Echos of Impact

You love your kids more than anything. So why do they sometimes bring out a version of you that you don't even recognize?

In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with author and Christian life coach Natalie Hixson for an honest conversation about motherhood, anger, and what happens when we realize that sometimes we're the ones who need help. Natalie shares her own painful journey with anger, how it affected her family, and the moment a therapist helped her see that her daughter's behavior wasn't the real problem she needed to address.

Natalie is a wife, mother of three, podcast host, and author of Lord, Why Did You Give Me These Children? A Faith-Based Approach to Overcoming Mom Anger. After struggling with destructive anger in her own home, Natalie spent years working through the patterns she had carried into motherhood. Today, she helps other Christian moms recognize their triggers, learn to regulate their emotions, and begin repairing relationships that have been hurt along the way.

This conversation is about more than learning how to stop yelling at your kids. It's about recognizing what's happening in your own heart, taking responsibility without getting stuck in shame, and allowing God to work through the sometimes uncomfortable process of change. Natalie also shares what her relationship with her now-adult daughter looks like today, offering a beautiful reminder that our past mistakes don't have to define who we become.

• Natalie's personal struggle with anger and the moment she realized she needed help

• How our childhood experiences and learned behaviors can affect the way we parent

• Why changing our perspective can change how we respond to frustrating situations

• What to do when you're praying, reading your Bible, and still struggling with anger

• How to apologize to your children and begin repairing trust without demanding forgiveness

• Practical ways to pause, regulate your emotions, and respond instead of react

• Moving beyond guilt and shame while still taking responsibility for harmful behavior

• How God helped Natalie rebuild her relationship with her daughter and find joy in motherhood again

"It was okay that I was angry, but it wasn't okay to yell at you." — Natalie Hixson

"It's never too late to restore your relationship with your kids." — Natalie Hixson

Website: NatalieHixson.com

Instagram: @angrymamacoach

Book: Lord, Why Did You Give Me These Children? A Faith-Based Approach to Overcoming Mom Anger

Podcast: Motherhood Restored

Free Resource: Download Natalie's Trigger Tracker — A free resource to help you recognize and understand your anger triggers.

Have you ever walked away from a parenting moment wishing you'd handled it differently?

Motherhood has a way of revealing things in us that we didn't even know were there. But we don't have to figure it all out alone.

We'd love to hear what stood out to you from this conversation. Come connect with us on Instagram or join the women in our Echos of Impact Community.

This episode includes an honest discussion of parental anger and past emotionally and physically harmful behavior toward children. Please listen with care. If anger is affecting your family's safety or well-being, reaching out to a licensed mental health professional is an important step toward getting support.

If this conversation encouraged you, consider sharing it with another mom who might need to hear it.

And if you've been enjoying Echos of Impact, we'd be so grateful if you'd follow the podcast and leave a review. It helps other women find these conversations, too. ❤️

Have you ever felt like you needed to change something about yourself just to be accepted? Maybe you've been called too quiet, too different, or just too much. And even years later, those words still affect how you see yourself. In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with award-winning author Cally Logan to talk about the labels we carry, the pressure to fit in, and what it looks like to find our identity in who God says we are.

Cally is the author of three books, a Senior Writer for Crosswalk.com, and has spent nearly a decade as a school teacher. Her award-winning book, The Wallflower that Bloomed, grew out of her own experiences with bullying, insecurity, and learning to embrace the person God created her to be. She shares how the words spoken over her as a teenager followed her into adulthood, and how spending time with God helped her begin separating other people's opinions from the truth about who she is.

Together, Briana and Cally explore what it means to stop measuring ourselves against everyone around us. They talk about friendship, finding people who allow us to be ourselves, and trusting God's timing when our lives don't look the way we thought they would.

Because maybe blooming isn't about becoming someone different. Maybe it's about allowing God to grow something beautiful in the person He already created you to be.

