Fighting For Joy

I am really excited about this episode because I get to introduce you to my dad, Lyle Nelson. He has been through a lot in his 84 years of life including the sickness and death of my older sister, the sudden death of his father-in-law, walking through cancer twice with my mom and becoming her full-time care giver after her subsequent paralysis, my brother’s addiction, our son Jackson’s death, my m...

Today, with a very grateful heart, I am kicking off Season 7 of the podcast! I'm excited to be back behind the mic and I’m thankful for each one of you listening. On this episode, my husband Eric joins me as we get a little personal and share 10 things that are bringing us joy right now. In grief, and in all other kinds of difficult situations, experiencing joy can be such a fight! Sometimes it ca...

Earlier in the summer I had the opportunity to host another Fighting for Joy Live event in my backyard, and as I’ve done in the past with these gatherings, I wanted to share a little bit of the evening on a podcast episode. This time I had a panel of 4 very special women share about some of the ways they are fighting for joy and what they are learning about God in this season of their life. It was...

There really is nothing better than finding a place of belonging. Finding your people...your place. Being known, accepted, and loved. And, conversely, few things can rob of us joy like loneliness, isolation, feeling left out, and NOT knowing where we belong. I think we can all remember that time we didn’t get the invite, or weren’t included in the group text, or didn’t get asked to go on the trip,...

If you feel overwhelmed or burdened down by the stuff in your home, or feel like you don’t have time to do the things you really want to do, or feel like the things that matter most to you keep getting pushed to the side, this episode is for you! My guest today, Noelle Fowler, is a wholistic declutter coach. She runs a business called Room to Breathe and she works with her clients to discover the...

My guest today is April Bender and wow, did we cover a lot in this episode! April starts by sharing about some childhood trauma that greatly affected her choices and decisions as she got older, especially heading into marriage. This led to confusion, lack of community, and lack of joy. The beauty of her story is that God met her there. She learned about the power of prayer and fasting, the importa...

If there’s ever a time to remember that hope can spring up from death, it’s Easter weekend. When Jackson, Trey, and Tyler died, it was hard to imagine any sort of future that could include hope, much less JOY. But friends, I’m here to tell you that it IS possible. Easter weekend reminds us that death does not have the final say! Yes, the brokenness of this world will cause grief and sorrow, but Ch...

Today I am introducing you to a new friend of mine, Beth Ottun. Beth shares about her story of sobriety…turning from a life of hiding, shame, and secrets to pursuing a life of freedom, peace, and joy! Beth progressed from an occasional glass of wine to a level of drinking that began to destroy her life. It took some devastating consequences for Beth to realize she was an alcoholic and that she nee...

I love introducing you to my local friends and today you get to meet another special one, Andrea Zahourek. I tell the story at the beginning of the episode, but from the very start of our friendship, we’ve shared deep compassion and understanding for each other’s grief. We’ve also found a lot of joy in cheering one another on over the years and supporting each other’s work, ideas, and dreams. It w...

Today’s guest has seen things that no one should have to see. Maranna was being a good friend, going to check on a coworker who didn’t return to the office after lunch, and what she found catapulted her into years of grief and learning how to work through and process trauma. Maranna and I went to high school together but really didn’t develop a friendship until after my son Jackson died. I didn’t...

If you just received the worst news of your life...if you just buried your favorite person...if you are just starting your grief journey...if you are in the darkest days of grief...this episode is for you. (And/or if you know someone who is in the early stages of grief...please send this episode to them!)

Today I wanted to share a few personal thoughts on 2023 as well as re-release Episode #5: "Our Empty Spaces". The days and weeks following the holidays can often feel quiet, lonely, and empty. I pray that my words encourage you and that you hear the HOPE that God’s love, sovereignty, and promises give to us as we remember that He often does His best work in the empty places in our heart, our life,...

