Courage Becomes Her

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Francesca Vittoria talks about being single. She shares about how she was so focused on making her parents proud by taking advantage of the access she had to an education and developing her career that she hadn't been concerned with being in a relationship or getting married. But then friends started asking her why she didn't have a man in her life and that led to shame, insecurities, and a season of discontentment and comparison. When complaining to a friend about being single, her friend challenged her to shift her perspective and to see her singleness as a blessing. She shares about her journey of accepting herself and her life and finding joy by seeing and appreciating the impact she's able to have as a single woman.

Francesca's parents immigrated to the United States to provide a life for Francesca and her sister that they would not have had in Italy. Francesca is a lifelong southern Florida gal who travels all over the east coast for her work as a regional Human Resources leader for a billion-dollar senior living organization. In addition to her busy corporate life, she is working toward a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and Human Resource Development. In any spare time, she can be found doing yoga or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or relaxing with her dad and sister.

Resources from my conversation with Francesca:

· It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell about her journey of self-acceptance and overcoming food addiction

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Corey Emory talks about insecurity in husbands – what it looks like, how to identify it, what's at the root of it, and what triggers it. He shares encouragement to wives whose husbands are not openly sharing about their insecurities and helps women to identify how they can be supportive of their husbands while also reminding women that it's not their responsibility to try and rescue or fix their husbands. He shares candidly from personal experience with the desire to bring hope to those who are in the messy middle of insecurity within marriage.

Corey was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. When he was ten years old, he was put in an orphanage and spent five years living in orphanages, group homes, and foster homes. At 15, he and his twin brother ran away and spent three years living in a station wagon with their father, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in the 1970s. In his mid 30s, Corey was diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Despite all of this, Corey has gone on to become a published author and writer, and is currently working on his 2nd literary fiction novel. He and his wife, Laurel, have been married for almost 22 years. He is happiest when they're having a philosophical conversation about theology and art, relaxing together with their cats, or playing a game of sardines with their nieces and nephews.

Resources from my conversation with Corey:

· Corey's first novel, Concerning the Dust

· The books that have impacted Corey's life the most

o Less than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

o Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton

· The books that have been most helpful to Corey as he's worked through insecurity

o Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller

o Faithful Feelings by Matthew Elliott

o The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller

· Corey's favorite modern painters

o Mike Carson

o Ruth Brownlee

· Corey's website

· Laurel's conversation with Marriage Coach, Jill Savage

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Laura Tassan talks about the stillbirth of her son, laboring through his delivery even though his heart was no longer beating, and the experience of living through devastating loss and how their faith carried them through it. She shares about her and her husband's resolve to not allow their loss to tear them apart, and how they were intentional about focusing on their marriage especially through the initial trauma and grief. She talks about steps they have taken to honor their marriage and each other and how they make space and give grace for each other's grief and emotions. She tells us how they knew that it was time to try again, and the welcoming of their newborn daughter just days before the first anniversary of their son's passing.

Laura is a North Carolina country gal who spent over a decade in Georgia including her college days at Berry College. She has been with Chick-fil-A for 15 years and is the Owner/Operator of a restaurant on the west side of Winston-Salem where she dedicates her time to helping her team members grow and develop. She and her husband, Nick, have been married for three years, and enjoy making and eating a good meal with homegrown food and watching sunsets from their porch.

Laura welcomes you to connect with her through Instagram or Facebook Messenger.

Resources from my conversation with Laura:

· Jesus of My Grief by Kate Kelty

· Mindset by Carol Dweck, Ph.D.

· Laurel's favorite books on grief and loss:

o Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

o And Still She Laughs by Kate Merrick

o Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala

· WinShape Marriage Retreats

· The Hideaway Marriage Intensives

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Charla Anthony talks about her husband's early onset dementia at 59 years old and her journey as his caregiver for over 11 years. She talks about how they became aware of his illness and the sudden shift it created in their lives. She talks about the financial impact as they were both still working and needed income. She talks about the team of people that supported them, and how she allowed herself to receive help. She talks about how she attempted to take care of herself and continue in her career while managing the daily caregiving for her husband.

Charla is a 5th generation Central Texas gal, with her family having settled in the Bryan/College Station area over 200 years ago. She is a faithful A&M Aggie. Charla has been a gardener for six decades and has proudly served her community as a professional horticulturist, plant consultant, columnist, and Master Gardener instructor. She brings her expertise about gardening in zone 8b to us through her Instagram, YouTube, and blogs on her website. When she's not in her garden, she loves spending time with her two granddaughters and their mom and dad, gathering with friends for Bible study, and traveling to see gardens and landscapes.

Please connect with Charla through her Instagram, her website, and sign-up for her blog where she shares gardening insights and tips.

Resources from my conversation with Charla:

· Enneagram Coach, Kathy Reiter - https://zoe-life.net/

· The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

· Baylor's Alzheimer Disease Center

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Gina Adams talks about how she accepted a marriage proposal from a work colleague when they hadn't even been dating. She talks about how she had been praying about what she desired in her future husband and that when she was proposed to that it was instantly clear to her to say yes. Even though it meant giving up some of her career dreams, there was no doubt that she was making the right decision. Looking back now, after being married for 31 years, she says that God's plans were better than her plans, and life is so much better than she ever imagined.

Although she has called Georgia home for 30 years, Gina is an Alabama gal who should be the head coach of Auburn's football team. She daily conquers the NY Times Crossword Puzzle and has been featured in Georgia magazines for her holiday home décor. Gina and her husband, Jason, have two adult sons and three dogs, and operate a Chick-fil-A restaurant in the Augusta, Georgia area. When they're not at the restaurant, you can find them at DisneyWorld, on a cruise, watching an Auburn game, or enjoying fellowship and a good meal with friends or their boys.

