by Barb Roose | Jan 1, 2022 | Christian Living/Discipleship, Joshua & Winning the Worry Battle, Reflections, Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus, Women's Topics
Happy New Years!
It’s a new year and I’m wearing my fairly new favorite hat. So far, so good here in 2022.
This isn’t a post about goals or resolutions. I just can’t with personal goals right now. (I’ve got business goals - that’s all good.)
But I do want to be intentional.
What’s a girl to do? I need to keep it simple if I want to be successful at being intentional.
Last year, my Word Of The Year (WOTY) was KISS or”Keep It Simple, Sweetheart” and I’m keeping it again for 2022.
(I figured that if the pandemic can stick around another year, so can my WOTY because it’s still working for me. ALSO, I kissed absolutely no one at midnight last night because #omicron 😑. Kinda bummed about that.)
Here’s my thing: Rather than goals, I focus on mindset habits that will position me for what I want to experience in life, which is to live beautifully strong and courageous in Christ.
It’s KISS that gets me there. So here is my KISS mindset for 2022:
- On my worst days, I will treat myself the best.
- I will faithful in the small things and trust that God will take care of all things.
- I will keep showing up and taking risks, even when I fail.
- I am not in control of others or outcomes, so Surrender is my path to God’s peace. *
- I will err on the side of choosing love, kindness and generosity.
- I will live from the truth that I am God’s beautiful, lovable, capable daughter. I am confident in Christ and worthy of God’s best.**
SHARE YOUR COMMENT BELOW: What’s your New Year’s habits, prayer, resolution, goal or intention for the upcoming year?
*from my Surrendered Bible study
**from my Breakthrough Bible study
by Barb Roose | Apr 10, 2017 | Better Together Podcast
My first exposure to human trafficking came in 2010 when I walked by a wooden shipping crate and saw a young girl huddled inside. She was tucked into a corner of the small crate wearing a t-shirt and pair of shorts. Her head tucked into her knees with long, dark hair covering her face.
How did a human being get shoved into a wooden box? How was that possible?
Luckily, the young woman in the box was an exhibit at our church women’s conference. Every half hour or so she was free to stand and stretch her legs. At the end of the night, she packed up her display and drove home.
But millions of humans around the world aren’t free to go home.
Over the past few years, a lot of attention has been directed toward human trafficking. One of the things that I fear is that we think that talking about the horrors of human trafficking is the same as actually doing something about it. Even as I type these words, I’m feeling the pressure of the question, “Barb, what are you going to do about it?”
My freedom means that I’m often too busy to consider someone’s desperate slavery.
In part 2 of my Better Together episode with Merrie Karimov, she talks about human trafficking in her hometown Orlando, which ranks #3 in Florida for human trafficking. However, we know that forced slavery occurs in every community, including yours.
Merrie’s interview walks you step-by-step through how you can get involved with human trafficking, but here’s a summary of what we should know:
1. Make sure that you are educating yourself about what’s happening in your local community.
2. Find out which human trafficking organizations are already doing the work and partner with them – you don’t need to start something.
3. Remember that we are not the savior of the survivor. God doesn’t need us to fix them, just love them in a responsible and sacrificial way.
RESOURCES:
Fight4Freedom at Discovery Church (Orlando)
Harbour Hope International
US State Department Report on Human Trafflicking (2016)
About Merrie…
I am passionate about life, love God and love people. I am the wife of a “Rusky” (Russian), mother of twins AND one adorable big brother. I am a daughter, sister, friend and all around adventurer at heart. I am candid and creative and live to cultivate, invest in, develop, & mobilize others. I believe that inside every person is a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered, developed & encouraged.
Connect with Merrie via email at merrie@harbourhope.com.
by Barb Roose | Apr 3, 2017 | Better Together Podcast
Do you find it hard to say “no” when someone asks you to do something that you don’t want to do?
Do you feel a driving need to keep the peace, even if it means that you have to stuff your real feelings and keep silent?
For many women, being a people-pleaser is a survival skill that we picked up during our younger years. Maybe we wanted to earn the approval of our parents or boyfriend or we wanted certain kids to like us. No matter our motivation, the driving need to be liked or accepted is something that we’ve all had to deal with at one time or another.
Today’s guest, Merrie Karimov, shares her story of growing up as a people-pleaser. She’ll tell us about how a powerful daily encounter with God helped her break free from living for other’s approval in order to live for God’s approval alone.
Merrie will also tell us about how finding her identity in Christ gave her the courage and confidence to say “yes” to some incredible God-driven opportunities, like moving to Russia when she was 20 years old.
If you’ve struggled with people-pleasing or you want to be inspired by someone who said “yes” to God in a HUGE way, you’ll enjoy part one of my conversation with Merrie Karimov.
Make sure to join me next week for part two of my conversation with Merrie. She’ll tell us about Fight4Freedom and her women’s ministry’s mission to restore dignity and value to human trafficking victims one at a time. You won’t want to miss this!
BONUS!
I’ve developed a free download for you! Like Merrie, we need to live God’s approval and not humans. So, this free sheet includes several verses that we can say to ourselves each day to help us focus on our identity as God’s children rather than trying to get people to like us. CLICK HERE to download.
