Focused Living :: Shontell Brewer [SOM Wk 3]

What’s the first word that comes to mind if I say, “Describe your body”?  It wasn’t “good”, was it?  Fellow human, it should be! Because that’s what God himself says about your body! He says it is good. Just the way he created it - not some past or future version of it, how it is right now.  My guest this week is Alisa Keeton and she has spent the last 10+ years serving others through her ministry, Revelation Wellness. She wants you to understand not only that your body is  good, but just how very much God loves you. She deeply desires that we would know God - not just about him, but know him. And that is where our journey to health and wellness can begin.   “Freedom is not a look, it’s a feeling.”  Connect with Alisa Keeton:  Website:  https://alisakeeton.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/akeeton/  Instagram:  @alisakeeton  Twitter: @alisakeeton  Links Mentioned:   Revelation Wellness  Food is Not the Boss of Me Challenge  Revelation Wellness Podcast Related Episodes: Revelation Wellness :: Alisa Keeton [Ep 132] Your Body is GOOD :: Jess Connolly [Ep 329] Become Fully Alive - Mind, Body, and  Spirit :: Susie Larson [Ep 218]   Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

23 Jan 202354min

You know what you’re seeing of someone else’s life as you scroll isn’t the whole story and yet we all find ourselves longing for that perfect vacation, that look of pure delight on their child’s face, or the silent moments they were able to enjoy.  We all know “comparison is the thief of joy,”  and we should run from it. But what if, rather than try to immediately silence or distract whatever we’re feeling in those moments, we got curious about what’s going on inside? What if we could filter what we see and discern what is for us and what isn’t?  In Christ, God has given us a treasure trove of wisdom and knowledge that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is available to us all the time. We can use that wisdom to guide us as we uncover the “why” behind our comparisons and help us recognize our God-given boundaries.      Exclusive Pre-Order:  Pre-Order Right Where You Belong: How to Identify and Fully Occupy Your God-Given Space Special Listening Guide for this episode:  Download Listening Guide here Links Mentioned:   Feelings Card and “What I Need” Quadrant (scroll down just under the text of the show notes) Feelings Wheel Related Episodes: Shaping Your Family Culture :: Kimberly Amici [Ep 294] Bruce Learns to Label His Feelings :: Bruce and Heather [Ep 316] How to Help a Friend Process Life :: [Ep 395] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

16 Jan 202326min

“As parents our job is to be kinder and stronger, and wiser.”  Those words are simple and sensible, but that directive can be deceptively hard.  How do we mother - how do we live even - as our roles change hourly, monthly, yearly?  In this second part of our conversation with Kari Kampakis she encourages us that if we are finding our identity in Christ and our joy in Him we can more easily navigate our ever-shifting roles as women. We can be free to teach and guide our children through life and ultimately let go of the reins when the time is right.  Connect with Kari Kampakis:  Website:  https://www.karikampakis.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karikampakiswriter/  Instagram:  @karikampakis Twitter: @KariKampakis   Links Mentioned:   Love Her Well: 10 Ways to Find Joy and Connection with Your Teenage Daughter by Kari Kampakis   Liked: Whose Approval Are You Living For? By Kari Kampakis  10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know by Kari Kampakis More Than a Mom: How Prioritizing Your Wellness Helps You (and Your Family) Thrive  by Kari Kampakis   Related Episodes: Motherhood, Career, & Identity :: Kat Armstrong [Ep 171] Brave Enough to be Broken :: Toni Collier [Ep 388] Self-Differentiation and Why it Matters :: Nancy Houston [Ep 335] Rebranded: Stepping Into a New Season :: Christy Write [SOM Wk 6] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

9 Jan 202337min

“I’m not a regular mom, I’m a cool mom” are the words of Mean Girl Regina George’s mom. We know she’s not a great example of a mom, but it can be difficult to sort out  which moments are for connecting and which are for correcting.  You want to be a valid voice in your daughter’s life as she enters their teen years and not just maintain, but grow your connection with her. It is possible to break from what society says and enjoy the teenage years.  Mom of four girls and author, Kari Kampakis, talks with us this week about how humility and compassion can help us navigate our relationships with our tweens and teens. (Bonus - when they see us live this way, it will help them learn to navigate relationships too!) Connect with Kari Kampakis:  Website:  https://www.karikampakis.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karikampakiswriter/  Instagram:  @karikampakis Twitter: @KariKampakis   Links Mentioned:   Love Her Well: 10 Ways to Find Joy and Connection with Your Teenage Daughter by Kari Kampakis   Liked: Whose Approval Are You Living For? By Kari Kampakis  10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know by Kari Kampakis More Than a Mom: How Prioritizing Your Wellness Helps You (and Your Family) Thrive  by Kari Kampakis  Related Episodes: Be Vulnerable, Find Your People :: Jennie Allen [Ep 354]  Freeing Your Adolescents to Step Into Adulthood - Ages and Stages - Teens :: Dr. Ken Wilgus [Ep 382]  Ages & Stages Series - The Tween Years :: Charissa Lopez [Ep 380] Helping Our Kids Foster Friendships :: David Thomas and Sissy Goff [Ep 338] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

