Barry Pearman, author, gardner, mental health advocate and former pastor joins me today to discuss his new book, 'Broken To Built', a devotional on the book of Nehemiah, and practical ways we can make space for people with mental illness in the church.

Barry shares his own journey and experiences with mental illness and how these inspired him to take practical steps to make churches a safe space for mental illness, and how these steps have borne fruit in practice.

Finally, we talk about the story of Nehemiah, and how his story of rebuilding Jerusalem from its ruins inspired Barry, and can inspire us to build a life of faith, living with mental or chronic illness - and how the creative process of writing these books has helped Barry on his mental health and faith journey. 

Author & Discipleship Director Becky Castle Miller joins me today. Becky suffered from depression after the birth of her second child, and now does a lot of work in helping churches become safe spaces for mental illness, and advocating for church leaders and members to be better educated on mental illness. 

Today she shares her own story, and talks about how her mental illness led her into a faith deconstruction and reconstruction. Becky and I talk about the importance of educating pastors and church leaders on mental illness, and how churches and individuals can practically serve and welcome those with mental illness in a healthy, loving way of acceptance.

We also discuss healthy and unhealthy models of power and kingship - the violent, domineering, aggressive models used throughout history, as opposed to the example we see in Jesus - surrender, grace, empowering others, servant-heartedness and peacemaking. 

Becky is passionate about the church doing better with those facing mental health challenges and those going through a deconstruction, and has lots of wisdom and experience on how we can do this better. This is worth a listen for all those wanting a voice of solidarity on their journey,  those with mental health challenges looking for hope and support, and for all of us seeking to become better mental health advocates.

Today I'm joined by Aaron Smith, AKA as Cultural Savage - an author and blogger. Aaron has been diagnosed bipolar 2, he's also a Christian - and has sadly encountered a lot of stigma, both outside and inside the church, surrounding his own mental illness. 

Aaron has recently released his first book - "Cultural Savage - The Intersection Between Christianity & Mental Illness", a collection of essays where he shares his experiences of living with Bipolar 2 and how it has intersected with his faith, and how people of faith have responded to it. Today he shares some of his powerful and challenging story with us, and we explore together how mental illness and Christian faith could interact in a healthy way, and what healthy and unhealthy responses to those with mental illness can look like.

Finally, we discuss stigma within the church and culture around mental illness, how we can change this, and Aaron offers words of solidarity and hope to those facing these challenges. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome author and life coach Felicity Morse to the show. Felicity's first book 'Give A F**k' was released recently and today we talk about the themes of the book - self-care, self-love, boundaries, victimhood and sensitivity. 

Felicity shares her own story and how she learned how it's not selfish to love ourselves, but, in fact, vitally important to a healthy life and our ability to serve others. We discuss why sensitivity isn't a weakness, but a superpower, a gift we can give to the world, and how we can use it well. 

Felicity also talks about victimhood - and how in many ways all of us are victims, but how playing the victim, sitting on our high horses, can actually be a form of self-hatred, a mask to hide us from the pain and fear we're feeling.

We also discuss the importance and healing power of physical touch, and how can underestimate it's importance, as well as the challenges of fidning healthy expressions of this outside an intimate relationship. Finally, we discuss boundaries, both healthy and unhealthy, and how we can set healthy boundaries for ourselves, and in relationships. 

Felicity is both wise, fun, and hugely compassionate, and has so much to share on these subjects. Take a listen, then go check out her new book. 

Today my guest is author Shawn Smucker. Shawn has been writing and publishing for nearly two decades, and knows all there is to know about the writers journey, the challenges, the highs and lows of being a writer. 

Today we talk about these challenges, including how to maintain integrity whilst also promoting work, how to persevere when you're not having success, how to deal with rejection by publishing houses, finding your true voice, and how to live with success and failure. Shawn shares his writing journey with us, and the lessons he has learned, with great honesty and wisdom.

Shawn released his first novel 'The Day The Angels Fell' in 2017 and it's sequel 'The Edge of Over There' was released earlier this year. His non-fiction book 'Once We Were Strangers', sharing the story of his experience with a Syrian refugee, and it's impact on his faith, is released in October. He has so much wisdom on writing and the creative journey, and this is well worth a listen. 

Today on the podcast I'm joined by Sam Hailes, journalist and editor of Premier Christianity Magazine, one of the oldest and most widely ready magazines on Christianity in the world. Sam talks to us about the challenge of editing a magazine which aims to represent different perspectives of the Christian faith, and different theological positions, and how he manages to do this whilst also holding strong Christian convictions of his own. 

Sam shares his own journey into journalism and the challenges he's encountered along the way, and how being a journalist and editing Premier Christianity has impacted his own faith journey. He also talks about some of the most inspiring people he's met in the course of his work. Finally, Sam shares some words of wisdom and encouragment for people exploring professional writing or journalism as a career. 

Sam has a lot of wisdom on writing, journalism and faith, and this was such a great interview to do. Take a listen then go check out Premier Christianity magazine. 

Today the Poema Podcast returns with my friend, author and writing coach Jim Woods returning to the show. Jim knows pretty much everything when it comes to writing (though he'd never admit to that), and today we talk about the one of the biggest challenge any writer or artist faces - the challenge of completing creative projects.

Today Jim shares how he has faced and overcome those challenges, and what he has learned by talking to 16 different authors about how to finish a book. We also talk about what it means to find your creative voice, and how to be truly authentic in your creative work and share your story. 

If you're a writer, or artist of any kind, and face creative challenges, find it difficult to complete a project or overcome creative block, this one is really worth a listen. 

*****

If you want to learn more about how to finish a book, you can join Jim's Finish Your Book Summit for free here.

You can also get $50 off his new courses on helping people write, finish and share their work, and books, here. 

In the last episode before the summer break, I'm joined by author, radio host, and licenced mental health counselor Tiffany Werhner.

Tiffany shares her story and her experiences of post trauma mental illness, and her experiences of working with those who face mental health challenges. As a licenced mental health professional and someone who has suffered major trauma, Tiffany has a lot of wisdom and encoragement on mental illness for those facing mental health challenges - and for those who aren't.

We explore Tiffany's passion to raise awareness and end stigma around mental illness, and bring hope, support and encouragement to those living with mental illness. Finally, we explore more of the stigmas around mental illness, the impact major trauma can have on someone, the psychology of mental illness, and discuss practical ways those who know people with mental ilnnes can be a positive, practical support.

Listen to her radio show 'Moments Of Clarity with Tiffany' here. 

Today I welcome back my dear friend Beka Lombardo to the podcast. Beka is an author, blogger, podcaster and mental health advocate, who herself suffers from depression.

Today she shares her story, and how her circumtances and her mental illness took her to that point of suicide. We discuss together the experience of suicidal ideation - when someone is considering suicide - as well as how and why people get to that point, as well as how to overcome that, sharing from her own experiences. 

We also discuss ways to manage the challenges which come with mental illness and depression, some of the stigmas which have build up, and how those close to people with mental illness can offer practical, constructive support to those living with those conditions. 

For those living with depression, this episode is one which will give you hope and remind you that you're not alone in your challenges - and for those you don't, it will raise your awareness and help you be a real support to your friends and family who do.