Hey friend—welcome back to The Formed Life Podcast! Today I’m pulling back the curtain and sharing the story behind The Formed Life Foundation—the heartbeat, the journey, and the holy unraveling that God used to move me from striving to true formation.

In this episode, I walk you through a very real and vulnerable part of my faith story—those early years marked by performance-driven discipleship, “formula Christianity,” and the belief that if I did everything “right,” God had to give me the life I imagined. Maybe you’ve been there too.

I share about that season in my late twenties when my life felt nothing like the plans I had prayed for. It was here that the Holy Spirit gently exposed my misplaced expectations, my entitlement, and my striving, and invited me into Jesus’ words in Matthew 11: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me… and learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”

This episode traces how God led me into a theology of suffering, an experience of Emmanuel, and a relationship shaped by intimacy—not performance. It’s a story of moving from formulas to formation, from checking boxes to being transformed in the presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I also share how this personal journey—and years of leading spiritual formation groups—shaped the creation of The Formed Life Foundation, a digital on-ramp for Christians who feel stuck, overwhelmed, disappointed, or hungry for deeper connection with God. Inside this course are spiritual rhythms, practices, reflection prompts, Scripture meditations, and an invitation to walk the narrow road with the Trinity.

✨ Your Invitation This Week

🌿 Explore more resources & rhythms:  https://theformedlife.org/home-page

📸 Connect with me on Instagram: @vwear | @theformedlife

Hey friends—welcome back to The Formed Life Podcast! Today’s conversation is one that will meet you right where you are, especially if you’re feeling tired, stretched thin, or longing for a little more peace, presence, and spiritual grounding in your home. I’m joined by my dear friend Tricia Sherlin, the hands and heart behind Willow Oak Roots.

Tricia is a former special educator and mental health therapist turned adoring wife, subpar homemaker (her words, not mine!), and homeschooling mama. She creates thoughtful resources for spiritual formation, family discipleship, and intentional faith practices, helping bone-tired, spiritually hungry moms slow down and reconnect with God through simple rhythms and ancient traditions.

In this episode, we dive deep into Advent, talking about how this season invites us to wait, watch, and prepare our hearts for Jesus—not with hustle or pressure, but with holy stillness. Tricia shares how she cultivates rhythms of peace in her home, how to practice presence in a noisy world, and why creating spiritual habits with our kids shapes not only their faith but our own.

We explore what it looks like to build holy rhythms at home—rituals that form us slowly, gently, deeply. Tricia offers practical ideas for families, creative Advent traditions, and encouragement for moms who want to lead their families spiritually but feel overwhelmed.

If you’ve been looking for ways to make your home a place of rest, worship, and connection, this episode will give you hope and soul-breathing space.

✨ Your Invitation This Week

📘 Resources: Family Advent Guide + PRAYERS in Advent: Lectio Divina Prayer Journal

🌿 Explore more resources & rhythms:  https://theformedlife.org/home-page

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV). Copyright © 1984, by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Hey friend—welcome back to The Formed Life Podcast. Today’s episode is a little different, and honestly, one of my favorites. Instead of a conversation or teaching, I’m inviting you to simply slow down, breathe, and let the Word of God wash over your soul as I read Psalm 100, Psalm 103, and Psalm 118.

As we continue reflecting on the theme of gratitude this month, these psalms remind us of who God is—His goodness, His mercy, His compassion, His unfailing love, and His enduring faithfulness through every generation. These passages are some of the richest in Scripture when it comes to worship, thanksgiving, and remembering God’s benefits.

In this episode, I read through each psalm slowly and prayerfully, giving you space to let the truth settle in your heart. Psalm 100 calls us into joyful worship and thanksgiving. Psalm 103 invites us to remember the deep healing, forgiveness, and compassion God offers us. And Psalm 118 reminds us of God’s steadfast love, His salvation, His presence in trouble, and the victory He brings.

These aren’t just words—they’re spiritual formation rhythms, anchoring us in praise, gratitude, and trust. If you’ve been feeling rushed, overwhelmed, or spiritually dry, my prayer is that this Scripture reading becomes a moment of rest and reorientation.