2 Jan 202340min

We are all theologians. We may not be formally educated experts, but we all have beliefs about who God is and how and why he interacts with us (or doesn’t). All of our assumptions, presuppositions, opinions, and ideas make up our theology. The question is, where are we getting our information? What do we base our theology on?  My guest this week is Phylicia Masonheimer, founder of Every Woman a Theologian, and her goal is “to teach [women] how to discern truth, know what (and Who) [they] believe, and live [their] faith boldly in a post-Christian world.” Her day to day work is creating resources for women to learn to study the bible and navigate doctrine because a firm theological foundation matters for us personally and individually as well as for our other relationships be it our spouses, kids, friends, neighbors. That foundation will underpin the comfort we bring to a hurting friend, the discipline we use with our children, and how we treat our spouse.  Connect with Phylicia Masonheimer: Website:  https://phyliciamasonheimer.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phyliciadelta  Instagram:  @phyliciamasonheimer   @everywomanatheologian   Podcast: The Verity Podcast  Links Mentioned:    The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New by Marty Machowski Mary Flo Ridley & Megan Michelson Birds & Bees Related Episodes: Become What You Behold :: Ruth Chou Simons [Ep 255]  Let’s Talk About Sex :: Mary Flo Ridley and Megan Michelson [Ep 328] Consistency in Bible Study :: Katie Orr [Ep 352] Giving Kids a Firm Foundation :: Troy Simons [Ep 278] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

28 Nov 202259min

The origins of our word vulnerable are found in a Latin word that means “to wound”. We all know that to be fully known is to open ourselves up to the possibility of being wounded. When we let down our armor, when we expose the wounds of our past  as part of the healing journey is risky and scary, but my guest this week, Toni Collier, says, “Be brave.”  Be brave enough to be just who you are before God - he knows you already and loves you unconditionally. Be brave enough to be just who you are before yourself and let guilt indicate places that need to change and banish shame. Be brave enough to be who you are before safe people who can walk with you, supporting your unsteady but important healing steps. There are better, healthier relationships to be had through the healing journey. As Toni would say, “hurt and hope can coexist.” Toni Collier is a wife, mom, author, speaker, and founder of the international women’s ministry Broken Crayons Still Color which helps women process through their brokenness to get hope. Her newest book, Brave Enough to be Broken, is available wherever books are sold.   Connect with Toni Collier:  Website:  www.tonijcollier.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colliertoni  Instagram:  @tonijcollier  @brkncrayons  Podcast: Still Coloring  Links Mentioned:   Brave Enough to be Broken: How to Embrace Your Pain and Discover Hope and Healing by Toni Collier  Setting Healthy Boundaries with Family :: Dr. John Townsend [Ep 250] New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional by Paul David Tripp Related Episodes: Broken Crayons Still Color :: Toni Collier [Ep 267] Healing from Broken Friendships :: Shundria Riddick [Ep 321] How to Help a Friend Process Life [Ep 359] Be Vulnerable, Find Your People :: Jennie Allen  [Ep 354] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

21 Nov 202249min

“Good fences make good neighbors” is a line from Robert Frost’s Mending Wall, but the poem goes on to say, “Before I built a wall I'd ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out”  So often in our lives we feel the unrest of chaos or dysfunction in our relationships, but we don’t know exactly what we need to wall out or wall in. My guest this week, Lysa TerKeurst faced a new season of life and wanted to enter it with wisdom and strength - caring for others and herself in each of her relationships. Her personal journey led to her newest book, Good Boundaries and Goodbyes, a guide for each of us as we navigate relationships, practice setting healthy boundaries and even sometimes need to say goodbye.  Connect with Lysa TerKeurst:  Website:  https://lysaterkeurst.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLysa  Instagram:  @lysaterkeurst  Links Mentioned:   Good Boundaries and Goodbyes : Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are by Lysa TerKeurst    Setting Healthy Boundaries with Family :: Dr. John Townsend [Ep 250] Leslie Vernick and Difficult v Destructive Relationships - https://leslievernick.com  Therapy and Theology Podcast  Related Episodes: Setting Healthy Boundaries with Family :: Dr. John Townsend [Ep 250] Forgiving What You Can’t Forget :: Lysa TerKeurst [Ep 304] 5 Schedule Sappers and How to Stop Them :: Lysa TerKeurst [Ep 45] Uninvited :: Lysa TerKeurst, Kay Wyma and Courtney DeFeo [Ep 131] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

14 Nov 202240min

Grief has been called the unwanted visitor - it shows up when you don’t want it and it often stays longer than we would want. In the midst of seasons of suffering or grieving it’s so easy to feel isolated and to be isolated, the weight of bringing our real selves into community feeling like another burden to bear. Whatever dreams we might have had of how our life we go or what it would look like for us to serve God and others seem to be an impossibility.  Meet my guest this week, Lindsey Wheeler. For over a decade Lindsay and her family have fought through her chronic illness and fought for her special needs daughter. She has felt the sting of isolation and the deep relief and joy of true community. In the midst of it all she has found a way to serve others and share God’s gentle love for them by sitting with them in their grief. Through her small business, Bottle of Tears (see discount code below), she reminds others they are seen in their grief - by her, by God, by a loved one that would send one of her precious vintage bottles.  Connect with Lindsey Wheeler:  Website:  https://www.bottleoftears.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bottleoftears  Instagram:  @bottle_of_tears  Links Mentioned:    IF: Gathering  DMA listeners special code for Bottle of Tears: DONTMOMALONE20 for 20% off any order through January 31, 2023. Related Episodes: Adopting Special Needs :: Candace and Alice [Ep 213] Life Giving Faith in Every Circumstance :: Lisa Appelo :: Summer of Mentorship Week 2 Be Vulnerable, Find Your People :: Jennie Allen [Ep 354] Featured Sponsors:  Find links to this week’s sponsors and unique promo codes at dontmomalone.com/sponsors.

7 Nov 202252min