Stay ConnectedMany women feel overwhelmed with the chaos of life, struggle with the fact that life, relationships and marriage are hard, and lack what they need to truly thrive.
The Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, with host, Cheryl Scruggs, and online community provide women with encouragement & support, to better manage their stress, create healthy relationships, and build a life that thrives beyond belief.
Copyright: © 2018 Thriving Beyond Belief / Hope Matters Marriage Ministries, Inc., a 501c3
As an international speaker at churches, conferences and university chapels, Megan Fate Marshman is a leading voice to this generation. She has devoted her life to loving God and overflowing His awesome love to others.
Megan is currently a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church and the Director of Women's Ministries at Hume Lake Christian Camps. She also shepherds women at her home church, Arbor Road. She also enjoys adventuring all over the globe with her family speaking and sharing the love of Jesus.
She authored the books "Meant for Good" and "SelfLess," and co-wrote the book, "7 Family Ministry Essentials," with Dr. Michelle Anthony. Megan also served as the Director of Student Resources for David C Cook Publishers, where she led a team in creating TruIdentity, a spiritually forming, Christ centered, and family empowered youth ministry curriculum.
Megan lives in Lakewood, California, with her husband Randy, and their two boys.
Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Tod Jacobs and Peter Lynn from Not a Partnership!
Beyond being a typical collaboration between two authors or scholars, this book represents the culmination of more than fifteen years of work that Tod and Peter have done together in the area of marriage. The students of the institute they lead have provided a living laboratory for how to prepare for marriage, face and ultimately overcome its classic and idiosyncratic challenges.
The pair's primary objective with their students as they head towards marriage is to help them focus both on developing a mature and idealistic vision of marriage as the primary vehicle to create wholeness, meaning, purpose and happiness in their lives, and on working to perfect the character issues that lie at the core of a successful spouse — giving, empathy, focus, staying power and a strong desire to help build the other.
Their work combines practical and mystical Jewish wisdom with modern theory and techniques, and with experience accrued through years of real world implementation and practice. Their unique but differing backgrounds and accomplishments broaden the impact of their work and partnership still further.
About the Authors: Tod JacobsTod Jacobs is Director of the David Robinson Institute for Jewish Heritage in Jerusalem, which he co-founded in 2005. Prior to his current role teaching and counseling his students and alumni, he enjoyed a distinguished career on Wall Street as one of the leading authorities on the telecommunications industry globally. As a managing director at JP Morgan and before that a partner at Sanford C. Bernstein and Company, Tod acted as a frequent commentator on network television and in leading newspapers and magazines, and testified several times before the U.S. Congress as an expert on telecom and media issues. His credits in print and broadcast journalism, where he worked prior to Wall Street, include nominations for both the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism and the Emmy Award. Tod lives in Jerusalem with his family.
Dr. Peter LynnPeter Lynn has served as Dean of Students at the David Robinson Institute for Jewish Heritage since its inception. An MA in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania and a PsyD in Human and Organizational Psychology, Peter lectures at Touro College in Jerusalem. He is also the Founder and Director of Greatness Within Seminars, where he helps empower individuals and organizations through the application of Positive Psychology. An accomplished athlete and Ironman finisher, Peter was captain of the U.S. World Duathlon Team. Peter lives in Jerusalem with his family.
Visit: Not A Partnership
Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Kayla Stocklein!
Widow of Megachurch Pastor Leaves Breadcrumbs of Hope for Those Lost in the Wilderness of Mental Illness in New Book Kayla Stoecklein Shares the Journey that Led to Her Husband's Suicide, Encourages Others to Be a Safe Space for Those Struggling in 'Fear Gone Wild.'
"It's crucial we approach this message as both a love story full of life and a tragedy full of loss at the same time. When we leave room for both/and in another person's story, we start to leave space in our own life for both sorrow and celebration to coexist." – Foreword by NYT Bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst
NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 23, 2020— On August 25, 2018, Kayla Stoecklein lost her husband Andrew—megachurch pastor of Inland Hills Church in Chino, California—to suicide. In the wake of her overwhelming tragedy, she embarked on a brave journey to better understand Andrew's harrowing battle with mental illness and, ultimately, to overcome the stigma of suicide.
She intimately retells all that led to that tragic day, her journey to better understand, and the light she has found in the darkness, all in hopes of better equipping those who find themselves walking a similar path.
"From the very first letter I wrote to him just a few days after he went home to heaven, I knew there would be deep purpose in my pain," writes Stoecklein. "God was planting a burning message inside of my heart as he intricately used our story as a lifeline of hope for others." In just 10 short months, what started as occasional panic attacks quickly morphed into frequent, severe attacks, and then into a deep, full-fledged battle with depression. Kayla watched as her strong, lively husband went from a passionate pastor and doting father to an empty, bleak shadow of himself. The battle Andrew faced was a deadly combination of mental illness and spiritual warfare, and on Aug. 25, 2018, he ended the battle by taking his life.
