The After Dinner Mint

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 for everything mentioned in the episode.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories 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 [email protected] 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. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

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 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. It’s all free 💛If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at [email protected] 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. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

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 for everything mentioned in the episode.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories 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 [email protected] 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. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

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 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. It’s all free 💛If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, get in touch at [email protected] you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

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 for everything mentioned in the episode.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for honest stories 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 [email protected] you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

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 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 [email protected] you love the podcast, writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify helps other women find us. Thank you!Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Welcome to Season 2 of Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner!  We are chatting with the delightful Jill, who is a GP and cross-cultural worker in the Middle East. She is also one of our writers here at Stories. We explore the cross-section of burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress, but basically: what happens when you feel like you’re being dumped by a wave, angry that you’re the one to fix it all, as well as how Jill found a richer and deeper faith on the other side of it.Jill grew up in Albany, studied in Perth & Sydney but now lives with three beautiful girl friends in a big ugly city in the Middle East. She helps lead a team doing community health programs and works as a GP with Syrian refugees. Learning Arabic was the hardest thing she’s undertaken. In her work she’s passionate about seeing the unseen people and helping Arab woman and teenagers learn emotional literacy and their God given identity. She enjoys textures, colours, photography and laughing at ridiculous ideas. This is a big year of transitions as she’s getting married in May, to an American!In today's episode, we explore: The joys of living cross-culturally, chaotic home visits, and learning to crack jokes in a new culture and language. Growing up in a Christian family, becoming a Christian as a child, and always being the “good” one. Moving to the Middle East as a cross-cultural worker, GP and community health worker. Walking through a season of burnout and compassion fatigue and how she found a deeper and richer faith on the other side of it.You can check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the episode.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays (from March-November) from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, flick me an email [email protected]: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Think of Everything to Binge This Summer as your unhinged WhatsApp group chat with your friends and all their best recommendations: books, TV, and podcast episodes. We’re here to save you from the endless scroll cycle where you can’t think of a single thing you would like to watch, or indeed anything you have ever watched. Or the aimless stroll around the library questioning if you are indeed a person who reads? We’re preparing you for reading poolside, living your best beach life, and binge-watching TV with your favourite cousin. We got you!Of course, if we were actually chatting in person, there might be things that we wouldn’t recommend, but you know, given it’s a podcast we can’t tailor recs for everyone. So please use discernment and debrief with a friend if something we recommended is not good for you. Remember this chat? I mean, even in today’s episode we recommend stuff that the other podcast co-hosts would never read (see: 80s style vampire slayer horror novels).Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.This is our last episode of 2025. Season 2 kicks off in March 2026. Please help us serve you better in 2026. Give us feedback either in our super short survey and let us know what you want us to chat about in 2026 or flick me an email at [email protected] you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

We are interviewing all of our regular contributors in Season 1 for you to get to know them better. Today’s guest is Rhianon Rae, who shares beautifully about her difficulty with vulnerability throughout her life and what God has taught her about his faithfulness and peace through seasons of doubt and church conflict as a pastor's wife.Rhianon is married to Sam and spends much of her time loving and looking after their three (soon to be four) children. In God’s kindness, she first heard the gospel from her parents, and has since trained in Christian ministry with UWA Christian Union and Trinity Theological College. In this season, she enjoys leading a Bible study, coffee dates with friends, watching cricket, and dreaming of the day she can play netball again.In today’s episode, we explore: The joys of cricket, netball, and reading the Bible one to one with other women. Growing up in a Christian family on a farm in the country and becoming a Christian as a child. Struggling with doubts as a teenager and young adult, and the role Christian Union had in her life as they were not afraid of the big questions. Walking through a season of church conflict as a pastor’s wife and her fears of the damage to her reputation and relationships, her desire to avoid conflict, and what God taught her about forgiveness, his faithfulness and peace, and the value of having trusted people outside of your own ministry context to walk alongside you.You can check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the episode.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.If you want to send us compliments or constructive suggestions, flick me an email [email protected] Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Loving On Your Brothers and Sisters was born from Britt texting this essay to our group chat and us collectively weeping at how beautiful and honest and encouraging it was. Join us as we debrief and process the practicalities of loving our as brothers and sisters in the church.🎧 What it means to be brothers and sisters in Christ🎧 Where we’ve seen this done well in our own lives🎧 What we are working on to embrace the idea of church being family🎧 The barriers we’ve grappled with as we try to love others (see: messy homes, fears of being a bad homemaker, busyness, not wanting to burden others, and not knowing where to start).Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.If you want to say hello, give us a compliment or suggestion, drop a line to to [email protected] Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

