Laughter is something everyone cherishes and enjoys on a daily basis. It is often an emotion that really allows us to behold God's joy, truth, and goodness in our lives. So how can we learn to find those moments of laughter through all the transitions of life?

We are so excited and blessed to have author, blogger and podcaster, Sophie Hudson, AKA Boo Mama. Sophie shares stories from her childhood, to what lead her to becoming a teacher, to feeling called to write 4 best selling novels despite swearing she would never write a book. From there she explains the origins of her nickname, Boo Mama, and the creation of her blog back in 2005. 

Through all of these things she speaks about how she beheld God in all of those aspects of her life. She talks about advising girls in middle school and highschool who struggled with different issues from bullying to self image. She also tells mothers the best pieces of advice for what they can do if they see their daughter struggling.

Who is Sophie Hudson?

Sophie Hudson loves to laugh more than just about anything. She began writing her blog, BooMama.net, in November 2005, and much to her surprise, she's stuck with it. Sophie hopes that through her stories, women find encouragement and hope in the everyday, joy-filled moments of life. In addition to her blog, Sophie speaks regularly to groups across the country and co-hosts The Big Boo Cast.

A graduate of Mississippi State University and the author of four books, Sophie loves cheering like crazy at college football games and watching entire seasons of TV shows in record time. She lives with her husband and son in Birmingham, Alabama.

Resources:

Learn more about Sophie's books, book club, and podcast over on her website: www.boomama.net

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the iBehold Podcast! If you haven't already, please leave us a five star rating and review on iTunes or wherever you get this podcast. We are so grateful to bring you this powerful story and many more like

Beholding God in all areas of our lives can be a difficult task at times, especially during periods of great adversity and chaos. So what does it look like to find peace in Christ's love during extremely dark areas of our lives? What does it look like to see God's relentless pursuit of us to deliver us from our troubles?

We are so blessed to have the COO of JH Israel and former attorney, Jahan Berns, on today's episode as she shares her testimony of deliverance from the horrors of the Ugandan Civil War. Jahan shares growing up with her father, who led groups of rebel warriors during these battles, and the horrors she was exposed to in her time in Uganda from a very young age.

She shares her story of how she was able to behold God's unrelenting pursuit to deliver her from the demons she faced during her childhood and answers the question "How can a 6 year old girl survive the assassination of her father and find deliverance from demons as a child?"

Jahan's story is so powerful, so deep and filled with examples of how God is always pursuing us and looking to give us peace from adversity.

Who is Jahan Berns?

Jahan Berns is an attorney and the COO of the two sister Christian organizations: JH Israel; and U.S. Israel Education Association (USIEA). Jahan migrated from Uganda, Africa to England, and finally to the U.S. She practiced law at the law firm of Sirote & Permutt, in Birmingham, Alabama, until the Lord called her to serve Him in ministry. Jahan is married to Bob Berns and they have two children.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the iBehold Podcast! If you haven't already, please leave us a five star rating and review on iTunes or wherever you get this podcast. We are so grateful to bring you this powerful story and many more like

We all strive to be Godly mothers for our children, especially when raising daughters. We want to steward them with the love and compassion Christ shares with us in His word, but often it can be difficult to find a balance of instilling proper values and allowing our daughters to discover who God is calling them to be. So how do we find that balance and behold God as we parent our children?

That is why we are so blessed to have author and speaker, Kari Kampakis, as our guest on this episode of the iBehold Podcast. Kari explains how moms can begin to change the narrative and mind-set that often leads them to parent teen girls with a spirit of defeat instead of strength. 

She shares that moms shouldn't be looking to "fix" things in their daughters lives, but instead  doing the heart-work necessary to love a teenager while still being a steady, supportive parent. Kari also talks about how she has found ways to behold God as she has raised her daughters and how other mothers can do the same.

Who is Kari Kampakis?

Kari Kampakis is an author, speaker, podcaster, and newspaper columnist from Birmingham, Alabama.

Her books for teen girls, 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know and Liked: Whose Approval Are You Living For, and her bestselling books for moms, Love Her Well and More Than a Mom, have been used widely across the country for small group studies.

Kari’s work has been featured on The TODAY Show, TODAY Parents, Focus on the Family, EWTN, Bethany Hamilton’s Mother/Daughter ‘Ohana Program, Yahoo! News, Grown & Flown, FaithGateway, Jesus Calling, Your Teen, Mother.ly,  For Every Mom, Love What Matters, Ann Voskamp’s blog, The Huffington Post, Thrive Global, and other national outlets. She and her husband, Harry, have four daughters and a dog named Lola.

Resources:

Learn more about Kari's work, purchase her books and listen to her podcast over on her website: www.karikampakis.com

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the iBehold Podcast! If you haven't already, please leave us a five star rating and review on iTunes or wherever you get this podcast. We are so grateful to bring you this powerful story and many more like

Grief is a universal feeling that we will all walk through as we live our lives. It can be overwhelming, draining and leave us asking God a lot of questions, especially when it comes to the grief of losing a family member. Why did this happen? What am I supposed to do now?

