Courage Becomes Her

Kate Milford is an Enneagram 4 who values community above all else. Kate is a travel and lifestyle photographer who travels the world capturing epic imagery for her clients and their businesses and brands. A native Floridian, Kate currently calls Denver, Colorado home but can most often be found camping and hiking in the mountains with friends or trekking the globe in search of the perfect lighting and backdrop for her latest brand production.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Kate talks about her intentionality about making community a priority and taking friendships seriously. She talks about how she's struggled with finding balance between managing a growing business, spending time with friends, and taking care of herself. She also talks about our deep need to be seen and known, and how belonging is found through ditching our phones, having shared experiences, and doing life in-person.

Resources from my conversation with Kate:

· You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

· You are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

· You are a Badass Every Day by Jen Sincero

· Kate's Reel about Her Friends that went Viral

· Cultivating Community with Jenn Cohen & Laura Demuth

· The Branding Business School

Please connect with Kate through her Instagram and her website.

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we continue our summer reads series with Shauna Pilgreen to talk about her new book, Translating Jesus: How to Share Your Faith in Language Today's Culture Can Understand. Shauna shares how to share the love and goodness of Jesus with others by noticing people, being curious, paying attention, being humble, listening well, getting out of our comfort zones, sharing our stories, and praying. She talks about how all people are significant and loved by Jesus, and though there might be some who don't want Jesus in their life, more do than we realize.

Shauna Pilgreen, along with her husband, Ben, coleads Epic Church, a multiethnic congregation in the heart of San Francisco. She serves on the teaching team at Epic and as a network director for Alpha USA. She writes for "everyday evangelists" on her blog and website. Please take the time to connect with her through Instagram or Facebook.

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of Translating Jesus, as sponsored by Baker Publishing Group, through the August 18th post on Laurel's Instagram.

Resources from my conversation with Shauna:

· Shauna's books:

o Translating Jesus

o Love Where You Live

· The Watchmaker's Daughter by Larry Loftis

· Alpha – Conversations about Faith, Life, and God

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Sharon Hodde Miller is an Enneagram 7, wife of 14 years, mom of three kids, and the author of three books. She has a Master of Divinity and a Ph.D. in Educational Studies. She and her husband founded Bright City Church in the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina in 2018 and co-pastor the church together. Sharon is a passionate teacher about faith, culture, and the Bible.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Sharon talks about the revelation that came to her about self-preoccupation in friendship and how we can reframe rejection in friendship by seeing the woundedness of the other person. She also talks about how self-righteousness and shame contribute to isolation and loneliness in friendship. She shares about friendship that is safe and consistent.

Resources from my conversation with Sharon:

· Sharon's Books:

o Nice

o Free of Me

o The Cost of Control

· Losing our Religion by Russell Moore

· The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller

· The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen

· Sharon Interviews Beth Moore

· Sharon is Interviewed by Carey Nieuwhof

· Sharon is Interviewed by Annie F. Downs

· When Narcissism Comes to Church by Chuck DeGroat

· Podcast Episodes with Chuck DeGroat about Narcissism

o Carey Nieuwhof

o Saved by the City

Please connect with Sharon through her Instagram and her website.

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we continue our summer reads series with Amanda Held Opelt to talk about her new book, Holy Unhappiness: God, Goodness, and the Myth of the Blessed Life. Amanda talks about how disappointment, restlessness, and the feeling that life had let her down led her to realize that she thought she was entitled to happiness. An opponent of the health and wealth prosperity gospel, Amanda came to see that she was believing a similar ideology about happiness, that since she had done "all the right things" that God would grant her emotional prosperity and a blessed life.

Amanda Held Opelt is a speaker, songwriter, and author of two books, A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing and Holy Unhappiness. She believes in the power of faith, community, ritual, worship, and shared stories to heal even our deepest wounds. Amanda has spent the last 15 years in the non-profit and humanitarian aid sectors. She lives in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina with her husband and young two daughters. Please take the time to connect with her through Instagram or her website.

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of Holy Unhappiness, as sponsored by Worthy Publishing, through the August 11th post on Laurel's Instagram.

Resources from my conversation with Amanda:

· Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

· The Evangelical Imagination by Karen Swallow Prior

· You are Not Your Own by Alan Noble

· Strange Rites by Tara Isabella Burton

· Self-Made by Tara Isabella Burton

· Amanda's books:

o A Hole in the World

o Holy Unhappiness

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Sherry Hougard is a lifelong California beach gal. She has been married for 30 years and has three adult children. She has spent the last 20 years helping women learn to tell their stories and find beauty in whatever season they are in, including the mundane moments.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Sherry talks about transparency and vulnerability in friendship and being a part of each other's lives during different seasons, and how to know when to let a friendship end. She also talks about bearing each other's burdens in friendship and what it looks like to be a good friend by stepping out of self-preservation and self-focus. She shares about her journey of finding friendship with God through risk-taking and conquering mountains.

Resources from my conversation with Sherry:

· Two excellent versions of The Bible:

o The Message and The Life with God Bible

Please connect with Sherry through her Instagram – she welcomes your DM.

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we continue our summer reads series with Dr. Michelle Bengtson to talk about her new book, The Hem of His Garment: Reaching Out to God When Pain Overwhelms. Dr. Michelle talks about her realization that she needed to share her story about physical pain that left her bedridden and depressed. She shares about the types of pain, including the pain caused by well-intentioned people. She talks about ideas and thoughts that can be harmful to our healing, and the importance of building new neural pathways constructed from healthy thoughts.

