Today Laura is joined by Paige Dempsey, a feminist dating and relationship coach, to discuss the challenges many women face in making new friends as adults, especially after significant life transitions like divorce. They share vulnerably about their experiences putting themselves out there to find connection, whether showing up for meetup groups, joining social media communities, or simply striking up conversations at local events. Paige offers practical advice for taking it slow when getting to know new people, asking questions, and being open even when feeling uncomfortable or fearing rejection.

Are you looking to grow your circle of friends in this season of life? Join the conversation now to get tangible tips and an empathetic perspective!

[2:02] The difficulty of making friends as an adult

[6:54] Advice for being okay with discomfort when meeting new people

[12:04] Where to find potential new friends (social media, local groups, events)

[15:43] Laura's experience trying to make new friends

[18:05] Importance of asking questions, being open, and not rushing into friendships

[19:35] Importance of being participatory at events

[21:54] The opening line Paige uses to start conversations

[21:12] Extending invitations and not taking rejection personally

[22:41] Recommendation for the book "Platonic" on making friends as an adult

• We don't have to go off the high board into like the 12-foot area, you know, in the beginning. We just have to start with the beginning, which is like, let's have coffee and chat for an hour and see how that goes.
• If you are having trouble meeting people in 2024, that is on you. It's never hard in the history of ever, has it been easier to find humans to connect with, with this little portable device that is always in your hand or on the or in front of you.
• We as women are good at having conversations. We're good at connecting with people. There are people in your life that you know how to connect with and those skills don't go away.
• If you go to events, you have to be participatory in meeting the people saying hello, and having conversations.
• The best opening line, I mean the one that I always use if I walk into a room or a group or a table or a fundraiser and stick out my hand and say, hi, I'm Paige.
• Let's get back to that energy of being kids and not worrying about, you know, what they will think, what I am wearing, what they are wearing, and all that stuff.

FOLLOW THE PODCAST: http://www.thatswhereimatpodcast.com

BOOKS & JOURNALS: https://www.amazon.com/author/laurarichards

FOLLOW PAIGE:

www.paigedempseycoaching.com

https://www.instagram.com/datingcoachpaige

https://www.tiktok.com/@datingcoachpaige

https://www.facebook.com/paigedempseycoaching/

"Platonic" by Marisa G. Franco (on making friends as an adult): https://drmarisagfranco.com/secrets-to-making-friends-as-an-adult/

In this episode, I'm joined by Susan, a 45-year-old widow with four adult children and one grandson. In her home during the 20+ years of marriage, she experienced verbal and emotional abuse as well as physical abuse from time to time. The insecurities in her life left her feeling ugly and worthless, and she was convinced she may never be happy again in life. During a rebellious season, she made terrible choices, but now she can say the Lord has forgiven and redeemed her. She now leads women in bible study as she knows her purpose in life is to help married women avoid falling into the same patterns she fell into, which led to a very dark and wicked road leading to eternal separation from God.

Today, Susan shares the raw and vulnerable details of her over 20-year marriage. Despite the turmoil, she remained committed until the mistreatment caused her to become numb and seek companionship elsewhere, having an affair that ate her up with guilt. She provides a firsthand account of the challenging dynamics, including her husband's initial attempts to change through counselling and her decision to ultimately leave him for another man before the Holy Spirit convinced her to return and try rebuilding her marriage. She painfully recounts the process of confessing her infidelity, her husband's shocking forgiveness, and their journey to finally restore the relationship before his tragic passing, leaving her to find purpose in leading other women through the patterns that once entrapped her.

Join the show now and learn!

