Open Hands, Open Heart: Letting God Use You to Welcome the Hurting | Interview with Laura Baghdassarian Murray

Open Hands, Open Heart: Letting God Use You to Welcome the Hurting | Interview with Laura Baghdassarian Murray

by | Oct 13, 2025 | Uncategorized

Our world is in desperate need of bridge builders, meaning people who will reach their hand out to those who feel unseen or hurting. These days, we’ve narrowed our view of hospitality to HGTV and Instagram, but our hearts are more lonely than ever. During the Covid-19 pandemic, author Laura Baghdassarian Murray hosted a solitude and silence retreat via Zoom. As a result of that experience, Laura began to champion spaces where people could practice welcome and hospitality, even online. Join in for a thoughtful conversation about how you can open yourself up to letting God use you as a bridge builder to bless others.

 

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Connect with Laura on Instagram

Connect with Laura on Facebook

Becoming a Person of Welcome: The Spiritual Practice of Hospitality

Healed Hearts are Hospitable Hearts Worksheet

Visit Laura's Website

Learn More about Laura's Online Retreats Here!

 

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST

Laura Baghdassarian Murray (DMin, Fuller Seminary) is the director of spiritual engagement and innovation at Fuller Seminary's Center for Spiritual Formation. She is the author of Pray as You Are, serves on the Ministry Collaborative Advisory Board, and previously served at Highland Park Presbyterian Church as the pastor of spiritual formation. Laura is also the founder of the Digital Silent Retreat Ministry, which is rooted in the practice of hospitality to provide brave and courageous spaces for people to connect with and others (www.digitalsilentretreats.com). She lives in the Dallas area with her husband and two children

Experience Life-Transforming Power of Prayer

Pray Like This Bible Study by Barb Roose

 

As a Christian, you know you’re supposed to pray. But do you ever find yourself wrestling with any of these questions related to prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Am I still praying if I read pre-written prayers?

If you’ve pondered these questions or others about prayer, my Pray Like Bible Study is for you.

Even if you're a prayer warrior, Pray Like This sharpens your prayer focus and is a great resource for you to teach others about prayer.There's a reason why Jesus was passionate about prayer and I want to show you how!

Click Here
Your Confidence Compass: Navigating From Self-Doubt to God-Given Boldness | Interview with Lisa Allen

Your Confidence Compass: Navigating From Self-Doubt to God-Given Boldness | Interview with Lisa Allen

by | Oct 6, 2025 | Uncategorized

What do you wish you could do, but lack the confidence to do it? Do you wish that you were more like the women who get out there and get things done even when the odds seem against them?

Join Barb on this new episode of The Bold, Brave and Beautiful Podcast as she talks to confidence expert and her personal leadership coach, Lisa Allen. With over 20 years of coaching experience, Lisa has helped women collect the confidence God has for them and create action steps for their season ahead. Lisa is the author of the brand new book, Your Confidence Compass....From Self-Doubt to Self-Leadership, and will show us how confidence is not dependent on our circumstances, but on the God who holds all things together.

 

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Connect with Lisa on Instagram

Connect with Lisa on Facebook

Your Confidence Compass....From Self-Doubt to Self-Leadership

Visit Lisa's Website

 

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST

Lisa Allen is a Jesus-loving, coffee-loving, leopard-print loving woman. She has a passion for and connection to women and uses this passion as a speaker, coach and ministry leader. She comes with a combined two decades of non-profit leadership as an Executive Director at Proverbs 31 Ministries and as Women’s/Life Group Director of Forest Hill Church. These 20 years of experience give her a unique connection to and understanding of women of faith, women pursuing faith and women desiring to walk out their faith authentically.

Her experience as a board-certified life coach, author and speaker has uniquely prepared her as a popular keynote speaker, conference speaker or workshop facilitator. She has served on the Proverbs 31 Ministries Speaker Team for over a decade.

Her engaging messages leave her audience with a renewed passion, calling and confidence. Anyone who spends any time with Lisa can attest that she enjoys the certifications she’s received for Enneagram Training, Team Coaching, DISC Personality Profile and Gallup Clifton Strengths. Her book “Your Confidence Compass … From Self-Doubt to Self-Leadership” was released in April, 2025 and has helped women collect the confidence God is providing for them as they create action steps for their season ahead. Lisa lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband and has two grown, married children, a darling Yorkie, PJ and her first grandchild, Noah.

