thrivingbeyondbelief

Join me this week on Thriving Beyond Belief with my guest Rachel Macy Stafford.

In LIVE LOVE NOW Stafford shows readers how to become a truth-teller, encourager and guide to help young adults through the top stressors they face today—academic pressure, parental expectations, technoference, lack of purpose, isolation and the absence of effective coping skills.

Stafford bravely and beautifully weaves in her own parenting struggles and breakthroughs throughout the book. She exposes a season of personal depletion and overwhelm that culminated when she raised a casserole dish over her head and smashed it on the kitchen counter – a scene that every adult can relate to. Stafford was relieved that her apology to her teenage daughter, who had been a witness, was met with suggestions of loving, self-care tactics – ones that Rachel had modeled countless times to her family members during their difficult times.

Stafford says, “In the face of failure, shame, and embarrassment, in times of loss and rejection, in moments of pain and trauma, our kids will recall the moments they saw us struggle. But it won’t be the struggle that they will remember most, it will be the resilience, the effort, the refusal to give up and the willpower to keep trying.”

Join me this week on Thriving Beyond Belief for a solo episode! Let's talk 2020, half of 2021, struggles, joys, and thriving!!

Related Links:

• WEBSITE: JeffandCherylScruggs.com
• INSTAGRAM: @CherylScruggs
• AMAZON: I Do Again

Welcome back everyone! Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast is our guest, Kat Harris!

In Sexless in the City: A Sometimes Sassy, Sometimes Painful, Always Honest Look at Dating, Desire, and Sex

The popular podcast host and founder of The Refined Woman shares how she researched, wrestled, and discovered a God who wasn’t afraid or ashamed of sex and desire. Realizing countless women were dying to ask the same questions she was—and to get answers from a female who had actually walked the walk—Kat compiled her findings to empower women of faith to navigate today’s dating culture with vision, clarity, and freedom.

In a culture where relationships often begin by swiping right, does biblical wisdom about sex and dating still hold water? Having grown up in the height of the purity movement, approaching 30 and fresh to the dating scene in New York City, Kat Harris wasn’t so sure. Caught between the rules of her raising and popular culture’s do what feels good, she set out on a multi-year journey to find answers to her biggest questions about sexuality and faith.

Welcome back everyone! Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast is our guest, Todd & Brooke Tilghman!

So often we hear “Just keep your eye on the prize!” and “focus on the ‘big picture!’" Todd and Brooke Tilghman offer this counter-cultural advice: look for the small things, not the big things––relish each and every small step/moment.

When Todd Tilghman, pastor of two decades and father of eight from Meridian, Mississippi, auditioned for NBC’s The Voice, he counted it as a win simply to sing in front of an audience other than family and church members. Despite no music or vocal training, he not only made it through the blind audition––with all four celebrity judges vying to coach him––he also won the show's entire eighteenth season.

In their forthcoming book, Every Little Win: How Celebrating Small Victories can Lead to Big Joy (Thoman Nelson, June 22, 2021), Todd and his wife, Brooke, share how decades of unrelenting challenges have taught them a joyful mindset of embracing not only winning NBC’s The Voice, but also “every little win” along the way. This is the first book ever written by a winner of The Voice.

Fans were drawn to Todd's tremendous joy on stage, giving them much-needed inspiration during the hard challenges of a global pandemic. In Every Little Win, Todd and Brooke discuss how their focus on joy and celebrating every little win has helped them to overcome numerous challenges over their twenty-plus-year marriage. Todd and Brooke share the lessons they've learned and the strategies that have moved them from fear to faith to ever-present joy.

They share in the book, “We win as we discover that in God’s economy, brokenness leads to beauty, and scarcity to abundance.”