Because Andrew had planned to be open about his depression, Kayla became an open book about his suicide and has found a renewed purpose in providing hope to others lost in the all-too-familiar wilderness of grief and mental illness. Since Andrew's death, she has written in real time about her grief on God's God This, a blog Andrew started as his father was dying, and on her Instagram account.
About the Author:
Kayla Stoecklein is an advocate for those confronting mental illness. When she isn't busy raising her three young boys, you can find her on the beach, sipping an iced coffee and searching for little glimpses of heaven on earth.
Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Laura Smith!
In the new book, How Sweet the Sound: The Power and Promise of 30 Beloved Hymns from Our Daily Bread Publishing, author Laura Smith takes a fresh look at 30 classic hymns, sharing warm devotional stories and making meaningful connections between these songs of the past and our twenty-first century lives.
Do you miss listening to the sweet harmonies of hymns being sung in church? Do you recall precious life memories when a specific hymn encouraged your heart? Hymns will forever be God's music packed with truth, redemption, and joy, no matter how the times or culture change. There is a reason they still speak to us, generation after generation. How Sweet the Sound marries the past with the present by showing how hymns unite, restore, and re-center God's children.
Each chapter includes the lyrics to a favorite hymn, an interesting modern-day story of how that hymn continues to impact lives, and questions for contemplation. These stories will appeal to those who grew up in church singing from a hymnal, as well as a new generation seeking truth put to music. You'll enjoy hearing the stories of how hymns have affected other people's lives as you remember how the hymns you treasure have affected yours.
About the Author: Laura L. Smith is a music lover. She grew up singing old hymns in her traditional church, then rushing home to count down the rest of the Top 40 on Billboard's music charts with Casey Kasem. A best-selling author, Smith speaks around the country sharing the love of Christ with women at conferences and events. She lives in the college town of Oxford, Ohio, with her husband and four kids.
My interview this week is with Jamie Ivey. Jamie hosts a podcast called The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey, she lives in Austin, TX, is a wife to Aaron, and together they have four kids under the age of 13.
On the podcast this week I want to focus on an incredible book Jamie just finished writing entitled If You Only Knew: My Unlikely, Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free. Her book is scheduled to be released January 2018.
In this book, she is honest, vulnerable, and raw with personal stories about her walk from failure to freedom. Jamie travels and speaks to so many women and has learned that our stories, when seen through the eyes of the gospel, are not the obstacles to our freedom, they are the key to unlocking our freedom!
We talk about the enormous fear she faced being afraid people would know the real "Jamie:" could she step into a marriage, be a pastor's wife, lead youth, but inside be completely unsure if God even loved her?
As her story unfolds, she shares how God kept pursuing her and only through the grace of God, she began to change and learn to truly have an intimate relationship with Him.
Jamie challenges women to ask themselves; are you fearful others will only see you for things you've done, not what Jesus has done in you?
Here's my interview with Jamie Ivey.
This week on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Paul David Tripp!
Dr. Paul David Tripp is a pastor, event speaker, and a best-selling and award-winning author. With more than 30 books and video series on Christian living, Paul's driving passion is to connect the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life.
Experience The Marriage Of Your Dreams
Paul Tripp will encourage you with what the Bible has to say about marriage:
No matter how long you have been married, you must continually realign your expectations so you aren't discouraged and disappointed by the reality of your relationship.
Learn how to treat your husband or wife with integrity and faithfulness so they fully entrust themselves to your care.
Why do couples fail to experience the marriage of their dreams? They point the finger of blame and hold grudges. Instead, discover how to fight for your relationship by practicing confession and forgiveness each day.
There are many definitions of love out there, but you only need to follow one example: the cross of Christ.
This week on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Daniel & Brittany Price Brooker!
After the tragic untimely deaths of their respective spouses, Brittany Price and Daniel Brooker each found themselves as a young widow/widower – dealing with their own individual journey's of grief, and pain, and heartache, and loss… a loss that ultimately brought them together in remarriage.
Please welcome John Mark Comer to the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast this week talking about our world of HURRY and how we can eliminate it!!
Our worst moments tend to happen when we are in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on our to-do list, cramming too much in our day. It occurs when we're trying constantly to do more, creating a bone-deep tiredness not just in our minds or bodies but deep in our souls. In short, hurry doesn't just make us weary. It is the great enemy of our spiritual life.
Author and pastor John Mark Comer proposes that the solution to being fully present to God, others, and our own hearts is found simply by following the unhurried way of Jesus. He explains, "Jesus invites all of us to take up the 'easy' yoke. He has—on offer to all—an easy way to shoulder the weight of life with his triumvirate of love, joy, and peace."
