Challenges Won't Stop Me Melony Brown

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 teaching at Garrett Middle School. It's hard to believe the deadliest school shooting occurred twenty-five years ago.
 
The lives of twelve students and one teacher were taken that day. Twenty-one others were wounded, including Kacey Ruegsegger Johnson. 
 
In this interview, Kacey shares her story of being shot in the library, her recovery, and how those challenges prepared her for the challenges she would face in the following years. 
 
Kacey’s daughter, Logan, was diagnosed with aniridia, or the absence of irises in her eyes. She knew what she’d learned would help her parent a child with disabilities. She said, “Only God could have known that the injuries I sustained at Columbine would turn into a huge blessing with regard to my parenting journey.”
Kacey is on the Board of Directors for the Limb Preservation Society.
 
Notable quotes from this episode with Kacey Johnson: 
 
·         "In that most horrific moment of my life also came the proof that I love a living God and that He's bigger than the absolute worst kind of evil that was right in my face. He's bigger than that. It gives me so much to live for."
·         “I’d become comfortable in the trauma I knew and how I was just surviving it. I didn’t know how to get out of the surviving and into the thriving. And I wanted to be thriving as a parent and not just surviving.”
·         “God has ultimately transformed the shotgun slug that tore through me into seeds that have grown to produce very good fruit in my life. The fiery missile of hate that burned through my body has not had the pleasure of destroying me, and what was ultimately meant for evil will continue to be choked out by all the beautiful good that is still to come.”
Bible verses: 
·         Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
·         Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”
 
Connect with Kacey Ruegsegger Johnson:
Her website: https://www.kaceyjohnsonspeaker.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaceyRuegseggerJohnson
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaceyjohnsonspeaker 

Dr. Grace English joins me again to discuss the mindset of getting real to heal. She is a speaker and the director of the Deep in the Heart Conference, which is held in Texas every spring. 
Didn’t catch her story interview in episode 98? She refers to it several times, so I would encourage you to listen to it before you listen to this episode.
When she found herself getting extremely anger with her two-year-old daughter, Grace began to realize she’d stuffed her pain. She shared, “Not until I really got real and had true confession and repentance over my sin of abortion and acknowledging the humanity of my baby did God free me from that guilt and shame.”
Grace knows getting real to heal is hard, but she believes it’s the way for God to heal your heart.
Notable quotes from this episode with Grace English:
·         “I think we have many idols in our life. He’s a jealous God, and He doesn’t want to be put second on the back burner. When we think other things in life are more important than Him, then that’s when we get into trouble.”
·         “I have had to just get really real with the Lord. God, this really sucks. And He’s like, ‘I know it does, but I’m writing your story and there is going to be purpose from this whole journey.”
·         “The Lord can’t use that pain and that loss to minister and speak to you unless it rises up to the surface.”
Scripture references:
·         Luke 4:18-19
·         Romans 8:1
·         Galatians 5:22-23
·         Nehemiah 8:10
·         John 13:7
·         Philippians 4:7
Connect with Grace English:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grace.s.english
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracecenglish
About Deep in the Heart: https://deepintheheartministries.com

We are discussing emotional infidelity on the show today. It’s a topic no other guest has covered. During my interview with Dr. Grace English, she shared the following statistic from Shannon Ethridge’s book, Every Woman’s Battle: “More than 90% of women have had emotional thoughts of another man that’s not their spouse.” Grace explained that she has struggled with emotional infidelity for many years. 
Dr. Grace English is a speaker and the director of the Deep in the Heart Conference, which is held in Texas every spring. 
In Ethridge’s book, Grace learned a love-relationship addiction stems from a childhood in which you weren’t nurtured. Not having a good relationship with her parents left her with a father-daughter wound and a mother-daughter wound. 
Sharing her struggles with two close friends led to her realizing that speaking her secret broke its power. In this episode, Grace explains why speaking our struggles is the first step in breaking the stronghold it has over us.
Notable quotes from this episode with Grace English:
·         “Me sharing it [emotional infidelity] with a friend actually opened that door where the power of the secret is broken when it’s spoken.”
·         “He [God] can’t speak truth into my life if I refuse to acknowledge the truth of what is actually happening to me.”
·         “Somebody needs to speak light into the darkness. Shine the light because so many times we want to hide in the dark.”
Scripture references:
·         Matthew 5:28 reads, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
·         1 Corinthians 10:13 reads, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Connect with Grace English:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grace.s.english
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracecenglish
About Deep in the Heart: https://deepintheheartministries.com

Are you in a meanwhile?

