Spill the Beans LIVE with Kelly Minter at Fresh Grounded Faith Melbourne, FL [Episode 248]

Spill Beans Melbourne Florida Kelly Minter Michael O'Brien

Pack your bags! You’re coming with me to Melbourne, Florida for a Fresh Grounded Faith conference where this episode was recorded LIVE! Kelly Minter, Michael O’Brien, and I sat around the bistro table answering questions from the audience, and wow, did they have some great questions!

We talk about how to manage your expectations, what to do when you feel God is far away, and how to deal with doubt. Kelly also shares why she isn’t married, and I answered several interesting questions about my blindness.

Spill the Beans LIVE with Lisa Whelchel at Fresh Grounded Faith St. Louis, MO [Episode 189]

Spill Beans Lisa Whelchel Michael O'Brien Fresh Grounded Faith St. Louis

Get ready, sister! We’re going to St. Louis, Missouri, for a Fresh Grounded Faith conference. But don’t worry—there’s no need to pack your bags! Since we’re going on the podcast, that means St. Louis is coming to you!

Today I’m joined by former Facts of Life actress, Lisa Whelchel, plus former lead singer of Newsong, Michael O’Brien, and we’re answering all kinds of questions from the audience. We like to call this part of the conference “Spill the Beans,” and it’s one of my favorites because we share lots of laughter while also getting real about our faith.

What to Do When You Doubt God

On the road of faith, we all encounter “Thomas times”—bumps full of doubt. Some of us jump right over them, while others may stumble, falling into a pit of confusion. And the result … we become a Doubting Thomas.

I’ve been Thomas and I bet you have too, or you know someone who is right now.

What to Do When You Doubt God jpg

There is no shame if you struggle with doubt. God invites your questions and wants to turn your confusion into clarity just like He did for Thomas.

Imagine what it was like for Thomas when Jesus, His Master and Friend, was crucified? The shock, the sorrow—but maybe he wasn’t simply a doubter; maybe he was a seeker … an honest seeker?

Are Confidence and Courage the Same Thing?

“Jennifer, you are just so confident.” I cannot even begin to tell you how many times some wonderful woman has said that to me. Every time it happens, I cringe on the inside and think, Yeah, right! Girl, I’ve got no real confidence. Me? 

I over-think everything and it leads to insecurities, fears, and self-doubt… but, confidence? Not so much. When women tell me how confident I am, what they are really commenting on is courage.

Courage. Confidence. Do you realize how often those two concepts are mistaken for each other?

God Hears Your Unspoken Broken

Your unspoken broken.

We all have it. It’s that thing in us that we don’t talk about because we don’t know how to put words to it. It’s that feeling that rises in us and makes our throats tighten and our voices tremble.

It’s the disquiet in our soul, the ache we always feel but never get used to; the silent companion who takes up too much room in our hearts. It’s our unspoken broken.

The mom who tries to manage her mentally ill adult son — she feels the sting, the ache. When you see her on Sunday and she smiles and hugs you and asks how your week went, can you hear what is not said? Can you hear her unspoken broken? It is there, screaming to be heard and held and helped.