Building Strong Homes: Blueprints to Strengthen Your Faith and Family podcast

Hey listeners! I’m popping into you podcast feed with a surprise! Starting now, I’ll be releasing solo episodes every other week to share some of my life experiences and Jesus moments with you! I’ll still be doing interviews but thought it would be fun to be able to talk directly to you about my struggles and triumphs. And I’m calling these episodes The Kitchen Table. So why the kitchen table? I’m so glad you asked!

I believe the dinner table is an important ingredient in the glue that helps us build strong families. My siblings and my children would agree. And so, these solo episodes that I’ll bring to you, hopefully every 2 weeks, will be short stories of how I’ve seen God work in my own life through sometimes mundane, and other times amazing, experiences and how those experiences have grown my faith. Just like if you came to my house and we sat around my kitchen table enjoying a snack and a cup of coffee (or hot tea for me!). I may even share some things I’m learning in the Word that might encourage you.

And since we’re talking about the dinner table, you might have heard that one of my favorite recipes to make for a crowd is baked spaghetti. It’s the meal my husband and I shared the first time we met, at a church youth group progressive dinner on New Year’s Eve, 1979. My mother-in-law shared the recipe with me years ago and I’ve always made this my go-to meal when I need to feed a lot of people, especially when I had lots of kids over for youth group events or parties. Guideposts magazine picked up our story and even printed the recipe for the baked spaghetti that has kind of become my trademark. So, if you’d like to receive that recipe, go to the link below and sign up and you’ll receive an email where you can download it. You’ll also receive weekly updates about podcast episodes as well as any other events that might be happening and maybe even some of my thoughts on faith and family. You’ll also be able to see a few Instagram posts from recent days.

So, let me know what you think about this Kitchen Table episode and if you have a question or an idea about something you’d like for me to discuss, please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you! I’ll have a link to that in the show notes.

Show notes and link to baked spaghetti recipe

CarolRoper.org/podcast

Please be aware that this content is not suitable for young children.

George Carneal grew up in the ’70s, raised by a Southern Baptist minister in the ultra-conservative Bible Belt where his world revolved around the church, country fried chicken and trying to fit in with other boys. As disco music pulsated through the speakers in his bedroom, he plotted his escape from the misery and boredom of Southern suburbia before landing in Los Angeles; a city of glitz and hedonism. Much like Alice as she traveled through the looking glass, this is George's journey through a queer culture fantasyland filled with drag queens, drugs and dangerous situations before discovering healing, joy and peace in Christ.

In this episode, George, author of the book From Queer to Christ, shares his painful journey through a secular world at odds with homosexuality, in addition to a religious world that is hostile to homosexuals. He is hopeful that sharing his story through the eyes and mind of a confused child dealing with a same-sex attraction will give some insight into the pain and difficulty of navigating those two worlds. After 25 years of living as a gay man God brought him out of that lifestyle and into His glorious truth. His story will help parents of children of all ages understand how best to influence them for God, as well as teens and adults who are struggling with the LGBTQ agenda in their own lives.

George says that he wrote the book for three reasons:

1. To give Christians insight into what it's like for someone dealing with same-sex attraction and their struggle with faith
2. To give hope to parents who have children in the LGBTQ lifestyle
3. To give LGBTQ individuals who are struggling with this lifestyle to understand that there's a different narrative and that they are being lied to and expose those lies and find peace and give them hope

George has been out of that lifestyle for almost 17 years now and has a passion to help others learn the truth. Through his testimony he wants others to know that deliverance from bondage is possible and there is hope in Christ.

Go to CarolRoper.org/Podcast for shownotes

GeorgeCarneal.com for George's website

George's book From Queer to Christ

Have you ever had a life changing moment? A tragedy, unexpected diagnosis or sudden loss that left you feeling alone, confused or in despair, wondering what to do next? When Wendy Rickard's husband fell into a utility area, dropping twenty feet on his head, she began to question God. He survived, but his brain injury meant her family lost the father and husband they depended on for everything. Their family of four imploded.

Wendy wondered what God's purpose was in this heartache, if He would take care of their future and if their lives would ever be the same again. God’s answers were not immediate, and quite frankly, rather slow. But He did answer her questions in His own way and in His own timing.

Today Wendy can tell the story of both her husband and their family's healing and she's sharing that story in this episode. If you've been through a life-altering experience, Wendy wants you to know that no matter what you are facing, God can bring hope and healing to you as well.

For show notes go to CarolRoper.org/podcast

If you'd like to watch the podcast on YouTube go to this link: https://youtu.be/CNwVxvCAfxg

Christian comedian Kerri Pomarolli knows what's it like to feel hopeless. After she and her comedian husband divorced, she didn’t think anyone would want to hire her for Christian events again, so she holed up in her bedroom and hid under the covers, binge-watching all five seasons of Friday Night Lights, drinking coke and eating a balanced diet of M&M’s and salt and vinegar potato chips. Becoming a member of the Single Moms’ Club wasn’t exactly on her bucket list, but God revealed a plan for her to reach a whole new group of people. That was the motivation for her to get out of bed and start working again as He provided opportunities she’d never expected. Kerri’s resume includes being on the Tonight Show 29 times and named one of LA’s Most Inspiring People by LA Voyage Magazine and Comedian of the Year by The Hollywood Red Letter Awards in 2022.

In this episode Kerri shares her journey as a comedian and how she’s making single parenting work for her and her two daughters. She also brings lots of humor as she shares her life experiences as well as practical advice for single moms. Even though divorce was never something she wanted, she’s learned how God can use it for good.

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If you'd like to reach out to me with episode ideas or any other reason, you can email me at [email protected]

Watch on YouTube Hope and Humor After Divorce: Thriving as a Single Mom in Christian Comedy with Kerri Pomarolli https://youtu.be/w9xH51hBV_c