Faith & Feelings

In this special three-year anniversary episode, I take time to reflect on the journey, the stories, and the conversations that shaped my book Stop Saying I’m Fine: Finding Stillness When Anxiety Screams — which released three years ago this week. From the moment I knew I was going to write the book, to the vulnerable process of putting words to my story, to the unexpected ripple effects that follo...

A few months ago, I released a podcast episode where I invited listeners into a time of guided prayer called imaginative prayer—a practice that helps us encounter God in a more personal, embodied way. Since then, I’ve heard from so many listeners asking for more episodes like that one. So today, I wanted to offer another time of guided prayer. This form of contemplative prayer dates back the...

In this episode, I’m joined by Janice McWilliams, licensed therapist, spiritual director, and author of Restore My Soul: Reimagining Self-Care for a Sustainable Life. Janice offers a deeply grounded and compassionate approach to self-care — one modeled after the life of Jesus. Together, we talk about what it means to care for your inner world in real time, moment by moment. True self-care, as Jani...

There comes a moment in many of our lives when the faith we once held with certainty begins to shift. The language that once felt alive starts to feel distant. And the ways we used to connect with God stop working the same way.  In this conversation with spiritual director with Grace Cabalka, we explore what it can look like to walk through a spiritual wilderness — and to not just to sur...

For centuries, Christians have wandered through wilderness seasons — walking through valleys of shadow and silence, facing loss, confusion, and what feels like divine absence. You might not be in that place right now, but for those who are, it can feel lonely and disorienting to realize that something which once felt natural or accessible has changed — especially when that “something” feels founda...

Have you ever noticed how children live so close to themselves? Fully connected to their bodies, emotions, and tears, without the layers of shame or self-editing we often learn as we get older. In many ways, children model what it means to be fully human. And the truth is, what kids show us is still inside of us. In this episode, I share a simple 5-step rhythm for practicing compassionate curiosit...

Silence always tells a story. We’re in the middle of a podcast series on soul care, and one of the most important components of creating soul-restoring rhythms is one we often overlook: silence. But before we can embrace the gifts silence has to offer, we usually need to be honest about why we resist it. The way I interpret silence in my own life — and the way you interpret it in yours — has a dir...

We were created for so much more than rushing through life. It’s easy for everything in our lives to seem fine on the surface. But deep down inside, there’s often another story at play―one of overwhelm, stress and heartache, of finding ourselves stuck in old patterns. Rather than feeling the weight of it all, it’s easier to spend our days on autopilot, ignoring the noise inside. But what if the pe...

Some days it can feel like life is on fast-forward, leaving our nervous systems in constant overdrive. What does it look like to invite the whole of our being — bodies, minds, and souls — to slow down and move into a more sustainable pace of life? In this episode, I explore small, intentional practices that can help us move from momentary relief to lasting restoration. I also share three spec...

Many of us know the cycle all too well: exertion, burnout, withdrawal — and then back again. So what do we need to help us live the way that we want to in the world for the long haul? More like Jesus and less like our typical, modern-day stressed out selves? In this opening episode of our new series on Soul Care Practices for a Sustainable Life, I talk about the important differences between soul...

Have you tried self-care but found that you still feel overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, and are struggling emotionally? Too many of us – myself included – hold misconceptions or inadequate concepts of self-care, and we are suffering as a result. I’m learning that true, spiritual self-care isn’t about an occasional break. It’s about organizing our lives around the kind of rhythms that Jesus lived b...

Dallas Willard once said, “The most important thing about us is not the decisions that we make, but the person we’re becoming.” That brings us to the final relational skill in this series: which involves, nurturing a growing spirituality that enables us to love God and others well. This calls for an intentional, purposeful plan. To truly implement what we’ve learned over the last few months – and...

