GirlfriendIT

What it's like to be a parent: It's one of the hardest things you'll ever do but in exchange it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love. Nicholas Sparks

Joining us this week on Girlfriendit Radio are two very special guests:

Tricia Goyer, author, speaker, radio host and family life/teen expert. Tricia has authored several books on family and parenting, as well as co-written with Max Lucado and Robin Jones Gunn. You will be inspired and walk away with some great insights and tips.

Suzi Lantz, a girlfriend from the Church Planting Ministry called Bloom. She is the Missional Community Resourcing Developer at LoveCanton, where she and her husband have been busy planting the church.

How do you define happiness?

Tough question that we unpack through two different voices.

Arlene Pellicane, author of 31 Days to Becoming a Happy Wife. This popular speaker and author wants you to experience more happiness in your home. More closeness to God and others. More purpose in your day-to-day life. She shares some great tips on bringing intimacy and fun into your marriage. You'll want to take notes.

Debbie Wilson, author of Sweet Scent of Justice. At the age of seventeen, Debbie Wilson's life forever changed. Her sister Kathy, a sophomore in college, was brutally killed. The murder of her sister brought Wilson's whole world crashing down around her. Twenty-two years later, as an adult, Wilson found God leading her down the road of her past to help put the pieces of Kathy's unsolved murder mystery together to help bring her killer to justice. This is a book that offers hope and encouragement for those experiencing trials and tribulations in their lives.

This week on Girlfriendit Radio you are going to hear some pretty remarkable life lessons from individuals, authors, and entrepreneurs who had their worlds rocked. In the midst of pain and prison, God got their attention and changed the courses of their lives.

We are so excited for you to meet and hear their stories!

Brenda Spahn, started by ministering to seven women ex-cons and as result has written her story and started the Lovelady Center which is the largest and most successful nonprofit transitional center for women in the country.

William Sirls, author of The Sinners Garden, was incarcerated in 2007 for wire fraud and money laundering. While in prison, Sirls learned a great deal more than he ever bargained for — life lessons involving faith, grace, patience and forgiveness.

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake. Henry David Thoreau

Stopping by and joining us today are two women who know what it is like to have dreams and then fearlessly pursue them. Both are accomplished authors that many of you might be familiar with.

You are going to walk away from today’s show challenged to think or rethink about your own dreams and what it will take for you to personally pursue and make happen. Let the dreaming begin . . .

Sarah Ladd, author of numerous book series from the Regency Period has recently published her latest, The Headmistress of Rosemere.

Robin Lee Hatcher is the author of over 70 books with 5 million in print. Her latest is A Promise Kept.

Our special guest, author Rachel Hauck,

started writing full time in 2004, and discovered dreams are best realized when running in partnership with a living God.

Her stories are filled with twists and turns that leave the reader breathless and longing for more. She … stirs hearts for God. She is the author of many best selling books, including Princess Ever After and Once Upon a Prince.

Ministry partners, Dave and Anne Milam, from Church Planter's Wife's ministry network, Bloom join our conversation with great tips on keeping a marriage thriving!

Are you standing at a crossroads in life right now? Are you staring, contemplating the unknown, and deciding whether to follow your heart or your head?

It all comes down to the choices we make. At times, I (Lisa) have a hard time making decisions, especially if they really aren't that significant. Where should we go for dinner? What shirt should I wear this day? These kind of decisions don't have too many consequences if I choose at random.

But there are those life decisions that have major consequences if made without thought or wisdom. The Road Unknown can be filled with excitement and expectation. As you step onto this road, whether it be a new relationship, a new job, or making a move, are you entering with wisdom?

Ask Yourself:

Why do I want this?

Are my motives pure?

Are my expectations realistic?

How will this affect others?

Will I have regrets if I do or don't do whatever it is?

Will God be blessed?

Joining our show this week on Girlfriendit Radio is Barbara Cameron, author of more than 20 fiction and nonfiction books, three nationally televised movies, and the winner of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. When a relative took her to visit the Amish community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, she felt led to write about the spiritual values and simple joys she witnessed there.

Cameron advises, "Anyone feeling at a crossroads in life should stand back and ask God for guidance. Jumping impulsively is almost always a problem although you can over-analyze things. Listen for divine guidance and always pay attention to the still small voice you have within."

Would you describe yourself as a victim or victor???

Our special guest is Leigh Ann Bryant, the author of In My Defense: an Unlikely Romance, a Deadly Gunshot, and a Young Widow's Road to Redemption.

Leigh Ann knows firsthand what it’s like to be a victim; she was trapped in the cycle of domestic abuse which 1 in 4 women report experiencing in their lifetimes. But she found freedom, she became a victor, and now she works to help others find that same freedom, to “live unshackled” as she puts it. Through her website, blog, and book, she desires to bring awareness, hope, and victory to victims of abuse.

You won’t want to miss this informative and very personal conversation. It just might save your life or the life of someone you know.

Joanna Weaver, has sold over one million books, joins our show as we dive into our worlds of endless "to do lists"! What are we "to do"?

How do we have a Mary heart as we juggle so many roles and responsibilities in our Martha worlds? You will walk away with many golden nuggets so get ready to take notes. Great quotes.

Her books include: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Having a Mary Spirit, Lazarus Awakening, and the award-winning gift book, With This Ring. Her articles have appeared in such publications as Focus on the Family, In Touch, Guideposts, and HomeLife. - See more at: girlfriendit.com

We all have or will have people who will enter our lives and challenge the peace making process.

This week on Girlfriendit Radio, we talked with two authors/speakers on this very topic: difficult relationships.

In Related by Chance, Family by Choice, author, Deb DeArmond addresses the special (or not so special) relationship between a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law.

Julie Gorman is a John Maxwell Certified Coach, Trainer and Speaker. She writes, produces, and hosts a weekly Broadcast with FYI and is the founder of For Your Inspiration and His Love Extended Ministries. She is the author of What I Wish My Mother Had Told Me about Men.

When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are. –Donald Miller

The extent to which two people in a relationship can bring up and resolve issues is a critical marker of the soundness of a relationship. –Henry Cloud

What's book or books are sitting on your nightstand right now? What books have influenced your life and leadership?

We are talking with award-winning author, Dorothy Love and Bloom Ministry Leader, Debbie Jones.

Walk away encouraged and challenged to learn more through books.

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one. G.Martin