Rare but Real

Great godly men and women are both rare finds. Yet God shares the words of the Shulamite: "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men."  And really, this is the mirror of Proverbs 31:10, "An excellent wife, who can find?" In our world today, it can seem there's a shortage of both. However, in every generation, God raises up great godly young men and women. This week's podcast, covers chapter 2 of the Song. I trust it will be of encouragement to you. Rare but Real T-shirts are available for purchase here:  https://usafulfillmentservices.com/rare-but-real/ Also, my website may be of encouragement to you: http://audreybroggi.com

"My husband has encouraged me to keep a journal to document my days as a young mother, but I guess I'm unsure how to get started.  I would love to hear you talk about this on the podcast..."  So here's what I've learned about keeping a journal. I hope it encourages you.Mom's One Line a Day ~ Five-Year Memory Bookhttps://a.co/d/642bBBvaudreybroggi.com

The transition years of our children - those years when they are teenagers, growing into adults who leave our homes often bring tears to our mama eyes.  Our children never leave our hearts and they are always on our minds no matter how old they, or we, get.  Lately I have been encouraging younger women who are in these years. Mama emotions are sometimes baffling and show up an unexpected ways and can surprise us. This week on the podcast, I share some of my own personal journey in this area, and some of the things God has taught me, and I hope it will be an encouragement to you.audreybroggi.com

This week on the podcast, Maureen and I finish our conversation as we pivot from her life update to the topic of friendship.  We discuss how to navigate our friendships and how to help our children navigate theirs.  It's always my prayer that you are encouraged!  And for fun, we close out the podcast talking about a restaurant we both love. In fact, she introduced me to it. For more on friendship, I taught a series in September called "Friendships of Women." https://searchthescriptures.subspla.sh/85jrzgkhttps://youtu.be/H-yfSV6IBkIaudreybroggi.com

This question comes to me every year and this year is no different. Since Real Questions, Real Answers drops on Halloween, I thought I would address it today!  My answer won't please everyone and there will be plenty who disagree and others who agree. But still, I hope you are encouraged to study your Bible, develop your own convictions, and train your children well. In the show notes, you'll find the links that I shared. https://www.gotquestions.org/Christians-celebrate-Halloween.html https://www.gotquestions.org/Halloween-origin.html https://www.gotquestions.org/Reformation-Day.html

This week and next, I’m joined by my daughter-in-law, Maureen,  as we get a life update from her.  We talked about this stage of her life with teens, the ups and downs of "mom emotions" as we learn to let go,  plus so many changes and busyness in this season of life. Next week, we will pick up where we left off and talk about friendships - not only navigating our adult friendships, but helping our children navigate their friendships. So much fun and so much wisdom.www.audreybroggi.comhttps://youtu.be/8J7uJkC5kp4?si=Z5SnKNPwuYSZ1n4W

A young woman feels lonely because as she is growing in Christ, she has lost many of her friends. Although she has many older mentors and friends, she longs for friends in her season of life who share her biblical worldview. How should she go about this? I hope my answer to her encourages you. Every time I handle a question, I think of so many other things I could add, but this is a start!audreybroggi.com

This week on the podcast, I continue sharing some simple principles that have helped me to live with purpose. The great apostle Paul said "to live is Christ." He also told us to let the word of Christ richly dwell within us.  I hope you are encouraged to do both! audreybroggi.com

In this week's "Real Questions, Real Answers," I share my thoughts on a very common question. This young woman raises incredibly important issues. If you have follow up questions, please feel free to send them my way and I will do my best to answer!audreybroggi.com

Are you simply getting by or living with purpose?  In this week's podcast, I share some thoughts from God's Word that have kept me grounded me as I've gone through seasons of change in my life. As always, I hope you're encouraged as you listen. I will continue next week.www.audreybroggi.com

How does a wife respectfully  push back or challenge her husband while being submissive to his leadership? 

In this session from our Fripp Island women's retreat, GraceAnna walks us through Ephesians 5:15–16.As always, I trust you are encouraged!www.audreybroggi.com

Hi Audrey, I'm a young married college student. I'm working part-time and studying right now, but it feels so pointless because all I want is to be a mom. I'm becoming depressed, exhausted, and feeling kind of worthless while I wait to become a mother, which is not even guaranteed in the first place. Can you help me? I want to be content and joyful where I am.

This week and next week on the podcast, you are hearing two messages from my daughter, GraceAnna Castleberry, who shared at our women's retreat. We had a day at Fripp Island and it was such a wonderful time with so many women. This week is "The Life of Abigail." I know you will be encouraged as you hear from God's Word the wisdom of this woman. She handled a very difficult situation concerning her husband, Nabal.I always love it when I get my girls on the podcast - either sharing messages from them or conversations with them.Also, I am working on a second podcast drop called "Question of the Week!" These  will be short approximately 10 minute drops. I will also do reels for RBR Instagram posts. What I've learned over so many years of ministry is that if one woman has a question, other women have the same question. These will be handled anonymously and my prayer is that you will be encouraged!! I will still schedule phone appointments from time to time - I have loved meeting so many of you that way!!www.audreybroggi.com

This week on the podcast, we continue our journey with Sarah and through her life, we see even more clearly how only God can meet our deepest needs. So many times, we expect finite people to be perfect - whether they are our friends, our parents, our children, and for those of us who are married, we especially expect it of our husbands. God redeems sinful people.  All of us are on a journey. Once we come to know the Lord, we are forgiven, He changes us so that we want to obey Him, but sanctification is a process.  The most important thing, even when we fail, is that our trajectory is upward. We see that in the lives of Abraham and Sarah, who both grew in their faith.  So much to learn from them and even with this short podcast series, I’ve barely touched the surface.  I do hope it has been helpful to you. As always, I love hearing from you - I read every email and respond as best I can.  In these older years of my life, I really want to help you look to the Lord and draw your strength from Him.  www.audreybroggi.com

One of the many things I love about Sarah is that she put her hope in the Lord, even though her circumstances could easily cause her to fear. She followed her husband, but more importantly, she followed her God.In this week's podcast, we continue our journey with this holy woman of old – God holds her up as an example for us today.  www.audreybroggi.com

There's so much in Scripture for women to learn about submission, following, respecting, loving, and forgiving the men in our lives.  God gives commands to us, but He also gives examples for us. God holds up one particular woman, Sarah, as an example to follow. He reveals her strengths and weaknesses, her triumphs and failures, her life of faith and rebellion.  I introduced this faithful woman last week on the podcast and on this week's podcast we continue our journey with her.  www.audreybroggi.com

Don't let the title of this podcast fool you! Women are leaders as well but in a different way. This week we talk about our very special calling as we support, help, encourage, influence, and follow the leadership of men. audreybroggi.com

Though man failed in every realm, God did not give up on His plan. God's heart is to redeem. We begin to see this redemption unfold in this week's podcast.audreybroggi.com

Though God created man, commanded the man, gave him a job, and gave him a woman to help him - man fails in every realm! Why? Because man disobeyed God, sin entered the world and everything changed. Men are not perfect and neither are we. This week on the podcast, we talk about how sin messed everything up and next podcast we'll talk about how even with man's failure, God kept His plan.audreybroggi.com