Overwhelmed to Overcomer

Description Anna H. McLaughlin builds on last week's conversation with Cameron Alarecki to look at the small moments that can quietly erode our closest relationships. Drawing on Song of Songs 2:15, she shares four tools from her own marriage for catching "the little foxes" early: honoring little things, finding common ground, extending charity, and staying curious. Whether you're married or not, these tools apply to every relationship.

Key Points

• Seeking connection too early falls short. The order is safety, then connection, then intimacy, then union.

• Little things matter. A fight about dinner or the trash is rarely just about that, and small moments shape how we respond tomorrow.

• Picture where a pattern leads if nothing changes, and break generational patterns now so your children don't inherit them. "Let it end with you."

• Find common ground. When you disagree, keep digging for what you agree on, then build from your shared guiding principles.

• Assume the best. Pause to ask "Are you okay?" before reacting, and check for HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) factors.

• Stay curious. Seek to understand before being understood, and use "Tell me more about that."

• Give each other room, like rivers with wide banks. Trying to remake your spouse in your image is a form of idolatry.

• Use love languages and spiritual gifts to break through an impasse.

• This episode is about everyday marital friction. If there is abuse, neglect, or things are getting worse, seek wise counsel.

Scriptures Mentioned

• Song of Songs 2:15: "Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyard"

Books & Resources Mentioned

• Cameron Alarecki's guest episode on Overwhelmed to Overcomer - https://youtu.be/UfDRIcp_mkw

• The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman- https://a.co/d/0eJvpZ0H

• Prayer of Saint Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is offence, let me bring pardon. Where there is discord, let me bring union. Where there is error, let me bring truth. Where there is doubt, let me bring faith. Where there is despair, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, let me bring your light. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy. O Lord, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love, for it is in giving that one receives, it is in self-forgetting that one finds, it is in forgiving that one is forgiven, it is in dying that one awakens to eternal life.

Prayer of Saint Francis - Wikipedia

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Be a Guest on the Show

Want to be a guest on Overwhelmed to Overcomer? Send Anna McLaughlin a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/overwhelmedtoovercomer

Let's Keep in Touch!

📱 IG: https://instagram.com/sheconsidersafield

Affiliate Disclosure - The show notes above may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please contact me with questions.

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme music: Brave New World

ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662 – Artist: Fantoms

Inspiring Hopeful – Audio source: Jamendo – Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich

ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6

Episode Description

What if the problem in your marriage isn't communication, but safety? Anna sits down with Kameran Alareqi of Recognizing Potential Coaching, a marriage coach who has lived through infidelity, infertility, two divorces, and reconciliation. Kameran explains why marriage is the second mountain God uses to refine us, how humility opens the door to real intimacy, and how to "run the bases" of emotional safety, connection, and intimacy. If your marriage feels stuck, this conversation will show you that it's never too far gone.

Key Points

• Marriage is a second mountain. The wedding isn't the summit. Marriage is the harder climb where God refines us, like a silversmith who knows the silver is ready when he sees his reflection in it.

• Pride divides, humility draws us close. To be loved you must be fully known, to be known you must be vulnerable, and vulnerability requires humility. Ask yourself, "How am I the same?" instead of focusing on your spouse's faults.

• Marriage is like baseball. Every time you speak to your partner, they respond in one of three ways: dismissing, ignoring, or engaging with curiosity. Only curiosity gets you to first base.

  • First base: Emotional safety. Your partner can bring you anything without judgment, fixing, or criticism.

  • Second base: Connection. Time spent learning who your partner is now. Men often connect through shared activities, women through open-ended conversation.

  • Third base: Intimacy. Deep trust and vulnerability, which lead to home plate: the most fun sleepover with your best friend every night.

• Master each base in order. You can't skip safety and connection and expect intimacy.

• Disconnection causes conflict, not the other way around. The average couple has about four minutes alone a day, while a healthy marriage needs around 90 minutes a week.

