Ready to Thrive: Recent Episodes
Jaclyn Weidner
For some of us it is actually the fact that we are drowning in laundry and a to-do list a mile long that we aren’t able to spend time connecting with God. So I want to share practical tips as well as spiritual insights to help you connect with God and thrive in your life despite life’s challenging circumstances. I want to help you get unstuck and actually enjoy your life.
This episode actually wasn’t recorded for the Ready to Thrive podcast, it was a conversation I shared with Wendy for my Mama Get Your Life Back group. I loved it so much I felt like it would be worth sharing with my Ready to Thrive audience as well! Wendy and I discuss her first book, Triggers, and what we can actually do when we are triggered by our kids actions.
Karrie has faced a lot in her life; the tragic loss of her mother, her addiction to meth, the ending of her first marriage. You would never know what Karrie has walked through when you meet her. She is a dynamic speaker and a woman dedicated to helping others experience a journey towards freedom. One of the many ways she walks alongside women is through Freedom Academy, check it out here!
Check out the Ready to Thrive School here! Use code THRIVE20 for 20% off any of my courses! Now is the time to Thrive! And grab my wellness products here!
Elyse grew up a pastors kid down under in one of the most well-known churches on the planet. She moved to the US to work in a church but has moved to the world of media and loves it. I love how Elyse shares about the twists and turns of her journey and I trust it will encourage you wherever you find yourself today. Check out Club Devotion here!
Check out the Ready to Thrive School here! Use code THRIVE20 for 20% off any of my courses! Now is the time to Thrive! And grab my gut health and mental wellness products here!
Continuing on our Thriver Stories series, Erin Soto is a Cancer Survivor, mom to 4, author and speaker. Erin and I discuss the role that chronic stress plays out in our bodies physically and what it looks like to move from surviving to thriving despite receiving a life threatening diagnosis. Her book, The Mother of All Fights: Everything Cancer Taught Me About Living a Full and Vibrant Life shares the story of her cancer journey and everything she learned along the way.
Check out the Ready to Thrive School here! Use code THRIVE20 for 20% off any of my courses! Now is the time to Thrive! And grab my gut health and mental wellness products here!
We are kicking off another round of “Thriver Stories.” These are stories of women who have gone through or are walking through a challenge in their lives. I love this series as it offers us encouragement in our own difficult experiences.
Lisa is one of the sweetest women you will ever come across and will truly have you asking the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people? And “How can God be good when bad things happen?” I think we’ve all asked these questions at some point in our lives. I know I have.
Listen in as Lisa shares her story, and check out her book, “Life Can Be Good Again: Putting Your Life Back Together After It Falls Apart.”
Check out the Ready to Thrive School here! Use code THRIVE20 for 20% off any of my courses! Now is the time to Thrive! And grab my wellness products here!
Molly is a mom of 6 kids, a foster and adoptive mom and the author of Digital Detox: The Two-Week Tech Reset for Kids.
If you feel like your kids or even YOU need a digital detox, this is the episode for you! I was right in the middle of our two week digital detox for our kids and I can’t say enough how significant this time has been for us. Grab Molly’s book and be encouraged and equipped mama, you can do this!
And check out the Ready to Thrive School here! Use code THRIVE20 for 20% off any of my courses! Now is the time to Thrive!
Everyone is feeling the financial crunch these days! Inflation is bananas and its easy to feel the stress that debt can have on our soul. Are you ready to break free from financial bondage? In episode 82 Brendan and I shared about our journey to become debt free! And next week you’re going to hear how we did it! But first let’s listen in as Rachel Cruz, Dave Ramsey’s daughter, shares about the why behind our spending. Her latest book, “Know Yourself, Know Your Money: Discover Why You Handle Money the Way You Do and What to Do About It” unpacks just that. And if you want to grab our free budget tracker you can get that here!
This is such a good episode! Brendan is hands down one of the most intentional people I know when it comes to habits and I get a front row seat as he is my husband! Whether it comes to reading the Bible, exercise or eating well, Brendan has figured out how to sustain daily habits for compound results. Listen in and share with a friend!
I don’t know about you but the last few years I’ve had to intentionally turn down the noise of the world. And I feel it again. My heart feels heavy, there is a lot going on. And while I don’t want to check out completely, I want to be intentional about what I’m engaging in, and what I’m listening to. I hope this episode helps you move one step closer to thriving.
A huge part of mental health is the space we live in. It’s incredibly difficult to thrive in clutter and chaos! And for many of us we know we need to de-clutter but we don’t always know “how.”
I had the chase to sit down with decluttering expert Allie Casazza. Her online courses have helped thousands of women find freedom from “stuff.” What I discovered in my own decluttering journey with Allie is that our stuff holds us back more than simply taking time every day to clean and organize. It holds us back from intentionally pursuing what is most important in our lives. I trust you will leave this episode inspired and encouraged to clear the clutter in your home and create space for what matters most!
My Tangled book is found here! Or you can get the e-copy through the course here! And if you want to check out a free mental health assessment and how healing your gut can help with your mental health, check that out here! Or find out about the gut health products here!
And if you’re a mom who feels like she’s ready for a bit more in her life, you can check out my Ready to Rise course and my Mama Get Your Life Back Mentorship Community!
Dr Caroline Leaf is a world-renowned Neuroscientist and a best-selling author of multiple books. We sit down to discuss her latest book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking and how you really can renew your mind!
I love how Dr. Leaf reminds us that feelings of depression and anxiety are completely normal human responses! She simply teaches us how to process and deal with our experiences and emotions rather than try to hide from them! If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety and depression you are not alone! And in this episode we discuss the app Dr. Leaf created that has had overwhelmingly positive results on renewing the mind. Check it out here!
My Tangled book is found here! Or you can get the e-copy through the course here! And if you want to check out a free mental health assessment and how healing your gut can help with your mental health, check that out here! Or find out about the gut health products here!
Dr. John Delony is a Mental Health and wellness expert, he is a Ramsey personality, holds two PhD’s, has two decades of experiences in counseling, crisis response, and higher education, plus he’s just an all round great guy.
I know you’re going to love this conversation! And don’t miss those free bonuses for pre-ordering his book. You can do that here!
My Tangled book is found here! Or you can get the e-copy through the course here! And if you want to check out a free mental health assessment and how healing your gut can help with your mental health, check that out here!
I loved this conversation with Amber. You see, it didn’t start with food for Amber. It started with her anger towards her kids! She co-wrote the book Triggers alongside former guest Wendy Speake. And just like God has continued to challenge and free Wendy in different areas of her life, (Sugar and Social Media). He’s been doing the same with Amber. Her latest book, Food Triggers: Exchanging Unhealthy Patterns for God-Honoring Habits.
And if you’re like most people, you have a bit of a complicated relationship with food. Maybe you eat more than you’d like to on holidays, or on vacation. Maybe food has become a comfort to you over the craziness of the past few years. Amber gets that. I get that. And in this episode - we talk about it.
If you’re ready to move from surviving to thriving and want to check out the resources I’ve created for you, hop over to my new website! Jaclynweidner.com
Check out the FREE family summit ESTABLISHED + THRIVING here!
Do you ever feel like you’re not making a very big impact in the world? But what if the things that seem very small and mundane right in front of you are actually the things that are impacting the world around you? What if God is in it all? I pray this episode inspires and encourages you to see each day as a way to partner with God in all that He has for you!
Becky is a mama to 3 boys and the community manager of Incourage. She is the author of “The Simple Difference:How Every Small Kindness makes a Big Impact.”
Check out the FREE family summit ESTABLISHED + THRIVING here!
If you’ve ever read Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers I am guessing it is one of your favourites! Redeeming Love is the incredible story of God’s redemptive love for us told through an allegory of the beautiful love story between Michael Hosea and a woman named Angel.
This incredible story turns 30 this year and has been made into a movie! If you’re just finding this out now I bet you’re as excited as I was with this news. I was incredibly honoured to sit down with the one and only Francine Rivers to discuss her beloved book and the making of Redeeming Love the movie.
You can also check out our conversation here on my YouTube channel.
I loved chatting with the women behind the ministry She Works His Way! And what a great way to kick off Ready to Thrive in 2022!
Listen in as Michelle Myers, Somer Phoebus and I share about how we can move from striving in our lives to thriving in them. The world says “hustle harder” and “make it happen” but what does working God’s way look like? This conversation is a great foundation for any new years goals you are tackling!
Check out their new book, She Works His Way: A Practical Guide to Doing What Matters in a Get-Things-Done World.
And check out my new membership for moms of all ages and stages!! Mama Get Your Life Back is a faith based mentorship membership that focuses on helping moms thrive! Check it out here!
Well after two and a half years of consistent episodes week after week - we’re taking a break! I hope this episode encourages you, equips you, and draws you to Jesus. I love creating this space to have conversations where we can move from surviving to thriving with practical tips and a whole lotta Jesus! And I love to see women begin to take action and throw off all that is holding them back from running fully as the women God has called them to be.
If you want something a little more, check out my Ready to Rise course for the woman that wants to unpack who God has created her to be and begin to run her race freely and lightly! OR Tangled, identifying and uprooting the weeds that have been planted in the soil of our heart. Or maybe you’re a mama that is ready to grow in her faith, her confidence and her sanity! Join me at Mama Get Your Life Back! Check them all out here!
A few years back I wasn’t loving life. I was overwhelmed. I just didn’t understand how people managed this whole parenting thing! I picked up a copy of a book titled “Loving Your Actual Life” by Alexandra Kuykenall and appreciated the deep dive she did into her own life and what it would look like to love it.
Fast forward many years and our world has changed significantly. And once again Alexandra has written a book that is incredibly timely. Seeking Out Goodness: Finding the True and Beautiful All Around You. What does it look to seek out the good when there is so much chaos all around us?
And if you’re a mom who feels like she’s ready for a bit more in her life, you can check out my Ready to Rise course and my Mama Get Your Life Back Mentorship Community!
This was hands down one of my favourite conversations I’ve had this season. I deeply resonated with Justin’s sentiment: “You become your habits, your kids become you!” And while the topic of habits has become a “hot topic” over the past few years, how does that translate to our home?
I know this conversation will deeply encourage you and I would love for you to share it! This is one of those episodes that’s too good to keep to ourselves! Click those three little dots and share with a friend! Also grab Justin's new book Habits of the Household!
And if you’re a mom who feels like she’s ready for a bit more in her life, you can check out my Ready to Rise course and my Mama Get Your Life Back Mentorship Community!
Ken Coleman is “America’s Career Coach. When his book, From Paycheck to Purpose arrived in the mail and I devoured it! It’s easy to read, and full of incredibly practical tips to not only identify the type of work that makes your heart come alive, but also equips you with the steps it takes to get there.
Maybe you don’t hate your job but you’re looking for more purpose, wanting a promotion, or desiring to shift gears in your current career. I know this conversation will give you a few aha moments of your own and help you take a step towards the career you were made for!
And if you’re a mom who feels like she’s ready for a bit more in her life, you can check out my Ready to Rise course and my Mama Get Your Life Back Mentorship Community!
Have you felt like you’ve been through the ringer this year? You’re not alone! When I actually stop to think about all that moms have gone through this year, carrying all the hurts and losses that their kids have walked through and often putting their own needs aside, I am overwhelmed with compassion. And I want to come alongside those moms and help them begin to thrive right where they are. I truly believe that when moms begin to thrive - the whole family can too.
Mama Get Your Life Back is a faith-based mentorship group for moms of all ages and stages. Sign up here! And if the doors are closed, hop on the waitlist here!
If you’ve felt weary or worn at all this season - this is the episode for you. Susie and I share quite vulnerably in this episode about the year we have each walked through. And we ask the question, what does it look like to press into those hard and uncomfortable places in our life? What happens when we lean in instead of retreating into our comfort zone? This episode will be a balm to your weary soul.
So will Susie’s Advent Devotional, Prepare Him Room. Grab it quickly as she let me know they are flying off the internet shelves!
And for the mamas that are feeling worn and weary, I have created a space just for you! Mama Get Your Life Back is for the overwhelmed mom that feels like she’s lost herself in the middle of the mundane work of motherhood. Let’s revive that spark inside you mama and give you bite sized steps to declutter your head, your heart and your home. Because when mom thrives - everyone else can too! Hop on the waitlist to find out more! (Doors are open Nov 1-7th)
Jessica Hottle is a faith-based fitness coach, podcast host, best-selling author, and speaker with a heart for teaching women how to dismantle the lies that keep them from healing and wholeness. Her latest book Face Off with Your Feelings releases this fall!