Experience Life-Transforming Power of Prayer

Pray Like This Bible Study by Barb Roose

 

As a Christian, you know you’re supposed to pray. But do you ever find yourself wrestling with any of these questions related to prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Am I still praying if I read pre-written prayers?

If you’ve pondered these questions or others about prayer, my Pray Like Bible Study is for you.

Even if you're a prayer warrior, Pray Like This sharpens your prayer focus and is a great resource for you to teach others about prayer.There's a reason why Jesus was passionate about prayer and I want to show you how!

Click Here
Mom Guilt & Meltdowns: Breaking Free from Anger, One Trigger at a Time | Interview with Amber Lia

Mom Guilt & Meltdowns: Breaking Free from Anger, One Trigger at a Time | Interview with Amber Lia

by | Sep 15, 2025 | Uncategorized

Moms don’t like to talk about the moments when they lose it on their kids. I’ve been there, and felt heaps of guilt. Yet, moms who struggle with anger don’t have to struggle alone.

Join me and best-selling author, Amber Lia, for an important conversation about her new devotional, Untriggered: 60 Days of Transformation for Moms Who Struggle with Anger. Amber shares encouragement for every mom longing for freedom from anger and the self-condemnation that often accompanies it. We’ll talk about how to invite God to help us parent with tenderness and patience. Amber will offer practical help and hope to you!

 

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Connect with Amber on Instagram

Connect with Amber on Facebook

UnTriggered: 60 Days of Transformation for Moms Who Struggle with Anger

Visit Amber's Website

 

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST

AMBER LIA, a former English teacher, has authored multiple bestselling books, including Food Triggers and Parenting Scripts. In her popular book, Triggers: Exchanging Parents' Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical Responses, Amber, and coauthor Wendy Speake guide parents toward peaceful parenting. She and her husband own a production company in Chattanooga, TN, and are parents to four boys ages 8 to 18. A certified independent health coach, Amber helps clients looking to live life to the full! When she's not searching for Nerf darts around her house, you can find Amber writing to encourage families on her website at AmberLia.com.

Experience Life-Transforming Power of Prayer

Pray Like This Bible Study by Barb Roose

 

As a Christian, you know you’re supposed to pray. But do you ever find yourself wrestling with any of these questions related to prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Am I still praying if I read pre-written prayers?

If you’ve pondered these questions or others about prayer, my Pray Like Bible Study is for you.

Even if you're a prayer warrior, Pray Like This sharpens your prayer focus and is a great resource for you to teach others about prayer.There's a reason why Jesus was passionate about prayer and I want to show you how!

Click Here
I opened a 5-year time capsule last week…

I opened a 5-year time capsule last week…

by | Sep 1, 2025 | Uncategorized

Hi Friends!
 
Today is an exciting day! I want to extend a big Happy Monday welcome to our newest friends. Ladies, if this is your first Happy Monday email, I'm so glad you're here. This is one of my favorite times of the week—gathering together with you. My hope in each devotion is to help you kick off your week with Jesus and, hopefully, a smile.
 
Here in our Happy Monday community, we dig into Scripture and talk about real-life things: letting go of control, overcoming worry, breaking free from stress and overwhelm, and stepping into God's great adventure of faith and purpose for our lives.
 
Today's devotional has a little bit of everything! I'm excited to share a five-year update on a special project I started during the pandemic.
Last Thursday, I opened my five-year gratitude time capsule. You might be wondering, what's a gratitude time capsule?
 
Here's the story: In Summer 2020, life felt upside down. I was healing from the trauma of our family's addiction crisis and divorce as well as adjusting to an empty nest while living alone during the pandemic. My faith was strong, but my mental health was struggling. I was surviving each day, but needed something to look forward to.
 
Back in 2011, I read Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts, where she wrote, “Gratitude is the birthplace of joy.” In Summer 2020, God brought that line back to me, sparking the idea for my time capsule.
 
I went to Dollar Tree, bought a pretty box for $5.00 and a big jar for $3.50. Then, I drove home and cut scrapbook paper into little squares. I made myself a promise: I'd write down at least one gratitude a day and place it into the jar. Then, I'd open the capsule in five years. 
 
