Not Just Waiting

What happens when God gives you an invitation but doesn't give you a timeline?

In this episode of Not Just Waiting, I'm joined by Elise Paulino for an honest conversation about the long seasons of preparation, learning to trust God's voice, and allowing Him to reshape the way we see ourselves.

About 12 years ago, Elise sensed God inviting her to use her voice. She said yes, but the opportunity she anticipated didn't immediately arrive. Instead, she spent years leading ministries, mentoring others, raising her family, healing, and developing the skills God would eventually use. In January 2026, she finally felt God give her the green light to step into that invitation in a new way.

But the waiting wasn't just about preparing for a calling. It was also about becoming.

Elise shares how God helped her challenge the narratives she had believed about herself, understand how past wounds shaped her relationships, and learn to distinguish between her behaviors and her identity. We talk about what it looks like to have honest conversations with God, extend compassion without abandoning healthy boundaries, and surrender the need to know exactly where He's leading.

And for those of us who really, really like a plan, we also talk about what it means when God only gives us the next step. (Apparently, we're on a need-to-know basis.)

In this episode, we talk about:

• Trusting God during long seasons of waiting and preparation.

• Learning to have honest conversations with God instead of simply talking at Him.

• Challenging the negative narratives we believe about ourselves.

• Understanding how past wounds can shape our reactions and relationships.

• Learning that a behavior doesn't have to become your identity.

• Extending compassion to others while maintaining healthy boundaries.

• Releasing expectations, timelines, and the need to have everything figured out.

• Following God's leading when He only gives you the next step.

• Learning to agree with what God says about you.

A question to sit with:

What narratives have you believed about yourself that God might be inviting you to bring into conversation with Him?

Connect with Elise:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elise_paulino 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elise.paulino  

Substack: https://substack.com/@elisepaulino  

Connect with Reanna:

Instagram: @reanna.ivey.hoff

Join the Not Just Waiting community on Substack for deeper reflections and encouragement for the in-between seasons.

If this conversation encouraged you, share it with a friend who might need the reminder that the waiting isn't wasted. And don't forget to follow Not Just Waiting so you never miss an episode!

What happens when following Jesus starts to feel more like another thing on your to-do list than a relationship that brings you joy?

In this episode of the Not Just Waiting Podcast, I'm joined by Em Tyler, founder of Grow & Go, pastor at heart, and author of The Power of Again: Come As You Are, Grow Your Faith, and Go the Distance with Jesus, releasing November 13, 2026.

Em is passionate about helping ordinary, everyday Christians grow in their faith without getting caught up in pressure, performance, or the expectation to have everything figured out. Together, we talk about what it looks like to keep following Jesus when life doesn't go according to plan, when waiting feels long, and when your faith doesn't feel as joyful as it once did.

Em shares honestly about leaving a life and community she loved in New Zealand, returning to the UK when she didn't want to, and walking through a season when she felt hurt, broken, and completely out of her depth. Her story is a reminder that God can still be at work in us, even when we're struggling to see the good in our circumstances.

We also talk about the pressure many of us put on ourselves to be the “good Christian girl,” why we sometimes turn spiritual disciplines into expectations we have to perform, and how to make room for honesty when we're frustrated, disappointed, or even angry with God.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why following Jesus was never meant to be about pressure or performance.

• What to do when you're tired of waiting and wondering whether God hears you.

• How to be honest with God about your disappointment, doubt, and frustration.

• Why difficult seasons can shape our faith in ways we wouldn't choose for ourselves.

• How Scripture helps us remember who God is when our feelings tell us something different.

• What the stories of Hannah, Hagar, John the Baptist, and Paul teach us about being seen by God.

• Why you don't have to fix everything yourself or earn your way back into God's presence.

• How to rediscover joy, intimacy with Jesus, and the courage to keep going.

If you've ever wondered whether you're doing enough, whether you should be further along in your faith, or whether God is still working in the middle of your waiting, this conversation is for you.

You are not a lesser Christian because you're struggling. You don't have to pretend everything is fine. And you are not waiting alone.

