “Blessed Time” by Ketsa 

This week I speak with Joy K. Massenburge who crafts contemporary love stories. She serves on the national board of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). When she is not writing, she is speaking at retreats and conferences helping God’s writers develop a finisher’s mindset so they can overcome struggles and complete their manuscripts. She married a football player turned pastor…they raised pastor’s kids (PKs) a son and two daughters. They are blessed to love six grandchildren.

www. joykmassenburge.com
[email protected]

Links:
website: https://www.joykmassenburge.com/
Book to Speak: https://www.joykmassenburge.com/contact-1
Java w/ Joy: https://www.joykmassenburge.com/javawithjoyIG: https://www.instagram.com/joymassenburge/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JKMandAcommunity/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joy.massenburge/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwLR179ejdvuK056W6yWySQ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joykmassenburge?lang=en

*Theme Music “Blessed Time” by Ketsa

This week I speak with Bruce Pulver who is a Christ follower, husband of 29 years, father of two adult daughters, four-time author, podcaster, and full-time global activational speaker. His mission is to impact the life of every person he meets positively. He is passionate about the power of our words and how they affect our thoughts, beliefs, intentions, actions, and ultimately our outcomes in life.  His TEDx talk “The Secret to Changing Negative Self-talk by Renewing Your Mindset” has reached over a third of a million people and his daily mindset messages have made over 6 million impressions through direct outreach and on his social media channels. His podcast “Can I Have A Word With You?” is approaching its first anniversary of weekly episodes where he unpacks a single word and its impact on ourselves and others merely through how we choose to use it. He has donated thousands of copies of his first book “Above The Chatter, Our Words Matter” to individuals and organizThisations committed to helping others through rough patches in life. This includes Hospitals, Homeless Shelters, Addiction Recovery Programs, Trafficking and Exploitations Assistance Programs, Veterans Services, Orphanages, and more. We look at his childhood up to the present to find the beautiful thread of Jesus working in his life.  You won't want to miss this inspiring episode!

http://www.abovethechatterourwordsmatter.com/
*Theme Music “Blessed Time” by Ketsa 

This week I speak with Cheryl Grey Bostrom. For most of her life, Pacific Northwest naturalist, photographer, poet, and Tyndale author Cheryl Grey Bostrom has lived in the rural and wild lands that infuse her writing. Her work has appeared in a variety of print and online publications, including the American Scientific Affiliation’s God and Nature Magazine (for which she’s a regular photo essayist) and her blog: Watching Nature, Seeing Life. Her four books include two novels: Sugar Birds (Christianity Today’s Award of Merit, ACFW Carol Award, and Christy Finalist) and its sequel Chalk Horse (launching May 2024). Cheryl is a keen storyteller, always seeing the iconic snapshot within the big picture of everyday life and finding the words to describe the moment in such vivid detail that you feel as if you are there with her. Our conversation looks at her childhood up to the present and it’s incredible to see how God has written her story the exact same way! You won’t want to miss this inspiring episode!

Website: www.cherylbostrom.com

FB author page:  www.facebook.com/cherylgreybostrom/

IG: @cherylgreybostrom

*Theme Music “Blessed Time” by Ketsa

This week I speak with Joanne Hagemeyer. When she received her own Bible at the age of nine, she read the whole book, from preface to concordance, with transcendent joy, knowing these were the very words of God. Today, Joanne continues in God’s call to teach, counsel, mentor, and train in God's word and Spirit through retreats, Bible studies, and online classes. After leading and teaching a Bible class of 350–500 students from 2003 to 2013, Joanne retired in 2018 as an advisor and mentor to eight Bible classes in the Maryland area through Bible Study Fellowship. She began teaching and speaking through Ancient Voices, Sacred Stories, LLC, then founded Grace and Peace, Joanne. Joanne earned her Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Portland Seminary and serves as a member of both the pastoral team and pulpit teaching team of her church. A long-time amateur archaeologist, Joanne joined the Board of Directors for the Biblical Archaeology Forum in 2013 and has participated in two excavations, Tel Kabri and Tel Akko, Israel. We look at Joanne’s life from childhood to the present and are so encouraged by the beautiful thread of Jesus working in her life!! You won’t want to miss this inspiring episode! 

Www.graceandoeacejoanne.com
https://youtube.com/@GraceandPeaceJoanne

*Theme Music “Blessed Time by Ketsa 

This week I speak with Denielle Placid. She is a living testimony of "you are not what happened to you " and through this lens, she built a renewed sense of personal self-worth and ultimately recalibrated her responses to circumstances, situations, and relationships. Her entire life is wrapped up in being the woman she was designed to be. With her warm, supportive, person-centered, and faith-based approach Denielle put girls' and women's voices at the center of every conversation helping them lead and create positive change. She specializes in helping girls and women with a history of trauma, abuse, limiting beliefs, relationship challenges, and spiritual life issues. Denielle Placide referred to as #Pricelesswoman is extremely passionate and driven to address the very real challenges girls and women face today.  Her life was impacted as a teenager through various negative experiences which birthed The Priceless Foundation for Women (NPO) in 2016 with a mission to Educate, Empower, and Elevate girls and women of all stages. Outside of her role of founder and president of PFFW she uses her voice and serves other through her private practice Safe Place Family Life Enrichment Centre Ltd as a Family Life Counselor, Teen Girls and Women Empowerment Life Coach, Author, Keynote Speaker, Pastor, and Podcaster. Denielle considers the counseling room a sacred space where deep heart change occurs. Her warm, collaborative, person-centered, approach allows her clients to feel safe while sharing their hurt, and pain and life experiences. She empowers her clients to live a better life, by exploring and connecting with what really matters. Helping them move beyond survival to a life where they thrive in a haven of emotional health and positive transformation. Her educational journey are in areas such as Family Life Education, Psychology, Trauma, Grief, Mental Health Behaviours and Disorders, Post - Abortion Recovery, Human Resource Management, Women and Girls Empowerment Life Coaching, and Theology, and is now pursuing her Ph.D. – Psychology. Married to Hasley Placide for the past 23 years, and together they share and joyfully parent three young adults Jordaine, Jaedon, and Josh. They all reside on the beautiful Island of Trinidad and Tobago. Denielle believes that God is in Her Story, and He is in the details.

www.safeplacefamilylife.com
https://www.facebook.com/denielle.placide?mibextid=LQQJ4d

*Theme Muscis “Blessed Time”