- 17
- Episodes
- 14
- Ratings
- 2023
- First episode
About A Beautiful Jess Podcast
Join us in A Beautiful Jess where our conversations are filled with hilarious anecdotes, heartwarming stories, and practical tips for navigating the journey. A myriad of guests discussing challenges and triumphs across all ages and stages of life. We’re all about embracing faith, and we’re not afraid to explore the beautiful intersection of Christian principles and the challenges of modern life. From tackling tough topics with grace to celebrating the small victories that make life worth living, our discussions are infused with positivity, hope, and a strong sense of community.
- Publisher
- abeautifuljess
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 17 Oct 2023
- Latest episode
- 13 Feb 2024
Latest episodes
17 episodes in the feed.
13 Feb 2024
Life Update and Safe Churches Conference with Camille
On today's episode there are some life updates from me and then after the break we talk to Camille from Victory Church about the upcoming Safe Churches Conference.
6 Feb 2024
Diet and Other Topics with Stephanie
This week on the podcast Stephanie and I talk about how we try to manage all the social media noise around food and other household issues (such as taking your shoes off inside).
30 Jan 2024
Navigating Learning Differences with Rebecca
In our Season 2 debut episode, Rebecca joins us this week on the podcast to discuss the journey she has navigated with her son over his academic career from Kindergarten to now Middle School. From wondering, to suspecting, to testing and confirmation, she chronicles the highs and lows. She initially focused on coping mechanisms after receiving an official diagnosis of dysgraphia, and eventually moved to medication after waiting to confirm ADD. Rebecca and her son have been blessed in their journey with helpful doctors, school staff and family support in what for many is a long and arduous journey. If you are going through a similar journey, we hope you find encouragement in her story. As always, thank you for listening!
23 Jan 2024
Pastor Keith Castleberry - Season Finale Part Two
This is it! Part Two of our Season One Finale with Pastor Keith Castleberry from Victory Church joins us to talk about the culture at Victory, how he has continued to strive for more awareness around mental health and the struggles of the modern church. He is a leader in the movement for Safe Churches, a conference to educate and inform our church leadership about the prevention and protection of those they are commissioned to shepherd.
16 Jan 2024
Pastor Keith Castleberry - Season Finale Part One
Join us for part one of our two part season finale! Pastor Keith Castleberry from Victory Church joins us to talk about his journey to becoming the wise, compassionate leader he is today. We discuss a little bit about his history, what led him to his ministry, and his education in the mental health field. I am so thankful that he has joined us to share some of his story and what has led him to such a wonderful ministry at Victory Church.
9 Jan 2024
All Things Education with Heather
Welcome back to A Beautiful Jess! We are so glad to have you back after our extended break. I want to apologize again for the technical difficulties we experienced before the Holidays, as you will hear, we recorded and intended to release this before the Christmas break. Our team appreciates your patience and understanding. Heather joins us on her second episode to discuss topics from Jane Eyre, listening and understanding students with different religious beliefs, and sharing her faith in her classroom without violating any of the guidelines that are in place. We also discuss our experiences with the education we received as children, which ultimately, we were both well-educated and prepared for college and our careers, despite some flaws in the system. I would challenge anyone to bring an education system without flaws to our knowledge. Heather also credits the Gallup StrengthsFinder 2.0 with helping her focus in on her strengths and use those in her ministry. Heather and I then discuss the school voucher program, a widely discussed state issue which our legislature has voted against implementing (for now). Heather and I reference this article TIME: How School Voucher Programs Hurt Students (https://time.com/6272666/school-voucher-programs-hurt-students/). Heather and I agree that we do not think school vouchers are presented fairly to the public (whether in Texas, or in other states), and we also do not think that it would be in the best interest of our state to implement a school voucher program. We do encourage you that if this issue does come up again to inform yourself by talking to teachers, educators, and others who are working in our various school systems (public, private and charter) and get input from various resources before making your decision to support, or not, this issue. Here is another link which details the $6,160 per student public schools currently receive. Texas Tribune (https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/12/texas-senate-school-vouchers-special-session/) While both Senate Bills mentioned (1 and 2) passed the Senate, neither bill made it through the Texas House. TEA Financial 2021 - 2022 Actual Financial Data State Total (All Districts) (https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/cgi/sas/broker?_service=marykay&_program=sfadhoc.actual_report_2022.sas&_service=appserv&_debug=0&who_box=&who_list=_STATE) “Unassigned Fund Balance” $17,101,381,769, or $3,403 per student. There are several different ways you can cut the money, but essentially, the TEA has unassigned funds that it could give to public schools. Here is a link to the voter results in Brazos County for the November 2023 elections from our local newspaper, The Eagle (https://theeagle.com/news/local/2023-brazos-county-election-results/article_b3cc83f4-7dbc-11ee-9611-8fc7e0e49951.html). This is where I quote that less than 16% of registered voters came out for this election. Only around 10,700 votes were cast on the CSISD Bond Proposals. The population of College Station was over 120,000 in 2021. Schools are allotted very little funds from the state to implement security measures which are many times mandated by the state. They are allotted almost no funds for any improvements, additional buildings, updates to resources, etc. Many smaller projects are funded by athletic booster committees, PTO organizations, or local community members donating the time, materials, and resources of their small businesses. As the host of A Beautiful Jess I do have a focus on local issues that touch my heart and affect those around me in my community. If you aren’t local to the area, I hope that you are still blessed by the wisdom Heather shares as an educator and a follower of Christ shining His light to those around her, especially her students. All links in this write up can be accessed by following the link in our bio to the episode information our hosting website, Podbean.
