Don't Mom Alone Podcast

What is a place you’d rather not go? One that sounds nearly unbearable. The DMV? The school pick-up line?  What about going into a serious medical diagnosis or a financial crisis?  Following Jesus is no safeguard against difficulty in life. God may give you an assignment that feels impossible and overwhelming. That is where my guest this week, mom and author/speaker Cari Trotter, found herself in early 2021.  But what Cari also found in those hellish months following a difficult diagnosis echoed what concentration camp survivor Victor Frankl says, “Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.”  Cari’s life shifted in an instant and her identity, health, and expectations of the future shifted too. But she found a solid rock to anchor to in her relationship with God - wherever he was leading her. However dark or lonely the path she was never alone. Her meaning and purpose were not gone because the Lord was her strength and her song. She is right where she belongs.  Connect with Cari Trotter:  Website:  https://www.caritrotter.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caritrotter1  Instagram:  @cari.trotter  Twitter: @caritrotter  Links Mentioned:   Struck: One Christian’s Reflections on Encountering Death by Russ Ramsey Every Moment Holy, Volume I: New Liturgies for Daily Life by Douglas Kaine McKelvey    Related Episodes: Two Questions for a Glorious Becoming :: Cari Trotter [Ep 40] Week Six Summer of Mentorship 2020 :: Stacey Thacker  You Are Never Alone :: Max Lucado [Ep 298] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.   

Have you ever seen a “magic towel” that swells and “grows” when you put it in water? Have you shrunk a shirt in the laundry? At different times in our lives God assigns us a space that we have to shrink or swell to occupy. This could mean giving up beloved roles, or taking on responsibilities we don’t want. How do we respond when we find ourselves in these situations?  My guest this week is Courtney Defeo. At God’s leading she stepped back from a high-profile career and dreams of being a CEO so her husband could step forward in his career pursuits. She put certain things on hold to create the family and home culture she wants. While at first glance it might seem like she’s squandering her talent and intellect, when she looks around her life she sees things that can only be done now. She feels the freedom to use her gifts in the spaces she’s in now.  Connect with [Courtney DeFeo]:  Website:  https://courtneydefeo.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CourtneyDeFeoPage/  Instagram:  @courtney_defeo Links Mentioned:   Right Where You Belong by Heather MacFadyen  Treasured Journal: An Interactive Experience for a Tween Girl & Her Mom by Courtney DeFeo  In This House, We Will Giggle: Making Virtues, Love, and Laughter a Daily Part of Your Family Life by Courtney DeFeo  Raising Them Ready: Practical Ways to Prepare Your Kids for Life on Their Own by Jonathan & Erica Catherman   Related Episodes: Uninvited :: Lysa TerKeurst, Kay Wyma, & Courtney DeFeo [Ep 131] Light ‘Em Up :: Courtney DeFeo [Ep 50] Inner Healing Prayer :: Jennifer Barnett [Ep 323] Listening to the Lord :: Kelsey Phillips [Ep 279] Available Now:  Heather’s new book, “Right Where You Belong” is now available wherever books are sold.  Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.   

What is my God-given space? How do I figure that out? What if my God-given assignments feel at odds with one another?  My guest this week is wife, mom, and singer-songwriter Caroline Cobb. She also deeply enjoys studying the Bible and writing songs, and at times, with little margin in her life, she has asked those questions and more. She shares with us how she learned to lean in, not to the perfect formula for time management and balance, but to the relationship she had with God and his daily and minute-by-minute leadings.  Connect with Caroline Cobb:  Website:  https://www.carolinecobb.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolinecobbmusic  Instagram:  @carolinecobbmusic  Spotify: Caroline Cobb  YouTube: Caroline Cobb  Links Mentioned:   Caroline’s albums  Psalms: the Poetry of Prayer Album Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy With God by Timothy Keller  Related Episodes: Listening to the Lord :: Kelsey Philips [Ep 279] Thinking Differently About Rhythms of Rest :: Shelly Miller [Ep 181] Sunday Planning :: Retha Nichole [Ep 349] Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space and receive a FREE audiobook copy narrated by Heather MacFadyen (offer expires 4/18) Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.   