That is why we are so blessed to have Peggy Townes as our guest on this episode of the iBehold Podcast. Peggy shares the story of growing up with her father, Frank M. Barker, who was the founding Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church and her mother as they always trusted in the Lord to provide for their family. She then shares how the Lord called her father, mother and sister home to Heaven in the span of 1 month, and how she prayed to God for hope.

She explains to us how she learned in those moments of overwhelming grief to find hope and keep her eyes fixed upon God's grace. Through all of that, she learned and helps others learn to grief with hope.

Who is Peggy Townes?

Peggy Townes is co-director of Narrow-Way Kids Productions which is a ministry of Briarwood Presbyterian Church. She is a 1987 graduate of Samford Theatre, daughter of Dr. Frank M. Barker, Jr. (Pastor Emeritus of Briarwood Presbyterian and founder of the PCA denomination), and husband of Dr. Tim Townes (research biologist at UAB medical).

Resources:

Our listeners can get in touch with Peggy about enrollment in Briarwood's Ballet program through the link here: www.briarwood.org/ballet/contact

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the iBehold Podcast! If you haven't already, please leave us a five star rating and review on iTunes or wherever you get this podcast. We are so grateful to bring you this powerful story and many more like

There have always been moments of hardship in our lives, and whether it is codependence, experiencing infidelity of a spouse, depression or even disillusionment of God, it is overwhelming for a person to walk those hardships. So how do we behold God the Father's Promises and Faithfulness in our daily lives?

We are so blessed to have Pastoral Counselor Julie Sparkman as our guest on today's episode of The iBehold Podcast. Julie talks about her story of learning to behold God's Faithfulness in all facets of her life. She also shares experience of being a pastoral counselor for over 23 years and how she has taught thousands of people to start behold God in the valleys of our lives. Whether it is an idea for our life that didn't go quite according to plan or a trauma that deeply impacts our lives, there is always hope in God and beholding his promises for us.

Who is Julie Sparkman?

Julie Sparkman co-founded Restore Counseling Ministries with Jennifer Ervin in 2012. Julie received her B.S. degree from University of Florida and her Masters degree in Counseling and Psychology from Troy University. She has been in private practice as a pastoral counselor since 1999.

Julie works with adult individuals facing a variety of issues such as codependence, infidelity, disillusionment with God, depression, spiritual, emotional, physical and verbal abuse, and parenting through the various seasons of life.

Resources:

Our listeners can learn more about Julie's ministry, read her blog posts and schedule an appointment at www.restore-ministries.org

You can also follow Restore Ministries on their Instagram: @restore_ministries or use the link here: www.instagram.com/restore_ministries/?hl=en

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the iBehold Podcast! If you haven't already, please leave us a five star rating and review on iTunes or wherever you get this podcast. We are so grateful to bring you this powerful story and many more like it in the future!

Few words can describe the pain of suffering a miscarriage or the struggle of dealing with infertility. We are often left asking God so many questions, and we wonder what His plan is for us as we walk through that valley. However, there is always hope for us. There are so many beautiful things that God has in store for our lives. Listen to today's episode where Stephanie Lloyd shares her story of walking through years of loss and waiting, and how she was able to behold God's Grace and Love after three miscarriages.

Who is Stephanie Lloyd?

Hi Friends, I am Stephanie Lloyd, a young-hearted fifty-one year old wife and mama. I live on a little six acre farm in Birmingham, Alabama with my family and almost a dozen animals. I am married to a super special guy who happens to be my best friend and I have four miracle babies that are now teenagers. God gave these four precious gifts after years of loss and waiting. After three miscarriages and three and a half long years of infertility, God opened my womb and gave us four healthy babies (four pregnancies) in four years. Only God could write a modern day bible story like this! 

Resources:

Learn more about what iBehold is, read blog posts and much more over on our website: iBehold.org

Follow us on Instagram at ibeholdpodcast or through the link here: www.instagram.com/ibeholdpodcast

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the iBehold Podcast! If you haven't already, please leave us a five star rating and review on iTunes or wherever you get this podcast. We are so grateful to bring you this powerful story and many more like it in the future!

In a world where it is easy to feel alone, we are not. The iBehold Podcast inspires listeners to behold God in all moments of our lives. In the mundane and the extraordinary. Through the highest joys and the deepest sorrows, there is undeniable evidence of God’s presence with us. The iBehold Podcast offers inspiration and encouragement through stories and conversations about God showing up.

Who are Sandi York and Stephanie Lloyd?

Sandi York and Stephanie Lloyd are best friends who have walked side-by-side for twenty-seven years. We have journeyed together through seasons of celebration and seasons of sorrow. Seasons of waiting and seasons of loss. From singleness to marriage and empty cribs to miracle babies. Through frightening injuries and profound grief. God is so good and incredibly kind to have given us each other on this sacred journey Home. The sisterhood has made the most painful days bearable and the unexpected good days even more special.

Resources:

Learn more about what iBehold is, read blog posts and much more over on our website: iBehold.org

Follow us on Instagram at ibeholdpodcast or through the link here: www.instagram.com/ibeholdpodcast

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the iBehold Podcast! If you haven't already, please leave us a five star rating and review on iTunes or wherever you get this podcast. We are so grateful to bring you this powerful story and many more like it in the future!