Oh, Good Grief | The Podcast with Joy McMillan

In this deeply honest and grace-filled episode, Joy sits down with longtime friend Dr. Ansonya Burke for a conversation about heartbreak, betrayal, forgiveness, and what it looks like to let God have the final word over your story.

Ansonya shares how God met her in one of the hardest chapters of her life—not by rushing her healing, but by walking with her through it. She talks candidly about forgiveness, boundaries, leadership, emotional health, and the danger of carrying unresolved pain while trying to lead others well.

This episode is for anyone navigating disappointment, grief, church hurt, relational fracture, or the exhausting weight of trying to hold everything together while quietly unraveling inside.

Ansonya's Resources:

• Website: ansonyaburke.org
• The Forgiveness Framework
• Resources: ansonyaburke.org/shop

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Ansonya's song: Holy Spirit by Bryan + Katie Torwalt.

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Connect with Joy:

Website: simplybloom.org

Facebook: @simplybloom

Instagram: @simplybloomjoy

Email: [email protected]

If this episode encouraged you:

Share it with someone who may be in a hard season.

Subscribe + review to help others find this space.

You are loved.

What started as six months of hesitation turned into six years of formation.

In this episode, Joy shares what CrossFit has taught her, not just about strength and discipline, but about God, community, and the quiet work of becoming. What she once feared became a space where she discovered resilience, courage, and the power of showing up.

Through honest reflection and personal stories, this conversation explores how growth often happens in discomfort, why we were never meant to do hard things alone, and how the discipline of caring for our bodies can shape every other area of our lives.

Whether you’ve stepped into a gym or not, this episode is an invitation to keep showing up—to the hard things, the forming work, and the life God is building in you.

Scripture:

• Hebrews 10:24–25
• James 1:2–4
• Hebrews 12:1
• 1 Timothy 4:7–8
• Joshua 1:9
• Philippians 4:13
• 1 Corinthians 6:19–20

In this deeply personal episode, Joy sits down with Monica Kaczynski—a teacher, mother, and woman whose life has been shaped by waiting and surrender.

From a 14-year journey through infertility to the unexpected gift of motherhood, Monica’s story is marked by God’s faithfulness in ways she never anticipated. Years later, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and experienced a remarkable year of remission.

Now facing its return, Monica shares the ongoing tension of trusting God—not just for what He can do, but for who He is.

An honest, tender conversation about grief, hope, and what it means to say, “not my will, but Yours.”

Scripture:

• Matthew 19:26
• Matthew 6:33
• Philippians 1:21
• 1 Corinthians 2:9
• Matthew 26:39
• Mark 1:40-41
• Psalm 116:15

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. This week's song: Even If by MercyMe.

⁠⁠Simply Bloom Shop⁠⁠⁠ code for free shipping: OGGPODCAST

Connect with Joy:

Website: simplybloom.org

Facebook: @simplybloom

Instagram: @simplybloomjoy

Email: [email protected]

If this episode encouraged you:

Share it with someone who may be in a hard season.

Subscribe + review to help others find this space.

You are loved.

In the very first human crisis recorded in Scripture, God asks a simple question:"Where are you?"

It wasn’t a request for information. It was an invitation.

In this episode, Joy shares a moment of humiliation from her childhood that, among the hundreds of others, quietly shaped her instinct to perform, blend in, and protect herself.

But hiding didn’t begin in middle school hallways. It began in the garden.

Together we'll explore:

• Why shame drives us into hiding
• The difference between managing sin and healing pain
• The subtle ways we armor ourselves against vulnerability
• God’s persistent invitation to step into the light

The good news is this: God does not chase us with condemnation. He pursues us with a question. "Where are you?"

And the moment we tell the truth about where we actually are… restoration begins.

Key Scriptures

• Genesis 3:8–11
• Genesis 3:21
• Psalm 32:7

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: Overthinking by Samantha Ebert, and Out of Hiding by Steffany Gretzinger.

⁠⁠⁠⁠Simply Bloom Shop⁠⁠⁠⁠ code for free shipping: OGGPODCAST

Connect with Joy:

Website: simplybloom.org

Facebook: @simplybloom

Instagram: @simplybloomjoy

Email: [email protected]

If this episode encouraged you:

Share it with someone who may be in a hard season.

Subscribe + review to help others find this space.

You are loved.

In Part 2 of this conversation, Tiana Hawver shares more of her journey - how unhealed wounds began to surface in her adult relationships, including a brief and painful marriage that revealed just how deep those early patterns ran.

But this is not just a story of pain.

It’s a story of awareness, courage, and the slow, sacred work of healing.

Together, Joy and Tiana talk about what it looks like to do the hard work of processing trauma, to sit with the pain instead of running from it, and to allow God to gently peel back the layers, bringing freedom, wholeness, and restoration over time.

This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered:
Why do I keep repeating the same patterns?
And is healing really possible for me?

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: Here's My Heart by Lauren Daigle, and Shepherd by Cece Winans.

⁠Simply Bloom Shop⁠⁠ code for free shipping: OGGPODCAST

Connect with Joy:

Website: simplybloom.org

Facebook: @simplybloom

Instagram: @simplybloomjoy

Email: [email protected]

If this episode encouraged you:

Share it with someone who may be in a hard season.

Subscribe + review to help others find this space.

You are loved.

In this deeply honest and tender conversation, Joy sits down with her friend Tiana Hawver to begin unpacking the layered realities of trauma, adoption, and the quiet ache of rejection that can shape how we see ourselves and the world.

