Laurie Jeron has been called “The Triple Threat” by those who know her best (Singer, Speaker, and Writer). Laurie founded her own ministry in 1991, sharing her love of God through music. Within a short time, she sensed a calling from God to start conference speaking. Her initial reaction, “You have the wrong girl”, but God convinced her otherwise and she stepped out in obedience. She has led women’s bible studies; planned, hosted and spoken at retreats and as a keynote speaker. She combines speaking and singing, sprinkles it with stories of her life and leaves the audience with a unique experience.

After a short stay in Nashville in 2007, Laurie returned to NJ with a new vision birthed in her heart. She became a Certified Life Purpose Life Coach in 2008 and is a graduate of Proverbs 31’s She Speaks. Laurie is currently creating a conference, “The Treasure Within” that will address issues of self-esteem, value and worth. “The conferences will be geared initially toward women and girls but the plan is to expand it to include men, as they deal with the same issues. The conference will include speakers from various walks of life, actors, models, sports figures, singers and more. We will work to improve our lives from the inside out.”

Laurie released her first CD Times Running out in 2005 which features her songwriting abilities on four of the album’s tracks. In addition, she released a music video “Take me to the Cross” in 2000 co-produced by her brother Tom. She is currently working on her sophomore release “So Many Stars”, a Jazz and Pop inspired project that will be released in November, 2010. Laurie has shared the stage with Twila Paris, 4HIM, Steve Green, Point of Grace, Broadway’s James and Martin VanTreuren and trumpeter Jeff Kievet. She enjoys writing inspirational posts on Facebook and expanded pieces on her blog. Her new website www.lauriejeron.com will be launching in the fall of 2010.

With a correct diagnosis, proper education, and a caring partnership between patient and provider, Nisha says equilibrium and health can be fully restored. In her practice with mostly female patients, Nisha first measures hormone levels. Based on the results, she introduces lifestyle modification techniques, over-the-counter supplements, and/or natural hormone replacements to restore balance and good health.

“Restoring balance is a process that can take time and requires the patient’s full participation, but the results have been remarkable,” Nisha explains. “My job is to identify the imbalance and provide practical methods that patients can use to help themselves.”

Her passion for women’s health began in 1991 when she realized that female patients were desperate to manage their hot flashes, PMS, low libido, menstrual irregularities, and other hormone-related symptoms. These women, she says, were stressed out, depressed, overweight, anxious, and oftentimes hopeless. “With diet, exercise, and individualized hormonal treatments, women who were fatigued and feeling older than their biological age started to feel their absolute best!”

Nisha is a gynecological practitioner with a master’s degree in nursing. She is a licensed holistic health care practitioner and a certified hormone expert who has seen thousands of patients for hormone abnormalities in her Southern Oregon-based specialty practices. She is the founder and owner of Ventana Wellness PC, an integrative medical clinic dedicated to disease prevention, primary care, and hormonal health. She is also the founder of The Body Analysis Clinic, which is a medically based weight-loss program that focuses on long-term results, with an emphasis on regaining health and feeling good!

In addition to her practice, Nisha has established an online virtual hormone consulting service, which enables anyone with a computer and a telephone to receive hormone testing and one-on-one consultations, regardless of their location. She is also a TV personality, national lecturer, motivational speaker, and hosts several weekly live radio wellness programs, with one program now in its ninth year.

“Nish,” as she is known to her radio audience, has authored two books “The Hormone Survival Guide to Perimenopause—How to Balance Your Hormones Naturally” and “Surviving the Teenage Hormone Takeover—A Guide for Moms.”

“Primary care emphasizing hormonal health has proven to work for both women and teenage girls,” Nisha says. “With the right partnership, participation, and practical application, every female can feel better, look better, and be better.”

Visit Nisha at Just Ask Nish or on Twitter: @JustAskNish, @Balance_Docs, and @VentanaWellness.

As a registered nurse, certified microscopist, and wellness educator, Leslie has been a student of nutrition for over twenty years. As a lover of learning, she became a teacher of health and business education, with a Bachelor of Science degree in business technology education. She is a veteran homeschooler with thirteen-plus years of experience, who not only enriches the lives of her own children but countless others through homeschool co-op classes, Sunday school classes, and private tutoring. She has served as a troop leader and neighborhood consultant for the Girls Scouts of America Suncoast Council, as well as a volunteer educator for Junior Achievement. Leslie is a current member of Kappa Delta Pi, the International Honor Society in Education; a former faculty member of Corinthian Colleges; and currently is completing graduate studies in instructional technology at the University of South Florida. She also volunteers in numerous capacities for her church, the Miracle Center World Outreach in Tampa, Florida.

