Our Time to Rise in Midlife

Ruth Bell Olsson has ended up in some places she didn't expect. Whether in the middle of The Congo talking with victims of sexual violence, or leading a needle exchange for intravenous drug users in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, her destination is often not what she had in mind when beginning her journey. But it is always people that bring her to these unexpected places. Those she is jou...

Whether you had an amazing father growing up, or one that caused deep wounds and pain, every one us can speak to the power of a father.  The relationship we have with our father affects us in profound ways.   In this special Father's Day episode, Dr. Meg Meeker, author, renowned speaker, and pediatrician,  joins me in talking about how every father has within him the ability to be the hero his chi...

Kelsey Hency was looking for a place to read and write. She couldn't find what she was looking for, so she created something new. Fathom, an online magazine for Christians who wrestle with the issues, who don't always find their voice in the current narratives, who perhaps ask more questions than they find answers. If you are a reader, a person who wonders, a question asker, even a doubter, join u...

Kristin Schell wants to be a front yard person. In an effort to do life in a way that was accessible to her neighbors, to facilitate relationships in their everyday experiences, she put a picnic table in her front yard and painted it turquoise. She had no idea that would become a movement of turquoise tables around the country. You'll hear in this episode that Kristin is a dear friend to both Alex...

Does it feel like technology is taking over your life?  Do you feel frustrated, sad, and discouraged when every person in your family is glued to a screen rather than interacting with one another?  You're not alone.  Research shows that we all are struggling with the screens that sits comfortably at our fingertips. Andy Crouch, executive editor of Christianity Today and author of The Tech-Wise Fam...

Mary DeMuth strives to live with a generous spirit. And by all measures we think she is living out her desire. A writer and speaker in her career, she makes it her business to help other writers with their business. Whether in a mastermind group or on her website, Mary promised herself years ago that she would not hide any insider tricks, but rather would help others as they pursued their call to...

Lisa-Jo Baker knows a few things about friendship. As the manager of the (in)courage community she has set a space for women to experience belonging in both the online space and real world arena. Her new book, Never Unfriended , tackles the tricky dynamics of female friendships: why are they important, the roadblocks to finding, growing and sustaining healthy relationships, and how we can move pas...

Drained.  Exhausted.  Empty. Barren. Does this describe how you feel?  Most of us reach a point at some time in our lives where we feel like we're camped in dry land.  When we get to this place we don't have the energy or the motivation to dream or move forward in our areas of giftedness and calling. Suanne Camfield joins us today to help us find water in the desert.  She guides us through what it...

In this episode of The Open Door Sisterhood Podcast, Elisa Morgan does what she does so well, she draws us in with her combination of storytelling, humor and insight. A communicator on the stage, page and radio waves to audiences around the world Elisa is an author of 25 books, speaker, radio host, mom, wife, grandmother and President Emerita of MOPS International. She has a lifetime of leadership...

Christie Purifoy gets her hands dirty. Her garden and property Maplehurst, are her current places to create. As a former English professor she lived for years in a thought-centered creative space. Her new physical space and work feed her writing in a different way. A mom of four she fit right in with Alex and Krista as they talked books, cooking and having space for people to enter a family home....

Do you have a big event coming up? Maybe a graduation party, a wedding, a family reunion, a milestone birthday, or a baby shower? Me too. That's why I decided to reach out to my friend, Michele Dirks, for help with the details. As a former caterer, Michele is the master at planning for large groups of people. Whether in her home at her famous annual Christmas party, or feeding 500 in a rural Hondu...

Some people have a moment in life when everything changes. Rebekah Gregory is one of those people. A spectator at the 2013 Boston Marathon, Rebekah was standing near the finish line with her five-year old son Noah and some friends when a bomb went off only a few feet behind her. Rebekah's life was spared, but after months in the hospital and dozens of surgeries she eventually lost her left leg. Th...

There is a difference between the absence of fear and being "fearless". Kelly Balarie talks to The Open Door Sisterhood Podcast about what it means to fear just a little bit less with each decision and step, how worry and anxiety are rooted in fear, and how fear prevents us from loving others well. We hear about Kelly's journey to overcoming fear and about that one time her husband took her out to...