About Merrie…
I am passionate about life, love God and love people. I am the wife of a “Rusky” (Russian), mother of twins AND one adorable big brother. I am a daughter, sister, friend and all around adventurer at heart. I am candid and creative and live to cultivate, invest in, develop, & mobilize others. I believe that inside every person is a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered, developed & encouraged.
Connect with Merrie via email at merrie@harbourhope.com.
by Barb Roose | Mar 6, 2017 | Better Together Podcast
Have you been praying for something for a long time? Maybe you’ve been praying for:
…healing in your marriage or for a marriage proposal;
…healing from cancer or another disease;
…the restoration of a broken relationship;
…a pregnancy or solution to infertility; or
…a loved one’s salvation or freedom from an addiction.
Whenever we pray, we do so with the expectation that God will answer our prayer at some point in some way. But, what do we do when it seems like God isn’t doing anything at all?
Speaker and author, Marlo Schalesky grappled with this question during her 20-year battle with infertility. Her story is more than just trying to get pregnant. Marlo’s story is about her fight for faith while learning to wait on God.
During this new episode of the Better Together Podcast, Marlo and I discuss what she’s learned about waiting on God when the waiting gets hard. We talk about her new book, Waiting for Wonder and what we can learn from Abraham’s wife, Sarah’s long wait for baby. gritty conversation is a no-hold bars honest reflection on how God can handle our heartache while we wait for His divine purposes to be fulfilled in our lives.
Our candid conversation is a no-holds-barred, honest reflection on how God can handle our heartache while we wait for His divine purposes to be fulfilled in our lives. After you listen, please take a moment and share a comment about the broadcast. I’d love to hear from you.
One more thing…if you know of a woman who’s been struggling with waiting on God, especially a woman struggling with infertility, share this podcast privately with her.
TODAY’S SHOW RESOURCES:
Marlo’s Website
Marlo’s Book – Waiting for Wonder
Marlo Schalesky is an award-winning author of 10 books, including both fiction and non-fiction. Her novels have garnered the high honors of the Christy Award and ACFW Book of the Year. Schalesky’s non-fiction releases include Wrestling with Wonder: A Transformational Journey through the Life of Mary (Zondervan) and the latest, Waiting for Wonder: Learning to Live on God’s Timetable (Abingdon Press).
More than 1,000 of Schalesky’s articles have been published in various Christian magazines, including Focus on the Family, Today’s Christian Woman and In Touch. She has contributed devotional books for couples and children. She is a speaker and regular columnist for David C Cook’s Power for Living.
Schalesky is a graduate of Stanford University and has earned her Master’s in Theology, with an emphasis in Biblical Studies, from Fuller Theological Seminary. She is the founder and president of Wonder Wood Ranch, a California charitable organization bringing hope to a hurting community through horses.
Schalesky lives with her husband, six children and a crazy number of animals at her log-home ranch on California’s central coast.
by Barb Roose | Jan 1, 2017 | Better Together Podcast
Ladies, let’s admit that we have an awkward relationship with beauty. I actually have another phrase that I use: We have an ugly struggle with beauty.
This is such a shame because Psalm 45:11 tells us that God is enthralled with our beauty. Unfortunately, we are not so enthralled with our beauty.
How often do we criticize, complain or cry about how we look in our clothes? Furthermore, how many of us feel guilty, even less spiritual because we DO care about how we look?
We’re in for a treat today because my friend, Shari Braendel comes to our rescue! Shari is considered the leading voice for America’s Christian women when it comes to the topics of fashion, beauty, and dignity. She connects with thousands of women each year to inform, encourage and inspire them. Listen by clicking the play button:
In the very first episode of the Better Together podcast, Shari will tell you what you need to know about:
- Easily identify your body type and great tips on dressing for your body.
- How to tell if your bra is fitting correctly. Oh, my goodness, we had so much fun with this!
- She’ll teach us a helpful strategy to increase our confidence once we get dressed for the day.
And so much more!
- SPECIAL OFFER! Buy Shari’s 27 Hangers program for only $27! If you purchase the program by January 7, 10% of your purchase will be donated to Living In Truth, a ministry that focuses on body image, self-esteem and eating disorders. You can go to Shari’s website for more information.
SHOW LINKS: Shari’s website
You can subscribe to Shari’s weekly newsletter, learn more about her book, discover her products and much more!
TELL YOUR FRIENDS! Did you enjoy this episode of Better Together? Leave a comment and tell your friends by sharing this episode with them.
ABOUT SHARI BRAENDEL: Shari is considered America’s leading Christian Style Authority, CEO of Fashion Meets Faith and developer of the 27 Hanger Closet Online Academy.
Inspiring thousands of women each year to new levels of confidence at conferences around the globe, she leads with an encouraging heart and vibrant spirit helping women see themselves the way God might.
Author of Help Me Jesus, I Have Nothing to Wear and the fashion editor of More To Life Christian Magazine, Shari desires to inspire females of all ages to dress with dignity and style.
She has been featured on Focus on the Family, The Total Christian Television Network, K-Love, Moody Radio and more.
Shari lives in Charlotte, NC with her husband Dave, three lazy cats and a very overweight yellow lab. Her only son Luke attends the United States Military Academy at West Point and is an Army Basketball player so she loves watching him play ball! She also has adult triplet stepdaughters and one precious grandchild.
Check out this episode!
