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In Ecclesiastes 3:11, we read that God makes everything beautiful in its time. It is comforting to know that nothing is wasted in God's economy, but all of it will be used for our good and His glory. You're invited to join us for poignant conversations and compelling interviews centered on believing for His beauty in every season.
Shannon Scott (00:33)
Well, hey everybody, welcome back to the Everything Made Beautiful podcast. Today I am excited and have been waiting a good long time to have my friend Ashley Martin on the podcast. ⁓ Ashley is a teacher turned writer and speaker who knows firsthand the challenges of navigating life's demands while seeking spiritual peace.
And 11 years ago, she began a journey of recovery, overcoming addiction through a deepening relationship with God. And since then, Ashley has dedicated her life to helping women find hope, strength, and renewal through faith, drawing from her personal experiences with recovery, infertility, divorce, and blended families. She vulnerably shares her story to connect with women who feel spiritually lost or overwhelmed. Her mission is simple, to equip
women with the tools to create a daily connection with God that fosters lasting peace and purpose. And I can say firsthand because I have spent time with Ashley that this is not somebody writing about a topic that's kind of a hobby to them. This is someone who is writing and ministering out of a deeply personal place. Ashley and I met because we both have the same person, Lisa Whittle, as our book
Ashley Martin (01:43)
Thank
Shannon Scott (01:56)
coach and now Ashley's book is in the world and I'm so thrilled that we get to talk about it today. So Ashley, welcome to the podcast.
Ashley Martin (02:07)
Thank you, my friend. It is an honor and a joy to be here. And like you said, we have been planning this for over a year and I am so excited to finally be here.
Shannon Scott (02:14)
Mm-hmm.
well I am cheering you on. I'm gonna tell everybody to buy the book. It'll be linked in the show notes. I just can't wait for people to dive into your story because I've both heard it and now read it and I'm telling you it is a story of deliverance, mercy, grace, just the love and character of God on display in you. And so I want to just jump in because this book is
pulling no punches. is, it is right in. You literally open the book with being served divorce papers at a restaurant in front of a friend. So what made you decide to lead with that moment? And what do you want readers to feel when they read it? So like when they open the book and are plunged into your story, what made you decide to go that
Ashley Martin (03:11)
am a trained history teacher who does nothing but tell stories for a living. And so, and I'm also Southern, so I can make a story animated and long and drawn out, but above all entertaining. And so I wanted to capture readers' attention with the depth.
Shannon Scott (03:22)
You
Ashley Martin (03:36)
of where I've been. I wanted to take them to my rock bottom and then show them what God did.
Shannon Scott (03:38)
Mm.
Yeah, so good. Well, and you know, I don't know how many women or people can say, I've had that exact experience, but all of us can probably point to our rock bottom and how we felt in it. And you traced that God hole ⁓ all the way back to middle school, like losing your grandfather, your family's financial collapse. ⁓
You talk about sitting in a church pew, but feeling completely alone. I know so many people have had that same experience of I'm surrounded by people, but somehow I'm alone. ⁓ So looking back, what was young Ashley searching for really? And then why did alcohol feel like the answer for those almost 20 years?
Ashley Martin (04:39)
I was searching for acceptance. was searching for...
You know, you think about adolescence and you think of how awkward you feel in your body and you don't know what to do. And so I was looking for direction. I was looking for guidance. I was looking for love. And I just chose to look in the wrong places. And it was no one's fault. Like it's not my parents are phenomenal people and they loved me unconditionally and introduced me to Christ.
Shannon Scott (04:53)
Mm.
Ashley Martin (05:19)
you know, as early as I can remember. It's not their fault. It's just in the tragedy of loss, that's life. That's what we deal with every day. We deal with a broken place. We deal with death. We deal with births. We deal with happiness. We deal with sadness. But as a seventh grader,
Shannon Scott (05:40)
Yeah.
Ashley Martin (05:41)
you don't know how to deal with it. And so back when I was a seventh grader, they didn't take you to counseling or therapy like they do now. You know, we rubbed dirt on it and moved on. And so, you know, it's no one's fault, but
Shannon Scott (05:53)
Yes, truly.
Ashley Martin (06:03)
I because I have always been in church.
