Choosing Cheer

This week on the Choosing Cheer Podcast, our host Nicolet Bell sits down with her mentor and friend Kim Clark to talk about choosing cheer in studying scripture and reading the Bible. This episode is filled with truths about the importance of a daily routine of study and the rich benefits that come from delighting in God’s Word. They share some of their own habits and routines and provide encourag...

Welcome to the third season of Choosing Cheer! This week, our host Nicolet shares about choosing cheer in the new year and introduces our focus topic for this season! She dives into the importance of the transition into the new year by getting rid of what is old and dead in our spiritual life in order to make way for the beauty and newness God has in store. She shares our theme for this season, ch...

In our second season’s finale, Nicolet shares a word of encouragement on choosing holiday cheer! She talks about the struggles we face when comparison creeps into our seasons and offers a reminder about where our true holiday joy is found! Nicolet reminds us that amidst the chaos of the holiday season, we can find joy because Jesus is cheering us on!     Thank you for another beautiful season of C...

The holiday season can be a time of much joy but also much stress. In today’s conversation, Nicolet sits down with LPC Sarah Beth Walker to talk about choosing cheer amidst the stress of the holiday season. They talk everything from navigating family dynamics to combating the pressure of “keeping up with the Joneses.” They discuss the beauty found in the seasons of waiting as mirrored in Advent. M...

In this week’s conversation on Choosing Cheer, Nicolet is joined by her husband, Preston Bell, to talk all about choosing cheer in encouragement, especially when cheering on your spouse! They discuss the importance of fully listening to and affirming one another and the effects of creating a "Sabbath space"--or a space to rest--in your marriage. Nicolet and Preston also discuss why it’s...

In this week’s episode of Choosing Cheer, Nicolet sits down with Drs. Shane and Pokey Stanford to talk about choosing cheer in our daily walk with Jesus! Their conversation dives into the importance of intentionally making time for Jesus every day and, most importantly, how that in turn helps us to better cheer on one another. Shane, Pokey, and Nicolet give practical encouragement for beginning th...

This week on Choosing Cheer, Nicolet has the joy of sitting down and talking with Michelle McKinney Hammond, author of “When Shift Happens,” speaker, and worship leader. Their conversation is truly filled with joy, the Holy Spirit, and so much encouragement for what happens when life hands us the unexpected. Michelle and Nicolet talk about choosing cheer in mastering the mundane, seeing the world...

This week’s conversation is for everyone who has the privilege of loving on children, no matter what that role looks like. Our host Nicolet sits down with retired pediatrician Dr. Ronnie Kent to talk about what it looks like to choose cheer in parenting! Their discussion ranges from his top parenting tips to the dangers of comparison (other kids and siblings). They talk about the importance of abi...

Hey friends, it’s Nicolet, your host! This week’s conversation on Choosing Cheer is a little bit different, but I also I think it’s extra special. I pray that it blesses you in the same way these women and this experience have blessed me! I got the chance to sit down and recap with a recent missions trip to a women’s conference in Honduras with five incredible women of faith. We talk about the imp...

This week, Nicolet has a beautiful conversation with returning guest and licensed professional counselor Sarah Beth Walker! Their discussion revolves around our theme of cheering people on and how we can best encourage our children, spouses, and friends---with and without words! Sarah Beth and Nicolet remind us that we can turn to scripture to model the best example-- God's example--for guidan...

Welcome back to Choosing Cheer! In his week’s episode, Nicolet speaks on priorities. She shares some of her current health struggles and how that has led her to a total shift in her own priorities and the lessons that have come with it. Nicolet shares so much truth in that where we find our identity and where we place our priorities relates to the joy that we experience in our lives. She reminds a...

Welcome back to Choosing Cheer! This week, Nicolet has a beautiful conversation with author Natalie Runion about her book “Raised to Stay” and what it means to choose cheer in the church today. Natalie shares her heart for the brokenness of people vs. the church, accountability vs. church hurt, and making an active decision to stay with the church during tumultuous times. Finally, she encourages u...

Welcome back to Choosing Cheer! This week, Nicolet’s conversation is special and relevant on choosing cheer in the world of social media with our guest, author and speaker Grace Valentine! Nicolet and Grace talk about the importance of approaching social media from a biblical perspective, and what a difference it can make when battling comparison. She encourages us that we can choose cheer even in...

