Today I’m chatting with Bek Stone—a mother of two, physio, and BRCA2 Breast Cancer survivor from Albany, who runs the popular Instagram account @mastectomytomarathon [https://www.instagram.com/mastectomytomarathon/]. Bek was diagnosed with breast cancer at 32 years old when her youngest daughter was 19 months old. She initially thought she had mastitis but ended up with a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction in 2025.

A typical physio, who adores running, Bek looked around for a creative outlet to encourage others while she recovered from her surgeries and landed on documenting her recovery (and nipple choices!) on Instagram. This chat was so honest, encouraging, and made me cackle on multiple occasions—I hope you’ll listen in, even if you are not facing breast reconstruction because the encouragement to find women a season ahead of you, from motherhood to mastectomy, is a joy.

In today’s episode, we explore:

 * Growing up in a Christian home, with her mother who was a Christian, in amongst a long custody battle between her parents and bouncing around churches, but her mother consistently prayed with them.
 * Coming to faith when she moved to Perth for uni. Bek shared how ministry wives, Sally Surrey and Liana Hunt, invited her into their homes and shared their lives while raising their young children, and what a blessing this was to her.
 * Bek explained that she had been taught to expect suffering as a young Christian and spent a lot of time in the Psalms, which truly opened up to her when she suffered as she learned to bring her anger, anxiety, and sadness to God.
 * The blessings of running, gratitude, being present in the everyday moments, and the care from her church community, which helped her to persevere.

You can check out the show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/bek-stone-s2-e11] for everything mentioned in the episode.

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women. It’s all free 💛

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or leaving a five star review Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

When You're Scared You Did Something to Deserve Your Suffering: An Interview with Bek Stone (Season 2, Episode 11)

This is a different type of episode for us—it’s our first Ask Me Anything episode. Bec enjoyed her chat with Josie [https://open.spotify.com/episode/35AnUQh98y8QZHWZhUb0gy?si=U3IPFCo1QXGE9TgPltDD1g] so much that she found a way to bring her back! Maddy and Bec pepper Josie with questions from women who volunteer and work in kids ministry across WA. We run the gamut of topics from rural churches to doubts about enduring in teaching kids after leadership failures. This is a delightfully encouraging episode if you have kids in your life, even if you are not gifted in singing or children’s craft or possess the teacher voice. Josie reminds us that sharing our faith with children is a whole church task, because we are a family.

You can check out the show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/ama-josie-s2-e10] for everything mentioned in the episode.

You can contact Josie for bespoke training for your church via the contact form on her website, Living Words [https://livingwords.net.au/contact/], or email hello@livingwords.net.au

Learn more about Maddy and Bec [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/our-team] to save us sharing awkward bios!

About Josie

Living Words [https://livingwords.net.au/] combines three things Josie loves: Jesus, teaching and kids. She’s passionate about quality teaching that’s enjoyable, engaging, and thought-provoking. Using her experience and studies in education and theology, Josie has created a Biblically sound curriculum that’s easy to access, understand, and implement. Josie is helped by a team of people who have taught others about Jesus for many years.

While her favourite things are her husband and four kids, she loves having a chat and would never say no to a small (or large) piece of cake. Josie attends Providence Church in Perth, Western Australia.

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women. It’s all free 💛

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or leaving a five star review Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

Ask Me Anything: Kids Ministry Edition featuring Josie Rivett

Today’s interview is with Josie Rivett, a mother of four and the founder of a parachurch ministry, Living Words [https://livingwords.net.au/]. She’s written an Australian curriculum for kids ministry to teach through the Bible in a year. We discuss her experience starting a PhD in education and setting up Living Words, https://livingwords.net.au/which pushed her to trust in God’s provision more deeply after a long struggle with doubt in her teens and twenties.

In today’s episode, we explore:

 * Her parents came to faith just after she was born, growing up in a Christian home, and being plagued by doubts and a lack of assurance throughout her teens and early twenties. Witnessing her father go into full time ministry, God providing for them, and the kindness and generosity of her parents to others.
 * The strong faith and convictions of friends, her husband, and parents which has encouraged her to keep going when her faith felt weak.
 * Setting out to start a PhD in education and write a curriculum for kids ministry when she noticed that there was not an Australian curriculum that took children through the Bible in the year, written for volunteers who did not have qualifications in education or theology and how this spurred her on to persevere and rely on God’s provision.

You can check out the show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/josie-rivett-s2-e9] for everything mentioned in the episode.

