Meme Mulugeta grew up in the church, the daughter of two ministers. At 19, she got pregnant — and the church turned its back on her. That single moment of rejection sent her walking away from God for 17 years. She built a life, tried to build a business, went into serious debt, and watched it all fall apart. It was only when she had nothing left to fill the hole that she turned back to God — and what happened next is the kind of story that reminds you He was never surprised.

What followed was a series of yes-or-no moments: Write a book. Sacrifice your son. Start a publishing company. Each one felt impossible. Each one came with provision she couldn't have engineered on her own.

In this conversation, Meme and Karen talk about what obedience actually costs, why your most painful seasons may be exactly what God was using to get your attention, and how the Holy Spirit shows up as teacher, provider, and guide when you finally stop trying to figure it all out yourself.

In this episode you'll hear:

• How being rejected by the church at 19 sent Meme walking away from God for 17 years — and what finally brought her back
• The Holy Spirit encounter at an altar call that released a burden she hadn't even known she was carrying
• What it means when God asks you to "sacrifice your son" — and the moment Meme realized her child had become her god
• A 10-year business download received in under five minutes — and the pink slip that came five days later
• How giving her son to God meant she could trust Him instead of panic when she lost her job
• The mentor who overheard her at the gym and became her guide for three months — and the Kingdom Business Coach who offered to coach her for free
• Why Meme wrote an entire book in three weeks — and why she never planned to publish it
• The one thing Meme says will save you the most time in your walk with God

About Meme Mulugeta: Meme Mulugeta is the founder of The One and Only Publishing and creator of the Legacy Project — a ministry that helps individuals record their God stories through documentary-style video and a keepsake book. She is also the author of her own memoir, written in three weeks in partnership with the Holy Spirit. Meme's mission is to help people uncover the goodness of God in their own lives and leave a lasting legacy for those who come after them.

Connect with Meme: Website: theoneandonlypublishing.com

Referenced in this episode:

• The sacrifice of Isaac — "God is calling for a sacrifice" (Genesis 22)
• "Those who are faithful in small things will be given more" — Luke 16:10 / Matthew 25:23

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00:00] Introduction
• [00:00:49] Meet Meme Mulugeta
• [00:01:06] Growing Up in Church — and Walking Away at 19
• [00:02:11] 17 Years Away: A Business Fails and God Gets Her Attention
• [00:02:58] The Altar Call: "I Got You"
• [00:03:45] God Said Write a Book. She Said No.
• [00:05:00] The Women's Conference and the Call for Sacrifice
• [00:06:03] "I Want You to Sacrifice Your Son"
• [00:06:57] The Publishing Company Download
• [00:07:46] Five Days Later: Fired
• [00:08:09] Why Losing Her Job Didn't Panic Her
• [00:08:37] The Wilderness Season — How God Provided Step by Step
• [00:11:44] When Your Child Becomes Your God
• [00:12:59] The Real Cost of Obedience
• [00:14:51] Why God Let the First Business Fail
• [00:16:41] Being Okay With Not Knowing Why
• [00:17:58] Obedience Never Stops — and Neither Do the Miracles
• [00:19:38] Helping Others Uncover Their God Story
• [00:20:41] How Meme Works With Clients
• [00:21:29] The Legacy Project vs. Traditional Publishing
• [00:22:32] How to Connect With Meme
• [00:22:56] One Takeaway: Just Do It
• [00:25:28] Closing Reflection
• [00:25:53] Sign-Off

Want to be a guest on The GraceForge Podcast? Send Karen Dittman a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1733503318442796293a1fecb

Are you running so hard for God that you've forgotten how to walk with Him?

Christian life coach and podcast host Kristin Kurtz knows that feeling intimately. For years she pushed full speed ahead — full-time corporate career, young children, a business, a marriage — until her body finally said no. Shingles. Grief. A father's last words: "Don't work so hard. You'll end up like me." And a still, small voice that stopped her on a walk around the lake: "Be still and know that I am God. And you're not."

In this conversation, Kristin shares the phrase that has become her anchor: the pace of grace. Not passive. Not giving up. But learning to match your stride to God's, release your grip on your own plans, and trust Him with what He builds on the other side.

