Hope for Right Now: A Walking with Purpose Podcast

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Hope for Right Now: A Walking with Purpose Podcast episodes

June 15Be Still Episode 1:When the World Won’t Slow Down: Learning to Stand Still
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Psalm 46 + Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
In a world that rarely slows down, God invites us to be still. In this first season of Be Still: A Walking with Purpose Podcast, Lisa Brenninkmeyer explores six Scriptures that teach us how to stop striving, quiet our hearts, and trust Him in the middle of real life. Through the wisdom of the Bible and the companionship of great books, we’ll discover how God gently holds us steady and invites us to be still—right where we are.
Today we’re going to slow down together with one of the most beloved verses in all of Scripture: “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
We often picture this verse as soft and peaceful—but Psalm 46 was written in the middle of chaos. Mountains fall. Waters roar. Nations rage. And right there, God says: Be still.
Stillness isn’t the absence of trouble. It’s the decision to trust God in the middle of it.
In this episode, Lisa reflects on Psalm 46 alongside Wendell Berry’s novel Hannah Coulter, a quiet story about one woman’s faithful life of loving her family, tending her home, and staying rooted in one place. Together, Scripture and story remind us that holiness is often hidden in the ordinary.
You don’t have to hold the world together.
You don’t have to chase a bigger life.
God is already present in the one you’ve been given.
In this episode, we explore:
What “be still” really means in Hebrew (stop striving, release your grip)
Why stillness is trust, not passivity
Wendell Berry’s vision of “membership” and belonging
The sacredness of ordinary, everyday faithfulness
How Mary at Jesus’ feet (Luke 10) models the same posture of presence
Journaling Questions
Where in my life am I striving or gripping tightly — and how might God be inviting me to release control and trust Him instead?
What ordinary people or places has God already entrusted to me that I’m being called to love more faithfully this week?
Key Scripture
Psalm 46:10. Be still, and know that I am God.
Let’s stay connected.
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.
Stay in the know. Connect with us today.
We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ.
Learn more about WWP on our website.
Our shop.
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15 min
May 19 Introducing Be Still: A Walking with Purpose Podcast
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Be Still: A Walking with Purpose Podcast episodes launch June 1. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to get notified!
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Welcome to Be Still: A Walking with Purpose Podcast. Walking with Purpose is a Catholic women’s apostolate helping women personally know Christ through Scripture. I’m Lisa Brenninkmeyer, and each week I’ll open the Bible with you and unpack God’s Word in a way that speaks to your real, everyday life.
Scripture will always be our foundation. And because God often uses story to awaken our hearts, I’ll also draw from great books that have deepened my own faith. As my family steps into a new season of owning a beloved local bookstore in Camden, Maine, I’ll be weaving reflections from novels, memoirs, and spiritual classics into our time together.
Life can feel noisy and demanding and it’s easy to rush past the voice of God. This podcast is an invitation to slow down and be still long enough to hear Him. Together, we’ll look honestly at our struggles and hopes, and discover how God meets us right where we are. Whether you’re driving, walking, or folding laundry, this time is for you and the Lord. So open your heart. Open your Bible. And invite God in.
Let’s stay connected.
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.
Stay in the know. Connect with us today.
We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ.
Learn more about WWP on our website.
Our shop.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
10 min
April 06 Episode 94: Easter: New Life
Hope for Right Now Podcast – Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey: Easter: New Life
While Walking with Purpose Founder Lisa takes time to write our next women’s Bible study, Laura Phelps welcomes guest Caitlin Bean to the Hope for Right Now podcast for a seven-week series: Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey.
Lent is a time of sacrifice, preparation, and spiritual waiting—a time to prepare our hearts for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For many of us, it has become about exterior performance, a “holy checklist” we begin on Ash Wednesday and struggle to sustain for 40 days. And preparation? Who has time for that? We are exhausted—after all, it was just Christmas!
If this is how your heart feels at the start of Lent, this series is for you—offering practical encouragement, Scripture reflections, and simple ways to experience a more meaningful, peace-filled Lent.
In today’s final episode on Hope for Right Now, Laura and Caitlin rejoice in the Easter season and talk about all things new life, new blooms, and the new paths ahead! He is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Open your Heart to our key Scripture.
