The Full Life Podcast with Melanie Lynam: Recent Episodes
Melanie
Hi! I am a pastor, podcaster, wife to Dan, and Mum to 3 girls and 1 boy. We live on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. I want to inspire, equip and encourage you to be all that God has made you to be and to live a full life in Him. Join me as I sit down with people from different walks of life and hear their stories. We'll talk about faith and life - the hard stuff, the fun stuff and everything in between.
Baby Elsie was born with a giant Omphalocele - an extremely rare, life threatening condition in which some of the organs are formed in a sack outside of the body. Hannah and Simon together share their story of what it was like receiving that diagnosis of their preborn child, what their response was and how the whole journey has affected their faith. We also hear about how faithful and trustworthy our loving Heavenly Father is. What really struck me about this couple is their incredible willingness to trust God no matter what the outcome. Their ability to trust Him is an inspiration to me and I know this conversation is going to be a blessing to you too.
Some highlights from our conversation:
A doctor said to them, “I wouldn’t be optimistic for a good outcome.”
How did they survive such difficult news? Hannah’s response was, “I just had to really choose to stay focussed on who God was. The God I knew a few weeks ago isn’t different, He’s the same today, yesterday, tomorrow. My circumstances have changed and yes it’s overwhelming and it’s scary at the time but I had to make sure that I didn’t let what I knew about God change because of what I was feeling or seeing or hearing.”
Hannah “My circumstances aren’t God and He is greater than my circumstances.”
Hannah “We don’t actually know what is going to happen… but… we knew what we did know and that is who God is.”
When faced with the option of termination Simon says, “We were always going to go forward with the pregnancy no matter what the outcome was.”
Hannah “Only God knows what’s coming. God will be ultimately enough. He has a plan.”
Hannah tried to find comfort through googling and joining online groups and while she found them helpful, she realised that she was trying to take the place of God’s comfort.
It might feel out of control to me but it’s not out of his control.
It had to be a comfort that comes through the peace that only He can give.
“I had to really yield to God, surrender to Him and know that He is the one who could tell me what the internet couldn’t tell me.“ That would help her to go into the next ultrasound with peace, knowing that God would be with them.
“It is God that I can only rely on.”
“He is reliable and I could put my trust in Him.”
Simon “We don’t know the future but we can cherish every moment that we have.”
Some scriptures they held onto:
Colossians 3:2 - Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
Psalm 72:18
Psalm 68:35
Hannah knew that “He would be present and strong when we need Him to be.”
On the day of the planned caesarian Hannah felt an amazing peace that could have only come from God.
When talking about the moment that Elsie was born and taken away for care, Hannah felt like, “It’s not in my hands, it’s not in my control but I feel comfortable in that. Who I can rely on is God.”
The night she was born Elsie went into a crisis state.
Simon and Hannah have been told by doctors that Elsie is a miracle.
Her story has been in nearly every newspaper, magazine and news channel around Australia.
Through Elsie’s story “people have seen the preciousness of life, no matter how it starts, it is precious.”
God does care and He can do miracles and He has a different individual story for each of us; one that is beautiful no matter what the outcome is.
When asked how has this changed you? Hannah answers, “We’re not here to live a comfortable life…but actually we’re here to serve God and give Him the glory and do His will and be His hands and feet, ready to be His witness.”
Ps. Tom and Debbie Conwell - ‘Dead on the beach’ (I believe in Miracles Collection)
Tom and Debbie Conwell are Pastors at Calvary Church on the Sunshine Coast.
Ps. Tom suffered a massive heart attack while surfing at Dicky Beach. His heart stopped for 6 minutes. Statistically he shouldn’t be alive. And even alive, he should have brain damage. But listen as Tom and Debbie tell us their story of how God lined up the right circumstances and the right people to be at the right place and time, so that He could intervene in the most incredible way. And then plot twist, God had another agenda all along, to use this story to save not only Ps Tom’s life but also multiple souls for eternity.
His wife Debbie was told to be prepared for brain damage.
Debbie experienced inexplainable peace.
There were any miracles around that day.
“Everything lined up for you that day.” - Ambulance officer
Doctors would walk in and say, “Where’s the miracle man?”
Told by a nurse that there was a 1% chance of surviving a cardiac arrest outside of hospital.
One good thing that came of this was that a number of people came to know Jesus as their Lord and saviour.
“God knew that I needed saving physically and she needed saving spiritually.”
Says Tom when talking about the fragility of life, “I’m catching my last wave in on my board and next thing I’m dead on the beach.”
“Statistically I shouldn’t be here.”
When asked what this experience has done to her faith Debbie replies, “What it’s shown me is that God is in control…God worked out every minute detail to see it come to pass. So I think if God can be in control of that, I can trust him with everything.” - Debbie
I had so much fun listening to Jaylyne that I didn't want her to stop! We decided to make a part 2 so we could include these stories of amazing things that the Lord has done for Jaylyne's family and for His children in Vanuatu.
Take aways:
God is our supplier, way maker and is always moving on our behalf. Ask for the big things. Nothing is too big an ask for our God. He loves His children!
Enjoy!
Welcome to episode 2 of the I believe in Miracles Collection!It was a 1 in 10 000 chance that I would meet my friend Jaylyne Tabacaru, yet God so has a way of orchestrating our lives and bringing along divine appointments. When Jaylyne was 20 weeks pregnant she and her husband Lucian received a devastating diagnosis for their baby boy. They were told that due to his malformations, he would never see, walk or talk and likely not even live for very long beyond birth. Jaylyne shares what it was like for them walking that journey of pregnancy being both faith filled and realistic. Through it they trusted God and she shares how God stepped in and did something crazy and unexpected. Jaylyne and her family are also missionaries in the Vanuatu Islands and she has some cool stories of miracles that they have seen God do. There was just too much to fit into 1 episode so I have actually tagged on a part 2 of this conversation and you can go and listen to that when you are ready to also.Be encouraged, be inspired, God can do anything!Connect with me on Instagram: @mel_lynamDm me your email and I will send you show notes each time I release an episode! And as a thank you for joining The Full Life community, I'll send you a FREE GIFT - 'Prayers for my children' pdf to put on your wall or in your journal. Some notes and quotes:Incredible God-given dreams to both of them confirming call to missions. Dreams and visions. Supernatural provision. “Even though I had said yes, and I was so willing to be obedient, God had to take me on a journey.”“When we are generous, God always supplies and gives back to us.”The power of sharing our testimony, helps other people to believe God for their own answered prayer. “Despite the trials that we went through I give thanks to God because I am who I am today and my faith is richer because of the trial that we went through.”“The beautiful thing is that this situation got me on my knees.”“I had to be disciplined with getting God’s word in and out. It’s what carried me.”They were faithful and realistic.“In your raw, in your rawest, rawest moments, run to Jesus.”Saturate your soul with worship music. Give thanks despite the circumstance. Jesus is the perfect ointment for your broken heart. He is your hope. Power in our words. That is a real tool, be mindful of how you’re speaking. Speak with hope even if you feel hopeless. We don’t ask God why. This earth is so momentary. You have eternity, where God promises there is no more pain. You can request to join their Facebook page to follow their journey as they minister to people in Vanuatu.
Today is the first episode of a collection called ‘I believe in Miracles’. Usually I release just 1 episode a month but I would like to do something special for this collection and instead bring you fortnightly episodes for this 4 part series!
I love to hear about the incredible things that God is doing in other peoples’ lives. It builds my faith, takes my eyes off of the natural and onto the supernatural, and increases my own expectation.
I am really excited about the people I am going to introduce you to in this Collection. Next episode we are going to hear from Jaylyne who tells us about how her baby boy was born with an underdeveloped brain and God’s response to that situation. So be sure to keep an eye out for that episode in a fortnight but today I am having a conversation with my friend, Lisa Schroder. Lisa is a Pastor at Hope Centre in Brisbane. She is a Mum of 3 beautiful girls, wife of Aaron and this is the 2nd time she has been on The Full Life Podcast and not the last. Lisa is full of wisdom and experience and full of the Holy Spirit. Today we lay a foundation talking about the theology of miracles, and also hear some incredible stories of what Lisa has seen the Lord do recently.
When we don’t receive the miracle.
The change and breakthrough came for Lisa and Aaron when - Her husband and her got tenacious. They thought, “Even though we don’t see a lot of miracles right now the Bible does say that He does heal so therefore we’re going to start believing that.”
They saturated themselves in the Word, reading every story about miracles in the Bible that they could find. They spent a lot of time listening to testimonies. In worship. Praying. They started to see things shift. Started small. One step in front of another. Fasting and praying.
What is a miracle?
Hebrew word
He loves us John 3:16
“I would rather pray prayers that match God’s ability, rather than my experience.”
“The reason He heals today is because He is passionate about His kids.”
Miracles are not conditional.
“Miracles should not be any more complicated than saying yes to Jesus.”
Mark 16:17,18
“I am so challenged to increase my expectation.”
“Faith works like a lighting rod.” My lightning rod is up. Trusting the timing. Fear is the enemy of faith. Have complete confidence that what you’re believing for is going to happen.
Hebrews 1:11
If it was going to be a sure thing, it wouldn’t require faith on our behalf. What’s more important? Seeing it in my time frame? Or believing what He says?
His ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
Im not going to know why but I am still going to believe that God is good.
The question ‘why’ can bring into question God’s character. He is a good God.
Isaiah 7:9
Really important getting the Word of God into you. The Word of God is powerful.
Guarding our language. Make a decision to not speak negatively over your situation. Understanding the power of our words.
Proverbs 18:21 (tongue power of life and death)
“Get your eyes on Jesus and you get your Word going and you start declaring it.”
Acts 19:11 It is God who performs the miracle.
Faith is a fruit that we grow.
Unforgiveness in our hearts can be a barrier to receiving healing. (scripture Mark 11:29???) Sometimes spiritual roots to some diseases.
If you need a healing find as many testimonies to listen to as possible because it will build your faith.
If you need a miracle pray for someone else to get a miracle.
John 5 - the pool of Bethesda. You don’t need the perfect conditions. You just need Jesus to walk into the room.
Praise is a WEAPON.
If you'd like to get in touch with us via Instagram:
@lisamajdesigns
@mel_lynam
A party girl in her 20s falls head over heels in love with a charming man. A scary accident, a miracle healing, a broken marriage; Meet my dear friend, Naomi - a single Mum of 3, a godly woman, a parent helper in her children’s school, a student mentor, a volunteer at Church. This woman is beautiful on the inside and the outside. But life has not been a walk in the park for her. Naomi’s story is one of a prodigal daughter, returning to her Heavenly Father and being received with loving arms again and again. Sin is sin. Sometimes it’s done in the secret and sometimes our shame is out there for all to see. Naomi and I talk about how we are so so thankful that nothing can seperate us from the love of Christ, and that every time we mess up, He is waiting for us, ready to forgive and restore us.
“If I wasn’t forgiving myself I was blocking Jesus’ forgiveness. I was disregarding what He had done for me on the cross. So that was the start of my wake up call.”
Found out she was pregnant. Shame. Not knowing how to face it.
Praying to God “I can’t do this.”
“Knowing that God’s grace was with me and that I have a beautiful little blessing which was Judah”
Did you ever feel judged by people in the church - so much so.
Sin is sin. Sexual sin is seen as so terrible but all sin is terrible.
Romans 8:28 “And just trusting in that - knowing that He works all things to good. Whether it’s a mess that I created or a mess that was out of my control, when you love Him and you submit to Him…He will cause things to work to good.”
Romans 8:1
“At the end of the day serving your kids is serving God.”
God’s grace for us as parents.
Encouragement to single Mums
“Know that you can do it. Take it a day at a time, sometimes a moment at a time.”
“Be kind to yourself”
Learning to accept help. Be a part of a village, learn to connect.
If you’d like to get in touch for any reason, find me on Instagram @mel_lynam
Let me introduce you to my friend Steph Alksne - a high school chaplain, and hairdresser. Steph lived through some pretty rough stuff growing up and shares with us her story of how Jesus saved her, how she met her husband AND the journey that she has been on, of healing from past trauma. Steph gives us some real encouragement from her own experience and from her faith in God. Let me tell you, the day that we recorded this we had to keep re-starting because her cute little puppy kept interrupting us (shout out to Oakley) and after we finished recording I actually gave Steph a hi-five because I loved our conversation. I know that so many people will connect with her experience and be blessed by what she has to say so here’s my conversation with Steph.
