About Leslie
Leslie Verner is a goer who is learning how to stay. She traveled all over the world and lived in northwest China five years before she returned to the U.S. to marry an actor in Chicago. She has her masters in intercultural studies and bachelors in elementary and middle grade education, both from Wheaton College.
She has nine years of teaching experience and enjoys sharing with groups, preferring storytelling and humor to lecturing and sermonizing. She lives at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado with her husband and three small children. Leslie has published in a variety of publications such as (In)Courage, RELEVANT, and SheLoves Magazine, where she was an editor for over two years.
Her first book Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Loneliness came out in August of 2019 with Herald Press. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and at her blog Scraping Raisins where she writes about motherhood, social justice, and cross cultural issues.
Possible Speaking Topics
Leslie would be honored to host a conversation with your church, small group, MOPS, library, book club, Sunday School class, retreat, or podcast. Here are some examples of what she could share:
MOPS
- Hospitality Struggles and Tips for Uncertain Hosts–Hospitality can feel like a burden to many women, especially during this stage of life with little ones. This talk would offer moms creative and practical tips to make hospitality seem less overwhelming.
- Finding Community Right Where We Are–Finding community can be a struggle. This talk would show how practicing hospitality paves the way for deeper community right where we live.
- Embracing Slow–Intentionally slowing down, noticing the people around us, and dialing back on busyness leads to deeper relationships and a more meaningful life. This talk would present the reasons for this as well as some practical ways to implement these practices.
CHURCHES OR OTHER GROUPS
How Can We Overcome Our Hospitality Hang-ups?
- Barriers to practicing hospitality
- Solutions for overcoming these barriers
- Creative ideas for practicing hospitality in different seasons of life
Is the Church Still Hospitable? (Was it ever?)
- The reality of hospitality in the West (and how other cultures often do it better)
- What the Bible really says about hospitality, loving strangers, and invitation (i.e. it’s not a spiritual gift)
- Some ways to be hospitable: commit, pay attention, invite
Living Missionally After You Return Home from the Mission Field:
- When your calling shifts (how “goers” stay)
- How missionaries can still use their skills back in their passport country
- Navigating re-entry
WRITING GROUPS/CONFERENCES
- Ten Writing Tips that Will Instantly Improve Your Writing
- How to Submit to Online Publications (and why new writers should write for free—at first)
- Battling Writer Demons: The Emotional Pitfalls of the Writing Life (doubt, fear, impostor syndrome, etc.)
BOOK SIGNING & SPEAKING SCHEDULE:
Book Signings:
- Cascades of the Rockies Bookstore: (Grand Lake) August 24, 1:30-4:30 https://grandlakebookstore.com/
- Macdonald Book Shop: (Estes Park) Friday, August 23, 2-4 pm http://www.macdonaldbookshop.com/
- Old Firehouse Books: (Fort Collins) Saturday, October 5, 1-2 pm https://www.oldfirehousebooks.com/
Speaking Engagements (2019):
9/24 MOPS First Presbyterian Boulder
9/26 MOPS Cherry Hills Community Church
10/3 M2 M at Westwoods Community Church, Lakewood, CO
10/8 Moms at Foothills
10/19 Breathe Writers’ Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, breakout session
10/26 Grace Church Presbyterian Women’s Retreat Session
10/25 MOPS FUMC Cheyenne, WY
10/28 MOPS First Presbyterian Fort Collins
11/7 MOPS Bethel Lutheran Church Windsor
11/12 MOPS Calvary Erie
11/21 Family in Christ Church MOPS Westminster
2020:
1/22 MOPS at Meadowlark in Fort Collins, CO
2/7-2/9 Faith Church Women’s Retreat in Allensburg, CO, breakout session
3/10 MOPS NEXT at Meadowlark in Fort Collins, CO
3/11 MOPS Berthoud, CO
4/23 Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church Women’s Event, keynote speaker, Dallas, TX
4/25 King of Glory Lutheran Church Womens’ Retreat, keynote speaker, Dallas, TX
RADIO INTERVIEWS
*August 9, 2019 Moody Radio, Quad cities
PODCAST INTERVIEWS
9/23 Honest Conversations w/ Rebecca Carrell
11/2 Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman
12/31/19 The Family Culture Podcast
1/21/20 Lighten Up with Melanie Dale
If you are interested in having Leslie speak at your event, please email her at scrapingraisins@gmail.com.