The Love Offering

Distractions can steal your joy. They can definitely steal your purpose.Billie Jauss tried to overcome a season of feeling unsettled and uncertain by simplifying her schedule and taking control of life’s chaos. It didn’t solve all her issues.She realized it wasn’t the external distractions but the emotional barriers producing feelings of discouragement and defeat.Through detoxing from the emotional toxins, realigning priorities, and creating a spiritual health plan, we can claim confidence and find fulfillment not in adding one more thing but in realizing God’s best things.On today’s episode Billie shares how to:▫️Determine their internal distractions.▫️Evaluate their emotional barriers.▫️Terminate the toxins to hear, trust, and go.▫️Outline a plan to identify God’s best things.▫️eXecute the plan.Join us to discover God’s best and release confidence, peace, and fulfillment within.“We can be love offerings by shining Jesus’ light every day.”Connect with Billie:BillieJauss.comSupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The world is shouting at us to be more. Strive. Achieve. Overachieve. Never stop pushing. As a family practice doctor, wife, and mother, Mikala Albertson appeared to be living a "perfect" life, but really her whole world was falling apart. Married seven years to an alcohol and drug addict while raising two young children and finishing residency, Mikala eventually reached a breaking point. And surrendered. In sifting through the shattered pieces of her life, she realized she had been chasing something that doesn't exist. Perfect is pretend. And what she desperately needed to embrace was ordinary. A good, hard, messy, gritty, lovely, ordinary life. In today’s episode, Mikala shares her heartfelt journey in a raw and revealing way as she invites you to lay down your own endless chase for perfection and embrace this beautiful, messy life exactly as it is with our perfect, loving God right by your side. What would it look like to stop pretending to be "perfect" and be ordinary? Instead of always feeling overwhelmed and alone, you might discover the beauty of a good, hard life grounded in the radiant hope of God's unending love. Life happens in the ordinary, after all. “We can be love offerings by being ourselves. If we understood our own belovedness and treated others like they were beloved, it would change the world.”Connect with Mikala:https://www.ordinaryonpurpose.comhttps://instagram.com/ordinaryonpurposeSupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Let’s face it: we all know we should be praying more. And we genuinely try to make it happen! But before we know it, the day’s worries and demands often distract us from conversation with God, and we’re left wondering why we don’t hear from Him. It happens to all of us. Asheritah Ciuciu is on today’s episode chatting about her devotional titled Prayers of Rest: 365 Prompts to Hear God’s Voice. She is offering us a respite from our spiritual to-do list by providing guided prayers that will focus our mind and heart on Scripture. Using the memorable acronym REST and daily Bible verses, she guides us through worship, confession, stillness, and surrender. We’ll learn to: • Recite God’s Goodness • Express Our Neediness • Seek His Stillness • Trust His Faithfulness Don’t let distractions pull you away from God. When the duties of life begin to weigh on your mind . . . that’s exactly when you need to REST in the Lord. “You can be a love offering by spending time talking with God.”Connect with Asheritah:Prayers of Rest podcastwww.asheritah.comSupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We may know the hymn I Surrender All and proudly sing it in church on Sunday. But do we really want to surrender all, or are there areas of our lives we are hesitant to release to God?Michelle Lazurek knows what it’s like to want to experience full surrender as God intended, but be unsure how to start. She’s on the show helping us:▫️Identify areas of struggle in surrendering to God▫️Utilize practical tips and strategies to incorporate surrender into our everyday lives▫️Learn how to trust God with every area of our lives▫️Practically live out the truths in ScriptureJoin us to discuss how to lay down every area of you life, in order to watch God do the impossible.To be a love offering: “Normalize anxiety and mental illness within the church.”Connect with Michelle:MichelleLazurek.comWordwisemedia.comSupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Everyone believes life is a blank journal waiting to be filled with the culmination of dreams; instead, we deal with disappointments when the pages of our lives don't mirror those dreams. But we were not born with a blank journal in our hands. Life leads us into the wilderness, and we wonder if we will find our way back to Eden, or how to move forward towards the promised land. While we can't rip out the pages of our lives, we are not narcissists of our narratives. What if the wilderness became our Eden? What if we could keep dreaming in a world of disappointments? Amidst the death or deferral of dreams, Emily Jansen is on the show today helping us reimagine our stories and pick up our pens again. She’s reminding us that God, the author of our stories, calls us to co-create with Him and keep dreaming despite our doubts. She shares how the wilderness might just be the very place of our greatest flourishing. It’s not just a dream. It's your dream, and it matters because God put it inside you. Will you dare to dream again? To be a love offering: “Sharing our pain, stories, heartache, and disappointments requires vulnerability. But from that brokenness and vulnerability comes a heart that can embody God’s radical love.” Connect with Emily:www.emilyjjansen.com @emilyjjansen @awilderedenSupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Who am I? Does God see me? Does God love me? What is my purpose?So much is tied up in our longing to know who we are: our worth, whether we’re loved, what we’re meant to do with our lives. But there’s a powerful truth that settles every question: God has named us, and the names he has spoken over us settle every question and pain we have experienced in our search for identity.Names help us know that we belong and to whom we belong. Names carry authority and power. But we also carry other names―painful, damaging names that we have spoken over ourselves or that others have branded on us. Too often, in times of low self-worth, grief, or failure, we exchange our God-given identity for those false names.When we believe God’s names for us, we will discover a life lived with purpose and passion. Are you ready to accept God’s invitation to silence the inner voice that keeps you from living freely, joyfully, and confidently?A lot is at stake in understanding the sacred truth of who you are. The names you believe about yourself impact how you live, how you love, and how you move and bear witness to the gospel.Hear this: God has true names that he speaks over you and wants you to hear above the false banter.Aubrey Sampson is on the show inviting us to understand and embrace what it means to be created and named in the image of God. In the process, it will ignite a passion to speak life-giving names over others, to bless them through the power of the Name that is above every other.Join us to discover what it means to be powerfully and personally made and named in the image of God. Everything changes when you believe this incredible truth: You are known by God.Connect with Aubrey:https://instagram.com/aubsamphttp://www.aubreysampson.comNothing is Wasted PodcastThe Common Good Talk ShowSupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

