Most of us are living stories we never would have chosen. Even so, friend, it’s possible for you to live these un-hoped-for realities well. 
If you’ve found yourself in a place of suffering, this chapter of your life must start with total shock, sadness, and disbelief. But it doesn’t have to stay in that place. Let’s talk about how.
Today Katherine is sharing a few tips she’s picked up while learning to love—yes, really, LOVE—the life she has. 
What We’ll Cover…

 Taking intentional time to grieve your losses.

 Telling your story to empathetic listeners.

  Celebrating the process, not the outcome. 

  Recognizing your assignment in this life.

  Cultivating habitual gratitude for what remains. 

  Deciding to love your life.


Today, if you only have capacity for the quickest and most practical tips for owning your story, this episode is for you.


Want a little hope in your inbox?
⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote
Get to know us:
⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/
⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp
⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/
Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/




Episode 50: 5 Tips for Accepting Your Story with Katherine Wolf

On The GoodHard Story Podcast, we believe the good story and the hard story can be the same story. Host Katherine Wolf—stroke survivor, speaker, author, and disability advocate—is inviting you to join her in discovering the treasures hidden in our hurting. Sit in on candid conversations with Katherine, the Hope Heals team, and some beloved guests as they work out what it means to wholeheartedly live a good/hard life. Katherine is a defining voice of our time, so you don’t want to miss her hard-won insights on the places where pain and joy can co-exist. We are so excited to welcome you to The GoodHard Story Podcast!

Religion & Spirituality

Other

Spirituality

Christianity

Buddhism

Hinduism

Judaism

Islam

Have you ever spent a thousand hours studying something? Other than the back of your own eyelids, that is.
Today, Katherine is joined by her friend Dr. Joel Muddamalle, who recently spent one thousand hours studying everything the Bible has to say about humility. He’s sharing everything he learned with us! What he has to say might surprise you, and it’s certain to convict you.
If you sense you might be harboring hidden pride and finally feel ready to recover your God-designed humility, this episode is for you.
What you’ll take away from this conversation…
Why humility is the key to developing resilience against humiliation
How to invite God to re-order your ambitions
Making the switch from resenting your limitations to resting in them instead


All things Joel Muddamalle: https://linktr.ee/muddamalle
The Hidden Peace: Finding True Security, Strength, and Confidence Through Humility by Joel Muddamalle: https://a.co/d/bYj1ypQ
Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/camp
Proverbs 31 Ministries: https://proverbs31.org/
“These Are The Days” by Cory Asbury: https://g.co/kgs/fRaQBGz
Scriptures referenced in this episode:
Genesis 1, 2, and 3
Matthew 11:28-29
Philippians 2:8-9
***
Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb
Want a little hope in your inbox?
⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote
Get to know us:
⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/
⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp
⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/
Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/






Episode 65: Re-ordering Our Ambitions: Uncovering God-Designed Humility with Joel Muddammalle

Katherine spent her first Mother’s Day unconscious in an intensive care unit, a fact that has brought a flavor of bittersweetness to every Mother’s Day since. Today she’s reflecting on the experiences of parenthood that were eventually restored to her, as well as the ones she will simply never get back. 
If your life is feeling more like a famine than a feast and you’re hungry to hear from someone who has found her way back to a full life, this episode is for you.
Today’s episode is an excerpt from the Treasures in the Dark audiobook! If you’re listening on Spotify Premium, you can stream Treasures in the Dark for free as a part of your subscription.
Grab your own copy of the book today in print, ebook, or audiobook formats at treasuresinthedark.com or wherever books are sold.


Show Notes:
Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting by Katherine Wolf: https://hopeheals.com/treasures


Scriptures referenced in this episode:
Joel 1:16
Joel 2:25-27


***
Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb
Want a little hope in your inbox?
⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote
Get to know us:
⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/
⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp
⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/
Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/




Episode 64: AUDIOBOOK SNEAK PEEK: What the Locusts Ate

In this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, Katherine discovers a kindred spirit in Kay Warren, who founded the beloved Saddleback Church with her husband Rick. Kay and Rick have endured the earth-shattering loss of one of their sons, who died by suicide in 2013.

