Guys, not only did I learn SO MUCH during this episode, it also made me laugh so hard while editing it that my husband thought something was wrong. I love Rach’s honesty, humour, and willingness to go first and put herself out there in order that others might be encouraged. 

This conversation covered the gamut from reading classics to people without bums, what it is like working as an Emergency Department nurse to how to love the person we are married to (and not who we think they should be). Rach shared honestly about growing up as a travelling preacher’s kid, her struggle with doubt and the doctrines of predestination, and what she has learned about marriage and body image. It makes you want to catch up with your friends and share about how you’re really doing. Plus she has the BEST recommendations for podcasts and books (see below for the most glorious list).

Rach Steadman is married to Dan, and they have three kids: Harvey (8), Callie (6), and Shelby (4). She is an ED nurse, a part of Gosnells Baptist Church, and a talented musician, with a rapidly expanding cast of extracurricular commitments.

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Mentioned in the show: 

Alisa Childers podcast - start with Top 5 Archeological Finds That Affirm the Bible with Dr Scott Stripling

Verity with Phylicia Masonheimer Podcast, Every Woman a Theologian - start with 5 Views of Communion

History of Rome podcast 

Exploring My Strange Bible podcast - start with series on Jonah 

Australian Birth Stories 

The Birth Hour podcast 

Truth on Fire: Gazing at God Until Your Heart Sings by Adam Ramsay 

Jen Wilkin - Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible With Both Our Hearts and Our Minds, None Like Him: Ten Ways God is Different From Us (And Why That’s a Good Thing).

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11 NIV)

“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” C.S. Lewis

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

A Change of Affection: A Gay Man’s Incredible Story of Redemption by Becket Cook

Harry Potter by JK Rowling

Cormoran Strike novels by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling)

Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Little Pilgrim’s Progress by Helen L. Taylor

Marion Grasby: Marion’s Kitchen, Asia Express, Laksa

Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work - John Gottman & Nan Silver

Poetry: Kate Baer, Mary Oliver, Ada Limon 

Jackie Hill Perry - Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been; Holier Than Thou: How God’s Holiness Helps Us Trust Him, music (start with Woman!), Thirty Minutes with the Perrys, and Let’s Talk.  

Holiness - R.C. Sproul 

Renewing Your Mind - R.C. Sproul teaching podcast

If you liked this episode, please consider giving us a rating or review in Apple podcasts and/or Spotify. Your reviews help women find us 💛 

Music: Orleans and Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 

Guys. My delightful friend Ceire joins us on the podcast all the way from Broome! Ceire’s passion for life is contagious, and she has a gift for connecting with others. Her voice-texts are hilarious and deep and encouraging all in one!

Ceire and her husband Angus have three girls Isabelle (4.5), Lizzie (2) and Anna (6 months). She is an amazing foodie and cook, who is in the process of setting up a café. We talked about moving to the country, making our marriages a priority, and getting our vulnerable on to share and pray with other women. Ceire shared her experience with depression after moving from South Africa and how her friend walked with her through it. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

The free marriage course that Ceire and Angus facilitate over Zoom is from Holy Trinity Brompton. Maybe this is one you can get together with some couple friends to try too?

The cafe Ceire is getting up and running is LOV Food, which is attached to Lions Outback Vision. 

The 5 Love Languages of Children - Gary Campbell and Ross Campbell 

Gerald Durrell - My Family and Other Animals 

Tim Keller sermons podcast

Ladies We Need to Talk podcast 

If you liked this episode, please consider giving us a rating or review in Apple podcasts and/or Spotify. Your reviews help women find us 💛 

Music: Orleans and Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 

Friends, I have been thinking about this conversation ever since I spoke to Tabs. She has been fighting for joy in motherhood, and if you have ever thought, “I want to treasure these years but I don’t know how to do that when my toddler keeps kicking me!” then this conversation is for you. 