• Relationships––from being a young dating couple breaking up (for the sake of Christ), to getting married, to being at the brink of divorce, to reconciling, to facing the negative aspects of social media on relationships.
• Parenting––from adopting two girls on a pastor’s salary (which is practically impossible without an act of God), to parenting a critically ill child (and wondering why God doesn’t answer all our prayers for our children), to having to check one of their sons into a facility to get treatment for depression following bullying at school, to helping that same son later navigate “going viral” for his artwork.
• Handling adversity and cultural stressors––pastoring a church during times of adversity.
• Mental Health––from Brooke’s own battle with anxiety/depression, to how Todd learned to support and care for her in her darkest hours, to both Brooke and Todd parenting one of their children through depression.

Together, Todd and Brooke explain how to find special moments in the middle of ordinary days––from their childhoods to winning NBC’s The Voice and “every little win” in between. Through it all, Todd and Brooke count their blessings. This book isn’t sugar coated. It’s real. It’s honest. It’s intimate. And it’s hopeful.

Related Links:

• YOUTUBE: Todd Tilghman
• FACEBOOK: @toddtilghmanmusic
• INSTAGRAM: @toddtilghman

Welcome back everyone! Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast is our guest, Abby Turner!

Before the pandemic led to social gatherings being literally outlawed, the deck was already stacked against the everyday hostess who wanted to practice the discipline of hospitality in her home. A five-course meal? A beautifully curated tablescape? A hand-engraved invitation? A less-than-sparkling-clean home? Real or imagined, lofty prerequisites for entertaining have scared many away from inviting others into their homes and enjoying the unique, divine connection that happens only when people sit down around the table and enjoy a meal together.

Abby Turner, the food blogger and writer behind A Table Top Affair, has made it her mission to help women toss aside the pressures of a Pinterest-perfect dinner party in exchange for meaningful and simple gatherings that feature easy and delicious dishes, allowing hostesses to shift their focus from the food and party preparations to communing with the people who are present.

In her first cookbook, The Living Table: Recipes and Devotions for Everyday Get-Togethers (DaySpring, April 13, 2021), Turner equips women with the tools to live life as God intended around the table: simple, delicious recipes for life’s big and small occasions, a practical guide to no-fuss hosting, and devotions and encouragement for the hearts that will gather and be nourished around the table.

“The table is important,” writes Turner. “God, in His infinite wisdom, designed the table to be a safe place where the human soul receives healing from past events, forgiveness from past actions, and a deep-seated love that only comes from the presence of God.”

As a young professional, Abby found herself working long hours and living alone, with little time for community or friendships. Following her mother’s advice, she invited friends into her home and hosted her first dinner party at the age of 24. After four years of learning her way around the kitchen while cooking for her friends, she launched her blog, Pinterest and Instagram pages to encourage people who were stuck in a rut, didn’t know how to meet others, and were starving for community. Drawn to the table, Abby hopes that her recipes will inspire others to build their tribe and experience the presence of God, one meal at a time.

About the Author:

Abby Turner is a young professional who is single and loving life as a food blogger, speaker, and writer. Born into a large family, she grew up in Central Arkansas, where she learned the importance of community and Biblical hospitality at a young age. After completing undergraduate degrees at Ouachita Baptist University and obtaining her Master's from Baylor, Abby lived in 6 states in 5 years, learning that community is essential to a healthy relationship with Christ. Over the last few years, Abby has spoken at college/universities, churches, companies and has been featured on regional TV shows and podcasts. Abby's passion is to encourage women to stop wasting time waiting for the perfect family, house, or table and to start opening their homes, cooking for friends and building community. You can learn more about Abby and enjoy even more recipes by visiting her website at atabletopaffair.com.

Related Links:

• WEBSITE: atabletopaffair.com
• FACEBOOK: @atabletopaffair
• INSTAGRAM: @atabletopaffair
• PINTEREST: A Table Top Affair

Welcome back everyone! Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast is our guest, Hannah Brencher!

Hannah Brencher is a writer, TED Speaker, and mental health advocate with a heart for building leaders. She is the author of two best-selling books- “If You Find This Letter” and her latest book, “Come Matter Here.” Her forthcoming book "Fighting Forward" will be available in bookstores everywhere on January 5, 2020.

