Journeywomen

On this episode of the Journeywomen podcast I had the privilege of chatting with Carla Weathersbee, a family friend and expert on marriage. We talked about everything from the purpose of marriage and how marriage points us to the Gospel to fighting for oneness within our unique marriages. Carla and her husband Byron founded Legacy Family Ministries to pass Biblical principles from one generation to another through marriage preparation classes and Family Camps. Carla serves as Executive Director of Summers Mill Retreat and Conference Center. She leads the women’s ministry in their church, teaches a weekly Bible study, and disciples young women. Together, the Weathersbees have written and developed various marriage prep resources over the past 20 years while working directly with pre-engaged and engaged couples. All of that to say, Carla’s got a lot to say about marriage and I cannot wait for ya’ll to get to hear from her! CARLA’S RESOURCES What’s It Like to Be Married to Me? by Linda Dillow Sacred Marriage by Gary ThomasE.V. Hill preaching his wife’s funeral CARLA’S SIMPLE JOYSHaving people in my homeGolf cart rides / being in natureKombucha and Brookside Chocolate CONNECT WITH CARLAWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter SPONSORSHIP DETAILSYou know that building community is good for both people and business. But many apartment residents are completely disconnected from their neighbors. Apartment Life places CARES Teams to live onsite in apartments to welcome new residents, plan social events, and look for ways to love their neighbors as themselves. Because of our CARES Teams, apartment owners see improved resident satisfaction, retention, and online reputation. It also changes lives. www.apartmentlife.org SPONSORSHIP DETAILSElisabeth Young of ElisaAnne Calligraphy always knew that God blessed her with artistic talent and a heart for entrepreneurship. Since 2014 she has been pursuing her love of calligraphy and design by offering custom wedding invitations for the elegant and timeless bride. After your wedding, the flowers will fade, the cake will be eaten, and your dress will be pressed and delicately boxed for safekeeping; but your wedding invitations will be one of the tangible heirlooms that forever remind you of the special and holy celebration you had that day! From custom wedding crests featuring artwork that represents you and your fiancé, to breathtaking venue illustrations, Elisabeth can create multiple different elements for your invitations that will make them special, personal, and, dare I say, simply too beautiful for your guests to throw away. For 10% off any of Elisabeth’s custom wedding invitation packages, make sure to mention that you heard about ElisaAnne Calligraphy on the Journeywomen podcast. Visit www.elisaannecalligraphy.com today to submit a wedding invitation inquiry and receive your free consultation & quote! FOR MORE:Subscribe: iTunes | AndroidFollow Us: Website | Instagram | FacebookSupport the podcast by writing a review*Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen! 

In light of the upcoming holiday, I decided to bring one of the coolest single ladies I know to chat about singleness. Happy Valentines Day, single ladies! Today’s guest, Becca Harris, is 36, single, loves Jesus, and is mama to two young men that she adopted out of foster care who are now 20 and 17 years old. Becca’s boys moved in when they were 14 and 11. They were 16 and 13 when she adopted them. Becca and I talked about everything from Jesus’ life as a single man to what it looks like to submit our desires to the Lord without shutting the doors on our dreams. Even if you’re not single, you’ll want to stick around to learn how we can love our single friends better, but beyond that, Becca’s story is an incredible one to hear in general, regardless of your current season. I’m certain it will stir your affections for Jesus and inspire you to walk in obedience to whatever He asks of you.I walked away from this conversation inspired to happily follow Jesus in whatever it is that He sets before me. I hope you find Becca’s obedience to Christ just as inspiring as I do! This conversation is actually the second of five episodes we’re putting out on the topic of relationships. If you’re new, be sure to hop back to last week’s episode with Kim Vollendorf on Intimacy with God and subscribe to the podcast to catch next week’s episode on dating! To continue discussing relationships in light of the Gospel throughout the week, find us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter! Thanks so much for allowing us to journey alongside you! Have a great week! We can’t wait to see you here, next Monday. BECCA’S RESOURCESWhen People Are Big and God Is Small by Edward T. Welch Not Yet Married by Marshall Segal (audiobook)A Praying Life by Paul Miller  BECCA’S SIMPLE JOYSKidsBeing active and being outsideBeing with friends over a good meal and games  CONNECT WITH BECCAFacebookInstagramTwitter SPONSORSHIP DETAILSYou know that building community is good for both people and business. But many apartment residents are completely disconnected from their neighbors. Apartment Life places CARES Teams to live onsite in apartments to welcome new residents, plan social events, and look for ways to love their neighbors as themselves. Because of our CARES Teams, apartment owners see improved resident satisfaction, retention, and online reputation. It also changes lives. www.apartmentlife.org FOR MORE:Subscribe: iTunes | AndroidFollow Us: Website | Instagram | FacebookSupport the podcast by writing a review*Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!

