Our thoughts determine our lives. They are that important.

This is why mindset matters. We can't talk about leading our lives without first talking about leading our mindset.

Emily Love, a certified life coach and thought leader, offers valuable thoughts around how we identify our mindset, how we call out lies we're believing, what role feelings play, and how we can use a mindset shift to change how we are moving through the world.

Then Krista, also a life coach, chimes in afterwards about resetting the brain and how to use visualization to help set an upward spiral in motion in your thinking and life.

You cannot miss this episode. If you want your life to be better on any level, this episode will help you do that.

Find Emily on her website or Instagram.

SOME THINGS YOU HEARD ON THE SHOW

Mindset – an established set of attitudes held by someone; Your mindset is what you believe to be true about yourself, others, and the world.

Susan David – feelings are a signpost

Mindset for kids:

Right before a test, what do you think? When you head to that test, here is what you can believe about yourself: I can do this – I've prepared.

What would be the ideal thing you would want your coach to say? Now the parent can become the voice of what the child is really hoping to hear.

We are taking a unique look at adventure today as we continue in our Lead Your Life series.

You've probably heard of the hero's journey in literature. On this episode we discuss our own hero's journey and what change, adventure, risk, fear, other people, and God have to do with it.

Jessie Cruickshank holds a degree from Harvard in Mind, Brain, and Education.

She is also a nationally recognized expert in disciple making and the neuroscience of transformation. Added to that resume is mountaineering and a background in outdoor education.

If you want to be encouraged to live a better. more adventurous story - join us for this episode!

SOME THINGS YOU HEARD ON THE SHOW:

Stages of faith development - James Fowler

Starting with IDENTITY:

Fill in "I am" statements..... Consider - what is the story God is inviting me into?

The hero's journey - Joseph Campbell : Universal narrative that humans repeat in the arc of storytelling

1. A person who is called to an adventure
2. Who turns down the adventure
3. But then life compels her to reconsider and take the challenge
4. She meets a guide and a goes on the path.
5. On the way she transforms from ordinary to a hero.

Question: Where are you on the hero's journey?

Adventure is the invitation to move outside our comfort zone (physical, emotional, social, spiritual chanllenge)

We continue to talk on the podcast about leading our lives. Prayer brings us into continued relationship with God as we consider how he wants us to move forward. Not only that, when we pray with Scripture, we are being transformed in the process because God's word changes us!

On this episode of the Open Door Sisterhood podcast we sit down with Jodie Berndt who for decades has been helping women learn to pray using Scripture. Jodie shares her own story about how using Scripture as a building block for her prayers gave them extra power and made them more interesting. This new way of praying helped her see the Bible has something to say about EVERY aspect of our lives.

You don't want to miss this honest and tender interview as we talk through common roadblocks women face when praying. We remind each other that God wants to hear our prayers. No topic is off limits with him. Noone is disqualified from coming to God. He wants to hear from us. Jodie ends our time by praying with us. When you push play you will not only hear about prayer, you will experience it with the sisterhood.

Connect with Jodie

On her website or on Instagram

A few things mentioned on the show

Moms In Prayer

Jodie's books:

Praying the Scriptures for Your Children

Praying the Scriptures for Your Teens

Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children

Praying the Scriptures for Your Life

Praying the Scriptures for Your Marriage

Sign up for our email list HERE

When we are looking at leading our lives, one of the first places to peek under the hood is time management. How we spend our minutes, hours, and days adds up to a life, and usually we aren't spending them they way we'd really like to when we take an honest look.

Today Crystal Paine, the Money Saving Mom, joins us to discuss how she gets it all done in a week using her 6:2 system, how to use get enough sleep, drink enough water, and track our habits. Crystal is a woman who runs a full time business, has six children, volunteers at her church, and writes books - her latest on time management.

She is sharing her secrets today and we all get to benefit.

If you want to lead a more intentional life with your time, this episode will help!

Some things you heard on the show:

Crystal's new book Time Saving Mom

CRYSTAL'S 6:2 PRIORITY AREAS

Friendships / Relationships Home Marriage Business Kids Health

Atomic Habits

Crystal's Habit Tracker

Monica Swanson knows what it means to be intentional in relationships at home. She makes decisions with the end goal in mind. She wants kids who love God, like each other, and are helpful by default. Those end goals shape their daily rhythms, how they talk to each other, and even their vacations. We dive right into the Lead Your Life series talking about family relationships because if ever there was a place where we need some intention, it's with those right around us.