Any other tired mamas out there? You are not alone! Though you might feel that way. Motherhood can feel incredibly isolating, even before this crazy pandemic started. Heather MacFadyen is on a mission to help moms feel not so alone along this whole motherhood journey.
This conversation is about so much more than motherhood, we talk about following God’s nudges, moving towards dreams despite disappointment, and what it looks like to pursue friendship in this crazy season. Heather is fun and funny and I know you’re going to enjoy this conversation!
And check out her book, Don’t Mom Alone: Growing The Relationships You Need to Be The Mom You Want to Be!
If life has you feeling Tangled - check out my online course to break free in 6 weeks! Here’s what women are saying - “I wish I had done this course years ago. I strongly urge you to take this course if you feel weary and need rest for your soul!”
Laura Harris Smith is a Naturopathic doctor, a pastor, a mom to 6 kids, the executive producer and host of theTHREE, her body, mind and spirit show that airs every day of the week all over the world, and the CEO and inventor of Neromatics Oil. She has authored over 25 books! No wonder she had trouble sleeping!
Laura’s new book “Give it to God and Go to Bed” helps deal with not only the body issues when it comes to sleep but also addresses the mind and spirit.
As someone who struggled with sleep for most of my adult life I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation and I hope that it helps you move towards a more restful night’s sleep.
Remember back in November, Episode 82, when we talked about starting our financial journey? I thought a 6 months later update would be fun! We share a bit of our “how” our “why” and our process! Only, I didn’t air it! Insert palm on face!
I am playing it for you now as the information to help you move forward in your financial journey is still incredibly relevant and helpful! If you want to grab our budget tracker you can get it here!
If life has you feeling Tangled - check out my online course to break free in 6 weeks! Here’s what women are saying - “I wish I had done this course years ago. I strongly urge you to take this course if you feel weary and need rest for your soul!”
Just because the world says worry is normal it doesn’t mean we have to follow suit!
In this episode I share practical tips on how to be a person of peace and why it is so crucial for our families that we carry a non-anxious presence. Here are the links I talk about! Reappearing Church by Mark Sayers and my course Tangled!
If you have felt overwhelmed by your own life this is the episode for you! Christy and I don’t just discuss how to manage your schedule but how to figure out what matters to YOU and how to make it happen. Share this episode with a friend and go grab a copy of Christy’s new book so you can begin to build a life based on what is actually important to you in your one and only life!
Christy Wright is a #1 national best-selling author, personal development expert, and host of The Christy Wright Show. Since 2009, Christy has served at Ramsey Solutions, where she teaches on personal development, business, and faith. Her new book, Take Back Your Time, just released yesterday!
Follow Christy on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube or online at www.christywright.com.
Check out my e-course Ready to Rise for 7 weeks to dig into who God has created YOU to be and begin to throw off the fears that are holding you back! And if you’re looking for deep-rooted peace in your everyday life, check out my Tangled course to help you break free from all that you’re holding onto and all that is holding onto you!
Natalie Hixson knows what it's like to lose her cool. When she first became a mom, destructive anger was her norm. I get that. I couldn’t believe how angry I felt as a young mom. I love the saying, “Marriage helps you realize how selfish you really are and motherhood makes you realize how angry you are.” It’s true. For many moms they are shocked at just how angry they get at their kids and it can be a shame-filled hidden secret. After all, who do you talk to about how you just yelled at your kids? Or how you gave them a bruise by squeezing their arm?
Natalie gets that, and after overcoming the anger she was experiencing in motherhood she has turned around to help other mothers that are in a similar place.
Grab Natalies free Trigger Tracker here!
Sometimes it feels like life just happens to us. But what if we could pay attention to our current rhythms and work with them? When we do that, and then add in the rhythms we want to see in our life, we start to live from a place of flow instead of frustration!
Life feels intense doesn’t it? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by the moment we’re living in. But what if instead of being stuck in inaction we used the pressure to light a fire inside, stay fully focused on what God has called us to, and run the race that has been marked out for us.
And check out my e-course Ready to Rise for 7 weeks to dig into who God has created you to be and begin to throw off the fears that are holding you back.
Jesus said “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7 Have you thought about that? It is good for us that Jesus left! Insert mind-blown emoji!
Jeannie unpacks that and other ways that the Holy Spirit is essential to thriving in our lives in her latest book, Don’t Miss Out: Daring to Believe Life is Better With the Holy Spirit.
Do you know what you’re passionate about? If you answered “no” you are not alone! To be honest I think for so many of us we are so busy doing all of the things we are “supposed” to do that some of those things that have been put deep inside of us get lost, snuffed out with “adult” responsibilities and even the disappointments that come our way.
And sometimes, we can feel a little guilty or selfish for pursuing the things that bring us joy. But what if those things that light us up are God-given? And what if pursuing them aren’t in fact selfish but are for others? Amy McLaren knows first hand what it looks like to feel like “maybe there’s a little more out there for me.” She started small and spent a few weeks following a nudge in her heart and that nudge has turned into Village Impact, a non-profit that has built over 14 schools in Kenya. That doesn’t sound selfish at all.
Listen in to our conversation and maybe it will give you your own “aha” moment towards your own passions and desires. Check out Amy’s book Passion to Purpose, for a deeper dive into discovering what your passions may be and how to boldly follow them despite your fears.
And check out my e-course Ready to Rise for 7 weeks to dig into who God has created you to be and begin to throw off the fears that are holding you back.
How is your relationship with food? Does it feel like something that brings you peace or worry? Do you ever feel like you need to restrict your food intake or over-indulge in foods?
Carol Bevil of Fuel Body Feed Soul gets that! She has worked with women for over 35 years in the health and wellness space and while she used to preach “willpower is the way” she has experienced a total transformation in her relationship with food and her body. She shares about how you too can experience freedom from the strongholds of Diet culture in her book Break Through: 6 Weeks to Demolish Diet Culture Strongholds.
To begin to walk out who we have been called to be we need to know the truth of who we have been created to be. If you want to start identifying the lies from the truth in your life, grab my free Lies vs Truth download! And if you want a deep dive into breaking free from those lies and other areas that are keeping you bound, check out my 6-week course Tangled. It will help you identify where you are stuck and begin to walk in freedom!
Listen, Ginger is just fun, period. She is one of those people that lights up the room when she walks in and I am guessing one of those people you would call up if you want to go on a crazy adventure! Ginger's enthusiasm for life and for seeing God’s wonder in our everyday life will put a spark in your heart!
Ginger is the Chief Creative Officer of Joyce Meyer Ministries and the author of Chasing Wonder: Small Steps Toward a Life of Big Adventure. I loved our conversation about what it looks like to pursue God’s wonder in our lives and I trust it will encourage you right where you’re at!
This was one of those conversations where we had to stop talking so we could press record and keep talking. Kay Wyma is such a lovely individual with such a big heart for God and for those around her.
Unexpectedly Kay found herself with a bad attitude in an everyday life situation and God used that moment to invite her into a 30 Day journey of pursuing thankfulness, kindness and mercy. The result: Peace. And often peace feels like one of those elusive things, reserved for those people who don’t seem to experience frustration or anger. Those people who don’t experience loss or have misunderstandings. But what if peace is available to even those of us who do. Us regular humans that bump up against the pressures and stresses of life and other broken and hurting people? Kay invites us into a journey to pursue peace through her latest book, The Peace Project: A 30 Day Experiment Practicing Thankfulness, Kindness, and Mercy.
And if you’re looking for deep rooted peace in your everyday life, check out my Tangled course to help you break free from all that you’re holding onto and all that is holding onto you.
Sissy is such a joy to talk to, it's no wonder thousands of kids have found freedom from anxiety as they’ve met with her in her cozy counselling office over the past 30 years!
Sissy is the author of many books to help parents and kids with their struggles with anxiety and her latest book Brave: A Teen Girls Guide to Beating Worry and Anxiety is so timely! If this past season has taken a toll on you or your kids, this is such a great conversation and a valuable resource.
On this episode we talk about speaking the truth to ourselves, and if you want a free resource today to begin to identify the lies from the truth, grab my free Lies vs Truth download, or my course Tangled to dive even deeper into identifying what is going on in your heart and beginning to walk in the freedom of the truth.
Isn’t this what we all long for? Deep peace? Have you experienced it? If your answer is “I don’t know” then you might not have. You know deep peace when you experience it because once you do, you want to stay that way. You want to do whatever it takes to keep your peace becuase it feels like nothing you’ve ever known.
And if you responded with a “no” or an “I don’t know” I want to say I get that! That was how I lived for much of my Christian adult life. I had no idea that deep peace was available for me even through the hard and messy places in our life. Dawn Marasco sat down to share with me what it looked like for her to go from the hard and hurting places to finding true, deep, satisfying peace. And she shares about how that is possible for you too in her book Continuous Peace: 4 Steps to Living the Life of Peace God Intended. You can also check out her 2-minute peace quiz here to find out what obstacles might be preventing you from experiencing peace! And if you want to grab Dawn’s downloadable workbook check out how here!
So much of what Dawn shares in her book relates to what I share in my book and course Tangled. And if deep peace is what you desire today, grab them both! You can check out my book Tangled here, and my course (comes with the e-copy of Tangled) here!
Tera Bradham should be a household name. She should have a display case full of Olympic swimming medals. But at the age of 13 everything changed. An undiagnosed injury left her not only with shattered Olympic dreams but fighting for her life.
If you’ve ever wondered, “God where are you? God why this pain? God, I was doing what I thought you asked me to do, and yet this is not the life I imagined,” then this episode is for you. Listen to Tera’s hard fought battle of chronic pain and disappointment and how through it all she wasn’t abandoned like she thought, the pain wasn’t for nothing.
Tera shares her full story in her book Swimming for Freedom: A True Story of Faith, Hope, and Victory.
If you are looking for Deep Soul Rest and have been struggling to meet with the One who provides it, grab my 5 Days to Deep Soul Rest here!
Shannon Davison bravely wrote down her biggest fear one day during the required homework section of the course she was taking with her husband. She had no idea that later that day, she would have to face that very thing she feared the most. That very same day, her husband Chase was killed in a car accident.
Shannon and I had been messaging each other through Instagram many months after her loss and she said to me, “I literally walked right into my greatest fear. But when I experienced it, when it happened, I wasn’t afraid or anxious.”
I was so honoured to have Shannon share her story of walking through the loss of her husband and navigating grief as a single mother. She has been a source of inspiration and deep encouragement for me as I’ve gotten to know her and I know you will be encouraged as you listen to her share today. You can check out her writing on her blog at hopeinthehurting.com.
If you find yourself exhausted by the end of the day and just don’t have it in you to figure out what it is you want to pray over your kids as you tuck them into bed, grab my Bedtime Prayers resource to help guide you to speak Scripture and truth over your kids during that special time of the day when you’re worn out!
Jon Acuff is a New York Times Best Selling Author, an INC Magazine top 100 speaker, and his latest book Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking. Maybe you don’t consider yourself an overthinking but have you ever considered whether your thoughts are true, or helpful? What if some of your thoughts are actually holding you back, keeping you stuck, and unkind?
In this episode Jon and I discuss the ways the soundtracks we hear in our minds may not in fact be telling us the truth, how to flip the script on what we hear and begin to get un-stuck from the thoughts that are holding us back.
If you want to start identifying the lies from the truth in your life, grab my free Lies vs Truth download! And if you want a deep dive into uncovering what some of your soundtracks might be and begin to walk in the truth, check out my 6-week course Tangled. It will help you identify where you are stuck and begin to walk in freedom!
Have you ever felt disconnected from God? I know I have. Have you ever felt weary in your soul? Yep, also me. Can I share something with you? We all have. Even the most spiritually mature, Christ follower that we look up to on a platform has their moments. It’s not necessarily that we don’t have these seasons of dryness in our lives, it's what do we do in them? What do we reach for?
The world is go, go, go and oh so noisy, but do we take the time to cultivate an intimate relationship with our creator? That in and of itself will breath life into our weary souls.
I loved this conversation with Mo (Isom) Aiken, unpacking her latest book Fully Known: An Invitation to True Intimacy with God. I trust that if you start this conversation dry and weary, you will end it with hope and direction towards the source of living water.
If you want to take some practical steps towards cultivating intimacy with God, grab my course Tangled!
Nicki Koziarz is a first generation farmer, a mom to 3 girls, an author, a speaker, and someone who has walked through incredibly difficult seasons. Her latest book Flooded: The 5 Best Decisions To Make When Life is Hard and Doubt is Rising was written during one of those very difficult seasons of her life.
