The holidays can be kind of a mixed bag.

This time of year can be full of high hopes and dashed dreams. Emotions run high – and not just our own. With the intensity of the season, it can be hard to figure out what you need while supporting the needs of the people in your life.

In this episode, I share how I learned to understand my own needs at the holidays, and how you can create a strategy that will allow you to move at a relaxed pace with the ones you love this holiday season.

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Do you tend to brace for the worst?

Sometimes we think we're being diligent, that we're being prepared. But what if we're not actually preparing but panicking?

In this episode, I share about my own tendency to worry about the future, and how you can enjoy today without bracing for fear of the future.

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Purchase access to the new devotional, What Are You Waiting For? A Raw & Real-Time Journey Through Longing, Surrender, & Desires Fulfilled

Purchase the Ignite: Strategic Prayer Planner & Journal Volumes 1, 2, & 3

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Can you say 'no'? 

Sometimes we say 'yes' to everything because we want to be seen as dependable and reliable. We like being the one people can count on – and we like how that makes us feel.

It makes us feel like we matter.

But what what if you already matter? What if your significance isn't tied to how much you do for other people at all?

In this episode, I share how I discovered I had a problem with saying 'no,' and how being forced into a season of 'no' actually helped me get free from trouble that people pleasing inevitably causes.

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Purchase access to the new devotional, What Are You Waiting For? A Raw & Real-Time Journey Through Longing, Surrender, & Desires Fulfilled

Purchase the Ignite: Strategic Prayer Planner & Journal Volumes 1, 2, & 3

Download Your Free Guide: Over|Thinking: Get Out of Your Head & On With Your Life

The strange thing about insecurity is the more we try to control it, the more it ends up controlling us.

Insecurities are built on lies, and while there might be one big one you are aware of, often there are dozens of little ones that go with it.

Which makes untangling them like untangling a knotted necklace. Ugh.

In this episode, I share about the unexpected way I discovered the web of lies beneath my own insecurities, and how shifting what you choose to agree with puts you on the fast track to freedom from it all.

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Purchase access to the new devotional, What Are You Waiting For? A Raw & Real-Time Journey Through Longing, Surrender, & Desires Fulfilled

Purchase the Ignite: Strategic Prayer Planner & Journal Volumes 1, 2, & 3

Download Your Free Guide: Over|Thinking: Get Out of Your Head & On With Your Life

We often think of the storms of life as the circumstances outside of us.

But what do you do when the storm is inside?

Our thought lives can be really stormy. Obsessions, worries, and intrusive thoughts can cause us to feel like we are at the mercy of our minds.

Is there a way to make it all stop?

In this episode, I share my own struggles with troubling thoughts and finding freedom in my mind. Also, I talk a little about  the role of strongholds and spiritual warfare in our thoughts, and discuss what you can do to fight back.

Follow Michelle on Instagram @themichelledonnelly

Purchase access to the new devotional, What Are You Waiting For? A Raw & Real-Time Journey Through Longing, Surrender, & Desires Fulfilled

Purchase the Ignite: Strategic Prayer Planner & Journal Volumes 1, 2, & 3

Download Your Free Guide: Over|Thinking: Get Out of Your Head & On With Your Life

"Why?" It's a question we all ask.

Why did this have to happen? Why is this my story? Why can't my life be like everyone else's?

We can get frustrated and discouraged when the answers don't come. And yet, not getting answers isn't necessarily a bad thing.

We can get fixated with getting all the answers. We read books, go to seminars, or Google, "What does it mean when..."

But if you got the answers, would you actually feel better? What if answers aren't actually what you need?   

In this episode, I share a little about my own journey with grasping for answers, and how in not getting the answers, I discovered what we all need instead.

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Purchase access to the new devotional, What Are You Waiting For? A Raw & Real-Time Journey Through Longing, Surrender, & Desires Fulfilled

Purchase the Ignite: Strategic Prayer Planner & Journal Volumes 1, 2, & 3

Download Your Free Guide: Over|Thinking: Get Out of Your Head & On With Your Life

Do you feel like you're carrying it all in your relationships?

You're doing what you can - walking on eggshells, trying to make things easier for them - but it only seems to get harder for you. 

You feel trapped- like there's nothing you can do to change things.

It's true- you can't change them. But you can change you.

In this episode, I share what I learned about correcting one-sided relationships, and what you can do to deal with people who are hard to love.

Follow Michelle on Instagram @themichelledonnelly

Purchase access to the new devotional, What Are You Waiting For? A Raw & Real-Time Journey Through Longing, Surrender, & Desires Fulfilled

Purchase the Ignite: Strategic Prayer Planner & Journal Volumes 1, 2, & 3

Download Your Free Guide: Over|Thinking: Get Out of Your Head & On With Your Life

If setting boundaries (or sticking to them) is hard for you, it's probably because of THIS one thing:

You're trying to "keep the peace."

When we don't have good boundaries, it's usually because we want to avoid conflict, or avoid losing a relationship. But If you have to work so hard to "keep the peace," do you even have real peace in the first place?

In this week's episode, I share why we often strive to "keep the peace," and what happens when we stop all that and experience Jesus' true, lasting peace. I also discuss how knowing His peace helps us find relationships where we can share peace, and deal with relationships where peace isn't shared.

Follow Michelle on Instagram @themichelledonnelly

Purchase access to the new devotional, What Are You Waiting For? A Raw & Real-Time Journey Through Longing, Surrender, & Desires Fulfilled

Purchase the Ignite: Strategic Prayer Planner & Journal Volumes 1, 2, & 3

Download Your Free Guide: Over|Thinking: Get Out of Your Head & On With Your Life

We've all heard the expression, "Feel your feelings."

But what if feeling your feelings just seems pointless? What if they seem to be in the way and will just end up holding you back?

I know the feeling (no pun intended) all too well.

In this episode, I'm sharing what God taught me about feeling feelings and what He does through them to give us the break we desperately need.

Follow Michelle on Instagram @themichelledonnelly

Purchase access to the new devotional, What Are You Waiting For? A Raw & Real-Time Journey Through Longing, Surrender, & Desires Fulfilled

Purchase the Ignite: Strategic Prayer Planner & Journal Volumes 1, 2, & 3

Download Your Free Guide: Over|Thinking: Get Out of Your Head & On With Your Life

At the beginning, setting boundaries can feel not just uncomfortable, but wrong. So how can we get it right?

The good news is learning to set boundaries doesn't actually start with other people. It starts with you.

In this episode, Michelle talks about what boundaries really protect and how to start establishing boundaries with yourself so you can more confidently set boundaries with other people.

Follow Michelle on Instagram @themichelledonnelly

Purchase access to the new devotional, What Are You Waiting For? A Raw & Real-Time Journey Through Longing, Surrender, & Desires Fulfilled

Purchase the Ignite: Strategic Prayer Planner & Journal Volumes 1, 2, & 3

Download Your Free Guide: Over|Thinking: Get Out of Your Head & On With Your Life