We are interviewing all of our regular contributors in Season 1 for you to get to know them better. Today’s guest is Pearl Roycroft, a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Perth.In today’s episode, we explore: The joys of being in nature, writing poetry and performing music. Growing up with parents who were immigrants and became Christians in their 20s, and her own slow journey to a deeper faith. Pearl’s struggles with feeling weak and trusting God with her needs, including periods of travel across the country in her van and working in remote Aboriginal communities, and coming to trust more deeply in his love and provision for her. How these periods of struggle and changes of seasons have influenced her new album, Closing Doors.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.Pearl released her new album, Closing Doors, this year. You can listen to her music on Spotify and Bandcamp. You can see Pearl perform live by following through her company, @redgumrhythm and @pearl.music on Instagram.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

The Internet Said Everyone Else is Doing It is a light hearted debrief (with some cackles) with Maddy, Rach, and Bec about learning to parent while drowning in a sea of parenting advice online. Even if you are not a mother, just a woman casting her anxieties upon the internet and hoping for a sign, this is worth a listen as it is ultimately about growing in discernment.In today’s episode, we discuss:🎧 Parenting strategies the internet said would work but did not work as promised with our families.🎧 What we are learning about parenting as a Christian in a sea of secular parenting advice.🎧 What we are learning about parenting as a Christian in a sea of “Christian” parenting advice.🎧 What has actually helped us process problems in parenting.You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or anywhere you get podcasts.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

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. Bethany Smith is a regular contributor to Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner and she shares her desire to hold on tightly to friendships after the isolation of interstate and overseas moves. She explains how God’s unchanging nature has been a comfort to her and has changed her approach to friendship as one of gratitude and openness.In today’s episode, we explore: Bethany’s role caring for her children and partnering with her husband in their ministry to students at UWA. Growing up as a pastor's kid and not remembering a day when she did not believe in Jesus. Her experiences in friendship and isolation with multiple moves overseas and interstate, the desire to hold on tightly to friendships and wanting them to be unchanging. We discuss how she has come to rest in the fact that God is the only one who is unchanging. How the change in her theology of friendships has changed how she approaches friendship.You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or anywhere you get podcasts.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.About BethanyBethany grew up on the South Coast of NSW, moved to Sydney for university, and met her husband, Matt, while studying at Moore Theological College. They moved to Perth in 2020 to share the gospel with university students at UWA. They’ve since had three children who she spends her days with, caring for and discipling in the Lord Jesus. Bethany enjoys reading, exercising, baking and attempting to keep her plants alive.Want honest stories from Christian women in Western Australia in your inbox on Wednesdays? Sign up here.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Thanks for listening to Season 1, Episode 13 of The After Dinner Mint, a podcast of Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner. We bring Christian women in Western Australia together through honest stories. Thanks for sharing your day with us!Why Do The Sads Feel So Sad? is a deep dive into grief with a Mental Health Social Worker, a woman in ministry, and a Clinical Psych Registrar. Britt, Maddy and Bec explore our experiences of grief including bereavement but also discuss loss through transitions, aging, and the loss of dreams and potential. Life in a fallen world means we, collectively, are well acquainted with grief.Can grief be a gift? How do we learn to live with it when our bodies shut down? How do we grieve in community? How do we grieve as Christians? As always, we have questions. Join us around the dinner table as we flesh this one out.In Wednesday’s episode, we discuss:🎧 What grief is and the common responses of either ignoring it or being consumed by it.🎧 How our lives have been shaped by sitting with grief and what it means to grieve as a Christian.🎧 Making space for grief and being able to sit with it, through therapy, deep friendships, prayer and lament, and what makes this vital skill difficult.🎧 Grieving in community: the good, the bad and the ugly.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