If you have found yourself feeling like you are drowning in doubt, or life just feels incredibly difficult right now, this conversation will encourage you right where you are at and remind you where you can continue to turn with your questions, your disappointment, and your pain.
If you want to take a closer look at where Doubt has been planted in the soil of your heart, grab my course Tangled!
If you don’t already listen to Ginny Owens music you are missing out! It is like a breath of fresh air. I loved listening to Ginny in some deeply formative years as I graduated from high school and embarked on the process of stepping out into the world and becoming an adult. And recently I have re-discovered her music and realized that she has been writing the songs that my heart needs to hear ever since then. Alongside her beautiful music, I have loved diving into her new book Singing in the Dark: Finding Hope in the Songs of Scriptures.
Ginny knows what it's like to sing in the dark, she has been blind since the age of 3. But darkness for most of us comes through difficult seasons, loss, discouragement, and disappointment. Ginny has had many of those seasons as well. She unpacks what it looks like to choose praise in those seasons of our life and how that has the power to transform us, even in the lowest valleys. This conversation is a must listen for anyone who feels like they are walking through a hard place. I trust it will encourage you right where you’re at.
If you want to take a deeper dive into learning to stay anchored to Christ through life’s storms - grab my course Tangled!
Do you pay attention to the words you’re saying over yourself? Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Yet so often we just let words slip out of our mouth subconsciously, and habitually. Are we aware of what we’re declaring over ourselves? Are we aware of how we are limiting ourselves and what God wants to do in our lives? How are the words we use keeping us stuck and limited?
If you want to take a deeper dive in getting to the heart of where these words are coming from, grab my Tangled course or my free Lies vs Truth download!
Offence seems to be the new normal. (And yes that’s how we spell offence in Canada in case I offended you ;) All joking aside, offence is so commonplace it doesn’t even seem wrong most of the time. We accept it as a normal way of living. And when we are offended in a situation we think nothing of repeating that offence to others.
But have you ever stopped to think about what that is doing to your heart? I think we long for peace, we long for joy, we long for a settledness in our heart instead of a low lying hum of anxiety. But what are we planting there?
If you want a deeper dive into getting un-offended, check out my 6-week course, Tangled, to help you get to the root of what is really going on in your heart and begin to live freely and lightly!
Do you ever feel like you’re not exactly where you want to be in your life? Do you ever feel stuck or behind? Me too! Let’s throw off some mindsets that aren’t helping us move forward in life and renew our mind! One of the theme verses for Ready to Thrive is Romans 12:2 which says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
We can’t change everything in our lives, but we can make some decisions today to move forward in places we feel stuck.
And if life has you feeling Tangled - check out my online course to break free in 6 weeks! Here’s what women are saying - “I wish I had done this course years ago. I strongly urge you to take this course if you feel weary and need rest for your soul!”
And if you feel like you are itching to run in your life, you know there’s something more you want to be doing with your life - check out my new course Ready to Rise!
What do you do when life throws you a curveball? What do you do when things don’t go the way you planned? Are you sick of hearing the word pivot yet? 2020 was the year of the “pivot” and I don’t think it’s over anytime soon! And as uncomfortable as the pivot can be when we’re walking through it, sometimes it is the very best thing for us. (Of course we often only notice that in hindsight!)
I loved sitting down with my new friend Jen to discuss how her life has pivoted over the last 10 years. If you’re feeling discouraged by the curveballs that life has thrown you in this past season, listen in and be inspired and encouraged! This may not be where you planned to be friend, but maybe its an uncomfortable stepping stone leading to somewhere significant! And speaking of significant, Jen is also launching her podcast, The Significant Life, along with her husband Marcus. If you were encouraged by hearing her story today, this is a great place to hear more from Jen!
Jen Jones is an author, a speaker, a course creator, a podcaster and a health coach. Not to mention a busy mom of 4, wife and cheerleader of women! She has a deep heart for helping women overcome the places in their lives where they are stuck and I have a feeling this podcast will help shift something in your own life.
And I want to help you get unstuck! I created a 6-week course to help you move from surviving to thriving! Check out my Tangled course that helps you get to the root of what is really going on in your heart. (psst, its on sale this week!)
Jennifer and I first met over email when she rejected my first book proposal. And then we met over zoom where she rejected my second book proposal. Talk about growing slow! I gave her a hard time about that during our conversation. She is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. And, she has learned a lot about what is looks like to burnout despite great boundaries.
She has learned firsthand what it looks like to slowly watch your dreams become reality. She is the author of multiple books, including her latest, Growing Slow: Lessons on Un-hurrying Your Heart From an Accidental Farm Girl. I don’t know about you but I always want to grow fast. I want instant everything. But sometimes the pursuit of the fast and furious lifestyle leaves us empty, and just, well, tired.
This conversation is about so much more than parenting! It’s about the heart. It’s about finding freedom from the swirl of lies going on in your heart and your mind. It’s about replacing those lies with truth and finding clarity in who God is and how He sees you.
Crystal Paine is a mom of 4, a foster mom, a New York Times Best Selling Author, and the successful business woman behind themoneysavingmom! Phew! But a few years ago she found herself in a parenting crisis when one of her kids nearly got expelled from school and became suicidal. Something had to change. Something had to get fixed. Crystal wanted the 3-step plan and instead, she found that she was the one being healed. She had been parenting from a place of performance, not love. Her own heart needed to be loved by God before she could begin to love her kids in a way that would heal them.
If this deeply resonated with you, check out my free Lies vs Truth download. Or for a deeper dive, why not start the healing journey of your own heart through my course Tangled. It’s a 6-week program to take you through the healing of your heart. And if you want some ready-for-you bedtime prayers to begin speaking life and truth over your kids at bedtime, grab my free Bedtime Prayers Resource!
Melinda Estabrooks is the executive producer and host of the TV show See, Hear, Love. I sat down with her to discuss their new book, Always Know: A Collection of Inspiring Words & Stories from See Hear Love Guests and Friends.
Let me tell you, Melinda has some unique aspects to her story, including being adopted, her years as a child Bible smuggler, teenage rebellion, re-marrying, and meeting her biological mother. Her story is filled with God’s redemptive hand and I know this conversation will not only bring tears to your eyes, it will draw you closer to the God who is in the business of redeeming all things.
And this is why it pays to respond to Instagram stories…earlier this week I was sharing about this milestone and asking how I should celebrate 100 episodes. The response was nearly unanimous that I should do a solo show. And then the next thing you know we were deciding on a topic and here we are! But really, it is fitting as that is where we started. I believe it was Episode 1 where I started breaking down John 10:10 so it kind of feels like a full circle moment.
As always, I hope this episode equips and encourages you, and I hope it helps you move one step closer to thriving!
Have you ever struggled to believe you are worth loving? Have you ever heard the voice of negativity and criticism? Have you ever struggled just to make it through the day? I have. And this week’s guest, Eryn Eddy has. I love this honest and raw conversation about some of the darkest moments in Eryn’s life and how God met her exactly where she was. She didn’t need to clean herself up or polish herself up, but God loved her and met her right where she was. And God reminded her that, as must as she was struggling in the current circumstances in her life, she was So Worth Loving. And so are you.
Wherever you are at today friend, if you feel like you are too far gone, if your circumstances feel too difficult, if you feel like you’re not sure you’re going to make it. I get that. Listen in, be encouraged, and know that you are not alone, you are seen, you are loved, and this is not the end.
Grab Eryn’s book, So Worth Loving: How Discovering Your True Value Changes Everything, here!
If you are ready to begin to throw off the lies that are holding you back - grab my free download Lies vs Truth here!
How’s your faith, friend? Still standing firm or feeling a little shaky these days? This past year has been such a faith-tester hasn’t it? And to be honest, even the sturdiest of us have taken a hit this year. It’s felt a bit like a stripping away of all that we once held onto and we can be left feeling a little bit exposed. And from that place, that “wow I can’t believe all that has changed” place. We come back to the firm foundation. We come back to the truth. And these daily habits begin to build for us something that is stronger, unshakable, something firm.
I loved this conversation with Jen Pollock Michel and I was deeply moved by her latest book, A Habit Called Faith: 40 Days in the Bible to Find and Follow Jesus. If you’re looking for a book that will help you dive into the Bible and deepen your faith, this is it!
Jen Pollock Michel is an award winning author and mother of 5. She is an American that calls Canada home and is just an absolute delight to talk to. I know you will love this conversation! I know it will build your faith!
I first came across Kat Lee a few years ago right around the time when God was nudging me to begin waking up before my kids to spend time with Him. Isn’t it funny how God brings us exactly what we need at exactly the right time? She was one of a few online mentors that gave me the tools to step forward into what God was inviting me into.
I know this conversation is going to encourage you to meet with God however your season looks like right now.
And if you want some practical tools to begin to wake up for your life, check out Hello Mornings. And you can grab Kat Lee’s book Hello Mornings: How to build a Grace-Filled, Life-Giving Morning Routine here!
We all wear labels. Whether they were placed on us by a person, a circumstance, an issue or ourselves. And many times these labels are negative. Many times they keep us stuck and keep us small. In my own experience, throwing off labels is an active process. We first begin by identifying the label and then replacing it with the truth. If you want a little help in this area, you can grab my free lies vs truth pdf and begin to throw them off for good!
If you’re wondering if Arden Bevere is related to John and Lisa Bevere then you are right! He’s the youngest of their 4 sons! But don’t let his age fool you, he is wise beyond his years! He’s a co-founder of Sons and Daughters, a movement committed to raising up a generation of uncompromising followers of Christ who will transform our world.
Arden has just released his first book, Redefined: Confronting the Labels that Limit Us. He has a passion to see his generation go further than any that came before it, and become fully alive in this God-Adventure.
Dr Caroline Leaf is a world-renowned Neuroscientist and a best-selling author of multiple books. We sit down to discuss her latest book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress, and Toxic Thinking and how you really can renew your mind!
I love how Dr. Leaf reminds us that feelings of depression and anxiety are completely normal human responses! She simply teaches us how to process and deal with our experiences and emotions rather than try to hide from them! If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety and depression you are not alone! And in this episode we discuss the app Dr. Leaf created that has had overwhelmingly positive results on renewing the mind. Check it out here!
Kelsey Chapman is an author, podcaster, and personal cheerleader to women who are building their dream life and business. She is the author of What They Taught Me: Recognizing the Mentors Who Will Take You from Dream to Done.
Do we recognize the gold right under our nose? Sometimes the mentors we need are right in front of us. Sometimes we need to seek it out and even (gasp) pay for it! And sometimes we need to be the one to pour out. And maybe, we need to do all of those things at the same time. If you’re feeling a little stuck right now, the right mentor might be just what you need to keep going.
Jennie Lusko serves alongside her husband Levi, leading Fresh Life Church in Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Oregon, as well as across the world online. They have five children: Alivia, Daisy, Clover, Lennox, and Lenya, who is waiting for them in heaven. The Lusko family lives in Montana and enjoys bike rides, walks, lake days, late-night hot tub and cold plunge parties, movies and family breakfast. Jennie loves spin and boxing, good food and sugary coffee, and wearing the same thing every day but also getting fashion advice from Levi. Jennie is also a hugger, so beware if you meet her!
I loved this conversation with Jennie and I know you will too! She has an incredible way of encouraging you right where you are at and calling you to engage in the fight rather than sit on the sidelines. This conversation, and her book The Fight to Flourish will help you thrive in this season.
Ashley Opliger didn’t have any plans to start a nonprofit. She was just a woman excited to be pregnant for the first time with her baby girl, Bridget. Early on in her pregnancy, complications were evident and Ashley was given orders for bedrest. Despite doing everything in her earthly power to care for her baby girl, Ashley went into labour at a mere 24 weeks and sweet Bridget entered this world already in the arms of Jesus.
Ashley’s mom, a nurse in the very hospital where her granddaughter was born, had anticipated this devastating outcome and had knit baby Bridget a tiny blanket to match her little frame. She followed a nudge and decided to close up the sides turning this little blanket into a cradle. This small act of love enabled Ashley and her husband to hold sweet Bridget and connect with her in a way they would not have been able to had she been draped in a hospital blanket designed for full-term babies.
In the following months, Ashley not only learned to lean into her grief but she began to use her pain for purpose and Bridget’s Cradles was birthed in the very nursery meant for Bridget herself. Bridget’s cradles now supplies hand-knit and crocheted cradles to over 1,000 hospitals in the US.
Ashley’s story is one of grief and loss, but also one of redemption and choosing to say, God you are still good; these circumstances are not good, but you still are.
