The GoodHard Story Podcast

Blessed are those who mourn. Most of us have heard it over and over…but I know I’m not the only one wondering how this could be true in God’s kingdom. Megan Fate Marshman will give you imagination for how the mourning and meek and poor in spirit might be called blessed…and might actually believe they’re blessed. This friend of mine has navigated the deepest kind of loss after her husband’s death i...

From the early days of my stroke recovery, home—and all the rituals of home—have been a major part of my healing. Home has looked a lot of ways over the years, but my family and I have always tried to make it a place of comfort, rest, and connection. If you’re on a journey to finding a “new normal,” I cannot overstate the importance of making your home into a place of healing. So how do we do that...

At some point, you’ve probably felt like you were living in some strange alternate version of your life. Maybe it was after a tragedy as dramatic as a stroke. Perhaps it was something as mundane as realizing you’re middle aged. We desperately want to find our way back to the way life used to be, but it turns out that version of life is beyond our reach.  So what are our options here? We can keep l...

“Hope is believing in advance what can only be understood in reverse.” These words have been the rally cry of my soul for over a decade now, but I didn’t come up with them myself. Philip Yancey did. This gentle, thoughtful writer has spent his career exploring the topic of suffering which, as you can imagine, has meant so much to me. Today I have the honor of sitting down with Philip to talk about...

Some of you will want to turn this episode off about three minutes in because we’re talking about deconstruction. I say this with love: skipping this episode would be a mistake! Whether you’ve never doubted your faith for a moment or you’re ready to burn it all down, today’s conversation has something so good for you. I guarantee it. Having an out-of-the-blue stroke as a healthy 26 year-old and lo...

Aging is a privilege and we should treat it like the gift it is. But the gift of aging comes with complex challenges and unavoidable sadnesses, like memory loss. If you’re caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s or dementia—or if you’re facing a memory loss diagnosis yourself—I want to offer some encouragement and practical wisdom for you to navigate this tender experience as well as you can. This...

I’ve processed and shared countless insights from my second-chance life, but no idea has resonated more deeply and widely with you all than the idea of “invisible wheelchairs.” You know what I’m talking about—those unseen parts of our stories that feel like they’re holding us back from the most abundant versions of our lives. Maybe your invisible wheelchair is shame, doubt, worry, loneliness, or i...

“It's not so much our story that makes us who we are. It’s God’s story who makes us who we are.”  Identity, for so many of us, is the sum of our memories, our personality, and the ability to tell the story of who we are. So what’s left when we lose all the things that make us who we are?  John Swinton is a disability theologian who is helping people find God in the experiences of mental illnes...

Today I’m offering you a masterclass in grieving well. One day—maybe even today—you will look at your story and see the very thing you prayed you'd never see. You could numb out and absolutely no one would blame you. But you have another option. It's harder, but so much better. Today, in my most tender conversation ever on The GoodHard Story Podcast, my strong-yet-soft sister-in-law Mary A...

You’ll reckon with depression at some point in your life, if you haven’t already. Whether it’s seasonal, circumstantial, or a lifelong reality, it’s possible to “partner with God” as we navigate depression.  I had the privilege of taking notes from the winsome and wise Hannah Brencher about the disciplines she’s putting into place to live faithfully with depression. Whether you’re dealing with dar...

Chronic pain is an (often) invisible form of suffering that can swallow someone whole—body, mind, and soul. Persistent pain is a daily reality for so many of us. It’s vitally important that we learn to cope and hope in healthy ways. Today I'm speaking with Olivia Feller-Gerber. She’s an  author, entrepreneur, and advocate who has lived with the “invisible wheelchair” of chronic pain since she was...

I’m not gonna lie to you. Yes, my stroke set me free from cultural beauty standards in so many ways. But I do NOT have it all figured out. Strongholds and struggles remain. (Like the fact I obsessively highlight my hair every 8 weeks...) So I was a little intimated by this “Ask Me Anything” episode about beauty and body image. I feel like a fraud sometimes! You showed up with honest questions, so...