This is a conversation for every driven woman who secretly wonders if the pace she's keeping is something God actually asked for.

In this episode you'll hear:

• Why high-achieving Christian women end up burned out — and what real recovery looks like
• What it means to "know when the grace has lifted" from something you've been pouring yourself into
• The difference between God's great plans and your good ones — and why you have to let go of yours to get His
• The Noah builders and Nehemiah builders: what it looks like to keep going when nothing makes sense and everyone thinks you're crazy
• How the "messy middle" becomes the "middle of a miracle"
• A simple, powerful way to know your no — and why NO is literally in the middle of KNOW
• What "scrubbing in and scrubbing out" looks like as a daily rhythm with God

About Kristin Kurtz: Kristin Kurtz is an author, life coach, and spiritual midwife, and the founder of New Wings Coaching and host of the Hope Unlocked podcast. She works with women leaders, entrepreneurs, and ministry builders at pivotal moments...helping them unlock identity, activate their voice, and make bold, faith-aligned decisions that accelerate clarity, confidence, and impact.

Connect with Kristin: Website: newwingscoaching.net Instagram: @renew.wings Podcast: Hope Unlocked — available on all platforms

Referenced in this episode:

• Psalm 46:10 — "Be still and know that I am God"
• Proverbs 3:5-6 — "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding..."
• The story of Noah and the ark (Genesis 6–9)
• Nehemiah's builders — including Sanballat and Tobiah (Nehemiah 4)
• Abraham, Sarah, and the warning about birthing an Ishmael (Genesis 16)
• The Proverbs 31 woman (Proverbs 31:10-31)
• The Chosen, Season 1 — the miracle of the fish (behind-the-scenes on YouTube, search "Dallas Jenkins miracle of the fish")

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00:00] Hook question and introduction
• [00:00:25] Welcome to The Grace Forge podcast
• [00:00:37] Karen welcomes Kristin Kurtz
• [00:00:53] "Pace of grace" — Kristin introduces her journey from racehorse mentality to learning to walk
• [00:02:03] Discernment: hearing God's voice about what to step into — and what to let go of
• [00:02:12] Radical acceptance: letting go of control and letting God take the reins
• [00:02:41] A father's last words: "Don't work so hard. You'll end up like me."
• [00:03:07] Shingles after grief — when the body reaches its breaking point
• [00:03:42] The still, small voice: "Be still and know that I am God. And you're not."
• [00:04:47] Staying fired up vs. burning out — Kristin's burning message about what dims our flame
• [00:06:18] The Proverbs 31 woman: multi-passionate, but called to her season
• [00:07:18] Karen's dad and brother are firefighters: a fire needs fuel to keep burning
• [00:07:49] Karen's own burnout story: adrenal fatigue and a year of rebuilding
• [00:09:55] Getting "benched" by the Holy Spirit — a fast walker learns to sit on the bench
• [00:10:46] Childlike wonder and childlike faith: what slowing down makes room for
• [00:11:27] Letting go of your own plans: Proverbs 3:5-6 and the difference between good and great
• [00:11:58] Leaving corporate accounting to follow God — riding bareback with no reins
• [00:13:43] The Noah builders and Nehemiah builders: keeping going when it looks crazy
• [00:16:01] Don't birth an Ishmael — the cost of going your own way
• [00:17:21] The Chosen and Peter's empty net: God is in the waiting as much as the miracle
• [00:18:26] Kristin's work: Christian life coaching since 2017, the Hope Unlocked podcast
• [00:19:22] Helping women find their voice — from choke hold to roar
• [00:20:02] Grief, family estrangement, addiction recovery at 25, and the grace of forgiveness
• [00:23:07] Leaving as the family breadwinner — stepping out like Abraham
• [00:25:39] Reframing the messy middle: "You're not stuck — you're in the middle of a miracle."
• [00:28:09] How to connect with Kristin: newwingscoaching.net, Hope Unlocked podcast
• [00:29:09] Final takeaway: pace of grace, know your no, and scrub in/scrub out
• [00:30:58] Karen's closing reflection: God has the grace we need for every season

Want to be a guest on The GraceForge Podcast? Send Karen Dittman a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1733503318442796293a1fecb

Have you ever sat in church, heard the word grace, and still walked out feeling like you had to earn God's approval? Author and relationship repair specialist Danielle E. Bernock spent 35 years knowing in her head that God loved her — before she finally believed it in her heart.