What has helped her along her healing journey:
- Counselling, people, her husband, God, gratefulness
“You are valued, you are loved, you have a purpose.”
“Just because you know Jesus doesn’t mean your life is perfect.”
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
“And the grace that God had for my Dad, helped me to love my Dad with unconditional love.”
If you loved this episode then please share it with a friend!
Connect with me on instagram @mel_lynam
I had great fun talking with my friend Stef. She tells us what it was like growing up in Fiji as a Missionaries’ kid! And shares how years later she thought she was marrying the right person but then 2 months into her marriage her world fell apart as she knew it. We talk about the challenge of holding a God-dream in your heart, feeling as though we have been disqualified from those dreams ever happening or like we are stuck waiting. Stef is learning what it means to be content and to give your dreams back to God. Also I love a good love story and we hear this fun one of how she met her now husband and fell in love with him in 1 week!
“Ultimately it did define who I was and it did set me on a course to have a heart for Missions.”
“When everything fell apart, I fell apart.”
After she separated with her first husband she went through a stage where she just shut God out.
“God healed my heart.”
Isaiah 61
Worked for Destiny Rescue
“If all I do now is just raise a family and just live on the Sunshine Coast will Jesus be enough and will I still be in love with the person; the one who gives us the dreams not just the dream?”
“At the end of the day it’s not the dream that matters, it’s your relationship with the dream giver.”
God’s timing is everything
If you loved this episode please share it with a friend!
Connect with Stef on instagram @stefanie.aguina
Connect with Mel on instagram @mel_lynam
Can you imagine living on an island and being faced with a category 5 typhoon? That is exactly what happened to John and Christine and their 2 daughters.
1 year ago John and Christine and their daughters Chilli and Asha were living on the island of Siargao in the Philippine Islands, when a category 5 typhoon tore through, devastating homes and lives.
Surviving the storm was just the beginning, what followed in the days and weeks after would take a bigger toll on them and the community as they rallied together to rebuild their island and their lives.
While many people were waking on Christmas day to find beautifully wrapped presents under a decorated Christmas tree, this family were waking to a shortage of food, water, and no electricity. But instead of focussing on what they were going without, this family got to work helping the families around them and just wait until you hear what they did for some of the other kids living on the island on Christmas day.
John and Christine share their incredible journey from the storm to rebuilding.
No means of communication
35 degree days, no shelter, no water, no medical help
“By the time that roofs were blowing off, it still had more to give.”
“Everything was destroyed.”
“Even though it was a horrible situation we still had peace and strength and not everyone had that.” - Christine
“When you’re living with a Kingdom vision and you know what is to come it makes the problems here on earth not so bad.” - Christine
“You have to surrender to the moment that you’re in but knowing that God is in control of it.” “You can fall back on those promises that God has given you in your life.”
“Are we going to be helpful or burdensome?” - John
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” - John
Connect with John and Christine on instagram @nissi_missions
Connect with Melanie @mel_lynam
Thanks for listening xx
Ericka is an extraordinary human being. She is a freelance writer, author, podcaster, wife and Mum of 2 young children.
She is passionate about the church, and about building up and equipping women in their faith. Today we talk about what could be considered a controversial topic which is alcohol, and what Ericka’s relationship wth alcohol has looked like and what it might look like to have a healthy vs unhealthy relationship with alcohol. It’s a topic that so many people differ in opinion about. We look at what the Bible says and there no judgement here, just a conversation between friends, which includes you. We pray that you will be blessed.
@worthyourtimewomen - podcast
@ericka_andersen - instagram
www.erickaandersen.com for more resources
Recommended book by Ericka - This naked mind by Annie Grace
The Luckiest Club - online community
Find me on instagram @mel_lynam
Glenys is a mother of five and author of the recently published book, ‘When God joins the dots - a series of Divine Appointments.’ She has spent over 26 years as a missionary in Papa New Guinea and Cambodia, with a beautiful heart for the poor and for children. Today Glenys shares with us some of the stories that are in her book and how no matter what she has had to walk through, God’s grace and supernatural strength have always been there for her.
Also joining us today on this episode are some beautiful native Australian birds that do interrupt a bit at the end of our conversation so I apologise for that but I’m sure that you’ll just feel like you are sitting in Glenys’ backyard with us.
“Be on the lookout for divine appointments, because you never know what God is doing when He brings somebody across your path. That that may lead to something amazing.”
inspiringjourney22@gmail.com to get a hold of a copy of When God Joins the Dots. Proceeds go towards supporting Missionaries overseas.
Connect with me on Instagram @mel_lynam
Kylie together with her husband Shane and their four kids live on the Gold Coast. She is a Mum of teenagers, a carer for her parents and a Chaplin for Queensland Police Service. Kylie and Shane’s story of creating a family is both beautiful and heartbreaking, with six miscarriages along the way.
Kylie shares her own experience of dealing with the grief of losing her babies and the very unique way that Kylie and Shane dedicated their babies to the Lord and honoured their memories.
We talk about how men and women grieve differently and having patience for each other and giving yourself permission to be yourself.
Kylie has some real insight into grief and also some beautiful truths to comfort, encourage and bring you hope.
The main message that we want to share with you today is you are not alone.
If you have someone in your life who is walking through the painful journey of miscarriage right now I would encourage you to please share this episode with them. I know it will be a huge blessing to them.
Even though she had her baby, she was still grieving the baby she had lost.
Grief never leaves you. It comes in waves and it’s unexpected you just have to allow it to wash over you. you can’t fight grief.
“I would picture them a lot. I would see their faces.”
“I knew they were real, I knew they were there, I knew they existed, I knew their names.”
“It’s hard to process this journey of loss because they were real, they are gone, and they are now in a better place. And it sounds cliche to say that, but I know that I know that it’s true. I know that they’re alive, I know that they’re in Heaven, and I know that I’m going to meet them one day.”
“My children have grown up knowing that they have six siblings that they will meet one day in Heaven.”
Did you ever feel mad at God? “I was on my knees banging my fists on the ground”
When asked how she resolved her feelings of why and anger “I just gave myself permission to be myself.”
Isaiah 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
“I had the revelation that His ways are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts and that I had to trust the eternal picture.”
You’re not alone.
"God longs to give us the desires of our hearts. He created us to have family. It’s His desire that we desire a baby. He put that in us."
"He has it all in his hands."
“What I know about God now that I have experienced all these things, is that He loves me.”
Psalm 91
"It’s all for a purpose. Some of it I will not find out until eternity."
Kirsty is the founder of The Home Chronicles, a blog which is an expression of the home in relationships, food and DIY. She is also a Pastor and together with her husband Nick are the campus Pastors of Hope Centre, Ipswich.
In this conversation Kirsty gives great advice for where to start in decorating your home on a shoe string budget, she gives us some great time management tips, and Kirsty also shares some quick and easy “go to” recipes that are regularly on her family’s menu. We find out what inspires Kirsty’s decorational style and what motivated her to start painting?
Friends, we also do go a bit deeper. As Kirsty says, a shadow over her childhood is domestic violence. We don’t go into any details about what happened but we do talk about what it is like now as an adult, learning new habits, and growing into a healthy human being who has come out of that kind of environment. And Kirsty also shares with us her concept of ‘the art of fighting well’ within the context of a marriage.
Now just before we go into this conversation I do want to let you know that this will be my last episode for a while. I’m taking a 6 month break to rest, draw closer to God and allow Him to breathe fresh vision into my heart. But I am looking forward to returning with some more great interviews. So right now, enjoy this conversation with the gorgeous Kirsty Emery!
Recorded in September 2020 so COVID-19 outbreak in Ipswich is now under control.
“The poor man pays twice.”
“Some people can be a bit precious about design rules but I think you’ve just got to buy things that you actually love and things that build memories.”
“Taking ownership and having to fight real hard and then go, ‘I refuse for this to be my life. I’ve found Jesus, He has promised me an abundant life so I am going to pursue His truth.”
thehomechronicles.com
@thehomechronicles
@kirsty_emery
Support the show (http://paypal.me/thefulllifepodcast)
Hey thank you so much for joining me today. Our guest is Bek Cunningham. She is a Mum, a Pastor, a Nurse and an Entrepreneur. In our chat today Bek tells us how she met her husband and how he really was NOT marriage material when she met him, how she came to be called to ministry and what that has looked like in different seasons of her life, including while looking after a really sick child. We also talk about where our identity comes from and how God showed Bek the importance of getting our home in order so that we can minister out of a strong and peaceful place. She is a great woman of faith and wisdom and I know you’re really going to love this conversation with Bek Cunningham.
Bek says of a season in her life - “My identity was challenged because my capacity was different. I wasn’t outworking ministry how I anticipated that I would…”
“To eliminate stress from the home - that was my call to ministry in that moment.”
Everyone’s call is to point people to Jesus. The call to ministry is not about being behind a pulpit.
We are one prayer away from changing someone’s life.
Don’t underestimate your value or the things that you think are small but all pieced together, that’s what our call is.
Check us out on Instagram:
@mel_lynam
@fromdaydotshop
@bek_cunningham
@abravelife - The Charity that From Day Dot Shop partner with
Support the show (http://paypal.me/thefulllifepodcast)
Christina is a working Mum, author, podcaster and Christian Entrepreneur Coach. She shares with us how she came to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, and the resulting persecution and relationship breakdowns that followed. I love how Christina says, “Even though there were difficult things, peace stayed with me…I couldn’t turn back.” Christina’s journey is one that includes divorce, secondary infertility, adoption, single parenthood, and being a working Mum and entrepreneur.
In this episode she talks about how to keep your business and parenting centred on Christ, clarifying your God-given purpose and vision for your life, looking after your relationships and the importance of having godly mentors.
This really was such a great conversation so here it - introducing Christina Weber.
Who am I serving? Am I serving God or being a people pleaser?
“I always had that peace but it was painful.”
“I can’t turn back. I can’t not be all in.”
Her journey of secondary infertility resulting in adoption of her daughter.
“It’s not what you’re doing in your business or in your life, it’s who you’re being.”
- Salvation story and resulting persecution and relationship breakdown
- Adoption
- Infertility
- Podcasting
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How to keep your business and parenting centred on Christ.
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3 hour morning routine, mass, podcast, prayer, bible study, accountability group. See’s herself as God’s instrument. Need to be a pure vessel of the Holy Spirit. Having those spiritual practices and structures in place. Review the day at the end of the day. St Ignatius night examine. Conversation with God.
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Clarifying your God-given purpose and vision for your life.
- Looking after your relationships
— What’s the end game? What kind of adults do you want your children to be? What kind of marriage do you want? That has to be a part of your planning and what you do everyday.
- Parenting
- Launching her oldest son into College and adulthood while navigating divorce.
- The importance of having godly mentors and advisors in your life.
“I am doing a disservice to my clients to not go into my day fully grounded in Christ.”
Proverbs 10:22
When you’re really aligned and your whole focus is serving God and others, it becomes effortless.
Proverbs 22:6
It’s such a short time and if you miss the boat you don’t get a 2nd chance. She really feels great about the focus she did on her kids. Don’t deal with it later - later they’ll be gone.
“You do not have to be perfect to produce great kids.”
Check out Christina’s podcast show, Christian Biz Owners on Fire: https://www.christianbizownersonfire.com/podcast/
Mel’s instagram - @mel_lynam
Support the show (http://paypal.me/thefulllifepodcast)
Amy is a mental health and women’s body image advocate with a Bachelor of Psychology with honours. Her personal experience with Scoliosis and living with chronic pain, has left Amy resilient, and compassionate toward other people and their suffering.
On today’s show Mel and Amy talk about Amy’s own struggle with body image and something called Self Compassion - what that is and how it can help us to establish a healthy body image.
Amy also shares what it is like living with chronic pain and how having a Heavenly mindset has helped her to cope with it.
With over 5 years of university under her belt and a passion for mental health, Amy gives her tips for maintaining mental health during the uni years.
As a child with Scoliosis she was never comfortable with or even in her own body. However Amy describes her journey as one of overcoming rather than of limitation.
