Courage Becomes Her

Diane Ward is a lifelong California beach gal. She is Mom to four and Grandma to 10 and loves every minute that she gets with her family. Diane has had a lifetime passion for clothes and has been helping women look and feel their best since the 1960s, including the last 18 years as a fashion stylist with cabi. She has served and advocated for the children of San Luis Obispo County as a school board member since 1989, and has volunteered for multiple other worthy causes, most recently as a Chaplain for a Tenet Health hospital.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Diane talks about what it takes to literally make friendships last a lifetime. Diane has nurtured and cherished friendships since elementary school and doesn't go through a single day without communicating with her friends. She talks about what being a friend looks like in the sorrows and heartaches of life, and how she has made and kept friends with differing perspectives and beliefs on hot topics like politics and faith. She also shares how she has endeavored to prioritize friendships over work.

Resources from my conversation with Diane:

· The Five Love Languages by Gary Thomas

· The Road Back to You (about Enneagram) by Ian Morgan Cron

· The Bible Project podcast

· Tim Keller / Gospel in Life podcast

· Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

· Shop cabi

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we continue our summer reads series with Brandi Wilson to talk about her new book, Better than Okay: Finding Hope and Healing After Your Marriage Ends. Brandi talks about how she navigated things one day at a time, including the days when she could barely get out of bed. She also talks about what self-care looked like for her and how she leaned on her support system when she was tempted to isolate. She also talks about the process of healing and the pain of loneliness, and the importance of therapy and counseling, and how she wouldn't change where she is today.

Brandi Wilson is an author, coach, and speaker who has been in leadership for more than a decade at Leading and Loving It, a non-profit created to empower women to love life and ministry. Brandi has helped plant two churches and is passionate about walking alongside single moms and divorced women as they navigate parenting and life. Brandi lives with her three sons in Franklin, TN.

Please take time to connect with Brandi through her website and Instagram.

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of Better than Okay, as sponsored by Baker Publishing Group, through the July 14th post on Laurel's Instagram.

Resources from my conversation with Brandi:

• Brandi's book, Better than Okay
• Inner Voice of Love by Henri Nouwen

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Instead of waiting for the end of the year to talk about my favorite books, I decided, for this episode of Courage Becomes Her, to share the best books I read in the first half of 2023.

I talk about the memoirs, self-care, soul-care, and personal growth books that have been life-giving to me this year. I also share about some of the changes in my reading practices, why I read the genres that I do, why I don't read fiction, and how I choose what to read.

Here is my reading list for the first half of 2023 (with the 7 best noted with **):

· Book 1: Good and Beautiful and Kind by Rich Villodas

· Book 2: The 40-Day Feast by Wendy Speake

· Book 3: Martin Luther by Eric Metaxas

· Book 4: A Prayer Journal by Flannery O'Connor

· Book 5: What Your Mind Needs for Anxious Moments by Holley Gerth **

· Book 6: Women Who Risk by Tom and Joann Doyle

· Book 7: Judges for You by Tim Keller

· Book 8: The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak by Shannon Bream

· Book 9: The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

· Book 10: All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore **

· Book 11: The 40-Day Sugar Fast by Wendy Speake

· Book 12: Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell

· Book 13: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom **

· Book 14: What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days by Holley Gerth

· Book 15: Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh **

· Book 16: Life Whimsy by Wendy Conklin

· Book 17: Free of Me by Sharon Hodde Miller **

· Book 18: The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller **

· Book 19: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy **

· Book 20: Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

· Book 21: Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II by Daniel James Brown

· Book 22: Stuff I'd Only Tell God by Jennifer Dukes Lee

· Book 23: Relentless Joy by Rachel Joy Baribeau

· Book 24: Soul-Deep Beauty by Melissa L. Johnson

Don't miss episode 19 from January 17 where I share about my practice, habit, and discipline of reading, including why I read, what I read, when I read, and where I read.

Here are the best books I read in 2022:

· Scary Close by Donald Miller

· Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

· So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore

· The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

· I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequist

· Encounters with Jesus by Tim Keller

· What If It's Wonderful? by Nicole Zasowski

· Hidden Christmas by Tim Keller

And here is my entire 2022 Reading List.

