March 26, 2025 • 19 mins
Ever wondered what makes a podcast host who regularly dives into trauma and healing tick when they're off-mic? This week, Courageous Overcomers takes a refreshing detour as Tonya Shellnutt pulls back the curtain on her personal life at the urging of her Producer and Children.
Through rapid-fire questions and candid answers, Tonya reveals herself as an early-to-bed morning person who cherishes her quiet coffee time, hates slow drivers in the left lane, and admits to being "the worst backseat driver." She shares her unexpected talent for dominating at Scrabble (having only lost once), her dream of vacationing on a Lake of the Ozarks houseboat with family, and her wish to spend a day as the Savannah Bananas' enthusiastic owner Jesse Cole.
The lighthearted conversation takes meaningful turns as Tonya addresses misconceptions about her personality. While many see her strong, driven exterior—shaped by losing her mother and realizing how precious time truly is—she reveals an incredibly tender heart that cries easily at church baptisms and meaningful moments. Her superpower? Perseverance, especially when it comes to protecting vulnerable people. Her faith struggle? Wrestling with why God allows suffering, even as she clings to the promise that His ways are higher. Her most practical advice? "Nobody cares how much you know, but how much you care," and her humorous but genuine warning to never pray for patience unless you're truly ready for the challenge.
Share this episode with someone who might need encouragement from our previous conversations about hope, depression, or putting purpose to pain. Your support through five-star reviews and sharing helps spread the message that no one is alone in their struggles. Join us next Wednesday as we return to our regular programming and continue our journey of courageous overcoming.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tonya Shellnutt (00:11):
Well, welcome to Courageous Overcomers where
we talk about stories of hopeand healing.
I'm your host, tonya Shellnutt.
Well, welcome back everybody.
This week we're going to dosomething totally different no
heavy topics, no deep dives intotrauma, just a fun off script
episode where you get to knowthe real me, because have you
(00:33):
ever wondered what makes melaugh or cry, what's my
superpower or what's the mostridiculous thing I've ever done?
My Producer and my childrenhave told me that I need to have
a more lighthearted episodeevery once in a while, because
so much of what we talk about isheavy stuff.
And so today I want you tobuckle up, because I'm going to
(00:57):
share a little bit with you all.
I'm not going to share it all,but I'm going to share a little
bit of that inside Titania.
So we're going to go throughsome rapid fire questions and
then we're just gonna make thisa short but sweet episode.
I have a lot going on gettingready to go down to Charleston
this weekend to see the boys, asHolden is getting ready to
(01:21):
graduate quote from his knobyear at the Citadel and not
really graduating but he's nolonger going to be a knob after
tomorrow and then I'm headed toOklahoma for work.
So got a lot going on, so let'sget started.
First question am I a morningperson or a night owl?
I am definitely not a night owl.
(01:43):
I am a morning person.
My family will tell you.
I love daylight savings becausethen I can go to bed early.
I love to be in bed.
Probably around 930 or 10 iswhere I love to go to bed, and I
need a full eight hours ofsleep.
That is just what I need.
So my kids, when they wereyounger, they would try to have
(02:05):
conversations with me like nineo'clock at night and my brain
was just like jello very hard.
So I'm a morning person is whenI'm the most productive.
I love getting up, which leadsto the next question, which is
are you a coffee or tea drinker?
And I'm going to say both, andI know that's not fair to answer
(02:28):
.
But I will say this I have acup of coffee every single
morning or two While I do myquiet time.
I love just sitting there.
It's one of my favorite things.
And then in the evening I havethis amazing strawberry
sensation hot tea with honey init.
It's so good.
It's not, as I don't alwaysdrink it in the summer, but
(02:48):
definitely in the winter,because I am cold all the time.
That's another thing my familywill tell you.
My husband leaves the AC on atlike 63.
Not really, but pretty really,and so it's always cold in my
house.
So next question if you couldhave coffee with one Bible
(03:09):
character, who would it be andwhat would I ask them?