In this conversation, Karen and Danielle explore what grace really looks like when it unfolds through the hard things: childhood trauma, substance abuse, religious wounds, fear of God, and the confusing push-pull of disorganized attachment. Danielle uses a stunning image to describe it all — the Persian buttercup, a flower with 100 to 130 paper-thin petals that open one by one. That's grace. Not a formula or an acronym. A living, blooming thing.

Together they talk about what it means to stand in your worst moment and discover God is not reaching for a stone — He's reaching for you. And why the answer to life, the universe, and everything might just be grace.

In this episode you'll hear:

• Why trauma and religious wounds make it so hard to truly receive God's love — and what healing actually looks like
• What "disorganized attachment" is and how it shows up in your relationship with God
• The prayer from Zephaniah that Danielle calls out loud every time she hears a siren
• A story about a little boy covered in motor oil — and why it's one of the most powerful pictures of grace you'll ever hear
• Why grace doesn't give people a "license to sin" — and what really changes when you encounter it face to face
• How God redeems your worst seasons to make you the exact person someone else needs

About Danielle E. Bernock: Danielle is a multi-published author, speaker, and relationship repair specialist who helps people heal their relationships with themselves, others, and God. She is the author of Emerging With Wings: A True Story of Lies, Pain, and the Love That Heals (celebrating its 12th anniversary) and is currently working on her next book. She also offers a free audiobook, Love's Manifesto, on her website.

Connect with Danielle: Website (all socials linked here): daniellebernock.com Free audiobook: Love's Manifesto — available at her website

Referenced in this episode:

• Hebrews 4 — "Come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need"
• Zephaniah — "Grace, grace" (the capstone prayer)
• The Wonderhunt video Something Stronger (highly recommended — search it on YouTube)
• The story of the woman caught in adultery — John 8
• The parable of the prodigal son / the Good Father — Luke 15

TIMESTAMPS

• [00:00:00] Hook question and introduction
• [00:00:25] Welcome to The Grace Forge podcast
• [00:00:40] Karen welcomes Danielle E. Bernock
• [00:01:01] The Persian buttercup: Danielle's metaphor for how grace unfolds one petal at a time
• [00:02:13] A prayer at a wedding that planted the first seed of understanding grace
• [00:05:23] 46 years of marriage, deciding not to have children — trusting God anyway
• [00:06:06] Trauma, substance abuse, and the fear of having children
• [00:06:49] Religious trauma and spiritual abuse: when you're terrified of the God you need
• [00:08:25] Disorganized attachment explained: the "needy, go away" cycle with God and people
• [00:10:01] Moving to Arizona: God introduces Danielle to herself
• [00:10:33] The CDs that changed everything: discovering grace through a guest minister
• [00:11:17] Sarah and Hagar unpacked: old covenant of works vs. new covenant of grace
• [00:12:51] What is GraceForge? Karen explains the Hebrews 4 vision
• [00:13:48] "Grace, grace" — praying the Zephaniah scripture over ambulances and firetrucks
• [00:15:46] Karen shares her experience as an adoptive mom raising kids from trauma
• [00:16:35] What it truly means to know — not just understand — that you are loved by God
• [00:17:09] 35 years to believe the love of God: Danielle's honest testimony
• [00:18:06] The woman caught in adultery: God doesn't identify us by our worst moments
• [00:19:10] Something Stronger: the story of a boy covered in motor oil and a father's arms
• [00:22:31] Does grace give a license to sin? The hyper-grace conversation
• [00:24:26] How God redeems our worst moments to make us the right person for someone else
• [00:24:53] What Danielle does now: books, coaching, relationship repair specialist
• [00:26:48] How to connect with Danielle: daniellebernock.com
• [00:27:32] Final takeaway: the grace of God is for YOU — because God said so
• [00:28:22] Karen's closing reflection: what changes when you finally accept you are loved

Want to be a guest on The GraceForge Podcast? Send Karen Dittman a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1733503318442796293a1fecb

Want to be a guest on The GraceForge Podcast? Send Karen Dittman a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1733503318442796293a1fecb