Impossible Beauty

Deb Benfield has helped hundreds of women heal their relationship with food, eating, and their bodies in her 35-year career as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. In her own aging journey, she became frustrated by how difficult it was to find well-researched advice on aging with vitality that was not related to managing weight or youthful appearance. In her group and one-on-one coaching, Deb works with middle-aged women and beyond to help them feel vital and free of culture’s stifling diet and movement rules.

In my time with Deb, she names and disproves unhelpful myths about the aging process, discusses the prevalence of disordered eating in middle-aged women and beyond, the energy that is available to us if we aren’t trying to white knuckle our bodies, and why elderhood is the time to emerge as our truest self. Deb Benfield’s work, perspectives, and approach regarding aging are important and powerful. My hope is that this conversation might help you shed unhelpful societal beliefs about aging, so you might walk into the aging journey with more freedom, confidence, and vitality.

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.

Several months ago, The Atlantic reported that forty million Americans have stopped attending church in the past 25 years, representing the largest concentrated change in church attendance in American history. In today’s episode, I talk with pastor’s kid turned pastor, Natalie Runion, about the trend of diminishing church attendance.

Natalie Runion is the author of Raised to Stay: Persevering in Ministry When You Have a Million Reasons to Walk Away, worship leader, and the former Pastor of Women and Creative Pastor of Family Ministry at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO. Natalie has also established the Raised to Stay community “for anyone weary of God’s people but longing to keep their faith in God.”

In my time with Natalie, we talk about how her experience in the church has led to her current work and ministry, the beauty that is possible in the church, as well as the lies about beauty she’s seen at work in women’s ministry. Perhaps most importantly, Natalie reminds us that despite the brokenness we sometimes encounter in the church, God’s steadfast beauty remains.


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.

Donetta Floyd’s compassion and perspectives are so refreshing. When it comes to societal messages around food and our bodies, we can often be left with the feeling that we aren’t doing it right. In today’s episode, registered dietitian Donetta Floyd helps dispel unhelpful ideas and misconceptions regarding our relationship with food, our bodies, as well as Type 2 Diabetes.

Donetta is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who works with clients to help them find freedom in their relationship with food, using a Health at Every Size®, Intuitive Eating, and non-diet approach. In our time together, we talk about how Donetta became passionate about working from a non-diet approach, markers of disordered eating, and misconceptions about “health” having a certain look. Donetta’s thoughtful approach to holistic wellbeing is inspiring. My hope is that you leave this conversation feeling more peace in your relationship with food and your body.


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.

Emmy Russell is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who has been performing for the majority of her life. Touring on the road with her grandmother, country legend Loretta Lynn, Emmy started singing on stage at the age of two. Years later, Emmy sang with Willie Nelson’s son, Lukas, at her grandmother’s memorial. This special performance was nominated for Performance of the Year at the CMT Music Awards.

Most recently, Emmy released the song, “Skinny” with The Song House, detailing her struggle with an eating disorder. The song has received a warm reception and has been widely shared, getting over 300k likes on Instagram. In our time together, Emmy shares about her struggles with disordered eating, the pressures of image in the music industry, and how she’s moved toward healing in her own journey. Emmy’s song and authenticity are beautiful and courageous. She reminds us of the power of vulnerability in helping ourselves and others move toward healing.

*This episode mentions eating disorder-related thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms. Please use your discretion when listening and speak with your support system as needed.


Watch Emmy Russell's performance at The Song House here.
Watch the official music video for "Skinny" 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.

Gaelynn Lea is a professional musician and sought-after public speaker. She has opened for numerous artists including the Decembrists, composed the music for Macbeth on Broadway, starring Daniel Craig, and her perspectives have been shared on outlets such as On Being With Krista Tippett and PBS NewsHour.

Having been born with Osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, Gaelynn has had to navigate the world differently. Such life experiences have shaped her perspectives in important in meaningful ways, including becoming an advocate for Disability Rights and Accessibility. In our time together, Gaelynn shares about the beautiful insight that disability can bring, as well as her passion for increased education about disability. She also discusses the transcendence of music, how she is able to hold life’s beauty and pain, and how she broke free from lies associated with societal beauty.

Gaelynn Lea is an incredibly talented musician, and she is so much more than that. She invites us all to take a deeper look at life, what it’s ultimately about, and the kind of beauty that is truly worth pursuing.

To watch Gaelynn's TED Talk, go 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.

Societal notions of “beauty” and our relationship with our bodies and food have been deeply influenced by diet culture. Author and registered dietitian Christy Harrison defines diet culture as: “a system of beliefs that equates thinness, muscularity, and particular body shapes with health and moral virtue; promotes weight loss and body reshaping as a means of attaining higher status; demonizes certain foods and food groups while elevating others; and oppresses people who don’t match its supposed picture of ‘health’…It masquerades as health, wellness, and fitness.” (Anti-Diet, Christy Harrison, p. 7).

