Finding Joy in the Journey

I share why I decided to talk about Internal Family Systems (IFS), a model developed by Richard Schwartz that therapists (and sometimes life coaches) use to understand how our minds have different “parts,” each with its own emotions, beliefs, and protective roles.

Using my spreadsheet of parts, I share examples like my Cookie Monster, distraction/Instagram, anger at technology, line-hating impatience, and lots of manager parts (routines, organization, hypervigilance, people-pleasing), plus how recognizing and befriending them has helped me.

I’m sharing a book I just read—Whole Brain Living by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor (of the My Stroke of Insight TED Talk)—and how it’s helping me.

She explains we don’t just have a left and right brain, but four “characters”: the left thinking brain (my organized planner, “Monica”), the left emotional brain (my fear-based protector/inner child, “Sheri”), the right emotional brain (present-moment joy and sensory living, “Pippi”), and the right thinking brain (the expansive, peaceful “Queen Zen”).

Two takeaways I loved are the 90-second rule for processing emotions and her five-step “brain huddle” tool (Breathe, Recognize, Appreciate, Inquire, Navigate).

I also share a Hawaii hotel mix-up where “Monica” took over, and why naming these characters helps me recognize which one is trying to be in charge!

I’m sharing what I’ve learned from wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) off and on for over a year, using Stelo (no prescription needed).

Seeing my glucose responses has helped me treat food and movement like a personal science experiment—like comparing ice cream with and without a short walk afterward—and it’s been a strong motivator, especially during the holidays.

I’ve learned practical patterns, like how meal order (veggies/fiber first) and even 10–15 minutes of movement after eating can reduce spikes, and how portions matter (like eating less ice cream at a time). Wearing one has helped me better interpret my body’s cues and make choices from curiosity instead of judgment.

I’m learning to emotionally surrender my timeline and enjoy the present.

I compare it to learning chess on Duolingo—when I make the wrong move, I get reset and shown the right one—and I feel like God has been doing that with this timing.

During the sacrament I had a visual of giving Jesus all my turmoil, feeling His calm, and choosing to believe time is working in my favor. I reflect on Acts 1:7: timing is the Father’s business.

What timeline are you struggling with right now?

A simple tool I use when I get stuck in a worry spin: shifting from “what if” to “what is.”

Because my nervous system reacts to imagined scenarios like they’re real,

looping on worst-case what-ifs, keeps me activated.

While focusing on present facts helps me regulate and get back to being present, calm, and flexible.

When it comes to talking to others about p*** , whether we are struggling with it, or we find out someone we love is struggling. It is helpful to have a new perspective.

One that doesn't go to shame.

This is audio from an old video I created over 10 years ago, after teaching a lesson at church about this. Here is the link to the video if you prefer to watch. https://vimeo.com/140003122?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Today I share a lesson based on Elder Soares’s April talk about Jesus Christ as the true vine.

I explain why vineyards appear so often in scripture and break down the roles—God as the vinedresser, Jesus as the vine, and us as the branches—focusing on pruning and how it can feel painful but is loving and meant to increase fruitfulness.

I explore seasonal vineyard care, including the idea that in John 15 the word “takes away” can mean “lift up,” like a vinedresser lifting vines onto a trellis.

Then I outline what it means to abide in Christ through intentional daily choices, spiritual discernment, and listening to His voice over competing voices, trusting that pruning and lifting are expressions of love.

Whitewater Rafting and Practicing 75% Good or Better

I share my whitewater rafting adventure and how it became a real-life practice of aiming for “75% good or better.”

Rivers are unpredictable, with calm stretches and turbulent rapids that can change with conditions, and the trip helped me practice being present through both.

For me, the 1% horrible was the poop box (from the last episode), and the 24% bad was disrupted sleep in the tent and nighttime trips to the pee bucket.

Still, those parts didn’t overshadow the good: guides cooked every meal, rowed so I didn’t have to, and I could hold on with both hands in the rapids; I stayed in the boat, enjoyed stunning red rock canyons, learned from passionate guides, and loved the small group.

My Whitewater Rafting Adventure (and the Poop Box)

I share a story from a five-day, four-night whitewater rafting trip from Moab to Lake Powell where I had to tent camp and learn to use the “poop box” system because the company has to pack out waste in the desert.

As the trip got closer, I got increasingly nervous about sleeping in a tent and the bathroom logistics, so I coached myself with travel affirmations and did a breathwork session that helped shift my nervous system from fear to excitement.

On the river, I realized the poop box wasn’t fresh each time???!!!!

and the smell and mental disgust made it hard to go at first, but I found a way to cope using Cottonelle wipes and reframed the poop box from a weapon into a tool.

The trip was mostly wonderful, and I invite listeners to identify their own “poop boxes” and the miracle of new perspectives!

Today I share a tool that’s helped me move up the vibrational scale when I’m stuck in fear:

shifting from fear to love.

Gratitude is usually my go-to, but in two recent, very different situations, I couldn’t get there—and I realized I didn’t have to.

In my weekly prayer group, a friend reminded me that the miracle is being able to shift from fear up to love, and I experienced how powerful it was to feel love even while the fear didn’t fully go away.

I invite you to allow the fear, feel it for 90 seconds, notice it in your body, and then ask: how can I feel love here—being loved, or loving someone else?