Isaiah 58:11: Then the Lord will guide you always and satisfy your thirst in parched places, will give strength to your bones, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a flowing spring whose waters never fail.
Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode.
Isaiah 45:8: You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it. (NIV)
Genesis 3:19: You are dust, and to dust you shall return.
1 Corinthians 15:55–58: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is thy victory O death, where is thy sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Revelation 21:4: He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.
Romans 6:6: We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
2 Corinthians 1:3–5: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
Invite Him in with this episode’s questions for reflection.
Which phase of the journey challenged you most? Where were you most surprised by joy? How has God transformed your desert into a superbloom?
Show mentions.
Be Still: A Walking with Purpose Podcast, launching June 2026
Lisa Brenninkmeyer, Living in the Father’s Love
Caitlin Bean and Laura Phelps, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness
Paw Patrol
Pope Leo XIV, homily
Norbertines of St. Michael's Abbey, The Great Fast
Laura Phelps, Substack, Words & Birds
Let’s stay connected.
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.
Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community.
Stay in the know. Connect with us today.
We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ.
Learn more about WWP on our website.
Our shop.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
51 min
March 30 Episode 93: Loved to the End
Hope for Right Now Podcast –Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey: Loved to the End
While Walking with Purpose Founder Lisa takes time to write our next women’s Bible study, Laura Phelps welcomes guest Caitlin Bean to the Hope for Right Now podcast for a seven-week series: Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey.
Lent is a time of sacrifice, preparation, and spiritual waiting—a time to prepare our hearts for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For many of us, it has become about exterior performance, a “holy checklist” we begin on Ash Wednesday and struggle to sustain for 40 days. And preparation? Who has time for that? We are exhausted—after all, it was just Christmas!
If this is how your heart feels at the start of Lent, this series is for you—offering practical encouragement, Scripture reflections, and simple ways to experience a more meaningful, peace-filled Lent.
In today’s episode, Laura and Caitlin dive into Holy Week and the unfathomable love of God.
Open your Heart to our key Scripture.
John 13:1: Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode.
1 Corinthians 13:1–3: If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Romans 8:28: We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
1 Corinthians 1:18: The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
Revelation 21:5: Behold, I make all things new.
Luke 7:47: Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.
Lamentations 5:21: Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old!
Invite Him in with this episode’s questions for reflection.
Have you grown in greater intimacy with the Father? Have you grown in greater self-knowledge? Have you experienced heart transformation in subtle and hidden ways? Have you discovered joy in the least likely of places?
Show mentions.
Caitlin Bean and Laura Phelps, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness
Mel Gibson, The Passion of the Christ
Father Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen, Divine Intimacy
Enduring Word Bible Commentary
Let’s stay connected.
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.
Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community.
Stay in the know. Connect with us today.
We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ.
Learn more about WWP on our website.
Our shop.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
41 min
March 23 Episode 92: Overwhelmed by the Mess
Hope for Right Now Podcast –Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey: Overwhelmed by the Mess
While Walking with Purpose Founder Lisa takes time to write our next women’s Bible study, Laura Phelps welcomes guest Caitlin Bean to the Hope for Right Now podcast for a seven-week series: Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey.
Lent is a time of sacrifice, preparation, and spiritual waiting—a time to prepare our hearts for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For many of us, it has become about exterior performance, a “holy checklist” we begin on Ash Wednesday and struggle to sustain for 40 days. And preparation? Who has time for that? We are exhausted—after all, it was just Christmas!
If this is how your heart feels at the start of Lent, this series is for you—offering practical encouragement, Scripture reflections, and simple ways to experience a more meaningful, peace-filled Lent.
In today’s episode, Laura and Caitlin walk us through the mud, offering encouragement and hope for the times we find ourselves overwhelmed by the mess.
Open your Heart to our key Scripture.
John 9:6–7: (Jesus) spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Silo’am” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.”
Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode.
Ezekiel 36:25–26: I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Hebrews 3:15: Oh, that today you would hear his voice: “Harden not your hearts.”
Psalm 51:17: The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Joel 2:13: Rend your hearts.
Invite Him in with this episode’s questions for reflection.
What is your “perceived mess”? Looking at this from God’s point of view, how might you see His creative work on display?
