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Keeping Hope Alive Through Unexpected Losses: Lauren Alaina and Kreis Beall
Description
God will always be with you, supporting you in times of joy and carrying you through times of despair. This week’s guests tell how, after weathering success and loss, sharing their artistic talents with others have brought hope and healing: country music artist Lauren Alaina and hospitality pioneer Kreis Beall. Lauren traces her path as a young singer from the American Idol stage to Dancing with the Stars and beyond. After American Idol, Lauren remembers how, as a 15-year-old, the sudden pressure in the spotlight alongside horrific social media comments about her appearance spawned an eating disorder, and how her faith and family helped her through that dark time. And Lauren shares why she knows God is real, after her beloved stepfather described heaven as he slipped away from the earth. In the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, Kreis Beall and her husband Sandy slowly built a luxury destination resort called Blackberry Farm, where Kreis’s talents soared as she shared her gifts for design and hospitality. Though she’s won considerable success, it wasn’t until she developed a relationship with God later in life that she truly felt successful—and she recalls how her new-found faith helped her through the devastating loss of her son, Sam, which she shares in her memoir called The Great Blue Hills of God.
Links, Products and Resources Mentioned:
Lifeway’s $5 Promotion on Jesus Always
American Idol (Season 10) Dancing with th Stars (Season 28) Mayo Clinic (Melanoma Cancer) “The Other Side” lyric video
Blackberry Farm The Great Blue Hills of God: A Story of Facing Loss, Finding Peace, and Learning The True Meaning of Home book Bible Gateway (Matthew 10:25)
Anne Beiler, the founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
Interview Quotes:
“There are always going to be people who are going to have something to say that is not nice. But if I feel good about myself, and I have people around me that lift me up, that takes the power away from them.” - Lauren Alaina
“We turn our back on Him, but He never turns his back on us. And [if] we're willing to go back to Him, He's always there.” - Lauren Alaina
“I don't want some young girl out there looking at me and thinking that I'm just the most confident person in the world, because I choose to