✨ Your Invitation This Week

🌿 Explore more resources & rhythms:  https://theformedlife.org/home-page

Hey friend—welcome back to The Formed Life Podcast! Today’s episode is a little different—it’s part celebration, part reflection, and all about a spiritual rhythm that has truly shaped my life: gratitude.

We’re four months into this podcast journey, and can I just say… I’m overwhelmed in the best way. When The Formed Life launched, I never imagined it would reach listeners across the globe—and yet, here we are, now being heard in 10 countries! The U.S., the Philippines, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Australia, Singapore, the U.K., Pakistan, Belgium, and The Gambia. What a beautiful picture of God’s kingdom at work across the world.

So first—thank you. Thank you for listening, for sharing, for inviting me into your homes, cars, and morning walks. This episode is my heartfelt “thank you” and a reflection on how gratitude transforms our souls.

We explore how gratitude is more than a feeling—it’s a practice. You don’t have to wait until you feel thankful to give thanks. You can start right where you are: writing it, saying it, or sharing it with someone else. Gratitude shifts our focus, opens our spiritual eyes, and helps us recognize God’s fingerprints in every season.

I share a few creative ways to practice gratitude—in conversations, at the dinner table, in community, or even before a big work presentation (yes, I’ve done that!). And as we approach Thanksgiving and the Advent season, I reflect on how gratitude prepares our hearts to receive Jesus afresh.

✨ Your Invitation This Week

📸 Connect with me: @vwear | @theformedlife

Hey, friend — can we just take a deep breath together? Before the rush, the shopping lists, the travel plans, and the pressure to make everything perfect… let’s pause. In this episode, I’m talking about something near and dear to my heart — the sacred invitation of Advent.

I share a personal story about how my early years of marriage, motherhood, and even hospital stays reshaped the way I approach Christmas. Somewhere between the chaos and the beauty, I discovered that Advent isn’t just a countdown to Christmas — it’s a call to slow down, to wait well, and to make room for Jesus.

We’ll explore:

Whether your tree goes up in November or Christmas Eve, my prayer is that Advent becomes the heartbeat behind all your holiday rhythms — shaping you into a person who resists hurry and embraces holy anticipation.

Let’s make this Christmas different. Let’s prepare Him room.

📸 Follow along: @vwear | @theformedlife

🎙️ Episode 14: Echoes of Insight: The Transforming Power of Reflection

There I was, sitting on a flight home after a weekend of speaking, ministry, and deep connection. It was one of those experiences where God moved so clearly and beautifully — truly immeasurably more than I could have asked or imagined. But as I was heading home, I could feel there was something I needed to process… something I didn’t want to rush past.

In this episode, I share how God invited me into a moment of reflection — not just thinking about what happened, but looking with Him at where He was present, what He was forming, and how He was shaping my heart.

We explore:

I walk through the exact reflection questions God gave me on that airplane (and they’re yours now, too):

If you want to explore this practice more, I recommend looking into the Ignatian Examen:

Reflection is not about perfection — it’s about presence.

If this episode encouraged you, share it!

Hey friends, welcome back to The Formed Life Podcast! Today we’re continuing a beautiful and honest conversation with my dear friend Katie Hoover—someone I’ve known since our freshman year at Evangel University. Katie is a godly mom, spiritual director, licensed therapist, and serves as the Kids Ministry Director at New Life Church East in Colorado. She’s wise, grounded, and has such a gentle way of inviting us into deeper reflection and healing.

In this part two conversation, we dive into the healing work we can’t skip—that sacred intersection where story, therapy, and spiritual formation meet. Katie and I talk about how unhealed pain can quietly shape our view of God, ourselves, and others—and how the Spirit often leads us back to those tender places, not to shame us, but to bring wholeness.

We unpack how healing is not a quick fix or checklist, but a lifelong rhythm of honesty, courage, and grace. Katie shares insights from her work as a therapist and spiritual director—reminding us that tending to our stories is actually spiritual work. God is present in the remembering, in the naming, and in the gentle re-storying of our lives.

If you’ve ever wondered how therapy and spiritual formation intersect, or if you’re walking through a season of deep healing, this conversation will meet you with empathy and hope.

