WELCOME HEART: Living a Legacy Life

Ep 234 Choose Advent, Breathe and Don't Miss Him in the Rush with Laura Crosby

Christmas is my favorite season but I can miss Jesus in the rush and crush of it all.  Laura Crosby, a writer, pastor-teacher and welcomer—loved the Christmas story so much she wanted to help us hold still enough to appreciate all the Lord did for us. 
Laura wrote an Advent study during Covid for her church in D.C. and has since made available for all of us to share, and I'm so glad she did. You may remember my first interview with Laura. Here's the link in case you want to get acquainted with her welcoming heart. She included a simple and delicious chicken recipe which I'm making tonight just because I have all the ingredients and a neighbor stopping by for dinner. 
All week long Laura is graciously offering one free copy of her Advent Study as a giveaway.
"Choosing Welcome at Advent" includes 4 short videos, Scripture for reflection and recipes! All for $10.00 (Except for the winner of the giveaway! comment below to be entered - or email me sue@welcomeheart.com.)
 
Here's a recipe sample:
Link to purchase HERE to get your own copy. Holidays are around the corner and you may need to consciously sit still, breathe and watch!
Follow Laura on instagram: @lauracrosby.
Learn more about Laura on her website here.
Laura just got home from a missions trip to Scotland and last year she raised funds and awareness for those in need by hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim. I appreciate Laura's heart for the needy as well as her desire to make travel and do challenging things with a purpose. 
Some gems from our conversation:
We might think that "this season of our lives" is too difficult to set time aside for God, but to keep Him first is hard in any season because Satan wants to distract you. 
Experiencing Advent helps us become more aware of God's presence and so more readily respond to His voice and partner with Him. 
Any work we do for God and with God stems from our identity as His beloved. 
People don't want to feel like they are your project; rather they want to feel loved and seen. 
As we reflect on God's purpose for our lives it's good to pray often, "Lord, what is mine to do?"
When more present with Christ, we can more readily recognize the holy interruptions throughout our day.
I love Laura and I know you will too. 

Ep 233 Jesus Knows My Name And He Can Be Pushy with Sue Donaldson

Single in my 20’s, in a new career, a new town and a new church, I felt okay mostly. Life was full and purposeful, but lonely on occasion. I wondered why families didn’t ask me over for Sunday dinner.
All I could think of was that my church friends must have thought I had such an exciting single life, I wouldn’t want to come home to their normal, ordinary home and stand at the sink and peel potatoes or hold their babies while they got dinner on and then sit down at their table to get better acquainted.
But that was exactly what I wanted to do. To be part of a family, if just for an hour or two.
The Bible says God sets the lonely in families. I was lonely. I needed to be set somewhere.
I got tired of waiting. So I called up some people. Invited them over. Invited myself over. I had a precedent and his name is Jesus.
Sometimes you just have to make it happen and not wait for someone else to pick up the phone or send a text. I invited people over because I needed friends. I don’t think people thought I might be bad company or that I would run off with the soup ladle if they had me over for dinner. I just think they didn’t think of me at all.
Maybe that’s what loneliness is: To believe you aren’t even thought about.
 
Trishie's Apple Crisp
5 large apples1 t. cinnamon1/4 t. nutmeg1 t. lemon juice1/2 c water
Topping:1 c sugar3/4 c flour
1 cube butter, firm
Peel and slice applesMix in spices, lemon juice and waterLay in 7 x 11" dishMix flour and sugar togetherCrumble in chilled butter slices until it resembles small peas (as an alternative, spread flour/sugar mixture on top of apples. Melt butter and pour evenly over the top.)
Bake 45-55 min at 350 degrees. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream (sort of optional)
See printable version HERE
 

Ep 232 Managing our Money, All for Heaven's Sake with Erik Olson

In case you're wondering, it's okay for Christians to talk about their money. Why? Because all we have belongs to God, anyway. 
Today I'm delighted to host Erik Olson, a fellow podcaster and a wealth and money consultant from Holland, Michigan. As a Kingdom-impact investment adviser and retirement planner, Erik talks about not only money, but a theological view of our earthly resources that may surprise and delight you and maybe put a fire under your seat to do something worthwhile—PLAN something worthwhile—so that God is glorified and His kingdom well-served. 
 
