WELCOME HEART: Living a Legacy Life

Have you ever thought about why adoption is so close to God’s heart? Maybe you know someone who was adopted or as a child you wish you were adopted (jk!) or perhaps you’ve thought at one time or another: Should we adopt? And what all will that mean to me and our family? Today we have our friends, Jill and Todd Talley, to talk about all things adoption as well as some mentoring topics. Todd and Jill Talley are the parents of three children, two through birth and one through adoption. In 2008 they were blessed to be able to fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and bring home their then 18-month-old son. Together as a family the Talleys have a passion for adoption, orphan care ministries and mentoring. So much so in 2009, Todd and Jill met with several families from Grace SLO who had adopted or fostered. Together these couples founded the Adoption and Foster Care Ministry at Grace Central Coast. The Talleys currently Co-Lead the Ministry. Some gems from our conversation: From the first time we held baby Daniel in our arms, we loved him and knew that this was how our Father in heaven holds and loves us. By entering in and serving our community, we show the Gospel in understated ways. Foster care and adoption starts with a loss—this child carries a great loss which we can't fully replace but God can through our efforts to love and come alongside as He does for us. Every child belongs in a loving family. The biggest challenge to doing foster care and mentoring is time management. We have to learn how to "layer in" a young person into our already busy schedule who just needs someone to show up and be there to listen. Being engaged in church community was invaluable to our venturing into adoption. Adoption and foster care is a picture of God's welcoming heart. By utterly depending on God for grace and strength, we want to show the same grace to the lonely, the lost, and the child who needs a family. The book Jill mentioned: There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene Baby Daniel! For information on the Foster and Orphan Care ministry, check HERE.

If you or someone you know finds herself in a relationship crisis, how do you navigate the pain—a pain of lost dreams and expectations for yourself but also for your children? You need courage that’s for sure, and hope in a God who will never let your down even when you feel like all hope is lost. Jody Allen writes: “Jesus doesn’t care about our track records or our reputations – he’s all about redemption.” Today we welcome, Jody Allen, mom to young adult twins, Director of Women's Ministry at her church, and author of Hidden Heartache: Finding Courage When Your Husband Struggles with Pornography Some gems from our conversation: Shame can trick us into believing that silence is the best way forward. Being honest with God doesn't make you less of a Christian, it makes you a more genuine Christian. To know that Satan was on the attack helped provide more compassion and gave me perspective that he was the real enemy we were dealing with. To forgive someone comes with guardrails; we can forgive but it doesn't mean we can entrust ourselves to them like we can fully trust God. Proverbs 3:5, "to not lean on my own understanding" helped me move forward when I couldn't understand the pain and betrayal of a world that celebrates and rewards pornography. Shame is a liar and tells me that my legacy of living a kingdom life is tarnished. When I hear anothers woman's story, I listen with love and empathy because I have felt her hurt and experienced her shame. You can find Jody and all her free resources at jodyallenwrites.com And the feelings wheel she mentioned can be found HERE. Leave a comment to be entered in a giveaway.

Fellow writer and mother of adult children, Michele Morin, talks about modeling who God is for our children as our greatest legacy. Mother of four grown boys-now-men with families of their own, I love how Michele trusts God for each new season of her life, even a season with a chronic illness included. You will be blessed with tons of practical wisdom today as we talk about how we deal with unanswered prayers and questions and try not to catastrophize every little thought that comes into our brains. Some gems from our convo: We make the mistake of defining God's goodness by how he answers our prayers—or not. I used to have to "send myself to my room" for a time-out so I could do some much-needed attitude adjustment. I had to learn that making a good life for a family I loved was exactly where and what God wanted me to do and be. Never forget that we are modeling for our kids what God is like. Only a free person has the privilege of rest. Chronic disease helps me stay present to today's work rather than projecting and catastrophizing what may lay ahead. We tend to put our hope in our prayers instead of God himself which can make what we pray for an idol. To lean into God's goodness on a daily basis helps to keep our walk with God fresh and not rote. Michele is the author of over 8 YouVersion Bible Reading devotionals which you can find HERE. She's a regular contributor at DesiringGod.com. Because “the way we live our days will be, after all, the way we live our lives,” you are invited to peruse Michele’s writing on her website here at your leisure. michelemorin.net Michele Morin is a reader, writer, speaker, and gardener who does life with her family on a country hill in Maine. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty years, and together they have four sons, four daughters-in-love, and five adorable grandchildren. Active in educational ministries with her local church, Michele delights in sitting at a table surrounded by women with open Bibles. She loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.”