So I was thinking about this,and of course, there's lots of,
lots of them that I would wantto ask questions to, but the one
that I relate to the most isPeter.
And when he cut off that guy'sear, like, what was that all
(03:31):
about?
And because there are timeslike in my heart I want to cut
people's ears off.
Well, kind of, but not reallytheir mouth more than anything.
So I would want to sit withPeter and just ask him how did
you tame the mouth?
Those of you that know me knowthat I am a straight shooter.
(03:52):
What you see is what you get.
I am the most authentic personthere is because I can't stand
fake.
I hate fake.
I hate that term.
Bless your heart, that's fake.
And because, really, whatthey're saying is you're an
idiot.
I would rather you just tell meI'm an idiot than be fake to my
face.
(04:13):
So me and Peter would get alongreally, really good and I could
see us having some greatconversations over coffee.
Next question sweet or saltysnacks.
I am definitely a sweet girl.
I do love me some sugar.
So there's that.
If I could only eat one foodfor the rest of my life, what
(04:34):
would it be?
And nobody will be surprised bythis, but I love popcorn,
orville Redenbacher's kettlecorn in the microwave Worst
thing in the world for you.
But I probably have three bagsa week and diet Coke, because
you got to have popcorn and dietCoke together and I would be
very upset if RFK takes away mydiet Coke.
(04:57):
So, okay, dream vacation.
Dream vacation, beach,mountains or city adventure.
Well, I love the lake.
We spent many summers growingup on the lake with my
grandparents and my cousins andmy stepsisters and my sister and
brother.
It was so much fun and I lovedit.
(05:19):
Those are some of my fondestmemories and so I'm totally a
lake girl.
I would love to go to the Lakeof the Ozarks and rent one of
those boats, those houseboats,and bring, like all my family,
out and have a couple of thoseand cruise around on the lake
and slide down those slides.
I love to water ski.
I used to be able to ski on one, but not anymore.
(05:42):
I have to ski on two.
I love being with Rich in theboat and fishing.
I'll get in my little floaty,as he's, like you know, trolling
around from cove to cove, andI'll just lay in my floaty.
I am.
I love the water and Iespecially love the lake.
So we're going to family, we'regoing to go to the Lake of the
(06:06):
Ozarks and get one of thoseboats one of these days, and
that'd be so fun.
Okay, what was my first job?
And my first job was when I was13.
And I worked for RogersShowboat no kidding in Billings,
montana.
My Billings friends knowexactly where that is, right
over near the metro.
And I was the bus girl, 13years old.
(06:29):
I remember I had to buy my ownbasketball shoes.
That was just the way it wasback then.
You had to pay for your ownstuff and that's what I did.
So what was the worst job Iever had?
There's a couple.
I worked at the post officeonce.
I hated that, that was horrible.
And then I also was a roofer.
(06:50):
I loved that, but that was backin the day, before we had
conveyor belts that could putshingles on the roof, and when
we did things by hand with ahammer and a nail.
So it was brutal work, but Iwas young and I could do it.
So I would say those wereprobably two.
What is my biggest pet peeve?
(07:11):
My family probably knows this,but I hate slow drivers in the
left lane.
Let me hear it for all y'all Iknow you guys are the same thing
.
I will say these people, theyjust camp out in the left lane.
It's like get over.
And my team, my team, they'llalso tell you.
I am definitely the NASCARdriver.
(07:33):
I got to get from point A topoint B in a hurry and you need
to get out of my way, and ifyou're driving in the slow lane,
you're driving me crazy.
I also will admit that I am theworst backseat driver.
My husband's probably cheeringand singing Hallelujah.
It's true.
He doesn't ever need directionsor a map, because the minute I
(07:59):
get in the truck I'm alreadyfiguring out in my brain what's
the fastest way to get there.
I pull up the map.
I know exactly how we're goingto get from point A to point B,
and Rich would rather, just likeyou know, mosey around, but me,
I got it all figured out, howwe're going to get there.
Don't hate me because of that,but it's true.
(08:20):
My brain just it doesn't shutoff.
