Posts by Shelly Brown

What do you do when the classroom you once dreamed about starts to feel more like a battleground than a playground?
In this episode of At This Table, host Shelly Brown sits down with veteran educator and author Michelle Ruddell to talk about the very real joys, frustrations, mistakes, and sacred moments that come with teaching.

Drawing from 26 years in public education, Michelle shares honestly about the students who challenged her, the moments she got it wrong, and what she learned about looking beyond behavior to the story a student may be carrying.

What if the very weakness you think disqualifies you is one of the places God most wants to work through you?
In this episode of At This Table, host Shelly Brown sits down with Redemption Press author C.S. Fitzpatrick to talk about The Mark of the Nemesis—a Christian fantasy adventure written to help young readers wrestle with fear, faith, spiritual battle, and what they truly believe.

Carol shares the remarkable 46-year journey behind the book, how the works of C. S. Lewis helped make Jesus real to her, and why fantasy can sometimes reach the heart in ways direct teaching cannot. She also talks about the free discussion guides she created to help families, homeschoolers, youth groups, and book clubs have honest conversations about faith and the end times.

What if one of the greatest gifts you could give a daughter, granddaughter, or young woman you love is the confidence to open God’s Word and discover truth for herself?
In this episode of At This Table, host Shelly Brown welcomes author Michelle Spano to talk about her Bible study, God’s Loyal Love: A Nine-Week Study in Ruth for Teen Girls.
Michelle shares how her desire to help her own children engage deeply with Scripture led to the creation of the EVENT method—a simple, flexible approach to inductive Bible study that teaches young people how to slow down, ask questions, explore context, apply truth, and talk with God.
Together, Shelly and Michelle explore:

• Why reading the Bible and truly engaging with it are not the same thing
• How Proverbs 31 connects beautifully with Ruth as a “woman of excellence”
• What Naomi teaches us about bringing honest grief, disappointment, and even anger to God
• The meaning of hesed—God’s loyal, steadfast love
• Why knowing who we are in Christ brings real freedom
• How this study can equip teen girls with Bible study skills they can use for the rest of their lives

Have you ever thought about what happens after heaven—and where believers will ultimately spend eternity?
Paul Feiner wrote New Jerusalem after the Millennium primarily for readers who enjoy deep Bible study, theology, and eschatology. But his careful study also offers something valuable for any believer who wants to better understand the resurrection, Christ’s coming kingdom, and the hope that awaits us.
In this episode of At This Table, host Shelly Brown welcomes Redemption Press author Paul Feiner into a conversation about the timing and theology of the new Jerusalem.
Paul explains why he believes Scripture describes two distinct cities: the restored Jerusalem of the millennial kingdom and the new Jerusalem that descends afterward. He also shares why heaven is not the believer’s final destination, what the resurrection means for our eternal future, and how these events reveal God’s faithfulness to His promises.
More than a discussion about timelines, this conversation points us back to the heart of it all: Jesus Christ, the coming King, and the sure hope believers have in Him.

Have you ever failed at something—and then quietly started believing you were the failure?
In this episode of At This Table, host, Shelly Brown welcomes Dr. Cynthia Perry, author of When Failure Was My Best Friend: Escaping the Darkness and Finding the Light, for a deeply honest conversation about the lies we believe, the wounds we tuck away, and the God who gently leads us into truth.
Cynthia shares how failure, fear, inadequacy, and loneliness became familiar companions in her life from a young age. Growing up in the South during segregation, struggling in school, failing fifth grade, and later discovering she had a learning disability, Cynthia began to believe the painful lie that she was destined to fail.
But God was writing a different story.