Connect with Em Tyler

• Learn more about Em's book, The Power of Again, and pre-order bonuses: https://thepowerofagain.com

• Explore her ministry, Grow & Go, and find her podcast and weekly devotions.

A question to reflect on: Where might God be inviting you to come to Him honestly, release the pressure to get everything right, and believe again?

If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who needs the reminder that she is seen, loved, and not forgotten.

Subscribe to the Not Just Waiting Podcast for more honest conversations about trusting Jesus, navigating uncertainty, and learning to wait well and live fully.

What if the season you never would have chosen became the very season God used to draw you closer to Him?

In this episode of Not Just Waiting, Reanna Hoffmann sits down with Kimmy Roberts, a ministry leader and soon-to-be published author, to talk about the unexpected ways God forms us in seasons of loneliness, uncertainty, and waiting.

After moving from California to Kansas, Kimmy found herself navigating a kind of loneliness she had never experienced before. In a season where familiar friendships and community felt far away, God began deepening her devotion to Him and teaching her what it meant to know Him not only as Father, but also as Friend.

Together, Reanna and Kimmy talk about surrendering when life doesn't look the way you expected, learning to trust God's timing, and recognizing that an unwanted season can still be full of purpose. They also explore identity in Christ, the pressure Christian women can feel to say yes to every opportunity, and why following Jesus includes learning to establish godly boundaries.

This is an honest conversation about the difference between knowing God's truth and actually living like we believe it—and the freedom that comes when we let His voice, rather than other people's opinions or our own insecurities, lead our lives.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Finding friendship with God in a season of loneliness

• Surrendering when you don't know how your story will unfold

• Recognizing God's goodness in seasons you wouldn't have chosen

• Moving from people-pleasing and insecurity toward a secure identity in Christ

• Learning to say yes and no with wisdom, prayer, and intentionality

• Understanding godly boundaries without abandoning a heart of service

• Releasing condemnation and embracing the grace Jesus has given us

Connect with Kimmy Roberts:Find Kimmy on Instagram and TikTok at @KimmyRobertsAuthor. Her website and upcoming book details are in development, with publication anticipated around March 2027.

If you're in a season that feels lonely, uncertain, or different from what you imagined, this conversation is a reminder that God sees you, knows your pain, and is still at work in your story.

You are not behind. You are not forgotten. And you are Not Just Waiting.

Listen, subscribe, and share this episode with a friend who needs the reminder.

What if God isn't asking you to do more in this season, but inviting you to slow down and spend time with Him?

In this episode of Not Just Waiting, I'm joined by Janelle Nobles, writer, mentor, and author of From Discipline to Delight, a Bible plan designed to help people grow in their love for God's Word.

After walking through some incredibly difficult seasons, including her husband's stage four cancer diagnosis and her young grandson's battle with leukemia, Janelle found herself in an unexpected season of soul care. Rather than focusing on what came next, God invited her to slow down, sit with Him, and allow Him to tend to her heart.

We talk about what it looks like to prioritize time with Jesus when life is full, why caring for your soul isn't selfish, and how God sometimes develops our character long before He asks us to step into our calling. Janelle also shares how learning to guard her heart, release expectations, and embrace the slow work of God transformed her relationship with Jesus.

If you've been feeling pressure to make something happen, figure out what's next, or turn every lesson God teaches you into something you can share with others, this conversation is an invitation to pause.

Because sometimes, the most important thing God is doing in your waiting season is what He's doing in you.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Learning to prioritize soul care without feeling selfish

• Spending extended, uninterrupted time with Jesus

• Allowing God to shape your character before advancing your calling

• Learning to guard your heart and protect your time with God

• Releasing expectations of yourself and other people

• Finding your identity in being deeply loved by Jesus

• Practicing stillness, slowing down, and creating margin in your life

• What it means to wait well when God is inviting you to be still

Connect with Janelle:

• Instagram — @jnobles 

• Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/janelle.nobles 

• YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@JanelleNobles

What if the season you’re waiting to get through is actually the season God is using to prepare you?

