Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar passages in scripture, but familiar does not mean shallow.

In this first summer Scripture Verse Mapping episode, Stephanie slows down with Psalm 23 and looks at it from the perspective of the sheep. This passage is not just a pretty poem about green pastures and quiet waters. It is a picture of relationship with a Shepherd who leads, provides, restores, protects, corrects, prepares, anoints, and stays.

Together, we walk through the meaning behind the Shepherd, green pastures, still waters, righteous paths, the valley, the rod and staff, the table prepared in the presence of enemies, anointing oil, an overflowing cup, and the promise of goodness and mercy.

This episode is a reminder that the valley is not proof the Shepherd left. He is still close. He is still leading. And you are not walking alone.

• Psalm 23 is not only about comfort; it is about relationship with the Shepherd.
• “I shall not want” does not mean “I shall not wait.”
• Still waters are not stagnant waters; they are safe waters.
• The valley is not proof that the Shepherd left.
• The table is not proof that your enemies are gone; it is proof they do not get the final word.

Reflection Companion:
Download this week’s Scripture Verse Mapping companion page at gloryandgritpodcast.com.

Season One of Glory & Grit was centered around one big question: How do we find God when life doesn’t go the way we thought it would?

In this Season One recap, Stephanie looks back at the threads that kept showing up again and again — beginnings, waiting, small steps, rebuilding, surrender, and the reminder that God does not leave the story.

This episode is a reflection on what God taught us through the solo episodes, guest conversations, messy beginnings, powerful stories, and behind-the-scenes lessons of launching the podcast.

Season One may be wrapping up, but the conversation is not over.

• God meets us in the nervous, messy beginnings.
• Waiting does not mean God has forgotten us.
• Small steps of obedience still matter.
• Rebuilding with God may not look like getting your old life back.
• Surrender is often where we finally admit we were never meant to carry it alone.

Download the Season 1 Reflection Companion at gloryandgritpodcast.com.

In this episode of Glory & Grit, Stephanie talks with Matt Melvin about the difference between believing in God and truly trusting Him.

Matt shares how a near-death moment became a spiritual wake-up call, how a prison season became what he calls “Bible Bootcamp,” and how God used surrender, accountability, repentance, and discipline to reshape his life.

This conversation is about learning to trust God when control is stripped away, taking ownership instead of staying stuck in a victim mindset, and allowing God to rebuild your foundation in Him.

Takeaways from this episode:

• Believing in God and trusting God are not always the same thing.
• Hard seasons can reveal where God is inviting us to surrender.
• Accountability can be an important part of spiritual growth.
• God can use even painful places to rebuild our foundation.

Reflection Guide: Download this week’s reflection guide at gloryandgritpodcast.com.

Sometimes faithfulness does not look big, bold, polished, or impressive. Sometimes it looks like taking one more small step when you are tired, unsure, and still trying.

In this solo episode of Glory & Grit, Stephanie talks honestly about what it means to keep showing up when obedience feels ordinary, when faith feels quiet, and when the work God has placed in your hands takes more out of you than you expected.

Anchored in Doctrine and Covenants 64:33 — “Be not weary in well-doing” — this episode is a reminder that tired does not mean failing, small does not mean insignificant, and God may be laying a foundation even when you cannot see the full picture yet.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why being tired does not mean you missed God
• How small acts of faithfulness still matter
• Why foundation work often feels hidden, slow, and ordinary
• The difference between showing up and burning yourself out
• A gentle invitation to ask God for your next faithful step

Reflection Guide:
Download this week’s reflection guide at gloryandgritpodcast.com.

In this episode of Glory & Grit, Stephanie talks with Jenna Zanotto about a season when life felt overwhelming from every direction.

Jenna shares about becoming a single mother, being diagnosed with lupus, facing financial hardship, relying on government assistance, and learning to trust God when she could not see how everything would work out. She tells how God provided through unexpected people, small nudges, paid bills, gas money, protection, and one last-minute check that helped cover rent and pay off her car.

But this conversation is not just about one miracle moment. It is about learning to stay connected to God one step at a time.

Jenna also shares a powerful image God gave her through one tiny Lego piece — a reminder that we do not always need the whole plan. Sometimes we just need to stay connected to Him for the next piece.

If you are waiting, hurting, trying to figure out what comes next, or wondering how God is going to provide, this conversation is a reminder that God has not forgotten you.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Trusting God when life feels uncertain and overwhelming
• God’s provision through small moments, people, timing, and practical help
• Learning not to run ahead of God when we want the whole plan
• Remembering that waiting does not mean God has forgotten us

Reflection Guide:
Download this week’s reflection guide at gloryandgritpodcast.com.

