Take Heart

Our guest, Kristin Faith Evans, shares with us about her struggles with faith, mental health, and how shame over difficult feelings about our situations, isolate us. She discusses how God taught her to reframe the message she was telling herself and step into the light of support, community, and love.

June 28, 2022; Ep. 92

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:00-    Intro
• 1:35-    Meet Kristin Faith Evans
• 5:11-    Rising Up
• 10:12-  Mental Health
• 14:21-  Lighting Up The Dark
• 19:07-  Living STRONG
• 25:18-  Encouragement For Early On
• 27:16-  Kristin’s Resources

Episode Links & Resources:

• Kristin Faith Evans on Instagram, FB, Twitter, or TikTok
• Special Needs Moms Living Strong FB Group
• Kristin’s Website

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

Our guest, Jillian Benfield shares with us how we can find beauty in the midst of the hard, her tips for advocating, and encouragement for moms starting out on this journey.

June 21, 2022; Ep. 91

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:00-    Intro
• 1:23-    Meet Jillian Benfield
• 3:37-    Doing This Again
• 6:43-    Hold Two Together
• 13:20-  Advocating
• 17:57-  IEP Tips
• 24:53-  Not The Only Life
• 28:31-  What It Means to Trust
• 30:27-  Resources
• 33:06-  Outro    

Episode Links & Resources:

• Jillian’s website, Facebook, and Instagram
• Jillian’s Free E-book: Disability Advocacy 101
• The Spirituality of the Psalms Walter Brueggmann 
• The Holy Longing Ronald Rolheiser 
• A Day In Our Shoes  
• Wrightslaw Courses
• Paula Kluth Courses

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

Today’s guest is special needs ministry leader from Brentwood Baptist Church in Tennessee, Tiffany McCullough. She discusses the joys and challenges of special needs ministry, the importance of eduating, equipping, and allowing all friends to find community, serve, and be a visible part of the body of Christ.

June 14, 2022; Ep. 90

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:00-    Intro
• 2:04-    About Tiffany McCullough
• 5:47-    Get Out of God’s Way
• 10:31-  Caring Beyond The Individual
• 17:20-  Educating & Equipping
• 24:22-  Start With The Need
• 30:56-  Closing Prayer
• 33:30-  Outro

Episode Links & Resources:

• Brentwood Church Special Needs Ministry

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

Jillana is a foster, adoptive mom, and special needs mom. She shares how her life has been stretched by love and how she has learned to look for signs of hope in her life. 

June 7, 2022; Ep. 88

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:00-    Intro
• 1:19-    Meet Jillana Goble
• 3:49-    Glimpse Into Fostercare
• 9:55-    Misconceptions About Trauma
• 17:35-  Sustainable
• 21:09-  Vulnerability In Friendship
• 31:43-  Hope
• 37:53-  Acknowledging The Toll
• 46:25-  Outro

Episode Links & Resources:

• Jillana Goble’s Web-site
• A Love-Stretched Life by Jillana Goble
• No Sugar Coating: The Coffee Talk You Need About Foster Care
• Jillana on Instagram

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

Today we kick off our summer interview series with Barb Stanley from Wonderful Works Ministry. She shares her perspective on growing up with a brother with autism and the kingdom impact when churches meet the needs of special needs families.

May 31, 2022; Ep. 88

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:00-    Intro
• 1:32-    Introducing Barb Stanley 
• 4:51-    Growing Up as a Sibling
• 13:29-  An Inclusive Church
• 15:58-  Compassion Fatigue
• 22:50-  Taking Care of Yourself
• 24:02-  It’s About the Kingdom of God
• 29:12-  Starting Special Needs Ministry
• 30:32-  Outro

Episode Links & Resources:

• Wonderful Works Ministry
• 4 Ways to Help With Compassion Fatigue Resource
• Learn More About Compassion Fatigue
• Key Ministry
• SOAR Special Needs Ministry

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

 Discouragement is a powerful tool the devil uses to block the light of hope from God. In today’s collaborative, Sara, Amy, and Carrie talk about how the devil uses this sneaky tool in our lives, how to recognize it, the pitfalls, and some ways to turn toward encouragement.