[00:54] Susan's background

[02:21] How Susan met her husband and the early years of their marriage

[08:51] Dealing with her husband's childhood trauma and negativity

[13:19] Susan’s recognition of the different forms of abuse in her marriage

[24:40] Why Susan decided to separate from her husband

[27:32] The complexity of moral dilemmas and personal choices within relationships

[31:36] The internal conflict of desire, deception, and moral conscience in infidelity

[33:00] Susan's initial decision to work on her marriage after separating

[44:28] Susan's husband's reaction after confessing her infidelity

[53:40] Susan's journey to restore her marriage after infidelity

[54:55] Finding love again after her husband's passing

[01:01:50] The importance of healing before entering a new relationship

• I know the devil is real. I know that I know we live in a very evil world, but I know just how deceiving the devil can be because the man I met was exactly the man I wanted my husband to be.
• I never felt so much love and quickly fell in love with him. Yeah. Because I never, I don't wanna say I never felt it. 'cause I know my husband loved me, but it didn't, it wasn't tainted.
• You need to do what you need to do to restore your marriage and allow God to restore it.
• I guess just that voice that you hear inside Yeah. Is the Holy Spirit. You know, and don't quench the Holy Spirit.

FOLLOW THE PODCAST: http://www.thatswhereimatpodcast.com

BOOKS & JOURNALS: https://www.amazon.com/author/laurarichards

Mending the Soul workbook/class by Author: Celestia G. Tracy https://a.co/d/8NS00IH

In this episode, Laura is joined by Monica, a resilient mother of three who shares her journey from growing up in an alcoholic home to overcoming trauma, abuse, and addiction. Monica spent most of her life feeling unwell enough for any relationship. She has a history of sexual and physical abuse and addiction, which is part of her story. She has worked in the people business, like fast food, bartending, and health care, and is currently in recovery. Monica always supports other women and loves people where they are. She opens up about the pervasive feeling of inadequacy that haunted her for most of her life, leading to her imprisonment. Laura and Monica explore the profound impact of a lack of positive reinforcements and dive into the crucial concepts of self-forgiveness and personal growth. Monica's story unfolds, revealing her resilience in escaping an abusive relationship and the transformative power of setting boundaries to recognize self-worth. The conversation touches on prioritizing one's needs and recognizing personal value, and Monica shares the empowering steps she takes to learn how to love herself. 

Join the conversation now!

[00:01:12] Monica’s background

[00:02:21] Growing up in an alcoholic home

[00:05:09] Trauma and abuse in childhood

[00:06:43] How Monica felt not good enough

[00:07:51] How Monica ended up in prison

[00:10:45] Lack of positive reinforcements and how they affect individuals

[00:12:24] Self-forgiveness and the importance of personal growth

[00:14:19] Abusive relationship and resilience

[00:18:35] Setting boundaries and self-worth

[00:19:45] Prioritizing one's needs and recognizing personal value 

[00:23:47] Things that Monica does to learn how to love herself

[00:28:55] Acts of kindness and gratitude

[00:30:23] Becoming a new, improved you

[00:35:12] Dealing with pain and addiction

[00:37:03] Embracing Imperfections and Self-Love

[00:40:05] Moving forward and leaving the past

• Grandkids are the best because they love you the way you are. They think you're the superwoman, Superman, whatever it is. And maybe I wasn't the greatest mother, but at least I can show my grandchildren, you know, in front of their mother that, you know, I am an amazing grandma.
• It took me many times through treatment. And many, many, many times in recovery. I don't remember who said it, but you know, it says recovery is easy or whatever. Quitting is easy. I know because I've done it 1000 times, and, and I have, it feels like 1000 times, you know, it really does.
• I learned to set boundaries. And, you know, once you start setting boundaries, that's when people really want to overstep them.
•  I didn't know what it would take for me to love myself first before I could experience love outside of that. But if I give what I give, unconditional love, right? I'm likely to receive it back.
• Every time I recovered, I wanted to recover for good. I just never did, you know, I had to grow and had to deal with the pain. You know, I had to fight for myself, learn how to love myself and learn how to accept people the way they are to the unconditional love that my uncle taught me.
• Deal with it as you can, as you can. You don't have to, you know, dump that big black garbage bag on yourself, but deal with it, you know, stop worrying about what everybody else says.

FOLLOW THE PODCAST: http://www.thatswhereimatpodcast.com

AMAZON JOURNALS STORE: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Laura-Richards/author/B09TX5ZW46?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true