Ashley’s desire and mission is to share the hope of Christ and Heaven with families grieving the
loss of a baby. Ashley also leads Hope Gatherings monthly Christ-centered support groups in
person in Wichita, Kansas, and online for women and couples throughout the country.
Jeannie is a pastors wife, a mother of 4, and a thriver! After being rear-ended one afternoon driving home from church, a pre-existing condition in her body “woke up” with life-altering symptoms. This same rare disease has not only wreaked havoc on her body but has triggered other painful and debilitating diseases in her body. Jeannie went from being an energetic home-schooling mom or 4 to a pain-filled, mostly bed-ridden woman dependant on others for even the most basic tasks. Jeannie bravely shared her story of pain, loss, grief and hope with me. She is still very much walking through this storm in her life and has had to navigate more in the last few years than many of us have to face in a lifetime. Her and her husband Drew have been serving as pastors of a church they planted in Southern California for the past 15 years.
She is using social media to share her story of hope in the midst of the storm to encourage others by showing the good, the bad, and the ugly. You can find her on all platforms at @alittleaboutalout.
I trust you will be encouraged as you listen to Jeannie share her story of pain, grief, and hope.
I first “met” Kelly online through a hashtag. If that isn’t one of the truest and craziest things about our world today I don’t know what is! If I could share an alternate title for this episode it would be “living in the tension.” Kelly does such a beautiful job articulating tension of loss, hope, joy, pain, waiting, and seeing God amidst it all. This truly is one of my favourite episodes of Ready to Thrive and I’m honoured to be sharing Kelly’s story here.
Kelly is a writer, speaker, and former world-traveler who traded in her passport for a permanent address and now calls Atlanta, GA home. She hosts the Even If Podcast, where she shares weekly insight from her own story of losing her first child at birth, and offers words of hope for women navigating seasons of uncertainty and loss. When she’s not podcasting, she’s working for a non-profit in southwest Kenya, traveling across the country to speak at churches and retreats. She runs on Diet Coke, but maintains she can quit anytime she wants.
If you have never checked Kelly’s podcast please do! She speaks with conviction and compels you to move through the difficult places in your life with the love of Christ. Her and her husband Peter are taking steps toward adoption and if your heart is moved towards giving towards them you can find that page here! You can find out more about Kelly’s story here on www.kellystreiff.com.
Brandi Wilson was living her dream life, as a stay at home mom, and pastor’s wife when the rug got pulled out from under her feet and it all came crashing down. Brandi shares with me how she navigated the trauma of walking through her life imploding while under the scrutiny of the public eye. We cover grief, forgiveness, healing, and what it looks like to thrive today. There were so many Holy Spirit goosebump moments in this story as Brandi shares about how God met her in her pain, and continued to be the God who provides. Her circumstances changed, but God did not.
Brandi is co-leader of Leading and Loving it, as well she has launched lovebrandiwilson.com where she is coaching women who are ready to gain mental clarity and increase their emotional health. Check it out for a free 30 minute consultation to see if her coaching program is right for you!
Well we have officially crossed over into 2021 and if you’re like most people, you may still thinking of how you are going to tackle those goals and hopes and dreams you have for this new year. Or maybe you’re just feeling tired. Getting back into the swing of things takes a lot of energy and the holidays - however small and simple they were - can leave us in need of a little more rest. I get that.
In this time of year where we often talk about goals and dreams, Kristy and I sat down and talked about her journey from working in Corporate America towards her dream of writing. It wasn’t quick and it wasn’t easy. Be encouraged as you listen to her story and let it spark something in you towards what you have been called to in this season.
Kristy Cambron is a vintage-inspired storyteller, writing both award-winning historical fiction and Bible studies. She has served as a women’s ministry leader and speaks at events across the country, encouraging women to experience a deeper life in the Word through verse mapping.
Wendy Speake is the author of The 40-Day Sugar Fast and The 40-Day Social Media Fast. She is also the coauthor of Triggers: Exchanging Parents’ Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical Responses. Wendy hosts her annual online 40-Day Sugar Fast every January and her 4-Day Social Media Fast every Lent.
If you are feeling that nudge to either spend a little bit of time detoxing from your phone, or even finally tackling that sugar addiction that has reared its ugly head over the holidays then this is the episode for you!
Everleigh joined me last Easter for a spontaneous episode and as providence would have it, she joined me for a very spontaneous Christmas episode as well! Quite literally there was no prompting or coaching, but just a girl who is excited to share the joy of Jesus with you in this season. Enjoy this short episode and Merry Christmas!
Let every heart, prepare Him room. But how? This episode does a mini deep dive into preparing our hearts not only for Christmas, but to thrive all year long.
I also am sharing a link to my favourite new Christmas album that combines worship with Christmas classics by Maverick City Worship, listen in!
Mary and I are both children of the 80’s. Though we grew up miles and worlds apart, we share a love for the pop culture we grew up with and you will hear that referenced in this episode! Mary’s story is one of overcoming, but not just her challenging childhood experiences. She shares about learning to find freedom from the drive to achieve as well as the process of forgiveness and grace. I loved this conversation with Mary and I know you will too. Check out Mary’s book, "Dirt: Growing Strong Roots in What Makes the Broken Beautiful."
Mary Marantz grew up in a single-wide trailer in rural West Virginia and went on to attend top-ranked law school in the US, Yale Law. However, instead of pursuing a career in law she took a giant leap with her new husband and launched a successful photography business followed by an online education platform for creative entrepreneurs. She is also the host of the popular podcast The Mary Marantz Show.
Confession - I didn’t want to record today’s episode. It’s been a long week and there have been some tears. But as I was reminded of Psalm 126, sometimes tears are the gateway to joy. If you’re worn or weary and joy feels far away, listen in, this one's for you. As always I want to draw you to Jesus and also share some practical tips. Trusting this episode will bring you one step closer to thriving in this Christmas season. The songs I reference in this episode are Raise a Hallelujah and Gratitude.
Dorina Gilmore Young is a picture of strength. Suddenly widowed and left to raise 3 daughters on her own, forced to walk away from the life she had built and loved, Dorina had a choice. Was she going to let the circumstances in her life take her out or was she going to keep running?
Dorina is such a beautiful woman both inside and out. She literally glows when she speaks. And even if you are not a runner, or you haven’t walked through a devastating loss as Dorina has, I trust this episode will deeply impact and encourage you. I won’t spoil the rest of her story but its all about the kind of redemption only God can bring us.
If you want to connect more with Doring you can check out DorinaGilmore.com and her latest book Walk, Run, Soar: A 52 Week Running Devotional.
We are living in a time where we are not experiencing war but we are desperate for peace. For many it feels elusive. But what if peace is possible?
I have been on a hunt to determine what is it that makes some people deeply peaceful while others live with this low lying hum of anxiety? It was only when this hum was gone that I realized it had been there in the first place.
If you’re interested in the 5 day email series I mention you can grab it here!
Susie Larson is an author and a speaker, as well as the host of a daily radio show Susie Larson Live. Susie’s story feels like more than one person should have to endure in one lifetime and yet to speak with her you walk away deeply encouraged. She has not let the struggles she has faced in her life knock her off her feet but rather has used them to build a deep resilient faith and strength in the Lord.
Her latest book Prevail: 365 Days of Enduring Strength from God’s Word shares 365 daily words of encouragement, bringing you to the feet of Jesus and challenging you to get into the Bible yourself. Susie is a woman worth following and learning from, check her out here. I trust this convers
If you’re feeling worn and weary I hear you! And I have a message of hope, just for you! I am trusting this episode will deeply encourage you - but don’t be selfish - share it with a friend ;)
I can’t believe it is already the first Sunday of Advent! I am diving right into hope this week but if you want a deeper dive into what Advent is all about check out Episode 28!
This is possibly one of the most avoided conversations in each of our lives. Especially if you have money “baggage” or are feeling particularly stressed about finances.
This is the last episode in our Having Hard Conversations series and it feels incredibly timely with the Holidays just around the corner. As in each of the conversations in this series, Brendan and I are incredibly candid about where we’ve been and where we’re at. We are on a financial journey to freedom from our debt and if you need a boost of hope, encouragement, and a step in the right direction I hope this episode helps you move one step closer to thriving in your finances.
If money has felt like a hard conversation you have avoided (even if its only with yourself) then this is the episode for you!
Has the world ever been noisier? Now more than ever we need to know how to turn down the noise of the world to be able to turn up the voice of Peace. This is the last episode in the re-release of the Overcoming Overwhelm series and I trust that each week has helped you move one step closer to thriving.
Yep, we’re going there. I don’t know the stats off the top of my head but I know they’re huge. Pornography addiction is one of the secret struggles for so many both inside and outside of the church. And for the most part, the only solution to the struggle seems to be based in better accountability and self-management. But those don’t equal freedom. This episode is Brendan sitting down to candidly share about his own journey with the struggle of pornography and his road to freedom. I love that he shares both the practical steps he took but also the spiritual healing that took place in his mind. This is what we all need in our lives and this is what this podcast is about. Practical steps and the healing power of Jesus. If this episode has been helpful for you or a friend or your spouse please let me know either through an email at jaclynweidner1@gmail.com or a DM over on Instagram. If you’d like another resource I would recommend this message on pornography by Pastor Mike Todd of Transformation Church, it is excellent. And this one on lust by Pastor Mark Clark of Village Church, also a great message.
We are almost through the re-release of the Overcoming Overwhelm series and this is such a good topic as we approach 2021. The new year always brings a fresh focus with new goals and opportunities. But how do we know what to say yes to?
I have been guilty of doing #allthethings simply because I didn’t really have a good sense of who I was or where I was trying to go. I hope this episode helps give you a bit of clarity on who you have been created to be and a little permission to go looking if you’re stuck.
Have you seen those memes where women joke about being a “golf widow” or losing their husbands to some other pastime? For years, and I mean YEARS I considered myself in second place to my husbands work. It really didn’t matter if he said I came above his work - his actions told me otherwise. His lack of work/life balance had huge effects on each of our personal lives as well as our marriage.
If you listened to Episode 69 called “My Story” you have heard about the process I went through to let go of the bitterness I held in my heart towards my husband and his job. Here’s the crazy thing. I went through this process of letting go of the bitterness - and THEN change began to happen. Brendan unpacks this process for himself and how God really got a hold of his heart to begin to make these changes in his own life.
And ironically I also share about my own need to learn how to be present, have a healthy relationship with technology and learn how to have healthy work/life balance in my own life. Finding healthy work/life balance is a process and I trust this episode will help you work towards that in your own life.
Sometimes we operate out of a place of “should” for so long that giving ourselves permission to do the things we feel called to can seem foreign or almost wrong. We really need to sit with the One who made us to know fully who we have been created to be and in turn give ourselves permission to run fully as the people God has created us to be.
If you love the idea of writing down actual Permission Slips you can grab those for free here!
I have been thinking about interviewing my husband for a while now. Recently we were having a conversation after watching church online. The topic was lust. Our pastor has been going through a series called The 7 Deadly Sins and it has been good. (You can check them out here!)
As we were talking I realized - We have these conversations often! These good, hard conversations. We have been having them for almost 16 years! And they have been crucial to us not only thriving in our marriage but in our personal lives.
For today we are simply discussing the hows and the whys behind having hard conversations. And what I thought would be a one-time interview is going to be a series called Having Hard Conversations. We’re going to cover topics like money, pornography, spiritual warfare, and work/life balance. These are not conversations specifically for married couples, but if you are married, they might be a good opportunity to listen with your spouse and begin to have some of your own hard conversations.
Hard conversations are never easy or light. They are most often avoided. But - they have the ability to really move the needle forward in your life. And that is my hope for you in this series. Most of the hard conversations we have are filled with emotion and can be filled with frustration. BUT - they don’t end that way. They end with hope, understanding, and peace. At least most of the time anyways ;)
If you have ever struggled with fearful or anxious thoughts this is the episode for you! First of all, you are not alone! Far before the Pandemic I felt helpless and hopeless when it came to fearful and anxious thoughts. I felt powerless against them. They were just happening to me!
I am so glad that is not how God has intended for us to live. But I just didn’t know any other way. I am praying and trusting this episode will give you some aha moments for yourself. Maybe realizing ways in which you have let fear into your mind or how you may have cultivated fear in your life. And I get it, that is what I used to do! I trust you will leave this episode equipped and strengthened in the battle against fearful and anxious thoughts.
If you felt encouraged through this episode please pass it on to someone in your life that may need it as well. We often don’t realize just how many people are battling fear and anxiety privately.