I did not ask the right questions. I did not speak up for myself. I just sat there. And I think that's one of the main reasons today I don't just sit there. I refuse to be quiet. I refuse to be quiet on the miracles that God has done. I refuse to be quiet on how I feel. And that is why God has used my vulnerability and challenged me every day to speak up a little bit louder for health.
Shannon Scott (06:31)
Yeah.
Ashley Martin (06:42)
because I chose not to in my adolescent years. And so I began my path of being lost. And I think because I was called into the ministry, I feel like the enemy was after me a little bit more than the average kid because I did have a calling on my life. And so instead of stepping into that,
I ran from it every chance I got except for a brief fleeting few years. And I hope that my message shows people it's never too late to come back or to answer your call. You know, we all have different seasons and there is never a moment that we are too old or we are too broken that God cannot use us in a powerful way.
Shannon Scott (07:33)
Yeah, that's good.
Hmm. And do you, I don't remember if you and I have talked about this specifically, but you know, I think alcohol specifically can get stigmatized in the sense that like people have to go, you know, alcohol and drugs, would say, you know, get stigmatized because people maybe need to go to recovery for those things.
Ashley Martin (07:55)
Mm-hmm.
Shannon Scott (08:04)
all of us in my experience in my experience with women over many decades all of us cope somehow with that god-shaped hole and if we're not careful we cope with any number of things be it shopping or binging or binge eating or binge watching or whatever the case may be so how have you found that
Ashley Martin (08:16)
Absolutely.
Shannon Scott (08:32)
people that you've been able to minister to over the years cope in ways maybe that aren't alcohol because I think it'd be easy for people listening to go, well, you we don't have alcohol in our house. So I don't have to worry about this, but it isn't as about the alcohol as much as it is about the coping. So how have you seen that play out?
Ashley Martin (08:51)
Yes.
⁓ Absolutely. ⁓ Anything that distracts us from going to God and dealing with our problems or what we're dealing with, pain, insecurity, anything like that, food, our phone, binge watching TV, another person becoming obsessed in a relationship. ⁓ There are so many distractions today that take us down there. You know, there
Shannon Scott (09:08)
Mm.
Ashley Martin (09:22)
⁓ When I was at treatment, one of the counselors was coming out of a gambling problem. ⁓ You have so many other addictions or even like I just said, distractions. ⁓ I see some people pouring themselves into their children and being the super mom instead of dealing with something else that God is
Shannon Scott (09:36)
Yeah.
Hmm.
Ashley Martin (09:50)
challenging them to deal with. So you can take anything. ⁓ I always wished I had, I was an addict for exercise, but God did not put that in front of me.
Shannon Scott (10:01)
Hahaha!
Ashley Martin (10:04)
Yeah.
Shannon Scott (10:04)
Seriously,
maybe with having too much money, like maybe I could figure out how to work through that.
Ashley Martin (10:09)
Absolutely. Absolutely.
But you you'd asked me earlier, alcoholism is genetic. And two out of four of my grandparents died of complications of alcoholism. So it was in me. And so even before I took my first drink, was dormant in my body, in my mind. ⁓
Shannon Scott (10:24)
Wow. Yeah.
Ashley Martin (10:37)
just chose to let it in. And people, you can, like we said, you can be addicted to anything today.
Shannon Scott (10:50)
Yeah. So what landed you at 3 a.m. in a detox center with a nurse asking why you're there?
Ashley Martin (10:59)
⁓ after I was served with divorce papers, I was kicked out of my house and I mean, I even lost my dog in this process. I couldn't even take my dog with me. So I know you you would be crushed. So I, I got me a little suitcase. I went to my parents' house. They were at the beach. My poor parents had to come home to let me into their house. So I had somewhere to go. And that, that morning, the next morning I asked for help.
Shannon Scott (11:10)
Ugh.
Yes.
Ashley Martin (11:29)
And so it sent me on this path within a few days, I was in treatment. ⁓ The alcohol had masked high blood pressure. So they had to wake me up a few hours after every so many hours to make sure that I was not having a stroke or heart attack or anything like that and monitor me. And as I'm sitting there with the nurse and she's asking me the same questions that everyone else has asked me.
They do that because alcoholics and addicts lie. So they ask us the exact same questions over and over again to see if we say the same thing. And I was so broken and I was suicidal. And I was at my bottom, I was at my right bottom that I just gave in and I was like, okay, God, I surrender, here you go. And so I answered truthfully, I quit lying. I said the same thing over and over. And at that moment, I just felt
God lay his hand on me. And I just said, I'm here to be the person God created me to be. And she said, that's the best answer I've ever heard. And I said, I have no idea where it came from, but I did. I knew it was God. I knew it was the Holy Spirit. I knew he was with me. And from that moment on, I have led him in 100%.
