{"id":111125,"date":"2021-04-01T21:00:47","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T21:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=111125"},"modified":"2021-04-01T21:00:47","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T21:00:47","slug":"sunday-shows-the-extra-chapter-from-dana-perinos-everything-will-be-okay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/politics\/sunday-shows-the-extra-chapter-from-dana-perinos-everything-will-be-okay\/","title":{"rendered":"'Sunday Shows': The extra chapter from Dana Perino's 'Everything Will Be Okay'"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Dana Perino discusses her new book release ‘Everything Will Be Okay’<\/h4>\n

The ‘America’s Newsroom’ co-host shares how her new book provides valuable life lessons for young women during an interview with Fox Nation host Kat Timpf<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: <\/strong>‘Sunday Shows’ is an extra chaper from Dana Perino’s book  ‘Everything Will Be Okay.’<\/em><\/p>\n

Big sisters can be a real pain. And little sisters can be a real joy.<\/p>\n

My sister, Angie, and I grew up arguing just like any other siblings. She\u2019s four years younger, and I reminded her of that all the time. (I\u2019ve since apologized to her for my behavior back then, and she forgave me.) And while I don\u2019t remember much of what we bickered over, there\u2019s one disagreement that sticks out:<\/p>\n

Every Saturday we\u2019d have a family meeting to discuss which church service we\u2019d go to the next morning, 8:30 or 11:00 a.m., so that we could plan our weekend.<\/p>\n

Angie wanted to sleep in a bit, take her time, and not be so rushed. I, on the other hand, wanted to go to the early service and then to Sunday school so that we could get home in time for me to watch the Sunday morning talk shows. Yes, I was that<\/em> kid.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO GET THE OPINION NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/p>\n

I loved Meet the Press, This Week, The McLaughlin Group<\/em> \u2014 all the shows that debated politics and foreign policy. I grew up with the news you might say: My dad and I read the papers together and I\u2019d been assigned to read two articles from The Denver Post<\/em> or the Rocky Mountain News<\/em> to discuss with him before dinner every night since I was eight years old. <\/p>\n

This was great background and training for when I eventually joined the speech and debate team in junior high through college, and eventually served as the White House press secretary. Sometimes I\u2019d be briefing President George W. Bush on a matter, and I\u2019d have a flashback to the kitchen table when I had to explain my points and be ready to defend my position. <\/p>\n

If ever there was a girl who knew exactly<\/em> what she wanted to do when she grew up, it was me. It just took me quite a circuitous route, a lot of setbacks, and a ton of prayer to get there. <\/p>\n

But here I am. <\/p>\n

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A quick look-back\u2026<\/p>\n

Some of my happiest memories from my childhood involved church and learning about God at home. I had an illustrated children\u2019s Bible that meant the world to me. It had a white cover with black lettering and a rainbow on the front cover. Inside were the familiar stories we learned about, including Jonah and the Whale. I can still remember that illustration, with Jonah sitting in the whale\u2019s stomach making a little fire and warming his hands over it. That one really made my imagination run wild. I mean, whales are that big, right?<\/p>\n

I grew up Lutheran and attended Bethany Lutheran in Denver and Joy Lutheran in Parker, Colorado. I loved the challenge of memorizing Bible verses and every Sunday you could earn points to spend in the church gift shop. I had a great memory, so I got a lot of ‘Precious Moments’ trinkets. I kept them on the hutch over my desk, lots of little angels watching over my schoolwork. <\/p>\n

I remember when I memorized the Beatitudes and was awestruck by their beauty and meaning. They helped me make a little sense out of the world. Blessed be…indeed.<\/p>\n

I knew all of the main prayers and creeds and would recite them in my head as I walked to elementary school, each step adding a word.<\/p>\n

When I was in fourth and fifth grade, I attended a school way across town as part of the busing system to integrate the Denver schools. It was tough on everyone, including those kids that were bused in the opposite direction over to my neighborhood. During those two years, I got picked on a lot and realize now that I\u2019d been quite sheltered in my childhood up to then.<\/p>\n

I was so stressed about being teased and bullied that I\u2019d pray on the bus all the way to school, “Please don\u2019t let them be mad at me. Please don\u2019t let them be mad at me.” I didn\u2019t tell my mom and dad about my problems, but I did tell my Father…and He comforted me for little snippets of time when I could let go of those worries.<\/p>\n

Of course, my parents figured out what was going on. They went to the principal and the school board trying to get me some protection. Nothing worked. So we moved our family out to the countryside and I got a fresh start. Looking back, I\u2019m actually glad I went through that. I learned an important lesson \u2014 lookout for bullies and help protect your people. Always. <\/p>\n

Unlike school during this time, church was a safe haven for me. I sang in the children\u2019s choir. (Not particularly well, but thankfully, the choir director was very forgiving.) Vacation Bible School was something I looked forward to all year, with the big payoff being a week in the mountains at Sky Ranch Bible Camp. S\u2019mores and campfire songs. The best.<\/p>\n

