Many of us are carrying so many burdens and responsibilities that at times it feels like we will be crushed beneath the weight of them.
Join us for this week's conversation as Barb speaks with speaker, former Proverbs 31 Ministries staffer and best-selling author Ashley Morgan Jackson about burnout, grace, and accepting God's gift of rest in the tough seasons of waiting.
Ashley shares from her life as she recovers from burnout. This conversation is gift of grace and vulnerability that will be a blessing to anyone near burnout or looking for hope in the midst of burnout.
Ashley Morgan Jacksonis an author, speaker, and social media expert. She formerly worked full-time for Proverbs 31 Ministries and has ministered to her online community for 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 realize 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, NC.
If you love to-do lists, then you’re going to love my conversation with Katie M. Reid, author of Made Like Martha: Good News for the Woman Who Gets Things Done. Katie is a self-described modern-day Martha who struggled with the well-known story of two women with two different approaches to life in Luke 10.
Have you ever read the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10? It’s a story of two women named Martha and Mary. In one particular situation, Martha worked to get her home prepared to offer hospitality while her sister, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. When Martha asked Jesus to instruct Mary to help, Jesus answered with the following words: “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all of these details. There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:41-42 NLT)
Too many of us have read this story and walked away with the conclusion that Jesus was criticizing Martha for trying to get things done. However, Katie challenges us to consider that Jesus didn’t condemn Martha’s method. Rather, Jesus invited her to change her mindset. Instead of being worried and distracted, Martha was encouraged to experience Jesus’ inner peace instead of trying to live up to unrealistic expectations.
So, if you’re made like Martha and you’re tired of trying to do it all, live up to unrealistic expectations or you’re beating yourself up for not being perfect, today’s conversation is just for you.
Join today’s conversation and listen as Katie and I discuss:
How to stop beating yourself up for being a hard-working Martha;
How to say “yes,” “no” and most importantly, when to ask for help;
How to swap out trying to balance our lives and learn how to “steward” our lives instead;
Helpful tips to enjoy being made like Martha and get things done without getting burnt out.
Bonus! Talk back to us and share your answers to the following:
Should bathroom toilet paper be hung over or under?
Do you squeeze toothpaste be squeezed from the middle or rolled from the bottom?
Do your fold or crumple your toilet paper before wiping?
Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author who is passionate about equipping women to win at life with Christ-empowered strength and dignity. Barb loves speaking at women’s conference and leadership events such as the Aspire Women’s Events, She Speaks Conference and the UMC Leadership Institute.
Barb is the author of multiple books and Bible studies, including her newest releases: Winning the Worry Battle: Life Lessons from the Book of Joshua and Bible study called Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle. Barb’s writing has been featured in magazines or blogs such as Simple Truth Magazine, iBelieve.com, Crosswalk.com, More to Life Magazine, Just Between Us Magazine, Cherished, InCourage and Women of Faith.
An avid traveler, reader, and lover of all things chocolate-peanut butter, Barb and her family live in NW Ohio with their dog, Quimby and a very grumpy 10-year rabbit. Visit Barb’s online home at barbroose.com.
That’s the philosophy of Vicki Fitch, a top-performing leader, international business consultant and direct sales expert. If you’ve ever dreamed of making extra money to support your family through direct sales or multi-level marketing companies that offer great incentives with flexible schedules for your family, then you’ll definitely want to listen to Vicki’s story on today’s Better Together podcast.
Vicki started her first business when she was 12 years old. She purchased her first home at 19 years old and began her first company a year later. As a “serial entrepreneur,” Vicki builds and sells business as a way of life. She’s been in the direct sales business for 20 years, consistently performing at the top 1% of her company, which allowed Vicki and her family to experience dream vacations and bonuses that have enriched their lives.
But, Vicki’s “never give up” philosophy comes from the difficult experiences in her early stages of her life. In today’s conversation, Vicki and I discuss her struggle to feel loved and valued by her parents as well as her volatile first marriage to a drug addict. As Vicki shares her life and her success, you’ll be encouraged by her authenticity and vulnerability when talking about the highs and lows of her life. Vicki and I are tall girls who share a love of high heels and we share a lot of fun moments during today’s conversation. FOR THE FIRST TIME! You have two options: You can watch my interview above or listen to the podcast audio below:
If you are a leader who dreams of achieving big goals, you’re going to absolutely love my conversation with Vicki. In this episode, you’ll learn more about:
“Evict the bully in your head” that undermine your confidence (that’s the title of Vicki’s second book);
Why mentors are important if you want to achieve your highest dreams;
How to identify whether or not you’re an entrepreneur (even if you think that you’re not).
