I always hoped I would find love again but I started to doubt if I ever would. The desire in my heart grew in the waiting but so did my loneliness and frustration. Was God hearing my prayers? How much longer would I need to wait? Was I asking for too much? Did God have a plan for me to love someone?

And then one day Jesse walked into my life and the questions I had been asking started to get answered. God was making sense out of nonsense, no detail overlooked. God had been crafting and curating a love story, in His perfecting timing, and wait that now felt worth it.

In this episode Jesse and I talk about:

• A full surrender that lead to finding and falling in love
• Dating from a male’s perspective
• The evolution of dating from your teens to adulthood
• God’s refinement in the waiting
• What it's like dating a widow
• The benefits and challenges of long distance dating
• Dating with intentionality

Show notes.

33 and widowed.

Something I never thought would be part of my story. I found love at a young age and skipped over the whole dating scene. I never imagined I'd be in the dating pool in my mid 30s after my husband Daryn passed away. 

I am absolutely, 100% the anti expert in dating but I hope that my experiences can provide the same survival guide of sorts that others have given me. Dating has been nothing like what I expected it to be. I remember feeling so clueless and awkwardly learning my way through the world of dating apps, first dates and meeting new people.

It's been hard (like really hard) but also a crash course in learning so much about myself, what I was really looking for and trusting God with the outcome (that last one has been real tricky if I'm being honest...).

In this (vulnerable) episode I talk about:

- What I learned from my marriage to Daryn and how it kept my heart open to love again
- Navigating dating apps and awkward first dates
- Overcoming heart ache when things aren't as they seem
- Lonely nights and feeling left behind
- Guarding your heart in the waiting
- The check list of what I finally learned to look for
- What 90 days of surrender taught me and led me to (hint...who it led me to ;) )

Show Notes.

I wondered if I would ever come to a resting spot. Life has been moving in warp speed but also slow motion, constant chaos and heaviness. But also so much growth and refinement. So much leaning into God and learning about the depths of me through the depth of my creator.

But then one day, ever so slowly the fog lifts. It’s so subtle and drawn out you don’t even notice it at first. The momentum slows and your world opens up again. The corners aren’t as jagged. The pain isn’t as drastic. The breaths aren’t as shallow.

I’m ok?!

I’m ok. 

It’s been so long since I felt this feeling. I want to close my fists around it but I know the secret is keeping them open to it.

Tune in now as I share about moving into a new season, a new relationship and new roles as I reflect back on where I've been and where God's brought me now. Not because of anything I did or because I was deserving but because that’s what God does: He remakes. He renews. He rebuilds. He restores.

Show Notes.

A few years ago I was in one of my lowest moments. I was heartbroken and bitter and really, really angry. I felt like God had forgotten about me. I was in my quiet time and came across the question “When all I feel is darkness and everything in life feels hard, where are you?”.

I sat back, crossed my arms and thought to myself, “Yeah, seriously God! Where are you?!”.

The answer I found will not only surprise you but help you in the middle of your storm.

In this episode I share:

- The mantra I used to walk me through my hardest seasons
- Where God is in the middle of your storm
- How to find peace and reassurance when life feels anything but that
- Cultivating a 30,000 foot perspective
- How to move from a 'this' moment to a 'that' moment

Show Notes

Tragedy struck 5 years ago when Kristin lost her son, Will, in a fatal car accident. You can imagine the pain and ache that stuck a mother’s heart, her world never the same.

In this episode Kristin shares the gift of Will’s short, yet full, life and pain that’s been left in his absence. A heavy handed cocktail of trauma and grief, and yet the hope of Heaven never so real and the presence of God so near. 

Listen now to hear Kristin authentically share about:

• The comfort and peace she found in God
• How to care for a loved one who’s grieving
• Grief’s earned stripes
• Lessons learned in grief how it’s forever changed her

Show Notes

Mike’s faith has always played a role in his life but it wasn’t until he lost his mom to cancer in 2013 that his faith became a lifeline. Grief can bring clarity and alignment in ways nothing else can. With a new found depth of faith and purpose, Mike used life’s hard things to ask ‘what’ rather than ‘why’. After a series of events Mike, along with his brother in law, founded PATH apparel. 

PATH aims to make a difference in the lives of those around us by sharing the good news about Jesus and helping to support those in need all around the world. It reminds us there is purpose in our story and what we go through. One day, on earth or in Heaven, we will look back and see how God was always weaving things together for His good. 

Listen now to hear Mike and I’s conversation about finding purpose through pain and turning to our faith in life’s most difficult moments. Mike’s perspective, attitude and faith will help you see even though life isn’t easy we have a savior we can turn to for guidance, peace, strength and hope. Our relationship with Jesus provides the perseverance we need to overcome the hurdles we face in life.

Mike is the Owner and Co-Founder of PATH Apparel, Husband and Father of 3 girls. His purpose for launching PATH Apparel was to create a Christian lifestyle brand that sparks conversations and creates opportunities to share the good news about Jesus.

You can check out the brand at PATHAPPAREL.COM.

Show notes

Unlovable by Morey Ostlund is memoir meets how-to guide. In her book and this podcast she shares her story of childhood abandonment, sexual abuse and growing up in the foster system. 

This early childhood trauma led her down a path of self-sabotage and destruction, desperately seeking to fill the void in her heart with men, acceptance, status, and alcohol.  At 40, Morey seemed to have it all by the world’s standards, but still felt empty. Facing a second divorce, she finally came to the end of herself. 

When Morey quit searching for love in all the wrong places and took a chance on God, He was able to heal all her broken pieces.

Listen now to hear Morey candidly share her struggles, getting raw, real, and vulnerable about everything from sexual abuse to domestic violence and even adultery. This conversation is for anyone who knows there HAS to be a better way to do life but doesn’t know how to go about it.

Click here to purchase Morey's book Unlovable and connect further with her.

SHOW NOTES:
https://winthedaypro.com/unlovable-how-to-heal-wounds-and-stop-chasing-things-that-never-satisfy/

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM:
www.instagram.com/becky_allen/

What areas of life are you frustrated with right now? What feels stagnant and stalled out? Do you feel like you're no farther along than you were a year ago?

Listen now as we step back together for a moment and look back to see how far God’s brought us. In this episode I talk about allowing the power of time to help:

• Eliminate Emotions 
• Expand Vantage Points
• Reset Expectations
• Enhance Growth

Give yourself a little time and chances are you’ll see your current situation a little differently too.

SHOW NOTES:
https://winthedaypro.com/overcoming-hard-things-with-dawson-and-lainey/

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM:
www.instagram.com/becky_allen/