Ep. 121: Beauty from Ashes: How Grief, Loss and Caregiving Revealed God's Grace with Jessica Ronne
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
Release Date: 03/25/2025
Her Husband Died in a Helicopter Crash. His Wife Died of Cancer. Then They Found Each Other with Jeff and Kim Jackson Ep. 184
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
In this episode of Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family, host Carol Roper sits down with Jeff and Kim Jackson, a couple who each lost a spouse and found hope, healing, and love with each other. They met as friends in the military. Kim became a young widow when her husband was killed in a military helicopter accident. Two years later, Jeff lost his wife to an aggressive form of breast cancer. Both were raising small children. Less than two years later, they married, blended their families, and welcomed another child together. This year they celebrated 25 years...
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What I Wish Someone Had Told Me On My Own Cancer Journey with Carol Roper Ep. 183
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and today I'm sharing something deeply personal — my own breast cancer diagnosis, the fear in the waiting that came with it, and how God met me in a season where nothing about my life felt familiar anymore. This isn't an easy story, but I believe it's an important one. If you've ever faced a diagnosis that turned your world upside down, or you're walking through that uncertain season of waiting and wondering what's next, I hope you'll feel less alone by the end of this episode. And if you've been putting off your own mammogram, I hope my...
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She Didn't Want a Divorce. She Got One Anyway with Jody Allen Ep. 182
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
Jody Allen, author of Hidden Heartache, joins [Your Name] to talk about surviving a marriage broken by her husband's pornography addiction — and finding hope after divorce she never wanted. A raw, honest conversation about shame, healing, and ministering to women walking the same road. If you've ever carried shame that wasn't yours, this episode is for you. If you'd like to reach out to Jody you can email her at Find out more about Sign up for my Watch on YouTube
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Bonus Episode: I Said Yes at 29. I Didn't Know What I Was Signing Up For with Carol Roper Ep. 181
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
In this bonus Kitchen Table episode, host Carol Roper shares her personal story of how God called her into ministry at just 29 years old — and the 30+ years of twists, turns, and seasons of confusion that followed as she pursued that calling. Carol opens up about what it feels like to sense the tug of the Holy Spirit pulling you toward something deeper, even when the path forward isn't clear. If you've ever wondered whether you're truly hearing from God or questioned the direction of your own calling, this episode offers honesty, encouragement, and practical courage for the journey — along...
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I Quit My Job for My Dream. I'd Do It Again — Even Knowing How Hard It Got with Carol Roper Ep. 180
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
In this first Kitchen Table episode of the fall season, we ask a question if we knew how hard it would be would we do it anyway? Through a personal story of chasing a dream career, hitting financial hardship building a small business, and crying out to God for a way out, this episode explores what happens when an answered prayer doesn't look like relief — and how perseverance, faith, and trust can turn a struggling season into the very thing that shapes your character and calling. If you're a woman pursuing a dream that keeps hitting obstacles, this conversation will help you see your...
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How to Know if it's God or Just a Crazy Idea with Brittany Bruce Ep. 179
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
There’s a moment in every woman’s story where she wonders if she’s lost her way — where the calling she once felt so clearly suddenly feels confusing, heavy, or out of reach. I know that moment well. In fact, when I first met today’s guest, I was standing right in the middle of it. I was discouraged, frustrated, and honestly ready to give up on the dream God had put in my heart. But God met me through a woman who has walked her own winding path of obedience, surrender, and calling — Brittany Bruce. She’s a business and ministry coach, the founder of Well Done Women, and the...
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Inside Ground Zero: A 9/11 Firefighter’s Story of Courage, Loss, and Faith with Niels Jorgensen Ep. 178
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
In this special live episode, retired NYC firefighter Niels Jorgensen shares his firsthand account of serving at Ground Zero on 9/11. Niels reflects on the courage of first responders, the loss of nearly 3,000 innocent lives, and his own battle with a rare leukemia caused by toxin exposure during the recovery efforts. Recorded in front of a live audience, this conversation also honors our local Fountain Inn fire, police, and EMS departments, who attended in their Class A uniforms. You’ll hear powerful stories of sacrifice, resilience, and faith — and why remembering 9/11 matters for the...
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Her Childhood was Broken. Her Legacy Isn't with Sam Navarro Ep. 177
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
She grew up in a home marked by addiction, instability, and zero faith influence. When a friend invited her to church at fifteen, everything changed — except her parents’ response. They kicked her out, leaving her alone on the streets with nowhere to go. But God wasn’t done writing her story. With the help of a local church who gave her a place to live, she finished high school, went to college, and built a life rooted in faith, stability, and purpose. Today, she’s a homeschooling mom of four, married for fifteen years, and walking in a freedom her childhood never offered. She refused...
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Duck Dynasty's Untold Redemption Story: Phil Robertson's Past and Phyllis' Miracle Discovery Ep. 176
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
In this powerful episode, Phyllis Robertson Thomas — daughter of Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty — shares the incredible story of discovering her biological father through a DNA test, a revelation that led her into a family she never knew she had and a redemption story only God could write. Phyllis opens up about navigating identity, healing from long‑buried wounds, and experiencing God’s grace in the most unexpected places. Her testimony is honest, hope‑filled, and deeply encouraging for anyone walking through seasons of uncertainty, transition, or restoration and proves God can...
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How to Defend Your Faith without Losing Your Cool with Liz Cobo Ep. 175
Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast
Liz Cobo says that nothing has deepened her faith and changed her walk with Jesus like studying the Bible. Studying God’s Word literally changed her life. Things that were once important priorities aren’t anymore. Things that were once afterthoughts are now at the top of her list. Scripture is God’s self-revelation and is available to anyone willing to take the time and make the effort to read and study. Liz understands that now. God promises in his Word that he will give us greater understanding of His Word when we read it. Liz always believed in God,...
info_outlineJessica 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.
Jessica’s pain led her to create resources to help others, because she understands what it means to be in an unfamiliar world of grief and caregiving, not knowing how to navigate it all. Her relationship with Jesus is even stronger today than when she was a young mom because she learned to lean on Him, and even question Him, through it all. Even though her story is hard, she fought her way through it and made it to the other side to let you know whatever you’re going through, God’s got you.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:4 that “He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
Here's Jess' story...
For show notes go to CarolRoper.org/podcast