We Have This Hope

Hi friend! I’m Emily. I’m so glad you’re here! I’m a former therapist turned writer and theology student. In the early mornings and middle minutes while kids are at school, you can find me in my home office writing about hope, grief, spiritual practices, and Biblical literacy—all things that have changed my life and light me up inside. Today’s email is part of a monthly series I’ve been writing fo...

Hi friend! I’m Emily. I’m so glad you’re here! I’m a former therapist turned writer and theology student. In the early mornings and middle minutes while kids are at school, you can find me in my home office writing about hope, grief, spiritual practices, and Biblical literacy—all things that have changed my life and light me up inside. Today’s email is part of a monthly series I’ve been writing fo...

March rushed in like the wind sweeping down the plains here in Oklahoma. We braced ourselves, and our flower beds, for the whiplash that often comes with fake Spring and premature Summer. Shakespeare says to beware. I say remember. This is (the ides of) March and here are the things I don’t want to forget. #1…when you don’t have a brother I did not grow up with brothers. In fact, the closest thing...

Hi friend! I’m Emily. I’m so glad you’re here! I’m a former therapist turned writer and theology student. In the early mornings and middle minutes while kids are at school, you can find me in my home office writing about hope, grief, spiritual practices, and Biblical literacy—all things that have changed my life and light me up inside. Today’s email is part of a monthly series I’ve been writing fo...

Welcome friends to the first installment of So I Won’t Forget for 2026! If you’re new to We Have This Hope , you can find out what this is all about right here . If you’re an OG (or my mom who happens to be the real OG), I’ll be keeping this introduction shorter than normal because I have a lot of words for you today. These essays are the overflow of a grateful heart. I never finish writing them w...

 “I think there are a lot of well-intentioned preparations that can so consume us that we forget why we’re doing them.” - Jen Ludwig Did you know Advent is not a 25 day countdown to Christmas? Don’t worry, I am not about to knock the Charlie Brown chocolate Advent calendar we’ve all been eyeing at Costco this week, but I am going to nudge you to rethink how you interact with the season. Do you kno...

What in the world is the Church calendar? I thought it was just Christmas, Easter, and regular days. What does it mean to have a liturgical home? Or better yet, could someone please explain the word liturgical to me like I’m five? Why would this even matter to a life of faith? It feels rather stiff and unemotional. For the one who has ever pondered these questions AND for the one who already knows...

“Birding puts me back in that place of expectation, that place of hopefulness, that place of watching and waiting.” - Courtney Ellis So, what is birding, and what in the world does it have to do with hope? How could it possibly intersect with our experience of grief? Today’s conversation with author and pastor Courtney Ellis will invite you into a world that is happening all around you, but you ma...

You know the feeling you get when you finish having coffee with someone who is equal parts depth and humor and you’re walking to your car thinking things like that was such a breath of fresh air? Or my favorite— I really needed that . This episode will do that for you. Why such a bold claim? Because I lived it, edited it a few weeks later, and I’m still feeling a little bit lighter because of some...

Friends, the podcast is back! I took a little break from producing new episodes over the summer so that I could be present with my family, but I missed these conversations deeply and I’m thrilled to be returning to the studio. Today I’m kicking off the season with Catherine McNiel who blessed me twice in the making of this episode. The first time when I actually had the conversation and the second...

Need to change your rhythms up this Summer? Or are your rhythms changing whether you like it or not? Join me for our Summer Morning Series on James - an 8 episode deep dive into the book that some have called the Proverbs of the New Testament. This episode will break down what I'm doing, invite you to join me, and a quick look at WHO IS JAMES? I bet you'll learn something you didn't kn...

I just saw a meme that said “ How did we go from June 1st to June 27th in just 3 days? ” This sums things up rather accurately in my little world. We’ve simultaneously been out of school long enough for name-brand boredom to set in—the kind that harkens back to the days when my sister and I would watch MTV’s TRL countdown and scrounge together enough quarters to order a cheese pizza for delivery....

