Today we’re considering an often misunderstood but necessary emotion, anger. Being a human in process means that we will experience a variety of emotions, both comfortable and uncomfortable. In the next couple of episodes, we’ll be covering some of the less comfortable emotions. In this episode, I’d like to talk about anger, what it is, the purposes it serves, and the ways that it is often misunderstood, especially in faith arenas.

Over the course of this episode, I also reference two past PRN episodes, as well as an episode of the Vox podcast. I will link to those below, in case you want to listen to any of them. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus!

Rupture and Repair: Episode #123

Attachment and Authenticity: Episode #129

Given to Anger: Voxology podcast (The part I reference in this episode comes around the 15-25 minute mark.)

If you love birds or nature, then you are really going to enjoy today’s conversation with guest, Courtney Ellis, about her new book, Looking Up: A Birder’s Guide to Hope Through Grief. This is such a great episode about ministry, grief, mindfulness, and soul-care. It’s also sprinkled throughout with great bird facts!

Courtney is a such a fun person and she wears a lot of hats! She’s an author, a pastor, and a podcaster. If you listen to this episode and find yourself wanting to know more about Courtney, her podcast, and her book, you can visit her website: courtneybellis.com. She’s also a great follow on instagram or threads!

May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

Today, we conclude our series on the Psalms by examining Psalms of new orientation. We’ll be looking for signs of life, of rescue, of reversal of fortune, and of thanksgiving as we meditate upon Psalms 34 together.

What is clear in all of these Psalms of new orientation is that there is a celebration of the coming of God, who now establishes new rule. So this week, on the second week of Advent as we focus our attention on peace, we can remember that the Prince of Peace himself, came to be with us. He came to take his people from a place of distance and disorientation into a new orientation of rescue, redemption, and new life.

May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

We’re continuing our series on the Psalms and what they teach us about being a human in process. Today, we’re talking about psalms of disorientation. These are songs of darkness, of grief, of anger, of lament, and of complaint. These psalms answer the question of how we might worship and pray when our world is in disarray. Walter Brueggemann writes, “The use of these psalms of darkness may be judged by the world to be acts of unfaith and failure, but for the trusting community, their use is an act of bold faith, albeit a transformed faith.”

As we enter the first week of Advent, the candle signifies hope. We know that in Christ we don’t grieve as those who have no hope. In fact, my favorite quote about psalms of disorientation is, “Because this One has promised to be in the darkness with us, we find the darkness strangely transformed, not by the power of easy light, but by the power of relentless solidarity.”

In this episode, I referenced a previous podcast episode about Authenticity and Attachment. You can find that podcast episode here.

Information and quotes in this episode come from the book, Spirituality of the Psalms by Walter Brueggemann.

May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

Today we continue our series on the Psalms and learning what they teach us about being a human in process. We’ll be meditating on a psalm of orientation today, Psalm 19. Psalms of orientation evoke gratitude for the blessings of creation and God’s good law. It just so happens that we’ll be reading this on the week of Thanksgiving, which is fitting!

If you missed last week’s episode, I hope you’ll go back and give it a listen as it gives a good overview of Walter Brueggemann’s ideas about Psalms of Orientation, Disorientation, and New Orientation.

May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

We might call this mini-series, “where faith meets mental health.” More specifically, we would call it, “where worship and prayer meet mental health.” For the next few weeks, we are going to be diving into the Psalms and examining them through Walter Brueggemann’s lens of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. This framework beautifully encapsulates being a human in process, and what that can look like in different seasons of our faith.

In this episode, I’ll be giving an overview of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. We’ll also talk about how this idea intersects with the gospel story. Then, over the next three episodes, we’ll be taking them one at a time and meditating on a Psalm from each of these categories.

Quotes from Walter Brueggemann in this podcast episode came from his book, Spirituality of the Psalms.

May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

How can we find hope when darkness and suffering linger? This week’s guest, Claudia Campbell, shares about her experience of wrestling through just that question. She recently wrote a book of reflections called These Stones Remain, in which she processes the Lord’s faithfulness through dark seasons.

Claudia is full of joy, and her authenticity is so refreshing. In this episode, we talk about themes of loss, special needs parenting, giving and experiencing grace, as well as her love of peonies and coffee.

So, grab your own cup of coffee or tea, make yourself comfortable, and settle in for an encouraging conversation!

If you enjoyed this episode, and you would like to learn more about Claudia, you can visit her website: claudiarcampbell.com. You can also follow her on Instagram: @claudiarcampbell.

May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

Join me today for a short and sweet reflection episode about how the Lord’s grace met me in an unexpected way last spring. We’ll start by doing a regulation exercise together called the magic moustache. Then, I’ll share a story about a bird from the Lord.

I’d love to hear your story of how the Lord’s grace has surprised you in big or small ways. Feel free to share below!

May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

It’s time for a biography episode! Today, we’re talking about Helen Roseveare, a doctor, writer, missionary, speaker, and ditch-digger. Her faith and her story will both inspire and challenge you.

I was first introduced to Helen’s story a few years ago, and over the past few months as I was considering who to study next, the Lord brought her back to my mind. Helen, both in the mountains and the valleys of her life, was captivated and compelled by the love of Jesus.

At the beginning of the episode, I mentioned that a friend of mine, Ann Miller, met Helen Roseveare. Ann was a guest on the podcast a few years ago. If you want to hear Ann’s story, you can listen here: Following the Call.

This podcast was compiled using the following resources:

If you feel like you’re in survival mode and white knuckling your way through life, then this episode and this book are for you. It was a joy to have Sarah Pascual on the podcast today to talk with me about a book that we both recently read called, Try Softer, by Aundi Kolber, MA, LPC.

On a previous episode, Sarah and I discussed the book, Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest, and we had so much fun, I invited her back to discuss another book. Sarah is in the process of becoming a spiritual director, and also works on staff at Resonate Church in Atlanta. So, as we discuss Try Softer, she gives her perspective from a spiritual standpoint, and I give mine from a therapeutic background.

Spoiler: we both highly recommend this book! It is a gentle companion to anyone’s healing journey.

If you enjoy hearing from Sarah, you may want to check out an interview I had with her about soul-care and missional living on a previous episode. She is a gem!

May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.