EP 77 | Special Episode Announcing the Aligned Conference

Something happens when alcohol is no longer the price of admission to friendship. We’ve watched it in our online communities and in recovery rooms, and we’re ready to bring it to a bigger space: The Aligned Conference, a Christian alcohol-free women’s conference happening September 22–24, 2026 in Holland, Michigan, right by Lake Michigan.

Sherry Hoppen (She Surrenders and Selah House Recovery) and Christy Osborne (Love Life Sober, sobriety coach) share why we chose the word aligned, and why it fits whether you’re sober-curious, stuck in the gray area, or years into recovery. We talk honestly about surrender, letting go of guilt and shame, and the real reason so many women still feel a gap even after they stop drinking: they’re trying to heal alone.

You’ll also hear practical conference details so you can actually plan this. We cover conference dates, travel tips, and more! We also introduce our first round of speakers and the kind of testimony-driven, Jesus-centered encouragement you can expect.

Listen, then share this with a woman who needs a safe place to grow in Christian sobriety. Subscribe, leave a review, and send it to a friend who’s ready to step away from alcohol and step toward community.

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Get more information for the Aligned Conference here!

About the She Surrenders Podcast:

On the She Surrenders podcast we are talking about women, faith and addiction all on the same platform. There are many podcasts for women and sobriety, but very few for women seeking information and stories from others about faith-based recovery.   

Help us reach more listeners: like, subscribe, review, and share. 

Find us on Instagram @shesurrenders_sherry, on Facebook @shesurrenderssherry, and online at www.shesurrenders.com. 

Transcript

Faith Based Recovery Mission

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome back to the She Surrenders Podcast. I'm Sherry, and my heart behind this podcast is to bring you the excellent news that faith-based recovery is where you'll discover the joy in life you never thought possible while you were in the bondage of addiction. The stories you'll hear from women and sometimes men who have walked in your shoes or alongside someone who has will inspire you to pursue the same freedom they've found. This freedom comes from surrendering not only our addictions, but also our guilt and shame to God. Matthew 19, verse 26 tells us, with man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. I pray that today's episode brings you to a new understanding that this is true for you too, because it is. Now,

A Special Announcement

SPEAKER_01 0:54

on to our guest. Hey there. I am so excited about today's episode. Well, it's really not an episode, it's really more like an announcement. My friend Christy Osborne of Love Life Sober and I have been up to a little something something. And it's for you.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Hello, my beautiful friend. How are you? Hello.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

I'm good. I'm good. It's good to see you. I noticed we both have pink on today.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Well, it is the signature color.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

People might have to get used to that with us.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Sherry Hoppen, how are you? And who are you? And if you are a Love Life Sober listener right now, go back and listen to Sherry's episode. It was one of the very first recordings that we did on this podcast, and it was so, so beautiful. And I loved all your updates there. But tell the people who you are and yeah.

Meet Sherry And Christy

SPEAKER_01 1:54

My name is Sherry Hoppen, and I am from West Michigan over here in the U.S. I am the founder of She Surrenders, which is a faith-based women's recovery online group, a support group. I like Christy have a podcast and a private group for support. And I'm an author. I wrote Sober Cycle Peddling My Way Through Recovery One Day at a Time. That came out about four years ago, the first edition and the second edition came out last year. And that chronicles my harrowing journey as a Christian woman stuck in addiction and a lot of the crazy, stupid things I did to try and get out of it. And you have to read the book to fully understand what happened in my mind or listen to the episode with Christy. And that just really is where God laid on my heart you need to tell your story. I believe that God always has purpose for your pain. I have truly embraced that. Sometimes against my will, at least in the beginning. I am um 12 years into recovery and also the executive director of Sailor House Recovery here in West Michigan, which is a faith-based inpatient recovery home for women. Um it's a 30-day program, Sailor Houserecovery.org. And I run that with my daughter-in-law, who is also in recovery. It's been open about a year, and um, it is a passion of our family that we are advocating for. There needs to be more about faith-based recovery for women in a place. So I'm married. I have three married kiddos, five grandkids who I adore. And meeting Christy has been a great connection because we are on the same page with a lot of things about recovery. Christy's been on my podcast as well, and she's going to be again very soon. So if you don't see a real recent episode on the She Surrenders podcast, be sure to watch for that too.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

And for your gals, I'm Christy Osborne. I um am a senior certified sobriety coach. I'm six years alcohol free. I've been coaching for five. I have a real passion for women who are stuck in this who are Christian and stuck in the gray area cycle and feel like they're totally alone. And so I wrote Love Life Sober. It's a 40-day alcohol fast. And my podcast is Love Life Sober. And so is the community, Love Life Sober. And we just have Christian gals all over the world at all ages and stages of their life just seeking Jesus and getting further away from alcohol. And it is so beautiful.

