Be Love

Today we are talking about all things GRIEF, specifically how do we walk with friends through grief. All of us will or have experienced grief in some way. It could be the loss of a loved one or friend, loss of a dream, relationship, future, family.    People around us are grieving every day, and we all want to help them, but how do we enter their pain? Many times we don’t know what to do or what to say, so then we find ourselves saying and doing nothing at all.    This year we have personally felt the sting of grief. We have lost 3 very important people in the span of 9 months. We have experienced some incredible support through this time and wanted to share what helped us. We also polled our community of what helped them through grieving.    This podcast shares very tangible ways you can support and care for your friends when they suffer a loss. Some may be things you have already done, and some of these may be new ways to support you have never thought of.    Join us today as we have a very real discussion

Molly Stillman is the founder and creator of Still Being Molly, a life and style blog started in 2007, and the host of the Business with Purpose podcast. Her true passion lies in helping inspire women to know that they were created on purpose, with a purpose, and for a purpose. Molly has had the honor of collaborating with brands such as Stitch Fix, Target, Elegantees, The Root Collective, Sseko Designs, Noonday Collection, and more.  She is honored to have been featured in such publications and media as US News & World Report, Scary Mommy, The 700 Club, Cary Magazine, and was named as one of the “Carolina’s 75 Most Stylish People” by Carolina STYLE Magazine. She is a wife to John, mama to Lilly and Amos, dog mom to Tater and Audrey, a loud laugher, lover of Jesus, Diet Coke and all of the Chipotle burritos.    Here are some things we dive into this week: Loving others by living out your purpose.  What do we do with the stirrings in our heart.  Don’t downplay the desire that has been placed in your heart.

Today’s guest is one of my favorite Brits.  Steve Cockram and I are talking all about self awareness.  Steve Cockram is an international speaker, author, and consultant to top-level executives and leaders around the world. He is a subject matter expert on personality and wiring, organizational leadership, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal communication. Steve is the co-founder of GiANT Worldwide, a global leadership consultancy. He is also co-author of the books 5 Gears and 5 Voices published by Wiley.   There are some podcast guests I have on that I believe if we listened and put their knowledge into practice it could really change our lives. Today’s guest will do just that. Many of us think we are self aware but are we really. And if we don’t know ourselves and know how to lead ourselves how can we lead others. Every single one of us, whether you own a business or are a stay at home mom, you have influence on someone. Steve has years of experience in personalities, communication, and how to love oth

I met Christina at a boxing class, I was visiting NYC for my 40th birthday and per my normal tradition of taking a new fitness class, Christina happened to be my instructor. I fell in love with her energy and passion for teaching and encouraging her class. Afterwards we chatted about all things. I heard her story and knew she had to share it on our podcast. Christina has been a fitness model for Nike, Adidas. She has been featured in Shaun T’s Beach Body videos. She was a professional dancer and spent time as part of the Rockettes.  She is currently a Rumble Boxing Instructor and she is sharing her passion and story to help heal others.    For anyone who has struggled with loving their body,  or struggling to talk to themselves with kindness, this podcast is for you. Christina Jensen opens her heart and shares her very vulnerable story of her relationship with her body. For years Christina battled with being comfortable in her own skin. Through constant critique in the dance and fitness model industry she had

Many times we want to “fix” people. And many times we do this from a good place but what if we just met people exactly where they are without the agenda to fix them, but just to love them.  Today’s guest teaches us to do just that. Growing up in rural Minnesota, Callie Himsl always longed to live for something bigger than herself. Her curiosity took her  around the world, landing in Haiti where she met her husband. She has lived in Port-au-Prince for seven years and has had the opportunity to meet some of the world’s most marginalized and most influential people. These encounters have gifted her  with wisdom and knowledge about how to change the world. Wherever we live, we all have people who need to know they belong, right where they are. Be inspired today to see others and serve right where you are! This week’s Sponsors: Simple Acts Guide All of us want to raise kind and loving kids, this gives us some great ideas of how to do just that! An entire book filled with ideas of how to serve as a family.  Get Nat

Today’s guest is the perfect guest to start the New Year with a bang, obviously we booked Jacki Carr for ALL the goals, intentions, and how to put it all into practice. Jacki is a goal coach, writer, motivational speaker, and the co-founder of Rock Your Bliss. As a leader in transformation, her coaching style includes real talk and true connection to your whole self honoring the successes and the many failures as well as the permission to be a beginner again and again….and again. She believes all of us are a beautiful contribution to this world and have a unique gift to give this world. Whether you love a good vision board like I do, or goals for the New Year intimidate you, you will love this conversation with Jacki. She gives us some practical steps on how to be who you were created to be with small steps to share our gifts with the world.  Things we talk about: How to create goals specific to us.  What hinders us from reaching our goals? There’s room for everyone’s gifts at the table.  How you can get over

Merry Christmas to all! Christmas is my very favorite time of year, it’s full of hope, promise, joy, beautiful trees, memorable gifts - all the sparkly things. But many times the holidays aren’t the most joyful season for everyone. Sometimes it can be full of loss, grief, brokenness. In this podcast we talk about some of the losses we have experienced this year and how joy and loss can co-exist. We talk about the hope of Christmas even though a painful season. We hope this podcast brings you peace this season.

