The Heartlifter Way

Before we ask how to influence our families, churches, and communities, perhaps we need to ask:

• What is forming us?
• What spiritual practices are shaping our inner lives?
• What kind of presence are we becoming?

A familiar proverb says, "Unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything."

In Part 1 of my conversation with today's guest, Dr. Gerald Sittser, author of "Water From a Deep Well," we explore the rich history of Christian spirituality and the practices that cultivate grounded wisdom, spiritual maturity, and quiet influence. Together, we consider how deep spiritual roots shape the presence we bring to our families, churches, and communities, and why becoming a modern-day matriarch begins with forming our own souls.

Today's Takeaway: We cannot consistently offer others what we have not cultivated within ourselves. The quiet power of a modern-day matriarch flows not from her ability to manage or influence others, but from a soul deeply rooted in God's presence, wisdom, grace, and love.

A Question to Carry: What spiritual practices shape us into people whose very presence becomes a source of grounded wisdom, peace, grace, and love for others?

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Connect with Janell & The Heartlifter Way on Substack

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠janellrardon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janellrardon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theheartlifterway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• YouTube: The Heartlifter Way
• Revisit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"When God Speaks in Metaphors"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Revisit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"Unlearning with The Waiting Room"⁠⁠⁠⁠

• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The G.E.N.T.L.E. Path"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PDF
• Visit Dr. Sittser's website: Jerry Sittser
• Listen to Dr. Sittser's series with John Mark Comer: Practicing the Way with John Mark Comer

What does it mean to become a modern-day matriarch in a culture obsessed with influencers? Perhaps our deepest influence isn’t loud or visible at all. Perhaps it grows from the grounded, embodied way we live, love, and lead.

In this opening episode, I re-introduce G.E.N.T.L.E. as a way of practicing this kind of quiet influence:

G — Grounded in what is real

E — Expressing emotions with self-compassion

N — Nourishing our nervous systems

T — Trusting in God’s daily presence and care

L — Listening to the quiet language of our bodies

E — Embracing micro-movements forward in hope

Becoming a modern-day matriarch isn’t about becoming the woman who carries everyone. It’s about becoming a woman whose grounded presence quietly influences the people she loves.

Subscribe and Support the Show on Spotify

Connect with Janell & The Heartlifter Way on Substack

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠janellrardon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janellrardon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theheartlifterway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• YouTube: Heartlift Wellness
• Revisit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"When God Speaks in Metaphors"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Revisit ⁠⁠⁠⁠"Unlearning with The Waiting Room"⁠⁠⁠

• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The G.E.N.T.L.E. Path"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PDF
• Visit Britt Piper: Body-First Healing
• Listen to Britt on The Heartlifter Way: E313
• Visit Emily P. Freeman: The Next Right Thing

Send a text

*Visiting the archives today in commemoration of 9/11.

Welcome, New York Times Bestseller Michael Hingson, survivor of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks, and his guide dog Roselle, as they share profound wisdom about bravery, overcoming adversity, and moving forward with faith as we celebrate our 300th episode.

The conversation takes us through the powerful lessons Michael has learned from each of his guide dogs, from Squire to Alamo. These 11 principles form a roadmap for anyone facing challenges: awareness builds confidence, preparation prevents panic, flexibility and faith move you forward. 

Order Michael's Books:

1. Live Like a Guide Dog

2. Thunder Dog

New Series: Becoming a Modern-Day Matriarch

Sometimes clarity doesn’t arrive as an answer. Sometimes it arrives as a recognition: Oh. I think I see what has been taking shape here. I see hints and am beginning to make sense of it all.

As A Birth Season comes to a close, Janell reflects on an unexpected realization: two book projects she has been developing for years—Moving Day and Modern-Day Matriarchs—are no longer simply ideas she is writing about. She is living them.

In this tender transition episode, she explores what she is being invited to leave behind, what she hopes to carry forward, and how a possible move to Kansas has awakened a deeper calling to become an intentional matriarch for the generations she loves. It’s the beginning of a new conversation—and perhaps a new season.