• Be an Ezer Kenegdo (helpmeet) with strength and softness. Submission isn't silence. Watch your tongue, timing, and tone, and bring hard conversations at the right time of day, not at bedtime.

• Say "yes, and." Say yes to your spouse's playfulness while honoring your own capacity.

• Different filters, same love. Women often hear "I'm not enough" and men often hear "I don't do enough," even when neither is being said.

• Repair matters. Come back after a conflict to clarify what was really meant.

• Check your motives. Serve because of who God called you to be, not for tit-for-tat.

• Love languages reflect what we missed as children. Serving your spouse in their love language helps repair that.

• There's a third option between a great marriage and divorce: learn. Most couples simply never saw healthy marriage modeled.

• Your marriage is a mirror. Stop focusing on your partner and look at yourself.

Books and Resources Mentioned

• Bossypants by Tina Fey (the improv rule of "always say yes")-https://a.co/d/04Vke31y

Connect with Kameran

• Instagram/social: https://www.instagram.com/married.and.connected

• Podcast: Married and Connected (new episodes Mondays)- https://recognizingpotential.com/podcast/

• Website: https://recognizingpotential.com/

Free Resource : Ready to go from Overwhelmed to Overcomer? ➡️ Click here for your free guide and to join my e-mail list - https://subscribepage.io/from-overwhelmed-to-overcomer

Be a Guest on the Show Want to be a guest on Overwhelmed to Overcomer? Send Anna McLaughlin a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/overwhelmedtoovercomer

Let's Keep in Touch! 🌐http://sheconsidersafield.com 📱 IG: https://instagram.com/sheconsidersafield

Affiliate Disclosure The show notes above may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please contact me with questions.

MUSIC CREDITS Theme music: Brave New World ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662 – Artist: Fantoms Inspiring Hopeful – Audio source: Jamendo – Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6

Ever journaled your prayers and wondered, "Why can't I hear His voice right now?" In this solo episode, Anna shares a shift sparked by her recent conversation with guest Wendy Bauer: sometimes our "measuring stick" is broken, and we judge God's communication by whether He's answering the exact question we want answered. Anna invites you to stop striving for clarity, notice the many ways He is already speaking, and rest in the truth that you please Him because you're His.

• Prayer journals can become a scorecard. Tracking "am I hearing Him or not?" can leave us feeling lost, anxious, or disconnected.

• Our measuring stick can be broken. We often measure God's voice by whether He's addressing what we want to hear about.

• He is always speaking. Sunsets, butterflies, wind in the grass, children's laughter, a good meal, time with friends.

• Silence is not absence. Unanswered prayers can make us question whether He loves or hears us, but He loves us deeply.

• Sometimes no audible voice is a gift. We're not marionettes. God gives room to trust in uncertain places.

• Use the wisdom you've been given. His Word, wise counsel, and friendships equip us to make everyday decisions without a step-by-step plan.

• We're called to steward, not wait for instructions. Our bodies, families, work, community, and church are all treasures to be faithful with.

• There's no "gotcha" waiting. He will lead, guide, and direct us. We will fall and rise because we're His.

• You already please Him. It's through Christ's atoning work, not our striving.

• Matthew 25: Parable of the Talents

• Romans 9 (referenced, not cited by name): the potter and the clay

• Luke 18 (referenced, not cited by name): the persistent widow

• Wendy Bauer: guest from the previous week's episode - https://youtu.be/8la99L3Iiao

Free Resource : Ready to go from Overwhelmed to Overcomer? ➡️ Click here for your free guide and to join my e-mail list - https://subscribepage.io/from-overwhelmed-to-overcomer

Be a Guest on the Show Want to be a guest on Overwhelmed to Overcomer? Send Anna McLaughlin a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/overwhelmedtoovercomer

Let's Keep in Touch! 🌐http://sheconsidersafield.com 📱 IG: https://instagram.com/sheconsidersafield

Affiliate Disclosure The show notes above may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please contact me with questions.