Like any other personality tool, the Enneagram is simply that, a tool. And as AJ Sherrill shares, we can use it to find out a little bit more about ourselves, not just to gain more insight but to experience transformation through Christ. One of the things that has been key in my own transformational moments with Jesus is first a moment of awareness. An aha moment. Which is what I always hope will happen for you as you listen to Ready to Thrive. That somehow along the way you will hear someone else share their story and you will have your own moment of realization that will help you connect with Jesus and experience transformation! And I hope that happens for you today.
AJ Sherrill is an author, a pastor and an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he teaches popular courses on transformational preaching and the Enneagram. He just released his latest book, The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation: How Knowing Ourselves Can Make Us More Like Jesus.
When was the last time you felt fully rested? If you are a mama of young kids you might be going back years to find the answer. I get that!
This episode isn’t meant to add another to-do to your plate but rather to help you let go of some of the things that might be holding you back from deep rest. Learning how to rest well has been a challenge for me and still can be at times. So if it doesn’t come naturally to you I get that! And if you STILL want a little more encouragement in the area of rest - check out episodes 43, 44 and 45, all dedicated to helping you slow down and find rest.
If you want a little more encouragement towards rest check out my 5 Days to Deep Soul Rest right here.
Jenny Randle is an Emmy award winning editor, a national speaker and a chart-topping podcast host. She is also the author of Getting to Know God’s Voice: A 31-Day Interactive Journey. But most notably she is receiving an award as my first ever repeat guest! If you want to hear more from Jenny after this one, check out Episode 29 on growing in your creativity!
This is maybe one of the most important topics we can discuss on Ready to Thrive. Learning to turn down the noise of the world and discern the voice of God is key to walking out a thriving life. I trust this episode will give you aha moments as you listen and that you will feel like you have a better understanding of what hearing God’s voice might look like in your own life.
Guess What?! I am giving away the first chapter of my book Tangled for free! If you have ever felt like you are tangled up in doubt, discouragement, fear, jealousy, and so much more, I get that! That is why I am giving away this first chapter. To help give you a boost towards becoming - Untangled. Click here to snag yours!
And if you want a deeper dive check out my go-at-your-own-pace Tangled course! (In the course you get a pdf copy of the book, weekly videos and 2x month zoom calls with me!
This is one of my favourite episodes to re-release to you because I think so many of us are dealing with the symptoms of junk in our heart but we don’t really know what to do about it. Just like we may have struggled to know how to purge the excess clutter in our home, we often are unaware how to tackle what is going on in our hearts.
Often we feel like not dealing with the junk in our hearts is protecting us, when really it is damaging us from the inside out. This process of facing what is really going on inside and taking it to the only One who can really do something about it is one of the most freeing and life-giving things you can do.
And if you want a deeper dive into this freedom I am giving away the first chapter of my book Tangled for free! If you have ever felt like you are tangled up in doubt, discouragement, anxiety, anger, and so much more, I get that! That is why I am giving away this first chapter. To help give you a boost towards becoming - Untangled. Click here to snag yours!
And if you want an even deeper dive check out my go-at-your-own-pace Tangled course! (In the course you get a pdf copy of the book, weekly videos and 2x month zoom calls with me!
Jamie Grace is a 2-time Grammy Nominated singer and songwriter. She won a Dove award for New Artist of the Year and is the author of Finding Quiet: My Journey to Peace in an Anxious World. At the age of 11 she was diagnosed with Anxiety, Tourette’s Syndrome, ADHD and OCD, and within a few years began to share her joy and her struggles, along with her music on YouTube. She became a “teen star” which in itself has so many joys and challenges. Now as a married mama of a sweet daughter Isabella she is still writing and producing music and learning to find quiet in our noisy world.
This was such a fun conversation with Jamie and I loved the wisdom she shares along the way. She is an example of what it looks like to thrive despite difficult circumstances. I know this episode will move you one step closer to thriving.
Guess What?! I am giving away the first chapter of my book Tangled for free! If you have ever felt like you are tangled up in doubt, discouragement, fear, jealousy, and so much more, I get that! That is why I am giving away this first chapter. To help give you a boost towards becoming - Untangled. Click here to snag yours!
And if you want a deeper dive check out my go-at-your-own-pace Tangled course! (In the course you get a pdf copy of the book, weekly videos and 2x month zoom calls with me!
I find staying on top of clutter to be one of the most challenging parts of running our home. Whenever the clutter piles up it is easy for me to feel defeated, overwhelmed, and like I just want to give up! Anyone else? (Side note - anyone with a baby or a toddler in tow remember to give yourself lots of grace in this area!!)
Getting rid of what we don’t use, need, or like is a huge part of keeping the clutter under control. AND doing our part to manage what actually makes its way into our house is key! I used to have a terrible habit of just shopping during my kid-free time. I always wanted to make sure we had everything we needed and were fully prepared for whatever may come our way. This wasn’t helpful and I don’t think it really saved us much money in the long run. (It may have even cost us more.) I am still learning to purge what we don’t need and not acquire stuff just because shopping can feel like the only option during kid-free time. It’s a process!
Guess What?! I am giving away the first chapter of my book Tangled for free! Click here to snag yours!
And if you want a deeper dive check out my go-at-your-own-pace Tangled course! (In the course you get a pdf copy of the book, weekly videos and 2x month zoom calls with me!
One of the most common sentiments I hear from women is “I don’t think I feel Joy.” Whether it is a major curveball they have been thrown in their life or just the everyday mundane talks that have sucked the life out of them, many women are walking around feeling absolutely joy-less.
Talasi Guerra just released her new book Joy Like a Mountain and I wanted to know from her - someone who has lived through the experience of joylessness to joyfulness, “How can we get there?” “Is it possible to experience joy again?”
I hope this episode inspires, equips and encourages you towards joy in your life. I believe it is possible friends. I believe the God we love and serve can bring beauty from ashes and joy when we can not feel it.
The verse I share in this episode tha t I could not remember at the time is from Jeremiah 31:3-4. “ The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful.” This is my prayer for you - if you are feeling joy-less that you will cling to this promise as you lean into the One who brings us joy.
In 2007, Talasi experienced radical life-change when God brought her through a period of healing from her long battle with anorexia and depression. Since that time she has been passionate about bringing light and life to the world around her by sharing her story through writing and speaking. Her new book Joy Like a Mountain will challenge, encourage, and inspire you to reclaim Joy in your life.
Are you a fan of de-cluttering or purging? Have you tried it but yet stuff still seems to linger everywhere? I have found that a huge part of my experiencing overwhelm is related to clutter in my home.
Things need places to live in our homes or they become clutter. This is a 2-part episode and today we tackle systems! We need systems in place for paperwork, clothes coming in, birthday party loot bags, gifts from grandma, you name it.
In this episode we ask “What is not working currently in your home” and we step outside of our problem to solve it.
Also if you would LOVE to clear the clutter but you just don’t have the energy - go back and listen to last Friday’s episode on building momentum first!
Guess What?! I am giving away the first chapter of my book Tangled for free! Click here to snag yours!
And if you want a deeper dive check out my go-at-your-own-pace Tangled course! (In the course you get a pdf copy of the book, weekly videos and 2x month zoom calls with me!
We spend soooo much time at home, and this year even more so than ever. What if being at peace in our home went beyond our decorating style and de-cluttering skills and moved towards intentionally praying over our space and dedicating it to God?
Like so many of my favourite conversations this one went in a direction I was not expecting. Shannon and I set out to talk about decorating our homes and we ended up discussing how to bless and dedicate them.
And if you have you struggled to decorate or de-clutter in this season, Shannon has some great tips and encouragement for those of us who might have a little less energy towards our home maintenance right now..
Shannon Acheson is a mostly self-taught designer, decorator, writer, and stylist. Although she has completed her interior design training, she’d much rather teach you how to decorate your own home than do it for you. She is the editor and designer behind the design and lifestyle company and blog HomeMadeLovely.com. Her happy place is in the suburbs of Toronto, where she is a Homebody with a capital H, a Jesus girl, a happy wife to Dean, and a non-traditional homeschooling mom of two teenagers and a twenty-year-old.
Guess What?! I am giving away the first chapter of my book Tangled for free! Click here to snag yours!
And if you want a deeper dive check out my go-at-your-own-pace Tangled course! (In the course you get a pdf copy of the book, weekly videos and 2x month zoom calls with me!
Often when I am overwhelmed I feel paralyzed and I do nothing! Or I procrastinate and spin my wheels getting little things done that aren’t really that important. It is easy to feel discouraged when we are overwhelmed and by not doing anything at all (or not doing the “right” things) we can continue to sit in this pit of overwhelm.
I have learned that I have to be able to choose what I do wisely in that moment and pick the thing that will be a “win” for me and help me build momentum in my life.
Two big things that have also helped have been to ask for help, and to assess how I am actually spending my time. (Let’s talk phone usage!)
I KNOW this episode will help you move one step closer to thriving. I felt convicted and inspired as I listened to it again! Share this episode with someone who could use a little boost of momentum in their life today!
I am a mom of 3 girls and I do not know what it is like to raise boys. BUT, my good friend Bonnie Pue does! She is a mom of 5 boys with a 6th on the way! If you follow Bonnie on Instagram you may wonder, “how is this woman possibly so calm surrounded by this clan of rowdy boys?” I wondered the same thing! So I wanted to have a little deep dive with her and glean a little wisdom for you!
And if you know any mamas of boys click those 3 dots at the bottom left of your screen and share it with them!
Bonnie Pue is a speaker, writer, and podcaster, but most of her time is spent as a homeschooling mother to 5 young sons. She and her husband Bryan have been leaders in their local church community for over a decade. They recently launched The Union Movement, a ministry focused on bringing health in the interconnected areas of sexuality, relationships, family, and church culture. Bonnie lives on the West Coast of British Columbia, and loves nurturing houseplants, journaling, and getting out on the hiking trails nearby when the weather cooperates.
This has been a FULL week! And when my plate is full I can easily get overwhelmed.
But where is my focus? Is it on all that I need to accomplish? Or is it on the one thing I can do or need to do right now? Keeping my mind focused is key to not letting it run off into overwhelm.
This week I’m talking about anticipating something big in our lives. And often anticipating the “thing” can be even worse than the thing itself. Let’s focus our minds today on what is right here in front of us in this moment - not what happened yesterday or what is to come tomorrow. Yes we can plan and prepare but let’s not live in the future in our minds.
How in the world has Lori Beth Auldrige become such a homeschooling expert when her oldest child is only 6? Her answer may surprise you as it did me!
I love chatting with this Maui mama and even if you do not have kids at home or are not online schooling in this season I trust you will find value in this conversation as I did. Lori and I dove into how we have learned how to seek out rest as busy working mamas and how important that is for each of us AND our families. We also talk about our need for adventure and play and how cultivating that in our lives is so good for our mental health.
Has anyone else experienced overwhelm in this season?? Please tell me your hand is raised. Can you see mine?!
I am kicking off this Fall Friday series on Overwhelm. And even though this episode was recorded over a year ago I think we need it even more today! Have you ever felt paralyzed by overwhelm? Have you felt like you’ve been “taken out” by what is going on in the world today, or maybe something that is going on personally? Do you have a clear sense being able to discern the truth from the lies in your head?
If you want a deeper dive into discerning the truth from a lie in your own life I have created a printable worksheet you can access here!
“Don’t fear” is the message we get from the world and also from the Bible. But what about all of the places in the Bible where we are called to fear? Katie unpacks what Holy courage and Godly fear looks like and why the message the world is sending us to be fearless just falls flat when we need it the most. And don’t we all need a little more brave right now?
Katie Westenberg is first a follower of Christ, a wife, and a mom growing
faithfully alongside her four children. She believes boldly in the transformative
power of faith in Jesus Christ. She is the author of I Choose Brave. As an author and a speaker, she teaches women to grow a robust theology of who God is, and encourages them to become students of Scripture and learn to live that truth out with courage. She serves a thriving
community of women at IChooseBrave.com and makes her home in the lovely Pacific Northwest.
Doing something fun for Fridays! Who doesn’t love fun on Fridays?
The Ready to Thrive Podcast has been running each and every week for 15 months and I thought it might be nice to go back to the beginning of why we are here in the first place! The “why” behind Ready to Thrive. So today I am sharing the introduction episode (but I’ve added a new little something special too ;) If you’re new here you may have missed it, and if you’ve been here awhile you might enjoy the refresh.
Every Friday I am going to drop an older episode with a new little something just to give you a boost as you head into your weekend. I know I always need a little re-focus and encouragement and I hope these Friday episodes will be just that for you as well. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get - Ready to Thrive!
Want more? Check out my free Deep Soul Rest 5-day email series.
