The Collide Podcast

Being hospitable is so much more than making a great meal and opening up your home to your friends every now and then. True hospitality requires sacrifice, intentionality, and an enduring belief in the value of everyone you come across - even when you have vast differences. Matt and Denise McCoy are experts at hospitality in it’s truest sense, so we invited them on the podcast to chat all about being invitational, welcoming diversity, and their unique way of practicing a welcoming spirit.

What if trusting God doesn’t mean knowing everything will turn out the way you want—but believing He will be with you no matter what happens?

How do you keep trusting God when life changes in an instant?

Wendy Keating knows what it means to walk through unimaginable hardship. While still grieving the deaths of her husband and sister and recovering from major surgeries, Wendy stepped into a small hole in her backyard. What seemed like a minor injury eventually led to multiple surgeries and the devastating news that her leg would need to be amputated.

Yet when Wendy received that news, she experienced something she didn’t expect: peace. She believed God had either allowed this to happen or had a purpose in it—and she trusted that somehow He would bring blessing from what she was facing.

In this powerful conversation, Wendy and Willow talk about what it actually looks like to trust God when circumstances are painful and completely outside of our control. Wendy shares the very real challenges of learning to live independently after losing her leg—from navigating her home in a wheelchair to figuring out how to cook, clean, climb stairs, and accomplish everyday tasks in entirely new ways.

But Wendy’s story isn’t about pretending hardship is easy. She experienced frustration, loneliness, depression, and moments when she needed help. What carried her was a deep trust that God was still present and the love of friends and family who surrounded her when she couldn’t do everything on her own.

Wendy also shares how a pivotal moment years earlier prepared her for this season. When her daughter was critically ill, Wendy had to decide whether she could truly surrender the outcome to God—even if His answer wasn’t the one she desperately wanted. That decision became a turning point in her faith and taught her what it means to trust God with the story He is writing.

If you’re walking through a season you never would have chosen, Wendy’s story is a beautiful reminder that the darkness doesn’t get the final word. We can choose to keep moving, receive the love God sends through others, and trust Him one day at a time.

Wendy Keating is a mom, grandma, great-grandma, former kindergarten teacher, and former Commissioner of Labor for the state of Montana. She’s also a lifelong fighter whose faith, resilience, humor, and determination have carried her through incredible loss and unexpected hardship.

After losing her leg, Wendy has had to relearn how to navigate much of everyday life—but she refuses to let what she has lost define what she believes is still possible.

• When you don’t know what comes next: Trusting God doesn’t require knowing the outcome. Wendy shares how surrendering what she couldn’t control gave her freedom from constantly fearing what might happen.
• When your circumstances have completely changed: Start with acceptance. You may not be able to change what happened, but you can begin discovering how to live within what is true today.
• When you’re tempted to isolate: Let people love you. Wendy learned that receiving help isn’t weakness—it can be one of the ways we experience God’s love.
• When someone you love is hurting: Show up. Bring dinner, call, visit, send a card, or offer practical help. Small acts can communicate tremendous love.
• When something feels impossible: Focus on what you can do and take the next step—even if you have to find an entirely different way to get there.
• When you’re waiting for circumstances to improve: Remember that hardship is a season. Wendy held onto the belief that even the worst moments would not last forever.
• When independence keeps you from receiving: Allow others the joy of helping you. God’s love often comes to us through the people He places around us.

Wendy’s story isn’t an invitation to pretend everything is okay when it isn’t. It’s an invitation to believe that hard circumstances don’t have to steal your hope.

You can grieve what you’ve lost and still believe something good lies ahead. You can feel frustrated and still take the next step. You can need help and still be strong. And you can surrender what you cannot control while trusting that God is still writing your story.

As Wendy says, trusting God is a choice. Sometimes we have to decide again and again: “I trusted You. I’m going to trust You.”

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Taking the first step toward therapy can feel intimidating—and for many, it’s an incredibly brave act of hope. But once you decide to pursue counseling, a new challenge often appears: how do you find the right therapist for you?

In this episode of the Collide Podcast, we sit down with Breeze Potts, a licensed professional therapist and trusted member of the Collide Counseling Network, to talk through how to choose a counselor who best fits your needs, values, and healing goals.

Breeze shares practical, easy-to-understand guidance on what to look for when searching for a therapist, including questions to ask, red flags to watch for, and how to know if a counselor is the right match. Whether you’re seeking therapy for the first time or considering a change, this conversation offers clarity, encouragement, and actionable next steps.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. How to start your search for a therapist or counselor
2. What factors matter most when choosing the right therapist
3. Questions to ask before and during your first sessions
4. How faith, values, and personal comfort play a role in effective counseling
5. Why finding the right fit can make all the difference in your healing journey

If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure about beginning therapy, this episode will help remove some of the fear and empower you to move forward with confidence.

