Lifework Podcast

In part two of Dr. Stan Norman’s conversation with Steven Nelson, Director of Housing and Intramural Sports at Williams Baptist University, Steven picks up the story as a young electrical engineering student at DeVry in Kansas City, still wrestling with God’s call to ministry. He recounts the decisive moment in a trigonometry class when he stood up, told his professor “I’m not supposed to be here,...

In this episode of the Lifework Podcast, host Dr. Stan Norman welcomes Steven Nelson, Director of Housing and Intramural Sports at Williams Baptist University, to share how a boy from rural Missouri found his way into shaping campus life at WBU.  Steven reflects on growing up in a large farming family, learning perseverance in the fields and factories, and navigating complex family dynamics that f...

In part two of this conversation, President Stan Norman and Caleb Garner pick up Caleb’s story as he moves from Mississippi State into the world of sports media and, eventually, the classroom at Williams Baptist University. Caleb describes discovering that work is both service and worship, and how roles in sports information, media relations, and communications became avenues for telling stories w...

In this episode of the Lifework Podcast, President Stan Norman sits down with Caleb Garner, Chair of the Department of Health and Physical Education and Assistant Professor of Sports Management at Williams Baptist University. Caleb shares how growing up in the “boondocks” of Brooksville, Mississippi, in a close-knit, church-centered community and a hardworking family shaped his view of vocation an...

In last week’s episode, Janna Himschoot shared how farm life, family, and faith in Hardy, Arkansas, laid the groundwork for her calling as a wife, mother, and future educator. If you missed that conversation about lifework, you’ll want to go back and listen before jumping into this powerful continuation.  This week, WBU President Dr. Stan Norman welcomes Janna back to trace the next chapter of her...

What if your sense of calling started with a cattle loan at age 12 and evenings spent checking cows with your dad?  In this episode, WBU President Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Assistant Professor of Business Janna Himschoot to explore how God used small-town Hardy, Arkansas, hard work on a 300-acre farm, and deeply rooted family faith to shape her lifework and purpose. Janna shares why motherhoo...

In part two of our conversation with Belina Dulaney, professor of mathematics at Williams Baptist University, she shares how God redirected her carefully laid career plans and revealed a surprising calling to the classroom. From orientation day at ASU and dreams of becoming an actuary, to discovering a deep sense of ease and joy while teaching as a graduate assistant, Dulaney traces the moments wh...

In this LifeWork Podcast episode, host Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Belina Dulaney, Assistant Professor of Natural Sciences – Mathematics at Williams Baptist University, to explore how God uses numbers, work, and hardship to shape a calling. From growing up in a single–parent home in small–town Arkansas to becoming a valedictorian with 52 college credit hours and eventually a college math profes...

In Part 2 of this Lifework conversation, host Dr. Stan Norman picks up Dr. Trevor Babcock’s story right where the cliffhanger left off: a clear, lifelong plan to become a chemical engineer—and the slow-motion collapse of that plan in the real world of co-op work, panic attacks, and an unexpected loss of desire for the career he had built his identity around. Trevor describes how God used that work...

In this first part of a two-episode conversation, Lifework host Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Williams Baptist University English professor Dr. Trevor Babcock to trace the unlikely path that shaped his calling and character. From a childhood that bounced between Kentucky, Cincinnati, and the suburbs of Sacramento, to a home marked by Naval Academy discipline on one side and pastoral ministry on t...

In this second conversation with Coach John Mayberry , Dr. Stan Norman explores how God redirected a plan that once pointed toward North Texas and college soccer into a life of ministry through Christian higher education and basketball at Williams . Coach Mayberry traces the unlikely path from Foot Locker management , to working in recycling , to a last‑minute trip to Williams Baptist University t...

In this episode of the Lifework Podcast , Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Coach John Mayberry , head coach of the Williams Baptist Lady Eagles , to trace an unlikely journey from inner-city Hot Springs, Arkansas to the sidelines in Walnut Ridge. Coach Mayberry shares stories of growing up in a blue-collar home , learning the value of hard work from a dad who never complained and a mom who logged 30...

In this second conversation with Williams Baptist University head men’s basketball coach Josh Austin, host Dr. Stan Norman picks up the story right where Part 1 left off—at the moment when faith moved from the margins of Josh’s life to the center of his calling. Josh shares how a hard sophomore season, a stairwell conversation with a stranger, and a renewed hunger for God’s Word reshaped his prior...

