Latest / Witness the Wonder Christian Podcast: Supernatural Christian Testimonies, Miracles, and God Stories / Rising After the Fall | 22 Stories of Resilience & Redemption | Missy Maxwell Worton & Donna Bess

Transcript

Rising After the Fall | 22 Stories of Resilience & Redemption | Missy Maxwell Worton & Donna Bess · Witness the Wonder Christian Podcast: Supernatural Christian Testimonies, Miracles, and God Stories

• 0:00
  Oftentimes, the story that we're afraid to share is the very
• 0:02
  story that's going to set somebody free.
• 0:04
  When you get free, freedom spreads.
• 0:05
  It's contagious. People want to be free.
• 0:10
  Have you ever had a season where life knocked you down and you
• 0:13
  weren't sure how to get back up? Maybe you're in one right now.
• 0:18
  Today we're talking about resilience, what it actually
• 0:20
  looks like when you failed, lost something, or how to start over,
• 0:25
  and how you can rise again after the fall.
• 0:28
  Welcome. To Witness the Wonder.
• 0:30
  I'm your host, Christina Smith. I'm joined by publisher Missy
• 0:34
  Maxwell Wharton and Donna Bess, editor of the Warrior Riders
• 0:38
  anthology, Resilience, the Rise after the Fall.
• 0:41
  This anthology brings together 22 powerful stories of
• 0:45
  perseverance, faith and restoration.
• 0:48
  Missy Donna, welcome to witness The Wonder.
• 0:52
  Good to. Be for Christmas.
• 0:53
  Missy, What was the heart behind resilience?
• 0:56
  The rise after the fall? Well.
• 0:58
  I think everyone in their life at some point, if they've lived
• 1:02
  has failed at some point and they feel like they can't move
• 1:06
  forward in life and they need some type of encouragement.
• 1:09
  I looked overall at at most of the warrior writers that we
• 1:13
  have, all of them have stories where at some point they failed
• 1:17
  in a miserable way. They felt whether it was as a
• 1:20
  moral failure or a financial failure, a marriage failure, it
• 1:25
  was a lot of different types of things that the enemy was
• 1:29
  beating them up over. Why would anybody, you know,
• 1:32
  even trust you? Or why, why, why keep dreaming?
• 1:35
  Why keep hoping your failure and so many people have that voice
• 1:39
  of the enemy just going through and look what you did.
• 1:42
  Aren't you ashamed of that? And the reason I love this is
• 1:46
  because these women took authority and they rose up and
• 1:50
  saw what God said about them, knew that they were redeemed.
• 1:54
  So they wrote into their chapter how God was there.
• 1:59
  He redeemed their past and he rose them up to be a person who
• 2:04
  would encourage others and help others overcome the very thing
• 2:07
  that they had faced. That's why when Donna presented
• 2:10
  it to me, I went, that's it. That's, that's the one.
• 2:13
  We want women to feel like they can rise up from the ashes of
• 2:17
  what the enemy has done in their life.
• 2:19
  That is amazing. Now this is a trilogy.
• 2:22
  This is the third book in a series, and you've kept the
• 2:25
  title Resilience the entire time.
• 2:28
  Is there a reason why you kept it as Resilience?
• 2:32
  Yes, because we have to be resilient to overcome and
• 2:37
  resilience speaks beyond just one subject matter.
• 2:40
  We have to have resilience in our marriage.
• 2:42
  We have to have resilience in our health.
• 2:44
  We have to have resilience and believing for the best to come
• 2:48
  ahead because we're constantly bombarded and with the world
• 2:52
  that is going to hit us with the negative before it hits with the
• 2:55
  positive. We need to look at what's
• 2:57
  happening and say, but yet I am resilient through, you know,
• 3:02
  resilient in this matter through Christ because he strengthens me
• 3:05
  and I can do all things through. That's why we just keep
• 3:09
  resilience because it is a strong word.
• 3:11
  And if you just do a word study on it, you'll absolutely fall in
• 3:16
  love with it. Well, I love resilience because
• 3:19
  you know, the rise after the fall, we all have that.
