Warrior Words | Stories of Hope | Finding Beauty After Battles & Thriving After Surviving Trauma

Welcome to Episode 177 of the Warrior Words podcast!

It's Summer Time and the Livin' is Easy ~ Isn't that how the song goes?

Maybe not for many moms who listen to the show. Kids are out of school, and the schedules get more hectic instead of less sometimes.

Last summer, people seemed to like the Summer Rewind series I did, where I brought back several episodes from the previous year, recorded a new beginning commentary, and then re...

Welcome to Episode 176 of the Warrior Words podcast!

This episode follows a slightly different pattern than the usual format. Usually, our guest shares a story of a challenge or trauma he or she has experienced.

This time? Our guest, Miles, shares stories for people who can no longer speak for themselves. But their lives and stories have value and deserve to be shared.

Just as they, as human beings and children of God, deserved to...

Welcome to Episode 175 of the Warrior Words podcast!

When God told me I was supposed to be a podcaster and public speaker, I had no idea how to do either one. I didn't want to do either one. In this episode, both of those things come together! I am speaking with my speaking coach, Emanuela Hall! It's amazing that when you are obedient to the Holy Spirit, He directs you to what - or who - you need. Emanuela is a performer and l...

Welcome to Episode 174 of the Warrior Words podcast!

I have something a little different for you this week.

One of my former guests shared his latest book with me, and the topic is timely.

Given all the hype lately around aliens and spaceships, and life not of this earth, Steven M. Bell (Episode 140), was brought back to an encounter he had as a child.

That and his newfound knowledge of the Catholic faith led him down a path of re...

Welcome to Episode 173 of the Warrior Words podcast!

This week, I am blessed to introduce you to a wonderful young lady!

Paty has been tested by fire multiple times in the last few years. But when faced with a temptation that put her at odds with her Christian upbringing, she courageously faced doubt in fear in order to say "yes" to Jesus.

Then, she's had to face tremendous loss, not once, but twice, in a short period of time.

To ...

Welcome to Episode 172 of the Warrior Words podcast!

When it rains, it pours.

That's a sentiment I've held onto most of my life. It seems, looking back (and while living it!), that it's poured most of my five+ decades.

And as much as I've loved the iconic scene in Singing in the Rain, it's a shame that it has taken until this last decade to appreciate it in my own life.

I'm not perfect at it.

But this podcast has shown me so ...

Welcome to Episode 171 of the Warrior Words podcast!

This week's guest, Tresa, shares her story of how another's alcohol abuse led to abuse of another kind. And also led to a downturn in her own physical health.

But she was raised in faith, and she started to see threads God was weaving through her life.

She recognized that she needed help, and she sought it.

Then, after she was on the other side, she sought more help. She activel...

Welcome to Episode 170 of the Warrior Words podcast!

This week, I talk about another quote I heard! I learned so much at the Women's Retreat I attended earlier this year! If you have the opportunity to attend one, I highly recommend it.

This time, I heard a comparison between the phrases "bearing burdens" and "bearing fruit."

It's an important connection and relates very well to the mission of this podcast.

Burdens = Suffering

Fru...

Welcome to Episode 169 of the Warrior Words podcast!

I was blessed to have an amazing conversation with a woman who is doing great work with families living with autism. While I didn't record our conversation, I wanted to share some of the things we discussed.

We talked about what she is doing with her organization and about where we go from here.

What is needed in the autism community? What's next?

Even if you don't personally kn...

Welcome to Episode 168 of the Warrior Words podcast!

Is your tendency to see only the ugly in certain situations?

Or, are you able to discover beauty in even the ugliest of circumstances?

Learning to discover beauty can be hard.

But it's also so important.

I heard a smart young woman say something so profound, yet so simple. It was her quote that inspired this episode.

It's not a long episode, but she inspired me to take a look at...

Welcome to Episode 167 of the Warrior Words podcast!

Do you have a loved one who has fallen away from the faith? Maybe they've started to just "go through the motions," or maybe they've stopped going to church altogether.

There's a story in the Bible about this, with which we are all likely familiar: The Story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15.

That story doesn't tell us if anyone did anything to try to get the son to return. But d...

Welcome to Episode 166 of the Warrior Words podcast!

Happy Easter ~ He is Risen!

Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we, too, have hope in our own salvation and resurrection. We now have hope of Eternal Life after death.

Death is not the end.

It does not have the final say.

Jesus conquered death.

And so, when our loved ones pass on from life on this earth, we have hope that we will see them again, and more importantly, that ...

Welcome to Episode 165 of the Warrior Words podcast!

Do you know that God loves you?

I'm guessing you probably said, "Yes."

But do you really know it, I mean with conviction?

Maybe a smaller number of you said, "Yes" to that. I would have probably put my hand down between the first question and the second.

That is, until recently.

I have struggled with a self-defeating attitude most of my life. If you look at the Winnie-...

Welcome to Episode 164 of the Warrior Words podcast!

Do you ever experience emotions that seem to come out of nowhere? Emotions that surprise you because you didn't even know they were lurking beneath the surface?

That's exactly what happened to me recently.

There was a death that occurred in my circle, and after news of this person's death, I discovered feelings of anger.

I had no idea that at some point during the time I knew th...

Welcome to Episode 163 of the Warrior Words podcast!

One of the practical tips Lynn Donovan shared in last week's episode was a way to get out of your own head during chaos: helping someone else.

I recently had the opportunity to volunteer for an event. In this episode, I called my reaction stupid and selfish. And it's true, but it's also silly (I love alliteration!). It truly is a way to shift the focus from your mess to helping ...

Welcome to Episode 162 of the Warrior Words podcast!

In 2025, Lynn Donovan was on the podcast to talk about being in a spiritually mismatched marriage (episode 134). We left that episode at a bit of a cliffhanger.

So she agreed to come back!

This week, she is sharing what came after her husband was baptized, and doing a little myth-busting!

The truth is, sometimes switching to Team Jesus puts a proverbial target on our back. But t...

Welcome to Episode 161 of the Warrior Words podcast!

In the week before I recorded this episode, I learned that two people I know have entered, or are entering, hospice. And it got me thinking...

Parallels between hospice and Lent began to emerge - thank you, Holy Spirit! It also occurred to me that one of the people is approaching this time with the opportunity to use it as a blessed time of preparation.

If you look at this throu...

Welcome to Episode 160 of the Warrior Words podcast!

This week, I have a fantastic conversation with a man who has had an incredible experience of community and the Body of Christ.

Some members of that community were his family and friends. Others were complete strangers, one of whom has now become a lifelong friend.

Without this stranger, our conversation may never have happened.

Orlando Barros left home early one morning for a s...

Welcome to Episode 159 of the Warrior Words podcast!

Are podcasters authorities?

This is a question I thought about this week, as my week took a different turn.

I've spent the last few weeks talking about listening to the Holy Spirit, confirming His message, and then taking action with that information.

And then I got some news I wasn't expecting, nor was I willing to consider what was being presented to me.

I realized - about 24 ...