Self Compassion helps with body image.
What it is:
Self compassion - Treat yourself as kindly as you would a friend.
Mindfulness - being aware of your thoughts but not in an overly judgemental way.
Self kindness - to yourself, not being super critical
Common humanity - realising that a lot of people face struggles and I’m not the only one.
Recent research shows that an appreciation for nature creates an appreciation for ourselves as a whole.
“Faith is more than just a feeling, it is more than where you are at now.”
How do we teach our children realistic ideas of a normal body?
Pain is as much mental as physical.
“He taught me about trusting in Him even when it doesn’t feel right and having that Heavenly mindset and looking above where you’re at in this moment.”
“Trusting in his plan and his purpose.”
“A journey of overcoming rather than a journey of limitation.” “God carries you through stuff. He doesn’t just let it be a block in your journey, in your path.”
Tips for mental health as a student:
Time management
Self care - knowing yourself, taking care of yourself, when to put up boundaries and say yes or no, self discipline.
Time management tips - know how you work, always allow extra time, set yourself deadlines.
Follow Amy on Instagram @amyjdewet
Follow Mel on Instagram @mel_lynam
Support the show (http://paypal.me/thefulllifepodcast)
Emily Higgins is a mother of 5, together with her husband Ben is the campus Pastor of Life Church North in Brisbane, a healing evangelist, and author of a beautifully written blog all about Life, Motherhood and Leadership so once you’ve listened to this episode, go check out her blog at emilyhiggins.com.au
Emily’s faith is one that has been through the furnace - several times and as a result it is a beautiful thing to behold. When she was just 15 years old Emily was in a horrendous accident that nearly killed her. Years later when she was in her 4th pregnancy, Emily received the difficult news that her identical twin baby girls had TTTS, which is a life threatening condition. Unfortunately one of her babies died unexpectedly just weeks before birth and the other was born prematurely but clung to life.
So yes, Emily gets the highs and lows of faith and continues to trust and put her hope in a loving God. She puts it all so beautifully here in this conversation so grab some tissues as I introduce you to my friend Emily Higgins.
“There’s nothing like how near He (Jesus) draws to us when we’re in such pain.”
“God designed His church to be a loving, supportive community…and receiving help, and knowing that I was strong enough with people and not by myself… that was ok.”
Visit Emily’s blog for beautiful posts about Life, Leadership and Motherhood - emilyhiggins.com.au
Follow her on Instagram - @emilyhiggins
Follow Mel on Instagram - @mel_lynam
Support the show (http://paypal.me/thefulllifepodcast)
Jane lives in Brisbane, is a mother of 4 young children and works part time as one of the directors of a program through Hope Centre Services called Mimi’s House.
Mimi’s House works with schools to support vulnerable children, teaching them important life skills to help them with their social, emotional and physical development. It is doing so much good in the City of Brisbane and I was so inspired by this program that I wanted to sit down with Jane and talk about how it works, how these kids lives are being changed and perhaps God has placed a seed in your heart, an idea or a dream and it is our prayer that today as you listen to this conversation that that seed will be watered, that idea or dream will be coloured in a bit more and you will be stirred up and inspired to step out and take steps towards doing what the Lord has placed on your heart to do
We also talk about marriage, parenting and the juggle of work Mum life.
We start off by sharing some stories of the biggest messes that our kids have made.
About Mimi's House:
Give them tools to help them engage in life and in school. 56 kids in program, 6 different partnership schools. 8th year. Around 320 children have passed through their doors. Spend a lot of time working on skills where they don’t give up through fun little activities.
Often their confidence is so low they don’t want to give it a go. Encouraging them to give it a go. Teach the children that there are adults outside of their family that they can trust. Consistent trustworthy adults. These children just learn that there are people in their world that are safe.
They create a safe atmosphere. A sense of calmness.
A lot of these children haven’t learnt to play. Play-based teaching. Teach about trust and identify hopefully 5 people in their life that they can trust. How to be a good friend. What to do when your body is getting angry - techniques.
Working on the thinking and belief system that they have of themselves for eg. “I belong.”
They do a unit around Master Chef, teaching them simple meals to make at home.
Mimi's House:
https://www.hopecentreservices.org/mimis-house
Instagram - @hopecentreservices
Follow me on Instagram - @mel_lynam
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Sarah-Jane the founder of Christian Women in Business, an online community and Conference and podcast that equips, builds up, inspires and strengthens Christian women around the world in business.
Sarah-Jane Meeson is also an automation and online business extraordinaire. She serves business owners through consultations, online workshops, and automation services through theautomationgirl.com.
Today we talk about her 4 top tips for time management, we discuss setting up healthy boundaries and how knowing your worth in Christ Jesus can make a huge difference and actually amplify your business.
Times that SJ has felt like giving up was brought on from her burning out and not managing herself very well.
Advice for if you’re in a place where you feel like giving up.
Time management tips
- Say no to things.
- Only focus on a couple of things. Pick your top 3 things in your life that you want to work on right now. My priorities are…
- Have routines. How do I start my day so it sets me up for success?
“Routines breed freedom.” - Get rid of all notifications and distractions. When working put it on do not disturb. When that computer is off you are doing your family time. “Post and go”.
Knowing your worth as a Christian Woman in Business. Sometimes you feel like you need to give away your products and services for free. That’s not valuing what God has given you. Know your worth in Christ. He has given you something of value that He is trusting you with. Knowing it’s ok for you to charge for what you are offering and God wants us to make money.
“He wouldn’t have given you the idea if He didn’t think you could do it.”
The law of business - you make money and you spend money.
- God loves you and He created you.
- Your business is God’s business and your business.
- The worker deserves his wages.
- Protect your time.
“At the end of the day when I’m called for judgement, I want to know that I said yes to the right things that God wants me to.”
Know your boundaries and protect them.
Connect with Sarah-Jane:
www.christianwomeninbusiness.com.au
http://theautomationgirl.com
Instagram: @sarahjanemeeson
@theautomationgirl
@christianwomeninbusiness
@theautomationtribe
Connect with Mel:
Instagram: @mel_lynam
Subscribe so that you don't miss any new episodes!
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This episode is a pot of gold. And what I mean by that is I have gone through some of my favourite episodes and pulled out some really powerful, profound moments, interesting stories and put them together here for you in this one episode. These are some of the moments that have impacted me the most. And I thought that in celebration of the year that has been, it would be good to go back and have another listen to them.
- Ep:1 John and Christine Carby
- Ep:4 Marieka Hazard
- Ep:16 Debbie Hill
- Ep:19 Evalyn Parsons
- Ep:15 Stacey McBride Wilson
- Ep:20 Lisa Schroder (@lisamajdesigns)
- Ep:29 Emma Lorrie Cooke
And there we have it. 7 excerpts from 7 conversations that really impacted me in this first year of podcasting. I am looking forward to this next year and have lots of great guests lined up and coming your way, including women from all sorts of walks of life. If you have any suggestions of someone you would like me to interview or you would like to share your own story with us, dm me on instagram @mel_lynam or pm me on Facebook. Friend, let me tell you that you are a valuable daughter of God and He wants to see you living life to the full in every area of your life. He is faithful and we can see that in our own stories, and in the stories of others. I hope you are being encouraged, I hope you are being inspired, and I hope that you are being equipped to live out your calling every day of your life. Talk to you soon.
Mel x
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Hannah is a high school teacher and Mum to 3. In 2017 Hannah was pregnant with their 2nd child however, at the 20 week scan they received devastating news that the baby had a life-threatening disease. Hannah takes us through that journey of faith, believing for a miracle, and the loss of a child. She tells of how they came through that traumatising experience with their faith still in tact, how they moved forward, and navigated marriage as two people grieving in their own way yet together. Yes it is a sad story about the loss of a child however it’s not just that. It is also a story of resilient faith, and how a couple found strength and peace in a loving God. I know that you will be inspired and encouraged.
At their 20 week scan baby Ezra was diagnosed with Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD)
Very few survive outside the womb. 1 in 25,000 babies born with ARPKD.
Hannah says of their story, “We just were guided so much by God’s peace in that time. That was just our foundation.”
Prior to falling pregnant Hannah went through a season where she felt like she could not get enough of God. She constantly craved His presence. She now looks back and sees that as the Lord preparing her for the journey she was about to walk through. “I was able to stand quite firmly even despite the questions and the struggles and I suppose the fear of losing a child. I felt like God was just strengthening me all through that journey.”
Some scriptures that Hannah held onto were:
Psalm 139:5 (NLT)
“You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.”
Psalm 71:6 (NIV)
“From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you.”
“I just knew that I had to be raw and real and say God this is how I’m feeling.”
The Holy Spirit ministered to Hannah with Worship. One song was Bethel song - You can just rest.
“He won’t always answer that question of why. That’s where our faith comes into it.”
How did they go back to life after their baby’s death?
Both took time off work.
Went away for a weekend childfree and did some fun things to have some light hearted moments and take the pressure off.
How did you navigate how you and your husband grieve differently?
Kept the lines of communication open, kept checking in with each other. “How are you doing today?” “How are you doing with Ezra?” Spending time with God separately. They’d work things out separately and then come back together. Prioritising time together. Maintain intimacy and connection. Talking about Ezra and the milestones that Ezra would be going through right now. Talking about him and keeping him in your conversations.
It doesn’t upset her at all when people bring Ezra up. It’s quite soothing and healing. They celebrate his birthdays.
We talk about how 3 year old big brother Seth went.
How did they feel falling pregnant with their 3rd child?
“God is not confined to statistics.”
We just went in praying and believing that this baby would be healthy. They knew that it was a risk but chose to trust God.
Thankfully their 3rd child Marlie was born perfectly healthy.
Hannah has encouragement for any other Mum right now who is walking through a similar journey right now.
The feeling of empty arms when you leave the hospital without your baby. “Through God’s healing he can bring such peace and comfort to your heart.”
“Be real with Him. Don’t shy away from having those hard conversations with Him and just pouring out your heart to Him. It helped me for sure.”
Hannah chose to do a 30 days of gratitude challenge and post them on Instagram.
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Rebekah is a full-time Mum and the Children’s Director at her Church. She lives with her husband Nathan and their 5 children in Brisbane. On today’s episode Rebekah shares with us her story of adopting their 5th child, Zion Tong from China. They said it couldn’t be done, that as Australians it would be too hard to adopt a child from China. Rebekah and Nathan found a loop hole and after a faith-stretching journey they finally have their boy in their arms. We talk about the crazy dreams that started everything and the power of ‘just trying’. Rebekah walks us through every stage of the journey - from meeting Zion, raising money, jumping through hoops to get him, and then the challenges of the first few months of adoption. This is a story of perseverance, overcoming faith and love.
Three years prior to visiting China, Rebecca had dreams about China and babies that had been thrown away. Felt really drawn to China.
“Sometimes we are in a waiting season and those can be really challenging.” “Three years of waiting and believing that if God had a plan that it would happen.”
They had 4 little kids and it didn’t make sense in that season. Her husband Nathan at the time of the dreams wasn’t on the same page yet.
We had always been told from the beginning, you’re Australian, it’s too hard to adopt, you can’t. They were told by the Australian immigration officer that it would be like jumping through rings of fire.
“I just wanna try.” That was their go to for all of those challenging moments - we’ll just try.
“Adopting one child won’t change the world but for that one child the world will change.”
“There were those moments where God was like, “I’ve got it.” Money came in from unexpected places. God continued to confirm so that even though it was stressful, they knew God was in control.
The scripture that Bek says really sums it up is Psalm 139:1-10
“O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave,[a] you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest ocean
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.”
“It’s just knowing that God has a plan and in my humanity He’s still able to be strong and help things come to pass.”
“Wow God, you always knew. I think we forget that about God…that He knows the outcome.”
What it was like in the first few weeks after adopting Zion Tong. He wanted to go home. Grieving. How they involved their 4 children in the adoption process.
“He (God) is able to do far more than we can ever imagine.”