Is there an area of your heart you're keeping safe in a box, pulling away from the Lord, wrestling with unbelief instead of allowing Him to draw near?
Show mentions.
Register for our webinar to learn about bringing Bible study to your community.
Caitlin Bean and Laura Phelps, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness
Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Douay-Rheims Bible translation
St. John Chrysostom
Lisa Brenninkmeyer, Walking with Purpose, Grounded in Hope, Lesson 4: Harden Not Your Hearts
Brené Brown, quote
Caitlin Bean, “For Your Weekend: The Vulnerability and Divinity of Jesus”
C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
Let’s stay connected.
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.
Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community.
Stay in the know. Connect with us today.
We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ.
Learn more about WWP on our website.
Our shop.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
40 min
March 16 Episode 91: Jesus Thirsts for You
Hope for Right Now Podcast – Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey: Jesus Thirsts for You
Laura Phelps welcomes guest Caitlin Bean to the Hope for Right Now podcast for a seven-week series: Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey.
Lent is a time of sacrifice, preparation, and spiritual waiting—a time to prepare our hearts for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For many of us, it has become about exterior performance, a “holy checklist” we begin on Ash Wednesday and struggle to sustain for 40 days. And preparation? Who has time for that? We are exhausted—after all, it was just Christmas!
If this is how your heart feels at the start of Lent, this series is for you—offering practical encouragement, Scripture reflections, and simple ways to experience a more meaningful, peace-filled Lent.
In today’s episode, Laura and Caitlin walk us into a new phase, the rainfall, and vulnerably share the empty wells they have run to in order to find the love that only God can give.
Open your Heart to our key Scripture.
Hosea 6:3 Let us press on to know the Lord; his going forth is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.
Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode.
John 4:1–42: The Woman at the Well
Exodus 2:15–21
Genesis 24:14–19
Genesis 19:1–9
Romans 8:26: Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself interceded for us with sighs too deep for words.
Hosea 10:12: Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain salvation upon you.
Matthew 13:7: Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
Jeremiah 4:3: For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your uncultivated ground, and do not sow among thorns.” (NASB)
Proverbs 28:13: He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Invite Him in with this episode’s questions for reflection.
What empty wells do you continue to go to, looking to quench a thirst that only God can satisfy?
Ask the Lord to plow your heart; give Him permission to remove the rocks and thorns and to reveal to you the unsurrendered areas of your heart.
Challenge: go to confession!
Show mentions.
Flourish 2026: Spiritual Motherhood, The Transforming Power of the Feminine Genius, St. Louis, MO, April 17-19, 2026. Register here.
Caitlin Bean and Laura Phelps, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2560
Transform hearts with us this Lent! Your gift to Walking with Purpose fuels our mission to bring life-changing transformation to Catholic women and girls. Donate now.
Joseph Langford, M.C., I Thirst: 40 days with Mother Teresa
Brant Pitri, Catholic Productions
Let’s stay connected.
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.
Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community.
Stay in the know. Connect with us today.
We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ.
Learn more about WWP on our website.
Our shop.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
44 min
March 09 Episode 90: Love Hurts
Hope for Right Now Podcast–Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey: Love Hurts
While Walking with Purpose Founder Lisa takes time to write our next women’s Bible study, Laura Phelps welcomes guest Caitlin Bean to the Hope for Right Now podcast for a seven-week series: Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey.
Lent is a time of sacrifice, preparation, and spiritual waiting—a time to prepare our hearts for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For many of us, it has become about exterior performance, a “holy checklist” we begin on Ash Wednesday and struggle to sustain for 40 days. And preparation? Who has time for that? We are exhausted—after all, it was just Christmas!
If this is how your heart feels at the start of Lent, this series is for you—offering practical encouragement, Scripture reflections, and simple ways to experience a more meaningful, peace-filled Lent.
In today’s episode, Laura and Caitlin talk about waiting in dormancy and why God’s timing is perfect, despite circumstances screaming the opposite.
Open your Heart to our key Scripture.
John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode.
Romans 5:8: But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
Mark 9:43–48: If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where “their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
1 Corinthians 10:31: So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
Isaiah 60:22: I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it.
Deuteronomy 32:4: The Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice.
Galatians 6:9: Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.
