Christy Braddock has struggled with shame from a teen pregnancy and years later, abortion. The guilt became a heavy weight to carry. Christy got pregnant at 15 and gave her baby up for adoption. Then at 21 she became pregnant again, but this time she decided to keep the baby and get married, thinking this was her second chance to raise a child. But because her marriage was so dysfunctional she made some poor choices, including abortion, that she’s had to overcome with Jesus’ grace and forgiveness. Today, Christy’s passion is helping women to break free from shame and boldly share their testimonies and, because of that, has created The Shine Collective with Christy B., a space for healing hearts and brave stories. When you hear her testimony of faith today, you’ll also hear the joy and light that comes from within her since she’s found freedom and forgiveness through the love of Jesus. Here's Christy's story...

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Watch Breaking Free from Shame: Pregnant at 15, Redeemed by Faith with Christy Braddock

As we’ve entered the last week of May, I remember how crazy this time of year is for those who have school-aged children. I know a lot of parents are in what many call Maycember. The chaotic final days of the school year entail so many parties, ceremonies, graduations, proms, concerts, teacher appreciation gifts and sports tournaments. It can also bring lots of anticipation, with kids looking forward to summer break and wondering what teacher they’ll have next year.

For me, however, I’m often reminded of a difficult memory that occurred over 20 years ago at the conclusion of my son’s first year of kindergarten. That year I had to tell six-year-old Jacob he wouldn’t be moving up to first grade with his friends in the fall.

Several months earlier, Jacob’s kindergarten teacher called my husband and me in for what we thought was a routine conference. Expecting to hear glowing reports of our son’s schoolwork, we were instead faced with a situation that brought frustration and heartache to our family.

Jacob’s teacher began by saying Jacob had been very distracted over the last few months, and she felt he needed to be tested for ADD. She handed us a paper outlining the symptoms and advised us to have a doctor confirm the diagnosis.

Then she dropped the bomb.

“I believe Jacob would be better off if you held him back a year,” she said coolly. “Of course, the choice is yours, but he won’t benefit if you send him on ahead.”

Here's Jacob's story...

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Watch on YouTube Lessons Learned and Victories Won Through Our Son's Struggle with ADD with Carol Roper https://youtu.be/IO7tY33uiCU

Liz Cobo says that nothing has deepened her faith and changed her walk with Jesus like studying the Bible. Studying God's Word literally changed her life. Things that were once important priorities aren’t anymore. Things that were once afterthoughts are now at the top of her list.  Scripture is God's self-revelation and is available to anyone willing to take the time and make the effort to read and study. Liz understands that now. God promises in his Word that he will give us greater understanding of His Word when we read it.  Liz always believed in God, but didn’t always know Jesus and lived a lot of her life not knowing what the Bible says and doesn't say. Maybe you’ve experienced (or are experiencing) the same thing? We know what it means to be an unbeliever or to be unchurched. But what about believers who don't know God's word? She describes them as soldiers who take no weapons or no armor into war. 

Liz wants women to become educated believers and shares practical ways to learn. Her passion is to help them understand, study and apply the word of God in their daily lives. And to share God’s truth with grace to unbelievers and the unBibled.

We talk about all of this and more in this episode. Here's Liz' story...

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Watch on YouTube Do You Know How to Gracefully Defend Your Faith? with Liz Cobo

I don’t know about you, but in my home the laundry room is considered one of the most important rooms. It’s command central. When my kids were still at home it was also a disaster on most days. Oh, it might be clean for a few brief hours, but then when everyone started slinging off boots and muddy clothes, you’d never know I’d darkened the door that day.

Many days the frustration of laundry, picking up clothes, blankets, cups and shoes (the list could go on infinitely) is overwhelming, especially with kids in the home. Before my children flew the nest, I’d get mad and start to spew at them, wanting to ask the question my mom used to ask us in jest (mostly), “What’d your last maid die of—overwork and underpay?” I always laughed at that question, but now I can appreciate the significance of it. That’s sure what it feels like sometimes.

Listen as I share a perspective I learned years ago that helped me no blow a fuse every time I walked in the door to a messy house and laundry room.

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Watch on YouTube Are You Harboring Bitterness Toward Your Messy Family? with Carol Roper

Husband-and-wife music duo, Kenny and Claire Hilliard both grew up in the upstate of South Carolina before God took them the long way around to finally settle in Nashville, TN.  In 2015, during Kenny’s tenure as a senior pastor and worship leader in Asheville, North Carolina, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Shortly after successful surgery to remove the tumor, Kenny received a second diagnosis, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome—a degenerative genetic disease that left him temporarily impaired. The couple embraced a return to music during Kenny’s recovery, founding a music teaching studio and penning modern hymns for their home congregation. Kenny and Claire also share some of their travel experiences from being on the road six months of the year touring with their 3 kids in an RV across the country. This special couple is honest about the struggles they’ve endured and continue giving God glory via their music through it all.

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Watch on YouTube Are You Weary? A Musical Duo's Story of Hope Through Life's Storms with Kenny and Claire Hilliard

When my kids were teens, I shared with both of them that I used to curse—a lot. You should have seen the expressions on their faces as their jaws dropped, and eyes grew wide with disbelief.  “Not you Mom! I don’t believe it!” I was pleased that I had to convince them otherwise, glad that I’d decided when they were both very little that my speech needed to change. That, and the Holy Spirit got ahold of me.