Together, they explore how early wounds - especially those tied to identity and belonging - don’t simply disappear with time. Instead, they often follow us into adulthood, influencing relationships, self-worth, and the ways we try to protect ourselves from further pain.

This episode creates space for the beginning of that story; naming what was hard, what was confusing, and what was never meant to be carried alone.

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. This week's song: Make Room.

⁠⁠⁠Simply Bloom Shop⁠⁠⁠ code for free shipping: OGGPODCAST

Connect with Joy:

Website: simplybloom.org

Facebook: @simplybloom

Instagram: @simplybloomjoy

Email: [email protected]

If this episode encouraged you:

Share it with someone who may be in a hard season.

Subscribe + review to help others find this space.

You are loved.

Happiness is a moving target. We fix our eyes on success, relief, approval, comfort... and wonder why our lives feel crooked when those things shift.

In this episode, Joy shares the story of a farmer who trusted the wrong reference point, and invites us to examine what we’ve been using to guide our own lives.

This is not a pep talk. It’s a sober, steady, hope-infused conversation about cultivating joy in hard seasons, without faking it.

Joy is not denial. It is defiance.

And it grows where roots go down deep.

Scripture:

• Galatians 5:22–23
• Psalm 16:11
• Psalm 34:8
• Romans 15:13
• James 1:2–4
• Romans 5:3–5

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s songs: Joy by Rend Collective, and Joy in the Morning by Tauren Wells.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Simply Bloom Shop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ code for free shipping: OGGPODCAST

Connect with Joy:

Website: simplybloom.org

Facebook: @simplybloom

Instagram: @simplybloomjoy

Email: [email protected]

If this episode encouraged you:

Share it with someone who may be in a hard season.

Subscribe + review to help others find this space.

You are loved.

In this deeply honest and hope-filled conversation, Joy sits down with trusted counselor and friend, Carol Boothroyd, to talk about the hidden realities of sex addiction, betrayal trauma, and the long, sacred road of healing.

Carol shares both her personal story and her professional insight, gently pulling back the curtain on what so many quietly carry.

This episode holds space for the complexity of it all:
the shock of discovery,
the disorientation of betrayal,
the roots of addiction in unresolved pain,
and the slow, courageous work of rebuilding what was broken.

Together, they explore how addiction is often less about desire, and more about disconnection. How trauma shapes both the struggler and the one standing beside them. And how healing requires more than behavior change...it requires connection, truth, and time.

This is not a conversation of quick fixes.It’s an invitation into deeper understanding…
and a reminder that even here, especially here, God is not absent. He is present, patient, and actively restoring.

Resources:

• Out of the Shadows by Patrick Carnes, PhD.
• Storm to Still Water: Understanding Betrayal and Trauma, and Navigating the Journey to Healing by Carol Boothroyd, CSAT
• Stillwater Counseling in Midland, Michigan
• XES | Why Church Girls Tend to Get it Backwards and How to Get it Right by Joy McMillan

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: Love Like This by Lauren Daigle.

⁠⁠⁠Simply Bloom Shop⁠⁠⁠ code for free shipping: OGGPODCAST

Connect with Joy:

Website: simplybloom.org

Facebook: @simplybloom

Instagram: @simplybloomjoy

Email: [email protected]

If this episode encouraged you:

Share it with someone who may be in a hard season.

Subscribe + review to help others find this space.

You are loved.

In this episode, Joy reflects on Jesus’ final 24 hours before the cross, and what His choice to wash feet reveals about the way of His kingdom.

In John 13, knowing betrayal, denial, and crucifixion were hours away, Jesus didn’t posture for power. He wrapped Himself in a towel.

This conversation explores:

• What servant leadership really looks like

• How resurrection doesn’t erase suffering, it redeems it

• Why proximity changes how we see people

• What it means to be known by our love

Before the empty tomb, there was a basin. Before glory, there was grief.

If Easter reminds us that death is not the end of the story, this episode reminds us that love is the way through it.

Scripture:

• John 13

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: The Jesus Way by Phil Wickham.

⁠⁠⁠⁠Simply Bloom Shop⁠⁠⁠⁠ code for free shipping: OGGPODCAST

Connect with Joy:

Website: simplybloom.org

Facebook: @simplybloom

Instagram: @simplybloomjoy

Email: [email protected]

If this episode encouraged you:

Share it with someone who may be in a hard season.

Subscribe + review to help others find this space.

You are loved.

In a culture that confuses love with unlimited access, how do we follow Jesus without losing ourselves?

In this episode, Joy explores what Scripture actually reveals about boundaries — not as selfish walls, but as wise guardrails. From Genesis to the Gospels, we see that separation, structure, and discernment are woven into God’s design.

Jesus loved deeply and perfectly — yet He did not give everyone equal proximity. He forgave without entrusting Himself to everyone. He was full of grace and truth. He restored some and rebuked others. He welcomed the crowds but confided in the few.

If you’ve ever wrestled with how to be compassionate without being consumed, this episode offers biblical clarity and steady encouragement.

Because boundaries are not unloving.They are often the fruit of mature love.

Scripture:

• Genesis 1
• Luke 6
• John 2:24
• John 6:67
• John 1:14
• Matthew 16:23
• Matthew 7:6

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: Wide Awake by Ben Fuller.

⁠⁠⁠Simply Bloom Shop⁠⁠⁠ code for free shipping: OGGPODCAST

Connect with Joy:

Website: simplybloom.org

Facebook: @simplybloom

Instagram: @simplybloomjoy

Email: [email protected]

If this episode encouraged you:

Share it with someone who may be in a hard season.

Subscribe + review to help others find this space.

You are loved.