Some gems from our conversation:
As in introvert, I prefer a spreadsheet over a conversation, but I like to think I can come alongside someone and gently and expertly help them serve themselves, others and God better with training and counsel.
The Bible isn't anti-wealth; in fact, God is pro-wealth creation. It's just one more way we are made in God's image as creators.
We make mistakes with money when we compartmentalize it as something separate from all our God-given gifts.
If all that we have belongs to God, we need to make ourselves good stewards of our wealth because we answer to Him.
God loves wealth creation insofar that we make more income in order to be generous servants as well as enjoy the life he's provided. 
The biggest mistake we make with our money is not to plan with what to do with our money.
We either pay too much attention to our money which shows we are insecure in our relationship with God; or, we ignore our money and end up with fewer opportunities to give to Kingdom work.
Jesus was very clear: We cannot worship God and money at the same time.
It's a question of worship: do we fantasize over our money and what it can provide for us or do we carry an undivided esteem of God over any of our assets?
 

Ep 231 Storytelling and Sanctuary with Susy Flory

Thinking of writing your story? Susy Flory thinks you should begin, like today.
Currently in seminary working on her doctoral degree, Susy Flory directs the West Coast Christian Writers Conference, and knows a good story when she hears it. Raised by an Irish mother who could tell a good yarn, Susy is a 17 book New York Times best-selling author whose favorite books are memoirs. Today we discuss how she came to co-write her lovely book, Sanctuary about a young man named Patrick who lost his way and the rescue donkeys that led him home. 
She's offering a free copy this week - leave a comment to be entered.
Susy leads Everything Memoir, both a free facebook group with loads of quality free offerings, as well as a year long coaching group on how to write your memoir which will be starting up again this coming January. Learn more about both on her website: susyflory.com and find all her links HERE.
Some gems:
I find people endlessly fascinating and I love helping them tell their stories in any form but especially in written form.
From getting to know Patrick and how God met him in all his struggles, I came to appreciate in a deeper, broader way that those who follow Christ are all a part of one church. 
From Patrick's story we see again how God doesn't give up on us no matter how many times we fail. 
Words have an eternal quality to them, which is reason enough to begin writing your story.
Everyone who loves God has a God-story that needs to be told, even if only for one person to hear it. 
Patrick felt accepted and unconditional love from one particular donkey named Aran and that helped him feel less alone and eventually led towards his healing. 
Writing our stories gives us joy in that it helps us feel like there's a reason for why things have happened in our lives. 

Ep 230 Walking With the One Who Is Not Worried About a Thing with Megan Fate Marshman

Megan Fate Marshman tells us what to do when we don't have all the things figured out: go to Jesus and tell him that we don't. And then we go to him again and tell him again. We need reminding. We are prone to think we are in control and what a gift from God that we are not. 
I just finished reading an advance copy of Megan's latest book, RELAXED: WALKING WITH THE ONE WHO IS NOT WORRIED ABOUT A THING and I'd love to say that I'm totally relaxed AND not worried about a thing. But I'm more relaxed and I'm less worried. So good. Buy one for yourself (if you don't win the giveaway) and one for that friend who may be worried—oh, that's every friend, or most anyway. 
Megan, a single mom of two young boys—her dear husband Randy went to be with the Lord at age 36—writes from what she is learning about grief and worry and autonomy and coming to Jesus over and over again. A knowledgeable and charismatic teacher of the Word, Megan pastors at Willow Creek Community Church, Chicago, runs the women's ministry at Hume Lake Christian Camp and is the women's pastor at Arbor Road Church, Long Beach, CA. 
Megan’s website
Megan on IG
Megan on Facebook
Megan on X
Buy Link
 
Some gems from our conversation:
We don't need to do more; rather, we need to be intentional about showing love right where we are.
God's gift to us is that we don't need to trust in ourselves.
Risk-taking is Christlikeness because you are setting yourself up to need him and the prompts almost always lead to love.
Anxiety signals me where I'm trying to get my security.
We experience a sanctification gap and we go about it all the wrong way to close that gap without God.
Grief has taught me to pay more attention to what really matters and less attention on those things that don't. 
We are called to be God's hands and feet to anyone he brings our way. 
We are not working on making a perfect family; rather on doing things right.
Anxiety alerts us that something is going on in the dashboard of our soul. 

