Challenges Won't Stop Me

Fellow stroke survivor, Lori Vober, joins me again to chat about God’s miracles.  While she suffered a hemorrhagic stroke when she was twenty-nine years old, Lori believes surviving it is a miracle. She is grateful for all the miracles she experienced during her recovery and all the years since then. Being grateful is a huge part of Lori’s mindset. Notable quotes from Lori Vober: ·         “It’s a...

May is Stroke Awareness Month.  Strokes can happen to anyone at any age. When I had a stroke in 1972 at age 2, that wasn’t the case. Back then, strokes happened to people 65 years and older who were unhealthy: obese, smoker, drinker, and rarely exercised. My guest, Lori Vober, is also a stroke survivor. Her hemorrhagic stroke happened when she was twenty-nine years old. Thankfully, people were at...

Amanda Schaefer joins me again to discuss a strategy she relies on when challenges intersect her path. She believes peace and listening to God's voice are intricately interwoven. Amanda shares how we must know the identity of each of the voices we hear: our own voice, God's voice, the voice of the world, and the voice of the enemy. She gives an overview of her newest book, Holy Plot Twis...

Today's guest is Amanda Schaefer.  She is the host of A Cup of Gratitude podcast and a speaker. She's also the author of several books, including her newest release titled "Holy Plot Twists: God Is Still Writing Your Story." Amanda's fought to overcome numerous challenges throughout her life. She knows that Jesus is always the dorrway of hope. She wants you to know it too....

My guest, Lisa Steven, is the author of A Place to Belong: The true story of a Teen Mom, a Humbling Leadership Journey, and a House Called Hope. She is also the cofounder and executive director of Hope house Colorado.    Lisa’s back to chat about the strategy of seeking wise advisers. Throughout her journey as cofounder and executive director of Hope House, Lisa has seen time and again the importa...

My guest, Lisa Steven, is the author of A Place to Belong: The true story of a Teen Mom, a Humbling Leadership Journey, and a House Called Hope. She is also the cofounder and executive director of Hope house Colorado.  Lisa was the oldest of four children. Her parents’ relationship was volatile. Her brother’s accident and unexpected death caused her to be mad at God.  At seventeen, she discovered...

When I heard Dr. Saundra Dalton - Smith was releasing a new book, I knew I had to have her on the show again. I interviewed Dr. Saundra in 2020. We chatted about her book Sacred Rest, which has impacted me in many ways. Check out episode 28: Rest = Restoration to listen to our conversation. In this interview, Dr. Saundra and I are chatting about her new book: "Being Fully Known: The Joyful Sa...

I’m super excited to share the first video solocast of season 7! This episode is not an audio interview with a guest. This episode is a video of me sharing a message about Standing Firm, so hop over to my YouTube channel at Melony Brown to get the most out of this episode. This episode is the outcome of my deep dive study of Ephesians 6 for my School of the New Testament class. As I was studying t...

 In episode 115, my guest, Lauren Buice who is an adolescent and young adult counselor, and I defined achievement culture and discussed how teens are overwhelmed by all they must achieve and be to apply for college. She described the dangerous outcome associated with achievement culture: anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.    Lauren has returned for another episode to share strategies for te...

To kick off season 7 of the Challenges Won't Stop Me podcast, adolescent and young adult counselor Lauren Buice at Rise Therapy in Roswell, GA is joining me to discuss the challenge of achievement culture, specifically as it relates to teens who desire to further their education in college.  Type "achievement culture in teens" into Google, and 357,00 results populate within seconds....

My dear friend Brenda Holley joins me again to discuss how she gained a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit during her journey of fighting to overcome pancreatic cancer. Brenda is a master coach, helping professionals thrive in their careers. She and Paul have been married for eighteen years. She is mom to two adult sons.  Prior to her diagnosis, Brenda wasn’t seeking God even though she belie...

Today’s guest is my dear friend Brenda Holley. She is a master coach, helping professionals thrive in their careers. She and Paul have been married for eighteen years. She is mom to two adult sons. I’ve been friends with Brenda for several years, so I was honored when she reached out to me soon after receiving a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer has a bad reputation because the pro...

Danita Cummins joins me again for her mindset discussion about showing care and comfort to others. She is the author of her first book titled Promise Over Purpose: The Path to a Peace-Filled Life , which is due out in the fall of 2024. Danita is also the host of the Entrusted to Lead podcast, the director of the Alpha Life Pregnancy Center, and a business coach. She and Mark have been married for...