Okay, here's one.
What is your favorite TV show ormovie?
Now, most of you.
Well, I'll answer this firstand then I'll go into the
explanation.
So I hate sad movies.
I can't stand them.
I love a great sports movie, afeel-good movie and this is
(08:45):
going to shock my audience anovercomer movie.
Those are my favorite moviesall around, and my family
doesn't like to watch movieswith me because I'm always
asking, well, what's going tohappen here, what's going to
happen there?
And they're like just watch themovie.
I really don't like to go to themovie theater.
It's not my favorite thing todo.
(09:05):
I like to just be in theprivacy of my own home and cry,
and so that leads to the nextthing is what is the biggest
misconception about me?
And I would have to say thatpeople think that I am have to
(09:30):
say that people think that I am,that I have a very strong
personality and can come acrossmaybe as pushy, and those are
all true, but I have a strongpersonality because I'm driven
to get things done, because whenI lost my mom.
I know this is supposed to belighthearted, but when I lost my
mom it flipped a switch in mybrain as to how short and
(09:50):
precious time is.
So when people tell me thatthey can't do something, that
drives me crazy.
But because you can and ifthere's a will, there's a way,
and I'm not saying thatsometimes there's just things
that can't be done, but thatactually leads to what is my
superpower, and my superpower isperseverance.
I don't usually give up BecauseI do believe that.
(10:14):
You know, especially in my lineof work.
You know there's so many peoplethat we need to help and so
many vulnerable people we needto protect, and if we don't do
it, who's going to do it?
So I get really frustrated whenpeople are passive or
complacent and don't want totake action to protect people.
(10:34):
That that's the stuff thatdrives me crazy.
I suppose that probably anotherpet peeve of mine is passivity
and complacency because,honestly, you've you're given a
choice, like you can choose toget better or you can choose to
protect people, but the matterof the fact is, is some people
don't.
(10:56):
So well, when I talk about, youknow the biggest misconception,
and I'm actually have the mosttender heart because I cry so
easily.
I cry at church when they'redoing baptisms.
I cry when people go forwardand give their life to Christ.
I cry when people go forward topray because I feel I don't
(11:19):
know how to explain it but Ifeel their pain, I know there's
something in them and they'rehurting and I just it makes me
so emotional and so I'm actuallynot a hard nosed person.
Yes, I have expectations, butI'm actually super sensitive and
I am.
I do cry at movies and atchurch and, like I already said.
(11:45):
So don't think that I am thistough girl, because I'm
definitely not.
I used to put on that personaBecause, well, again here I am
trying to get all preachy withyou.
It doesn't matter, we'll talkabout that some other time.
So, what are some things youwouldn't expect about me?
Okay, this is where it getsreally good, guys.
(12:07):
Okay, I have a completelyrandom talent, for I wish I
could tell you I could play thedrums, because I would love to
be able to play the drums, butthat's not what my talent is.
I actually am really, really,really good at Scrabble and
words.
That is my thing.
My mother-in-law was a Englishprofessor in like the grammar
(12:31):
police and I kick her butt allthe time.
At Scrabble I've only lost onceand that was to my daughter's
fiance.
I'm still a little bitter aboutit, but Scrabble is my game.
So, so random, so random.
How about this one?
If I could meet, could be anyfamous person for a day.
(12:52):
Who would I pick?
And this is a funny one, but Idon't know if any of you know
Jesse Cole from the SavannahBananas.
Oh, my gosh, that guy is.
If you haven't, if you don'tfollow him on LinkedIn or
Instagram, you need to.
I mean, talk about I lovesports for one, but talk about
(13:14):
bringing fun to the game ofsoftball.
I love softball.
We grew up going to the fieldswith my mom and my aunt and
their friends and we lived atthe fields, and mom and my aunt
and their friends, and we livedat the fields and then my girls
played and my boys played, andso it would be so fun to be
Jesse Cole with the SavannahBananas and get to be able to,
(13:34):
you know, turn the game ofsoftball into this whole
production and make people laughand just have a great time.
