Junk to Jewels Podcast with Georgette Beck

Episode Summary
On this episode of the Junk to Jewels™ Podcast, Georgette Beck sits down with Dr. Tamara Monosoff (as part of the Podapalooza event) — a therapist, entrepreneur, and author holding a master's in marriage and family therapy and a doctorate in women's leadership — to talk about rebuilding life after her unexpected gray divorce ended a 38-year relationship. Tamara opens up about the identity loss, shame, isolation, and financial and social fears that so often follow a divorce after 50, and why grief has no timeline and can't be rushed.
Georgette and Tamara explore how loneliness inside a marriage and unspoken truths can quietly erode connection, and why healing moves faster in community rather than alone. Tamara shares the small daily habits, long-deferred classes, and simple hellos that helped her recover — along with her leap to move to Portugal and finally pursue a childhood dream. It's an honest, hope-filled conversation about grief, reinvention, and discovering who you are on the other side of loss.
About Dr. Tamara Monosoff
Website: tamaramonosoff.com
She's Not Done Yet (Substack community): https://shesnotdoneyet.substack.com/
Georgette's Links
The Junk to Jewels™ Podcast, hosted by Georgette Beck — award-winning author, Realtor, and founder of Bella Healing Hearts Foundation.
Book: https://a.co/d/0etqV85U
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GeorgetteMBeck
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@georgette2038
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgettebeck9168
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SHOW NOTES SUMMARY
In this episode of the Junk to Jewels Podcast, recorded live at the Podapalooza Podatorium, Georgette sits down with Dr. Gillian Lockitch — physician, author, and host of the Growing Older, Living Younger podcast, affectionately known as “The Bionic Dancing Doc.” After emergency spinal surgery threatened her mobility, Dr. Gillian became determined to ballroom dance again — and along the way discovered the power of epigenetics to reshape her own aging trajectory. She shares the science behind the antioxidant score, why she believes many age-associated disorders are really unhealthy-living-associated disorders, and the mindset shift that keeps her thriving at 81.
Episode Highlights
Her emergency spinal surgery and the 10-month journey back to the ballroom floor
How discovering epigenetics changed the way she approaches aging
Losing both parents to coronary artery disease — and what it taught her about prevention
What an antioxidant score is, and why carotenoids matter for eyes, brain, and heart
Her own diagnosis of myopic macular degeneration and how she has worked to protect her vision
The seven pillars of her GOLY (Growing Older, Living Younger) Project — and the one most people neglect: mindset
Her guiding belief: “If you believe you can, you can”
Her free resource: the Guide to Nature's Colorful Antioxidants
GUEST CONTACT & BIO
Dr. Gillian Lockitch
Physician, Author & Podcast Host  |  “The Bionic Dancing Doc”
A dual-certified Specialist in Paediatrics and Medical Biochemistry and former Professor at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Gillian is the author of Growing Older, Living Younger: The Science of Aging Gracefully and The Art of Retiring Comfortably. She hosts the weekly Growing Older, Living Younger podcast, now in Season 4 with 240+ episodes, and founded the GOLY Project, a coaching program built around seven pillars for preserving mind and body.
Website: askdrgill.com
Email: askdrgill@gmail.com
Free Gift: Guide to Nature's Colorful Antioxidants (downloadable from her website)
Podcast: Growing Older, Living Younger — weekly, every Monday, 240+ episodes
Book: Growing Older, Living Younger: The Science of Aging Gracefully and The Art of Retiring Comfortably
PODCAST INFO & HOST CONTACT
The Junk to Jewels™ Podcast, hosted by award-winning author and speaker Georgette Beck, features honest conversations about turning brokenness into beauty — rooted in Georgette's signature message, “Nothing is wasted” (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and her Four C's framework: Contemplation, Community, Caring, and Contribution.
Georgette is the award-winning author of the memoir Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight (Fedd Books, 2024), recognized by the International Impact Book Awards (Inspirational/Transformational category) and named a Semi-Finalist in the 2025 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition with the Florida Writers Association. She holds an MA in Human Services with a concentration in Marriage & Family Counseling from Liberty University and serves as a lay minister and mentor — not a counselor. Georgette is also Founder & President of Bella Healing Hearts Foundation, a nonprofit supporting single-parent families through mentorship, education, and scholarships.
Host: Georgette Beck
Book: https://a.co/d/0etqV85U
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GeorgetteMBeck
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@georgette2038
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgettebeck9168
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Episode Description
Gregory Jesse Halpern joins Georgette Beck on the Junk to Jewels™ Podcast for one of the most extraordinary conversations the show has ever featured. Known by many as the “13 Lives Renaissance Man,” Greg has survived thirteen documented near-death experiences — beginning at age five — and emerged from each one with a radically transformed understanding of purpose, suffering, and the human spirit. In this conversation, Greg walks Georgette through his very first crossing as a child, the 2005 chlorine-gas incident that unlocked over 3,000 principles of universal wisdom in three days, and the mentors — Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale, and W. Clement Stone — who shaped how he processed it all. He shares the four pillars of his Formula 4 Protocol (health, happiness, abundance, and purpose), the practice of “positive affirmative” thinking, and how his story of brokenness became a lifelong mission of helping “the little guy” overcome impossible odds. The conversation closes with Georgette's signature questions — covering favorite books, scripture, mentors, and music — and a look ahead to Greg's upcoming 13 Lives series.
Episode Highlights
The near-death experience at age five that Greg believes he was “trying to check out” of