Why Vicki is so passionate about her new global initiative’s #YouAreEnough as well as her #12Books12Months goal of writing 12 books in 12 months – this is a great story!
PLEASE LEAVE COMMENT BELOW ON THE FOLLOWING: Do you have a big dream that you want to share with us? Do you need permission to dream again?
About Vicki Fitch…
Vicki lives in Southern California with her husband, Terry and their two boys. She is blessed to have two amazing stepchildren and five grandchildren that fill Vicki’s heart with great joy. Her business is her ministry and she believes that God has blessed her greatly and she gives back every chance that she can.
Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author who is passionate about equipping women to win at life with Christ-empowered strength and dignity. Barb loves speaking at women’s conference and leadership events such as the Aspire Women’s Events, She Speaks Conference and the UMC Leadership Institute.
Barb is the author of multiple books and Bible studies, including her newest releases: Winning the Worry Battle: Life Lessons from the Book of Joshua and Bible study called Joshua: Winning the Worry Battle. Barb’s writing has been featured in magazines or blogs such as Simple Truth Magazine, iBelieve.com, Crosswalk.com, More to Life Magazine, Just Between Us Magazine, Cherished, InCourage and Women of Faith.
An avid traveler, reader, and lover of all things chocolate-peanut butter, Barb and her family live in NW Ohio with their dog, Quimby and a very grumpy 10-year rabbit. Visit Barb’s online home at barbroose.com.
How do we teach our kids about God when we don’t know all of the answers?
How do we get our kids to participate in family devotions when they don’t want to sit still?!!!
Take a deep breath, Mom and Dad. God knows that you’re doing the best that you can. When it comes to teaching our kids about Jesus, you don’t need to know the answers and there are some fabulous resources to help you out!
Mom or Dad, if you’re reading this today and you’re worried about messing up your kids’ spiritual growth, relax. It’s okay to not have all of the answers. You’ve got permission to say, “I don’t know the answer to that, but let’s keep reading and see what we can learn.”
Sarah wrote the Family Bible Devotional as a faith-building experience to give parents confidence in helping their kids fall in love with Jesus. It includes 52-devotionals BUT there are NO dates because real life rarely sticks to a schedule! Sarah totally understands the up-and-down rhythm parents face. She deals with that in her own family. “We’ll be solid in reading the Bible and doing lessons for a few days and then, a few weeks will go by because life got busy.” Sarah says that they just keep at it.
So friends, listen to Sarah’s encoruagement today if you’ve been feeling discouraged about teaching your kids about God OR if you’re not even sure where to begin.
In this episode, we’ll talk about:
How to set realistic expectations for family devotion time;
Why we feel intimidated talking to our kids about the Bible;
How to engage your kids in family devotions – even if their not sitting still.
SHARE A COMMENT: Do you do family devotions? How do you do them – and how do you keep at it even when your kids aren’t cooperating?
About Sarah M. Wells
Sarah Marie Wells is the author of The Family Bible Devotional: Stories from the Bible to Help Kids and Parents Engage and Love Scripture (Discovery House Publishers, Fall 2018), a novella-length essay, The Valley of Achor, available on Kindle, a collection of poems, Pruning Burning Bushes(Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012), and a chapbook of poems, Acquiesce, winner of the 2008 Starting Gate Award (Finishing Line Press,2009). Poems and essays by Wells have appeared recently in Ascent, Brevity, Full Grown People, Hippocampus Review, The Pinch, River Teeth,Rock & Sling, Under the Gum Tree, and elsewhere.
Sarah serves as the Director of Content Marketing at Spire Advertising and as Associate Editor for River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative. She resides in Ashland, Ohio with her husband, Brandon, and their three young children, Lydia, Elvis, and Henry.
When we are intentional moms, it assists us in becoming less-stressed moms.
When we bring our babies home from the hospital, our dream is to raise them in a happy and healthy home. But, from the time that we get pregnant or we announce plans to adopt, others begin giving us their opinions about what we should or shouldn’t do. If we’re not careful, other people’s input will confuse us and add a lot of stress to our already busy lives.
Today, I’m continuing my fun and freeing conversation with my friend, Susan Seay. She’s a speaker, author, and homeschool mom to seven – yes, seven kids! Susan is the author of Intentional Motherhood: Parenting on Purpose When Life Gets Busy. If you listened to part one of our interview, the podcast ended with Susan saying that she hit the wall after the birth of her seventh child.
