Heroes For Her

"Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?"  Proverbs 8:1 When I slow down and consider all of the people I've met since we began this ministry/company, there are a few special people whose voices ring with genuine wisdom and the incomparable truth found in God's Word. They are the voices that I was looking for as a mama. Above the roar of culture, they are the voices our girls need to hear. They are powerful weapons in the fight for our girls. My dear friend Wynter Pitts had a voice like that, and she used it to empower parents to lead their daughters to Christ and encourage girls to live with the gospel at the center of everything.  When she suddenly passed away less than two weeks ago, the girl ministry community, as well as my own home and family, were rocked. But what began in sadness and confusion ended with incredible peace and a rallying by the body of Christ unlike any that I have ever seen.  On behalf of the team at Bible Belles, it is my honor to re-release the interview I did with Wynter a few months ago. It's title, "She Is Yours," carries with it special meaning for me today, as I think about every girl who was and will be affected by Wynter's words and life, and as I think about my sweet friend who is now safe in the arms of Jesus, the One to whom she belongs. Lord, she is Yours. We celebrate her today, and we carry her legacy into tomorrow.

"Be unoffendable. In the words of Taylor Swift, shake it off."    Today's guest is Christine Caine. Christine is someone I admire and respect so much in the arenas of leadership, influence and encouraging women. She is an Australian-born, Greek-blooded lover of Jesus, activist, author and international speaker. Her primary passion is to make Jesus’ last command her first priority by giving her all to see the lost saved and to build the local church – globally. She has a passion for justice, and together with her husband, Nick, founded the anti-human trafficking organization, The A21 Campaign. In 2015, they founded Propel Women, an organization designed to honor the calling of every woman, empower her to lead, equip her for success, and develop a sense of God-given purpose. She’s known around the world as a passionate communicator of God’s word and his love.    Much of the work Christine does through A21 and Propel Women revolves around empowering women. In today's episode, you'll find out why she is so committed to those causes and how much it means to her that A21 just received the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice “for providing the three essentials – food, water and clothing to refugees and for raising awareness against human trafficking.”    Christine and I have thyroid cancer in common. I was diagnosed first in 2007 and I know from experience how shocking, scary, and unexpected that kind of news can be. Christine’s diagnosis came in 2014 and she explains what it was like for her and what God showed her during that season. Her newest book, Unexpected, addresses fear of all kinds and how it can get in the way of us fulfilling our God-given destinies. 

“Keep it simple. Focus on God and focus on loving others.”   Today’s guest is Michayla White. As the Executive Director for International Network of Children’s Ministry, Michayla oversees and provides guidance for initiatives that inspire and equip the kidmin community. For the past eleven years, she has had the privilege of working in children’s and family ministry. Prior to joining INCM, she served at a non-profit children’s ministry organization in various capacities like media production, digital strategy, conferences, partnerships, and ministry program design. Michayla has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with specializations in Christian Counseling and Life Coaching from Liberty University. Michayla is married to her best friend and childhood sweetheart Stephen. They are having a blast raising two little boys.   Michayla’s passion for children’s ministry started in middle school. Growing up, she was always involved in pretty much every aspect of her church’s kidmin efforts. Those experiences, and serving alongside her parents, ignited a burning passion in her heart to continue serving those who serve children and families. Her leadership and heart for women in ministry inspires me, and I believe her voice will be an important one as we move into the future and watch more women lead and lead well. 

“For every one look we take at ourselves and the culture, we have to take ten looks at Christ.” -Elizabeth Elliott, Keep a Quiet Heart Today’s guest is Melanie Mudge. Melanie is originally from Albuquerque, NM, and she currently lives in Rapid City, South Dakota with her husband Josh and their two dogs, Diesel and Denali. Great names. As I prepped for this interview, I learned that Melanie loves cooking Paleo (bless her and anyone else with the ability to cook - I cannot relate), she’s on Pinterest and has so many craft goals, and that she hopes to someday beat her mom at tennis.  After graduating from the University of New Mexico, she made her way to Manitou Springs, CO to be on summer staff with Summit Ministries, and it was through that experience that she got connected with Axis - which is an incredible organization that works to resource parents and faith leaders to disciple and create legacies of lasting faith for kids. She’s the editor of The Culture Translator weekly email, and the writer and editor of Parent Guides.  Find out about all this and more during today's episode. 

“It may be that the souls of all children are waiting for the call of knowledge to awaken them to delightful living.”  - Charlotte Mason   My guest for today’s episode is Rebecca Farris. As C.E.O. of Home Educating Family Association, Rebecca inspires and supports thousands of homeschool moms each year through her speaking, talk show, daily planners, magazines, and online resources. Each year Rebecca uses her platform as the Well Planned Gal to share her inspirational story of grace. Challenging women to discover the unique journey God has for them, Rebecca mentors women in their work, marriage, parenting adventures, and life. Her personal journey and day-to-day activities can be found in the pages of Family Magazine, on wellplannedgal.com, and through social media.   Today, Rebecca explains why she describes her childhood as unusual, and how she wasn’t exactly a fan of homeschooling when she was the student. She breaks down why she had a change of heart about home education and how the Lord showed her how to balance keeping her home in order, maintaining multiple businesses, and homeschooling her children all at the same time. Her passion is to encourage homeschool families and create resources that make life organized, creative, and fun.