So I, that is so who I would be.
Okay, what is this is kind of alittle more serious.
But what is one thing that Istruggle with in my faith
journey and most of you probablyalready know this, but it's
(13:58):
that big question of why?
Why does God allow for badthings to happen to people?
And my husband always says youhave to reframe that.
It's not that God allows it perse, it's just that man is
sinful, and so I still strugglewith that.
(14:18):
I spoke about that last week.
Isaiah 55, eight through nine,you know God talks about.
His ways are higher than ourways, and I have to just choose
to believe that.
Romans 828, god says he usesall things for good.
But that's a hard one and I dostruggle with it.
So what is some of my faithfilled, not so serious life
(14:40):
advice?
First one so this is somelife-changing advice that isn't
about healing or overcomingtrauma, but I hope it will help
you.
And the first one is don't everpray for patients.
I'm not joking Like for real.
You should not pray forpatients, Unless unless you are
(15:02):
ready for the challenge and youare in a really good place.
Trust me, because I've beendown that road Don't do it.
And my pastor used to say notto do that, but I never believed
him.
And then I did it, and then Iwas like, oh my gosh, I'm never
doing that again.
Next one if you think that Godis calling you to do something,
(15:23):
he probably is and you shouldnot ignore him something he
probably is and you should notignore him, and you shouldn't go
around and take a poll from85,000 different people.
You should just listen, becausehe's going to keep tapping on
your shoulder louder and louder,and it's best to just listen
the first time around.
And you know, there's thosepeople that are like, well, I
(15:45):
don't know, I'm not sure, andthey take all these pulls
Sometimes.
Maybe God is just seeing ifyou're willing to take the first
step, and so that would besomething that I would encourage
you to do.
And then the last one there'stons more, but I'm going to save
those for another time when wedo this again.
I hope you guys are enjoyingthis, because it's just so
(16:07):
random.
But the last one and this isone of my favorite ones, and
it's nobody cares how much youknow, but how much you care.
You know, you all have thosepeople in your sphere that just
talk about how incredibly smartthey are and you're just, and
then they just treat you just sopoorly and they act like you
know you're an ignorant idiotand those people kill me because
(16:33):
, really, what you are impactedby how somebody treats you
you're not impacted by theirwealth of knowledge, because you
can be the smartest person inthe room and the rudest person
in the room and nobody reallycares about that.
They care about how you treatthem, they care about how you
make them feel, and I think thisis so important and one of the
(16:56):
most important things in life istreating people in a way that
they know that you care, becauseonce they know that you care,
they're going to want to listento what you have to say and then
you might be able to share alittle bit of your insight, but
until they know that you care,it's completely irrelevant.
So that's about it, guys.
(17:16):
I'm going to wrap it up.
I hope that you guys had agreat time leaning into this
conversation with me and justcreating a more lighter topic
this time around, and I justencourage you if you know
somebody who needs to beencouraged on some of our past
episodes about hope or you knowwe've had one on depression and
(17:38):
suicide, or we had one last weekabout putting purpose to our
pain.
I just ask that you guys sharethat, because the more you guys
share the episodes with folks,the more the message of hope
gets out.
And you know, let's be honest,we're so busy, we're all very
busy.
In addition to doing thispodcast, I have my professional
(17:59):
career.
My mother-in-law lives with us.
She's been a great help.
You know, I have five kids.
There's a lot, but I do thisbecause I feel like the Lord has
called me to this and that he'scalled me to just bring hope
and to showcase people that arecourageously overcoming, so that
people don't feel alone.
And I can't do it without youguys.
(18:20):
I need you.
I need you to do the five starreview and I'm sure you probably
have seen I have a coach, Iguess, a podcast coach, a
content coach, and she's likeTonya, you got to post videos.
I hate posting videos.
I'm the worst.
I mean, I did this one lastweek.
You saw me where I was, youknow, talking about the podcast
(18:42):
and I'm looking at it going.
My hair is like sticking outeverywhere.
It's like so bad.
