Mercy in the Mess: Lori Stanley Roeleveld on Writing Through Loss, MS, and Estrangement

Episode Description

In this episode of the Junk to Jewels™ Podcast, Georgette sits down with author, speaker, and coach Lori Stanley Roeleveld — self-described "disturber of hobbits" — for a conversation that moves from a complicated childhood in Hope Valley, Rhode Island to a lifetime of persevering faith. Lori shares what it was like growing up in a home shaped by untreated mental health struggles and alcohol, coming to Christ at age four during a televised Billy Graham Crusade, and spending her early school years reading and writing alone in the school library after testing years ahead of grade level. She opens up about her father's 65-year career as a firefighter and 51 years as fire chief, his remarkable transformation, the sudden estrangement from her mother and brother the day her father died, her husband Rob's MS diagnosis, and a near-fatal dog attack on the job. Lori and Georgette also dig into the writing life — Lori's viral 2014 blog post that reached over two million readers, her process for writing seven award-winning books (including her newest, God's Abundant Mercy), and what it means to live on "the Lord's faith payroll." It's a rich, honest conversation about mercy, resilience, and finding the jewels in the junk.

Listener Takeaways

• How childhood hardship — and even being labeled "different" — can become the training ground for a lifelong ministry of words
• Why success can be just as spiritually dangerous as failure, and the importance of asking God to keep sanctification ahead of platform growth
• How to hold onto faith through parental estrangement, chronic illness in marriage, and unexpected trauma
• A practical writing process (the "madwoman, architect, carpenter, judge" method) for anyone trying to write in the margins of a full life
• What it looks like to trust God's provision — living on "the Lord's faith payroll" — when income doesn't look like a steady paycheck

Chapter Timestamps

(Insert final timestamps once episode is edited — suggested chapter markers below)

• 00:00 — Welcome & introducing Lori Stanley Roeleveld
• Growing up in Hope Valley, Rhode Island
• Her father's 65-year firefighting legacy and life transformation
• Coming to Christ at age four during a Billy Graham Crusade
• The girl in the school library: giftedness, isolation, and God's provision
• Losing her father and the sudden estrangement from her mother and brother
• Marriage, Rob's MS diagnosis, and their 130-year-old fixer-upper home
• Surviving a severe on-the-job dog attack
• The writing life: seven books, a viral blog post, and living on the Lord's faith payroll
• Closing questions: favorite book, favorite verse, a coffee with C.S. Lewis' circle, and a word to her younger self

About Our Guest — Lori Stanley Roeleveld

Lori Stanley Roeleveld is an author, speaker, coach, and disturber of hobbits. She teaches biblical truth with gentle humor and invites weary believers back to the narrow road through her ministry of words. She has written seven award-winning books, including her newest release, God's Abundant Mercy (Our Daily Bread Publishing), and her sixth book won the Golden Scroll Award for Christian Living Book of the Year in 2024. Though she holds degrees in psychology and biblical studies from Barrington College (now merged with Gordon College), Lori says she has learned the most from studying her Bible in life's trenches. She spent much of her career working in human services with teens and families in crisis. Lori is a wife, retired homeschool mom, mother of adults, and "Omi" to five grandsons. She and her husband Rob have been married 37 years and live in a 130-year-old house in Rhode Island that is his ongoing restoration project.

Connect with Lori:

Website: https://www.loriroeleveld.com

Coaching & Freelance: https://www.takeheartcoachingandfreelance.com

Substack: https://loriroeleveld.substack.com/

Featured books: Running from a Crazy Man, Red Pen Redemption, Jesus and the Beanstalk, The Art of Hard Conversations, Colorful Connections, Graceful Influence, and God's Abundant Mercy.

About Your Host — Georgette Beck

Georgette Beck is an author, podcast host, lay minister, mentor, and Founder & President of Bella Healing Hearts Foundation. Her book, Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight, won the International Impact Book Awards (Inspirational/Transformational category) and was a Semi-Finalist in the 2025 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition with the Florida Writers Association.

Book (Junk to Jewels):