The Devoted Dreamers Podcast · Merritt Onsa: Dream Mentor | Christian Entrepreneur | Community Host

Say Your Dream Out Loud Before You Talk Yourself Out of It

April 1, 2026·21 min·2 clips

Merritt Onsa invites trusted friends for honest conversations about pursuing God-shaped dreams in the second half of life.

The episode opens with Merritt Onsa introducing Season 14 of The Devoted Dreamers Podcast, which features real conversations instead of traditional interviews. She is joined by long-time friend Erin Straza, a writer and non-profit communications consultant. This is the final episode in a four-part series with Erin, focusing on faith and pursuing big dreams. Erin discusses the need to renew the mind and choose between life/light or death/curses daily. She explains how structure and habits help her become the person she wants to be, using guardrails like to-do lists. Erin references a Tim Keller sermon about prayer revealing intimacy with God, highlighting the desire for a close father-daughter relationship. The host promotes Dream Believers, a community for women to support each other in pursuing God-shaped dreams. Erin shares a story about her husband Mike, a competitive runner who took an 18-year break. Mike's coach challenged him to voice his time goal for the London Marathon, emphasizing that if others have done it, it's possible. This illustrates the power of saying dreams out loud, even in trusted circles, to overcome fear of failure. The conversation touches on abiding in Christ as the foundation for pursuing dreams. The episode concludes with Merritt encouraging listeners to take faithful steps and connect with her about their dreams.

As heard by us

A grounded Christian conversation about trust, identity, and the next faithful step.

Merit Ansah and Erin Straza bring the conversation to a calm close. The focus stays on a God-shaped dream: trust the Father, renew the mind, remember who you are in Christ, and speak the dream out loud. The strongest moments stay practical.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you need courage to say the dream out loud, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Devoted Dreamers Podcast