On this episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I chatted with Kim Vollendorf about intimacy with God. This is the first of five episodes that we’re releasing on the topic of relationships, just in time for February, the all-too-anticipated month of love, which, can we all just be honest with ourselves and admit that we long to experience?On today’s episode, Kim and I discussed the foundation for true, selfless love, which is intimacy with God. Intimacy, or into-me-you-see, is a thread that weaves its way through each of the conversations we’re releasing on the topic of relationships, but it’s worth noting that this thread existed before humanity ever came into being, as God Himself experienced intimacy with the persons of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. The Trinity eternally existed in relationship. Meaning, God didn’t create humanity because He was lonely or in need because there is rich fellowship within the members of the Trinity. He made us in His image and after His likeness and because of that, we were created to be in intimate relationships too, just like Him. That’s why He said, “It is not good that man should be alone.”So God created Eve, a helpmate for Adam, someone like him, someone with whom Adam would experience knowing and being known. But not long after Adam and Eve were created, something terrible happened to this divine image when they disobeyed God’s command not to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree. When they took and ate of the tree, the image of God in humans was twisted and damaged. We are still his image-bearers, but that image has been perverted throughout generations. We’re all longing for the image to be restored to its original beauty, but God intends to go beyond even what Adam and Eve experienced in the garden by conforming us into the image of Christ as we experience intimacy with Him.There is nothing casual about the way in which God knows us. Scripture says that He has searched and known us, He knows when we sit and when we rise, He discerns our thoughts from afar. He searches out our path and our lying down; He is acquainted with all our ways. Even before a word is on our tongues He knows it. He knows all things, including absolutely everything about us. The reason He searches and knows us is because He loves us. So much so, that He sent His Son down to earth to die so that we could enter into relationship with Him, by the power of His Spirit, and once again experience intimacy with Him.The cry of the human heart is to belong, to be loved, and to experience the ultimate intimacy that can only be found in relationship with God. By the power of the Spirit, our identification, our oneness, and our intimacy with Jesus conforms us into His image, which deepens and enriches our human relationships too! If we know that we’re loved by the Sovereign God, it frees us up to be open and intimate in our personal relationships as well. Today Kim and I talk about how we enter into relationship with God by the power of His Spirit, through relationship with His Son, and how knowing who God is actually cultivates intimacy with Him and with others. This is a huge topic and by no means is this conversation exhaustive, but we hope it will offer some practical tools to help you posture yourself towards intimacy with God.On a personal level, you may not go about this by creating a handy alphabet like Kim did, but I want to encourage you to invest time getting to know God through His Word, whatever that looks like for you. KIM'S RESOURCES Daily time in God’s WordKim’s ABC Bookmark Sex and the Single Girl by Dr. Juli Slattery (resources on intimacy from biblical perspective)  CONNECT WITH KIMWebsiteInstagramTwitter FOR MORE:Subscribe: iTunes | AndroidFollow Us: Website | Instagram | FacebookSupport the podcast by writing a review*Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!

