Dawn of Valor

013: You Want Glory? Be Holy

In this episode, I share what God has been showing me about holiness and how my view of it is changing. More and more, holiness is not feeling dull, lifeless, or restrictive to me. It is starting to feel beautiful. To be holy is to be set apart for God. To belong to Him. To reflect His character more clearly in every area of life. And I’m realizing that holiness is not God calling us to become blank, colorless people. He is not making us less ourselves. He is making us into what we were always meant to be: lives that bear His image well. I talk about how this shift feels similar to the way my understanding of heaven changed as I got older. What once felt flat and sterile has become, through Scripture, something far richer, fuller, weightier, and more alive. Holiness is beginning to feel that way too. Not stale.  Not small.  Not merely behavior modification. But a real shaping. A sanctifying. A making fit for the Master’s use.   I also share an update about a home we looked at this week, and why it was not the right fit. If I’m honest, I do not even know how we would get approved for a mortgage right now or how any of that would come together. But even in that, I found myself wondering if maybe the Lord is being kind to me. Maybe He is preparing me for the weight of the glory of home, so that home itself will not become my identity, my source of joy, or my reason for existing. Maybe some things are not withheld because God is cruel. Maybe they are withheld because He is merciful. Because weight reveals what is underneath. And God, in His kindness, prepares us before He places more on us.   In this episode: *  why my view of holiness is changing  *  how holiness is starting to feel beautiful, freeing, and full of life  *  why holiness is not the same thing as legalism  *  how God sanctifies what He saves  *  why the Lord often prepares us before He gives us more  *  a personal update on the home we looked at this week  *  why I think even that disappointment may be mercy  📖 Scripture referenced  1 Peter 1:15–16  Romans 8:18  Romans 8:29  John 15 💛 Support this work  https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt [https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt] 🧵 Join the writing / become a paid subscriber  https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/ [https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/] 📷 Our photo + video team  https://dawnphotoco.com/ [https://dawnphotoco.com/] 🌐 More about me  www.mikayladawn.com [http://www.mikayladawn.com] 📬 Contact  dawnofvalorpodcast@gmail.com 🎧 Subscribe on  Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Substack

012: 3/27 | Spiritual Warfare, Mercy, and the Not So Boring Call to Holiness

Two weeks after my last recording, I sat down on 3/27 to share this episode. That date holds deep meaning for me, and this episode became a marker of God’s mercy in the middle of intense spiritual warfare. I share about the frightening events our family walked through on 3/22, the mental and emotional crash that followed, and how the Lord used truth, prayer, and the renewing of my mind to help me fight differently this time. I also share what I’m learning right now about holiness: that to be holy is to be set apart for God, reflecting His character in every area of life. More and more, holiness is not feeling dull or restrictive to me, but beautiful, freeing, and full of life. In this episode: *  why 3/27 feels significant to me  *  the very obvious spiritual warfare our family faced last week  *  how studying the battlefield of the mind helped prepare me *  why holiness is beginning to feel beautiful, not burdensome  *  how creativity, beauty, and obedience can all reflect God’s character  📖 Scripture referenced  John 3:27- A man may receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 💛 Support this work  https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt [https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt] 🧵 Join the writing / become a paid subscriber  https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/ [https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/] 📷 Our photo + video team  https://dawnphotoco.com/ [https://dawnphotoco.com/] 🌐 More about me  www.mikayladawn.com [http://www.mikayladawn.com] 📬 Contact  dawnofvalorpodcast@gmail.com 🎧 Subscribe on  Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Substack

011: Our Baptisms, Justice Shares First Public Testimony | The Battlefield of The Mind

