This I Know
Conversations with Christians
on Life, Faith, and Following Jesus
This I Know grew from The Lydia Project: Conversations with Christian Women, an Australian podcast co-hosted by Tori Walker and Taryn Hayes, featuring many remarkable guests whose lives bore witness to God’s faithfulness through every season. After several years, the podcast entered a season of hiatus as ministry, work, and family commitments grew.
Now the journey continues.
Through conversations with Christian men and women from different walks of life, we explore the ways God shapes us through seasons of joy and suffering, doubt and faith, failure and growth. These are stories of grace at work: ordinary people being patiently transformed by our Saviour, Jesus.
Along the way, we’ll reflect on the books, authors, and resources that have helped shape our understanding of God and deepen our walk with Him.
Whether you’re weary, hopeful, searching, or simply seeking to keep following Jesus faithfully, This I Know is here to encourage you, challenge you, and strengthen your courage in Christ. In a world full of shifting opinions and uncertain answers, we return again and again to the same firm ground: God’s Word is trustworthy, and His promises hold. Yes, Jesus loves us. This we know. For the Bible tells us so.
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“Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…” Hebrews 12:1–2
Episodes
Aug 30, 2021
Aug 30, 2021
1 hr 2 min
Jill McAlpine knows what deep emotional pain looks like - she has seen it in her practice as a Clinical Psychologist and she has felt it herself, acutely, through church-based ministry and the terminal illness diagnosis of her husband, Stephen. In this episode, Jill shares with Taryn her gratitude for the pain, hurt, sorrow and grief because of how God has shaped her and her husband through some of the more difficult moments in life and ministry.
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Jill belongs to God, first and foremost. She is grateful for his gift to her of her husband and best friend, Stephen. Together, they embrace the challenges of loving and parenting two children (an adult and a teenager) and they are looking forward to retirement together.
As a psychologist, Jill has been blessed to meet and work with people from all walks of life in a diversity of settings, from schools to prisons; around the world, including in the UK working with Muslim women in a refugee centre; and currently in her clinical psychology practice in Perth with women (and men) across all life stages and contexts.
As someone involved in church-based ministry – that has included a couple of church plants – Jill has been entrusted with an intimate awareness (personally and professionally) of the struggles and pastoral care needs of congregations, of those who lead them, and of their families. Jill also enjoys teaching in Pastoral Care at theological college to help equip the next generation of students to care well for others.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“I’m a huge introvert and so for me it was quite a challenge to open myself up, so instantly, to people.”
“We were told that our parenting was not up to speed, we were told that I should not be working as a psychologist-because it’s not good for the family.”
“We were told that Stephen was not cut out for ministry or for leading a church.”
“We felt that at that moment we were so deconstructed, we had nowhere to go then to seek God out.”
“We soothed our way through our suffering, just praying.”
“Even though we thought that we had let them down, there was enough grace there to continue to love us.”
“The clutter was more my despair and my disbelief, I knew I couldn’t fix this. I was trying to work out ‘how do I manage this?’ And I realised that it was beyond me.”
“Everything just did not make sense and we were completely vulnerable and exposed to God’s plan for us.”
“We had nothing. It was a very pivotal moment for us in our ministry.”
“We are thankful for the pain and the hurt, the sorrow, the grief, we are thankful for how God has shaped us through it.”
“My time is very much with people-and sometimes those contexts blur.”
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Aug 15, 2021
Aug 15, 2021
35 min
Host Tori Walker chats with Marion Birchley about life and student work in PNG.
EPISODE NOTES:
Host Tori Walker chats with Marion Birchley about life and student work in PNG.
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Marion lives and works with her husband Keith in Papua New Guinea. She has three adult children and one granddaughter. She enjoys serving and growing in her knowledge of God through involvement with different churches in children, youth and women's ministry.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
The Church Missionary Society (CMS)
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“It’s exciting to see how God can just continually grow us right throughout life.”
