Raise your hand if you want to be a great mom.

I know I do. Sadly that goal is rarely ever reached by pure determination. Usually by 9 am, the whining or constant needs or sibling rivalry, sabotage all my efforts.

But what if I didn’t have to try to be a “great mom” in my own strength? What if there was a way to have eyes to see the most important things, patience to handle one more question and love to cover another mess? 

You’re probably not going to be shocked by the solution–a combination of God’s Word & praying to be led by His Sprit.  But maybe you struggle to make the solution a reality.

Yesterday our pastor taught from Psalm 119, saying “A God-oriented life is a Word-oriented life.” If we claim to be followers of Christ, believers of God, and yet don’t spend time in His Word, we will not have the firm foundation to stand on when the storms come.

Today’s podcast guest, Kat Lee (InspiredtoAction.com) not only reminds us how special moms are, but the game changer of going from frazzled to faithful. 

Being the practical gal she is, Kat also shares an opportunity you have to be a part of an accountability community, HelloMornings (registration starts today! September 29th).

Sometimes we need people to come around us and spur us on to do things we struggle to do on our own. 

Personally? This is the verse I’m memorizing:

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word. Ps 119:37

 

What we chat about:

• How Kat makes it through the week when her husband travels
• The negative cycle of staying up late, being a mean mommy, staying up late again.
• Kat’s experience growing up never having known her mom.
• Her curiosity about the mother-daughter relationship and trying to figure out what it means to be a woman/mother.
• Her longing to be loved and led by a mom. . . God’s whisper, “just wait”.
• How God redeemed Mother’s Day for Kat.
• She didn’t even know her mom & her mom had an incredible impact on her life.
• The call she received which led her back to her mom’s family/nation of origin.
• A Filipino family reunion with her name on a banner–a reminder she was known.
• The disaster of comparing your worst mommy moment to another mom’s best moment.
• Kat’s no-good-very-bad-day, leading to a revelation in the garage, in her hot mini-van, and what God asked her to do.
• The habit she began of getting up earlier than her kids, reading God’s Word & praying for her kids.
• Establishing the new habit, importance of a place and having accountability.
• How people can join an accountability group via Twitter, Facebook, Voxer, or Instagram. –40 countries represented. 4,000 women.
• If the groups fill up or you don’t want to be in a group, you can sign up to receive the emails and forms. —God, Plan, Move.–and worship song, “How Great You Are” by Antioch Live.
• In addition, HelloMornings is offering a Bible Study Course, how to study the Bible for yourself–with Katie Orr (FOCUSed 15) with book of Matthew (Six 10-minute videos).
• HelloMornings groups last six weeks–a little longer than it takes to establish a habit.
• God is the game changer for our motherhood.

God wants us to wrap our arms our His neck, not just stick our hands into His pockets.- Louie Giglio

Connect with Kat:

Blog :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Instagram

Show Notes:

• Inspired to Action Podcast
• Maximize Your Mornings
• Compassion Bloggers (Compassion International)
• HelloMornings (new challenge registration starts today, Monday, Sept 29th)
• “How to Study the Bible Power Pack”—Katie Orr & Kat Lee

Do not be fooled. This world is a spiritual war zone. We can’t give our enemy too much credit, but we also can’t ignore him.

What do we do when the battle heat is on? 

From personal experience, I chose to “phone a friend” (or more like ugly-cry-in-the-church-hallway-at-BSF). Speaking the lies out loud and having a fellow believer speak truth over me was my first line of defense. Next, I asked for prayer from friends and even from my Facebook page community (Are you hanging out over there?).

Most importantly, I read God’s Word for myself and wrapped that belt of Truth around my waist (Eph 6:14).

That’s why today’s podcast topic is so important to me. I would be doing y’all a huge disservice if you didn’t learn to read God’s Word and allow His Spirit to speak to you through it. 

Today I’m introducing you to a new friend of mine, Cari Trotter who is going to help us read the Bible.

I am blown away by her outgoing personality and her passion for women to know God through His Word.

She is a gifted Bible teacher, wife to a H.S. Football coach and mom to 3 little ones. Beyond all that? She is a beautiful daughter of the Creator of the universe.

We all have the potential to walk towards our ‘legacy as a royal heir’–the glorious becoming. It starts, like Cari says, ‘by sticking your nose in His Word and discovering real answers to the questions you are asking.’

I truly pray after you hear this interview you will pick up your Bible, read a section (even one verse) and ask yourself the two questions Cari shares in today’s episode. That through the wisdom God provides and personal revelation, you will begin your glorious transformation. 

