Hole in My Heart Podcast

Everything we do—good, evil, neutral—speaks to our longing for heaven. World-renowned teacher of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body and bestselling author, Christopher West, leans into this longing and unpacks it with outrageous wisdom and tenderness. This is one we are all going to be going back and listening to several times. It is that rich. (And don't worry: Those of you who want some of...

This is the story of a man who experienced attractions toward other men from a young age, found football, found God, found the Air Force (and excelled), and as a ministry leader came to grips with his same-gender attractions--now as a married-to-a-woman man. God helped this man, Mike Rosebush , remove shame about his attractions, but people and circumstances placed him in conversion therapy. A maj...

The crew is back together! ​Laurie, Matt, and Producer Steve dive into their first-ever Q & D (Question & Discussion) podcast. Together, they explore areas they have wanted to dive into more deeply including: More of Matt's story of when he felt so purposeless he decided to end his life in junior high (and then launched into a coping mechanism of pornography addiction) Some of our angst ab...

{Week 10 Core Need is the need for purpose: filled with a sense of profoundly mattering.} Unless we are feeling severely depressed, every human intrinsically feels this need to matter, to have purpose, and to make a mark on the world. Sometimes, this purpose-need gets redirected from receiving our marching orders from Jesus to staring at marriage: It will complete me. Let's bust that whole thing a...

{Week 9 Core Need is the need to be unique: delightfully special.} We've explored the need to be included (belong), but how does that interplay with our good need to be unique? We talk through this balance with foster and adoptive parents, Brett and Janelle Beimers. Their decision to adopt and foster models Christ's desire for radical inclusion (belonging), but they still need to cultivate each of...

How can we lovingly engage a world that opposes what we believe? What is Laurie's ongoing practice to engage pushback? One word: Lament. Laurie Krieg will walk you through the why's and how to's of what should be every Christian's ongoing practice of "venting to the only One who can do something about your pain."

{Week 8 Core Need is the need to be safe: Unafraid; trusting everything is under control.} Many of us struggle with anxiety and fear. (Most of us? All of us?) We could shame ourselves. ("Why am I still wrestling with this!? I should know I'm safe!") But instead of shaming ourselves, why don't we look below the fear to the good need driving that fear: the need to be safe? We unpack this good need t...

{Week 7 Core Need is the need to be seen: Noticed inside and out.} This episode has two gripping stories: One is of a pastor named John Wilson who, at a young age, recognized his attractions to his same gender. Burying the secret led him to hospitalization due to the chronic stress. Slowly, carefully, he came out to trusted friends, and found some freedom as he daily surrendered himself to Christ....

{Week 6 Core Need is the need to be included: Wanted in this group, team, or partnership; belonging} It seems as if the good need God put into us before the Fall to belong or be included goes hand-in-hand with authenticity. To belong--truly belong--we must be willing to get real. But how many of us feel we are scoring 100% at the relational authenticity level? Social media tells us we have hundred...

{Week 5 Core Need is the need for love: Unconditionally accepted} All you need is love. It's a nice song, but what about the actual experience of love? How can we feel it deeply before we see Jesus face-to-face? Author and speaker, Jennifer Kennedy Dean , guides us to a deeper experience of God's love that is not tethered to our circumstances (death of siblings, death of spouses, or a deep wrestli...

{Week 4 Core Need is the need for rest: Re-centered and reset in mind, body, spirit; includes having fun} Why is it that it seems whoever is the busiest is winning at life? If you are stressed, busy, but magically not anxious, you hold a higher status? We talk about this with Adam Mabry , whose wife laughed at him when he told her he was asked to write a book on rest. This pastor, teacher, and aut...

{Week 3 Core Need is the need to be affirmed: Overwhelmingly approved of.} Do you ever wrestle with knowing God wants you to share the gifts He gave you with the world, but not knowing how much you should "market" yourself? Shouldn't the Holy Spirit just do that for us? We do wrestle with this, so we brought in bestselling author and speaker, Shannon Popkin , who co-wrote the book, Influence: Buil...

{Week 2 Core Need is the need to be desired: Specially chosen--no pretense necessary.} The idea of mixed-orientation marriages (where one spouse is straight and the other is not) can make people scratch their heads saying, "How does that work?" Today, through the lens of the Core Need to be desired, mixed-orientation couple, Ty and Rachel Wyss, get real about their marriage, their need to be desir...