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. Maddie Richards is a singer-songwriter and a regular contributor to Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner. We are interviewing all our contributors in Season 1 for you to get to know them better.In today’s episode, we explore: The slowness of the creative process and how Maddie started writing and producing music Growing up in a Christian family but coming to faith in her twenties A life changing diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in her twenties, which deepened her trust in the Lord and relationship with church community. Her shift from wanting to do life on her own and feeling like she had to bring perfection to the Lord and her growing conviction that she can bring her mess to the Lord because he loves her.You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or anywhere you get podcasts.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.Check out Post Swim, Maddie’s most recent single.About MaddieMadeleine resides in the sleepy town of Perth Western Australia where she mostly spends her days writing, singing and dancing. With a tone made to mesmerise and lyricism that is tender and true, Madeleine takes the listener to a Heavenlike sort of realm. When not creating songs, she is found down by the seaside or at her favourite local coffee shop. You can find more on Instagram @toastoastbabyWant honest stories from Christian women in Western Australia in your inbox on Wednesdays? Sign up here.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

When You Are Not Quiet and Gentle is an exuberant conversation with Rach, Maddy, and Bec about extrovert personalities (the personality type that calls out to a speaker from the back of the room), the downward mental spiral when you compare yourself to Maud Flanders, and what on earth “quiet and gentle” actually means. Is it a personality type or something much more? Join an ED nurse, a women’s ministry worker, and clinical psych reg on a tour through nineties church culture, 1 Peter 3:3-4, and Greek words.Disclaimer: We really, really emphasise that we are 100% not experts here. We’re processing what we’re learning about the application of biblical principles to life in the hope you might have these conversations with your friends too.In today’s episode, we: Deep dive the concepts of quiet and gentle Discuss our experiences of not fitting the “quiet and gentle” mould Explore personality, internal vs external quietness, restless hearts, and dependence on the Lord Discuss what faithfulness to God has called you to do and be looks like in different womenCheck out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