• 3:22
  It's the human condition. It's life like it's is the
• 3:26
  entire journey of life. You have the high moments and
• 3:30
  you have those low moments. And so, yes, I'm grateful for
• 3:33
  the resilience that has came out of each and every experience
• 3:37
  I've walked through. Now, Donna, you were the editor
• 3:40
  of this book and you worked with 22 authors, and you had to shape
• 3:45
  22 different stories. What stood out most to you
• 3:49
  across all of the chapters? Well, the excitement that I had
• 3:52
  in that formatting process was, I don't know, it was something
• 3:56
  otherworldly. It was an acknowledgement.
• 3:59
  That was the opportunity that has been given to women to take
• 4:05
  their place and he used their voice to communicate a story
• 4:09
  that has been transformation from them.
• 4:11
  It's a story where life was lost, hope was lost, and in the
• 4:16
  end, they have found hope. As I was, as I was looking at
• 4:20
  this book as a whole, I was overcome with this gratitude of
• 4:25
  how 22 authors have come together to share a restoration
• 4:30
  transformation story. But more than that, it's an
• 4:33
  opportunity. And that's what I love about the
• 4:35
  Warrior writers is that each of us, including you, we came into
• 4:39
  this in a different as a different person.
• 4:41
  We weren't who we are today. And even this, even though she's
• 4:44
  the leader of the group, she's not who she was three years ago.
• 4:48
  We have each grown, our faith has grown, Our Calling has been
• 4:53
  clarified and identified. And that's what I see in a lot
• 4:57
  of the writing in these people because some of these people
• 5:00
  have been in for three years and some of these are brand new
• 5:02
  authors. We have 6 brand new authors in
• 5:04
  this book. When I see that, that trajectory
• 5:08
  of people, I'm just like, wow, what an honor and a blessing to
• 5:12
  just literally see the transformation and the authors
• 5:16
  that are from the beginning to now and the brand new ones and
• 5:19
  their excitement to be able to say, I'm an author because
• 5:24
  there's something tangible in a book that they can hold up in
• 5:27
  their hand and say, look what I did.
• 5:30
  And I feel like this experience is actually something that
• 5:33
  catapults them into a deeper faith.
• 5:35
  And I'm reminded of the story of Abraham.
• 5:38
  You know, God gave him a calling long before he had the faith to
• 5:42
  accomplish it. He gave him a promise long
• 5:44
  before the fulfillment. And you know, that's what
• 5:48
  warrior writers offers. That's what the resilience
• 5:50
  offers. You have a calling.
• 5:52
  And some of these people, as they're going through the
• 5:54
  editing process, it's like, wow, I had no idea so much was
• 5:58
  involved. It's just such a growing
• 5:59
  process. And when I see Resilience 3
• 6:02
  compared to the Brazilians 1 and I see the changes that have
• 6:06
  happened in the women, I'm honored and blessed to even be a
• 6:09
  part of it. To be honest with you.
• 6:10
  I feel like it's a high calling and I I, I'm filled with
• 6:14
  gratitude. Our stories have power to to 1
• 6:18
  build faith within us that you know what?
• 6:20
  I did it. You know, they wrote that story
• 6:22
  finally, like you said, they're a published author.
• 6:25
  They can say, you know what, if I did that, then I can finish my
• 6:29
  own book and, you know, get it done.
• 6:31
  So I love it and you know, I appreciate.
• 6:34
  That's the word that it is. It's the opportunity, what we do
• 6:36
  with our opportunity opportunities, it's between US
• 6:39
  and God, right? But this environment has created
• 6:42
  an opportunity for people to step into their calling.
• 6:46
  You know, if some of these women, maybe they'll never
• 6:48
  actually write a book, but you know, like you haven't finished
• 6:51
  your book yet. But look at what God is doing.
• 6:54
  Thank you for that reminder, Donna.
• 6:56
  Opportunity. It's not.
• 6:57
  No, I don't mean that in a negative way.
• 6:59
  I've seen any of you. And it doesn't matter because
• 7:03
  look at what God is doing. I mean, it's amazing the
• 7:06
  opportunities that have been provided to us in this group and
• 7:09
  how all of us have grown and all of us are stepping into
• 7:12
  different seasons and all of us are doing things with our lives
• 7:15
  that we would have never even considered before.
• 7:17
  This is an opportunity. And the women who jumped in it,
• 7:20
  then who knows what God will do? It's amazing.
• 7:22
  I was part of resilience one, actually.
• 7:25
  It did do what all the things that you're saying.
• 7:27
  It did help catapult me into who I've been created.