Extrovert? Introvert? Maybe you feel like an ambivert? Holley Gerth breaks down the ambivert myth and gives permission to introverts everywhere who have often felt like they just don’t measure up in a world that celebrates extroverts. Her new book The Powerful Purpose of Introverts releases Sept. 15th!
Holley Gerth is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, life coach, and speaker with a master of science degree in mental health. She cofounded (in)courage, a site that received almost one million views in its first six months, and cohosts the popular podcast More Than Small Talk. Holley is passionate about empowering people, especially introverts, to embrace who they are and become all they're created to be. Holley lives in the South with her husband, Mark. You can connect with her at holleygerth.com.
Something completely different this week! In early 2017 I was struggling with Post Partum Depression. Looking back I have battled bouts of depression for much of my adult life but I don’t think I would have really acknowledged it or had the words to name what it was I was experiencing. Anxiety wasn’t much of an issue for me until I had kids. And then, whoa talk about sleepless nights!
In today’s podcast I am sharing a talk I gave at my church in 2018. In this talk I share my story of healing. I know this is a really hard topic to discuss because this season has affected so many of us in terms of mental health. This isn’t meant to be a formula for healing but simply an offering of my story of healing and freedom.
Have you ever struggled with your weight? (Every hand goes up…) Have you ever wondered why you reach for the bag of chips, the pint of ice cream, the bag of cookies? Have you tried the pills, the shakes, the fad diets? We know these aren’t the “healthy” route but sometimes we are so discouraged, so frustrated and don’t know how to get to where we want to be.
I am thankful for this honest conversation with Latasha Fergusun who battled obesity for much of her life and was so tired with trying all the things and yet nothing worked. It was only when she began to do the deeper heart work that she was able to finally break free not only from 60 extra lbs but from all that was holding her back in life.
Latasha is a fire-lighting speaker, writer, and ministry leader. Her heart beats for empowering women to overcome anything that dares to stand in between them and who God has created them to be. She is also a passionate educator who has spent the past 16 years serving in the roles of teacher, assistant principal, principal, and now director of instruction.
Latasha’s podcast, Overcome to Become, is set to launch in August 2020. It will be a weekly podcast packed with real talk, life changing truths, and actionable takeaways that will help women become who they were meant to be in every area of their life.
Latasha lives in Florida with her husband of 14 years and their 4 daughters. Her happy place is on the beach with her family and a great book.
These have been incredibly challenging times and I know I have felt the impact on my mind. Have you felt it? Increased anxiety, depression, hopelessness? How do we strengthen and renew our minds during this season?
I loved this candid conversation with my friend Jackie Smith Bell as we talk about the growing pains of this moment and how we can mature and learn to trust in what God is bringing us through. I so appreciate Jackie’s wisdom in this conversation and that each response to a question is answered through the truth of God’s word.
Jackie Smith-Bell is a wife, mother of 3, writer, and speaker who loves to encourage women to trust God. Whether it’s helping mothers balance the journey of motherhood or reminding them of God’s faithfulness, Jackie provides a Biblical perspective with humor, transparency, and truth. She has a published blog and podcast, “At Home with Jackie” where she shares wisdom and encouragement to help women “grow well” despite challenging circumstances.
Check her out on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube or on her website!
We’re taking a pause from our summer series on health and it is well worth it. Kristen is one of those people whose life has been radically changed and you can’t help but be changed as you listen to her. And in many ways, shouldn’t that be what all of our lives are like? As we encounter Jesus for ourselves and are changed, shouldn’t that be what others say about us all?
This episode will encourage you, but more than anything I think it will challenge you as it challenged me. What if us running toward comfort in our lives, and holding back from those things that scare us, the things that God has set right before us in our lives to get our attention - what if those are the exact things we need to thrive? What if our best life is actually found in turning to face those things head on. Grabbing Jesus by the hand and saying, “Ok, I’m scared, but I’m in, I’m all in.”
Kristen Welch is the founder of Mercy House Global, an organization that exists to engage, empower and disciple women around the globe. She is the author of several books including Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, Raising World Changers in a Changing World, and her latest book, Made to Move Mountains: How God Uses our Dreams and Disasters to Accomplish the Impossible.
If you are a parent this is a conversation you don’t want to miss! Kim Amici hosts the Build Your Best Family Podcast and is a certified life coach taking parents on a journey to help them thrive in their families. She asks the question - “What do you want your family to be known for?”
Have you ever thought about the culture in your family? What is your family known for? What do people say about your family when they’ve spent time in your home? This is culture. And sometimes we are creating a family culture without intention.
I am trusting this episode will give you aha moments and tools (like this free pdf FULL of resources that Kim mentions in this episode) to help you begin to thrive as a family.
I also mention the power of sitting down at the table and the stats that prove it as shared by Abby Turner in Episode 50.
The Tangled Course is now available online for you to do at your own pace! If you are sick of being stuck in fear, anxiety, doubt, discouragement, anger and all the things, then this might be the right time for you to get un-tangled. Check it out here!
Do you ever feel like you’re operating on autopilot? I hope you said yes because you are! So much of our life is simply a series of everyday habits. But why does it feel like we often drift towards unhealthy habits when we have the very best intentions? How about our thought lives? Have you ever thought of your thinking as habitual?
Krista unpacks this and more as she teaches us about the power of habits and how we can actually begin to make the changes we want to see in our lives. I am trusting this episode will help you navigate towards the habits you would like to see to help you thrive in your own life! (You might even begin to floss ;)
Krista Penner works in leadership development with Fellowship Pacific and Leverage Women, an organization equipping, inspiring and connecting female leaders as they “leverage” their collective strength for a God-honoring impact. Krista and her husband Jerome live in Mission BC and have three grown children. She can often be found in her kitchen making something that calls for a pound of butter.
Bethany and her husband Corey are millennials. But they are on a mission to break the stigma’s we have when we think of when we think about that demographic. They are also on a personal mission to get out of debt and they aren’t keeping their journey to themselves. They give regular updates on their podcast, The Millennial Mission, and Bethany shares how they are tackling their debt and actually beginning to see progress!
Have you felt hopeless when you looked at your finances? Or have you avoided looking at them altogether? I know I have been there! This episode will give you tools to begin tackling the debt mountain that may be looming in front of you as well as a motivational kick in the pants to get going and begin to live freely and lightly when it comes to this area of our lives.
Did you hear the news?? The Tangled Course is now available online for you to do at your own pace! If you are sick of being stuck in fear, anxiety, doubt, discouragement, anger and all the things, then this might be the right time for you to get un-tangled. Check it out here!
Have you ever felt lonely in your adult life? Have you ever wondered, “shouldn’t friendship be easy by now?” Have you had a miscommunication that led to a friendship fall out, or had a friend simply disappear and stop returning communication attempts? You are not alone my friend! Adult female friendship is complicated!
Noelle Rhodes is a female friendship researcher and host of the Friending podcast! She shares about the 3 types of friends we need in our lives and is very candid about how creating and maintaining female friendship as an adult is hard!
In this episode I reference being on her podcast and you can listen to that episode here!
Did you hear the news?? The Tangled Course is now available online for you to do at your own pace! If you are sick of being stuck in fear, anxiety, doubt, discouragement, anger and all the things, then this might be the right time for you to get un-tangled. Check it out here!
That area of your life where you’re not thriving? You already know what to do! But are you doing it? I unpack this and what it looks like to follow those little nudges from God. I share about my own recent God nudge that had a crazy outcome! I still can’t believe it! And one I am beginning to follow this summer.
I also talk about doing the “heart work” and how it is really impossible to thrive until we’ve done that. If you want some tools to take you through this heart work and move you to Thriving this summer check out Tangled: A Soul Care Revival Guide on Amazon.ca or Amazon.com or if you want to really do this work this summer check out the Tangled Course and I will help walk you through the content and encourage you along the way! Check it out here!
2020 is the year of clarity and vision...does it feel that way to you? Do you feel like you have a strong sense of vision for your life? “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18 Vision is tied to hope, and in this past season we have walked through couldn’t we all use a little hope?
Often we simply think about vision in terms of our career or with the idea that we will “arrive” somewhere. But what about having a vision for your family, your marriage or your finances? In this episode I unpack what it looks like to sit with God and dream with Him to get a vision for our lives in every area.
Did you hear the news?? The Tangled Course is now available online for you to do at your own pace! If you are sick of being stuck in fear, anxiety, doubt, discouragement, anger and all the things, then this might be the right time for you to get un-tangled. Check it out here!
Sharon unpacks the danger of nice Christianity and why we like to be liked. Her latest book was birthed through her desire to speak out against racism but feared how she would be received, after all she was a nice Christian girl. What if being “nice” is keeping us from who we are meant to be as true disciples of Christ?
Sharon Hodde Miller co-leads Bright City Church in Durham, NC alongside her husband Ike. She holds a PhD and is the author of the books Free of Me: Why Life is Better When It’s Not About You and Nice: Why We Love to be Liked and How God Calls us to More.
Did you hear the news?? The Tangled Course is now available online for you to do at your own pace! If you are sick of being stuck in fear, anxiety, doubt, discouragement, anger and all the things, then this might be the right time for you to get un-tangled. Check it out here!
Have you ever asked yourself the question “what is my purpose?” And did you hope to find the answer in a particular vocation? In a world that asks us from a young age “what do you want to be when you grow up?” it is no wonder that we begin to place our identity in our vocation. As people who have been designed to find their identity in Christ, we often get stuck in a cycle of striving vocationally to try and find fulfill our deep need of walking out our purpose. It is when we live out our faith calling, to love God and love others, that often our vocational calling begins to arise. But don’t take my word for it. Paula Faris writes about this in her book Called Out: Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs for a Life of True Calling.
Paula had not one but two dream jobs that she walked away from when God got her attention in a variety of ways. She was co-anchor of Good Morning America Weekend and co-host of the View. Her and I sit down and unpack what it looks like to identify a vocational calling and how that looks different from a faith calling and how mixing up the two can keep you stuck and unfulfilled in what God would love to do in and through your life.
Did you hear the news?? The Tangled Course is now available online for you to do at your own pace! If you are sick of being stuck in fear, anxiety, doubt, discouragement, anger and all the things, then this might be the right time for you to get un-tangled. Check it out here!
Why do we sometimes turn to food or drink when we feel pain? Why do we run to social media or Netflix when life feels hard? Why do we avoid difficult conversations, scary emails, or challenging family members rather than face them full on? What does it look like to just sit and stay with those feelings instead of numbing or escaping? What could we learn about ourselves when we stay in the moment and invite Jesus in? How could we find healing and freedom as we practice the art of Staying?
Anjuli Paschall is a mom to 5 kids living in Southern California. She is the founder of The Moms We Love Club and a writer for (in)courage. Her book Stay happened to release during the season when we were all forced to stay at home. I am trusting this conversation will help you move one step closer to thriving.
Kat Harris is a Brooklyn-based online educator, digital content creator who has a vision for women to know their beauty, identity and value. She is Co-founder of the online publication The Refined Woman and host of The Refined Collective Podcast. She has been a full-time photographer for the last decade with her work being featured in: GQ, Forbes, People, Who What Wear, US Weekly and Glamour UK.
Kat and I begin our conversation talking about how to cultivate boundaries in a work from home environment but quickly move to boundaries in other areas of our lives including sex! (We cover it all!) Based in New York we talk about what it looks like to be Sexless in the City and dive into God’s view of sex and marriage and all the things.
Marriage is hard work but we don’t always know how to do that hard work. How do we have those difficult conversations? Especially when they haven’t always gone well in the past. My hope is that today’s episode will give you a few aha moments for your own marriage to help you move past some of the places where you may be stuck and help you move one step closer to thriving. And if you aren’t married I think a lot of what I talk about today could be helpful in other important relationships in your life. Did you know I send out “regular-ish” emails? I give a short thought and share what new worship songs I am loving. I don’t want to bombard your inbox so they only come whenever I have something to say. If you don’t want to miss out on the next one - click here!
There are many areas in our lives that we can cultivate to move from surviving to thriving, but none is more important than our heart.
And for years I lived with a hard heart. A heart that was easily offended. A heart that looked at others with judgement. And as you will hear on this episode it hasn’t been an easy journey to move from a hard heart to a soft one, I hope that what I share will give you a few ‘aha moments in your own life where you can identify areas in which your own heart may have hardened.
Did you know I send out “regular-ish” emails? I give a short thought and share what new worship songs I am loving. I don’t want to bombard your inbox so they only come whenever I have something to say. If you don’t want to miss out on the next one - click here!
Did you know you have a slot machine in your pocket? One of the reasons that we struggle so much with technology is that we don’t really understand what it is trying to do.
