Jodie Niznik served in vocational ministry for over twelve years. Her calling and passion is to equip people to create space for God in their lives and take another step in their journey with Jesus. She does this through writing, teaching, and her Scripture meditation podcast. Today, Jodie shares about how finding Christ at church camp, the first time she learned about lectio divina, and how she helps others engage the practice. Jodie’s story reminds us that there are many ways engage the Lord if we just take a little time.
Listen to Jodie’s story in your favorite podcast app now!
Stories Jodie shared:
The process of lectio divina and the guardrails we need
Growing up in Atlanta with a good family.
Finding Christ at church camp at 13
Having a very performative view of her faith
Deciding to do things on her own and the distress that resulted
Discovering Christian community at the University of Boulder
Getting married and moving to Texas
Hearing God tell her to go to seminary
Her experience with God through school
Starting to work at her church at the end of her schoolwork “on fumes”
Experiencing lectio divina for the first time
Leading her first lectio experience
Meditating on Psalm 37
The process of practicing lectio
Why she started a podcast about lectio, So Much More: Creating Space for God
Deciding to move away from working at the church
Experiencing God through a painful experience
Great quotes from Jodie:
I had to slow down or I wasn’t going to do any kind of work God called me to (24:16)
There’s not a return but there is a new space.
God wants to speak to you through His Word.
Resources we mentioned:
Jodie’s website
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry by Ruth Haley Barton
Related episodes:
Sharon Swing and How to Listen to Your Life
Traci Rhoades and A Firm Foundation
Sarah Geringer and Transforming Your Thought Life
The post Jodie Niznik and Creating Space for God appeared first on Eric Nevins.

318: Jodie Niznik and Creating Space for God

Each episode of Halfway There features an ordinary Christian sharing their story of spiritual formation on the journey of life with God. Go beyond the classic Christian testimony into the ups and downs, the joys and the difficulties of being a Christian in the 21st century.  Our guests offer insights and hope from their own stories. If you ever wondered if God is active and alive, this show is for you.

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Caris Snider is a speaker, author, coach, and podcaster. Her latest book is There’s an Elephant on My Chest, a picture book for children she wrote to help kids understand what anxiety feels like. Today, Caris shares her story of growing up in a Christian home in the Bible belt feeling like she had to be perfect. Trying to live up to her beliefs led to anxiety and depression until she was willing to accept help. Caris shares with us how she found hope over anxiety and the Lord’s closeness during the process. Caris’ story reminds us that we need community and don’t have to be perfect to be loved.
Listen to Caris’ story in your favorite podcast player today!
Children's Picture Book- There's an Elephant on My Chest
Stories Caris shared:
Overcoming anxiety and helping others
Growing up in Alabama in a Christian family as a twin
Her mom’s example as a prayer warrior
Having to overcome cerebral palsy on the left side of her body
Trying out for cheerleader and not making it
Studying early childhood development
Meeting her husband who was in a Christian boy band
Buying her own childcare center and realizing that it wasn’t for her
The season of uncertainty after giving up the childcare center
Trying to pull herself up by her bootstraps and finding it impossible
Having anxiety attacks with increasing frequency
Trying to numb her pain by not eating
Having a miscarriage and how that affected her
Realizing she had to accept help to get out of her depression
Giving up the idea of perfection for herself
Learning the identities that the Lord has for her
Writing books about anxiety and helping others
Great quotes from Caris:

When I looked up the things I was believing were proven to be lies.
I had to recognize that help was not bad.
I had to stop believing that I had to be perfect to be loved by Him.
Those struggles are real but there is real hope.

Resources we mentioned:
Caris’ website
There’s An Elephant On My Chest by Caris Snider
Car Line Mom Devotional: 100 Days of Encouragement for the Mama Who Gets Everybody Everywhere by Caris Snider
Related episodes:
Edith Leland and Intimate Friendship with God
Jon Fugler and Ditching Performance Christianity
Christy Boulware and Love That Casts Out Fear

The post Caris Snider and Hope Over Anxiety appeared first on Eric Nevins.