The older we get, the less we find ourselves spending time in the company of good friends. Organic friendship becomes nearly impossible—after all, there are all sorts of obligations tugging at our attention. Or we find ourselves getting frustrated with shallow, draining conversations. Or, most painful of all, we feel like no one wants us—and who wants to be rejected?If you have found yourself desperately wanting connection but confused about why you are not experiencing it, you are not alone. And you don’t have to stay there.As Christian women, our faith calls us to support one another on the path of growing as a follower of Jesus—a call that will connect us, create a solid foundation for trust, and bind us together in Jesus’ love, no matter what struggles we face on the road of friendship. Bailey Hurley is on the show offering practical habits that are sustainable, deep, and valuable.Join us to:▫️identify what makes a godly, lasting friendship;▫️tackle lies and false expectations about what it takes to build lasting friendship; and▫️learn to tackle the barriers to friendship and invite healthy friendship rhythms.It is possible to grow healthy friendships, starting now.Connect with Bailey:https://baileythurley.comhttps://instagram.com/bailey.t.hurleySupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Life is just . . . a lot. Relationships are hard. Responsibilities are piled high. And it seems like all the things are distracting you from the very best things of all. There's little time left for yourself--or for connecting with Jesus. No wonder you feel anxious in your mind and hurried in your heart. You desperately long for calm amidst your clamoring duties, stacked schedule, and life's unexpected circumstances. But where do you begin? More than anything else, your heart needs a refreshing encounter with God each day. Ruth Schwenk is on the show offering us a way forward so we can experience the confident calm we crave. Join us to face life with God's peace and renewed strength. Discover the calming reassurance of God, who is the only One who can truly be trusted in all the things.To be a love offering: “In our pain we can offer comfort to others. Walk toward someone else’s pain instead of away from it. Pray for others and pray with others. Keep showing up.”Reference:Better by Jen Wilken Connect with Ruth:https://www.thebettermom.comhttps://forthefamily.orghttps://instagram.com/ruthschwenkRootlike Faith podcastSupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Do you long to go to bed at night knowing you've done the best you could with what you have as a mom and made a difference in your child's life--even if you can't see it yet? It's easy to compare yourself to other moms and set unrealistic expectations that make you doubt you're doing enough. You need hope and encouragement to help you find a new place to start on the days you're tempted to quit!Renee Swope is on the show helping us find purpose and meaning in the challenges and adventures of motherhood. By unpacking powerful truths of grace and love God used to rescue her from discouragement and guilt that buried her in the dirt of defeat, Renee shares hope, wisdom, and practical help every mom needs.Join us as Renee talks about simple ways to give your child what they need most through the power of heart-centered parenting that is character-focused and relationship-driven. This episode will transform not only the way you parent but also the way you see yourself as a mom and as a child of God.“My love offering is to give my children back to Him. Then to offer God‘s love to my children in the way that He has loved me.”Connect with Renee:ReneeSwope.comSupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

You know her. Maybe you are her. The woman who feels like she must always be "on." The one who is always performing. She walks into every room relentlessly hard on herself, always attempting to deliver an A+ performance, because she believes this is the bare minimum standard she has to achieve just to be invited to most tables. You would never know by looking at her the hard things she's had to overcome. She succeeds, almost compulsively, in this urgent attempt to outrun her own muddy story. But she is walking around now, reduced to this burned-out, brittle, fragile, ashes-to-ashes version of herself. She is, at last . . .exhausted.When gold stars, highlight reels, and seeking approval from strangers on the internet are not enough, Mary Marantz is on the show giving us permission to stop running. Join us as she shares how to move from achieving, striving, and performing for your worth to the grace, freedom, and purpose that come from knowing your identity and calling are determined by God.You are not in a race with anyone. Good things take time. REAL things take time. And slow growth equals strong roots.“We can be a love offering by getting over ourselves. Instead of thinking what if it fails, consider who could it help?”Connect:https://marymarantz.comhttps://instagram.com/marymarantzSupport the Show: https://rachaelkadams.com/ Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.