Stories of Hope in Hard Times

There are several different ways you can feel closer to God and heal through writing. Listen as I share them and see which one you feel you can incorporate better into your own life. 6 Different Ways to Write & Connect with God 1. Journaling You can journal about hopes, dreams, expectations, sorrows and gratitudes The health benefits to journaling 2. Being Grateful I’ve been journaling 3-5 thi...

Ganel-Lyn had a mom and sister who struggled with mental health challenges, and her sister finally chose suicide. She shares key tips and ideas for both family members and those who struggle. Episode Discussion Points We all need connection with others. Getting ready for empty-nesting and entering a new phase is challenging (and she is kind of mourning that change). Wishes she knew more about pare...

Can you connect to God while doing creative things? Here are some ideas of how you can unplug from stress and connect with God and your inner creative self. Episode Discussion Points Connecting with God can help us when we are feeling drained by life’s challenges. Comparison to plugging a phone in when you need to recharge. God the Father is the ultimate Creator, and we each have this seed of divi...

When Annie’s husband suffered a massive cerebellar stroke, her world changed. Through a series of small miracles, she found two mantras to live by through his very long recovery: “Stronger Every Day” & “I Can Do Hard Things.” Episode Discussion Points Why reading the "Drama in Real Life" from the  Reader’s Digest  helped prepare her for her own challenges. The story of how her husban...

How do you connect with God in nature? Today we will talk about three ideas on how you can do this and incorporate a little more peace into your life. This is the second in our series of connecting to God. Episode Discussion Points Story of my husband kayaking out on a lake in the early morning and feeling a peace and such a release of stress. 3 Ideas for Connecting with God Through Nature 1. Stan...

Liz joins us today to share 3 personal stories of how God’s Spirit helped her move forward , feel peace and helps us amidst life’s challenges. Episode Discussion Points Training guide dogs When God says, “no.” Being totally involved in music and wanting to major in it, to all of the sudden losing her passion for music and wondering what she was supposed to do with her life. God led her toward Huma...

I am going to be doing a series on connection over the next few Tamara’s Takeaway episodes, and we are first going to talk about how we can connect to God through a daily devotional. Episode Discussion Points It is important to connect to God because the closer we feel to Him, the stronger and more courageous we feel. Religious leader Jeffrey Holland said about our connection with God that it is t...

Jeff Corrigan and Sheldon Mills of the Idea Gym podcast are no strangers to setting and reaching goals. Today we talk about some of the key ingredients to making good habits stick which will change your life for the better. Episode Discussion Points The great white tiger Mohini’s story and how that applies to limiting beliefs that seem to hold us captive and stuck. Jeff shares a story in his life...

My youngest child just graduated from high school. How do we navigate seasons of change successfully? I share 3 tips which will help us get through with God's help. Episode Discussion Points My daughter just graduated from high school and she is the youngest. So, I am experiencing a range of emotions. An artistic Bible Verse a friend gave me as a senior in high school that applies to our situation...

After being hospitalized for COVID Jen found she had a hard time thinking clearly and even discerning God’s presence. She pressed forward in faith despite difficult challenges and found a powerful answer. Episode Discussion Points How she spent a few summers kayaking along the Thames. How her author job and keeping up with her six children keeps her busy. How her really bad case of COVID changed h...

Do you have true faith--meaning you are okay if you or your loved ones aren't healed? If not, listen as I share a personal story of how I worked toward that ideal. Episode Discussion Points The question of “Do I have the faith not to be healed?” A story in my life where I realized that I didn’t have that kind of faith yet when Nathan was diagnosed with autism. How I realized I needed to change and...

Becca didn’t let her paralysis keep her from living her life fully, but kidney disease tested her faith and led her to have a deeper connection with Christ she never had experienced before. Episode Discussion Points Winning a contest that took her to New York Being paralyzed from the waist down since she was a baby Having and ignoring the thought she needed to prepare for something hard in her lif...

