One of the most difficult parts in the deconstruction journey is that of loneliness. Whether you've lost your community, friends, family or career many find themselves wandering in a wilderness while deconstructing their faith. In this episode, I dive into this portion of my journey and expose the pain, isolation and mental battles I faced and continue to face. I offer three phases of the wilderness, taking notes from Jesus' personal journey in the wilderness. This is an encouraging episode to offer comfort and empower you to continue following where Spirit leads.  

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

FB Group: www.justajesusfollower.com/podcast/podcastgroup

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel

In this episode, I explore the psychological effects of deconstruction. I break down the four phases of deconstruction and openly share the good, bad and ugly of each part. I get honest about the painful realities I continue to face during this process and share my own crisis of faith. 

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel

I invite BT Harman (Brett Trapp) to join me on this episode as we talk about life after Blue Babies Pink. I ask him ALL THE THINGS. We discuss how he overcame his fears to be authentic and bravely share his journey with the world. He shares what has broken his heart the most inside the LGBTQ Christian community as well as what pushed him to open up about his personal beliefs. He beautifully offers empathy and encouragement towards parents, friends and family of LGBTQ people and shares useful tips of how best to love and honor them. This is one of my favorite honest, rich conversations.

BT Harman: https://btharman.com/

Blue Babies Pink: https://www.bluebabiespink.com/

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel

I spent years trying to avoid painful emotions. I mastered the art of "being okay". But, eventually unresolved grief made a loud appearance and I couldn't hide from it any longer. 

Confronting painful emotions is difficult, but our bodies are designed to grieve. It's how we heal, process and move forward. In order to have the life we truly want to live, grief is something we have to press through in order to get to the other side. 

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel

I invite Calvin Arsenia, a classically trained vocalist, harpist and musician onto the show for an honest conversation about his journey of leaving the worship space and following his own path.

Calvin's music has gained worldwide attention for his shows that tackle sexuality, religion and race in a stunningly unorthodox manner.  We discuss how he learned to believe he was enough while embracing his true self and how he created an authentic life and community. He talks candidly about the pain and frustration he encountered during his time in church, but equally the beauty and depth he continues to pull from his relationship with God and his spirituality.

Show notes:

Calvin Arsenia: www.calvinarsenia.com

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel

Learning how to be vulnerable, real and authentic was one of THE HARDEST THINGS I've ever done. In this episode, I expose my own journey into authenticity and the baby steps I took in this process. I also talk about how Jesus lived and interracted with humans on a real level and how the main thing that irritated the snot out of him were those who were "false". 

Show Notes:

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

Facebook Group: www.justajesusfollower.com/podcast/podcastgroup

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel

Jesus said things like: my yoke is easy and my burden is light. He talked about offering life and giving it to the fullest. He told those who were tired and weary that he would give them rest. The message of loving well and living well were consistent throughout Christ's ministry and teachings. And yet, many Christians instead of focusing on loving and living well, they focus on "suffering well". 

In this episode, I challenge the idea living a life of suffering as we re-think verses like: "taking up your cross" and how you should be "content in any and all circumstances". It's a new perspective on a theme that has been prevelent in most of mainstream Christian culture. 

Show notes:

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel

Facebook Group: www.justajesusfollower.com/podcast/podcastgroup

How does the first story of humans in the Bible relate to our present day culture? In this episode, I explore the "fall" and how it pertains to a very relevant question: what does God say is good and what does God say is evil? This story reveals the primary cause as to why so many denominations, families, relationships, churches and groups are divided. It also offers hope for how we can find peace inside our relationships and inside our relationship with the Divine.  

Show notes:

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel

Facebook group: www.justajesusfollower.com/podcast/podcastgroup

When you start to question what you believe, what certain scriptures mean, how you view the Bible or God all together, many of us start to panic. For me, it was mainly because one of the predominant things in the Christian culture I was raised in, was the pressure to "have an answer" for everything. But when my absolute answers started unraveling, I felt terrified. In this episode I share what that process looked like for me and how I was able to shift from fear to peace. 

Show notes:

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

Facebook group: www.justajesusfollower.com/podcast/podcastgroup

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel

In part 2 of the best of season 1, I explore the best of my conversations with Pete Enns (The Bible for Normal People), Jim Lee (Energy healing with the Splankna Institute) and Tim Rymel (author of Re-Thinking Everything).

In these candid, honest conversastions we discuss topics like:

• Re-thinking our relationship with the Bible and how we read it

Show Notes:

Anna's blog: www.justajesusfollower.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/annadimmel