• How childhood labels and bullying can shape our identity long into adulthood

• Why being different doesn't mean something is wrong with us

• Learning to recognize God's truth over other people's opinions

• The story and message behind The Wallflower that Bloomed

• Finding freedom in friendships where we don't have to pretend

• How time alone with God can help us grow

• Trusting God's timing when life looks different from everyone else's

• Finding the courage to follow God, even when He calls us outside our comfort zones

"Just because your life doesn't look like everyone else's doesn't mean that it's wrong." — Cally Logan

"But that does not make it true. And that does not mean God did." — Cally Logan

Website: callylogan.com

Books: Explore Cally's Books on Amazon

Instagram: @callylogan

Facebook: @callyloganofficial

What's a label you've carried that you're learning to let go of?

We'd love to hear what stood out to you in this conversation.

Book Giveaway! We're giving away a copy of Cally's book, The Wallflower that Bloomed! To enter, simply reach out and share something that stuck with you or a takeaway from this episode.

Connect with us on Instagram or join the Echos of Impact Community on Facebook.

If this conversation encouraged you, share it with a friend who might need the reminder that she doesn't have to change who she is to be loved by God.

And if you're enjoying Echos of Impact, we'd be so grateful if you'd follow the podcast and leave a review. It helps other women find these conversations, too. ❤️

What if some of the Bible stories you've pictured your whole life aren't actually described that way in Scripture?

In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Julie Remington, founder of Honest Imagination and author of The Forgotten Nativity: A Historically Honest Christmas Story, for a conversation about slowing down, asking better questions, and discovering the richness we can miss when we assume we already know a familiar story—especially the Christmas story.

Julie studied linguistics and spent years living overseas with a Bible translation organization, where learning another language and culture changed the way she approaches Scripture. Living inside a culture very different from her own showed her how easily we can misunderstand words, actions, and stories when we don't understand the world they came from. As a neurodivergent mom, Julie also shares how noticing small details and asking questions others might overlook has shaped the way she reads familiar biblical stories. Through Honest Imagination, she's now creating historically honest Bible stories for curious kids and helping families imagine the world of the Bible in ways that are faithful to Scripture and informed by history.

As Julie began digging into the nativity story, she discovered that some of the images many of us grew up with aren't actually found in the biblical text. The "inn" may have been a guest room. The manger may have been inside an ordinary family home rather than a detached stable. The shepherds may have looked very different from the men we usually see in nativity sets. And those details aren't just interesting trivia—they can help us see the story with fresh eyes.

Briana and Julie also look beyond the Christmas story at familiar passages like the prodigal son, Mary and Martha, and verses we often hear pulled out of context. The heart of the conversation isn't about proving what everyone else got wrong. It's an invitation to stay curious, read Scripture for ourselves, and remember that sometimes the truth is even better than the version we thought we knew.

Julie also brings the conversation back to Emmanuel—God with us—and challenges listeners to ask whether that's real in their own lives. She shares a simple practice she's teaching her daughter for the moments when fear shows up.

• Why Julie wrote The Forgotten Nativity

• How cross-cultural experience changed the way she reads Scripture, and why historical context matters

• How Julie's neurodivergence has shaped the way she notices details and asks questions

• What the Bible actually says about the "inn," and why the manger may have been inside an ordinary family home

• What we may have assumed about the shepherds that Scripture never actually says

• The deeper cultural meaning behind the prodigal son

• What it meant for Mary to sit at Jesus' feet

• Familiar verses that can sound very different when read in context

• How slowing down and approaching the Bible with curiosity and humility can change the way we experience Scripture

• Why better context can deepen our trust in Scripture rather than weaken it

• A practical way to invite God into moments of fear

"I want my child to know that she can trust the Bible."

"When you read Scripture, it's cross-cultural."

Book: The Forgotten Nativity: A Historically Honest Christmas Story

Sign up to be notified when the book releases

The Forgotten Nativity Free Coloring Pages Link

Instagram: @honestimagination

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Have you ever read a familiar Bible story and suddenly realized, Wait… does it actually say that?

We'd love to hear what you've discovered as you've slowed down and taken a closer look at Scripture.