Today’s guest is Natalie Silverstein. I met Natalie this year on a trip to NYC. Natalie has given her life to serve others and help other families do this, too. She is a mother of two and has walked the talk. Natalie gives us some tangible ways we can teach our kids to be generous and compassionate to others. She even wrote an entire GUIDE to help us in our own families. Her book is called Simple Acts: The Busy Family’s Guide to Giving Back. Her book was featured in HuffPost as the TOP 10 books for raising kind kids.  Check out Natalies book and how to connect with her here: https://www.bestrongstory.com/be-love-podcast

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to meet Oprah Winfrey, or to work for her? Today’s guest is Christine Mulhearne who has worked for O, The Oprah Magazine for the past 13 years. She shares some incredible wisdom from the years she has been a part of O, The Oprah Magazine. This is one of the most interesting  conversations. Christine is energetic and confident in who she is. She lives in NYC, but is a southern girl at heart. She is unapologetically herself and gives us some great advice on how to be exactly who we are! We talk about what it means to dive into our best lives and what that means for each one of us. You will laugh and have a skip in your step after listening to Christine.  For more show notes and how to get in touch with Christine, check out our show notes here.

It’s our first ever Gift Guide on the podcast. We are so excited for this episode because we have everything for ALL your Christmas gifts. Each company is featured because our family has not only been enriched by what they have created, but they are all companies that build on behalf of others and love others well, and you know that is what we are all about at be.love podcast.  On the show today we feature 6 companies that offer gifts from beautiful home goods, leather goods and shoes, serving kits to do with your family monthly, comfy tees and sweatshirts, and so much more….. Check out our show notes here https://www.bestrongstory.com/be-love-podcast  for all the links of each incredible business and discount codes.

This week’s “be love quick tip,” is about gratefulness. We are rolling into Thanksgiving and many of us are reminded at this time to really focus on gratitude, but how do we carry that gratitude the entire year? How do we teach our kids to be grateful? How do we model this on a daily basis?   Join us as we dive into these topics today!   Don’t forget we have an apparel company www.bestrongstory.com and this weekend is our BIGGEST sale of the year. Shop all apparel for adults, kids, lunchbox notes, which are the perfect stocking stuffers. Everything is printed at our partner Sox Place, which is a homeless shelter that helps provide jobs to former homeless.   Happy Thanksgiving!  We are so grateful for each and everyone of you!

Today’s guest is Cassandra Curtis. Cassandra Curtis, co-founder and chief innovation officer at Once Upon a Farm. Cassandra brings extensive knowledge of product development, childhood nutrition and parenting experience to her position at Once Upon a Farm.  When Cassandra had her first child she could not find an organic, whole foods baby food to feed her child. Cassandra has a background in nutrition and health and was making her own baby food in her kitchen. She decided that even though she might have the time to do this, many other mothers did not, so she started a company to solve a problem.  I wanted to talk to Cassandra today because we both believe that mothers deserve to give their kids the very best nutrition, although not all mothers have access. Cassandra and her team at Once Upon a Farm will be the first organic baby food to be WIC certified. Her baby food will be accessible to mothers who are in the Women, Infants, and Children program who may not have been able to afford organic food in the past

Today’s interview is a powerful one. There are not many times when I have no words, and this interview was one that was hard to find the words to say. Our guest today is author, Lora Jones.  Lora Jones’s world shattered on Nov. 23, 2004, the night she survived but lost her husband and two children in a head-on collision. She secretly, desperately wished for death to claim her, too—how could she go on alone?—but a soft, faint voice sang to her in the midst of her deepest pain that night, the voice of God.  In her new book, Song of a Wounded Heart: Regaining Hope and Trust After Personal Tragedy: The Incredible True Life Story of a Woman Who Lost Everything (Morgan James Publishing, June 25, 2019), Jones shares her remarkable journey from death to hope and encourages readers to believe in the goodness of God, despite their circumstances. We talk about grief, the will to continue when you world is taken from you, when you doubt your purpose and how to sit with those in grief.  I loved talking with Lora, the way

In this episode, Arielle Estoria shares one of her soulful spoken word poems, we talk about society’s image of a healthy body,  her latest modelling gig for Kim Kardashian's new shareware line SKIMsand and what it means to love yourself well. You don’t want to miss the end when she speaks worth over us in spoken word, it gave me goosebumps and brought me to tears. I want every person to feel the truth of what she is speaking. Arielle’s motto “Words are not for the ears but for the soul” helps pierce the audience’s soul and blooms awareness of identity and worthiness. Her words help instill and remind individuals of their value through words. Arielle Estoria broke into  the competitive slam world of Spoken Word poetry in 2012. Arielle then branched out as a freelance contracted poet in 2015. She has shared her work through spoken word and themed keynote talks with companies such as Google, Sofar Sounds, Lululemon, Dressember, Tedx, the SKIMS campaign by Kim Kardashian and more. She has consecutively emceed ann

