Bonnie was born in a story that wasn't filled with love but with brokenness and loneliness. Her mother was a teenage mail-order bride from Hong Kong, and her father was a busboy in a noodle shop in San Francisco Chinatown. He abandoned her when she was seven. God used all her broken pieces to bring beauty to shine the light of his love so she can encourage others who hide in loneliness. Broken was once her identity, but God repurposed it to bring beauty and hope to others. About Bonnie Gray: Bon...
Feb 24, 2022•44 min
Communication all jumbled up? Seven tips for how we can experience repurposed communication by being intentional and focused with conversations. Repeat. Make sure we understand what someone else said. Assess emotions. Check your own emotions to see they are affecting what you say and hear. Put down your phone. Give the conversation your full attention. When we give communication our full focus, it means our words are more thoughtful, our focus is clearer, and we demonstrate how much we value peo...
Feb 17, 2022•17 min
If you know God is real and that he is faithful, why do you keep imagining the worst? Kristine Brown was living frazzled, stumbling through the same pattern of defeat week after week. When she came face-to-face with her worst-case-scenario, a diagnosis of colorectal cancer, she knew something had to change. Through her journey with cancer, God taught her how to trust him like she means it. About Kristine Brown: Kristine Brown is a communicator at heart, ministry wife, mom, stepmom, and Mimi. She...
Feb 10, 2022•35 min
Does life feel too crazy to keep your marriage strong sometimes? This episode includes tips for busy couples who want to hang on when life makes them dizzy. If you've ever hopped on a playground merry-go-round, you know that when someone spins it as fast as they can, you’re at the mercy of the person doing the spinning. You could not hop off that thing without risking injury. Sometimes life and marriage feel that way too. I like to think of it as not a merry-go-round but a marry-go-round. Most o...
Feb 03, 2022•20 min
Have you ever paused to consider if you're fully using your gifts and abilities? Do you pursue what you think is quote, right? What others want of you? Or do you go after what most fulfills your passions and desires? Today, Esther Littlefield and I talk about what it means to pursue the ideal life. Not perfect, not utopia, but ideal. About Esther Littlefield: Esther Littlefield is a marketing strategist and business coach for Christian women who are ready to stop feeling scattered and confused a...
Jan 27, 2022•39 min
When was the last time you said, “I’m bored”? Are your brain and schedule so full that you have no space to dream, solve, innovate, or create? In this solo episode, learn how bringing back boredom can be a good thing. We live in a noisy world.… It isn't just what we hear.…It's also the schedule demands that scream at us. It's the internal dialogue that won't shut off because of what's coming at us. I should be working I should you know, all those kinds of things. It's the flood of information fr...
Jan 20, 2022•18 min
While Jerry Dugan was overseas as a soldier prepping for battle, his wife was back home asking God pleading for his life. And though Jerry claimed no belief in God, he was praying anyway, asking God that if something should happen to him in battle to please send his wife a better husband to love her and raise their children. What he didn’t know was that God would make him into that husband. About Jerry Dugan: Jerry is the host of Beyond the Rut, a show about helping you achieve your dreams witho...
Jan 13, 2022•49 min
Have you ever stopped to ask why you do certain things? Maybe it’s time for a second look at how you use your resources and energy. Explore your motivation by looking at how the small purposes add up to bigger purposes. This is the start of season 5 of Life Repurposed. In this season, you’ll find a new cover image and new look for social posts. There’s an updated format to the show notes to help you find the most important nuggets of wisdom. Plus each episode will have a full transcript in the s...
Jan 06, 2022•20 min
In this episode: A little bit of gratitude as we wrap up this podcast season. Plus three tips to keep your sanity over the holidays, and a free bonus. Show notes and resources This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michellerayburn.substack.com...
Nov 25, 2021•18 min
Darla Grieco went as a chaperone on her daughter’s school field trip as a lonely, broken woman, wondering what could possibly be next in her life. It led to rekindling a life-long dream when she decided to chase it! Darla Grieco wondered what could possibly be next in her life. Then she went as a chaperone on her daughter’s school field trip. She describes herself as a lonely, broken woman, but what happened on the trip pushed her out of her comfort zone. Shortly after returning home, she rekind...
