Ready to Thrive

Life feels intense doesn’t it? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by the moment we’re living in. But what if instead of being stuck in inaction we used the pressure to light a fire inside, stay fully focused on what God has called us to, and run the race that has been marked out for us.

And check out my e-course Ready to Rise for 7 weeks to dig into who God has created you to be and begin to throw off the fears that are holding you back.

Jesus said “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7 Have you thought about that? It is good for us that Jesus left! Insert mind-blown emoji!

Jeannie unpacks that and other ways that the Holy Spirit is essential to thriving in our lives in her latest book, Don’t Miss Out: Daring to Believe Life is Better With the Holy Spirit.

Do you know what you’re passionate about? If you answered “no” you are not alone! To be honest I think for so many of us we are so busy doing all of the things we are “supposed” to do that some of those things that have been put deep inside of us get lost, snuffed out with “adult” responsibilities and even the disappointments that come our way.

And sometimes, we can feel a little guilty or selfish for pursuing the things that bring us joy. But what if those things that light us up are God-given? And what if pursuing them aren’t in fact selfish but are for others? Amy McLaren knows first hand what it looks like to feel like “maybe there’s a little more out there for me.” She started small and spent a few weeks following a nudge in her heart and that nudge has turned into Village Impact, a non-profit that has built over 14 schools in Kenya. That doesn’t sound selfish at all.

Listen in to our conversation and maybe it will give you your own “aha” moment towards your own passions and desires. Check out Amy’s book Passion to Purpose, for a deeper dive into discovering what your passions may be and how to boldly follow them despite your fears.

And check out my e-course Ready to Rise for 7 weeks to dig into who God has created you to be and begin to throw off the fears that are holding you back.

How is your relationship with food? Does it feel like something that brings you peace or worry? Do you ever feel like you need to restrict your food intake or over-indulge in foods?

Carol Bevil of Fuel Body Feed Soul gets that! She has worked with women for over 35 years in the health and wellness space and while she used to preach “willpower is the way” she has experienced a total transformation in her relationship with food and her body. She shares about how you too can experience freedom from the strongholds of Diet culture in her book Break Through: 6 Weeks to Demolish Diet Culture Strongholds. 

To begin to walk out who we have been called to be we need to know the truth of who we have been created to be. If you want to start identifying the lies from the truth in your life, grab my free Lies vs Truth download! And if you want a deep dive into breaking free from those lies and other areas that are keeping you bound, check out my 6-week course Tangled. It will help you identify where you are stuck and begin to walk in freedom!

Listen, Ginger is just fun, period. She is one of those people that lights up the room when she walks in and I am guessing one of those people you would call up if you want to go on a crazy adventure! Ginger's enthusiasm for life and for seeing God’s wonder in our everyday life will put a spark in your heart!

Ginger is the Chief Creative Officer of Joyce Meyer Ministries and the author of Chasing Wonder: Small Steps Toward a Life of Big Adventure. I loved our conversation about what it looks like to pursue God’s wonder in our lives and I trust it will encourage you right where you’re at!

This was one of those conversations where we had to stop talking so we could press record and keep talking. Kay Wyma is such a lovely individual with such a big heart for God and for those around her.

Unexpectedly Kay found herself with a bad attitude in an everyday life situation and God used that moment to invite her into a 30 Day journey of pursuing thankfulness, kindness and mercy. The result: Peace. And often peace feels like one of those elusive things, reserved for those people who don’t seem to experience frustration or anger. Those people who don’t experience loss or have misunderstandings. But what if peace is available to even those of us who do. Us regular humans that bump up against the pressures and stresses of life and other broken and hurting people? Kay invites us into a journey to pursue peace through her latest book, The Peace Project: A 30 Day Experiment Practicing Thankfulness, Kindness, and Mercy.

And if you’re looking for deep rooted peace in your everyday life, check out my Tangled course to help you break free from all that you’re holding onto and all that is holding onto you.

Sissy is such a joy to talk to, it's no wonder thousands of kids have found freedom from anxiety as they’ve met with her in her cozy counselling office over the past 30 years!

Sissy is the author of many books to help parents and kids with their struggles with anxiety and her latest book Brave: A Teen Girls Guide to Beating Worry and Anxiety is so timely! If this past season has taken a toll on you or your kids, this is such a great conversation and a valuable resource.

On this episode we talk about speaking the truth to ourselves, and if you want a free resource today to begin to identify the lies from the truth, grab my free Lies vs Truth download, or my course Tangled to dive even deeper into identifying what is going on in your heart and beginning to walk in the freedom of the truth.

Isn’t this what we all long for? Deep peace? Have you experienced it? If your answer is “I don’t know” then you might not have. You know deep peace when you experience it because once you do, you want to stay that way. You want to do whatever it takes to keep your peace becuase it feels like nothing you’ve ever known.

And if you responded with a “no” or an “I don’t know” I want to say I get that! That was how I lived for much of my Christian adult life. I had no idea that deep peace was available for me even through the hard and messy places in our life. Dawn Marasco sat down to share with me what it looked like for her to go from the hard and hurting places to finding true, deep, satisfying peace. And she shares about how that is possible for you too in her book Continuous Peace: 4 Steps to Living the Life of Peace God Intended. You can also check out her 2-minute peace quiz here to find out what obstacles might be preventing you from experiencing peace! And if you want to grab Dawn’s downloadable workbook check out how here!

So much of what Dawn shares in her book relates to what I share in my book and course Tangled. And if deep peace is what you desire today, grab them both! You can check out my book Tangled here, and my course (comes with the e-copy of Tangled) here!

Tera Bradham should be a household name. She should have a display case full of Olympic swimming medals. But at the age of 13 everything changed. An undiagnosed injury left her not only with shattered Olympic dreams but fighting for her life.

If you’ve ever wondered, “God where are you? God why this pain? God, I was doing what I thought you asked me to do, and yet this is not the life I imagined,” then this episode is for you. Listen to Tera’s hard fought battle of chronic pain and disappointment and how through it all she wasn’t abandoned like she thought, the pain wasn’t for nothing.

Tera shares her full story in her book Swimming for Freedom: A True Story of Faith, Hope, and Victory.

If you are looking for Deep Soul Rest and have been struggling to meet with the One who provides it, grab my 5 Days to Deep Soul Rest here!

Shannon Davison bravely wrote down her biggest fear one day during the required homework section of the course she was taking with her husband. She had no idea that later that day, she would have to face that very thing she feared the most. That very same day, her husband Chase was killed in a car accident.

Shannon and I had been messaging each other through Instagram many months after her loss and she said to me, “I literally walked right into my greatest fear. But when I experienced it, when it happened, I wasn’t afraid or anxious.”

I was so honoured to have Shannon share her story of walking through the loss of her husband and navigating grief as a single mother. She has been a source of inspiration and deep encouragement for me as I’ve gotten to know her and I know you will be encouraged as you listen to her share today. You can check out her writing on her blog at hopeinthehurting.com.

If you find yourself exhausted by the end of the day and just don’t have it in you to figure out what it is you want to pray over your kids as you tuck them into bed, grab my Bedtime Prayers resource to help guide you to speak Scripture and truth over your kids during that special time of the day when you’re worn out!