PRN: Pause, Renew, Next

Today we’re considering an often misunderstood but necessary emotion, anger. Being a human in process means that we will experience a variety of emotions, both comfortable and uncomfortable. In the next couple of episodes, we’ll be covering some of the less comfortable emotions. In this episode, I’d like to talk about anger, what it is, the purposes it serves, and the ways that i...

If you love birds or nature, then you are really going to enjoy today’s conversation with guest, Courtney Ellis, about her new book, Looking Up: A Birder’s Guide to Hope Through Grief . This is such a great episode about ministry, grief, mindfulness, and soul-care. It’s also sprinkled throughout with great bird facts! Courtney is a such a fun person and she wears a lot of hats! S...

Today, we conclude our series on the Psalms by examining Psalms of new orientation. We’ll be looking for signs of life, of rescue, of reversal of fortune, and of thanksgiving as we meditate upon Psalms 34 together. What is clear in all of these Psalms of new orientation is that there is a celebration of the coming of God, who now establishes new rule. So this week, on the second week of Adve...

We’re continuing our series on the Psalms and what they teach us about being a human in process. Today, we’re talking about psalms of disorientation. These are songs of darkness, of grief, of anger, of lament, and of complaint. These psalms answer the question of how we might worship and pray when our world is in disarray. Walter Brueggemann writes, “The use of these psalms of da...

Today we continue our series on the Psalms and learning what they teach us about being a human in process. We’ll be meditating on a psalm of orientation today, Psalm 19. Psalms of orientation evoke gratitude for the blessings of creation and God’s good law. It just so happens that we’ll be reading this on the week of Thanksgiving, which is fitting! If you missed last week’s...

We might call this mini-series, “where faith meets mental health.” More specifically, we would call it, “where worship and prayer meet mental health.” For the next few weeks, we are going to be diving into the Psalms and examining them through Walter Brueggemann’s lens of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. This framework beautifully encapsulates being a...

How can we find hope when darkness and suffering linger? This week’s guest, Claudia Campbell, shares about her experience of wrestling through just that question. She recently wrote a book of reflections called These Stones Remain , in which she processes the Lord’s faithfulness through dark seasons. Claudia is full of joy, and her authenticity is so refreshing. In this episode, we tal...

Join me today for a short and sweet reflection episode about how the Lord’s grace met me in an unexpected way last spring. We’ll start by doing a regulation exercise together called the magic moustache. Then, I’ll share a story about a bird from the Lord. I’d love to hear your story of how the Lord’s grace has surprised you in big or small ways. Feel free to share bel...

It’s time for a biography episode! Today, we’re talking about Helen Roseveare, a doctor, writer, missionary, speaker, and ditch-digger. Her faith and her story will both inspire and challenge you. I was first introduced to Helen’s story a few years ago, and over the past few months as I was considering who to study next, the Lord brought her back to my mind. Helen, both in the mo...

If you feel like you’re in survival mode and white knuckling your way through life, then this episode and this book are for you. It was a joy to have Sarah Pascual on the podcast today to talk with me about a book that we both recently read called, Try Softer , by Aundi Kolber, MA, LPC. On a previous episode , Sarah and I discussed the book, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest, and we had so...

Today, we’re continuing our series of being in process by exploring the five grief stages. Loss is a normal part of the human journey, and it’s helpful and empowering to understand the ways in which we may experience it. Although when we think about grief, often sadness is what comes to mind, there is actually so much more to the grief process. I hope that as you listen, you’ll t...

This week we’re talking about a subject that is an integral part of the human condition, grief. It’s a pretty important topic to start with, when it comes to being a human in process, because to be human, means to face loss: loss of dreams, expectations, people, and relationships. Although this episode is definitely not exhaustive when it comes to tackling such a nuanced and complicate...

In this short reflection episode, we’re diving into the theme of Season 7: being a human who is in process. You’ll hear how I arrived at this theme and some of the things that you can expect throughout the coming months on the podcast. We’ll begin our time together with a slow-down exercise and end our time together with some Scripture reading and a benediction. I hope you’...

Welcome to Season 7 of the PRN Podcast! I’m so excited to kick of this new season with a fantastic guest, Sarah Westfall. Sarah recently wrote a book called, The Way of Belonging: Reimagining Who We Are and How We Relate . I loved getting to dive into deep conversation with her about such an important topic. This season on the podcast, our theme is “in process.” We, as humans, ar...

Do you need a gentle invitation to exhale? If so, then this conversation is really going to minister to you. This is the last episode of Season 6, and I am so happy that we could end the season with this conversation about slow-living. My guest today is author and podcaster, Jodi Grubbs. She and I have been friends online for a few years, and it was such a joy to get to talk with her! I think you&...

As we wrap up Season 6 about telling our stories, I want to leave you with some practical places to begin your own story work. In this reflection episode, I’m laying out four integral parts of story work: reflection, writing, telling, and listening. I hope you’ll come away from this episode with good ideas, practical tips, and inspiration to begin your own journey of storytelling. May...

Join me for this 12 minute Scripture meditation episode as we reflect on the imagery of Christ as our Good Shepherd. We’ll be spending time in both Psalm 23 as well as in John 10 if you’d like to read along. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hike the Appalachian Trail? It sounds epic, right? Well, today’s guest, Julie Long, is here to talk about her family’s Appalachian Trail adventure. Her husband and son are currently hiking it, and are nearing the end. She talks about what their experience has been like, as well as what it has been like for her to support them on their jou...

In today’s reflection episode, I’m exploring an existential spiritual question: Are we supposed to bear fruit in every season? This question relates to both soul care and our stories, because the truth is, we all experience different and unique seasons of life. Join me for 11 minutes as we do a slow-down and centering exercise and then reflect together. I’ll be sharing some of wh...

Have you ever thought about how God’s will intersects with your story? In this reflection episode, we’ll consider specifically what we’re telling ourselves about God’s will and how that affects our thinking, our view of ourselves, and our stories. So, in story language, we’ll be talking about three parts: the past, the story that’s already been written, the pres...

Today, we’ll be examining the characters who show up in our stories through the lens of relationship. Specifically, we’ll be talking about 3 paradigms for relationship: independence, codependence, and interdependence. Each of these relationship strategies affect the way we view relationships, and thus the way we interact with the people in our lives. I hope you’ll join me for thi...

What are emotions and what purpose do they serve? In this episode, we’ll answer that question, as well as talk about how we can recognize, name, and learn to regulate them. It was a joy to talk in this episode with my friend and fellow counselor, Deni Huttula, about emotional regulation and about her book, The Bridges of Chara: an allegory for your brain’s emotional landscape . Deni sh...

In today’s episode, we’re going to be meditating on one of Jesus’ parables, and gleaning what He is teaching about His kingdom through the story. If you’d like to read along, we’ll be reading from Luke 12. As always, we’ll read the passage 3 times, so that we can spend time thinking, noticing, repeating, pondering, and giving the Word space in our minds and hear...

In the second part of my conversation with Leah, she shares about the unexpected difficulties she has faced as a parent. Leah is a single parent of four adopted children, and she honestly talks about the realities of that journey. She also speaks about being a parent of children with special needs. Leah is so honest and authentic in telling her story, and it is a story that we all need to hear. Wh...

Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and settle in for quite a conversation today, friends. It was a joy to talk with my friend, Leah Stirewalt, as she shared her story on this episode. It is no easy story, and to say the least, it has layers. Leah has experienced unexpected grief so many times, that she has felt as if she had a “target on her back.” Whether or not you have experienc...