MUSIC CREDITS Theme music: Brave New World ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662 – Artist: Fantoms Inspiring Hopeful – Audio source: Jamendo – Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6

Have you ever thought, "I know I should be more grateful," only to feel it become one more burden? Wendy Bower, author of Gratitude Attack, shares how gratitude isn't a list to write or a duty to perform. It's what happens when we notice God's reminders of His love. Wendy walks through seasons of family rejection and cancer treatment, and how God met her in them with purple irises and a smiling bougainvillea hedge. Anna and Wendy invite you to stop striving, slow down, and look for His surprises today.

• A gratitude attack is when gratitude comes upon you as a response to being seen by God, instead of something you manufacture with a list or journal.

• In deep suffering, gratitude can feel impossible. If you aren't feeling grateful today, you're in process, and you'll grow in gratitude without special techniques or striving.

• Don't distance yourself from God in pain. Pressing in, even with only "Lord, have mercy on me," is where Wendy first heard Him say, "I see you."

• Suffering strips away the mask. Performance Christianity transforms nothing, because knowledge alone doesn't change us unless we receive truth in the places that need it.

• God can handle your emotions. Suppressing them disconnects us from Him. Like David in the Psalms, bring Him everything, and the transformation comes through His love.

• Abiding is 24/7. The work is simply belonging to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all day, not checking in morning and evening.

• Notice His reminders of love. Start the day asking, "Where will I see You today?" Look for favorite colors, flowers, songs, and old memories.

• Embrace quiet and listening. Don't control the conversation with God. His silence isn't always a sign you're doing something wrong, and often He is saying, "I love you, my plans for you are good, trust me."

• "Asking for a fish, He wants to give you the lake." His timing and His vision are bigger than our requests.

• Don't take yourself too seriously. Take God's love most seriously, and say yes to joy and play like the first rule of improv.

• Gratitude Attack by Wendy Bower, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and more - https://a.co/d/03GF8qQw

• The Colorful Christmas Kerfuffle by Wendy Bower, a children's book. One bold elf decides red and green are too boring, and a colorful Christmas experiment turns into a heart-warming story about the glorious gift of forgiveness. - https://a.co/d/0dhKal0a

• Website: https://www.authorwendybower.com/

Free Resource : Ready to go from Overwhelmed to Overcomer? ➡️ Click here for your free guide and to join my e-mail list - https://subscribepage.io/from-overwhelmed-to-overcomer

Be a Guest on the Show Want to be a guest on Overwhelmed to Overcomer? Send Anna McLaughlin a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/overwhelmedtoovercomer

Let's Keep in Touch!

IG: https://instagram.com/sheconsidersafield

Affiliate Disclosure The show notes above may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please contact me with questions.

MUSIC CREDITS Theme music:

Brave New World ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662 – Artist: Fantoms Inspiring Hopeful – Audio source: Jamendo – Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6

In this solo episode, Anna continues her ongoing conversation on humility, reflecting on the tension between recognizing our sinful nature and staying fixated on it. Using the story of Edmund from C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Anna illustrates what it looks like to be so fixed on God's face that we become "oblivious to the accuser" — no longer consumed by shame or self-condemnation. She reminds listeners that awareness of our brokenness should lead us deeper into God's grace, not further into self-focus, and closes with a personal prayer-journal reflection on resting in God's easy yoke.

Key Points

• True humility isn't endless self-focus on our sin — it's a gaze that keeps returning to God.
• Edmund's posture before Aslan (ignoring the witch's accusations) models freedom from shame and self-condemnation.
• God is fully just and fully merciful — we don't need to know the "why" behind our own or others' trials.
• Not everything difficult is punishment for sin ("we don't live in a karma world").
• Self-justification pulls us back under the law; grace has already settled the matter.
• The deeper our awareness of our brokenness, the louder our praise of God's grace should be — it's a counterweight, not a dead end.
• Encouragement to release guilt by agreeing with the accusation and moving straight to trust: "So what? My God knows what to do with someone like me."