How a 2005 accidental chlorine gas inhalation unlocked 3,000 principles of universal wisdom in three days
The four pillars of the Formula 4 Protocol: health, happiness, abundance, and purpose
Lessons from mentors Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale, and W. Clement Stone
The “positive affirmative” framework for thought, feeling, speech, belief, and receiving
Returning to competitive Judo in his 60s and reinventing his game after the sport changed
A preview of the upcoming 13 Lives series
About Gregory Halpern
Gregory Jesse Halpern is an entrepreneur, inventor, author, martial artist, media personality, and the creator of the upcoming “13 Lives” series — based on his thirteen documented near-death experiences and the extraordinary journey that followed. Over the last five decades, Greg has been featured in more than 500 media appearances, pioneered breakthrough ventures in health technology and crowdfunding, competed at elite levels in international martial arts, and devoted much of his life to helping people overcome pain, limitation, fear, and adversity.
Beyond the accomplishments, Greg's story is ultimately about transformation. Through unimaginable setbacks, spiritual awakenings, survival against impossible odds, and a lifelong search for deeper meaning, he has dedicated himself to uplifting others with messages of resilience, purpose, healing, faith, and human potential. Today, through his platforms, including Patriot Inner Circle and Formula 4 Protocol, Greg continues sharing wisdom, inspiration, and real-world strategies for building a stronger, healthier, and more purposeful life.
Connect with Gregory Halpern
Website: greghalpernvideo.com
Formula 4 Protocol: formula4protocol.com
Instagram: @itsthedopeshit
Facebook: Gregory Jesse Halpern (search his name on Facebook)
Chapters
Timestamps below are estimated based on conversation flow, since the raw transcript does not include audio timing — please adjust once you have the edited episode in front of you.
00:00  Welcome and Introducing Gregory Halpern
02:15  Age Five: The First Near-Death Experience
07:30  The Car Accident and a Passionate Love for Good
10:00  The 2005 Chlorine Gas Experience
14:00  Suffering or Purpose? Holding Both Together
19:30  What Lies on the Other Side
22:00  Faith, God, and the Meaning of His Name
25:00  Mentored by Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale & W. Clement Stone
31:00  Judo, Reinvention, and Staying Grounded
36:00  The Formula 4 Protocol: Health, Happiness, Abundance, Purpose
44:00  The Positive Affirmative and Manifestation
50:00  Junk to Jewels Moments and Life Lessons
55:00  The 13 Lives Series and What's Next
58:00  Closing Questions: Books, Scripture, Mentors, Music
1:05:00  Final Thoughts and Where to Find Greg
Closing Questions & Answers (Quick Reference)
Favorite book: Deprenyl: The Anti-Aging Drug
Favorite quote/affirmation: The Serenity Prayer, and his own: “Be patient, or you'll become a patient.”
Mentor who impacted his life: Bruce Lee (spiritually) — plus Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale, and W. Clement Stone
Café chat, past or present: Bruce Lee
Message to someone going through a hard season: Focus on the positive affirmative — think it, feel it, speak it, believe it, and receive it
Favorite music: Loves nearly every genre; Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is a favorite, alongside Mozart and Beethoven
Georgette Beck
Georgette Beck is host of the Junk to Jewels™ Podcast, award-winning author of Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight (International Impact Book Awards winner, Inspirational/Transformational category, and Semi-Finalist in the 2025 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition with the Florida Writers Association), Realtor at Beach Front Becks, and Founder & President of Bella Healing Hearts Foundation, supporting single-parent families through mentorship, education, and scholarships.
Book: a.co/d/0etqV85U
Instagram: @georgette.beck
Facebook: Georgette Beck Writer
LinkedIn: Georgette Beck
Twitter/X: @GeorgetteMBeck
TikTok: @georgette2038
YouTube: @georgettebeck9168
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At just 17, Lindsey Tercero has already lived a story worth telling. A recent graduate of Fort Pierce Central High School and a Bella Healing Hearts Foundation scholarship recipient, Lindsey immigrated from Nicaragua during her sophomore year — arriving with limited English and an unshakeable determination to build a new life. In this heart-to-heart conversation, she opens up about founding her school's first Spanish National Honor Society chapter, serving as FBLA president, losing her father at age eight, navigating her mother's return to Nicaragua for medical care, and finding "family of the heart" in unexpected places. Lindsey shares her love of literature (1984 by George Orwell), her senior quote from Dostoevsky's White Nights, and her big dream of becoming an immigration or real estate attorney. This fall, she begins her Associate of Arts at Indian River State College — and she's just getting started.
Chapter Timestamps
00:00 — Welcome & introducing Lindsey, a Bella Healing Hearts scholarship recipient
02:30 — Immigrating from Nicaragua and building a new life in Port St. Lucie
05:15 — Founding her school's first Spanish National Honor Society chapter
08:40 — Finishing her AA and dreams of Florida Atlantic or Florida State
11:20 — Losing her father at age eight — grief that arrives in its own time
17:00 — Her mother's health, her return to Nicaragua, and finding "family of the heart"
22:45 — Georgette's Four C's: Contemplation, Community, Counseling, Contribution
25:10 — Big dreams: law school and a future in immigration or real estate law
28:30 — A word to her generation — and to the adults who doubt them
31:00 — Closing questions: favorite book, mentors, and a heart-to-heart with her dad
36:15 — Closing thoughts and how to follow Lindsey's journey
Closing Questions
Favorite book: 1984 by George Orwell — a story about staying true to yourself
Favorite quote: "How could you live and have no story to tell?" — White Nights, Fyodor Dostoevsky (also her senior quote)
Heart-to-heart with anyone, past or present: her father, Emilio
Mentor who impacted her life: too many to name — her sister, her mother, her teachers, and the books and stories that shaped her
What she'd say to someone going through what she has: "Keep going. Think about your future, and trust that you have a purpose here."
 
