The Mary Marantz Show

Are you weighed down, exhausted, and overwhelmed by your daily life? Do you feel disconnected from yourself and God? During a season of loss, Hosanna Wong felt stuck.  The things that she had built her life on that she believed would last suddenly were crumbling down. Deep within herself, she knew there was more to her life but it seemed impossible to pinpoint her discontentment when she didn’t even know who she was anymore.  If you feel stuck in your patterns of thinking or defined by what you offer over who you are this episode is for you! Join Hosanna and Mary as they discuss what reconciling her story taught her about herself and why we can only be defined by the One who created us. Tune in to hear: What we can learn from David’s journey to fight Goliath The four rhythms we need to sustain our daily lives Why the fight for our lives begins with our schedules   As Hosanna shares, an identity crisis is never something we would intentionally seek out but there is complete intention in us reaching the end of ourselves.  You are not crazy in feeling lost or confused, you have just been told lies your whole life, and now is the time to recover what is actually true.  Today is the day you stop seeing yourself through the broken lens of others and through the eye of your Creator. Friend, you are more than you were told.  Follow Hosanna here! https://www.instagram.com/hosanna.wong/ Check out her new book here: https://www.hosannawong.com/youaremorethanyouvebeentold For full episodes notes, head to:  https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow   More About Hosanna: Hosanna Wong is an international speaker, best-selling author and spoken word artist helping everyday people know Jesus for real. Widely known for her spoken word piece, “I Have A New Name,” Hosanna shares in churches, conferences, prisons, and other events around the world, reaching across various denominations, backgrounds and cultures.   Born and raised in an urban ministry on the streets of San Francisco, Hosanna later packed her life into suitcases and traveled to churches and other ministries throughout the United States to share about Jesus through spoken word poetry. During those years without a permanent home, she began speaking and creating resources to serve the local and global Church.  Hosanna currently travels and speaks year-round, and serves on teaching teams at churches throughout the United States. Hosanna is the best-selling author of How (Not) to Save the World. Her new book, You Are More Than You’ve Been Told is available now!

Do you feel stuck and isolated in the season you are in? Are you tired of trying to make things happen in your own strength or figuring out what God is up to?  Married with a new baby, today’s guest felt like she was living a completely different life from the one where she KNEW who she was. Where was the girl she once knew? As the image she created crumbled to the ground, she began to see that what she thought she was losing was actually leading her into truly discovering herself.  Join Ashley and Mary as they discuss the dangers of defining our own identity and how our frustrations can help reveal our core pain. On today’s episode you will hear,  How letting go leads us back to ourselves What we can learn from Jacob’s wrestle with God Why today’s honesty can be a catalyst for generations to come   Whether you feel like your pain has stolen the best of who you are or you are just over being stuck in the season you are in, this episode is a must listen. Even though it feels like you are far from seeing that light at the end of the tunnel friend, don’t let go. What if this disruption is not an interruption but an invitation to rediscover who you were made to be? Follow Ashley here! https://www.instagram.com/ashley.morgan.jackson/   Check out her new book here: https://www.tyndale.com/p/tired-of-trying/9781496471895   For full episodes notes, head to:  https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow More About Ashley: Ashley Morgan Jackson is an author, speaker, and social media expert. She works full-time for Proverbs 31 Ministries and has ministered to her own online community for over ten years. She is passionate about women learning to let go of the lie that they have to perform for God’s love and instead realizing that they can receive His love, just as they are. Ashley is a wife of fourteen years to her wonderful husband, Daniel, and a mom to two growing boys. The family lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you asked Ashley what her favorite thing to do is, she would say it’s laughing till it hurts!