Yes, everyone has a story worth sharing and you will love Marci's stories and inspiration on today's Living a Legacy Life Podcast. Marci Seither’s writing career began after her humor article was published in a small-town newspaper. Since then, she has authored two books and hundreds of articles for local papers as well as Guideposts and Focus On The Family. And she now hosts the radio show and podcast: The Biscuit Book Club - how cute is that? Today we are offering two giveaways: Marci's new magazine for readers, eaters and writers, as she says. As well has her beautiful hard back retreat at the lake devotional called Lake Side Retreat. Besides writing, she enjoys teaching workshops, speaking, and photography, and she just launched a radio show, "The Biscuit Book Club," with her friend Shelly Sulfridge. Her biggest joy, besides being married to John, raising six kids who have all flown the nest, and creating memories and messes with her seven grandkiddos, is baking anything that includes butter. Some gems from our conversation: You can hear someone's story from asking simple questions like, "Tell me about your lunch box growing up?" or "Have you ever felt lost?" If you feel stuck in taking the next step in doing what meant you to do, start where you are standing right now. Start observing more—if you see a need, fill a need. If there's room on the floor, there's room for one more—invite! Volunteering is a gift to yourself. You can impact someone by simply showing up in the messy middle of your own life. Don't wait until the timing is just right to move forward—that right time may never happen. The "red pen" mentality can keep you from writing your story and that might mean your story is lost forever. Be sure to comment to win this lovely devotional. LINKS https://wrjz.com/onair/ Saturday mornings at 10:30 am https://marciseither.com/ https://www.instagram.com/marci_seither/ https://www.focusonthefamily.com/episodes/broadcast/preparing-for-the-empty-nest-years/ Everyone gets a free Printable Download of Marci's latest Southern Christian Writer Magazine—as she says, a magazine for readers, eaters and writers. If you prefer a printed one (totally worth it, by the way - for the recipes, alone - contact Marci.) Catch her radio show and podcast HERE.

Fellow podcaster and Bible teacher, James Early, joins us today with some Bible-based encouragement to love, pray and think like Jesus. Is that actually possible? you might wonder. According to James, we can grow daily in our obedience and reformed mindset so that we can, all for heaven's sake and for God's kingdom and glory. One way James shows God's love is through weekly Bible studies with a group of inmates in a local prison. His podcast is The Bible Speaks Today and from our chat, you will know that it does! Take advantage of James' free resource HERE. Some gems from our conversation: Lack of unity often stems from people thinking they are always right. Jesus wouldn't tell us to have His mindset if it were not possible. To "repent" means in part to think in a new way. To think like Jesus is to not be earth-bound in our minds nor self-focused. Praying like Jesus is to start and end with God. We often start our prayers with the problem and end with the problem. True prayer is surrendering to God's will. My legacy isn't to have a bronze statue—rather it's to love others as Jesus loves. Sometimes we can have the truth but not live the truth. We can have this mindset: "What if I treat others the way I would treat Jesus?" My commitment is to do whatever I can to further the cause of Christ. James helps people learn to think, pray, and love like Jesus. He gives talks and conducts workshops on the Bible to churches and groups, as well as online. Since 2008 his prison ministry at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, CT has transformed hundreds of lives. In fall of 2019, James started The Bible Speaks to You Podcast, which has had listeners in over 200 countries and territories. His podcast is listed on the Feedspot list of top 100 Bible podcasts. Through his Jesus Mindset Coaching program, James helps people embrace the mindset of Jesus and rediscover their God-given ability to think and act more like Jesus. He lives in Bethel, CT with his wife of 35 years, Polly Castor. They have three grown children. He loves hiking and organic gardening. Don't forget to check out his free resource just for my listeners HERE.

