One way to please God and show his heart for all people is to invite. To ask a simple question: “Would you like to come for coffee?” can negate a lifetime of rejections.

To think, "they aren't like me" can make us hesitate to invite. The biblical definition of hospitality means to invite the stranger and some may be a little strange! At least different from how we live, that's for sure. Jesus told us what love is when he told the story of the good Samaritan. I love that story and I'm always a little convicted!

How about you? Is it a risk to invite someone you don't know? God will give you the courage if he  is leading the way. 

Some thoughts from today's podcast

We miss you, Doug!

From Never Alone: Stories of Invitation and Connection

Fellow writer and mother of adult children, Michele Morin, talks about modeling who God is for our children as our greatest legacy. Mother of four grown boys-now-men with families of their own, I love how Michele trusts God for each new season of her life, even a season with a chronic illness included. You will be blessed with tons of practical wisdom today as we talk about how we deal with unanswered prayers and questions and try not to catastrophize every little thought that comes into our brains. 

Some gems from our convo:

Michele is the author of over 8 YouVersion Bible Reading devotionals which you can find HERE.

She's a regular contributor at DesiringGod.com.

Because “the way we live our days will be, after all, the way we live our lives,” you are invited to peruse Michele’s writing on her website here at your leisure.

michelemorin.net

Michele Morin is a reader, writer, speaker, and gardener who does life with her family on a country hill in Maine. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and five adorable grandchildren. 

Active in educational ministries with her local church, Michele delights in sitting at a table surrounded by women with open Bibles. She loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family.  She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.”

Can you have peace in the insanity of the Sandwich Season? Ruthie Gray, author and host the podcast, Sandwich Season Sanity, joins me to today to talk about the struggles we may face when juggling several difficult and time-consuming roles. We are never alone because God knows the way that we take, and you will be encouraged and maybe challenged from our conversation.

Our peace comes from daily laying down our lives, our plans, our "To-Do Lists" to the One Who really is in control. "Pray your list," Ruthie says. And when we do, we will have peace in any life-season.

SIGN UP FOR THE PEACEFUL MOM COLLECTION WITH RUTHIE GRAY

Some gems from our podcast today:

Ruthie Gray's book, Empty Next Awakening may be just what you need currently and it also makes a great gift for a friend.

Find out more from Ruthie at ruthiegray.com and you can get her 5 short podcasts on getting peace in your insanity seasons HERE .

Yes, everyone has a story worth sharing and you will love Marci's stories and inspiration on today's Living a Legacy Life Podcast. 

Marci Seither’s writing career began after her humor article was published in a small-town newspaper. Since then, she has authored two books and hundreds of articles for local papers as well as Guideposts and Focus On The Family. And she now hosts the radio show and podcast: The Biscuit Book Club - how cute is that?

Today we are offering two giveaways: Marci's new magazine for readers, eaters and writers, as she says. As well has her beautiful hard back retreat at the lake devotional called Lake Side Retreat.

Everyone gets a free Printable Download of Marci's latest Southern Christian Writer Magazine—as she says, a magazine for readers, eaters and writers.  If you prefer a printed one (totally worth it, by the way - for the recipes, alone - contact Marci.)

Catch her radio show and podcast HERE.

Life is full of "whelm" and then there's "overwhelm!" Today we get to talk about what it means to feel overwhelmed, and how we can use that very thing to draw us closer to our Savior, the Lord of peace. To be overwhelmed is defined as the weight of a load too hard to bear. We are human so we fail, time and time again, and I was comforted by that statement by my guest, Mary DeMuth on today's episode, God's Peace in the Overwhelm.

Mary DeMuth is a literary agent, daily podcaster at the PrayEveryDay.show, Scripture, artist, speaker, and the author of more than fifty books, including The Most Misunderstood Women of the Bible, The Most Overlooked Women of the Bible and her latest, The Most Overwhelmed Women of the Bible. Any or all three will make great gifts this Christmas and include questions at the end of each chapter to help you lead and enjoy a small book group.  She lives in Texas with her husband and is the mom to three adult children. Find out more at

marydemuth.com.

Some gems from our legacy conversation:

Fellow podcaster and Bible teacher, James Early, joins us today with some Bible-based encouragement to love, pray and think like Jesus. Is that actually possible? you might wonder. According to James, we can grow daily in our obedience and reformed mindset so that we can, all for heaven's sake and for God's kingdom and glory. 

One way James shows God's love is through weekly Bible studies with a group of inmates in a local prison. His podcast is The Bible Speaks Today and from our chat, you will know that it does!

Take advantage of James' free resource HERE. 

Some gems from our conversation:

James helps people learn to think, pray, and love like Jesus. He gives talks and conducts workshops on the Bible to churches and groups, as well as online. Since 2008 his prison ministry at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, CT has transformed hundreds of lives. 