In this episode of Not Just Waiting, I’m joined by Athena Newell, a wife, mom of three, family nurse practitioner, and owner of a functional medicine and movement practice in Charleston, South Carolina.

Athena shares the story of how God slowly changed her heart about leaving a job and a life she loved in Atlanta, ultimately leading her and her family to move to Charleston. What started as a difficult step of obedience eventually opened doors she couldn’t have seen from the beginning—including new opportunities in business and leadership.

But this conversation isn’t really about figuring out God’s plan. It’s about learning to trust Him when you can’t see the plan yet.

We talk about what surrender and obedience actually look like in real life, how God forms our character through difficult seasons, and why sometimes we have to walk through the hard before we understand what He was doing.

We also talk about something so many of us struggle with: carrying responsibility that was never ours to carry.

Athena shares how she learned to set boundaries around the outcomes she couldn’t control in her work and stop riding the emotional roller coaster of trying to make everything turn out right. Together, we talk about creating emotional margin, making space for God to work, and remembering that we are not the Lord.

If you’re in a season of waiting, uncertainty, transition, or becoming, I think this conversation will remind you that your life is not on pause. God may be doing more in you than you can see right now.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Surrendering something you love to God
• What obedience can actually look like in everyday life
• Trusting God when you don’t know what comes next
• How difficult seasons form our character
• Learning to release outcomes we cannot control
• Setting healthy boundaries without guilt
• Creating emotional margin for what God wants to do next
• Recognizing that you may be on the path to the plan—not at the plan yet

Find Athena Newell:

- Instagram: Athena Newell FNP

- STAT Wellness Charleston: Functional medicine, movement, and telehealth consultations

If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who is learning to trust God in the middle of her own becoming.

What if the season you're waiting to get through is actually the season God is using to form you?

In this episode of Not Just Waiting, I'm joined by author, podcaster, and speaker Addie Ott for an honest conversation about faithfulness, waiting, identity, comparison, and what God is doing in the seasons that don't look the way we expected.

We talk about learning to be faithful when no one is watching, releasing our timelines and expectations, navigating rejection, and remembering that we don't always get to see the fruit of our obedience right away.

And maybe instead of only asking, “When will this season end?” we can start asking:

What does this season make possible?

If you're in a season of waiting, uncertainty, or becoming, I hope this conversation reminds you that your life is not on pause.

You are Not Just Waiting.

Connect with Addie Ott:

Website: Addisonott.com

Website: gentleandlowly co.

Amazon: Fellowship Over Followers

Social Media: 

IG: @addie.ott | @gentleandlowly.co | @gentleandlowly.co.pod 

FB: @addisonott | @gentleandlowlyco 

YT: @gentleandlowlyco 

Listen to Not Just Waiting wherever you listen to podcasts, and join me on Substack for deeper reflections and encouragement for the in-between.

What if the season you keep calling “waiting” is actually a season of becoming?

In this episode of Not Just Waiting, I’m joined by writer and spiritual director Jessica L. Morris for a deeply honest conversation about recovery, identity, disappointment, calling, and learning to trust God when life doesn’t look the way we thought it would.

Jessica shares how growing up in a family impacted by alcoholism shaped the way she understood God, how recovery changed the trajectory of her life, and how seminary helped her begin to see God—and herself—in a completely different way.

We talk about:

• What God may be forming in us during seasons that feel ordinary or stuck
• Releasing the identity and expectations we thought would define us
• Learning to let God determine our identity instead of our past, circumstances, or other people
• Why the stories of people like Abraham and Moses remind us that God’s work often takes much longer than we realize
• The difference between doing our part and trying to control the outcome
• What it looks like to surrender our timelines and trust God with what comes next
• Finding Christ in the middle of complicated faith stories
• Why waiting can be an invitation to look around and notice what God is already doing

Jessica’s story is a beautiful reminder that our beginnings don’t have to determine our endings—and that God can use even the parts of our stories we wish had been different.

If you’re in a season of waiting, uncertainty, disappointment, or becoming, I think this conversation will give you a little more hope for what God might be doing beneath the surface.

Find Jessica at JessicaLMorris.com and explore her books and spiritual direction practice.

