Better Together with Barb Roose Barb Roose

Who struggles with their body? Most of us do.  Our guest, Jennifer Taylor Wagner, today shares her journey as a chronic dieter. After a lifetime of struggle she lost 150 pounds and kept it off.  Instead of giving us meal plans, dieting tips, and rigid exercises, Jennifer teaches us how to make peace with food, to eat foods we love, and to nourish our bodies with foods we love. A recovering chronic dieter herself, Jennifer understands how hard it is to shift our mindset around food. As we embrace freedom in the foods we eat, we can walk toward our healthiest selves yet.
 
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
jenniferwagner.co
Your Good Body: Embracing a Body-Positive Mindset in a Perfection-Focused World
Your Good Body Podcast
Check out Jennifer's YouVersion Devotional
Connect with Jennifer on IG!
 
ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST
Jennifer Taylor Wagner is an author, podcast host, and educator who challenges women to renew their mindset concerning health and wellness. As the author of Your Good Body, and the host of Your Good Body Podcast, Jennifer inspires us to see our current bodies in a positive light so that we can feel our best physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Relationships are messy because we live in a messy, sinful world. Is it truly possible to love the people in our lives who hurt us, disagree with us, or just rub us the wrong way?
Join us for today's conversation as Barb speaks with Becky Keife, general editor of Come Sit With Me: How to Delight in Differences, Love through Disagreements, and Live with Discomfort. After experiencing the divorce of her parents and the resulting tension she had to navigate for the majority of her life, Becky knows what it's like to be hurt by relationships. However she also has experienced God's redemption. Listen in as she speaks about learning how to listen well, stay curious, choose tenderness, and open our hearts to hope.
 
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
beckykeife.com
Come Sit With Me: How to Delight in Differences, Love through Disagreements, and Live with Discomfort 
Connect with Becky on IG!
 
ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST
Becky Keife is the Community and Editorial Manager for (in)courage. She’s also the author of several books including, No Better Mom for the Job, The Simple Difference, and Courageous Kindness. Becky’s newest release is the Create in Me a Heart of Peace Bible Study. In addition to writing and speaking about motherhood and countercultural kindness, Becky is a passionate mental health advocate. She tells her own unfiltered anxiety stories so others will feel less alone and be better equipped to see God in the thick of it. 

Navigating conversations about race doesn't always have to feel like a minefield. 
 
Join us for today's episode as we chat with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith and Lori Stanley Roeleveld, two unlikely co-authors who God brought together to write a book called Colorful Connections: 12 Questions About Race That Open Healthy Conversations. Together we will discover how to talk about race in a way that values the experiences of others, emphasizes listening over just getting a point across, and is filled with grace.
 
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
colorfulconnectionsbook.com
Purchase your copy of Colorful Connections!
Connect with Dr. Saundra on IG!
Connect with Lori on IG!
 
ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUESTS
Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a board-certified internal medicine physician, work-life integration researcher, speaker, and host of the I Choose My Best Life Podcast where she shares biblical ways to help you live fully, love boldly, and rest intentionally. Her previous books include Sacred Rest, Set Free to Live Free and Come Empty. Learn more at ichoosemybestlife.com. 
 
Lori Stanley Roeleveld is a Christian coach, author, and speaker with degrees in psychology and biblical studies. Lori's previous books include Jesus and the Beanstalk and Running from a Crazy Man (and Other Adventures Traveling with Jesus). She also writes a popular blog at www.loriroeleveld.com.

Come laugh with us today on The Better Together Podcast! I’m talking with my longtime friend and Aspire Women’s Event sister, comedian Sally Baucke. Today, we are talking about tiaras, tweezers, and how to find healing in our hearts when life hurts. Sally grew up in a home where she didn’t always feel seen and loved but she now stands on stages across the country to make audiences laugh and so they know how much God loves them. If you need a dose of laughter and love, you don’t want to miss my chat with Sally!
 
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
www.funnygalsal.com
 
ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST
Sally Baucke (aka “Funny Gal Sal”) brings two decades of experience making audiences laugh hysterically while keeping it “Always Clean, Never Mean.” Funny Gal Sal artfully combines observational comedy and storytelling with a dose of refreshing hope (well, most of the time!). Funny Gal Sal is relatable to men and women alike because she has survived 38 years of marriage, motherhood and has experience as an RN to draw upon. She will leave you in stitches! If you love Jim Gaffigan or Brian Regan, you are going to love Sally, who has toured nationally with Aspire Women’s Events for many years. In addition to headlining her own shows at prestigious Funny Bone comedy clubs, Sally has wowed audiences at countless faith-based and corporate events nationwide. Sally has also been privileged to feature for amazing comics such as Jeff Allen, Chonda Pierce and NBC’s Last Comic Standing winner Josh Blue. Originally from Chicago, Sally resides in southwest Ohio with her brainy retired engineer (oh yes, lots of material there) and their sweet little Westie, Mabel, who sports a string of pearls. For Sally’s upcoming tour dates, visit her website at funnygalsal.com or facebook at FunnyGalSal. Contact Sally here to see how YOU can have Funny Gal Sal make your next event sparkle with her unique brand of club-funny-church-clean humor!

If your pastor called and asked if you would take in a Middle Eastern family who escaped from their homeland, what would you do? Chicago pastor, Joshua Sherif, escaped from his home in Egypt as a new believer to come to America. In this episode, Joshua and I talk about what it was like for him to leave his homeland, Islam, and encounter resistance in America. During our conversation, Josh tells us the 3 ways that believers need to stop hardening their hearts towards strangers and practical ways for us to love and disciple the immigrants and refugees that God puts in our path.
 
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
The Stranger at Our Shore: How Immigrants and Refugees Strengthen the Church
 
ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST
Joshua Sherif was born in Egypt to a Muslim family and immigrated to the United States, where he later came to faith in Jesus. Before transitioning to a new role, he planted and pastored in Albany Park, Chicago, IL, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country for a decade. Joshua has enjoyed his years equipping and coaching other missionaries and pastors around the world. In his new role, Joshua now works bi-vocationally to equip churches to reach their cities. His story was featured in Love Costs Everything, a documentary produced by CIY and Voice of the Martyrs, concerning Christian persecution.

Calling all book lovers! If you are a fan of Christian fiction, then chances are, you’ve heard of best-selling author Tessa Afshar. Guess what?! I recently talked with Tessa and in this new episode, we’re discussing her new novel, The Hidden Prince, as well as Tessa’s fascinating background. She was born in the Middle East, survived boarding school in England and then moved to the United States and came to Christ in her 20s. During today’s conversation, you’ll find out about how Tessa writes novels to help you embrace God’s love and truth in powerful ways.
 
RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE
tessaafshar.com
 
ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST
Tessa Afshar’s book have been translated into 11 languages, and loved by fans around the world. Her novels have been on Publishers Weekly and CBA best-selling lists. Her book, The Way Home, God’s Invitation to New Beginnings, is the winner of the Christian Book Award in the Bible Study category. Afshar’s biblical and historical novels have won a number of awards including the Christy and INSPY, and been named as one of top five Christian fiction titles of the year by Library Journal. Tessa holds a Master of Divinity from Yale, where she was co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School for one year. She served in women and prayer ministry for twenty years before becoming a full-time writer and speaker. She is a devoted wife, a mediocre gardener, and an avid lover a chocolate.