Journey of Ruth Discipleship Podcast

05/09/2024

Look what arrived last week!!! I just had to take it along for my post hike coffee.
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Whether you ARE a pastor’s wife or you KNOW a pastor’s wife, you need this book. The ladies of always provide and honest perspective on ministry in the church today and the challenging and humorous situations that pastor’s wives and church leaders experience every week.
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Go order the book NOW! In fact, order one for you and one for your pastor’s wife!
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Then while you wait, go check out their podcast or the episode of the Journey of Ruth where they were my guests (Ep 122)! One of the funniest episodes I ever recorded!
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04/01/2024

He is Risen!
The sacrifice is complete.
The debt is paid.
For you.
For me.
Hallelujah, Amen.

Happy Easter to all!

03/17/2024

How it started…how it’s going.
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Yesterday Jeff and I celebrated 12 years of marriage by taking the boys to see Dogman the Musical at 😁
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One of our first Christmases together, Jeff bought me REALLY great tickets to see Wicked. As a Broadway fan I knew I was blessed to be marrying a man who enjoyed musicals as much as I did.
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Now we get to share this love with our kids. Even if Jackson is more interested in the scenery and props than in the music.😂 we already have our next family musical planned.
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I love you so much and I can’t wait to spend the next 50 years with you watching Broadway musicals, hunting, doing ministry, and raising our little men.
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11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving! I’m old!😂😂

10/03/2023

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09/23/2023

Don't worry, I'm not leaving forever. For the next month things will be a little quiet around here. This next month will allow me to jump forward into the next adventure and come back with some exciting updates. I'll be back in November with more encouragement, training, and fun!
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Until then, you can see more info over at the website, www.journeyofruth.com or your can email me at [email protected]
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See you soon!

09/21/2023

Thank you to all that have supported the podcast through the last 4 years. I am excited to have you with me on this new journey! Discipleship is the direction the Lord led me on 5 years ago and he is continuing to confirm and shape that calling.
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SO here we go! God is good and God is faithful! Let's watch the work he's about to do!
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09/19/2023

Its the end of an era....but the beginning of a new season.
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While the podcast may be ending, this social page will not be so stick around to see what comes next.
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What a joy it was to record the final episode of the podcast. 150 episodes later, the Journey of Ruth Podcast is coming to an end. Today we get to celebrate all that has happened in the last 4 years and all that God did. Courtney chats about some of the most popular episodes and guests, explains what is happening next and where you can continue to see what is next in the Journey of Ruth community, and she ends by playing your answers to our weekly final question. What a blessing it has been to produce this podcast over the last 4 years and we are truly looking forward to the next journey! Thank you, Enjoy the final episode and Farewell!!
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09/07/2023

FINAL EPISODE!?! (Read below)
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Call 602-935-0369 and leave your one minute answer to our final podcast question. We can't wait to play them on next week's final episode.
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We ask this final question at the end of every episode and we would love to have listeners submit their answers! This is your chance to publicly thank and acknowledge those that have helped you get to where you.
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Why is this the last episode? In order to provide space for me to focus on a new student discipleship ministry and all the work that goes into another project I will tell you about tomorrow, I will be stopping the regular recording of the Journey of Ruth podcast.
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It has been a blessing to produce this podcast over the last four years. It’s crazy to think that this season is coming to an end but I am so excited about the direction the ministry is headed and the doors that God is opening.
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The podcast will remain online and you can still go back and listen to all of your favorite episodes. I will also be continuing to post on social media and sending out the monthly Inside Look after a short break.
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08/31/2023

“The core mission of a church should be disciple-making.”
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Bobby Harrington is a lead pastor, author, disciple-maker coach, and trainer of other leaders. He has led churches in his hometown Calgary, Alberta, and the Nashville area. He completed his Doctor of Ministry at Southern Seminary. Dr. Harrington is the point-leader of RENEW.org and the Executive Director of Discipleship.org . If you have never visited discipleship.org, you are missing out on a treasure trove of resources for all disciple-makers.
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Dr. Harrington and I chat about the importance of a clear definition of discipleship within every local church, trends he has observed in the area of dsciple-making within today’s church cultures, and we discuss some shocking outcomes discipleship.org discovered in the national disciples making study they did alongside Exponential. Oh this episode is so good! Its one that after I recorded it a couple months ago, I texted a few friends to tell them how amazing the conversation was!
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Check out this episode on Youtube or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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08/28/2023