Rebecca has a passion for having a healthy relationship with technology. In this episode she unpacks how Tik Tok and other apps are designed to keep our attention. As someone who spends time with teenagers she sees the impact that this addiction is having firsthand. I trust you will enjoy this conversation and walk away empowered about how to own your technology and not let it own you.
If you want a deeper dive into checking out what Rebecca referenced in this show check out her article on Medium.com about the addictive nature of Tik Tok. The podcast she recommended was Your Undivided Attention and you can check it out here.
I am excited to kick off a new series on what we are cultivating in our lives! And I don’t hold back in this episode. I am asking some tough questions to help us get unstuck from where we are and begin to move to where we want to be. Each week we will look at a different aspect of our lives that could use a little cultivation. Today is mostly an intro but I share a bit about how I have done some work at cultivation in my own life.
Also I have some exciting announcements! I am running the Tangled course for a second round!
Click here to join the next Tangled Course from May 13th - June 17th (4pm PST or 7pm EST). Also if you would prefer to simply do the study alone you can click here to buy the book in Canada, and here to buy it in the United States.
Kate Battistelli is an author, speaker, former actress/singer in the New York Broadway musical theatre world and mother of GRAMMY award-winning Contemporary Christian recording artist Francesca Battistelli. Kate is convinced God has a wild, preposterous, secret, scary or impossible dream just for you. It’s what she calls a God Dare, because she’s learned with God absolutely anything is possible.
Many of my podcast guests I have only met online but Kate I actually met in person last fall while we were both attending the same conference. As we were finishing up our lunch one day we stumbled upon a conversation about something that I couldn’t shake afterwards. She shared with me about this piece that is often missing in our communities: older women pouring into younger ones. I immediately felt both the longing to be poured into and the conviction of the fact that I am an older women to others - who am I pouring into?
We discuss this and what it looks like to take God up on what He calls us to, as scary and as out of the box as it may at times seem. I know you will be encouraged through this conversation!
Check out Kate’s website, her latest book, The God Dare and her podcast, the Mom to Mom Podcast.
Hospitality is the last thing on everyone’s mind at a time when we can’t step foot into another’s home. But Abby Turner (A Tabletop Affair) has a heart for people, and she hasn’t let COVID-19 stop her from sharing that love with others.
Abby drops so many great nuggets of wisdom regarding the importance of the table I may just need to have her back on here again! We talk singleness, what God really means by “waiting” and so much more. Trusting you will be encouraged and equipped both in this present home-bound season and beyond when we can begin to practice the art of hospitality once more! Check out her drool-worthy Instagram page full of beautiful and simple meal ideas and you will see that she really is that Southern friend you never knew you needed in your life!
My 5 year old walked into my office (closet) right after I finished a podcast recording so we decided to do a spontaneous interview! I asked her what she wanted to talk about and she said “God.” I hope you enjoy our spontaneous little conversation and her nuggets of wisdom.
Kate Crocco is a business and mindset coach as well as an author and mom to two little girls under three. She understands some of the lies we often can believe like, “I don’t have enough time,” or “I’m not ready to start.” Even though COVID-19 wasn’t on her plans for this spring she is seizing the opportunity to think in new ways and be intentional in her life with both her family and her business.
Kate’s book Thinking Like a Boss: Uncover and Overcome the Lies Holding You Back from Success doesn’t just apply to entrepreneurs. In it she addresses many issues that hold women back from thriving in their everyday life. If you’re looking for a good read to get you motivated to pursue that dream in your heart, this is a great start! (And of course available on Kindle and audiobook if you don’t want to receive packages right now)
Hi friends I wanted to share a super quick bonus episode with you as to why this might be the perfect time for you to get “untangled” in your life! Click here to sign up!
Did you hear that I have decided to change the fee to “PAY WHAT YOU CAN” right now as this is such a straining economic season for so many. So don’t let finances keep you from signing up! In this very short episode I share about jumping in even when it feels like a risk as we just don’t know what is on the other side. I am trusting that this course became available for such a time as this for the many women who want to live freely and lightly, join me for the next 6 weeks - I know God will meet you right where you are.
Anyone else out there not loving being stuck at home? Are you itching to change up something in your home right now but feel powerless to do anything about it? This episode will be a boost of motivation and creativity for you to refresh the current space you are quite literally stuck in. Angela talks about “shopping your home” and gives practical steps to refresh our current spaces without stepping foot into a store.
We also discuss how to begin to redesign our heart and how we are able to keep peace in this chaotic season. Trusting you will be encouraged as you listen.
Angela has over 20 years of Interior Design experience and shares her tips and tricks over at her website as well as in her book, Redesign: Restore the Heart | Restore the Home.
When I recorded this episode a few weeks ago I made a plan to launch this book in early April as an online study so women from around the world could gather and be transformed as they created space in their life to become un-tangled. I had no idea at the time that this would be the only way we could gather right now.
‘Tangled - A Soul Care Revival Guide’ is a 6-week study where we look at the soil in the garden of our hearts. What weeds have been growing there? How did they get there? How can we get to the root of our anxiety, fear, anger, bitterness, and so much more?
In ‘Tangled’ we will ask the question - What if this isn’t “just life” and “just who we are?” What if there have been weeds growing in the soil of our hearts that have been causing damage from the inside out?
Don’t miss this chance to get un-tangled! Click here to get more information and to join the online book study that begins April 1st!
Did you know I send out “regular-ish” emails? I give a short thought and share what new worship songs I am loving. I don’t want to bombard your inbox so they only come whenever I have something to say. If you don’t want to miss out on the next one - click here!
The other thing that often keeps us from resting well is our never ending to-do list! And to be honest - it never ends. So how do we practically create rhythms in our weeks to give ourselves permission to stop and to rest?
Did you know I send out “regular-ish” emails? I give a short thought and share what new worship songs I am loving. I don’t want to bombard your inbox so they only come whenever I have something to say. If you don’t want to miss out on the next one - click here!
Last week we talked about making a plan to rest well and ruthlessly eliminating everything that is in your way of getting sleep. This week I want to talk about finding rest for our souls. I often hear women mention they can’t tame the chatter of anxious thoughts, quiet the to-do lists and can’t seem to find that “off” switch on their inner dialogue. I trust this episode will help!
Did you know I send out “regular-ish” emails? I give a short thought and share what new worship songs I am loving. I don’t want to bombard your inbox so they only come whenever I have something to say. If you don’t want to miss out on the next one - click here!
Any tired and weary friends out there? I hear you. I see you. I am with you! It takes a lot of work to rest well! And maybe, like me, you’ve been on the “busy/tired” hamster wheel for so long you just don’t know any other way to live. My hope is to share with you a few things that might help. Both for that everyday tired woman who just feels so plain physically worn out, and for those of you who haven’t been able to find rest for your souls.
Did you know I send out “regular-ish” emails? I give a short thought and share what new worship songs I am loving. I don’t want to bombard your inbox so they only come whenever I have something to say. If you don’t want to miss out on the next one - click here!
Wrapping up our unintentional 3-part series on showing up as our FULL selves! (So much for a one-off episode ;)
Last week I discussed how we can experience opposition as we begin to throw off lies we may have been believing about ourselves and this week I discuss the question, “Who am I?” It is incredibly difficult to show up fully as ourselves when we are stuck in a place of confusion about who we are. Trusting this episode will move you one step closer to thriving in your life.
Did you know I send out “regular-ish” emails? I give a short thought and share what new worship songs I am loving. I don’t want to bombard your inbox so they only come whenever I have something to say. If you don’t want to miss out on the next one - click here!
So I didn’t intend for last weeks episode to become a 2-part series but after the week I have had it became clear there was a little more to unpack here. If you heard last weeks episode and desire to throw off the lies you have been believing and walk fully in who God intended you to be, there will be some opposition.
I mentioned last week that I send out “regular-ish” emails. I don’t want to bombard your inbox so they only come whenever I have something to say. If you don’t want to miss out on the next one - click here!
Am I too much? Am I not enough? Have you ever wondered this? Do you walk into a room fully as the person God created you to be or are you shrinking back so that you will win the approval of others? If you have asked any of those questions or have shrunk back at all I get that! This week I am sharing a few stories and aha moments from my own life where I have identified a lie and fear that was keeping me stuck.
I want to help you have your own aha moment and be able to throw off all that is holding you back to run freely and lightly as the woman God has created you to be. Back in Episode 20 I share more about identifying lies from truth and I created a document to help you work through that in your own life. You can find that document here.
Stephanie Beaulieu is the author of three bite-sized Bible studies including her latest study titled The Flourishing Life. She is a mom of three with one on the way, so she knows what it is like to have her hands full! Her desire is to help busy women like herself be able to connect with God and study the Bible in a way that isn’t overwhelming.
She also shares what she has learned through the loss of one parent and the cancer diagnosis of another, and how she has learned to find peace through difficult and uncertain situations. I am trusting you will be encouraged as you listen to this conversation!
Do you want to follow God’s plan for your life but don’t know where to begin? Jess Carey is the author of Chart A Course: Taking a Journey With God At the Helm. We sat down to discuss what it means to dream with God and begin to make a plan to take practical steps towards walking it out.
Tracy Steel is the author of A Redesigned Life: Uncovering God's Purpose When Life Doesn't Go as Planned. She is a military wife and mom of two living in Washington D.C. After pursuing a successful career in interior design she began to embark on a different kind of interior design. God’s true design for Tracy now involves improving the interior space of the hearts and minds of women around her.
I was deeply encouraged by this conversation with Tracy and I know you will be too!
Kristi Clover is a home organization and efficiency expert. She’s also an author, a speaker, and the host of the Simply Joyful Podcast. Her passion is to encourage families to find simple ways to bring more joy into their home and life. She loves to share about her adventures in motherhood and home life through a variety of media that you can find at KristiClover.com. As a mom of five, she’s never short on opportunities to “practice what she preaches” in the realm of home organization and #momlife.
She is the author of M.O.M. Master Organizer of Mayhem: Simple Solutions to Organize Chaos and Bring More Joy to your Home.
Drowning in clutter? Feeling like motherhood is something to just survive? Overwhelmed with your life or feeling purposeless? If any of these relate then THIS episode is for you!
I was incredibly honoured to sit down with purging expert Allie Casazza. Her online courses have helped thousands of women find freedom from “stuff.” What I discovered in my own purging journey with Allie is that our stuff holds us back more than simply taking time every day to clean and organize. It holds us back from intentionally pursuing what is most important in our lives. I trust you will leave this episode inspired and encouraged to clear the clutter in your home and create space for what matters most!
Click here to access the Declutter Like A Mother challenge as well as a free PDF to get you started decluttering today!
https://alliecasazza.com/readytothrive
Happy New Year! What if instead of coming into this New Year with the same goals and resolutions we have always had, we instead turn to God and ask what He would have us focus on? This episode has a few prompts for you as you spend time with God asking Him just that.
This is not the most wonderful time of year for some of us. This can be a time where the pain we carry throughout the year is felt more strongly. And in this episode I want to say, I see you. And God sees you too. Join me in prayer.
Jesus is the ultimate gift of love and without Him we cannot truly thrive. On this last full episode of the year I share a bit of my love story and how sacrifice and love go hand in hand. And if you don’t know this gift of love, I share about how to receive this ultimate love gift - that will be the true catalyst to moving you from surviving to thriving.
“I’m just not experiencing joy in my life.” That was how I felt. Joy-less. I’m not sure if it came part and parcel with motherhood but I felt devoid of joy in my life. In this episode I share about the year “Joy” became my word of the year and the unexpected way I have found joy can be sustained all year round in my life.
Peace is possible. Join me as I share about how we are able to receive the gift of peace this season. In this episode I referenced a quote from Carlos Whittiker who shared about how our “Help is in the natural but our Hope is in the supernatural.” Jesus is ultimately the giver of peace - but are we positioning ourselves to receive?
Do you think of yourself as a creative person? Often we classify ourselves as either creative or not. Join self-proclaimed Creative Ninja Jenny Randle as she unpacks the myth that we are either creative or not and listen in as she helps us grow our creativity muscles. You may also get a sneak peek at a freestyle rap from yours truly - I apologize in advance ;)
Jenny is the author of “Courageous Creative: A 31-Day Interactive Devotional,” Co-host of Shut the Should Up Podcast and she also runs a non-profit called Freedom Creatives that champions creatives towards living a transformational life in Christ. Check her out at jennyrandle.com or on Instagram.
I am excited to spend the next few weeks creating a space where we can escape the hustle and the bustle and center ourselves on Christ. Each week of Advent I will offer a short reflection, a verse and a prayer. If you’d like to join me by lighting an advent candle as well I explain a little more in the first half of this episode.
