Miss Mississippi Anna Leah Jolly (Part 2): Adoption, Emotional Intelligence Tools & Gospel-Centered Connection | The Table

In Part Two of The Table (Lifeline Children’s Services), host Rick Morton continues his conversation with Anna Leah Jolly—Miss Mississippi, dance studio owner, author, and adoption advocate—about using her adoption story and the Miss Mississippi platform to point to “God confidence” and share the gospel. Anna Leah describes creating LimitlessPower2Connect.com and a children’s book on emotional intelligence and the emotion wheel, supported by a CASA grant to distribute resources to kids in the court system. She and Rick discuss pressures adoptive families feel to perform, the importance of prayer and community, and how the gospel fosters connection and transformation from the inside out. Anna Leah shares why therapy felt scary at first and how her tools help parents and children talk safely about feelings and trauma, and she highlights her books available through Barnes & Noble.

00:00 Welcome Back and Setup
01:07 Tools for Connection
01:28 From Trauma to Resources
02:25 Limitless and Miss Mississippi
04:09 Scholarships and God’s Provision
06:12 Using the Platform for Gospel
06:55 Pageants and Legacy
07:44 Proving Yourself Pressure
10:45 Parents and Performance Anxiety
12:38 Spotlight Myth and Endurance
15:09 Pain in Adoption and Prayer
17:28 Privacy and Boundaries
18:43 Trauma Bonding in Adoption
19:54 Faith Lived Not Forced
21:12 Courtroom Misconceptions
23:48 God Is Limitless
25:00 Love and Attachment
29:04 Advice to Adopted Kids
30:12 Resources and Books
32:12 Therapy Without Fear
33:47 Bible as the Manual
34:20 Closing Thanks and Wrap

How an epic road trip is helping 153 million orphans!

Thats what happens when 3 guys try to visit all 19 states where Lifeline has a physical office in just 19 days!

On this episode of the Defender Podcast, Herbie and the team pull back the curtain on the most ambitious road trip in Lifeline's history.

It all kicks off June 7th at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, the very church where Lifeline's ministry was first birthed. From there the team flies to Washington State (Lifeline's second-ever licensed state back in 2004), then on through Wyoming and South Dakota before picking up a van and driving across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan, landing back home in Birmingham for Giving Day on June 26th.

Along the way you'll hear about the partnership with EveryLife to bless a pregnancy resource center in each of the 19 states with free diapers, a key to the city in South Dakota, a clean stand-up comedy night in Kansas, and a Braves game in Atlanta with more than 200 alumni families. The team also shares the heart behind it all: growing Lifeline's following so more people learn about the ministry, more funding flows in, and more of the world's vulnerable children find their way home.

This is real life on the road, nothing staged, as the team trusts the Lord to open doors with new and existing church partners across the country.
In this episode:

How "19 in 19" came together and why these specific states - The EveryLife diaper partnership and what a pregnancy resource center actually does
Event highlights from South Dakota to Atlanta

The Giving Day goal of $700,000 to $1 million and how you can be part of it

A special scavenger hunt for pastors at the SBC in Orlando and the PCA General Assembly in Louisville on June 23rd

Follow the journey:
Visit 19in19.org to see what day we will be in your city or state

Text the word LIFE to 79819 for all the updates

Mark your calendar for Giving Day on June 26th and the Run for One on August 29th

Lifeline Children's Services is a Christ-centered ministry serving orphans, vulnerable children, vulnerable families, and vulnerable women across all 50 states and in 47 countries.

If this episode encouraged you, smash the like button, subscribe, and ring the notification bell so you never miss a Defender Podcast drop.

Summer is here, and Lifeline has a full lineup of ways to engage, serve, and celebrate what God is doing on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children. In this episode, host Ken Norwood is joined by Lifeline President Herbie Newell, Ford Reasons, and Rob Ingram to walk through everything you need to know to make this the most meaningful summer yet.

They cover the China Reunion on June 27th in Birmingham, a celebration of the thousands of children placed in missional Christian homes since 1999; the Colombia Orphan Hosting program bringing 18 children to the Southeast starting June 29th; summer teen support groups for adoptees ages 12-16, including the online Anchor Group and an in-person therapy cohort; the 19 in 19 road trip, visiting all 19 Lifeline-licensed states in 19 days leading up to Giving Day on June 26th, with a goal of raising $700,000 in matched funds; the Run for One 5K on August 29th at Veterans Park in Birmingham (and Run Where You Are for supporters across the country); and how to join Lifeline Frontline, the on-ramp for volunteers, givers, and advocates.

Whether you're an adoptive family, a church partner, a supporter, or simply someone who wants to engage this summer, this episode is your guide.
Register for the China Reunion, Colombia Hosting, and Run for One at lifelinechild.org.

Follow the 19 in 19 road trip and give at www.19in19.org.

Join Lifeline Frontline at lifelinechild.org/serve.

Chapters:
0:00 — Introduction & Welcome
0:38 — China Adoption Reunion (June 27, Birmingham)
3:00 — Colombia Orphan Hosting (June 29)
5:07 — Teen Summer Support Groups (Anchor Group & In-Person Cohort)
7:26 — Run for One 5K (August 29, Veterans Park)
9:44 — 19 in 19 Road Trip & Giving Day (June 7–26)
12:00 — Fundraising Goal & Matching Gifts
14:17 — Closing Reflection with Herbie Newell