Shannon Scott (12:35)
Hmm.
you
Ashley Martin (12:51)
There is no step that I have taken from that exact moment to right now that I have not felt his presence.
Shannon Scott (13:00)
Wow. And you draw a parallel in the book between your story and the woman at the well in John four. And the phrase that you use, which I love because we use it in leadership coaching is that Jesus called her up rather than calling her out. And that's exactly how we talk about difficult conversations, literally in corporate America right now, coaching a team. And we're talking about what does it look like to call that person up?
rather than call them out. So what does that distinction mean to someone who has spent years hiding and how did it reshape how you understood your own story?
Ashley Martin (13:41)
You know, our God is a God of grace and mercy. And every person that he loves is imperfect and just trying to do the best they can. And I forget that. And so in my brokenness, God called me up and he's like, listen, I'm gonna fix you if you surrender to me every day. And I'm gonna create a...
a life for you that is beyond your wildest imagination. And you know what, my girl, I'm going to use you. And I've just let him, I've let him even in treatment, and I don't even think I put this in my book, but even in treatment, I was teaching women in my cabin the Lord's Prayer and Amazing Grace and praying with them because they had never known God. They had never been to church.
And God starts using me on day three at ground level.
And I just accepted it and was like, okay, God, and I was honored.
Shannon Scott (14:53)
Wow. The picture of at your time of brokenness you are ministering to other people. I mean at the end of the day all of us are ministering out of our brokenness. I think we just spend a lot of time masking that and trying to pretend that's not true. But you got to literally be like well we're all here together and we all know why we're here.
But to be able to minister to people from that place, what a gift to those other women, Ashley, that you were there, that God appointed that you would be there and intersect with their stories. ⁓ You have a chapter in the book, I call it the Jonah chapter. And in it, you talk about spending years running. And I thought this was interesting, not because you doubted God's power, but because you doubted yourself.
So how does someone recognize the difference between the kind of running that is not actually about whether or not God's who God is, but it's doubting ourselves and having genuine uncertainty about calling.
Ashley Martin (16:04)
Right. One thing I always do is I sit and I make a list of all the things that God has done for me, where he has shown up big time. Sobrati, my husband, my child surviving at 26 and a half weeks. You know, I write down these big things and my path to this book, it's all God. And I think, okay, God.
If I have this calling in me and I look at all that you've done in the 47 years that I've been on this earth, why do I doubt it? Why do I doubt this call? Why do I doubt you? And then second, step out in faith. Do that, just do one thing that God's calling you to do. And I'm gonna tell you, he's gonna show up big and your doubt will dissipate.
And that's what happens to me every day when I make that uncomfortable post that God's telling me to do or that real or send that message to that person or lead that Bible study that he's calling me to do or write that book that talks about my rock bottom. you know, and you will know this because you, you love Lisa and she is your coach as well. When I had to write about my
Shannon Scott (17:11)
Thank
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Martin (17:25)
intake and my strip search into rehab, she's like, dig deeper, be more descriptive, take them there. And I did it. But I did it to show that yes, I look like I have my life together right now, but I didn't at one time. And God took that and He made something beautiful out of it. And so,
Shannon Scott (17:31)
Hmm.
Hmm.
Ashley Martin (17:55)
I just, for those people out there running from their call, doubting their call, just give God an inch and He'll take care of the rest.
Shannon Scott (18:06)
Yeah.
It's good. You also write something that it was particularly, I felt bullied and attacked by it, I will just say, which is where you talk about perfectionism becoming a spiritual trap. And I don't know what you mean, said the perfectionist. ⁓ But perfectionism basically being the belief that if you can't do something flawlessly, then you should not attempt it at all. ⁓
Ashley Martin (18:16)
you
you
Shannon Scott (18:34)
And I'll be honest, this is common among women, but it's common, especially in ministry among women. ⁓ I find that a lot of the women over the years that I've been privileged to be alongside have struggled with perfectionism. So how do you help practically exchange that for grace when grace
Grace feels really abstract and like, I'm not sure I can get my arms around that, whereas perfectionism is really rooted in control. So how have you helped women and people practically exchange that?