In this Lifework Podcast episode, Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Williams Baptist University head men’s basketball coach Josh Austin to trace how a small-town Arkansas upbringing, an IT-dad and jeans-factory-mom, and Saturdays filled with yard work—not screens—forged his relentless work ethic.  Coach Austin shares stories from Magnet Cove, from spotlighting deer and folding Arizona jeans to gettin...

In Part 2 of their conversation, WBU President Dr. Stan Norman sits back down with Head Softball Coach Jessica Nutt to explore how God used closed doors, unanswered job applications, and long seasons of waiting to clarify her calling to coach.  Drawing from her time at Kids Across America, in the classroom, and on the field, Jessica shares how relationships, not résumés, helped her see that invest...

In this episode of the Lifework Podcast, Williams Baptist University President Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Head Softball Coach Jessica Nutt to trace her journey from a sports‑saturated childhood in Bolivar, Missouri, to leading the Lady Eagles on the field at WBU. Coach Nutt shares how growing up in a tight-knit, church‑centered family at First Baptist Bolivar and coming to faith in Christ in f...

In this second part of their conversation, WBU President Dr. Stan Norman sits back down with Director of Athletics Mitch Mathis to trace how a winding coaching career became a clear sense of calling and ministry. Coach Mathis shares how God used closed doors, hard seasons, and unexpected moves—from small-town Arkansas to inner-city Houston and back—to shape his heart for students, coaches, and fam...

WBU President Dr. Stan Norman talks with Athletic Director Mitch Mathis about how a blue-collar childhood in Pine Bluff, a catcher’s grind on the baseball field, and a winding spiritual journey shaped his work ethic, leadership, and calling in athletics. In this first part of a two-episode conversation, WBU President Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Williams Baptist University Director of Athletics,...

What do you do when the calling you thought would define your life runs straight into the brick wall of real ministry hurt? In this episode of the LifeWork Podcast, we listen in as WBU president Dr. Stan Norman sits down with former worship guitarist and once–full-time pastor, now digital recruiting coordinator, Bill Jeffery. Bill opens up about chasing the dream of professional music, stepping in...

In this first part of a two-episode conversation, we turn the spotlight behind the scenes to hear the story of Bill Jeffery—the voice you usually don’t hear, but the one shaping many of the stories told through the LifeWork Podcast. Bill reflects on growing up in a divided home, encountering faith for the first time as a teenager, and finding refuge in church, music, and meaningful relationships d...

In this second conversation with Laquietta Stewart , Dean of Students at Williams Baptist University, host Dr. Stan Norman explores how God used nearly three decades in public education, school counseling, and coaching to prepare her for her current role at Williams. Laquietta reflects on discovering her calling as a high school counselor, walking with students through grief and big decisions, and...

In this episode of the LifeWork Podcast , host Dr. Stan Norman is joined by Laquietta Stewart , Dean of Students at Williams Baptist University, for a wide-ranging conversation about faith, leadership, and the long work of formation. Laquietta shares her story growing up in small-town Arkansas, coming to faith through the influence of a local church community, and navigating college as a first-gen...

Dr. Robert Foster has a confession: he hates “The Little Drummer Boy.” In this special Christmas episode of the LifeWork Podcast , Dr. Stan Norman continues his conversation with Dr. Foster by uncovering a long-running (and legendary) faculty controversy. But what starts as a humorous takedown of a beloved Christmas song quickly turns into something far more meaningful. Dr. Foster explains why fic...

What if your calling didn’t begin with a single dramatic moment—but with a lifetime of faithful work, community influence, and God quietly weaving it all together? In this episode of the LifeWork Podcast , Dr. Stan Norman sits down with Dr. Robert Foster to explore the formative experiences that shaped his life, faith, and vocation. From growing up in a hardworking Oklahoma family, to encountering...

In Part 2, we continue Heather Parson’s incredible journey—moving from her college decision at WBU to a series of unexpected pivots that shaped her vocation. Heather recounts choosing Williams when it made no logical sense on paper, discovering a love for finance, leading a pregnancy resource center at age 22, navigating nonprofit leadership, earning her MBA in Finance, and walking through emotion...