Hope Unyielding

If you're a woman in mid-life feeling burnt out, in survival mode, or are simply unsure of what's next, I think you'll love this conversation with wellness coach Mandy Horne! In this episode, Mandy shares her passion for walking alongside women in mid-life who are navigating transition and offers practical insights on how to step forward with wisdom confidence into the next season God has for you. 

About Mandy Horne

Mandy Horne is a registered nurse and board certified health and wellness coach. She serves midlife women of faith who are in a new season of transition and is passionate about helping them flourish physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially. Interested in connecting with Mandy for coaching? Visit her website to learn more! You can also check out her free Sacred Season Starter Kit here. 

Finally, a devotional for Christian singles from someone who gets it! If you're single and in need of some humor, perspective, and joy, I think you'll love my conversation with Jessica Kate, author of Why Are All My Boyfriends Fictional? Joy for the Relationally Challenged. We chat about:

• How to fight against the enemy's lies about singleness
• Building a "Break in Case of Emergency Kit" for the hard days
• Trusting God in the present instead of worrying about the future
• Single role models in the 21st century and in biblical times
• And more!

About Jessica Kate

Jessica Kate is a thirty-something single living in a house full of books, friends, and good food in sunny Queensland, Australia. She’s the author of enough romantic comedies to keep you laughing and crying for days, and she spends her working hours pretending to be a professional in corporate training and development. She loves connecting with readers, book clubs, and Bible study groups about romance, singleness, and God. Connect with Jess at jessicakatewriting.com. 

Bestselling author Carol McLeod joins me with a powerful testimony of God's faithfulness amid multiple miscarriages, deep depression, and a cancer diagnosis. With her contagious joy and hard-fought faith, I believe Carol will encourage your heart and shift your perspective, whatever you're going through.

For more from Carol, check out her latest devotional, Today Is a Verb, her many free devotional plans on the YouVersion app, and The Significant Women Podcast. Connect with her at https://www.carolmcleodministries.com/. 

About Carol McLeod

President and CEO of Carol McLeod Ministries, Carol McLeod is a bestselling author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol’s Significant Women podcast, which encourages women in every season of life that their story matters, ranks in the top 10 percent of all podcasts internationally.

How does the Proverbs 31 woman "laugh without fear of the future?" I dive into this and more on today's episode of Hope Unyielding. We'll talk about:

• How fearing God helps us stop fearing the future
• How reflecting on God's faithfulness in the past helps you reject the lie that God isn't good
• My crazy story of heading to Russia at age 12
• How laughing can be a holy act of trust and surrender

The song I listened to on the Russian night bus: "Your Love Will Get Me There."

Short-form video on Instagram of the poem I shared: "To the Woman Afraid of the Future."

Pick up a copy of my new devotional, 99 Life-Giving Bible Verses for Women at Whitaker House, Amazon, or wherever books are sold. 

In this transparent and powerful conversation, author and speaker Stacee Goetzinger speaks candidly about her journey battling an eating disorder that started in her preteen years and eventually led to emergency inpatient treatment, where she had to fight for her life with everything she had. Stacee's story is one of hope, perseverance, and dependence on God, and she shares hard-fought wisdom she has learned over decades of relying on Him to be her strength in the battle. 

Whether you are battling an eating disorder, love someone who is, or simply want to learn more, this episode provides hope, practical encouragement, and a powerful testimony of God's faithfulness, kindness and strength in our darkest struggles, whatever they may be. 

About Stacee Goetzinger

Stacee is the author of the book You Are Worth Saving: Letters of Hope from a Desperate Heart, and The Boat That Wouldn’t Sink: A Memoir, and is a frequent speaker for conferences, retreats, churches, and groups. She and her husband, Doug, co-host the Speak Out Loud podcast, which shares hope and encouragement for those who struggle with mental health and for those who love and support them.  

Listen to the Speak Out Loud podcast here. 

Read Stacee and Doug's YouVersion devotional plans for free.

Check out Stacee's books You Are Worth Saving and The Boat That Wouldn't Sink.

Support Stacee and Doug's ministry here. 

How do you respond if your spouse is using pornography? Should you proceed in a dating relationship if one of you has a porn problem? Where’s the line between righteous anger and sinful anger? How do you find freedom from patterns and behaviors rooted in childhood wounds? 

In today’s episode of the Hope Unyielding Podcast, we cover all these questions and more! My conversation with Amanda Massie, a wife, mom, historian and follower of Jesus, has something for everyone. Join me and Amanda as she shares her and her husband’s journey through the difficult first years of their marriage, what they learned about shame, grace and forgiveness along the way, and ultimately, how they found freedom in Christ and cultivated a marriage that is now healthy and thriving. 

In this fun solo episode, I answer your questions about the writing life, what God's been doing in my heart and mind, and what inspired me to write my devotional, 99 Life-Giving Bible Verses for Women. Questions include:

• When did you start writing? What’s your favorite piece you’ve written so far and why?
• What was a moment or turning point in your life that deepened your walk with the Lord?
• What's your verse for this season?
• What’s your ideal environment for writing?
• What was the most challenging part of the writing process? What do you feel has been the most rewarding?
• What inspired you to write this book? What are you hoping readers take away after reading your book?
• Have you personally experienced all 99 of the emotions listed in the titles of the devotions? 
• Which devotion speaks the most deeply to your heart? 
• Which one was the hardest to write?
• What would you say to each of your readers if you could get coffee with them and talk about the book?

Links to the favorite pieces I've written:

• Resurrection
• To the Woman Longing for a Child on Mother's Day

Check out Taryn Hutchison's Cold War Trilogy set in Romania here!

Pre-order my new book, 99 Life-Giving Bible Verses for Women, here!

Singleness got you down? If you're a single Christian struggling to survive in a world that idolizes marriage and stigmatizes singleness, this conversation with author Karissa Sovdi is a must-listen! Karissa and I chat about:

• Lies we've believed about singleness
• Why to stop obsessing over why you're single
• How to tell if marriage is becoming an idol
• Grieving singleness while pursuing the life God has given you
• The best parts of being single
• Why the American dream and the gospel are not one and the same

Karissa Sovdi is a writer, speaker, and clinical counselor. As a never-married Christian single who grew up in church, she speaks from her sometimes heartbreaking, often humorous, and frequently bumbling journey to a thirty-something's radical self-acceptance and revelation of God's love. Karissa lives plays, and works on Canada's west coast, where she specialized in coaching organizational leaders to build healthy workplaces. 

Connect with Karissa on Instagram @karissasovdi and https://survivingchristianityunmarried.com/ and pick up a copy of Karissa's new book Surviving Christianity Unmarried: A Theology of Singleness That Isn't Looking for Its Cure. 

Read today's episode in article form here. 

Preorder Hope's book on Amazon.

Follow Hope on Instagram.

Dr. Michelle Bengtson joins us again to share her experiences and insights on the very relevant issue of anxiety, coming at the topic of anxiety with a unique and layered perspective. Not only is she a board-certified, clinical neuropsychologist who has been in private practice for more than 20 years, but she's also a follower of Jesus who has battled anxiety in her own life. Dr. Bengtson is also an international speaker, the host of the podcast Your Hope-Filled Perspective and the author of several books, including Breaking Anxiety's Grip, which we dive into today.

Learn more at https://drmichellebengtson.com/ and follow Dr. Bengtson on Instagram @drmichellebengtson.