Challenges Won't Stop Me

Excited to kick off season 6 with Cherie Denna's story interview! 

Cherie Denna is an author, speaker, and writing coach. In this interview, she describes her dysfunctional childhood, which was comprised of mob members from her mom's family and outlaw bikers from her dad's family. 

Violence occurred daily. Additionally, Cherie and her sister were abused by her stepfather. At 17, she knew she had to get away from that toxic environment. She began to process the violence, abuse, and fear she experienced in her childhood home. The resulting trauma caused PTSD, suicidal ideations, and infertility. 

Many years later, Cherie accepted an invitation to a ladies retreat at a church from a friend. This event became a turning point for her. She accepted Jesus and discovered her identity and belonging in Him. 

Cherie's memoir, Beloved Outcast: The Quest for True Belonging, is releasing in February. 

Notable quotes from this episode with Cherie Denna: 

* "Just the nature of the culture of belonging to a mob family and being associated with outlaw bikers. Everything had to stay within the family. Nobody outside the family can be trusted." 

* "I grew up immersed in fear." 

* "I knew I had to get out of there. I thought I was running from it all. You can't. You can run from the environment, but the after effects of all the trauma goes with you." 

* [Jesus] set me on a whole different path. I had a way now through Him - through Christ - to truly learn who I was born to be. And who I truly belonged to." 

Scripture references:

2 Corinthians 5:17: "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation; the old has gone, the new had come!" 

Connect with Cherie Denna: 

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheriedenna

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheriedenna/

Her website: https://cheriedenna.com/

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Excited to have author, speaker, podcaster, and personal trainer for your mind, Mimika Cooney, join me.

While Mimika could have chatted about any of the numerous topics she's written about in her ten books, we focused on the topics covered in her soon to be released book, Unlock the Mind of a Champion: How Ordinary People Achieve the Extraordinary. This book can be pre-ordered on Amazon and purchased on September 28, 2023.

Surrendering, or yielding to the power of another, is a challenging topic. Being forced to surrender leads to fear, anger, and resentment. Surrendering your will to Jesus leads to transformation and personal growth.

Jesus will never force you to surrender your will. When you freely surrender your will to Jesus, you will find freedom.

Mimika shares an analogy about breaking a wild horse so as to become a winning racehorse. You may wrinkle your nose at being compared to a racehorse, but listen to her explanation and you'll understand why her analogy is a powerful one!

Mimika also describes how God will give you elastic time to complete the tasks He's given you. She encourages us to allow God to stretch us.

Enter Mimika's drawing at www.mimikacooney.com until October 6 for a chance to win a signed copy of her book and other goodies to celebrate the release of her new book, Unlock the Mind of a Champion: How Ordinary People Achieve the Ordinary. 

To learn more about Mimika Cooney, visit her website at www.mimikacooney.com.

Check out her YouTube channel at www.youtube/@mimikacooney for videos and resources. 

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I met today's guest, Maggie Rowe, at the 2023 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. I enjoyed chatting with her between speakers and taking her class.

I truly enjoyed reading Maggie's devotional, This Life We Share: 52 reflections on journeying well with God and others. I knew from the first sentence of the Introduction: "Let's take a road trip!" that Maggie and I likely have a love for journeys in common.

Later in the Introduction, Maggie wrote, "The word of God will serve as our map." I could hardly contain my excitement as a map represents the Word of God in my book, Challenges Won't Stop Me!

As I read through the devotion topics (anxiety, peace, joy, waiting, gratitude, friendship, parenting, hospitality, faith, prayer, etc.), I realized she covered topics that would interest a person in all stages of life, both male and female.

In this episode, Maggie and I discuss two devotion topics that related to overcoming challenges. In the devotion, "Reflection 8: Finding Peace in the Midst of Pain," she shares how a tour guide during a trip to Israel explained the definition of Gethsemane, which is gath (press) and shemen (oil). When Jesus was being crucified, the weight of all sin pressed heavily on Him.

While we won't face the challenge of crucifixion, most of have experienced the weight of our challenges pressing heavily on us. Maggie shared how we can experience God's peace during pain.

In the devotion, "Reflection 10: God Writes Straight by Broken Lines," Maggie shares this quote by Ann Voskamp: "The seed breaks to give us the wheat. The soil breaks to give us the crop, the sky breaks to give us the rain, the wheat breaks to give us the bread. And the bread breaks to give us the feast." It's in the breaking that we grow.

My favorite part of this devotion is the Portuguese phrase, Deus escreve certo por linhas tortas, which translates, "God makes straight by broken lines." I love what Maggie shares about this phrase and how it relates to facing challenges and fighting to overcome them.

This Life We Share: 52 reflections on journeying well with God and others and Maggie's other book, Life Is Sweet Y'all: Wit and Wisdom with a Side of Sass, are available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

Learn more about Maggie and connect with her at www.maggierowe.com.

Be sure to enter the drawing for a copy of Maggie's book, This Life We Share, by subscribing to her website at www.maggierowe.com between August 23, 2023 and September 1, 2023. A winner will be announced on September 1, 2023!

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Whitney Ward is back to share a strategy that keeps her moving forward!

In episode 86, Whitney described her rare disease named MAGIS Syndrome and how it has caused some limitations that could have stopped her.

But be assured, this joy-filled woman isn't about to let challenges stop her.

Long ago, Whitney decided she would choose to focus on what she can do instead of what she cannot do. This strategy has allowed her (and others) to see that the cans outweigh the cannots!

Whitney believes, "We can't get stuck in our limitations. Keep moving forward. Our God is a God of cans, not cannots!" Such great wisdom about how to navigate life.

Connect with Whitney HERE. And check out her books on Amazon.

