We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carol Roper. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carol below.
Carol, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
It’s been a long journey finding my purpose. When I was 29 years old I recommitted my life to Christ and shortly thereafter was asked to teach a ladies Sunday school class. As I struggled to learn how to teach and mentor these young ladies I realized I was having a hard time connecting with them because of their difficult backgrounds. Of those women, one lady was a widow in her late 20’s with a young son and another had been dropped off at the babysitters when she was 5 months old and her mother never came back for her, As a result she suffered from struggles with her mental health, so much so that she lost her own children, I prayed and asked God to help me love these women and He answered that prayer. I loved teaching that class but after 6 years I felt God leading me away from it. I then began working with a women’s missions group in our church and from there expanded into creating womens events and retreats. I enjoyed every part of bringing the women together and helping them grow in their relationship with Christ. After a few years doing this I felt God leading me to host a retreat at The Cove Camp in Asheville, N.C. We called it Operation Resuscitation and had a great response from the women and God showed up in amazing ways for the events that we had 2 years in a row. After that I helped start a youth girls ministry at our church called Younique Girls, where we would meet weekly and have a special activity that taught the girls practical life skills as well as Biblical teaching, The girls loved it and I loved doing it, along with several other leaders in the group. Then when my daughter was about to graduate high school a friend of mine suggested I write a book. Never having done that I didn’t know where to start. But I prayed about it and felt God leading me to begin writing. My friend knew of a local writers group so I started attending and met so many wonderful people who gladly taught me what they knew about writing. Shortly after I attended a writing conference where I met so many wonderful teachers and attendees who taught and mentored me. As a result I started a blog and began submitting pieces to several publications and was published in Guideposts magazine and Chicken Soup for the Soul. I also won several awards for my blog and devotions. In 2016 I stepped back from blogging in order to spend more time with my daughter whose fiance’ broke their engagement after 3 months. She was devastated and since she’d just graduated from college, couldn’t find a job and felt worthless. As I struggles to help her, I suggested she try renovating a 133 year old house my mother and father-in-law had inherited that they couldn’t sell because it was in a state of disrepair. She eagerly took on the project, and, since my training is in drafting and designing floor plans, we came up with an updated plan for the house and she got to work. She tore out 80% of the plaster by herself and we worked together bringing the old house back to its former glory and quickly sold the house for a good profit. After we finished that I felt it was time I got back into ministry and began making plans to start a podcast. However, not long after I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to reorder my priorities. Thankfully, after 2 surgeries and 20 rounds of radiation I was cancer free and began planning for the podcast again. Immediately thereafter the pandemic hit and shut everything down, including my motivation to start the podcast. But after a few months I realized now was as good a time as any to start learning about podcasting and getting it set up. I finally decided on December 1 as my launch date and would name it Building Strong Homes One Story at a Time, based on my precious experience and love of designing house plans and working in womens ministry. The podcast did launch on December 1 and then my dad unexpectedly died of Covid December 10. After that I struggled, wondering why I should keep the podcast going. I had already overcome so many obstacles and felt like it was just too much. But my brother, who had been meeting weekly with my dad for prayer for several months before his death, shared that dad had been praying this podcast would minister to people all over the world. Once I heard that I knew I didn’t want my dad’s prayers to go to waste and I soldiered on. Putting together a podcast every week takes a lot of work and time and after a while I decided to scale back from releasing an episode every week to every other week.. During the first few months I kept trying to grow my platform and was getting very discouraged by the numbers. As I prayed for God to help expand my ministry, I felt Him saying that He wanted me to focus on the women who were right here in my community, which I loved dearly. And so I had my first Building Strong Homes Live Hometown Event in May of 2022 and had the second one this past May. God has also led me to put on another retreat, twenty years after the first Operation Resuscitation at The Cove Training Center. It will be November 17-19 and this one is Operation Restoration. I can’t wait to see what incredible things God is going to do there. Through this journey I’ve come to realize that my purpose is to minister to women who want to be the wives, moms, sisters, daughters and friends God has designed them to be. To be the best version of themselves while looking to God for wisdom, guidance and to build a strong relationship with Him. I know I’m just one small ministry, but my prayer is that it will make a difference in the lives of the families who listen, and that from there, generations beyond us will be impacted for good.
Why are you so passionate about reaching women?
I believe that the family is the foundation on which strong children are built. And the family must have a foundation of faith to make it strong and effective. I’ve seen so many families destroyed because moms didn’t know how to be the parent they should be because of past wounds or difficult circumstances. As a result they have allowed their own desires to become prioritized over their family’s, leaving chaos and destruction in their wake. Many times they don’t even realize that what they’re doing is hurting their husbands and children. They’re wounded so they, in turn, wound their children, and the cycle continues. I want women to know there is hope for restoration. We don’t have to give in to our past or our circumstances. God has so much more for us. He heals all our wounds and sets us free. It’s not easy to stop generational curses, but with God’s help it’s more than possible. He can bring restoration and abundance when we put our trust in Him and build a relationship with Him that will help us to become overcomers. I believe God is calling this generation of women to step out of their comfort zone and rise up to make a difference first and foremost in their own families, then to their communities and beyond. I pray my podcast will encourage listeners to have the faith to do the hard work it takes to bless those to a thousand generations because of thier love for Christ.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Throughout my life I’ve always been eager to research and learn things to help me grow, whether it be learning how to study and teach the Bible, designing house plans, learning to write and blog and learning to podcast and interview.
I’m not an outgoing person by nature so whenever I’ve felt led to attend conferences or workshops it really takes me out of my comfort zone. But I’ve learned that when I step out and take a chance, I usually learn lots of great things and meet some amazing people.
The other thing that I believe has made me a more authentic person is that I’m vulnerable about my struggles. I believe when we’ve gone through difficult seasons, we are can encourage and help others who are going through those same things.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
My two best friends, Julie and Frieda, have done so much to teach me about developing a closer walk with God. I never would have stepped out and gone to womens conferences all those years ago if they hadn’t encouraged me. They are my cheerleaders and are there to help me when I have crazy ideas about what I’m planning on doing next. They support me in all I do, but let me know if I’m headed down a wrong path. I’m a better person because God brought these friends into my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://carolroper.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/building_strong_homes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/975070836302973
Image Credits
Corrie Bagwell Williams, Laura Wood and Joe Long