Learn more about Breeze and her counseling practice at breezepotts.com.

Disclaimer: This episode is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional advice from a licensed counselor or therapist who is working directly with you as a client or patient.

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Collide: Running into Healing When Life Hands You Hurt

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What if happiness isn’t what the world tells us it is?

In this thought-provoking episode of the Collide Podcast, we sit down with Lisa Harper to talk about what true happiness really looks like and where to find it. She shares about her bold journey of adopting her daughter, her perspective on issues of injustice and racism, and how joy and contentment can be rooted in something deeper than circumstances. Whether you’re searching for purpose, longing for joy, or trying to make sense of life’s complexities, this episode will remind you that happiness is possible when we root our lives in God’s love.

Lisa Harper is a preacher, author, and theological scholar who has spent decades inspiring women with her honest, authentic, and profound teaching. She is passionate about making the Bible accessible and real while encouraging others to live with courage, compassion, and faith. Lisa’s story is a powerful example of living boldly and joyfully, no matter the challenges.

• How Lisa’s adoption journey shaped her understanding of love and happiness
• Why conversations about injustice and racism matter deeply to faith and community
• What happiness is—and isn’t—when viewed through a biblical lens
• How to cultivate authentic joy in the midst of life’s ups and downs

If you’ve ever chased after happiness and still felt empty, this episode will give you a fresh perspective. You’ll be reminded that happiness isn’t about perfection or external success, but about rooting your life in God’s presence and love.

Connect with Lisa - Website | Instagram | Facebook

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Follow and Support Collide 

🌐 Visit our website for upcoming conferences, helpful resources, and encouragement for women pursuing healing, purpose, and deeper faith.

📲 Follow along on Facebook and Instagram

🛍️ Shop for good at the Collide Store

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In this episode of the podcast, we had the joy of chatting with Jennifer from the Darling I Love It blog, which is a platform that features Jennifer’s incredible interior styling skills, her heart for adoption, and her inspirational encouragement. In this conversation we talked about the importance of a peaceful space, the beauty of adoption, the meaning of family, and practical style. To find out more about Jennifer and to see her drool-worthy lifestyle shots, you can visit her website at darlingiloveit.com.

What do you do when you're facing an impossible situation and all you can do is pray for a miracle?

When Abbie Wentzel went into labor with her third child, she never imagined that what began as a long-awaited birth story would quickly become a desperate fight for her daughter's life. After a remarkably fast delivery, Lily was born without a detectable heart rate, was not breathing, and had suffered severe oxygen deprivation. She was later diagnosed with HIE, was fighting a serious infection and septic shock, and faced a long list of life-threatening complications.

But Abbie and her husband, Brandon, refused to stop praying.

As Lily's condition became critical, friends, family, churches, and even people around the world began praying for a miracle. Abbie shares what it was like to trust God while being told that her daughter might not survive, how she learned to hope even when she feared the worst, and what happened as Lily slowly began to overcome one impossible obstacle after another.

This conversation is for the woman who is exhausted from fighting, afraid to hope, or wondering where God is in the middle of an impossible situation. Abbie's story will encourage you to bring your honest pain to God, keep praying when you cannot see the outcome, and remember that you do not have to fight alone. Even in the darkest valley, God is present, faithful, and able to do more than we can imagine.

Abbie Wentzel is a wife, mom, and storyteller who shares the powerful story of her daughter Lily's miraculous recovery after a life-threatening birth and devastating medical complications. Abbie studied English creative writing at Western Washington University and later earned a master's degree in business with an emphasis in social entrepreneurship. In this conversation, she opens up about one of the hardest experiences her family has ever faced—and the faith, prayer, community, and hope that carried them through it.

Her story offers an honest look at what it means to trust God when the future feels frightening and uncertain, while reminding us that God can meet us in the places where we feel most desperate and powerless.

• When you're afraid to hope because you could be disappointed: Learn how to bring your worst fears honestly to God while still believing that He is good.
• When you're facing an impossible situation: Remember that you don't have to see the whole path ahead to take the next step of faith.
• When prayer feels like the only thing you can do: Be encouraged by the power of unified prayer and the difference it can make when people come together to seek God.
• When you're exhausted from fighting: Discover what it means to trust that God can fight for you when you have nothing left.
• When you feel alone in your pain: Remember Abbie's encouragement that God is present with you in the "well," not waiting for you to climb out by yourself.

If you're fighting a battle you never asked for, you don't have to figure out the future today. God is with you in this moment, and He will give you what you need for the next step. Keep bringing Him your honest pain, keep praying, and don't give up.

