Grace Over Perfection with Alison Simmons

Jael wasn’t anyone special, technically speaking.And she wasn’t planning on doing anything other than taking care of her household that day Sisera ended up on her doorstep. She was just going about her daily tasks when she was suddenly faced with a situation that she had no choice but to deal with right then and there.And isn’t that the way God often works?On a typical, run-of-mill day when you are just crossing things off your To-Do list, have you ever suddenly found yourself in the middle of a God-ordained moment and you feel completely unprepared to handle it?It is unlikely that you’ve been folding laundry when a terrorist shows up in your front yard but there are plenty of scenarios that pop up when you least expect it and you think...“But I’m just a mom, just a wife, just a volunteer.""I’m just too young, too young, too middle-aged.""Ugh - I’m just too busy, just too tired, just too overwhelmed.""I just don’t know enough scripture. I just don’t have a strong enough faith. I am just struggling through life myself.”Fill in the blank, friend. What do you tell yourself you are “just too much” of that you feel like you can’t be used by God to further His kingdom in some way?Friend, pay attention - You are just right.--------------------------Learn more about The Grace > Perfection Formula: Your Guide to Growing Stronger Faith Habits HEREClick HERE for a full transcript of this episode.

In Mattew 5:31-37, Jesus addresses the issue of divorce and actually gives "permission" to break the marital covenant in the case of sexual immorality.Does that mean that adultery is your "free ticket" out of marriage?(Ha! I can tell you from personal experience that divorce is not free!)In this episode, I interview Brad and Lisa Valencia, a couple that did not cash in that ticket.They share openly and honestly about their story of infidelity and the long road to redemption. They pray that their honesty can offer a beacon of hope into whatever your marriage may be going through, and a roadmap for others to learn from.Check out their ministry, Unrelenting Pursuit, where they desire to see all marriages in an unrelenting pursuit of love, joy, and forgiveness. Instagram - @unrelentingpursuit_Facebook - Unrelenting PursuitLearn more about the Grace > Perfection Formula: Your Guide to Cultivating Stronger Faith Habits HERE

I had posted a request, asking for women to let me interview them in order to help me better understand what kind of content I should be creating to offer the most value to my podcast listeners, email subscribers, and social media followers.Full transparency, my goal was to gather information, not to hold any of them accountable for anything they were or were not doing in their relationship with the Lord. Funny how God works, though.It was incredible! In every single case, what was supposed to be a 20 min interview became 45min to hour-long conversations where these women just opened up and shared their hearts. Each question I asked seemed to dig a little deeper and uncover something that had been buried, either on purpose or accidentally, for years.This was not my intention. I was just hoping to gather insights into what the women that follow me needed and wanted.And you know what I discovered? They need and want accountability.Hold up - accountability? That’s when someone makes you feel like crap about not reading your Bible or praying as often as you should, or going to church regularly. No friend, no one wants that. And that is not real accountability. In this episode, I share what real accountability is and what it can do for you...and what it can't.Click here to learn more about The Grace > Perfection Formula: Your Guide to Cultivating Stronger Faith Habits and to enroll so you can:Experience freedom from the guilt caused by what you can't do.Enjoy flexibility that allows you to do what you can.Get the encouragement you need to keep moving forward.

Naomi was a woman of great faith and yet now, she is broken and cannot see past her suffering. Have you ever felt like this? Like God has dealt bitterly with you?Suffering in this life is real. Sometimes it is due to our own bad decisions, sometimes we suffer because of someone else’s bad decisions, and then there are the times life just happens and we suffer because of things that are completely out of anyone’s control…but God’s.God is sovereign which means He is in control of all things. And that includes whatever you are suffering through or have suffered through or will suffer through.Why would He allow that? In today's episode, we find the answer in the life of Naomi and how this woman of great faith suffered for a purpose.Sign up here for the FREE Workshop: How to Connect with God - 3 things you can do today and how to actually make it happenGet the transcript for today's episode here.

Before Sara and her husband got engaged, they had a very practical and important talk about what they both expected their future would look like. At the time, she was certain that she wanted to be a SHAM...until she decided she didn't want to after starting her business and having a baby.In today's episode, Sara tells the story of how she became the sole breadwinner for her family, the struggles she and her husband faced during the transition, and the transformation God took them both through as they dealt with the sin that surfaced in this new, nontraditional environment.---------------Sara Motes is an enneagram 3, saved-by-grace girl who teaches passion-led business owners how to use Pinterest to grow their businesses. She has been married to her husband, Jacob, for 7 years and has been blessed with two beautiful sons. Sign up for the FREE Workshop: How to Connect with God - 3 things you can do today and how to actually make them happen

Who is Elisabeth Elliot?She is a woman of great faith, not because her parents taught her the Bible, not because she attended church and SS and prayer meetings, not because she went to a Christian college and became a foreign missionary...Yes, all of these things laid a strong foundation, but she became a woman of great faith because she walked through fiery trials and learned to trust God no matter her circumstances.In today's episode, we will learn the answer that God gave Elisabeth when she continually asked Him, "Why God? Why?"It is the same answer He give you and me today. Sign up for the FREE Workshop: How to Connect with God - 3 things you can do today and how to actually make them happenClick HERE for a full transcript of this episode.