What is unique about your life experience? Was your first thought, “Nothing”? Even the life that feels ho-hum is unique because no one else is wired precisely like you are, experiencing life precisely like you are.  My guest this week is author, speaker, and mom, Sally Clarkson. Having moved 23 times in her life she has had to find things she can take with her wherever she goes. A favorite of hers is connecting with people over tea. She encourages us to adopt simple rhythms that fit our experience and wiring and allow us to connect with who and what matters most to us.   Connect with Sally Clarkson:  Website:  https://sallyclarkson.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealsallyclarkson/  Instagram:  @sally.clarkson Links Mentioned:    Tea Time Discipleship: Sharing Faith One Cup at a Time by Sally Clarkson  Related Episodes: Weathering Life’s Storms :: Sally Clarkson [Ep 336] Week Four Summer of Mentorship :: Sally Clarkson Cultivating Friendships in a World of Isolation :: Sally Clarkson [Ep 233]  Choose What Matters to You :: Kendra Adachii [Ep 293] Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space and receive a FREE audiobook copy, narrated by Heather MacFadyen Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.   

What do you think when you hear the word “boundary”? Boundaries keep things in, keep things out, and help us feel safe. But they can also feel limiting, and we don’t always get to choose our boundaries. That’s where my guest this week, Cleere Cherry Reaves, encourages us to humbly submit to the space and assignment God has given us. Through her experience as a follower of Christ and a mom, she reminds us of this: in whatever way we are experiencing the boundaries of time and place, we can control where we spend our attention, our perspective, and how we inhabit our God-given space.  Connect with Cleere Cherry Reaves:  Website:  https://www.cleerelystated.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cleerelystated/  Instagram:  @cleerelystated  Links Mentioned:    The Miracle of You by Cleere Cherry Reaves  Related Episodes: Praising Through the Pain of Physical Limitations :: Karen Harmon [Ep 231] Signpost Parenting :: Ann Voskamp [Ep 394]  Recovering from Mom Burnout :: Nicole Zasowski [Ep 357] Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space and fill out the form to get a FREE audiobook copy narrated by Heather. Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.   

What would it look like for you to live your best life? What if someone told you that you already are living your best life? Not because you’ve accomplished and arranged things just how you want, but because not only is God with you exactly where you are, but because he purposefully placed you there.  My guest this week, author and mom Vaneetha Risner, encourages us with her harrowing story of intense suffering and God meeting her right in its midst. Frustrated by circumstances and eager to experience God in the same manner others did she felt the Lord gently saying to her, “This is where I've placed you. This is where I'm gonna meet you. I'm not gonna expect you to climb mountains or do things you can't do to meet me.”  Do you feel out of place? Are you looking for the unique and specific ways God wants to use you? Join us for a series focused around my new book, Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space. We’ll walk together through six stories of women leaning into the varied assignments God has given them.   Connect with Vaneetha Risner:  Website:  https://www.vaneetha.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vaneetharisner  Instagram:  @vaneetharisner  Twitter: @vaneetharisner    Links Mentioned:   Walking Through Fire: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption by Vaneetha Risner Desperate for Hope: Questions We Ask God in Suffering, Loss, and Longing by Vaneetha Risner (Bible Study)  The Scars That Have Shaped Me: How God Meets Us in Suffering by Vaneetha Risner Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense by Paul David Tripp Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller  A Lifetime of Wisdom: Embracing the Way God Heals You by Joni Eareckson Tada   Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space and receive a FREE audiobook copy, narrated by Heather MacFadyen Related Episodes: The Good God Wants for Our Families :: Paul David Tripp [Ep 285] Bottles of Hope :: Lindsey Wheeler [Ep 386] Faith for the Unexpected :: Christine Caine [Ep 202] Brave Enough to be Broken :: Toni Collier [Ep 388] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