If this episode gives you hope, would you take a moment to subscribe to the Collide Podcast, leave a review, or share it with a woman who may need the reminder that she is not alone? Your support helps more women find conversations about faith, healing, and hope.

You can watch a video about Abbie and her family’s story at: facebook.com/whitewaterchurch/videos/2007332382892806/

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💑Check out Collide’s website for info on upcoming conferences, events, and resources.

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Have you ever wondered who you are apart from your roles, accomplishments, or the expectations of others?

Whether you're navigating an empty nest, grieving a life transition, or simply feeling exhausted from trying to prove your worth, this conversation is an invitation to pause. Spiritual director and author Marilyn Vancil shares how God meets us in our deepest questions of identity and gently invites us to lay down the false stories we've believed so we can discover the freedom of becoming who He created us to be.

Who are you when the titles you've carried begin to disappear?

After decades serving in ministry and raising four children, Marilyn Vancil entered a season where she no longer recognized herself outside of the roles she'd faithfully embraced. That painful season became the beginning of a deeper journey with Jesus—one that led her to spiritual direction, the Enneagram, and ultimately a richer understanding of what it means to find your identity in Christ.

In this honest conversation, Marilyn joins Willow to explore why self-awareness is such an essential part of spiritual growth. Together they discuss why our strongest emotional reactions often point toward deeper wounds, how our protective patterns can keep us from experiencing true freedom, and why Jesus' invitation to "lose your life to find it" isn't about becoming less yourself—it's about becoming the truest version of yourself in Him.

If you've ever felt lost after a major life transition, struggled to know who you are apart from what you do, or longed for lasting freedom from old beliefs and unhealthy patterns, this episode offers practical wisdom and deep hope. You'll be reminded that God isn't finished with your story. He's continually inviting you into greater freedom, healing, and transformation.

Marilyn is a spiritual director, life coach, trained Enneagram teacher, and the author of Beyond the Enneagram and Self to Lose, Self to Find. For more than three decades, she's helped people discover their God-given identity through spiritual formation, biblical teaching, and self-awareness. Rather than using the Enneagram simply as a personality assessment, Marilyn approaches it as a discipleship tool that helps uncover false beliefs, unhealthy patterns, and the places where Jesus invites deeper healing. Her passion is helping people experience lasting transformation by living more fully into the person God created them to be.

• How do you find your identity in Christ instead of your roles? Learn why seasons of transition often reveal where we've placed our identity—and how God meets us there.
• Why do emotional triggers matter? Discover how your strongest reactions can reveal deeper wounds that Jesus wants to heal.
• What keeps us stuck in unhealthy patterns? Marilyn explains how our protective "false self" once kept us safe but can eventually keep us from flourishing.
• What does Jesus really mean when He says to lose your life? A fresh biblical perspective on surrender that leads to freedom instead of fear.
• How can self-awareness deepen your relationship with God? Practical ways to pause, listen, and recognize God's invitations toward transformation.

If you've been feeling lost, overlooked, or unsure who you are anymore, you're not behind and you're not forgotten. God is still writing your story, and He's inviting you into greater freedom than you've ever imagined.

If today's conversation encouraged you, subscribe to the Collide Podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who may need the reminder that her identity has never been found in what she does—but in whose she is.

Marilyn Vancil

• Website: marilynvancil.com
• Instagram: @marilynvancil

Book

• Self to Lose, Self to Find
• Beyond the Enneagram

Follow Willow: Website | Instagram | Facebook

💑Check out Collide’s website for info on upcoming conferences, events, and resources.

📲Follow Collide on Facebook and Instagram for encouragement, inspo and a fun peek into our ministry.

📰Plus, subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on all things Collide!

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Christie is the Founder of Purpose Boutique, which is a business that combines her gift for style with a greater Purpose, which is loving, serving, and giving generously to set people free from human trafficking. Christie and her husband have watched Purpose Boutique grow faster than anyone thought possible. In this episode, we chat with Christie about how she found her calling, what obstacles were in the way, and ultimately, what it looks like to use your passion for a purpose.

Today’s guest is spicy, sassy, passionate and hilarious. Anh Johnson is a woman who takes God’s call on her life seriously and she believes without a shadow of a doubt that God can use women in the world to do amazing things. In short, she embodies so much of what Collide encourages women to believe. Anh’s story is unique and we were blessed to have her share her heart and her own experience with racism as we continue on in our Race Conversations series.

Today on the podcast we’re hearing from Sherae Tillis, who has an MA in International Community Development, and who works for a non-profit that shares the love of Jesus with children around the world by providing for their basic needs. This woman is gentle, wise, and SO much fun to chat with (we get the pleasure of having her on the Collide Ministry Team), so you’re not going to want to miss out on her conversation with Collide’s Founder and Director, Willow Weston, as we continue on in our Race Conversations series.