But I'm going to get better atit.
I'm going to work on postingmore videos and trying to engage
the audience, because I thinkit's a message that people need
to hear, so I just want you allto know how much I appreciate
you all, the encouragement thatyou guys send me.
(19:02):
You are such a blessing to me,and so until next week, I hope
everyone has a great week andwe'll see you Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Thank you for joining us here on Courageous
Overcomers with Tonya Shelnutt.
Please remember to follow, likeand share this podcast.
To find out more about Tonya,go to her website at
tonyashellnutt.
com, or to ask a question aboutanything you've heard on today's
show.
Leave us a five-star review andyour message or email at tonya
at tonyashellnutt.
com.
(19:34):
Remember that'sS-H-E-L-L-N-U-T-T.
This podcast is produced by BobSlone Audio Productions.
Well, welcome to Courageous Overcomers where
we talk about stories of hopeand healing.
I'm your host, tonya Shellnutt.
Well, welcome back everybody.
This week we're going to dosomething totally different no
heavy topics, no deep dives intotrauma, just a fun off script
episode where you get to knowthe real me, because have you
(00:33):
ever wondered what makes melaugh or cry, what's my
superpower or what's the mostridiculous thing I've ever done?
My Producer and my childrenhave told me that I need to have
a more lighthearted episodeevery once in a while, because
so much of what we talk about isheavy stuff.
And so today I want you tobuckle up, because I'm going to
(00:57):
share a little bit with you all.
I'm not going to share it all,but I'm going to share a little
bit of that inside Titania.
So we're going to go throughsome rapid fire questions and
then we're just gonna make thisa short but sweet episode.
I have a lot going on gettingready to go down to Charleston
this weekend to see the boys, asHolden is getting ready to
(01:21):
graduate quote from his knobyear at the Citadel and not
really graduating but he's nolonger going to be a knob after
tomorrow and then I'm headed toOklahoma for work.
So got a lot going on, so let'sget started.
First question am I a morningperson or a night owl?
I am definitely not a night owl.
(01:43):
I am a morning person.
My family will tell you.
I love daylight savings becausethen I can go to bed early.
I love to be in bed.
Probably around 930 or 10 iswhere I love to go to bed, and I
need a full eight hours ofsleep.
That is just what I need.
So my kids, when they wereyounger, they would try to have
(02:05):
conversations with me like nineo'clock at night and my brain
was just like jello very hard.
So I'm a morning person is whenI'm the most productive.
I love getting up, which leadsto the next question, which is
are you a coffee or tea drinker?
And I'm going to say both, andI know that's not fair to answer
(02:28):
.
But I will say this I have acup of coffee every single
morning or two While I do myquiet time.
I love just sitting there.
It's one of my favorite things.
And then in the evening I havethis amazing strawberry
sensation hot tea with honey init.
It's so good.
It's not, as I don't alwaysdrink it in the summer, but
(02:48):
definitely in the winter,because I am cold all the time.
That's another thing my familywill tell you.
My husband leaves the AC on atlike 63.
Not really, but pretty really,and so it's always cold in my
house.
So next question if you couldhave coffee with one Bible
(03:09):
character, who would it be andwhat would I ask them?
So I was thinking about this,and of course, there's lots of,
lots of them that I would wantto ask questions to, but the one
that I relate to the most isPeter.
And when he cut off that guy'sear, like, what was that all
(03:31):
about?
And because there are timeslike in my heart I want to cut
people's ears off.
Well, kind of, but not reallytheir mouth more than anything.
So I would want to sit withPeter and just ask him how did
you tame the mouth?
Those of you that know me knowthat I am a straight shooter.
(03:52):
What you see is what you get.
I am the most authentic personthere is because I can't stand
fake.
I hate fake.
I hate that term.
Bless your heart, that's fake.
And because, really, whatthey're saying is you're an
idiot.
I would rather you just tell meI'm an idiot than be fake to my
face.
(04:13):
So me and Peter would get alongreally, really good and I could
see us having some greatconversations over coffee.
