The Salty Mums Podcast

Buckle in as this is a bumper long episode but totally worth it with this week's guest, Jayne Manfredi who came on to talk about faith, menopause and motherhood. Whether you haven't thought about menopause/midlife yet, are on the verge of this time of life, or in the midst of it (or you're a man just wanting to learn more) this chat with Jayne is full of such useful insight, wisdom, practical help and compassion. Women in their midlife are crucial to our churches (just look at the rotas in church) yet so many women can come to feel invisible, lonely and downright angry as they navigate the hormonal storm of the perimenopausal years. Jayne talks about how we can do better as a Church in allowing women to feel seen by not making menopause a taboo in our churches, but instead supporting women through this stage of life.

RESOURCES

You can follow Jayne on Twitter @thewomenfredi

Jayne's book "Waking the Women" is out now https://standrewsbookshop.co.uk/product/waking-the-women/?srsltid=AfmBOooiIRdCGbIPeegwis1lwFEQTWEMt-XOLUN5KCO9dooSmI4sp-2N

FINALLY...

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You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @saltymumspod.

Release date of this episode is polling day 2024- I actually recorded this episode with Steph Archer who was worked in both national- and local politics, back in January before I became involved in local politics myself. Cue a local election, parenting and other parts of life the podcast had to take a backseat, and then after the local elections, just when I thought I'd have time to update the podcast Rishi Sunak announced the general election and my life got very busy again. But in a moment of madness this week I decided I had to get this episode out before polling day was over!

Anyway, on this week's episode we talk about Steph's political career so far, how she juggles being a local councillor with motherhood, how her faith and motherhood impacts her politics, and then we discuss more generally whether as Christian mums we should (and how) engage with politics more.

.Remember to subscribe, and also be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a review.If you’ve got any questions or suggestions you can email us at [email protected] You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @saltymumspod.

On this week's episode we have the powerhouse that is Andi Russell- honestly what a woman of faith! And she seems to have done so many different things too! Anyway, Andi takes us through their very long journey to parenthood, a journey at times it didn't seem would end with a pregnancy but after 11 years they had a daughter. It's an incredible story of hope where Andi admits they often clung too by the tips of their fingers! We then talk about her being an "older Mum" (NB: she raised this as a topic, not me- she looks younger than me and I'm 35!), and finally we talk about Andi's incredible new project Alabaster Coaching which is about coaching mothers who are in the prison system.

RESOURCES

You can get in touch with Andi at [email protected]

FINALLY…

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Anxiety is at epidemic levels globally, mothers included. This is why I invited Elle Limebear and Jane Kirby to talk about their experience of anxiety and the book, Say Goodbye to Anxiety, they've recently published about how they broke free of the stronghold of anxiety in their life. We discuss how motherhood and faith have impacted their struggle with anxiety, as well as how to better support other mums who are experiencing anxiety. As a sufferer of anxiety myself, I found this such a hopeful conversation, and I really hope you'll find the same!

Resources

You can find Elle and Jane on socials @elle_limebear and @janeelizabethkirby

And you can purchase their brilliant book here

Finally....

Remember to subscribe, and also be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a review.If you’ve got any questions or suggestions you can email us at [email protected]You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @saltymumspod.

In this episode of The Salty Mums Podcast, Lucy Rycroft from The Hope Filled Family joins me to share her insightful journey through motherhood, faith, and embracing life's chaos. Lucy discusses her personal experience of adopting 14 month old twins when she already had two biological children, offering listeners profound reflections on the complexities and joys of expanding a family through adoption. This episode is a heartfelt and relatable exploration of motherhood, embracing all its lumps and bumps and ups and down, because as Lucy says "Don't stress, God's got it"

RESOURCES

You can find Lucy's website at https://thehopefilledfamily.com/, and find her on social media @thehopefilledfamily

You can find all Lucy's incredible books and resources for sale here https://thehopefilledfamily.com/shop/

Lucy also works for Parenting for Faith who you can find on social media @parentingforfaithbrf

FINALLY…

.Remember to subscribe, and also be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a review.If you’ve got any questions or suggestions you can email us at [email protected]You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @saltymumspod.

On this week's episode we talk to Becky Sedgwick from Parenting for Faith, about being a single mum. It's a situation very few mothers plan for or expect, but many end up in. Becky tells her story of how her faith helped her in her darker moments (including a rather surprising verse God led her to from the Bible), and then we spend a long time unpacking what we can do as individuals and the Church to better support single parents.

RESOURCES

Becky has written a number of articles for Parenting for Faith on this topic;

https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/post/helping-single-parents-flourish-in-church/

https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/post/when-fathers-day-isnt-easy/

https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/post/when-your-family-breaks-down/

https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/post/god-promises-to-be-a-father-to-the-fatherless-what-happens-if-we-take-him-at-his-word/

https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/post/lessons-from-my-wood/

https://www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/post/supporting-families-through-separation-and-divorce/

You can find Parenting for Faith @parentingforfaithbrf or at www.parentingforfaith.brf.org.uk/welcome. And to listen to their podcast go to https://open.spotify.com/show/3MiWgOcmu0knabd72zmzTa

FINALLY….Remember to subscribe, and also be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a review.If you’ve got any questions or suggestions you can email us at [email protected]You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @saltymumspod.

Have you ever had to take your kids into work? Imagine having to do this once a week, every week! This is the reality for many mothers involved in ministry and church leadership- what's it like parenting in front of the people you're working with? How do you juggle the (often) "un-childcare" friendly hours of being a vicar?

To answer this we have Sophie Bannister who is a vicar in Lincolnshire, but also serves on the leadership teams of the Junia network which supports ordained women and Prisca which trains preachers. We discuss her journey to becoming a vicar and a mother (which overlap), the challenges of being a parent in front of your congregation and her work with the Junia and Prisca networks. She also gives us some great advice how to better support our Church leaders who are also parents.

RESOURCES

You can find more information about the Junia network at www.thejunianetwork.org.uk @thejunianetwork, and the Prisca network at www.prisca.org.uk @priscapreach.

FINALLY…

.Remember to subscribe, and also be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a review.If you’ve got any questions or suggestions you can email us at [email protected]You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @saltymumspod.

This week we're joined by Hope Virgo, who is an Eating Disorder campaigner and author, but is also recovering from an eating disorder herself. Hope helps us break down many of the myths around eating disorders, highlights where there's need for change in the NHS, talks about the difficulties of becoming a mother in the shadow of an eating disorder, and gives us great insight in how we can be salt and light to those around us who might be struggling with an eating disorder. This was a topic I've wanted to cover for a while so I was so grateful to get Hope's insight and hear her talk so honestly and openly about the struggles she's faced.

RESOURCES

You can find Hope Virgo on Instagram @hopevirgo_

Sign Hope's open letter about no one should be dying with an eating disorder in 2023 here https://the.organise.network/campaigns/network-no-one-should-be-dying-of-an-eating-disorder-in-2023-8fffc72793b87a94?utm_campaign=eqsgJorTNd&utm_medium=whatsapp&utm_source=share

To sign her petition #beatthescales go to https://www.change.org/p/eating-disorders-are-not-just-about-weight-dumpthescales

And find her three books including her latest one 'You are free (even if you don''t feel like it) here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hope-Virgo/e/B01NBIRW4V/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

FINALLY…

.Remember to subscribe, and also be sure to let us know what you think by leaving us a review.If you’ve got any questions or suggestions you can email us at [email protected]You can find us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @saltymumspod.