Today's Heartlift with Janell

Send us a text “Liminal space can best be described as going through a change or going from place to place—from one thing to the next,” says transitions expert Melissa Cohen, a licensed clinical social worker in New York and founder of the mental wellness website A Redefined You. “It’s the space between what is and what will happen next,” she says. In other words, liminal space refers to the actua...

Send us a text As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week in the States, we take time to reflect with gratitude on the goodness of God. This week's episode invites three questions: When was the last time you noticed the grandeur of God in your everyday life? Did it make you smile and maybe even take your breath away? Finally, did you take a moment to thank Him? In this episode, we welcome Rachel...

Send us a text What do we do with all these voices that twirl and swirl in our minds? In Part 2, Gem Fadling, author of "Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the Voices in Our Heads," offers us remarkable wisdom and practical action steps for sorting through those oft-debilitating negative voices. Her message of Trinitarian Love is profound and life-changing. She shares, "Love mixed w...

Send us a text Maybe you recognize some of these voices that try to drain our everyday life of meaning and vitality: the Stressed Achiever, the Positive Thinker, the Complaining Victim, the Passive Spectator, the Anxious Controller, the Unsettled Heart, or the Inner Critic. Author and Spiritual Director, Gem Fadling, brings the wisdom of her new book, "Hold That Thought: Sorting Through the V...

Send us a text In Part 2 of this great conversation with Jan Johnson, author, and spiritual director, Jan continues to share lessons she learned from her mentor, friend, and co-author, Dallas Willard. She shares how using our imagination, our five God-given senses, and an openness to the power of the Spirit can transform "the mental chore of prayer" into a beautiful, personal relationshi...

Send us a text Are you looking for a deeper connection with God? In today's episode, author and spiritual director, Jan Johnson, opens a beautiful, heartwarming conversation about contemplative prayer. With humor and candor, she shares how her own prayer life had become mechanical and transactional, leading her on a quest for more. Links + Resources from this Episode:  So excited that the pod...

Send us a text Have you ever felt like a wallflower? You know, the invisible woman sitting in the corner of your community? Unnoticed. Forgotten. Our guest today, Cheri Strange, author of "Can You See Me Now?: Good News for the Lonely, Left Out, and Less Than" definitely knows that feeling. The community of faith doesn't talk about this subject enough, so today, Cheri and Janell ope...

Send us a text Growing a daily habit of prayer can be daunting in this crazy, hurried culture we all live in, but developing this daily habit adds so much meaning to life. To help us learn simple, practical ways to incorporate prayers of rest into our lives, author Asheritah Ciuciu shares and reads from her newest book, "Prayers of Rest: Daily Prompts to Slow Down and Hear God's Voice.&q...

Send us a text Great thinkers and theologians all agree that prayer without meditation is "like putting a thing in a bag with holes," (Manton), or "an arrow shot with a weak bow," (Bates), or basically, is just "unfruitful" (Toon). In Season 10, we examine the role of prayer and meditation in our everyday lives. We are being invited to develop a new rhythm and habit o...

Send us a text Were you more aware this week of those Anxiety Elephants trying to stomp in your life? Thanks to Caris Snider, author of the "Anxiety Elephants" series for adults and tween boys and girls, we received a powerful visual image of the heavyweight anxiety plays in our everyday lives. This week, we continue this conversation and are again invited to consider something C. S. Lew...

Send us a text Is there any better way to visualize anxiety than picturing an elephant sitting on your chest? Author Caris Snider creates this mental picture in her new devotional, Anxiety Elephants for Tween Girls and Tween Boys. In Part I of this interview, Caris shares her own story of when anxiety elephants came and sat on her chest. Anxiety is heavy. Caris and Janell offer ways to manage the...

Send us a text What does it mean to be content? This little seven-letter word is an enigma. It seems elusive, hard to find, and even more difficult to live out every day. With absolutely everything we need or want available at the click of a mouse or touchpad, is it even a possibility we can be content? The apostle Paul seems to think so. In Philippians 4:11, he shares how he had to learn the secr...

Send us a text What is "the secret place" in the life of our everyday faith? What images come to mind when you hear words like, "silence," and "solitude?" Perhaps they bring up somewhat negative or scary memories of having to be "seen and not heard" as a child sitting in the pews of the church. In today's episode, Janell invites us to get to know a litt...