Related Links:

• WEBSITE: HannahBrencherCreative.com
• INSTAGRAM: @hannahbrencher
• TWITTER: @hannahbrencher
• FACEBOOK: /HannahBrencherSheats
• AMAZON: Fighting Forward: Your Nitty-Gritty Guide to Beating the Lies That Hold You Back

Today on Thriving Beyond Belief, we have Debra Fileta!

According to Fileta, people tend to assume they’re okay—until they’re not. Becoming healthy is an ongoing process that requires stopping, digging deep and asking the hard questions.

In her new book, Fileta challenges readers to get real with who they are and how they’re doing spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically so they can recognize where they need growth and healing. Readers will learn to...

• Understand and express emotions in healthy and helpful ways
• Get to the root of what they believe about themselves, others, and God
• Recognize the influences of past traumas and replace them with God’s truth
• Honestly assess their own mental health and pursue help when it’s needed
• Prioritize their physical well-being and see how it affects every other area of their life
• Combat commonly believed lies about mental illness such as “true believers don’t suffer from
  depression”
• Say “no” and set up healthy boundaries

Fileta knows firsthand that being a Christian doesn’t automatically make a person healthy. After 10+ years of marriage, 15 years of counseling clients, and four and a half books (she’s currently cowriting one with Gary Thomas), she not only possesses the knowledge and experience to coach readers on their journey to becoming more than okay––she has the heart for it. In Are You Really Okay? Fileta reveals some of her own traumas for the first time in print, including a miscarriage that nearly killed her and her deep struggles with both anxiety and depression––writing to her readers as if she were talking to a close friend and yet counseling them with the professional tools they need.

Today on Thriving Beyond Belief, we have Crystal Paine!

Crystal Paine had it all together—a happy marriage, three healthy children, national bestselling books, a wildly successful business, and a mortgage-free home—until suddenly, she didn’t. Her world turned upside down the day she learned her child was not only being expelled for bullying others, but was also depressed and suicidal. Sitting in an emergency room with her husband and child, her world crumbling around her, Crystal hit her all-time parenting low—but she also heard the voice of God say “I love you.”

“God allowed me to hit rock bottom so that He could help me relearn how to parent,”

writes Paine.

“I realized that most of my parenting had been about me. I was parenting for my own approval and reputation, instead of for my relationship with my kids and for their well-being. I cared more about what others thought than I did about my kids’ hearts. I worried more about producing kids who made good decisions than about kids who knew they were wholeheartedly loved.”

Throughout the book, Paine shares her own parenting stories—the good, the bad, and the ugly—what she’s learned, and how she’s shifted into a love-centered model of raising her children. And because you can’t give what you don’t have, she first had to let God reparent her, relearning to parent from the inside out.

Today on Thriving Beyond Belief, we have Kelsey Chapman!

Let's talk mentoring and mentorship!

Meet Kelsey Chapman

Kelsey Chapman is an author, podcaster and personal cheerleader to women building their dream life and business.

When she first launched her own brand in 2015, she felt all the overwhelming feelings, too. It was scary to take such a huge leap and commit to showing up for a dream she didn’t know would pan out.

People are CRAVING investment! Don’t we all just want someone to step in, help us walk the next few steps in front of us, and offer their wisdom so we can shortcut the distance?

