Reframing our Stories: The Podcast

Mikel Ibarra woke up one morning with an idea that she couldn’t ignore. As an artist, when ideas come, especially those that are a bit unusual, you pay attention – and that is what Mikel did. Mikel, a public school art teacher turned baker, decided to go to her kitchen and make pies to explore the way vulvas look. Yes, Mikel makes vulva pies. In this episode, Kara and Mikel explore the way Mikel’s...

In this episode, I am honored to speak with my childhood pastor, Kirk Havel. I wanted to interview him because of the role he has played in my life and how he has reframed stories in my life, especially around God. Kirk has shown me how to live out the gospel and a lot of times when you live out the gospel, it isn’t always popular. He also showed me care, respect, love, and how I have the capacity...

There are times when we aren’t paying attention, we might just miss a lesson. Kristen Theile is a person who often pays attention to what is happening around her, takes what she learns and runs with it. Kristen talks with Kara about her experiences helping those without homes and how they have helped shape her life. They also discuss how her love for service also lent her into experiencing first h...

In this episode Kara takes a deep dive into consent with the author of the book, Creating Cultures of Consent, Dr. Laura McGuire. Dr. Laura is a Sexuality Health Educator, Adjunct Professor, Consultant and Speaker for The National Center for Equity and Agency, a Doula, Yoga instructor, and a survivor.  Not to mention she is also now getting her Masters in Pastoral Counseling. Through her lived exp...

When Kara learned of Jaz and their ministry: Queerfully and Wonderfully made, she was very excited. Kara loves the use of storytelling and the arts in a form of connecting to others, especially when it comes to religion, healing, and sexuality. Jaz has found a way to utilize each of these to offer a healing space for the queer community who have been hurt from their religious community.  In this e...

Nadine never expected to find herself in sex education, but once she did she couldn’t imagine doing anything else. She has been an educator now for 15 years helping youth, parents, and many others learn about the depth of sexuality while also helping them recognize their worth. She reaches people by being herself and being okay with the mess.  Nadine Thornhill is a Certified Sex Educator from Toro...

It is no surprise to any person identifying as a woman or femme that there are disparities in the medical community around our health. This is why our guest Nisha McKenzie became a Physician’s Assistant and opened her own practice to help specifically with women’s health issues. In this episode, we discuss these disparities along with validating those who may have had experiences of not being seen...

So much of sexual health education around puberty and beyond revolves around healthy relationships and communication. Lori takes a deep dive into what that means in her classroom with students going through puberty and the young adults she teaches in college.  Lori Reichel is the Puberty Prof. Lori loves to provide hands on education to children that is not lecture based to help them learn about t...

There is so much richness in this episode around relationships. Kara and Francesca start their conversation with BDSM and end with talking to your inner child and how our relationships mirror the unmet expectations and trauma of childhood. Francesca talks at great length about the way our brain plays a role and how we can learn how to care for ourselves to have an enriching sex life with ourselves...

With shared enthusiasm for talking about sex to parents and kids shame free, Kara and Dr. Lea Lis get right to it with the help from her book: No Shame: Real Talk With Your Kids About Sex, Self-confidence, and Healthy Relationships . In this episode we highlight the importance of being able to talk with our children about sex and to not fear it as often as we do. Dr. Lea helps to dispel myths and...

Todd Malloy, a North Carolina Certified Sex Therapist and Educator, talks with Kara about the fullness that we can experience in our sexual lives when we allow intimacy to take the lead instead of our mindset based on performance. They also discuss how our childhood experiences shape the narratives we bring into the bedroom and how we can work to change them. We can learn how to take the hardships...

Kara and Kelsey share a love for dance. It is their preferred way of communicating. In this episode, you will hear the way dance and ministry were integral for Pastor Kelsey in the way she interacts with the divine and grief. She values connection and the way our bodies hold the stories in our lives that sometimes need reframing, celebrated, or released.

