We know there are no formulas, AND we also know God gives instructions and has a teacher’s heart. The Lord wants to give humans practices and principles to make the theoretical and theological practical and applicable. Which is how this series came to be. How does one go about receiving the grace God so freely offers? Every believer has access to God’s grace and the tools and ability to receive it when we: Bring our hurts, sins, emotions, dreams, and needs into the light Forgive and ask for forg...
Jun 13, 2023•17 min•Ep. 167
Raising teens with anxiety is one tough assignment. How can you tell the difference between anxiety and worry? Anxiety, worry, stress, learning what you like, what you don’t, and what you believe and what you don’t is a part of becoming an adult. However, as Christ-following mamas, we don’t want anxiety to have the final say about our kids. We know our God offers all of us – teens included – a spirit of peace, but how do we access that when we’re living real-life in real-time? In today’s episode...
Jun 06, 2023•47 min•Ep. 166
Raising godly daughters – how does a mom do it? How can you raise confident daughters? Listen in to Episode 165 with Susan Seay as we talk about grace-based parenting for moms raising girls. Girl-moms, let us continue to partner with Jesus as we raise confident women, who love the Lord, who know who God created them to be, and who speak life, not gossip, into their friendship circles. May we be girl-moms who raise women who hold fast to the truth of who they are beloved, cherished, seen, and car...
May 30, 2023•56 min•Ep. 165
Raising boys is a gift, privilege, and challenge. How can you raise your sons to be responsible? How you can connect with your son when you have different personalities? Listen in to Episode 164 with Marnie Hammar as we talk about grace-based parenting for moms raising boys. We need boy-moms who are speaking truth and life into their sons, who are raising boys who will become men who lead in our country, community, and home, and who love Jesus and their people. Thank you, boy-moms, who are raisi...
May 23, 2023•55 min•Ep. 164
How can we balance motherhood and ministry? Is it possible to follow your passions and be a mom? How can you handle mom guilt as you work in ministry? Listen in to Episode 163 with Katie Scott as we talk about grace-based parenting for those in ministry. You’re a mom. You're also in ministry, whether that’s by being on staff at your church, leading a Bible study at home, writing a book, or volunteering on Sunday mornings. How can balance motherhood with ministry? What do we do with the mom guilt...
May 16, 2023•57 min•Ep. 163
What is a wayward child? How do we love that adult child well when they continually make unwise choices? As parents, we have dreams and plans for our children, and those can come crashing down. What do we do with the expectations we hold about how our kids will turn out when they blindside us with the choices they make? Mom, there is hope. Do not give up on your child. Listen to this episode with Mary DeMuth. In today’s episode, you’ll receive practical strategies and anchoring truths as you par...
May 09, 2023•44 min•Ep. 162
Are you an overwhelmed mom? Are you struggling with a long to-do list? What are practical strategies + anchoring truths when you feel exhausted? Listen in for grace-based parenting help. As a mom, you juggle so much: the family calendar, the emotional needs of your people, caring for yourself, running a household, and working. How can you enjoy your life and accomplish what matters most when there is so much to do? What would it look like to not be the victim of your calendar? How would it feel ...
May 02, 2023•44 min•Ep. 161
How to fight racism is a question we want and need to answer. What can you do about racism? How can you make a difference? Listen in. Racism is hurting real people right now. Racism is hurting your brothers + sisters in Christ at this exact moment. Racism should make your skin boil because it is not God's plan for His people. So, what do you do? Where can you start? I mean, you're one person, what difference can you make? If you're wondering how you can become an antiracist, give Episode 160 wit...
Apr 25, 2023•55 min•Ep. 160
How to cultivate interracial friendship is a question we hold. How do we build friendships with people who don’t look like we do? What are do’s and don’ts in conversations with people of other ethnicities? Listen in. Diversifying our friendships is important. Diversifying our life is important too. Where do we start? What can we do to cultivate interracial friendships? I’m so glad you asked! You can cultivate interracial friendship with those in your real life starting today! In today’s episode,...
Apr 18, 2023•52 min•Ep. 159
Starting and holding a conversation about race with your people can feel intimidating. My hope is for us, as Christ's followers, to begin talking about race with the people most important to us because God’s heart is for people of every nation, tribe, and tongue to know and worship Him. If this is what heaven will look like, why can’t we bring heaven to earth now? Why can’t the Church be the frontrunner in racial reconciliation and hope? Friend, I posit to you today that it is no longer an optio...
