PRN: Pause, Renew, Next

As we finish out the season, I want to offer a few final thoughts about resilience. Today we’re going to be looking at the themes of resourcing and entering a new normal. As always, we’ll start our time together with a centering exercise and end with a benediction. This is the last episode of the season, and the podcast will be taking a break. Every seven years in the Bible, God’...

In today’s episode, you’re invited to meditate on an important prophetic passage, Isaiah 61, using a method called Lectio Divina, or “Divine Reading.” This method of engaging Scripture employs four movements: Reading, Reflecting, Responding, and Rest, and we will practice all of them together today. If you’d like to read along with me today, I’ll be reading Isai...

How might stress influence resilience? In today’s episode, we’re going to look at two important factors that help us combat stress, which also might help us build resilience. I hope you come away from this episode with a fresh perspective on stress and resilience. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus. Resources mentioned in today’s episode: Ted Talk: How to Make Stres...

As Pause Renew Next approaches 200 episodes, I’m offering a few reflections as I look back on the journey of PRN. Today, I’m sharing a few fun PRN stats, talking about how podcasting has changed, and explaining how I’ve personally grown and been stretched since beginning the podcast. More than anything, I’m saying THANK YOU to you for your support and for being a part of th...

We haven’t talked a lot about addiction on the podcast, but I think it’s a topic that deserves some time and attention. So, I’m really thankful for today’s guest, Ericka Andersen, who shares about her journey from alcohol dependence to sobriety. Ericka just released her new book: Freely Sober: Rethinking Alcohol Through the Lens of Faith , and I loved getting to talk to her...

It’s a new year, and we’re pressing on in our resilience series! Welcome to 2026, friends. Today, we’re reflecting on how movement plays a role in building resilience, and I’m not just talking about exercise! We’ll start our time together with a grounding exercise, then spend some time reflecting on how trauma and distress can lead to stuck places in our bodies, minds...

Whether you’re prancing, limping, or crawling into Advent, this Scripture meditation episode is for you. We’re spending time together today in Luke 1, getting a peak into the miraculous and beautiful interaction between two amazing women of faith: Mary and Elizabeth. Join me for a 15 minute pause in your day, as we slow down and refocus around the good news of Advent.

Today we’re talking about a topic that often goes under the radar or gets misunderstood: self-harm. I’m really grateful for this week’s guest, Brittany Tinsley, who shares some of her story and experience with self-injury. We talk about themes of faith, mental health and the church, ways this topic gets misrepresented, the change cycle, and elements of healing shame, gaining comp...

If you were going to listen to just one episode about resilience this season, I would definitely recommend this one! Today, we’re reflecting on the reservoir that feeds our endurance, perseverance, and resilience. In order to persist through difficulty, we must rally and borrow upon our reserves. Naturally, we have quite an amazing ability to survive and thrive, but supernaturally, we have a...

In this 15 minute soul-care reflection episode, we’ll begin with a relaxing imaging exercise and then spend time talking about a phenomenon that happens when we hit our mental and emotional limit. When we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, grieved, or trapped, our brains access what I’m calling “the escape hatch.” I share a few examples of how this phenomenon can show up, and how...

What makes someone resilient? Would you say that you are a resilient person? In today’s episode, we’re exploring reasons why we might want to expand the way we’re thinking about resilience. In our common understanding of resilience, we might be selling ourselves and others short. If you enjoy this episode, please go share it with a friend! May you be encouraged on your journey wi...

In Season 8, I’m trying to highlight stories of resilience and today’s story certainly does that! This is a replay biography episode from Season 2 of the podcast. Esther Ahn Kim’s story is full of bravery, perseverance, faith, and resilience. So, get in a time machine with me and let’s head back in time to 2019 when this episode originally aired. Enjoy!

Do you ever wonder how our desires and our Spiritual gifts work together? In today’s episode, we’re talking about just that! It was a joy to have my brother and sister-in-law, Nathan and Dawn Detweiler on the podcast to talk about ministry, spiritual gifts, and resilience. Nathan, Dawn, and their three children live in Slovenia. In today’s episode, they share about their ministry...

Join me for 20 minutes today as we meditate together on Hebrews 12. We’ll start our time together with a slow down exercise, then read and reflect together, noticing what this passage can teach us about resilience. I hope that this time allows you to pause in your day and reflect on the Word of God. Feel free to just listen and soak it in or to get your Bible and read along. We’ll be r...

Are you curious about diving deeper into your story? In this episode, we’re talking about storywork and how our personal narratives shape our spiritual journeys. I am so thankful for this conversation with guest, author, and spiritual director Jenn Suen Chen. She’s recently written a book called, Dim Sum and Faith: How Our Stories Form Our Souls, which we talk about in today’s co...

After a long summer break, I’m so happy to be back with you for Season 8 of the podcast! This season, our theme is resilience, and today’s episode is an introduction into resilience and what you can expect this season. We’ll start our time together taking a few deep breaths, and then we’ll begin to explore the topic of resilience. I’m so grateful and excited to begin...

One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is 2 Corinthians 4, so you can imagine my delight when I found out that today’s guest, Rev. April H. Cranford, recently led her church through a worship series about this passage. They called it the Treasured Clay Worship Series. She says,”throughout the series, we explored the divine power that resides within us as clay pots, each of us...

What does it mean to be in process? As we prepare to wrap up Season 7 of the podcast, I’m offering some reflections on what it means to be a human in process. We’ll also circle back around to some themes that we’ve talked about this season. I hope that you come away from this episode seeing your own humanity and transformative journey with a little more grace.

It’s been a couple of months since we did a Scripture meditation together, and it seems fitting to focus on themes of suffering and resurrection this week as we approach Easter. We’ll begin our time together with a breath prayer and then transition into the reflection and meditation time. If you’d like to follow along in your Bible, we’ll be reading Philippians 3: 7-16 toge...

If you know a child with big, baffling behaviors, then today’s episode is for you! If you don’t, stick around, because this conversation will open your eyes to the reasons behind behaviors you may have dismissed as being a result of “willful behavior” or “bad parenting.” I am so grateful for my guest today, Fran Ballengee, LCMHC. She has become an expert on this...

When’s the last time you were curious? To be human means you are a question asker, and in today’s episode we’re going to reflect together on both the beauty and the frustration of this process. I hope you come away from this episode with a new perspective on learning. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

In this podcast episode, I’m joined by my colleague Josh Howlett, to talk about an often mentioned, but little understood emotion, joy. Josh embodies joy, and I’m so thankful he could join us to share his perspective on this subject. We talk about cultivating joy, the importance of joyful movement, and Josh shares what it means to enjoy and be enjoyed by God and others. Before he was a...

Ruptures can occur in all of our relationships, but have you ever considered that you can have ruptures within your relationship with yourself as well? Today, we’re continuing our series on being a human in process by examining this idea. We’ll also talk a bit about the importance of attunement and grace. If you enjoy this episode, and you’d like to hear more about the rupture an...

Today, we’re continuing our theme of being a human in process, by considering normal human emotions and reactions that tend to come up as we are navigating life as a human on planet earth. Particularly, we’re looking at emotions and reactions related to the fight/flight response. In January we talked about anger, fear, and stress, and today we’re turning our attention to worry and anxi...

Today we’re looking at the other half of the fight or flight response by considering fear and stress. What are they? What purpose do they serve? In what ways are they often misunderstood? We’ll talk about all of this and also look at some examples of where fear shows up in the Bible. As always, we’ll begin by doing a slow down exercise and end with a benediction. Next time, we&#8...