Free Resource : Ready to go from Overwhelmed to Overcomer? ➡️ Click here for your free guide and to join my e-mail list - https://subscribepage.io/from-overwhelmed-to-overcomer

Be a Guest on the Show Want to be a guest on Overwhelmed to Overcomer? Send Anna McLaughlin a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/overwhelmedtoovercomer

Let's Keep in Touch!

IG: https://instagram.com/sheconsidersafield

Affiliate Disclosure The show notes above may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please contact me with questions.

MUSIC CREDITS Theme music: Brave New World ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662 – Artist: Fantoms Inspiring Hopeful – Audio source: Jamendo – Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6

Episode Description: Anna sits down with Dr. Carla Caturia - educator, former principal, and mental performance coach with 20+ years working with students and families - to tackle the college question every parent eventually faces. Together they explore how to move beyond the "college conveyor belt" mentality and instead root decisions in family values, a child's unique design, and God's calling for their life.

Key Points:

• College isn't one-size-fits-all decisions should flow from family values and each child's individual purpose, not default expectations

• "Success without self": high-achieving kids often tie their identity to performance, leading to perfectionism, anxiety, and burnout

• Praise effort and learning over outcomes to build intrinsic motivation instead of external validation

• Networking and campus engagement can matter more than the degree itself but only if a student is truly plugged in

• Trade schools, gap years, online college, and hybrid paths are valid alternatives to traditional 4-year college

• Let kids fail early (middle school, not freshman year) to build resilience before higher-stakes decisions

• Parents should coach kids to problem-solve first, stepping in only when truly needed the goal is raising independent adults

• Watch for living vicariously through your child vs. genuinely supporting their right path

• No past "detour" or career pivot is wasted every season can be redeemed and used for growth

Scripture Mentioned:

• Proverbs 22:6 (paraphrased) — "Train up a child in the way they should go" — discussed as pointing to a child's God-given design/bent, not just moral instruction

• Romans 8:28 — "All things work together for our good and for His glory"

Books/Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Carla's Website - https://thehouseofrise.com/

• Find Dr. Carla on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/drcarlacaturia/

Leave a Review — Enjoying the show? A review helps more people find it - and we appreciate it SO much! Overwhelmed to Overcomer - Podcast - Apple Podcasts

Book a Curiosity Call — Want someone walking alongside you as you learn to trust the Holy Spirit's leading? Book here! https://calendly.com/annahmclaughlin/coaching-curiosity-call

Just Like Paradise — Are you looking for your next beach getaway? We'd love to host you at Just Like Paradise in Oak Island, NC! See if our space fits your needs here: airbnb.com/h/justlikeparadise ... and then contact me on Instagram @sheconsidersafield or at 704.810.1181 for 10% off your stay!

Referral gift — AND....... refer a friend who books a stay with us at Just Like Paradise ... we'll send you $100 cash as a thank you!

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme music: Brave New World

ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662

Artist: Fantoms

Inspiring Hopeful

Audio source: Jamendo

Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich

ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6

Episode Description

In this solo episode, Anna continues her ongoing conversation on humility, reflecting on the tension between recognizing our sinful nature and staying fixated on it. Using the story of Edmund from C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Anna illustrates what it looks like to be so fixed on God's face that we become "oblivious to the accuser" — no longer consumed by shame or self-condemnation. She reminds listeners that awareness of our brokenness should lead us deeper into God's grace, not further into self-focus, and closes with a personal prayer-journal reflection on resting in God's easy yoke.

Key Points

• True humility isn't endless self-focus on our sin — it's a gaze that keeps returning to God.

• Edmund's posture before Aslan (ignoring the witch's accusations) models freedom from shame and self-condemnation.

