Episode 17: Fighting for Joy with God’s Love

Today I am thrilled to have a new friend of mine, Jen Stutzman, on the podcast. Jen and her family are fellow Nebraskans and we met online through our mutual love for podcasting, being purposeful with social media, and looking for God in all things (many thanks to Laura Ruwe, my guest on episodes 8 and 14, for connecting us)! If you follow me on Instagram, you already know about the Stutzman's ministry, Heart of the Bison, because when I am encouraged by the wisdom and insight that Jen shares online I often share it with my followers. But if you aren't on Instagram, or you haven't learned about Heart of the Bison yet, I am so excited for you to listen in to our conversation. Jen shares about how her fight for joy began through struggles in marriage, parenting, loneliness, adoption, and the battle to stay healthy (physically, mentally, and spiritually). I think each of us can relate to at least one of these topics, can't we?!? With openness and tears, Jen shares about how she got to a place where she broke down, weary from leaning on her own strength, and realized that she didn't understand or know the love of God. She was asking lesser things in this world to bring her the joy and peace that her soul longed for - and she found herself deeply unsatisfied and lacking joy. You will be so blessed to hear about the tender ways that God drew her to Himself and taught her about His deep, and personal love, and how this led to Jen finding restored joy and a peace that only our heavenly Father's love can bring. She also shares a number of other practical tools that she implements into her life, and I'm confident that you'll find something that can be used in your own fight for joy.

I don’t think there is anyone who would argue that this world is not broken. There are so many hard things to deal with in this life…both big and small. But, I started this podcast to remind us all that there IS still hope to be found. Yes, the fight for joy can be hard-fought, but we can help one another keep fighting! Through our stories, we can point each other to the comfort, help, and peace of Christ, and encourage one another to keep pressing forward and keep moving towards God and His love - and today Jen does exactly that! I hope you are helped and encouraged by our special conversation.