Ashley Martin (19:18)
Well, first I had to start with me before I preached it. And I remember this had started in rehab. They made us do these art projects to just get our minds off of what a train wreck our lives were. And I remember purposely gluing things at angles or making them not straight to get me ready for going back to a life.
that was not gonna be perfect or ever perfect. I was mentally preparing myself to accept myself as I was and quit trying to be perfect. So I did it in my little sad artwork as I went back to my life. And so since then, the women that I mentor and help, I just always use myself an example of like,
God is the, you know, Jesus is the only perfect person that lived and walked on this earth. And he never had a perfect day. So why do we think we're going to have a perfect day?
And if you've ever read the Bible from beginning to end, let me just tell you, judges alone should let you know.
Humanity has always been a train wreck.
Shannon Scott (20:44)
It's good.
Ashley Martin (20:46)
So
why do you think that you're gonna be perfect? Why do you think, and I used to do this and it would send me drinking lots of bottles of wine. I used to expect my whole day to be perfect, everything to fall into place. And then I got sober and became a parent. And just like, and I use this example with the women I mentor, watching your children play sports.
Shannon Scott (20:58)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Ashley Martin (21:14)
There is no other uncontrollable, painful experience. You just have to have grace for them and you and sit there and just be like, they're having fun, they're having fun, they're learning, they're learning.
Shannon Scott (21:31)
Right,
right. They're not going to be a professional athlete. None of this matters. Even though this is brutal, it's fine. Yeah.
Ashley Martin (21:39)
They may be getting beat 22 to four in baseball. But God is gonna teach us a lesson. And then also, let's look at this lesson afterwards. Let's look at the imperfectness of the situation. What did you learn from it? How did you grow from it? Today, I just look at life lessons of God just smiling and loving and hugging me on, you're doing a great job. Tomorrow,
Shannon Scott (21:43)
huh.
Yeah.
Ashley Martin (22:09)
Just do a little better, do a little better. And if you mess up, the world hasn't stopped turning.
Shannon Scott (22:17)
One of the things that I love about your approach in your book, Ashley, is that you make no bones about your own poor decisions. You know what I'm saying? Like you own your role in your story and you talk candidly about marrying your first husband out of fear and financial desperation and you're real candid that it was not a God-led marriage.
How has that level of vulnerability and honesty helped you talk to other women about the valleys that they're in? And I find the more vulnerable and honest I am authentically, the more it frees people to be honest about their own stories. Have you found that to be the case as well?
Ashley Martin (23:08)
Absolutely. My first husband was a good, he was a good man. We just were not meant for each other. ⁓ There was a large age difference and he got me at the worst possible period and we did not work well together. And I think too often we try to speed our life up. We think that, okay, by this, for me and maybe especially for women,
think we have this timeline, like, okay, I'm gonna graduate college and then I'm gonna get engaged and I have kids by this age and you know, God doesn't work that way. God listens to us and loves us, but he has his own, you know, it's in God's timing. And for me, when I was too impatient, I cared too much what other people were thinking.
Shannon Scott (23:46)
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Martin (24:07)
wanted to impress the world and I did not allow God to be in control. And so one younger woman that I mentor or spend time with, I'm like, don't rush it. Enjoy it. Enjoy these seasons. Enjoy the season of sleepin' late. Enjoy the season of doing what you want to do. And then in the child
rearing ages, enjoy every sweet moment of those babies because they don't stay babies. Like enjoy every season, but don't rush them and let God have the lead. And then also if you mess up, you messed up. You know what I mean? It's like, God doesn't love us less if we're divorced. God doesn't love us less if we're not married. God doesn't love us less if we're, you know,
Shannon Scott (24:44)
Yeah.
Ashley Martin (25:05)
if children are not possible and things like that. And I think for me, I used to base God's love off of the men that were coming into my life, the miscarriages that I was having, the jobs I didn't get, things like that.
Shannon Scott (25:20)
Mm.
Well, and I do think that women struggle, Christian women struggle to equate marriage and kids and financial well-being and all of that with the blessing of God. And a lot of times in the Old Testament, certainly that was an indicator of God's blessing. ⁓ But it, you're so right that
it is not a measuring stick of the love of God for us, those things in our lives or his favor more so on us than on someone else. But I do think the church has done a poor job of making every single season and stage of life important and valuable. it's
And we've unintentionally, I won't blame the church's intent, but we've unintentionally elevated certain seasons and said, that's what you're shooting for. And so for people that can't attain them, how are they to feel like God's on their side? So that's so wise. And the don't rush it, that is a wise word because we...
