Challenges Won't Stop Me

My friend, Lindsey Arcaro, who is the worship pastor at my church - The Square - joins me again to discuss how lyrics to a song poured out of her during her deepest grief. Those tear-filled words became the worship song “Worthy of a Hallelujah.” Lindsey shares how walking in alignment with God leads to opportunities for us to experience what we were made for. Memorable quotes:  ·        “I don’t w...

My friend, Lindsey Arcaro, who is the worship pastor at my church - The Square - joins me today to share her story of overcoming a miscarriage and her son's neurological diagnosis.  Lindsey and her husband, Braden, have been married for eleven years and have a daughter and a son.  Lindsey doesn't sugarcoat the pain she went through in either of those challenges. Instead, she is vulnerabl...

What aspects of your faith would you consider to be creative? If you are having a hard time thinking of any, you’re not alone. Almost every five-year-old believes he or she is creative, but very few adults do. God is a creative God. And He made you to be creative! Today’s guest, Pam Farrel, shares how she discovered Bible art and how it has impacted her faith.  Notable quotes: ·         “The purpo...

How have you seen God’s fingerprints during your challenges? It could've been the right person at the right time. Or the cancerous mass no longer showing on the scan. Or your bills being paid by an unknown source.  God IS with us during our challenges. And He still does miracles. Today’s guest, author and speaker Pam Farrel, shares about how challenges with her weight, being diagnosed with di...

Today's episode is a video solo cast. If you're listening on your favorite podcast app, please head over to my YouTube channel @melonybrown. I don't want you to miss any of the visual symbols or God's beautiful creation! God's been teaching me about the importance of good spiritual posture the last few years. I've been sharing what I've learned in these video sol...

Dawn Damon returns to chat about the habitual practice of reading and studying God’s Word. As a Bible nerd myself, I loved hearing why she loves God’s Word so much. Dawn Damon is the author of six books, a speaker, the host of The Bravehearted Woman podcast, and a life coach. She and her husband, Paul, have been married for fifteen years. Their blended family is made up of five adult children, thi...

I heard today’s guest, Dawn Damon, speak at the Advanced writers and Speakers Conference last summer. She asked the audience to consider this question: “Is it possible that you might discover something about yourself or God that you wouldn’t know except for your challenges?” She was speaking my language! YES! I’ve leaned many things about myself and God that I wouldn’t have learned any other way....

Friendship. Such a beautiful gift.  My guest, Kim Todd, shares the strategy of having a kingdom community, a family. These are the people who you laugh with, who fill you with joy, and who you share "you had to be there" moments with during the good times.  While those good times are important, oh, how valuable true friends are during the hard times when they listen as you pour out your...

My guest, Kim Todd, has faced many challenges, but none tougher than watching difficult and painful challenges impact her sons.   Like any parent, she wished she could fix their challenges or soften the pain, but Kim knew God would grow their faith as they learned how to fight to overcome. Their challenges were opportunities for their growth.  But her sons' challenges were also opportunities...

Author and speaker Maureen Miller joins me to share about her mindset of Embracing Being Peculiar. Have you ever had the feeling you weren't like everyone else? Like you aren't "normal" and you don't fit in? "Being normal" is the goal, right? Maybe. Maybe not. Maureen shares, "I longed to be normal. I don't know exactly what I thought normal was, but I...

When I noticed today's guest, Maureen Miller, wearing pearl earrings during her interview, I remembered hearing pearls held meaning for her, so I asked her to tell me about them. Author and speaker Maureen Miller shared that she loves pearls because the adversity - the things we go through, the challenges we face - are similar to the sand that agitates an oyster. A valuable treasure - a pearl...

Today’s episode is a video solocast. Rather than just listening to it, watching it on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@melonybrown is suggested. Throughout 2025, God’s been teaching me about the importance of maintaining a healthy spiritual posture. Episode 117, titled STAND FIRM, I shared about the posture of standing firm. The visual image of a hiking boot reminds us that the Holy...

Today's guest is author, speaker, and podcast host Laine Lawson Craft.  This episode is a little longer because Laine's personal experience as the mother of three - yes three! - prodigal children and the strategies she's learned along the way are just too helpful and powerful to edit down to the length of most of my episodes.  Our children mean so much to us but parenting them isn&a...

