You Were Made for More

"Parents have the constitutional and God-given rights to direct the moral, ethical, and religious upbringing of our children. Parents are the first and most important teachers. We simply want a seat at the table, and for our principles to be treated with the same respect as all others." - Julia Page

In this episode of the podcast, Sammie interview Tiffany Justice, one of the cofounders of the organization, Moms for Liberty. Tiffany is a wife and mom of four school-aged children. In 2016 she stepped up to serve for 4 years on the School District of Indian River County, FL School Board. She and Tina Descovich founded Moms for Liberty with the main goal of unifying parents and addressing concerning issues and hold people accountable at all levels of government. They firmly believe in fundamental rights, stand for truth, empower others, and build relationships.

You'll hear us discuss what the mission of Mom's for Liberty is, what kids are facing culturally when they're in school, and why standing up for our children is a core element that is needed to keep families thriving, as well as what to do if you want to get involved. Tiffany encourages parents listening to this episode that "love is an expertise," and we have a responsibility to stand firm in what we believe for the sake of our children and their best interest.

Here are some things we mentioned in the podcast:

• Moms for Liberty Website 
• Moms for Liberty - Chapter Finder
• Clay County Case

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

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This month, we're bringing you the ySUMMIT talks on the podcast! You'll hear from speakers who spoke to students who attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. in January 2023.

The second episode featured this month is surrounding a topic that is frequently used as an argument in the pro-choice movement: what if the woman who wants an abortion was raped? It absolutely should be justified then, right?

I'll admit, even for me, this is such a sensitive and difficult topic to breach because it involves real people, many times in the trenches of deep and raw pain. Rebecca highlights why babies conceived in rape are just as worthy of life as the rest of us beautifully.

Rebecca Kiessling is Founder and President of Save The 1, and co-founder of Embryo Defense. She has been an international pro-life speaker and adoption speaker since 1995. She’s helped pregnant rape victims all around the world to choose life for their children. She’s also an attorney and mother of 5 (two oldest are adopted), lost 2 additional babies to miscarriage, and her 33 day-old, adopted daughter Cassie, who was born with special needs. She’s also featured on a poster for Feminists for Life’s ad, “Did I Deserve the Death Penalty.”

Here are some things we mentioned in the podcast:

• Rebecca's Website

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

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This month, we're bringing you the ySUMMIT talks on the podcast! You'll hear from speakers who spoke to students who attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. in January 2023.

This first episode features Laura, whose talk was split into two parts. One about doing life our own way, and one about doing like God's way (this episode is a cohesive blend of both her talks!). The gist of what she hits on is why it is so important to think deeply and rely on God's guidance about the choices we make; without the guidance of God and the Holy Spirit in our lives, we wander into unhealthy relationships, selfish behaviors, and because of our sin nature we make choices that end up harming us more than benefiting us. The second part of her talk features the "redemption" of leaning into relationships the way God would call us to AND practical ways to do this. 

Laura was the Director of the Pittsburgh Essential Speakers program at Women’s Choice Network, Pittsburgh, PA before the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep getting the “Healthy Relationship” message out to teens during COVID, she authored the video curriculum REAL TALK, which is a video series designed to equip young people with the skills to combat relationship challenges they face in adolescence. She is a native Pittsburgher, graduated with a BS in Psychology/Business from Penn State University, and in her more ‘youthful’ days, she was a resident archery athlete at the US Olympic Training Center in CO, made the USA World Archery Team, National Team, and was Archery’s Athlete Representative to the US Olympic Committee. After raising two daughters and working in the family manufacturing representative business, she continues to be active in her church and follows closely the sexual challenges teens face in today’s culture. Her passion for the abundant life that Christ calls us to is evident in who she is AND the work that she does.

