The Collide Podcast

For most of us, family is complicated. While many of us have happy memories and special bonds with people in our family, there are also cycles of pain, experiences of abandonment, and other brokenness that pervades our family life as well.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Fred Hartsook (one of the wisest and funniest people we know #bestcombo) about his story as it relates to family, forgiveness, boundaries, and reconciliation. Fred’s vulnerability makes way for us to examine the nuances of our own stories, and collide with Jesus in the midst of one of the most difficult and beautiful parts of our lives - family.

What happens when a ministry doesn’t just speak its values—but lives them?

What does Collide really stand for—and why do those values matter for your life too? In this solo episode, Collide founder and director Willow Weston shares the seven core values that have emerged from Collide’s story: continually colliding with Jesus, choosing authenticity, recognizing brokenness so it can be made whole, embracing intergenerational community, pursuing holistic spiritual health, continually growing, and believing God can use ordinary, imperfect people to make an impact. These aren’t simply statements Collide decided to put on a wall; Willow explains that they became clear by looking back at how God has shaped the ministry from the beginning. Through Scripture, stories, and practical encouragement, Willow challenges us to consider the values shaping our own lives and reminds us that when we continually collide with Jesus, He transforms the way we love, heal, grow, live in community, and use what He has given us for a greater purpose.

Willow Weston is the founder and director of Collide and host of The Collide Podcast. Collide began out of Willow’s own experience of encountering Jesus in the midst of pain and inviting other women to join her in pursuing healing and transformation.

Through Collide, Willow is passionate about creating spaces where women can authentically encounter Jesus in the beautiful, broken, messy, and hopeful parts of their stories—and allow that collision to transform every area of their lives.

• What it means to be a mission-driven ministry
• The core values that guide Collide through every season
• Why living your values matters more than just stating them
• How God uses brokenness as an invitation to transformation
• Practical encouragement for aligning your own life or work with your beliefs

If you’re longing for deeper purpose or trying to build something rooted in truth, this episode will ground and inspire you. You’ll be reminded that when you bring your whole self—brokenness and all—to Jesus, He will meet you, heal you, and transform everything.

Partner with Us

Love what Collide is doing? Help us bring hope and healing to women through counseling, content, and connection.

💛 Give today at wecollide.net/give

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!

Ever wish you could sit down and interview a mother you admire and ask her for ALL the advice and lessons as you enter into a new season of parenting your own child? Well, we did too, so we invited three amazing women (who just happen to be on staff with Collide) to join us for a conversation. Each of the three are in different parenting seasons, ranging from having a toddler with a baby on the way, to having elementary school kids, to being an empty nester. At Collide we value learning from women who go before us, and this episode is full of mom-wisdom for each season.

Adoption is a special topic that holds so many complex considerations, and ultimately, reflects God’s heart in a unique and vivid way. Today we’re excited to be sharing an adoption story full of hope, heartbreak, redemption, and ordination. Anne Simmons tells of the way God created her family with so much depth and authenticity - this isn’t a story you want to miss.

Do you feel exhausted, overwhelmed, or quietly wondering why you can’t “just get it together”?

So many women are carrying anxiety, grief, unmet dreams, depression, and burnout—often in silence. In this episode of the Collide Podcast, licensed therapist Margaret Manning Shull speaks directly to the six areas women most often seek counseling and emotional support for: self-care, grief and loss, anxiety, depression, burnout, and disappointment.

If you’ve been feeling worn down, emotionally numb, or spiritually disconnected, this conversation offers Christian counseling insight, practical tools, and hope-filled encouragement to help you move toward healing. You don’t have to stay stuck—and you don’t have to carry this alone.

🎧 Listen now if your soul is tired and you need help finding your way back to wholeness.

Connect with Willow - Website | Instagram | Facehttps://www.facebook.com/willow.westonbook

Pre-Order Willow’s New Book!