Why In Person Community Matters

SPEAKER_00 4:30

And just every single day getting to hang out with these women feels like a gift. So you and I met when, well, I discovered your amazing ministry. And so we um recorded with each other a while ago, and then we got to be friends through our writers' group. And we have both discussed so many times wanting to get in the same room together.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

And we thought we should be selfish and we should invite more people. And as we find out, whenever we're together, like you just said, these, you know, and I've had a couple get togethers with some of my groups that the conversation is so good. You find out about these quality friendships that's happening in recovery, and it is so valuable and it's so good. And there's been this huge desire and push for we need to get together more, we need to get together more. But we're all over the place.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

So I'm originally from Los Angeles, but been in the UK for almost 20 years. And I hosted a very small, I think it's there were 10 of us, a retreat three or four years ago. And it was my first experience, even for myself, of bring being in a w a room. And it was a, it was for it wasn't even Christian, it was a secular, it was for a handful of my clients at the time. But I just remember, oh my gosh, the conversations and the pressure. And for so many of us, it was the first time being away and not having to even think about alcohol because we just it was a foregone conclusion. We were there to all, you know, be alcohol free. And I just got back from that trip so filled up and ever since then have wanted to do it again with Christians.

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Yeah. Same here. I've had two retreats, and the second one was with some of the same women who are kind of my core people, and not just in my group, but also in life. They are my some of my best friends. And there's no one I'd rather be doing life with when it comes to this. And I was always afraid of the friendship part of it when I quit drinking. Yeah, say the more I watch women discover these new friendships, I'm like, I'm here to tell you there's nothing to be afraid of. There's everything to gain here. And I see that at Sailor House too, the communities that form and these friendships that I mean they're a bond. And we just wanna we just want to help you, women, we want to help women gather and make that opportunity even easier.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

100%. 100%. You just have the opportunity when alcohol is out of the way and you both love Jesus, that you can be know that you're safe, right? And be open and vulnerable, like so quickly, and therefore the level of friendships that form, like in your community and my community. I mean, it's just incredible. And so we are giving you gals the opportunity to be in a room together, which is so exciting.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

It's going to be amazing. A big room, a big room, but we're gonna give you time to chat. And we're gonna have some mocktails. It's going to be a party. It's really yeah. So, do you want to announce the name of it?

Aligned Conference Dates And Location

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Sure. So we are hosting together the Aligned Conference, and it's going to be the 22nd to the 24th of September of this year, 2026, in Holland, Michigan. And I'm so excited to come to your stomping ground, babe.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Yes, yes, that is my stomping grounds, Holland, Michigan. If you've ever heard of Hope College, that's right there. Um, it is going to be held at the Hayworth Center, which is pretty much on the grounds of Hope College. It's a beautiful facility, and it is pretty much right to the close to the shores of Lake Michigan. So if you've never seen Lake Michigan, that has to be on your list while you're there. Close proximity walking distance to downtown Holland. And I think that downtown Holland is catered for women. Um, shopping and coffee shops and boutiques and all the things. In fact, the group that I just had here recently, we went to downtown Holland for the afternoon. I just wanted to kind of get their opinion, and it was a hundred percent positive. They can't wait to come back. So it's a great area, but even more importantly, it's easy to get to. Fly into Grand Rapids. We have a lot to pack into those three days. Yeah, we have a website going for you, and we have a lot of things that are on the website, but we also have a couple things that we can talk about here that are gonna probably enlighten you as your brain is spinning already.

Who It’s For And Coming Alone

SPEAKER_01 8:57

First of all, where the name came from, Christy, I'll let you talk.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Yeah, we were discussing obviously what we wanted to call this. And one of the reasons that Sherry and I fell in love with each other is because we realized how aligned we are with our recovery, but also with how we want, we have this passion, right, for other women to know the peace and the freedom and the joy that comes in pursuing that recovery with Jesus. And so we are aligned on that together. And we feel like the concept of being aligned closer to Jesus can serve you wherever you are in your recovery journey. First of all, let's just say this is the first ever Christian conference for women who are seeking to live alcohol-free. So it's the first one, um, which is so exciting. But if this is your first kind of like crack into this sober verse, um, then you can live more aligned by stepping away from alcohol. But also, if you're years down the line at this, there is still that room for growth and living more aligned with Jesus. And so we just love that word so much because it caters to no matter where you are in your alcohol-free journey.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Yeah, and I I love that because for many, maybe you've been to something very small or very private and no one knew you went, and you're thinking, ooh, signing up for faith-based recovery, that really outs me. Well, guess what? Everybody there is for the same reason to discover more hearts aligned with theirs. And I guarantee you, if you feel like something's missing in your recovery, you have Jesus, you're no longer using whatever substance was taking you down in life, but something's missing, community is what's missing. And being in person is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. And uh that's a big reason why we're doing what we're doing, along with amazing speakers and testimonies and learn from those who have gone before you. I mean, that's one thing that I hung on to and still do when I listen to other women talk. I'm always looking for more nuggets of inspiration and what did they do? Teach me.

