ep. 209: When You Get a Wake Up Call with Carmen James

SIX years.   Six years of God stories being shared every Friday. Six years of encouragement, spurring us on in our Faith walks, and leading us in closer fellowship with Jesus. I am honored to have journeyed this with you, my friend. These 212 episodes will still live on, so feel free to go back and catch those you may have missed! www.wrenrobbins.com/podcast Oh, and if you JUST GOTTA HAVE WREN every week, head on over to my podcast ABOUT podcasting Don't Wing It!

In college, Brian Dixon started out heading down the “music-and-theatre” road, until a life-changing car accident redirected him. After being told he may never have kids (he now has 3) and not walking again (he’s completed numerous marathons and a number of triathlons), he views his life as a picture of God’s redemption and grace. Dr. Dixon ended up training to be a teacher, where he met Julie, now his wife of 20 years. They are raising their children in Charlotte, NC to be entrepreneurial, kingdom-minded humans. Living life as a believer means we need to have God’s Word in our hearts. But how does one DO that in these busy times? As Brian points out, we need to get into the Word every single day. It most likely means that we will have to sacrifice something; and, like Jesus, we may have to get up early and “get away.” Brian starts every day reading, praying, listening to the Abide app…doing whatever it takes to get God’s Word into his heart. Listen in for encouragement to keep on keepin on, friend! For full show notes, go to: www.wrenrobbins.com/podcast/212 Connect with Dr. Brian Dixon on Instagram Join Brian's book club! Connect with Wren on Instagram

I know we can all agree that we all want to fight to help our kids have a happy, healthy life.  And, part of that is teaching them to be healthy in their screen time.   Listen as I chat with Tracy Foster, one of the co-founders of S.T.A.R.T. (Stand Together and Rethink Technology). Practical tools to prepare us as parents...YES MAAM!  Connect with START on Instagram Connect with Wren @ Friends of a Feather Podcast on Instagram

Busy raising three children, working hard to open her own brinks-and-mortar business in her hometown, managing her third marriage, totally burning the candle at both ends… Complete chaos! Can you relate to any of this? My guest today, Carmen James, was so busy working hard at trying to achieve success according to the world’s definition, that she forgot a crucial piece enabling her to enjoy the fruits of her labor: self-care and stress management. Now can you relate? But a dramatic and unexpected cancer diagnosis was followed by a three-month-long wait to see a specialist, a time which Carmen described as “the scariest, darkest, most horrific experience ever,” proved life-changing in ways she never expected. Listen and go find Show Notes, here: www.wrenrobbins.com/podcast/210 To connect with Carmen, go to:  ​​http://carmenjamesfitness.com Reach out to her on Instagram @carmenjamesfitness And on Facebook, Desperately Seeking Healthy and Happy

In today’s episode, I hope you will be touched and ministered by the conversation I had with my childhood friend, Angie. She and Nathan have been married for 20 years, and are parents to Mariana (16), Adrian (13), and Graham (11). She works in Women’s Ministry at Faith Baptist Church in Memphis, TN.  Years ago, they walked through the pain of losing a child, and she shares that journey with us today. Don't miss this raw, emotional but uplifting episode with Angie! For full Show Notes go to: www.wrenrobbins.com/podcast/208 Connect with Angie on Facebook Connect with Wren on Instagram

In 2007, Melinda Patrick found herself going through a divorce that she didn’t want. Thinking she had done #allthethings a good, Christian wife was “supposed” to do, she realized that this was an example of mankind’s free will being exercised. The day after her family (they had a 13 yr-old and 16-yr-old) moved into the home she and her husband had designed and built themselves, he walked out. Reeling, she remembers thinking “I don’t understand.” Melinda’s story is both heartbreaking and mesmerizing; alternately filled with pain and promise. Throughout the process of her divorce, one piece of Scripture was especially life-giving: "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." Job 33:4 Listen in and share this episode! Grab the FREE download Melinda mentions here:      

Charlotte Easley is a life coach with a background in clinical counseling work, specializing in trauma. She works with women to help them understand that their worth doesn’t come from what they do, but rather, who they are. When she was 56 years old, her youngest child went off to military school, but she knew that God wasn’t done with her yet! So she embarked on a “second journey” and began on a Master’s of Social Work program - in a classroom full of 20-somethings. So much gold in this episode. It’s like sitting and listening to a sweet, loving friend and mentor… Listen to our entire interview and then download her “10 Thought Habits that May be Sabotaging Your Relationships” from her website at CharlotteEasley.com Reach out to her on Instagram @thewomanslifecoach And feel free to reach out to me, too, on Instagram @friendsofafeatherpodcast

We’re not “real life” friends yet, but Sharon Tedford and I have been connected, via Instagram, for a while now. Artist, painter, worship leader, singer, mom, and now also a podcast host…this is gonna be a wide-ranging episode! Sharon was born in the south, too - southern England (Weymouth, in Dorsett), although she’s lived in Texas for the last 12 years. Her bucolic childhood included summers of selling souvenirs to “grockles”  (tourists) and talking to people about Jesus at seaside church services. And then, in the dark winters, spending time enjoying family and going cycling in the dark. Listen in to this great episode with Sharon! To connect with Sharon, find her on Instagram, 61-things To connect with Wren, find her on Instagram as well!

I caught up again with Bailey Hurley recently to talk about friendship. But we talked a LOT about a whole bunch of other things, too. It was fun catching up with her. Since she was last on the show, in episode 69, much has changed, both in her life and the world around us. Because her upcoming book is all about friendship, I asked her for some practical tips she could share with us as we all renavigate friendships these days. And off we went! For FULL Show Notes, go to: www.wrenrobbins.com/podcast/204 To connect with Bailey, go to: www.baileythurley.com To connect with Wren, go to www.instagram.com/friendsofafeatherpodcast  

When Kate Elmore turned 27, she had a baby. Five months after giving birth, she discovered she had thyroid cancer. And went through surgery. And radiation. And isolation. And more. Her faith is what carried her through. It was the light in a bad day, the peace that God gave her, the strength she didn’t know she had… And what brought her to the other side of her pain. Kate sat down with me recently and told me about her journey.  To connect with Kate go to: www.instagram.com/shopwordwarriors