Lisa Stroth VO:The Voice Of Encouragement

08/18/2025

If you live near Pickerington and haven't checked out Sorso Coffee yet, you're missing out! Fantastic coffee, delicious food, and products from local vendors. You can shop local while eating and drinking local!😉😁

08/18/2025

🌱 Do You Have A Well-tended Heart?

A few weeks ago, I pulled weeds from our flower bed. The last time I had done it, the ground was soft from rain, and the weeds came out with relative ease. But this time, after weeks of hot days with no rain, the soil was hard and dry. The weeds were stubborn, their roots deep.

I toiled in the hot sun, complaining to myself, regretting that I had delayed the task, and wishing for the soft soil that had given up the weeds so readily weeks before.

🙏Then I heard God whisper to my heart: “This is what happens to your heart too.”

As I continued my work, God showed me what He meant by that. You see, when our hearts are well-tended and watered by spending time in His presence, reading His Word, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work and guide in our lives, good things grow. The fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control) become evident in our lives. The ugly things, such as fear, pride, bitterness, selfishness, jealousy, etc are easier to notice and uproot. But when our hearts grow dry and hard, those same ugly things take root and cling tightly, making them harder to both recognize and remove.

The same is true in our work and business lives. A soft, well-tended heart allows us to be open to God’s direction, and to reflect the light of Jesus in our workplace. But a hardened, neglected heart leaves room for weeds like comparison, discouragement, or striving to choke out the fruit God wants to grow.

The good news is that as followers of Jesus, we serve the Master Gardener. He knows how to soften the hard places and to create the fertile ground for His fruit to grow. He simply asks us to spend time with Him and allow the Holy Spirit to tend the soil of our hearts.

✨ “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.” ~Jeremiah 4:3
✨ “Blessed is the one…like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.” ~Psalm 1:1–3

Spend time with Him, praising and delighting in Him. Plant yourself beside His stream of living water and allow Him to tend to the soil of your heart, removing the weeds and nurturing the fruit of His Spirit in your life. 🌿

08/15/2025

Today is National Relaxation Day! Sounds lovely, doesn't it? We live in a culture that seems to place a high value on constantly moving and working. We even have "side hustles" to supplement the income we earn in our regular 40 or 50-hr (or more)/week employment. Many of us often feel guilty for relaxing when there's still much to do or when our expenses demand attention.

Physicians and mental health professionals have been warning us for decades about the physical, emotional, and even spiritual ramifications of not allowing our bodies and minds to rest.

Nationaldaycalender.com, the site that informs us of various holidays, lists a number of ways to relax. (Does anyone else find it disturbing that we need suggestions for that?) They mention reading a book, watching a movie, a picnic with a friend, going for a walk, etc.

All of the activities they mention are lovely ways to relax, and perhaps some of us will take time to enjoy one or two of them. But scripture encourages us to find rest in God. To cast our cares on Him. To trust His goodness and His kindness toward us. He created us, after all, and He knows us better than we know ourselves. He hears our prayers and is faithful to answer them.

I wrote and narrated this "Quiet Time Meditation" to facilitate closing the door on the world for a few moments and spending time with God, allowing Him to minister to our hearts. If you are struggling to allow your heart and mind to slow down and relax, perhaps this video will help.

08/13/2025

I saw this quote today, and it reminded me that sometimes I expect to hear or see God’s answer to my prayers in a specific way. When it doesn’t happen that way, I can feel discouraged.

But the truth is, if I keep my heart soft and surrendered to Him, delighting in Him as Psalm 37:4 says, I will experience His presence in beautiful and unexpected ways. May I never be so focused on listening for words that I miss the conversation He is having with me through flowers.

Are you listening for His conversation today?

08/12/2025

Fellow faith-based employees, corporate leaders, and entrepreneurs, your workplace or your business is also your mission field - an opportunity to reflect the light of Jesus and live the Gospel message every day. Are you praying over it as much as you are working in it?

This is something that has been on my heart for some time, both in my own business and in my "regular" job, and I've asked the Holy Spirit to nudge me each day before I walk in the door to open it with prayer, and to ask God to guide my words, actions, and attitude. It's changed the way I approach my day, how I respond to difficult situations, and how I interact with co-workers and clients.

If you aren't already doing so, I encourage you to ask God to take charge of your workday. Ask Him what Kingdom work He has for you, and how you can bring Him glory as you go about your day. You'll be glad you did!