On today’s episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I chatted with Kristin Schmucker about one of my absolute favorite topics (which if you’ve been around for longer than 2 seconds you can probably already guess is…) Biblical literacy. We discussed everything from why we, as women, need the Bible, to what it might look like to gracefully prioritize this spiritual discipline from the Gospel. As a wife and a mama to three precious girls and one adorable little boy, Kristin knows the challenges that come with demanding life seasons. Through it all, Kristin’s passion for equipping and encouraging women to know and love God's Word remains the same, because she knows from experience that studying Scripture changes lives. The desire of her heart is to help women see who God is and that the truth of His Word actually changes everything. I hope this episode leaves you all inspired and challenged to pick up your Bible, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been studying it for years. After listening to this episode, you will absolutely walk away with some helpful tools for your pursuit of Biblical literacy, but even more than that, I pray you will strive for Biblical literacy from a place of rest, believing that if you are in Christ, nothing can make you more loved than you are already are in Him. Not even the pursuit of something as excellent as Biblical literacy will make any of us more presentable to God. We are saved by works, but it is Christ’s works! Resting in what Christ has done for us brings a deep, soulful kind of rest that enables us to strive towards godliness as we study God’s Word. KRISTIN’S RESOURCESGet plugged into a solid, Gospel-centered church and study the Word in communityDaily Grace Company on Facebook Blue Letter Bible AppThe Daily Grace Company KRISTIN’S SIMPLE JOYSSunday afternoons Volcano candles from AnthroTheological conversations OTHER RESOURCES Relating to our Emotions with Amy Waters | Ep. 06Journeywomen Bible Study Resources CONNECT WITH KRISTINWebsiteFacebookInstagramThe Daily Grace Co Instagram Journeywomen comes alongside women to move them to know and love God and his Word, to find hope in the gospel, and to invest deeply in their local churches as they go out on mission for the glory of God.We would love for you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to Journeywomen at journeywomenpodcast.com/give. FOR MORE Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook Share the podcast by writing a review Interviews do not imply Journeywomen’s endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned. Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!

On today’s episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I chatted with Maggie Combs about the deep desires of our hearts that cause real grief when they remain unfulfilled. Maggie is the author of UnsuperMommy and mama to her three busy boys: Isaac, Zander, and Judah. She blames their unending energy and solid build completely on her tall, active husband, Wes. Maggie and I talked about everything from why God allows some of our desires to go unmet to where the Gospel meets us in those unmet expectations. She said,“Only in nearness to God will we have all of our desire fulfilled. I like to call this holy discontent. This means that the purpose of this unmet desire is to constantly remind you that only God will satisfy the unending desire of your heart. Elizabeth Elliot says, ‘Heaven is not here, it’s there. If we were given all that we wanted here our hearts would settle for this world and not the next.’ So this holy discontentment is a kindness to keep us longing for more of God.” Maggie literally had me saying, “Amen,” throughout the podcast which thankfully, doesn’t happen often, but I know you guys will be fist pumping with me as she gracefully and powerfully brings the truth on this episode. I hope ya’ll enjoy it as much as I did!MAGGIE’S RESOURCES Words Worth Noting Grief and Sorrow Cards Sovereign by Chris Tomlin God is Good by Dustin Kensrue Biblical Counseling CCEF Faith Biblical Counseling Conference OTHER RESOURCES Gospel Treason by Brad Bigney Gospel Treason Sermon by Brad Bigney The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis Embrace the Life God has Given You Video by John Piper YouVersion App Bible.is App CONNECT WITH MAGGIE Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Journeywomen comes alongside women to move them to know and love God and his Word, to find hope in the gospel, and to invest deeply in their local churches as they go out on mission for the glory of God.We would love for you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to Journeywomen at journeywomenpodcast.com/give. FOR MORE Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook Share the podcast by writing a review Interviews do not imply Journeywomen’s endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned. Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!