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women. It’s all free 💛

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or leaving a five star review Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

When You Need to Be Patient Longer Than Is Reasonable: An Interview with Josie Rivett

This episode was borne out of Maddy’s experience working on staff at a church and the sheer amount of people who confessed feeling disconnected and lonely in the post-service crowd. These people knew people at church, but described feeling awkward and uncomfortable, like they were not sure if they belonged or fit in. So today, Maddy, Rach, Britt and Bec dig into our own experiences of loneliness, specifically at church, and what helped shift us out of these seasons.

In today’s episode, we explore:

 * Seasons when we felt lonely and disconnected at church
 * Barriers to making deeper connections with others
 * What has helped us to deal with lonely seasons at church and how the gospel speaks into loneliness.
 * How we, as church communities, can be mindful of the struggles of others.

You can check out the show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/church-lonely-e8-s2] for everything mentioned in the episode. Learn more about Rach, Britt, Maddy and Bec [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/our-team] to save us sharing awkward bios!

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women. It’s all free 💛

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or leaving a five star review Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

When You Are Lonely at Church 

Today’s interview is with Crystal Heydenrych, who is a botanist and mother of two. Crystal described the doubts that plagued her after her mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died four months later. I really appreciated Crystal’s ability to articulate her fears that God did not see her suffering and she was ultimately alone. She explained how she threw herself into researching the resurrection. She explains how God comforted her through reason, when her emotions were overwhelming.

In today’s episode, we explore:

 * Growing up in South Africa and coming to faith through the faith of her mother, aunt, and grandmother.
 * The deepening of her faith whilst at university and going to Bible studies where her faith became her own.
 * The death of her close friend’s father the night before her wedding and the loss of her own mother to ovarian cancer and the period of doubt that ensued after these losses.
 * How God comforted her through reason, the robust evidence of the resurrection and the ultimate hope that God sees and she is not alone.

You can check out the show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/crystal-heydenrych-s2-e7] for everything mentioned in the episode.

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women. It’s all free 💛

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or leaving a five star review Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

When Death Triggers Doubt: An Interview with Crystal Heydenrych

This banger of a question came from our end of year survey, “How do I retain my faith while being a first responder (i.e., frontline mental health, health, child protection) when the workplace culture demands dissonance from Christian values (i.e., black humour, seeing Christians as perpetrators of abuse etc). I personally and others I know in front line work struggle to reconcile their core values and faith with what they see in the world.”

Khaiah Thomson is a hospital social worker, the author of the Blackwood series, and one of our regular writers here at Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner. Khaiah, Rach and Bec deep dive into some of the temptations we face as Christians working in frontline mental health and discuss what helps us to reconcile our faith with what we see in the world.

In this episode, we explore:

🎧 The temptations we face as Christians working in frontline mental health (see: detachment, overwhelm, burnout, and seeing people as problems to be solved rather than made in the image of God).

🎧 Gospel truths that help us to reconcile our faith with what we see in the world

🎧 The nitty gritty practical stuff that helps us to navigate working in this area wisely.

Check out the show notes [http://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/keeping-the-faith-s2-e6] for everything mentioned in the show.

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women. It’s all free 💛

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing us a review on Apple Podcasts or leaving a five star review on Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

Keeping the Faith in Frontline Mental Health

I am so excited to share today’s interview with you. It’s my first interview with a woman who is not one of our writers. It is SO ENCOURAGING.

Mrs. Joy Young is a 96-year-old woman who served as a nurse and missionary to Aboriginal people in the Western Desert, Wyndham, and Kununurra with her husband and three children. At one point, Mrs. Young was the only medical professional for a thousand kilometers in the Warburton Ranges in the Western Desert!

I had to pester Mrs. Young to share with me, as she was convinced she had nothing to say! The result was a delightfully funny and encouraging interview. If you’re stuck in a hard place or don’t know what to do with your life, Mrs. Young encourages us towards prayer and trusting in God in every situation, no matter how big or small.

In today’s episode, we explore:

 * Growing up in Melbourne knowing about God but not knowing or trusting in Jesus until she heard a returned soldier speak about what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
 * Initially training as a nurse and planning to head to West Africa as a missionary, but ultimately learned that God did not want her to go to West Africa. Instead she waited, married and had three daughters. When her oldest was six years old, she and her husband were convicted that God wanted them to share the gospel with Aboriginal people in Western Australia, so they sold everything they owned and went to the Western Desert.
 * Mrs. Young’s experiences of seeing people healed and the Lord provide for her and her family in miraculous ways whilst serving in the Western Desert, Wyndham and Kununurra for more than thirty years.
 * How she has remained joyful in her later years and endured the loss of her beloved husband.

