The GoodHard Story Podcast

Join Katherine as she chats with Brandi Wilson on her unexpected journey into life as a single mom, and what that journey has looked like as she stepped into this new season. Brandi Wilson is an author, coach, and speaker who has been in leadership for more than a decade at Leading and Loving It , a non-profit created to empower women to love life and ministry. Brandi has helped plant two churches...

Rev. Esau McCaulley, PhD is an associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. He is the author of many works including Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance and his book  Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope won numerous awards, including Christianity Today’s book of the year. His latest project is a memoir entitled: How far to th...

Join Katherine as she shares her thoughts on what it means to make hope a habit.   ALSO! Katherine is THRILLED to be part of the IF Gathering this year and she would LOVE for you to join her! This February 23rd and 24th, they are hosting the 10-year celebration at Dickies Arena in the heart of Fort Worth, Texas. If you've never been, this is an incredible two days (a Friday night and Saturday)...

Join Jay + Katherine on the back porch of Hope Heals Camp for a conversation with their dear friends, Heather + Josh Avis.  Heather and Josh Avis are the founders of Th e Lucky Few, they are the proud parents to three amazing kids: Macyn, Truly and August. Together, they are a multi-able, multiracial family grown together by adoption. Heather is a New York Times best-selling author, podcaster and...

Join Jay + Katherine on the back porch of Hope Heals Camp for a conversation with their dear friend, and Pastor to Teens at camp, Nigel Darius , for a conversation of community, belonging, and belovedness. Nigel is a purveyor of all that is true, noble, good, and lovely. His formats and interfaces take just about every form—live lectures, poetry, illustration, podcasts, community organizing, and s...

Join Jay and Katherine Wolf as they sit down with their friends, Jarrett and Jeanne Stevens on the back porch of our favorite place in the world: Hope Heals Camp. They discuss the complexities and joys of doing both life and ministry together, and the unimaginable grief their family has walked through these last few years. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss. Jarrett and Jeanne Stevens a...

Jay & Katherine Wolf are joined by their dear friend, Curt Thompson, MD on this very special episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast recorded at our beloved Hope Heals Camp. In this episode, Curt shares about his newest book, The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope , and how suffering is a defining reality of life. Yet so many of us are so focused on avoiding discomfort that we've nev...

This week, Hope Heals team member, Caroline Young, joins Katherine to ask her what it has looked like over the last 15 years to put all of the lessons she has learned and shares about into practice.  We are so thankful you all joined us for this season on the podcast. We are headed to Hope Heals Camp for the summer, so we will be on a short break, but be sure to subscribe to see when our first epi...

Join Katherine and her dear friend, Lysa TerKeurst, as she shares how, while the last several years of her life have been some of the hardest - filled with pain and heartbreak, she has seen God move in astounding ways.  Lysa TerKeurst is a New York Times bestselling author of more than 25 books with more than 6 million books in print. Her most recent books include Good Boundaries and Goodbyes, For...

On today's episode, author and disability advocate, Amy Julia Becker, join Katherine and Leah to discuss the complexities, importance and beauty of created sacred spaces of community for all people. To learn more about Amy Julia Becker, visit her website and find her on Instagram. Check out her most recent book, To Be Made Well along with discussion guides and other amazing resources. To learn mor...

Join Katherine and her dear friend, Kate Bowler, as they discuss living in the Joyful Rebellion if this GoodHard Story. Kate Bowler, PhD is a New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, and a professor at Duke University. She studies the cultural stories we tell ourselves about success, suffering, and whether (or not) we’re capable of change. At age 35, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Sta...

On this episode Katherine shares her heart on what Redefining Good looks like as we live out this GoodHard Story in our lives.  Suffer Strong page: 81 - 82 Scripture References: John 16:33; Ps. 84:11; Ps 42:5; Ps. 16:6; Romans 8:28; Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 4:1; 2 Corinthians 1: 3-5  Sarah Groves "Open My Hands" Sir Richard Baker quote “good things of God, cannot be taken because they’re not thin...

