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How to Welcome Others into Your Home Without Stressing Out with Sue Donaldson

Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

Release Date: 03/05/2024

Ep. 111: You Are Called for Such a Time as This Bonus Episode with Carol Roper show art Ep. 111: You Are Called for Such a Time as This Bonus Episode with Carol Roper

Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

Hey listeners, I just wanted to take a few minutes to address some things I’ve been hearing about and thought I’d share a few thoughts that I hope are encouraging to you through this little bonus episode. Right now, our country is one of the most divisive states we’ve been in since before the civil war. Our world has been turned upside-down where good is bad and bad is good and no one seems to know what truth really is anymore. And this is having an alarming effect on our children and young adults, especially those who haven’t been educated with critical thinking skills and that is...

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Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

Please be aware that this content is not suitable for young children. George Carneal grew up in the ’70s, raised by a Southern Baptist minister in the ultra-conservative Bible Belt where his world revolved around the church, country fried chicken and trying to fit in with other boys. As disco music pulsated through the speakers in his bedroom, he plotted his escape from the misery and boredom of Southern suburbia before landing in Los Angeles; a city of glitz and hedonism. Much like Alice as she traveled through the looking glass, this is George's journey through a queer culture...

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Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

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Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

Hey friends! I’m back from my summer hiatus and have some awesome guests lined up for you this fall, starting this week with Stephen Kendrick of the Kendrick Brothers. Alex and Stephen Kendrick have brought us some great movies like Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Courageous and War Room and their newest movie, The Forge, will release in theaters nationwide on August 23 and he’s here to tell us about it. I had the privilege of watching a pre-screening of the movie and I must tell you that there are several scenes in this film that brought me to tears. The story involves a single mom, played...

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Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

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Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

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Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

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Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

Summer Throwback! My guests for the first episode of this podcast were my two very best friends, Julie Bagwell and Frieda Younts. We’ve been friends for over 30 years now! Over time we’ve experienced lots of ups and downs but have remained close through it all. How did we do it? By being honest and real with each other, for one thing, but mostly by building our friendship on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Growing up I only had one friend at a time and always felt like I never belonged. In my late 20’s I began praying for God to bring some good friends into my life and He was faithful to...

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Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

I’ve really struggled to put into words all that I wanted to say to you today because the last few months have been difficult for me as I’ve been seeking what God wants me to do with the podcast. I’ve been doing this for 3-1/2 years now and have recently been in a deep season of discouragement. As I prayed and continually asked God what my next steps should be, I only sensed silence from Him. I’ve gone through seasons of silence before, but this has been especially hard because I wanted to make sure I was being obedient to what God wanted me to do, not just put out a podcast to build...

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Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

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More Episodes

Is hospitality something that doesn't come easy for you? Are you always worried about how clean (or messy!) your home is? Or that you can't cook? Or that you just don't know how to entertain? My guest today, Sue Donaldson, is the queen of hospitality and she's here to help. Yes, she grew up with a mother who loved welcoming people into their home, but Sue's grandmother, her mom's mom, never invited people in. In spite of that, she decided she wanted to learn how to be hospitable and did just that. 

Now, because of her mother's influence, Sue's gift of hospitality is second nature for her. But she's learned that it's not about a clean house or even entertaining, it's about serving others.  Pinterest and Instagram have skewed our ideas of hospitality, but Sue has so many practical and creative suggestions about how to make it easy for you. 

She also talks about how being a mother of young children is like living on a desert island (amen!) and how important it is to have a community of other moms around you and one of the best ways to do that is by inviting those moms in. Yes, welcoming people past the threshold of your front door can be vulnerable, but it can also be very rewarding. 

We also talk about mentoring and a secret to make it easier for both the mentor and the mentee. And Sue has some great free resources she'll share at the end of our interview. You'll be excited to start welcoming people into your home after you listen to this episode.