Gina welcomes you to connect with her via email – [email protected].

Resources from my conversation with Gina:

· Swig Tumblers and Mugs

· Men are Like Waffles and Women are Like Spaghetti by Bill & Pam Farrel

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Jill Savage talks about being betrayed by her husband through his affair with another woman. She shares about what led to her husband's affair, the pain and heartache of his rejection, and how it brought her to a place of seeing where she needed to grow and work to rebuild his trust in her. She tells how she took care of herself by accepting help, getting counseling, and sharing with her friends closest to her. She talks about how she believed that a miracle could happen and eventually did.

Jill is an Enneagram 1 who grew up in Indiana and has called Illinois home for 35 years. She and her husband, Mark, have been married for over 40 years and have five adult children and eight grandchildren. They have been in work ministering to families for years and are marriage and relationship coaches who offer intensive retreats for married couples who are struggling. They bring their experiences of brokenness to help other couples heal and grow.

Jill welcomes you to reach out to her and connect with her through Instagram or her website.

Resources from my conversation with Jill:

· Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (Look at how many reviews it has AND it's been turned into a movie!)

· Jill and Mark's book – No More Perfect Marriages

· Jill and Mark's podcast conversations with Growing Home Together and The Unfolding

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Shannon Eckmann talks about becoming a widow at 31 years old and how she wasn't interested in or ready for dating for a handful of years. She shares about how a friend suggested she consider dating and how and why she felt panicky about it. She also shares about what it's like to be a young widow and unhappy in our culture and how to handle the low capacity of others. She then shares about the joy that has come for her through remarrying.

Shannon is an Enneagram 8 who grew up in Canada but has called Portland, Oregon home for over 20 years. She is an executive coach with Building Champions and has spent the bulk of her career helping people learn and grow. Whether traveling, going to a concert or a Portland Timbers soccer match, or just sitting on their deck, Shannon loves spending time with her husband, Matt and stepdaughter, Coco.

Shannon welcomes you to reach out to her and connect with her. Please do so through LinkedIn, referencing the podcast.

Resources from my conversation with Shannon:

· Becoming by Michelle Obama

· The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

· Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown

· Bittersweet by Susan Cain

· Conversation with Heidi Hayes about nutrition in middle age

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Leslie Best talks about the death of her husband before their first wedding anniversary. She shares about how she moved into crisis response mode and how that was both a helpful and unhelpful strategy and distraction, how she tried to take care of herself, and how she acknowledged, honored, and celebrated the milestones. She talks about how she could have done a better job of asking for help, but also needed to experience some aspects of her grief journey by herself. She also shares about how this season has birthed new adventures that she never expected.

Leslie is a Midwesterner who has lived on both the east and west coasts, as well as internationally, and has found herself back in the Midwest in the last couple of years. She is a very successful engineer and corporate executive, with over 20 years at General Motors and another 10 years at leading engineering organizations. Leslie is a wise, strong, and courageous woman who loves traveling and being with family and friends, and has more recently embraced quietness and slowness in life.

Leslie welcomes you to reach out to her and connect with her. Please do so through LinkedIn, referencing the podcast.

Resources from my conversation with Leslie:

· SmartNews

· Smart Brevity book

· 5 Temptations of a CEO book

· How We Heal book

· The Body Keeps the Score book

· Laurel's favorite books on grief and loss:

o Option B book

o And Still She Laughs book

o Wave book

· Conversation with Nicole Zasowski

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Reena Philpot shares about how she felt when she went to work for the same company as her husband, and then their transition to starting their own business when they had two small sons. She talks about how she and Earl determined their roles both for the business as well as for home. She shares about her love for vision boarding and goal setting, and how her personal successes helped create buy-in from Earl to start dreaming and setting goals together as a couple. Reena shares about their most recent adventure of buying a fixer upper farmhouse.

Reena is a lifelong Kentucky gal. She and her husband, Earl, have been married for over 30 years and have two adult sons. They have owned their business for 20 years. When they're not helping clients, they can be found camping, relaxing on the porch, or spending time with their family. Reena loves going to estate sales and thrifting and finds joy through discovering treasures that she can bring to life through decorating and styling.

Reena would love to vision board with you! Reach out to her through her Instagram to schedule your vision boarding workshop. And join her on TikTok where she shares updates on the fixer upper farmhouse (one of her videos has over 50,000 views).

Resources from my conversation with Reena:

· See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar

· Reena's Website

· Reena's Selling with Charm Podcast

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I recently joined my friends Rob and Joanna Teigen for a conversation on their podcast, Growing Home Together. In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, I'm bringing their podcast to the Courage Becomes Her community.

In this conversation we talk about what it looks like to find true rest, real God-given rest. We talk about how productivity and hyper-individualism are hindering us from resting well. We talk about identifying what is not working for us in our search for rest, asking for help, and allowing others to use their gifts to help and support us. We also talk about how true rest looks different for each of us because of how we are each uniquely created with different identities, passions, and callings.

Rob and Joanna have been married over 30 years. They have two sons, three daughters, a daughter-in-law, and a grandson. They walk their talk as big believers in community, serving as foster parents, marriage mentors, and small-group leaders. They are authors, speakers, and podcasters, and have written dozens of books focused on growing healthy relationships with God and each other. You can connect with them, and find free marriage and family resources, through their website Growing Home Together.

Resources from my conversation with Rob & Joanna:

· The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan

· Free of Me by Sharon Hodde Miller

· Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas

· Finding Spiritual Whitespace by Bonnie Gray

· The Road Back to You by Ian Cron and Suzanne Stabile

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