Follow Echos of Impact on Instagram

Join the Echos of Impact Community

If this conversation encouraged you, follow Echos of Impact wherever you listen so you don't miss an episode.

And if you have a minute to leave a review, it helps more women find these conversations and means so much to us.

Thanks for being here, friend.

Marriage can be beautiful and deeply life-giving… and still bring out parts of us we didn't know needed work.

In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise pull back the curtain on their own marriages and have an honest conversation about what they've learned through nearly 35 years of combined marriage. They share how they met their husbands, what they still love about them after all these years, the rhythms that have helped them stay connected, and some of the places where marriage has stretched them the most.

From different conflict styles and perpetual arguments to video games, parenting, intimacy, codependency, apologies, and learning when to step in versus when to let go, this conversation isn't about pretending they have marriage figured out. It's about recognizing that loving someone well sometimes means communicating what you need—and sometimes means trusting God enough to stop trying to manage their growth for them.

At the heart of the episode is a reminder that a healthy marriage isn't a conflict-free marriage. It's two imperfect people continuing to turn toward each other, stay curious, repair when things go wrong, and allow God to work in both of them.

A note before listening: This conversation reflects Briana and Cherise's personal experiences in healthy, safe marriages. They also acknowledge that some marriages involve emotional or physical unsafety, and their experiences aren't meant to be a formula or comparison point for every relationship.

• How Briana and Cherise met their husbands—and what first drew them to each other

• Why going to bed together every night has become an important rhythm in Cherise's marriage

• Staying connected without expecting your spouse to be your everything

• Making room for friendships, hobbies, and individuality within marriage

• Why laughter has helped carry both marriages through hard seasons

• Putting your marriage before your kids while still being present parents

• What it looks like to model healthy conflict for your children

• Why conflict itself isn't necessarily unhealthy

• The reality of having the same disagreements again and again

• Cherise's honest struggle with video games in her marriage—and learning the difference between communicating a need, nagging, and quietly holding contempt

• What happens when one spouse wants to resolve conflict immediately and the other needs space

• Learning to apologize, repair, and recognize when your spouse may communicate remorse differently than you do

• The temptation to notice all the ways your spouse could grow

• Why you can't be your spouse's Holy Spirit

• Supporting your husband without over-functioning, enabling, or trying to fix him

• Trusting God with your spouse's growth

• Recognizing when your desire to "help" is actually being driven by anxiety

• The many different kinds of intimacy within marriage

• Protecting time together when you have children at home

• Staying curious about your spouse, expressing gratitude, and choosing to turn toward each other instead of away

• Learning the small things that make your spouse feel seen and cared for

• The power of prayer and focusing on your own growth with God

"You can't be their Holy Spirit." — Cherise

"Turn toward each other and not away from each other." — Cherise

What part of this conversation felt familiar in your own marriage?

Maybe it was the way you handle conflict. Maybe it was realizing how easy it is to try to manage someone you love. Or maybe it was the reminder to keep turning toward each other in the ordinary, everyday moments.

Come talk with us on Instagram or join the Echos of Impact Community on Facebook:

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echos_of_impact/

Echos of Impact Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/echosofimpact

If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who might need the conversation too.

And if you've been enjoying Echos of Impact, follow the show and leave a review. It helps more women find these conversations and reminds us that the honest stories we share really do matter.

What do you do when you know God is good… but your life doesn't feel good at all?

In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with writer and storyteller Sarah Freymuth for an honest conversation about faith, mental health, suffering, and learning to trust the character of God when your feelings are telling you something very different.

Sarah is the Content and Storytelling Manager for Fellowship of Christian Athletes and writes for platforms including Proverbs 31 Ministries, YouVersion, (in)Courage, and She Reads Truth. She has a heart for helping people uncover God's goodness in places that don't feel good, especially when it comes to faith and mental health. Through her own seasons of serious health challenges, anxiety, depression, and prolonged suffering, Sarah has learned what it looks like to keep reaching for God even when His presence feels distant.