Send us a text Author J. R. Rim writes, “The morning is in itself a miracle, the chance to be able to live life - is the greatest gift we have. The morning is a reminder of that, every day.” In this Season 10 opener, "The Everyday Series," we open a vital conversation about how to make the 24-hour framework of our lives rich in meaning, purpose, and most importantly, deep contentment. Li...

Send us a text After Julie and Janell's conversation ended, Julie shared a powerful story that Janell just had to share with you. All of us face difficulties and challenges. We want them to just go away. We want a miracle. We want healing and resolution. Sooner than later, please, yet there are times we are called to endure.  Support the show Begin Your Heartlifter's Journey: Support the...

Send us a text In our grand Season 9 Finale, we have author Julie Thomas, Ph. D., with us. In her book, "Hope Inside Out," and in her brave "I Am Second," White Chair interview, Julie shares her grueling battle with Post Partum Depression. Around 1 in 7 women can develop postpartum depression (PPD). While some women experience "the baby blues," PPD lasts longer and af...

Send us a text How would you answer this question, "What do you want in your life right now?" In Part 2 of this conversation with Psychologist and Author, Dr. Alison Cook, we learn of the three realities that keep us stuck and disempowered: childhood trauma, confusing church messages, and cultural expectations. Dr. Cook refers to these three realities as the "Cocktail of Codependenc...

Send us a text Shortly after experiencing a life-threatening stroke, our guest today, Author and Psychologist, Dr. Alison Cook, found herself walking in a hay field, talking to God. As she wrestled with the "whys" of having a stroke in her forties, she felt God ask her a pointed question, "Alison, what do YOU want with this life YOU still have to live?" In today's conversa...

Send us a text How is your mindset? In her newest book, "Make Up Your Mind: Unlock Your Thoughts, Transform Your Life," Author and LPC-S, Michelle Nietert, hones in on "a helpless mindset," and offers us wise, practical ways to breakthrough that sense of learned helplessness to a stance of true freedom. Links + Resources from this Episode:  So excited that the podcast has been...

Send us a text Whether we recognize it or not, we all have a mindset. To help us both unlock and understand our mindset(s), we welcome Author and LPC-S, Michelle Nietert , to the show. In her newest book, co-authored with Denise Pass, "Make Up Your Mind: Unlock Your Thoughts, Transform Your Life," she offers ten specific mindsets and invites us to examine ours and see which one we might...

Send us a text In this heart-to-heart conversation with Dr. David Hawkins, author of "Why Marriage Counseling Fails: Is the Problem the Marriage or the Counselor?" and Founder of The Marriage Recovery Center (www.marriagerecoverycenter.com),  we talk about some very hard subjects: When should a couple have an intervention? When should they separate? Is there a moment of clarity as to whe...

Send us a text In this riveting episode with Dr. David Hawkins, author of "Why Marriage Counseling Fails: Is the Problem the Marriage or the Counselor?" we open a very candid conversation about the work of love and marriage, why marriages fail, and look at "the autopsy of a failed marriage." This is a hard conversation but a very important one, especially in this post-Covid wor...

Send us a text Heartlifters, meet Lisa Appelo, author of "Life Can Be Good Again: Putting Your World Back Together After It Falls Apart." I have one word for this conversation: wow. Lisa went to bed one night a happily married woman and mother of seven and woke up a widow and single mom. Her story offers us vital spiritual resilience training and empowers us to overcome our own paralyzin...

Send us a text Author and Pastor Brad Hoef writes, "Mood disorders are a biological condition involving brain chemistry and genetics. They do not arise from character flaws, lack of faith, or poor choices. Mood disorders are medical conditions. There is no more shame than if we had diabetes, arthritis, or any other medical ailment." In Part 2, Pastor Brad shares candidly about his own di...

Send us a text In Part 1 we heard author Michele McCarthy share her very amazing journey towards knowing and experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in her life. In Part 2, Michele shares her physical struggles and brings a rare physical condition to light: MTHFR, an enzyme that breaks down the amino acid homocysteine, which causes an inability of our body to convert the B9 vitamin, Folate. This...