On today’s episode of Journeywomen, I chatted with my former pastor and friend Brad Evangelista about spiritual disciplines. Ya’ll, I cried twice in this episode! That’s a first for me! Brad and I talked about everything from the goal of practicing the spiritual disciplines to how doing so will flesh itself out differently based on our season of life. Hello, mamas! This quote brought on the waterworks, “There’s a 25 or maybe 30-year-old mom that may be listening to this and right now one of the fruits that God is building in her life is not feelings of awesomeness, but right now he’s developing in her life spiritual grit. He’s putting calluses, spiritually speaking, on her hands, so that when she is a 55 or 60 year-old-woman 20 or 30 years from now, she’s going to be able to come alongside a young, tired, struggling, frustrated, mom and say, ‘Sister, you’re going to make it,’ and that’s the fruit that God is producing and anchoring and digging deep into a young woman’s life right now. And the thing is, I would say to that sister is just, ‘Hold on, the harvest will come in and through your life of godliness, but it takes time! It takes time.’” I hope that you guys find this conversation as encouraging and grace-filled as I did. BRAD’S RESOURCES Spiritual Disciplines by Donald S. Whitney The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burrough A Little Book on the Christian Life by John CalvinMarinating yourself in an epistle by simply reading it over-and-over BRAD’S SIMPLE JOYSHis familyPreaching the WordThe local church OTHER RESOURCES The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness by Timothy Keller The Expulsive Power of a New Affection Thomas Chalmers Puritan Paperbacks printed by Banner of Truth CONNECT WITH BRADWebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitterJourneywomen comes alongside women to move them to know and love God and his Word, to find hope in the gospel, and to invest deeply in their local churches as they go out on mission for the glory of God.We would love for you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to Journeywomen at journeywomenpodcast.com/give. FOR MORE Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook Share the podcast by writing a review Interviews do not imply Journeywomen’s endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned. Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!

On this episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I chatted with Ashlee Gadd about stewarding our gifts. We talked about everything from how to determine what our giftings actually are to how we can use them for God’s glory and not our own. Ashlee is a wife, mother, self-taught writer and photographer from Sacramento, California. When she’s not dancing in the kitchen with her two boys, she loves curling up with a good book, lounging in the sunshine, and making friends on the Internet. Ashlee loves writing about everything from motherhood and marriage to friendship and faith. Running Coffee + Crumbs is her dream job, x 100. Listen to what she said when I asked her about using our gifts in spite of insecurity we might feel. “We were talking about the fall in Genesis when Adam and Eve are hiding from God and then Adam finally shows his face and explains to God that they were hiding because they were naked. Then God says, ‘Who told you that?’ Four words. It’s such a simple question, but it’s one that I can actually return to over and over again when I’m feeling insecurity and those lies are creeping in and strangling me… If I start putting an actual voice to the lies that I am hearing it becomes easier to know what, and more important who, to believe.” I really appreciated Ashlee’s vulnerability, particularly on the topic of stewarding our gifts. If you’d like to connect with Ashlee for more wisdom nuggets like these or listen to the Coffee and Crumbs podcast you can find all of that information listed on our website.ASHLEE’S RESOURCES “A Million Little Ways” by Emily P. Freeman Enneagram Asking your church what you can do for them ASHLEE’S SIMPLE JOYS Popcorn Candelles Trader Joe’s Flowers OTHER RESOURCES "The Magic of Motherhood" by Ashlee Gadd “The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness” by Timothy Keller “Free of Me” by Sharon Hodde Miller Journeywomen comes alongside women to move them to know and love God and his Word, to find hope in the gospel, and to invest deeply in their local churches as they go out on mission for the glory of God.We would love for you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to Journeywomen at journeywomenpodcast.com/give. FOR MORE Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook Share the podcast by writing a review Interviews do not imply Journeywomen’s endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned. Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!

