What We Really Want: Conversations About Connection

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What do tacos have to do with making people feel valued, seen, and connected? Our guest Brooks Veazey has answers. As partner and CEO of Ladybird Taco, a Nashville-based restaurant (with locations in Birmingham AL and **soon** in Charlotte NC), Brooks is committed to cultivating an atmosphere that's about more than just good food. 

Providing true hospitality is in itself a means of offering connection. Brooks, and the rest of the leadership team at Ladybird (including founder Gabe Scott, our guest on Episode 3) have worked since the start to make and maintain a space where people can meet, laugh, cry, connect, and be seen & known.

Listening to the passion and purpose that has gone into their commitment to hospitality, there's something we can all learn as we seek to create safe places for the people we know and love.

#brooksveazey #gabescott #ladybirdtaco #ladybird #hospitality #henrinouwen #gospel #grace #awaken #awakenrecovery #awakenpodcast #whatwereallywant #wwrw #recovery #connection #conversation

Ladybird Taco web site

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We've just had a birthday, and we're celebrating by giving you a "Little Extra Helping" of the podcast. 

Bobby, Stacey and I sat down recently to reflect on this first year of What We Really Want... all the great conversations we've had, things we've heard from our listeners, things we hope for the future, etc. One thing we talked about was how simple the idea for this show really is.

Let's just talk. About ways we connect. And by doing that, we're actually connecting and modeling for our listeners what that can look like.

We're incredibly grateful for all of you who have been along for the ride this first year. We have more great conversations with wonderful guests in the weeks to come, so please keep listening in. Even better, please support the show by writing  a positive review and giving us 5 stars where you get your podcasts.

#Greg Oliver #StaceyOliver #BobbyWest #podcastbirthday #podcastanniversary #celebration #reflection #lookingback #oneyear #recovery #healing #sexaddiction #pornaddiction #sexualaddiction #betrayaltrauma #awaken #awakenrecovery #awakenpodcast #whatwereallywant #wwrw #grace #connection #conversation

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What We Really Want for our first anniversary episode 🎂 🎉🎈 is to celebrate a year of Conversations About Connection with the one-and-only John Eldredge.

John is known for his work as a therapist, for his development of the immensely popular One-Minute Pause app, and for his MANY books (like Wild at Heart, The Sacred Romance, Get Your Life Back, Resilient) including his newest book Experience. Jesus. Really.

John has an important message for all of us. We have been conditioned AWAY from real connection, trust, and dependence; and conditioned FOR distraction, immediate answers, fear and anxiety. We had a rich, deep conversation about what we can notice and how we can move back toward a God who deeply loves us and wants us to connect with him, with others, and with our own souls.

Our souls were not made for the unsustainable pace of Internet discipleship. Our souls were made for union with God. We hope you'll slow the pace and take time to listen to this gracious call to remember what your soul is made for.

#johneldredge #wildatheart #experiencejesusreally #oneminutepause #pauseapp #unionwithgod #gospel #grace #awaken #awakenrecovery #awakenpodcast #whatwereallywant #wwrw #recovery #connection #conversation

Wild at Heart (John's ministry web site)

John's books on Amazon

Wild at Heart on Instagram

Wild at Heart on Facebook

Wild at Heart on YouTube

Wild at Heart podcast

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It's our birthday! Help us celebrate ONE YEAR of What We Really Want!

Go to whatwereallywant.show and follow us on your favorite podcast platform, to make sure you don't miss out on a single episode, including... 

Our very special conversation with JOHN ELDREDGE, therapist, creator of the One-Minute Pause app, and author of books like Wild At Heart, Resilient, and his newest, Experience. Jesus. Really.

Episode 35 | John Eldredge: What Your Soul is Made For will be available Tuesday, April 15th!

#johneldredge #wildatheart #experiencejesusreally #oneminutepause

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We've known our guests Chad & Melissa Barrett for over 30 years. From days in Bible college to early church ministry, the Barretts and their families have been special people to us. So it was wonderful to be able to catch up with them and ask them to tell their beautiful story.

Chad and Melissa have four children. One of their kids, Kristina, bravely walked through a 4-year journey with cancer before passing away in 2014. During the time of her illness, Chad & Melissa experienced every emotion imaginable. Their story is heartbreaking but also filled with hope. 

Many times when we hear stories of families walking through the valley of the shadow of death, we think or say, "I could never make it through something like that." We hear Chad and Melissa share how - even in the midst of grief, anger, sadness, depression and anxiety - they experienced deep, close connection with God, their children, and each other.

This is our longest conversation to date. Feel free to listen to it in pieces. But, like Chad said during our talk, when sharing through surges of emotion, "Don't edit this out..."