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Today I’m talking with Pastor Emma Lorrie Cooke, who together with her husband Jared are the Campus Hillsong Pastors of Sunshine Coast South. After 8 years of a previous marriage, at the age of 30, Emma found herself single and divorced. We talk about what led to that divorce, what steps Emma took toward healing and restoration, and how she dealt with the shame that she felt. Emma gives really great encouragement for anyone else walking out that journey. We also talk about what it’s like pioneering a church with 2 small children, and then we spend some time on a topic that is perhaps not talked about enough and that is miscarriage, which sadly Emma had to also walk through a couple of times. But God is good and Emma testifies to His goodness in her life so grab a cuppa, or settle into that task or workout, because you’re gonna be so blessed. Here’s my conversation with Pastor Emma Lorrie Cooke.
“You feel robbed of time.”
“Here I was suddenly single celebrating my 30th birthday and it wasn’t how I expected my 30th to be.” But God isn’t constrained to time.
Took 3 years to be restored from divorce.
Do you get to a point where it doesn’t hurt anymore? Absolutely. Zero pain attached to story. “I have to remind myself that I actually lived that life.” Puts that to the supernatural aspect. That’s the power of God.
“When you put your life in God’s hands and you give him full reign to restore you…that day will come when you do feel restored.”
You are left with scars and consequences.
“Keep trusting Him and keep moving forward and live by His Word.”
Apply His Word and live by it.
“God I’m a basket case if you don’t help me.” Resolute thinking is what made the process quicker for her because she just threw herself at God and His ways and His time.
Received counselling for a year because “I was determined, this isn’t going to be baggage in my life. I’m not going to be destroyed by this. God, if you are the restorative God I know that you are, you’ve got another life on the other side of this.”
Go get help. Unravel your thinking so that you can understand yourself better.
How she coped with the shame. Psalm 34:18 God is close to the broken hearted, to those who are feeling pain. He brings them close. The only shame that is attached is from the enemy. “The enemy loves to attach shame to our life situations that seem to society are a failure in life.” The enemy loves to attach lies to pain but God’s heart is always open.
She loved being in a safe church, a safe Christian environment that didn’t punish her for what she was going through. Being on a roster and a part of a team really helped pull her to church.
Promises she held on to were Jeremiah 29:11 and He won’t leave me or forsake me. Printed out who I am in Christ. Had to confess over her life.
The label of divorce can be really binding for someone’s life. That’s just society and our own minds, not God.
Miscarriage and Infertility
2nd child after 2 miscarriages.
“You have no idea if you just hope one more time and you stir faith one more time you actually give Heaven the ability to perform a miracle in your life.”
Follow Emma on Instagram @emmalorriecooke
Hillsong Sunshine Coast South @hillsongsunshinecoaststh
Follow Mel on Instagram @mel_lynam
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“Put more faith in His ability to speak than in your inability to hear.”
Vicki is an Aussie-Italian preacher and Prophet from Sydney, Australia. She is sought after by churches and conferences across the globe - also consulting in her capacity as a prophet with church leadership teams, businesses and boards.
For me it was a huge honour to be able to talk with her about what prophecy is, what its role is in the Church, what the difference is between having the gift of prophecy and the office of prophet. We also talked about how God speaks to us and Vicki has some great advice for any listeners who are struggling to hear from God. Then my favourite part is toward the end of our conversation when Vicki shares with us what God is saying to the Church in Australia in this season.
So grab a coffee, get comfortable and enjoy this conversation with Vicki Simpson.
Also available to watch on The Full Life Podcast Youtube Channel
www.vickisimpson.com
Instagram @vickisimpson
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Hi welcome to another episode of 5 minutes with Mel. I’m all about helping you to connect with God and live the Full life that He has created you to live. Today is the first time that I am recording an episode onto my podcast and onto a video for youtube so if you enjoy watching your podcasts on video go check it out!
Let me start by reminding you that God is not far off in some distant land and you have to make a really big effort for Him to hear you, no. God is here with you right now. He is closer to you than the air in your lungs and the Word of God tells us in 1 Peter 3:12 That “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer.”
I want to tell you that God’s phone is never engaged or turned off.
And then secondly, you do not have to make a really big effort to hear Him.
John 10:37 “My sheep hear my voice.” That’s Jesus speaking about us.
So He’s not far away, He hears our prayers, we don’t have to struggle to hear Him and He is speaking to you already and you may not even know it.
There are some obvious ways that God speaks to us
Such as Dreams, Visions, through a prophet, a friend giving us a word, through a sermon where something really jumps out at you and resonates in heart.
Here are some less obvious ways that God speaks to us and if you aren’t aware of them or looking for them, perhaps you’re missing it.
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Carlie is a Pastor, counsellor, mum of 3 teenage girls and wife to Darren. She is totally passionate about people and listening to them. She is one of the most in love with Jesus people that you will ever meet and really exudes His love and grace and joy. On this episode we have such a good conversation about parenting girls. Some of the topics we cover are - parenting in the younger years, the importance of having open and honest conversations, social media, phones, clothes, boys, peer pressure, friends, alcohol, building self esteem, and we even have some tips in there for parenting boys too. Now I do have to let you know that some of the words we use may not be appropriate for little ears when we start talking about boys so I would recommend you do listen to this episode when there are no little kiddies within earshot. Parenting is very personal - as you know - and a lot of people hold different opinions about how to parent our children. Carlie is sharing out of her own experience, faith and values. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything that Carlie says, I love love loved this interview and personally received so much out of it for my own parenting journey. I definitely plan on coming back to this episode years from now to remind myself of her golden advice. So if you find something that Carlie says doesn’t sit well with you for your family then that’s ok, put that aside. I know that Carlie would agree with me when I say keep what you want to keep and put aside what you don’t want. Now without any further adieu, here is my conversation with Pastor Carlie Clark.
Cultivate conversation around the dinner table, never eat dinner in front of tv. Nothing is out of bounds to talk about.
Social media - “If you put enough trust, honesty and communication into your relationship it’s not really an age thing it’s where are they at…on their maturity level…each child is very different.”
Relationship with Jesus
Carlie always wanted to focus on demonstrating a relationship with Jesus over teaching rules. “Love sets the boundary.” “As much as I talk about Him (Jesus) I make sure it’s in an abundant and grace-filled way and not in a law giving way.”
Peer pressure
Have the conversations with them the whole way through. Healthy self esteem, love themselves. Do you think good thought about yourself? That is the most important thing. Carlie would talk to them about drugs.
Self esteem.
Pick their gifting. Tell them who they are. Identity. That content “Do you know who you are? You’re so good at this…” Really notice those things that they’re different with and point them out. Tell them they’re pretty, especially Daddy. Compliment them on what their gifting is
Mental health
Teenagers suffer the most from isolation. They need that support from their peers. She has never used taking their phones as punishments because they need to stay connected. She wants her kids to talk frustrations out with their friends and sisters, even about Mum and Dad. Boys need to hang out.
Alcohol
It is very different for each household. Carlie and Darren let their daughter taste alcohol at 15 or 16 so they don’t like it. But don’t want it to be a big ‘hidden treasure’.
Sibling rivalry
It’s part of growing up. It has no bearing on their relationship later on. It’s jus part of being little. We all do that differently. It got to the point when she let them sort it out. But if turned into something huge stepped in. “What’s it like experiencing you?” “What was it like for them?” Just accept it’s what they do.
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In 2018 I had my third baby, Mila Grace. She was beautiful, she slept well, fed well, had a gorgeous smile and because she was my third I felt fairly confident that I knew what I was doing. Now something that you need to know about her name is that Mila means ‘Gracious’ so essentially her name is “Gracious grace” and I think about that scripture that says that God gives us grace upon grace. I totally believe that God knew what he was doing when he helped us to come up with that name because oh my goodness we need a lot of grace for this child but I want to talk to you about that year. Because that year I fell into a deep dark hole and I felt like I was drowning. I had no idea how I had come this place and no idea how to get out.
No, I don’t think that I had post natal depression because my symptoms didn’t match. But I will say that I had plenty of symptoms of anxiety. I was in this paradox loving having a baby, just enjoying her so much but feeling so very overwhelmed and out of control. I felt like I could never catch up on the laundry, the house was so messy, I was worried about finances, there was a family drama happening, I was sleep deprived, and I realised that my thoughts were going to a very unhealthy place.
There was this one day that I was at the shops with my 3 girls who at the time were about 4, 2 and 5 months old. I had just gone to the toilet and come out and my 4 year old announced that she needed to go to the toilet. “Why didn’t you go when we were in there?” I snapped at her, made a big deal about it, turned around and went back into the toilets. While I waited for her I looked at 2 year old Eva and had 2 simultaneous thoughts. The first was “She has such beautiful eyes” and the 2nd thought was, “I don’t deserve to be their mother.” I felt guilty and I felt trapped.
So I asked for help. I called up a friend who has been diagnosed with anxiety and has had to live with it for years. We sat down, I was honest and vulnerable, I told her I was struggling and she gave me great advice about putting together a weekly schedule and planning out everything that needed to be done like groceries and laundry and meal plans. Oh my goodness did that help me!
I sat down with a friend who has 4 teenage children and asked her for advice on how to get by.
I told the girls in my weekly Church connect group that I was struggling.
I saw a Psychologist.
Slowly, I was able to get myself out of that dark hole but I could not have done that alone. Friend, I want to say that you do not have to have it together all the time. And it is ok to admit to someone when you do not. We are not meant to do life alone, or covering up our struggles. That’s why we have friends and family. If you need help, please reach out to someone and ask for help. If I had not reached out for help I really think I could have ended up having a nervous breakdown - a genuine medical one. Friends and family are gifts from God. They are meant to be utilised and called on for advice, wisdom, a shoulder to cry on, prayer, meals, baby sitting, washing. We are meant to ask for help, it’s a very healthy thing to do.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
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Joy grew up in Nigeria and had a very unique family structure that we would probably never encounter here in Australia. Joy shares with us her story of the negative words that her father spoke over her when she was a child, the power that they had over her and how she was able to overcome them. She also tells us how the Lord brought her husband into her life in a surprising way.
Joy went from being forbidden to go to school as a child, to working as a qualified Teacher!
Now a Teacher with her own family and living in Australia, Joy is passionate about speaking life giving words over her own children and students. There was laughter, there were tears, here is my conversation with Joy Ighodaro.
Born in Nigeria, came to Australia when 27 years old. 16 siblings.
“All my life I was in a battle of truth.”
“I knew God was preparing me for something.”
“The enemy was fighting my destiny and who I would become.”
Her Father forbid her from going to school. “Never, never. You’re not going. You don’t know anything, you can’t amount to anything.” “Every time, constantly, the words would echo around in my head.”
2 of her older brothers decided that they would do everything in their means to make sure that Joy could go to school.
The primary school battle
The high school battle
The words would constantly undermine her confidence. She kept failing in her assessments.
"I constantly just failed."
“The time came in my life I had to run away from home.”
"On the 6th time I passed my exam."
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
"I had to trust God every step of the way."
“When I saw who God made me to be and I saw those words weren’t good enough, I had to change it.”
The words that Joy tells her class of students everyday:
“Class class class (Yes yes yes). I’m not giving up, I can do it.”
Joy prays over each of her students. She can see the results of negative words that have been spoken over some children’s lives and she asks the Lord what she can do to help these kids. Every word that she says to these kids are life giving.
“Words can be so powerful and as parents we should be really careful of what we speak to our children because it’s hearts.”
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Whatever you feel is separating you from God - be it busyness, lack, or any circumstances - He is closer to you than the air in your lungs and you have direct access to Him. Whenever you want. He is not out of reach.
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Rhonda and her husband Rod Jobe have been pastors for 42 years and are the Senior Pastors of Church On The Rise Sunshine Coast. They have 2 beautiful children - a son and a daughter - who passed away when they were teenagers from a genetic disease called Mucopolysaccharidosis. We talk about what it was like for them in raising 2 children with special needs, the challenges that they faced, and ways they recognised that God was with them. Rhonda gives us some advice on looking after your marriage when your children require a lot from you and what we can do to help support friends who have children with special needs. Then we look at Psalm 139 which paints the picture of a loving Creator who carefully and intentionally knits us together in our mothers’ womb, and we ask how does that make sense when we see children born with defects and diseases. Rhonda has a great answer for that.
Upon diagnosis her first reaction was “God can fix this.”
Both children diagnosed with Mucopolysaccharidosis. Develop normally til they’re 3, gradual evening off and they don’t see their teenage years.