This conversation makes room for the questions we sometimes feel afraid to say out loud: God, are You really here? Do You see me? Why is this lasting so long? What if my faith isn't as strong as I thought it was?

Sarah shares how she learned that faith isn't always about holding tighter. Sometimes it's realizing that when we don't have the strength to hold onto God, He is still holding onto us. And for the woman who is still in the middle of a hard season, this episode is a reminder that you don't have to pretend you're okay to be deeply loved by God.

• Sarah's journey of knowing God from childhood and how suffering deepened her faith

• Wrestling with anxiety, depression, health struggles, and unanswered questions

• What happens when you know God loves you but you can't feel His love

• The shame Christians can experience around mental health

• Why trying to "fix" someone's suffering can sometimes make them feel even more alone

• The power of presence, prayer, and simply walking alongside someone

• Finding small signs of hope when looking too far ahead feels impossible

• Learning to trust God's character when your emotions feel unreliable

• The difference between striving to hold onto faith and trusting God to hold you

• How Sarah's husband learned to support her through mental health struggles

• Why healing doesn't always happen quickly or in a straight line

• Looking for small "glimmers" of God's presence in dark seasons

• The heart behind Sarah's book, All the Hard Things: 50 Days Through the Valley

• What Sarah is learning now about abiding, slowing down, and simply being with Jesus

"He was holding me when I couldn't hold myself." — Sarah Freymuth

"My faith is not strong enough. Thank God His is." — Sarah Freymuth

Website: https://www.sarahfreymuth.com

Instagram: @sfreymuthawake

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SFreymuth

Substack: https://substack.com/@sarahfreymuth

Have you ever walked through a season where you knew what was true about God, but struggled to actually feel it?

We'd love to hear what this conversation brought up for you.

Echos of Impact on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echos_of_impact/

Join the Echos of Impact Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/echosofimpact

If this episode encouraged you, share it with someone who may need the reminder that they don't have to have perfect faith to be held by a faithful God.

And if you haven't already, follow Echos of Impact and leave a review. It's a simple way to help more women find these conversations and know they aren't walking through the hard things alone.

There's a moment every parent eventually faces — the one where you stop steering the boat and start becoming the lighthouse. For Tabitha Deller, that shift didn't happen all at once. It came slowly, through raising four sons, trusting God with things she couldn't control, and learning that love sometimes looks like letting go.

Tabitha is a writer, Bible teacher, and speaker who has spent years helping women encounter the truth of Scripture and the love of Jesus. In this conversation, she shares her own story — from a childhood where faith was familiar but hadn't yet become personal, to a college season where she began walking with Jesus for herself, to the ongoing work of parenting sons who are now grown and living their own lives.

At the center of this episode is the tension so many moms live in: how do you raise your kids with truth, boundaries, and real presence — and then trust God enough to let them go? Tabitha's answer isn't a formula; it's a picture: boat, tugboat, lighthouse. And a reminder that sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is less, not more.

What We Cover:

• Tabitha's journey from head knowledge to heart knowledge in her faith

• Why purpose can look different in different seasons

• The importance of Christian community and discipleship

• Trusting God through suffering and difficult circumstances

• Letting go as your children become adults

• Creating a home where your kids know they can come back with hard questions

• Holding truth, boundaries, love, and relationship together

• Why apologizing to your children can model strength rather than weakness

• Moving from the "boat" to the "tugboat" to the "lighthouse" as a parent

• Choosing prayer over trying to control someone else's journey

Tabitha also reminds us that hard does not automatically mean bad. God can be working in the very seasons we would never have chosen, producing endurance, character, and hope as we learn to trust Him more deeply.

Key Quotes:

"We are the lighthouse. We are not even in the water with them... they know they can look towards it, and if they ever lose their way, that light is going to be there and they can find their way back."

"Rules without relationship equal rebellion."

Connect with Tabitha Deller:

Website: http://www.tabithadeller.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tabdeller/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064928052076 Substack: https://substack.com/@tabithadeller

Join the Conversation:

Head to Instagram or our Facebook group and tell us which part of this picture stayed with you — the boat, the tugboat, or the lighthouse.

