Strong Women Wednesday with Alice Shepard
Happy Wednesday y’all. I am over-the-moon excited to introduce you to Alice today. Her words have been ringing true in my head since I read them last week. I can’t wait for you to dive into this week’s edition and be blessed just like I was. Enjoy!
KE: Tell me about yourself
AS: My name is Alice, I am a proud wife to a wonderful, godly man and mom to my two fur babies; Ozzy and Lulu. I escaped a depressing relationship and started an amazing love affair with the very same man! Today, I am a certified marriage mentor who is convinced that every marriage has a 100% chance of success as long as you put God first. I love to help other couples and find great joy in the amazing testimonies of God’s grace. My own circumstances have inspired me to create my blog “Alice’s Blessed Life” where I share insightful teachings through real life testimonies for couples that want to restore, strengthen, and bring hope into their relationship. My mission is to reach hearts through Jesus Christ and spread His message of hope.
KE: What book are you reading right now?
AS: Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. My husband reads to me in bed every night, so we like to pick Christian marriage books.
KE: Do you have a favorite song that has helped you through a tough time?
AS: Jesus I Come by Elevation Worship overwhelms and brings me to tears EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. (you will want to hit play)
KE: How do you define strength, and what does it look like in your life?
AS: Strength to me means not giving up when it get’s tough. The enemy likes to bring chaos into our lives because he knows that unfortunately there are many people who don’t have the strength to pull through, but knowing that after every hardship waits a promotion gives me the strength to keep going.
KE: As you know, strong faith is the focus of my ministry/website. But, it can be hard to maintain a strong faith when life gets real messy. What do you do to keep your relationship with Jesus as strong as possible?AS: It is important to speak God’s word on a daily basis. For that reason, my husband and I have a set time in the evening when we sit down and study the Bible together. We celebrate every little victory – near parking, favorite jeans dried in time to wear them, etc. – and thank God for His favor. I think of Jesus many times a day, talking to Him or just thanking Him for all the blessings in my life.
KE: Managing a household is hard. Whether you work full-time, stay home, are single, married or have 8 kids; women often feel like they are just surviving each day. What advice would you give to women to help them strengthen their family?
AS: The most important thing for a wife to remember is in Ephesians 5:22 ‘Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.’ You do NOT have to do everything on your own! Your husband is there to be your backbone and to support you when it get’s too much. We women tend to want to do it all at once and all on our own but that is not what we were created for.
KE: Do you have any stress management tips for us?
AS: When you feel overwhelmed, reach out to the Holy Spirit. I have done so many times and He never fails to calm me almost instantly. Whether I am furious because someone cut me off (I live in Houston, TX – this happens on a daily basis) or my husband pushing my buttons (Yes, we still fight – this is a work in progress y’all!)
KE: Depending on your definition of strength, “strong body” can mean something different to everyone. What healthy habits do you incorporate into your daily schedule to help keep your body strong?
AS: I am vegan for ethical as well as health reasons which means that I refrain from eating any animal products like milk, cheese, eggs and meat of course. My husband and I also drink green vegetable juices every day and run 2 miles at least 3 times a week.
KE: What do you feel is the difference between relying on your own strength and relying on God’s strength?
AS: This is so important! Through God we can do ANYTHING! Alone we can do NOTHING! I had a great career, luxurious lifestyle and everything I could ask for before I was saved, yet there was always a void within me. When Jesus rescued my soul, I gave it all up and started over and I have absolutely no regrets. I used to work so much to get to where I was. Now it’s almost as if it gets put in my lap 🙂
KE: Would you mind sharing something you have struggled with and telling us how you used God’s strength to get you through?
AS: My marriage was more or less doomed from the start. We were both saved as children but had grown cold towards God. Joe was a terrible husband to me and I wasn’t doing very great either.
After two years, I found out that he was a sex addict and that he had been having affairs all along. It was the most terrible time of my life not knowing if I should leave, give him another chance, or just kill myself. I decided to stay and we surrendered our marriage to God. Ever since He has brought us from glory to glory. Our relationship has been thriving and I did not wake up unhappy one day!
It has been one and a half years since we sat in the dining room with divorce papers in front of us and today we are Christian marriage mentors HA! In your face devil!
KE: Do you have any tips for us about successful ways to manage your time more effectively?
AS: It’s all about organization! I’m the kind of person who creates a multi-colored spread sheet – laminated of course – for a weekend getaway. I like every minute planned because to me there’s nothing worse than wasted time! We basically have set days and times for almost everything…grocery shopping on Fridays, marriage class and service on Saturdays and we pre-cook our meals for the entire week on Sundays which saves a lot of time in the evenings.
KE: Do you have a favorite Bible verse you could share with us and could you explain what it means to you?AS: Acts 20:24 ‘My life is worth nothing to me…unless I use it to tell others about the wonderful grace of God.’ This has inspired me to not be ashamed of the mess my marriage used to be but to be proud of the wonderful work God has done in my life and bring glory to His name and hope to others who struggle.
KE: If you could share one message with every woman who is willing to listen, what would it be?
AS: God flung the starts into the sky – He is in control. Don’t give up!
KE: Where do you feel like God is leading you next?
AS: I believe that God wants me to share the message of hope and until He tells me to do something else, I will do just that.
KE: Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
AS: I just want to thank everyone who took the time to read this and encourage you all to keep believing! We serve an amazing God! None of your problems are too big for Him to handle. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God is so good all the time! Please visit my blogalicesblessedlife.com to read the whole story about how I overcame my husband’s infidelity and other stories that inspire and give hope! For any questions you may have, you can reach me at hi@alicesblessedlife.com Thank you for this opportunity Kristen! Blessings, Alice
Thanks for sharing Alice. It has been a pleasure to get to know your heart through our brief encounter. Stay tuned next week as I have the opportunity to interview another adoptive mama!
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In His Strength,
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