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:

I think a lot of folks want to know that they are not too late—they don’t even know if what they are waiting for is the best thing—they just know they are still waiting. Join author, speaker, podcaster, Rebecca George and me as we talk about my not so favorite topic: waiting. And what we learn in the wait and how to wait like a good child of God. Rebecca's second book, You’re Not Too Late: Trusting God’s Timing in a Hurry-up World just released and she will be giving away a copy all this week.

Maybe the next time we find ourselves waiting again, we can look down deep into ourselves and see who God wants us to become in the wait.

Some gems from our conversation:

Divorce hit me to the core, and it totally broke me. The good news is that I’m still alive. And because of that, I know my story isn’t over.

Pat Fenner

So glad to know Pat Fenner and you will be too after listening to our conversation today. You will hear how someone who thought they were "married for life" got through the pain and brokenness and began to flourish again. Pat provides simple (not always easy) baby steps to get you started again in a new life, single again, and finding new opportunities for self-discovery as well as deepening your relationship with God. 

Get your book today and share it with a friend who may need to hear real-life experience of a "gray divorce" - defined and what to do next. We are hosting a giveaway of:

Rebuilding Your Life After a Gray Divorce – A Path to healing, Significance, and Joy

Leave a comment on social media or email me at [email protected] to be entered. And you may want to buy one for your church, your pastor or your financial advisor!

Need some fun and community in your life AND you still have kids at home? Listen to my great conversation today with Pam Fields, mom of 9 and host of The Mom Next Door Podcast.

We both share ideas for getting together with our kids and other moms, all for Heaven's sake.  Pam's hosted Boxcar Days, Game Nights for teens and gotten some much needed home-help with her Pizza Project Days where she's enlisted other moms to help her get some project completed while developing friendships and trading giftings. 

Pam and I both know that we need community and fellowship at any age or stage. And that the more we invite people to be a part of our lives, the better we'll be and the greater memories we will be creating for our families. 

Some gems from our conversation:

Pam Fields offers support to women through prayer, community, and resources for motherhood. She's always had a heart for encouraging moms in their walk with the Lord and in their mothering journey.

Though life is always busy for this homeschool mom, she's ready to learn and try new things such as blogging at TendingFields.net and sharing testimonies on her podcast, The Mom Next Door: Stories of Faith.

When Pam has some free time, you can find her at coffee with friends or planning her next family gathering at her home in Tennessee.

invites you to join her free Facebook group at Tending Fields Community.

Follow Pam at tendingfields.net and hear her Podcast The Mom Next Door: Stories of Faith on your favorite podcast channel.

For some good summer kid fun check here.

Do you struggle with perfectionism or being really busy—just to prove yourself to someone even if that someone is God? Jennifer Sakata is my guest today and she's got some great things to say about busyness, rest, childhood hurt, surrender and grace—because grace covers it all. 

Jennifer, founder of the Living the Grace Life Podcast, speaker, writer, wife and mother of two boys (and two in heaven) is learning all things grace and you will be blessed with how and what she's continuing to learn since we all know we are in process! (That's grace!)

Jennifer helps busy and distracted women overcome the overwhelm of doing more; so they can receive God’s grace to live God’s grace. Her favorite moments as a workshop and retreat leader are those thin-veiled glimpses when someone recognizes Gods grace rewriting their story.

Some gems from our conversation today:

Jennifer's free resource can be found HERE: Living the Grace Life: One Prayer at a Time 

As well as: 10 Ways to Add More Grace to Your Life

Website: https://jennifersakata.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifersakata/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferSakata.Author/

Podcast: Living the Grace Life

Have you ever prayed and felt like it didn’t matter that you prayed or not? Have you wondered if prayer was just a nice thing to make you feel better perhaps, but really didn’t matter in the long run?

If you’ve ever tried praying and then given up because it doesn’t feel like God is listening nor answering, today’s podcast is for you.

Speaker, author, podcaster, Rachel Wojo is with us today to talk about her latest book, Desperate Prayers: Embracing the Power of Prayer in Life's Darkest Moments.

Rachel and her husband Matt are the parents of 6 children, 2 in heaven. They've known sorrow and have traveled this journey of prayer more than most.

Rachel  is offering a free copy of her book all this week. I've read it and highly recommend!

Some gems from our conversation:

Rachel mentioned a free prayer class you can find HERE: How To Be A Prayer Warrior For Your Family In Dark Times

Also, 10 Prayers to Calm Your Heart.