“Sometimes when you have very little or nothing, then there’s only one place to turn: that is to the Lord.”
“How much do we (in the West) really cry out to the Lord to help us through things?”
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Jul 30, 2021
Jul 30, 2021
36 min
When Kate became serious about her Christian faith, she chose to explore mission work abroad. Little did she realise that a 5-month mission trip would turn into a lifelong ministry that involved a cross-cultural marriage, three children, and a venture into authoring books and supporting other Christian women in their writing. Grief, heartache, and much uncertainty are just some of the things that Kate shares with Taryn. Listen as they chat about her journey and God’s incredible compassion and care as Kate trusts Him and learns from those around her.
EPISODE NOTES:
When Kate became serious about her Christian faith, she chose to explore mission work abroad. Little did she realise that a 5-month mission trip would turn into a lifelong ministry that involved a cross-cultural marriage, three children, and a venture into authoring books and supporting other Christian women in their writing. Grief, heartache, and much uncertainty are just some of the things that Kate shares with Taryn. Listen as they chat about her journey and God’s incredible compassion and care as Kate trusts Him and learns from those around her.
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Kate Motaung is the author of A Place to Land: A Story of Longing and Belonging and Letters to Grief, and co-author of Influence: Building a Platform that Elevates Jesus (Not Me). She is the host of Five Minute Friday, an online community that encourages and equips Christian writers, and owner of Refine Services, a company that offers writing and editing services. Kate and her South African husband have three teenagers and call Michigan their home state.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Kate’s Books:
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“When we do have conflict, we can go back to Scripture and agree that that is the basis - and that wins.”
“I thought I was going for a five-month mission trip … I ended up living there for 10 years. I met my husband there and all three of our children were born there.”
“Scripture is the ultimate authority and truth and that is what brings us back together.”
“It has been interesting with race relations in America becoming more heated.”
“It has been a blessing and opportunity for my husband to listen and educate others.”
“I have learned a lot from him: just watching him, listening to him, learning from him about how we an treat each other in a way that reflects that we are all made in the image of God.”
“I have also been passionate about supporting women of colour particularly in the writing and publishing sphere, because those are the circles I am often already in.”
“Wherever we are in the world, we can take comfort in knowing that this world is not our final home.”
“We want to be a city on the hill pointing people to Christ.”
“It is very tricky - whenever I post about myself or my work on social media it feels very much like “look at me, look at me”, yet at the same time we have been called to be obedient to use the gifts we have been given.”
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Jul 27, 2021
Jul 27, 2021
41 min
EPISODE NOTES:
Host Tori Walker interviews Catherine Parks, who is one of the Contributors to the book “Beautifully Distinct”. Beautifully Distinct aims to help Christian women engage with our culture by being beautifully distinct.
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Catherine Parks grew up with a love for reading biographies. Now she is the author of Empowered, Strong and Real: The Surprising Secret to Deeper Relationships as well as a contributing author to the book, Beautifully Distinct. She lives in Nashville, with her husband, and two children, where she attends a church and helps to lead the worship there.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Wandering Bookseller: The Lydia Project Collection
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“What are the longings of the people around us?”
“In light of eternity, what does this matter?”
“That God was not casting me out, because I was struggling with faith and doubt in that moment was such an encouragement.”
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Jul 15, 2021
Jul 15, 2021
34 min
Host Tori Walker spends a morning with Catriona Pine on her Brisbane balcony chatting candidly about her faith, her friends, her love of stories, and her work with kids with complex special needs.
EPISODE NOTES:
Host Tori Walker spends a morning with Catriona Pine on her Brisbane balcony chatting candidly about her faith, her friends, her love of stories, and her work with kids with complex special needs.
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Catriona is a beautiful, warm individual who uses her gifts to love her family, her church family, and the kids she works with. She works as a speech pathologist assisting kids with complex special needs to eat and communicate. She lives in Brisbane and is a member of Living Church.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“You emotionally connect very well with stories.”