What does strength look like to you? Does it look like white knuckling it, holding your breath? Or does it look like putting your oxygen mask on first, and then attending to the needs of others?  We all want to, need to be strong for those around us. But my guest this week reminds us there is a cost to being certain kinds of strong. Aundi Kolber is an author and therapist and her new book, Strong Like Water, helps unpack what true strength looks like and feels like and how to get there. In our conversation she encourages us in the practices of self-compassion and grounding and helps us see how white knuckling it is actually detrimental to our relationships and if we will pay attention to ourselves we can show up better for the people we hold dear.  Connect with Aundi Kolber:  Website:  https://aundikolber.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aundikolberwrites  Instagram:  @aundikolber  Twitter: @aundikolber    Links Mentioned:   Strong Like Water: Finding the Freedom, Safety, and Compassion to Move Through Hard Things – And Experience True Flourishing by Aundi Kolber  Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us Out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode –and into a Life of Connection and Joy by Aundi Kolber    Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space and receive a FREE audiobook copy, narrated by Heather MacFadyen Related Episodes: The Window of Tolerance :: Charissa Fry [Ep 260] True Intimacy with God :: Mo Isom Aiken [Ep 318] Quiet Your Inner Critic and Practice Self-Compassion :: Kim Frederickson [Ep 188] Walking Through Seasons of Unbelonging :: Shauna Niequist [Ep 362] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.   

12Where do you turn for answers? Answers in parenting, answers in your career, answers when you encounter the negativity that seems to be lurking around every corner of life these days? My guest this week is a mom who came to a crossroads early in her parenting journey - what will I teach my kids about God? What do I even know about God?  In the hiddens years of mothering her small children a deep relationship with God was forged that would serve as the foundation for Candace Cameron Bure’s life. It directs how she mothers, her return to the entertainment industry, and her forays into entrepreneurship.  Candace is, among many other titles, host of the Candace Cameron Bure Podcast where Heather will join her as co-host for season 2 of the show!  Connect with Candace Cameron Bure:  Website:  https://candacecbure.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candacecameron  Instagram:  @candacebure @candacecameronburepodcast  Twitter: @candacebure  TikTok: candacecameronb Links Mentioned:   The Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Cobble Candace Cameron Bure Podcast  Candace’s Clothing Line  DaySpring Candace Cameron Bure Collection Related Episodes: How to be Calm and Kind Under Pressure :: Candace Cameron Bure [Ep 223]   Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space

Join Bruce and Heather for a Q + A episode where they talk about the importance of connection and communication in their marriage (Happy 24th Anniversary!  🎉🥳) and what it looks like to be in the thick of parenting teens.  Links Mentioned:    Champion Tribes Feeding the Mouth That Bites You: A Complete Guide to Parenting Adolescents and Launching Them Into the World by Kenneth Wilgus, PhD.  Townsend Sheet of Emotional Needs (scroll down below the show notes)   Related Episodes: Communication that Connects :: Kimberly Galindo [Ep 396] Freeing Your Adolescents to Step Into Adulthood - Ages and Stages - Teens :: Dr. Ken Wilgus [Ep 382 Bruce Learns to Label His Feelings :: Bruce and Heather  [Ep 316] 20th Anniversary Q + A :: Bruce and Heather [Ep 242] The Right to Change My Mind :: Bruce and Heather [Ep 196] This is Us :: Bruce and Heather [Ep 145] Goals, Roles, and Superpowers :: Bruce and Heather MacFadyen [Ep 112]   Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

What does a child need to flourish? There are a million answers to that question, but in all honesty, it’s a little different for each child. We have so many tools available to us to help us see our own personalities and tendencies more clearly. My guest this week is mom and author Karen Stubbs. She challenges us to be students of our kids’ personalities - to tell them the way they are wired is a good gift from God. She encourages us to learn our kids. Not just to correct or discipline them, but to celebrate the way God has made them, help them grow into their strengths, and give them eyes to see their weakness with kindness and grace. Through her ministry, Birds on a Wire, parents can take a quiz to help understand their child’s unique personality and then be equipped to shepherd each unique personality well.  Connect with Karen Stubbs:  Website:  https://birdsonawiremoms.com/karenstubbs  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BirdsonaWireMoms/  Instagram: @karenstubbs  @birdsonawiremoms  Twitter: @BOAWMoms  Podcast: Wire Talk Links Mentioned:   Personality Plus for Parents: Understanding What Makes Your Child Tick by Florence Littauer  Birds on a Wire Personality Color Quiz Wire Talk Podcast Series on Personality  The Art of Motherhood by Karen Stubbs  Survival Guide to Motherhood: Learn to Thrive, Not Just Survive by Karen Stubbs PDF:: How to Parent Each Type  Related Episodes: Honoring Others :: Rachel Wade [Ep 348]  Temperament Guide: Help for All Types of Moms to All Types of Kids [Ep 14]  Understanding Boys Better :: David Thomas [Ep 315] Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.