Dr. Michelle Bengtson is an international speaker, a national and international media resource on mental health, and the bestselling, award-winning author of Hope Prevails, the Hope Prevails Bible Study, Today Is Going to Be a Good Day, and Breaking Anxiety's Grip. She is also the host of the award-winning podcast Your Hope-Filled Perspective. A board-certified clinical neuropsychologist in private practice for more than twenty years, Dr. Bengtson blogs regularly and offers a wide variety of resources on her website. Please take the time to connect with her through Instagram or Facebook.

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of The Hem of His Garment, as sponsored by Baker Publishing Group, through the August 4th post on Laurel's Instagram.

Resources from my conversation with Dr. Michelle:

• Dr. Michelle's books:
• The Hem of His Garment
• Hope Prevails
• Hope Prevails Bible Study
• Today is Going to Be a Good Day
• Breaking Anxiety's Grip
• Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge

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Jenn Cohen and Laura Demuth are the hosts of Mighty as a Mother podcast. Both Jenn and Laura are former New Yorkers who live in Southern California. They are both millennial moms of toddlers as well as busy corporate executives in healthcare technology companies. They started their podcast with the goal of helping moms, especially moms who work outside the home, to not feel alone.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Jenn and Laura talk about long-distance friendships and making new friends after relocating across the country. They share their insights for how they have kept friends after moving thousands of miles away and how they made friends in their new communities. They also share about how their friendship began because of an online work-related conference.

Resources from my conversation with Jenn & Laura:

• Mighty as a Mother Podcast
• Friendship Episode
• Learn More about Jenn and Laura
• Jenn's Novel, Falling Forward
• The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
• Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
• Fair Play by Eve Rodsky
• To Have and To Hold by Molly Millwood, Ph.D.
• Screaming on the Inside by Jessica Grose
• The Five Love Languages by Gary Thomas
• The Road Back to You (about Enneagram) by Ian Morgan Cron

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we continue our summer reads series with Michele Cushatt to talk about her new book, A Faith That Will Not Fail: 10 Practices to Build Up Your Faith When Your World is Falling Apart. Michele shares openly about 30 years of unrelenting suffering and consistent losses, and how she has not grown bitter or run from her faith. She talks about our need to acknowledge that pain is a normal part of life and that it is possible to grow through pain. She talks about the value of living healthy practices and disciplines, while also recognizing that those efforts won't prevent pain but will help us in our pain.

An experienced communicator, Michele Cushatt speaks internationally to a wide variety of audiences and has published three previous books. A Faith That Will Not Fail is her fourth book. A three-time head and neck cancer survivor and parent of "children from hard places," Michele is a (reluctant) expert in trauma, pain, and the deep human need for authentic connection and enduring faith. She and her husband, Troy, share a blended family of six children, including biological children, stepchildren, and foster-adopt children. They live on eight acres outside of Denver, Colorado.

Please take time to connect with Michele through her website, Instagram, and Facebook.

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of A Faith That Will Not Fail through the July 28th post on Laurel's Instagram.

Resources from my conversation with Michele:

• Michele's book, A Faith That Will Not Fail
• Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Tim Keller

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Nancy Elmore, a native Californian, lives part of the year in Southern Central Texas and part of the year on California's Central Coast, with her husband of 50 years, Don. Since her retirement from her job as a hospital nurse executive in 2002, Nancy has worked enthusiastically to provide educational scholarships for women and veterans. Family and friends are the focal point of Nancy's life – when she and Don aren't with their great-grandchildren and greater family, they're living life with friends, new and old.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Nancy talks about friendship. She shares about what it is like to have lifelong friendships, including with her siblings and the intentionality that is a part of that. She also talks about why she prays for friends and how she doesn't see it as a burden but as a calling and a blessing. She shares about what it's like to make new friends later in life and starting a non-profit organization with long-time friends.

Resources from my conversation with Nancy:

• The Five Love Languages by Gary Thomas
• The Road Back to You (about Enneagram) by Ian Morgan Cron
• The Handbook to Spiritual Growth by Kenneth Boa
• Degrees of Skill Non-Profit Organization - You are welcome to email Nancy – [email protected]

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we continue our summer reads series with Sue Detweiler to talk about her new book, Healing Rain: Immersing Yourself in Christ's Love to Find Wholeness of Mind, Body, and Heart. Sue talks about her experiences of being healed from chronic pain and sickness. She talks about several strategies for healing and wholeness and talks about how self-pity is destructive to our ability to heal. She calls us to have courage to believe that we too can receive healing physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Sue Detweiler is a global prophetic speaker, revivalist, author, and host of the Healing Rain podcast, listened to in 135 nations. Sue is ordained with The Foursquare Church and is frequently featured in Charisma magazine, Christian Television Network, Cornerstone Television Network, and KCBI in Dallas. She holds a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University and is pursuing her doctorate with Global Theological Seminary. Sue serves as the executive director of Life Bridge Global and lives with her husband, Wayne, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They are parents of six and grandparents of eight.

Please take time to connect with Sue through her website, Instagram, and Facebook.

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of Healing Rain, as sponsored by Baker Publishing Group, through the July 21st post on Laurel's Instagram.

Resources from my conversation with Sue:

• Sue's book, Healing Rain
• Humility by Andrew Murray
• Prayer by Andrew Murray
• The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
• The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee

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