Do you ever feel…lonely? “What happens in loneliness is you become fractured inside, your soul is not right and you are not well because you were made for people. There is a wholeness, integrity and non-fractured nature to our life when we live it amongst friends.” For today’s guest, an act of vulnerability laid the groundwork for a life changing perspective on the value of community and a passion for breaking barriers of connection.  So, whether you are looking for ways to build new friendships or practical ways to strengthen the foundation you have laid, today’s episode will be one you return to again and again.  Join Justin and Mary as they discuss the epidemic of loneliness and the reason why friendship is a spiritual discipline. Tune in to hear,  What two rhythms you need to start putting into practice in your relationships How to show and not tell about our lives The three principles of building covenantal friendship   If you find yourself in a season of loneliness or living a life in which you just feel on your own, covenant friendships is in reach. But as Justin reminds us, what we are truly longing for often lies just beyond the intersection of risk, vulnerability and a little bit of awkwardness.   So take the first step, you already have the line: Do you want to be best friends?     Follow Justin here! https://www.instagram.com/justinwhitmelearley/ Check out his new book here:  https://www.zondervan.com/p/made-for-people/    For full episodes notes, head to:  https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow More About Justin: Justin Whitmel Earley is a writer, speaker, and lawyer. He is the author of the award-winning books Habits of the Household and The Common Rule, though he spends most days running his business law practice. Through his writing and speaking, Justin empowers God’s people to thrive through life-giving habits that form them in the love of God and neighbor. His latest book, Made for People, delves deep into the profound impact of friendship and offers transformative strategies to combat loneliness. He lives with his wife and four boys in Richmond, Virginia, and spends a lot of time around fires and porches with friends.

When did you first become aware of how others perceived you?  Out of a dream she had for herself and her community, Natalie Franke found herself leading a rapidly expanding community of independent business owners. But as her impact grew, so did the weight of others' perceptions - ultimately clouding her own sense of direction.  If the thoughts and words of others have kept you playing small, today's episode will provide you with keys to unlock your potential within. Join Natalie and Mary on today’s episode as they discuss the inner work that helped Natalie lean into a gutsy life and the necessity of just doing the thing scared. Tune in to hear: What your jealousy can teach you Why you need to audit your inner circle The two definitions you have to write for yourself The third time is the charm for Natalie and she continues to leave us wanting more. There is no doubt that her dedication to the hard work of self-reflection and evaluation will be a catalyst for you today.  Consider today’s episode the push you have been waiting for to step beyond the limitations of your past into the gutsy life only you can live. Go ahead, make yourself proud.   Follow Natalie here! https://www.instagram.com/nataliefranke/ Check out her new book here: https://nataliefranke.com/gutsy For full episodes notes, head to:  https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow   More About Natalie: Natalie Franke is a writer, entrepreneur, community builder, neuroscience nerd, podcaster, and mama bear for small businesses. She is also the Chief Evangelist at HoneyBook where she champions a community of over 100,000 independent business owners. From navigating a benign brain tumor diagnosis to undergoing neurosurgery, to battling infertility for years–Natalie has faced her fears time and time again. Her lived experiences have shaped her understanding of courage and inspired her to write her new book, Gutsy: Learning to Live with Bold, Brave, and Boundless Courage, from a place of true vulnerability. Gutsy is a roadmap to a life brimming with curiosity, confidence, and fulfillment that ultimately offers the hope that embracing how you feel about yourself matters more than how others feel about you.       

Just as Brittany Bruce and her family started their summer vacation at their new condo, the call came in that their business had just hit seven figures.  But rather than experiencing a feeling of ‘I’ve made it’ - she was left with a feeling of ‘now what?’ And what she heard next from God was not what she was expecting.  This led her on a journey of learning that His voice is less about strengthening our own ability to hear answers and more about practicing the discipline of being in relationship with Him. Join Brittany and me as we discuss the temptation of ‘doing’ over ‘being’ and three principles to guide your time with God. On today’s episode, you will hear, The four ways God speaks to us Why we shouldn’t rely on open and closed doors What Brittany learned from her kids and a plate of chocolate chip cookies If you want to grow in your understanding of how God speaks to you or are longing for guidance on how to quiet the noise of life and amplify His whisper, this episode is for you.  So today, what would it take for you to make space for His whisper?    Follow Brittany here! https://www.instagram.com/brittanycbruce/ Check out her educational resources here: https://brittanybruceeducation.com/ For full episodes notes, head to:  https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow   More About Brittany: Brittany Bruce is a believer, wife, mom to four, educator, and host of The Brittany Bruce Show.  Faith is the cornerstone of her life and business and she loves digging into the Word to uncover mind-blowing discoveries about her Lord and Savior, Jesus. As the founder of Brittany Bruce Education, Brittany provides a space for women to grow in their understanding of the Word and be rooted in a community that helps them discover their God-given calling. Her hope is that as women embrace and apply the scriptures they will experience greater freedom not only in their lives but in their business’.  