For the first time, I’m playing the audio from the day Justice and I were baptized at church. You’ll hear my testimony and baptism first, and then Justice shares his testimony in his own words. Justice has never really had a platform. This is the first time his story has been shared publicly. It felt like such a gift to be able to include it here. This episode also marks the beginning of something new. Two weeks ago I finally sat down with our neighbor and landlord, Linda Cross. When we moved here, I had no idea she teaches the Bible every week to women in Spanish across Argentina and Chile. When I asked if I could see her curriculum, I realized it was exactly what my heart has been hungry to learn. The very first lesson begins with a truth that feels simple but profound: The battle is first won or lost in the mind.  Sow a thought.  Reap an action.  Sow an action.  Reap a habit.  Sow a habit.  Reap a character.  Sow a character.  Reap a destiny. From there we begin learning how real change actually happens. Not by trying harder to fix behavior. But by tracing the fruit in our lives back to the root of what we believe about God. In this episode I share the framework I’m learning: Fruit: the visible behavior in our lives Trunk: the desires driving those behaviors Root: the belief about God underneath it all For example, my anxiety about provision might look like striving or fear on the surface. But if you follow it down to the root, it can reveal something deeper: unbelief that God will truly provide. Transformation isn’t cutting a weed at ground level. It’s uprooting the lie, repenting of unbelief, and replacing it with the truth of Scripture. We are TRANSFORMED by the renewing of our MIND. Watch the Baptisms You can watch the baptisms from our church service here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEzIufDFveo&t=1977s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEzIufDFveo&t=1977s] (((Our baptisms begin around minute 24 of the service.))) 📖 Scripture referenced Matthew 6:26 Romans 12:2 💛 Support this work  https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt [https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt] 🧵 Join the writing / become a paid subscriber  https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/ [https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/] 📷 Our photo + video team  https://dawnphotoco.com/ [https://dawnphotoco.com/] 🌐 More about me  www.mikayladawn.com [http://www.mikayladawn.com] 📬 Contact  dawnofvalorpodcast@gmail.com 🎧 Subscribe on  Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Substack

010: Five Months in PA, Exodus or Exile?

It has been one month and twelve days into the new year.  And five months since we left home. In this episode, I share what the Lord has been doing in this season of life in a furnished rental, unfamiliar rhythms, and spiritual reorientation. This has not been a season of arrival. It has been a season of placement. A season of radical amputation. A season of integration into the Body. A season of learning the difference between provision and permanence. We talk about: *  my lack of a vision board this year and why *  Jesus’ call to radical amputation in Matthew 5:29–30, and our decision to give up alcohol this year *  Why God withholds lasting security, but gives joy along the way *  What themes of 'home' God keeps hammering into my soul, while withholding what I think 'home' is or should be. *  Starting Growth groups + Marriage and Family Class *  What Jeremiah 29 teaches about life and living while in exile Scripture referenced: Matthew 5:29–30  Jeremiah 29:5–7 C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain  “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” Listen + Follow Dawn of Valor Substack: https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/ [https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikayladawnchaparro/ Support the podcast: https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt

009: A Year Behind Us, A Year Before Us (and a Q&A)

Recorded on New Year’s Eve. 2025 behind. 2026 ahead. A quiet closing of one year and an unsteady step into another. Simply a look back at what God has done and an honest look forward into what we still do not know yet. I read last year’s New Year’s Eve journal entry and compare it to today. The ways God has faithfully met us in both joy and ache. It is strange and sacred to hear myself one year ago and realize how much has changed even when life still feels raw and unfinished. Then we move into a Q&A. These are the real questions you asked.  In this episode we talk about: * How has your marriage changed since Justice has been saved? 🤍 * How does your faith stay centered in the unknown, especially in seasons of change and overwhelm? * How do you keep faith in yourself and let God handle things? Any advice? * In what ways has Jesus drawn near? Have you seen Him move in big ways? * How has the move been on everyone? * Was it a hard transition from warm weather to colder temperatures? * Could you move back if you weren’t happy there? * Best advice for moms trying to focus on God while juggling everything and feeling overwhelmed. * Curious if you’ve figured anything out for Beckham. * What do you hope for in the new year? ✨ Thank you for being here. Support the work 💛 Partner with our family and help us keep creating:  https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt [https://buymeacoffee.com/mikayladawt] 🧵 Join the story in writing. Become a paid subscriber:  https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/ [https://mikayladawnchaparro.substack.com/] 📷 Our photo and video team:  https://dawnphotoco.com/ [https://dawnphotoco.com/] 🌐 More about me:  www.mikayladawn.com [http://www.mikayladawn.com] 📬 Contact:  dawnofvalorpodcast@gmail.com 🎧 Listen and subscribe:  Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Substack