Connect with Georgette
Book: https://a.co/d/0etqV85U
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/
Twitter: https://x.com/GeorgetteMBeck
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@georgette2038
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgettebeck9168
Subscribe, share, and leave a review — it means the world!

Georgette Beck welcomes legendary Paris couturier Vicky Tiel to the Junk to Jewels™ Podcast for a conversation that moves from a Parsons School rejection to a couture empire built at the heart of Hollywood glamour. Vicky shares how she arrived in Paris at twenty with a dream, a best friend, and a lace mini dress — and how that dress caught Elizabeth Taylor's eye and launched a twenty-five-year friendship.
The two swap stories of a legendary dinner with Coco Chanel, who made both women promise to create a perfume — a promise that led to Elizabeth Taylor's bestselling fragrance and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, and to Vicky's own perfume, complete with a bottle she hand-sculpted herself. Vicky opens up about decades of jet-set living, celebrity and royal clients, a difficult divorce, and the transformation that followed when she married a Key West fisherman, moved to a quiet farm, and gave up drinking and smoking for good, thirty years and counting.
Throughout the episode, Vicky returns again and again to one message: happiness is a daily choice. From dressing-room confessions to lessons Elizabeth Taylor taught her about kindness and generosity, from faith to the healing power of nature, Vicky's story is a masterclass in turning what felt broken into something beautiful — proof that it's never too late to choose joy.
Episode Chapters
00:00  Welcome and Introduction
01:48  Health and Empowerment
02:11  Parsons Rejection to Paris
04:10  Early Hustle and Money Rules
05:51  Elizabeth Taylor Connection
08:31  Coco Chanel Dinner
10:53  Perfume and Creative Leap
12:55  Farm Life and Sobriety Reset
16:27  Farm Life Reset
17:20  Junk To Jewel Question
17:52  Happiness Is A Choice
18:04  Dressing Room Confessions
20:08  Elizabeth's Lessons
21:34  Paris Days And Fashion Shift
23:53  Self Worth And Healing
25:13  Faith And Helping Others
26:38  Beauty Therapy And Jewelry
27:22  Perfume And Believing
28:05  Marlon Brando Tea Date
28:26  Stay Happy Closing
 