Connect with Janell & The Heartlifter Way on Substack

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠janellrardon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janellrardon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theheartlifterway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• YouTube: Heartlift Wellness
• Revisit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"When God Speaks in Metaphors"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Revisit ⁠⁠⁠"Unlearning with The Waiting Room"⁠⁠⁠

• Download the "Principles of Discernment" PDF: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust What is Taking Shape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download the "Discernment Prayer" to use during our Birth Season: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prayer PDF⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The Three Pots" ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Graphic to use during the meditative exercise.
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The G.E.N.T.L.E. Path"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PDF

"May all that is unforgiven in you

Be released.

May your fears yield

Their deepest tranquillities.

May all that is unlived in you blossom into a future

Graced with love."

John O'Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us

What if a season can be complete even when the story isn’t?

In this final episode of “A Birth Season,” we arrive at Day Five of our closing journey: BLESS. After 90 days of listening, noticing, releasing, and learning what is ours to carry forward, we make room for what remains unresolved.

Together, we’ll practice blessing the unfinished—honoring what has been, receiving what has been born, and trusting God with what is still becoming.

Because perhaps discernment doesn’t always end with an answer.

Sometimes it ends with open hands, a faithful next step, and a blessing.

Connect with Janell & The Heartlifter Way on Substack

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠janellrardon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janellrardon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theheartlifterway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• YouTube: Heartlift Wellness
• Revisit ⁠⁠⁠⁠"When God Speaks in Metaphors"⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Revisit ⁠⁠"Unlearning with The Waiting Room"⁠⁠

• Download the "Principles of Discernment" PDF: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust What is Taking Shape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download the "Discernment Prayer" to use during our Birth Season: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prayer PDF⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The Three Pots" ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Graphic to use during the meditative exercise.
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The G.E.N.T.L.E. Path"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PDF

What if finding our way home has less to do with hurrying toward an address—and more to do with trusting the quiet instincts God has placed within us?

In Episode 27, Janell reflects on the box turtle that keeps returning to her Virginia garden and its remarkable homing instinct. As A Birth Season draws toward its close, this little creature becomes a beautiful metaphorical mirror for transition: move slowly, carry home with you, and trust the way forward even when you cannot yet see where you will land.

Perhaps home isn't something we have to chase.

Perhaps, in its own mysterious way, home is finding us.

Connect with Janell & The Heartlifter Way on Substack

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠janellrardon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janellrardon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theheartlifterway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• YouTube: Heartlift Wellness
• Revisit ⁠⁠⁠"When God Speaks in Metaphors"⁠⁠⁠
• Revisit ⁠"Unlearning with The Waiting Room"⁠

• Download the "Principles of Discernment" PDF: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust What is Taking Shape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download the "Discernment Prayer" to use during our Birth Season: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prayer PDF⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The Three Pots" ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Graphic to use during the meditative exercise.
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The G.E.N.T.L.E. Path"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PDF

Not everything that carried you through one season is meant to come with you into the next.

In Episode 26 of The Heartlifter Way, we continue our Five Gentle Conversations from “A Birth Season” by exploring the sacred practice of release. Like the acorn that nourishes the emerging oak until its work is complete, some patterns, expectations, roles, and burdens may have served a purpose—and now be ready to be released.

Today, we gently ask:

What has completed its work in your life—and what are you ready to leave behind?

Because sometimes letting go isn't loss.

It's making room for what is becoming.

Connect with Janell & The Heartlifter Way on Substack

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠janellrardon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janellrardon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theheartlifterway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• YouTube: Heartlift Wellness
• Revisit ⁠⁠"When God Speaks in Metaphors"⁠⁠
• Revisit "Unlearning with The Waiting Room"

• Download the "Principles of Discernment" PDF: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust What is Taking Shape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download the "Discernment Prayer" to use during our Birth Season: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prayer PDF⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The Three Pots" ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Graphic to use during the meditative exercise.
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The G.E.N.T.L.E. Path"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PDF

What if the most important outcome of a season of discernment isn’t the answer you receive, but the person you are becoming?