Christie had low frequency hearing loss. Josh went blind from Hydrocephalus.
There were answered prayers along the way.
“If we can get through this, you can get through it too.”
What you can do to help support friends who have kids with special needs.
Advice for looking after your marriage:
- Having God as your life
- Do this together
- Good communication
- Give each other space
- Accept the other person for who they are and what they’re like
We look at Psalm 139 How do we reconcile this scripture with children who are not born ‘perfect’?
Rhonda’s book “Unto Us a Child is Born” is available. Please contact Rhonda rhondajobe@gmail.com for a copy.
www.xavier.org.au enables families of children with health and disability and were a great help to Rhonda and Rod and their children.
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Colossians 3:23-24
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
It's never in vain, remember you're doing it for Him.
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Rachel and her husband Joshua live in Danang Vietnam with their 3 children aged 12,10 and 5. They currently have a project called Life House, which supports single mothers who have chosen to keep their babies rather than abort. What they’re doing over there is so good. We talk about what it’s like being an expat in Vietnam and Rachel gives great advice for anyone who feels like God is calling them to overseas ministry. Rach encourages us to step outside of our comfort zone, say yes to opportunities, have courage and trust God to do the rest.
Just a quick disclaimer, we do briefly mention the Corona virus. I recorded this interview back in February and at that time here in Australia we only had a few cases so things were very different at the time for us. Just putting that into context there.
In Vietnam there is a very high abortion rate due to the one child family law for government workers in Vietnam and the shame around pregnancy outside of marriage.
Provide a home for women and their babies with support and education.
Prenatal care, postnatal, feeding, health and nutrition,
Transition between countries for kids. Responding to hard questions from their son as he sees injustices.
Say yes to opportunities, stepping out of our comfort zones, have some courage and God will do the rest. Model this for our children.
“Be prepared, pray and don’t be afraid to share what God has put on your heart.” Rachel’s advice to anyone who feels called to overseas ministry.
Follow Rachel and her Cup and Spoon shop on Instagram!
@cup_and_spoon_shop
@rachelh1lton
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The other day I read a post from a Facebook friend who said, “One thing they feel sad about is that they don’t have anything to look forward to right now.” and I thought that’s so true.
As someone who stays home pretty much every single day right now, The days can blend into each other. Some times I can’t even remember what day it is. Usually you would have something to mark a day such as coffee with a friend or an apt but right now it’s the same thing every day.
Having something fun to look forward to is really healthy for our soul and so I thought that I’d give you some ideas that might help you to feel like there is something on your weekly calendar to look forward to.
Weekly:
Join a church life group or start your own. Dan had just started his for young dads…
Have coffee with Bobbie Houston Co-seniour pastor of Hillsong Church Global 9am Sydney time Thursdays.
Organise a girls night catch up via Zoom once a month.
Go for a walk in the afternoon
A fun family activity at home for the whole family like camping out in the backyard, fire with marshmallows and damper, go for a walk/scooter/bike ride
Go for a walk once a week with a close friend/sibling (1.5m)
Plan a date night with hubby once a fortnight where you order take out after the kids are in bed, play some games or just talk.
Daily:
Nap time - something fun for you to do like nap, nails, read with cuppa or give kids 1.5 hours of tv and call it Mum time.
Make a plan for the day the night before - list of fun things you can do with kids during the week (lots of ideas online) For me it’s bake, youtube ballet lessons, online zoos and museums, sow something, board games, scavenger hunt. Then you have lots of ideas to pull out of the hat when they take a break from playing with each other and say those dreaded words, “I’m bored. What can I do?”
I want to remind you that even if we don’t feel it, every day has great purpose.
Ephesians 2:10
"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
I thought, what do I want to achieve most during this time of isolation? Was thinking project around the house or with podcast and as I thought about this I looked up and sore my 3 beautiful girls were crowding around me as I held baby Joshy on my lap and I thought, they shall be my greatest achievement. Doing what I can to make this a fun family time for them will be my greatest achievement.
Some thoughts on enjoying every day.
Philippians 4:4
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Psalm 118:24 New Living Translation (NLT)
"This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 68:3
But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy.
Psalm 89:15
Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
Psalm 37:23 New Living Translation (NLT)
"The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives."
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Hi, just a heads up, this week’s episode is a bit different. I sat down on my very first Instagram live and had a very casual, fun and honest conversation with my friend Christina Emmerson about what life looks like for each of our families right now during this pandemic, what has changed, the high’s and low’s, what are some things that we are doing to get through this season and some ideas for taking care of ourselves during this stressful time. There’s a lot of laughter, and a lot of inspiration there for Mums who are busy taking care of their family and also want to take care of themselves.
Christina and her husband Ricky are the Lead Pastors of Life Church on the Sunshine Coast, Qld, Australia. They have two beautiful girls aged 6 and 3. Our kids are growing up together and Nina is a good friend of mine. She’s such a blessing to me and I know that she will be such a blessing to you too.
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Loneliness - it’s really hard. I have had seasons in my life where I just felt...lonely. One of those times was when I was single and not long moved out of home. My Mum had moved across the country, my best friend had moved across state and my sister was away travelling the world. I remember longing for big loud family dinners, and a home full of people (maybe that’s why I have 4 children!). Years later I found myself married, a new Mum, and now it was my turn to move away from family and friends. We were now living in a new city, attending a new church and I.Felt.So.Lonely. For a time. But if you keep moving, keep trying, keep showing up...loneliness doesn’t stay. Unless you let it. Unless you settle in it.
Here are 8 ways to combat loneliness during this time of quarantine and social distancing.
Please leave a review and subscribe for more great episodes.
Talk to you soon x
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This week I speak with Annabel Bateman from Annabelbateman.com. Annabel is a food blogger, Hashimoto’s patient, mother of 3 boys, foodie, mediator, author, essential oils advocate and thyroid health coach. She’s got lots of good stuff to share with us such as her top 5 tips for wellness, and how to get started on improving your health when you feel like you are so far away from where you want to be. If you are interested in improving your thyroid health then this is the person to listen to. But even if you just want to improve your health in general Annabel has some great insights for us.
Her story of living with Hashimotos Disease, not satisfied with only taking a pill for the rest of her life. Now knows there are a lot of other things she can do in addition to medication.
From family law to author, blogger and health coach specialising in thyroid health.
Looked for natural ways of supporting her health but didn’t always like what they told her so she didn’t always do what they told her to do.
Annabel is mindful that we are all in different places of our health journeys and we have to be ready to make changes or else it won’t be sustained.
Seemed like too hard. Liked food too much and didn’t understand the benefit.
It took her 10 years of dabbling before she realised how important it was and then took it far more seriously.
Focus on the things you can have, don’t focus on what you can’t have. Make yummy food.
It’s easier to eat grain free and dairy free now than it was 10 years ago and there are a lot recipe books available to help.
Top 5 wellness tips:
- Look at your diet. Food is medicine. We are what we eat. Eat food that is nutrient rich.
- Reduce stress. Look at ways that we can reduce stress on a day to day basis. Essential oils.
- Sleep. Good quality sleep. Relaxing ritual before sleep.
- Connect. Hang around with people who are healthy and well. Our emotional health is really important.
- Reduce toxins.
Top 3 essential oil tips:
- Use them. Everyday.
- Spread them around your home where you are going to use them (oil stations). Eg. Calming oil in bathroom for after a shower, oils in laundry, bedrooms etc.
- Gradually replace things around your home over time ie. surface sprays and cleaning products.
For someone who feels so far away from where they want to be with their health, what would the first few steps for them be?
Understand why you might want to make some changes. Gain understanding through books and podcasts. Once you understand why that will help you to do that. Working on the mindset so that you’re ready to change. We want things to be a lifestyle and sustainable.
For someone who feels like they’re doing pretty good with their health how can they take things further?
Be open to trying different things and learning about new practices.
“It’s never about perfection it’s just always about improvement.”
Tips for a woman who looks after everybody else and feels like she may not have enough time to take care of herself.
It’s okay to look after yourself. Know that you are valuable and it actually is important to look after yourself.
Attach a new habit to a habit that you already have (“habit stacking”).
annabelbateman.com
whatannabelcooks.com
@annabel.bateman.wellness
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I woke up on Sunday morning, and suddenly realised that maybe there is something to the idea of stocking up on things. And I’ll be honest. I wasn’t thinking about food - food was not my first thought. I was thinking about nappies. Like what do you do if you don’t have nappies? And then we went to church and we weren’t hugging people or shaking hands and were sanitising like crazy. And when I went to visit my Nan this week in her nursing home, children are not allowed in, they check your temperature upon arrival. I didn’t even hug or kiss my Nan today just to be safe.
And I know that this is nothing compared to what is happening in countries like Italy and Vietnam where schools are closed and everyone is staying home. But there is all of this uncertainty around health and the economy and it is impacting every single person on the planet! It’s global.
But here’s what I know.
When life is uncertain God is certain. The shops may run out of rice and pasta but God is our provider. This didn’t surprise Him. From before the beginning of time God knew that in 2020 there would be a global pandemic. God is still in control and His plans for you are still good.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 46:1-3
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
And I love this scripture - Isaiah 26:3
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”
Philippians 4:6,7
"Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, with prayer and petition and thanksgiving to God; present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Tonight friend, when you rest your head on your pillow I want you to say these words, “Father God, I trust in you. You make me lie down in peace. You are my rock, my fortress, my shelter. I will not fear because you are with me. Thank you for keeping my family safe physically and financially. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
God is for you. He loves you. I’m praying for you. Talk to you soon.
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Roma wrote a book to give people hope. But first she had to live through unspeakable pain.
Roma is a person who has had to walk through grief, trauma and loss, four fold. The pain and grief that she carries is not evident in the smile on her face or the calm and easy manner with which she shares her story. Roma hasn’t carried her grief on her own. She says, “If I didn’t have Christ I would not have got through the traumas and the tragedy.” And somehow, despite the odds, Roma has found a way to reach outside of her own pain to help other people who are grieving to find healing, wholeness, joy and hope.
In this conversation Roma shares her story of how she lost her Mum when she was 16, her daughter to murder, her grandchildren kidnapped, and then years later lost her husband and granddaughter in a tragic plane accident. We talk about what grief is like, and Roma shares some keys that have helped her to heal. She says, “No matter what you go through you can come through it healed and whole.”
So here’s my conversation with Roma Flood.
Roma's book ‘Despite The Odds’ - www.romaflood.com
Provides simple everyday keys to ease the pain.
Follow @romaflood on Instagram.
Some take aways:
“There’s no time frame on grief.” “Every person does it differently.”
“Ever present emptiness that you can’t escape.” “No-one can prepare for it.”
“No matter what you go through, you can come through it healed and whole.”
“If I didn’t have Christ I would not have got through the traumas and the tragedy.”
No matter what you go through God is with you.
It’s absolutely okay to not feel okay.
Have an honest conversation with God.
People don’t know what to say but it’s just important to just be there.
It’s therapeutic to talk about the deceased and bring up memories of them.
“Stay in today.” Taking stock of what you’re thinking of. Is this benefiting me? “Think about what you’re thinking about.” Get up and do something different. Change what you’re doing.
Night before predetermined what she would think about in the morning because she knew that first thought can “set you up to utterly enjoy your day or destroy your day.” You have a choice. It makes a huge difference.
“Pain is inevitable but misery is optional. So you have to choose to step out of that place.”
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Today I get to chat with Lisa Schroder - tea drinker, artist and admirer of pretty things. We talk about art as a vehicle to inspire and minister to people and breaking the idea that you can’t be a Mum and an artist at the same time because of time limitations. We chat about what it looks like to juggle babies while working from home and how fulfilling the call of God on your life may look different to how you thought.
Lisa shares with us how she kept putting off her desire to paint because she didn’t think she had time, until one day she made time for it and how making that one change, altered the course of her life. Now she is happier than she has ever been.
We also talk about valuing the skills and desires that God has intentionally placed inside of each one of us and stepping into what we should be doing.
Lisa inspires us to get rid of excuses, jump in and push the boundaries.
She thought she didn’t have time. “If I’ve only got 15 minutes then that’s what I’m going to do…I made a deliberate decision to start painting.”
"I didn’t have any space in my life for it." (Finding space for what makes you happy)
“It was the decision that I made to just get started.”