You can always find my reading lists from previous years here.

And the books that literally transformed my life are here.

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we continue our summer reads series with Ally Henny to talk about her new book, I Won't Shut Up: Finding Your Voice When the World Tries to Silence You. Ally talks about her journey of being silenced, as both a child and an adult, and trying to find her voice. She shares about her experiences with racist and toxic leadership, and the tipping point of realizing that she could assert her voice and speak out against racism. She shares how we can contribute in a meaningful way to liberation from racism by actively listening to the experiences of Black people, even when it challenges us or creates discomfort.

Ally Henny is a writer, speaker, advocate-minister, and vice president of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, an organization committed to encouraging, engaging, and empowering Black Christians toward liberation from racism. She completed her MDiv from Fuller Seminary with an emphasis in race, cultural identity, and reconciliation, and she hopes to lead a church someday. Ally has been leading conversations about race on her social media and blog, The Armchair Commentary, since 2014, and her posts reach millions each month. She is a proud Chicago Southsider.

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

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of I Won't Shut Up, as sponsored by Baker Publishing Group, through the July 7th post on Laurel's Instagram.

Resources from my conversation with Ally:

• Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement by Barbara Ransby

• Ally's book, I Won't Shut Up

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Laurel Emory talks about her birthday traditions and the outcome of one of her traditions being the recognition that she is being called to have courage in seven specific ways and areas.

Resources:

• Degrees of Skill non-profit organization

• Annette talks about creative play

• Christina talks about becoming a full-time artist

• Ashley talks about life transitions

• Melissa talks about assuming what God thought about her

• What to do when you're triggered by the stories of others

• Laura cautions about losing ourselves to grief

• Jill talks about owning fault in marriage

• Corey and I talk about hiding and getting defensive

• Gina talks about letting go of dreams

• Elizabeth talks about seeing life as an adventure

• Jodie talks about trusting God through transition

• Nicole talks about reframing expectations and celebration

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we continue our summer reads series with Melissa Johnson to talk about her new book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless. Melissa talks about her journey through an eating disorder and body shaming as a 30-something-year-old. She talks about how our culture is breeding toxicity by tying a woman's value and worth to her body and its thinness. She talks about the biggest contributors to her eating disorder and what helped her to change the narrative and focus on the eternal view of beauty. She wants to help us create safe spaces filled with grace where we authentically love ourselves and each other.

Melissa Johnson is a marriage and family therapist, as well as a spiritual director. She also teaches an undergraduate course at Bethel University on soul wellbeing. Melissa is the founder of Impossible Beauty, a blog and podcast dedicated to redefining beauty as "the life of God at work in us and among us." Melissa lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband.

Please take time to connect with Melissa through her website, Instagram, and Facebook, and take a listen to her Impossible Beauty podcast.

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of Soul-Deep Beauty, as sponsored by Baker Publishing Group, through the June 30th post on Laurel's Instagram.

Resources from my conversation with Melissa:

• Waking the Dead by John Eldredge
• Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison
• Melissa's book, Soul-Deep Beauty

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Sara McDaniel is a Louisiana gal who loves kayaking on the bayou and traveling both near and far. She is a former public-school teacher who left teaching to sell education curriculum. In 2016 she turned her sights to her dream from 4th grade and began restoring a broken down and forgotten 1926 Louisiana cottage. Little did she know that her yellow front door would be showcased by Better Homes & Gardens, catapulting her into the social media limelight – resulting in her also being featured by Southern Living, Country Living, Cottages & Bungalows, and American Farmhouse Style, and having partnerships with Martha Stewart, HGTV, Orian Rugs, Macys, Rodan & Fields, and many more.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Sara talks about her restoration of The Villas at Spanish Court, an 8-room historic building built in 1931 that was abandoned in the 1980s and left to rot. The renovation was named as the 2022 Project House for Cottages & Bungalows Magazine and gained national media attention because of Sara's decision to restore a building that most other people would have demolished.