Here are some things we mentioned in the podcast:

• What is the ySUMMIT?
• Essential Speakers & Real Talk

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

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"You've got fantastic intuition and need courage to act." Ashley Bush, Unplanned Mom School

I'm so excited to introduce you to my friend Ashley! Ashley is a passionate woman, mom, and business leader who wants you to know... you are meant to be here. The message that she has spent her life walking out and now spends her life cultivating within a mission of her business is VITAL if we are going to partner with moms of unexpected pregnancies. 

A little about the Unplanned Mom School:

• A new kind of mom community that is inspiring women to live their best lives
• We are building a community of unplanned moms who have embraced motherhood by surprise 
• No matter what situation you are faced with, we’re all on this journey together called motherhood!

Ashley offers coaching and guidance to walk through unexpected seasons of life because she walked through an unplanned pregnancy herself.  

Here are some things we mentioned in the podcast:

• Ashley's Website
• Ashley's Tik Tok
• Ophelia Speaks Book

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

You Were Made for More Social Media: 

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"In all the ways that we are broken, God is not that. He is completely different and BETTER than us in every way."
- Bp. Steven

On this episode of the podcast, we get to hear a conversation with the Rt. Rev. Dr. Steven Tighe of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA)! Steven was recently consecrated as Bishop in the Diocese of the Southwest. Previously he served as the Canon for Youth Ministry for the Anglican Church in North America, having been involved with youth ministry since leaving college. He graduated Rice University, with two degrees in Electrical Engineering and did computer research in Austin before attending Trinity School for Ministry (TSM) and taught youth ministry there while on staff with Rock the World Youth Mission Alliance.  Steven has an Mdiv from TSM and PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL. Steven currently lives in El Paso, TX with his wife, Tricia. Steven gets most of his exercise mountain biking in the El Paso hills. He reads a lot, plays computer games, writes songs, is an accomplished sand sculptor and has recently taken up kite surfing.

During the season of Advent, we're reminded of how sacred Christmas really is - Jesus, coming to earth, God with us, so that we may have a relationship with the Father. So, how do we carry that sacredness with us for the rest of the year? Steven and I chat about what holiness is and how we trust God in the midst of difficult circumstances because of who He is. We hope this episode encourages you in your own walk with the Lord!

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

You Were Made for More Social Media: 

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November is Adoption Awareness Month!
On this episode of the podcast, we welcome Johnston Moore, who serves at Anglicans for Life as the Adoption/Orphan Care Consultant. 

Johnston has been married to his wife, Terri, since 1988, and together they have seven children, all of whom were adopted through the Los Angeles County foster care system. He is a strong believer in and vocal advocate for permanency and justice for children, having witnessed the impact that both have had on his children. John enjoyed a career in Hollywood in film/TV production and as a screenwriter before becoming fully immersed in adoption and foster care ministry, first through his employment at Hope for Orphans, and then at Home Forever.

Currently, Johnston is living with his family in Virginia, where he is a regular speaker at Focus on the Family’s Wait No More Adoption Conferences. They attend Redeemer Anglican Church in Richmond, VA and are passionate about seeing the greater Church be a part of what God is doing through the foster care and adoption movement.

In this conversation, we talk about the "in's and out's" of adoption and creative ways in which you can get involved depending on where God is calling you to use your time, resources, and gifts.

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

You Were Made for More Social Media: 

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What does it look like to be marching into the post-Roe America?

I wanted to pop into your feed this month and personally invite you each to join us this January for the 50th annual March for Life and our event, the ySUMMIT!

The ySUMMIT is the event Anglicans for Life holds every year in conjunction with the March for Life. Through worship, fellowship, and engaging speakers, we’ll connect the Gospel with how to affirm life, so that we can make a difference for His Kingdom here on earth by being the light in the post-Roe world.

While the Dobbs decision in June was a historic milestone for those who believe that every life is sacred, we will not rest until legal protection is provided from conception to natural death for every human being. Since 1983, Abundant Life’s parent organization, Anglicans for Life has worked to uphold the Sanctity of Life by working to make abortion unthinkable and unnecessary, and we won’t give up until we have that victory.