Leslie continues to master being queen of her own kingdom, while her heart beats as a humble servant who seeks to help others. Her compassion for others, years of wisdom and experience, and enthusiastic, fun-loving personality, combined with her love and reverence for God, is the fuel that pushes her to help others to reach the highest heights. She truly is the Modern Mother’s Mentor™.

After a short stay in Nashville in 2007, Laurie returned to NJ with a new vision birthed in her heart. She became a Certified Life Purpose Life Coach in 2008 and is a graduate of Proverbs 31’s She Speaks. Laurie is currently creating a conference, “The Treasure Within” that will address issues of self-esteem, value and worth. “The conferences will be geared initially toward women and girls but the plan is to expand it to include men, as they deal with the same issues. The conference will include speakers from various walks of life, actors, models, sports figures, singers and more. We will work to improve our lives from the inside out.” 

Laurie released her first CD Times Running out in 2005 which features her songwriting abilities on four of the album’s tracks. In addition, she released a music video “Take me to the Cross” in 2000 co-produced by her brother Tom. She is currently working on her sophomore release “So Many Stars”, a Jazz and Pop inspired project that will be released in November, 2010. Laurie has shared the stage with Twila Paris, 4HIM, Steve Green, Point of Grace, Broadway’s James and Martin VanTreuren and trumpeter Jeff Kievet. She enjoys writing inspirational posts on Facebook and expanded pieces on her blog. Her new website www.lauriejeron.com will be launching in the fall of 2010.

Yes, there have been many changes happening around A Woman Inspired and we are excited to share them with you! As many of you know A Woman Inspired was founded by two women that the blogosphere likes to call, “The Amies:” Amy Stults and Amy Bayliss. The two have co-conspired to institute several projects together over the last three years and have become like sisters. After much prayer and deliberation, they decided to move on and embrace individual projects. They both decided that it would be in their best interest to devote their time and energy to the projects closest to their hearts.

Both Amy’s have very inspiring new projects in the works so you’ll definitely be seeing them around the Internet.  Amy Stults is involved in an exciting new venture with Leah Nieman, the co-founder of CurrClick (more details coming soon) as well as taking time to concentrate on her love of genealogy.  Amy Bayliss will be focusing on cultivating  A Woman Inspired and will be offering more conferences than ever.  We hate to keep you waiting but Amy B. also has a huge surprise project in the works…one that you all will LOVE! Lord willing, you will hear all about Amy and Amy’s new projects in October. Heart of the Matter will now be under the leadership and guidance of their dear friend Angela DeRossett.

While they no longer work on the projects together you can rest assured that the team known as “the Amies” is still going strong. They co-founded together (surprise) a group that unites women in online ministry. It is called Inspired Hearts Media. We will talk more about that in the October issue but feel free to visit the site to see all of the amazing teams of women who have come together for a common purpose.

A note from Amy:

While this spotlight is supposed to be about me and my new position here at A Woman Inspired, I can’t help but reflect upon the fact that this ministry would not be what it is today if it were not for the team that has been diligently working beside me.

Lisa Boyd: Lisa has dedicated her time and knowledge in the area of web developing and hosting. I met Lisa in 2009 at the She Speaks conference and we both knew that God was speaking to us about the future of online ministry. She has become a dear friend and a trusted partner here at AWI. It is solely her doing that AWI is functional and up and running today. She is currently completely revamping the site to be more functional and current.

Karen Lewis: Karen recently joined the team of misfits for Jesus here at AWI and is sharing her experience in web design. She is working alongside Lisa Boyd to give AWI a fresh new look. I am so excited to see what it will look like!

Jen Welton: Jen is our social media guru. She is in charge of all things Twitter and Facebook. Jen keeps everyone connected and makes sure our social media team is thriving.

Lori Macmath: Lori has been with us from the beginning. She is serving AWI as co-hostess of our conferences. Her sweet voice and southern hospitality are sure to warm your heart.

Holly Smith: Holly has been the editor of our newsletter for quite some time but just a couple of weeks ago she accepted the position as Administrative Assistant at AWI. Holly has helped us recover from the piles of emails and tasks on the to-do list. We are now on schedule! Woo Hoo! When you email us here at AWI the loving response you receive will likely be from Holly.