Next question sweet or saltysnacks.
I am definitely a sweet girl.
I do love me some sugar.
So there's that.
If I could only eat one foodfor the rest of my life, what
(04:34):
would it be?
And nobody will be surprised bythis, but I love popcorn,
orville Redenbacher's kettlecorn in the microwave Worst
thing in the world for you.
But I probably have three bagsa week and diet Coke, because
you got to have popcorn and dietCoke together and I would be
very upset if RFK takes away mydiet Coke.
(04:57):
So, okay, dream vacation.
Dream vacation, beach,mountains or city adventure.
Well, I love the lake.
We spent many summers growingup on the lake with my
grandparents and my cousins andmy stepsisters and my sister and
brother.
It was so much fun and I lovedit.
(05:19):
Those are some of my fondestmemories and so I'm totally a
lake girl.
I would love to go to the Lakeof the Ozarks and rent one of
those boats, those houseboats,and bring, like all my family,
out and have a couple of thoseand cruise around on the lake
and slide down those slides.
I love to water ski.
I used to be able to ski on one, but not anymore.
(05:42):
I have to ski on two.
I love being with Rich in theboat and fishing.
I'll get in my little floaty,as he's, like you know, trolling
around from cove to cove, andI'll just lay in my floaty.
I am.
I love the water and Iespecially love the lake.
So we're going to family, we'regoing to go to the Lake of the
(06:06):
Ozarks and get one of thoseboats one of these days, and
that'd be so fun.
Okay, what was my first job?
And my first job was when I was13.
And I worked for RogersShowboat no kidding in Billings,
montana.
My Billings friends knowexactly where that is, right
over near the metro.
And I was the bus girl, 13years old.
(06:29):
I remember I had to buy my ownbasketball shoes.
That was just the way it wasback then.
You had to pay for your ownstuff and that's what I did.
So what was the worst job Iever had?
There's a couple.
I worked at the post officeonce.
I hated that, that was horrible.
And then I also was a roofer.
(06:50):
I loved that, but that was backin the day, before we had
conveyor belts that could putshingles on the roof, and when
we did things by hand with ahammer and a nail.
So it was brutal work, but Iwas young and I could do it.
So I would say those wereprobably two.
What is my biggest pet peeve?
(07:11):
My family probably knows this,but I hate slow drivers in the
left lane.
Let me hear it for all y'all Iknow you guys are the same thing
.
I will say these people, theyjust camp out in the left lane.
It's like get over.
And my team, my team, they'llalso tell you.
I am definitely the NASCARdriver.
(07:33):
I got to get from point A topoint B in a hurry and you need
to get out of my way, and ifyou're driving in the slow lane,
you're driving me crazy.
I also will admit that I am theworst backseat driver.
My husband's probably cheeringand singing Hallelujah.
It's true.
He doesn't ever need directionsor a map, because the minute I
(07:59):
get in the truck I'm alreadyfiguring out in my brain what's
the fastest way to get there.
I pull up the map.
I know exactly how we're goingto get from point A to point B,
and Rich would rather, just likeyou know, mosey around, but me,
I got it all figured out, howwe're going to get there.
Don't hate me because of that,but it's true.
(08:20):
My brain just it doesn't shutoff.
Okay, here's one.
What is your favorite TV show ormovie?
Now, most of you.
Well, I'll answer this firstand then I'll go into the
explanation.
So I hate sad movies.
I can't stand them.
I love a great sports movie, afeel-good movie and this is
(08:45):
going to shock my audience anovercomer movie.
Those are my favorite moviesall around, and my family
doesn't like to watch movieswith me because I'm always
asking, well, what's going tohappen here, what's going to
happen there?
And they're like just watch themovie.
I really don't like to go to themovie theater.
It's not my favorite thing todo.
(09:05):
I like to just be in theprivacy of my own home and cry,
and so that leads to the nextthing is what is the biggest
misconception about me?