During that long summer of uncertainty, I was able to see where God was working because I was intentionally looking for His hand moving in my life. One day at a time, I was reminded that He was taking care of me. I had no idea what the future would hold, but as my jar filled up on my kitchen table, my heart filled up with hope, too.
 
I shared my new gratitude project at my church in June 2020. During my message, I called this goal of looking for where God was at work in my life “Putting on Gratitude Glasses.”  One of our graphic designers made these glasses (see picture) for my message - I still have them in my home office!
The big idea from my message was simple: We practice giving thanks to God in everyday things so we will learn to give Him thanks in all things.
 
Here are a few of the gratitudes I tucked into my time capsule. You'll notice they aren't big or grand, but small, meaningful moments I recognized as God's grace and blessing. Taking time to write down these simple gratitudes added up to growing my joy, because I had a visible record of God's faithfulness right in front of me. Even though so much of my life had changed, I could see God's care for me.
That practice of gratitude later inspired a chapter in my Stronger Than Stress book (see pg. 184)  and Bible study. The scriptural foundation for that chapter is Psalm 100, a reminder that gratitude is like oxygen for our souls. I love sharing Eugene Peterson's interpretation of Psalm 100:
 
On your feet now—applaud God!
    Bring a gift of laughter,
    sing yourselves into his presence.
 
Know this: God is God, and God, God.
    He made us; we didn't make him.
    We're his people, his well-tended sheep.
 
 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
    Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
    Thank him. Worship him.
 
 For God is sheer beauty,
    all-generous in love,
    loyal always and ever. -Psalm 100 (The Message)
 
Can we say AMEN to this? Yes! 
 
Friends, thank you for joining me and letting me share about my gratitude time capsule. Here's a link to the Instagram post I shared on Thursday.
 
An Invitation for You
If you've been feeling negative, hopeless, or spiritually “meh,” can I encourage you to create a gratitude time capsule? You can do it on your own or with your family. Place the jar somewhere you'll see it often (like the kitchen table), so you'll be reminded to use it.
 
Or maybe you already have another gratitude practice, like journaling. If you have a creative idea, I'd love to hear about it! I'll share some of the most creative ones in next week's devotion.
 
Imperfect but Invited: How God Welcomes the Undeserving | Interview with Oghosa Iyamu

Imperfect but Invited: How God Welcomes the Undeserving | Interview with Oghosa Iyamu

by | Sep 1, 2025 | Uncategorized

Do you sometimes feel like an outsider in the Christian life? You may show up at church but you worry that you don’t always belong. Perhaps you’ve made mistakes in your past or you have secret struggles or problems that you don’t want to tell anyone about. Unfortunately, church has a reputation for condemning and kicking out instead of coming alongside those who have fallen down. 

Join me and author Oghosa Iyamu as we discuss God’s radical and generous hospitality to the undeserving regardless of our past, position or power. We discuss her new 6-week Bible study, Forever Welcomed: A Study on God’s Impartial Love for All. Our conversation will call all believers to reflect God’s vision and His kingdom, where all who come are forever welcomed.

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

Connect with Oghosa on Instagram

Connect with Oghosa on LinkedIn

Forever Welcomed: A Study on God’s Impartial Love for All

Visit Oghosa's Website

 

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST

Oghosa Iyamu, the daughter of Nigerian parents, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and author who is passionate about testifying to God's greatness. She is the host of the teaching podcast, Forever Welcomed, releasing this Fall. In addition to over twelve years in full-time ministry, Oghosa has studied at Dallas Theological Seminary, later graduating from Southwestern Theological Seminary, where she earned her Master of Divinity degree. She has written for YouVersion, She Reads Truth, Lifeway, Radical (a ministry by David Platt), Lies Young Women Believe, and many other platforms. Oghosa resides in Atlanta, GA

Experience Life-Transforming Power of Prayer

Pray Like This Bible Study by Barb Roose

 

As a Christian, you know you’re supposed to pray. But do you ever find yourself wrestling with any of these questions related to prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Do I have to pray the right way for God to answer my prayer?

Am I still praying if I read pre-written prayers?

If you’ve pondered these questions or others about prayer, my Pray Like Bible Study is for you.

Even if you're a prayer warrior, Pray Like This sharpens your prayer focus and is a great resource for you to teach others about prayer.There's a reason why Jesus was passionate about prayer and I want to show you how!

Click Here

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