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. We are interviewing all our regular contributors in Season 1 for you to get to know them better. Khaiah Thomson is a social worker and the author of the Blackwood series.In today’s episode, we explore: Turning your creative hobby into your job and finding ways to get unstuck Growing up as a pastor’s kid in the country. Khaiah believed she was a Christian, but when she moved to Perth as a teenager she wrestled with feeling alone and unloveable. God said to her, “You don’t know me.” In a time when people want to outsource discipleship of their kids, the value of growing up in a big family where she felt like it was a safe place to wrestle with all her big questions about faith and life. Working as a hospital social worker on the renal transplant team whilst also diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease. We discuss coming to terms with eventually needing a kidney transplant when she wanted to ignore it and learning to rest in the fact that God is in control.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.Check out Welcome to Blackwood, the first book in the trilogy. So fun!!About KhaiahWest Australian Author Khaiah Thomson pens the Blackwood series. The first book Welcome to Blackwood won the Hawkeye Publishing Manuscript Development Prize in 2020. Khaiah first decided to write young adult fiction novels as a way to exercise her brain while on maternity leave. She wanted to create a magical escape for young readers, all the while gently weaving in themes of God’s love through the timeless battles of good versus evil, unconditional love and the power of redemption.Khaiah lives in Perth with her husband and two sons. When she isn't working or in her home office writing, Khaiah can usually be found nose-deep in a book, gaming or at the nearest cafe, hovering close to the coffee machine. Khaiah’s Welcome to Blackwood series can be found in all good bookstores and Hawkeye Books.Want honest stories from Christian women in Western Australia in your inbox on Wednesdays? Sign up here.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Thanks for listening to Season 1, Episode 9 of The After Dinner Mint, a podcast of Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner. We bring Christian women in Western Australia together through honest stories. Thanks for sharing your day with us!You’re So Vain, You Probably Think This Podcast is About You is a conversation with Rach, Britt, Maddy, and Bec about our vain interests (see: fashion, deep-diving true crime podcasts, mindless celebrity knowledge, trashy novels, and music you scream-sing in the car with no kids around). The kind of stuff you wonder… “As a Christian, should I even be into this?”In today’s episode, we:🎧 Discuss what we are learning about pleasure, freedom, gratitude, and boundaries.🎧 Deep dive about personality, identity, stewardship, and the authenticity trap🎧 Share how we work out (even on air), whether a book or a show is a good thing for us🎧 The role of community in working out what we watch and don’t watch, read or don’t read, listen or don’t listen to.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show. Learn more about the Stories I'd Tell You at Dinner team.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Thanks for listening to Season 1, Episode 8 of The After Dinner Mint podcast. 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.We are interviewing all our regular contributors in Season 1 for you to get to know them better. Mariah is a singer-songwriter and drummer from Perth, Western Australia.In today’s episode, we explore: The joys of writing and performing music, as well as feeling close to God through music. Growing up in a musical family in Colombo, Sri Lanka, with a mother who was Catholic and a father who was Pentecostal. In her twenties, Mariah attended a Bible teaching church with her family and came to realise how deeply God loved her. Mariah’s struggles with comparison in relation to her body image and music, and wanting to quit music because of this. She shared how God met her in this and what helps her fight discouragement and comparison. How these periods of struggle have influenced her new EP, I’ll Be Counting Still, releasing in July 2025.You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get podcasts.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.Mariah is launching her new EP, I’ll Be Counting Still, live at The Ellington on Tuesday 1 July.About MariahMariah Hlatywayo (lutch-why-oh) is a singer-songwriter and drummer from Perth, Western Australia. She grew up in a musical family and enjoys writing, singing and playing songs inspired by her  Christian faith and life experiences. When she is not making music, you can find her teaching music to teenagers, drinking coffee, and annoying Felicity – her fluffy rag-doll cat. Find more at mariahhlatywayo.comWant honest stories from Christian women in Western Australia in your inbox on Wednesdays? Sign up here.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Thanks for listening to Season 1, Episode 7 of The After Dinner Mint podcast. 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.We are interviewing all our regular contributors in Season 1 for you to get to know them better. Tenielle is a train driver and singer-songwriter from remote Western Australia. She is married to a NZ born camera-man & teacher, Daniel, and they have three precious, young children.In today’s episode, we explore: The joys of writing and performing music, as well as feeling close to God through song. The slow process of coming to Christ as a young adult through her brother’s conversion and Christian friends. Tenielle was raised in a family that went to church on Easter and Christmas and her parents separated when she was eight years old. Tenielle’s struggles with, “How could God love me?” and feeling alone in certain periods of her life. How these periods of wrestling have assured her of God’s love and have influenced her new album, The Way of Love, releasing in July 2025.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in the show.You can pre-save Tenielle’s new album, The Way of Love, on Spotify, or see her perform live with John van Deusen at Freo Church on 18 and 19 July.About TenielleTenielle Neda is a train driver & singer-songwriter from remote Western Australia. She is married to a NZ born camera-man & teacher, Daniel, and they have three precious, young children. Tenielle has studied at Trinity Theological College in Perth, and hopes to continue her theological studies, amidst busy mum life and music creation. She finds that studying God's word - knowing him and loving him more - deeply inspires and informs her songwriting. Her music is an expression of her faith and experience of life through the lens of the gospel. You can follow her music at tenielleneda.comWant honest stories from Christian women in Western Australia in your inbox on Wednesdays? Sign up here.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

I Don’t Want to Optimise Anymore is a conversation with Rach, Britt, and Bec about productivity and hustle culture, barriers to rest, and what we are learning about pursuing rest.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.In today's episode, we explore:🎧 What drives us to pack our schedules full, tick boxes, and get stuff done🎧 What gets in the way of us saying no and carving out deliberate margin to rest.🎧 What we are learning about rest, limits, finitude, and prayer.For everything mentioned in the show today, check out our show notes.If you enjoyed this episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Thanks for listening to Season 1, Episode 3 of The After Dinner Mint, a podcast of Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner. Thanks for sharing your day with us!We are interviewing all of our regular contributors in Season 1 of the podcast for you to get to know them better. Today’s guest is Sarah Burt, who lives on a farm in the Great Southern.In today’s episode, we explore: The joys of amateur theatre and getting out into nature The slow process of coming to Christ from a secular family through friends, Christian Union, and God’s gentle leading. Sarah’s experiences of postnatal depression, what she learned about God’s character, and what helped her heal. Encouragement for those struggling with depression and for those struggling postpartum.If you are struggling postpartum, you can contact the PANDA National Perinatal Mental Health Helpline, or with depression in different circumstances you can contact Life Line on 13 11 14.You can also book an appointment with your GP for a Mental Health Care Plan. They can refer you for sessions with a psychologist or social worker under Medicare. If you’re in regional or remote Western Australia, these can even be done via telehealth.Check out the show notes for everything mentioned in this episode. Sign up to our free, weekly newsletter Stories I'd Tell You at Dinner to get honest stories from Christian women straight to your inbox on Wednesday. Never miss a thing - podcasts, essays, poems and fun events. 