“Something inside of me wanted to express itself and I needed to let it out.”
God was the first true artist.
“This is what God has put inside of me to do and become. It’s my responsibility to honour that gift and let it out.”
“It was a journey. You don’t arrive at a gallery straight away.”
Lisa taught herself through youtube videos.
Lisa was inspired by a mother of twin babies who was entering art competitions. “If she can do it…I’m gonna give this a go…no excuses.”
“I just gave the art in me a little push and the doors flew open.”
“I was letting what God had inside of me out.” “I feel like I have stepped into what I should be doing.”
“Sometimes you’ve just got to take that leap.”
Making a living as an artist.
Charities - being able to use her art to make a difference people’s lives.
Equipping our children with skills to do what they want to do.
“Don’t be afraid of making big leaps, ‘cause if you only ever think small about your art then that’s all you’re ever going to paint. And don’t be afraid to jump out and do something that you’ve never done before. And push the boundaries."
@lisamajdesigns
www.udemy.com - courses on advertising
@cup_and_spoon_shop - beautiful tea cups designed by Lisa, coming soon.
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I just had so much fun talking with Evalyn Parsons about how she and her husband Greg do life. We talk about parenting 5 kids (from baby to 15 years old) with intention, raising them to be God-loving, confident, responsible people. We talk about marriage, some challenges they have faced and how they overcame them, how they saved their marriage 9 years in. And we discuss how Ev started her multi-award winning wedding hair styling business and what it looks like to get your priorities right so that you can do all these things well.
There is so much wisdom here in this episode, so much so that I chose to let it be a whopping 2 hours long! But if you’ve ever sat down with a friend whom you admire and chatted with them for 2 hours, you’ll know that it’s worth every minute!
In this episode we answer the question, can you do both? Can you be a great Mum with a happy, close family, and excel in your career?
How you stay present with your kids when there is work to be done.
Can you do both - career and motherhood.
So much wisdom for marriage and parenting
“That’s our main focus. We’re not thinking about who they are right now, we’re thinking about who they’re going to be at 25. And we parent directly towards that.”
School teaches knowledge but a parent’s job is to teach wisdom.
Parenting with intentionality.
Readjust. Be rigid but flexible
There’s rigidity - things that can’t change - and extreme flexibility so that when that plan changes, you’re ok with it. Ie. staff member sick, child home sick from school.
In early years overcommitted. Affected their marriage. 5 years in business was exploding but they felt like they always had conflict.
“Ultimately in 10 years I might have a business but I still want to be married.”
In terms of keeping on top of it all, finding a rhythm that suits every person and then accomodating it to a certain extent. We’re a family unit. We all work, we all help. Because of that we can achieve a lot as a family. We have expectations about what they’re going to contribute to the family unit and that increases as they grow.
Invest in the family culture that you want to have.
Strategies for family time.
“When you have less time you’re more intentional and so you make the time count.”
“Conflict is the doorway to greater intimacy.”
Date nights - “It’s a lot cheaper than divorce.”
“What you invest in shows your value…time and money and energy.”
Prioritise spending time together.
Values - family first.
“God’s the centre of our home and everything has to come from that place.”
“Living life with God as the centre means that every single thing you do comes back to that relationship.”
Teaching our kids about God and leading them to have their own faith in Jesus Christ.
“There’s no perfect work life balance.”
“We all beat to a different drum, we’ve all got different capacity and ultimately I think guilt is always a lie.”
It’s too much pressure. Don’t feel guilty for going to work.
How Ev got started. How to believe in yourself and stay motivated. Hustle. Just do it.
“I believe in this so I’m going to do something. One step in front of another.”
“Despite challenge, despite finance, or time…, I’m drawing a line in the sand and I’m gonna move forward…and hustle!”
You have to keep pushing no matter where you are in business.
“I’m a daughter of Christ and that’s my value.” Her value isn’t defined by her achievements.
“I don’t mourn the past, I get excited about the future.”
@evalynparsons
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On today’s episode I sit down with my beautiful friend Cristiele Morton, and we talk about praying for our children; something that is close to both of our hearts. Cristiele’s own journey included learning to entrust her children to the Lord as she went through divorce, and praying and believing God for a miracle healing when her young son was diagnosed with a devastating neurological disorder. Cristiele has been declaring the Word of God over her children all their lives and she has seen the evidence of a loving God who hears and answers our prayers. I know that you will be inspired by her faith, just as I am.
“Prayer starts with the conviction that God is faithful to His words and to his promises and when we come to Him with humility and with faith, asking for that promise to be released in our life, God is faithful and He is pleased to bless us in that area that we ask for.”
Malachi 3:17
Pray for your children to have a personal revelation of Jesus Christ.
Pray for heart and mind protection, for influence that comes into their lives.
The miracle healing she saw in her son when he was 4 years old. From a devastating, debilitating diagnosis. For four years she declared the word of God over her son.
It is not that we’re not going to face problems with our kids but when we pray the Holy Spirit will guide you.
“When we go through those situations, we know God as we never know before…that we would know some parts of His character that you wouldn’t know any other way. As provider, as healer, as an enabler…”
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Today's guest is Kylie Martin - Paediatric Speech Therapist and Founder of Chatter Boxes, a Paediatric Therapy Centre on the Sunshine Coast. Kylie gives us the known facts about Autism and challenges the way that we think about this condition.
“It’s only because it’s different and we don’t understand that we become fearful. If we could push past that fear and connect with the human being who is going through that experience we could change that person’s life.”
1 in 58 children have autism. 1 in 20 children will have some form of disability. How young can a child be diagnosed with Autism? What are the early markers? Autism in girls vs boys. What causes Autism?
The spectrum - instead of mild or severe - think of skills and experiences along a line. Communication, eye contact, range of interests, sensory experiences, how we think, how we process information. Along that spectrum people have different strengths and weaknesses. With high peaks in some areas and low points in other areas. A much more useful way to think of it. A spectrum of skills rather than of severity.
“These kids have the potential - if they have their special interests nurtured around that area - to solve many of the problems that we have in the world today.”
Every person is worth getting to know and understand. It is so worthwhile getting to know the person and looking past the disability.
It’s about changing how we relate to these kids. Slowing the process of life down so that these kids have the opportunity and chance to engage and connect so that over time these skills develop.
Are mental health conditions in young women misdiagnosed? Do they actually have Autism? We’re now starting to see adults diagnosed and they’re starting to understand themselves a lot more.
What causes Autism? Genetic component mixed with environmental components. Is it becoming more common?
How we can help support these families:
Try to understand what Autism is and open arms to embrace family. Create a space that is without judgement, advice, or agenda. Your child can come here, I may not have the answers but I am here to journey this with you. Educate ourselves. Ask Mum in shopping centre is there anything I can do for you? As a larger community listen to these peoples’ experiences and ask ourselves what can we do? i.e.. Woolworths has a quiet hour. Make our environments more accessible like turning down the music and dimming lights. Classrooms can be visually overwhelming for these kids. ‘What can I do to keep this simple and accessible to these kids?” Play Centres are now having special sessions. Sensory Santa at Shopping Centres. Sporting groups are starting to train their coaches to modify how they talk to the kids - less instructions, calm voice, hand signal instead of whistle. It means they can participate with their peers instead of being left on their own. A Church put together a program to help prepare kids for the environment. Simple modifications. Our work place, our sporting groups, turn down the sensory input.
We need to ask ourselves the question, “What can we do?” It’s not too hard. Call your local therapy centre, a psychologist, a speech therapist, the parent. Ask them what we could do.
You can get in touch with Kylie Martin via her website, facebook page or Instagram.
www.chatter-boxes.com.au
Instagram @chatterboxes_speech
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Debbie is someone who understands what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus. She talks to us in complete honesty and vulnerability about how she became convinced that God did not love her. The Lord took her on a journey to show her how much He really does love her, and now He uses Debbie and her family to show His love to hurting, broken people in a very real, and practical way. We talk about her mental breakdown that landed her in a Psych ward, we also talk about raising 5 boys, homeschooling, and Debbie has plenty of encouragement for Mums. And finally we hear about the amazing work that Lighthouse Care do and how it started by giving out bread from a van.
“I’ve learnt that God can use our darkest moments to do something spectacular.”
“What a privilege it is to love people who are broken and they can’t care for themselves.”
“I was so filled with joy at the privilege of serving broken people.”
Her experience changed her perception of the world.
Advice to homeschooling Mums ‘Take a break, look after yourself. The world won’t end because you have a few days off.’
“It’s the greatest legacy I leave - is our 5 boys that are men of God.”
She had a sign on her desk, “I’m raising 5 men of God for the next generation.” And that’s what inspired her every day.
http://lighthousecare.org.au
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This is one of my favourite episodes so far. Stacey is a Happiness and Well-being Coach and Founder of the Healthy Happy Soul. She is such a fun person and really easy to listen to.
Stacey has the same heart for women as I do, with helping women to reach the fullness of who God has created them to be.
We have a great conversation where she tells about her journey before she became a happiness and well-being coach, and what led her to this profession.
She starts with how she suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome when she was 13 and how when she was just 16 years old became pregnant.
Stacey knows what it is like to feel isolated, disconnected, underweight, overweight, resentful towards God and toward herself. But she also shows us how she got through the darkness and out into the light.
As well as sharing with us her story, Stacey gives us some practical advice on goal setting, what to do when you’re in a slump or a rut, and how to fit exercise into the season of life that we are in.
I got so much out of this conversation and I know that you will to. So be blessed, be inspired, by Stacey McBride Wilson!
https://www.thehealthyhappysoul.com/
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I had the honour of speaking with Dan Flynn, the Chief Political Officer of Australian Christian Lobby for Canberra, on the subject of Adoption.
Dan makes an interesting observation on the stigma around Adoption in the medical sector and what could be causing it. We also ask the question, ‘What could we do to destigmatize adoption in Australia?’
“Anything that we can do to make adoption beautiful, attractive, easy to access, is doing pro-life work in a proactive way.” Dan Flynn
If you have any ideas or suggestions for how Australian Christian Lobby can help to make Adoption “beautiful, attractive and easy to access”, you can get in touch with Dan Flynn on Facebook.
For more information on the Australian Christian Lobby and what they do visit:
https://www.acl.org.au
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In this episode I get really personal with you and share the story of our daughter who was born with a heart defect and the journey of faith that we went through as we waited for her to be born.
Hey welcome to my very first solo episode. Today I would really like to share with you something that God has been speaking to my heart. It is something that I have recently been walking through and am still, and it has to do with courage.
2 types of courage:
- The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery, to do something that scares you. 2. Strength in the face of pain or grief, in the face of uncertainty.
1. Courage in the Stretch - to take ground, move forward, advance.
Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
2. Courage in the Stumble
I share about the diagnosis of our first born child in utero and the miracle we received.
Psalm 37:23-24
“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”
“I have NEVER seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” Psalm 37:25
Take Courage
https://youtu.be/r49V9QcYheQ
Peace Be Still
https://youtu.be/dUpKZz0Nm7c
Way Maker
https://youtu.be/iJCV_2H9xD0
3. Courage in the Stroll
Ephesians 6:10-13
Keep reading the word, worshipping, drawing closer to God, listening to great sermons, stay connected with godly people, read faith-building books. So that when the stretch and the stumble comes, your automatic response will be, “But God.”
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Hey friend, November is National Adoption Awareness month so I thought it would be a good idea to get together with my friend Linda Felice, a Registered nurse and Mum to 3 girls, and shine some light on the facts around adoption in Australia and specifically in Queensland. We talk statistics, the process of adopting out your child, and we share some ideas on what we think could be done to improve that process to help more women with unwanted pregnancies, and more children to have a positive start in life. It’s a complicated issue and we know there are no quick answers and we don’t claim to have them all. But it was good to have this conversation and perhaps it will help toward shining a light on the topic of Adoption in our Nation and serve as a reminder that adoption is an option, for an unwanted pregnancy. It’s a real eye opener. So I hope you enjoy this conversation with Linda Felice.
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IVF, Twins, Postnatal depression, Breast cancer, Faith.