Comer's journey to discovering the life-changing remedy of slowing down began while he was pastoring a successful megachurch with six services each Sunday, a marathon lifestyle which left him feeling burnt out and detached from those around him. In a moment of desperation, he asked his mentor, John Ortberg, for advice. The response he received was the same as what philosopher and Christian spiritual formation teacher Dallas Willard had given to Ortberg years before: "You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. There is nothing else."
As Comer put this simple truth into practice in his own life, he experienced radical renewal in his mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being. The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry describes his transformation and offers hope amidst the toxicity in our fast-paced, modern world.
In a casual, conversational tone, he presents a poignant message: "This is an invitation—for all the tired, the burned out, the stressed, all those stuck in traffic and behind on their to-do list….If you want to experience the life of Jesus, you have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus."
John Mark Comer lives, works, and writes in the urban core of Portland, Oregon. He is the pastor for teaching and vision at Bridgetown Church. Prior to that, he was lead pastor of a suburban megachurch. He has a master's degree from Western Seminary and is the author of Loveology, Garden City, and God Has a Name. John Mark lives in Portland with his wife, Tammy, and their three children.
Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Alli Worthington!
Alli is like many of us – a woman following her calling in ministry, work, and family – who found herself at a spiritual crossroads. God called her into something new, but she wasn't sure she was strong enough to say yes. Standing Strong delivers a wealth of practical tips and Godly wisdom that will leave you encouraged to follow the dream God has planted in your heart.
You are enough" is a well-intentioned, encouraging message preached to overwhelmed, burnt-out women. Bestselling author Alli Worthington used to be one of them, but when faced with adversity, found herself searching for more. Being enough was no longer enough.
In her new book Standing Strong: A Woman's Guide to Overcoming Adversity and Living with Confidence (Zondervan, September 2020), Alli encourages women to draw strength from their God-given identities, to overcome the obstacles that keep them from reaching their full potential and living out their dreams, and to walk confidently in the direction of their calling. With God, they are more than enough.
"God has made you strong, with the ability to survive anything that comes your way," writes Alli. "Even when you feel weak and overwhelmed, you're stronger thank you think. There is a strength within you that passes human understanding."
Alli found herself at a spiritual crossroads—the Lord was calling her to step away from her comfort zone and into something new, but she wasn't sure she was strong enough to say yes. What if everything fell apart? Why should she have to leave something she loved?
Alli is available for interviews and can speak to:
"Your calling won't look like anyone else's, ever. God chose you. He made you exactly who you are. He set your life in motion. He put you here on this Earth right here, right now because He wants you to partner with Him, and He has something special that only you can do in His kingdom."
Alli Worthington is known for her straight-talking encouragement and practical tools that help women reach their dreams in business and life. She's a business coach and co-founder of Called Creatives, where she coaches writers and speakers.
Author of The Year of Living Happy, Fierce Faith, and Breaking Busy, Alli is a well-known speaker and host of the popular podcast, The Alli Worthington Show. Her no-nonsense, guilt-free take on business, family, and balance have led to appearances on TODAY and Good Morning America. Alli lives with her husband, Mark, and their five sons outside of Nashville with the only golden retriever who refuses to retrieve.
Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Dawn Barton!
Dawn Barton has endured more pain and heartache in her lifetime than Hallmark can fit into a single movie: the loss of a child, divorce, cancer, rape, near-death of her mother from a brain aneurism, the death of her only sibling, and her husband's substance abuse.
But because she experienced such incredible pain, she also knows incredible joy… so much so, this sassy southerner refers to herself as a "Joyologist."
In her new book, Laughing Through the Ugly Cry:… and Finding Unstoppable Joy, Dawn shares her powerful journey to find hope, joy, and laughter in the midst of even the most unfathomable circumstances. And though her trials were heavy, her words are light—laced with the humor and perspective that keep you laughing, no matter what.
"Even in the face of all the things you can't control – the announcements, the diagnosis, the calls you hoped you'd never get – there's something you do get to control," writes Dawn. "Choose to look for joy in the small spaces between fear and confusion, and make that the moral of your story."
Dawn knows the adversity she's experienced has enabled her to experience joy in a more profound and vibrant way. Laughing Through the Ugly Cry is a beautiful book that will encourage anyone facing difficulty to do so with humor and faith, and to mindfully seek joy no matter how bleak circumstances may appear.
"Finding joy in your life does not mean you walk around in a perpetual state of skipping and laughing. It doesn't mean you are grinning and waving to every single passerby, although that would be fun. It means when you are sitting in the pain, you can take a deep breath and smile because you have one more breath to live."
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