Part of healing is learning that Grief and Joy can exist in the same space.
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This weekend, our family got to practice just that.
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The Grief: Saturday was the 3 year anniversary of my Mom’s passing. We miss her daily. Her picture hangs in our hallway and often, when I pass by I think, “Hey Mama! Miss you.” As I walk through milestones and fun memories with my boys, it reminds me just how much she would have loved to be there with us.
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The Joy: Saturday was also the day we celebrated Carter’s 6th birthday with friends. We had 15 children plus parents and some family at our house to swim, eat, and have cake. The whole day ended in an epic water balloon fight- boys vs. girls of course!
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Psalm 30:5b- “weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
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If you are in a time where grief seems overwhelming and all consuming, claim the promise we see in Psalm 30 and look for the small moments of joy. There will come a time where you can recognize both emotions without grief overwhelming your soul. Mom would have made sure she flew into AZ in time to help set up for the party. She hated missing any celebrations for the boys. And so we remember her in our family celebrations with extra hugs, chats about our sad feelings when we have them, and joy in our hearts.
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Love you mama! You would have loved Carter’s party yesterday and would have rolled your eyes when you saw that Uncle Bubba got him an original Nintendo. (Mom always said the “Nintendo monster “came to our house when we had a Nintendo in our house and would make us fight more….so she got rid of it!)
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08/25/2023

A challenge for your day.
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08/24/2023

Meet my friend ! Another wonderful woman I met at the Speak Up Conference this summer.
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Check out Kristi’s podcast Even If . Beautiful conversations with people who chose to have faith EVEN IF they couldn't see a way out, were sure all hope was lost, or just didn't understand what God was doing.
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Kristi had us ROLLING with her infectious humor. She is incredibly genuine and very Southern.🤪
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Go give her and her podcast a follow. I’m sure you will come to love her as much as I did!
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08/21/2023

This is on my phone’s home screen right now.❤️
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This encouragement was given to our church by our pastor on Sunday. Some of life’s greatest moments and God’s biggest blessings come during an interruption.
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Think of Philip and the eu**ch (Acts 8:25), the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25), the birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2), and so many moments in Jesus‘s ministry (Luke 8:43, John 4:5, Mark 5:1). All these individuals were headed in one direction until the unexpected took them off course. Their choice to turn and be flexible allowed God to use them to bless others and in the end, God blessed them as well.
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In the same way, if we are unwilling to be flexible, and can’t be open to the interruptions in life, we might just miss a blessing.
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I know the list is long and the schedule is tight. Just ask and I’ll show you my to do list for the day. But what a great reminder to be open to the interruptions that God places in our life.
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08/18/2023

“Less than 1% of women in unplanned pregnancies choose adoption”
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Laura Bruder works for Brave Love, a pro-adoption movement dedicated to changing the perception of adoption by acknowledging birth moms for their brave decision. Laura and I chat about the impact that creating an adoption plan can have for a mom experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. We discussed the emotions that birth mom go through before and after placing their child with an adoptive family, the benefits of considering an open adoption, the need that birth moms have for a community who understands what they have experience, and how adoptive families can honor the mother of their adopted child. This is a really important and necessary conversation. Whether you have adopted children, chosen adoption yourself, or maybe even know someone who made the brave choice to choose adoption, this conversation is for you.
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Check it out on Youtube or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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08/08/2023

Do you know how to prevent Matthew 15:14 from coming to fruition? If we want to be the best discipler we can be, we must also be a WILLING disciple!
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If you aren't sure how to make that happen, check out last week's episode "How To Become A Willing Disciple". 4 simple steps to LOCK in all that you learn during your discipleship time.
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Already discipling? Listen together with your disciple and then discuss what you learned
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Find the episode on Youtube or wherever you get podcasts.
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08/02/2023

"To be an effective discipler we must first be a WILLING disciple."
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This is the final episode in a series of episodes where I am addressing topics that have come up as I have discipled women through the years. Today I am talking to both those being discipled and those who are discipling.
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Every Jesus follower needs to have someone discipling or mentoring them. So how can you prepare yourself to be a fruitful disciple? I have 4 things that we must practice if we hope to get the most out of our time with our discipler and L.O.C.K. in the things that we learn as a disciple.
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This episode would be a great one to pass on to someone that you are discipling so they know what you are expecting of them as you begin meeting together. Or maybe you are looking for someone to disciple…today I am going to give you a list of what to look for in a woman that is ready for discipleship.
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Check it out on Youtube or wherever you listen to podcasts
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07/27/2023

I have been podcasting for 4 years now! Can you believe it! That means that with the help of Zoom, I have interviewed several people that I have never met in real life.
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Well this summer at the Speak Up Conference I had the pleasure of meeting some of our past guest in REAL LIFE! I also had the chance to hug the necks of guests that I had only met briefly or only get to see occasionally!
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I thought over the next few weeks, as we step into the next season, I would reintroduce you to some of these individuals so you can get to know them and then go check out the conversations we had wether you missed it the first time or just need to go back and give it a second listen. All these women are 🔥 and worth listening to again!
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My first friend is Carol Mertz Tetzlaff. Carol and I chatted on Episode 127 about Making Worship A Lifestyle. Carol wrote a wonderful bible study on the book of Ezra which shows readers how worship extends beyond the music we listen to or sing! She is so dynamic and shared many beautiful suggestions for making worship a bigger part of your life.
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Check out our conversation on Episode 127 or follow this link:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/journey-of-ruth/id1474935448?i=1000583796152
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07/26/2023