It is officially The Grace Over Perfection Podcast 1 year anniversary!!Cue the confetti!! 🎉I am starting off Season 3 of the podcast, I looked back at this past year to share some of the highs and lows of living out the phrase “grace over perfection” in the 3 main aspects of my life - marriage, motherhood, and ministry.And, find out what I am planning moving forward for this upcoming year.(The Christian Naturopathy doctor I mention in the episode, can be found at https://www.eirowellness.com/ or on IG @eirowellness) Which woman of the Bible describes your faith best? Take the QUIZ and find out!Get the reading plan for the 45 Day Devotional through the Old Testament HERELearn more about The Busy Woman's Guide to Growing Your Faith course & mentorship HEREFor a full transcript of this episode, click HERE 

Are you the kind of person that is always saying "yes" when you don't really want to?Do you ever say "yes" with the intention of backing out later?In today's episode, we dig into scripture to see what Jesus has to say about making promises we don't intend on keeping.For full show notes, visit https://alisonsimmons.org/podcast/ And if you want to check out the Real Bible Reels: Book of Acts that I mention in my into, find me on IG! My NEW HANDLE is @thebibleisnotboring

You know reading your Bible matters but you have plenty of excuses as to why you don’t read it.No time, can't focus, it doesn't apply to your daily life...In this episode, we tackle the 5 main excuses women use to not read their Bibles on daily basis AND talk about easy, actionable ways to move past them.For full show notes, visit www.graceoverperfection.com/podcast 

In Ep 19 - What’s the point of prayer, anyway? I shared the 3 most frustrating questions we have about prayer and 3 things convictions about prayer that don’t necessarily answer them but do help us understand what the point of prayer really is.And all that is well and good in theory, but my goal isn’t to help women look Godly women just theoretically, it is to help them live like Godly women practically.So this bonus episode is meant to help you establish practical prayer practices that you can actually use.For full show notes, visit graceoverperfection.com/podcast

What’s the deal with prayer? Seriously, what’s the point? Does prayer really make a difference?How do you discern God’s answer?What do you do when you don’t like the answer He gives you?I’m don’t intend to mislead you by suggesting that I have tidy answers to these questions that make you feel warm and fuzzy. Because those don’t exist.But today I share 3 things I have learned about prayer just in this last year that have helped me reconcile these questions in my head and heart.

Mom guilt is REAL and after nearly 2 decades of being a mom to both girls and boys, spanning 5 unique personalities, parenting through a divorce, and through a marriage saved from divorce, I have come to understand that, while I am no expert, I have some wisdom to impart on this subject. Today we are going to talk about the 3 different ways Mom Guilt manifests itself and how to find freedom from it before it drives you crazy!Sign up for the FREE 5 day email series "How to Grow Closer to God in just 5 min a day" here.For full show notes, visit www.graceoverperfection.com/podcast

Does this sound familiar?Your husband says something that makes you angry or hurts your feelings and you react in a way that escalates the situation. Then he gets mad because you got mad and end up in a huge fight.Rinse. Wash. Repeat. You wish the two of you could break the cycle but you don't know how!Is it because he is being a jerk, or you are just being oversensitive? Yes.

How do you know if you crave control?Have you ever thought (or actually said), “If I don’t get this done, it won’t get done at all.”Or how about, “If this doesn’t get done my way, it won’t be done good enough.”Or “If I had been in charge of this, it would have been done better.”Have you ever gone back and redone something that someone else has done after you ”trusted” them to do it?Uhhhhh...BUSTED!!!!It’s not that you don’t love your family, but you get so wrapped up in planning every aspect of their lives that you often forget to enjoy them. It isn’t intentional. You aren't trying to make life difficult.In fact, you honestly believe you are doing what is best for everyone, but somehow it never seems to work out. Something always goes wrong and you never have quite enough control.So what can you do about it?For full show notes, visit www.graceoverperfection.com/podcast

Many women struggle with this sense of obligation and end up serving out of guilt rather than calling.Are you one of them? Or are you one of the ones that ducks out quickly to avoid being roped in?Either way, I promise you, you are not alone! But there is a hard truth you may not like hearing - SERVING IS NOT OPTIONAL.Here are 4 questions you can ask that will help you avoid your calling to serve in ministry and even help you enjoy it.For full show notes, visit www.graceoverperfection.com/podcast*Learn how to grow closer to God in just 5 min a day through this FREE email series - click here to sign up. 

My name is Abigail. My husband, Nabel, is not a good or kind man. His name means “fool” and boy does he live up to it! How could not recognize the danger in dismissing David as a warrior? And not just any warrior, a powerful one that had been anointed as the next King of Israel. David’s reputation is known everywhere!My husband’s pride truly knows no bounds. This time, I know that the consequences are well beyond just my own embarrassment. I can’t allow so much innocent blood to be shed. I know I have to do something and my hope is that God will bless my courage today.For full show notes, visit www.graceoverperfection.com/podcast

In today's episode, we meet Leah, She was a young woman who didn’t want anything that we all don’t want - attention, affection, maybe even adoration. Leah kept seeking these things from her husband, Jacob, but they never came. There was someone who saw her though. Someone who paid her attention had affection for her and adored her as His own.For full show notes, visit www.graceoverperfection.com/podcast

Today, we meet Elizabeth and Hannah. Both of these women felt heartache because they were unable to bear children and both believed that God was their only hope to conceive. Both women had to endure their circumstances, BUT how they endured and exactly what they endured looked different for each of them. For full show notes, visit www.graceoverperfection.com/podcast

This month, we are doing something a little different. Each week we will meet a woman who is facing a trial she cannot bear alone. We are going to find out how God meets here right in the middle of her mess and we are going to talk about the purpose behind her pain and how we, like her, can trust God’s plan even when we don’t understand it.Today, we meet Hagar. A slave who became the surrogate mother of her master's heir and reaps the terrible consequences of a situation she had little control over. For full show notes, visit www.graceoverperfection.com/podcast

Hey girl! Welcome to the Grace Over Perfection Podcast with Alison Simmons where we talk about how to find freedom in letting go of control and perfection by applying the word of God to our lives daily. And while that might sound like it should be pretty easy, actually doing it can get really messy. But I believe you can find purpose and fulfillment right where you are. Let’s get started.