Christian Writing & Speaking (CWS) with Jacqui Wilson

Self-care is more than the occasional spa day. According to Janice McWilliams, who is a therapist, spiritual director, author, and speaker, self-care is something we should strive for daily. In this interview, she recounts how her anxiety levels rose during the pandemic and what she implemented to move her throughout the day. As Christians, we often find ourselves constantly running and pouring out until we are totally empty. It is time for some daily self-care as the second greatest command of the bible tells us. Tune in to hear the full interview.

When he turned age fifty, he felt empty inside. He had everything he needed and much of what he wanted. He had multiple titles and was considered a success by the business world, but none of it could brush away the emptiness. What was missing? He realized that his faith was not at the center of his life. He got to the core of who he was as a person, which resulted in the marriage of his business and Christian faith. He says that his business is his mission field, and his goal is to reach at least one person daily. Tune in to hear the story of Ralp Estep, Jr.

Although she had tried everything, nothing felt right. Something was still missing, but she did not want to try Jesus. Perpetually lied to, devastated by the death of her husband, and frustrated with the ways of the world, she stood in the mountains and screamed at God. That is when her breakthrough happened. From agnostic to atheist to Christian, she finally found her truth, the one true God, and herself. Tune in to hear the story of Audrey Dutton.

In this interview author and executive director Michael Acker outlines how God powerfully changed his parents' lives from dark worshipers to missionaries for Christ and from drug smugglers to bible smugglers. Their transformation set the foundation for the life God was calling Michael to live. He had a plan to practice law, but one summer experience attuned him to the greater plan God had for his life. He calls it his second conversion because he accepted the purpose God had chosen for his life. Tune in to hear more. Special Guest Bio: Michael Acker is the executive director of Go On the Mission, author of Life on Purpose, and a corporate speaker. You can learn more about him and his work at www.michaelacker.com.

How do you balance your faith and work, or rather, how do you align them? In his insightful book, Thank God It’s Monday(?): Balancing Work and Faith While Keeping Your Sense of Humor, Tom Petersen shares how he has failed and what he did to turn it around with a humorous flair. Ultimately, what he shares is that it is important to give yourself grace as you progress toward alignment. Join us for this enlightening interview.

Understanding other religious beliefs strengthened his faith and enhanced his ability to share the Word of God. Scott Wells is an international speaker and author of the books Would You Believe? and Got Faith? He designed these books to help people grow in their faith uniquely. In this interview, he shares how learning about other religions helped him become a better Christian and how he engages the bible for a deeper understanding. Gone are the days of reading the bible to say you have read it. Welcome to the days when you go on an expedition to discover and understand the full context of a scripture that interests you. Tune in to hear more.

He was living the life-- working, going to school, and achieving goals, but behind the scenes, he was slowly moving into a dark realm. His first drink helped him feel more confident, but eventually, the drinking helped him "function normally." Falling deeper into the crevice, he was hooked on prescription pain pills and illegal narcotics and having alcohol-fueled blackouts with no recollection of what happened. His decline led to an addiction-induced coma, being wanted in three states, and homelessness. Yet, today, he is a different man, husband, father, and author of Man Up. Sober Up. This is the power of God. A Christian friend, taking a realistic view of who he was as a person, and a commitment to become wiser through the use of the Bible set the tone for his recovery. Tune in to hear the story of Ryan Penley.

Dallin Candland, author of God is Trying to Talk to Me: A Collection of Poems, often found himself living in the background. Though he worked hard to meet goals, he says doors were deliberately shut in his face. At first, he was disheartened and wondered why he continued to face defeat after defeat. However, as he matured, he realized how God developed his gift to see other people who were in the background like him, and as a result, he realized that it did not matter what position you held because God could still use you. He is encouraging people to look at how God is pushing them in their story. Whether you are in the background or not, God is not done with you yet. Listen in to learn how God may be talking to you.

"You will never be anything" is the phrase Larry Ragland often heard as a child, and it was reiterated with mental, emotional, and physical abuse. Eventually, he became what he did not want, but amid his mess up, God had his future wife speak up. She said, "I see greatness in you," and this changed the trajectory of Larry's life. Larry became a pastor, author, speaker, and the founder and director of the Ambassadors Network. Tune in now to hear his inspirational story and how greatness is also in you.

Her daughter touched her neck and asked, "Mommy, why did daddy hurt your neck?" She decided that this would not be a part of her children's story. Stacy Barnes was a devout Christian who became pregnant out of wedlock. Instead of her church members helping to restore her to the fellowship, she became the object of gossip, no one talked to her, and she felt ashamed that she had destroyed her Christian witness. Yet, hoping to move on, she married the child's father. After they married, his abusive tendencies revealed themselves. Eventually, she divorced, but during this tumultuous time, she went on a journey to restore her relationship with God. When she married a second time, it was right. Stacy wrote the book Damage Goods: A Devotional for the Slightly Imperfect to share her testimony of how God restored her and hopes that others who have had similar experiences will see how God can restore them to a right relationship with Him.

