Lauren Gaskill

The Ruth Experience ladies join me today for Finding Joy #51. Kristin, Kendra and Julie are not only friends, but they are also writers, speakers, wives, moms, and world-changers. They are passionate about fostering authentic community and believe simple acts of biblical kindness can truly change the world.

A few years back, God placed a burning desire on these ladies hearts to be the hands and feet of Jesus on a more intentional level. Their experience in practicing kindness in today’s increasingly divided culture was so life-changing, they decided to take what they learned and turn it into a beautiful book, The One-Year Daily Acts of Kindness Devotional, which released last fall.

Y’all, I cannot even begin to tell you what a blessing this devotional has been to me. It’s super easy to follow along with and the Scripture passages and inspirational personal stories have left a huge impression on my heart. On today’s show, we talk about the book and why God calls us to show kindness to others. We also talk about what it means to live a life of generosity, and how you can incorporate kindness into your everyday routine (and teach it to your kids) with tons of easy-to-implement ideas.

Biblical kindness can change the world, but it can also change us too.

Together, we can fight our natural impulse to be self-centered by viewing kindness as a blessed opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. What a privilege that is, amen?

As Kristin, Kendra and Julie point out on the show, “when we meet someone else’s need, our needs are often met too.” Biblical kindness isn’t a chore or obligation, friends. It’s a win, win, win. Go and be the light, and enjoy this uplifting conversation with these three inspiring ladies.

P.S. As a freebie, you can grab today’s entry from The One-Year Daily Acts of Kindness Devotional HERE.

Links from the Show

The Ruth Experience Bible Studies
Breaking Free: The Journey, The Stories
Dance, Stand, Run: The God-Inspired Moves of a Woman on Holy Ground

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Amy Breitmann joins me today for the Finding Joy Podcast’s 50th episode! Amy is a wife, mother, writer and lover of all things creative (and she will also be speaking at the Woodstock, Georgia Finding Joy Ladies Night Out event on Oct. 7!) Her life and faith were forever changed when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer as a 29-year-old mama-to-be.

As you’ll hear in our conversation today, God has taken Amy’s broken road and weaved it into a beautiful ministry. Today The Lydia Project serves thousands of women and their families each year, providing spiritual, emotional, and financial support to women facing any kind of cancer. Amy firmly believes that while God doesn’t cause suffering to happen in our lives, He uses every valley to help us learn how to minister to others in their time of need.

“When we find ourselves in a valley, we have a choice to make. We can be bitter or fearful … or we can look around and say, ‘How can I serve and be Jesus to the people who are in this same valley?'” Amy says.

We are beautifully broken to be a blessing.

In addition to talking about her experience with cancer and The Lydia Project, Amy and I talk about the importance of living our passions and staying true to who God made us to be — cracks, scars, flaws and all.

A few more takeaways from the show:

• Don’t be afraid to just be you! Show up and say, this is me! People want to be inspired. They want to come alongside you and cheer you on. We think they don’t but they do. Believe in who God made you to be and walk in that freedom.
• God gives us stories and passions for a reason and He uses them to inspire others and touch others’ hearts.
• We should live our passions simply because we know we’re supposed to … not because we need something in return.
• Your gifting is not about you. Stop caring about shares, likes and other validation. Your gifting is just that — a gift to the world.
• Oh, and watch The Greatest Showman, or at least listen to the hit song, “This Is Me.”

Links from the Show

“A God of All Seasons” book
The Lydia Project
“When the New Year Looks Like a Broken Road” blog post

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Christen Price joins me today for Finding Joy #49. Christen and her husband live in the countryside of lower Alabama, where they raise their three precious children. As a writer, artist, and party planner, Christen’s heart is to lead women in celebrating their people, place, and purpose. Her first book, Invited: Live a Life of Connection Not Perfection, released in spring 2016.

As you’ll hear in our conversation today, Christen is a big proponent of embracing imperfect hospitality — biblical hospitality that focuses not on perfection but on on why we celebrate: to be with and love on people. We might not always plan the perfect party, but we can always choose to be God’s hand and feet and love others well.

In addition to talking about how to be a “hallelujah hostess,” Christen and I also talk about the importance of saying yes to community, especially when we’d rather stay at home in our PJs and watch Netflix. This doesn’t mean we say yes to everything, but rather we keep an open heart and mind. In other words, while the cultural trend is to say no and create margin in our lives (which is good), we should be careful not to shut everyone and everything out.

While we talked about the importance of community, Christen and I came up with a quote that I think you’ll get a kick out of: Forget Netflix and chill. It’s time to connect and eat cake.

I don’t know about you, but while I love a good Netflix and chill session, nothing beats authentic, heartfelt connection with a side of cake.

Christen challenges us to extend ourselves beyond our current people and needs to say, “What can I do to show God’s love to others today in a tangible, real way?”

Links from the Show

Invited Book

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