Impossible Beauty

What if the Life of God, His very Spirit, is actively at work in our lives, our hearts, and in the world around us right now? And what might it be like to cultivate an attentiveness and language for such movement in our lives? These are the topics I dive into on today’s episode with Jeremy Sims.

Jeremy is a professor of spiritual formation at Southeastern University, where he leads the Doctor of Ministry and Master of Arts in Ministerial Leadership programs. He previously served in pastoral ministry for twenty-five years and most recently authored, The Way of the Spirit: Recognizing and Responding to God’s Subtle Movements. 

In our time together, Jeremy discusses what the Holy Spirit is, why it’s important to notice God’s movement in our lives, and how we might begin to do so. So, if you’ve ever wondered if God sees you or is at work in your life or in the lives of those around you, this episode is for you.


Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

Diet and wellness culture often lead us to fear or restrict certain foods or amounts. Food is often seen as something to be optimized or controlled. But what if we began viewing food from a completely different lens-one of gratitude, abundance, enjoyment, and even deep meaning? That is the conversation I dig into with Andrew Camp in today’s episode.

Andrew Camp is a former chef and pastor, who holds a master’s degree in spiritual formation and soul care. Andrew also hosts The Longest Table Podcast, where he explores how the intersection of food and faith can foster community and connection.

In our time together, we explore the themes of food, hospitality, and the table in the Biblical narrative, as well as tensions around food and the table in modern-day society. I was also fascinated by our discussion on the transformational, even mystical, elements we might experience around the table. For me, this conversation was refreshing and intriguing. I hope the same is true for you.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

To “delight” in something or someone is to experience deep joy or to turn toward something with great affection and priority. But what does it mean to delight in God and why does it matter for our faith, for our lives? Those are the questions we tackle in today’s episode with Stephanie Rousselle, a French-born Bible teacher, speaker, host of the Gospel Spice podcast, and founder of Gospel Spice Ministries.  

In our time together, Stephanie shares how delight is central to the life of faith, how beauty and delight are deeply connected, how we might remain open to delight amidst life struggles, and what moved her to convert to Christianity from atheism in her late teenage years.

If you’ve perhaps lost your delight in God, never really experienced it in the first place, or are experiencing a season of discouragement, this episode is for you.

**Learn more about Stephanie’s book, Awaken Delight here.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

Dr. Elizabeth or Liz Hall is Professor of Psychology at Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University in La Mirada, California, where she researches and teaches at the intersection of suffering, meaning-making, and Christian spirituality. For over 30 years she has been exploring how faith and psychology can work together to help people flourish—especially amid suffering. She also coauthored Relational Spirituality with her husband, Todd, and has published over 150 academic works.

In my time with Dr. Hall, we discuss her most recent book, entitled When the Journey Hurts: Finding Meaning in Suffering for Heart, Mind, and Soul. In her book, and in our time together, she shares about her own personal experience with breast cancer and her learnings from her extensive research on suffering. Specifically, she discusses how suffering can lead to flourishing, how she holds on to God’s goodness and beauty amidst life’s difficulties, and how suffering can open us up to God’s presence.  Truth be told, I was surprised to come away from this conversation on suffering feeling inspired and hopeful. I deeply hope it does the same for you.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

Diet and wellness culture have a way of disconnecting us from our bodies and a life-giving relationship with food. Thankfully, professionals like Lisa Diers are working to help people heal their relationship with their bodies and with food.

Lisa Diers is a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified yoga teacher who specializes in supporting eating disorder and body image recovery. Lisa has a combined over 20 years of experience in nutrition and yoga services and previously served as the National Nutrition and Yoga Director for a large national eating disorder treatment program.

In my time with Lisa, we discuss current lies associated with diet culture, how nutrition therapy and yoga can bring about reconnection with food and our bodies, and more about the Soul-Deep Beauty Retreat at Hinshon Farms on October 3rd. In a world where messages around food and our bodies can bring about confusion and disconnection, my hope is that this episode and the upcoming Soul-Deep Beauty Retreat might bring about grounding and reconnection. I can’t wait for you to listen.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

The truth is what our minds dwell on forms us. The stories and images we behold imprint themselves on us, shape who we become, and impact how we see the world. In this way, our imaginations are powerful. In today’s episode, Lanta Davis helps us better understand the power of our imaginations and how what we dwell on forms who are becoming. 