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echos_of_impact/ Echos of Impact Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/echosofimpact

Final Notes:

If this episode encouraged you, follow Echos of Impact and leave a review. It genuinely helps more women find these conversations.

What do you do when you're following God, trusting Him, praying, and life still becomes harder than you ever imagined?

In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with singer, poet, author, speaker, and creative Juliet Dawn for a deeply personal conversation about faith through abuse, miscarriage, infant loss, trauma, unanswered prayer, and the long road of continuing to come back to Jesus.

Juliet grew up with strong roots of faith, but at 21 she prayed a prayer that would stay with her for decades: "I just want to make a difference no matter the cost." What followed was a life she never could have predicted — including an abusive relationship, multiple miscarriages, the devastating loss of her twin boys, Louis and Elliot, serious health struggles, and another complicated pregnancy with her son Leo.

One of the most powerful parts of Juliet's story is the tension between what happened with her twins and what happened when she became pregnant with Leo. After praying for a miracle for her twins and not receiving the answer she desperately wanted, Juliet found herself praying again — this time without knowing what the outcome would be. She shares how she continued to hold onto faith even when she couldn't predict what God would do.

Juliet also shares the story behind her song "There's a Time," which she wrote with her mother around the same season she prayed that prayer at 21. The recording was lost for more than three decades, only to resurface after Juliet had lived through so much of what the song spoke about. Looking back, she could finally see it as a thread God had placed in her story long before she understood why she would need it.

This conversation isn't about pretending hard things don't hurt. It's about what it can look like to keep turning toward Jesus when life doesn't make sense, healing takes longer than you hoped, and you're tired of asking, When is this going to end?

A quick note before listening: This episode includes conversations about abuse, miscarriage, infant loss, grief, and trauma. Please listen with care.

• The strong faith roots Juliet developed growing up in a pastor's home

• The prayer she prayed at 21: "I just want to make a difference no matter the cost"

• Surviving a decade-long abusive relationship

• Multiple miscarriages and the devastating loss of her twin sons

• Praying again after experiencing unanswered prayer

• The pregnancy and birth of her son Leo, which Juliet describes as a miracle

• How years of trauma affected Juliet emotionally and physically

• Why healing has meant persistence and continually coming back to Jesus

• The story behind "There's a Time" and why rediscovering the song decades later meant so much

• How trauma changed Juliet's voice — and how she believes God restored it

• The importance of having spiritually mature people around you when life feels relentless

• Choosing praise when you don't know what else to pray

"I wasn't sure what the outcome of those prayers was going to be, but I had enough faith to believe for a miracle."

"The healing for me has looked like persistence, persistence, persistence, persistence — keep coming back to Jesus, keep coming back to Jesus, keep coming back to Jesus."

Website: http://JulietDawn.co.uk

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@julietdawnmusic?si=NPWd40cnbW4kUoNi

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5AxYDVlsL1Xy0MNypqerwC?si=0Dj87RIhREC2ncGMIERnDg

Pilgrim's Progress Film / Musical: https://youtu.be/NmNKIuSTb7E

"Arise & Shine": https://youtu.be/AaCLM1tQvj4

"There's a Time": https://youtu.be/HTKz5GmNlbI

"Beauty for Ashes": https://youtu.be/bt3bQjcxtwo

Have you ever walked through a season where you kept wondering, God, when is this going to end?

We'd love to hear what has helped you keep coming back to Him in the middle of a season you didn't understand.

Echos of Impact on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echos_of_impact/

Join the Echos of Impact Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/echosofimpact

If this conversation encouraged you, follow Echos of Impact wherever you listen so you don't miss an episode.

And if you have a moment, leaving a rating or review is one simple way you can help more women find these conversations.

Thanks for listening, friend.

What if the questions you keep asking God are telling you something about what's happening underneath the surface?