When surrender feels like failure, how do we learn to trust God with what we cannot fix?

In this episode of Glory & Grit, Stephanie talks with W. Bruce Cameron about a season when his 25-year marriage ended, his job was lost, and the life he had built was shaken all at once. As someone who had always been a problem-solver and provider, Bruce found himself at the end of his own strength.

Through a powerful roadside moment while listening to “Jesus Take the Wheel,” Bruce began to discover that surrender was not quitting — it was learning to release control back to God.

In this conversation, we talk about:

* When surrender feels like failure and why releasing control can feel so hard

* Finding breath and hope before circumstances change

* Taking practical steps of faith, including asking for help when pride or fear wants to hide

* Waiting on God with trust, not passivity

Bruce’s story reminds us that surrender does not mean giving up. Sometimes surrender is the moment we stop carrying what only God can hold.

Scripture: Isaiah 40:31

For show notes, Bruce’s links, and the free reflection guide for this episode, visit the Glory & Grit website.

What does hope look like when life stays chaotic?

In this episode of Glory & Grit, Stephanie talks with Crystal Griffith about fierce hope in the middle of medical chaos. Crystal shares parts of her story involving traumatic brain injury, infertility, chronic illness, caregiving, medical advocacy, and life as a mom to a medically complex daughter.

This conversation is honest, funny, tender, and deeply faith-filled. Crystal reminds us that hope is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about trusting God as our anchor when life is complicated, exhausting, and still unfolding.

If you are a caregiver, medical mom, chronically ill listener, or someone walking through a season that feels heavier than you know how to carry, this episode is a reminder: you are not failing, you are not unseen, and God is still with you in the chaos.

• Fierce hope in ongoing hardship
• Traumatic brain injury and life rerouted
• Infertility and miracle pregnancy
• Chronic illness and caregiving
• Medical advocacy and being dismissed
• Life as a medical mom
• Holding faith and frustration together
• Trusting God when healing does not come quickly
• God’s presence in complicated, unfinished stories
• Medical Mom Warriors™ and purpose born from lived experience

• A hard season is not proof that God has forgotten you.
• Caregivers are not failing just because they are tired.
• Sometimes God’s faithfulness looks like provision, endurance, people, resources, or one more step forward.
• God can use what you have lived through to strengthen someone else.
• Being present with someone in pain can be a holy act of love.

Reflection Guide:
Download this week’s reflection guide at gloryandgritpodcast.com.

What do you do when the plan changes?

In this solo episode of Glory & Grit, Stephanie talks about the disappointment, pressure, and scrambling that can rise up when something shifts unexpectedly. Through Proverbs 16:9, she reminds us that a changed plan does not mean God has left the plan.

Sometimes the interruption is also an invitation — to pause, pray, release control, and trust God with the next faithful step.

In this episode:

• Why even small changes can stir up big feelings
• How to recognize the pressure to scramble or force a solution
• The difference between an interruption and an invitation
• Why disappointment does not mean a lack of faith
• How Proverbs 16:9 reminds us to trust God with our steps

Reflection Guide:
Download this week’s reflection guide at gloryandgritpodcast.com.

There is a strange place after the hard season shifts. You are not where you were, but you are not fully healed either. You may be grateful, but tired. Hopeful, but still tender.

In this episode of Glory & Grit, Stephanie talks about what it looks like when God begins to rebuild after life does not go as planned. Rebuilding does not always start with a big breakthrough. Sometimes it begins quietly — with one honest prayer, one small step, one healthy choice, or one surrendered piece placed back in God’s hands.

If you are in a rebuilding season, this episode is a reminder that slow does not mean God is absent. Sometimes slow is where God is doing the deepest work.

Takeaways

• Rebuilding usually starts in the aftermath, not after everything already looks put together.
• Slow does not mean God is absent.
• God may not rebuild everything exactly the way it was.

Scripture: Isaiah 61:4

Find the reflection guide for this episode at gloryandgritpodcast.com.

In this episode of Glory & Grit, Stephanie welcomes her husband, Marty, for the podcast’s first guest conversation. Marty shares about widowerhood, grief, faith, and the slow process of learning to live again after loss.

This tender conversation is for anyone walking through grief, feeling stuck in a season that seems unchanged, or wondering whether God is still working when life feels quiet and heavy.

• Grief often comes in waves.
• God can be near even when life feels quiet or heavy.
• Community matters more than we realize.
• Sometimes God is working long before we can recognize it.

gloryandgritpodcast.com