Be Loved, Be Bold Mary Patton Murphy

For the last episode of the podcast (perhaps ever!), Mary Patton welcomes the current Reformed University Fellowship interns at Ole Miss, Caroline Dean and Walker Crow. Caroline and Walker share their testimonies, how they were led to do the RUF internship, and advice about life after college. They hope to encourage students that post-grad life brings challenges, but it is also fun! We hope you enjoy this episode, "Caroline Dean and Walker Crow: Life After College."

In this episode of the Be Loved, Be Bold podcast, Mary Patton hosts her friend and mentor Newell Simrall. A current member at Mary Patton's home church Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church, Mr. Simrall grew up on a small farm North of Vicksburg and moved to Jackson, MS after marrying his wife Sweyn in 1986. Having taught a number of Sunday school classes at Pear Orchard, Mr. Simrall is a great resource for students in learning more about the Bible and how to read it. In this podcast episode, he reminds students the value of the Bible being God's "inspired, inherent, infallible, perfect, holy" Word, and shares that boldness originates in knowing Jesus Christ better through it. We hope you enjoy this episode, "Newell Simrall: How to Read the Bible." 

In this episode of Be Loved, Be Bold, Mary Patton welcomes her friend Sarah D'Amico, a senior civil engineering major from Niceville, Florida. Per student requests, Mary Patton and Sarah focus particularly on how students can experience the joy of the Lord when life is hard. For Sarah, life brought unexpected turmoil when her mom passed away during her junior year of college. Sarah encourages students by reminding them of the difference between joy and happiness. Because joy is a fulfillment from the Lord that comes directly from Him and from spending time with Him, she says, students can experience joy despite hardship. Sarah also shares two verses: Psalm 73:26 and Philippians 3:13. We hope you enjoy this episode, and we hope that it encourages you to give God your heart and your free time so that you also can experience His joy more deeply this new year.

For the last episode of the season, Mary Patton welcomes Mason Nichols, a sophomore Ole Miss baseball player from Jackson, MS. Mason shares his testimony, starting with his conversion at the age of eight, to God working through his time at Ole Miss as a student athlete, especially during the College World Series where he pitched in the championship game. 

Mason talks about the importance of having faith in all circumstances, through hard times and good times, and during the times inbetween. He attributes all of his successes thus far to the Lord, and encourages students with verses Jeremiah 29:11 ("For I know the plans, I have for you, says the Lord") and Hebrews 11:1 ("Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.")

In this episode, Mary Patton welcomes her friend Barnes Benton, a senior at Ole Miss from Hattiesburg, MS, to share his testimony and talk about the influence of corporate worship in his life. Barnes describes how he grew up in a musical family, with his parents singing in church and playing the piano at home. Because of their influence, Barnes and his brothers began to learn to play instruments, and Barnes began to lead worship at camp and in youth group. Today, Barnes plays guitar in the Reformed University Fellowship band every Wednesday night, and some Sunday nights, and he advises students that anyone can worship, whether they are musically talented or not. He also shares that worship can take a number of forms day to day, though corporate worship is important for the encouragement of the body of Christ. 

This week, Mary Patton is joined by Phoebe Goodwin, a junior at the University of Mississippi from Roswell, GA. MP and Phoebe discuss Phoebe's journey coming to Ole Miss, as well as the surprises and difficulties of that journey along the way. They also spend time discussing Phoebe's recent month spent in South Asia, where she got to share the gospel alongside four of her good friends that she met at Greek Summit, a two-week long retreat at the beach that changed Phoebe's life for the better. Phoebe provides encouragement on answering the callings God has for your life, even when they don't always look like what you expected. We hope you are encouraged by her story!