Your math teacher may have taught you that the shortest path from point A to point B is a straight line. The truth in life is that our path is never a straight line.
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While we can and should make plan for our next steps in life, the Lord will direct us towards our purpose. Be thankful for the detours and U-turns in life. They prepare us to be who God has created us to be.
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For more, check out last week's podcast episode Taking the Next Step Toward Your Purpose on Youtube or any podcast app.
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07/22/2023

Proverbs 16:9- "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
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This week is a continuation of topics that i have discussed with women I have discipled. Maybe the first time I came upon these topics, I wasn’t too confident about how to approach them and it would have been nice to have a couple idea of how to respond or where to go in God’s word for direction.
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We all come to this point in our life where we want to know what our purpose is in life. Sometimes we even think we have figured out what our purpose is in life and then things change and we again enter a time of uncertainty! Today we are going to look at an example of someone in scripture that had a pretty interesting path towards his purpose, some tools for finding our purpose and how that search relates to your car’s GPS!
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Listen in on Youtube or whoever you get podcasts.
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07/15/2023

This week has been inspiring, overwhelming, and encouraging ALL at the same time!
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I haven’t laughed or met this many new friends in a long time! I’m pretty sure you’ll get to meet some of my new friends very soon!😁
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07/15/2023

07/11/2023

Something about this reminder takes just a little bit of weight off my shoulders when it comes to discipleship.
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Fear, plays a big role in why many women do not disciple the next generation. They fear their own abilities and fear being rejected by someone they disciple.
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I believe that because God cares more about my disciples than I do, I can trust Him to get in the way if I am ever going to say something offensive or incorrect. I trust that God knows the heart of my disciple and will help me discern what they need to hear and how they need to be encouraged. If God loves my disciple that much, then I believe He will use me to demonstrate His love for them during the time we spend together.
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May these words be a comfort to you and a challenge to go out and love others in the same way that Jesus loves them.
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07/05/2023

80% of pastors around the world have less than 5 minutes of theological training
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My guest today is Jim Baugh. Jim is the Ministry Partner Development Director for the . He teaches men and women how to understand and apply the Word of God and then how to go and teach others. Jim lets us in on some of the astounding statistics concerning Christians in the developing world, what effective discipleship looks like, what does and does not work in the church in America, and he gives us a new definition of what it means to truly follow Jesus.
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I hope you will take Jim’s challenge. You are not following God if you are not making disciples. Ask yourself this week, how am I making, multiplying and maturing disciples?
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Listen on YouTube or whoever you get podcasts.
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06/28/2023

“We give credit to the person up front, but there is an army of people that have held the ladder for that person.”
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I spoke with author and speaker Katie Reid (). Katie has written two books and has a beautiful perspective on leading others that matches so well with our mission here at Journey of Ruth. Katie and I chat about being eternally focused and Kingdom building, the loneliness epidemic, how to be a ladder-holding leader and her book that is being turned into a movie! How cool!
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Listen over on Youtube or where ever you listen to podcasts.
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06/17/2023

Since imposter syndrome is a REAL thing...I have been asked this question: "Courtney, how can I know if I am having any effect on the person I am discipling?"
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Ask yourself: Is my disciple walking with Jesus?
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Is my disciple becoming more like Jesus?
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Is my disciple reaching others?
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If the answer to one of these questions is no, now you know where you need to set your goals as you meet together.
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However, if the answer is yes, give yourself a pat on the back and thank Jesus for the opportunity to influence this individual!
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06/10/2023

NEW BLOG! Setting Strong Summer Priorities!
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Read the full blog here: https://www.journeyofruth.com/post/setting-strong-summer-priorities
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Tag us in your summer photos with your family and friends!!
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06/08/2023

How does God feel about those who abuse and oppress His sheep? Is there justice? How did Jesus model the hope of healing? How does Scripture lead us to respond when mistreated by those who should have taken care of us?
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All these questions will be discussed at our LIFT Summer Workshop with speakers Jill Rhodes and Erica Wiggenhorn - Author & Speaker
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Grab Your Friends and Join Us! First Time Guests Come FREE!
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Visit www.liftaz.org to register today!
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05/30/2023

Its not always easy, but life is so much better when we are at peace with others.
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For more tips on resolving conflict, check out this weeks episode "Biblical Conflict Resolution."
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05/25/2023

"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."- Hebrews 12:14
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In our relationships with others, conflict is inevitable. Is it possible for your connection to be stronger on the other side of conflict? Learning to deal with conflict correctly will not only benefit your friendships but also your family relationships, your professional relationships and marriage. This week Courtney talked about God’s opinion of reconciliation, the correct ways to handle conflict, and the reason we should face conflict and not ignore it.
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Listen to the full episode on Youtube or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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