{Week 1 Core Need is the need to be nurtured: Cared for; held.} It's time to dive deeply into Core Needs. What are they? They are good needs God put into us for things like belonging, purpose, affirmation, and to be seen and desired. The Fall threw a wrench in our once-natural ability to get them perfectly met by God and supported by people, however, and now we have natural inclinations to get the...

Author, speaker, and professor, Dr. Christopher Yuan , brings his authentic self and expertise to the podcast microphone today. In addition to hearing his story, we explore our favorite names of God (with you listeners), expand on the reasons why it is beneficial to the church that there are more conversations around sexuality and gender in the world, and explore the questions, "Is God gender flui...

Failure makes you feel like . . . a failure. Should it? Should we celebrate some failures instead? Today we talk to Chad Bird , speaker, podcaster, and author of Upside-Down Spirituality: The 9 Essential Failures of a Faithful Life. We will cover seven of those nine "essential failures." Three of which are: 1. The failure to believe in ourselves or, "The good news that God doesn’t believe in you"...

"I think I am afraid of being in *God’s* presence. The thing is I am afraid to be in *my* presence. I am afraid to look at and have God see me as I see me . . . I am sure that when I look up again He will have left the rom. And shockingly, He does not." --Curt Thompson, M.D. Let's dive right back into the shame conversation with Dr. Curt Thompson , and explore how shame began and how we can practi...

Shame affects all of us--even if we don't know how to name it. It often drapes us in a vague feeling of being covered in a wet blanket. It speaks, "I am worth less. I must hide. There is something wrong with me." How can we address it neurologically, spiritually, and practically? We brought in the big guns to answer all three shame categories today: Dr. Curt Thompson, MD, author of one of our favo...

Peek between the cracks of the podcast to hear updates on our words for the year ("Do you feel like God gave you that word?"), look forward to our words for 2019, and hear us encourage each other unplanned. As we reflect on this year of pain and growth, we may even shed a couple tears between our laughs. (Of course we do. :) ) We love you, guys. Thanks for being a major joyful part of our year.

It's almost the new year, and many of us are thinking about doing something to jumpstart positive choices next year. But what about today? Sharon Garlough Brown , author of the Sensible Shoes series, walks (ha) us through the basics and depth of spiritual disciplines. We cover things like, "Are spiritual disciplines for the hyper-spiritual, Enneagram 4, flower children?" "Does lament have to be so...

At HIMH we sometimes call ourselves "gospel addicts," but what is an addict? Author, psychologist, and addiction expert, Dr. Gregory Jantz , breaks down some of the attributes and questions we may have for ourselves or our friends on how to take steps away from the following addictions: ​ Alcohol Food (eating too much or little) Work Sex/pornography Relationships TV/Netflix Social Media Because we...

Fruit of knowing the Good News is believing that God loves kids. He cares about their souls, he cares about their spirits, and he cares about their bodies. That is the focus of this episode: How can we protect our children, our nieces and nephews, and our friends' kids from childhood sexual abuse? How can we do it in a way that is not "shamey"? We explore it today with experts and authors of the i...

Let's take it back to the basics and then broaden to the more complex: What does LGBTQIA mean (and why doesn't the term "homosexuals" cover it)? Where can parents take their mix of emotions when their kid comes out? Is there even a right and wrong when it comes to the gender conversation? We are tackling some big and basic questions related to pastors, parents, and therapists today, and who better...

Heyyyy! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the United States! Happy "we are thankful for you all" if you are not in the States. In this 8-minute special we debate whether or not you put the stuffing in the turkey. (Answer: Find Alton brown's killer recipe on the link below for turkey SANS STUFFING. Throwaway turkeys are welcome for such goodness.) We also get a lil' bit serious on what we are tha...

What do you get when you cross 350-square-feet, six people, a one one-eyed cat named Sirius, and an honest look at what makes up our identity? This episode. Ashley Auerbach , a mom of four turned-tiny-living expert (whose life is soon to be featured on a TV show!), talks about obedience and the beautiful shredding it does to our perceptions of self. We also have her figure out our tiny living prob...