And me? Well I’ve been in online ministry since 2006. I have a heart for lost and hurting women and hope to encourage and equip them. I am a firm believer that a woman’s first ministry should be to her family. I am the proud wife of Ryan Bayliss and we have four rowdy boys to wrangle each and every day. We live in the heart of Louisiana where we worship and serve under Healing Place Church, the birthplace of Servolution.

Visit me on the web: Amy Bayliss.com / Inspired Hearts Media

Charlotte Siems is grateful to be a 50-year-old happy wife and mother of twelve children, ages 4-28, six of whom still live at home. She has homeschooled her children for over 23 years and considers herself a perpetual student of organization and home management. After many years of being overweight (and tired), Charlotte found the T-Tapp workout system and began her transformation from a sluggish size 22W to an energetic size 6.

In 2008 Charlotte received her certification as a Certified Fitness Trainer. She was personally certified by Teresa Tapp as a T-Tapp Trainer in 2009 at Safety Harbor, Florida. Charlotte’s story appeared in the July 2010 issue of Woman’s Day magazine. She wrote an e-book detailing how she lost 110 pounds and over 140” in a year and a half while homeschooling and managing a busy household. Renewing Me: Size 22 to 6, Fifteen Minutes at a Time can be found at her website, www.CharlotteSiems.com.

To stay in touch with Charlotte and receive weekly motivation to stay on track on your T-Tapp journey, sign up for her mailing list at Renew You with Charlotte Siems at CharlotteSiems.com.

Charlotte also writes on home life at This Lovely Place: Creating a Beautiful Home Life with Charlotte Siems at www.ThisLovelyPlace.com, where you will find resources on home management, family life, making memories, holidays and marriage.

I’ve got a secret and this is the kind of secret that must be shared–there is one who would like for you to not know this. In fact, it will cause a stir, I guarantee it. But if you hear what I have to say, and if you take it to heart, and if you put a stake in the ground right in this place and say, “No further,” then you are going to have the most effective life, the BEST life, that God intended for you.

Now are you curious?

God created each of you with what I’ve heard Max Lucado call your “sweet spot.” It is the place of prime effectiveness in your life. It is the place, where your heart and passion merges with God’s heart and purpose. And in that place? Well, in that place, you through Christ Jesus will be unstoppable for the kingdom of God!!

My Chris and I were talking the other day and I told him, “I know that when I am full of JOY, God uses me the most and He fills and overspills in amazing ways through my life. I know this. And I also know that the enemy is out to steal my joy–all the time.”

Be it an email or four sick children for a whole week or a rude driver or a short and trite reply from someone I care about, these things happen to me all the time. And once I began to recognize what the “trade-in” often ends up being, I put a stake in the ground in that place., And said, “Lord, with Your help, I can be more than conqueror through You. With Your help, I can stop exchanging my joy in these trials.”

Count it all Joy, He responds. “What?” I ask. Count it all JOY, Holly, when you face trials of many kinds, for you know (YOU KNOW THIS!) that the testing of your faith produces patience. Holly, let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Do you see it? It seems so upside-down that I would deem it wholly delightful that I am facing many kinds of trials. And yet, God calls me to do this! It produces the fruit of patience. And there is something about patience…patience allows me to free others up from my insistent expectations–allows me to free God up from my persistent complaining.

In this place, this sweet spot of Joy, I actually give JOY out and pass it around. In my patience, I give GRACE to others, who may never grace me back or bless me at all.

But God will. He will bless me and cause me to walk on the high places. Even in my humble estate? Yes, especially in my humble estate.

Now think about it. What is the enemy after in your life? What is He targeting? If you can define it, you may just see exactly where God is equipping you to partner with Him in serving others and drawing many into the kingdom of God. Now isn’t that some of secret that needs to be SHARED? Oh yes! Oh yes!

God Bless you, my sisters. May you walk on the high places this month and always.

Love,
Holly Smith

Normally, my 9-year-old son, Joshua, can handle new situations, especially when I’m not there; he’s in control and up for a challenge. Generally, he’s a stress-free kid. Yet, that day in the school parking lot, the tears were already brimming, the frown was in place, and his eyes were darting back and forth in a frenzied angst. Things weren’t going well.

His basketball practice, which was normally in one part of the school campus, had changed to an alternate location. But when his buddies still weren’t there, even though it was time to start, he began to panic.