SEASON 2, EPISODE 1 Welcome back to a new season of the Choosing Cheer podcast! In today’s episode, our host Nicolet is walking us back through our theme for this season, “Who are you cheering on?” She discusses Ephesians 4:29, and the importance of our words when talking to and about others. Nicolet reminds us there is power in our words, and how we should be using them to be kind and compassiona...

It’s our final conversation of Season 1! In this week’s episode, Nicolet is continuing our conversation about John 16, especially when we are struggling with finding joy! She talks about the correlation between our relationship with the Holy Spirit and our Cheer. She encourages us that we can choose cheer in knowing that we do not walk alone in our struggle and on our quest to seek joy in this wor...

In this week’s conversation, Nicolet is joined by her friend Macy! Macy’s story is unique in that she experienced a traumatic scalp burn in high school that lead to permanent hair loss. Macy is absolutely beautiful on the inside and out, and shares about how this experience grew her relationship with the Lord, and challenged her meaning of beauty. She encourages us to remember that joy doesn’t alw...

This week’s conversation is all about choosing cheer in the world of motherhood, specifically as a foster mother! Nicolet is joined by foster mom and advocate Loren Wilkerson, and they have a beautiful conversation about what it means to choose cheer in the midst of not knowing our tomorrows. Loren answered the call to foster care with such obedience at 24 as a single mom, and shares of the joys a...

Choosing Cheer in Parenting   This week, Nicolet and her long-time friends and mentors are talking about parenting! Brian and Christy are parents to an almost 13-year-old and 11-year-old boys, and they bring so much wisdom and truth on biblical parenthood to this week’s conversation. They share their stories and experience with their kids asking hard questions and how to respond as Jesus when they...

This week’s conversation is all about grace. As Believers, we can choose cheer in the ultimate example we have for grace: Jesus! Nicolet leads us in a further discussion about what it means to choose cheer in showing that same grace to others even when we have been wronged. We know this can be a sensitive topic, and there are some of you listening who have had tragedies inflicted upon you by other...

This week’s conversation is about choosing cheer even when we are not feeling very cheerful. Sometimes it can feel like putting on clothes that just don’t fit right. This world gives us many reasons not to take on joy, but Nicolet encourages us to look to the who not what that supplies our cheer. Choosing cheer when we don’t feel like it doesn’t mean faking anything, but turning to Jesus for that...

This week, Nicolet is joined by her friend and licensed professional counselor, Sarah Beth Walker! Today’s conversation is about choosing cheer in anxiety and this topic is so relevant. Did you know that 1 in 4 adults wrestle with anxiety? They have a beautiful discussion about what it looks like to walk with anxiety as a believer. Sarah Beth emphasizes that the shame we feel from struggling with...

This week, Nicolet is joined again by her husband, Preston Bell! Today their conversation dives deeper into the theme verse for the show, John 16:33. Specifically, they have an in-depth discussion about the section “for I have overcome the world.”  They talk about what we define as “the world,” and how impactful this part of the scripture truly is. They share about how this plays out in their own...

This week’s conversation is about waiting and the power of prayer in a season of longing. In this episode, Nicolet is opening up and sharing more of how the Lord has worked in her powerful story. She shares about loss and life and reminds us of that serve a God who has come through for us before and will come through for us again, and that we can choose cheer each day and rest in that truth.   htt...

In this week’s episode, Nicolet is joined by her friends Timmy and Nicole Ruhnke! These two share their story of loss and grief and finding joy in a season of obedience and then confusion on what’s next. Timmy and Nicole remind us that joy isn’t a byproduct of our circumstances, but of the Holy Spirit, and that we shouldn’t feel guilty in our rejoicing through him. John 16:33 “Be of good cheer, I...

In this week’s episode, Nicolet is joined by her friends Anse and Courtney Rigby! These two share their family’s powerful story of choosing cheer each day amidst an unexpected diagnosis of Cri Du Chat for their daughter. They share the importance of being surrounded by community, and what it means to choose joy in a circumstance the world says otherwise. Courtney and Anse remind us that even in th...