Here is how to find out more about the ySUMMIT registration: 

• ySUMMIT website

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

You Were Made for More Social Media: 

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• Instagram

We're so excited to have Dr. Christina Francis with us on the podcast today! Dr. Francis is a board-certified Ob/Gyn who currently works in Fort Wayne, Indiana, after completing medical school at Indiana University in 2005. She is chair of the board of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) and a board member of Indiana Right to Life. As a professional speaker, Dr. Francis offers her medical expertise, knowledge of bioethics, and pro-life reasoning both here in the U.S. and around the globe. She has always had a passion for human rights, spending a significant portion of the past 10 years in various countries working tirelessly on behalf of women and children. Dr. Francis spent time working with orphans in Romania and Burma, discussing the importance of life issues with university students in Israel, and working for three years as the only Ob/Gyn at a mission hospital in rural Kenya. Dr. Francis left Kenya in 2014 to work on behalf of women and children in the United States who are often victims of the abortion industry, and to educate people on the greatest social injustice of our time.

This episode is all about debunking some myths you may have heard since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June. Since abortion rights have been sent back to the states to decide, there has been a ton of misinformation circulating that women facing high-risk pregnancies and ectopic pregnancies will not be able to receive care for life-threatening conditions if abortion is illegal in that state. Dr. Francis shares her expertise with us, and trust me, you do not want to miss this! We answer questions like:

• Is abortion really essential to healthcare? 
• What are ectopic pregnancies? 
• Does post-Roe state legislation outlaw/criminalize treatment for ectopic pregnancies?

We hope this episode encourages you to speak up against the false narrative that abortion is healthcare and to educate yourselves about women's health before posting or sharing.

Here are some things we mentioned in this episode:

• AAPLOG's website
• AAPLOG's Instagram
• Dr. Francis' Website

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

You Were Made for More Social Media: 

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In this episode of the You Were Made for More Podcast, Alexa (or Lex as her people call her!) is joining us today for a conversation about being proactive about creating a healthy marriage relationship. Lex is a wife, mom, and has a background as a mental health counselor who is dedicated to promoting client welfare, dignity, and wellness. Through her education, she has been trained in individual therapy, group therapy, managing cases, and treatment planning, as she holds a Masters of Arts Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Waynesburg University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Political Science from The Ohio State University. I asked Lex to join us for this conversation because I know her professionally AND personally, and I’ve seen her live out her values in her own relationships as well as helping clients walk through tough relationships and navigate hardships. 

As we mentioned, this episode will focus on a how to be proactive about creating a healthy marriage & what it looks like to heal from and confront our own trauma to make our relationships better. God created marriage and it is good, but there can be so much brokenness surrounding the idea of being with another broken person forever - but through hard work, humility, and honesty, marriage can be one of the most life-giving gifts we’re given on this side of Heaven. 

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

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In this episode, Brooke talks to us about what it looks like to have healthy relationships and how we can date "well," even though the Bible doesn't explicitly talk about the topic of dating. Sammie met Brooke when they were both serving on the Pittsburgh Essential Speakers team in high schools around the city of Pittsburgh! They both have a passion for helping teens navigate through the tricky waters of dating in today's culture, while also trying to be faithful and follow the Lord.

Brooke Farrell currently serves as the Middle School Director at North Way Christian Community in Wexford, PA. Brooke grew up in the Pittsburgh area and is a graduate of Geneva College with a degree in Communications and a concentration in Public Relations. She enjoys time with her two small kiddos and husband, and enjoys her side business of impersonating the Disney character, Elsa, from "Frozen" at birthday parties! You will regularly find Brooke with her nose in a book or laughing with her four sisters.

Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the podcast, send guest recommendations to us or leave us a star-rating/review on your favorite listening platform to spread the word about the you were made for more message.

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