In fall of 2019, James started The Bible Speaks to You Podcast, which has had listeners in over 200 countries and territories. His podcast is listed on the Feedspot list of top 100 Bible podcasts. Through his Jesus Mindset Coaching program, James helps people embrace the mindset of Jesus and rediscover their God-given ability to think and act more like Jesus. He lives in Bethel, CT with his wife of 35 years, Polly Castor. They have three grown children. He loves hiking and organic gardening.

Don't forget to check out his free resource just for my listeners HERE.

One Sunday after church, I stood by my car before getting in and looked around me. Young parents busy getting their tired kids buckled in didn’t give me a second thought; their minds on home and lunch and naps, all in short order. As cars and vans drove away, hands waved and I heard voices ring out, “So long!” and “Have a great rest of your day!

Single in my 20’s, in a new career, a new town and a new church, I felt okay, mostly. Life was full and purposeful, but lonely on occasion. I wondered why families didn’t ask me over for Sunday dinner.

The Bible says God sets the lonely in families. (Psalm 68:6) I was lonely. I needed to be set somewhere.

I got tired of waiting. Listen to what I did and what you can do, too, if you are singng the Parking Lot Blues.

PS

Please feel free to send my your stories of feeling lonely in a crowd. I'd love to share it on the podcast or in the newsletter. It can remain anonymous.   Email me: [email protected] 

Some gems from the parking lot blues:

Mom and Aunt Joy at Sunday dinner (not lunch, not supper.)

Trishie’s Best-Ever Apple Crisp

In a 7 1/2 x 11 glass casserole, mix together the following:

(Trish says: “Mix in the baking pan and save washing a dish.” I wholeheartedly agree.)

5 large apples, peeled and sliced

1 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1 t to 1 T lemon juice, depending on tartness of the apples

1 cup water

Topping

In a medium bowl combine:

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

Cut in until crumbly:

1/2 cup firm butter (I use pastry cutter or box grater)

Spread topping over the apples. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Comfort food, simple and delicious.

A welcome home is a fragrant home.

God told Kerry Hasenbalg over twenty years ago that she was to write this book, The Way of Becoming. She wasn't convinced. She asked God to maybe ask someone else instead. She made bookmarks instead.

Happy to report, she finished her book and it released in April, just in time for the National Day of Prayer in which an entire chapter, Chapter 7, was picked to bless our nation and a free download of that excerpt is still available on her website: https://kerry hasenbalg.com/book

A leader in Soul Care and a spiritual director, Kerry Hasenbalg, is a wife and mother of four and founder of The Becoming Foundation and resides in Pennsylvannia. You will be blessed and challenged as you hear our conversation about how to become who God has designed us to become no matter what challenges we face. Thank you, Kerry, for your honest reflections and teachings. We will all be hanging clotheslines very soon!

Some gems from our conversation:

Nikki Daulphin, wife and mother of 6, joins us today to talk about transformation at the table and in the Word. As a successful realtor, she views her work as a ministry but she knows that family comes first and she and her husband, Steve, have worked hard to help their kids lean into the Lord and share their tables with others now as young adults. 

Hear how they do their own special weekly "Sabbath Meals" and how when Nikki met her mentor, Debbi, it made all the difference in how she lived her life and then, raised her family. You will be refreshed and inspired. 

Some gems from our conversation:

I love the T-shirt that reads: “WWMD?”  But when in crisis, I’d much rather talk to my best friend or my sister—older or younger—than Martha Stewart, or even one of her staff members.

Steve Janney said, “We all need a friend we can be weak with.” He’s right. Some of need more than one.

In the Bible there’s a great little story about a man who had four such friends. He wanted to see Jesus but couldn’t get close to Him because of the crowds and mainly because he lived his life on a stretcher.

 “When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home.  Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door.” Mark 2:1,2

Enter 4 friends. Actually, they could have been strangers. The Bible doesn’t include their names. What we do know it that they had big muscles and even bigger hearts.

Now what was so important that they had to ruin someone’s roof? Why did he need to get to Jesus? We assume it was so he could be healed. Something they were all hoping for.

But Jesus had so much more in mind for him and for us, as well. We pray—“Lord, I need a new job, a new refrigerator, a new body!”

And He says, “Ah, but I have so much more in mind for you!” And He does. Jesus came to save us and we all need saving. We’re all a little lost until we put our trust in Him.

These four friends brought their friend to the One who could actually do the work. Jesus did the real work. They didn’t. He did. They couldn’t really help the man, but they knew where to take him to get help.

I am convinced that at any given time we could be either be lifting someone else’s stretcher or we are on the stretcher, being lifted by someone else. We will all get a turn at each, perhaps simultaneously. All the lifting is to take us to Jesus – we either need to be brought to him or we need to bring someone to him. That’s why we get up in the morning and sleep peacefully at night.

Some gems to remember: