Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens might have been a few of Fraulein Maria’s favorite things, and while we agree that bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens are pretty wonderful, here at (in)courage, getting to know the women behind the words still tops our list of favorites!
So how about taking a deep breath, setting down your own holiday lists for a bit, and pulling up a chair to get to know two beautiful, funny, inspiring women in this edition of Contributor Spotlight!
Meet Lucretia Berry
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am the poster child for irony.
I thought that I was not college material so I begged God for the opportunity to attend college. I was teaching college courses at twenty-two years old and earned a Ph.D. at the age of twenty-eight. In college, I was encouraged to take education courses. Because I was determined to NEVER be a teacher, I refused. Somehow, I ended up becoming a college professor and now teach at a high school.
I’d always thought that my husband would be ten years older than me and have dark chocolate brown skin. My husband is six years younger than me and is white. I thought that I would be a great mom to boys, so I prayed to have boys. My husband and I are raising three daughters, no boys.
As a wife and mom in a multi-ethnic family, I imagined that ‘race/ism’ would not be a central matter of interest in our family. God made it my platform. In 2016, I added TED Talk to my bucket list acknowledging that it would take me five to ten years to get there. In 2017, I was on the Charlotte TED stage. The theme was “Next.” I love my ironic life!
How long have you been an (in)courage contributor?
Since April 2018. It doesn’t feel like its been 8 months. Times flies when fun is the pilot.
What’s your favorite thing about (in)courage?
I get the opportunity to encourage (in)courage readers. I draw on my need for encouragement and write from that space. It’s cathartic. Also, I learn so much from the entire (in)courage community.
What are you passionate about?
Hope. Children. Community
Hope comes from the future and can be intentionally cultivated in our children through loving and healthy community. I expressed a version of this in my TED Talk.
What personal project are you most excited about right now?
We are setting 2019 goals for Brownicity, the organization I founded to help provide educational resources for racial healing. We are becoming more organized as a business entity to increase our accessibility to the community. We are transitioning from “this little thing we occasionally do on the side” to “this is who we are and how we are contributing to the world.” We are becoming more established, forging new partnerships, expanding our reach, turning up the volume on our sound of hope, and I will be writing a whole lot more and creating more content!
What is your favorite…
- Winter smell: heat!
- Sweet treat: dark chocolate covered almonds
- Salty snack: salt & vinegar potato chips
- Hot drink: hazelnut coffee
- Christmas tradition: listening to and singing ‘Silent Night” by the Temptations
- Thing to do with friends: go dancing
- Thing to do alone: take a bath
- Way to recharge: HIIT workout.
What’s your favorite place to connect online?
Because I love life behind the camera, Instagram is my favorite. My personal account serves as the archives for my family life, aka “the BerryPatch.” Brownicity (Instagram and Facebook) hosts inspiration and features resources for loving wholly in a world that wants to be healed. At brownicity.com, folks can subscribe to our monthly newsletter to have access to all the great stuff we offer.
Lucretia and Becky sat down recently to talk about the power of finding meaningful language to talk through issues of race and identity, as well as what does it mean to see ourselves and others that way God sees us. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss!
Meet Mary Carver
Tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in a small town outside Kansas City, and I now live in a (different) small town outside Kansas City. I’ve been married for almost twenty years, and I have two daughters (Annalyn – eleven, Adrienne – five). I’m an Enneagram type 1, and my Myers-Briggs is either ENFJ or INFJ (depending on the day).
I love planning parties, anything to do with pop culture, and silently correcting your grammar. I’m a writer and speaker, a freelance editor, a part-time editorial assistant for a website, a small group leader, a girl mom, a chips and queso lover, and an enthusiastic car dancer and singer (much to my daughters’ dismay).
How long have you been an (in)courage contributor?
Since the very beginning – August 2009!
What’s your favorite thing about (in)courage?
My favorite thing about (in)courage is the friendships I’ve made. Authentic, supportive, sometimes challenging, always rewarding, and probably lifelong friends are hard to come by, and (in)courage has given me so many!
What are you passionate about?
I’m passionate about helping women understand that they are strong enough to do this, whatever “this” is. I’m also passionate about helping women find freedom from shame about who they truly are (compared to who they think they should be or who others say they should be). I used to call this giving up on perfect and getting on with life (cough, cough, old blog tagline).
I’m also passionate about grammar, 80s and 90s music, YA novels, and Mexican food.
What personal project are you most excited about right now?
I’m starting a podcast! It will be called The Couch, and I will be having conversations with friends about pop culture and why it matters. It will launch on January 8, and I can’t wait to share it with you!
What is your favorite…
- Winter smell: That mix of cold air and burning wood and pine trees that you can only find outside. (Unless you have a candle that really replicates it and then you must tell me about it.)
- Sweet treat: Brownies (specifically the Ghiradelli box mix)
- Salty snack: Chips and queso
- Hot drink: Apple cider
- Christmas tradition: Watching the Claymation Christmas special with my family and going to see the Country Club Plaza lights in Kansas City
- Thing to do with friends: Play board games. Or just talk (and eat).
- Thing to do alone: Read
- Way to recharge: Sleep!
What’s your favorite place to connect online?
My favorite place on the internet is actually my Facebook group. It’s called The Couch (yes, like my forthcoming podcast!), and it’s a judgment-free zone for any and all conversations about books, TV, movies, music, and more.
As you probably know, Mary is the best mix of humor and depth. In her recent conversation with Becky, they talked the inside scoop of Mary’s upcoming new podcast, as well as what it looks like to choose joy when the holidays are hard and how to make space for pain and sadness — for ourselves and others. Go ahead and pour yourself another cup of cider and watch this heartwarming interview.
Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Lucretia,
Posterchild for Irony – love it! I think God must sit back and smile to himself about OUR dreams because we have no idea of the roller coaster adventure ride our lives will take. I join you in thinking I’d never be a teacher….and well….God had a different idea (imagine that?). I hear the passion in your voice for Brownicity….when God plants that seed and waters it – watch out. I’ve learned that God can do amazing things through us if we just make ourselves available. Whether it’s racial divides or religious divides or political divides, our world needs so much healing. Joining with you in making a difference in our corners of the world. Welcome to (in)courage…always good to have a fresh voice. I used to be a dancer…so I’ll go dancing with you anytime 🙂
Mary,
You are a longtime friend that I have read since the beginning. You and (in)courage encouraged me through an awful divorce way back when. You poured into me when I felt a lot of shame and helped to heal those broken places. I am so with you on being a “grammar enthusiast”. I watch a lot of sports with my husband and I am forever correcting the horrendous grammar of the sportscasters. They also tend to make up words that don’t exist lol. Pet peave….people who write “towards”. The dictionary has adopted our poor grammar just because everyone says it. The proper use is toward, as in, she walked toward the doorway. Also abused is the word “I”. When used as the subject of a sentence, I can be used. When used as the object of the verb, it switches to me. They gave the present to Mary and me. If you take out “Mary”, you wouldn’t say, They gave the present to I.
Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox lol. It’s been a fun ride Mary and I always enjoy your wit and humor.
Blessings to you both and I’ll be sure to check out the videos,
Bev xx
Lucretia Berry says
Thank you for your encouragment Bev! GOD definitely has a sense of humor, which reminds me to not take myself so seriously.
Shalom
LCB
Dawn says
I love getting to know the contributors. Please continue this!
Becky Keife says
Yah! We love hearing that!
Lucretia Berry says
Me, too, Dawn!
Beth Williams says
Lucretia,
Welcome to In (Courage). You definitely are the poster child for irony. Winter smell: heat! Like you I love dark chocolate anything & dancing. You can find me dancing around my kitchen often. Hubby loves hazelnut coffee. I find it hard to believe that this country is still having racial issues. God doesn’t discriminate against color or race. Saddens me that we must have these conversations. You see it on the news all the time. People killing people in the name of color/race. So much hatred in this country. Thank you for taking a stand & educating the public on this hot topic. I grew up outside Tampa, FL. Desegregation was trying to come about. Blacks were bused to white schools & in 6-7th grade whites were bused to black schools. Seems crazy to me. I don’t understand why in 2018 we can’t all get along. Keep up the good work! May God bless you & your family this Christmas & throughout the new year!
Mary,
I’ve resonated with your writing since the beginning. Nice to finally get to know you. I am an Enneagram type 2, and my Myers-Briggs is ISFJ. Wasn’t aware that you co-wrote Sara Frankl’s book Choose Joy. I remember her writing. So sad she died young. She knew how to enjoy life in the midst of that disease. We tell ourselves that we should choose joy. That isn’t always easy. Life happens. Sometimes it can be messy & hard. Loved your post “When the Holidays are Hard”. They seem to be hard for my family all the time. In August 2009 mom died so it was dad’s first Christmas alone. I did my best to make it good for him. Each year we don’t know which holidays my hubby will work. This year he has to go in Christmas day. Makes it hard to enjoy the holidays. I pray God will richly bless the podcast. Love your spirit of happiness which it was contagious!!
Blessings 🙂
Lucretia Berry says
Beth.
Thank you so much! May you and your husband get to indulge in much dark chocolate and hazelnut over the holidays!!
Shalom
Jen C says
Love this spotlight! When we read from Lucretia and Mary all the time as well as all of the other great women, learning more about them is one of my fave sections on Incourage. I’ve been reading here for the last several years and love this group of women.
Lucretia, you had me cracking up and you definitely have something special to share with us . Mary, another great writer and queso and chips are amazing…is it too early to have for breakfast, now I’m craving some , lol
My fave hot drink is spicy chai latte with soy
Merry Christmas and blessings to all of you here at Incourage!
Lucretia Berry says
Merry Christmas Jen!
What did I have you cracking up about? hehehe.
Thank you for reading and watching.
Shalom