“I became so burdened with my efforts to be a “good mom” and trying to do all the things a “good mom” should do. My list of “should’s” was so long I was ready to give up. In fact, I did give up. I announced it one night at dinner to my husband with a simple “I’m done!” – Susan Seay, speaker and author
During this episode, Susan shares about the crucial conversations that she had with her husband, Ron about their individual expectations of what it meant to be a good mom and a good dad. In Susan’s effort to be a great mom and Ron’s drive to be a great dad, the couple discovered that their unspoken expections actually drove a wedge in their relationship with each other.
As you listen to Susan talk about how they worked through this challenge to their marriage and family, you’ll love her sense of humor and insight. Ultimately, Ron and Susan discovered the key to reshaping their family and unifying them for the future.
What you’ll hear in this episode:
How core values can keep your family focused and help you make decisions with less conflict;
Why Susan always lets her kids let go of a hug first;
How Susan uses technology to stay connected with her kids;
LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW: How do you sort out all of the opinions and information out there about how you should raise your kids?
Through the “Mentor 4 Moms” Podcast and the relatable style found in her book The Intentional Parent: Parenting On Purpose When Life Gets Busy, you get a sense of Susan’s heart to provide encouragement to moms combined with helpful practical tools. As a wife and mom to 7, she truly understands the challenges of trying to be an Intentional Parent. Susan has been a mentor to women locally in Austin, Tx and Internationally for over a decade.
I became so burdened with my efforts to be a “good mom” and trying to do all the things a “good mom” should do. My list of “should’s” was so long I was ready to give up. In fact, I did give up. I announced it one night at dinner with a simple- “I’m done!” -Susan Seay, mother of seven (yes, seven!)
Mom, do you ever “should” all over yourself?
I should do another load of laundry…
I should stay up late and make cookies for my daughter’s class…
I should volunteer to drive carpool, even though I’m working late this week.
Sometimes those “should” feel so heavy and make us feel like we’re buried under unreasonable expectations.
If you’ve ever struggled with the “should,” you’ll love my conversation with my dear friend, Susan Seay. She’s a speaker and author living in Austin, TX. Susan and her husband, Ron are the parents to seven, yes seven kids. Not only that but Susan is a homeschool mom, who also supports and consults with other homeschooling moms on a national level. Susan is the author of Intentional Motherhood: Parenting on Purpose When Life Gets Busy.
Susan and I have been friends online for almost a year, but we met IRL (in real life) in July at the She Speaks Conference, hosted by Proverbs 31 Ministries. Susan actually flew from her home in Texas to help me out with my workshops –that’s a great friend! On top of that, I got to see Susan in action as she provided gentle and loving encouragement to every woman who crossed her path. If you meet Susan, she’s going to make your life better, whether you talk to her for one minute or an hour.
As a speaker and author, Susan’s wheelhouse is that she is a mentor for moms. And as the mother of seven, she’s got some great expertise in that area.
During our Better Together conversation today, Susan talks about a trap that is so easy for moms to fall into – the quest to be the mom that tries to do everything.
Susan and I will discuss:
The crazy questions that people ask when they find out that she has seven kids;
A GENIUS trick that Susan used when her kids lost their minds in the grocery store;
What unreasonable expectations makes moms tired and discouraged;
Stories of encouragement that will put a smile on your face;
Overcoming the trap of perfection.
About Susan Seay…
Through the “Mentor 4 Moms” Podcast and the relatable style found in her book The Intentional Parent: Parenting On Purpose When Life Gets Busy, you get a sense of Susan’s heart to provide encouragement to moms combined with helpful practical tools. As a wife and mom to 7, she truly understands the challenges of trying to be an Intentional Parent. Susan has been a mentor to women locally in Austin, Tx and Internationally for over a decade.
Barb Roose is a speaker and author who is passionate about teaching women to live beautifully strong and courageous so that they experience God’s great adventure of faith and purpose for their lives.
Check out Barb’s new releases, Stronger Than Stress: 10 Spiritual Practices to Win the Battle of Overwhelm book and Stronger Than Stress: 10 Spiritual Practices to Win the Battle of Overwhelms Bible study.
Barb lives in NW Ohio and is proud mother of three adult kids. Whenever possible, Barb prefers to eat dessert first. Visit Barb’s online home at barbroose.com.