355: Caris Snider and Hope Over Anxiety

Jacci Turner is an author, spiritual director, trainer of spiritual directors, and a retried trauma therapist. Today, Jacci shares her story of discovering the Lord at camp, serving as a trainer for campus ministers for decades, and how her growing understanding of God’s love changed everything. She lost her position and became an outcast from a community she loved. Jacci shares how she got through that difficult season and how spiritual direction helped her see the way through the spiritual desert. Jacci’s story reminds us that we all get a little tumbled by life but that the Lord makes something beautiful out of us all in the end.
Listen to Jacci’s story in your favorite podcast player now!
Stories Jacci shared:
Growing up as a daughter of a produce
Finding Jesus “for the first time” as a child
Praying for Jesus to take away her nightmares
Forgetting her relationship with God as a teenager
Giving her life to Christ as a teenager at camp
Going to college and learning Scripture
Growing in love for the LGBTQ+ community
Leaving her organization by invitation
The pain of becoming an outcast because of her position
The dreams she had during this painful season
Starting a group called Shalom for church wholeness
Experiencing Jesus even through the difficult times
The identities she had to let go in order to get through the spiritual desert
How a spiritual director helped her through her issues with the church
What spiritual direction is and why it is valuable at every stage of the journey
Spiritual cairns in the desert
Great quotes from Jacci:
If I never get to Hollywood, I still want to follow you.
As we got to know them, they didn’t become our gay friends. They became just our friends.
Look to hope. Find hope in people, in God, in the books, in Scripture, in the forest, wherever you can find it.
Resources we mentioned (affiliate links):
Jacci’s website
Tumbled People: Deconstructing and Reconstructing Your Faith by Jacci Turner
The Gravity Center
The Divine Hours (Volume Two): Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime: A Manual for Prayer by Phyllis Tickle
Yes And…Daily Meditations by Richard Rohr
Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for Reawakening to What Our Souls Know and Healing the World by John Philip Newell
Related episodes:
Cliff Haddox and The Story that Grows With You
Phileena Heuertz and Christian Contemplation
Suzanne Stabile and How Enneagram Heals Relationships
The post Jacci Turner and Tumbled People appeared first on Eric Nevins.

354: Jacci Turner and Tumbled People

Sam Black, author of The Healing Church: What Churches Get Wrong About Pornography, and Director of Life Change Education at Covenant Eyes. Today, Sam shares how his life changed when he was first exposed to pornography, how it became a crutch for him, and why it’s so destructive. He explains the inner turmoil he felt which often kept him from church but then, he discovered a community that allowed him to be honest about his addiction. Plus, Sam tells us how to get started making your church a place that’s safe, too. Sam’s story reminds us that God’s grace is enough for everyone regardless of what sin they struggle with.
Listen to Sam’s story in your favorite podcast app now!
Stories Sam shared:
Why he wrote The Healing Church
Growing up in Indiana, Kentucky, and Florida in a “hypocritically violent” home
Being exposed to pornography at 10 years old
How pornography became an escape for him
The messages that he received from his church
How his wife came to Christ
The relationship between how much pornography and service
Believing that he could not live up to a Christian life
Going to an event at his wife’s church
The marriage class that became a safe space
How his life changed as he was able to be vulnerable
The spectrum of how the Church handles problems
How to be the safe person for your community
Great quotes from Sam:
No one comes to the Father except through the Spirit. And the Spirit was doing a number on me.
What part of James 5:16 do we not believe?
What we need is a safe place with a safe process where it’s okay to come as you are.
Resources we mentioned:
Sam’s website
The Healing Church: What Churches Get Wrong about Pornography and How to Fix It by Sam Black
Covenant Eyes – Code for one month free: safeguard
Strive Program
Related episodes:
Rob Lohman and Breaking Addiction
Rose Ann Forte and Letting Go of Shame
Christy Boulware and Love That Casts Out Fear
The post Sam Black and The Journey of Freedom appeared first on Eric Nevins.

