The Devoted Dreamers Podcast:
Where faith-fueled passion meets purpose-driven action
Are you weary of constantly striving? Have you tried everything to move your dream forward but find that no matter how hard you work it’s never enough?
Erica Wiggenhorn has been where you are. She has walked through the fire and been tempted in her journey to run after self-reliance, people pleasing and self-doubt. It’s the reason she is so passionate about seeing revival in God’s women in order that we might cease striving, choose to surrender, and receive the abundant life Jesus promises.
Do you ever feel like no one understands your passions? Like they just don’t get why you would pour so much of yourself into this dream? Megan Sjuts returns to the podcast this week to share what she’s learned about building community around your creative work and allowing God to push you out of your comfort zone to build and hone new skills within you.
Have you ever wondered where God is when your life feels out of control, or your plan isn’t working out the way you thought it would? A sudden job loss because of the pandemic and a previously undetected heart defect in her newborn daughter shook Jamie Dodero to the core. But God used both to grow Jamie’s faith and fuel her dream to write a children’s prayer book.
Have you ever looked at someone else living her dream and thought, “Wow! She’s so much further along than me” or questioned why dreaming a God-shaped dream is so difficult at times? This solo episode is about clearing away misconceptions you have about the path to a dream, how God uses our difficulties to remind us of our need for Him, and the three mistakes we want to avoid in understanding our part versus God’s part in pursuing our dream.
In May 2021, I had the privilege of being a guest on the Connecting in the Chaos podcast; this episode is a replay of that conversation. Heather Oncken and I talked about how we can better support our friends in their dreams. Showing support can be as simple as asking how it's going with her dream or celebrating one of her big or small wins. We also talk about what to do if you are the friend pursuing a dream and it feels like nobody is supporting you.
Have you ever struggled to fully commit to an aspect of your dream (or maybe even the whole dream)? Is making important decisions so difficult that you put it off or change your mind repeatedly? This mini episode is about how Jane Springer battled her fear of failure and finally made a commitment she’d been wavering on for years. Listen to learn about what changed her mindset from fear to freedom in order that her dream could flow.
Are you ever tempted to seek validation or affirmation from others? Julie Holmquist thought that she had rooted her identity deeply in Christ, but as soon as she started taking scary steps of faith toward a dream, she realized that she was looking to other people to give her what only He could. And that turned out to be a distraction from the true purpose He had put in her heart.
Are you guilty of overthinking? You’re trying to figure out every little detail of a project and you’re so bogged down that you can’t even get started. In this mini-interview I bring Lauren Stengele back to the show to share an experience that gives hope to the overthinker and three easy steps for ditching those thoughts in exchange for momentum and direction for your dream.
What does rest look like for you? Is it collapsing into bed after a long day? Or vegging out on the couch with Netflix? I have recently realized that there has to be a better way to work and rest that will spark more creativity and help avoid burnout. This episode will help you think about the restorative rest you need to fuel your God-shaped dream and how to make decisions today to implement it in your life.
Sarah Maddack discovered her God-shaped dream by paying attention to what flows naturally out of the gifts, talents, and experiences God has given her. Sarah didn’t know the path He would take her on; none of us do. But she was willing to take risks and try new things, to stand out from the crowd, and to trust that God is so much bigger than any of the insecurities she may have felt before she became a TikTok sensation.
Katie Bulmer returns to the Devoted Dreamers Podcast to remind us of what really matters, especially once you achieve something you’ve worked toward for a long time. When a 30-second video she created went viral on TikTok, she felt blindsided. This short conversation is all about the unexpected reactions, how she dealt with criticism from strangers, and what she learned as a result.
In celebration of the 200th Devoted Dreamers episode I chose to do things a little differently. The tables are turned, and I am being interviewed by my friend and past guest Tabitha Bigbee-Highland, founder of Every Day Faith. You’ll hear the back story of Devoted Dreamers, my heart for this ministry and the challenges I’ve faced in pursuing my own dream (and how I’ve handled them). At the end, don’t miss the speed round where Tabitha asks me to answer a bunch of random questions on the fly!
Sometimes God’s timing does not make sense in our limited perspective. Katy McCown always knew she was called to write but she didn’t expect God to give the green light when she was eight months pregnant with her sixth child. Today she is president of She Laughs Ministries, a writer for Proverbs 31 Ministries, and a national speaker. Through all life’s uncertainties and surprises, Katy has learned some things about “living sure” even when the future is not.
With five years of podcasting under my belt, people always ask what I’ve learned so today I'm sharing my three top takeaways from interviews with Christian women dreamers as they fight back fear to start business, launch a nonprofit, write a book, pursue a speaking career, wait on God, test out new ideas, fight the lies, battle comparison and imposter syndrome, and come out on the other side trusting God more because they’ve learned to lean on Him in the process of chasing their dreams.
Although she is the author of seven published books, Dr. Heather Thompson Day has faced rejection after rejection in her dream of becoming a best-selling author. Her newest book It’s Not Your Turn is the story of how God has used repeated rejections to shape her character over the years and to help her realize that who she is when she’s not in the spotlight is far more important than who she will be when she is.
A kind gesture by a friend inspired Heather Oncken’s dream to encourage people to be more intentional in their friendships. She knew she was supposed to do something with this inspiration. She just didn’t know what. As she prayed for clarity, God prompted her to be faithful to the needs He placed in front of her. Today she shares the hope that in all our relationships we have an opportunity to change someone’s day, someone’s week, and even someone’s life through our small, intentional gestures of love.
Kat Harris’s vision for women to know their beauty, identity, and value was born out of years spent asking difficult questions of God, herself, her community, and strangers on the subway. Her dream was never to write a book on sex and dating as a single Christian woman. In fact, doing so has revealed all her insecurities. But walking forward in it despite the challenges has grown her confidence in a God who gives us space to question and explore our dreams.
Are you ready for big things to happen with your dream? Maybe you’re weighing the pros and cons of hiring a coach, or you want to invest in a course for the support and accountability that will push you out of your comfort zone, or that training program to fill in your knowledge gaps. All of these are great options but only once you have considered the three commitments that need to come first, before you invest any money in your dream.
Kelsey Chapman is an author, podcaster, and personal cheerleader to women building their dream life and business. She loves teaching other women how to find mentors because mentorship has had such a positive impact on her life and business. Her mentors paved the way and shared their experiences, so she didn’t have to learn all the hard lessons herself. Those relationships are what pushed Kelsey to rise up and continue making her dream a reality, even through the difficulties.
What’s your relationship like with your mom? Blythe Daniel and her mom wrote a book together to support restoration and healing in mother/daughter relationships. Theirs is one of the many resources Blythe has shepherded onto bookshelves around the world in fulfilling her mission as a literary evangelist. Part of pursuing this dream for Blythe has been remembering God’s faithfulness and His limitless nature; her story reminds us that this is true for His role in our dreams as well.