In this monthly Briana + Cherise episode of Echos of Impact, we're talking honestly about the questions we bring to God—the ones about closed doors, unanswered prayers, hearing His voice, suffering, purpose, and whether He really sees us in the middle of it all. Sometimes the question we're asking out loud isn't actually the deepest question in our hearts.

Briana shares a beautiful story of reconnecting with a friend after nearly 15 years of believing she had somehow caused the friendship to end. What she eventually learned was completely different from the story she had carried for years—and it opened up a conversation about how easily our assumptions can become shame, fear, and beliefs about ourselves that were never true.

Cherise also shares how one simple thought from a previous conversation—the questions we ask can point to our pain points—caused her to look differently at the questions she brings to God. Questions like, Why didn't this work out when I thought You were leading me there? How are You going to redeem this? Do You hear me when I pray? Are You with me? And underneath so many of them is the same tender question: God, can I trust You when I don't understand what You're doing?

This conversation is an invitation to stop being afraid of your questions. God isn't intimidated by them. Bring them into prayer. Bring them into worship. Pay attention to what they might be revealing—and allow Him to meet you there.

• Why the questions we ask can reveal deeper pain points

• Briana's unexpected reconciliation with a friend after nearly 15 years

• How assumptions can quietly turn into shame

• What happens when you feel sure God led you somewhere—and the door still closes

• Learning to recognize obedience even when you don't understand the outcome

• The difference between knowing God loves you and experiencing His love personally

• Cherise's question underneath "What's the point of prayer?"—"Are You with me?"

• Trusting that suffering will not be wasted

• Bringing grief and unanswered questions honestly before God

• Why steadfastness matters when life gets harder instead of easier

• Learning to bring our questions into worship instead of carrying them alone

• Asking God to show us His love in personal, meaningful ways

"I feel like almost all questions end up leading you to, like, 'Can I trust You? Can I trust You, God? Can I trust Your heart when I don't understand what's going on?'" — Cherise

"When's the last time that God showed you He really loved you?" — Briana

What question have you been asking God lately?

And if you sit with it a little longer… what might you really be asking underneath it?

Maybe it's Are You with me?

Did I hear You wrong?

Will You redeem this?

Do You really see me?

Or simply:

Can I trust You?

Bring that question to Him. You don't have to clean it up first.

We'd love to hear what this episode brought up for you. Come connect with us on Instagram or join the Echos of Impact Community on Facebook.

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echos_of_impact/

Echos of Impact Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/echosofimpact

If this conversation encouraged you, share it with a friend who may be carrying some questions of her own.

And if you're enjoying Echos of Impact, following the podcast and leaving a review is one of the simplest ways you can help more women find these conversations.

Thanks for being here with us. 🤍

What do you do when you love someone deeply, you've prayed, you've tried to help, and you still can't control the outcome?

In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Christian speaker, author, and Bible teacher Myra Ingargiola for a deeply personal conversation about surrender, motherhood, mental illness, addiction, grief, and trusting God through circumstances she never would have chosen. Myra shares how God first began drawing her to Himself as a little girl and how that thread of faith carried through some of the hardest chapters of her life.

Myra's story includes placing a daughter for adoption as a young woman, years of infertility, later adopting her son Jared, and eventually being reunited with her daughter. She also shares the long journey she and her husband walked with Jared as he struggled with serious mental illness and addiction, and how they learned to love him while also setting boundaries and releasing the need to fix what was beyond their control.

After Jared died from a fentanyl overdose in 2023, Myra began to see more clearly just how deeply his life had impacted the people around him. His story did not end with his illness or addiction. Through grief, Myra continues to come back to the lesson God has woven throughout her life: surrender isn't giving up. It's trusting God with what we cannot carry, control, or understand.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of serious mental illness, addiction, fentanyl overdose, and the loss of a child. Please listen with care.

