Ruah Storytellers Podcast

12/04/2020

Christ's risen life shown during the forty days between the resurrection and the ascension is the pattern for our life in him. It is in the risen life that we live, we can accept his passion in our own lives because he who lives our life in us has 'overcome the world.'⁠
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- Caryll Houselander⁠
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Listeners, we have been so honored to journey with you during this unusual and beautiful Lenten season. We have loved hearing how these stories have touched your lives, and the witness of our storytellers for your own journeys with Christ. We are so grateful to our storytellers for their honesty and vulnerability.⁠
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None of us knew just how much we would need the gift of stories this season, especially with our Lenten theme "love your neighbor as yourself." These stories have been the glimpses of light needed in the chaos and darkness of all that we've collectively been through these past six weeks. ⁠
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And yet here we are. The light has, and will always, overcome the darkness. These stories were only meant to point to this story, the greatest story ever told. Stories of darkness and difficulty are only meant to unveil the hope behind them, because, as our dear patron Caryll says, "he who lives our life in us has 'overcome the world.'⁠
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Easter Blessings to you, listeners. We're so grateful to have been on this journey with you.⁠
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Jules and Amanda, co-founders of Ruah Storytellers.

11/04/2020

Today marks the end of our Lent series for 2020. May you be blessed as we enter Eastertide tonight, as darkness turns to light. Please let us know how God used this season to touch your heart--we really appreciate it. Peace to you all.

11/04/2020

10/04/2020

"We need not--indeed must not--wait to be saints, or even to be "good," to help Christ carry His cross. Christ asked for help, for sympathy, in His Passion; He accepted whatever anyone would give Him- anyone, not those who were already saints."⁠
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- Caryll Houselander⁠
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⁠Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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10/04/2020

"Jesus entirely and completely gives up his life for the other, but first he must openly embrace the difficulty of such a task. It is not easy. He gives himself permission to feel everything He is supposed to feel: the physical pain, the loneliness, abandonment, and despair."⁠
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- Jules Miles, ⁠
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⁠Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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09/04/2020

"She inhaled deeply. He held her close, and her heart both broke with the knowledge that this could be their last moment and leaped with hope and joy at what was to come."⁠
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- Cathy Torrez, ⁠
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⁠Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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08/04/2020

"And it's also through vampires that I see the darkest parts of myself, the wounds that I need Christ to heal."⁠
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- Monique Ocampo, ⁠
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⁠Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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07/04/2020

"I’ve often thought about how we use our hands to serve others. But all the varied parts of our bodies do their service."⁠
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-Sister Anne Higgins⁠
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⁠Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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06/04/2020

"I felt weightless and free. I felt profoundly loved. I remembered times in the past when God had called me to things that felt like too much or too surprising, and that those had been the best things to ever happen to me."⁠
- Catherine Guiremand⁠
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Here's a look at the storytellers for the days ahead on the podcast:⁠
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Today: Catherine Guiremand⁠
Tuesday, April 7: Sister Anne Higgins⁠
Wednesday, April 8: Monique Ocampo, ⁠
Thursday, April 9: Cathy Torrez, ⁠
Friday, April 10: Jules Miles, ⁠
Saturday, April 11: Amanda Martinez Beck, ⁠
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We're so honored to journey with you in this holiest of weeks. ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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04/04/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Courtney Kiolbassa, ⁠
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"Sometimes, I also pull away, thinking I can exist as a solo unit. A single ⁠light, hovering in the dark, tugging apart from the force that ties us. I have pushed ⁠away the hand that tries to wiggle the telescope lens with me."⁠
- Courtney Kiolbassa, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsor:⁠
Catholic Family Crate: , Use the code in this weeks' episodes for 10% off your next crate (perfect for time at home with the family!). ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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03/04/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Alissa Molina, ⁠
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"The gift is in the remembering that before I can be his hands and his feet, I must be his heart. His heart for his people. His heart to see them, to know them, to be with them. To love them and be loved by them."⁠
-Alissa Molina, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsor:⁠
Catholic Family Crate: , Use the code in this weeks' episodes for 10% off your next crate (perfect for time at home with the family!). ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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02/04/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Chloe Langr, .langr⁠
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"He treats us with mercy. And He heals us - continues to heal us. And then, He equips us to love others mercifully in return, the way He loves. The way He teaches us to love ourselves."⁠
- Chloe Langr, .langr⁠
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This week's featured sponsor:⁠
Catholic Family Crate: , Use the code in this weeks' episodes for 10% off your next crate (perfect for time at home with the family!). ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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01/04/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Victoria Mastrangelo, ⁠
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"God had chosen to transform my own heart of stone through the work of another. He reached his loving and merciful hand out to me through a conversation, a hope and a letter. He laid down his life for me on the cross so that my friends could have the strength to lay down their own pride in humble service and love for me."⁠
- Victoria Mastrangelo, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsor:⁠
Catholic Family Crate: , Use the code in this weeks' episodes for 10% off your next crate (perfect for time at home with the family!). ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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31/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Laura Pittenger, ⁠
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"I’d like to imagine a world of generosity, free from my snap judgments of the people around me. Free of my quick anger, my frustration and selfishness, my impulse to shame others, which so often shames me. A world abundant in kindness. It starts in the grocery store, on the train. In traffic. At home, with our roommates, siblings, spouses, kids. It starts here, with us."⁠
- Laura Pittenger, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsor:⁠
Catholic Family Crate: , Use the code in this weeks' episodes for 10% off your next crate (perfect for time at home with the family!). ⁠
⁠
Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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30/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Beth Williby, ⁠
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"Sure, we had fun when we all got together. But we never lost sight of the fact that our purpose was to follow Jesus through doing works of mercy. Feeding the hungry, visiting the lonely, tending the sick...it was all just part of what we did!"⁠
- Beth Williby, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsor:⁠
Catholic Family Crate: , Use the code in this weeks' episodes for 10% off your next crate (perfect for time at home with the family!). ⁠
⁠
Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
⁠