Do you find yourself not getting much joy from the things that used to light you up? Do you feel stuck in the breakneck pace of proving and projecting a perfect life?  Out of our own perception of the voices around us, social media, our culture, and even our own expectations, we create and chase our definition of ‘perfect’  So what would happen if we gave up the chase? Wouldn’t anything less than perfect just be ordinary? Today’s guest felt like an ordinary life was a consolation prize to the life she dreamed of but when everything she had worked for fell crumbling to the ground, she began to realize she may have missed the point.  Join Mikala and Mary as they discuss how compliance can be our source of control and what we can learn from our littlest selves as we pursue the ordinary in our life. Tune in today to hear,  Why we need to define our ambition The list that will help you realign your priorities  How to protect your heart while opening your hands with your story   This episode is a powerful example of the impact of truth-telling and the courage it takes to surrender your story. So, whether you find yourself in desperate need of a change or a reminder to reassess your ambition, today’s episode is for you.  Because life isn’t built on the highlight reel, but rather the ordinary moments we experience each and every day. Follow Mikala here! https://www.instagram.com/ordinaryonpurpose/ Check out her new book here: https://www.ordinaryonpurpose.com/my-book For full episodes notes, head to:  https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow More About Mikala: Mikala Albertson is a wife, mother, family practice doctor, author, and wholeness advocate who is passionate about the work of healing in our everyday, ordinary lives. In her recent book, Ordinary On Purpose: Surrendering Perfect and Discovering Beauty Amid the Rubble, Mikala shares the raw and revealing story of how chasing perfect brought her to her breaking point and how she desperately needed to embrace the ordinary in her life. Ordinary On Purpose is an invitation for you to lay down your own endless chase for perfection and embrace this beautiful, messy life exactly as it is, with our perfect, loving God right by your side. Because, life happens in the ordinary, after all.

Chelsey and Stephen Diaz had accomplished every entrepreneur's dream of a successful business, yet the pressure and weight of it all began bearing down on them. What Chelsey and Stephen would experience next, was a string of events that would work to dismantle the limiting beliefs in their lives and open them to the limitless economy of the Kingdom.  Join Chelsey, Stephen and Mary as they discuss strategies to flip the narrative money has over your life and the three limiting beliefs to let go of today. Tune in to hear,  How to shift your perspective from scarcity to abundance The importance of identifying the why beneath your financial goals What the true enemy of creation is This episode is challenging and thought provoking but as Stephen shares, the truth is in the tension. It is in our willingness to be honest about where we are and where we hope to be that we can name what is actually holding us back...ourselves.  If the words you speak become your thoughts that become your beliefs that become your actions and ultimately become your future -- what do you want to say next? Follow Chelsey & Stephen here! https://www.instagram.com/therainmakerfamily/ Check out The Rainmaker Movement here: https://therainmakerfamily.com/ For full episodes notes, head to: https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow   More About Chelsey and Stephen: Stephen and Chelsey are photographers, podcasters, coaches, entrepreneurs and the founding partnership behind The Rainmaker family, a movement of Moms on mission to secure their families financial future. Focused on e-commerce and digital products, they coach families through how to create their own brands, manage manufacturing, and then leverage one of the #1 largest opportunities to sell products online, Amazon FBA. They are passionate about encouraging and empowering two key things through their work, family and finances. Because they believe that deeper connections and financial freedom can enable others to step more into their why and ultimately build a successful business that doesn’t have to be at the cost of their family.  