I know you're asking yourself why I'm having someone with a couple hundred thousand followers on the podcast when I committed to having Courage Becomes Her be about women we can relate to, women who are experiencing life just like you and I are. And that's exactly, why – Sara is a normal Southern gal; she never sought or asked for the influence that has come her way. In 2015 when she and I started working together, she was simply a girl with a dream and a willingness to work hard.

Sharing her story is important because you all have dreams, just like I do, just like Sara did and still does, and I want us to be inspired by her faithfulness to her dream and her courage to chase after it. Though her story may have a little more polish than yours or mine, I can tell you from years spent with her that I deeply desire to have her humility, her bravery, and her gumption.

Resources from my conversation with Sara:

• The Five Love Languages by Gary Thomas
• The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau
• The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
• Sara's Website
• Sara's Story about Her Divorce
• The Renovation of Sara's Cottage
• How Sara Got Started in Real Estate and Some Tips For How You Can Too
• HGTV Episode featuring Minden, Louisiana
• Cottages and Bungalows Magazine
• American Farmhouse Style Magazine

Book your visit at The Villas at Spanish Court or Sara's other properties through Mindenstays.com – she would love to welcome you.

Join Sara on Instagram or Facebook for updates about The Villas and The Creekside Apartments and her other projects.

Share Your Stories & Guest Suggestions:

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we continue our summer reads series with Rachel Joy Baribeau to talk about her new book, Relentless Joy: Finding Freedom, Passion, and Happiness (Even When You Have to Fight for It). Rachel talks about her journey out of drug addiction, domestic violence, abuse, and depression, and how God has turned her mess into a message. Rachel is on a mission to help us grow through our pain, find joy, and use our experiences to speak love and life to others.

Rachel Joy Baribeau is a Moth award-winning storyteller, an inspirational speaker, a highly sought-after teacher, a national movement maker, and a former ceiling-shattering national sportscaster. She received her bachelor's in Radio, Television and Film from Auburn University, and is the host of the Joystarters podcast. When she is not traveling to speak or teach, Rachel adores naps, dancing in her kitchen, museums and history, and trying to spread joy on a daily basis. Of all the titles she goes by, she loves wife and bonus mom the most. She lives in Florida with her family and fur-children.

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

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of Relentless Joy, as sponsored by Baker Publishing Group, through the June 23rd post on Laurel's Instagram.

Resources from my conversation with Rachel:

• The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers (an Oprah's Book Club Selection)
• The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
• Rachel's book, Relentless Joy

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Mom to 4 children (ages 18, 15, 13, and 11) and Chief Legal Officer and Chief Culture Officer for ChenMed, Stephanie Chen, Esq., shares her wisdom and insights for navigating the tender transition of sending your child off to college, especially with still having 3 children at home.

Stephanie and I talk about some fabulous resources and tools:

· The Road Back to You

· All the Light We Cannot See

· Where the Crawdads Sing

· Memoirs of a Geisha

· To All the Boys I've Loved Before – book and show

· BeReal app

· Digital Message Board to Display Texts

· Figure out your love language by getting this book

· The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

Want to talk about life as a mom sending your kiddo off to college? Email Stephanie at [email protected]

Share Your Stories & Guest Suggestions:

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, we kick-off our summer reads series with Jennifer Dukes Lee to talk about her new book, Stuff I'd Only Tell God: A Guided Journal of Courageous Honesty, Obsessive Truth-Telling, and Beautifully Ruthless Self-Discovery. Jennifer talks about curiosity, the value of reflection, introspection, and journaling, and becoming comfortable with being honest and authentic (even in the face of criticism). Jennifer talks openly about her skepticism about Christianity and how her practices of journaling and asking God hard questions helped her wrestle through her doubts. She talks about how we grow by being honest with God.

Jennifer Dukes Lee is a bestselling author, thinker, and question-asker from Iowa. Her friends say they are scared to sit alone in a room with her because they end up telling her things they never intended to say. She is both proud of this fact and also a little annoyed at how nosy she can be. She put a bunch of her favorite questions into this new book, Stuff I'd Only Tell God. She's also the author of Growing Slow and It's All Under Control.

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

Resources from my conversation with Jennifer:

· The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

· One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

· Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

· Cornell Merlin Bird ID App

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