My guest, Carol McLeod, describes a meanwhile as "the test of faith between a crisis and God's visible intervention."

What do you do or say during the time between when a crisis intersects your life and when you see God's visible intervention?

My guest is Carol McLeod. She's an overcomer, an award-winning author of sixteen books, host of the Significant Women podcast, international speaker, Craig's wife, and Marmie to her ten grandchildren.

Carol and I discuss several snippets of her Bible study about the life of Joseph titled "Meanwhile: Meeting God in the Wait."

I gained so much insight and understanding about those months or years in the meanwhiles - in the waiting - when I worked through Carol's powerful Bible study.

Notable quotes from this episode with Carol McLeod:
"Just as God has a plan for your life, so does the enemy. His ugly plan is that you, as a believer in Christ, will live out your earthly days in the dit of despair, in the pit of hopelessness, and the pit of unending depression. There is no potential for growth or nourishment there. The devil is unable to take eternal life from you, so he endeavors to take abundant life from you.""Joseph spoke generously because his life had been refined by human pain and he saw the unprecedented and miraculous plan of God unfold."Bible verses:
2 Corinthians 5:7 "We live by faith, not by sight."Psalm 138:8 "God will accomplish what concerns me."John 16:22 "... no one can take away your joy ..."Genesis 50:20 "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many nations."Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."Carol's Bible study, Meanwhile: Meeting God in the Wait, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

Connect with Carol McLeod:
On her website:  https://www.carolmcleodministries.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carol.b.mcleod
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolmcleod_

Get your ticket to the 20th annual women's conference: Overflowing: Living Abundantly in a Broken Culture HERE. 

My guest, Honey Duncan, is celebrating her 7th year of sobriety today – February 20, 2024. 
Since her recovery from drug addiction, Honey has been intentional about practicing gratitude. 
It’s a mindset that keeps her focused on the good things in her life, helps her maintain a positive attitude, and shows her thankfulness to God for always being with her.
Honey believes gratitude is a powerful force in every area of her life. 
Notable quotes from this episode with Honey Duncan:
·         “I know that the devil is attacking us. I know that he will look for cracks in our armor or he will look for any weaknesses that you are focused on. Gratitude is one more defense that I can put up.”
·         “There is a powerful notion that you can restart your day at any time. At any moment, you can decide to have a different version of your day.”
·         “Gratitude helps me soothe my sickness. To heal what’s broken and dark inside of me. Gratitude is not homework. It is rescuing me.”
·         “I am done being the problem in my life. It’s no longer going to be me that holds myself back.”
Connect with Honey Duncan:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/honey.h.duncan
 On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeyd/

My guest, Honey Duncan, is celebrating her 7th year of sobriety today – February 20, 2024. 
It took just one pain pill to cause her descent into addiction. While that pain pill helped with her back pain, it also helped numb her emotional pain. She liked how that pill seemingly solved her problems. 
She quotes actor Russell Brand in her interview. He said, “Drugs and alcohol are not my problem. Reality is my problem. Drugs and alcohol are the solutions to my problem.” 
Four overdoses scared her, but they were not her rock bottom. Jail was. While there, Honey decided, “I was made for more.” Jail was the needed ‘wakeup call’ to take recovery seriously. 
Today is a day of celebration. One in which Honey will give all the credit to God for breaking the stronghold of addiction.
 
Notable quotes from this episode with Honey Duncan:
·         “I don’t know at what point I gave up on being worthy. But I was like I’m never gonna be worthy, so I might as well be bad.”
·         “There’s no running away from your pains. You have to confront them and overcome them.”
·         “The only person my anger is hurting is myself.”
Bible verses:
·         Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.”
·         Ephesians 6:12 NLT “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
Connect with Honey Duncan:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/honey.h.duncan
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honeyd/