Both Katherine and Kay were in tears by the end of the conversation, which spans from the complexities of mental illness to the life-saving power of respite to the privilege of sitting with suffering people. Kay could not have been more generous in sharing her hard-won insights into the most terrible kind of grief.

What you’ll take away from this conversation…

 What to do when God stops making sense
 The single experience that can make us more Christlike
  The one question you should never ask someone who is suffering
  How a marriage can withstand unimaginable loss

If you need to hear a story of deep hurt and even deeper hope, this episode is for you.

Show Notes

Hope for Mental Health: https://hope4mentalhealth.com/

Breathe: https://saddleback.com/connect/ministry/outreach-retreats

The Wounder Healer by Henri Nouwen - https://henrinouwen.org/read/the-wounded-healer/

Lews Smedes - https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/smedes_recordings/

Walter Brueggemann - https://www.walterbrueggemann.com/resources/

“Pay mind to your own life, your own health, and wholeness. A bleeding heart is of no help to anyone if it bleeds to death.” - Frederick Buechner

Scriptures referenced in this episode:
1 Corinthians 15:43-45

***

Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb

Want a little hope in your inbox?
⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote

Get to know us:
⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/
⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp
⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/
Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

Episode 63: Wonderful/Terrible: Cultivating a Gritty Faith Instead of a Pretty Faith with Kay Warren

As Katherine observes the sixteenth anniversary of her stroke this week, she’s reflecting on one of the most transformative treasures she’s discovered in the darkness of her pain: If the worst day of Jesus’ life was eventually called good, then maybe one day my worst day could be called good too.
But this is no ordinary podcast episode! We are so excited to be sharing a clip straight from the Treasures in the Dark AUDIOBOOK!
If you enjoy this little preview book, we sure hope you’ll pick up a copy of your own. And if you’re listening on Spotify Premium, you can stream Treasures in the Dark for free as a part of your subscription!
Grab your copy of the book today in print, ebook, or audiobook formats at treasuresinthedark.com or wherever books are sold.
Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting by Katherine Wolf: https://hopeheals.com/treasures


***


Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb


Want a little hope in your inbox?
⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote


Get to know us:
⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/
⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp
⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/
Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/


Episode 62: AUDIOBOOK SNEAK PEEK: The Day that Changed Everything

Amy Julia was a high-achieving, religiously devout Princeton grad who lived with the nagging feeling that there must something *more* to life than what she had experienced so far. Then her first child was diagnosed with Down syndrome, and Amy Julia began her journey into a version of “the good life” that she never expected.
Amy Julia joins Katherine for a deeply vulnerable conversation about the theological reckoning that took place in her heart and mind when she became a parent to a child with intellectual disabilities. She emerged with a new understanding of God’s love and her own inherent value.
Today, eighteen years later, she's inviting us all to re-imagine what belonging and belovedness really looks like for people with AND without disabilities. 
What We’ll Cover:

 How to determine if you’re settling for a lesser version of the good life

 The one place in the Bible where we get an “equation” for God and what it means about how we see ourselves and other people

  Why there are no such things as “special needs,” only human needs



https://amyjuliabecker.com/
https://www.instagram.com/amyjuliabecker/
Reimagining the Good Life Podcast: https://amyjuliabecker.com/podcast/
Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/camp/
“The Blurring Is Part of the Beauty”: https://comment.org/the-blurring-is-part-of-the-beauty/
Andrew Leland: https://www.andrewleland.org/
Mend Coffee & Goods: https://www.mendcoffee.org/
“Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” - Philip Yancey 
Scriptures referenced in this episode:
 Luke 14:15-24
***
Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb
Want a little hope in your inbox?
⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote




Episode 50: 5 Tips for Accepting Your Story with Katherine Wolf

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