If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who is waiting, too.

Follow Not Just Waiting wherever you listen to podcasts and join me on Substack for deeper reflections and encouragement for the in-between.

What if the season you’re in isn’t wasted—but is actually preparing you for something you can’t see yet?

In this episode of Not Just Waiting, I’m talking with author and storyteller Briana Bass about what God does in the in-between seasons of our lives.

We talk about:

• ​Learning to see everyday life as ministry
• ​Knowing what Scripture says versus actually believing it
• ​Letting go of the timelines and expectations we thought our lives would follow
• ​What to do when a dream seems dead
• ​Trusting that God may be preparing you for something years before you understand why

If you’re waiting on God and wondering what He could possibly be doing in your current season, I hope this conversation reminds you that your waiting isn’t meaningless. God is still working, even when you can’t see the whole story.

Connect with Briana

Briana Bass’s website — Subscribe to her newsletter and receive her free 7-day Proverbs 31 devotional, including Scripture, prayer, an action step, and a journal prompt.

Instagram: @authorbriannabass

Connect with Reanna

Instagram: @reanna.ivey.hoff

Not Just Waiting on Substack

You are not behind. You are not forgotten. And you are definitely Not Just Waiting.

What if the season you’re calling “waiting” is actually a season of preparation?

In this episode of the Not Just Waiting Podcast, I’m joined by LaTonya Renee Flood for a conversation about what God is doing in us while we wait—and how He uses seasons of uncertainty, fear, and confusion to prepare us for what’s next.

LaTonya shares about a season when God told her to do nothing. No launching. No podcast. No website. No marketing. Just prepare, study, and wait. What felt like inactivity was actually obedience—and God was teaching her about His timing.

We also talk about:

• Why God may be more concerned with who we’re becoming than what we’re accomplishing

• Stewarding what God has already given us before asking Him for more

• Letting go of the “counterfeit” versions of ourselves we’ve built from fear and people-pleasing

• The difference between expectation and expectancy

• Planting seeds without needing to control when or how they grow

• Trusting God with the outcome instead of trying to make our calling happen

• What it looks like to be faithful in the season you’re actually in

Maybe waiting isn’t about sitting around until God finally lets you move.

Maybe it’s about becoming ready to move when He says, “Go.”

Question to consider: What is God asking you to do—or not do—in this season?

Connect with LaTonya

Find LaTonya, her resources, and her work at https://latonyareneeflood.com/

And if this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who might need the reminder that waiting isn’t wasted.

You’re not just waiting. You’re becoming.

What do you do when your life doesn’t look anything like you thought it would?

Maybe you had a plan. A timeline. A picture in your head of how things were supposed to go.

And then life took a detour.

This week on the Not Just Waiting Podcast, I’m joined by Debra Mcninch, founder of BattleCry, author of Battle Cry: Love Goes to War, and a woman who knows what it means to trust God when the story takes an unexpected turn.

Nine years ago, Debra received a phone call that changed the future she thought she knew. What followed was a season of heartbreak, uncertainty, prayer, and a whole lot of waiting. But somewhere along the way, God began forming her into someone she never expected to become: a prayer warrior, ministry leader, author, and woman willing to tell the hard parts of her story.

In this episode, we talk about what it looks like to:

• Trust God when your family or life doesn’t look like you thought it would

• Stay close to Jesus when you’re walking through a hard season

• Pray without trying to manipulate or control the outcome

• Find hope in Scripture when you don’t know what to do next

• “Wait with anticipation” instead of simply waiting for life to change

• Remember that God is still working, even when you can’t see the end of the story

  
  

  Connect with Debra

• Website: https://www.debramcninch.com/ 

• BattleCry Moms: battlecrymoms.com

• BattleCry Dads: battlecrydads.com

• Book: Battle Cry: Love Goes to War

If this episode encouraged you, send it to someone who is walking through an unexpected season. And if you haven’t already, make sure to follow the Not Just Waiting Podcast so you never miss an episode.

Friend, you may not have the timeline you want. You may not know how this story ends.

But you are not alone. God is still working in the waiting.