On today's episode, Jess and Katherine talk about the good and hard stories of having a kingdom perspective on our bodies all abilites, security, and living free. They talk about Jess' latest book, Breaking Free from Body Shame and how this topic far exceeds aesthetics but encompasses seeing practicing acceptance and seeing the goodness in our bodies. You can learn more about the wonderful work Je...

On today's episode, Jay Wolf and disability advocate and author, Amy Julia Becker join Katherine for a chat!  Amy Julia Becker is an author, speaker, wife, and mother to three children and resides in Connecticut. As her work reflects, she is a brilliant academic and is a graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary. Amy Julia’s writings on disability, privilege, culture, fam...

On today's episode, Hope Heals team member, Leah Case, reads questions to Katherine that we received on Instagram. On this unique and special Ask Me Anything, we are excited to share things from Katherine's coffee order, to the hardest part of her stroke recovery. Join us for a peek inside of Katherine's life!   Links that Katherine references: Mend Coffee : opening this fall in Atlanta, GA Learn...

On today's episode, Bob Goff joins Katherine is sharing how he has used the good and the hard parts of his story to bring joy to the people around him. Bob is the author of the newly released New York Times best-seller, Undistracted as well as the NYT bestselling books Love Does, Everybody Always, and Dream Big. He is the Honorary Consul to the Republic of Uganda, an attorney, and the founder of L...

On The GoodHard Story Podcast, we believe the good story and the hard story can be the same story. Host Katherine Wolf—stroke survivor, speaker, author, and disability advocate—is inviting you to join her in discovering the treasures hidden in our hurting. Sit in on candid conversations with Katherine, the Hope Heals team, and some beloved guests as they work out what it means to wholeheartedly li...

Levi and Jennie Lusko are pastors, authors, and parents who are embracing the gifts of suffering. We consider them kindred spirits and have learned tremendous lessons about the fierce power of hope through their teaching and their friendship. The Luskos are no strangers to struggle, especially since the sudden death of their five-year old daughter Lenya in 2012. Few people are better equipped to e...

Joni Earekcson Tada is in our hall of fame of heroes. She is overflowing with grit and grace and has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, all while living with quadriplegia. Joni never fails to show up to the good/hard work before her, and she challenges us to do the same each and every day. Join us as we hear Joni's powerful perspective on finding our callings within our unique...

Sazan and Stevie Hendrix join us to reflect on the refining tensions of partnering in marriage and business. The Hendrixes, who have created an online community of over a million people, inspire us to seek out life-giving connections in the digital space so we can share our hard-won lessons with people we never would have met otherwise. They share practical insights about how setting healthy bound...

We're sitting down with Dr. Curt Thompson for a conversation on the unexpected places where trauma and beauty meet. Curt is a psychiatrist and author whose work inspired significant portions of Suffer Strong . His transformative teachings on paying attention to what we remember in order to  anticipate the future with hope have been a guiding principle for our second-chance lives, and have prepared...

Scott Erickson joins us for a conversation about re-narrating our stories of failure and healing. Scott is an artist and theologian who is creating a visual library of prayer through his visio lectios, simple illustrations that somehow sum up our most sweeping thoughts about God and ourselves. Come along as we find the place where failure and healing meet, particularly in this season where the dea...

Join us for a conversation with Priscilla Shirer, who fully embodies the place where celebration and loss meet. Priscilla candidly reflects on her current season of life, in which she’s lost loved ones, as well as the certainty of her own health. She taught us how to hold grief and gratitude together in this good/hard life. You don’t want to miss this transformative conversation on the unexpected...

Join Jay and Katherine as they discuss the reality of how suffering shapes our lives. What do we do in the middle, when we don't know the ending of our story will be? Is it possible to find hope in the dark?

Join Jay and Katherine as they discuss calling, perspective and how to actually see the opportunities right in front of you - today.