You can check out the show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/third-culture-kid-e3-s2] for everything mentioned in the episode.

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women. It’s all free 💛

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or leaving a five star review Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

When All You Can Do Is Pray: An Interview with Mrs. Joy Young

Rach and Bec chat with Amy Stopher, who is on staff at Providence City Church, and one of our regular writers at Stories I'd Tell You at Dinner. We got a few variations of today’s topic in our end of year survey, but was asked most eloquently in this one, “It would be interesting to hear a discussion on how different Christian women are experiencing the impact of hustle culture on church life and ministry. I feel like there is a disconnect between getting the rest I need as a limited human, spiritual/social/physical/mental rest, and what a Sunday looks like within the modern church, particularly for those who participate in ministry during gatherings. It could be way too specific to my own experience, but I just wondered if it’s something that other women are also wrestling with?”

Join Amy Stopher, Rach and Bec as we explore the idea that if God made us with limits, for our good before the fall, and commands us to rest, how do we weigh up work, ministry, and family commitments? How do we rest amongst hustle culture?

In today’s episode, we explore:

🎧 The temptations we face in church and ministry amongst a broader hustle culture (see: pride, fear of man, people-pleasing and wanting to be seen as high capacity).

🎧 Truths that help us make wise(r) choices about work, family, and ministry commitments without ending up doing nothing or burning out from doing everything.

🎧 Practical nitty-gritty things that have helped us to rest when we should rest and work when we should work.

Check out the show notes [http://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/drowning-in-good-works] for everything mentioned in the show.

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women. It’s all free 💛

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

When You Are Drowning in Good Works

Today we are chatting to the delightful M, who was previously a cross-cultural worker and GP in Middle East, but currently processing all the transitions in Argentina with her Latino husband. She is also one of our writers here at Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner.

We explore M’s lifelong interest in connecting with and finding common ground with the stranger, people whom on the face of it seem quite different to her, and how this has played out in her work history and friendships. We also discuss grief in relation to the cancer diagnoses of two of her brothers, one of whom recovered and the other passed away, and learning to trust a God who is good, loving, and kind.

In today’s episode, we explore:

 * Growing up in West Africa as a child of cross-cultural workers, becoming a Christian at five years old, and bouncing around continents as a Third Culture Kid.
 * M’s lifelong interest in connecting with and understanding other people, who on first glance are quite different to her, and how this has looked in her friendships and work life. This includes training as a GP and working in Aboriginal health clinics, alternative communities, and moving to the Middle East as a cross-cultural worker and GP.
 * Walking through seasons of grief with two of her brothers diagnosed with cancer, one of whom recovered while her other brother passed away. We explore the shift from an intellectual faith to a deeply emotional one, holding both emotions and intellect together, to trust that God is good, strong, and kind.
 * Her recent marriage to a Latino man, which has saw her living in Argentina and learning Spanish.

You can check out the show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/third-culture-kid-e3-s2] for everything mentioned in the episode.

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women 💛

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

When the Third Culture Kid Grows Up: An Interview with M

Today’s topic was requested in our end of year survey. It’s not an apologetics deep dive, but more, how do I be a Christian at work without being Ned Flanders? Join us as we explore the temptations like fear of our colleagues hating us and getting left out, what it means to see all people as made in the image of God, and balancing being kind and being faithful to what the Bible says. We don’t have the answers but we’re sharing what has helped us nut it out along the way.

In today’s episode, we explore:

🎧 The places we’ve worked as well as the mistakes and temptations we’ve faced in the only Christian in secular workplaces

🎧 What has helped us to grow in faithfulness and love for our colleagues and clients.

🎧 The idea that everyone is made in God’s image and how this touches every part of our work.

Check out the show notes [http://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/christianwork-s2-e2] for everything mentioned in the show.

If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories in your inbox on Wednesdays (March through November) from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next you get a podcast episode.

If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at rebecca@storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au.

If you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!

Music: Come Back by Ketsa [https://ketsa.uk/]. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/].

When You Are The Only Christian at Work

The After Dinner Mint is a podcast of Stories I'd Tell You at Dinner. We bring Christian women in Western Australia together through honest stories. Local Christian women share their stories of how they came to trust in Jesus as Lord and his faithfulness during hard times. On the alternate fortnight, Bec, Britt, Rach, and Maddy process what they're learning about faith, hope, and the right pair of jeans. Subscribe for free to get Stories I'd Tell You at Dinner [https://storiesidtellyouatdinner.substack.com/] in your inbox on Wednesdays.