You Were Made for More

Put first things first, and He’ll take care of the rest. Emma Waters has implemented this quote from C.S. Lewis into her life and the flourishing of the fruit from it is beautiful.  It is impossible to do justice to every detail of Lead Like Jael , but such a book is an essential how-to guide to create a world after feminism - one that honors women and gives space for us to use the gifts that God...

Ask yourself the question - "How is God parenting you?" This one question will determine how you live your every day, especially as a mom. It will make all the difference in your parenting.  In this episode, we talk about a variety of things, but highlight motherhood and the gift that it is:  God doesn’t waste or halt your dreams - He just reframes them and gives you a new mission field...

What does it look like to live with open hands and an open heart - especially during times of uncertainty?  This month we are bringing you a special conversation about hope, uncertainty, and faith, from Dr. Chaley Knight.  Chaley has been a longtime member of the Waynesburg University campus as both a student and a counselor, which is how I met her. For my husband and I’s first three years of marr...

November is Adoption Awareness Month!  This month specifically is meant to raise awareness about adoption, celebrate families formed through adoption, and highlight the need for permanent homes for children in foster care. On this episode of the podcast, Sammie's friend and coworker, Johnston Moore, sits down and has a conversation with Chris Johnson, a pastor and adoptive dad who works with...

I am so thrilled to bring you this conversation today with my new friend, Ali! Chatting with Ali about her new book and about parenting really felt like a hug from the Lord in my own season of parenting little ones an being so intentional about the culture in our home. My prayer is that this book and her wisdom would bless you immensely!  Ali Gilkeson is the author of Keeping the Light , and the N...

This month's episode of the podcast is going to be formatted a little bit differently than our typical conversations. My prayer is that formatting an episode this way would challenge you to be vulnerable; find someone you trust to pray, ponder, and walk through this set of questions with you.  Here's the truth: the way we view our bodies is not a shallow, surface issue for the immature o...

On today's episode of the podcast, we have a conversation about faith and disability with Sammie's good friend, Gianna Zemet. Gianna is a middle school special education math teacher in the Upper St. Clair School District located in Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to teaching, Gianna faithfully serves in her church's Autism Ministry and Student Ministry alongside her husband, Jeremiah....

In this episode, I wanted to take some time to really dive into what Sexual Risk Avoidance Education is all about - and some common myths that need debunked as we enter the new school year.  If you have a child attending public school this year, please, please, take the time to ask questions to your district about what type of sexual education your teens are receiving. In many states, there are la...

In Christian theology, fatherhood holds profound significance, mirroring God's own role as the ultimate Father and provider. It encompasses not only physical provision and protection but also spiritual guidance, moral instruction, and the modeling of God's love and character. As if that wasn't a high enough calling, earthly fathers are called to reflect the love, discipline, and fai...

May is all about moms as we celebrate Mother’s Day! In this episode, we hear from Sammie’s friend & first time mom, Mandi Boreing, about her transition into motherhood this past year and how Jesus has worked in & through her in this season.  Mandi married her husband, Andrew, a little over two years ago and since then they’ve lived in three houses in three cities, welcomed their first baby...

“I grew up my entire life going to church and never knew there was a pro-life movement. And if I would have thought there was one, I would have just assumed that the movement was picketers outside abortion clinics because that’s all the media shows us. But the first time I was invited to a pro-life conference, I was blown away. I had no idea that there are thousands of organizations and people tha...

In today's episode, we have a conversation with Kristen Miele. Kristen has educated youth on the topic of sex for the last 15 years. She’s taught in hundreds of diverse settings including 2 different countries with experience teaching ages 3 and up on content related to sex and sexuality. Kristen has a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Community Health from the University of Illinois. She...

January is sanctity of life month! As we celebrate life and what God has created to be very good, I think a key part in that is destroying some of the lies that exist in our culture surrounding women’s health and pregnancy. Sorting through what’s true and what’s not when it comes to Planned Parenthood can be difficult - so that's what this episode seeks to do. We'll take a look at the re...

After an unplanned pregnancy, Christine Yeargin became passionate about the pro-life movement. Recognizing a need, she founded Be Their Village and works to connect women in unplanned pregnancies to resources in their area and uses the pro-life community she’s built on social media to complete baby registries for women who reject abortion and choose life. She speaks at events, on college campuses,...

November is Adoption Awareness Month!   To celebrate this, I asked my friend, Tera Swaney, to join us and share her testimony and journey as a foster parent (and soon to be adoptive parent!). Most importantly, I want to highlight why foster care and adoption, while different, are so similarly part of God's redemptive plan in the world to care for the orphan and the widow. Tera is currently a...

In this episode, Sammie sits down with her sister, Michelle (or Meesh as everyone calls her) to discuss how to teach kids from a young age to honor their bodies, who God made them, and to understanding the Gospel. Meesh is the kids director at their church and has an extensive background in ministering to kids of all backgrounds and multiple age ranges. This is such an important conversation as we...

Happy Summer, everyone! We've been in the full swing of all the summer activities in my house, but I wanted to take the time to share an online message I shared with parents, grandparents, youth leaders, and students in our larger church community, in an effort to encourage and equip them in whatever their role in relationship education is. It has been encouraging to me as I have been in this...

Sexual integrity is often not modeled in today’s culture. As your child’s parent, you have the unique opportunity to share the truth and model what it means to pursue sexual integrity and live a life of purity. In today's episode, we sift through the definition of what sexual purity exactly means and how to give the kids & students in our lives practical tips to pursue it. Be sure to stay...

Travis Deans and his wife Judy are from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Both Travis and Judy are graduates of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Travis has been in full-time youth ministry since 1996 as a youth pastor, campus ministry director, and youth network coordinator - that's 28 years! Through his role he mentors youth workers, consults for churches, assists youth workers to collaborate throu...

Many of the ethical issues our culture is wrestling with have an underlying issue in common. The growing confusion we see around us on matters such as abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, transgenderism, and sexual promiscuity all flow downstream from our lack of understanding of what the human body is and means. One person who has sought to account for this confusion and to offer a corrective is...

I t’s true that if we don’t seek to understand before we seek to equip and mentor, all our efforts will fall short. In today's episode of the podcast, Sammie covers some myths and relationships that this current generation of students tends to lean toward and believe.  Be sure to stay up to date with Abundant Life: You Were Made for More by visiting our blog - and if you're loving the po...

As a former Planned Parenthood Director, Abby Johnson shares her testimony and discusses how we as a movement can better serve the needs of pregnant women amidst the new realities of living beyond Roe in America. She talks about how you can model God’s mercy to those who seem undeserving, and respond with grace when others err or offend, while bearing witness to God’s unrestrained compassion so th...

Dr. Christina Francis discusses the importance and need for life-affirming healthcare for both the patient and the physician providing the care. She reviews the various ways reproductive health issues are impacted by policy, education, research, and the Hippocratic Oath, and why we must help protect healthcare providers right to conscientiously object to providing treatment that goes against their...

On today's episode of the podcast, we hear from Lisa Rowe as part of our first series of Summit talks from the January events that Anglicans For Life puts on in conjunction with the March for Life! Stay tuned for all of them - seriously, I know they will bless you and educate you - and hopefully inspire you - in the next few weeks!  One in four women and one in five men experience abortion by...

Less than five years ago, questions like; What is a Woman? or What Does it Mean to be Human? had obvious and easy answers. But with the advent of artificial intelligence, abortion through birth, technology, the right to euthanasia, and a plethora of genders – defining and understanding the truth that human beings are sacred and made in the image of God got more than complicated! In this keynote ad...