God told Kerry Hasenbalg over twenty years ago that she was to write this book, The Way of Becoming. She wasn't convinced. She asked God to maybe ask someone else instead. She made bookmarks instead. Happy to report, she finished her book and it released in April, just in time for the National Day of Prayer in which an entire chapter, Chapter 7, was picked to bless our nation and a free download of that excerpt is still available on her website: https://kerry hasenbalg.com/book A leader in Soul Care and a spiritual director, Kerry Hasenbalg, is a wife and mother of four and founder of The Becoming Foundation and resides in Pennsylvannia. You will be blessed and challenged as you hear our conversation about how to become who God has designed us to become no matter what challenges we face. Thank you, Kerry, for your honest reflections and teachings. We will all be hanging clotheslines very soon! Some gems from our conversation: God is interested in our inner world and we need to bring our stress and anxieties to him and his care. We land in the valley and progress out of towards God as we apply certain faith practices in our lives, and then land in the valley again and God keeps moving us forward. The Lord brings people into our lives for us to help dispel any of their darkness with the truth and beauty of His Spirit. When we endure trials and pain, it's important that we name the broken things in our lives as we hand them over to the Healer. To ask God for specifics gives us a deeper awareness of his great love for us. I wanted to make sure to teach our kids first what God was teaching me before teaching anyone outside our home. Every day is an exercise in trusting God enough to let Him work out His plan as we walk by faith. My legacy is to help our kids know that they can access the power of Jesus right now in their lives through whatever challenges they endure. I wrote my book based on Scripture and included my story so that the reader could begin seeing God in their own story.

I love the T-shirt that reads: “WWMD?” But when in crisis, I’d much rather talk to my best friend or my sister—older or younger—than Martha Stewart, or even one of her staff members. Steve Janney said, “We all need a friend we can be weak with.” He’s right. Some of need more than one. In the Bible there’s a great little story about a man who had four such friends. He wanted to see Jesus but couldn’t get close to Him because of the crowds and mainly because he lived his life on a stretcher. “When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door.” Mark 2:1,2 Enter 4 friends. Actually, they could have been strangers. The Bible doesn’t include their names. What we do know it that they had big muscles and even bigger hearts. Now what was so important that they had to ruin someone’s roof? Why did he need to get to Jesus? We assume it was so he could be healed. Something they were all hoping for. But Jesus had so much more in mind for him and for us, as well. We pray—“Lord, I need a new job, a new refrigerator, a new body!” And He says, “Ah, but I have so much more in mind for you!” And He does. Jesus came to save us and we all need saving. We’re all a little lost until we put our trust in Him. These four friends brought their friend to the One who could actually do the work. Jesus did the real work. They didn’t. He did. They couldn’t really help the man, but they knew where to take him to get help. I am convinced that at any given time we could be either be lifting someone else’s stretcher or we are on the stretcher, being lifted by someone else. We will all get a turn at each, perhaps simultaneously. All the lifting is to take us to Jesus – we either need to be brought to him or we need to bring someone to him. That’s why we get up in the morning and sleep peacefully at night. Some gems to remember: When feeling weak, it reminds us that we need each other. It should be of no surprise: we don’t heal people. We don’t do the work of salvation. We just be a friend to one another and bring people to the only one who can truly put broken hearts back together and heal our deepest hurts. We all need a friend we can be weak with. Some of need more than one. How can we banish loneliness in ourselves or for others? We find our people. We call our people and we look out for the one who needs a hand up to Jesus. Meeting with friends doesn't happen unless you put it on the calendar. If you start this week meeting with your stretcher-bearers you can say in 14 years, "We've been meeting together now for 14 years."