Welcoming Slow Growth Podcast

SHOW NOTES Focus word: Solitude + Presence You want to create and write what you feel called to. But between life's hustle and the quiet presence you can't quite find, you feel like you don't quite belong. Jodi Grubbs knows that feeling. She grew up on the island of Bonaire where life moved at its own unhurried pace — then spent years trying to keep up with a culture that never stops. Then she rea...

SHOW NOTES Welcoming Slow Growth is back for Season 2 — and this season is for the Christian writer or creative who is ready to return to the page or her creative calling. Host Emily Grabatin, author of Dare to Decide and book coach with over twenty years of ministry experience, introduces guests whose words of the year shaped their faith, their writing, and their creative identity. From slow livi...

SHOW NOTES If you've been carrying an unwritten message, a story that feels scattered, or a calling that seems stalled, this episode is for you. In the Season 1 finale of Welcoming Slow Growth — a podcast for writers and creatives walking a faith-filled path — book coach Emily Grabatin reflects on what 11 creatives taught her about spiritual growth through one unexpected thread: the word came befo...

SHOW NOTES Word of the Year: Linger Christian fiction author Melissa Alyse shares how a single word linger refreshed her creative calling. Through her spiritual practice, she learned how important it is to move at God's pace instead of the world's—especially amid the expectations and shoulds of being a new author. A delightful episode for any writer or creative navigating purpose, patience, and sp...

SHOW NOTES Focus Words: Listen to Your Life What does it look like to write from your best self — not your most pressured, depleted, or comparison-weary one? Writer and educator Bailey Gillespie joins Emily for a conversation that is honest and subtly liberating. Since age fifteen, Bailey has lived with chronic illness and long-term pain — and rather than write around it, she writes from the conte...

SHOW NOTES Word of the Year: Grace You chose a word for the year. Maybe you made a vision board, wrote it in your journal, felt that quiet sense of this is it. And then life got full — and your word got a little lost. This solo episode is your sweet invitation back. In this word of the year reflection exercise, Emily Grabatin offers a journalling prompt for anyone who chose an intention or focus w...

SHOW NOTES Focus word: Abide Have you ever felt trapped in a spiritual wilderness, wondering if your creative calling still matters? Artist, writer, and podcaster Hayley Rawnsley knows that exhausting tension between faith and creativity — and the crushing pressure to perform. Graduating during the pandemic, she found herself unraveling from years of striving, until painting and contemplative pray...

SHOW NOTES Word of the Year: Sweet Simplicity Drowning in motherhood or work but still craving time to write and create? You're not alone. This honest conversation explores the tension of finding sweet simplicity when life feels overwhelmingly full and perfectionism takes over. Join host Emily Grabatin and guest Kate Crocco as they discuss setting boundaries, disappointing others, and changing pri...

SHOW NOTES Are you an anxious creative who feels stuck, overwhelmed, or paralyzed by the project in your heart? Do you struggle with shiny object syndrome, fear of not measuring up, or finding time alongside your full-time work? This contemplative, encouraging conversation offers hope. Join host Emily Grabatin and guest Jackie Scott—self-published author of seven books and multi-passionate artist—...

SHOW NOTES Word of the Year: GROW When growth doesn't look like we imagined—when our book doesn't take off, our ministry feels stagnant, or our character work feels repetitive—it's easy to wonder if we're actually growing at all. In this honest and vulnerable conversation, Bible study author Amy Sloss shares her journey with the word "grow" and how God redefined her expectations completely. Amy ex...

SHOW NOTES Word of the Year: Freely and Lightly Do you carry unnecessary weight into your creative work? As writers, coaches, and entrepreneurs, we often turn what we love into a burden—adding pressure, expectations, and the exhausting need to be someone we're not. Your word of the year was supposed to bring clarity and motivation, but instead it became another source of stress. In this contemplat...

SHOW NOTES Word of the Year: Life Does your word of the year feel too vague, overwhelming, or completely irrelevant to your life right now? Have you ever forgotten your word months into the year? You're not alone. Many writers, ministry leaders, and entrepreneurs struggle with choosing a word of the year that actually makes sense—and wonder if there's a point to their chosen word or if they've som...

SHOW NOTES Word of the Year: Patience After eight years of undiagnosed chronic fatigue, Rochelle Tyme was desperate for answers. As a Registered Psychotherapist, wife, mother, and longtime ministry worker, she'd tried everything—doctors, diet changes, spiritual freedom sessions—but nothing helped. She knew something was deeply wrong, yet no one could figure out what. The exhaustion was invisible t...

SHOW NOTES Word of the Year: A Wild Ride Feeling trapped between wanting to grow and barely having the energy to get through each day? You're not alone. Chronic illness, overwhelming circumstances, and survival mode can shrink your world until taking any risk feels impossible. But what if stepping out of your comfort zone during your hardest season could be the key to breakthrough? In this vulnera...

SHOW NOTES Welcome to Welcoming Slow Growth! If you've ever felt caught between busyness of loving what you do and longing for more spaciousness to breathe, wonder, and create—this podcast is for you. I'm Emily Grabatin. Over the past decade, I've coached big-hearted entrepreneurs, authors, and ministry leaders who are pursuing callings bigger than what comfortably fits in their capacity or calend...