Vicky Tiel Contact
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vicky.tiel.2025
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vickytiel/
 
About Your Host — Georgette Beck
Georgette Beck is an author, podcast host, lay minister, mentor, and Founder & President of Bella Healing Hearts Foundation. Her book, Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight, won the International Impact Book Awards (Inspirational/Transformational category) and was a Semi-Finalist in the 2025 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition with the Florida Writers Association.
 
Book (Junk to Jewels): https://a.co/d/0etqV85U
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GeorgetteMBeck
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@georgette2038
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgettebeck9168
 
Subscribe, share, and leave a review — it means the world!

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
Her father's 65-year firefighting legacy and life transformation
Coming to Christ at age four during a Billy Graham Crusade
The girl in the school library: giftedness, isolation, and God's provision
Losing her father and the sudden estrangement from her mother and brother
Marriage, Rob's MS diagnosis, and their 130-year-old fixer-upper home
Surviving a severe on-the-job dog attack
The writing life: seven books, a viral blog post, and living on the Lord's faith payroll
Closing questions: favorite book, favorite verse, a coffee with C.S. Lewis' circle, and a word to her younger self
About Our Guest — Lori Stanley Roeleveld
Lori Stanley Roeleveld is an author, speaker, coach, and disturber of hobbits. She teaches biblical truth with gentle humor and invites weary believers back to the narrow road through her ministry of words. She has written seven award-winning books, including her newest release, God's Abundant Mercy (Our Daily Bread Publishing), and her sixth book won the Golden Scroll Award for Christian Living Book of the Year in 2024. Though she holds degrees in psychology and biblical studies from Barrington College (now merged with Gordon College), Lori says she has learned the most from studying her Bible in life's trenches. She spent much of her career working in human services with teens and families in crisis. Lori is a wife, retired homeschool mom, mother of adults, and "Omi" to five grandsons. She and her husband Rob have been married 37 years and live in a 130-year-old house in Rhode Island that is his ongoing restoration project.
Connect with Lori:
Website: https://www.loriroeleveld.com
Coaching & Freelance: https://www.takeheartcoachingandfreelance.com
Substack: https://loriroeleveld.substack.com/
Featured books: Running from a Crazy Man, Red Pen Redemption, Jesus and the Beanstalk, The Art of Hard Conversations, Colorful Connections, Graceful Influence, and God's Abundant Mercy.
About Your Host — Georgette Beck
Georgette Beck is an author, podcast host, lay minister, mentor, and Founder & President of Bella Healing Hearts Foundation. Her book, Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight, won the International Impact Book Awards (Inspirational/Transformational category) and was a Semi-Finalist in the 2025 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition with the Florida Writers Association.
Book (Junk to Jewels): https://a.co/d/0etqV85U
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GeorgetteMBeck
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@georgette2038
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgettebeck9168
Subscribe, share, and leave a review — it means the world!