30/03/2020

"The gift is in the remembering that before I can be his hands and his feet, I must be his heart. His heart for his people. His heart to see them, to know them, to be with them. To love them and be loved by them."⁠
- Alissa Molina, ⁠
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Here's a look at the storytellers for the days ahead on the podcast:⁠
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Today: Beth Williby, ⁠
Tuesday, March 31: Laura Pittenger, ⁠
Wednesday, April 1: Victoria Mastrangelo, ⁠
Thursday, April 2: Chloe Langr, .langr⁠
Friday, April 3: Alissa Molina, ⁠
Saturday, April 4: Courtney Kiolbassa, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsors:⁠
Catholic Family Crate: , Use the code in this weeks' episodes for 10% off your next crate (perfect for time at home with the family!). ⁠
⁠
Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
⁠

28/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Paige Rien, ⁠
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"Nothing is impossible for God, the gospel says, but also, nothing I have now would have been possible, without God, and a complete dependence on Him."⁠
- Paige Rien, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsors:⁠
Amanda Martinez Beck, : Catholic body image coach (and co-founder of Ruah Storytellers!) ⁠
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Amy Heyse Art, : Check out her unbelievably beautiful picture called "Swaddle and Shroud." It is our favorite :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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27/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Nell O'Leary, ⁠
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"I had conflated friendship with love. And as adults, we all have come to know that we can love someone fiercely and not like them. It’s called family, right? We can hold these two things in tension: love and healthy boundaries. It is a critical thing to do as an adult, actually."⁠
- Nell O'Leary, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsors:⁠
Amanda Martinez Beck, : Catholic body image coach (and co-founder of Ruah Storytellers!) ⁠
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Amy Heyse Art, : Check out her unbelievably beautiful picture called "Swaddle and Shroud." It is our favorite :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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26/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Kara Dixon, ⁠
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"My car wreck didn’t make me comfortable. My car was totaled. My neck was in pain. I was dizzy for weeks and not able to work at times.⁠
But it showed me how precious life is and that our pain can be united to the Lord’s."⁠
- Kara Dixon, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsors:⁠
Amanda Martinez Beck, : Catholic body image coach (and co-founder of Ruah Storytellers!) ⁠
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Amy Heyse Art, : Check out her unbelievably beautiful picture called "Swaddle and Shroud." It is our favorite :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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25/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Liv Harrison, ⁠
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"God is never finished with us, even when we fail to see how else we can be useful. Because God realizes that the resurrection comes after the Lenten fast."⁠
- Liv Harrison, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsors:⁠
Amanda Martinez Beck, : Catholic body image coach (and co-founder of Ruah Storytellers!) ⁠
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Amy Heyse Art, : Check out her unbelievably beautiful picture called "Swaddle and Shroud." It is our favorite :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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24/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Meg Hunter-Kilmer, ⁠
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"She couldn’t believe that God could delight in her after what she’d done. So her sisters—some of whom had been strangers two hours earlier, told her how heaven had rejoiced when God washed her clean."⁠
- Meg Hunter-Kilmer, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsors:⁠
Amanda Martinez Beck, : Catholic body image coach (and co-founder of Ruah Storytellers!) ⁠
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Amy Heyse Art, : Check out her unbelievably beautiful picture called "Swaddle and Shroud." It is our favorite :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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23/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Mary Jo Gerd⁠
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"We are no longer wading through the quicksand of our past. In the process of helping my brother declutter his home, my heart got a make-over too."⁠
- Mary Jo Gerd (find her on Facebook at Late for Church Blog).⁠
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This week's featured sponsors:⁠
Amanda Martinez Beck, : Catholic body image coach (and co-founder of Ruah Storytellers!) ⁠
⁠
Amy Heyse Art, : Check out her unbelievably beautiful picture called "Swaddle and Shroud." It is our favorite :) ⁠
⁠
Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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23/03/2020