Laying at the bottom of the stairs, her daughter asked, “Mommy, are you okay?” Knowing she was not okay, she sought to reassure her daughter that everything was fine, but everything was not fine. After falling down the stairs, she sustained a back injury and developed CRPS. The pain was crippling, leaving her bedridden. Then, miraculously she started recovering. She went from being bedridden to a wheelchair to walking again. However, nine years later due to an accident with a falling chair, her journey would start again. This time Darci Steiner decided to share her story in the book Beauty Beyond the Thorns: Discovering Gifts in Suffering. Tune in to hear more.

At the age of seven, his father asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Gregory Williams prophetically responded that he wanted to be a sheepherder. At thirteen, he knew he had a call to the ministry and later entered seminary only to realize that the truth he had known was not the truth, leaving him with many questions. Life continued, and eventually, he found himself married, raising a family, and living in the desert as a sheepherder. One day, as he herded sheep, he fell to the ground to ask God what was missing. The door was open for the truth to unfold. Tune in to hear the full story and what he discovered.

Is your faith with you on the field, the court, the track, or even in the stands? Speaker and host of the Catholic Sports Radio show, Bruce Wawrzyniak, has interviewed some of the biggest names, but the challenge he issues is the same for all. Let us not be Sunday morning only Christians but allow our faith to intersect our sports activities to lift the name of Jesus Christ, change us internally, and serve as beacons of light for others to draw toward Christ. He emphasizes that we should DO it with boldness. Dare to be different in how we choose to speak and act toward others during sports activities. Utilize the symbols that connect us to our faith as introductions and reminders of our faith to others. Tune in now to hear more. #catholic #sports #sportsradio #christianpodcast #thecwspod

If you are someone who has had their heart smashed, did not know how you would brave through the situation, felt angry and abandoned by God, or found yourself struggling to get out of bed, this episode is for you. Pastor, speaker, and author Brenda Seedfelt Amodea shares her story of the difficulties she faced,, how she has dealt with the pain, and continued to work with people as a part of the spiritual formation. You can dive deeper by reading her book, I Wish I could Take Away Your Pain, or visiting her website Bravester.com. Tune in now for the interview, and don’t forget to like this episode and subscribe to our podcast.

Is God speaking to you? Do you recognize when He is speaking to you? What if healing and changing lives were tethered to your ability to hear Him? In this episode, we explore how God speaks to us with Rev. Dr. David Chotka, founder and director of Spirit-Equip Ministries and co-author of Healing Prayer: God's Idea For Restoring Body, Mind and Spirit. Dr. Chotka recounts his first experience of healing prayer and the challenges that led to him finally listening to God to have a supernatural experience that would change his and others' lives. Tune in, and hear more. #godisspeaking #prayer #HolySpiritencounter #resurrection #christianpodcast

*Trigger Warning: This episode's subject matter may cause strong emotional reactions. What can grow out of darkness? What can life look like after being trafficked? Where does God fit into it all? In this episode, we answer these questions with Amanda Blackwood. Author, speaker, artist, and podcaster, Amanda shares what human trafficking is, the misconceptions, and the discovery of knowing a name existed for her experiences. We delve further to talk about what it looks like to overcome and how forgiveness is a key component in not only surviving but thriving. Tune in to hear more.

Have you ever felt so desperate that you asked God for death? Aaron Guyett, the founder of the Discipled in Christ app, asked God for death while serving overseas. Discouraged by what he saw in certain "Christians' behaviors" while also questioning whether God existed led him on a journey to determine the truth. He explored other religions, but still found no satisfaction until he found his lifeline in Christ. When he did, God answered his prayer for death but not in the way he expected. Now, he is helping others to connect and live like Christ through his app. Listen to his story, and if you discover that you are dying to find Christ, reach out to us.

How important is diversity to your church or Christian ministry? Are you meeting the spiritual and cultural needs of your congregation and those you serve? In this episode, we talk with Andrena Sawyer, founder of the Minority Christian Women Entrepreneurs Network (MCWEN) and author of The Misadventures of a New Entrepreneur: 5 Things They Won’t Teach You in Business School. Andrena and I delve into what diversity should look like, concerns, and whether space is being made for diversity to sit at the table. Tune in to hear more, and be sure to comment your thoughts.

What does life look like after you have gambled it all away? The Rev. Dr. James W. Smith can answer that question for you. He was a young prominent attorney, but he had a problem. Fears railed at him. He felt urged not to lose or disappoint isolating himself, and he fell into a game that ultimately became his reality of risks, leading him to the other side of the law. However, that was not his end, and in this interview, you will hear about the fall, the hope, and the courage to start life again. Now, he is an author and uses his story as a beacon of light for those who have fallen and must get up again. Tune in to listen.

#sexualabuse #healing #survivor #christianpodcast #TheCWSpod When does the hiding start? According to Catherine Cooper, author of It’s Time Out for Hiding, the hiding starts when we protect the secret. Shame and fear DRIVE the hiding, but even with the secret hidden, something inside of you will feel broken until you release. This is what happened with Catherine. For years she hid her childhood sexual abuse. Though she was saved, she knew something was wrong because she had mood swings. She wanted God to fix it, and He did. When she attended a T.D. Jakes Conference, she released it all, and the chains of shame and fear broke. Learn more about her story and how you can release too.