12 Dec 2023
Trauma and Restoration with Heather
Heather is a High School English teacher; she is married to a First Responder and this week she shares a small piece of her experience as a teacher and as an adoptive parent. Heather has a strong love and burden that is evident to those around her for her English students at one of the local high schools and she is also the co-leader of our Sunday School department at Victory. Heather shares her journey from deciding to adopt to the heartbreak of not being able to adopt a child she and her husband had already begun to love and then to ultimately getting to adopt her son. There were many small details that God was able to work out where they were uniquely able to raise a wonderful young man despite the rough hand he was dealt in his early life. Heather was able to be an advocate for herself and her family within our church to learn about trauma and how to respond Biblically to trauma which led to a larger movement within Victory for more people to become informed and able to help others. Heather’s story is deeply personal and she shares openly in hopes that her story inspires and encourages others. I am grateful that she has trusted us to respect her story as we share it with our wonderful listeners. Heather references the Gallup (Clifton) StrengthsFinder https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx (https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx) (not a paid ad) as a key to her personal and professional growth. Heather and Jessica uncover that they are more alike than they may have realized, starting with their shared love of reading, their strong personalities, and ultimately their love of talking! They talked so much, there will be another episode with Heather next week.
5 Dec 2023
Tiffany - From Mistake to Ministry
This week Tiffany joins the podcast to share how situations in her life that were characterized as mistakes and accidents led to her current ministry. God is using Tiffany and her willingness to be the hands and feet of Jesus both at Victory and in our community to spread His love and provide a safe place for families to be heard. Jessica and Tiffany share some of the feelings they had to navigate as they became teen mothers, and the common struggles that teen mothers face. These conversations are still difficult to share, even twenty years later. Navigating conflicting emotions of shame and guilt with immense joy and love at being blessed with a new life is a confusing journey for teen mothers. We hope this conversation is encouraging to you, to get involved and share God's love in real, impactful ways, or just to know that if you are in a difficult season of your life, there are others that have struggled and are struggling but we can make it together with God!
30 Nov 2023
Victory Christmas Concert
Quick shoutout to our upcoming Christmas Concert at Victory Church on December 3rd at 6PM. Go check it out and let us know if you can guess who you think is the upcoming guest!
28 Nov 2023
Financial Accountability with Latonya
This week Latonya joins the podcast to talk about how God impressed her to reach out to Jessica and begin a journey of financial accountability. We share our struggles through setting up budgets and making tough decisions while trusting that God would see us through difficult times.
21 Nov 2023
Thanksgiving 2023
Join Chey and Jessica for a lighthearted episode where we talk about Thanksgiving traditions, football and Chey's cooking adventures on TikTok. We are keeping it short and sweet this week as we head into the Thanksgiving holidays. As always, thank you for listening!