Ep 229 Hope in God (Sometimes We Forget Who Our God Is) with Julie Sunne

We all have a story to tell and when we tell it, we can encourage someone else who may need to know and trust God a little bit more.
Julie Sunne expected certain things from God and when they didn't happen, she realized she didn't really know this God she was raised to believe in. Married 36 years, a mother of 4, Julie experienced 5 miscarriages and 4 live births in a stretch of 8 years. Their third child and only girl, Rachel, was diagnosed as intellecturally disabled and will need to be cared for her entire life. Rachel, age 26 but developmentally only age 3, continues to teach Julie about trusting and knowing God in his entierty. 
Julie's book points our minds and hearts to God and you'll want to get one for yourself and anyone you know who is struggling with hope. She's giving away a copy this week so be sure to comment here or on social media for your name to be entered. 
SOMETIMES I FORGET: 60 REMINDERS OF HOPE FOR YOUR HARD DAYS, a concise and helpful devotional to direct our minds and hearts to the nature of God. As Julie says, we don't just wish for something, we hope in God who is immutable and never-changing. 
In the pages of this book, you will discover:
--more about who God is
--how God relates to us as His children
--why we can believe God’s promises
--truths to remember
--a simple, yet meaningful way to pray through the valleys
Life will throw you curveballs, but in the character of God lies hope. Because of who God is, you can trustHim in your most desperate moments.
 
Some gems from our conversation:
When God didn't answer my prayers, I just felt that his blessings pertained to other people, not me. 
I had to learn that my expectations of God were not always his plan for me and thereby, not his best for me as well. 
The main cure for "forgetting Who God is" is to read the Word of God which reminds us who we can trust. 
We will never completely understand the ways of God so we have to get to a point where we surrender ourselves completely to God.
We can't just take one attribute of God without all the rest as one nature, perfect and unchanging, loving and almighty. 
My legacy is to trust my hard places to the Lord and surrender my understanding to His. 
 
Follow Julie at juliesunne.com.

Ep 228 Life Plans and God's Surprises with Sue Donaldson

I’m not sure why we bother arguing with God. God being God comes with an unfair advantage but I imagine I’m not the only one who tries. There’s that Jonah fellow from Nineveh. He argued but he ended up—well you probably know where he ended up. Even Jesus who had a special connection, you might say, debated with his Father about the wisdom of what he was about to go through right before the cross. He went anyway. Alone, for the most part.
I should have known better than to argue. There’s no point. But processing out loud is my favorite and God already knew what was in my head. And, while arguing takes two and I did most of the talking, I did get an answer
At 30 I wasn’t worried about gray hair. I had a great life. I just didn’t want to grow old alone. I had a plan to love and serve God—but not by myself. Phone calls can mess up the best of plans.
YOUR TURN
Do you have a plan for your life? What does it include?
 
When your plans take a “wrong turn” in your view, how do you deal with your disappointment?
 
Have you ever argued with God? If not, you can try it out today. (I'll wait...)
 
 
How did that turn out for you?
If we remember He’s our perfect Father—and loves us even more than our own dads—and that he knows what’s ahead, we can relax. Instead of stewing we can wonder how He’s going to surprise us with something we would never think up on our own.
That’s one of the fun parts about following God—the surprise factor. It gets me every time.
TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD
“There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 23:18).
 
TELL GOD WHAT’S GOING ON (write your prayer or pray the one below):
 
Lord, God,
Thank you that you love me and that you are love so that you can’t betray. Help me place the truth of your character over my feelings. I surrender my plans to you. May I look to you in trust and expectation. I love surprises. Thank you and amen.
 

Ep 227 Build Your Faith, Track God's Presence with Lori Margo

Lori Margo wife and mother of three adult children, knows what it means to stay awake all night and worry - like all good mothers do! She knew God loved and cared for her—even while facing cancer four times and losing her mom at a young age. But her faith stalled out one day and she prayed, "Lord, I need to know you are with me. Show me ways you are present here in these struggles." And that began her process of tracking God, keeping short lists, recording how He's answering prayers, big and small. She prayed: God I just want to know that you are with me. If you answer my prayer or if you don't—I'm still going to trust you, no matter what."
Lori writes:
Life is hard AND God is incredible.
Both phrases are true and happening simultaneously: Life is hard. God is incredible.
That’s my story.
I’ve had hard things come my way AND I’ve experienced the faithfulness of God alongside the pain and suffering. He met me where I was and brought peace as I held the pieces of a life I never imagined for myself.
 