• God is fully just and fully merciful — we don't need to know the "why" behind our own or others' trials.

• Not everything difficult is punishment for sin ("we don't live in a karma world").

• Self-justification pulls us back under the law; grace has already settled the matter.

• The deeper our awareness of our brokenness, the louder our praise of God's grace should be — it's a counterweight, not a dead end.

• Encouragement to release guilt by agreeing with the accusation and moving straight to trust: "So what? My God knows what to do with someone like me."

Scriptures Referenced

• Galatians (paraphrased) — on seeking righteousness through the law

• Psalms (paraphrased, David's awareness of sin "ever before me")

• Matthew 11:30 (paraphrased) — "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light"

• John 9 (paraphrased) — the man born blind, "so the works of God might be displayed"

• 1 Corinthians 1:27 (paraphrased) — God using the weak to shame the strong

Books & Resources Mentioned

• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — C.S. Lewis - https://a.co/d/03cqlrMb

• The Horse and His Boy — C.S. Lewis - https://a.co/d/01RnL1v3

• Hymn: "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ka7bVQmbnk

• Reference to a past "Hot Mess Express" episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hot-mess-express/id1714745503?i=1000766597412

Leave a Review — Enjoying the show? A review helps more people find it - and we appreciate it SO much! Overwhelmed to Overcomer - Podcast - Apple Podcasts

Book a Curiosity Call — Want someone walking alongside you as you learn to trust the Holy Spirit's leading? Book here! https://calendly.com/annahmclaughlin/coaching-curiosity-call

Just Like Paradise — Are you looking for your next beach getaway? We'd love to host you at Just Like Paradise in Oak Island, NC! See if our space fits your needs here: airbnb.com/h/justlikeparadise ... and then contact me on Instagram @sheconsidersafield or at 704.810.1181 for 10% off your stay!

Referral gift — AND....... refer a friend who books a stay with us at Just Like Paradise ... we'll send you $100 cash as a thank you!

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme music: Brave New World

ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662

Artist: Fantoms

Inspiring Hopeful

Audio source: Jamendo

Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich

ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6

"Choose joy" sounds great on a bumper sticker - but it doesn't tell you how. Jenna Schutt, a former cardiac RN and bone marrow transplant survivor, joins Anna to reframe joy as something you train, not something you summon. Diagnosed at 30 with a rare, incurable bone marrow disease, Jenna has walked through 10+ rounds of chemo, a stem cell transplant, and ongoing treatment while raising two boys and she's learned that faith, peace, and joy are still accessible in the middle of the hard. She shares her simple framework for building what she calls The Joy Reflex™, so that when the storm hits, your first response is already trained.

• You don't learn to swim in the middle of a storm. Reflexes are built beforehand — joy works the same way.

• Lay down comparison. Your hard doesn't have to be "big enough" to qualify you for faith, peace, and joy.

• Step one: name your hard. Faith doesn't deny reality — it decides what leads you through it.

• Step two: flip it. Ask what God says about the situation, and find one or two verses that land, not a hundred. Read them out loud; you'll feel which one is yours.

• Anchor it to something you already do. Grabbing the cane, starting the car, praying over meals, a phone lock screen — attach the words to an existing trigger.

• The science backs it. Neuroplasticity: speaking, hearing, and walking it out builds the pathway. Your brain believes what your mouth rehearses.

• Motivation vs. dedication. Motivation is circumstantial and hits snooze. Dedication shows up regardless of feeling.

• The staircase. No one expects you to reach the top in one step physically — stop demanding it spiritually. Just the next faithful step.

• Anna's addition: the coffee cup spills what's in it. Hard seasons don't create what comes out of us; they reveal it.

• The line of the episode: joy is not the absence of hard — it's the presence of Jesus in the middle of it.