• 7:31
  And like you said, every open door that we walk through of
• 7:35
  obedience first, we're being obedient to do what God's
• 7:38
  calling us to do. But each door we walk through
• 7:41
  just opens another door that we can't see yet.
• 7:44
  And so I love that. I'm sure in resilience one, did
• 7:47
  you expect there to be a resilience 3?
• 7:49
  I think you probably did. No, no, no, Missy did.
• 7:52
  I know we were, we were just trying to get through resilience
• 7:54
  one and. 2 Just trying to figure out how to edit.
• 7:57
  You know that is so true. It's such a process.
• 8:00
  We all were stretched through that for those of us who were
• 8:03
  first time authors, we were stretched in my gosh, am I doing
• 8:07
  this right? First off, All authors had a
• 8:10
  problem with, I don't know, is this still that?
• 8:13
  Was this still a problem, this time keeping it under the word
• 8:16
  limit? Not as much, not as.
• 8:17
  Much that you're getting better, I will say like Missy, as Missy
• 8:20
  taught us, because Missy is a writing coach, she was my
• 8:23
  writing coach and as you taught along the way, I would learned
• 8:27
  how to become more concise in what I was writing and with
• 8:31
  descriptiveness. Missy, you also contributed a
• 8:34
  chapter to this book. What does your chapter focus on
• 8:38
  and why was it important for you to share this part of your story
• 8:41
  in this book? Well, thank you and we miss you
• 8:44
  by the way, FYI, but my chapter is called Walking in Authority
• 8:49
  to rise. And what I I did is I went
• 8:52
  through how these women came into a place of authority.
• 8:55
  And because we don't have authority just because we say we
• 8:59
  do, we earn a authority in the challenges and the wars that we
• 9:05
  have been in. If you even look at generals,
• 9:07
  for instance, generals continue to get stars.
• 9:10
  Generals continue to get promoted based on how many wars
• 9:14
  they've been through. And when you look at a five star
• 9:18
  general, you know he has gone through a lot of wars.
• 9:22
  But for us, we're looking at a different type of war.
• 9:25
  And all of these ladies have been through that a battle.
• 9:29
  And so they've earned their stripes.
• 9:32
  Because when the enemy thinks that he has you and then you
• 9:36
  turn and shift the atmosphere and take hold of what God has
• 9:41
  placed within you and what God says about you, then suddenly
• 9:45
  you rise up and you you have authority.
• 9:48
  From then on. It's like a person who has has
• 9:52
  been an alcoholism and they can't break it.
• 9:55
  They can't break it. They just keep doing.
• 9:56
  And finally they rise up and say this is no more.
• 9:59
  I love my family, I love myself. I can't continue to do this.
• 10:03
  This is not who I was created to be.
• 10:06
  And they rise up. You can't get that person to
• 10:09
  drink again once they see that what it did to them, the
• 10:14
  devastation that the enemy was keeping them underneath his, his
• 10:18
  thumb, underneath his foot, what however you want to see it.
• 10:22
  But you can't get them to drink because they know the cost.
• 10:27
  And these women now have authority over whether it's
• 10:30
  alcohol, where it's, it's just, I mean, some of them, they have
• 10:35
  authority over their health and some of them have authority over
• 10:39
  the words that come out of their mouth.
• 10:41
  And they've learned to respond, not react.
• 10:44
  And this is, this is only built going through the fire.
• 10:48
  That's that's what mine is about.
• 10:50
  Because I learned how to stop fearing.
• 10:52
  And now there's still fear that comes up, but I've learned how
• 10:55
  to grab hold of that fear and say, what is it that I'm
• 10:59
  concerned about here and change it into, I know God is taking
• 11:03
  care of every detail in my life, so I have nothing to fear.
• 11:07
  And so I do start it with the story of rescuing my 6 year old
• 11:10
  adopted daughter from going into slavery.
• 11:12
  We had a lot of fear in my story and every day I had a choice to
• 11:17
  choose love or to choose fear. And so I wrote that chapter that
• 11:21
  kind of introduces the whole book overall.
• 11:24
  Missy actually was on season 1 and she shared the story of
• 11:28
  going to get her adopted daughter and the struggles they
• 11:32
  went through and the battles, the spiritual battles that they
• 11:35
  went through. So that's a powerful story.
• 11:37
  So you should go back to season 1 and watch Missy's episodes.
