The Mudroom Podcast

Introducing Mudroom Vox!! We know your time is limited and seems like it goes too fast. We want you to be able to experience The Mudroom in a new way! For some of our posts, we will begin adding audio versions read by the author that you can listen to on the go! These will be 5-8 minutes total so you can fit them in on your morning run, your school pick-up routine, or waiting in line at your favorite coffee shop.  Enjoy!

Listen to an audio version of Nicole Walters' "What Strong Women Do" post at The Mudroom.

"I’ve always prided myself on being part of a line of strong women. It wasn’t until I was a young working mom myself, wracked with anxiety brought on by all the things I believed I should be doing but couldn’t manage, that I realized a weakness I inherited, too. The waters of all the expectations I placed on myself were rising higher than I could swim. I was going under.

When I started admitting my feelings of failure, the women around me echoed back my anxiety. “Why can’t we do it all?” we said. We all felt weak, believing the strength of a woman meant being all the things to all the people all the time.

My mom admitted the disquiet she lived with as well. She never let us see it as children, but she struggled to keep her head above water, too. When I looked at her as a real person and not just Supermom, I saw the crack in the facade, the weak place I’d missed before: her inability to rest."

Abstract:

If today’s Podcast title caught your eye it’s probably because you’re longing for a rest that transcends the temporary. Author, speaker, and Bible teacher Sharla Fritz reads you loud and clear—and she joins us today for a deep dive into soul rest.

Show Notes:

Direct Link to Sharla Fritz's "Discovering Soul Rest" Course: https://sharlafritz.thinkific.com/courses/your-first-course

Sharla's website: https://www.sharlafritz.com/

Sharla's recent article at The Mudroom: http://mudroomblog.com/lets-not-chase-the-spotlight/

Suzanne Stabile's Mudroom podcasts:

"The Gifts of Living in Liminal Space with Enneagram Master Teacher Suzanne Stabile": https://themudroompodcast.buzzsprout.com/1896867/9987342

"Soul Care and the Transformative Power of Allowing": https://themudroompodcast.buzzsprout.com/1896867/9987342

"More Than I Am" intro and outro song graciously provided by Christa Wells

 "Running to Stand Still" U2 The Joshua Tree https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orfhLLo7XDs

Transition music by nikproteus from Pixabay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orfhLLo7XDs

Our guest at The Mudroom today is Tammy Perlmutter, Founder and Curator of this space, and--among so many other things--our resident expert on longing. Tammy’s journey is a mixture of heartbreak and hope--including childhood abuse--so we want to issue a trigger warning here. But, as Tammy expresses here, there is also God’s beautiful redemption arc--and for her, it’s made all the difference. Enter in with us as we parallel pieces of the Christmas story in the early chapters of Luke, from Elizabeth’s longing for one child to the prophetess Anna’s joy over beholding another --the Messiah--at his temple dedication. And his mother Mary’s contemplation of it all. There’s no one else I know who embodies all of these longings as Tammy does--or who more clearly follows its leading to Him. Lean in now for her incredible story . . .

References:

"I felt a mother-want about the world,
And still went seeking, like a bleating lamb
Left out at night, in shutting up the fold,–
As restless as a nest-deserted bird
Grown chill through something being away, though what
It knows not."
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh, 1864

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthy pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. ... I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and help others to do the same." C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

 "Invisible String" by Taylor Swift (Folklore).

Jesus People

Additional music within the Podcast body: Lexin_Music from Pixabay.

Show Notes:

Toni Morrison’s article in The Nation:

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/no-place-self-pity-no-room-fear/

Vina Mogg: https://mudroomblog.com/at-the-table-a-place-of-stability-in-a-multicultural-family/

Nina Simone, “Feeling Good": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHRNrgDIJfo

Florence + The Machine, “Hunger”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6KPgWc4Zlo

Chelle Wilson, “A Decade to Find My Way: OneWord 2021”

https://chelleawilson.com/2021/01/01/a-decade-to-find-my-way-oneword-2021/?fbclid=IwAR0s4dgMODmOsNvhfN3daE63TprDLrHkeW7oTBXYGXPJIUXNkrDWt_Y8cfQ

Sarah Guerrero’s website: https://sarahmguerrero.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmguerrero/

Music by Lesfm from Pixabay: “Forest Lullaby”

The holiday season is, among so many things, fraught. Abby Ball’s new Advent devotional gives us permission to live in the tension of Christmas with all of its expectations, joy, and heartbreak. Join us for this conversation about Contemplating Christmas--a stunning, authentic, and gentle guide through the beauty and pain that Christmas unearths.