What if God is inviting you to slow down—to live a life unhurried? Is that even possible? If you’ve ever kicked these questions around in your brain and felt defeated or if just reading them leaves you longing for a slower pace, this episode is for you. Today’s conversation is with Samantha Decker —wife, mom of 4, author, and Bible study teacher. She’s written a book that feels seemingly impossibl...

Welcome to the May edition of So I Won’t Forget . An extra warm welcome to many of the new friends around We Have This Hope —I’m so grateful to have you! You are (hopefully) about to read a monthly series that was birthed out of my own desire to practice remembering as a spiritual discipline. Each month I aim to live fully awake to God’s good work in my life. This usually looks like collecting, ob...

Have you ever wondered where God was in the midst of your deepest pain? Today I’m sharing my conversation with author, speaker, and pastor Aubrey Sampson about her latest work What We Find in the Dark: Loss, Hope, and God's Presence in Grief . You got to read an excerpt of it just a few weeks ago—you can still do that here —and so many of you reacted to it that I couldn’t wait to share this follow...

I just have to get to May. These are real words from my inner monologue…on April 1st. Shortly after they graced the halls of my brain, I exhaled and acknowledged this was no way to live one of my Aprils—wishing that I could skip to the part where I had less responsibility as if less responsibility magically equaled more rest. I’ve lived long enough to know that’s not how rest operates, so I had a...

The silver lining of podcast post-production is re-listening to a really great conversation. And because that’s what I recently finished doing for today’s episode, I am here to say… this one is a true gem. Today I’m joined by Deidre Braley —writer, poet, editor, and host of The Second Cup . Her voice is a gift to those of us who are weary, who need to catch our breath from all the hustle and heart...

The first time I had breakfast with Jill I was captivated by her story, but mostly I remember laughing a lot. A few months ago a mutual friend reached out to say “ You need to have Jill on your show. ” Without even knowing what had been happening lately in her life, I knew my answer was yes because anyone who knows Jill knows that she is both whole-hearted and hilarious—an encourager by nature and...

If March was a person, I’d have a lot to say to her. Over the years she’s been a breezy friend arriving with the promise of travel abroad, a blooming backyard, and even once a new baby who would delight us all 9 months later. She’s also been a sneaky you-know-what heralding a deep grief that still stings fresh every year. Who are you, March? No wonder Shakespeare told us to beware your ides. The r...

Before an episode makes it to your inbox, I’ve lived it, edited it, and usually re-listened to the entire thing. And while I can’t tell you honestly that post-production is my favorite thing, I can say that re-listening to these stories always blesses me. I remember why I asked the guest in the first place. I remember why their story is so compelling. I remember that God is at work in each of us u...

Today I’m sharing my conversation with Sarah K. Butterfield , a fellow Substack enthusiast, a thoughtful writer, and generally lovely person. If we didn’t live so far from each other, I would have asked her to grab coffee. Instead I invited her to tell her story on the show and now I get to share it with you! Sarah’s worn many hats—missionary kid in France, mother, educator, ministry leader—and al...

I’d like to give a special shout out to my algorithm. This time it served me well because its how I stumbled upon Mikella Van Dyke and the work of Chasing Sacred . To my total delight Mikella and her team are equipping women who want to study scripture for themselves and teaching a method that makes space for it to be simple and beautiful—a well that never runs dry, really. And like all ministries...

I am so happy to be dropping this story in your inbox today. You should know right away that this episode is not about disavowing technology use or cutting ourselves off from the world. What a terrible way to market a podcast or send an email that, chances are, you’re currently reading from your phone. Its Hannah’s story and I can promise you that she’s a breath of fresh air in the conversation ar...

Have you ever read a poem and been moved in some way? Those of us with a bent toward the creative will answer yes. If that’s not you, I’m willing to bet you can at least appreciate poetry from an intellectual standpoint as something beautiful that illuminates something else. Poetry can take something really basic and leave you breathless. It can give meaning when the words of narrative seem a bit...

Welcome back to the podcast, friends! I took the summer off from hosting guests because the only time I had to record sans kiddos was around 5AM and who wants to have that conversation? Not me and definitely not any potential guest. But it’s September now and it’s been a total delight to be sitting at my desk (after 8AM) preparing this beautiful episode for you today. This season on We Have This H...