Episode 86 :: Roseanna M. White :: Stories of Cultivating Compassion, Hidden History, and Ordinary Heroes and Heroines
Today on the podcast I am chatting with Roseanna M. White, who is not only one of my favorite christian fiction authors, but she has a heart for stories that share little known parts of history, and remind us about how we grow as people and in our faith. In this episode you’re going to get a mixture of some of my favorite things: faith building stories, thoughts on cultivating compassion for other people, fun history lessons and lots of moments of hope.
One of the most powerful take-aways from this conversation to me was this: History happens in the everyday decisions. That is something Roseanna echoes in her stories, but also how she encourages us all to engage our lives. You may not feel like what you do or the decisions you make matter very much, but as my friends at the Daily Grace Co always say “today matters for eternity” Whether that’s the work you do, the forgiveness you give, the compassion you show your children, or the efforts you make to listen to someone’s story that you don’t understand, all of those things matter. Ebenezer moments in people’s lives where the Lord makes Himself known, and sometimes even changes the course of a story, happen every day, when someone chooses to press in where its hard, or says yes when it may not make sense. The Lord is the God of our end.
So whether you are new to Roseanna’s work, or you’re as excited as I was to get to know her a little better, or if you’re a history nerd that wants to hear some incredible things about America’s first spy ring, or WWI Codebreakers, or you just love to hear a good, hope filled conversation, there is something in this conversation for you.
By the way, Roseanna’s latest book was released just this week!! You can hear about its unique story of mystery, treasure, and caribbean-esque English isles too. I just got my copy, I can’t wait to dive in!
Connecting with Roseanna:
Episode Sponsor: Hopefuel
Use the code SIMPLY15 for 15% off your purchase!
References:
-Marietta’s book (3rd in Culper Ring Series)
-WWI
-WWII
-her latest Savannah book, Dreams of Savannah, working through what’s happening to brothers and sisters of color
-her book with the Spanish flu in it, A Portrait of Loyalty
-Cindy Sproles- What Momma Left Behind
-luminaries in DC for victims of covid
-NYT cover with 500,000 covid deaths
-Charles Dickens changes the world highlighting orphans, poor working conditions, social reform, etc.
-Harriet Beecher Stowe with Uncle Tom’s Cabin
-Codebreakers (Her series, and who they really were- the people of ‘room 40’)
-Ladies of the Manor (Brooke’s story, then Rowena and Ella)
-Brad Meltzer’s “Decoded” (Here is the actual episode!)
-George Washington and the Culper Ring (From Mount Vernon) The Culper Spy Ring (History Channel)
-Abraham Woodhull (and also this one) and Robert Townsend (The linked NYT article about Robert is really good!)
-The brothers Jay (James and John Jay) invented invisible ink - (Letters from John Jay to Washington)
-Congressman Benjamin Talmedge
-Knights of the Golden Circle, precursor to the KKK (also, another REALLY good book involving this group All Through the Night by Tara Johnson)
-systemic racism- a really good video that explains it powerfully
-Reconstruction (we also talk about this a good bit in my conversation with Beth White in episode 39)
-Cities of primarily Black citizens that were firebombed by soldiers in the 1920’s
-”Digging out Roots” - Roseanna’s blog post
-Puritan Prayers: The Valley of Vision and Piercing Heaven
-Secrets of the Isles- The Nature of a Lady
Scripture References:
Mark 12:31-called to love our neighbors
Matthew 5:43-48 -love our enemies
1 Samuel 8-17 // 1 Samuel 18-24 // 1 Samuel 25-31 -King Saul
Psalm 139:14 -who God says you are
Judges 6 -Gideon, in a winepress
Judges 6:24-31-tear down the altars to the false gods your father has built
Luke 15:11-32 (Prodigal Son), Matthew 13:44 (Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl), Matthew 7:1-5 (The Lamp) -Examples of Jesus’ parables, here’s a more consolidated list
Connecting with Emily and Simply Stories Podcast:
Instagram (Em life // Podcast Life)
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
*Intro and Outro music is from audionautix.com