Part of our family\u2019s faith involved service to others. My sister and I tagged along on weekends when my parents helped settle refugees, most of them fleeing the former Soviet Union. My dad had a pick-up truck, so when someone donated a washer and dryer, we\u2019d pick it up to deliver to the refugees\u2019 new home. My mom would teach the moms in these families how to read the bus schedule and show them where to catch it. Once, she went all over town looking for a store that would sell this very particular spice because one of the grandmothers said she had <\/em>to have for her special chicken dish. My mom understood that it wasn\u2019t just about a chicken dinner – it was about settling in and feeling at home. <\/p>\n

We also delivered clothes for children and generally helped these families get their fresh start. This was all done legally through the immigration system and Lutheran World Relief. During car rides my parents would explain what was happening to the people living in (and escaping from) the Soviet Bloc, and that really hit me hard: Liberty and freedom were much-prized values in our house. <\/p>\n

When I was in junior high, I joined the bell choir and really enjoyed performing concerts on special Sundays and at Christmas and Easter services. I was active in our church youth group, picking up on values through projects that the youth pastor organized. <\/p>\n

After college, I moved to Washington and joined Reformation Lutheran, which sat just behind the Supreme Court. That felt right. Justice and faith, right there on the same block.<\/p>\n

The singles\u2019 group at Reformation was fantastic. We tutored kids from low-income neighborhoods on Thursday nights and went on long mountain bike rides on Saturdays. I made many friends who I still keep in touch with and rely on for guidance and support. <\/p>\n

Church has been such an important part of my upbringing and I\u2019m so grateful for it. Though it wasn\u2019t until I wrote my first book, And the Good News Is…Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side<\/em>, that I realized how much my foundation in faith and liturgy had been essential to my successful career and marriage. Every important moment I wrote about in my life, God and his grace and mercy were there. Just as all of those lessons taught me as a child have stayed present\u2013indeed, God had my name written in the palm of his hand. He never forgot me.<\/p>\n

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Fast-forwarding over some typical struggles to make it in the world, I\u2019ve had incredible opportunities in my career. I worked on Capitol Hill, then at the Justice Department, and the White House. Since 2009, I\u2019ve been a part of Fox News Channel, and I get to anchor news coverage, comment on events of the day, and even be a part of the channel\u2019s Sunday show. <\/p>\n

The first time I ever appeared on Fox News Sunday<\/em>, I was so nervous you\u2019d think I\u2019d never stood in front of live cameras and briefed the White House press corps. And the first time I guest-hosted, I had so much adrenaline working that I sweated right through my dress\u2014even though it was so cold in that studio the stage manager was wearing a turtleneck and a fleece! My hairstylist noticed I was burning up during the half-time touch-up she did during a commercial break. She told the control room and they couldn\u2019t believe it: the temperature was down as far as it could go! The next time I filled in for the regular host, I wore a sleeveless dress.<\/p>\n

Because of my career path, I\u2019m regularly asked for advice from young women who are trying to figure things out for themselves. As I describe in my latest book, Everything Will Be Okay<\/em>, many young women face quarter-life crises, where nothing feels like it is turning out the way it was supposed to. And this anxiety can carry on for years as they go through new and different problems in place of what they felt and feared at twenty-five.<\/p>\n

While I can offer very good practical suggestions for how to position a young woman for a promotion or a change in career, I\u2019ve been trying to dig a little deeper. I\u2019ve found that what\u2019s often at the root of their anxiety isn\u2019t just wanting more responsibility at the office; rather, it\u2019s wanting to live better, more fulfilled lives. To be their most authentic selves. To return to a place of serenity that they remember learning about when they were younger.<\/p>\n

While I stress personal responsibility, commitment, and good decision-making, I also add a little heart. I remind them to think about those lessons they learned as a child, and that maybe they\u2019ve been distanced from as they became busy adults, wives, moms, and bosses. I stress that faith is not separate from all of the “to do\u2019s” on our list, but a part of it. <\/p>\n

In giving advice to other women, I relate stories about how I needed to surrender to God when I have been distressed, or when I feel like I\u2019m living in a much too comfortable bubble and feel a need to reconnect. I explain what it\u2019s like to be told by people that I\u2019m too nice – which basically means they think I\u2019m a pushover, especially with how I handled the press when I was the White House press secretary. But I\u2019m old enough now to accept that I am who I am, and that God not only gave me talents, but also the ability to cope with the worries that creep into my thoughts. How I choose to deal with these things is up to me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve learned that I have to actively integrate my beliefs into my daily life. One thing I\u2019ve done to help keep me grounded and on track spiritually is to receive the daily hope devotional email from Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church in California. My mom gets the same email. There are so many days that we forward one of the devotionals to each other saying, “We were just talking about this yesterday!” It\u2019s amazing how often that happens. It\u2019s a little wink and a nod from above\u2014proof God is listening and providing a lighted path, as long as I have my eyes open enough to see it. <\/p>\n

When I\u2019m mentoring young women, I suggest my mentees remember to ask God for guidance when they are: <\/p>\n