Romans 4:20–21: No distrust made him waver concerning the promises of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Genesis 37:29: When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes.
Job 1:20: Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground and worshiped.
Invite Him in with this episode’s questions for reflection.
Where does dormancy find you today? Are you fighting against the darkness, trying to busy yourself to keep the frustration of slow progress at bay? Or are you learning to lean into it, yielding to the season of the soul?
Show mentions.
For a limited time, get 15% off our Easter gift collection by using the code EASTER15. Hop on over to our shop. Sale ends March 19, 2026.
Nazareth, “Love Hurts”
Caitlin Bean and Laura Phelps, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness
Laura Douglass, @lauramdoug
Matthew R. Please, The Definitive Guide to Fasting and Abstinence
Dan and Stephanie Burke, Avila Institute
Alli Koscal, Substack, “Finding Havens”
Bible Hub, Topical Encyclopedia
Let’s stay connected.
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.
Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community.
Stay in the know. Connect with us today.
We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ.
Learn more about WWP on our website.
Our shop.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
42 min
March 02Episode 89: Activity vs. Receptivity
Hope for Right Now Podcast–Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey: Activity vs. Receptivity
While Walking with Purpose Founder Lisa takes time to write our next women’s Bible study, Laura Phelps welcomes guest Caitlin Bean to the Hope for Right Now podcast for a seven-week series: Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey.
Lent is a time of sacrifice, preparation, and spiritual waiting—a time to prepare our hearts for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For many of us, it has become about exterior performance, a “holy checklist” we begin on Ash Wednesday and struggle to sustain for 40 days. And preparation? Who has time for that? We are exhausted—after all, it was just Christmas!
If this is how your heart feels at the start of Lent, this series is for you—offering practical encouragement, Scripture reflections, and simple ways to experience a more meaningful, peace-filled Lent.
In today’s episode, Laura and Caitlin talk about receptivity, an aspect of the feminine genius, and why losing distractions is necessary for interior transformation.
Open your Heart to our key Scripture.
Matthew 6:2–4: Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode.
John 6:10: Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.”
1 Peter 5:8: Be sober, be watchful; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Psalm 22:1–2: The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing. He hath set me in a place of pasture. (Douay-Rheims)
John 5:17: My Father is working still, and I am working.
Invite Him in with this episode’s questions for reflection.
Are we too busy to receive because of our ungodly need to achieve? Let’s not forget that spiritual transformation depends on receptivity, not activity. We can rest, because God is always at work.
Is there something in your life that you have called a failure that is actually the Lord setting you in a place of pasture?
Show mentions.
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Caitlin Bean and Laura Phelps, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness
Grant Herbel, Substack, “The Spiritual Danger of Turning Everything into Content”
Pope Saint John Paul II, Apostolic Letters, Mulieris Dignitatem and Letter to Women
Dan and Stephanie Burke, Avila Institute
Luke Burgis, Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life
Mary Oliver, “Sometimes” (Red Bird, 2008)
Danielle Bean, Substack
Monsignor Charles Pope, SpiritualDirection.com
Edith Stein, quote
Alice von Hildebrand, The Privilege of Being a Woman
Flourish 2026: Spiritual Motherhood, The Transforming Power of the Feminine Genius, St. Louis, MO, April 17-19, 2026. Register here.
Let’s stay connected.
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.
Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community.
Stay in the know. Connect with us today.
We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ.
Learn more about WWP on our website.
Our shop.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
42 min
February 23 Episode 88: Let Yourself Be Loved
Hope for Right Now Podcast – Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey: Let Yourself Be Loved
While Walking with Purpose Founder Lisa takes time to write our next women’s Bible study, Laura Phelps welcomes guest Caitlin Bean to the Hope for Right Now podcast for a seven-week series: Desert Bloom, A Lenten Journey.
Lent is a time of sacrifice, preparation, and spiritual waiting—a time to prepare our hearts for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For many of us, it has become about exterior performance, a “holy checklist” we begin on Ash Wednesday and struggle to sustain for 40 days. And preparation? Who has time for that? We are exhausted—after all, it was just Christmas!
If this is how your heart feels at the start of Lent, this series is for you—offering practical encouragement, Scripture reflections, and simple ways to experience a more meaningful, peace-filled Lent.