“Just because a publisher is saying no doesn’t mean that God is saying no.”  My guest for today’s episode is Glynnis Whitwer. Glynnis is on staff with Proverbs 31 Ministries as Executive Director of Communications. She currently oversees and writes for the Proverbs 31 devotions, Encouragement for Today, with over 1 million daily readers. She also oversees content for the First 5 app with 2 million downloads, manages the content for She Speaks Writer and Speakers Conference and oversees COMPEL Writing Training.  Over the years, God has had Glynnis in a variety of roles: career woman, stay-at-home mom, work-at-home mom. She’s led ministry inside and outside her home. Consistently over the last 15 years, writing has been an important part of her life. Recently though, she realized that God was calling her into a new season with P31. During today’s episode, Glynnis breaks down how she knew that God wanted her to switch gears and what she’s enjoyed most about working with P31. She also shares all the details for the 2018 She Speaks Conference and the brand-new intensive program called She Speaks Studio.  

“The work is good, and the rest is holy. Be still.” Yes! Today’s guest is Heroes For Her alumna, Crystal Stine. We had Crystal on the show back in March 2016 and I love that we got to catch up today because so much has happened since our original interview. Crystal makes her living as a writer. She’s the author of “Creative Basics: 30 Days to Awesome Social Media Art,” creator of the popular “Clarity Coaching” Course, editor of “Craving Connection” and host of the annual Write 31 Days challenge. Most recently, she is encouraging women everywhere to pursue holy hustle – a work hard, rest well lifestyle that chases faith instead of fame. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Matt and their six-year-old daughter, Madi. Some generations pride themselves on their strong work ethic. Other generations chase happiness. The "world" promotes 24/7 hustle as a necessity to success, while Christians avoid the word and prefer rest. Crystal’s been working to unpack what "hustle" truly means and why it shouldn't be feared, using Scripture, personal stories, and reader reflections. I’m so excited for you to hear today’s episode. 

“We can find rest for our ‘inner souls’—a place of true, Christ-centered peace and joy. It really is possible.” 
   Today’s guest is Shaunti Feldhahn. Shaunti is a popular speaker, best-selling author, and groundbreaking social researcher. Her findings have been featured in media as diverse as Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Today, the New York Times and Cosmo. With a master’s degree from Harvard University, Shaunti has worked on Wall Street and Capitol Hill. Now she applies her analytical skills to helping people and relationships thrive. She and her husband, Jeff, live in Atlanta with their two children.   Shaunti’s journey with the Lord has inspired her research over many years. Recently, she’s been studying both what the Bible says and what science says about finding true rest as it relates to the stress and worry we face as women.   We know that being “busy” has become a status symbol in American life, but the fact is that for women there’s no avoiding it.  How can we manage to rest well amidst all of our roles and responsibilities? Shaunti teamed up with iDisciple to create Find Rest: A Women’s Devotional For Lasting Peace In a Busy Life, one of the most important and stunningly beautiful devotionals I’ve ever read. It’s a cross between a devotional, journal, bible study and a simple resource that covers the topic of rest. The devotional contains eight essential elements for rest. Build only on Rock 
 Live according to your design 
 Set aside superwoman 
 Connect with God 
 Shift your perspective 
 Create life-giving relationships 
 Walk in obedience 
 Have no fear 
   I loved my conversation with Shaunti today and I know you will too.

“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.” –Psalm 127:4   Today’s guest is Bob Lepine. Bob is Senior Vice President of FamilyLife, as well as co-host of FamilyLife Today®, their nationally syndicated radio program. He is a veteran of Christian radio, working for local radio stations in Tulsa, Phoenix, Sacramento, and San Antonio before joining FamilyLife in 1992.   He is the author of The Christian Husband and the on-air voice for “Truth for Life” with Alistair Begg (@alistair_begg_truthforlife ). Bob also serves on the Board of Directors for National Religious Broadcasters (@nrbassociation ). He and his wife, Mary Ann, live in Little Rock, Arkansas. They have five children and a growing number of grandkids.     Bob’s work has taken him all over the world for many years, and he does more traveling now that his kids are grown. As a parent and grandparent, it has meant the world to him to be a part of FamilyLife teams and projects over the years that are helping to strengthen families across the globe.   In May 2018, FamilyLife is launching its first full-length feature movie, Like Arrows. It started as a parenting resource, and in today’s episode Bob shares what it was like taking it all the way to the big screen. The movie’s title, Like Arrows, is drawn from a passage in Scripture, Psalm 127:3-5.   Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! Parenting is a blessing, and it’s also a great responsibility. We are called to raise the children God has given us and launch them with aim into the world. Brent and I were blessed to be able to watch Like Arrows a few weeks ago and it affected both of us in several ways. What an incredible power we have as parents to shape the next generation!   The two-day release of Like Arrows is May 1 and 3 and you can head to http://familylifeministries.org/likearrows/ to view the trailer, find a theatre near you, and purchase tickets.   Do not miss this movie. It’s a powerful and relatable story that I know will inspire and help families with the parenting challenges they are facing at home.

“Smart people put smarter people around them.” My guest for today’s episode is Tammy Hotsenpiller. Tammy is an author, speaker, life coach and leader of a national women’s movement. She is the president of Total Life Coach – a coaching company that emphasizes life balance, purpose and reinvention. Tammy is also the founder and executive director of Women of Influence—an organization that seeks to educate and empower women in their spheres of influence – very near and dear to our hearts. Her passion is for equipping others to embrace their natural abilities, personal passions, and spiritual gifts.   The highlights from today’s episode are the stories! God has a story for all of us. We can look back through our lives and see where he has been at work, but we also need to look ahead and see what story he is writing about the days to come. Tammy shares some unbelievable stories about her own journey of faith – how God got a hold of her heart when she was young and she felt his tugging on a mission trip to Haiti. She shares how prayer has been a powerful component to strengthen her relationship with the Lord and how finding time to be with God has impacted her life in powerful ways.   As women, when we embrace our stories, we find freedom, purpose and our ability to influence future generations.