Shame is a buzz word in our culture, but do we really know what it is, and what it does to our inner self? What about our children? How does shame manifest itself in our kids, and does our parenting unintentionally foster that? Psychologist and author Kelly Flanagan joins me to break down the nature of shame, and also to talk about how we can awaken to embrace our truest, worthiest selves and then...

Mo Isom was a Division I college soccer player when she asked God to wreck her life. And that's exactly what he did. Mo was playing goalkeeper for Louisiana State University, her father had recently taken his own life and she was pondering the purpose in hers. She found herself upside down (literally!) in her car. The overwhelming encounter she had with God in the minutes immediately following thi...

You might be surprised to know the depths of Liz Curtis Higgs' story. This woman who has written more than 30 books, and is a popular conference speaker, had some difficult early adult years. Her attempts to find comfort and relief through self-destructive behaviors were interrupted when someone told her the truth of God's love. This truly was good news. It was life transforming, so much so, those...

Do you want to learn to manage money better?  Do you want to know how to make your money work for you? Financial expert and author Ericka Young is visiting with sisterhood today to help.  Ericka is the president and founder of Tailor-Made Budgets which she opened in 2005 after she and her husband Chris were able to climb their way out of nearly $100,000 in debt. Ericka just released her new book,...

Heather Avis has learned that the lucky few are people who find God's wonder in unexpected places. A mom of three, in this episode we hear about Heather's adoption journey, how Down Syndrome entered her life, and what her first book The Lucky Few is all about. A fresh, candid, joy-filled voice of parenting in the everyday, Heather will feel like an instant friend. She reminds us all that sometimes...

It can feel awkward knocking on a neighbor's door. Even more so if small talk is not your thing. For introverts the desire to love others well must be balanced with their own need for alone time to refuel. Kendra Broekhuis went into a 30-day challenge to love her neighbors unaware that her introverted tendencies would be significant. Until they were. Listen to his interview with fellow introvert (...

If we could figure out the formula for how to be happy and execute that equation everyday we would.  But happiness isn't quite that easy.  There are many facets to what creates a happy life, a happy mind, and a happy environment.  It is one of the most universally desired emotions, and yet one of the hardest to achieve. Happiness expert, and author of The Happiness Dare , Jennifer Dukes Lee, joins...

Sarah Jakes Roberts grew up in the spotlight. As the daughter of Bishop T.D. Jakes her teenage insecurities were fueled by living in the public eye. She became pregnant at 13, had her baby at 14 and began her parenting journey. Now the mom of 6 with her husband Touré Roberts, Sarah is maneuvering the life of a blended family while co-pastoring their own church in Hollywood, CA. In this episode Sar...

Though Esther Fleece is in one of the happiest seasons of her life, having just exchanged wedding vows only a couple of months ago, this wasn't always the case. Abandoned by both of her parents by the time she was a teenager, Esther is no stranger to deep and profound loss. With heart-breaking honesty, Esther opens up about a pivotal moment in her childhood when she was positioned in a court room...

Culture is talking about sex.  The music and movie industry is talking about sex -- all.the.time.  Is the church?  Are we communicating enough about what healthy sex looks like in marriage?  Real-life sex, not just how it is portrayed on the silver screen. Do men have a greater sex drive than women?  What is mutual sex?  How is pornography affecting the marriage bed?  How do we have honest convers...

Jessie Minassian just made a big move and finds herself nestled in the middle of a national forest, hours from anything more than a country store. Her relocation to Hume Lake with her family was a big transition, but an answer to her prayer of "Lord send me". A woman willing to join God in what he is already doing, this is just one ways that Jessie has said "yes" in recent years to the open door i...

Founder of the IF:Gathering, author, and Bible teacher, Jennie Allen inspires women to encounter God. She works hard at the work in front of her and a few years ago realized she might be working too hard, trying to prove to everyone that she was good enough, up to the task. Her journey to let go of expectations and allow God to do his job is chronicled in her new book Nothing to Prove: Why We Can...