Reframing our Stories: The Podcast

Back in 2023 I was honored to be asked to be an expert voice and contribute to the writing of a chapter in the book Hungry for Hope: Letters to the Church from Young Adults published by Eerdmans and edited by Jeremy Myers and Kristina Frugé. I contributed to the chapter called: Sex is a Gift: The Bigger Gift is Talking About It. I will tell you that I could not have done this chapter without Krist...

On this episode Kara talks with Cynthia Coufal who is a seasoned educator, teen anxiety coach, and the founder of The Anxiety Maze Navigator. With over 25 years of experience as a school counselor, Cynthia has a gift for helping teens and young adults understand and manage their anxiety while discovering their strengths and values. Through one-on-one coaching, she guides teens in navigating school...

Perfectionism has a way of stopping us from moving forward, going after what we really want, or not experiencing the little joys that surround us each day. In this episode Kara talks with another Kara who set out on a journey to discover how playing can help us overcome perfectionism. Adults often forget how to play with the demands of life, but play not only opens us up to new ideas, it can also...

To many of us find ourselves trapped in not pursuing our dreams. The fear of rejection and not getting it right often get in the way. We may also had been given messages as children that we weren't good enough to go after what we dreamed of. If this resonates with you then this is the episode for you. In this episode Kara talks with Janice Burt who lives her life with the motto: One Fear per Year....

In this episode Kara shares some new changes within Reframing our Stories. She also shares a bit of what she has been learning and some exciting news for the future. Kara also invites you to share some of your own stories for future episodes in the next coming months.  Remember to follow Reframing our Stories on Instagram @reframingourstories for new information for the show and to access the form...

In this timely episode relating to conversations in the United States, Kara speaks with Danielle Tumminio Hansen, author of Speaking of Rape: The Limits of Language in Sexual Violence .  RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization) notes that every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. Kara and Danielle speak to their experiences a...

We keep learning more and more about the brain and how it can change with us and create new pathways. Kara got to totally geek out talking with Stefanie Faye about her favorite subject, the brain. They discuss how the brain chemically bonds us, the way we can hijack our own brain, how mistakes can help us grow with intention, and ways to regulate ourselves. Stefanie has a wealth of information and...

In this podcast, Kara had the opportunity to interview a man who reframed her story as a youth, her youth minister Ken Grant. While Kara was a teenager in the 90s when youth groups were all the rage and the purity movement was in full swing, she considers herself lucky. Though she was influenced by the purity culture, she never got the message from her youth minister that she needed to be demure....

There is so much packed into this little episode with Shannon Savage- Howie. We start this interview by acknowledging mid-life and perimenopause. Shannon experienced so many unanswered questions related to her health that later was diagnosed as an autoimmune disease that technically “didn’t fit.” She was so frustrated but experienced a calm when talking with other women who experienced the same th...

In this episode, Kara talks with another educator around body literacy, media and the flipping the script around puberty. Many experienced shame and fear in their puberty education and that is why parents seek help from people like Konika Ray Wong who make puberty education for girls fun and empowering.  Konika Ray Wong is the founder of Girl Power Science. She is an author, science educator, and...

We are influenced by a lot in our early years that affect our sexual lives. Those who work on college campuses and teach human sexuality have noted that there is a rise in rough sex among the students. Some of what this rough sex involves is choking. Dr. Debby Herbenick has recognized how this can be problematic for many reasons, but one is that any constriction of breath can cause damage to our b...

When it comes to reproductive rights that are occupying the attention of the nation and threatening the lives of women, Kara asks the question, “What about the men?” It takes two to tango as we know but men seem to be left out of the conversation. This is why Kara reached out to Men4Choice co-founder Oren Jacobson to get his take on things. Oren and Kara talk about how men are stakeholders in what...

