Today I’m chatting with Anna Pretorius—a mother of four, unexpected pastors wife at Kingscross Church [https://www.kingscrosschurch.com.au/], and Diversity and Inclusion Consultant. Anna was born in the jungle in Papua New Guinea as the daughter of missionaries and moved to Japan when she was six years old.

Anna is delightfully funny and honest about the desire to be the strong one and build her own kingdom. She describes the fear underneath her frenetic busyness that she could not trust God to care for her. God humbled her to know his power and authority and Anna explains how this transformed her life. She shares how she navigates working in the Diversity and Inclusion space and how Christians can navigate these spaces remembering how all kinds of people flocked to Jesus, he was attractive to them, but he was also challenging and convicting.

In today’s episode, we explore:

 * Growing up in Papua New Guinea and Japan as the child of missionaries and returning to Australia when her younger sister was born with multiple disabilities.
 * The joys Anna gets from being fully present with others—her children, running Alpha courses for people to get to know Jesus, and in her role in Diversity and Inclusion.
 * She shared about her mother’s faith as the one that inspired and encouraged her, watching her write songs and sing to Jesus, and her joy, in amongst caring for her daughter with a disability, and her dying husband.
 * Anna shared the fear underneath her frenetic busyness that she could not trust God to care for her. She tells us how God humbled her to know his power and authority and how this transformed her life.

You can check out the show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/anna-pretorius-s2-e15] 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 Can't Trust God to Care for You: An Interview with Anna Pretorius

Today’s episode is about awe and creativity, remembering God made the world beautiful. We can image him though creating beautiful things. We tend to get stuck thinking that hobbies and creativity are only useful if they are a side hustle. So today, Maddy, Rach and Bec chat about incorporating creativity, beauty, and awe into our everyday lives.

Today, Maddy, Rach & Bec explore:

🎧 Things we love to do, not because we are good at it, or getting paid for it.

🎧 Challenges we face in our culture and church communities around creativity

🎧 Gospel truths that help us pursue creativity and awe

🎧 The nitty gritty: how we pursue awe and creativity in our everyday lives.

If you prefer to read, the transcript of the episode is at the bottom of the show notes 👍🏻

Also, if this chat resonated with you, can I commend Origin Collective [https://www.instagram.com/_origin.collective_/] to you? They’re a ministry of Freo Church [https://fremantle.church/] that serves to equip and encourage Christian creatives. They run so many beautiful workshops and live music shows. Get onto it!

Bios

 * Bec is married to Zac and they have three boys. She became a Christian at 18 years old after someone read the gospel of Luke with her. She trained as a Clinical Psychologist before founding Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner and The After Dinner Mint podcast. She is a regular contributor to Part Time Poets [https://parttimepoets.substack.com/] and The Gospel Coalition Australia [https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/bec-f/]. Her spiritual gift is losing things. You can find more at The Sunday Morning Snuggle [https://thesundaymorningsnuggle.substack.com/].
 * Rach is a part time Emergency Clinical Nurse, full time wife and mum. She works in a metro emergency department and thrives on the adrenaline filled atmosphere of the critical care environment. On her days off, she’s ferrying her three kids to school and their various activities, listening to podcasts with one AirPod in, sending memes to her husband, and dreaming about what to cook for dinner.
 * Maddy Rhodes is married to Robbie. Together they delight in their four year old son, baby daughter, and very sooky dog. She loves to read, run, drink coffee, and generally spend time with her family and friends. Maddy understands herself as a sinner in need of grace, and feels continually blessed to know the Lord Jesus as she wrestles with the task of endeavouring to rely not on herself, but on him.

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/].

Awe is Not a Side Hustle 

Today I’m chatting with Miriam da Silva—a mother of four (Mariah Hlatywayo’s Mum!), grandmother to one, former journalist who is now a Primary School teacher. Miriam was born in Sri Lanka and grew up very religious in the Catholic church. She described having faith in God, attending daily mass and reading her Bible, but not understanding the good news of the gospel or having a relationship with Jesus Christ. She migrated to Australia in her forties with her husband and four children after civil unrest in Sri Lanka. Not long after migrating, she lost her job as the family breadwinner, had a shoulder injury at work, and experienced financial difficulties, but in the process she met Jesus.

In today’s episode, we explore:

 * Growing up very religious in the Catholic faith in Sri Lanka, working as a journalist, having faith in God but not understanding the good news of the gospel or having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
 * Migrating to Australia in her forties with her husband and four children after civil unrest in Sri Lanka. Not long after migrating, she lost her job as the family breadwinner, had a shoulder injury at work, and experienced financial difficulties, but in the process she met Jesus.
 * Miriam explained how she came to have a relationship with Jesus, how God provided for her and showed her she is not alone, and the peace this bought to her life.
 * Miriam has a “job that no one gave me,”—a ministry of phone calls to people who are isolated or going through a hard time. I am obsessed with the intentionality of this ministry and encourage you to consider who you might be able to call and listen to in your own life

You can check out the show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/miriam-da-silva-s2-e13] 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 Exchange Religion for Jesus: An Interview with Miriam da Silva 

So today’s topic came out of our Ask Me Anything: Kids Ministry episode with Josie Rivett [https://open.spotify.com/episode/6WnhkmIYtddTIBBRT1WvwA?si=z1_0vrmDSbe29OKEuYJ2wg] where one of the questions was around pathways into paid kids ministry coordinator roles. Later, I was debriefing with Amy Stopher, who said, “Pathways into paid ministry is a whole podcast topic on its own, you should interview Alexia Horton”. Turns out, not only is it a whole podcast topic, it’s Alexia’s whole job. She’s the Women’s Ministry Advisor at Trinity Theological College [https://ttc.wa.edu.au/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=10755645087&gbraid=0AAAAACQrEEwmHqZJ4a4wdZlhDVO1u_BeN&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnIDUBhDrARIsAJDGwSvbpnZuoopGCVYZdMnk3Oy5qqsgPw993XaKOkkaBDWxI3qrAZzXUOYaArLxEALw_wcB].

Today, we explore:

 * Our experience in paid and volunteer ministry roles and the barriers Alexia sees specifically for women seeking theological training, including “you can’t be what you can’t see,” a lack of mentors, and a lack of confidence for women in these roles.
 * Why the common advice, “study when your kids are grown up,” sounds right but often doesn’t play nicely when women get to this stage, discussing how seasons of life can clash with ministry training. Alexia suggests some paths through the mountains.
 * What women who love ministry and thought about going into paid ministry can do to support this goal in different seasons of life and exploring some wrong reasons for pursuing ministry.
 * Options for women in rural and remote WA on getting trained up in ministry.

Check out the http://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/ministry-dollars-alexia-s2-e12show notes [https://www.storiesidtellyouatdinner.com.au/podcast/ministry-dollars-alexia-s2-e12] for everything mentioned in the show. If you prefer to read, the transcript of the episode is at the bottom of the show notes 👍🏻

You can contact Alexia for her delightful women’s ministry advice through Trinity Theological College [https://ttc.wa.edu.au/contact/].

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/].

So You Want to Go Into Ministry and Be Paid in Dollars with Alexia Horton

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

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 th

The After Dinner Mint · Zencastr

The After Dinner Mint

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.