Has anyone ever experienced tension between family members over the holidays? (Everyone raises their hand.) While I can’t promise to eliminate all tension, I can offer a few tips that can point you in the right direction. This episode covers preventing conflict from arising in the first place and how to handle a “crucial conversation” when a conflict occurs.
Has anyone else ever felt overwhelmed during the holidays?? Is any other way even possible? YES! Thriving really is possible during the holiday season! And rather than tell you what to do or what I do, I am asking you some key questions that will help get you thinking about how to plan well going into the holidays. I hope this very practical episode gets you thinking about how to plan for rest, connection and presence this holiday season.
You know I love talking about naps and all things rest related! I hope this little pep talk about why I have found regular rest to be beneficial in my life encourages you! If you’d like a little more encouragement towards deep soul rest click here for my 5 Days to Deep Soul Rest email series. Happy Napping!
http://www.jaclynweidner.com/resources/
Forgiveness is freedom. It is for us. It is the thing that cuts the ties between us and the situation that harmed us. Yet for so many of us we hold onto unforgiveness because we have the “right” to or because we believe we are protecting ourselves. Or maybe because we don’t want our forgiveness to make what the other person did right or ok. I’m hoping to unpack all of these things and more in this weeks episode and I hope you move one step closer to thriving through it.
Is she mad at me? Why didn’t she respond with an emoji?
That server seemed to have some attitude when she took my order, doesn’t she know I am the customer?
I can’t believe I had to wait that long, I should make a formal complaint.
We live in a culture that is easily offended. It is normal practice to feel “wronged” in some way in our lives and express that to others via text, Facebook post or venting in person. When we do this we are cultivating a root of bitterness in our lives. It is impossible to feel like we are thriving with a root of bitterness in place. My hope in this episode is that as you listen you will have a few “aha” moments and receive tools to find freedom from offence.
Think of Jessica Shakir as your Beauty BFF! She’ll help you look gorgeous, but more importantly, she’ll empower you to FEEL beautiful + LIVE brave so you can fulfill your God-given assignment here on Earth! For Jessica, Coaching Women of Faith is her DREAM JOB!
Jessica has been working as a Hair + Makeup Artist for 22 years with a celebrity clientele that includes Colbie Caillat, Kevin Bacon, Jane Lynch, Rachel Hunter, Selma Blair, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, The Backstreet Boys, and Eminem.
As a TV Beauty Expert, Jessica has been regularly featured on national TV segments on shows including ABC’s FABLife and The Dr.Oz Show. She is currently the Key Artist for Praise and Better Together on TBN, and has worked on set of The Talk, Steve Harvey, Wendy Williams, and America’s Next Top Model.
Jessica is the Founder of My Beauty BFF, an educational platform specializing in Inner Beauty + Makeup Workshops for the woman who’s passionate about “Blending Beauty + Faith!”
The problem with “there” is that it is an ever-changing destination. We can spend so much time focusing on where we are trying to go and pinning our happiness on that destination that we are not able to be happy in our present. And if we can not be happy “here” then we will not be happy “there” either.
Sometimes we are stuck in life because we are blaming others for our circumstances. Blaming others puts us in a helpless, hopeless and powerless state of mind which is often referred to as a “victim mindset.” This is not the same as being an actual victim but rather putting the responsibility of change on others and off of ourselves. When we can own our actions we are able to move out of that place of being stuck and begin to move forward. When we step away from victim mindset, what we can actually control in our lives becomes more clear and we will begin to thrive.
Focusing on the “big goal” in life can keep us paralyzed. Every big goal is accomplished through many mini steps. What is one thing you can do today to move forward? Just Start.
Have you ever said something you regret? (Everyone raises their hand.) Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death” yet our tongues can feel so impossible to control! This episode offers insight into the power of our words, and provides hope that we can begin to speak life, even in areas we have felt powerless to change.
I have added a downloadable pdf of Scripture Based Declarations to the Lies vs Truth free download from last week. Print this sheet off and begin to declare truth with your words. You can grab it here!
What’s this? A podcast episode on a Friday?! Wahoo! Friday Fire will be dropping each Friday during the Let’s Go series to give you a little boost of encouragement as you head into the weekend! My hope is that these little pep talks will help you get you going in the direction you already want to go and move you one step closer to thriving :)
Are you believing any lies about who you are? Any lies about others? How do we begin to identify lies from the truth? My hope in this episode is to help guide you through a few steps to get those lies out of your head and replace them with the truth. This is a game changer. When we can stop believing the lies others have spoken over us, and the lies our mind has been telling us we can begin to run this race freely and lightly. But we can’t do it alone. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us along this journey of identifying lies in our life.
Click here for the free Lies Vs Truth guide.
I am very excited to introduce the second series in this podcast; Let’s Go! All along I have been saying “Let’s get ready to thrive!” In this series we will be turning to face of those things that are holding us back from doing just that. My hope is that God will give you an “aha” moment (or two ;) for your own life to help you move from surviving to thriving. I hope you will join me - Let’s go!
Bekah is a coach's wife and mom to two boys, Titus who is with Jesus and Ely who is nearly 6. She loves to write and share words of hope that point other hurting and wounded souls to a good, redemptive and loving God. Her book Can't Steal My Joy: The Journey to a Different Kind of Brave is out now on Amazon!
She was a children's pastor for several years until Batten disease came knocking on their doorstep. She now has a passion to help bridge the large gap between churches and families with disabilities and is cooking up some new dreams to accomplish this to help create a place of belonging for everyone inside the church.
You can connect with Bekah through Facebook, Instagram and her website.
Facebook: facebook.com/Team4TitusEly/
Instagram: instagram.com/cantstealmyjoy2/
website: cantstealmyjoy.com
You can link this one up top where she shares the title of her book. Amazon link for paperback and ebook: amazon.com/dp/1733151907
In her words, Christina is a Canadian mama with 4 under 5 trouble making, seriously awesome kids, wife of one fabulously talented Italian man, and daughter of a single mama in a family of 7.
The Father God called me from age 10 to follow Him. Coming from a single parent family with not so healthy father figures around led me to make spotty choices along a zig zagged road through my teen and college years. By His grace and for His glory, I am pursuing Him still. God is faithful and redeems all things—even me.
I’m deeply passionate about the crafted word in all forms, discipling women to know their Bibles, and using their unique gifts in following Jesus wholeheartedly. Spicy islander pizza, ice cream and Downton Abbey are my jams.
Brian Dixon is a podcaster, conference speaker, and business coach. He believes that each of us were made for a purpose. You will discover that purpose by clarifying your calling, discovering your audience, and creating your products, which will help you navigate a clear path to impact and income.
Brian is passionate about helping authors, speakers, and aspiring messengers create a sustainable business through growing their platform, and creating compelling online courses. He is the co-founder of hope*writers, a membership site of over 2,000 working writers. Brian has a doctoral degree from the University of San Diego. He and his wife Julie live in Charlotte, NC with their three young children.
How do we turn down the noise of the world to hear the voice of God?
This episode tackles the questions: How does what we consume on a daily basis affect our soul? How do we practically, actively, choose the noise in our lives and how can we seek out solitude and space for quiet in our head and our hearts? How do we filter the voices we allow to speak into our lives?
Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We can intentionally turn down the noise of this world so we can hear the voice of God more clearly. Jesus got away from the people He loved the most to spend time with the Father.
My hope in this podcast is to encourage you to practically take steps to quiet your life to be able to hear God more clearly.
This episode is about looking at why we do #allthethings. I take you through a quick process of how to figure out what you value and encourage you to prioritize those things. Not an episode where I tell you what to do and what to drop, but one where I encourage you to take a step back and examine how and where we spend our time and our money.
Niki Hardy is a Brit in the USA, a rectal (yes, rectal) cancer survivor, pastor’s wife, tea drinker and teller of bad jokes. As a speaker and the author of Breathe Again: How to Live Well When Life Falls Apart (Revell, Aug, 2019) she’s all about meeting you when life’s not fair and helping you embrace the reality that with God, life doesn’t have to be pain-free to be full, then go live it. You can find more of Niki on Instagram, and on her website NikiHardy.com When she’s not speaking, writing, or running trails with her Doodles, you can find her with a nice cup of tea, trying to figure out which remote control actually turns the TV on.
Do you ever struggle to give yourself permission? To do the things you really want to do? Or to just be you? Do you ever get caught up in the ‘shoulds’ of life? Have you felt like you’ve lost yourself along the way?
This week I want to give you ‘permission’ to go looking for who you are. I can’t tell you who you were created to be but I know the one who can. I want to leave you asking the question: “Where do I need to give myself permission to be who I have been created to be?”
If fancy permission slips are your thing head over to jaclynweidner.com and click on ‘Resources’ where I’ve created a free download that might help with the process.
This episode is “off the cuff” but I think has some good truth bombs in it! (if I do say so myself 😉) I think fearful thoughts and anxious ones are close cousins and they can be debilitating. If you’ve ever faced irrational thoughts connected to fear (everyone raises their hand) then have a listen but grab a pen and paper for this one. Write down the verses I share and begin to overcome this battle of fearful and anxious thoughts once and for all!
This episode is short and sweet and will encourage you to take a nap! I love resting well and it is something I have not always known how to do. I hope this episode encourages you to see rest in a new way and not as a luxury but as a vital part of living a thriving life.
In her words Tara Bialek is a JESUS lover, wife, and mom of 3. She taught high school for 10 years before retiring to run her wellness business. The past 5 years she has been at home with her children loving most minutes 🤣 and running a business on the side. This side hustle has helped them make a big move to FL from CT where her husband retired from teaching to pursue ministry in Orlando where they are part of an incredible ministry called Jesus Image. She shares “God is so good and I’m so happy I can share a little about our lifelong journey with Jesus through motherhood, entrepreneurship, ministry and marriage life ♥️”
This episode is definitely the most personal so far as I share a bit of my experience with Post Partum Depression 2 years ago. My story is a bit unique in terms of how I came out of this season of my life, but it is a big part of why I started this podcast and what God has put in my heart to share. I only share a snapshot here but I hope to do a series on ‘soul care’ soon where we can dive deep into what it looks like to really uproot the things that are keeping us stuck. Similar to de-cluttering spaces in our homes, de-cluttering our soul can help us live more freely and lightly.
This week I talk about the process of beginning to purge. I discuss how a lot of our success lies in asking the right questions, where we begin, and why we sometimes are afraid to let go of things. I also discuss the process of acquiring new things and the importance of changing our mindset about what comes into our house. I also give a few extra purging tips and share some classic purging mistakes!
One of the biggest reasons so many of us find ourselves overwhelmed is the physical clutter we often can’t seem to stay on top of. It was such a big topic I decided to break it down into 2 episodes. This week I talk about the importance of systems and how everything in our house needs a ‘home.’ I discuss the importance of stepping away from your space to come up with system ideas and to see failure as feedback! I also talk about my paperwork storage system for my kids schoolwork! The next 2 weeks will be super practical and I hope they give you the inspiration and motivation you need to begin to tackle the Clutter Monster!
I am so excited to share this interview with you! Sabrina Schlesinger runs Mommentor.org as well as the Parenting on the Go and Marriage on the Go Podcasts. She drops nugget after nugget of wisdom as she shares about her own struggle to thrive over the course of these past few years.
My favourite moments:
- What she does practically when she finds herself in survival mode
- How to find a mentor without asking them to be your mentor
- The value of rest/sabbath and what that teaches our children
- Her trick for shopping without spending any money
- And this quote “It’s ok to not be ok at church”
Enjoy my conversation with Sabrina and then go check out her podcasts!
Often when we are paralyzed in a state of overwhelm we either don’t do anything or just run around in circles doing things that aren’t helpful. In this episode I talk about gaining momentum with doing the right things and when to ask for help. I discuss taking a good look at how we spend our time and asking for God’s help in renewing our minds.
Sometimes anticipating what we are needing to do or walk through is worse than the thing itself. And when we anticipate whatever it is without holding God’s hand and believing that He wants good things for us, we can end up in a state of overwhelm. I talk about my desire for control, my fear of God and how all of those things added up to increased anxiety.
In this episode I share about how I have been there! I have battled overwhelm. I share some of the tricks I used to use that didn’t work at all and how being overwhelmed has often left me in a paralyzed state. I also share about how learning to distinguish lies from the truth can offer us some freedom in this area.
In this episode I give a quick snapshot of what Ready to Thrive is all about. You’ll hear my heart behind the podcast and I’ll share the 2 theme verses.