Jenni Eastin is a hope-filled, freedom-fighter set on sharing stories that leave a mark on other’s hearts. In everyday life, Jenni gratefully supports and encourages her two children, ages 6 and 10, and has been married to her husband, David, for over 18 years. Jenni has several degrees in special education and behavioral disorders and has most recently earning a PhD from the University of North Texas. This month, Jenni is launching a podcast called “Hope Has a Voice,” which is the result of more than a decade of prayers.
IF YOU HAVE EVER RUN AWAY FROM THE DREAM GOD’S GIVEN YOU, THIS WAS THE EPISODE FOR YOU.
If fear has kept you from walking forward in your God-shaped dream, this episode will remind you that you’re not alone. This conversation with Jenni will provide perspective on how to finally move forward even if you can’t see the finish line.
In this interview, Jenni gives us the assurance that God is in control and that we can trust Him enough to surrender our dreams to Him. She shares two intimate, real-life stories that are her constant reminders of these truths and motivation to share the hope she’s found with others.
Jenni helps normalize that feeling of wanting to start on your dream but getting stopped in your tracks by the voices that taunt you with doubts about who you are, who God made you and how you have no business dreaming your dream. But, along this journey, she’s discovered tools that help her fight back against those voices. One is the permission to start sloppy and another is a redefinition of success.
If you’ve ever tried to run away from the dream God’s given you, I hope this interview is just what you need to gain a little perspective and maybe even get started—even if it’s a little sloppy.
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CONNECT WITH JENNI:
Website || Instagram || Twitter || Facebook
MENTIONED ON THE SHOW:
Hope Has a Voice podcast by Jenni Eastin
#hopehasavoice – use this hashtag whenever you share her podcast on social media
The Declare Conference
Anna LeBaron, The Polygamist’s Daughter
Kat Lee
I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid,
more accessible,
to loosen my heart
until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to me as blossom,
goes on as fruit.
Quoted from I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion by Dawna Markova
SCRIPTURE:
“Then, just as the Lord had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the Lord.
9 So I bought the field at Anathoth, paying Hanamel seventeen pieces of silver for it. 10 I signed and sealed the deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him. 11 Then I took the sealed deed and an unsealed copy of the deed, which contained the terms and conditions of the purchase, 12 and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there in the
courtyard of the guardhouse.
13 Then I said to Baruch as they all listened, 14 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long time.’ 15 For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’”
~ Jeremiah 32:8-15 (NLT)
MAIN TAKEAWAYS WITH TIMESTAMPS:
Meet Jenni Eastin [2:33]
Her dream to reach people with her voice [4:31]
Seeing God move when she’s surrendered her dreams to Him [4:44]
Finding Him trustworthy [5:00]
How she has gravitated to the word “hope” [5:59]
Personal story about her father’s alcoholism [6:40]
How her voice was sucked away as a child [7:20]
Personal story about infertility and surrogacy [8:01]
About the podcast “Hope Has a Voice” after years of sitting on the tagline [11:10]
It’s okay to start sloppy [12:07]
Motherhood is a mighty task [12:23]
The uncertainty and fear that also allowed a place for this dream to begin [12:38]
Topics the podcast will cover: trauma/healing, parenting and more [14:45]
Fighting the desire to be in control of everything [18:45]
Stalling and the fear of failure [19:45]
Redefining the definitions of success and failure [20:15]
Learning to have fun in the fear [22:23]
That feeling in the pit of your stomach tells you you’re doing something right [23:10]
It’s okay to start sloppy; don’t stay there, but take the pressure off [25:05]
Forget about people’s opinions who aren’t close to you [26:10]
Quote: “I will not die an unlived life” [28:40]
Story from scripture that’s been helpful – Jeremiah 32 [30:24]
Be obedient and God will produce the results [31:54]
The harvest may not follow immediately after your obedience [32:47]
Obedience is my part. Trusting God is my part. The rest is up to Him [33:15]
Confessing her needs and fears to God [34:35]
Partnering with God will bring great joy; there may also be sorrow and oppression from the enemy [38:04]
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The Devoted Dreamers Podcast is produced by Jonathan R. Clauson.
Theme music by Reaktor Productions.
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