One thing we know for sure - the topic of sex is vast and we could spent A LOT of time discussing the various areas of this topic.  So let's continue this conversation!  We started it at our EDEN Gathering on Friday, February 19th and quickly realized one episode to answer the questions we received that night will not be enough, so we are going to do two episodes! In this episode, Elizabeth Kettlewell, a college professor who teaches Human Sexuality, is back with us.  We explore further what sexuality looks like for our ladies "in the middle"....women that are single, divorced, widowed or in a long term relationship and we also start answering some of the awesome questions submitted to us! We hope you will join us as we continue to engage in this important conversation.

Feelings.....we can have a love-hate relationship with them.  As we have been exploring the book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero we have come face to face with the reality that we all have emotions, God gave us these emotions and He has them too.  In denying, rejecting or ignoring these God-given emotions, we are stepping away from our true self that God made us to be, away from Him and further into our false self.  In this episode, we have a fun and meaningful conversation with Mariah Connerley.  She shares what it has been like for her to identify and embrace what she feels and courageously look at what it would mean to be her true self. And, of course, there is some enneagram talk!  We hope that like us, you are encouraged by Mariah's vulnerability, energy and zest for life. 

Grief is complicated.  It can bring us to our knees and leave us feeling like we are swimming in a sea of emotions that are difficult to grasp.  It can also bring us closer to God.  At our most recent EDEN Gathering, Pastor Liz Sawczuck blessed us with a message on grief that was real, honest, vulnerable and uplifting.  In this episode of EDEN Speaks, we dig in a little further to the topic of grief and the goodness that is disguised within it.  Grab a warm blanket, something to drink and join us!

We are getting ready to kick off a new study and we are EXCITED!  We will be digging into Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazerro and we would love to get to share this experience with all of you. So, tune into this mini-episode as we share a little about what this book entails, what has been learned from previous times Pastor Shannon has read it and what we are looking forward to learning as we explore this together as a ministry.  Let's take another step into faith and into growing and transforming our relationship with our one and only Savior, Jesus. 

Welcome back to EDEN Speaks!  We have something special for you this week.  We had a fun and inspiring conversation with Katrina Dvorak about Chapter 8 of our book study, this chapter is titled "My Friend Sam, An Invitation to Break and Surrender Dreams."  Katrina shares her heart, her of love of Jesus and her journey of giving up a dream and embracing the story the Lord has written for her.  We also have some bonus audio!  We pull back the curtain on our recording process and share a conversation that occured while we took a break from recording- lucky for us we always have a backup recording going and it was captured.  We hope that you enjoy this as much as we enjoyed recording it!  

Welcome to Episode 4 of EDEN Speaks!  This week we will be reflecting on the message that was delivered by Ashley Potts at our virtual EDEN Gathering (don't worry, we give a little recap if you haven't had the chance to listen to that yet!).  Ashley shared her story of unexpected circumstances, the fear and uncertainty that came with that and the beautiful ways that she has seen Jesus throughout a journey that is still in the process of unfolding.  She highlighted scripture from John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart! I have overcome the world".  In this episode, we dig into the second half of that scripture and explore how these beautiful words can be woven into our journey as well.  

In this episode we have the pleasure of talking with the lovely Kendra Neugebauer!  She shares her story of learning to be vulnerable, engaging in relationships in new ways, sheding the weight of shame she has carried throughout her life and how there was only one way she was able to accomplsh this - Jesus.   She bravely discusses parts of her past that previously she avoided talking about and the freedom that this has brought her.  You guys aren't going to want to miss this!

In this episode, we dig into the question "What is your rock?".  What is the thing (or things!) that has been hard, painful or challenging but that you were able to rest your head on because of God's faithful promises. The thing that started as a rock and you were able to see as a pillar to build your faith on.  He promises us many things, and one of those things is that when we face challenges, He is always with us and He is always faithful.  We can trust Him! So let's dig in. 

Our prayer for this podcast is that this can be a place of openness, grace, honesty, and connection with our sisters in Christ (and any brothers out there who are tuning in!). While this podcast is connection to our women’s ministry at Living Word in Oak Harbor, Washington, we welcome everyone that is looking for real, Christ-centered conversations. Some of these conversations may be hard and emotional, stirring up parts of us that we would prefer to keep hidden and protected. Ephesians 5:13 says “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible - and everything that is illuminated becomes a light”. Let us be that light to one another. Let’s take a step outside of our comfort zone. Let’s trust Jesus to show us how to give grace and hope to others and also put us in a posture to receive it as we engage in a journey of growth. Let’s speak truth of God’s Word. Let’s always speak love.