Today’s episode is a conversation about what we are learning about pursuing depth in friendships with three of our regular podcast hosts: Rach, Britt, and Bec. 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.In today's episode, we explore:🎧 How we’ve gotten to know our actual neighbours🎧 Our barriers to going deep in our real relationships (and they were different for all of us!)🎧 Escaping the “catch-up trap,” and complaints about the price of eggs 🍳🎧 What we are learning about intentionality in our friendships and the fine dance between oversharing, validation, and the ever elusive authenticity.You can check out our show notes here.If you enjoyed the honest storytelling in today's episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Thanks for listening to Season 1, Episode 3 of The After Dinner Mint, a podcast of Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner. Thanks for sharing your day with us!We are interviewing all of our regular contributors in Season 1 of the podcast. Today’s guest is Amy Stopher.In today’s episode, we explore: The joys of gardening and sneaky walks with secateurs. Reading the Bible and doing life with other women and how to get this happening in your life, without being weird Amy’s experiences with burnout in ministry, what she learned about God, and what helped her heal.About Amy:Amy grew up by the beach, the third of four sisters, and first learned the gospel from her parents. She taught high school students Politics and English, before studying Theology at Trinity Theological College in Perth, WA. Now Amy serves on the ministry team at Providence City, and delights in seeing women grow in their confidence to teach God’s word. Amy loves gardening, cooking for people and eating with them, and early mornings at the beach. She lives with her dog, Billie. You can find more of her work on Substack.Check out the show notes.Want honest stories in your inbox from Christian women in Western Australia on Wednesdays? Sign up to our newsletter, Stories I'd Tell You at Dinner ❤️

Today’s episode is a conversation with three of our regular podcast hosts, Rach, Britt, and Bec. 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.In today's episode, we explore:- How we came to faith- The doubts we experienced in the Christian life- What made doubts harder to process- What helped us process doubts- The surprising role of Christian community.You can check out our show notes here.If you enjoyed the honest storytelling in today's episode, sign up for free encouragement in your inbox on Wednesdays from local Christian women. One week you get essays and poetry, the next week you get a podcast episode.Music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons License Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Thanks for listening to Season 1, Episode 1 of The After Dinner Mint, a podcast of Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner. Thanks for sharing your day with us!In today’s episode, we explore: The joys of running (Maddy, not Bec) and cooking How Maddy became a Christian from a non-Christian time with a spiritual mother and an atheist father What Maddy learned about God’s character and the doctrine of providence through the suffering of a molar pregnancyMentioned in this episode:Want honest stories in your inbox from Christian women in Western Australia on Wednesdays? Sign up to our newsletter here❤️Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy by Mark VroegopWhen the Noise Won’t Stop by Paul GrimmondYou can find Joseph’s story in Genesis 37-50 in the Bible. The verse we reference is, “But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.’” Genesis 50:19-20 (ESV)Maddy nominated Sarah Michaels as someone who has encouraged her and would love to hear from next 🫶🏻PS. I did my best to cut out the background child noise, but there’s still some in the background. I’m never going to record while my kids are awake again! We live and learn 😆🙈Check out our show notes.Intro and outro music: Come Back by Ketsa. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Introducing the After Dinner Mint, the podcast for Stories I'd Tell You at Dinner, launching in March 2025. We bring Christian women in Western Australia together through honest stories. These are the stories we pass to you, along with the bread and the wine, not to make us look good, but to remind ourselves of His goodness.Sign up to our free newsletter and Wednesdays from March - November, Stories I’d Tell You at Dinner will land in your inbox. One week, you get essays and poetry from our team of local Christian women. The alternate week, you get the latest podcast episode. We alternate interviews with local Christian women about what they have learned about God through suffering, with chatty episodes with hosts Bec, Britt, Rach, and Maddy about what we are learning about faith, hope, and the right pair of jeans.Sign up to the Stories I'd Tell You at Dinner newsletter to get honest stories and encouragement from local women in your inbox on Wednesdays.