In this episode Kara and Megan discuss intersex and how learning about those with varying sex chromosomes opened their world up more to faith and understanding gender. Gender and our biology are fascinating and there is a lot to learn. Megan has done intensive studies into both the theology and science around the intersex population and advocates on their behalf in church and community spaces.  Me...

Welcome to Season 2! Kara catches up with Amy Johnson to discuss their shared love of sexual health education as well as the need to talk about it openly and without shame in our church communities. Amy has twenty+ years of experience talking to church communities and her wisdom on this topic runs deep. Amy Johnson, MSW, LICSW, CSE is a Commissioned Minister for Sexuality Education in the United C...

In the last episode for Season One of Reframing our Stories: The Podcast, Kara and Jenny spend time reflecting over the last year about their business and personal lessons they have learned related to racism, intimacy, connectedness, and when to seek help. You will also learn of projects they are working on and how they are continuing to create tools to help families, schools, and churches to use...

In this episode, Kara and Erin discuss the beauty of what happens when we are our own benchmark by not comparing ourselves to others, but instead learning how to encourage and lift one another up. Erin works with those who identify as girls to help them find their confidence in who they are and start to capitalize on that while they are young to help them through the confusing teen years. In their...

Denae and Kara discuss the deep connections between sexuality and spirituality. When we ignore our bodies we end up suffering. God invites us to listen more closely to ourselves daily — we just need to accept that invitation. Sometimes our story isn’t written the way we want it to be, so it’s okay to grieve that and then find life and a new purpose. Your story is still valid even if it is not what...

Pamela Joy left her high-tech career at Apple and Facebook to found Down To There to help the world talk more openly about sex. She is a Somatica® Certified Sex and Relationship Coach , and has a Masters in Counseling Psychology with over 1,500 hours of additional training in the field of sexuality. Through her writing, speaking and coaching, she works collaboratively and experientially with clien...

M is the Director and Co-Founder of enfleshed where they are creating and facilitating spiritual resources for collective liberation. They love and linger in the work and the places where poets, activists, lovers, healers, queers, dreamers, and Spirit all coalesce. 

Kristen Lilla is Nebraska and Iowa’s only AASECT Certified Sex Therapist (CST) and AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator (CSE) through the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists (AASECT). She is also one of four dually Certified Sex Educator and Therapy Supervisors in the world.  In addition, Kristen Lilla published two books in 2019; Boxes and How We Fill Them: A Basic Gu...

Kara catches up with her high school English and journalism teacher, Mark Pickering.  After three decades of teaching, Mark recounts his experiences coming from the business world to teaching literature, writing and business. He advised the school newspaper for five years and coached both boys and girls golf for 23 seasons.  They discuss how journalism provided an outlet for kids from diverse back...

Elle Dowd (she/her/hers) is a bi-furious recent graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and a candidate for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  Elle has pieces of her heart in Sierra Leone, where her two children were born, and in St. Louis where she learned from the radical, queer, Black leadership during the Ferguson Uprising.  She was formerly a co-c...

 Julie Kwong, MPT, is the owner and primary therapist for Lady Bits Physical Therapy, based in Sacramento, CA.   She is honored and dedicated to work with every lady trusting her with their special bits. Having experienced pelvic floor dysfunction herself, she can relate to the experiences, frustrations, pains, and feelings of isolation. As she learns and grows as a therapist (because a good thera...

Andrea Mendoza is the owner and artist behind Andi Boudoir. Andrea considers herself a champion of women, and has made it her mission to empower, heal and hold space via photography, helping teach women the power in understanding and feeding themselves as an individual. She operates out of a gorgeous studio in the heart of Old Roseville, CA chasing light and walking women through a journey of self...

In this episode we talk to my friend, Eric Clapp, a Lutheran pastor.  He openly speaks out about white supremacy, is a feminist, and works to be inclusive in his ministry. I have long admired Eric's thoughtfulness, wisdom, and the ability to be open to learn from many other voices. He is an avid reader and wants to see the church become a place that seeks reconciliation and uphold the true teachin...