And I would have to say thatpeople think that I am have to
(09:30):
say that people think that I am,that I have a very strong
personality and can come acrossmaybe as pushy, and those are
all true, but I have a strongpersonality because I'm driven
to get things done, because whenI lost my mom.
I know this is supposed to belighthearted, but when I lost my
mom it flipped a switch in mybrain as to how short and
(09:50):
precious time is.
So when people tell me thatthey can't do something, that
drives me crazy.
But because you can and ifthere's a will, there's a way,
and I'm not saying thatsometimes there's just things
that can't be done, but thatactually leads to what is my
superpower, and my superpower isperseverance.
I don't usually give up BecauseI do believe that.
(10:14):
You know, especially in my lineof work.
You know there's so many peoplethat we need to help and so
many vulnerable people we needto protect, and if we don't do
it, who's going to do it?
So I get really frustrated whenpeople are passive or
complacent and don't want totake action to protect people.
(10:34):
That that's the stuff thatdrives me crazy.
I suppose that probably anotherpet peeve of mine is passivity
and complacency because,honestly, you've you're given a
choice, like you can choose toget better or you can choose to
protect people, but the matterof the fact is, is some people
don't.
(10:56):
So well, when I talk about, youknow the biggest misconception,
and I'm actually have the mosttender heart because I cry so
easily.
I cry at church when they'redoing baptisms.
I cry when people go forwardand give their life to Christ.
I cry when people go forward topray because I feel I don't
(11:19):
know how to explain it but Ifeel their pain, I know there's
something in them and they'rehurting and I just it makes me
so emotional and so I'm actuallynot a hard nosed person.
Yes, I have expectations, butI'm actually super sensitive and
I am.
I do cry at movies and atchurch and, like I already said.
(11:45):
So don't think that I am thistough girl, because I'm
definitely not.
I used to put on that personaBecause, well, again here I am
trying to get all preachy withyou.
It doesn't matter, we'll talkabout that some other time.
So, what are some things youwouldn't expect about me?
Okay, this is where it getsreally good, guys.
(12:07):
Okay, I have a completelyrandom talent, for I wish I
could tell you I could play thedrums, because I would love to
be able to play the drums, butthat's not what my talent is.
I actually am really, really,really good at Scrabble and
words.
That is my thing.
My mother-in-law was a Englishprofessor in like the grammar
(12:31):
police and I kick her butt allthe time.
At Scrabble I've only lost onceand that was to my daughter's
fiance.
I'm still a little bitter aboutit, but Scrabble is my game.
So, so random, so random.
How about this one?
If I could meet, could be anyfamous person for a day.
(12:52):
Who would I pick?
And this is a funny one, but Idon't know if any of you know
Jesse Cole from the SavannahBananas.
Oh, my gosh, that guy is.
If you haven't, if you don'tfollow him on LinkedIn or
Instagram, you need to.
I mean, talk about I lovesports for one, but talk about
(13:14):
bringing fun to the game ofsoftball.
I love softball.
We grew up going to the fieldswith my mom and my aunt and
their friends and we lived atthe fields, and mom and my aunt
and their friends, and we livedat the fields and then my girls
played and my boys played, andso it would be so fun to be
Jesse Cole with the SavannahBananas and get to be able to,
(13:34):
you know, turn the game ofsoftball into this whole
production and make people laughand just have a great time.
So I, that is so who I would be.
Okay, what is this is kind of alittle more serious.
But what is one thing that Istruggle with in my faith
journey and most of you probablyalready know this, but it's
(13:58):
that big question of why?
Why does God allow for badthings to happen to people?
And my husband always says youhave to reframe that.
It's not that God allows it perse, it's just that man is
sinful, and so I still strugglewith that.
(14:18):
I spoke about that last week.
Isaiah 55, eight through nine,you know God talks about.
His ways are higher than ourways, and I have to just choose
to believe that.
Romans 828, god says he usesall things for good.
But that's a hard one and I dostruggle with it.
So what is some of my faithfilled, not so serious life
(14:40):
advice?
First one so this is somelife-changing advice that isn't
about healing or overcomingtrauma, but I hope it will help
you.