Nov 18, 2021•30 min
When Jodie Cooper found out her son was on the autism spectrum, it magnified her struggle with anger. Her marriage was already rocky. But instead of causing everything to fall apart, it forced her to face the challenges head on, and in the process, she found truth faith and discovered hope. Jodie Cooper shared about how isolating it was when her son was born and her life changed. As her friends’ children hit milestones, she blamed herself, thinking she had done something wrong. But then some peo...
Nov 11, 2021•38 min
After trying to keep all the artificial rules that went along with Christian faith, Michele Morin needed a fresh start when she found herself disillusioned. She started over with a renovated version of habits and spiritual practices. This week, Michele Morin and talked about habits of holiness and healthy spiritual practices. After struggling with her faith, Michele found a new balance with being “intently haphazard” with her routines. We found common ground as fellow boy moms. Michele said, “A ...
Nov 04, 2021•34 min
Robin Seaton adopted a son with autism, and God used some of their most difficult experiences to make significant changes in her spiritual growth and his. Where loneliness and frustration once reigned, now there is peace and joy. This week, Robin Seaton talked about how she and her husband weren’t able to have children, and they had tried adopting several times before they finally adopted their son. They decided to go the route of adopting a child with special needs. At that time (in the 90s) au...
Oct 28, 2021•43 min
Over chocolate cake and lemon bars, Sue Donaldson creates heart connections with others who want to know what she once asked: Is God real? Sue opens doors to communication while she opens her home and has conversations with others around her table. Sue Donaldson is back for an encore on the podcast as she talks about her chapter in the Life, Repurposed book. When Sue was in college, she wrestled with whether or not God is real, and in voicing those doubts, she found a safe place to process her t...
Oct 21, 2021•19 min
Kathy Carlton Willis isn’t waiting for life to become perfect. Instead, she’s asking God to use her broken as she fulfills her purpose and calling. In this bonus episode, Kathy Carton Willis is back for an encore to talk about her chapter in the Life, Repurposed book. Kathy discussed how God doesn’t wait for us to be perfect before he gives us an assignment. Instead, he uses us broken. We caught up on her latest book too (see the resources below). If you’re waiting for the perfect moment to come...
Oct 20, 2021•19 min
When Joanie Shawhan needed rejuvenation as a caregiver, she found that practicing gratitude made all the difference. She returns for an encore episode this week. Joanie Shawhan is back for an encore interview! This time we talked about how she learned that gratitude helped her to find hope in the midst of a tough season of being a caregiver for her best friend in the final years of her life. Joanie herself is a survivor of ovarian cancer, and she has learned to look for the little things to be t...
Oct 19, 2021•20 min
Are you ready to tackle big challenges and pursue your passion and purpose? This week I talked about a big decision I had to make in order to pursue the purpose God has given me. Now it’s your turn! As I weigh out what is important to me and where to invest my time, I’ve also been burning the candle at both ends many days. So, I have weighed things out to figure out what to keep and what to let go of. This week, I share how I’ve processed through advice from friends, comparing it with what God h...
Oct 14, 2021•21 min
Becky Hofstad was 39 when she met her husband after a long season of wondering if she would ever marry. From marriage, to infertility, to adoption, she has has discovered that God might simply delay what she thinks he has denied. Becky Hofstad talked about how God has used delays in her life to enrich her experience and her story. She met her husband at age 39 after a long process of people setting her up on dates, online dating, and singles groups. A successful chemist, she had a satisfying car...
Sep 23, 2021•32 min
Who needs a new year to set goals? You can get started at any time! Just make sure they are EASY goals. In this episode: tips and resources to accomplish what you’ve been dreaming about. Show notes and resources This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michellerayburn.substack.com...
Sep 16, 2021•19 min
When a painful chronic condition changed Amy Marcoux’s active lifestyle, she needed a reminder that her life has purpose, even on the difficult days. She repurposes her own pain to inspire others. Amy Marcoux is a young adventure-lover, but an injury that wouldn’t heal changed her active life. After a surgery didn’t correct the issue, she continued to see doctors. Eventually, she was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a term that describes excess and prolonged pain and inflamm...