• Your mentor is probably not going to be Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, or Bobbie Houston…
  How to find a mentor, that’s probably already in your inner circle, that will be *equally impactful* as one of those people you have on a pedestal in your mind!
• How to recognize mentors in your everyday life
  Sometimes our mentors are friends that make us feel at home in our own skin, strong women in our faith circles, or the mother and wife that we look at and think, “I want the life I see you building.”
• Want to be a mentor? How to get past imposter syndrome…Stop disqualifying yourself! The average mentor is just 3 steps ahead of their mentee. Someone, just a few steps behind you, would be honored for you to step into whatever facet of life they need support in.
• Standing as a daughter of God in the midst of your fears, I had a lot of fear growing up and even into adulthood - one of my mentors helped me face these with confidence knowing I was safe, loved, and empowered in my identity.
• Your mentor isn’t going to be perfect…
• You can learn from anyone. And it will be important to realize that as you get up close and personal with your mentor, they aren’t going to be killing it in every area. While you may be looking for mentorship on how to be an incredible person, you might realize they may not be killing it in the family department - and that’s OKAY! You can learn what you need from them and seek mentorship for another facet of life elsewhere.

Today on Thriving Beyond Belief, we have Tara-Leigh Cobble!

Despite an early introduction to Christianity, Tara wasted years coasting on the second-hand information she learned from others. In 2008, through the gentle encouragement of a friend, she read all the way through the Bible for the first time. It awakened a recognition of her need to have others walking closely alongside her in my pursuit of God -- people to hold her accountable for scripture memory and Bible reading and all the things that were bringing her so much newfound joy!

Out of that need, Tara started D-Group (Discipleship Group) a handful of college students in 2009 and it has grown into 250+ groups around the world. What she's learned has motivated her to encourage others to pursue relational knowledge of God, because she has found that He is where the joy is! She loves to speak to audiences about God and His Word, and she has written a few books with an aim to point others toward Him through her story as well as their own. She also writes and host a daily podcast called The Bible Recap, which aims to keep people connected to reading the Bible when they're tempted to quit for lack of understanding, as well as a daily radio show called The God Shot.

Tara lives in a concrete box in the skies of Dallas, TX, where she has no spouse, pets, or children -- or anything else that might die if she forget to feed it.

• WEBSITE: TaraLeighCobble.com
• TWITTER: @taraleighcobble
• THECONNEXTION: The Bible Recap Book

Today on Thriving Beyond Belief, we have Richard Lui!

Seven years ago, Richard Lui walked into his supervisor’s office at NBC’s 30 Rock headquarters, prepared to give up his dream news anchor job. Having just learned of his father’s Alzheimer’s, the journalist wanted to be with him during his important last years, even if it meant setting aside his career. Lui reduced his work hours and joined 53 million Americans in becoming a family caregiver. Enough About Me is inspired by that decision to live to take care of someone else.

Book: Enough About Me

The Unexpected Power of Selflessness

What if your path to a more successful, healthy, and satisfying life is actually not about you?

Richard Lui shares how one of the big ideas of our time is more in reach than we thought. How small choices toward selflessness are not a compromise. Choice by choice, step by step, we can do something bigger than ourselves.

• WEBSITE: Richard Lui
• INSTAGRAM: @richardlui
• TWITTER: @richardlui
• AMAZON: Enough About Me

Today on Thriving Beyond Belief, we have Noelle Mering! She an author and the Arts and Culture editor for Theology of Home. She studied philosophy and theatre at Westmont College in California and did graduate work in philosophy at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Noelle and her husband live in Southern California with their six children.

Related Links:

• WEBSITE: noellemering.com
• INSTAGRAM: @noellemering
• TWITTER: @noellem
• AMAZON: Theology of Home II: The Spiritual Art of Homemaking

The sting of rejection is one of those bitter parts of life that we can’t fully escape. Whether it happened in grade school or last week, rejection can leave deep scars that affect our relationships, our self-worth, and our identities for years to come. But instead of letting it weigh us down as we drown in despair, what if we used it to catapult us into profound healing, growth, and a deeper sense of love of self?

Popular dating coach and host of The Heart of Dating podcast Kait Warman has reckoned with rejection to find a life of freedom, wholeness, and purpose, and wants deep down for others to do the same. In her new book, Thank You for Rejecting Me: Transform Pain into Purpose and Learn to Fight for Yourself, Warman vulnerably shares how she grew through her deepest, darkest rejections and offers readers the tools to heal from the past, take back their power, and walk in strength, victory, and love into their future.