“I think it’s really important to make sure that that kid knows that you’re present and that you’re there.”
“These are beloved children.”
“Church has a lot of politics that I don’t want to get involved in and I think don’t want to mess relationships.”
“When you’re working with someone who’s, in the beginning, not giving a lot back because of a variety of reasons, turning up for them every week is really important.”
“The pressure to be a certain size is so prevalent.”
“Buy bigger jeans. I shouldn’t get sad, just buy bigger jeans.”
“I’m the biggest person in the class but I can do it.”
“Constant encouragement from everyone around you.”
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Jun 30, 2021
Jun 30, 2021
34 min
Alison Eloff has worked in ministry with women for 35 years in various capacities, including church planting, student ministry, curacy and ministry to women at St James Church in Cape Town. In this interview, Alison chats to Taryn about how God brought her to faith at the tender age of 11, when a friend persistently shared gospel tracts with her, despite Alison’s lack of interest or any kind of family interest in Christian things. She shares about working through coming from a broken home, why she chooses to minister to women, and much more. Alison’s years in ministry enables her to share much of her wisdom in clear and enlightening ways.
EPISODE NOTES:
Alison Eloff has worked in ministry with women for 35 years in various capacities, including church planting, student ministry, curacy and ministry to women at St James Church in Cape Town. In this interview, Alison chats to Taryn about how God brought her to faith at the tender age of 11, when a friend persistently shared gospel tracts with her, despite Alison’s lack of interest or any kind of family interest in Christian things. She shares about working through coming from a broken home, why she chooses to minister to women, and much more. Alison’s years in ministry enables her to share much of her wisdom in clear and enlightening ways.
***
Through the persistence of a friend, Alison eventually agreed to read the growing pile of gospel tracts she had shoved under bed. That decision opened her eyes to the gospel and brought Alison to a trusting faith in Jesus at the young age of 11. Since then, God has led her through a lifetime of serving Him in various ministry roles, including partnering with her husband Mervyn in ministry from Bible college and church planting in Cape Town, curacy at St Helen’s, London, to student and family ministry in Stellenbosch, theological training and student work at George Whitefield College in Muizenberg and then again to church ministry at St James Church, Kenilworth in Cape Town. Together, Alison and Mervyn are parents to their two, now adult, daughters. And while gardening and sewing are among her favourite activities, seeing the 'light go on' when women study the Bible has been among her favourite ministry experiences of the last 35 years in working with women. Alison says that she always finds the Lord to be the faithful rock He promises to be in His word and that she loves sharing this reality with women.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“She said to me, do you know of the Jesus you are meant to be learning about at Sunday School? I had no idea what she was talking about. It was a totally foreign idea … then she started feeding me a series of booklets.”
“She gave me one a week and I dutifully took the booklet and stuck it in a tin under my bed. … We eventually got to the end of the booklets and she asked me again “have you looked at the booklets”. I thought, the only way that I am going to get this woman off my back is if I actually read the booklets and then I can say in good conscience that I read them and give them back to her and that would then be the end of the story. And I read in them about the reality of the claims that God makes that he is actually King. He is the creator. He is the one who in authority. As an 11 year old, I have chose to live as though he has not existed and that in fact is treason and is deeply offensive to him and I need to do something about that and I thought, if he said it and he is God then I really am in big trouble if I don’t say something or do something about it.”
“I've got to make my peace with the fact that God will do what is right and He cares for them the way He cared for me and His plan for them may not have reached its completion yet.”
“Every place we have worked and lived we have just learned so much from the people we have been working with. And we keep learning. There is always more to learn.”
“Being in the ministry is an enormous privilege.”
“We are learning again that you’ve got to keep holding onto the basics.”
“Keeping the main thing the main thing is what we are learning again and again and again.”
“We are learning how to do better, to be honest, and there are some real growing pains.”