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My guest is Whitney Ward. I've followed Whitney on social media for several years. because we have so much in common, especially our personal stories and our ministries.

I was thrilled to meet her in person at this year's Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference. Just imagine two women standing outside the coffee house, excitedly talking about challenges, grit, and not giving up!

Whitney will share about the unusual symptoms she experienced at age 6 that stumped her doctors. Many needs, many tests, and too many studies over the years finally led her doctors to categorize her disease when Whitney was 28 years old! Twenty-two years after her first symptoms!

Whitney shares her message of overcoming challenges in her books, her Seeing the Invizable podcast, and when she speaks. It sounds something like this: "When your strength comes from the right source ... there's not a mountain you can't climb." Amen, sister!

Learn more about Whitney at www.whitneylaneward.com.

Check out her books - MORE Than My Mountains, MORE Than Your Mountains, MORE Than Creation, andAnd They Came With Haste - on Amazon!

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THIS EPISODE IS A VIDEO SOLOCAST. TO APPRECIATE IT BEST, PLEASE VIEW IT ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL @MELONYBROWN.

NOTE: This video solocast was recorded in Hawaii, which has a constant breeze blowing. My husband, Jeff, added noise reduction effects to lessen the wind noise, but it didn't remove all of it.

Words are composed of letters in various combinations. A list of words will likely come to your mind when I tell you today's topic is a four letter word. 

Most people will think this four letter word is a curse word. Or a word that is profane or obscene. A swear word. Many avoid using four letter words in conversations, especially if little ears are present.

Even though the four letter word I'm discussing in today's vide solocast is not a curse word, some dislike it so much that they still would deem it a curse word.

What is this four letter word? WAIT. Yep, you see why some would throw it in with the other four letter curse words. 

In our fast lane, microwaveable, 4G, lightning speed society, we don't like to wait. 

In fact, Jen Wilkin, author of Abide: A Study in 1, 2, & 3 John, shares, "We have turned waiting into an enemy that is to be removed. We think waiting is something to be mitigated. It's not something to be sat in. We should be good at waiting." Essentially, we try everything we can to make waiting less harsh or severe.

MIssionary and author Elisabeth Elliot said, "He [God] makes us wait. He keeps us on purpose in the dark. He makes us walk when we want to run, sit when we want to walk, for He has things to do in our souls that we are not interested in."

As much as we might like to say curse words when we have to (are forced to) wait, many benefits are found in waiting.

I share several of those benefits in this episode, as well as several Bible verses about waiting. Listen in to discover the benefits of waiting. 

Thank you for listening/watching this episode!

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Brenda Underwood, business life coach, joined me again to share some effective strategies she's learned to implement when she's feeling insecure.

In episode 83, titled "Danced with the Devil," Brenda shared some experiences from her traumatic childhood that filled her with fear, rejection, and insecurity. 

When she encountered God, she immersed herself in reading and studying the Bible. It was in God's Word that she discovered courage, acceptance, and security. 

Her validation comes from God. She encourages us to "embrace the jewel that God created you to be."

Brenda speaks aloud the following verses to combat the enemy when he is roaring and spewing lies:

• 1 Corinthians 12:3 ". . . no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit."
• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
• Galatians 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Brenda shared, "The Holy Spirit whispers, and the enemy roars."

Learn more about Brenda or connect with her at breakthroughforlife.com.

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Growing up in a dysfunctional family with a father who drank hard liquor, a mother who smoked weed, and considerably older siblings exposed Brenda to destructive behaviors. She had access to things that weren't good for a young child.

Additionally, Brenda felt overlooked and rejected, which led to hanging out with people who were not good influences. "I looked for a place to fit in, and doing drugs was that place. I danced with the devil," Brenda shared.

After having her son, Brenda decided, "I had to turn the page, I had to get to the place where I couldn't let the dysfunction that I had chosen to be my life story. I had to make a decision to pivot. To overcome. To move in a different direction."

Reading God's Word slowly began transforming her. Dancing with the devil changed to dancing in the freedom of God's love. Brenda fought hard to overcome the demons of her past, and now she is excited to tell others about how Jesus will help them overcome their struggles too.

Brenda shared, "You don't appreciate the overcome unless you understand the undercome."

Brenda is a business life coach. You can learn more about her coaching and connect with her at www.breakthroughforlife.com.

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Author Heidi McGill joins me for another episode to discuss her habit of choosing joy. She shares that she began reading the Psalms after her diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa. This progressive disease will cause her to be completely blind in the future. She discovered Psalm 27:13, which says, "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." Notice "I will see" in the middle of that verse?

Isn't it just like God to cause our hearts to connect with a verse that allows His strength to be seen in our weakness?

Every morning, Heidi chooses to look for joy before her feet hit the floor. She's thanking God for the goodness while here on earth instead of waiting to see God's goodness when she gets to heaven.

Do you see God's goodness in your life? Are you thanking Him for those good things? If so, I bet you are full of joy every day!

Check out Heidi's books on Amazon. Learn more about her here. 

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Imagine if you will - slowly losing your sight in your early thirties. Maybe you've never thought about the gift that eye sight is. I know I take it for granted.

Today's guest, Heidi McGill, was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa when she was just 31 years old. As you can imagine, Heidi was angry with God about losing her sight. She grieved what she would miss seeing in the future with her two daughter and her husband. Her anger slowly faded and was replaced with a new outlook.

Losing her sight has been a difficult journey, but she said, "I will not allow those challenges to defeat me. I will also not allow those challenges to define me."

During COVID, Heidi began writing. Since then, she's published three historical Christian novels and three contemporary romance novellas. You can learn more at www.heidmcgill822089357.wordpress.com.

Check out her books on Amazon.

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