"My biggest life rejections have made me into the woman I am today," writes Warman. “They’ve led me to discover deeper parts of my soul, given me great endurance and profound strength, and helped me come face-toface with hidden wounds and grimy shame to experience healing and love. They’ve also taught me how to stand strong in my identity."

Warman’s incredible candor and openness coupled with a voice will encourage readers to acknowledge the pain of their past rejections, commit to finding the courage to move forward toward healing and wholeness, and to see and fight for their true, lovely, worthy selves.

Related Links:

• INSTAGRAM: @Kaitness
• WEBSITE: Kaitness.com
• PODCAST: The Heart of Dating

Jessica Procini is an Emotional Eating Healer and the founder of Escape From Emotional Eating®. She is on a mission to help others use food as fuel rather than a way to cope, soothe or escape their busy, stressful life.

She consciously created and specifically designed Escape From Emotional Eating from over a decade of research and her own emotional eating journey because Overeaters Anonymous didn’t resonate and therapy wasn’t enough when it came to getting help to fully end her fight with food.

Now being 100% free from her compulsions with food, she helps others do the same through all her levels of support, such as her retreats, called The ESCAPE, her year-long transformational programs and through her various public, talks, events and
workshops.

Jessica has been awarded the “Top Health Coach Award” by the Institute of Psychology of Eating three years in a row and has been featured on various media outlets such as CBS, Philadelphia Magazine and MindBodyGreen just to name a few. To learn more visit: www.EscapeFromEmotionalEating.com

Related Links:

• IG: @jessprocini
• FB: @escapefromemotioneating
• YouTube: Escape from Emotional Eating

The weight of our past, present, and uncertain future stops us and keeps us dead in our tracks. The all-too-familiar feeling of unworthiness becomes prominent, causing us to live from a place of fear and despair. But what if it chose to talk about it, rather than push it down?

Eryn Eddy has been there and wants readers to know the truth that changes everything: they are valuable. In her new book, So Worth Loving: How Discovering Your True Value Changes Everything, the speaker, creative director and founder of the So Worth Loving movement shares her stories and revelations, honest insights and the struggles she encountered in her pursuit to discover her worth.

“I’ve made some poor decisions in life; I’ve also made some bold decisions about moving forward and doing the best I can with what I know,” writes Eddy. “After my choices left me battling a diminished sense of self-esteem and wondering if I had a purpose on this earth, I didn’t have many places left to turn. So I took a chance and invited God in.”

This honest, openhearted book gives readers permission to feel deeply and openly, encouraging questions and inspiring the dedication to pursue authentic, candid answers. Eddy holds readers’ hands as they embark on a journey to discover and embrace what God believes about them: that they are so worth loving.

Related Links:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamErynEddy
• Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/eryneddy/?hl=en
• So Worth Loving: https://www.instagram.com/soworthloving/?hl=en
• Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/ErynEddy
• So Worth Loving: https://twitter.com/soworthloving
• Website: https://www.eryneddy.com/soworthloving

Allison Fallon is a bestselling author and founder of Find Your Voice—a community that offers workshops, coaching, editing and support for anyone who wants to write a book. She's written and published 13 books and counting, coached hundreds of writers from total beginners to New York Times Bestselling authors, hosted workshops all over the country and world, and helped hundreds of thousands of people use writing as a tool for their own personal growth.

Related Links:

• WEBSITE: allisonfallon.com
• INSTAGRAM: @allyfallon
• TWITTER: @missallyfallon
• AMAZON: The Power of Writing It Down: A Simple Habit to Unlock Your Brain and Reimagine Your Life

Today on Thriving Beyond Belief is Daryl Strawberry, an American former professional baseball right fielder and author who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout his career, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in the sport, known for his prodigious home runs and his intimidating presence in the batter's box with his 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) frame and his long, looping swing that elicited comparisons to Ted Williams'.