Episode Description
Georgette Beck launches a brand-new recurring segment on the Junk to Jewels™ Podcast: Book Gems. In this first installment, Georgette pulls back the curtain on three very different books that have shaped her heart, faith, and outlook — introducing each author's story, the heart of the book, her own "Georgette's Gems" takeaways, an invitation for listeners to reflect, and who should pick up each title. From the founding of the Salvation Army to the hidden world of hotel hospitality to a poet's honest reckoning with grief, this episode is a love letter to reading and to every listener who has ever found themselves inside the pages of a book.
What's Covered in This Episode
Why Georgette is launching Book Gems, and how books have shaped her own journey from brokenness to beauty
Book 1: The General Next to God — the story of William Booth and The Salvation Army, by Richard Collier
Book 2: Heads in Beds — A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality, by Jacob Tomsky
Book 3: Morning in the Burned House — New Poems, by Margaret Atwood
How Bella Healing Hearts Foundation's mission connects to the story of The Salvation Army
An invitation to reflect: who are we walking past, and what is our response?
Book 1: The General Next to God
The Story of William Booth and The Salvation Army, by Richard Collier (1965)
About the author: Richard Collier (1924–1996) was an English journalist and military historian born in Croydon, England. He joined the Royal Air Force at eighteen and later served as a war correspondent, traveling throughout the Far East. Collier went on to become a bestselling author known for his meticulously researched books on World War II and other historical subjects. The General Next to God, his biography of William Booth, was published in 1965 and selected as a Book Society Choice. Collier passed away in 1996; as a book from an earlier era, there is no active author website or social media to share.
About the subject: William Booth (1829–1912) was born in Nottingham, England, and became one of the most consequential Christian social reformers in history. After being expelled from Methodist ministry, he began preaching in the slums of Whitechapel in 1865, eventually founding The Salvation Army — a nonsectarian, nonpolitical organization that today operates in more than 130 countries.
Georgette's Gems: Booth's motto — "Go for souls, and go for the worst" — challenges us to ask who we're walking past in our own community, and what our response will be. The book also traces the Army's early fight against child exploitation and trafficking, a cause the organization has championed for over 150 years.
Learn more:
The Salvation Army (official site): https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/
Book 2: Heads in Beds
A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality, by Jacob Tomsky (2012)
About the author: Jacob Tomsky was born in Oakland, California, to a military family and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. A philosophy graduate with no plan to enter the hospitality world, Tomsky spent over a decade working in luxury hotels in New Orleans and Manhattan — rising from valet parker to front desk manager to housekeeping supervisor. Heads in Beds was his first book, a New York Times bestseller often compared to Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, and was blurbed by Elizabeth Gilbert as "hilarious, literate, canny, ignorant, and kind."
Georgette's Gems: Tomsky's memoir humanizes the invisible hospitality workforce and reveals how every industry — even the transactional ones — runs on human connection. His insider wisdom (like the power of a well-placed $20 bill) is as much about generosity and gratitude as it is about getting a room upgrade.
Connect with the author:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacobtomsky/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JacobTomskyAuthor/
Book 3: Morning in the Burned House
New Poems, by Margaret Atwood (1995)
About the author: Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa, Canada, and is one of the most celebrated and prolific writers of the 20th and 21st centuries, with over fifty books spanning fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels. Best known internationally for The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood has won the Booker Prize twice (The Blind Assassin, 2000, and The Testaments, 2019), along with the Franz Kafka Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, among many other honors.
About the book: Morning in the Burned House was Atwood's first poetry collection in nearly a decade and was a co-winner of the 1995 Trillium Book Award. The collection is best known for its fourth section, a sequence of poems about the slow death of Atwood's father from cancer — considered among the most honest grief writing in modern poetry — alongside the haunting title poem and reimagined myths of women like Helen of Troy and the woman accused of witchcraft in "Half-Hanged Mary."
Georgette's Gems: Grief, when written honestly, becomes a gift to everyone who has loved and lost. The book's central metaphor — a burned house we all carry pieces of inside us — resonated deeply with Georgette's own experience of losing both parents and walking through divorce.
Connect with the author:
Official website: https://margaretatwood.ca/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealmargaretatwood/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/MargaretAtwood
The Invitation
This episode's reflection: Who is the "worst" in your community that you're currently walking past — and what is one small, real action you could take this week? Georgette invites listeners to comment or reach out and share their favorite books, too.
About Your Host
Georgette Beck is an author, podcast host, lay minister, mentor, and Realtor on Florida's Treasure Coast. Her book, Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight (Fedd Books, 2024), won the International Impact Book Award (Inspirational/Transformational category) and was a Semi-Finalist in the 2025 Royal Palm Literary Award Competition with the Florida Writers Association. She is also the founder of Bella Healing Hearts Foundation, supporting single-parent families through mentorship, education, and scholarships.
Connect with Georgette:
Book: https://a.co/d/0etqV85U
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GeorgetteMBeck
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@georgette2038
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgettebeck9168
Subscribe, share, and leave a review — it means the world!