"Nothing is impossible for God, the gospel says, but also, nothing I have now would have been possible without God, and a complete dependence on Him." -⁠
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Here's a look at the storytellers for the days ahead on the podcast:⁠
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Today: Mary Jo Gerd (Blog: Late for Church)⁠
Tuesday, March 24: Meg Hunter-Kilmer, ⁠
Wednesday, March 25: Liv Harrison, ⁠
Thursday, March 26: Kara Dixon, ⁠
Friday, March 27: Nell O'Leary, ⁠
Saturday, March 28: Paige Rien, ⁠
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This week's featured sponsors:⁠
Amanda Martinez Beck, : Catholic body image coach (and co-founder of Ruah Storytellers!) ⁠
⁠
Amy Heyse Art, : Check out her unbelievably beautiful picture called "Swaddle and Shroud." It is our favorite :) ⁠
⁠
Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
⁠

21/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Heather Fasse, ⁠
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"Opening myself back up to love allows me to live and bloom like the flowers and trees I’m surrounded by, even if I’m missing a limb this year."⁠
- Heather Fasse, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Sock Religious, (we have way too many pairs of their socks to recommend just one!) :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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20/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Meg Matenaer, ⁠
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"As wives and mothers, we lay down our lives for our family. We love them as we love ourselves—often much more. But how do we balance our duties to our family, friends, and community with our own personal passions?"⁠
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- Meg Matanaer, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Sock Religious, (we have way too many pairs of their socks to recommend just one!) :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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19/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Beth Sri, ⁠
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"Maybe it’s also the tears, no one makes me cry like he does. And as much as I don’t like it, he’s teaching me that the tears can actually be good. A friend of mine likes to say tears in the spiritual life are a sign of grace, a sign of God’s life within us."⁠
- Beth Sri, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Sock Religious, (we have way too many pairs of their socks to recommend just one!) :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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18/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Lindsay Schlegel, ⁠
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"It struck her how much she’d missed, without even realizing it. And deep within her, at her core, she knew that this grace was what would bring her back to life."⁠
- from her story "Refinded, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Sock Religious, (we have way too many pairs of their socks to recommend just one!) :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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18/03/2020

In his recent address for World Communications Day, Pope Francis compares the importance of stories to the importance of clothing. In fact, the word textile comes from the same Latin root texere that produces the word text. ⁠
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Pope Francis writes "We are not just the only beings who need clothing to cover our vulnerability (cf. Gen 3: 21); we are also the only ones who need to be “clothed” with stories to protect our lives. We weave not only clothing, but also stories."⁠
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In this time of shared suffering and solidarity, a time when loneliness can seem overwhelming and intentionally loving our neighbor means separation, we encourage you to use the power of storytelling to accompany you on your journey, to cloth you with peace and comfort. ⁠
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Some ways to do this? ⁠
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Share stories with one another: digital group chats with friends and family about the troubles you're experiencing, reading aloud as a family throughout the day, writing to those who are lonely or distant⁠
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Listen to stories as a way to combat your own feelings of loneliness: our storytellers have given you a small glimpse each day into life outside of your walls. They share their hardships and vulnerabilities, hoping that each of you would feel a little less alone. ⁠In the cracks of your day, in the small moments around your homes, we ask that you journey with our storytellers in our shared time of sacrifice.
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Encounter stories which push you outside of your comfort zone: read that book you've heard about but never could quite have the courage to begin, listen to podcasts which stretch you to think outside of your bubbles, and of course, read the Word of God, embracing your own part to play in the great story of salvation.⁠
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Let stories provide a foundation for your day. Let stories communicate the movements of Grace in this world, even when the world feels so very small and confined. ⁠
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God bless you listeners. We are praying for you. ⁠
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17/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Rachel Lamb, ⁠
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"So what am I looking for? I am looking for Our Triune God, the Creator of creation, in and through my neighbor. I am looking for Love."⁠
-Rachel Lamb, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Sock Religious, (we have way too many pairs of their socks to recommend just one!) :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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16/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Karianna Frey, ⁠
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"Loving someone else requires taking chances and giving of yourself. It means offering parts of you that may be misunderstood, but you still want to give them to others because it’s of you." ⁠
- Karianna Frey, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Sock Religious, (we have way too many pairs of their socks to recommend just one!) :) ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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16/03/2020