14 Nov 2023
Mental Health with Kristen - Part 2
As I share this episode, I want to issue a content warning. In this episode, Kristen and I will be discussing topics related to suicide and mental health. We understand that these subjects can be sensitive and may be triggering for some listeners. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, we encourage you to seek support. Reach out to a mental health professional, a counselor, or a trusted person in your life. The suicide hotline is 988. Remember, you are not alone, and help is available. We care about your well-being, and we want all our listeners to prioritize their mental health. Most of all, we want you to know that God loves you and cares about you. When you feel like no one will understand, He does. I am incredibly pleased to bring you this week's episode with Kristen. Kristen is a licensed master social worker and speaks to her own experiences and how they shaped her heart for others and how God has used those experiences to connect her to people who need to see His love through her testimony. I share some of my own journey through mental health and how different therapies have helped me at different points in my life. We get deep into topics that have held stigma and judgment for so long and hopefully will open up discussions and education. We talk about how these struggles brought us closer to God and how medication is a personal choice based on many factors. Our hope is that this episode reaches someone who may be struggling and that it encourages them to keep going, to reach out for help and know that God does not abandon us when we struggle with our mental health. If you are touched by this podcast, please consider sharing it. You never know who may be going through something, we are all so good at putting on a smiling face during our darkest hour. So many people are hurting and broken while also putting their best effort into their day to day lives because it's not an option to not keep that going. God may be calling you to speak to someone, please listen to that still, small voice, and don't be discouraged by thinking that you have nothing to offer, or that someone seems to have it all together, so why should you reach out to them. We are also introducing our first ad partner, Mod LifeWear! I can personally attest that their customer service and commitment to quality are unmatched. They offer beautiful, modest skirts that are appropriate for any occasion. Use the code ABeautifulJess at check out to get 10% off your order at ModLW.com.
7 Nov 2023
Mental Health with Kristen - Part 1
Join us this week as we get to know my friend, Kristen. Kristen felt a call to find a deeper relationship with God and joined Victory Church after meeting her husband in high school. We talk about the culture at Victory and the strong friendships we both have developed there and different ministries we have been blessed to be involved in. Situations that she went through in her life eventually led her to complete several degrees focusing on mental health. Over the course of several colleges and universities and about 13 years she now has a graduate degree and is a social worker in the foster care system. Kristen shares how it took a village to help her achieve these goals. There is a small break in our chat with a message to protect your own mental health as we discuss the topic of suicide that may be sensitive for some listeners.
31 Oct 2023
Changing the Measure of Success with Olivia
Olivia takes us on a wild ride as she discovers what she thinks is appendicitis, then a twisted ovary and ultimately a film-like cancer over most of her internal organs. She endures as she has to pass quickly through the stages of realization, acceptance, treatment and healing. We are thankful for such a positive outcome for Olivia and we hope you enjoy listening as she shares her story of how this life event changed the measure of success in her life and altered her view of what God might see as successful in His kingdom.
25 Oct 2023
*SPECIAL EPISODE with Geralyn Nolan
Geralyn Nolan has been on the CSISD School Board for six years and brings that experience back to the table as she runs for re-election. Geralyn has poured her heart into serving our district and advocating for the kids, teachers and our public school system! Also in this episode we discuss the CSISD School Bond that is on the ballot under four propositions. Vote YES for all four! Our schools continue to be a source of pride for all members of our community and with your vote this election we can keep meeting a high standard of excellence for our students. Link to CSISD: https://www.csisd.org/ (https://www.csisd.org/) Donate to Geralyn's campaign: https://secure.anedot.com/geralyn-nolan/contribute (https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure.anedot.com%2Fgeralyn-nolan%2Fcontribute%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3W0y_2RXtYD9WoOWHMAqAbgRVeK63JmPzP90DHmZB2G-pCGiZwQImdfJk&h=AT2BwAiZOI1IpkqfQFDywCXU9UrNVsedl9--rmpcm4f0siePrbOdOKuNpLSZY0lUSywYRSevuONekRToL2QI2dUXSZwjCVxQfAuVl_o5gvCJ1MwJrR3Pp6akb59dAsWO0DQq8g&__tn__=-UK-R&c%5B0%5D=AT2SV1LyT5ElCidq6U5g9WKFfAlwRfn4UuNTliBPr8iCS5LAZuPdk7lLY5VuDjsl-kz4E3369cIjaQdjGCrzu0qyXty46BD6McIZoyqqWR3hexzfJ7ao3gWv7ltdglUcP6Djac3P0zD-CPc-nKKruhzYFIk3W1ouwrHAFzAOBDeKGeuTFasAY8w-DVO0ENRd83ATosq2vm7c)
24 Oct 2023
Episode 2 - Tough as a Mother!
Monica is back on the podcast to share some of her story and how it coincided with the host, Jess. From college to moving to being married with kids and then returning to college as a mother with three boys and pregnant with her daughter, it's a journey as we see how God works things out in her life.
17 Oct 2023
Meet the host, Jess!
Welcome to the debut episode of the A Beautiful Jess podcast! My friend, Monica, helps you get to know me and why I'm taking this huge leap into the world of podcasting and sharing our stories, life experiences and anything else we pick up along the way.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
- Apple Podcasts (US)
- 4.6 / 5
- 10 ratings
- Spotify
- 5.0 / 5
- 4 ratings
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