May 24, 2022; Ep. 87

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:00-    Intro
• 1:25-    Spiritual Warfare
• 7:42-    Reoccuring Discouragement
• 16:36-  Addressing Discouragement
• 25:57-  Nourishing the Soul
• 30:12-  Encouraging Others
• 32:05-  Encouragement Challenge
• 33:36-  Poem & Closing

Episode Links & Resources:

• Scripture mentioned: John 8:12, Romans 8:28
• Disarm Discouragement! By Worthy Devotions
• Don’t Quit by Edgar A. Guest

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

When you feel discouraged, it’s easy to believe that God doesn’t care. In this episode, Sara encourages us to invite God into our spaces of discouragement, and how to adjust our posture to receive God’s care. You don’t have to look at the world as though your glass is half-full or half-empty because God restores our glasses when they shatter and refills them when they’re empty.

May 17, 2022; Ep. 86

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:01-    Intro
• 1:28-    God in the Spaces
• 4:06-    Facing Discouragement
• 8:30-    Turning Your Face
• 11:47-  A Refillable Glass
• 13:17-  Outro

Episode Links & Resources:

• No Wonder We Need by Deborah Ann

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

As special needs mothers, we fight the battle of discouragement on a daily basis. In today’s episode, Carrie discusses several tools we can use to safeguard our hearts from losing hope: rest, remembering, and filling. Most importantly, she reminds us that God cares and his desire is for us to cast our cares on him.

May 10, 2022; Ep. 85

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:00-    Intro
• 1:31-    Fighting Daily Battles
• 3:28-    Rest
• 4:30-    Remember God’s Care
• 6:42-    Focus Your Mind
• 9:16-    Casting Cares on Him
• 13:04- Prayer
• 14:33- Outro

Episode Links & Resources:

• Scripture mentioned: Matthew 6; I Peter 5:6-9
• End of the Spear by Steve Saint

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

Daily Discouragement can make us feel like we are walking in the dark. In this episode, Amy shares four ways she is learning to walk towards the light of God’s love and provision and how this moves us away from discouragement.

May 3, 2022; Ep. 84

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:00-    Intro
• 1:25-    Blinding Discouragement
• 4:03-    Holding On To The Rope
• 6:47-    Step Into the Light of Home
• 9:20-    Reach Out To Others
• 10:04-  Look Up
• 11:10-  Choose Joy
• 13:30-  Questions to Consider
• 14:31-  Outro

Episode Links & Resources:

• Scripture mentioned: 1 Kings 19:5-9 NIV
• Ep. 29 Self Care with Amy
• Ep. 30 Self Care with Carrie 
• Ep. 31 Self Care with Sara 
• Ep. 32 Self Care Collaborative- Part 1
• Ep. 32 Self Care Collaborative-Part 2 
• Ann Voskamp Instagram 
• The Slow Way Podcast: Micha Boyett Ep. 16
• The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story Of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime

As special needs parents, we have a deep-seated fear that we are messing up our kids. It’s important to remember to trust God to give us what we need., to nurture the soil of our children’s hearts, and love each one in their own unique way. In this episode, Sara, Amy, and Carrie discuss how to help your children feel heard, things they might have changed in their parenting journey, and how to celebrate the uniqueness of your family. 

April 26, 2022; Ep. 83

Timestamps & Key Topics:

• 0:00-    Intro
• 1:36-    Fear of Messing Up
• 5:04-    Nurture the Soil
• 10:02-  Life’s Not Fair
• 14:05-  What Would You Change
• 26:30-  Younger Self
• 34:33-  Closing Prayer

Episode Links & Resources:

• The Big Six by Adam Young (Scroll down to choose title; will need to put in e-mail)
• Episode 47: Interview With Sandra Peoples
• Sharing Love Abundantly in Special Needs Families: The Five Love Languages For Parents Raising Children with Disabilities

If you enjoyed our podcast, please...

• Get our free resource 7 Advocacy Practices & Pitfalls
• Get our free resource on finding Gratitude, Peace, and Hope
• Subscribe to our newsletter on the Take Heart Website
• Review and like us on Apple Podcasts 
• Share us with others from wherever you listen to podcasts
• Follow us on Instagram @takeheartspecialmoms
• Find Amy at www.amyjbrown.com/  or on Instagram @amyjbrown_writer
• Find Carrie at www.carriemholt.com or on Instagram @carriemholt
• Find Sara at www.saraclime.com or on Instagram @saraclime