Some gems:
Life is hard AND God is incredible.
To track how God is present helps keep me emotionally resilient.
I acknowledge my fears but when I look for how God is working on my behalf, worry turns more easily to worship. 
Psalm 73 is where I go for help: God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 
I didn't want to just say the words, "God I trust you"—I wanted to get into the habit of observing His miraculous presence in my trials and difficulties. 
Sometimes I stall out and I just say, "God I need to hear from You" and then I keep a pad of paper and a pencil nearby.
You CAN have a deeper connection with God, even when life is hard. Take the quiz HERE.
Learn more from Lori at lorimargo.com.
 

Ep 226 Enjoying the Bible Not Just Studying the Bible with Keith Ferrin

Speaker, author, Keith Ferrin heard someone tell or perform the entire book of Luke on stage for two hours straight. He made a lunch date with the presenter for that next day, a lunch date which lasted nine hours. For the last two decades, Keith's been presenting Scripture by the book as a storyteller. "The Bible is not only meant to be studied, understood and obeyed", Keith says, "it's meant to be enjoyed." We discuss the Thdifference as well as what it means to internalize the word vs memorizing the words.
Keith is passionate about helping people know and love God's word and offers great series on YouTube as well as on his website. Keith is offering my Welcome Heart listeners a half-off coupon for two of his great resources: get both for the price of one.
One course is called Relational Bible Study. www.keithferrin.com/rbs
The other is called The Simplest Way to Internalize the Bible www.keithferrin.com/internalize
Use this LINK to get them both for the price of one.
His free resource is: The Simplest Way to Study the Bible. LINK HERE.
Some gems:
People are under the false belief that massive parts of Scripture is confusing so they don't even attempt to read it.
The main difference between Christianity and all other religions is this: the Creator saw that His creation was in trouble and He set out to rescue and fix what they can't fix on their own.
The Bible is not only true, it's also powerful and amazing and transforming and meant to be enjoyed.
I realized that God's Word isn't just to be studied verse-by-verse like little sound bites; rather it's to engage my mind, emotions and soul and that's made all the difference.
To internalize Scripture is the know the Word; to memorize Scripture is to know the words. 
The more relational we are with Scripture, the more information we will retain.
Our primary purpose in reading the Bible is to hang out with Jesus.
 
To learn more about Keith and how to learn to enjoy the Bible, follow Keith on all social platforms @keithferrin or his website: keithferrin.com.

Ep 225 Writing as a Redemptive Act with Award-Winning Author, Bret Lott

Bret Lott knows how to make a woman cry. Possibly a man, too, but I'm not sure. I know he's cried (sobbed, he admitted) when reading Leif Enger's book, Peace Like a River. I already liked Bret Lott but that made me like him even more. 
Bret Lott, award-winning author of now 16 books (both fiction and non-fiction) didn't start out to become a writer and, in fact, met obstacles along the way. I'm glad he persevered; if you've read Jewel, one of Oprah's Book Club selections, then I'm sure you're glad as well. He wanted to ride a horse and be a Park Ranger. Grateful that didn't pan out. 
Fun sidenote: Since I'm also from Southern California, it was a delight to find out that Bret used to work at Knott's Berry Farm at the candy apple booth and once-a-month he made waffles for Mr. Knott. 
 
Bret is giving away a signed copy of his latest book out this month entitled: GATHER THE OLIVES, On Food and Hope and the Holy Land  - comment below or on social media to be entered!
Born in Los Angeles in 1958, Lott grew up in Buena Park, CA and Phoenix, AZ before returning to California to live in Huntington Beach, CA. He met and married his wife of 40 years, Melanie Swank Lott, at First Baptist Church of Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley. A graduate of Cal State, Long Beach(1981), Lott headed to Massachusetts for graduate school at UMass Amhurst. He received his MFA in 1984 and landed his first teaching position at Ohio State Univ. In 1986, Lott joined the English Department at the College of Charleston, where he is now a tenured professor and director of the new MFA program and leads writers retreats to Italy.
Find out more about his writing retreats here: https://bretlottwriting.com
Be sure to comment below to be entered to win: Gather the Olives.
Some gems:
The difference between a good writer and a bad writer: the bad writer says, "Here I am, I have something to say." The good writer writes a good story and you're not aware he or she even exists.
I write to try and understand things, why people do what they do and what happened to their lives.
I shared a short story with a girl I liked. She wasn't impressed. I knew right then that I loved her. 
Jewel was based on my grandmother's life. She had 6 kids and the 6th, my aunt, was Down Syndrome. 
You're given what you're given in life; the writer's job and joy is to write the pages torn from that life and try to understand it better.
The best art fills us with wonder and glory and mystery and beauty which are all manifestations of God.