Anita Lustrea

Melissa Camara Wilkins joins me on the podcast to talk about being yourself. You know how exhausting it is to try to be someone else! Melissa has written Permission Granted: Be Who You Were Made to Be and Let Go of the Rest. Can I get an Amen?!

Melissa is an award-winning blogger and host of an online community that explores what it means to be who you were made to be. The work comes as we learn to let go of the rest. On the podcast we take a look at Melissa's story and how you can catch a vision for how your own life might shift and change.

Two friends join me on this week's podcast. Long-time friend Michelle Van Loon returns to the podcast, and more recent friend Wendy Cox joins me for the first time. The important topic this week is how to form and operate a conversation group. The three of us are part of a conversation group that contains 3 additional women. I've received so many requests to talk about how to go about forming and running a group that I decided to gather a couple of other voices and talk about it.

Long-time friend, Sharon Garlough Brown, joins me on the podcast. Some of you know her from her Sensible Shoes series, which I highly recommend. Sharon's latest two releases are the topic of conversation on the podcast. Shades of Light follows Wren Crawford, a social worker overwhelmed with the cares of the world. Brown delves into themes of mental illness in this novel as she looks at anxiety and depression. Some old friends from Sensible Shoes make an appearance along the way.

We also talk about Remember Me: A Novella About Finding Our Way to the Cross. A beautiful book with artwork included that can serve as a companion to our upcoming Lenten journey.

As always, a delightful conversation with Sharon Garlough Brown.

Aundi Kolber is my guest this week on Faith Conversations and her book Try Softer is an important book if you've struggled with anxiety or stress, or have lived any of your life in survival mode. Aundi is a licensed professional counselor, writer, and speaker. Her area of specialization is trauma- and body-centered therapies.

Often we've been told to "try harder," but this is not a helpful message. Kolber says we don't have to white-knuckle our way through life.

Holly Beers and her book, A Week in the Life of a Greco-Roman Woman, are a delightful addition to the list of Faith Conversations. When I booked Holly for the podcast, I thought her book was non-fiction. As I got into the content to prepare, I realized—most pleasantly—that it was a novel. The focus of the novel is a young wife working to hold poverty at bay, dealing with daily struggles in the Greco-Roman world—a world I knew hardly anything about.

Holly is associate professor of religious studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, and this is her second book, her first novel.

I believe you'll find the conversation and the content of Holly's book very interesting.

Beth and David Booram join me on the podcast this week. Beth was my very first podcast guest when Faith Conversations began, so it was wonderful to have her back and to have her husband and coauthor, David, join us.

The Boorams are the cofounders and directors of Fall Creek Abbey, an urban retreat center in Indianapolis, where they lead the School of Spiritual Direction and offer individual and group spiritual direction. Together they've authored When Faith Becomes Sight: Opening Your Eyes to God's Presence All Around You.

Michelle DeRusha joins me again on the podcast. The first time she joined me our focus was her book True You, a worthy read. I knew then that she needed to be a return guest because she was such a good conversationalist. So Michelle is back and we discuss topics from her newsletter and recent blog posts. She is a wonderful writer and her blog is one of the few I read regularly.

We talked about everything from 'am I a gym person' to what does it mean to 'move at the pace of what is real.' And, we take a look at what is on Michelle's nightstand or what has most recently been there. Looking for some good books to read? Maybe you'll find one in our conversation.

Long time friend, Andrew Peterson, joins me on the podcast as we talk about both a new book, Adorning the Dark, and a new album, the 20th anniversary edition of Behold the Lamb of God.

Andrew talked about writing and songwriting. We talked about community and what Behold the Lamb of God looks like on its 20th anniversary. We also talked about what Andrew is reading these days.

Episode 200! It's a milestone in my podcasting world. Most people who start a podcast do a few episodes, maybe 6 months' worth, but episode 200 represents 4 years of nearly continuous podcasts. I'm a bit surprised that I made it this far. Many things compel me to go on and you'll hear about that and more on this episode as my son, John Lustrea, picks up the microphone and interviews me!

Dr. Robert J. Wicks is my guest this week on the podcast. He is Professor emeritus, Loyola University Maryland. He is a prolific author and a much sought after speaker and workshop presenter. I was intrigued by the title of his book, The Tao of Ordinariness: Humility and Simplicity in a Narcissistic Age.

The focus of our conversation was on issues of true self/false self and how one arrives at a stronger sense of self. As Dr. Wicks walked us through the important portals of humility, simplicity, alone time, courage, resilience, and mentorship, he helps us learn to appreciate our own sense of self.