“Is this the right place?”

“Yes, honey, your coach told us to go here.”

“But where are my friends?”

“On their way.”

“But I don’t see them. Are you sure this is right?”

“Yes.”

“But … but…”

used with permission by Heather Ferguson Photography

That was as far as his words went. And that was as far as I wanted to go too. I was becoming anxious that he was anxious!

This reaction is normal. New encounters, ones that we aren’t comfortable with, can create panic. But the difference in some children– those who see the circumstance as a chance to learn something new, as compared with others who see the situation as completely out-of-control– is sometimes staggering. My son, who could be low-key, wasn’t that day; he wasn’t in the mood to relax and let the unknown stay unknown. His “type A” perfectionism was shining through his tears, and I knew he was about to have a full-blown meltdown over something as simple as being in the wrong place.
We’d been through things like this before. And most times, he would go from being scared to happy the minute when everything resolved itself. But this time, I wanted to make him see how easy it was to overcome anxiety without becoming irrational; to learn how to control the reaction to his thought-process.

“Joshua, let’s stop and think,” I said, when I knew where his emotions were headed. “You can get through this and come out okay. Let’s go over some basics.” He looked at me, perplexed– like I was the crazy one–but let me talk. And over the next minute, I made him answer seven simple questions:

“Are we supposed to be here?”

“Yes.”

“How do we know?”

“Because Coach told us.”

“Is it time for practice?”

He looked at his watch. “Almost.”

I wanted him to calmly go over the little details that had already worked him up into a frenzy. And by talking through the scenario, he seemed to calm down… even if infinitesimally.

“Are you in a safe place?”

He nodded.

“Can you take a deep breath and exhale?”

He nodded again and did as I asked.

A few seconds of silence passed and I asked him the last question.

“You ready to get out and find them if we don’t see them soon?”
He shrugged. “Yeah, okay.”

I then told him that most of the things we worry over never happen. And that if he waited– calmly– he would find his answers — or more appropriately, they would find him.

He seemed to understand where I was going. And not thirty seconds after our conversation, his coach and teammates showed up. I saw his brain actually register reason and watch him silently agree with our anti-anxiety process through a small smile. He had rationally thought through the problem, calmed down, and everything turned out … great. He went from being consumed with fear, to filled with peace.

Joshua ran out to meet them with joy across his face, skirting to the court, ready for practice as if everything had been okay from the start.

Since this incident, there have been others like it. But my systematic questions now take over his mind before I get a chance to ask him. Just like other emotions and feelings in our lives, anxiety comes and goes. But if I can teach my son to control and manage an emotion he’ll have forever, then we can overcome any meltdown, any day.
Jesus is a perfect example of anti-anxiety for us. He was never anxious, even when he could’ve been, and even when he should’ve been. When I can impart some of Jesus’ attributes to my children, then I consider my parenting job well done for the day. After all, what should we fear when we have Christ?

The Super Seven Questions
(These questions work for any new situation — even a crazy pop-quiz –
before anxiety overtakes your child. Go over them with your kids and watch them change!)

1. Are you in the right place? Consider how you know this: are you in the right building, or chair, or street?

2. Why are you here? Go over your reasons for being here; say it out loud to make it clear. Explain to yourself what you are supposed to do.

3. Is this the right time? Sometimes, this is a sneaky culprit. Double-check the appointed time and of course, check your clock, to make sure you’re on schedule– or if someone else is late.

4. Are you safe? If not, find someone you trust to help you accomplish your task, and start over.

5. Can you take a deep breath? If so, do it! You’ll think straighter when the oxygen reaches your brain. Try to think about Jesus’ very words. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NIV). Jesus is already with you!

6. Can you wait?(Then do so and pray). Even if your timing is off, wait for an answer. Don’t panic, time is your friend. Sometimes, just by waiting, your problems resolve themselves. And even better, send a prayer up to Jesus. He knows your situation; he knows what you feel like when things look strange and scary. Remember, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18, NIV)

7. How do you move forward? If you know how to fix the issue, then do it. If not, wait some more and then try a new approach. Do you need to talk to others? Do you need to focus on your task? Ask yourself what to do to keep going. Be creative. Look for a real solution; not an excuse to flip-out. Remember this verse too: “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13, NIV).

Heather Spiva is a freelance writer from Sacramento, CA who loves reading and writing and spending time with her two young boys and firefighter husband.