"Opening myself back up to love allows me to live and bloom like the flowers and trees I’m surrounded by, even if I’m missing a limb this year."⁠
- Heather Fasse,
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Here's a look at the storytellers for the days ahead on the podcast:⁠
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Today: Karianna Frey,
Tuesday, March 17: Rachel Lamb,
Wednesday, March 18: Lindsay Schlegel,
Thursday, March 19: Beth Sri, ⁠
Friday, March 20: Meg Matenaer,
Saturday, March 21: Heather Fasse,
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Sock Religious, . Use code in our episodes for 10% off of your purchase!
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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14/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Ellen Virginia, ⁠
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"But I would have been rejecting God’s invitation to healing. By His grace I was able to humble myself enough to accept His help, to accept healing through surgery, to love myself by letting God love and heal me. And I learned that loving myself means loving all of me, including my scars."⁠
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- Ellen Virginia, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Glory and Shine, ⁠
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Annunciation Designs, ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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13/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Shannon DeGrave⁠
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"As human beings, we are made for relationships and it is through our relationships that those parts of ourselves which are wounded become whole."⁠
- Shannon DeGrave, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Glory and Shine, ⁠
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Annunciation Designs, ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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12/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Kristin Heider, ⁠
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"As we walked together through the park that chilly evening and talked, we knew we were going to be walking together for the rest of our lives. It wasn’t a fairy-tale love story—it was way too messy and dramatic for that, but I perceived that there was a more profound romance in choosing one another with our eyes wide open to the burdens and crosses we each had carried and those we still carried." ⁠
- Kristin Heider, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Glory and Shine, ⁠
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Annunciation Designs, ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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11/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller: Chika Anyanwu, ⁠
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"My heart was pierced by the swiftness into which he ceased to be Lenny and thoroughly became Christ." ⁠
-Chika Anyanwu, ⁠
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Glory and Shine, ⁠
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Annunciation Designs, ⁠
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠
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05/03/2020

Today’s storyteller is Julia Hogan, on learning to balance work and rest.

Download and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: RuahStorytellers.com

04/03/2020

Today’s storyteller is Lauren Montgomery. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
RuahStorytellers.com

03/03/2020

Today's Featured Storyteller:⁠
Alli Shoemaker
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I see now that sometimes the greatest graces and mercies are cloaked in the fear of worldly pain. My mom once said that even if Zach died, she was grateful to God to have known him at all.⁠
Today, I marvel at the chances, at the simple fact that God chose my life to parallel his: To witness the power of my dear brother’s music, his art, his person and essence."⁠
- Alli Shoemaker
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This week's Sponsors:⁠
Glory and Shine, gloryandshine.com
Pray More Novenas, praymorenovenas.com
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Download and subscribe to Ruah Storytellers wherever you listen to podcasts!⁠ RuahStorytellers.com
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02/03/2020

Today’s storyteller is Christina Stafford, who tells us about her journey through divorce.

“When my husband and I separated, to say I was devastated would be an understatement. I was crushed for all the regular reasons that people are when they face a divorce- betrayal, grief, fear for the future. But as the dust settled and I faced reality, I realized the way I had been loving people was unsustainable in my new life, and I didn’t have much of an identity apart from Christina the helper, the good friend, the one who does things for other people.”

Subscribe and download wherever you get your podcasts. Ruahstorytellers.com

01/03/2020

We have had some amazing stories for Lent so far. Which one has touched your heart?

Today’s story is by Gabriela Reilly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

RuahStorytellers.com