Episode Description
In this episode of Junk to Jewels™, host Georgette Beck sits down with Luz Figueroa — a New York City–raised woman of faith who relocated to Port St. Lucie, Florida, with her family nearly ten years ago. Luz opens up about a marriage that began in middle school and has now spanned over thirty years, her late-in-life return to school that led to degrees in radiology and imaging sciences, and the serious medical crisis and surgeries that helped shape her calling toward healthcare.
Luz shares the story behind her book, The Shattered Pieces of a Masterpiece, rooted in childhood trauma and its lasting impact on how she saw love and relationships — and the promise she made to her father, before his death in 2025, to “tell your story and tell your truth.” She speaks candidly about sexual abuse within the church and why how trauma is handled matters so deeply, and shares the heart behind Home of Prodigals, the ministry she and her husband lead, now meeting Saturdays at 10:30 AM at Keiser University in Port St. Lucie.
This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt broken beyond repair — and needs the reminder that in God's hands, nothing is wasted.
What Listeners Will Learn
How a childhood shaped by trauma can still lead to a life of purpose and healing
Why Luz returned to school later in life — and how healthcare became part of her ministry
The story behind her father's final words of encouragement and how they became a book
What Home of Prodigals is doing to reach the broken, the overlooked, and those finding their way back to God
How Luz and her husband turned a house church into a growing outreach
Episode Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome and Guest Intro
00:20 – Meet Luz Figueroa
03:41 – From Bronx to Florida
04:32 – Returning to School
05:53 – Why Education Matters
08:34 – Book Origin Story
11:49 – Dad's Blessing and Loss
12:54 – Writing to Heal Others
16:01 – Family Reactions and Growth
19:24 – Church Trauma and Trust
23:20 – Cover Art Meaning
25:10 – Home of Prodigals Mission
27:34 – From House Church to Outreach
28:42 – Keiser Saturdays and Discipleship
30:14 – Prayer and Altar Healing
31:19 – Community and Calling Shift
32:32 – Stories Into Ministry Purpose
33:45 – Pain Becomes Purpose
38:50 – Faith-Driven Career Paths
39:27 – Health Crisis and Advocacy
45:50 – Hospital Ministry in COVID
49:02 – Dreams Beyond the Pulpit
51:18 – Hope for Shattered Women
52:41 – Books, Quotes and Mentors
55:56 – Letter to Younger Self
57:46 – Final Thanks and Where to Find
About Our Guest — Luz Figueroa
Luz Figueroa is a woman of faith, resilience, and purpose whose life reflects the redemptive power of God's grace. Born and raised in New York City, Luz carries both the strength and tenacity shaped by her upbringing, along with a deep compassion for people from all walks of life. Ten years ago, she and her family relocated to Port St. Lucie, Florida, where they continue to build both their life and ministry.
A devoted wife of over thirty years and loving mother of three, Luz holds an Associate's Degree in Radiology and a Bachelor of Science in Imaging Sciences, and has worked in healthcare for over seven years while currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Business. She is co-founder and leader of Home of Prodigals, a ministry dedicated to reaching the broken and overlooked, and the author of The Shattered Pieces of a Masterpiece.
Connect with Luz:
Ministry: Home of Prodigals — Saturdays, 10:30 AM at Keiser University, Port St. Lucie
Email: homeofprodigals@gmail.com
Book: The Shattered Pieces of a Masterpiece
About Your Host — Georgette Beck
Georgette Beck is the host of the Junk to Jewels™ Podcast and author of Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight. Her mission is simple: Heal from the Past — in the Present — for their Future.
Connect with Georgette:
Book: https://a.co/d/0etqV85U
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GeorgetteMBeck
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@georgette2038
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgettebeck9168
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Episode Summary
What do you do when faith alone hasn't fixed it? In this powerful, deeply honest episode of the Junk to Jewels™ Podcast, host Georgette Beck sits down with Chris Morris — ministry leader, award-winning author of three books, internationally known TEDx speaker, and founder of a mental health ministry that launched with 70 people on its very first night.
 
Chris grew up in a home marked by fear and abuse. At 15, in the middle of a suicidal moment, he prayed a desperate prayer to a God he didn't yet believe in — and gave Him seven days to show up. What happened next changed everything. And yet, life didn't get easier. Chris wrestled with depression and suicide ideations throughout his entire adult life, ultimately reaching a crisis point in August of 2020 that landed him in a psychiatric ward.
 
But from that dark place, he heard a whisper that turned everything around: "Chris, I still love you."
 
