Courage Becomes Her

Gwen Cole is a native and lifelong Colorado gal and dog mom. She is a gifted encourager, genuinely loves people, and is sincerely wise beyond her years. Gwen is an expert talent acquisition executive and consultant. She is a certified professional life and career coach, guiding people to find the career path that is best for them.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Gwen talks about leaving a role that had long been her dream job. She talks about the process she took to determine that it was time to leave and how she worked through the emotions that came because of her decision, including grief and loss, and how she nurtured her mental health through such a difficult decision and journey.

Resources from my conversation with Gwen:

• Love Languages Book
• Anything by Jennie Allen
• Option B by Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant

Interested in talking with Gwen about a possible career shift, mental health, or any of the topics that Gwen shared?

Please follow her on LinkedIn or contact her through her website or email her at [email protected].

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In this bonus episode of Courage Becomes Her, Laurel talks about her practice, habit, and discipline of reading, including why she reads, what she reads, when she reads, and where she reads.

She also shares the best books she 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

Here is Laurel's entire 2022 Reading List.

Enter to win the 8 books Laurel most highly recommends from her 2022 reading list on the January 17th post on Laurel's Instagram.

Be Email Friends with Laurel Here

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Wendy Speake is a California gal now living in Texas with her husband and three teenage boys. She is a former Hollywood actress and is a natural storyteller and poet who loves to write and speak. She is an Enneagram 4 and calls herself a feeler who finds her joy in prayer and quietness.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Wendy Speake talks about how our culture is spiritually malnourished and has focused so much on looking good on the outside that we've neglected our spiritual development and understanding the foundation of our beliefs, philosophies, and worldviews.

We talk about Wendy's new book, The 40-Day Feast, that is focused on inspiring us to have a habit and practice of reading God's Word, The Bible, to spend time learning from God and allowing ourselves to be developed and transformed through wisdom.

Resources from my conversation with Wendy:

• Love Languages Book
• Hinds' Feet on High Places Book
• Laurel's two favorite version of The Bible: The Message and The Life with God Bible
• Laurel's favorite daily readers:
• • The Songs of Jesus by Tim Keller
  • God's Wisdom for Navigating Life by Tim & Kathy Keller
  • The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble
• Wendy's Book, The 40-Day Sugar Fast
• Pre-order Wendy's new book, The 40-Day Feast
• Additional Free Resources from Wendy

Please feel free to contact Wendy through her website and follow her on Instagram.

Enter to win a copy of Wendy's new book, The 40-Day Feast, on the January 10th post on Laurel's Instagram.

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Ginnaea Galvan is a California gal, a wife, and a mom of a teenage daughter. Ginnaea has over 18 years of aesthetics experience and is truly a skin therapist and skin whisperer. She owns her own business, New Dawn Esthetics, in San Luis Obispo, California.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Ginnaea Galvan talks about why we should care about our skin and what are the best ways that we can do so. She shares about being proactive and having a focus on our skin care as part of our overall health care. She also talks about what are the absolute worst things for our skin and are detrimental to our health. She also talks about what we should consider before getting botox or fillers.

• We want to look our best and feel our best and taking care of our skin plays a big part of that.
• What we eat impacts our hormones, which impacts our skin. Stress and anxiety also play a part.

Resources from my conversation with Ginnaea:

• Silk Pillowcase
• Cleanser (Gentle, Sulfate Free, Fragrance Free, Alcohol Free)
• Exfoliant
• Sun Block (SPF)
• The Rogue Pharmacist Podcast
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• Love Languages Book
• Water Minder Water Tracker App
• Laurel's Colorado Aesthetician – Happy Face Spa

Interested in learning from Ginnaea or scheduling an appointment with her?

Please contact her through her website and follow her on Instagram.

Enter to win the giveaway through the January 3rd post on Laurel's Instagram.

Share Your Stories & Guest Suggestions:

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Annette Pellinat is a California gal, an Enneagram 8, a pursuer of vibrant good health, a wife, and a mom to an adult son and two rescue dogs. She has over 25 years of executive leadership experience in the aerospace and healthcare industries and is an ICF-certified executive coach with the coaching firm, Building Champions.

We live in a pragmatic culture that doesn't truly value creativity, especially when creativity isn't monetized. Yet, there is much research that says that unlocking the creativity within us helps us have less stress and better focus, helps us navigate change more easily and reframe how we see things, and helps us to grieve, grow, and learn.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Annette Pellinat shares about her journey of discovering creative play and how she has intentionally nurtured the creativity within herself. She also talks about how her creative self-expressions have helped her to learn about herself and process life experiences. She shares about addressing insecurities and giving herself the permission to explore her creativity without the pressure for it to be perfect or to make money from her creative projects.

• We are all creative.
• We all have a craving and desire to be creative.
• Surround yourself with supportive people who are also nurturing their creativity.
• Allow your imagination to be sparked.
• Give yourself permission to do something that has no purpose, no expectation, and is meant to simply be enjoyed.

Resources from my conversation with Annette:

• Love Languages Book
• Primal Kitchen Vanilla Collagen
• Your Super Super Greens Probiotics
• Bittersweet by Susan Cain
• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
• What Women Create and Where Women Create Magazines

Interested in coaching with Annette or talking with her about creative play?

Feel free to follow her and DM her on Facebook.

Share Your Stories & Guest Suggestions:

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In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Laurel answers the question, "What is prayer?", and shares why she prays, how she prays, and what she sees as the benefits of having a practice of prayer.

She also prays a blessing over the Courage Becomes Her community.