• 11:40
  They're powerful. Lots of wisdom and truth in
• 11:43
  there too. It's so true that I, I think
• 11:46
  about my own life and how when I hit 40, all of a sudden there
• 11:50
  was something that the realization is something snapped
• 11:53
  in me to say, you know what? God's never failed me before.
• 11:57
  He's not about to do it now. There is an authority like you
• 12:00
  said, I said, there is an assurance of faith, a trust that
• 12:04
  rises up within you to say, you know what, I don't care what's
• 12:08
  thrown my way. I know God's greater and that
• 12:11
  he's going to overcome. And so it's easier now, like you
• 12:13
  said, no one's perfect. We all struggle.
• 12:16
  We all like have that moment where fear wants to grab us.
• 12:20
  But you know, God is greater. We know who we serve and we know
• 12:24
  who resides on the inside of us, right?
• 12:27
  Stick with us. In a few minutes, Donna shares
• 12:30
  what happened after she finally told her story.
• 12:33
  Resilience. The Rise After the Fall brings
• 12:35
  together 22 stories of women who've walked through loss,
• 12:40
  failure, betrayal, and starting over, and what it looked like to
• 12:44
  rise again. You'll find the book LinkedIn,
• 12:46
  the show notes Donna. You also share your own story in
• 12:50
  the anthology. What part of your story did you
• 12:53
  share? So the title of my story is
• 12:56
  called Crying behind the Smile. And it was really it's a it's a
• 12:59
  story. Have how I learned to put on a
• 13:03
  face. You know, well before I was ever
• 13:05
  a Christian, I just learned to put on a face no matter what was
• 13:08
  going on. I looked happy on the outside,
• 13:10
  no matter what was happening on the inside.
• 13:12
  And certain events happened over the course of time that really
• 13:15
  kind of have crippled me, to be honest with you.
• 13:17
  Even though I could still smile on the outside, the inside was
• 13:21
  not shaken. It was crumbling.
• 13:22
  And the process of going through that, healing and learning how
• 13:27
  to walk in a way that wasn't fake, not that I was intending
• 13:31
  to be fake, but I wasn't available or I wouldn't allow
• 13:35
  people to see the enemy. You know, I would keep the
• 13:38
  outside for the outside and the inside very private.
• 13:41
  And so it's kind of that kind of journey.
• 13:44
  And what I really came away with through my journey was that God,
• 13:50
  not one time did he look past my failures.
• 13:54
  Every single failure, every single failure he walked me
• 13:59
  through. He didn't past him.
• 14:02
  He, you know, it says sin is removed as far as the east is
• 14:05
  from the West. That's true.
• 14:06
  But those sins shaped who we are today.
• 14:09
  Those failures shaped who we are today.
• 14:11
  And today, the person that I am, I look back on my past and I'm
• 14:15
  like, praise God for all of that, you know, praise God for
• 14:19
  all that. And so actually, I, I can't
• 14:21
  quote it, but the last sentence is he didn't look past my
• 14:25
  failures. He walked me straight through
• 14:26
  them, you know, and because that's that's that's what
• 14:30
  creates us, right? Kind of what Missy was talking
• 14:33
  about. You know, fear is something that
• 14:35
  we always have to overcome. And every season in our life, we
• 14:38
  have an increase in fear. You know, I'm in a new season
• 14:41
  right now. I'm looking at things that I'm
• 14:43
  unfamiliar with and I'm like, you know, but but the truth is
• 14:48
  that fear is the growing process.
• 14:50
  You know, fear is where we begin to activate our faith.
• 14:53
  We begin to make the choices and we begin to just say, I'm
• 14:56
  willing to be invested in this growth process.
• 15:00
  I'm willing to put it on the line.
• 15:02
  I might be afraid, but I'm going to trust you.
• 15:05
  And that's really what most of these stories center in.
• 15:08
  That's kind of the crux of most of the stories is that we don't,
• 15:12
  we know fear is there. We recognize it.
• 15:14
  It's not like it's hard, but putting our faith in God and
• 15:17
  going, you know what? Your plan is greater than mine.
• 15:20
  I don't obviously have a handle on all this, but you, you and
• 15:24
  only you can see me through and you will.
• 15:26
  And he does. And that's what's in my story
• 15:29
  and that's what's in all all these stories.
• 15:31
  And in that process, we gain exactly what Missy just talked
• 15:34
  about. Our authority.
• 15:35
  Our authority over what the devil is trying to do, not just
• 15:38
  in our lives, but in the lives of those that we encounter.
