Loved Called Gifted

Heidi Steel runs Live Play Learn, a hub and a community for unschooling parents. Unschooling is an approach to homeschooling that starts with the understanding that humans are born with a natural ability to learn and parents can provide the natural environment in which that can happen for their children. She is a qualified primary school teacher, and having worked in schools for 14 years, knew tha...

In the last episode, Catherine looked at the concept of Biblical Womanhood, and the fact that it doesn't really stand up to scrutiny if you start by looking at Jesus and his interactions with women. This time, she is joined by Sean Kennedy to consider manhood through the lens of Jesus, his life, his teachings and his interactions with the men around him. Spoiler alert: Jesus never once tells men t...

What does it mean to be a “Christian Woman”? Over the years I have heard a lot and read a lot about what the ideal Christian Woman might be like. The notion of Biblical Womanhood is particularly prominent in certain sections of the church. One gets the picture of a quiet, submissive woman who’s good at needlework and making cupcakes. It’s an image that seems to be more about the ideal 1950’s house...

Gill Jarrett is a holistic massage therapist, working in Shrewsbury. She discovered her passion for massage while on her own healing journey out of domestic violence and into healing and wholeness. She is now passionate about helping others on their journeys. She shares her own story and her desire to see others find healing, in body, mind and spirit. She is qualified in Jing massage and is an Adv...

This episode of the "Loved Called Gifted" podcast, host Catherine Cowell is joined by clinical psychologist and author Naomi Fisher. They discuss Fisher's book "When the Naughty Step Makes Things Worse" and explore alternative approaches to parenting, particularly for children who don’t respond to traditional methods. There are lots of   relatable anecdotes and humour about the daily chaos of pare...

Pete Lewin Newfoundlands is a remarkable charity that gives people the unique opportunity to swim with Newfoundland dogs. Pete fell in love with Newfoundlands when he learnt about their incredible abilities as water rescue dogs and their heroism. While working with them as water rescue dogs, he discovered the potential of his Newfoundlands to support people with their emotional and mental well bei...

Emily shares the story of her family, which includes birth children, children who are adopted and asylum seeking migrants, who they foster. She talks about her faith and God’s leading and provision through their remarkable journey. She mentions Home for Good and the impact their work has had on the wider church and discusses the dynamics of a large family. And trusting God each morning that there...

Connective parenting is an approach to parenting that puts relationship and connection at the centre. It is based on NVR, which stands for Non Violent Resistance and has been enormously helpful for families facing extremely difficult behaviour. It contains within it principles that can be helpful beyond parenting, in all our relationships. Sarah Fisher is an adoptive parent and NVR practitioner. S...

Apologies this episode is not currently available.     Connect with us via Facebook Website

Back in July, Catherine released an episode called ‘Is God Feminine’, exploring the feminine images for God in the Bible and suggesting that if men and women are made in the image of the Divine, then we shouldn’t be surprised to find feminine names and imagery for God in the Bible. Hannah wanted to discuss the episode to find out more and to share both her enthusiasm and her discomfort with the id...

Sarah Clarke is a lecturer at the Church Mission Society (CMS) and has a particular interest in art as a way into the sacred. And the ways that art can facilitate expression in ways that words cannot. Full transcript We'd always love to hear from you. You can get in touch by connecting via our Facebook page To find out more about Catherine, her spiritual direction and coaching, go to the Loved Cal...

Catherine chatted with Jocie and Dave Twine, founders of the Life Project, in their caravan awning at the New Wine Christian festival this summer. They talk about the joys and challenges of life with their son Josh, who has autism and semantic pragmatic disorder. He also has a fantastic memory and an incredible singing voice. They set up the Life Project charity to support other families of people...

Catherine and Hannah talk about the lack of tacky Christian gifts in Criccieth, a fish called Brian and a cuddly sheep.  Mainly they discuss how we are less building sites to be constructed and more wild islands to be loved and nurtured. We would love to hear from you. You can find us on our Facebook page or email Catherine: lovedcalledgifted@gmail.com. You can find a transcript of the podcast her...

