The John-Henry Westen Show - August 22, 2019


Special episode： LifeSite’s own pro-life beauty queen： A testimony of grace


Episode Stats

Length

5 minutes

Words per Minute

156.41312

Word Count

889

Sentence Count

49

Hate Speech Sentences

2


Summary

Lisa Stover is the reigning Mrs. Virginia of 2019 and will be competing in the Mrs. America contest Friday night in Las Vegas, six months pregnant. Her story is full of joy and heartache, and an unshakable faith and determination to touch the lives of others.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome to this special episode of the John Henry Weston Show.
00:00:25.800 I'm your host, John Henry Weston, and let's start as we always do with the side of the cross.
00:00:30.220 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
00:00:35.060 This is indeed a special episode because it focuses actually on one of our own here at LifeSite News.
00:00:41.240 Someone who normally works behind the scenes, but it's not as if Lisa Stover is not used to being in the spotlight.
00:00:48.960 Lisa is the reigning Mrs. Virginia.
00:00:52.660 And Friday night in Las Vegas, Lisa will compete in the Mrs. America contest.
00:00:57.940 And she will be doing all this six months pregnant.
00:01:02.360 And you know, that's only part of Lisa's remarkable and inspiring story, which is full of joy and heartache,
00:01:10.360 and an unshakable faith and determination to touch the lives of others.
00:01:15.500 One of your lives is about to change dramatically.
00:01:21.640 Are you ready?
00:01:23.640 All right.
00:01:25.820 The first runner-up is Maria Teresa Duvall.
00:01:31.420 Your new Mrs. Virginia of 2019 is Lisa Stover.
00:01:36.180 Holding her arms out in prayer was the only way that Lisa Stover could respond to being crowned Mrs. Virginia.
00:01:45.120 It happened in the painful aftermath of suffering a miscarriage and the tragic death of her mother.
00:01:51.740 Six months later, Lisa is preparing to go on the national stage, visibly pregnant,
00:01:59.000 with a counter-cultural message of faith, hope, and love, and what it means to be a woman.
00:02:06.900 God just lines up different pieces of our life, and we don't always understand at the time why certain things are happening or why certain situations.
00:02:14.700 But I'm just really honored to be able to represent women and show them that true women's empowerment means understanding and living out our fertility as women
00:02:25.480 and understanding who we are and who God created us to be and being able to use that for His glory.
00:02:32.720 This last year has been one of profound suffering.
00:02:37.020 But anyone who meets Lisa quickly learns that her suffering has been redeemed by supernatural faith.
00:02:44.700 And the ultimate contest for her is to share that faith with other hurting souls.
00:02:52.580 I won Mrs. Virginia shortly after, about a month after having my miscarriage,
00:02:57.000 and then I lost my mom to breast cancer a week before I competed.
00:03:01.060 And so there were so many reasons for me not to compete.
00:03:05.200 And I just trusted God.
00:03:06.780 I just felt like there was something different about this year, and I knew I needed to do it.
00:03:10.660 And next thing I know, I won.
00:03:12.280 And so I just knew, okay, God, you have a bigger purpose for me with this than me just winning the crown.
00:03:18.380 You're going to make a difference through my story and through just using me how you want to use me.
00:03:23.560 And I just hope I can use my story to impact others.
00:03:27.700 And what, you may ask, is the key to Lisa's love for others?
00:03:32.360 Well, it all starts with Jesus through Mary.
00:03:35.940 For me, through this whole journey, I have found that I have just been able to, even though I lost my mother,
00:03:43.680 to rely and go to her as my mother because nobody else can give me that love and grace.
00:03:51.460 And it's really been so impactful for me because when I went to compete at Mrs. Virginia,
00:03:59.360 right after I lost my mother, I brought my rosary with me,
00:04:03.400 and I had some time in my hotel room just to relax.
00:04:05.880 And I prayed the rosary, and I just dedicated the whole weekend to God
00:04:10.860 and just gave it to our Blessed Mother and just said whatever's in store for me, I don't know.
00:04:15.240 And I don't know what the outcome is, but just gave it to God.
00:04:19.340 And when I was in the hospital room with my mom before she passed, I brought my rosary,
00:04:24.500 and I was just praying the rosary, and none of my siblings are Catholic,
00:04:28.120 but I was just silently praying it and holding the rosary the whole time I was holding her hand.
00:04:32.440 So there have been ways just throughout different situations that the rosary
00:04:37.540 and just really just dedicating myself to the Blessed Mother
00:04:44.380 and especially when things are hard when I need that.
00:04:47.520 That has really just been so powerful for me.
00:04:52.080 And so I even, with my oldest daughter, when I was in labor, when I was having contractions,
00:04:58.880 I brought my rosary, and while I was in labor, I was praying the rosary.
00:05:02.160 And so even though I didn't grow up around it, I'm not a cradle Catholic,
00:05:07.420 and I still don't understand everything because there's just so much to know,
00:05:11.520 and that's the beauty of our faith.
00:05:12.640 But I, even without growing up around it, I have just found those ways that especially I cling to her
00:05:20.220 because really in those situations, as a mother myself too,
00:05:24.440 I have just found that connection, that deep connection.
00:05:28.020 And so even with the pageant, I just, okay, you know what, I'm just going to take time,
00:05:32.840 and I'm going to pray the rosary and just give it to God
00:05:35.640 and just really, really set my focus right before I even begin,
00:05:39.060 and I plan to do that at Mrs. America, so.