• 15:41
  The people that we see every day, wherever we work, play,
• 15:43
  whatever we can, have authority over the things that are
• 15:47
  happening in their lives and help to share with them how they
• 15:50
  can move forward. And that's what I'm hoping this
• 15:52
  book will do for for people who read it.
• 15:55
  I believe it will because I know these authors and I know that
• 15:59
  they're powerful of God and that what they've overcome.
• 16:02
  And actually it leads into the next question for you, Missy.
• 16:06
  Why do you believe collective storytelling and testimony are
• 16:10
  so powerful, especially for readers who maybe feel alone in
• 16:15
  what they're facing? Well, you know, here's the thing
• 16:19
  about our stories and, and it talks about it in Revelation.
• 16:23
  We know all about that for whereas by the blood of the Lamb
• 16:25
  and the word of our testimony that we're going to defeat the
• 16:28
  enemy. And I believe that is key to
• 16:32
  other people's recognizing that they're not alone, because
• 16:36
  hardships have this profound effect of just a way of exposing
• 16:41
  what is hidden within us. And pain has a way of bringing
• 16:45
  clarification. And the beautiful thing is it
• 16:47
  strips away any borrowed beliefs that we may have, and it leads
• 16:52
  us straight into truth. And and that's what sharing your
• 16:56
  testimony does is somebody who thinks, oh, I can't share that
• 17:00
  part of my life with anybody because what will they think of
• 17:04
  me? Well, Jesus never cared about
• 17:06
  what people thought of him really didn't.
• 17:09
  And he had authority over that part of of his mindset.
• 17:13
  And his mindset was that I'm the Son of God and I'm here to free
• 17:17
  the captive. And so our stories help free
• 17:22
  captives who are bound with the same lies that we were bound
• 17:26
  with. You know, that's actually a lot
• 17:28
  of why I do witness the wonder is because we share these
• 17:33
  stories because one, it builds faith, right?
• 17:35
  When we hear the stories, the Bible says faith comes by
• 17:38
  hearing. So when we hear these stories,
• 17:41
  it's building that faith within us to say, you know what, God's
• 17:45
  no respecter of persons. What he did for Missy, He'll do
• 17:48
  that for me. What he did for Donna, he can do
• 17:50
  that for me. You know what better good news
• 17:53
  like the gospel is the good news, but what better news is it
• 17:56
  to an alcoholic to hear another person who's been delivered from
• 18:01
  alcoholism? You know what I mean?
• 18:03
  That's good news to hear that story, You know what?
• 18:05
  If they've been delivered, I can do this too.
• 18:08
  With Christ, all things are possible, right?
• 18:11
  So, Donna, what would you say to someone who feels like their
• 18:15
  story doesn't matter or isn't important enough to share?
• 18:21
  I would say that they aren't having the perspective of the
• 18:24
  person that's maybe in the room with them that has a brokenness
• 18:28
  that they're unwilling or unknowing about.
• 18:30
  Often times the story that we're afraid to share is the very
• 18:33
  story that's going to set somebody free.
• 18:35
  I haven't actually a personal experience of that from my book.
• 18:37
  When I released my book, I had a 70 year old man who said to me,
• 18:43
  how'd you do this? And I'm like, well, what do you
• 18:45
  mean, what did I do? And he goes, you put all your
• 18:47
  crap in a book. I was like, well, first I had to
• 18:51
  get healed. That was the first thing I had
• 18:53
  to do. And and so he's like, yeah, but
• 18:57
  that's like a lot of stuff. And I'm like, well, yeah, but I
• 19:01
  want to be able to help people. And then he exposed a a horrible
• 19:07
  thing that happened to him when he was 10 that he'd never ever
• 19:10
  told anybody ever in his life and how it had affected him.
• 19:16
  And I mean, in that moment, I was like, how dare I?
• 19:21
  How dare I think my story at doesn't have value.
• 19:24
  How dare I not see that there's somebody just desperately
• 19:27
  waiting for my story. Because the truth is, is my
• 19:32
  story could set 10 people free and yours could set 100.
• 19:35
  I don't know. But the truth is it will set
• 19:37
  somebody free, because when you get free, freedom spreads.
• 19:41
  It's contagious. People want to be free.
• 19:45
  If you know anybody at all, that's what they want.