Monica comes to us from the Aloha state. A mom to four sons who are growing and leaving home, she is able to look back a bit and evaluate what helped their family get where it is today. There was intentional time together, both as a family, but also with siblings. Their family culture didn't just happen, she and her husband Dave made decisions on purpose. Whether you have mental roadblocks to making some changes at home or logistical ones, Monica gives us the pep talk we need to face what might be holding us back from leading our families in the way we want them to go. This is a part practical, part inspirational conversation that you don't want to miss.

Sometimes the things that matter most to us, get our leftover attention. By leftover we mean the time we have left after all of the pressing things are taken care of. The people in our homes deserve our intentional best. Monica gives us some practical next steps to lead our family relationships. And as we say on the episode, we KNOW she lives what she teaches. She gets us. She knows what it's like to lead a family with intention.

Connect with Monica

On her website, on Instagram, or on her podcast

A few things mentioned

Monica's new book Raising Amazing: Bringing Up Kids Who Love God, Like Their Family, And Do The Dishes Without Being Asked

Uno

Spicy Uno

The latest research on girls and anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation

Our 24 Family Ways: A Family Devotional Guide by Clay Clarkson

Foundations: 12 Biblical Truths to Shape a Family by Ruth Chou Simons

Krista's coaching services

We are starting a new series today called LEAD YOUR LIFE! For this first episode, Alex and Krista are diving into WHY leading our lives is better than defaulting to life – which is so easy to do.

In this episode we explore why each day is a new opportunity to lead our lives better than yesterday, how different people respond to change, and some areas we are doing well, and some not so well.

Giving some of our best resources for growth, we focus on how to take next, small steps in our actual lives. We are excited to dive into this new series with you!

SOME THINGS YOU HEARD ON THE SHOW

Steve Cuss

The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth

The Good Life

5 Different Kinds of Fear:

• Fear of failure
• Fear of trading security for the unknown
• Fear of being overextended financially
• Fear of what others will say or think
• Fear that success will alienate peers

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

We announced last week and that Alex and Krista are available to bring the magic of the Sisterhood retreats to YOUR group!

They are taking their proven strategies and are available for hire to come run a group retreat for your:

• leadership team
• work team
• donors
• executive directors
• ministry groups
• friends

If you are interested, email [email protected] for more information.

It only happens once a year. It's not Christmas, but it might feel like it as Alex and Krista give you their best tips, reads, recipes, and fashion items they've collected over the last year.

It's the annual Things We Love episode for the Open Door Sisterhood Podcast!

Yes, we are ready with our favorite lip gloss combo (aka "the triple threat"), our must reads, and the sneakers that make teenagers' heads turn (in a good way!) These are things we love and because we're sisters, we're sharing them with you.

We laugh at ourselves a lot in this one (because, hello, we can be ridiculous). We hope this love vibe shines through the airwaves as you push play this Valentine's Day!

Our favorite things you heard about on the show BEAUTY

Here's the triple threat combo from Emily Love's sister Ashley.

-Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips Lipstick Kim KW – Nude

-Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Lip Liner – Iconic Nude

-Fenty Glass Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer – Fussy

Style Edit root touch up

Cerave Vitamin C serum

Cetaphil daily oil-free facial moisturizer Spf 35

Cerave Skin renewing night cream

Heatless curling set for hair

GIFTS TO GIVE

30 oz. Stanley Cup in cream $30

Stoneware kitchen sink caddy $15 (can put spray or dish soap and wooden scrub brush )

Kate Spade stud earrings $38

FAVORITE HOME ITEMS OR DECOR

Victoria Black Vase from CB2

Smith & Hawken Outdoor black lanterns (I use them inside and outside)

IN THE KITCHEN

Nextrend Garlic twister

Over sink roll up dish drying rack

Magnolia Clear Glass Mixing Bowls

9 x 13 ruffled ceramic baking dish by Crate and Barrel

APPS OR WEBSITES

Gametime (ticket deals for events)

Going.com (formally Scott's Cheap Flights)

CLOTHING

New balance sneakers

Patagonia Nano Puff Parka

Nuuly subscription – I'm trying it ($88 for 6 styles)

Costco bras – Bali

FAVORITE TIP

• Put a dash of bleach in your water for flowers to kill bacteria and they'll last longer
• Make any drink fun with fresh berries, mint, and sparkling something
• Paint and new light fixtures changes any room

FAVORITE NETFLIX OR PRIME

Enola Holmes (Netflix)

The Swimmers (Netflix)

The Rings of Power (Prime)

FAVORITE INSTAGRAM INSPO

hidingintheclosetwithcoffee Amy Betters-Midtvet

Littlehouseonchestnut

Stylinbyaylin

mikedonehey

MUST READS

From Strength to Strength

The God Shot by Tara Leigh Cobble

The Culture Code: The Secrets of HIghly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle

I Guess I Haven't Learned that Yet by Shauna Niequist

Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

MUST MAKE RECIPES

Italian Sausage White Bean Soup – The soup recipe I made up for my friend's going away party that now everyone loves (Ariana's Going Away Soup)

The Italian Meatball Soup

Rave Reviews Dip – one of my easiest apps

Almond cherry scones (Easter coming up)

Thank you to our sponsor for this episode

The Truly Co.