In episode 130, Carole Lewis shared how God strengthened her during multiple devastating losses.  I neglected to ask her about Hurricane Ike, so she shares about the loss it caused in this episode, which leads us into discussing the importance of leaving a legacy. Carole shares examples from her life that highlight her intentionality in living a life of joy, which will be part of her legacy. Notab...

Author, speaker, and ministry leader Carole Lewis shares her story of overcoming multiple devastating losses in today's episode. Carole admits she gave her life to Jesus as a child, but she didn't live for Him until her life began falling apart.  Financial loss, her mother's passing, her husband's stage 4 cancer diagnosis and his passing, her daughter being killed by a drunk dr...

Julie Seals is a speaker and a prison minister. Her memoir is titled All My Hope: A Prisoner No More. Julie returns to discuss a strategic mindset that helped her while serving time in federal prison and continues to help her no matter what challenge she faces. Her strategic mindset is based off Matthew 11:12, which reads, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers...

Today’s guest is Julie Seals. She is a speaker and a prison minister. Her memoir, All My Hope: A Prisoner No More, tells of her dysfunctional childhood, her lifelong health challenges, getting hooked on meth as a teen, hanging out with the Mafia, and serving time in prison for carrying meth across the border. God followed her every step of the way, wooing her to choose Him. After she accepted Chri...

Today's episode is a video solocast, so watching it here on YouTube allows you to hear it and see it!  For the last year or so, God has been teaching me about the importance of a believer's posture.  We know good posture is part of good physical health. Good posture is also part of good spiritual health. It looks like standing firm on God's foundation, which I shared about in episod...

My guest, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Chandler, is a chaplain in the Georgia National Guard. She returns to share her way of life interview, focusing on what God imparted during her husband’s fight with COVID-19 and after he passed away. Having the love of her life pass away from COVID was devastating. God brought Psalm 23 to mind again and again. Apart from grieving her loss, God taught her more ab...

Every person alive in 2020 was impacted by COVID-19 in some form or fashion. My guest, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Chandler, was no exception. She serves as a chaplain in the Georgia National Guard. Married twenty years and then having to navigate a divorce during a deployment to Afghanistan prior to COVID was a difficult challenge. Leslie found joy again when she reconnected with the love of her li...

Fellow stroke survivor, Lori Vober, joins me again to chat about God’s miracles.  While she suffered a hemorrhagic stroke when she was twenty-nine years old, Lori believes surviving it is a miracle. She is grateful for all the miracles she experienced during her recovery and all the years since then. Being grateful is a huge part of Lori’s mindset. Notable quotes from Lori Vober: ·         “It’s a...

May is Stroke Awareness Month.  Strokes can happen to anyone at any age. When I had a stroke in 1972 at age 2, that wasn’t the case. Back then, strokes happened to people 65 years and older who were unhealthy: obese, smoker, drinker, and rarely exercised. My guest, Lori Vober, is also a stroke survivor. Her hemorrhagic stroke happened when she was twenty-nine years old. Thankfully, people were at...

Amanda Schaefer joins me again to discuss a strategy she relies on when challenges intersect her path. She believes peace and listening to God's voice are intricately interwoven. Amanda shares how we must know the identity of each of the voices we hear: our own voice, God's voice, the voice of the world, and the voice of the enemy. She gives an overview of her newest book, Holy Plot Twis...

Today's guest is Amanda Schaefer.  She is the host of A Cup of Gratitude podcast and a speaker. She's also the author of several books, including her newest release titled "Holy Plot Twists: God Is Still Writing Your Story." Amanda's fought to overcome numerous challenges throughout her life. She knows that Jesus is always the dorrway of hope. She wants you to know it too....

My guest, Lisa Steven, is the author of A Place to Belong: The true story of a Teen Mom, a Humbling Leadership Journey, and a House Called Hope. She is also the cofounder and executive director of Hope house Colorado.    Lisa’s back to chat about the strategy of seeking wise advisers. Throughout her journey as cofounder and executive director of Hope House, Lisa has seen time and again the importa...