On today’s BE. LOVE QUICK TIP I talk about what that looks like, how you can start, and how loving others together can be one of the most memorable things you can do.  Teaching our kids to love and serve at a young age, helps them keep these habits as they grow older and even have their own family.  We would love to know your ideas and ways that you serve with your family.  Tag us @bestrongstory on instagram or facebook or email us: info@bestrongstory.com And for those of you listening now, sign up for our newsletter and we will send you the FREE PDF Family Pledge. A pledge that reminds us to BE STRONG, PROTECT THE WEAK, LOVE EVERYONE and what that looks like, when lived out.  CLICK HERE to get the family pledge  Today’s podcast sponsor is LeClair Inc. Thanks Mark, for believing in our podcast! If you are inspired by today’s episode, please share it on your social media channels and tag us @bestrongstory.

Most all of us know someone who has been impacted by cancer.  It is a disease that has no prejudices, and can affect the young, old, poor, rich, men, or women. Today I am talking with Barbells for Boobs founder Zionna Hansen about what it means to advocate for those you love who have cancer. Zionna started Barbells for Boobs out of a need to help her friend who had struggled with the healthcare system after she knew something was wrong, but couldn’t get a mammogram because of her age. She was later diagnosed with breast cancer. Zionna has walked through her friend’s battle, as well as her sister’s battle with cancer.  She has such a passion for helping others. For 10+years she led Barbells for Boobs and finds herself in this season of life starting a new chapter.  Some things we talk about: *What it looks like to change courses and start something new.  *The difference between self-preserve vs quitting *Do you think we can serve too much?  *Can we intentionally manage burn out when we are going all in? *How d

You don’t want to miss my conversation with Chad Moses from the organization TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS. TWLOHA is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide.    It is one of the most powerful conversations about mental health I have ever had. We talk about depression, suicide, substance abuse and the power of sharing our struggles with another so we can get the help we need. Because NONE of us are meant to go through this alone.    Through Chad’s personal story which he so bravely tells our listeners, we can all find common ground, whether we have struggled with some of the same things, or know someone who does.    He also helps us be safe places for those who need someone to believe in them and help them change the negative narrative they are believing about themselves.    All in all my desire is that this conversation brings so much HOPE and comfort to the thousands who struggle with mental illness or have a

Hey ya’ll, every now and then we are going to be dropping little quick “ be love tips” on our podcast. Little shorts about loving others well. A 5-10 minute quick recording.  It could be a story of someone we know that inspired us to act, something we did as a family that touched us, but just little “be love quick tips,” that might help all of us throughout the day.  Simple things that may make us open our hearts and spread a little love in our busy days. Because I know I need a good reminder every single day that my purpose is to love this world well.  Today’s QUICK TIP is brought to you about the award my daughter received at camp that gave me pause. It made me think about trying to raise confident kids. Confidence means knowing WHO you are and WHOSE you are. For our kids, to start knowing who they are and accepting who they are in the little years and keeping that truth as they grow older is exactly what I want them to put in their heart. But if they don’t see their mama exemplifying that, then my kiddos

This week we have Liz Bohannan back on our podcast. She has become one of my favorites, you know those people you can just sit with over a cup of coffee for hours and it still not be enough time, that’s Liz.  She is kind and passionate, and cares about others, AND she just wrote one of my favorite leadership books of the year called Beginner’s Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose and Impact Now.  I would give this book to any person who wants to be a part of change in this world. She made me think of leadership in a totally different way, and gave me freedom to pursue something by just starting, not waiting for something to happen.  You hear speaker after motivational speaker say, “find your passion,” but she says things like, “ create your passion, own your average, and dream small.” Liz is passionate about others, and started an entire company, Sseko Designs, after her heart was broken wide open for women in Uganda who had a desire to go to University but couldn’t afford it. She turned their dreams into realit

Today’s guest is a kindred heart. He loves those that many people see as invisible. He spends a lot of time with the homeless and gives us tips to keep our eyes open to others who many just disregard. We talk about the years when someone gave him a chance when he was a young boy and in poverty himself. We talked about when he lived on the streets so he could truly understand those he was going to serve. Get ready for your hearts to be open.  Terence believes EVERYONE NEEDS TO BE SEEN. Terence Lester is  an author, non-profit leader, activist, and founder of LOVE BEYOND WALLS and THE DIGNITY MUSEUM, and just released his latest book, I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People.  His awareness campaigns have been featured on MLK50, USA Today, NBC, and so many others. They have been viewed by millions of people worldwide. In 2018, Terence led the March Against Poverty as he walked from Atlanta to Memphis (386 miles). He finished the march and spoke at the historic Lorraine Motel for the 50th Annivers