SPEAKER_00 11:14

Yeah, that's so, so good. Let's speak a little bit as we're talking about who this is for. Let's speak a little bit to the woman that might be nervous about coming on their own. What would you say to her?

SPEAKER_01 11:26

I would say to you, if you have no one to come with, you're going to leave there with friends. I'm going to tell you that right now. They might not be coming home with you, but you will contact, you will everything. There's so many virtual things this day. Christy and I both have virtual meetings all the time. You're going to leave with a new community. I promise you that. Um, the way the conference is set up, it's not awkward. You will be embraced. I'm telling you. Yeah. If you're not coming alone, I encourage you to look for the woman that is alone. The way that recovery works, especially in community, I've never witnessed the cattiness that goes with a lot of groups. So I d I I actually compared recently to working in a so I say the house, you know, like a Christian environment. I don't feel like the competition and the the backstabbing that can come in working and cutthroat off us, you know, like in work it would have worked, you know, back in the day. I don't want you to keep in mind it feels stuck. I just had a retreat recently where a woman shared with me just yesterday how incredibly nervous she was, and she was coming alone.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

And we laughed about it last night because she's like, I had no idea why on earth was I so nervous. Why was I scared? What was to be scared of? Because you're going there to meet women exactly like you.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. There's already a common ground, as you said, right? It's you know that you have the same struggles and that you're following the same God, which is the most important thing. And I love that so much that you said. I think it's so, so true. I've never really seen the the cattiness or any of that stuff that we worry about in my community.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

It's like matchmaker.com, but everything matches.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Every box is Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:17

There's n there's get that all out of the way, all the awkwardness. It's like, you know, and there's gonna be a woman there. I guarantee you, more than one who has been teetering back and forth. I want you to come too. You have been, you know, going back and forth in your sobriety for years. Maybe this is what you need. Maybe this is, you know, where you're gonna be filled, maybe this is where you're really gonna hear God's voice and you know, really cling to that and where you're gonna get the support around you that you've been waiting for or been looking for. You don't have to be sober to come to this. You need to be sober while you're there. Don't even try it.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Yes, it's for any woman, right, that loves Jesus or wants to reconnect with him and is trying to move further away from alcohol. And as you kind of like touched on, we are gonna structure kind of the seating and the schedule and everything to take into account the woman that might be on her own. So if that is your one thing that you're thinking of right now is oh my gosh, then I hope we've alleved a little bit of those fears. It's scary because you've never done it before. And that is why, right? That is the thing. We are always scared. Our brain is always trying to keep us safe by running the same familiar patterns. It's probably why you got stuck with wine in the first place, right? And so be brave, step out of your comfort zone. Like it will be so worth it. It will be so, so worth it.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

And the reward of how that feels. Every time we accomplish something new, we're so proud of ourselves. And it just sets you up to having another win, win after win after win. So and we'll be there, we'll be friends, I promise.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

And we'll be there. Yeah. At the very least, you can come and hang out with us.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Yep.

Speakers And A Taste Of Community

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Because there's so much more. Let's talk about our incredible speakers. So we have three speakers lined up so far. We have our friend John Seidel, who's the author of Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic, who you've heard on both of our podcasts. And then we also have Caroline Weidler, who has written all about trauma. And her newest book is When You Love Someone in Recovery. She is just a beautiful, beautiful speaker and encourager and voice in this space. And then we also have our friend Erica Anderson, who recently spoke to your gals in your community, in your special chapel, which I can't wait to see. Yeah. So we've got those three, three amazing speakers. Maybe talk a little bit about what that was like having Erica with your group.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

Yes, it was kind of, and it was kind of how our whole conversation started. Zu couldn't come. So we had to create something. But yeah, I mean, just the excitement of so talking to Erica, who lives a couple states away. And so she could get here. And we have a venue that we wanted to start using. It's a it's a little church and it's called Sanctuary Place, and it holds around 75. And I wanted to have a women's event and I wanted to step out of the shell and have a recovery event. So I'm just like, let's have Erica. And she came and she spoke and oh my goodness. It was such a good night. We served mocktails, and I got to say in our church, the bar is now open. And that was fun. And you know, we did some prizes, but I will tell you, there were all kinds of women there that night. I don't know what everybody's story is, of course, but uh there was a woman who's loved someone in recovery, there's the woman in recovery, there's a woman who wanted to be in recovery. And there was just the woman who was like, I just want a girls' night out where there's no pressure drink, where my girlfriends and I can go and have fun and not be in a bar. So there was quite the variety in the audience. But what kind of sparked everything was when I told my private group, Joyful Surrender, that I was doing this. Uh the next day, one of them said, Well, I'm coming. And I'm like, But you're from Texas. And she's like, Is that a problem? And more were coming. And that just really showed both of us uh how incredibly hungry women are to get together. Yeah and we hosted the event. Everybody I knew stayed at Sayla House, which was awesome. And Erica stayed overnight too. And we had a recovery meeting the next morning with my small group that was there, and Erica and some of the Sayla House alumni that had been through our program. And I will say it's one of the top 10 things in my life. It was amazing. It's like everything I've ever wanted to be a part of and to also observe. It was amazing. And to recreate any of that on a larger scale, I think we're all in for some really wow moments. God's gonna do big things here.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