Apr 11, 2023•53 min•Ep. 158
You are loved by God. Yes, you are a sinner, AND God saved you because He loved you first. Sinning is a part of your story, but that’s not the only true truth about you. If you grew up with the drumbeat of messaging that reminded you of how sinful, unworthy, unrighteous, deceitful you were– which is certainly biblical but not the only or even most important part of your salvation story – please remember these truths. Yes, you are a sinner, AND God saved you because He loved you first. ...
Apr 04, 2023•12 min•Ep. 157
Learn what it means to be free, the four steps to break free from sin, and how to break free from lies that don’t serve you well in Episode 156. Through this last chapter of Jonah, we’ll see that only grace holds the power to set you free. God’s heart for us is not to be trapped by anger or sin or worry but to be free. God created us to be free from sin and wounds and lies, so we could be free to be loved by Him, to be healed by Him, to obey Him, to worship Him, to delight in Him and feel His de...
Mar 28, 2023•34 min•Ep. 156
Learn the four powerful steps of forgiveness, three ways to practically show people grace in your real life, and 10 simple ways to lead with humility in Episode 155. People frustrate us, right? We bump up against each other’s sharp edges when we live, work, and play together. To live and love as Christ calls us to live and love, we must extend grace to others. I would imagine many of you have hard people in your life. Maybe you have a neighbor who hosts loud parties every Saturday night, and it ...
Mar 21, 2023•36 min•Ep. 155
Learn how to receive God’s grace, three reasons you might reject, and three phrases to put on repeat to live a grace-filled life. Listen in. God’s grace is for the perfectionists, the ones who feel like they don’t belong, the ones who hate being vulnerable, and the ones who find their worth in metrics and knowledge. In today’s episode, you’ll learn how to receive God’s grace, three reasons you might reject, and three phrases to put on repeat to live a grace-filled life. If you’d like to learn mo...
Mar 14, 2023•36 min•Ep. 154
Many of us feel today like we have been blindsided by a life we thought was going well; instead, we’ve been overcome by a health diagnosis. We feel untethered to who we are because our child is walking through hell, and we’ve done all we can, and we don’t know what to do, but we want our child’s pain to end. Or – oh, I don’t know: our world has been turned upside down over the past two years. Many of us feel like we have been scooped up into a reality we didn’t choose, don’t like, and didn’t wan...
Mar 07, 2023•42 min•Ep. 153
It is no accident that our Spiritual Health series started with paying attention and ends with sharing what rumbles in our souls. Only when we wake up to what’s bothering us on the inside can we pour it out to the Lord as David did in the psalms. We must know ourselves – our fears, hopes, dreams, worries, nervous ticks, default coping mechanisms – so we can articulate them to God, not because He doesn’t already know them but so we know ourselves in the light of His presence. Because developing t...
Feb 28, 2023•44 min•Ep. 152
Learn how to cultivate a deep prayer life and pray effectively, including incorporating prayer in your daily rhythms in Grace In Real Life Ep 151 w/Asheritah Ciuciu. I’ve been talking to God since I was little. My prayer life started with those basic prayers of mimicking what my parents spoke and saying grace before meals. I’m pretty sure I went radio silent in high school and college. I told myself God was too busy when I was not even considering talking to Him. Becoming a mother grounded my pr...
Feb 21, 2023•50 min•Ep. 151
Curiosity is a skill we can use to better understand each other. But can we use that same skill to grow our faith? Can we develop curiosity about ourselves: Why do we tense up the way we do around that person? Why do we always say “yes” before checking our calendar? What does it look like to be curious about God, ourselves, and the world? Because developing curiosity is a skill that takes time and effort to cultivate, I invited Lore Ferguson Wilbert to the show. Today, Lore walks us through: How...
Feb 14, 2023•46 min•Ep. 150
Learn three easy places to find community, one sign you’re open to community, and two simple ways to encourage your friends. If you’re lonely and ever wondered how to find community and belonging, listen in to Grace In Real Life Episode 149 with Rachael Wade. God Himself is in community, being a part of the Trinity. He designed families as a way for people to be loved, supported, and strengthened. And then, He placed those families into tribes, cities, communities, and nations. Throughout the Ol...
Feb 07, 2023•46 min•Ep. 149
You’ll learn easy ways to study the Word of God every woman can use. If you’ve ever wondered how to read God’s Word effectively, listen in to Grace In Real Life Episode 148 with Portia Collins. I’m 99% sure that you read the Bible. Maybe you read a verse a day or are reading the Bible chronologically or are reading it in a year. Maybe you listen to Scripture on the way to work. But how do we study the word of God when we aren’t biblical scholars? How do we know we’re interpreting Scripture corre...