In today’s episode, I talk with registered dietitian, sports nutritionist, and nutrition therapist Leslie Schilling about the widespread impacts of diet culture, including in our schools, medical offices, and places of worship. Leslie recently released her second book, Feed Yourself: Step Away from the Lies of Diet Culture and into Your Divine Design. She has also served as a performance nutrition consultant for Cirque du Soleil®, an expert contributor to U.S. News & World Report, and has been featured in media outlets like Health, Women's Health, Self, Pregnancy Magazine, Yoga Journal, The Huffington Post, and on HGTV.

In my time with Leslie, she helps us unravel some of diet culture’s lies, including how its beliefs and practices have infiltrated the church. She also helps us see that thinness isn’t synonymous with health, our worth is not tied to our body size or what is on our plate, and that body diversity is divine. In so many ways, Leslie helps us name the lies of diet culture so we can fight back, live in freedom, and trust our body’s divine design.

Learn more about Leslie's book, 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.

Grace Wabuke Klein has had her share of ups and downs. From fleeing Uganda under the reign of Idi Amin as a child to having her prayers to get married answered at the age of 42, Grace has had a full life. She has also learned, and now encourages others, that we can find purpose even in difficult days and seasons of waiting.

In her new book Flourish: Finding Purpose in the Unknown and Unexpected Seasons of Life, Grace gives a fresh perspective on the winter seasons we all go through, as well as practical steps to not just survive but to find purpose in the unknown and unexpected. Grace has empowered others in their leadership and spiritual growth as part of the pastoral leadership team at Faith Church in West Covina, California and now with her husband at focus412, a ministry that helps encourage church growth.

In my time with Grace, she explains how she remained connected to God during her own winter seasons of struggle, what has helped her establish deep roots of faith, and the lies about beauty she has had to shed over the years. Perhaps most importantly, Grace reminds us of our true identity and deep beauty; ultimately, as Grace says it, “we are a reflection of who God is on this earth.”

Learn more about Grace's book, 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.

Some of life’s greatest lessons come from unexpected teachers. For Lacy Finn Borgo, some of her greatest teachers have been children. In Lacy’s new book, Faith Like a Child: Embracing Our Lives as Children of God, Lacy invites us to consider what we might learn from children. Moreover, could welcoming our child selves draw us deeper into wholeness and our relationship with God?

Lacy Finn Borgo teaches and provides spiritual direction through Renovaré, Mercy Center Burlingame, Companioning Center, and with children at Haven House, a transitional facility for families without homes. She holds a doctor of ministry degree in leadership and spiritual formation and a certificate in spiritual direction from Portland Seminary. Borgo has also authored Spiritual Conversations with Children and the children’s book, All Will Be Well.

In our time together, Lacy and I discuss what we can learn from children and what it means to welcome our child selves. We also consider the importance of tending to childhood wounds, how to remain open to wonder amidst life’s griefs and brokenness, and why imagination is pivotal in the life of faith. This episode is filled with so much wisdom; I can’t wait for you to listen.

Learn more about Lacy's book, 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.

You never know where things will lead. For Grace Casper, a journal she began in elementary school has now become her new book, releasing this week entitled, Dear Parents: Notes from a Child of Divorce. Grace Casper is a writer, speaker, full-time elementary school librarian, and the host of the podcast, Divorce: What I Wish My Parents Knew. She graduated from Baylor University and now lives in Waco, Texas.

In my time with Grace, we talk about how her journal entries became a book and the important message she has for parents undergoing divorce or having undergone divorce. We also talk about the beauty of creativity and dreaming, and how we partner with God when we dream. Grace also discusses trends in social media she is noticing in her generation and the generation behind her, as well as powerful learnings from her relationships with those in the disability community. Grace’s work and words are inspiring, advocating for and encouraging families experiencing divorce and reminding us all of the power of unconditional love.

In honor of the release of my new book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, I have a special episode in store for you. I recently sat down to have a conversation with my literary agent, Don Pape. Don has been a champion of my book and its message for years now and I can’t thank him enough.

In our time together we talk about how Don ended up working in the publishing business, how he then became a literary agent, and the unique features of his company, Pape Commons. Also, in case the term “literary agent” is new to you, he/she basically represents a writer to promote and sell their work to a publisher. This conversation is a special one, as we talk about my heart and passion behind Soul-Deep Beauty, the need for this message amidst today’s media saturated culture, as well as some of the vulnerabilities and struggles that have come up along the way. I can’t wait for you to meet Don and to hear more about how Soul-Deep Beauty came to be.