Hey friend, I’m so glad you’re listening. As you may be aware, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Today I sit down and chat with my friend Rosemarie, a survivor of Breast Cancer - twice. We talk about what that journey looked like for her and we also talk about infertility, how it took Rosemarie and her husband Tony 4 years to have their twins who were conceived through IVF, and we talk about her postnatal depression that she went through after having them. There is so much in here and I know that this episode is going to be insightful, inspiring and encouraging to you. Also just a heads up, about 45 min in we are interrupted by a popping beetle. I was tempted to edit it out but I chose to leave it in. Just keeping it a bit real. We had a few interruptions when we recorded this. My fridge banged loudly, there was a popping beetle in the light above us, my microphone cord started playing up making a buzzing noise and of course there were bats outside our window. But such is the life of podcasting and the show must go on! And don’t worry, I edited most of that out. So here’s my conversation with Rosemarie Blakeston.
Rosemarie felt guilty admitting to her friends that she wasn’t coping after having her babies, because of how much she had gone through to have them. She felt like she was sounding ungrateful.
Rosemarie’s advice to herself looking back over the first few months of her sons’ lives, would be to not have expectations of what it should be like. She feels that she “over read” books in preparation for their birth and even once they were born. Her husband said she just needed to stop reading. Also to be more open to support and to speaking honestly about how she was really doing. The guilt and expectation of ‘I should know what I’m doing and I should be able to handle this.’ Due to sleep deprivation her coping strategies weren’t there. Because they were premie and because they were IVF she put too much pressure on herself to do things perfectly.
Rosemarie’s advice for how to be a support to someone who is going through post-natal depression or struggling to cope with a baby:
Time is always important. Just talking to someone on a phone even, breaks up the day so that you’re not feeling trapped and alone. Come over, make a tea, hold the baby while she had a shower. Any connection to an adult is a lifeline to a new Mum.
Going to a mothers group was really good.
Her Breast Cancer Journey:
At the age of 33, when the boys were 15 months old and with no family history, Rosemarie was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Some scriptures we referenced:
Proverbs 3:5
James 1:2-4
2 Corinthians 4:16
“I learned that I need to rely on God’s strength.”
When reflecting on supporting other people along their journeys Rosemarie says, “The journey is longer than the crisis…These are life journeys, they’re not just moments in time journeys…Sew in long term, not just short term.”
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What a special episode this is! Not only was this my very first recorded interview, but this is also The Full Life Podcast's tenth episode!! And to add to that, Margie is a beautiful friend whom I have known since I was 14.
This conversation includes so much comfort and encouragement to anyone walking through something difficult in their life.
Hear about the faithfulness of God from a woman who has lived the definition of a full life. As she journeyed through the highs and lows, God was with her. From a childhood in China to a mission field in Kenya, at 75, Margie can tell us that trusting in God actually pays off.
Margie was married to her husband Don for 24 years. Soon after they came to Australia, after years of performing eye surgeries in Kenya and Papua New Guinea, Don was diagnosed with cancer in his bowel and it had already spread to his liver. 21 months later he passed away, leaving Margie as a solo parent to their 3 teenage children.
“Losing a partner is really one of the most profound losses and there were times when I just felt totally desolate and wondered what the point of going on was. But God was faithful.”
God spoke to Margie when Don was terminally ill and said, “I was with you before you met Don, I’ve been with you while you’ve been with Don and now when Don goes I will still be with you and I will still have a work for you to do.”
“The whole of the Christian life is trust - based on trust. Trust in a faithful, wonderful, compassionate, loving God who wants the best for us and who longs for us to be able to hand over to Him. And that’s really the secret. You just have to bring it, all your sorrow and all your grief and all your misgivings and all the difficulties that you perceive are going to happen to you. You just have to continue to hand them over and say, “God I belong to you, you take care of me, you do what you like with me.””
“He eventually restores the joy.”
“Keep on trusting Him because you know who He is and you know that He loves you.”
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Today I am joined by Laryssa Schleusener who together with her husband James are the founders and Senior Pastors of Collective Church in Brisbane. We have a really honest conversation about what it was like for Laryssa to change cities, plant a new church just days after having their second child, and the loneliness that comes from not having a ‘Village’ of people around you. We also talk about her vision for The Village Woman Movement, which is about helping women to learn who they are in God and figure out their identity and then how that translates into living a life of love. Laryssa challenges us to live a life that is bigger than us and reaches beyond our own 4 walls.
Some Take Aways:
- A holiday doesn’t fix things. We have to live lives that we have to allow God to speak to us and change us, not just wait until we’re on holidays.
- God spoke to her about the concept of a Village and ALL carrying the load and giving out of what we have to one another. Share what it is that we already have in our hands with each other.
- All the things that they were believing God for, He came through for them. Laryssa encourages us to write it down, document it so that we can remember.
- 1 Peter4:7-8 Loving each other. What ever we give, give it as though God is giving it. Do it carrying a spirit of love and willingness. Spread around God’s love not Laryssa is a hero. That birthed the idea of The Village Woman. We all need to live our lives not living insular and looking within our four walls but we need to learn how to in this day and age be open to people dropping in for food. “I want to be able to have someone over at dinner time and then randomly they can stay.”
- The Vision is to help women clarify who they are in God and figure out their identity because when we know who we are and who God has created us to be, that’s when we can help people. And if I don’t know who I am…I will never truly help people out of what God has put in my heart. When we are totally who God has called us to be and we know who that person is, the love that we give to the people around us, it’s the love of God.
- Laryssa is encouraging girls, wherever you are, challenge yourself in these areas. Are you living a life that is bigger than you and that is outside the four walls of your home? Are you so precious about the people in your immediate blood relation/family that you can’t be open and if you are in that position ask God to challenge you and change your heart because we are all God’s children and it is just so important.
- It is always on her mind that ‘Whatever I do to the least of these I do unto Him.’
I hope you’ve enjoyed this conversation with Laryssa Schleusener. If you would like more information about The Village Woman go to thevillagewoman.com/ and that is also where you can register for The Village Woman Event. It’s happening in a couple of weeks’ time, Sat 19th October at the Metro Arts Centre in Brisbane. It’s $30 and includes an afternoon full of dessert and inspiration listening to the lovely Julia A’bell, helping us on our journey of identity and how to be ourselves. And listen to this, I would like to pay for one person to go so if that’s you, you would love a free ticket or perhaps you would like to bring a friend along and give them the ticket, just jump onto my Instagram account @mel_lynam, find the post advertising this episode - there’ll be a beautiful pic of Laryssa - and in the comments below tag a friend. I’ll announce the winner on Wednesday the 9th Oct.
I believe that Jesus is the key ingredient to a Full Life. Friend, God loves you and I want you to know that I am praying for you. If you would like to get in touch for any reason head on over to The Full Life Podcast Facebook page or fin
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Elise and I talk about keeping our budget in mind each week, finding time to spend with God daily, how to keep ourselves full, refreshed and overflowing, and maintaining intimacy in our relationship with our spouse.
Budget
- Keep open communication with your spouse about expenses for the week and upcoming bills, what is left in the main bank account and what you still need to purchase that week.
- Mel and Dan have learned over the years to talk about their finances regularly instead of ignoring them.
- Consider your plans for the weekend, what you should probably go without this pay cycle.
- Think ahead about bills, expenses and birthdays coming up. Communicate.
Making time to spend time with God
- It's about the moments in the day. Including God in your day. Time alone in the car.
- Having a devotional book to meditate on scripture for the rest of the day.
- Sometimes over breakfast.
- Sometimes before you get up, while still in bed. Or at night after the kids are in bed.
- We make time for what is important to us.
- It’s about the moments. Have a continual conversation with God throughout the day, talking to Him about things that are on your heart.
- While washing dishes, folding washing.
- When we get up early but the kids wake up early and interrupt us, at least we’re trying, at least we’re getting something over nothing so it is always worth making that extra effort to get up earlier to have that quiet time but we realise it looks different in different seasons.
Preventing Burnout. Soul Care - how do we fit this in? What does this look like?
- Finding moments in the day - a quiet coffee alone, reading a book.
- Going out to get nails done
- Gym
- Elise says, “Spending that time away from your kids can actually make you a better Mum. Because you’re not burnt out and when you’re feeling run down and stressed it’s only going to result in bad responses to your kids so you need to spend some time away from them.”
- Have a hobby or something that we look forward to outside of being a parent.
- Going out for coffee on own to read book or watch Netflix.
- Sewing into myself and loving on myself is actually also sewing into our children and loving on them. They do reflect our moods and our responses.
- Going for a walk.
- Just having a break from the “demands” that children put on us and feeling overwhelmed from those demands and having a time out from that.
Spending quality time with our spouse
- Finding baby sitters can be challenging especially when you have more than 2 children.
- It takes a lot of organisation sometimes to go out. It is definitely worth making it a priority for your marriage.
- Be creative. Sometimes going out on a date doesn’t suit the budget but you can be intentional with the time that you spend with each other at home such as grabbing take out, playing cards and then watching a movie together.
- One friend of Mel’s has a jar full of ‘date night’ ideas including spending the night playing xbox because that is his thing. So one night he taught her how to play a game. Mixing things up.
- Run on the beach and then grab burgers.
- Picnic dinner
- Taking time out to be just the 2 of you.
- Mel and Dan have had times of feeling disconnected, being parents together but not working on our friendship.
- Let’s have some fun together.
- Even if you do feel far apart, you can take steps to get back to feeling like you’re close friends and intimate again.
- Keeping it in mind and being intentional about having fun together.
That concludes our 4 part series on Organisation. We hope this has been helpful to you.
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I have asked Elise to come onto the show today to help me learn about how I can be more organised. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not perfect in this area and I would like to suggest that most of us are not. This is an area that we can all continue to grow in. And we can learn from each other. So join us as we discuss what ‘being an organised person’ looks like and what we can do to continue to improve in this area.
Today in Part 3 we talk about housework and how to fit that into our life, we discuss after school routines and Elise and I share our after school snack ideas.
Housework:
Mel says, "This is my greatest struggle!" For a lot of us, housework in not an easy thing to manage.
- Tackle one thing a day or one thing at a time eg. one day the bathroom and the toilets.
- One task a day and write it on your list.
- Tackle things in bite sized pieces.
- Mel asks, how do you stay motivated? Elise enjoys the satisfaction of having it clean.
- Elise uses a cordless vacuum cleaner because it’s just so much easier, helps her to feel more motivated to pull it out once a day.
- Mel wishes for a Robo-vac.
- Sometimes it is a struggle with young kids around to get jobs like the vacuuming done. Usually we do get interrupted but that’s just life as a mum.
- Elise doesn’t do any housework on the weekends. Mel also tries not to.
- Manage mess in the kitchen as you go through the day.
- Let’s be gracious with ourselves that we are doing our best and maybe just aim to get one room done today or one section of the house done today and do the other half of the house another day.
- Book The Cleaning Ninja by Courtenay Heartford - First section cleaning your house quickly in 8 minutes.
- Window sills and skirting boards - using the brush attachment of the vacuum cleaner, doing vacuuming and dusting at the same time.
- Whatever you can do to simplify these tasks. The more we do it, the more familiar we get with our routine.
- It looks different in every season of your life.
- There will be a day when we will be able to clean our whole house uninterrupted without any little people around but right now it’s ok because this is a good season that we are in.
After school routine and snack ideas:
(Elise has had 8 years to work on her after school routine, Mel has had less than a year…)
Elise:
- They know what they’re allowed to have for afternoon tea, 3:30pm and then have to wait. Fruit, crackers, biscuit, really simple.
- Outside time or find their own thing to do, quiet, happy to be home in their own environment.
- Don’t make them do homework straight away.
- They bring their bags in from car, shoes and socks. Lunch boxes and drink bottles on the bench.
- 5pm shower and then homework while Elise prepares dinner. Elise can go between helping them and dinner prep. Oldest son might do his homework after dinner in his room.
- Early 5:30pm dinner.
- After dinner T.V. or wind down time with a book.
- 2 of her kids go to bed 7pm and 2 go down at 8pm.
- 6:30pm start getting them ready for bed. Her Grade 1 daughter will do her school reader book at that time as well.
- Their routine has evolved and changed over the years, adapting to number of children you have, and with husband working late on business.
Mel:
- Has to repeat instructions over and over with her 5 year old (first year of school).
- Snacks first thing when we get home.
- Frozen blueberry and frozen peas.