“I think it all comes back to really embracing the reality: if God is the creator and you look around the world at the extraordinary beauty and diversity - God got it right to have an extraordinary mix of everything … it’s beautiful and works so well.”
“I think that as human beings if we keep acknowledging God as our creator - if we are in a relationship with Him - we shouldn’t be scared by other people’s diversity or their opinions. At the end of the day, we are all working on our relationship with Jesus and are we all doing what we can to be as fruitful as we can for Him … altogether that should be creating a beautiful thing for Jesus. Maybe it’s too simplistic but it is one of the best ways that I can make sense of what we need to do.”
“For me that has meant picking up all the balls that I used to hold (and doing things smarter in the Covid context).”
“It’s not even in the same room as my skill set, it’s in a whole other building!”
“I think that is the privilege of being a part of God’s family - we do carry each other’s burdens.”
“I think we have not yet seen the kingdom stories that are going to come out of Covid.”
“We are both broken and sinful. The reality is our brokenness sometimes won’t be fixed. Ecclesiastes says that. So we limp along as broken people, but we are also sinful. God in his grace gives grace for one and deals with the sinfulness of the other.”
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Jun 15, 2021
Jun 15, 2021
30 min
Host Tori Walker catches up with singer-songwriter Tenielle Neda about people who have encouraged her in her faith, her latest album “What is My Hope?”, and the real story behind making beautiful music videos.
EPISODE NOTES:
Host Tori Walker catches up with singer-songwriter Tenielle Neda about people who have encouraged her in her faith, her latest album “What is My Hope?”, and the real story behind making beautiful music videos.
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Tenielle drives big trains! She lives with her husband and two boys in the red sands of Karratha, WA. She loves pointing people to Jesus whether in word or song. Tenielle is a singer-songwriter who writes devotional music with the aim to point people's hearts and minds to Jesus, to encourage and bear witness to the world of his saving grace.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“I had a few key people in my life that really loved me, and took me under their wing and discipled me and were super patient with me.”
“After I became a Christian I just naturally was writing songs about that faith journey and my faith.”
“I got all these really encouraging messages from people saying how much the songs had ministered to them and pointed their hearts to Jesus.”
“On this EP I really did contemplate a lot this idea of our hope in Christ and our future hope and that it’s secured because of the person and work of Jesus.”
PRAYER FOR...
Where I live, there are very few Christians and I work in an entirely secular and male-dominated workforce. I find the workplace difficult at times, but I pray I can be a light in that place and I do see it as an opportunity for me to bear witness to Christ in a place that is at times hostile to that. I was also a "secular artist" signed to Universal Records before I became a Christian/Christian artist. So please pray for my journey with faith and music.
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May 30, 2021
May 30, 2021
36 min
Positive peer pressure was a factor in Kim Bell’s coming to trust in Jesus for her salvation. Listen to Kim and Taryn chat about how Kim came to faith, her love for teaching children the Bible, and how God has shaped and grown the ministry that brought her and her husband, Rory, to England where they produce both print and online Sunday School teaching materials.
EPISODE NOTES:
Positive peer pressure was a factor in Kim Bell’s coming to trust in Jesus for her salvation. Listen to Kim and Taryn chat about how Kim came to faith; her love for teaching children the Bible and how God has shaped and grown the ministry that brought her and her husband, Rory, to England where they produce both print and online Sunday School teaching materials.
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Kim Bell started trusting Jesus for her salvation when she was a teenager. Her love for teaching the Bible began shortly afterwards when she embarked on a theology degree at George Whitefield Bible College. Through student placement, she found herself teaching the Bible to toddlers and fell in love with littlies and with sharing God’s Word. It is fitting then that Kim now assists her husband, Rory, who runs TnT Ministries - an organisation that produces excellent Sunday School teaching materials both in print and online. Kim and Rory and their three children, Emma, Aidan and Nathan, live in the UK and are part of the Cornerstone Church family in Kingston Upon Thames.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
George Whitefield Bible College
SHOW SNIPPETS:
“I love the Bible and love children and thought why not focus on this (children’s work) as a career move?”