I'm so, so excited. I'm

Travel Tips Hotels And Schedule

SPEAKER_00 18:12

so excited. All of this information that we're going through is on our website, and we'll link it in the show notes, obviously. But just to chat really quickly about where to stay, there's two hotels that we have reserved room blocks at, which are on the website. There's also a ton of adorable Airbnbs in the area. So if you want to partner up with some gals coming, you can do that. And as you said, it's a really easy walkable area.

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Yeah, the airport is probably a little less than a 30-minute, probably 30-minute tops Uber. I would definitely wreck, unless there's something you really want to do that requires a car. I would not rent a car. I would get an Uber from the airport. Parking is a little difficult in Holland. There's not a lot of parking. It's an older downtown area, but everything's walkable. We also um we're gonna have a shuttle bus. We talked about that, that we um have for Sail a house. We're gonna be doing tours of Sailor House. If anybody would like to sign up for those to go see that, I'll talk to the driver. And maybe if there's a lot of interest in like, hey, I'd love to go see Lake Michigan, we'll see if we can get that bus to go a couple places. But I highly recommend just Ubering from the airport in Uber or a Lyft. Trying to stay somewhere walkable would be a really good idea. Or if one of you rents a car and you're, you know, only driving one car into town, that's highly recommended too.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

So yeah, good top tip. I like that. Yeah. I'm so excited. So we will start. We've had some questions already about when the conference is starting and when it ends. So we will start on um the Tuesday afternoon and then we'll be done by lunchtime on the Thursday. So if you're looking at flights, you know, you would need two nights, the Tuesday and the Wednesday night at one of those hotels. Some of us will be there early on Monday. So if you want to come hang out earlier with you know know your friends, there are people that are coming on the Monday, but you really only need to be there the Tuesday and Wednesday so that you know for planning with your families and work and everything like that. And we will start Tuesday afternoon and be done by Thursday lunchtime. We will put all the official timings and everything on the website really, really soon. So you'll have a really good idea of the run, the show run, the run of the show.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

The greatest show on earth.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

Um, there's a bunch of FAQs on there. Again, the hotel's on there, the airports on there.

Registration Details And Limited Seats

SPEAKER_00 20:36

Um, you do have to register, and we only have, and this is really important, we only have 250 slots. So register soon. No, you don't have to panic about it, but we are we are likely to sell out between both of our audiences and communities, which is really, really exciting. And so get your ticket sooner than later. You do have to get your ticket in addition to your hotel and flight, but we have priced it really, really reasonably for what we're giving you, right, babe?

SPEAKER_01 21:07

We have. We've tried really hard. It's the first time, you know, for us doing this too. And for what we want to provide, we want to make it accessible for everyone. So Jesus take the wheel and all that kind of stuff, you know? So he's got this, he's got this. So, but it's exciting. I am beyond thrilled to be doing this with you, Christy. It's just yeah, that's such a good connection and just thrilled. Any woman that's thinking about this, just do it. If you're feeling the urge, just sign up. It's going to be amazing.

SPEAKER_00 21:39

100%. If you have any questions, please let us know. We'll pop both of our emails as well and contact details and all that good stuff in the show notes. Um, we are so excited to see you on September 22nd, first ever aligned conference.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

Yes. Yes, summer's gonna fly. It'll be here before we know it. So more information. To come. Thanks for hosting this, Christy. Thank you, babe.

Closing Thanks And Share The Show

SPEAKER_00 22:05

So excited. Alright, friends, we will see you next week. Thank you for listening, and we will see you on September 22nd.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you found encouragement and inspiration from what you heard here. If you know someone who could benefit from the She Surrenders podcast, please share it with them. Let's spread the word about the miracle of faith-based recovery. Don't forget, like, share, subscribe, and leave a review. Because when you do these things, it helps get the message to those who are seeking answers that can only be found when we put down our addictions and pick up the promises of a whole new life when we walk in recovery with the Lord. Have a wonderful week, and I'll see you next time.