Constantly Under Construction with Donna Harris

Binge eating and exercise became a habit for Rachel in college. Interestingly, her past never dictated an unhealthy preoccupation with food. Her upbringing didn't point to reasons to overeat. But a slippery slope of typical college life found Rachel in a position of choosing food as a comfort. Eating enormous amounts of food in one sitting all alone, Rachel recounted that time would just stop in those moments. To counteract the eating, she exercised. The shame and secrets would become a catalyst for beating herself up. Negative self-talk became a regular part of the cycle: food restriction, exercise, calorie counting, ending a day of self-deprivation with binge eating and then shame and repentance. All these momentary efforts to control or numb negative feelings mounted on top of each other. The cycle went on for years, Rachel promised each time to make a better effort, to promise herself that she would have better control. But when it came to conquering this eating disorder, the battle could not be fought alone.

Are you discouraged because you think you should have been more successful, met certain milestones, achieved certain goals by a certain time or specific age? Today we fiercely reject that lie! Get ready to listen to this episode more than once because I'm positive you'll want to hear (again and again) encouragement for authenticy, choosing joy, and doing the hard work that Rachel Hollis has to offer.

As I dreamed about this podcast, I had the desire to share encouragement, hope, and real life stories that would help people feel inspired.

You'll get so much encouragement from Rachel, but in the most real way. She sets out to tell the honest truth…even in the messy times. And she highlights the importance of WOMEN, not just men, showing the full gamut of truth. Keeping it real, keeps life authentic for all of us; Leveling the playing field for all women is the encouragement that we see from Rachel, balancing out the good with the bad. And not just on social media, but in REAL life! It's important to realize that sometimes we work too hard for the perception of a good life online instead of a good life in person.

We slash lies from Rachel's book that will bring you freedom. One lie was: I need a drink. Drinking as a habit of numbing…but not really acknowledging that numbing became a problem for Rachel. You'll love to listen to Rachel explain when she realized that she wasn't just having one drink but maybe more to survive each day. And how she has allowed to let the truth of ugly reality of her life set her free.

Listen to this episode to catch all the adrenaline pumping shots of encouragement that Rachel has to bring ...I'm not joking, be alert. We seriously roll through our convo like dialogue on a Gilmore Girls episode!

Rhonda recounts hiding in a ditch amidst the bright lights of police helicopters and fervent search of the law enforcement on foot with their dogs. You'll find that not only was she being pursued by cops ...but also by her Creator. Rhonda's life was completely turned around in prison but the tumultuous road getting there was filled with God's sovereignty. God had a plan for Rhonda. It was in prison that she was rehabilitated. It was through her faith that she saw that she could trust God to bring her children back to her. After working with her Stand in the Gap family, a ministry-led transitional home, Rhonda was able to regain custody of her three children and hold a steady job for nine years.

From this amazing journey, Rhonda eventually began her own ministry and an advocate for women who have been incarcerated, like herself. Rhonda envisioned a community with less recidivism and more successful, healthy women. Rhonda is more than happy to share her story of failure-turned-success. Full blogpost...

Today's episode, the focus is kinda on me. I've been struggling with depression. Forever, in fact. As a teen, I have clear memories of telling family that I was depressed. But I don't think I've ever had anyone help me validate this fact in a way that felt safe. As I grow older and wiser, I'm seeing the places where depression has infiltrated areas of my life and I no longer want it to reside. Part of kicking depression to the curb is shining a light on it. So today, I will give you a sensibility of how I feel personally attacked by depression.

Feeling like she wasn't good enough, feeling like she wasn't worthy, and then believing it put her in a state of darkness. Rachel opens up to us about a time in her life that she calls a spiritual depression. Postpartum Rachel was feeling low self-esteem but there was more to it than a chemical or hormonal imbalance. Her husband brought to her attention the emptiness and depression that she was experiencing. Rachel says that it was more of a spiritual depression because she was living and believing the lies that Satan was telling her about her worth. The heart of the story means so much because this is where we see beauty coming from pain. It is during this time that Rachel was given a new path in her life away from her job as a dental hygienist and into writing and speaking and sharing God's word. Ironically, this all came about by getting raw and real (and sometimes angry) with God.

She describes it similar to sneaking pornography: Alone, ashamed, in secret, and lying about it. When Cara watched The Passion of the Christ, she was seeking for the truth in the story of the resurrection. In the past, Cara had made fun of Christians and thought of them as hypocrites. So to entertain the idea of believing that Jesus and his sacrifice was real, became a moment of choosing between something she knew she could be mocked for.

In the beginning of their relationship, her husband Dan wasn't walking with the Lord either. This part of her story is so interesting to me because I believe it brings more authenticity to her choice of faith. She didn't choose God because her husband wanted her to or influenced her, but because she sought Him out on her own and found God to be everything she needed in life and more.