“I loved every aspect of it. I loved building relationships with the kids. I loved teaching them the Bible. I loved everything about it.”
“As we left, I said to Rory, wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could do this full time? … a number of years later, they took us out for a meal (and asked us to take over their ministry).”
“Within a week, all those obstacles were gone.”
“I was trying to hold it together, you can’t fall apart with three little kids.”
“If it wasn’t clear that the Lord had led us here, I would definitely go home with you! … it was really hard!”
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May 15, 2021
May 15, 2021
41 min
Host Tori Walker chats via Zoom with Jo van der Avoort about mothering and ministry in times of pandemic lockdowns and distancing.
EPISODE NOTES:
Host Tori Walker chats via Zoom with Jo van der Avoort about mothering and ministry in times of pandemic lockdowns and distancing.
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Jo moved to Durban, South Africa because of two men - Jesus and Ryan. Her studies are a heady mix of Medical Sciences, English Literature, Education, and Theology. She grew up taking the glittering beaches and waterways of Sydney for granted - though she’s very grateful that Durban also includes sea breezes. For the last 7 years she’s been figuring out how to live in a country where to be uni-lingual is unusual; how to be married; and how to treasure the cyclical and hidden task of parenting a three and a six year old.
LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
Daily Prayer App - available via App Store of Google Play Store (orange with graphic symbol of sunrise)
Praying from the scriptures (praising God, confessing sin, thanking God and asking God): from Prayer Chat Hebrews 1
SHOW SNIPPETS:
"The ministry I’m doing is loving two small people, and doing whatever I can (and feeling very frail and human as i do it), to teach them about God and his world and what it looks like to live in it."
Regarding practical ministry during a pandemic: “Realising I’m not allowed to do any of those things, but I can pray for them, and I have to trust that that is the most meaningful thing I can do for them.”
"God is not a list of truths - he has called me into a relationship with him. And I’m actually allowed to relate to him as someone who meets me in the depths of my being rather than someone who gives me correct things to think about life and who I am."
Five Books to read along with Tori and Taryn at The Lydia Project: Conversations with Christian Women
- Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark Vroegop
- Beautifully Distinct edited by Trillia Newbell
- In His Image by Jen Wilkin
- Growing Together by Melissa Kruger
- Need to Know by Gary Millar
Head to The Wandering Bookseller for a 15% discount on any of our book club books.
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May 10, 2021
May 10, 2021
29 min
The Lydia Project's first book club episode is here! Listen in as Tori chats to Mark Vroegop - author of our first book club book, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy - about the devastating loss of his daughter to stillbirth and how he came to learn to embrace the grace of lament.
In the book, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament, Mark explains how lament is how you live between the poles of a hard life and trusting God’s goodness.
Lament is how we bring our sorrow to God—but it is a neglected dimension of the Christian life for many Christians today. We need to recover the practice of honest spiritual struggle that gives us permission to vocalize our pain and wrestle with our sorrow. Lament avoids trite answers and quick solutions, progressively moving us toward deeper worship and trust.
Exploring how the Bible—through the psalms of lament and the book of Lamentations—gives voice to our pain, this book invites us to grieve, struggle, and tap into the rich reservoir of grace and mercy God offers in the darkest moments of our lives.
Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy is available online or in bookstores worldwide. In Australia, a 15% discount is available for all Lydia Project Book Club books through The Wandering Bookseller. Simply use the discount code LYDIA15 at the checkout.
Bio:
Mark Vroegop is the lead pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis and the author of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament, the ECPA 2020 Christian Book of the Year, and Weep with Me: How Lament Opens a Door for Racial Reconciliation. He’s married to Sarah, and they have four children and a daughter-in-law.