WE'RE ABOUT GOSPEL-CENTERED ENCOURAGEMENT

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

We Create Thoughtful Content, Beautifully Designed. The Truly Co is a team of women who have purposefully declared where we put our trust as we wrestle with our faith. In a world filled with confusion, chaos, and depression, we choose to walk by faith and be led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is our source. He is our rock. And we share our stories of the things he has done in our lives. We are friends, sisters, mothers, and daughters. We are creatives, writers, business leaders, and human-lovers who are in various life stages. We invite you to join us. We love partnering with amazing women (that's you!) as we share our voices through writing, photography, and podcasts or video.

Find Truly Magazine Here

What if we could really discover this year what it means to live a blessed, abundant life? And not only discover it, but live it?

Kelly Minter, beloved Bible teacher and speaker, joins us this week to share what she learned about living life to the full through studying Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. We talk about why we sometimes don't recognize the counterfeit path to abundance the world offers, how to invest in the eternal, and what it looks like to let go of "fair" and grab on to grace.

Kelly is someone who inspires with her keen insights and deep faith. You will walk away inspired to live more abundantly in the year ahead.

The Blessed Life: A 90 Day Devotional Though The Teachings & Miracles of Jesus

Kelly Minter's Joseph study – Finding God Faithful

Face to Face Prayer Book with Kenneth Boa

THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR – PRIMALLY PURE

Primally Pure values your health and gets you results with their line of non-toxic skincare products made with ingredients you don't have to google. In addition to offering an incredible line of products (my favorites are the deodorant and dry shampoo ), Primally Pure takes the guesswork out of creating a skincare routine with their easy-to-use skin quiz found on their website.

Creativity can feel like something we'll get to someday. Like when the kids are grown or the kitchen is clean. If we let it, that someday can turn into delay and even never. Why are we talking about this as part of our series The Healthy Way? Because we believe actively practicing creativity helps us live out how God made us.

Founder of Coffee + Crumbs, Ashlee Gadd, talks with moms all around the world about motherhood and creativity. Our conversation focuses in on how to get started when it's been a while, why creating together is a reflection of doing life together, and how to incorporate some practices into our actual lives that will get the creative sparks going.

You don't have to consider yourself an artist to be creative. You simply need to be someone made in the image of God. You ARE creative, now let's get on with the work of recognizing when we are already practicing creativity, and intentionally adding some outlets into our everyday experiences that help to break up the monotony and see the world with new eyes.

Listen to the episode here

On iTunes or watch it here:

https://youtu.be/fVgFB-FagSc

Connect with Ashlee

On her website, on Instagram, through Coffee + Crumbs.

A few things mentioned on the show

Ashely's new book Create Anyway

Tricia Goyer

The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath

Julia Cameron

Rhythm 52 Writing Prompts by Katie Blackburn

Sign up to receive Ashlee's 5 Little Sparks to Inspire You Out of a Creative Rut

Thank you to our sponsor

Grit and Virtue

At Grit and Virtue we equip women on a mission to build unstoppable momentum, become spiritually confident, and to never feel alone on the journey.

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How healthy is your relationship with technology? Do you use your phone? Or does your phone use you? That is a question asked on this week's podcast and it hits very close to home.

Too few of us ask how we are honestly doing when it comes to digital input. We see "other people's" digital addiction, but don't recognize it in ourselves.

Jay Kim, pastor and author, lives in the heart of the Silicon Valley and writes about how we are being formed by the input we receive. He challenges us to be formed in the ways of God rather than Tik Tok or Instagram.

If you are anything like us, you will walk away with important insights about how to better use technology in 2023.

Some Things You Heard On The Show:

Analog Christian – Cultivating Resilience and Wisdom in the Digital Age by Jay Kim

Analog Church by Jay Kim

Unoffendable by Brant Hansen

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

The Wisdom Pyramid by Brett McCracken

Michigander Band

Abby Holiday Music

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR

Grit & Virtue Journals are for writing down thoughts, bullet journaling, note taking, business planning, writing gratitudes, pouring out prayers, and much more. The linen cover and classic design compliment any space. This is our personal journal of choice – we promise you will be thrilled with the quality and design.

They are American made and each page has a quote of wisdom and truth at the bottom. You can order a journal here and tell them you are a part of the Sisterhood!