Throughout any relationship, conflict is inevitable – and it can look different in different seasons or settings.  A core discipleship issue in the new family of Jesus is learning how to resolve conflicts maturely. Often times, Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:9 — “Blessed are the peacemakers” — are misunderstood to mean: Avoid conflict at all costs so no one gets upset. Just be nice. Don’t disrupt...

God has shaped and crafted each of us uniquely—with our own personality, thoughts, dreams, temperament, feelings, talents, gifts, and desires. Parker Palmer calls this the ‘true seeds of self,' which God has planted inside of each of us as He invites us to listen to Him and to live faithfully out of our true selves in Christ. When we don’t live in alignment with what we truly believe, think, or fe...

Today’s episode is a little different. I’ve stepped away from podcasting this week to prepare for my upcoming counseling exam, but I wanted to share a quick update and one of my favorite prayers with you: “The Litany of Trust.” I can’t wait to be back with you next week! Get Faith & Feeling's   weekly resource email Watch this episode on   YouTube Grab a copy of my book   S...

If you’ve been following along with our series on emotionally healthy relationships, this episode really serves as a kind of anchor—or container—for all the relational skills we’ve been exploring. In my conversation with licensed therapist Julie Honeycutt, we dive into the inner work that makes healthy connection possible. We talk about the parts of us that show up in relationships, what...

Author and theologian David Augsburger once said, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.” What it means to listen and love well can be best understood around the unfathomable mystery of the incarnation – that God took on human flesh. God knew that there was no better way to convey his love to human beings than to fully enter their wo...

Scripture teaches that feelings are a key part of what it means to be a human being made in God’s image. When we’re not in touch with what is going on inside us, our thoughts and feelings can feel like inner chaos. A lack of engagement with our interior worlds can cause us to miss many gifts from God. When this happens, we’re not living in reality, but in illusion or denial. And when we are n...

We all come into the family of Jesus carrying wounds from a broken world and imperfect families. God’s intention is to heal us, but we must first become aware of what needs to be changed in us. In this episode, my clinical supervisor Carley Marcouillier and I talk about how discipleship involves reflecting on both the positive and negative influences of our family of origin. This is hard work...

The stories we tell ourselves have an enormous impact on our feelings, and so often – especially in our relationships – we can tell ourselves stories that aren’t true. Assumptions about what other people are thinking and feeling can quickly become hidden landmines in our relationships. In today’s episode, my clinical supervisor Carley Marcouillier and I unpack our second relational skill for emoti...

If you’ve ever found yourself longing for deeper connection in your relationship but unsure how to get there, this episode is for you.   Today, my clinical supervisor, licensed therapist Carley Marcouillier, and I kick off our Emotionally Healthy Relationships summer series by introducing a simple, practical communication skill built around five prompts: appreciations, worries & concerns,...

Is Grandpa really in my bones?   We’re starting a new series on emotionally healthy relationships, and over the next eight weeks, I’ll be joined by my clinical supervisor and licensed therapist Carley Marcouillier to walk through 8 core relational skills that are essential for developing mature, loving relationships with others. But this week, I wanted to spend a few minutes talking about why...

In our next podcast series, I’ll be joined by my clinical supervisor, Carley Marcouillier, who is a licensed therapist, podcast host, and ministry leader. Together, we’re going to walk through 8 core relational skills that are essential for cultivating emotionally healthy relationships.  Over the course of eight episodes, we’re going to explore each skill, why it matters, and how to...

To wrap up our current series, I wanted to offer something a little different today: A guided time of prayer— called I maginative Prayer —that can help us enter into a deeper experience of God.  This form of contemplative prayer dates back the early church mothers and fathers. When we engage in this kind of prayer,  we use our imaginations to place ourselves within a scene from Scri...

Did you know that the neural pathways for relationship are developed in the first three years of a person’s life? This is the heart of what’s called attachment theory and affects our relationship with ourselves, others, and even our relationships with God. I’m so honored to welcome today’s guest, Summer Joy Gross. Summer is a spiritual director, Anglican priest, and writer who weaves neuroscience,...