• 19:47
  They want freedom. And so stories bring freedom to
• 19:51
  other people. And the story that you have and
• 19:54
  the story that you carry, if you tell it in a healed way, it's
• 19:57
  going to help heal somebody else.
• 19:59
  It's always going to bring life because life breeds life.
• 20:03
  Spirit breeds spirit, so. You know, I just, I say I'm
• 20:07
  sorry that you feel that way, but come to the warrior writers
• 20:09
  and let us show you that it's not true.
• 20:12
  Absolutely. You know you said something
• 20:15
  there. Jesus went after the one they
• 20:18
  talked about how they go after one if your story only reaches
• 20:22
  one person because that's all it was meant to reach.
• 20:25
  It was worth it. All right.
• 20:28
  And the other beautiful thing about writing your story and and
• 20:31
  sharing your story. Every time I share my story with
• 20:34
  a person one-on-one or even here on witness the wonder, there's
• 20:38
  healing that comes through that. You know what I mean?
• 20:40
  That's one of the biggest things with writing, especially through
• 20:43
  the warrior writers that I learned is every time I would
• 20:46
  write a difficult, painful part of my story, I would have to
• 20:50
  deal with some healing issues in right, We would have to work on
• 20:54
  that. And so I believe that is one of
• 20:57
  the major benefits of telling your story is for your own
• 21:01
  healing alone. You know, so that is a powerful
• 21:06
  thing that comes out of sharing our stories.
• 21:08
  But but yeah, it actually builds confidence, builds faith that
• 21:11
  you know what, I walked through that and I made it through on
• 21:14
  the other side. I'm a survivor, and I don't look
• 21:17
  like where I've been. Right.
• 21:19
  Yes. Yes, yes.
• 21:21
  And that's like, probably the most powerful testimony that a
• 21:24
  person could get is like, I would never know that this was
• 21:27
  you. And I mean, it's like, wow,
• 21:30
  yeah, I guess you're right. Because you wouldn't, you know.
• 21:34
  Why would you? You would never think.
• 21:35
  That was right. You know.
• 21:38
  Well, they're interesting. I mean, Kim Clement.
• 21:40
  Have you all ever heard of Kim Clement?
• 21:41
  Yes, he put a lot of he, he God gave him a song and it was.
• 21:46
  I'm somewhere in the future and I look much better than I look
• 21:49
  right now. I love.
• 21:50
  That yes. All of us, we're somewhere in
• 21:54
  the future we're going to look better because we're learning
• 21:57
  and we're constantly growing. Right life is a journey of
• 22:00
  becoming. I've just recently realized that
• 22:04
  we think we are wanting to arrive in into that person that
• 22:09
  we are created to be. But honestly, I think every life
• 22:13
  experience we walk through is part of that journey of becoming
• 22:17
  that person and stepping into that position of authority of
• 22:22
  who we were created to be. And it equips us and build
• 22:26
  something in us to step into it without a that assurance and
• 22:29
  that confidence, Right, Missy? When a reader finishes
• 22:33
  Resilience, the rise after the fall, how do you hope they'll
• 22:36
  feel as they close that final page?
• 22:41
  Our biggest desire. I think every person that has
• 22:43
  taken time to write their chapter wants this to happen.
• 22:48
  When a person finishes their book and they stand up, how are
• 22:51
  they going to be different from when they started the book?
• 22:56
  And I just see people shedding the book and saying, OK, just
• 23:00
  like this, there's an area in my life that I'm going to submit to
• 23:04
  the father and say I choose to rise up from the ashes in this
• 23:10
  and become all that you've created me to be.
• 23:12
  There is an example of any type of failure you can imagine is in
• 23:18
  this book. And I just really believe it's
• 23:21
  going to inspire and just stoke the fire of hope and bring them
• 23:26
  into an area of believing that they can do all things through
• 23:31
  Christ. They were sent with a purpose
• 23:33
  and the enemy cannot knock that out unless they let the enemy do
• 23:37
  it. And this is such a book of
• 23:40
  saying, get up, get up and let's try again because God is with
• 23:45
  you. He's at your right, He's at your
• 23:46
  left, He is holding your arms up.
• 23:49
  And that's what I hope they see and I hope they have courage
• 23:54
  that it encourages them that they can't try again and they
• 23:58
  can't hope again. So that's, that's my biggest and
• 24:00
  to have faith because these are stories of faith.
• 24:04
  Donna, I'm going to ask you the same question.