Kenneth Earl may not have had the best start in life, but like the sun he learned the foundational principles he needed to rise—all due to his angel mother. Episode Discussion Points We discussed what being a naval cryptologist means How his mother influenced His life with a lot of love—even though she was a single mom What inspired him to write his book—he realized he owed his mother—and he wante...

Chani has had many experiences in her life where she has felt completely worthless and like she isn’t enough. She shares several amazing tips to help combat our inner critic. Episode Discussion Points A story when Chani felt like she didn’t measure up and wasn’t enough “I’m a nobody,” feelings 6 Tips on how to combat those feelings Hack—at the top of Chani’s “To Do” List every day she physically w...

I share the story of an experience I had when I was completely overwhelmed thinking about the super-busy schedule I had the next day and how God taught me the exact steps to take to replace anxiety with peace. Episode Discussion Points Story of me feeling anxious when I looked at my busy, packed schedule. 3 steps I took during prayer which completely changed my anxiety to peace 3 Steps to Move Anx...

Daniel shares an epiphany which led him on a path to discover and experience God's abundance, which we can all tap into. Episode Discussion Points Sometimes God puts us in an environment where we are a bit uncomfortable and we can rely on Him as we enter new and different things. How he was raised and what his father taught him about seeing all people as God sees them—equally. How his parents divo...

I share a story from my childhood where playing in a rocking chair taught me an important lesson we can all apply today. Episode Discussion Points Story of my sisters and I giving each other “roller-coaster” rides on a rocking chair. It was all fun and games until someone (me) got hurt. Parallels to our day and our life with not trusting the arm of flesh, but trusting God to guide, but we get to c...

Andre Norman thought he'd spend the rest of his life in prison until God gave him an epiphany which changed everything! Episode Discussion Points He learned how important it was to follow instructions (the recipe) when he did a culinary class in prison, and since he has been released from prison he applies that same principle to life. The path that led him to choose material things over integrity...

Are you feeling worn out—like you can’t go on? There are three principles in the Bible which teach us how to best solve this problem—and it revolves around learning to take care of ourselves. Episode Discussion Points I tell the story of Putt-Putt the car which I drove when I went to college when I was younger. I didn’t keep up on the maintenance as well as I should have, and something unfortunate...

Liz Kazandzhy has been so worried about her family in the Ukraine. She shares some of God’s powerful lessons to her since the war began and how she’s been able to find moments of peace. Episode Discussion Points A funny story about making brownies Her personal connection to the Ukraine, serving a volunteer mission there How she ended up marrying a man from the Ukraine and how his family still live...

With the war starting between Russia and the Ukraine I have been pondering war and what we can do to help ourselves when we are faced with physical and spiritual battles. 3 Keys to Remember in Times of War God is Omniscient This means God knows everything and this war is not a surprise to Him We can find evidence of this when we read in Matthew 24 where Jesus tells us the signs of the times before...

Jodi Reynosa's life didn't go as planned. She experienced multiple detours and struggles in her life—including finding a tumor in her brain. Episode Discussion Points Jodi compares her life to being in a car, ready to go and then then feeling like she is driving with the brakes on. Then, when she finally figures out how to go full speed a roadblock is thrown up in her path and she wonders “why?” J...

Why do we sometimes walk through muddy patches in life? It slows us down and it's no fun. Here are 2 lessons I learned after a muddy hike which apply so well to life. Episode Discussion Points The story of hiking the Canyon Overlook trail in Kolob Canyon (part of Zion National Park) with my family 5 years ago. We happened to do this hike in January and so the trail (which is usually dry, red dirt,...

Within a period of a few days Leisa’s husband was diagnosed with cancer, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and their daughter went to the hospital. In today’s episode she shares tips on how you get through heavy times with your sanity and even with joy. Episode Discussion Points Leisa has had many points in her life where it has both rained and poured problems and complications. A couple o...

Have you ever thought, “Something needs to change around here,” when looking at your family? I invited my friend Mike Richards on to share a insightful poem and we chat about how changing something in our families starts with one big step. Episode Discussion Points When Mike shared this poem at an author retreat a couple of years ago, it really impacted me, and I wanted him to share it with my lis...