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