In today’s episode, Laura and Caitlin talk about our new Lenten devotional, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness, and share their personal Lenten fails and the idols they need to lose, while uncovering the fear behind letting go of achieving God’s love in exchange for simply receiving it.
Open your Heart to our key Scripture.
Hebrews 12:2: For the joy set before Him, He endured the Cross.
Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode.
Philippians 3:13–14: One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 43:18–19: Remember not the former things, or consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Deuteronomy 2:7: For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands; he knows you are going through this great wilderness; these forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.
Exodus 16:2–3: And the whole congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Invite Him in with this episode’s questions for reflection.
What is your idol? What do you want more than God?
Do you approach Lent like a spiritual performance review?
How is the Lord inviting you to undo the production narrative you’ve been telling yourself?
Show mentions.
Caitlin Bean and Laura Phelps, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness
Michelle Benzinger, Abiding Together Podcast
Saint John of the Cross, “The Lord measures out perfection neither by the multitude nor the magnitude of our deeds, but by the manner in which we perform them.”
Let’s stay connected.
Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform.
Want to keep the conversation going? Join our private Facebook community.
Stay in the know. Connect with us today.
We are committed to creating content that is free and easily accessible to every woman—especially the one looking for answers but unsure of where to go. If you've enjoyed this podcast, prayerfully consider making a donation to support it and other WWP outreach programs that bring women closer to Christ.
Learn more about WWP on our website.
Our shop.
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
42 min
February 16 Encore Episode 4: He Satisfies the Deeper Longing
Hope for Right Now Podcast – Encore Episode 4: He Satisfies the Deeper Longing
There’s an old Latin proverb that says, “Repetition is the mother of learning.” With that in mind, we are revisiting four of your favorite Hope for Right Now podcast episodes. Our prayer is that you would take some time to look back, and reflect on the ways you’ve grown in your relationship with God. We will return on February 23, 2026, with a new series based on our brand new Lenten devotional, Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness.
Today’s last encore episode is a real throw back—all the way back to episode 1! This top fan favorite is the first conversation on our podcast. The series is Encountering Jesus Personally, and the episode is He Satisfies the Deeper Longing. We all hunger, but quick solutions and overnight fixes are not going to help or satisfy. The remedy we need, the only One who satisfies, is Jesus, the Bread of Life. Truly, this is a conversation that will never grow old.
This is a special Encore Episode originally released in January 2024.
In this week's episode, Lisa and Laura dive into the Gospel of John, focusing on the famous I AM statement, “I am the bread of life.” Each time we find Jesus saying, “I am,” He is giving us a glimpse into what He’s like. He’s revealing something about His character. If you’re struggling to find purpose and meaning or are weary from disappointment or heartache, listen and be encouraged as Lisa and Laura unpack today’s Scripture and apply it to our daily lives.
Open your Heart to our key Scripture.
John 6:35: Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”
Open your Bible to other Scriptures referenced in this episode.
Exodus 3:14: God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”
John 6:15: Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the hills by himself.
John 6:26–27: And when Jesus encountered the crowd He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you.”
John 6:48–51: He said, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live for ever, and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
John 6:52–56: The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”
Invite Him in with this episode’s questions for reflection.
What’s the end goal? Psychological health or spiritual maturity?
Show mentions.
N.T. Wright, Theologian
Fulton J. Sheen, Life of Christ
Lisa Brenninkmeyer, Walking with Purpose, Opening Your Heart
Lisa Brenninkmeyer, Walking with Purpose, Touching the Divine
Father John Bartunek, Choosing the Better Part
Peter Kwasniewski, The Holy Bread of Eternal Life
CCC 129, "The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.”
Our presenting sponsor is Hallow. Hallow is the number one prayer and meditation app dedicated to helping you grow closer to God and find peace with thousands of guided prayers and meditations. As Lent approaches, Hallow invites you to join Pray40: The Return, a 40-day Lenten journey rooted in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, inviting you into deeper conversion and a renewed return to the Father. Visit hallow.com/walkingwithpurpose to get 3 months of Hallow free. Come home this Lent.
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34 min

About Hope for Right Now: A Walking with Purpose Podcast

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