Resources regarding Prayer:

Prayer by Tim Keller

Purpose in Prayer by E.M. Bounds

Power through Prayer by E.M. Bounds

Going Higher with God in Prayer by A.W. Tozer

Journal

Lectio 365 Prayer App

Echo Prayer App

Good ol' 3x5 Cards

Wild at Heart Daily Prayer

Laurel would be honored to pray for you!

Please email your prayer request to [email protected].

(All requests are kept confidential)

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Nicole Zasowski is a Pacific Northwest gal who has made her home on the Connecticut coastline. She is a wife, mom of three (2, 3, and 7 years old), an author and speaker, and a licensed marriage and family therapist.

No stranger to personal pain and loss, in this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Nicole helps us to better understand how pain informs our lives and how we can take steps toward restoration and wellness by stewarding our hearts and emotions well. She shares about the benefits of counseling and how she has utilized therapy in her own life.

Nicole and I talk about some of the insights from her new book, What If It's Wonderful, like how she discovered that joy and celebration are things that we need to be intentional about practicing and cultivating in our lives.

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of Nicole's new book by going to the December 13th post on my Instagram page.

• A good therapist meets you where you are and gently leads you to new places.
• A violation of love informs our identity in a painful way.
• A violation of trust informs whether or not we are safe.
• We cannot speak truth to our feelings unless we know what our feelings are.

Resources from my conversation with Nicole:

• The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble
• The Choice by Dr. Edith Eva Eger
• Kleenex for Your Car Cup Holder
• Bath Bombs – Aromatherapy
• Restoration Therapy – Find a Therapist
• Love Languages Book

Interested in counseling with Nicole or inviting her to speak at an event?

Feel free to contact Nicole through her website

You can also follow her on Instagram or Facebook

Share Your Stories & Guest Suggestions:

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Heidi Hayes, is a Florida gal, a wife, a business owner, and an avid adventurer and outdoorswoman.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Heidi talks about how stewarding her health well is about having her behaviors align with her values – if she truly values her health, then she is going to act in a way that reflects that. She not only talks about her motivation for working out, but also about how exercise has helped her auto immune disorder, her journey of seeing food as medicine and a means of preventing illness and disease, and how she changes her approaches to fitness and eating well based on the changing needs of her body.

• The physical benefits are less important than feeling strong mentally.
• It's about your health, not about how you look.
• Find an activity that you enjoy.
• Find a buddy to do fitness activities with.
• Look at food as medicine and a means of prevention.
• If it doesn't come from a tree or doesn't have a mother, don't eat it.
• Find and do what works for you.
• Give yourself permission to take care of yourself.

Resources from my conversation with Heidi:

• Love Languages book
• The Automatic Millionaire book
• Primal Kitchen Vanilla Collagen
• Your Super Super Greens
• Laurel's Nutrition Coach – Jen Nolan

Want to talk about an aspect of your health?

Feel free to DM Heidi on Instagram

Share Your Stories & Guest Suggestions:

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Jenny Ward is a lifelong Colorado Mountain gal, a wife, mom of two (7 and 5), a former physician, and meditation practitioner.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Jenny talks about how the stress and difficulty of her medical school residency led her to a place of needing an escape and how that drew her to discover and reconnect with herself through the introspective practice of meditation. She talks about how that practice helped her to work through fears, insecurities, and negative and anxious thoughts, and ultimately transform her view of herself.

• Meditation is paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment.
• Imagine what your older, wiser self would say to yourself.
• Find a quiet moment and take a few deep breaths.­

Resources from my conversation with Jenny:

• Love Languages book
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Spirit Rock Meditation Center
• Ten Percent Happier Meditation App and Podcast

Want to talk about developing a meditation practice?

Feel free to email Jenny – [email protected]

Share Your Stories & Guest Suggestions:

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Let's be honest, The Holidays bring a lot! There is a lot of goodness, but there is also a lot of extra work. A lot of activity. A lot of emotion. A lot of expectation. Sometimes, we're simply just trying to fake it until we make it to mid-January.

Becky Keife, is a Southern California gal, an author, speaker, Bible teacher, wife, mom of three boys (13, 12, and 10), and the Engagement and Editorial Manager for the community, (in)courage.

In this episode of Courage Becomes Her, Becky talks about how to take care of yourself during the holidays, especially when they bring anxiety, sadness, stress, pressure, and grief. Becky shares openly about how she has dealt with family tensions and the dynamics of a broken family, how she has honored her grief and the memory of her Dad, how she navigates depression and anxiety, and attempts to kindle joy throughout the holiday season.

• Be conscientious of your traditions, and if something isn't working for you then change it – maybe the actual day that you celebrate doesn't need to matter.
• Build in margin between events.
• Make space for sadness and grief, and not judge yourself or your feelings.
• Make space to celebrate your loved one and honor your loss of them.
• Be realistic about your limitations.
• Be honest with your family about your needs and boundaries.
• Be gentle with yourself.
• Advocate for yourself.
• Be present in whatever moment you're in.
• Simplify and do the things that bring us life, not because we feel obligated.

Resources from my conversation with Becky:

• Love Languages book
• 1000 Gifts book by Ann Voskamp
• Hidden Christmas by Timothy Keller
• Theology in the Raw podcast

Enter the giveaway to win a copy of the newest book from (in)courage, Come Sit with Me, as sponsored by Revell Books, through my November 22 post on Instagram.

Want to talk about your struggle with anxiety or depression, or your grief of the loss of a loved one, or parenting?

Feel free to reach out to Becky through her website or DM her on Instagram.

Share Your Stories & Guest Suggestions:

www.couragebecomesher.com

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We'd love to hear from you!

Production by Studio C Creative Sound