Catherine and Margaret McGregor continue their conversation about PACE therapeutic parenting, reflecting on how this is both an excellent tool for the therapeutic parenting of children with attachment difficulties and other neurodiversity; as well as helping us to understand how God parents us and how we can be compassionate to ourselves. PACE (which stands for playfulness, acceptance, curiosity a...

In this episode, Catherine talks to Margaret McGregor about the place of play and playfulness in our parenting practice, our spirituality and how we see and relate to ourselves. The PACE parenting approach, devised by Dan Hughes, has been the cornerstone of trauma informed, therapeutic parenting practice for over twenty years. It stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. This appr...

We are very used to thinking of God as He. With a capital ‘H’. There has not been much space in Christian tradition for viewing God as anything but male. The God of the Bible, we tend to assume, is entirely masculine. But, in fact, there is also a wealth of feminine imagery for God in the Bible, if you know where to look.  In this episode, Catherine takes a look at the rich portrayals of God in th...

Monasticism is not just for people who are part of a convent or a monastery. There are many people who are part of monastic communities while living normal, every day lives. One of these communities is that of the Benedictine Oblates, who seek to follow the rule of Saint Benedict. On International Women's Day, Catherine interviewed Jane Dicker, one of the first women to be ordained in the UK. In p...

Glenn Hussey is the father of four adopted children and a senior lecturer at Keele University, in the school of Life Sciences where he also has a key role in equality, diversity and inclusion. In this wide ranging conversation he talks about his Roman Catholic faith, his belief in the importance of valuing every human being and the vocation of fatherhood. He talks about what he has learnt from his...

Catherine meets Lillibet Goodwin, who shares her passion for working with children with special needs and her friendship with a young man with autism. She talks about her experience of having adopted siblings, what that has taught her about the importance of accepting and welcoming others, the therapeutic value of art, and meeting Jesus in those society so often ignores and marginalises. Here is a...

Amy Weinland Daughters calls in from Texas to chat with Catherine about the vast number of letters she has written, and the book that followed. This is a story of deep friendship, that began when Amy decided that she would support a grieving mother by writing to her. It's a story of connection despite differences and God's grace in people's lives, but it's also secretly about being willing to indu...

Today Catherine is talking to Sarah, who is just embarking on a new adventure, and hoping to take others along with her. Diving into the STILL course, together they unpack some of the toolbox of techniques that Sarah has learned, that can help others manage anxiety and overwhelm, but also to pick up more slack where they are able to, too. And in between they talk about parenting, DIY, piano playin...

These days, people are often talking about 'being triggered' and there are trigger warnings on all sorts of things. But what do we actually mean when we talk about triggering? What is happening to us when it happens? And what can we do about it? For ourselves and for others.  There is a useful handout to accompany this show that you can find here . Transcript We'd love you to join our Facebook com...

Catherine meets Rev Rob Rogers, from Oxford, at St Aldate's parish centre. They talk about this city of contrasts, where those leaving prison and the homeless also live among the dreaming spires. Rob talks about the way community can bring help and healing.   Rob has been on both sides of the coin of homelessness and addiction, so as he and Catherine discuss his work with ACT (a charity working wi...

2024 marks 30 years since women were first ordained as priests into the Church of England in England, and today for International Women's Day, Catherine interviews Jane Dicker, who has been there from the beginning. Together they discuss the joys and frustrations found along the way; Jane in the thick of it, and Catherine cheering along as an observer at the time. Along with, of course, how God is...

This episode, Catherine is visiting Hannah, who no longer has a bathroom office and has been thinking about the kinds of questions we ask people when we first meet them. Hannah would like to ask better questions.... It's always great to hear from people, so if you'd like to get in touch, you can find us on Facebook . Transcript More about Loved Called Gifted Catherine's book, that she mentions in...