The Call to Women in Faith Podcast

Monday gets a bad reputation, but what if the problem is not the day? This episode unpacks why a faithful, purposeful routine is something to be embraced, not endured. Drawing from Proverbs 18 and 31 and Genesis 1, the speaker explores what God actually meant when He gave us dominion, and what the Hebrew word chagar reveals about what it means to “set about your work vigorously.” This one is for anyone who wants to stop drifting into their week and start girding up for it.

I tried a self-help book on forgiveness once. It did not work. The flaw was in the word “self.” In this episode, I talk about what happened when I finally brought the burden of unforgiveness to God, and what He showed me on a walk through autumn leaves about judgment, Satan, and the devious scheme we are all being pulled into without realizing it. Here is the thing about the people who hurt us: they are victims too. Try saving a trapped creature with teeth to see what a victim can do.

What do a stolen glass of milk, a remote rainforest, and the apostle Paul have in common? Hope. Not the wishful kind, but the kind Paul describes in Romans 8: excited anticipation, the joy of the journey, the unbearable excitement of knowing something glorious is coming. In this episode, I take you from a childhood summer with a stray cat named Fluffy, to the jungles of Costa Rica, to the heart of what it means to wait on God with expectation. The destination will be magnificent. But the journey? Do not sleep through it.

Satan has been meddling, stirring things up, and causing division since the beginning of man. And his most dangerous tool is not outright evil. It is the subtle kind, the shades of gray, the gentle nudges that slowly pull us away from the One who died for us. In this episode, we talk about keeping our eyes on our Good Shepherd, even when the lies feel like truth and the disruptions feel like defeat. If the devil is throwing obstacles at you, you are probably right where God wants you to be.

I am on church number three. And during my travels, I have visited at least seven more. Each one warm and welcoming at first, and then, once you try to get involved, the drama unfurls. In this episode, I ask the honest question: is it them, or is it me? And what do the apostles actually expect of us as members of the body of Christ? Spoiler: it is a lot more than warming the pew. Look upward and be what you expect others to be.

What if the relationship you have been praying for has been waiting on you all along? In this episode we start with an honest confession: I have been expecting God to do everything. He died for us, rose for us, dwells within us, gave us the Bible, and forgave every sin, mistake, and transgression. And yet somehow we sit back and wait for Him to form the relationship too. David did not wait. In Psalm 63 he described a dry and parched land with no water, a world where sin reigns and there is no recourse, and he thirsted for God the way a man thirsts for water in the desert. That thirst is the whole point. A relationship with the One who bought our freedom with His blood will bring immense joy and feel like a cool drink of water on a hot desert noon. John tells us in his first epistle that our fellowship is with the Father AND the Son. And Psalm 16:11 reminds us that in His presence is fullness of joy, pleasures forevermore. All we need to do is remove the distractions, put down the doom scrolling, and spend some honest time with Him. The water is already there.

When trials hit, the world hands us a long list of inspirational one-liners. Be strong. Be bold. Be determined. My pick me up phrase is simpler and more powerful than any of them: trust in God's plan. In this episode we meet Twinkle, a sweet, scared four year old on her first night at Kid's Club, clinging to her teacher's hand because her big sister vouched for her. She would not eat without help. She would not move without permission. She craned her neck across a crowded room to spot the one person who made her feel safe. And in that small, scared, twinkling-eyed little girl we see ourselves. Paul tells us in Romans 5 that tribulations produce perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope. Twinkle is living that out in real time. And so was Jesus in Gethsemane, clinging to His Father through the darkest night in human history, all the way to the sweet conquest of death and resurrection. We have been asked by the One who proved it at the cross to trust our Father in Heaven. His hand is outstretched. Do you see it? Hold onto it. He will not let you go.

What do a grandmother's love, a little boy's eyes lighting up at seeing himself as the hero of a story, and the most widely read book in human history have in common? Love. In this episode we continue our exploration of the compulsion of love by asking a simple but staggering question: what has God actually done to show us He loves us? The answer is overwhelming. He created us in His perfect image and made us the protagonists of His story. He placed us in situations perfectly suited for us and works alongside us, within us, and around us every single day. He died. He resurrected. He gave us the Holy Spirit. And then, as if all of that were not enough, He gave us the Bible. If you are feeling unworthy or unloved today, slow down and listen. The Creator of the universe is practically screaming at the top of His lungs that He loves you. This is love like none other.

It is the question Jesus asked His disciples and it is the question that frames a Christian walk. In this episode we start with one woman's unwavering answer: He is love incarnate. Every blog, every podcast, every piece of writing comes back to the same underlying premise. God is love and everything He does, creates, protects, provides, corrects, and transforms, flows from that love. Not from obligation. Not from duty. From compulsion. William Barclay's study guide on Romans introduces the distinction between the compulsion of service and the compulsion of love, and it is a distinction worth sitting with. Because most of us have been doing one when we thought we were doing the other. Then comes the confession: I was a selfish brat until love overpowered me. A kind, selfless hunk of a husband, four unruly boys, and a valley walk orchestrated by God changed everything. What I discovered is that love is not a decision you make. It is a force that makes you. If a selfish brat can be transformed by love, the Author of love can do infinitely more with you. He already proved it at the cross. To me, being Christlike is to love like Him, or die trying.

It started with a wintry memory lane, a hill covered in ice, and a woman from the land of sunshine hitting the panic switch. What happened next was a masterclass in preparation, resilience, and quiet competency from a hunk of a husband with snow chains, a Bobcat, and a very well stocked pantry. If I can place my hope in God's creation and not be disappointed, how much more should I hope in God? The hunk with the snow chains points to the One who made the snow. In this episode we follow a chippy little prayer through a Holy Hour discovery of the Hebrew word Tiqvah, a taut cord connecting you to the one you are waiting for, and the Greek word elpis, not the neutral wishful thinking of the ancient world but the active, certain, unshakeable expectation of those who know Jesus Christ. He is not a neutral maybe. He is a living hope. He is on the other end of that cord, holding on tightly, and He is not letting go. With Him on the other side of hope, you have nothing to lose.