We have a temptation to go, ooh, this season is not fine. Let me get past it as soon as I possibly can.
Ashley Martin (26:49)
Mm-hmm. And I'm so thankful for that season of divorce.
I was alone, I was living by myself, and I was rebuilding my life, but I was doing it with God holding my hand. And I did not rush that season, and I enjoyed it. And I so dove into every resource that God sent me. And so I've done that every season since.
Okay, let me take this difficult situation and let me find God and let me celebrate God in this difficult situation and be of service to him in this difficult situation or in a, you know, whatever good, bad, ugly now because of my rock bottom and my spiritual awakening now I just, I just find God in everything.
Shannon Scott (27:52)
You, ⁓ you named chapter five in your book, prayer is the GPS, not the spare tire. And I was like, I need to put this on a card where I can see it. So when in your journey or, or was there a specific season or time when you realized that prayer shifted from an emergency side of the road resource to daily oxygen intake for you?
And what would you say to someone who's listening, who's still managing their life rather than living it surrendered? What role does prayer play in that?
Ashley Martin (28:34)
⁓ Again, in treatment, I was taught to do a morning devotion to connect to God, to wake up every day and surrender, and then sit down, pray, and do a little quiet time. And that laid the foundation of the life I have today. And so I do it every morning. And if I'm traveling or out of my routine and I don't do it,
that hole appears, that hole starts coming back. I start feeling uncomfortable in my skin and my peace is not as strong. And so to me, it's like breathing today. I wake up and you know, I talk about the three pillars, surrender, prayer and service. And every morning I have to do that. I have to equip myself because I want the peace that I have found in recovery to stay and stick.
Shannon Scott (29:05)
Hmm.
Ashley Martin (29:33)
every day of my life. And prayer is just, and I grew up, and people did not mean it badly, but they would go, ⁓ all I can do is pray. That's the most powerful thing you can do. That is what God has given us to stay close to Him, to intercede for others, to have that peace that passes all understanding. It starts with prayer. And that,
Shannon Scott (29:44)
Hahaha
Hmm.
Ashley Martin (30:03)
I want every day for my prayer life to be richer and richer and richer. And ⁓ I have recently joined my family and I have joined the church I grew up in. We've just joined my home church again. And it's been the sweetest, sweetest gift. And every Wednesday morning, I have joined this prayer group where the median age is about 75. And there is nothing sweet in
Shannon Scott (30:16)
Mmm.
Love it.
Ashley Martin (30:31)
And I did it this morning. There is nothing sweeter than sitting in that sweet little Sunday school room and praying with those ladies. And it is the gift from God every Wednesday morning because to me, that's my lifeline.
Shannon Scott (30:48)
What does for a woman who's going, so what does it look like to surrender to God in the morning? Just give an example of something that you might say that she could pick up and use.
Ashley Martin (30:58)
Absolutely. God, I give you my day. You're in control, I'm not. Help me stay in your will. Amen.
Shannon Scott (31:07)
⁓ It's good. When do you do that process?
Ashley Martin (31:12)
when my feet hit the floor.
Shannon Scott (31:14)
Yeah, it's good. The thing that I love that you've done with this book is that there's not, don't preach that there's this one single breakthrough moment where suddenly everything was this way and now it's this way, never to be that way again. But you just, talk about a daily path.
And we just talked about it when your feet hit the floor, you have things that you do and you have rhythms that are built in. Why were those rhythms so important to you? You talk about being found. What does that look like on an ordinary Tuesday or on a day when you don't have your sweet Wednesday morning prayer group together? What does that rhythm look like for you?
Ashley Martin (32:06)
So I'm not a morning person. So my feet hit the floor and I say it, I think it, but I gotta get my coffee. And you've had my Southern Pecan coffee. You know I have to have my Southern Pecan coffee. I get my coffee and I sit down and I open my Bible and I have ⁓ a prayer that I have written out and it's in my book and it's a formula that I use every morning.
Shannon Scott (32:10)
Me either.
