Courageous Faith with Debbye Turner Bell

When Debbye Turner Bell won the Miss America pageant, she began the toughest time of her life. Join Rasool Berry on the Where Ya From podcast as he talks with Debbye Turner Bell about how isolation, burnout, and loss challenged her faith at a time when people expected her to be at her best. Learn how this experience taught her to be unflinchingly honest with God and to keep communicating with Him no matter what.

Guest Bio:

Dr. Debbye Turner Bell is a veterinarian, journalist, corporate trainer, minister, motivational speaker, wife, and mother. Her enduring passion is motivational speaking. Since being crowned Miss America in 1990, Turner Bell has spoken to millions of students at countless schools, youth organizations and college campuses. Dr. Turner Bell divides her time doing leadership development, motivational and Christian speaking, and television broadcasting.

In addition to her speaking and media work, Dr. Turner Bell is the founder and CEO of Debbye Turner Bell Consulting, through which she provides leadership development training in communications, influence, and diversity to corporate and business leaders, managers, and executives.

Dr. Turner Belle graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a doctor of veterinary medicine degree. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture from Arkansas State University. Turner Bell lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband and daughter.

Notes & Quotes:

When you don't know if you’re capable of making the step, but you know God is faithful. So you do it anyway with every fiber of your being, screaming, “I don't want to do this. I’m afraid of this. This is going to hurt me again," but you do it anyway.
That is a place of intimacy and relationship with the Lord that defies human understanding. It’s that place, though You may slay me, God, I’m still going to trust You because You are holy and you are worthy.
That might be counseling. That might be medication. It might be a better diet. It might be exercise. It might be more sleep. It might be fasting and praying, but we have to admit, “I can’t do this by myself.”
What got me through that period was being just raw and unflinchingly honest with God. I prayed and I raged and I cried and I begged, but I never stopped communicating with Him.
We might not be able to run in that season, but walk. And if you can’t walk, crawl. And if you can’t crawl, get on the floor and roll. But just keep moving. Don’t stop because really stopping is going backwards.