Warrior Words | Stories of Hope | Finding Beauty After Battles & Thriving After Surviving Trauma

Welcome to Episode 179 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This week's Summer Rewind features Miriam Susan. In her original episode, number 78, Miraim Susan shared about a family situation no one should have to endure. We all know about, and maybe have even participated in, jokes about in-laws. But what happens when the jokes are no longer funny? What happens when those in-laws cross the line and viol...

Welcome to Episode 178 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This week's Summer Rewind features Claudine Noel. In her original episode, number 66, she shared how God led her on a healing journey by gifting her Divine Breadcrumbs. Claudine followed these breadcrumbs to discover the path God had in mind for her. From trauma as a young girl to beliefs based on something untrue to helping other women discov...

Welcome to Episode 177 of the Warrior Words podcast! It's Summer Time and the Livin' is Easy ~ Isn't that how the song goes? Maybe not for many moms who listen to the show. Kids are out of school, and the schedules get more hectic instead of less sometimes. Last summer, people seemed to like the Summer Rewind series I did, where I brought back several episodes from the previous year, recorded a ne...

Welcome to Episode 176 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This episode follows a slightly different pattern than the usual format. Usually, our guest shares a story of a challenge or trauma he or she has experienced. This time? Our guest, Miles, shares stories for people who can no longer speak for themselves. But their lives and stories have value and deserve to be shared. Just as they, as human bei...

Welcome to Episode 175 of the Warrior Words podcast!   When God told me I was supposed to be a podcaster and public speaker, I had no idea how to do either one. I didn't want to do either one. In this episode, both of those things come together! I am speaking with my speaking coach, Emanuela Hall! It's amazing that when you are obedient to the Holy Spirit, He directs you to what - or who - you nee...

Welcome to Episode 174 of the Warrior Words podcast!   I have something a little different for you this week. One of my former guests shared his latest book with me, and the topic is timely. Given all the hype lately around aliens and spaceships, and life not of this earth, Steven M. Bell (Episode 140), was brought back to an encounter he had as a child. That and his newfound knowledge of the Cath...

Welcome to Episode 173 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This week, I am blessed to introduce you to a wonderful young lady! Paty has been tested by fire multiple times in the last few years. But when faced with a temptation that put her at odds with her Christian upbringing, she courageously faced doubt in fear in order to say "yes" to Jesus. Then, she's had to face tremendous loss, not once, but t...

Welcome to Episode 172 of the Warrior Words podcast!   When it rains, it pours. That's a sentiment I've held onto most of my life. It seems, looking back (and while living it!), that it's poured most of my five+ decades. And as much as I've loved the iconic scene in Singing in the Rain, it's a shame that it has taken until this last decade to appreciate it in my own life. I'm not perfect at it. Bu...

Welcome to Episode 171 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This week's guest, Tresa, shares her story of how another's alcohol abuse led to abuse of another kind. And also led to a downturn in her own physical health. But she was raised in faith, and she started to see threads God was weaving through her life. She recognized that she needed help, and she sought it. Then, after she was on the other sid...

Welcome to Episode 170 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This week, I talk about another quote I heard! I learned so much at the Women's Retreat I attended earlier this year! If you have the opportunity to attend one, I highly recommend it. This time, I heard a comparison between the phrases "bearing burdens" and "bearing fruit." It's an important connection and relates very well to the mission of t...

Welcome to Episode 169 of the Warrior Words podcast!   I was blessed to have an amazing conversation with a woman who is doing great work with families living with autism. While I didn't record our conversation, I wanted to share some of the things we discussed. We talked about what she is doing with her organization and about where we go from here. What is needed in the autism community? What's n...

Welcome to Episode 168 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Is your tendency to see only the ugly in certain situations? Or, are you able to discover beauty in even the ugliest of circumstances? Learning to discover beauty can be hard. But it's also so important. I heard a smart young woman say something so profound, yet so simple. It was her quote that inspired this episode. It's not a long episode, b...

Welcome to Episode 167 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Do you have a loved one who has fallen away from the faith? Maybe they've started to just "go through the motions," or maybe they've stopped going to church altogether. There's a story in the Bible about this, with which we are all likely familiar: The Story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15. That story doesn't tell us if anyone did anything to...