And the first one is don't everpray for patients.
I'm not joking Like for real.
You should not pray forpatients, Unless unless you are
(15:02):
ready for the challenge and youare in a really good place.
Trust me, because I've beendown that road Don't do it.
And my pastor used to say notto do that, but I never believed
him.
And then I did it, and then Iwas like, oh my gosh, I'm never
doing that again.
Next one if you think that Godis calling you to do something,
(15:23):
he probably is and you shouldnot ignore him something he
probably is and you should notignore him, and you shouldn't go
around and take a poll from85,000 different people.
You should just listen, becausehe's going to keep tapping on
your shoulder louder and louder,and it's best to just listen
the first time around.
And you know, there's thosepeople that are like, well, I
(15:45):
don't know, I'm not sure, andthey take all these pulls
Sometimes.
Maybe God is just seeing ifyou're willing to take the first
step, and so that would besomething that I would encourage
you to do.
And then the last one there'stons more, but I'm going to save
those for another time when wedo this again.
I hope you guys are enjoyingthis, because it's just so
(16:07):
random.
But the last one and this isone of my favorite ones, and
it's nobody cares how much youknow, but how much you care.
You know, you all have thosepeople in your sphere that just
talk about how incredibly smartthey are and you're just, and
then they just treat you just sopoorly and they act like you
know you're an ignorant idiotand those people kill me because
(16:33):
, really, what you are impactedby how somebody treats you
you're not impacted by theirwealth of knowledge, because you
can be the smartest person inthe room and the rudest person
in the room and nobody reallycares about that.
They care about how you treatthem, they care about how you
make them feel, and I think thisis so important and one of the
(16:56):
most important things in life istreating people in a way that
they know that you care, becauseonce they know that you care,
they're going to want to listento what you have to say and then
you might be able to share alittle bit of your insight, but
until they know that you care,it's completely irrelevant.
So that's about it, guys.
(17:16):
I'm going to wrap it up.
I hope that you guys had agreat time leaning into this
conversation with me and justcreating a more lighter topic
this time around, and I justencourage you if you know
somebody who needs to beencouraged on some of our past
episodes about hope or you knowwe've had one on depression and
(17:38):
suicide, or we had one last weekabout putting purpose to our
pain.
I just ask that you guys sharethat, because the more you guys
share the episodes with folks,the more the message of hope
gets out.
And you know, let's be honest,we're so busy, we're all very
busy.
In addition to doing thispodcast, I have my professional
(17:59):
career.
My mother-in-law lives with us.
She's been a great help.
You know, I have five kids.
There's a lot, but I do thisbecause I feel like the Lord has
called me to this and that he'scalled me to just bring hope
and to showcase people that arecourageously overcoming, so that
people don't feel alone.
And I can't do it without youguys.
(18:20):
I need you.
I need you to do the five starreview and I'm sure you probably
have seen I have a coach, Iguess, a podcast coach, a
content coach, and she's likeTonya, you got to post videos.
I hate posting videos.
I'm the worst.
I mean, I did this one lastweek.
You saw me where I was, youknow, talking about the podcast
(18:42):
and I'm looking at it going.
My hair is like sticking outeverywhere.
It's like so bad.
But I'm going to get better atit.
I'm going to work on postingmore videos and trying to engage
the audience, because I thinkit's a message that people need
to hear, so I just want you allto know how much I appreciate
you all, the encouragement thatyou guys send me.
(19:02):
You are such a blessing to me,and so until next week, I hope
everyone has a great week andwe'll see you Wednesday.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Thank you for joining us here on Courageous
Overcomers with Tonya Shelnutt.
Please remember to follow, likeand share this podcast.
To find out more about Tonya,go to her website at
tonyashellnutt.
com, or to ask a question aboutanything you've heard on today's
show.
Leave us a five-star review andyour message or email at tonya
at tonyashellnutt.
com.
(19:34):
Remember that'sS-H-E-L-L-N-U-T-T.
This podcast is produced by BobSlone Audio Productions.
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