In Day Two of our Five-Day Closing of A Birth Season, we move from remembering to receiving—pausing to recognize what these 90 days have been quietly forming within us.

Today, we practice beholding.

To behold means to look at something with sustained, attentive regard—to truly see it rather than glance at it and move on. Beholding carries a sense of wonder and reverence. It asks us to linger. We learn that "beholding beauty can actually change your life."

And perhaps that's exactly what new life needs.

Instead of immediately asking, “What do I do next?” we pause long enough to behold the courage, wisdom, trust, boundaries, tenderness, or new way of being that has begun to emerge.

Because birth is not completion. Birth is beginning.

So today, Heartlifter, we're asking:

What has been born in you—and can you behold it before you hurry on to what comes next?

Connect with Janell & The Heartlifter Way on Substack

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠janellrardon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janellrardon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theheartlifterway⁠⁠⁠⁠
• YouTube: Heartlift Wellness
• Revisit ⁠"When God Speaks in Metaphors"⁠
• Download the "Principles of Discernment" PDF: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust What is Taking Shape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download the "Discernment Prayer" to use during our Birth Season: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prayer PDF⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The Three Pots" ⁠⁠⁠⁠Graphic to use during the meditative exercise.
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The G.E.N.T.L.E. Path"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PDF

A Question to Carry: What can you see now that you couldn't see at the beginning of our "Birth Season: 90-Days of Discernment?"

We begin a Five-Day Closing of a Birth Season in Episode 24. Over the next five days, we will look back over the past 90 days, not to analyze, but to remember. Together, we'll gather the moments, the gentle nudges, the unexpected turns, and the surprising metaphorical mirrors that appeared along the path. We will consider what they might be revealing now. Sometimes we can only recognize what God has been quietly forming in us when we take the time to turn around and look at all that has been on the path behind us. Isn't that why they say, "Hindsight is 20/20?"

Connect with Janell & The Heartlifter Way on Substack

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠janellrardon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janellrardon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theheartlifterway⁠⁠⁠
• YouTube: Heartlift Wellness
• Revisit "When God Speaks in Metaphors"
• Download the "Principles of Discernment" PDF: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust What is Taking Shape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download the "Discernment Prayer" to use during our Birth Season: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prayer PDF⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The Three Pots" ⁠⁠⁠Graphic to use during the meditative exercise.
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠"The G.E.N.T.L.E. Path"⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ PDF

What happens when discernment gives you clarity—but not certainty?

In this episode, Janell shares, "On Day 79 of our 90 Days of Discernment, I thought I would have more answers. I thought we would have a house in Kansas by now. Instead, we're preparing to put our home on the market without knowing the address of the home we'll live in next. And that scares me."

In this episode of The Heartlifter Way, she explores the sacred space between clarity and uncertainty—and what it means to take the next faithful step without knowing exactly where it will lead.

We’ll consider the difference between desire and attachment, and the freedom of naming what we deeply hope for while surrendering our demand that the outcome look exactly as we've imagined.

Because discernment doesn't always remove uncertainty. Sometimes it simply gives us enough clarity to walk through it.

Hebrews 11:8 tells us that Abraham obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Maybe faith isn't certainty about the destination. Maybe it's certainty about the One who goes with us.

Janell shares her a little framework for holding the tension between clarity and uncertainty:

Desire: I know what I hope for.
Clarity: I know my next faithful step.
Uncertainty: I don't know what the outcome will be.
Surrender: I release my need to control how the story unfolds.

She adds, "Perhaps I've been asking God for certainty about the future when what He is offering me is certainty about Himself. I don't know the address. But I know the next step. And for today, that is enough."

Connect with Janell & The Heartlifter Way on Substack

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠janellrardon.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@janellrardon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theheartlifterway⁠⁠
• YouTube: Heartlift Wellness
• Download the "Principles of Discernment" PDF: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trust What is Taking Shape⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download the "Discernment Prayer" to use during our Birth Season: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Prayer PDF⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠"The Three Pots" ⁠⁠Graphic to use during the meditative exercise.
• Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠"The G.E.N.T.L.E. Path"⁠⁠⁠⁠ PDF