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Ashley Martin (32:36)
and I pray that prayer, I read my Bible, and then I start my day. Now, I also go, I try to do a walk every morning, and in that walk, I also talk to God. I don't listen to music, I just let it flow, and I spend time with Him as well. ⁓ But again, throughout the day, if I feel like I need to pray for somebody, if I feel doubt, if I feel insecurity, if I feel fear,
Shannon Scott (32:36)
Mm.
Mm.
Ashley Martin (33:06)
I have a little prayer bench and it's behind me in my office slash front parlor and I hit my knees. And today that's like breathing.
I just, I'm so grateful that I have the time and the spirituality today and the wisdom that I get to spend all day talking to God. It is an honor. It is a pleasure. And I'll be, you know, there I have in my book in chapter seven, I have the start your day over roll. Cause some mornings we sleep late. My kid can't find his sneakers. We are yelling.
Shannon Scott (33:48)
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Martin (33:50)
There are tears and we are driving to school and I turn the radio off and I'll say, okay, we're gonna pray, we're gonna start the day over. And there are some days that I'm not a good housekeeper and my house gets cluttered and my sweet husband likes things where they're supposed to be and there might be a little disagreement over that and we just apologize.
Shannon Scott (33:51)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Martin (34:20)
and we move on. And so my life is not perfect. It is messy. It is free flowing. It is busy. It is hectic, but God is the underpinning. And so therefore I give myself grace today when I used to not. And I'm so much healthier and happier because of it.
Shannon Scott (34:20)
Yeah.
Tell people what God has done in your family life. ⁓ Since they, you know, they'll read about the 3 a.m. detox moment, but tell people what came after.
Ashley Martin (34:58)
So a year after I was sober, I met my husband and within three months of dating, we just knew. He had just recently had a spiritual awakening I had and we just really connected. I actually used to sing in the choir next to his mother and so it was just really sweet.
Shannon Scott (35:22)
yes, so sweet.
Ashley Martin (35:24)
⁓ And so ⁓ we're both only children, which is a good thing and a bad thing. We both think we're special, but luckily ⁓ we fit very well together. ⁓ A year after that, we had our son Grant, who is now nine. ⁓ He was born very premature, but by the grace of God, he is thriving today and is super healthy and happy.
I have a 16 year old stepdaughter, Cameron, who is also thriving and living her best life in Florida. Our family, we love to travel. That is our thing. We do a different state every year. And so I have one state left. My husband has three. My nine year old has been to 26 states. Uh-huh.
Shannon Scott (35:58)
Mm.
Wow. That's
more than one a year for sure.
Ashley Martin (36:20)
Yeah, yeah. so we, yeah, we kind of, know, out west you lump a couple together. ⁓ But we just have fun and we love each other. you know, six years ago, I felt God calling me to write this book. praise God, I sat down and did it. And it was one of
Shannon Scott (36:27)
Yeah, yeah, that's true.
Ashley Martin (36:46)
The hardest things I've ever done, it's one of the most rewarding things. I mean, it's top three hardest things I've ever done. Top three most rewarding things I've ever done. And God showed up through all of it and big. And my sweet husband has supported me and loved me and cheered me on through it all. And ⁓ it's just, I'm so blessed today. I am so, so blessed.
Shannon Scott (37:13)
Well, the title of the book is called Lost No More, which I love because it's a declaration. So what do you want someone to do when he or she closes your book after reading all of it? What do you want them to feel or what do you want them to do or what do you want them to know after they read Lost No More?
Ashley Martin (37:37)
I want them to create their daily path to God, to use my three pillars the way they feel God calling them to do, and to no longer beat themselves up for not spending enough time with God or not saying the right things or not being perfect, just to bask in His goodness and His love and His grace and His mercy and just take it one day at a time.
and just dig a little deeper every day, just a little bit, just little bit. And if you don't, every day, don't beat yourself up. Just start over and keep going because...
Shannon Scott (38:11)
Yeah.
Ashley Martin (38:21)
for me.
There is this paste that comes from it.
that is better than anything that I have ever experienced in life and I want that peace for them. So when they close that book, I want them to create that path to peace and just stay on it as best they can.
Shannon Scott (38:50)
Well, I know that writing something, putting your life out on the page is not for the faint of heart. And I know that it costs you something when you do that. So I just want to say thank you for being willing to do that. I also want to ask you, this was not in the list of questions that I sent to you, but I just feel the Holy Spirit kind of pricking me. ⁓ What would you say?
to a woman listening who thinks she may be too dependent on alcohol.