- Peanut butter on corn thins
- Julia Sweet and creamy yoghurt (no added sugar) sometimes with peanut butter in it.
- Boiled eggs
- Cheese and crackers
- Fruit
- Baked g
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In this series, Elise Boyle - Mother of 4 and Co-business owner of Sunshine Coast Blinds and Shutters - and I sit down and nut out what it looks like to be organised and discuss practical ways to organise your life and your family’s life.
In part 1 we looked at preparing for the week ahead and meal planning.
Today in part 2 we talk about how to deal with feeling overwhelmed, preparing for the day ahead the night before, and morning routines. We also discuss the pressure of punctuality and how it can be a real stressor in our life and choosing to be gracious with ourselves and our children when we are running late.
Dealing with feeling overwhelmed:
- Think about what do I need to do? Focus on one thing at a time, one foot forward. Sometimes taking a moment to step away from the kids and breathe.
- Mess and stress. Remind myself it’s ok, they’re kids, they’re going to make mess. Manage one room at a time.
- Just make a start. Even if I feel really tired and overwhelmed. I can pick up 3 toys - tricking my mind to make a start.
- Breaking the task down into little steps.
- Get it down on paper and out of your head. Write lists. Number them in order of priority. “Even if you can just keep one room of the house child free, that helps.” For Elise it’s their bedroom.
Preparing for the day ahead, the night before:
- Elise makes the lunches whilst cooking dinner if it’s doable. But sometimes after kids go to bed.
- Puts washing in machine and sets timer for the morning so that it starts at 6am or 7am and she can put in a 2nd load before she heads off to school. Hangs out when she gets home.
- Choose what you're wearing the next day.
- Folding washing at night. Elise washes every 2nd day and folds on the same night. Usually 2 loads on that day. Results in “washing free” days!
- Tidy house for a fresh start for the next day.
Morning Routines:
- Elise tries to get up before kids and gets herself ready
- Gives each child a task that they can handle to help out ie. putting dishes away, stacking dishwasher, getting themselves ready - it’s their own responsibility.
Punctuality - Progress over perfection! It doesn’t help our kids for us to be stressed about being late. Mel - “I focus on trying to be relaxed.” It’s ok to be late. What is most important in our children’s lives is that they remember us being loving and calm. They won't remember being late but they will remember our attitude toward them as we hurry to get ready for school.
We hope you found this helpful! Tune in Thursday 19th September to hear us talk about housework and how to fit that into our life, we discuss after school routines and Elise and I share our after school snack ideas Also, remember I’d love to hear from you. If you have some tips and tricks for being organised please share them with us! Jump onto our Facebook page The full life podcast with Melanie Lynam or find me on Instagram, @mel_lynam. Thanks for listening!
Talk to you soon xx
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In this series, Elise Boyle - Mother of 4 and Co-business owner of Sunshine Coast Blinds and Shutters - and I sit down and nut out what it looks like to be organised and discuss practical ways to organise your life and your family’s life.
In part 1 we look at preparing for the week ahead and meal planning.
We start off by saying that ‘being organised’ looks different for everyone because of our different personalities and as well as that it changes in every different season of life that we go through.
There is hope for those of us (me!) who were not born with a natural tendency to be organised. You CAN develop the skills even if it does not come naturally. It's about thinking ahead so that you don’t have to think so hard in the moment or on the day.
Elise still has days when she feels overwhelmed. “But getting myself organised and knowing ahead of time what I need to do the following day…definitely helps me not to feel overwhelmed.”
Some ideas:
- Making school lunches the night before
- Getting the meat out for dinner that night, have ‘what’s for dinner’ in your mind even in the morning.
- Having a to do list for the day
- Make sure I write everything down for the week
- Having a list of meals for the week so she knows exactly what she needs to buy for those meals.
- The value of having a ‘Weekly Schedule’
- Write things down
- Set a reminder on your phone
- Daily to do lists
- Apple or Google calendar on phone synced with Partner’s is a good extra reminder for appointments and events.
Meal Planning:
Elise's ideas
- Saturday and Sunday night easy meals - toasted sandwiches, scrambled eggs, take away.
- Cooks up chicken breast on Sundays for lunches to prepare for the week.
- After school sports: make easy meals during the day that can be reheated that night.
Mel's ideas
- Friday night frozen pizza's
- Sunday nights eggs on toast (hubby cooks)
- Cook 1 or 2 double batch meals so that you're eating left overs some nights and not having to cook every night. Or freeze half for a rainy day.
We hope you found this helpful! Tune in on Thursday to hear us talk about how to deal with feeling overwhelmed, preparing for the day ahead the night before, and morning routines. We also discuss the pressure of punctuality and how it can be a real stressor in our life and choosing to be gracious with ourselves and our children when we are running late. Also, remember I’d love to hear from you. If you have some tips and tricks for being organised please share them with us! Jump onto our Facebook page The full life podcast with Melanie Lynam or find me on Instagram, @mel_lynam. Thanks for listening!
Talk to you soon xx
Support the show (http://paypal.me/thefulllifepodcast)
My guest today on The Full Life Podcast is Marieka Hazzard.
Marieka is a young woman in her 30’s, a teacher, painter, musician, and she has a beautiful little girl named Evie. Four years ago her husband Tim passed away from a brain tumour. Marieka takes us through that journey and shows us how to hold onto hope and keep it as your anchor, no matter what life deals at you. She helps us to see that amidst the pain, God was there with them. I left this conversation feeling so honoured to have had Marieka share her story with me and I know that you’ll feel the same way. Marieka has written this beautiful song about her journey over the last four years since Tim passed away and today at the end of this conversation, I am going to play it for you.
*Disclaimer: Please do not interpret Marieka’s experience in her pregnancy to be her advice to you. Please listen to your health care professionals and consider your own unique situation.
“We had all of these beautiful little miracles along the way.”
“Holding onto hope is the biggest thing.” “We need to have hope and hope is Jesus.”
“We both coped because we had hope.”
Marieka talks about how she commanded her emotions to be even and took authority over them, on her way to the hospital, enabling her to communicate and support in the way that she felt she needed to.
After receiving news that Tim had passed away - “I knew God had this. And it’s crazy because even though things hadn’t worked out the way I expected it to and often things don’t work out the way we expect it to, I STILL know God has got this and I still have this confidence in that.”
Talking about the moment that Marieka was in the Palliative Care room with her husband in a coma and trying to hold his unconscious body up as he vomited; “I have always had this question for God over the last four years since that moment,…I was feeling forsaken. I was feeling like he (God) wasn’t there when he was meant to be there and He showed me that he didn’t forsake me in that moment, He actually chose me for that moment and a lot of the time, we can’t see everything but God does and He never leaves us and He doesn’t forsake us because…everything Jesus went through was for us…He has never left me and I know that. It was just that He chose me for that moment. And that’s given me so much peace.”
Raising Evie on her own. Her prayer is that Evie can know God as her Heavenly Father. The most powerful thing that we can do is to pray for our children.
What we can do to comfort a friend or family member who has lost someone close to them: Pray for them for sleep and for peace and protection from the enemy’s schemes. Don’t avoid mentioning their loved one’s name. “The person that’s passed has been so much a part of their life. It’s hard enough to come to terms with the reality that they’re not here anymore. It’s actually better for us to talk about that person, to mention their name and to include them in the day to day conversations because they always were included before.” It’s better that they cry than you avoid anything to do with that person (who has passed)
Marieka now feels reestablished in her faith. She has learned how to bring a sacrifice of worship. “To worship when it’s easy is one thing but to choose to worship him when it’s really difficult, when you don’t feel like it, when you physically can’t do it. To choose to do it in those moments you are bringing him this greater sacrifice.” “These hard trials in life are opportunities to bring him a greater sacrifice of worship. “As soon as you do that, of course you step into his presence and all of a sudden the burden of all the trials and the hardship that’s surrounding you…it all just falls away.”
Marieka’s advice to someone grieving a loved one right now is “As much as you can, come
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Kristy is a private practice counsellor and professional supervisor providing debriefing for other counsellors, Pastors, and Chaplains. She has been married to her husband Dave for 24 years. In part 1 we chat about what lead Kristy to become a counsellor, what it was like entering a marriage as 2 people coming from difficult, childhoods with a lack of example for what makes a good marriage, and how they stayed together through the challenges.
In part 2 we talk about the vision that God gave Kristy when she was just a teenager that would one day lead her to Ukraine to help save little orphan babies and help rescue girls from sex slavery.
And finally we talk about how they ended up with 10 years age gap between their 2nd and 3rd child and what it was like raising teenagers and a toddler at the same time.
“I always said I’ll do whatever God wants me to do…”
Please note: This was my first remote interview and I have since learned a better way to do it so as to improve the audio quality. Thank you for being gracious with me!
Get in touch with me at www.melanielynam.com
Support the show (http://paypal.me/thefulllifepodcast)
Kristy is a private practice counsellor and professional supervisor providing debriefing for other counsellors, Pastors, and Chaplains. She has been married to her husband Dave for 24 years. Today we chat about what lead Kristy to become a counsellor, what it was like entering a marriage as 2 people coming from difficult, childhoods with a lack of example for what makes a good marriage, and how they stayed together through the challenges.
In part 2 we talk about the vision that God gave Kristy when she was just a teenager that would one day lead her to Ukraine to help save little orphan babies and help rescue girls from sex slavery.
And finally we talk about how they ended up with 10 years age gap between their 2nd and 3rd child and what it was like raising teenagers and a toddler at the same time.
Please note: This was my first remote interview and I have since learned a better way to do it so as to improve the audio quality. Thank you for being gracious with me!
Some take aways and what we covered:
When people keep coming to you “you owe it to yourself to get some good skills.”
Mum struggled with Bipolar. Unstable upbringing. Chronically sick father constantly fighting for his life and with depression. Internalised her problems. Forced to grow up quickly.
The importance of extended family when growing up.
Both her and husband grew up with rough start with unhealthy relationship examples. How they prepared for marriage.
The importance of working through the issues that create relationship breakdown. Going into a relationship with her now husband, the concerns that she would repeat the mistakes of her parents. Parents never argued, just walked away so she wanted to talk about everything. She overcompensated by not letting anything slide and nitpicked about everything.
They were prepared to do whatever it took to make their marriage work.
“Dave’s not perfect and neither am I but you’ve just got to look beyond what’s happening and see the heart that’s beneath it. And then you’ve got something to work with again.” “Get back to the heart of who the person is and what they’re trying to achieve and accomplish for the family.”
“Emotional comes and goes. How we treat each other when we are emotional is another thing altogether.”
Not to expect perfection from our spouse because they’re just fallen broken people doing their best.
The fairy tale expectations that there is going to be a happily ever after can set us up for a lot of disillusionment. Only Jesus can be perfect for us.
How hard it can be admitting you need help with your marriage and going to a counsellor or someone to talk to, especially if you are in a position of leadership or ministry. Important to speak to someone trustworthy.
Get in touch with me at www.melanielynam.com
Support the show (http://paypal.me/thefulllifepodcast)
You can find me at www.melanielynam.com, The Full Life Podcast Facebook page, instagram or hello@melanielynam.com
Support the show (http://paypal.me/thefulllifepodcast)
My first guests for The Full Life Podcast are John and Christine Carby. They are missionaries in Siargao, the Philippine Islands.
The Carby's begin by telling us how it all started, how they answered the call of God to move over to the Philippine Islands and what that looked like for them.
Some take aways:
Receiving direction from God, stepping out in faith and seeing miraculous provision. It felt good within their hearts.
A word they received from the Lord, “Don’t limit what I can do for you. I have gone before you and prepared the way. Trust in me and I will guide you.”
Step out in faith first. God will come and meet you there.
"You forget your faith in the bad times." They had times when they wanted to go home.
"We look back, we have never been without."
Even before they had the full amount of money needed to build an extension to the school building they got started because it just needed to be done and now it’s almost finished. Don’t limit God and what he can do.
They came to understand a new level of poor from the stories they have encountered and are inspired by the locals' strength and resilience.
“That’s when you really see God, when you are totally reliant on Him.” “When you rely on Him for everything that’s when you really grow.”
You can connect with John and Christine through Facebook or Instagram.
Check out their website www.nissiacademygl.org
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