The Heidi St. John Podcast

This month at MomStrong International, we’ve been studying the topic of joy… but what happens when we’re walking through suffering? 1 Peter talks about suffering proportionately more than any other book in the Bible. In the passage we’ve been looking at, he draws on an illustration from Isaiah 43. Today, I will be teaching on the metaphor of the fire—but looking more closely at the “refiners” fire and the promise that comes with it. If you’re struggling to understand a purpose for your pain, listen in and be encouraged! Mentioned in Podcast Walking With God through Pain and Suffering, by Tim Keller Scriptures 1 Peter:3-7 Isaiah 43:1-3 1 Peter 4:19 1 Peter 5:10 2 Corinthians 6:8-10 Jeremiah 29:13 Ephesians 1:18-20

Gather your kids and listen for a few minutes as I read a story for your children about the treasured tradition of the Christmas tree. Merry Christmas, everyone! Thank you for being a part of the podcast community. We are thankful for you! The Legend of the Christmas Tree, by Rick OsBorne

Join me with my  guest, Ann Dunagan for a conversation that will help you keep Christ at the center of your Christmas celebration. Merry Christmas! Ann Dunagan is a missions leader with Harvest Ministry, director of Daring Daughters, mobilizer with Mission-Minded Families, and global-mom with 7 kids (and a growing number of married-in-spouses and grandchildren). Since 1987, the Dunagan family have been sharing the love of Jesus in over 100 nations, caring for 1000+ orphan children in Africa and Asia, and overseeing 450+ remote village churches. Ann’s books include: The Mission-Minded Child (for parents) The Mission-Minded Family (for parents), Teaching With God’s Heart for the World, Volumes I and II (for homeschooling families) The Scarlet Cord: Nothing but the Blood of Jesus (co-authored with her husband Jon Dunagan), The Whole World Needs Jesus (for children), and coming soon in 2018 . . . The Fishless Fisherman (for children)

In your part of the world, how do people define happiness? In other words, what’s the difference between happiness and JOY. You see, most people define happiness as a pleasure or an enjoyment. I’m telling you what – it’s found in the Word of God and in walking in right relationship with Him. Jesus isn’t hiding His JOY from you. He wants it to be in your grasp, and we’re talking about how to find it today! Scriptures in Podcast Psalm 63 1 Peter 1:3-9 NIV 1 Peter 1:3-5 ESV James 1:12 Romans 10:17 Habakkuk 3:17-19 Merry Christmas friends. This is Heidi St. John, welcome to the Heidi St. John podcast! Today is Wednesday December 19th. This is episode number 703. Today we’re going to be continuing the study at MomStrong International – InSearch of JOY. The JOY we are looking for is a deep foundational contentment. Let’s find out today how to get it! Stick around, I think you’re going to be encouraged!   All right you guys. So I am thrilled we are halfway through the month of December and just the other day we reached 10,000 members over at MomStrong International! So keep your eyes out on the forums, out on the chat rooms at MomStrong International – and we are going to start giving stuff away! I cannot wait to see what God does in 2019 as we study His Word and continue to dig deeper for the answers that we’re looking for as we grapple with the questions of the culture right now. Couple of things I want to let you know before we dig into today’s study. The first thing is that we have really amazing gift baskets for you at HeidiStJohn.com. If you search for the Heidi St. John Store you will see that we have necklaces. We have two different styles of arrows (here and here), and a Quiver Necklace, we have a brand new series of shirts in the store right now based out of the Psalms.One of them says He trains my hands for battle. These are great gifts for the women in your life and for the young girls! Their wonderful gifts for your daughters – to let them know that they are arrows in the hands of their warrior Father, The King of kings, and the Lord of lords. Also, you can get them in baskets. If you do the gift baskets they come with a limited release candle that has arrows, gold embossed arrows, all around it! So check it out at HeidiStJohn.com just click on the store and I hope that that will bless you! Also It blesses us – when you shop from that store it helps us with the ministry here. Also wanted to let you know that we believe that giving the gift of membership to

Anxiety is a real thing, and it seems to plague many today – myself included. Join me as we talk through Psalm 91 and see how the Lord wants us to deal with it. Can we be free?

Does parenting tweens have you question your sanity? Well guess what — it’s not us, it’s them! Hal and Melanie Young, award-winning authors, join Heidi today on the podcast to talk about parenting tweens and how to maneuver through this often challenging season of parenting. Hal and Melanie Young would like to offer you all a freebie – Christ-Centered Christmas. To get access to this freebie, head on over to their site RaisingRealMen.com/GuiftGuide (just scroll down to the bottom of that page). Hal and Melanie Young are publishers, writers, bloggers, and speakers known for their Christ-centered focus and practical real-life stories. Authors of the Christian Small Publishers Book of the Year, Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching,  and Appreciating Boys. They have also authored No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope and the Amazon bestseller Love, Honor, and Virtue: Gaining or Regaining a Biblical Attitude Toward Sexuality.  You can connect with them at RaisingRealMen.com for all sorts of resources – from wholesome gifts to parenting books, NoLongerLittle.com, and on their podcast at HalAndMelanie.com/radio.

As we get closer and closer to Christmas, the temptation to find joy in a delivery from Amazon is tempting—but God’s Word says that joy is the undercurrent of our lives as believers. It’s not dependent on circumstances, relationships or any other thing in our lives. Because of the depth of the undercurrent of joy in the life of a Christian, no matter what is happening on the surface, the undercurrent still moves with strength and stability when it is rooted in Christ. Join me today for a discussion from MomStrong International: In Search of Joy and be encouraged!

Recently, contemporary Christian music artist Lauren Daigle fumbled her way through what is arguable THE question that the church is grappling with: “Is homosexuality a sin?” But what if we all were ready to give an answer? Join Heidi today as she turns our attention to the our own responsibility to know and share the hope we have in Jesus with the world.

“Something within us changes when we understand and live as though Jesus cares about how we feel. And he does care!” Susie explains in Fully Alive. “He cares if our souls feel empty or are in distress. He cares if our bodies feel sick. He cares if our hearts ache or we are afraid. He is with us, and he offers to teach us.” Susie Larson is a popular media voice, bestselling author, and national speaker. A veteran of the fitness field, she has twice been voted a top-ten finalist for the John C. Maxwell Transformational Leadership Award. Susie’s passion is to see women awakened to the value of their souls, the depth of God’s love, and the height of their calling in Christ Jesus. Susie Larson is the author of sixteen books including Your Sacred Yes, Your Beautiful Purpose, Your Powerful Prayers, and her latest book: Fully Alive: Learning to Flourish – Mind, Body & Spirit (October 2018, Bethany House, a division of Baker Books).

Women, there is power in community. There is power in studying the Word of God and I want to just encourage and equip you and spur you on to love and good works as you grow in the grace and understanding of the Lord Jesus. This week we are studying in week one, In search of Joy, this idea of a longing for contentment.