Sep 09, 2021•25 min
Terri Prahl knows what it’s like to leave the hospital with empty arms after the loss of a child. She talks about processing through grief and learning to trust God fully amid unimaginable emotional pain. Terri and her husband were a young college-aged couple, married for three years, when a heartbreaking loss changed their lives forever. With her home nursery all set up to welcome their first child, Terri left the hospital with empty arms, and instead of sending out birth announcements, she and...
Sep 02, 2021•42 min
Whatever life phase you’re in, why wait for someday to pursue that thing you’ve always wanted to do? This week, Deb DeArmond talks about making the rest of your life the best of your life. This week, Deb DeArmond talked about what it was like raising three boys and working full-time. Never did she have “become a writer” on that list until someone told her she should write a book. Her journey to this goal began at age 55, and now she inspires people of all ages to consider what comes next. What i...
Aug 19, 2021•36 min
Do we make productivity into a gospel? Being busy doesn’t make you more valuable. Checking boxes or being prolific doesn’t make you a better person. Productivity is not bad, but it isn’t the gospel. I’m currently reading a good book, but it almost implies that success is a hustle that includes sleep deprivation, pushing your limits, and learning to live with the stress of all that. I say there is an in between. Rather than defining ourselves by how much we do, let’s take a different approach tha...
Aug 12, 2021•15 min
Betty Predmore tells the story of how she reacted in a pivotal moment when she could either blow up or find the humor in it. She says we are able to and worthy of making a change to respond differently from anger. When a camping trip turned into a seek and find effort to recover their luggage along the highway, Betty turned the experience into life lessons. When things don’t go your way, what triggers you? Life doesn’t always go the way we plan! As Betty started a meltdown in the midst of an imm...
Aug 05, 2021•38 min
If you could change something about how your church perceives mental health, what would you change? This week, Robyn Mulder talks about her journey and how she’s helping others find hope for their struggles with depression. In this week’s podcast, Robyn Mulder shared her vulnerable story of becoming overwhelmed in a new job, having a flare with clinical depression, and how she came to a place where she wanted to harm herself. But what Robyn is known for is helping others process their thoughts i...
Jul 22, 2021•33 min
Jenn Uren, the host of This Mom Knows podcast, loves helping women entrepreneurs establish systems. Her goal is to help people get unstuck and move forward with their goals. Jenn talked about being a perfectionist and also about how she has a fear of succeeding more than a fear of failure. Perhaps you’ve felt that before and wondered, what if I succeed? She talked about something I’ve heard so many people say. It’s that futuristic thinking that once the to-do list is gone, kids are well-behaved,...
Jul 15, 2021•38 min
This week features guest host Phil Rayburn interviewing Michelle for the 100th episode of Life, Repurposed. Enjoy a few laughs as we celebrate! Show notes and resources This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michellerayburn.substack.com...
Jul 08, 2021•24 min
She climbed the corporate ladder, but at the top, her heart’s longing was to be at home with her family. Natalie Lavelock tells how she took the leap and left the safety of her job. Now, her message is that your real identity is not in what you do. Faced with a decision about whether to launch the business she always wanted or staying in her successful nursing career, she learned to rely on God for guidance. In our chat, she talked about taking the risk, what was at stake, and how she processed ...
Jul 01, 2021•37 min
In my attempt to be “helpful,” I know I sometimes offer solutions when someone else was looking for empathy. If we listen and learn, we might discover the true needs of others and find space for understanding. Will you join me in practicing that skill? We can’t rescue every hurting person, but what if we practiced noticing the real hurt in someone else? In this episode, we look at how we can be purposeful in our response to others. I give some examples of ways we might heap more stress on each o...
Jun 24, 2021•22 min
In our conversation this week, Susan Macias shares practical wisdom about changing our perspective on mistakes, setting our sights on something other than perfection, and letting God redeem what we thought to be ruin. Have you ever felt as if God disappeared from your view? This week, my guest Susan Macias and I talked about how the stories of what God has done in the past helps us remember God is there in the present, even if it feels as if he isn’t working. We talked about how to keep our pers...
Jun 17, 2021•32 min