In this episode, Kara talks with Anna Hayek and Marco Orlando on the topic of sexuality health education for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the community that supports them. Anna works for Mad Hatter Wellness, a business that creates comprehensive sexual health education programming that educates, trains and empowers people with intellectual disabilities and their supp...

We can get stuck in the stories we tell ourselves and this can be an exhausting way to live. However, our brains are pretty wonderful and with intention we can help rewire and change the ways we show up for ourselves. This is what Christina Woods did for herself and now she is helping others through hypnosis and coaching.  Christina combines her background in corporate leadership along with her li...

On our podcast, we’ve talked a lot about sexuality related to people who identify as female, but today we are focusing on those who identify as male. Societal gender roles not only impact females, but everyone else. Reece Malone and Kara discuss the way that the buzz phrase “toxic masculinity” affects those who identify as male and the way their female partners perpetuate this culture. Reece discu...

When a person is told they have breast cancer, there are many emotions that come from that diagnosis, including grief and fear. Lisa Chism is very aware of these emotions and the way they continually show up throughout the journey of battling breast cancer. This is why she looks at the whole picture with those affected by this diagnosis – from their sex lives, care and well-being, and how menopaus...

Kara gets personal with author Shannon Harris as they talk about her book The Woman They Wanted . As a pastor’s wife, Kara identified with Shannon in that the church can be hard place to be due to always feeling watched. Shannon and Kara share emotional moments together as they talk about being women, wives, and mothers while maintaining and navigating their identity in church spaces.  Shannon Har...

In this episode, Kara talks about some of the things she has been reframing from her teaching students and her time in advent. In a recent teaching session at a church, they talked about secrets and shame. She talks about how it matters that Jesus came from an unwed, teenage girl. So much of the pain we carry has been constructed by society based on other stories of shame. We don’t need to hang on...

The topic of STIs is often accompanied with shame. It is also accompanied with the idea that a person was careless and promiscuous. However, that is not how STIs work. Sexual Health Education in our country is starting to change for the better, but is still very far behind in the aspect that we are not making it widely available, nor is it always accurate. This is one of the topics Kara talks abou...

Two sex therapists and a sex educator talk about their deconstruction journey with church and finding their way into being professionals helping people understand their sexuality. Purity culture had a way of convincing people to not listen to their bodies, to follow rules, and providing a limited definition of what love looks like. Jeremiah Gibson and Julia Postema talk about what it was like grow...

More and more people are opening their relationships in one form or another. 1 in 9 people have tried a polyamorous relationship in their lifetime, according to a 2021 study published in Frontiers in Psychology. Kara talks with expert Joli Hamilton on how she works with couples and individuals who want to open their relationship and what that entails. Within this conversation, you’ll learn about t...

Intimate partner violence and domestic violence often lives in the shadows of many people’s lives. It can go unaddressed and unnoticed by friends and family for a long time. Getting help to end the violence is a brave and courageous act and one that Pam Miles knows a lot about. In this episode, Kara and Pam talk about her lifetime experience of domestic and intimate partner violence and how we as...

Reproductive Justice and Rights are currently a battleground in our country. As Kara studied to become a sex educator, she learned her knowledge around reproductive justice and rights was quite limited. It has been her biggest learning curve and an area where she believes many Americans need more education. Kara speaks with Simran Singh Jain, who works for SisterSong: National Women of Color Repro...

We have been given a script on how to feel about our bodies. It limits who we are and the depth of life that we can experience. Kara talks with Hilary Kinavey and Dana Sturtevant the Co-Founders and Co-Owners of the Center for Body Trust and the authors of the book Reclaiming Body Trust. Together they remember stories they were told and how they were made to feel about their bodies and the deconst...

In their Season 3 Finale, Kara and Jenny talk about what they are reframing from the last year, where they have grieved and what is bringing them joy. They talk about parenting post pandemic, the influence of our parents, reminders of expectations placed upon them and how that impacts how they parent. They look forward to next season, talk about upcoming shows and discuss a new educational series...