During his career, he helped lead the New York Mets to a World Series championship in 1986 and the New York Yankees to three World Series championships in 1996, 1998 and 1999. He was also suspended three times by MLB for substance abuse, leading to many narratives about his massive potential going unfulfilled. A popular player during his career, Strawberry was voted to the All-Star Game eight straight times from 1984 to 1991. Strawberry was formerly an analyst for SportsNet New York. His memoir, Straw: Finding My Way, written with author John Strausbaugh, was published in April 2009.

Related Links:

• WEBSITE: FindingYourWay.com
• INSTAGRAM: @darrylstrawberry18

Millennials might endure negative labels from older generations--lazy, broken, entitled, lost--but the most damaging labels are the ones we use on ourselves. Words are powerful. Even when they aren't true, they can begin to shape our perceptions of ourselves and the decisions we make. Yet the only labels that really matter to this, the largest and most diverse generation yet, are the ones with which God originally designated us. What does he call our generation? Sons and daughters.

We are called to change the world and make a huge impact for the kingdom, but we can't do that if we allow ourselves to believe the limiting labels we hear every day. Instead, Arden Bevere calls you to:

• know what it means to be a son or daughter of God
• see how God uses the seemingly negative things in our lives for good
• take control of our thoughts and words and replace them with God's thoughts and words
• find freedom from addiction, fear, doubts, regrets, and more

Your life is not an accident, a disappointment, or an inconvenience to God. It's time to redefine, embrace, and walk in your true identity as his beloved child who will do great things in his name. Let Arden Bevere, a positive voice in this generation, show you the way.

Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Tod Jacobs and Peter Lynn from Not a Partnership!

About the Authors:

Tod Jacobs

Tod Jacobs is Director of the David Robinson Institute for Jewish Heritage in Jerusalem, which he co-founded in 2005. Prior to his current role teaching and counseling his students and alumni, he enjoyed a distinguished career on Wall Street as one of the leading authorities on the telecommunications industry globally. As a managing director at JP Morgan and before that a partner at Sanford C. Bernstein and Company, Tod acted as a frequent commentator on network television and in leading newspapers and magazines, and testified several times before the U.S. Congress as an expert on telecom and media issues. His credits in print and broadcast journalism, where he worked prior to Wall Street, include nominations for both the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism and the Emmy Award. Tod lives in Jerusalem with his family.

Dr. Peter Lynn

Peter Lynn has served as Dean of Students at the David Robinson Institute for Jewish Heritage since its inception. An MA in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania and a PsyD in Human and Organizational Psychology, Peter lectures at Touro College in Jerusalem. He is also the Founder and Director of Greatness Within Seminars, where he helps empower individuals and organizations through the application of Positive Psychology. An accomplished athlete and Ironman finisher, Peter was captain of the U.S. World Duathlon Team. Peter lives in Jerusalem with his family.

Related Links:

• WEBSITE: Tod Jacobs and Peter Lynn from Not a Partnership
• INSTAGRAM: @notapartnership
• AMAZON: Not A Partnership

In 2009, Lara Casey—PowerSheets® creator, best-selling author, and mom to three—wrote a blog post ("How to Make Things Happen") in an attempt to answer the many emails she received asking, "how do you do it all?"

The blog post received a flurry of responses, resonating with hundreds of people. It sparked a movement that turned into the Making Things Happen Conference a decade ago, where she continues to lead attendees through our proven process to uncover what truly matters to them and do something about it. Those same principles are in every page of the PowerSheets® Intentional Goal Planner, our cornerstone product that has sparked powerful and positive change in thousands of women's lives across the world.

Recognize her from somewhere else? For 10 years we published the acclaimed print magazine Southern Weddings, encouraging brides to plan meaningful celebrations and even more beautiful marriages. We were honored to partner with the best vendors in the business, including Southern Living Magazine, and to publish a beloved wedding planner you can still buy today. Though SW retired in 2018 so our team could focus on helping women cultivate what matters in every season of life, SW's legacy lives on!