• 24:06
  What do you hope you've put a lot of work into that book.
• 24:10
  You always, in all the anthologies, you've put a lot of
• 24:13
  hours and a lot of work. What do you hope all that work
• 24:17
  will pay off for the reader? Well, I mean like Missy, but if
• 24:20
  I may, I'd like to just tell you just a kind of little snippet of
• 24:24
  some of the types of topics that are in.
• 24:27
  Absolutely it. Covers it covers so many things
• 24:31
  that there's like not a soul breathing that couldn't be
• 24:35
  transformed by a story in this book.
• 24:37
  OK our first our first category is when life collapses.
• 24:42
  I don't know any human who hasn't had that experience, but
• 24:45
  it covers a lot of things from health, cancer, anxiety, shame.
• 24:51
  Then the next section is grief, loss and identity.
• 24:53
  It covers a lot of the same kinds of issues like
• 24:57
  unforgiveness, widowhood, infertility, all of those things
• 25:01
  that affect our identity and, and who we are.
• 25:05
  And then shame Worth in the Mind covers eating disorders, when a
• 25:09
  spouse cheats and how to actually walk through that.
• 25:13
  And it covers when someone goes through a physical trauma that
• 25:17
  completely shuts them down and how they overcome it.
• 25:20
  And then it moves into love and loyalty and redemption.
• 25:22
  And it has stories of overcoming broken marriages and receiving
• 25:27
  Jesus. Match made in heaven is one of
• 25:29
  them, where, you know, she waited until God told her who to
• 25:33
  marry before she got married. And then also there's a story of
• 25:37
  choosing to love after betrayal. And then a woman who got
• 25:41
  pregnant at 16 and how God miraculously redeemed that.
• 25:45
  Then courage calling and beginnings.
• 25:48
  It's another betrayal story. And then also a health story, a
• 25:53
  transformation of moving your family and moving to somewhere
• 25:56
  else and starting over. And then also the last story is
• 26:01
  about wheelchaired woman who got a beauty crown for real and how
• 26:06
  it affected her life. And so it's a great book
• 26:09
  covering many, many topics. It it, you cannot not be blessed
• 26:14
  from it. It's just not possible because
• 26:17
  there's a story for everybody and multiple stories for
• 26:19
  everybody. And what?
• 26:21
  But I hope, again, I've already said, but when people come away
• 26:23
  from this, I hope they believe. I hope they believe that no
• 26:27
  matter what their life looks like, there is help.
• 26:29
  Well, ladies, this has been amazing for me.
• 26:32
  It was incredibly special to be part of Resilience 1, and I love
• 26:37
  seeing how all of these stories are continuing to help readers.
• 26:42
  Just to know they're not alone, right?
• 26:44
  Just to feel that there's somebody out there that
• 26:47
  understands them and has been where they are.
• 26:49
  And like you said, they get hope out of it.
• 26:52
  One of the things I love about the this anthology is that every
• 26:55
  chapter opens the door to a deeper conversation.
• 26:59
  Throughout Season 2 of Witness the Wonder, I'm going to be
• 27:02
  sitting down with several of the authors featured in this book to
• 27:07
  hear the stories behind their chapters and the journeys that
• 27:10
  didn't always fit on the page. So learn more about today's
• 27:14
  guest or explore the resources mentioned, Visit
• 27:17
  christinasmithofficial.com. And if you're enjoying Witness
• 27:21
  the Wonder, make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss
• 27:25
  future episodes and these authors.
• 27:27
  Leaving a review or sharing the show with someone you know
• 27:30
  really helps these stories reach more people.
• 27:34
  Today's episode partner is the Birch Gold Group.
• 27:36
  Birch Gold helps individuals diversify their savings with
• 27:40
  physical gold and silver. If you'd like to get their free
• 27:43
  information kit, visit christinasmithofficial.com.
• 27:46
  Missy and Donna, thank you both for being here today and for the
• 27:49
  care, leadership, and heart you've poured into this book.
• 27:53
  Resilience, The rise after the fall is a reminder that even
• 27:58
  when life brings loss, hardship, or uncertainty, our stories are
• 28:03
  not over. You need to get that book.
• 28:06
  So if you're still finding your footing after a fall, I hope
• 28:10
  this conversation encourages you and reminds you that God is
• 28:14
  always at work in your story. Thank you for joining me today
• 28:19
  on Witness the Wonder.