When I started this podcast Frieda and Julie graciously agreed to be my first interview. We wanted to help other women find and experience friendship like ours, because good, godly friends can have an amazing impact on your life, as we all can testify. One of the things Frieda said during that interview describes the foundation of our friendship. She said, “We started with [honoring God in our get-togethers]. When we started with that, God knit us together. That’s why we don’t have huge arguments because we’re knit together by God. He started our friendship, and I think we’ll be friends till we die.” I sure hope so. You might be listening to this thinking, “Good for you, Carol. I’m glad you found your friends but I’m still lonely, wishing I had at least one good friend I could count on.” And I understand. I remember how hard those days were when I was a young mom. Or maybe your kids have moved out and you’re struggling to learn how to live this new empty-nest lifestyle and would love to pour out your heart to other women in the same stage of life. Or you may have recently moved to a new community, and you don’t know how to find someone you can relate to. As I look back at how our friendship formed, I see lessons I’ve learned and things we did right when we weren’t even aware of it. So, here’s a list of things I hope will help you find your own lifelong friends:

Christian comedian Kerri Pomarolli knows what's it like to feel hopeless. After she and her comedian husband divorced, she didn’t think anyone would want to hire her for Christian events again, so she holed up in her bedroom and hid under the covers, binge-watching all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, drinking coke and eating a balanced diet of M&M’s and salt and vinegar potato chips. Becoming a member of the Single Moms’ Club wasn’t exactly on her bucket list, but God revealed a plan for her to reach a whole new group of people. That was the motivation for her to get out of bed and start working again as He provided opportunities she’d never expected. Kerri’s resume includes being on the Tonight Show 29 times and named one of LA’s Most Inspiring People by LA Voyage Magazine and Comedian of the Year by The Hollywood Red Letter Awards in 2022.

As I pondered the topic for this week’s kitchen table episode, the same thing kept coming to mind. An important question I’d like to ask you: What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done? When I first thought about that question several things immediately came to mind. Quitting my job as an architectural draftsman and buying a flower shop with my sister-in-law with neither of us having had any background in floral arranging. Buying a computer and learning AutoCAD so I could freelance drawing house plans while working from home--after we lost money in the floral business and had to sell it. And going to a writer’s conference all alone and barely knowing a soul there. These decisions all took considerable courage, and they had a huge impact on my life. But as I dug deeper, I realized the better answer to that question. Not only because it changed the trajectory of my life, but it also changed me, my marriage and my family.

Jessica Ronne has endured more heartache than most can even fathom. She found out when she was pregnant with her second son that he’d had a stroke in utero and would be profoundly disabled if she carried him to term. She and her husband made the decision to carry him to full term and let God handle the details. Lucas does have those disabilities but Jess and her husband never wished they’d made a different choice. Then, several years and two more children later, Jess’s husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away at the age of 33, leaving her to take care of their four small children. But God didn’t leave her in her grief. She met a wonderful man, a widower with three children and they married, blended their families and even added one more to the mix. Even though Jess has a hard story, she’s used her experience to create The Lucas Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to serving parent caregivers with respite, recognition and resources. She is also the associate producer of the documentary Unseen and the author of four books, including her most recent, Caregiving with Grit and Grace.

Hey listeners! I’m popping into you podcast feed with a surprise! Starting now, I’ll be releasing solo episodes every other week to share some of my life experiences and Jesus moments with you! I’ll still be doing interviews but thought it would be fun to be able to talk directly to you about my struggles and triumphs. And I’m calling these episodes The Kitchen Table. So why the kitchen table? I’m so glad you asked! I believe the dinner table is an important ingredient in the glue that helps us build strong families. My siblings and my children would agree. And so, these solo episodes that I’ll bring to you, hopefully every 2 weeks, will be short stories of how I’ve seen God work in my own life through sometimes mundane, and other times amazing, experiences and how those experiences have grown my faith. Just like if you came to my house and we sat around my kitchen table enjoying a snack and a cup of coffee (or hot tea for me!). I may even share some things I’m learning in the Word that might encourage you.

My guest today, Melissa Huray, lived that life of hopelessness as a former alcoholic who struggled with addiction from the time she was a child. First it was sugar and junk food. Then, because her father was an alcoholic and she saw him go to alcohol to diffuse many situations, she believed alcohol was the magic cure for all of her troubles. But instead of finding healing in the bottle, she found herself in a hopeless cycle of addiction, believing she could stop at any time, but finding that she didn’t have the strength to overcome the hold alcohol had over her. Until she finally fully surrendered to Christ and prayed for healing. Melissa has a fascinating story of turning her life around through the power of Christ, not her own, and using her experience to counsel others living in addiction and bringing freedom through the gospel. In this episode she shares practical tools and encouragement to help addicts and those who love them fight the battle of addiction.

Does God care about the little decisions you have to make every day? The Bible is full of spiritual wisdom. But does God provide specific direction for real-world questions? Questions like Is this the right job? and Which college should my child attend? The answer is a resounding yes. And in this episode, you will discover how to access God's divine wisdom in any situation.

Did you know that 20% of the youth that age out of the foster care system are instantly homeless. Tori Hope Petersen was one of those young adults who decided it would be easier to go it alone than have to navigate the system that caused her so much pain, having been in 12 foster homes from the ages of 12-18. But Tori was blessed to have mentors to come alongside her and help, eventually becoming adopted by her track coach. Tori’s mom came from brokenness and generational curses and did the best she knew how, but Tori has become intentional about breaking those curses in her own family. She also does advocacy in the foster care system and has written two books, Fostered: One Woman’s Powerful Story of Finding Faith and Family Through Foster Care, and her just released book, Breaking the Patterns that Break You: Healing from the Pain of Your Past and Finding Real Hope That Lasts.

Merry Christmas Y’all! I know as this episode drops it Thanksgiving week but since Thanksgiving is so late this year, I wanted to get a head start on Christmas! I’ve got my tree up already so I can enjoy it longer and I’m not sad about that at all! Another reason I wanted to go ahead and release this episode is because I’m sharing some Christmas traditions, and you may want to implement some of these ideas into your own family and might need a little time to prepare. So, I’m going to share a little research, a few fun and meaningful Christmas traditions and some fun Christmas stories as well as something we did when our family was grieving and having a hard time wanting to celebrate the holiday at all that helped a lot.