On this episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I chatted with my friend, Kimberly Wootten, about all things Christmas! Kimbo and I took the three simple joys concept and extended it to three things about Christmas, like three Christmas traditions, three things we want our kids to know about Christmas, and for all of you last-minute shoppers, three gifts you can give, no purchase required. As wonderful as the gifts, traditions, and symbolism around Christmas can be, we’re right there with you feeling on the brink of overwhelmed and over-programmed. If you’re burned out by all that you’ve committed to, we want to encourage you with the grace of the true Christmas message: we don’t have to do it all because Christ has done it all for us. Praise the Lord that even in the hustle of the holidays we are presented with practical opportunities to embrace the actual meaning of Christmas as we look away from ourselves and look to Jesus. We hope you feel encouraged to do that even now!Journeywomen comes alongside women to move them to know and love God and his Word, to find hope in the gospel, and to invest deeply in their local churches as they go out on mission for the glory of God.We would love for you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to Journeywomen at journeywomenpodcast.com/give. FOR MORE Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook Share the podcast by writing a review Interviews do not imply Journeywomen’s endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned. Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!

On this episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I chatted with one of my own favorite podcasters, Jamie Ivey, about supporting and encouraging other women. Though I’m sure you probably know her, Jamie is a wife, mother of 4, blogger, podcaster, and author. She hosts one of my go-to podcasts called “The Happy Hour” and is releasing a book in January of 2018 titled "If Only You Knew: My Unlikely, Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free." Through her podcast, Jamie cheers other women on in a way that encourages them to do what they do with excellence for the glory of God! We chatted about everything from our own struggle with comparison to how the Gospel enables us to freely celebrate what God is doing in the lives of our sisters in Christ.RESOURCES Work with kids and ask yourself how you can do that in other areas of your life too Find people who are ahead of you in marriage that you admire and invite yourself over to their house. Ask them to hang out. Jamie’s Podcast The Happy Hour  JAMIE’S SIMPLE JOYS Watching her pets play outside. Her kid’s 6th grade band concert. She said it’s the worst thing she’s ever heard, but she was so proud! Spending time together as a family. CONNECT WITH JAMIE Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Journeywomen comes alongside women to move them to know and love God and his Word, to find hope in the gospel, and to invest deeply in their local churches as they go out on mission for the glory of God.We would love for you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to Journeywomen at journeywomenpodcast.com/give. FOR MORE Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook Share the podcast by writing a review Interviews do not imply Journeywomen’s endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned. Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!

On this episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I chatted with Emily Jensen about idols of the heart. We discuss everything from our personal struggles with idolatry to practical ways we can move forward in repentance after seeing our sin. If you know Emily, it goes without saying that we talked about resting in the grace of the Gospel. She said, “It’s always important to remember with idolatry like, this isn’t something that we do on our own. This is something God did on our behalf. That causes us to just be humble and grateful and in awe of God. That’s a key thing. When we are in awe of God and when we are grateful for what he has done, it makes us want to worship Him more and it helps us deal with our idol problem.”EMILY’S RESOURCES X Ray Questions by David Powleson Knowing the Bible so that we can counsel our hearts with it Praying in accordance with God’s will Community: surrounding ourselves with people who are going to encourage us to believe the truth How People Change by Paul David Tripp New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp Awe by Paul David Tripp Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul David Tripp Parenting by Paul David Tripp A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent EMILY’S SIMPLE JOYS Magic Merlin Sleep Suit Hymns on Youtube like He will Hold Me Fast, How Firm a Foundation, Come Ye Sinners, Not in Me, I Asked the Lord Wood burning fires (indoor) CONNECT WITH EMILY Website Facebook Instagram Risen Motherhood Instagram Journeywomen comes alongside women to move them to know and love God and his Word, to find hope in the gospel, and to invest deeply in their local churches as they go out on mission for the glory of God.We would love for you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to Journeywomen at journeywomenpodcast.com/give. FOR MORE Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook Share the podcast by writing a review Interviews do not imply Journeywomen’s endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned. Affiliate links used are used where appropriate. Thank you for supporting the products that support Journeywomen!