Life is filled with joy and disappointments.  No matter what age or stage, we have all experienced disappointment. Imagine the unfulfilled hopes of Zechariah and Elizabeth, waiting for a miracle that finally arrives. In this episode, I share my own struggles with disappointment and how I am learning to bring it all to Jesus and let Him heal and restore. Drawing inspiration from Susie Larson's "Prepare Him Room" devotional, I explore how bringing these disappointments and painful circumstances to Jesus leads to healing and redemption. 

By revisiting the humble beginnings of the first Christmas, we celebrate the incredible gift of Jesus, who gives us hope and redemption. This episode is an invitation to prepare room for Jesus' peace and love and to bring your pain and disappointment to Him, because He cares for you. Together, let's embrace holy contentment and holy expectancy. 

Do you feel stuck? Are you living in fear or anxiety? Is Jesus calling you to something that feels overwhelming or uncomfortable?  Are you clinging to your past? Clinging to what is comfortable?

Jessica digs deep into Acts 7 and Hebrews 11. The Israelites wanted to stay in Egypt - the very place of captivity. They lived in Egypt for 400 years as slaves. Yet, they wanted to stay there while knowing God gave them a promise of the promised land. Why would they want to go back to the very place of bondage and slavery when God promised them a land flowing with milk and honey? How often do we do the same? How often do we cling to what is comfortable?  How often do we want to go back to what is familiar when things are hard, or we don't understand where we are going? 

Jessica shares her story with her Egypt of fear and anxiety, yet the freedom she has experienced along the way. 

What's your Egypt? What's holding you captive? What is God calling you to do that would require you to leave what is comfortable and familiar to enter into a journey of freedom?

There is freedom on the other side of your Egypt. 

Summer is here! Summer is fun yet busy. It can leave us with full calendars and fun in the sun, but spiritually we can run dry. We need living water that never runs dry.

Is your cup empty? Do you feel exhausted and overwhelmed? Is your calendar full but your soul empty? Who or what are your running to for peace and strength?

In this episode, Jessica vulnerably shares her own personal struggle with filling up on things of this world and how empty and fleeting they are. She dives deep into God's Word on empty cisterns and the woman at the well.  She ends with some practical, Biblical ways we can all fill our cups with The Living Water, the well that never runs dry: Jesus.  

Let's fill our cups. 

Comparison steals our joy and robs us of the the unique purpose God has for each of our lives. Our walk with Christ may look vastly different than the person we are comparing ourselves to. Jessica shares her struggle with comparison and what God is teaching her in this area. This episode we will dive deeper into the ways in which we compare, the roots of comparison, and the way to move past comparison and into a life of joy following Jesus and His plans for our lives, not someone else's. 

Overwhelmed? Heavy-hearted? Is there a lack of joy and peace in your life?

This episode is for you, and for me. There's a lot going on in the world right now: division, violence, uncertainty, and fear. Plus, we all have our own battles we face in our personal lives. Left to ourselves, we will be overtaken by the storm. It's easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless the second you turn on the news, or scroll through social media. But, there's a better way. It's going to take a revival. A revival in each of our hearts by the Gardener Himself. Let's dive into an encouraging and challenging message God has placed on our hearts. 

This is Part 2 of the Identity Series: Your identity and worth isn't found in your appearance. 

In a world that puts outward appearance and self on a platform, it's a battle to believe and live out that our identity isn't found in what we look like.  In a world that places such an emphasis on appearance, self, and image, how do we live out what God says to us? How can we be set free from the lie that our identity and worth is tied to our appearance?

As Jessica shares her story and struggle with body image and idolizing appearance, she gently reminds us that God doesn't look at our outward appearance. He doesn't see us the way the world does. He looks and loves our hearts. He cares about our hearts more than anything else.  

In today’s episode, we will celebrate moms, raise awareness/pray for human trafficking, dive deeper into the battle of judging ourselves and others based on their outward appearance, and dig deep into what God has to say about it all. 

Links:
Human Trafficking 5k Walk/Run: https://www.stopthetraffickingrun.org
Tim Tebow Foundation: https://www.timtebowfoundation.org/ministries/anti-human-trafficking

This is the first episode in our Identity Series: Your identity and worth isn't found in motherhood. If you know a mom, are a mom, or long to be a mom, this episode is for you. 

Motherhood looks different for everyone. But, we all have some sort of a ‘picture perfect’ story in our minds of what it should look like. We may envision how many kids are in our future. We may envision the birth we long for and the joy when we see them for the first time. We see, we plan, we pray. But, when things don’t go that way… What do we do? How do we cope with this? And where is the deep root of shame and ‘mom guilt’ coming from?  

Have you ever scrolled through social media and read through a post that left you feeling shame, or that you are not enough? Have you ever shared your story and the responses of people are far from empathetic and you feel they don’t get it? Do you ever say, “I’m fine”, even when inside you are deeply hurting? 

I know I have. Especially when it comes to topics around motherhood. With Mother’s Day around the corner, this couldn't be more relevant.  

In today’s episode, we will be diving into where our true identity is in Christ, what God’s Word says about us, and how to put that into action to live a life of freedom and worth, found in Jesus alone. Let’s get ready to dig deep. 

The topic most of us don't really want to talk about... Trials.

But, Jesus has a lot to say about trials, suffering, and pain. This episode is so relevant with all that is going on in the world right now. Jesus says: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

In this episode, Jessica shares her real and raw story of the trials she has gone through the past two years as she became a Mom. It's not an easy story to share, but God has comforted and encouraged Jessica in amazing ways through the trials she walked (or crawled) through. No matter what season of life you find yourself in, our prayer is that this episode will encourage you in the trials you may be facing, or prepare you for the ones to come!

We will dig deep into God's Word for wisdom and encouragement when it comes to trials, the purpose of trials, and what Jesus has to say about it all.  Let's dig deep.

You don't want to miss this relevant topic in today's episode: Fear. We all have experienced it. We all want to overcome it. If you have ever experienced fear, this episode is for you!

In today’s episode, we have my wonderful husband joining us, Nick Norring.  Nick shares his faith story and the uncertainty and doubt he has experienced as God called him to take steps that often didn't make sense or feel comfortable. He shares practical, biblical ways of how he has been able to step out in faith, even in the midst of uncertainty, doubt, and the unexpected storms he has experienced in his life. You will be filled with encouragement after listening to this episode!

Nick is a devoted follower of Jesus, husband, dad, and one of the co-founding members of the MN based Christian nonprofit, BOLD3 Coffee. 

Special shoutout to BOLD3 Coffee, the sponsor of the Coffee with Jesus podcast. BOLD3 Coffee is a Christian nonprofit ministry on a mission to empower others to be bold and to reach every child in the world with God’s life changing Word! You can learn more at BOLD3.org. Every Bag of BOLD3 Coffee purchased delivers God’s Word to 3 Children. 

Today’s episode is one that I personally need to hear and need to be encouraged on! We will be talking about stories. But not just any story. Your story. 

What's your story? Everyone has one. No matter who you are, where you have been, and where you are right now in your walk with Christ (whether you are still exploring Jesus and your faith, just started following Him, or have been following Jesus for years), you have a story and your story matters deeply to God.

In this episode, we dive into: your story, how your story matters to God, why to tell your story, how to tell your story, and lastly, some real life tips when it comes to sharing your story, even if it's hard and painful.

When you share your story, healing is found, for yourself and others. When we share our story, we share Jesus. 

What's your story?