It was honest and convicting but not in an I’m-the-worst way, but in an I-could-do-that-too way that makes you want to pray, pick up your bible, write verses on your windows, and take in all the goodness you can from all the crumbs of scripture you can smush into your day. 

Tabitha Versluis is married to Lars, and they have four children: Olivia (10), Asher (8), Ezra (5) and Lottie (3). She is an Intensive Care Nurse who homeschools her children and is a part of Gosnells Baptist Church. She talks about the losses of her mother and father-in-law; fighting for gratitude, joy, and contentment; the comfort of Scripture and women in the season ahead of you; and what it’s like to work with people who are in comas and dying on a daily basis. 

(Ps. Please forgive the sound quality - I am learning to use a new fancy microphone 😅)

Mentioned in this episode: 

Ann Voskamp - One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are and WayMaker: Finding The Way to the Life You’ve Always Dreamed Of 

The Diary of Sarah Angus Prine (1881-1901) by Nancy Turner 

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew‬ ‭11:29‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans‬ ‭10:8-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

She Reads Truth bible studies 

She Reads Truth podcast

Hannah Le Cras’ reviews of John Owen’s Mortification of Sin for The Gospel Coalition Australia - Part 1 and Part 2.

The hymn with the lyrics “prone to wander” is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing 

“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James‬ ‭1:14-15‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.” (Deuteronomy‬ ‭11:18-21‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (‭‭Psalm‬ ‭103:13-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalm‬ ‭121:1-8‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

If you liked this episode, please consider giving us a rating or review in Apple podcasts and/or Spotify. Your reviews help women find us 💛 

Music: Orleans and Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 

Britt kindly offered to be interviewed, and I am so glad she did! This chat was really encouraging.

If you don’t know Britt, she is married to Dave, and they have three kids: Beatrix (3) and twins Florence and Ambrose (17 months). She is a social worker for a youth mental health agency and a part of Providence Bayswater.

In this episode, we talked about the loss of both of her parents, her mother to cancer when she was 21, and her father to a sudden heart attack, not long after having the twins. Britt shared about becoming a Christian at 16 years old, the joys of community and learning to accept help, fighting for contentment, riding the wave of grief, grappling with doubt, and coming to trust that God meets us in our deepest need. Despite the heavy topics, this episode is surprisingly fun!

Mentioned in this episode: 

Star Wars: Andor

Severance

Shameless podcast

Hannah Kent books: Burial Rites and Devotion

Johann Hari - Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention 

Cal Newport - Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focussed Life in a Noisy World

If you like the podcast, please share it with a friend and/or give us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It really helps women to find the show. Thanks so much for listening 💛

Music: Orleans and Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Welcome to the Sunday Morning Snuggle.

My name is Bec, I’m a Clinical Psychologist Registrar and a Christian. My favourite thing in the whole world is stories and all the nitty gritty of life… So, the internet makes me tired!

I’m excited to share these interviews with local Christian women who encourage me with their faithfulness in the everyday. Women sowing seeds where God has placed them, one day at a time. We explore how they came to trust in Christ, what makes them feel most alive, and what they have learned through suffering.

IN THIS EPISODE:

Have you met Ash Gillespie?

I’m a big fan. She lives around the corner from me and was baptised in November 2021 after putting her trust in Jesus. Ash is married to Matt, Mum to Evelyn (5) and Michael (18 months) and works full time as a Boss Lady HR Queen. Baby Tristan will be here by the time you listen to this! The way she loves God’s word and trusts in him in all the little parts of her days is so encouraging. It was Ash’s idea to create a podcast AND I HAD SO MUCH FUN!

In this episode, Ash shares what she learned from wrestling with the feeling that everything was pointless. We talked about learning to savour the little things, the women who have encouraged her the most in her Christian walk, and how she is growing in contentedness in the season of little kids. Listen to the end for some gorgeous words of encouragement about prayer from Ash 💛

Music: Orleans and Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License