#inspiredbykristina #thrivenotjustsurvive #chadbarrett #melissabarrett #kristinabarrett #cancer #community #counseling #recovery #awaken #awakenrecovery #awakenpodcast #whatwereallywant #wwrw #grace #gospel #connection #conversation

Thrive Not Just Survive (Chad's website where you can find his book and podcast)

Inspired By Kristina Facebook Group

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Go to whatwereallywant.show and follow the podcast, to make sure you don't miss out on our conversation with Chad & Melissa Barrett, friends of Greg & Stacey for over 30 years. Chad & Melissa graciously share their heartbreaking but hopeful story of navigating their daughter's 4-year journey with cancer, and how it drew them closer in connection to God, to each other, and to their three other children.

Episode 34 | Chad & Melissa Barrett: Don't Edit This Out will be available Tuesday, April 1st!

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Our guests this week understand the tough path to be navigated by couples recovering from sexual betrayal. Joanna and Matthew Raabsmith walked through this themselves when, three years into marriage, Matthew confessed his sexual addiction while Joanna was in training to become a therapist.

Out of their own healing experience they have created a counseling practice called The Raabsmith Team, located in Memphis TN. Joanna (as a therapist) and Matthew (as a certified coach) and their team work with couples and individuals with a strong emphasis on helping people heal from sexual addiction and betrayal trauma.

We talked about how tricky it can be for a healing couple to walk through the minefield of sexual reconnection, and discovering - often for the first time - a healthy, connected sexual relationship. Considering how daunting a task this is, it's important for couples to set reasonable expectations and measurable goals, and to take the "small wins" whenever they come.

Joanna and Matthew are the co-authors, along with Dan Drake, of the book Building True Intimacy: Creating a Connection That Stands the Test of Time. 

#raabsmithteam #joannaraabsmith #matthewraabsmith #marriage #couplestherapy #counseling #recovery #sexaddiction #pornaddiction #betrayaltrauma #sexualaddiction #awaken #awakenrecovery #awakenpodcast #whatwereallywant #wwrw #grace #connection #conversation

The Raabsmith Team main site

The Honest Connection (free resource)

Renewing Us couples retreat info

Building True Intimacy on Amazon

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Go to whatwereallywant.show and follow the podcast, to make sure you don't miss out on our conversation with Joanna & Matthew Raabsmith, counselors, co-founders of counseling practice The Raabsmith Team, and co-authors of Building True Intimacy: Creating a Connection That Stands the Test of Time.

Episode 33 | Joanna & Matthew Raabsmith: Taking the Small Wins will be available Tuesday, March 18th!

Awaken website
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Awaken Men & Women's support meeting info (including virtual)

"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)"

It can be terrifying to give another person full access to what we're thinking, feeling, believing, and struggling with. That's why almost no one does it. Even at our most vulnerable, most of us still withhold maybe 3% of what we really need to share.

This is the foundation of a new company/community launching this week. The Three Percent Co. was founded by Jamie Haigh and today's guest, Blake Roberts. Jamie and Blake are therapists in Nashville who met in the rooms of recovery. They developed a friendship in which they grew to trust each other enough to admit when they were withholding and needed to share "the three percent."

The Three Percent Co. is a space for "pursuing holistic masculinity, growing your emotional awareness, and cultivating deeper relationships and an authentic faith." 

In our conversation we talked about how men can experience the presence of God when we connect with our own bodies and through safe, trusted friendships. 

#BlakeRoberts #ThreePercentCo #JamieHaigh #friendship #therapy #counseling #recovery #sexaddiction #pornaddiction #sexualaddiction #awaken #awakenrecovery #awakenpodcast #whatwereallywant #wwrw #grace #connection #conversation

Three Percent Co. main site

Blake Roberts therapist site

The Man the Moment Demands on Amazon (Jason Wilson book Blake referenced)

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Walking through a life where so many things go wrong (often so early), it’s no wonder many people struggle to understand what they need or even who they really are. That’s why I was so excited to talk with Ian Morgan Cron.

Ian is is an author, speaker, psychotherapist, songwriter, and Episcopal priest. He’s also known for popularizing the Enneagram, a personality typing system identifying nine types of people and how they relate to one another and the world. Ian’s book The Road Back to You, is considered by many to be THE authoritative primer on understanding the Enneagram.

In recovery since 1987, Ian also has a love for and belief in the efficacy of the Twelve Steps. In fact, he’s written a book about it. The Fix: How the Twelve Steps Offer a Surprising Path of Transformation for the Well-Adjusted, the Down-and-Out, and Everyone In Between released January 28, 2025.

#ianmorgancron #enneagram #theroadbacktoyou #thefix #typologypodcast #twelvesteps #purpose #gospel #grace #awaken #awakenrecovery #awakenpodcast #whatwereallywant #wwrw #connection #conversation

Ian Morgan Cron’s website
Ian’s books on Amazon
Typology podcast
“Self-Awareness” song by Andy Gullahorn

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