Oh, Good Grief | The Podcast with Joy McMillan

In this tender conversation, Joy sits down with her friend Lisa to talk about surviving repeated infidelity with dignity, boundaries, and a faith that held her steady through the storm.

This episode isn’t about “why she stayed.” It’s about how she grieved, how healing unfolded slowly and imperfectly, and how trust can be rebuilt without pretending the wound never happened.

Lisa shares what it looked like to separate God from her husband’s choices, how she found herself again after shame and anger threatened to consume her, and what she would say to women walking this road right now.

If you’ve ever wondered whether healing after betrayal is possible, this conversation offers gentle hope—without pressure, and without pretending the path is easy.

Scripture:

• Philippians 1:6
• Psalm 27: 13-14
• Genesis 50:20
• Revelations 12:11

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: My Story by Big Daddy Weave.

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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.

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In this episode of Oh, Good Grief, Joy goes beyond the popular phrase “Let them” to explore a deeper, more freeing invitation found throughout Scripture: Let Him.

Drawing on the biblical concept of the passive imperative, this episode unpacks how faith is less about striving and more about cooperation—positioning ourselves to receive the transforming work of God.

This conversation invites listeners to release control, resist hustle, and trust God’s presence and power in the process of healing, growth, and becoming whole.

Scripture:

• Romans 12:2
• John 15:4-5, 9-11

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Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: Left It In The River by Jamie MacDonald.

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 Joy’s conversation with her mom, the story deepens.

They talk about fear, and the courage it takes to say yes to God anyway. Even when that yes means learning how to bake at 71. Even when it means leading. And even when it means walking through cancer.

Mary reflects on her husband's cancer journey and the sacred moment during a fall drive to an MRI appointment when brilliant autumn leaves became a whisper from God about the significance of final seasons. That moment would later give birth to Prime Time, their small group for seniors — a testimony that no season is wasted.

They also share about:

• Their upcoming (and likely final) trip home to South Africa and Namibia

• The bittersweet ache of aging siblings and goodbye moments

• The toll obedience sometimes takes on a family

• The grace that carries you when calling feels inconvenient

This episode is about courage. About obedience. About how God wastes nothing — not fear, not cancer, not hard years in Namibia.

Even the last seasons can blaze with color.

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: Firm Foundation by Cody Carnes.

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 personal episode of Oh, Good Grief, Joy sits down with her mom to trace the winding road that shaped the earliest days of their family story.

From the ache of moving from Zimbabwe to South Africa, to the quiet loneliness of being a latch-key child, Joy’s mom shares how early labels of “failure” formed a relentless drive to prove her worth, and how God gently rewrote that narrative over time.

They talk about the unexpected trip to a coastal guest farm — a place she didn’t even want to go — where she met Joy’s father and was proposed to just four days later. What felt inconvenient and unwanted at first became sacred orchestration.

This episode is soaked in gratitude...for early morning open bibles, for small groups in living rooms, and for the sacred work of loving people well.

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: The Story I'll Tell by Naomi Raine.

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 calling, courage, and obedience through the stories of Moses and Gideon, two people who felt unqualified, uncertain, and small, yet were invited by God to move forward anyway.

This conversation explores why God so often starts with what we already have, how small beginnings carry Kingdom DNA, and what it looks like to steward what’s in our hands instead of waiting for more confidence, clarity, or certainty.

If you’ve been feeling overlooked, underprepared, or hesitant to take the next step, this episode is a reminder: God doesn’t wait for confidence—He supplies presence.

Scripture:

• Exodus 3 (Moses)
• Judges 6:14 (Gideon)
• 2 Corinthians 4:7–10
• Zechariah 4:10
• John 6:1-14

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: You Make Me Brave by Amanda Cook.

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 special episode of Oh, Good Grief, Joy is joined by her daughter, Alathea, for an honest, tender conversation about parenting, growth, and grace.

Rather than a “how-to,” this episode is a reflection on what it looks like to grow together as a family; learning, repairing, and healing along the way. It’s about the sacred truth that while we are raising our children, God is still raising us too.

Together, Joy and Alathea explore:

• How parenting shapes parents just as much as children

• Why apology and repair matter more than perfection

• The role of grace in imperfect families

• Learning when to guide rather than rescue

Anchored in Deuteronomy 6:6–7, this conversation reminds us that faith is not something we lecture, it’s something we live, together, in the everyday moments.

If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re doing enough, getting it right, or leaving too many cracks behind, this episode is a gentle reminder that God’s grace is already filling the gaps.

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song is one of Alathea's favorites: Stand Still by Maverick City

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 shares six grounding phrases she returns to often — simple anchors that help quiet mental noise, interrupt spiraling thoughts, and reorient her heart toward truth.

While so much of life sits outside our control, our thoughts, attitudes, and responses are not. This conversation offers both practical and spiritual insight into tending the inner landscape God has entrusted to us, especially in seasons marked by anxiety, overwhelm, or uncertainty.

If you’re longing for steadiness, clarity, or a way to recalibrate your mind in the middle of the chaos, this episode is for you.

Scripture:

• Proverbs 4:23
• Isaiah 43:1
• Romans 12:15
• Isaiah 26:3
• 2 Peter 1:2–3

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: Honest by Leanna Crawford.

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 special episode of Oh, Good Grief, Joy is joined by her husband Joe for an honest, unhurried conversation about the wilderness seasons they’ve walked through together.

From faith that’s been tested, to holding a marriage steady through loss, trauma, and a life-altering health scare, this episode reflects on what sustained them when the ground beneath their feet felt unstable. Together, they talk about grief and grace, the strength of community, and the quiet resilience built in hard seasons.

This isn’t a polished interview. It’s a conversation marked by humility, reflection, and deep gratitude for what—and who—has held them.

Scripture:

• Isaiah 61

Playlist:

The⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: It's Always Been You by Phil Wickham.

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.

The wilderness isn’t wasted time or tears — it’s preparation.

In this final episode of the Wilderness series, Joy reflects on how God uses the hard, hidden seasons of life to shape us into people who can carry His purpose. Through story and Scripture, she reminds listeners that pain refines, delays develop, and nothing is wasted in God’s hands.

Scripture:

• Deuteronomy 32:10–11
• Genesis 50:20
• 1 Peter 1:6–7

Playlist:

The⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: Faithful Still by KingsPorch.

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 explores how God meets us through people — the friends who show up, the mentors who pray, and the community that carries us when we can’t stand on our own.

Drawing from Scripture and story, she reminds us of the importance of confession and that vulnerability is not weakness; it’s the soil of belonging.

If you’re longing for connection, healing, or a reminder that you don’t have to carry everything on your own, this conversation is for you.

Scripture:

• Genesis 2:18
• Exodus 17:11–12
• Psalm 23:4
• John 17:20–21

Playlist:

The⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Oh, Good Grief Playlist⁠⁠⁠⁠, featuring the songs that carried us through. Today’s song: Goodness of God by Bethel.

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.