I have been looking forward to introducing you to my new friend, Teresa Glantz. Teresa is a certified trauma recovery coach and also has a big heart for educating the church on trauma and mental health. Teresa and I met through Instagram as we both work and share in the same online space of “Christianity and hard things”. I haven't known her long but I've already learned so much from her and have...

What comes to mind when you think about hospitality? Making sure your house is clean? Cooking a fancy meal? Throwing a memorable party? In our current culture, true hospitality often gets confused with entertaining. The focus can often be on the host and their "Instagram worthy" decor vs. the guests and the opportunity to serve them. On the episode today, Eric and I have a conversation about the c...

I have had people ask for an episode on forgiveness since I started the podcast. I’ve touched on it with many of my guests and have continually emphasized the importance of it as we fight for joy, but I’m excited to finally bring you an entire episode on the topic - and, I couldn’t have a better guest for this conversation! You heard her story 2 weeks ago on Episode 72: “Fighting for Joy in the Af...

Over the past few months I have had the privilege of reconnecting with a sweet friend from college. Kathy Kaspar and I met over 30 years ago and although we never developed a deep friendship, she was always someone that I loved running into and have fond memories of. Facebook kept us in touch a little bit, but it was really preparing for this episode that allowed me to hear about the heartbreak sh...

Today I get to introduce you to Brandy Reynolds, a local friend of mine who became very dear to me during our years of serving a community of young moms together. It was during that time that I learned more about Brandy's story - its a tough one that includes time in prison and years of rejection and shame...but it also includes repentance, forgiveness, restoration, and yes, even joy! In our conve...

You guys!!! Season 6!!! What in the world?!?! I'm so grateful to be bringing you another season of the Fighting for Joy Podcast. In this quick intro episode I share a little bit about why I started the podcast back in 2018 - and why I feel called to continue to record episodes for you here in 2023. Let's get this season started!

This summer I am trying something new by re-releasing a few of my older Fighting for Joy Podcast episodes. While I'm taking a break from creating new content I wanted to pull out a few conversations that may have gotten buried in your feed in hopes that they will provide you with fresh encouragement. Our podcast community has also grown quite a bit over the years so if you're a new listener, these...

This summer I am trying something new by re-releasing a few of my older Fighting for Joy Podcast episodes. While I'm taking a break from creating new content I wanted to pull out a few conversations that may have gotten buried in your feed in hopes that they will provide you with fresh encouragement. Our podcast community has also grown quite a bit over the years so if you're a new listener, these...

This summer I'm going to try something new by re-releasing a few of my older Fighting for Joy Podcast episodes. While I'm taking a break from creating new content I wanted to pull out a few conversations that may have gotten buried in your feed in hopes that they will provide you with fresh encouragement. Our podcast community has also grown quite a bit over the years so if you're a new listener,...

Little did I know when I started this podcast that one of the most commented on topics would be perfectionism. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the episodes I’ve done on this topic you’ll have to check out Episode #35 (with my cousin Sara) and Episodes #57 and #58 (with my husband Eric). Each time we have talked about perfectionism I’ve gotten so much feedback about how helpful these conve...

Today I get to introduce you to a new friend of mine. She’s a grief sister, which is a phrase I sometimes use for other women who have also experienced a painful loss. Very often there is a quick connection that happens when I meet other people who are walking a similar path - and this held true with my guest today, Angie Hanson. A few weeks ago we met for coffee and as we began to share our stori...

Yep, you read that right! Today I'm releasing an episode on menopause. And, even better, I convinced my hubby to have this conversation with me! I wanted to address this topic because it's been an area in my life recently that HAS affected my joy, more than I thought it would - and I know the same is true for so many of you because it's become a frequent topic of conversation within all of my frie...

The question I’ve been hearing a lot this week has been, “What are you doing for Mother’s Day?” For many of us, in fact probably most of us, Mother’s Day is a “both/and” day that holds a wide range of emotions. Celebration AND tears. Joy AND sadness. It’s definitely become another conflicting day for me in grief. My son Jackson, the one who made me a mom 26 years ago, has been in heaven now for al...