Collide: Running into Healing When Life Hands You Hurt

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

💛 Give today online or Venmo to impact lives

📬 Subscribe to our Newsletter and be the first to hear about new episodes, blog posts, events, and resources and more!

We all experience anxiety from time to time. Teens and twenty-somethings are no exception - in fact, they may even have a higher likelihood of experiencing stress. Today, Kathryn Greene shares so much wisdom around helping young adults navigate feelings of worry and anxiety. FREE Intentional Parenting Download: https://wecollide.net/intentional-parenting-to-ground-our-kids-in-faith-rather-than-fear-open-up-for-a-free-download/

Seth graduated from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology with his Masters in Divinity and has served in multiple ministries, landing as the pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church where he’s served for almost 3 years. Seth is a husband, a dad, he loves reading books, running on trails, and most importantly today, he is an expert at slowing down and sabbath rest. Seth is a person who brings peace into anxious settings and today he’s teaching us how to do the same.

Carla served as a children’s pastor for 10 years, so we invited her on today to chat with us about parenting and inviting kids in to faith and learning in this odd time. She is an expert in creating curriculum for children to know God and His love and in this episode she shared her wisdom on how to develop kids into healthy, whole people. Carla invites us into the idea of home being a gift, and shares practical ways to make home feel like a gift to our kids too.

Resources:

Books and Online Curriculum:

Kids Read Truth: http://kidsreadtruth.com/

Telling God's Story Bible Curriculum by Peter Enns

The Story of God's Love for You by Sally Lloyd-Jones

Indescribable, Science Devotions by Louie Giglio

The Garden, The Curtain and the Cross by Carl Laferton and Catalina Echeverri

The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New by Marty Machowski and Andy McGuire

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd Jones

Love Does for Kids by Bob Goff and Lindsey Goff Viducich

Free Online Learning for Young Kids (these are our favorites!)

https://www.starfall.com/

https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/

https://www.education.com/

https://www.brainpop.com/

https://www.typing.com/

Reading Lists for Reading aloud to your children:

https://readaloudrevival.com/rar-booklist/

A Podcast Episode for Suddenly-at-Home-Schoolers by Julie Bogart: http://blog.bravewriter.com/2020/03/23/podcast-suddenly-at-home-schoolers/

Have you ever heard someone talk about the gifts that come from suffering? When you’re smack-dab in the middle of a tough season, that sentiment can be annoying at best. When times are as difficult as they are during this global pandemic, it can be hard to find an authentic voice of encouragement and hope that feels genuinely empathetic and practically helpful. We invited Matt Atkins to the podcast because he brings a bold and thoughtful voice to the conversation about Jesus and his perspective helps us see suffering in a brand new way. We’re thrilled to share his wisdom because we know it will help you collide with Jesus and experience peace.

Do you feel like your mind never slows down—constantly worrying, overthinking, or bracing for what’s next?

Anxiety can show up in so many ways: racing thoughts, tightness in your body, emotional exhaustion, or feeling overwhelmed by everyday life. In this episode of the Collide Podcast, we sit down with Amy Brandt, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been helping people find comfort, healing, and a more grounded sense of self since 2009.

As a trusted mental health professional within the Collide Counseling Network, Amy shares practical, approachable therapeutic tools to help manage anxiety—tools that can be used in real life, right when anxiety shows up. Whether your anxiety feels situational or chronic, this conversation offers clarity, compassion, and hope.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Simple techniques to calm anxiety in everyday moments
• How anxiety impacts both your mind and body
• Tools to feel more grounded, regulated, and present
• Encouragement for taking healthy next steps toward healing

This episode is a true anxiety management tool kit, filled with wisdom and practical support to help you breathe easier and feel less alone.

Birds and Lilies Bible Study - Offers a biblical perspective to today’s “anxiety culture,” guiding women toward peace, faith, and trust in God’s faithful provision.

5 Week Guide to Manage Your Anxiety – Get expert advice from counselors, plus guided exercises, reflections, and tools to help you find peace and trust in the midst of anxiety.

Collide Book

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!