Jan 31, 2023•58 min•Ep. 148
Here’s how to spread the gospel without feeling awkward. This is evangelism without knocking on the doors of strangers. Jesus calls us to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He commanded us. Nothing sounds more amazing and more terrifying. We know that Jesus alone is the solution and salvation that gets to the root of every issue we face in our own hearts and the world, AND YET…...
Jan 24, 2023•46 min•Ep. 147
What’s tired in your life? What area feels depleted? Today we’re talking about making rest a part of our everyday lives. If I were to ask every listener if she struggled with rest, I’m guessing 99.9% of you would say yes. When we rest, we feel: Guilty Unproductive Like it’s a waste of time Yet, God designed us to rest. In this episode, Dr. Saundra shares: The seven types of rest, How to weave rest into your daily routine And practical truth when you feel guilty about resting. Key Quotes “Rest is...
Jan 17, 2023•49 min•Ep. 146
Today we’re talking about the spiritual discipline of spending time with Jesus. Is there any more transformational practice than spending time with Jesus? When we talk with Him and listen to Him and love Him and let Him love us back, it changes everything. We are no longer who we were after we’ve spent time with Christ. In this episode, AJ and Jen share: Ideas to freshen up your quiet time Creative ways to find time to spend with Jesus when your kids are little or homeschooling And the remembran...
Jan 10, 2023•52 min•Ep. 145
Today we’re talking about the spiritual discipline of paying attention and awakening to God’s love for you. Through this series on spiritual health, I want us – women of God and sisters in Christ – to be healthy and to shed who we are not and the false narratives that don’t serve us well so we can live and move and have our being in freedom and grace. I pray that we will lean – not into the discipline, for the discipline isn’t the point – but that we would lean into the God who is actively shapi...
Jan 03, 2023•41 min•Ep. 144
The story of Christ’s time on earth is the story of peace as a palindrome, you know: one of those words that reads the same forwards and backward. When Jesus was born, He came as Immanuel , God With Us. When Jesus died, was buried, rose again on the third day, and ascended into heaven, He is still Immanuel , God With Us. Jesus’s time here started with angels who spoke about peace. Jesus’s time here ended with His words of the peace He leaves us and His directions to us to be peacemakers, deliver...
Dec 20, 2022•7 min•Ep. 143
Joy is at the heart of Christ. And yet, joy is the noun I struggle with most. Joy causes a hitch in my throat that says, “But wait; what about all the hurt and sadness and violence?” Joy feels irrelevant or off-key or out of step in a world where: Human trafficking and slavery exist Women in the workplace face a wage disparity Racism flourishes Without provocation, one country attacks another country, and the world condemns with words, sends money, but doesn’t intervene. Joy feels like stand-up ...
Dec 13, 2022•9 min•Ep. 142
Our great, big, powerful God invites us to have the great, big powerful gift of faith. Yet, this feels daunting to us. But what if our great big powerful God who created and offers the great big powerful gift of faith understands the beauty of small steps? When we look at the faithful giants of our faith, may we see the great big outcomes AND the small steps of obedience. What if faith is a big gift made of small steps? What if this gift of belief is stitched together with questions and doubts? ...
Dec 06, 2022•8 min•Ep. 141
We will revisit a well-worn story of a God who loves nearness with us and whose hallmark and name bear His With-ness. A story that started in the garden and ends in eternity. A story of a God who has taken the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, AND who put on flesh and dwelt among us. A story of the infinite turned infant. A story of a God whose kingdom has come, is here now, and will be forever. A story of 400 years of silence broken by the cries of a baby. A story ...
Nov 29, 2022•8 min•Ep. 140
As we interact with family members we only see a few times a year, and those who may hold political views or perspectives 180 degrees opposite of us, we see our humanity, our sin, our frailty, and our cracks more clearly now than at any other time of the year. We are especially conscious of wanting to be healthy and whole, and to act out of love, not fear of missing out or obligation during these weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s like every issue or frustration or shame or guilt com...
Nov 22, 2022•49 min•Ep. 139
We’re talking about gift ideas for each Enneagram type and how each type feels about gifts in general. Each Enneagram type has gifts they would love to give and gifts they love to receive. In today’s episode, we’re going to break down: Each type’s gift-giving philosophy How each type feels as a gift-giver and gift-receiver And gift ideas for all nine types, including gifts you should NEVER buy! Key Quotes “More than any other type, Eights want something from the heart. You want to know that you ...
Nov 15, 2022•30 min•Ep. 138