Today, Chris brings together theology, neuroscience, and real talk to help the church become a safer place for the hurting. In this episode, he and Georgette talk openly about:
 
His childhood in an abusive home — and the mom who had the courage to break the cycle
The "7-day prayer" that led him to Christ at age 15
His suicide attempt in 2020 and the divine encounter that followed in the psych ward
Why medication, counseling, and mindfulness are NOT the enemy of faith
Launching a 70-person mental health ministry — and what it revealed about the church's unmet needs
His three books: By Faith, Resilient & Redeemed, and Trekking Toward Tenacity
What he wishes every pastor and church leader understood about mental health
A direct, heartfelt message to anyone silently struggling and wondering if God sees them
 
"God is good every day, all the time, no matter what — even when He feels absent. Believe that." — Chris Morris
 
Connect With Chris Morris
🌐 Website: chrismorriswrites.com
📖 Books: chrismorriswrites.com/shop
📩 Substack: refugefortheweary.substack.com
 
Books Mentioned in This Episode
By Faith: 40 Devotions from Hebrews 11 — Chris Morris
Resilient & Redeemed — Chris Morris
Trekking Toward Tenacity — Chris Morris (Psalm 139 for parents)
The Divine Conspiracy — Dallas Willard (Chris's foundational recommendation)
 
Connect With Georgette Beck & The Junk to Jewels™ Podcast
📚 Book: Junk to Jewels: A Journey from Brokenness & Despair to Beauty & Delight
📸 Instagram
👍 Facebook
💼 LinkedIn
🐦 Twitter/X
🎵 TikTok
▶️ YouTube
 
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What does it look like when a little girl from the hills of West Virginia who couldn’t stand to see her grandmother step on an ant grows up to defend the most vulnerable among us? It looks exactly like Sue Chess — 24-year CEO of CareNet of the Treasure Coast.
 
In this deeply moving episode, Georgette sits down with Sue to talk about the life-saving work happening right here on Florida’s Treasure Coast — and the miracle stories that keep Sue showing up every single day. From an unlikely mobile unit that arrived when only ONE was left, to a nursing student who chose life and now works at Cleveland Clinic, to the son who considered abortion and whose daughter just turned 25 — this conversation will stir your heart.
 
In This Episode You’ll Hear:
Sue’s origin story: a sense of justice rooted in childhood, nursing training in 1975, and a pro-life debate that changed the trajectory of her life
How a personal family crisis — her son and his girlfriend facing an unplanned pregnancy at 17 — led Sue to eventually lead CareNet for 24 years
The full scope of CareNet’s ministry: pregnancy counseling, ultrasound, STI testing, parenting classes, a baby boutique, student outreach, fatherhood initiative, and abortion recovery healing
The miracle story of CareNet’s new Mobile Unit — equipped with ultrasound and a QR code, serving Martin and St. Lucie Counties
Why seeing the baby on ultrasound within 24 hours can be the most life-changing moment for a woman in crisis
The truth about the abortion pill: dangers, trauma, and the abortion pill reversal that has already saved 8,000 babies nationwide
How the Fatherhood Initiative increased life-saving outcomes by 61%
Sue’s life motto: “Just do the next right thing”
The peacekeeper vs. peacemaker distinction — and why Jesus was a peacemaker
Sue’s beautiful tribute to her mother, and the devotional she’s writing from her mom’s “Sips of Living Water” Facebook posts
Her favorite Bible: the WallBuilders Bible, weaving America’s founding history with Scripture
The woman she’d love to have coffee with: Priscilla Shirer
 
Sue’s Closing Word to Anyone in Crisis:
“Don’t try to take care of the whole thing today. Just do the next right thing. Make a call. Make an appointment. Don’t make an uninformed, rapid choice before you have looked at all your options.”
 
Upcoming CareNet Events:
Walk for Life — October 11 at MidFlorida Event Center (FREE: food, petting zoo, family fun)
CareNet Gala — March 5 & 6, 2026, with Dr. Lyle returning as Guest Speaker
 
Contact & Connect with Sue Chess / CareNet:
Client Website: www.carenettc.com
Supporter/Volunteer Website: www.carenettc.com
Port St. Lucie East Clinic • 6704 S US Highway 1, Port St. Lucie, FL 34952 • (772) 828-3168
Darwin Square Clinic • 3237 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd., Port St. Lucie, FL 34953 • (772) 208-3053
Connect with Georgette Beck & Junk to Jewels:
Book: https://a.co/d/0etqV85U
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgette.beck/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeorgetteBeckWriter
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgette-beck-7a659387/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GeorgetteMBeck
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@georgette2038
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@georgettebeck9168
 
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