Today’s guest is Danita Cummins. She is the author of her first book titled Promise Over Purpose: The Path to a Peace-Filled Life , which is due out in the fall of 2024. Danita is also the host of the Entrusted to Lead podcast, the director of the Alpha Life Pregnancy Center, and a business coach. She and Mark have been married for 20 years and they have four adult children and two grandchildren....

Today’s guest is Kim Patton. She is the author of Nothing Wasted: Struggling Well Through Difficult Seasons and the host of the Book Therapy podcast. Kim and Kevin have been married for fourteen years and have two beautiful daughters.  Kim adopted a mindset to trust and have faith in God as her guide through life. She admits from the start of our interview that God is not very forthcoming about Hi...

Today’s guest is Kim Patton. She is the author of Nothing Wasted: Struggling Well Through Difficult Seasons   and the host of the Book Therapy podcast. Kim and Kevin have been married for fourteen years and have two beautiful daughters.  Growing up in a large family led Kim to dream of a family of her own. Hosting baby showers for her friends filled her with joy. She believed, “Someday it will be...

Today’s guest, Carol Graham, shared her story of overcoming rheumatoid arthritis, ovarian cancer, and her husband’s devastating car accident in episode 107. Be sure to check it out!  Carol is an author, host of the Never Ever Give Up podcast, and a health coach.  In this episode, Carol shares a way of life that she believes is a game changer. So much so that she published her book, Pray the Answer...

When challenges rudely intersect our path, we reach out to God for help. When His answer is slow in coming, fear and doubt fill our minds. Where is He? Is He really working on my problems? It’s human nature to think His answer is going to be too late to help or matter. Today’s guest, Carol Graham, is an author, host of the Never Ever Give Up podcast, and a health coach. When she was diagnosed with...

GOT STRESS? No one could honestly say, "I have no stress at all!" Stress is part of life, right? Yes, but too many of us are consumed by stress. We know we are stressed out, but WHAT CAN WE DO? Today's guest, Dr. Gala Gorman, shares a combination of strategies, mindsets, and habits to help you manage and even reduce the toxic stressors in your life. Dr. Gala Gordon is an acupuncturi...

Today's guest is Janet Perez Eckles. She is a speaker and the author of five books. In her story episode, we discussed excerpts from her memoir, Now I See: How God's Amazing Grace Transforms the Deepest Pain to Shining Joy , which included her son’s murderer being found not guilty. Anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness are understandable reactions to learning the man who murdered her son...

Today's guest is Janet Perez Eckles. She is a speaker and the author of five books. We discussed excerpts from her memoir, Now I See: How God's Amazing Grace Transforms the Deepest Pain to Shining Joy .  Janet Eckles grew up in Bolivia during the twelve years of the Bolivian revolution. She observed the grit and determination her mom and dad showed as they struggled to live during diffic...

Even though this episode with Pastor Phil Manginelli is a lengthier interview, I strongly encourage you to invest the extra time. You will gain an understanding of spiritual warfare and how to prepare for it, which are invaluable to your walk as a Christ-follower. Phil Manginelli is the lead pastor of The Square Church in Smyrna, GA. In this interview, Phil shares his knowledge about the challenge...

Jessica Roberts shared her story of being wrongly accused of drug conspiracy and sentenced to serve 27 months in prison in episode 101. If you haven’t listened to it yet, it would be helpful as Jessica refers to her story several times throughout this interview.   While in prison, Jessica realized she was not in control. Her story had many similarities to Job’s story in the Bible. It was clear tha...

When you hear a story about someone in prison claiming to be not guilty, do you ever wonder what that would be like if it happened to you?   I know not all who claim to be not guilty are, but Jessica Roberts was wrongly accused AND given a 27-month prison sentence. Was she upset? Yes. Did she feel wronged? Yes.    She could have fallen into negativity and anger, but she chose a different response....

Where were you when the news hit about President Kennedy's assassination (November 22, 1963)? When the news hit about MLK Jr's assassination (April 4, 1968)? When the news hit about planes hitting the Twin Towers in New York (September 11, 2001)?   Where were you when the news hit about the Columbine school shooting in Littleton, Colorado (April 20, 1999)? I remember it clearly. I was te...