Episode 55: Merica Stum

My friend, Merica Stum, joins me for the last Episode of 2016--Episode 55. Merica is one of my favorite people and hands down the best cheerleader I know. She is a married to Jake and they have 3 boys. She is the Director of Girls On The Run for Southeast TN. I wanted to have her on the show nearly a year ago to talk about adoption and running a small business, but instead I knew she would be the perfect person to talk to about looking back and looking forward.

Merica joins me to talk about what she has learned this past year through turning 40--what she has learned about herself, about life and about family. This truly feels like a conversation between friends. And we will change your life with great advice about grocery shopping. So pull up a chair to my kitchen table and join the conversation.

I hope you enjoyed my conversation. We laughed and smiled so much throughout the conversation. The biggest takeaway for me was the idea of hospitality in our home towards our family. I love inviting others into my home and showering them with comfort and kindness. But @@how can I extend hospitality towards my family?@@ I'm definitely going to work on that for 2017.

Links:

Survival Kit:

(amazon affiliate links used when possible)

Connect with Merica: Instagram // Facebook // Twitter

Takeaways From Our Conversation:

Lessons learned about yourself: take care of yourself the best you can and just keep going. Enjoy yourself. Be true to yourself. @@Don’t compare yourself to your younger self@@.
Lessons about others: let’s decide what is true right now about the situation, myself, what God says about me. What story am I telling myself? @@Can you give the most generous response to someone?@@ Trust that they are doing the best they can. Assume positive intent.
Do you get paralyzed with the question, “What do you love?” Most of the things I love won’t pay me. The things that bring me the most joy are not the things that I can be employed doing. And it's okay, though. @@Let go of needing a title or profession that validates who you are@@.
Lessonsaboutfamily: @@learning the same hospitality that you want guests to experience is what you should want for your children in your home@@. Let your home be the softest place that they land when they come home and the loudest cheers they hear are from you.
Don’t assume this new year is going to be better. But rather @@have a hope that truth will come into the new year@@.

Merica's 2017 Goals:

Meal Planning
Recycle
Stick with a planner

What did you enjoy about this episode? What was your takeaway. Let's continue the conversation on Instagram or Twitter or you can send me an email here.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you may have noticed that I’ve been wearing a dress everyday in December. That’s because in January 2016 I interviewed the founder of Dressember, Blythe Hill, about how a dress can change the world. You can listen to that episode here. I’ve joined forces with thousands of women around the world to raise awareness and money for IJM and A21 as they fight against human trafficking. I would love it if you would consider supporting. You can donate here.

I can't believe 2016 has come to an end. In this episode, I talked about how hard a 2016 has been yet it has also been really, really amazing. The best part of this past year for me is hands down this podcast. I have loved every single conversation and can't wait to bring more conversations to you in 2017.

Remember, I am always here for you on iTunes in case you need to escape your family for a few minutes. And as always, I hope this show helps you survive a little easier.

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