When I was thinking about this week’s kitchen table topic, I was surprised by some of the pushback I received. I had no idea that cursing for Christians was a controversial subject.  No, the Bible doesn’t explicitly say, thou shalt not curse, but as I looked up scriptures about our speech, I believe it’s overwhelmingly clear that God does not want us using bad language to express ourselves, especially in front of those who aren’t Christians.

Listen as I share what I learned the Bible has to say about our speech and how we should portray ourselves as Christians in the episode.

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Watch on YouTube Is It Really That Bad for Christians to Cuss? with Carol Roper

For show notes visit CarolRoper.org

Mary Marantz knows how fear can hold us back. Even though she was able to leave the musty single-wide trailer of her childhood in West Virginia and make her way to Yale Law School, she always carried the fear that she would be found out. Even though she had worked hard and earned every grade and scholarship she received she thought others saw her as an imposter. So, she strove to be the best at everything she did, and she was. But the life of perfection has a way of draining the joy out of you. Mary finally realized that fear was holding her hostage to a life that didn’t provide freedom and that he is a boring liar. In this episode she shares part of her fascinating story of growing up in rural West Virginia, which is the topic of her first book, Dirt, with a dad who was a proud eighth generation logger, a mom who cleaned houses and her amazing grandma Goldie. In her newest book, Underestimated, she shares how she overcame perfectionism, procrastination, people-pleasing and more. She understands the drive to prove others wrong and show everyone just how far you’ve come, while also doubting yourself at every turn. Mary has learned that we all must own the muddy parts of our stories so we can move forward in the purpose God has for us. Because, as Mary says, God does His best work in the muddy, messy, and broken if we’ll only learn to dig in. 

Go to Carolroper.org for show notes

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Watch on YouTube Underestimated: From a Single-Wide Trailer in W. Va. to Yale Law School withe Mary Marantz

When I started this podcast, my two best friends, Frieda Younts and Julie Bagwell, graciously agreed to be my first interview. We wanted to help other women find and experience friendship like ours, because good, godly friends can have an amazing impact on your life, as we all can testify. One of the things Frieda said during that interview describes the foundation of our friendship.

She said, “We started with [honoring God in our get-togethers]. When we started with that, God knit us together. That’s why we don’t have huge arguments because we’re knit together by God. He started our friendship, and I think we’ll be friends till we die.”

I sure hope so.

You might be listening to this thinking, “Good for you, Carol. I’m glad you found your friends but I’m still lonely, wishing I had at least one good friend I could count on.” And I understand. I remember how hard those days were when I was a young mom. Or maybe your kids have moved out and you’re struggling to learn how to live this new empty-nest lifestyle and would love to pour out your heart to other women in the same stage of life. Or you may have recently moved to a new community, and you don’t know how to find someone you can relate to.

As I look back at how our friendship formed, I see lessons I’ve learned and things we did right when we weren’t even aware of it. In this episode I share some things we did that I hope will help you find your own lifelong friends.

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Watch on YouTube From Lonely to Loved: A Blueprint to Building Lasting Friendships with Carol Roper

Christian comedian Kerri Pomarolli knows what's it like to feel hopeless. After she and her comedian husband divorced, she didn’t think anyone would want to hire her for Christian events again, so she holed up in her bedroom and hid under the covers, binge-watching all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, drinking coke and eating a balanced diet of M&M’s and salt and vinegar potato chips. Becoming a member of the Single Moms’ Club wasn’t exactly on her bucket list, but God revealed a plan for her to reach a whole new group of people. That was the motivation for her to get out of bed and start working again as He provided opportunities she’d never expected. Kerri’s resume includes being on the Tonight Show 29 times and named one of LA’s Most Inspiring People by LA Voyage Magazine and Comedian of the Year by The Hollywood Red Letter Awards in 2022.

In this episode Kerri shares her journey as a comedian and how she’s making single parenting work for her and her two daughters. She also brings lots of humor as she shares her life experiences as well as practical advice for single moms. Even though divorce was never something she wanted, she’s learned how God can use it for good.

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Watch on YouTube Hope and Humor After Divorce: Thriving as a Single Mom in Christian Comedy with Kerri Pomarolli https://youtu.be/w9xH51hBV_c

As I pondered the topic for this week’s kitchen table episode, the same thing kept coming to mind. An important question I’d like to ask you: What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done?

When I first thought about that question several things immediately came to mind. Quitting my job as an architectural draftsman and buying a flower shop with my sister-in-law with neither of us having had any background in floral arranging. Buying a computer and learning AutoCAD so I could freelance drawing house plans while working from home--after we lost money in the floral business and had to sell it. And going to a writer’s conference all alone and barely knowing a soul there.

These decisions all took considerable courage, and they had a huge impact on my life. But as I dug deeper, I realized the better answer to that question. Not only because it changed the trajectory of my life, but it also changed me, my marriage and my family.

Watch The Bravest Thing I've Ever Done with Carol Roper on YouTube

Go to CarolRoper.org/podcast for show notes

Prayer to accept Christ:

“Lord, I know I am a sinner. I ask for your forgiveness today. I believe you sent your perfect, sinless son, Jesus, to die on the cross and be raised again to save me from my sins. I know that no one comes to you except through faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. I invite you into my heart and life to forgive me of my sins and save my soul. I turn over my life to you as both my Lord and my Savior. I want to have a relationship with you and find abundant life in Christ. In Jesus name. Amen”

Listen to The Importance of Friendships--Still Going Strong After 30 Years with Julie Bagwell and Frieda Younts

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