At the Counter with the Baking Pastor | Christian Encouragement, Grief Support, Burnout Recovery, Soul Care, Faith in Everyday Life

Life doesn't always unfold the way we imagined. Sometimes illness changes everything. Sometimes loss reshapes our future. Sometimes we wake up one day and realize we hardly recognize the life we're living. In this episode, Laura welcomes Jay Setchell to the Counter. Jay has survived multiple near-death experiences, paralysis, dozens of surgeries, and more than seventy operations. Yet thr...

Some questions don't have easy answers. Some hurts don't disappear overnight. Some chapters of life remain unfinished longer than we'd ever choose. Today, Laura is joined by Rev. Rebecca Foster , an ordained minister with a background in chaplaincy and death care. Rebecca has walked closely with people through some of life's most tender moments, where questions don't alway...

Sometimes the heaviest burdens are the ones no one else can see. The things we've carried for years. The stories we've never told. The guilt, shame, grief, trauma, or memories we fear others wouldn't understand. In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura sits down with Dr. Larry Brant, Navy chaplain, ministry leader, and advocate for those navigating PTSD and mo...

Have you ever looked around and thought: "Nothing is technically wrong... so why does everything feel so heavy?" In this episode of At the Counter, Laura sits down with coach, speaker, and author John Salzwedel for a grounded and honest conversation about what it means to keep going when clarity feels out of reach. For years, John led a successful career, yet underneath the accomplishmen...

There are moments in life when something feels off, but we can’t quite explain why. In this Seat at the Counter conversation, Laura is joined by Kristan Swan , a life and spiritual guide who helps people reconnect with themselves through curiosity, reflection, and honest exploration. Together, they explore the tension between inner knowing and external messaging, how conditioning can shape the way...

There are moments when it's not that you don't feel anything. It's that you feel too much all at once. And none of it has a clear name. In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura sits down with author and researcher Doug Earl Johnston to explore what it means to name your emotions, especially during seasons of uncertainty, grief, overwhelm, and change. If you&ap...

Sometimes the hardest part about exhaustion isn't the exhaustion itself. It's how long you've been pretending you're okay while carrying it. In this solo episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura responds to listener questions and reflections about grief, survival mode, hidden exhaustion, emotional overwhelm, and the invisible weight many people quietly carry ever...

There are seasons when you're not just tired. You're emotionally stretched thin. Running on fumes. Trying to keep going while carrying pressure, responsibility, fear, trauma, and expectations all at once. And sometimes faith feels tired too. In this deeply honest conversation, Laura sits down with Atlanta-based alternative hip-hop artist Ashton Stevens to talk about emotional exhaustion,...

What happens when someone you love is suffering and no one seems to have answers? In this deeply moving conversation, Laura sits down with author, speaker, and nonprofit founder Jody Hudson to talk about motherhood, caregiving, faith, grief, and the exhausting fight to help a child who was repeatedly dismissed and misunderstood. What began as unexplained pain in Jody's vibrant, athletic eleve...

There comes a point when pushing through stops working. Not because you've failed. Not because you're weak. But because you've been carrying more than anyone realizes for far too long. In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura sits down with Heidi Blackie for an honest conversation about burnout, chronic illness, grief, identity, and what happens when life asks...

Sometimes care doesn't happen in dramatic moments. Sometimes it happens in a laundromat. In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura sits down with Deaconess Karen Davidson, co-creator of Suds n Buds , a ministry that provides laundry support, connection, and care for people experiencing homelessness in her community. What begins as a conversation about clean clothes becom...

What do you do when a relationship feels fragile? When you're trying to hold everything together, but underneath the surface things feel strained, disconnected, or uncertain? In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura sits down with marriage mentor and ministry leader Tammy Noble for an honest conversation about brokenness, forgiveness, healing, and the slow work of resto...

What happens when you look steady on the outside but feel uncertain on the inside? In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura sits down with trauma-informed coach, former pastor, and Internal Family Systems practitioner Kurt Bush for an honest conversation about the hidden weight many people carry every day. Together, they explore imposter syndrome, shame, self-compassion, fai...

Have you ever looked around at your life and thought: "I don't feel like myself anymore." Maybe life changed. Maybe you changed. Maybe you've spent so much time surviving, caregiving, grieving, healing, or simply getting through the day that somewhere along the way you lost touch with parts of yourself. In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura reflects on...

There is a kind of tiredness that sleep doesn't fix. The kind that is already there before your feet hit the floor. The kind that lingers quietly beneath everything you carry. In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura reflects on emotional exhaustion, spiritual weariness, and what it means to keep showing up when you're running low on energy. Together we'll exp...

Your story matters. But your story is not the whole story. In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura reflects on identity, healing, and the quiet process of becoming. While our past experiences shape us, they were never meant to become the final word about who we are. Many of us carry labels long after a season has ended. We identify ourselves by what we've survived, wha...

What if the heaviest things you're carrying aren't visible? In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura reflects on emotional clutter, spiritual overwhelm, and the quiet weight many of us carry without realizing it. Just as kitchen counters collect clutter over time, our hearts and souls often collect layers of guilt, expectations, regrets, responsibilities, and unfin...

Sometimes grief doesn't arrive with a funeral. Sometimes it arrives through a life change, a broken dream, a relationship shift, a health diagnosis, a closed door, or a future that didn't unfold the way you hoped. In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura explores the quiet grief many people carry without realizing that's what it is. When loss goes unnamed, it...

Before you leave the counter today, Laura offers a gentle blessing for the road ahead. Whether you're carrying joy, grief, loneliness, gratitude, or a little of everything, this conversation is a reminder that you don't have to prove your worth or rush your healing. Released during Valentine's week, this episode acknowledges the complicated mix of emotions many people carry during s...

What happens when you stop holding everything together? In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura reflects on changing relationships, quiet grief, healthy boundaries, and the clarity that often comes when life slows down. Sometimes the hardest part of a difficult season isn't what you're carrying. It's realizing that not everyone walks through that season with...

Do you ever feel like your efforts don't count because they seem too small? In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura reflects on crumbs, unfinished work, and the quiet faithfulness that often goes unnoticed. We live in a world that celebrates big accomplishments, dramatic breakthroughs, and visible success. But what if the small things matter more than we realize? Throu...

Have you been carrying so much for so long that you don't know how to set it down? In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura reflects on the quiet exhaustion that comes from always being the strong one. Using the image of over-kneaded dough, she explores what happens when we keep pushing, striving, and holding everything together long after our hearts need rest. Together...

Have you ever felt like everyone else is moving forward while you're standing still? In this episode of At the Counter with the Baking Pastor, Laura reflects on waiting seasons, unseen growth, and the quiet work God often does beneath the surface. When life feels rushed and answers seem slow to come, it's easy to assume nothing is happening. But just like dough rising on the counter, som...

Welcome to At the Counter with the Baking Pastor. If you're feeling overwhelmed, emotionally tired, spiritually weary, or simply carrying more than you know how to name, this episode is a gentle place to begin. Laura Sharp-Waites, licensed minister, pastoral counselor, and Christian life coach, shares the heart behind the podcast and offers an invitation to slow down, breathe, and reconnect w...