Links:

Amazon: Contemplating Christmas: An Advent Devotional For Finding Hope in the Dark

"Unraveling Fear" - The Mudroom: http://mudroomblog.com/tag/abby-king/

"For the Single Ladies" - The Mudroom: http://mudroomblog.com/for-the-single-ladies/

Abby's website: https://abbyball.substack.com/

Instagram: abbyballwrites

Facebook: Abby Ball Writes

Native Bermudian Tatyana Claytor is a writer, academic, and mother of four. A navigator of multiple cultures and life experiences, Tatyana meets us in The Mudroom today for a discussion on how expectations shape us and our perception of God. Lean in for her extraordinary story . . .

Tatyana's most recent Mudroom piece: “How Relational Expectations Shape our Vision of God”

http://mudroomblog.com/how-relational-expectations-shape-our-vision-of-god/

Tatyana's Website: https://tatyanastable.com/

Links to Tatyana on the Socials:

Twitter: @TatyanasTable

Instagram:  @tclaytor25

Credits:

Mudroom Podcast Theme Song: "More Than I Am" by Christa Wells: http://www.christawellsmusic.com/

C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (New York: Harper Collins, 1994)

"I'm Not A Cat" meme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3M_Ki5U3TE

The walk on the narrow path towards belonging means scraping past a million thorny thickets.

Writer and poet Prasanta Verma feels your pain. She meets us in The Mudroom after navigating the twists, turns, and pinpricks of belonging in ways few of us can imagine. Join us,  today, for a way forward on the path to belonging.  

Prasanta's most recent Mudroom piece: “Of Thorns and Skin” http://mudroomblog.com/of-thorns-and-skin/

Prasanta's Website: www.prasantaverma.com/

Links to Prasanta on the Socials:

Twitter: @VermaPrasanta

Instagram: @prasantaverma

Facebook:  Prasanta Verma, Writer

Credits:

Mudroom Podcast Theme Song: "More Than I Am" by Christa Wells: http://www.christawellsmusic.com/

Background music for the narration of Prasanta's piece: “Soft ambient” by Alex MakeMusic on Pixabay

Writer Nicole Walters meets us in The Mudroom today to share some highlights of her journey of words. She elaborates on the absolute necessity for collegiality in her writing life and describes her strategy for theme writing. 

References: The Bluest Eye by Toni  Morrison

Nicole's most recent Mudroom piece: “Grace in the Middle” http://mudroomblog.com/grace-in-the-middle/

Mudroom Podcast, Episode 5: Finding Grace in the Middle

"Stepping Out Afraid": http://www.nicoletwalters.com/2022/explore-2022/

"More Than I Am" intro and outro song graciously provided by Christa Wells.

 In this episode, writer Nicole Walters narrates her latest Mudroom piece, "Grace in the Middle", with pauses throughout where she speaks deeper into the meaning of her text. If you find yourself in the liminal space of betwixt and between you're in good company. Lean in.

You'll find Nicole's written piece, "Grace in the Middle" here: http://mudroomblog.com/grace-in-the-middle .

Check out Nicole's website, www.nicoletwalters.com, for more of her thoughts and words.

"More Than I Am" intro and outro song graciously provided by Christa Wells.

Catherine McNiel is asking this question of herself and others: “What are you afraid of?” Why, she asks, are we, as Christ-followers, often taught to fear our neighbors, withhold hospitality from strangers, and vilify the “others”—those whose beliefs, appearances, and lives look different than our own and perceive them as a threat to our way of living. Catherine speaks to this culture of fear and calls us to change the conversation. Her new book, Fearing Bravely: Risking Love for our Neighbors, Strangers, and Enemies, is an anthem proclaiming the freedom to choose love over fear.

https://mudroomblog.com/disruptive-love/

https://mudroomblog.com/how-do-i-stay-in-the-church/

http://catherinemcniel.com/

http://catherinemcniel.com/books/fearing-bravely/

http://catherinemcniel.com/books/all-shall-be-well/

http://catherinemcniel.com/books/long-days-small-things/

"More Than I Am" intro and outro song graciously provided by Christa Wells