• Psalm 118:17 — "I will live and not die"

• Ephesians 6:10 — strong in the Lord and the power of His might

• Nehemiah 8:10 — the joy of the Lord is my strength

• Philippians 4:6–8 — don't be anxious; think on these things

• Philippians 4:7 — peace that passes all understanding

• 2 Timothy 1:7 — power, love, and a sound mind

• Romans 12:2 — transformed by the renewing of your mind

• Psalm 118:24 — this is the day the Lord has made

• Matthew 11:30 — my yoke is easy, my burden is light

• Malachi 3:3 — the refiner of silver and gold (Anna attributes this to Psalms in the episode; Psalm 66:10 uses similar refining language if you'd rather cite that)

• Jenna's 7-Day Joy Reflex Guide — a week of guided training to start building the reflex - https://jenna-schutt-7kfmcu.subscribepage.io/

• Connect with Jenna - https://www.jennaschutt.com/

• Anna's habit tracker (Included in the Guide) — one habit, why it matters, and a scripture to return to when you drop the ball - from-overwhelmed-to-overcomer.subscribepage.io

Leave a Review — Enjoying the show? A review helps more people find it - and we appreciate it SO much! Overwhelmed to Overcomer - Podcast - Apple Podcasts

Book a Curiosity Call — Want someone walking alongside you as you learn to trust the Holy Spirit's leading? Book here! https://calendly.com/annahmclaughlin/coaching-curiosity-call

Just Like Paradise — Are you looking for your next beach getaway? We'd love to host you at Just Like Paradise in Oak Island, NC! See if our space fits your needs here: airbnb.com/h/justlikeparadise ... and then contact me on Instagram @sheconsidersafield or at 704.810.1181 for 10% off your stay!

Referral gift — AND....... refer a friend who books a stay with us at Just Like Paradise ... we'll send you $100 cash as a thank you!

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme music: Brave New World

ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662

Artist: Fantoms

Inspiring Hopeful

Audio source: Jamendo

Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich

ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6

Description: Anna reflects on a paradox at the heart of the Christian faith: true exaltation comes through embracing our own "nothingness" before God. Drawing from Andrew Murray's classic work on humility, she invites listeners into a posture of surrender — becoming empty vessels so God's glory can fill and flow through them.

Key Points:

• We tend to resist admitting weakness, but the Christian call is to decrease so Christ can increase (John the Baptist's model)

• Humility isn't about earthly reward — the "exaltation" God promises is deeper abiding with Him, not achievement or status

• Christ himself walked the earth as "nothing," a vessel of the Father — this is our model

• Andrew Murray: the emptier we are before God, the fuller and faster His glory flows in

• Invitation: each morning, sink into the "nothingness" of Christ's grave in prayer (posture matters — kneeling, face down, arms outstretched) as an act of surrender

Scripture Referenced:

• James 4:10 / 1 Peter 5:6 (paraphrased: "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up")

• John 3:30 (paraphrased: "He must increase, I must decrease")

Books & Resources Mentioned:

• Humility by Andrew Murray - https://a.co/d/021OLXTa

• The True Vine by Andrew Murray - https://a.co/d/0eB5eqbe

Let's Talk Coaching! Are you ready to close the gap between where you are and where you feel called to go? Whether you're stuck on what's next … need a shot of encouragement … or have some past hurts that need tending, I'd be honored to serve as your coach as you work through this season. Schedule a call today to unlock your next breakthrough!

https://calendly.com/annahmclaughlin/coaching-curiosity-call

If you have questions before booking the curiosity call, feel free to message me at 704.810.1181 or on Instagram at @‌sheconsidersafield!

Leave a Review — Enjoying the show? A review helps more people find it - and we appreciate it SO much! Overwhelmed to Overcomer - Podcast - Apple Podcasts

Book a Curiosity Call — Want someone walking alongside you as you learn to trust the Holy Spirit's leading? Book here! https://calendly.com/annahmclaughlin/coaching-curiosity-call

Just Like Paradise — Are you looking for your next beach getaway? We'd love to host you at Just Like Paradise in Oak Island, NC! See if our space fits your needs here: airbnb.com/h/justlikeparadise ... and then contact me on Instagram @sheconsidersafield or at 704.810.1181 for 10% off your stay!