Welcome to Episode 166 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Happy Easter ~ He is Risen! Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we, too, have hope in our own salvation and resurrection. We now have hope of Eternal Life after death. Death is not the end. It does not have the final say. Jesus conquered death. And so, when our loved ones pass on from life on this earth, we have hope that we will see the...

Welcome to Episode 165 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Do you know that God loves you? I'm guessing you probably said, "Yes." But do you really know it, I mean with conviction? Maybe a smaller number of you said, "Yes" to that. I would have probably put my hand down between the first question and the second. That is, until recently. I have struggled with a self-defeating attitude most of my life....

Welcome to Episode 164 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Do you ever experience emotions that seem to come out of nowhere? Emotions that surprise you because you didn't even know they were lurking beneath the surface? That's exactly what happened to me recently. There was a death that occurred in my circle, and after news of this person's death, I discovered feelings of anger. I had no idea that at...

Welcome to Episode 163 of the Warrior Words podcast!   One of the practical tips Lynn Donovan shared in last week's episode was a way to get out of your own head during chaos: helping someone else. I recently had the opportunity to volunteer for an event. In this episode, I called my reaction stupid and selfish. And it's true, but it's also silly (I love alliteration!). It truly is a way to shift...

Welcome to Episode 162 of the Warrior Words podcast!   In 2025, Lynn Donovan was on the podcast to talk about being in a spiritually mismatched marriage ( episode 134 ). We left that episode at a bit of a cliffhanger. So she agreed to come back! This week, she is sharing what came after her husband was baptized, and doing a little myth-busting! The truth is, sometimes switching to Team Jesus puts...

Welcome to Episode 161 of the Warrior Words podcast!   In the week before I recorded this episode, I learned that two people I know have entered, or are entering, hospice. And it got me thinking... Parallels between hospice and Lent began to emerge - thank you, Holy Spirit! It also occurred to me that one of the people is approaching this time with the opportunity to use it as a blessed time of pr...

Welcome to Episode 160 of the Warrior Words podcast!   This week, I have a fantastic conversation with a man who has had an incredible experience of community and the Body of Christ. Some members of that community were his family and friends. Others were complete strangers, one of whom has now become a lifelong friend. Without this stranger, our conversation may never have happened. Orlando Barros...

Welcome to Episode 159 of the Warrior Words podcast!   Are podcasters authorities? This is a question I thought about this week, as my week took a different turn. I've spent the last few weeks talking about listening to the Holy Spirit, confirming His message, and then taking action with that information. And then I got some news I wasn't expecting, nor was I willing to consider what was being pre...

Welcome to Episode 158 of the Warrior Words podcast!   I had no idea this would become a series when I sat down to record the first episode a few weeks ago. Yet, here we are in the third installment. I was thinking about the first two episodes where I talked about listening to the Holy Spirit, and confirming (and being obedient to) the Holy Spirit's Whisper, and it felt incomplete. Then I had a me...

Welcome to Episode 157 of the Warrior Words podcast!   What do Gideon and Noah have in common? Both were tasked with impossible or perhaps seemingly ridiculous tasks. We are told that one balked at the idea, but we're not told how the other one initially responded. Gideon asked to test God multiple times before his obedience. We only know that Noah was obedient. Both risked stares, laughs, taunts,...

Welcome to Episode 156 of the Warrior Words podcast!   For much of my life, I think I just went through the motions in my faith: doing things out of duty, checking the boxes, punching my timecard.  Can anyone relate? I had this mindset that God needed to hit me over the head with a 2x4 or flash a neon sign to get my attention. I'm sad to say, I got that 2x4 a few times. Preaching on the Gospel of ...

Welcome to Episode 155 of the Warrior Words podcast!   To kick off our stories this year, I am starting with one of my own. Are you familiar with the term: "The Body of Christ?" Jesus said that He was the vine and we are the branches. That speaks to me of a divine connection to form a body. A body, human or a grapevine, is connected and has many members or parts. And I love this connection between...