Most of us have been told a lot of lies about beauty. We’ve been given the wrong story about what beauty is, why it matters, and who it belongs to. Today I want to replace at least a few of those lies with five truths I uncovered when my outer appearance changed completely. These truths aren’t popular and they might even make you uncomfortable. (In fact, I kinda hope they do!) Facing these realiti...

The first time I looked in a mirror after my stroke, I didn’t know who was staring back at me. My face was unrecognizable, and my body might as well have been a stranger’s. It took me years to accept the reality of my new appearance. Feeling anything close to "positivity" was not in the realm of possibility. We’re living in the era of body positivity and I am HERE for it! But as a woman...

“I am the embodiment of the worst case scenario. I am what every athlete fears and what pregnant parents dread. I am the catalyst for losing faith and questioning God.” Those stunning words were written by today’s guest Dr. Amy Kenny, a brilliant author and scholar who lives with disabilities. That phrase— “worst case scenario”—resonates so deeply with me since I was born with a congenital brain d...

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite chapters of a book I’ve ever written. Several years ago, my husband Jay and I released a book called Suffer Strong . It’s all about how we were able to survive anything because we were willing to redefine everything—from failure to trauma to commitment. Even beauty. That’s the chapter you’re about to hear. Before my stroke, I had never put too much focus on the...

I’m going to make a big claim: This will probably be the most sweeping, inspiring conversation on beauty you’ll hear in your life. I say this with such confidence because Brook Hensley changed the way I understand beauty. And she’s about to do the same for you.  Over the next several weeks, we’re going to focus deeply on the story of our beauty and our bodies—what the story is, who is telling it t...

Recently I received emails from two people in very different circumstances who were grappling with (essentially) the same question: Who is telling me the story of who I should be? Their messages struck me so deeply because, for the first half of my life, I asked other people to tell me that story. I desperately wanted to please people by giving them the power over who I was and what I should do. T...

If you think your calling is collateral damage in the hurt and hardship you’ve experienced, I understand how you’re feeling. The work I’m doing now looks nothing like the dreams I had for my life. But now, I can’t imagine dreaming up anything better. Today on The GoodHard Story Podcast we’re covering one of my all-time favorite topics: how our limitations—rather than our strengths—invite us to lea...

How could it be true that God withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly? I spent years trying to make God’s ways align with my definition of goodness, but nothing ever seemed to click. Finally, I realized I actually needed to redefine what goodness meant to me. It was not an easy process, let me tell you, but it has formed me for the better. My friend Lysa has been on the same journey...

I don’t re-listen to my own podcast episodes often, but I’ll be replaying this one many times over. My guest Dr. Dan Allender is a trauma therapist. And if you just assumed this episode has nothing for you, consider Dr. Allender’s words: “All life east of Eden is a form of trauma.” Whew.  So, yeah, you need to hear this. Dr. Allender’s work has been a gamechanger in my life and I insist that you h...

It’s 2025, friends. Who do you hope to become in the year ahead? You and I are probably not going to become people of resilience, compassion, and courage by accident. Our circumstances, beliefs, relationships, and decisions are shaping our souls—in both good and hard ways—every minute of the day. I want to understand exactly how it’s happening. And what I can do to create the identity I want. Toda...

"Hope is not a fixed point I will reach. Hope is the living force that propels me through the ongoing cycle of hurting and healing." In these sacred weeks surrounding Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be. Each week in the mont...

"Hope is an escape hatch from the what-if loop because it gives you and me permission to live the lives we have. It narrows our vision to work with what’s in front of us. Hope puts to rest all the lives we could have lived and gently reminds us, “This is the one you’ve got. Don’t waste it.” In these sacred weeks leading up to Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a br...

"Some of the best fruit in my life will be incubatedin dark, cold seasons of suffering." In these sacred weeks leading up to Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be. Each week in the month of December, I'll be sharing a short ref...