353: Sam Black and The Journey of Freedom

Lyndsey Medford is a writer and speaker living with a rare autoimmune disorder in the crumbling empire of the American South. Today, Lyndsey shares what her disorder was like as a child, the pressure she felt to make her story a redemptive one, and the kind response of the Lord who only wanted to be with her. We talk about how to develop a holistic view of yourself and the spiritual implications of doing so. Learning to listen to God, to our bodies, and to one another is a crucial discipline for the spiritual journey. Lyndsey reminds us that doing so means letting go of expectations and learning to simply be with God.
Listen to Lyndsey’s story in your favorite podcast player now!
Stories Lyndsey shared:
Moving and finding herself back with family
Her experience of learning to live in her body
Growing up in North Atlanta and how church was part of her life
Experiencing an autoimmune disorder as a child
Praying for healing a lot
The pressure she felt to turn her story into a redemptive one
What the Lord said about her suffering
The idol of productivity and how her time on the couch addressed it
How studying theology shaped her faith
Asking questions about what it means to be human and vocation
Experiencing an intense depression after college
Understanding incarnation and empire
Great quotes from Lindsey:
I did have a strong sense of having a relationship with God and being loved by God and that didn’t depend on being good at suffering or hiding my suffering in the ways I though it did at the time.
To turn [suffering] into a nice pretty story while it’s still happening is an unfair pressure we put on people.
I’ve been told all my life that there’s things you have for me to do. So when are we going to do them?
When we are really still, God is inviting us to let of some of the expectations about ourselves that no longer serve us.
Resources we mentioned:
Lyndsey’s website
My Body and Other Crumbling Empires: Lessons for Healing in a World That Is Sick by Lyndsey Medford
Related episodes:
Becky Castle Miller and Trusting Your Emotions
Skye Jethani and Living Life with God
Jim Barnard Finds Hope in Suffering through Community
The post Lyndsey Medford and Releasing Expectations appeared first on Eric Nevins.

352: Lyndsey Medford and Releasing Expectations

Matt Fagioli coach, consultant and a serial entrepreneur. His company is called Certain Success and he works with business owners and entrepreneurs to help them grow amazing Christ centered businesses while becoming (as closely as possible to) exactly what Jesus intended for them to be. Today, Matt shares his upbringing in the Roman Catholic church, why he decided to return to church after he had children, and how the pandemic shifted his perspective. He also tells the story of discovering that there is so much more to walking with Jesus than checking the boxes on the Christian to do list. He’s found a new way of relating to the Lord. Matt’s story reminds us that wherever you are now on the journey, the Lord has more to show you.
Listen to Matt’s story now in your favorite podcast player!
Stories Matt shared:
Wrestling with how to be a Christian business owner
Growing up in the Philadelphia area in a Catholic school
Not thinking very much about the Lord during his 20s
Wanting something more at a time in life when he had it all
Asking around for a church and going to an Evangelical church for the first time
Beginning to investigate Christianity
Giving his life to Christ and wanting to change everything
Believing that he did all the right things as a Christian
Checkboxing his faith
How Covid changed his business and life
Business events that changed his trajectory
How suffering has helped him grow
Learning to ask the Lord every day who he is
What the experience of listening to the Lord is like for him
Leaving his bag at the airport and how God spoke to him
Great quotes from Matt:
The front door for me was worship.
I spend massive amounts of time speaking to the Lord but not a lot of words are said.
Resources we mentioned:
Matt’s website
Dirty Disciple by Matt Fagioli
Living Fearless: Exchanging the Lies of the World for the Liberating Truth of God by Jamie Winship
Related episodes:
James Bryan Smith and Loved Beyond Imagination
Phileena Heuertz and Christian Contemplation
Brian Zahnd and The Beauty of Christ
The post Matt Fagioli and Beyond Check Box Faith appeared first on Eric Nevins.

318: Jodie Niznik and Creating Space for God

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