Ever felt too….. too much of something? Or not enough? Just different?

We all have!

But when is weird something that we need to change and when is weird something we need to say, “Maybe this is what God’s done with me and it’s OK?”

Today we talk with Laurie Wallin, author of  Why Your Weirdness Is Wonderful: Embrace Your Quirks and Live Your Strengths. She is a life coach who teaches others how their weirdness enables them to love God uniquely and to love others more effectively.

Listen to today’s podcast and learn

• How your weirdness is God’s image in you
• How to ask questions to check if your weirdness is bringing God glory
• How you can use something you hadn’t always appreciated about yourself for God’s glory

After listening and discovering how being weird can be a gift from God, head on over to Laurie’s website LaurieWallin.com to learn more about her and her books!

Does your life (at times) feel so challenging that you just want to crawl into a corner and hide?

Today, we’re talking to Deva Dalporto of YouTube fame.  Yes, she’s the real woman behind the series of parody videos that you see on Facebook all the time.  She’s the mom behind What Does the Kid Say?, My Lips are Movin’ and her brand new Back-to-School Rap.  Listen in and find camaraderie in the fact that:

• Housekeeping is hard.
• Parenting is hard.
• Kids are hard.
• Life balance is hard.
• But there are millions of other moms out there who feel just like you do right now.  And maybe, just maybe if you step back and allow yourself to find joy in the big and the little, that burden will be eased.

Listen in and find out how you can recapture the joy in your day-to-day life, then click over to Deva’s YouTube Channel to watch her hilarious parody videos and add a little laughter to your day.

Does your three-year-old know more about your iPhone than you do? Does your ten-year-old spend more time worrying about screen time than family time? Are you ready to throw screens out of your house altogether?  Listen in as Kathi and Erin talk to Arlene Pellicane, the author of Growing Up Social:  Raising Relational Kids in a Screen Driven World about:

• How to put appropriate boundaries in place with your kids in regards to technology.
• How to keep your kids relational even when they are inundated with screens and technology.
• How to teach your kids character and virtue even in a world where screens are so prevalent.

Plus, click here to take Arlene’s quiz “Is Your Child Getting Too Much Screen Time” and then listen in to find out how you can find the happy middle between our screen-driven world and the relationships that help our kids to thrive.

Have you ever gotten yourself into trouble for something you said?

We all have!  Today, our guest Karen Ehman, the author of Keep it Shut:  What to Say it, How to Say it and When to Say Nothing at All, tells us how to keep our words uplifting, fruitful and God-honoring.

She shares how we can:

• Avoid saying painful things to our loved ones that can cause damage when we are in a moment of temporary frustration.
• Keep our “verbal grenades” of opinion flinging from hurting people on Facebook and Twitter. (And knowing how to pray before we post so we don’t say the wrong thing.)
• Find the fine line between processing and gossip.
• Be intentional about our communication so that our words can speak truth and life into the lives of the ones we love.

Listen in, and then click over to read Karen’s website and sign up for Karen’s 5-day “Pray before you Pounce” challenge and start practicing your newfound communication skills.

What do you do when everything you know comes Undone?

From a “conquer the world” kind of a gal to a “cowering in the corner” woman, Michele Cushatt walked through a long journey from fear and panic to an unwavering confidence in God after a devastating cancer diagnosis.

Join us for a special message from Michele recorded before her surgery in November for the beginning of her fourth battle with cancer. Michele wants to share with listeners:

– God sees you and will provide you with the strength you need
– The peace she carries wasn’t easy but is only through God
– No matter how dark and big your circumstance, God is BIGGER

Listen in and check out Michele’s book Undone where she reveals more about her journey and shows how complication turns into a beautiful canvas, angst into joy, and the unknown into an adventure.

Being a stepparent is HARD. 

What can you do as a stepmom, or a friend to a stepmom, to make it less frustrating and bring peace to a blended family? 

Erin interviews Kathi and co-author of their new book, But I’m Not a Wicked Stepmother, Carol Boley to discuss what it’s like to be a stepmom. Whether you are a new stepmom, a seasoned bonus mom, or have a friend who is, Kathi and Carol give us some great tips on: 

• Keeping a realistic view of what to expect 
  
• What is normal and why you are doing WAY better than you think you are 
  
• How to support a friend in a stepmother role
• Why and how to have a tough skin especially in the first few years 

Listen in and share with the ladies you know can hear an encouraging word. But I’m Not a Wicked Stepmother is now available.

FREE DOWNLOAD

For those times when you need an uplifting word from God himself to get through the day, this quick view of verses will encourage you to keep up the good work. Hang it in your closet or keep a copy in your purse for that next discouraging moment.

Click here to download.