The Problem With Perfect

The holidays often magnify the tensions family experience - especially those between mother and daughter-in-laws. Despite good intentions and good hearts, conflict between mother and daughter-in-laws is more prevalent than we'd like to admit.  So whether we are the mother or the daughter-in-law, how do we improve these relationships? Given the frequency and severity of this problem, it's...

The election wasn't the only thing making history last week. In case you lost yourself counting electoral votes, in an unprecedented move Bachelorette Clare Crawley blew up the show as she declared her love and devotion to Dale Moss after only 12 days of filming.  It was entertaining and mindless, which may be why 5.3 million Americans watched it. Whether you love it or hate it, the Bachelor...

November is here and with it comes a focus on gratitude. In an election year complicated by a global pandemic, gratitude doesn't come naturally for many of us. In fact, if gratitude was our default, we wouldn't need study after study convincing us of its benefits and encouraging us to practice it. But what are those benefits to gratitude and how do we learn to become more grateful?  This...

What if you could learn to love your husband before you even have one? That’s what we are talking about today with author and speaker, Kim Vollendorf. Kim once thought Jesus was boring and irrelevant, but she changed her mind about Him in college. As a result, she has spent the past three decades working with the campus ministry Student Mobilization, discipling college women, and mentoring StuMo s...

For more than two decades, Michelle Linn has been getting up in the middle of the night to  prepare to give the world the news when it wakes up.  Originally anchoring the morning news in Columbia, MO on KMIZ-17 for 13 years, Michelle has spent the last decade waking up with audiences in Tulsa on KOKI Fox 23. In this episode, Michelle gives us a behind the scenes look at balancing her very public l...

What will the epitaph on your grave say to the world? "To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die," aren't just words on her parent's headstone for Mary B. Lucas. They are now her legacy. The ninth of ten children, Mary was an adult before she realized that her father, "a butcher by trade with an eighth grade education was the smartest man I ever knew." When he d...

Why is it that when our friends tell us good news, oftentimes our first reaction is to get jealous? We want to celebrate our friends and the happiness they feel, but if we are honest, it can be really hard. Especially when our own lives don't seem to be going so well. So how do we support our friends when we are secretly jealous of their success? We are diving deep into this topic to help you...

His mom calls him Matthew. His friends call him Bickel. After you listen to this episode, you'll call him inspirational. A successful entrepreneur whose business sky rocketed, Matthew wasn't just living large. As his lifestyle escalated, so did his weight. Adding a pound a month for 10 years, it wasn't until Matthew found it difficult to tie his shoes that he realized he was pushing...

What do you need? It's easy to ask but difficult to answer because few of us really know what we need. We think we need a new outfit, a more loving partner, more food, sex, sleep or security. In this whirly and twirly COVID world, our longings leave us discontent and disconnected from what our hearts really need. Join Robin for this R&R as she discusses why it's so important to know...

POP THE CHAMPAGNE because it's Robin and Rachel's one year!  We are getting dressed to the nines and hosting our very own Problem With Perfect awards show to reminisce on the past year!  To celebrate with us, we would love it if you would leave us a review or share the podcast with a friend!  This is just the beginning friends! Cheers to more years of renewing our hearts and minds to kno...

Tell me... Have you ever felt anxious about performing a task perfectly at work?  Do you get so stuck making sure every detail is perfect that a task ends up taking way longer than you thought?  Do you feel pressure to be seen as the perfect person around your friends or family?  Do you find yourself showcasing only your mountain top moments on social media?  Do you like people believing you have...

It's been six LONG months since life went virtual. For some of us, a part of our new reality includes rolling out of bed on Sundays and watching church from the couch in our pajamas. It sounds relaxing and convenient, but is it good for our spiritual development? In this episode, Rachel and Robin discuss how the changing landscape of virtual church has impacted their spiritual health. Is ther...

Remember those scenes made famous by Viola Davis in The Help where she tells little Mae Mobley, "You is kind. You is smart. You is important."? Words are powerful and images like this one remind us how they can bring things (and people) to life. In this R&R, Robin explores the why behind the power of our words and gives us three challenges for using our words for good. 

Our world might be changing but the need for leaders hasn’t. In this episode, leadership author and speaker Alex Demczak, helps us re-imagine leadership in the COVID era.  Whether you want to strengthen your family life, get ahead in the workplace or make your community a better place, Alex’s wisdom and insight will help you become the leader the people around you need you to be.  Special Guest: A...

Grandparents day is Septemeber 13th, so what is the perfect gift to give your grandparent? Sometimes the best grandparent gift idea is to is a meaningful letter to your grandparent. Still, finding the right word to express your love is difficult, so follow this easy template for the perfect gift for your grandparent. Dear (insert grandparent's name) Happy ____ I wanted to write you this lette...

August 26th is National Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote. This year marks the 100th anniversary of this historic event and is a day worth celebrating how far we've come with women's rights and a time to recognize the work still to be done. In this episode, we give some history behind all the efforts that led...

If you’ve been following with #TeamMatt and tracking Matt’s (Robin’s son) stem cell transplant journey, then you know this road has been full of mountaintops and valleys. It has also been exhausting.  But in this episode, Rachel interviews Robin about the one thing that has been consistently life-giving in these four months of chaos— the ways God has shown up and blessed their family. There are al...

Life is full of disappointments. We all have them and some of them bring us to our knees.  In this episode, Robin talks about why we struggle with our imperfect lives and what to do to keep them from causing us to stumble. 

The division in our country is undeniable, prompting many of us to ask ourselves how we have been part of the problem. If we're honest, we all have bias. This isn't a surprise. But, what might be is how our experiences and culture are constantly unconsciously informing (and misinforming) our decisions and actions towards others. Without even realizing it, these unconscious bias are often...

Since COVID, we have all had to wear many hats, including being our own photographers for big events like graduations, back to school, and family portraits.  This week Rachel is giving you three tips on how to take better photos with your iPhone! 

We all are feeling it... our mental health is taking a hit during COVID. So when the weeks of quarantine turn into months of isolation, how do we keep our mental health in check when our resources are scarce?  In this episode, we are turning to a tried and true method that's helped to keep our mental health in check: journaling. Whether or not you like to journal, this episode is a great one...

We've all heard that laughter is the best medicine, so why is it so hard for (some of) us to laugh at ourselves? Science tells us that people who are able to laugh at themselves are more resilient, have a higher self-awareness and more self-acceptance. In this episode we review five tips to help us learn how to laugh at ourselves and reap the benefits that come with it. SHOW NOTES Discussion...

what’s the first thing that pops in your mind when you hear the words self care?  Maybe a relaxing bubble bath, a long walk, or some "me" time.  Or maybe you think self care is overdone, and just a trendy way our culture makes everything about me, me, ME!  In this episode of The Problem With Perfect, we're settling the argument, "is self care selfish?" once and for all!  W...

Hey Friend, Does this sound like you?  You think you need to be perfect in order to be accepted by your friends and family...  You find yourself criticizing the people around you when they aren't working on their bad habits...  You have done everything you are "supposed" to do to achieve the life you want, but still, you feel like it's not enough...  You set very high standards...