08/11/2025

This sentiment is appropriate in any setting, but it seems especially important in business. "Listen in such a way that others love to speak to you." Perhaps "love" is a strong word in the case of communicating with our clients; however, actively listening to our clients, asking clarifying questions when needed, maybe even taking notes, makes them feel heard. It assures them that we take their needs and preferences seriously. It indicates that we truly care and don't just see dollar signs when we speak with them.

As a voiceover artist, I am not just listening to the client. I also listen with an ear for who their target audience is as well. That often elicits more clarifying questions, and enables me to create the appropriate "avatar" for that audience so I can speak to them in my performance.

"Speak so that people love to listen to you." Again, in business, "love" might be a strong word. But we need to speak in a professional manner, and communicate clearly. Our clients need to know what they can expect from us and vice versa.

In voiceover, I DO speak with the intention of people wanting to hear it again and again😉. I use my skills to adjust my delivery to meet the needs and preferences of my client and speak in a way that will engage, educate, encourage or empower my client's audience. I want to make sure their message is heard!

Do you speak so that your potential clients want to do business with you? Or so that current clients want to continue doing business with you? Are you clear in your communication with them?

Do you listen so that your clients want to talk to you? Do they KNOW you are listening and that you care?

How about in life in general? I imagine most of us could stand to listen more with open ears, assuming the best, and speak with more kindness and generosity of spirit!

08/06/2025

The Voice of Encouragement, the ministry-based arm of Lisa Stroth VO: The Voice Of Encouragement, is all about helping others hear God’s voice above the noise that fills our lives. Whether it’s through devotionals, audiobooks, faith-filled content, or speaking to groups hungry for truth, I am grateful for the opportunity to use my voice as His tool. Reading/narrating scripture or sharing a word God has laid on my heart are both incredibly fulfilling, and knowing that it has encouraged the heart of even one person brings me tremendous joy. The video below is a snippet of one I recorded for a local ministry to use during one of their group sessions.

08/04/2025

Fellow faith-filled and faith-fueled business owner, employee, or corporate leader, remember this: God’s mercies are new every morning (and every Monday!) So today, ask Him to help you shake off whatever may have held you back last week and step into this one with a renewed sense of grace and grit. Be intentional with your time and talent, asking God to multiply your efforts and impact for His Kingdom.

Lamentations 3:22-23 AMP
[22] It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, Because His [tender] compassions never fail. [23] They are new every morning; Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness.

08/01/2025

Every new month is like a blank canvas. With God guiding my brush, I have the opportunity to use my voice in both voiceover and ministry to add strokes of encouragement, empowerment, and purpose. What a lovely thought! May what I create be beautiful and impactful this month.

07/31/2025

July 31st is "National Mutt Day," or "National Mixed Breed Day." The video below stars my favorite little fur friend, Cappy🐕. He has my heart💜 tightly wrapped around his little paw, and he's been the inspiration for reflection and a few social media posts, including this short video I created, called "Never Give Up." It's a light-hearted look at determination and perseverance from a dog's perspective. 😁 I hope you enjoy it!

If you have a "mutt" you'd like to celebrate, feel free to share a pic in the comments!

07/30/2025

04/21/2025

This is the final day of 21 Days of Gratitude. In the last several years, I have been working on a mindset of "being thankful in all circumstances," praising God in both good and difficult times, and looking for the ways He is working in my life. But sometimes I need a reminder and perhaps a bit of a reset to refine my focus, and that's what these 21 days have been.

There's no way I could have known that the last two weeks would involve my Dad being very ill and in the hospital, but God did, and He used this commitment to daily recording three reasons for being grateful to keep my mind focused on HIM and His goodness and faithfulness instead of going down the path of "what if..." Dad still has some challenging days ahead, but he knows he can trust God to provide just what he needs and that he can lean on Jesus. And God has prepared my heart to trust His faithfulness to care for both of my parents in the next steps and to continue to provide just what our family needs.

I'm grateful today for answered prayers and for grace to trust that more answers are on the way.

I'm grateful that Jesus is the reason for our hope in every circumstance and every season of life.

I'm grateful for my sister, who has been able to be with Mom pretty much daily when I couldn't be so she didn't have to be alone at the hospital.

And I'm grateful that my brother and his wife prepared a little worship service with music and communion in Dad's room yesterday.

If you've followed along on this 21 day journey, I hope that you've been encouraged to begin your own gratitude practice or to give your current practice a little boost or reset if it's needed.