What we chat about:

• We just  jump right in . . .how labeling an area we want to work for God, gets a target on our back, yet we can walk inside grace in the hard stuff.
• Be still & know God. . .what to do in the heat of spiritual battle
• Cari’s family. . .including her HS Football coach hubby.
• Our journey is not about a perfect walk, but one of faith.
• Cari’s over-riding passion is for women to know the Word of God–transforming heart knowledge.
• God doesn’t toss out who we were, He takes all of us and molds it into who He wants us to become.
• Where a woman can start studying God’s Word and how to make it real for herself.
• Word becomes flesh when we see & know our identity in Christ.
• A story of leading a Bible study in prison–one gal’s realization that she was created on purpose by the God of the universe.
• The two questions to ask after you read 10-15 verses–“What questions am I asking?” and “What am I praying?”
• Ask God to give you the wisdom for the revelation of His Word.
• Having a time & a space to spend with God, not in a legalistic way, but in a “need this or I fall” way.
• The difference of a day with at least 5 minutes in His Word. One verse. One prayer and His Holy Spirit.
• How a verse can transform when you read it one day to the next, providing just what you need to hear.
• Memorizing Scripture highlights certain phrases.
• The power of personal transformation from God’s Word.

Connect with Cari:

Blog :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Instagram

Show Notes:

• Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”
• Declare Conference
• “Oh Glorious Becoming”–book by Cari

an excerpt: 

God thinks it’s about time to reevaluate who you really are. It’s time to heal that broken heart and mend that torn spirit. It’s time to open the eyes of your heart to see what the Father, the King, really sees. What He sees is the royalty of a princess becoming all glorious within.

 The King’s daughter is all glorious within! (Psalm 45:13)

• Ephesians 1:17–“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”
  
• HelloMornings (new challenge registration starts next Monday, Sept 29th)
• Kat Lee–Inspired to Action
• For Cari’s ongoing Bible Study groups follow the hashtag: #goodmorningdarling on Twitter

What is your approach to reading & studying the Bible, for yourself?

She laughs big and she serves the Lord.

This perfectly describes today’s podcast guest, Kristi Griem.

From the moment I met Kristi, she impressed me with her passion to free people–women from sex trafficking, children from injustice and families from poverty.

Having followed the journey God has taken her on the last few years, I wanted to share the story with y’all.

My first goal is to inspire you to see how your past experiences intersect with your passions/talents, to be used for His glory. Your personal “work of worth”.

The second goal is to introduce you to a new way of buying gifts and products. Kristi connects international artisians (trying to break the poverty cycle or rehabilitate from atrocities) with the American market. Philanthropic entrepreneurship.

As current COO at Work of Worth International,  Kristi asked me to look over the products being sold and put pieces together I loved creating a collection you would love too.

I felt all sorts of fancy getting to “curate”. . .thought only designer types do such things. Here is the little collection I’ve gathered together. If you are interested in any of the pieces (ranging from $10 to $30), just click here.

In this episode we chat about:

• How growing up in Panama & Nicaragua contributed to Kristi’s familiarity with international living.
• How international mission approaches have changed.
• The use of social entrepeneurships to build relationships before sharing the gospel.
• The unique skills and care Freeset offers gals who have been rescued from sex trafficking
• The impact of emotional and physical trauma on the girls who are rescued, and their inability to follow complex directions.
• How God used a horrible tragic airplane crash to shine a light on the FreeSet ministry. . .beauty from ashes.
• The way the Lord led Kristi to a new opportunity with Work of Worth
• How she already had relationships with distributors to connect with international artisans.
• God using the intersection of your gifts/talents and your past experiences for His glory. . .there’s no “just” anything. No small thing in the Kingdom.

You know what you’re passionate about when your heart beats fast.            -Kristi Griem-

Connect with Kristi:

Blog :: Pinterest :: Twitter

Show Notes:

• Seed Effect (microfinance ministry)
• 10,000 Villages
• World Crafts
• FreeSet USA
• UPS crash
• Logan Wolfram
• Work of Worth

In today’s episode, my husband Bruce & I share the story of our last 3 years.  A period of time where his workload was heavy, children were all-consuming and personal time was almost non-existent.

Can you relate?

If your husband has (or you have) a demanding career, then hopefully our story will remind you you are not alone. Maybe hearing how we coped will give you ideas to keep your head above water. (And there are a few general marriage tips we throw in as a bonus).

What we talk about:

• Our brief summary of life for the past three years
• Sacrifice is bearable when doing something that matches your strengths/gifts
• How Heather was “awesome” 😉 while Bruce worked a lot
• Wives, guilt trips and making things worse
• When it feels like the hard times/challenges seem like they will never be over
• How wives can best help husbands–not what you think
• The importance of a strong marriage going into a season of a demanding career
• Spending money on date nights now versus counseling later
• Is it okay to go to bed angry?
• Timing for conversations is everything
• Understanding your spouse, how he/she is wired and what works best
• Sometimes challenging seasons can grow the communication of your marriage
• Double A Short Stop prospects (don’t even ask)
• Life is just hard . . .assume that as a baseline and everything else is gold.

Show Notes:

(Amazon Affliliate Links below)

• Men Are Like Waffles–Women Are Like Spaghetti: Understanding and Delighting in Your Differencesby Bill & Pam Farrel
• Mere Christianityby C.S. Lewis

Have you and your spouse ever been through a challenging season? What helped you “weather” the storm?