Lanta Davis is professor of humanities and literature in the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University and the author of Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation. Her writing has appeared in Christianity Today, the Christian Century, Smithsonian Magazine, Plough, and Christ and Pop Culture. In my time with Lanta, she discusses the importance of training our imaginations, why the imagination is a ‘stamp for the soul,’ and how and why it’s important to allow beauty to shape our imaginations.

Lanta’s insights are fascinating and formational; I can’t wait for you to listen to our conversation.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

It seems like wellness influencers are everywhere these days: often touting diet and exercise habits, alongside a certain aesthetic, as the pathway to health and self-optimization. But what happens when this cultural trend gets conflated with Christian ideas, or as Kelsey McGinnis says it, when such ideas get “faith washed”?  

Kelsey Kramer McGinnis is a writer, musicologist, and the co-author of The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Failed a Generation of Evangelicals. Kelsey is also a regular contributor to Christianity Today, where she reports on worship practices, the music industry, and church culture. She also teaches music, theology, and social justice as a lecturer at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.

In my time with Kelsey, she shares research from her upcoming book, including what Christian diet and wellness culture is, its history, and how it can become problematic. We also discuss the rising prevalence of the fixation on ‘healthy eating,’ how certain Christian subcultures have adopted this trend, and when such a fixation might not be so healthy.This is such an important episode. I can’t wait for you to listen.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

Emma Ward is a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in trauma and relationships, helping people name what they feel so they can heal what they carry.

Emma is an Irish immigrant, living in the U.S. for 12 years, who integrates theological depth into her clinical work. She helps clients move from emotional suppression to emotional honesty, all grounded in the transformative power of God’s love.

In my time with Emma, she shares how we are so often taught to fear, suppress, or spiritualize away emotions and how learning to feel is one of the most courageous things we can do. She also discusses why naming our emotions is so important, where she sees beauty in the work of emotional healing, and how love is central to all of it. 

*Learn more about E-motion Monsters here.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

After turning 60, Deb Benfield began questioning societal messages around aging, vitality, and beauty, and quickly realized how many resources still centered weight loss and youth as ultimate goals. In response, she created what she couldn’t find: a framework for nourishing the body that honors inner wisdom, prioritizes quality of life, and embraces the full spectrum of aging.

Deb Benfield, M.Ed., RDN, LDN, RYT is a Nutrition Therapist, Registered Dietitian, and Body Image Coach with 40 years of experience helping people heal their relationship with food, movement, and their bodies.

In my time with Deb, we discuss her book, Unapologetic Aging: How to Mend and Nourish Your Relationship with Your Body. Specifically, she discusses harmful trends and limiting beliefs regarding ageism, diet and wellness culture, and body shame. She also shares recommendations for caring for our bodies in in this important life stage and reminds us that midlife and beyond holds the opportunity to emerge as your most authentic self.  

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

As we enter Holy Week, I can’t imagine a more appropriate conversation than the one I recently had with author and pastor, Donnie Berry. Donnie is an instructor of New Testament and biblical theology with Training Leaders International and the author of The Earth Will Be Filled: A Biblical Theology of the Glory of God. 

In our time together, Donnie discusses the glory of God; a topic I’ve heard about for years but have not felt confident I’ve ever understood what it means. Donnie shares how understanding God’s glory can change the way we live and how the life, death and resurrection of Jesus reveals God’s glory.  He also highlights the depths of Jesus’ self-giving love displayed on the cross, taking the brokenness we experience on himself to restore us to God and to our true humanity. 

In my conversation with Donnie, I felt like I heard familiar topics in a new way, a way that spoke to areas of brokenness I’ve experienced recently. My hope is that the same might happen for you. May this conversation meet you where you’re at and may it bring you hope.  

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.