✨ Your Invitation This Week

📩 Connect with Katie on Substack: katiehoover.substack.com 

📸 Follow along: @hoover.katie

Hey friends, welcome back to The Formed Life Podcast! Today’s episode is extra special because I get to sit down with one of my dearest friends—someone I’ve known since our freshman year at Evangel University—Katie Hoover. Katie is a godly mom, spiritual director, licensed therapist, and serves as the Kids Ministry Director at New Life Church East in Colorado. She’s one of those people who radiates wisdom, warmth, and grace—and this conversation is such a gift.

In this first part of our two-part conversation, Katie and I talk about what happens when grace interrupts your life—how God meets us in unexpected seasons, gently reorders our priorities, and leads us back to intimacy with Him. Katie shares candidly about her own journey of formation—the beauty and the breaking—and how the Lord used those interruptions to shape her heart in ways she never could’ve orchestrated on her own.

We talk about motherhood, ministry, therapy, and the art of slowing down enough to notice God’s kindness in the middle of real life. There’s laughter, honesty, and a deep sense of God’s presence woven through every moment of this conversation.

If you’ve ever found yourself in a season that didn’t go according to plan—this episode is a gentle reminder that sometimes grace looks like interruption. And when it does, it’s always an invitation to deeper formation.

✨ Your Invitation This Week

📩 Connect with Katie on Substack: katiehoover.substack.com

Hey friend—welcome back to The Formed Life Podcast! I’m so glad you’re here today. In this episode, we’re diving into one of the most freeing and foundational truths in the life of a Jesus follower: you don’t have to do it all on your own.

We talk about how spiritual formation isn’t about striving harder, performing better, or perfecting every discipline—it’s about surrender. Real transformation happens when we stop trying to become more like Jesus in our own strength and begin to rely on the Holy Spirit, who actually does the forming work in us.

I share how this truth has reshaped my walk with God—how I’ve moved from exhaustion and striving to resting in partnership with the Spirit. We unpack the beautiful reality that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, empowering us to love, forgive, and live in freedom.

Throughout the conversation, I walk through what it means to cooperate with the Spirit instead of controlling outcomes—how formation happens not through force, but through friendship. This isn’t about passivity; it’s about learning to move with the Spirit’s rhythm and trusting Him to do what we can’t.

So if you’ve been trying to hold it all together, striving to be “enough,” this episode is your reminder: you were never meant to do it alone. The Spirit is already at work in you, bringing life where you’ve been weary.

✨ Your Invitation This Week

Pause and ask: “Holy Spirit, what are You forming in me today?”

Let go of striving—and rest in the One who’s already doing the work.

📸 Let’s connect: @vwear | @theformedlife

Hey friend, welcome back to The Formed Life Podcast! I’m so glad you’re here today. This episode is a tender one because I’m talking about something that I live every single day: parenting beyond my limits.

Parenting is one of the greatest joys of my life, but also one of the most humbling journeys I’ve ever walked. And maybe you feel this too—those moments where you’ve come to the end of yourself and realize, I can’t do this on my own. In this episode, I share about those very moments and how God has been teaching me that parenting isn’t about doing it perfectly, it’s about partnering with the Holy Spirit.

We talk about what it looks like to invite God into the daily rhythms of parenting—into the mess, the joy, the exhaustion, and the wonder. I reflect on personal stories (including a sweet adoption celebration that reminded me of God’s faithfulness), and I unpack how the Spirit equips us when we feel unqualified or overwhelmed.

Instead of chasing the impossible standard of being the “perfect parent,” I explore how spiritual practices like prayer, gratitude, and community create space for us to lean into God’s strength. Parenting becomes less about striving and more about surrender—trusting that the same God who parents us with love and patience is present as we parent our own children.

So whether you’re raising toddlers, teenagers, or praying for your adult kids—this episode is an encouragement to breathe deep and remember: you’re not doing this alone.

✨ Your Invitation This Week

Spend a few minutes reflecting: where in your parenting do you need to stop striving and invite the Spirit to lead?

📸 Let’s stay connected: @vwear | @theformedlife