Never would Mattie Jackson have imagined that at the age of twenty-eight, she would be suddenly widowed just 3 weeks shy of her first wedding anniversary.   Did God cause this to happen? Or, did He just allow it? Amidst the tension of the God she knew and the reality she was living, the only way she believed she could make sense of the pain was by wrestling her way to answers.  So join Mattie and Mary on today’s episode as they discuss the purpose God brought out of her pain and how she is learning to move forward in faith, not fear.   Tune in to hear,  How God redeems in the details The grief rhythm that helped Mattie process her pain Why answers won’t give us the comfort we long for   Mattie’s loss may not hold the same details as your own experience but it is your story, too. Because to live in the depth of love and joy is to open ourselves to the risk of loss and sorrow.  But friend, the absence of the gift we long for doesn’t mean there isn’t also treasure to be found in the midst of our grief.   Follow Mattie here! https://www.instagram.com/mattiejackson/?hl=en Check out her book here: https://www.thomasnelson.com/p/lemons-on-friday/ For full episodes notes, head to:  https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow   More About Mattie: Mattie Jackson is an author, podcaster, speaker, and co-founder of NaSHEville, a women's philanthropic apparel brand serving orphans, widows, and victims of human trafficking. In her first book, Lemons on Friday: Trusting God Through My Greatest Heartbreak, released in November of 2021, she chronicles the first three years of grieving her husband and her marriage. As she shares her grief, her healing, and her unshakeable faith with the world, her single greatest desire is to lead people to hope. "If someone suffering any sort of loss can hear what I've walked through and see hope in my story, then maybe they can walk away seeing a little more hope in their own."  

Jillian Benfield’s life changed in the matter of a 20-second phone call. At the point of absolute destruction, there are more questions than answers, but if you too find yourself surrounded by rubble and ash, Jillian’s healing story is precisely what you need to hear.  Jillian and Mary discuss the possibility at the other end of your pain and the four things to cling to when it all goes wrong. Tune in to hear,  The difference between overcoming and undergoing Why you don’t have to call your unexpected circumstances good What our grief can tell us about what we really have propped ourselves on   In the grip of pain and loss, we would give anything to live a different life or change our circumstances so that we can get back to ourselves. But friend, let today's episode be here to remind you that there will come a moment when you realize you wouldn’t trade your story any longer because of who you have become through it all.  Give yourself over to the process.  Armorless. Honest. Open.  Follow Jillian here! https://www.instagram.com/jillianbenfieldblog/?hl=en Check out her new book here: https://jillianbenfield.com/book/ For full episodes notes, head to:  https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow   More About Jillian: Jillian Benfield is a former TV News anchor/reporter turned author, speaker, military wife, parent advocate, and mom of three living an unexpected life.  In the last eight years, she and her family have lived in  5 different states, experienced a NICU stay and open heart surgery for their second child, a miscarriage, and then a rare diagnosis for their third child. By far, the biggest unexpected moment came though when, at 27 years old, she and her husband found out their second child, Anderson, would be born with Down syndrome. The most difficult and also the most beautiful experience of her life. In her new book, The Gift of The Unexpected: Discovering Who You Were Meant to Be When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned, Jillian shares how she discovered who she was and who God wanted her to become as she opened herself to the pain of that season. She believes the unexpected can help us live into our God-dreamed entireties- that is if we resist society’s insistence to overcome the unexpected and undergo it instead. Because there can be a gift in the unexpected, you made new.  

What does it take for you to start creating?  Do you need a specific rhythm or routine to help you settle into the process? Or, uninterrupted time in your favorite spot at home or out in nature?  Creativity is messy, vulnerable, time-consuming, and hard work. It takes effort and courage to open ourselves to an imperfect process, let alone have the patience to see it through. But what if we stopped viewing it as a hobby and started treating it as a sacred practice? Today, join Ashlee and Mary, as they lean into what really holds us back from creating and how to move creativity from the margins to the marrow of our lives.  Tune in to hear,  What developing film taught her about the creative process Why you really aren’t taking steps to start How to grab onto stubborn hope What the real cost of monetization is The signs to look for when transitioning your passion to full time    The truth is, there will always be a million reasons not to create but the time to start is now. So, whether you feel like you aren’t ready yet or your own expectations are limiting the process, let today be the permission you need to create anyway.  You were made for this. Now, creativity is calling, are you ready to answer?   Follow Ashlee here! https://www.instagram.com/ashleegadd/ Check out her new book here: https://www.ashleegadd.com/book For full episodes notes, head to:  https://marymarantz.com/themarymarantzshow More About Ashlee: Ashlee Gadd is a writer, photographer, and the ultimate hype girl for all things motherhood & creativity. Out of those two passions, she recently released her first book entitled, Create Anyway: The Joy of Pursuing Creativity in the Margins of Motherhood.  One-part commissioning, one-part pep talk, Create Anyway will propel you forward with a renewed sense of energy, purpose, and enthusiasm for stewarding the creative dreams God has planted in your heart. Because no matter the season, creativity does not have to be at odds with your life.