• Myra sensing God's call on her life at eight years old

• Returning fully to her faith after walking through an abusive relationship

• Placing her daughter for adoption and the shame she carried afterward

• Infertility, adopting Jared, and eventually reuniting with her daughter

• Facing the possibility of losing Jared before his adoption was finalized

• What surrender looked like when Myra realized she could not control the outcome

• Jared's journey with mental illness and addiction

• Learning how to love someone while still maintaining healthy boundaries

• Protecting a marriage while walking through an incredibly difficult parenting season

• Letting go of the pressure to have all the answers

• The importance of understanding mental illness rather than responding from fear or shame

• Losing Jared to a fentanyl overdose in November 2023

• The impact Jared had on clinicians, social workers, and others who cared for him

• Remembering the person someone is beyond what they are struggling with

• Why surrender can feel especially difficult in grief

• Learning to place something in God's hands without continually trying to take control back

• Holding onto hope when the story looks nothing like you expected

"Purpose isn't something we can create, it's something we surrender to."

"There's always hope."

Website: http://myraleespeaks.com/Phone: 774-218-6108 Article: Whispers of Hope — available through Myra's website

Have you ever found yourself trying to control something you had already told God you were surrendering?

We'd love to hear what this conversation brought up for you.

Follow Echos of Impact on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echos_of_impact/

Join the Echos of Impact Community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/echosofimpact

If this episode encouraged you, share it with someone who may need the reminder that the people we love are more than their hardest seasons, and that there is still hope even when we cannot see how the story will unfold.

Follow Echos of Impact wherever you listen so you don't miss next week's conversation. And if the podcast has encouraged you, leaving a rating or review is one simple way to help more women find these stories.

You don't have to stop being afraid before God can use you.

In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Bible teacher, author, podcaster, and speaker Laura L. Smith for an honest conversation about what biblical courage actually looks like. Laura shares why being brave isn't about "girl power," having more confidence, or somehow becoming fearless. It's about learning to depend on the power of God when what He's asking you to do feels bigger than you.

Laura is the author of 15 books, including her newest book, Brave Woman, Mighty God. She shares how her own story of growing up with emotional wounds and believing lies about her worth shaped her passion for helping women tear down the lies they believe and replace them with the truth of who God says they are. She also takes us behind the heart of her newest book and the women of Scripture whose stories show us just how intentionally God has always seen, valued, and used women.

And maybe one of the biggest lies standing between us and what God is calling us into is simply: "I'm not enough." Laura reminds us that courage doesn't mean doing everything at once. Sometimes it looks like praying, naming the fear, asking God to direct the next step, and then actually taking it. Because we aren't called to sit still until we feel ready. God invites us to ask, seek, knock, and walk with Him one step at a time.

• Laura's own story of growing up believing lies about her worth and learning to receive the love of God

• How her childhood dream of becoming a writer slowly became something she was willing to pursue

• The heart behind Brave Woman, Mighty God

• Why biblical courage isn't about becoming fearless or relying on our own strength

• The lie Laura hears women struggle with most: "I'm not enough"

• How to recognize thoughts that are degrading, condemning, or inconsistent with the character of God

• Practical ways to move forward when God is calling you into something that feels overwhelming

• Why prayer comes before trying to figure out every step

• What Ruth, Eve, Deborah, Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene, Phoebe, and other women of Scripture can teach us today

• How God elevated and entrusted women even within cultures that often marginalized them

• How difficult relationships with our earthly fathers can affect the way we understand God as Father

• Why Laura chose to attend seminary after already writing 15 books

• What studying Scripture in its historical and cultural context has taught her

• Moving from a scarcity mindset toward trusting the abundance of God

• Why God doesn't need you to become someone else in order to use you

"I think the biggest lie I hear over and over and reframed a thousand ways is I'm not enough."

"God always elevated women above the culture they were in."

Website / Books: https://LauraSmithAuthor.comInstagram: @LauraSmithAuthor Featured Book: Brave Woman, Mighty God

Where are you waiting to feel brave before taking the next step God may already be asking you to take?

Come connect with us and share what this conversation brought up for you.

Echos of Impact on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echos_of_impact/

Join the Echos of Impact Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/echosofimpact

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