Referral gift — AND....... refer a friend who books a stay with us at Just Like Paradise ... we'll send you $100 cash as a thank you!

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme music: Brave New World

ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662

Artist: Fantoms

Inspiring Hopeful

Audio source: Jamendo

Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich

ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6

Anna sits down with Mia Godfrey — certified Life Coach, Bible Counselor, speaker, and author — for a raw conversation about surviving trauma, addiction, grief, and rebuilding faith and identity from the ground up. Mia shares her journey from communist Romania to the U.S., losing her father and first husband, caring for her dying sister, and how community and surrender — not self-improvement — became her path to healing. A powerful reminder that our brokenness doesn't disqualify us; it qualifies us to serve.

• Mia grew up under Romania's communist regime, facing extreme food/water/heat restrictions and government control

• After her father's death at 18, she struggled with alcohol addiction in silence and shame

• Moved to the U.S. in 2008 to marry her first husband, a Knoxville police officer; he passed in 2015

• Lost her Romanian citizenship and couldn't return home, later replaced addiction with overworking (3 jobs)

• In 2023, caring for and losing her sister to ovarian cancer became a turning point — learning she "couldn't do this alone"

• Healing came through community: neighbors leaving food, sitting with her in grief, small acts of presence

• Key theme: "It didn't happen to me, it happened for me" — reframing hardship as purpose

• Discusses "idols" of identity — her years-long attachment to high heels as a symbol of control/confidence, and the freedom of letting go

• Remarried in 2020 to her husband Gabra; co-authored Second Sunrise Together on trust, marriage, and blended families

• Runs the "Reset to Purpose Retreat," helping women identify the false beliefs trauma creates

• Central message: brokenness qualifies us to serve — surrender means giving God the outcome, not the self-focus

• Proverbs 3:5–6 — "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding."

• Buried, Not Broken: A Memoir of Survival, Sisterhood, and Starting Over — Mia Godfrey

• Second Sunrise Together — Mia Godfrey (co-written with her husband) https://miagodfrey.com/books/

• Find Mia: https://miagodfrey.com/

Let's Talk Coaching! Are you ready to close the gap between where you are and where you feel called to go? Whether you're stuck on what's next … need a shot of encouragement … or have some past hurts that need tending, I'd be honored to serve as your coach as you work through this season. Schedule a call today to unlock your next breakthrough!

https://calendly.com/annahmclaughlin/coaching-curiosity-call

If you have questions before booking the curiosity call, feel free to message me at 704.810.1181 or on Instagram at @‌sheconsidersafield!

Leave a Review — Enjoying the show? A review helps more people find it - and we appreciate it SO much! Overwhelmed to Overcomer - Podcast - Apple Podcasts

Book a Curiosity Call — Want someone walking alongside you as you learn to trust the Holy Spirit's leading? Book here! https://calendly.com/annahmclaughlin/coaching-curiosity-call

Just Like Paradise — Are you looking for your next beach getaway? We'd love to host you at Just Like Paradise in Oak Island, NC! See if our space fits your needs here: airbnb.com/h/justlikeparadise ... and then contact me on Instagram @sheconsidersafield or at 704.810.1181 for 10% off your stay!

Referral gift — AND....... refer a friend who books a stay with us at Just Like Paradise ... we'll send you $100 cash as a thank you!

MUSIC CREDITS

Theme music: Brave New World

ASLC-1BEF9A9E-9E9D609662

Artist: Fantoms

Inspiring Hopeful

Audio source: Jamendo

Artist: Aliaksei Yukhnevich

ASLC-2B505EF3-E9CD4817A6