Ashley Martin (39:27)
say go to a 12-step meeting. Find one online, go sit in one and listen and see if it resonates and if it does, find someone after the meeting that she is drawn to and ask her to sit down and talk with her.
And God will do the rest. God will do the rest. Because I think the misconception in 12-step recovery is that it's woo woo, voodoo, whatever. The foundation is God. 12-step recovery only works because God is in every step. And so find a meeting, go to a meeting, find a woman you're drawn to.
Shannon Scott (40:01)
Yeah.
Ashley Martin (40:18)
and just you don't have to make a declaration. You know what I mean? Like they're not asking you to write down your name and become a member. ⁓ People walk in and out every day. We have nursing students, we have med students that come in and want to better serve their patients. So we're used to people coming in just to see. ⁓ I would suggest that. And I give the resources in my book for that as well. If they think, and I have questions. I have questions to ask them.
Shannon Scott (40:35)
Hmm.
Ashley Martin (40:47)
their selves in my book to just see and pray because God will meet you. There are so many women in recovery today that we look different, we come from different aspects of life, we come from different backgrounds, but the commonality of it, we are so in love with one another and the
Shannon Scott (40:56)
Yeah.
Ashley Martin (41:17)
and recovery and God that it's described like the Titanic sinking how everyone came together on the boat on the lifeboats and and and just work together and that's how recovery is so ⁓ you don't have to look a certain way you don't have to act a certain way ⁓ just go and God will take care of the rest.
Shannon Scott (41:24)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Well, Ashley, before we go, because I'm so grateful that we got to talk before we go, I would love to ask you the question that I ask all my guests and you know what's coming. So if you, if Ashley could design your perfect, beautiful day, what would it look like from start to finish? No rules, no guardrails. What would your perfect, beautiful day look like?
Ashley Martin (41:52)
Yes.
Well, I'm craving the beach right now. And so my husband is a mountain man, but this is my day. So I'm going to choose the beach. I would choose a big house on the beach. I'm a more rustic than I don't want modern fancy. I want a rustic beach house, big, warm, friendly on the beach. I want my whole family. I want my parents, my kids, his mom. I want
Shannon Scott (42:11)
Mm.
Ashley Martin (42:37)
lots of good food, lots of games. We love board games, we love cards, ⁓ sunshine, water, quality time with each other, and someone else doing the cooking, of course. ⁓ There would definitely be a caterer with lots of good seafood, and it would just be relaxing, easy, quality time. And you know what? There would be somebody playing the guitar and us singing along.
Shannon Scott (42:51)
Mm hmm. Yeah. So amen.
Mm-hmm.
Ashley Martin (43:06)
I'm gonna pull out all the stops, caterer, musician, you name it. Every board game and card game in my family has to play with me. And then a little bonfire at the end of the night and some s'mores and a good night's sleep.
Shannon Scott (43:18)
Hmm.
Love it. That sounds like a perfect beautiful day. I recommend that you do that as soon as possible. ⁓
I also want to say to those of you who are listening, Ashley is a gift and her story is a gift and the road that she has walked has in the sovereignty of God been one that you now get to be the beneficiary of and that you now get to benefit from all that God has done in her life and story.
And if you are listening and you are wondering, does something in my life have mastery over me the way that alcohol did for Ashley? Maybe it's alcohol, but maybe it's one of the other things that she mentioned. I would encourage you get her book, but also take the next right step to what it looks like to get help for that, to let it not be something that exists in isolation and in darkness, but kind of drop
drug out into the light so that it can ⁓ be healed and be whole and so you can be healed and be whole. So if that's you then see this as the kindness of the Lord to put Ashley's story in your path today and I know it's her prayer and it's also my prayer that you would find help and healing and wholeness as a result of it. So check the show notes.
because everything that you can ⁓ get from Ashley due to stay connected with Ashley, follow Ashley will be there for you. Ashley, thank you so, so much for sharing your story and for listening to the call to write the book.
Ashley Martin (45:08)
Absolutely, and I always love spending time with you, my friend.
Shannon Scott (45:12)
Thank you. Well everybody that concludes this episode of the Everything Made Beautiful podcast. Don't forget to be on the lookout for all the ways that God is making everything beautiful including you and we will see you next time.