When life goes silent, how do you find the words to pray, process, and move forward?

We all face wilderness seasons—those times that feel dry, disorienting, and full of obstacles. They can be triggered by grief, life transitions, or resistance from inside or out, and they often leave us feeling stuck, disconnected, or without a clear way forward.

For today’s guest, Kirsten Wilson, the wilderness was a place without words.

Kirsten is a college instructor, Enneagram coach, and church ministry leader who loves helping people step inside God’s story and discover something new about their own. In this Hope Huddle episode, she vulnerably shares about her own eight-year wilderness season and even guides Tammy through a live story-coaching exercise right from the gospels.

This conversation is part story, part spiritual practice, and full of practical tools you can take into your own wilderness season. If you’ve ever felt speechless, stuck, or far from God, this episode will help you find words, find connection, and find hope again.

Resources & Connect with Kirsten:

STEP INTO THE STORY TOOL

Email: [email protected]

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All of us carry a story. But not all of us know how to name it — let alone face it with kindness, curiosity, and hope. And yet, the truth is: our stories shape everything — our relationships, how we see God, and how we show up in the world.

In this episode- Sunny had the honor of huddling up with Adam Young — a trauma therapist, theologian, and the voice behind The Place We Find Ourselves podcast. His new book Make Sense of Your Story is more than a resource. It’s a gentle guide toward healing, connection with God, and discovering who you really are. This conversation might just be the invitation your soul has been waiting for.

Follow Adam Young on instagram for more hope-filled encouragement

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Buckle up — it’s time for Wild Hope. 

This interview originally aired on the His People podcast and was used with permission from Pilgrim Radio and Adam Young.

SEASON TWO KICKOFF! 

In this episode, we return to a topic we keep coming back to time and time again; the unforced rhythms of grace.

Rooted in Matthew 11:28–30, we share how we’re learning to walk freely and lightly as we work with Jesus in everyday life. We get honest about the pull to strive and prove—and how grace offers a better way.

Here are a few guiding principles helping us embrace this rhythm:

Done is better than perfect 

Prayer over strategy 

Divine purpose over ambition 

Led by devotion, not demand 

Stretched over stressed 

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, be present, and remember: you weren’t made to carry it all. You were made to walk with the One who carries you.

As women, we’re well-versed in the power through — pushing past indicators and warning signs, juggling roles, and striving to do “all the things” and “all the things, well.”

But what if the real power is found in the pause?

In this episode, we’re making a wilderness course correction and exploring the purposeful pause — the kind that doesn’t just recharge you but recalibrates your heart, realigns your soul, and reconnects you with God’s presence in the chaos as well as fueling your life for all he has created you for.

And, this episode goes beyond naps and vacations! 

We talk about what it looks like to pause with intention: to pray, to prep, to problem-solve, to practice what we see Jesus modeling. This is what it looks like to align to our original design & be propelled by purpose, walking in spiritual power. 

From media breaks, to taking a nap, grounding & mindfulness meditations,  to moments of wrestling with God. We’re unpacking the power found in BEING PRESENT and we’ll help you get practical with this one!

Plus, you’ll hear all about Wild Hope Rising’s upcoming four week podcast pause and how you can stay in touch. Let’s be intentional. Let’s chase waterfalls stepping out of the rivers and streams of the “power thru” that we are used to!  Together, let’s see hope rise as we step into the wide open spacious life we were created for. 

To keep up with us over the pause- 

Follow us on social media, email us at [email protected], or shoot us a text or voicemail at 775-391-4243.

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Buckle up — it’s time for Wild Hope. 

What if your beliefs are all that is holding you back, keeping you playing small, and leading to the overwhelming feeling of being STUCK?

In this Hope Huddle episode, Tammy & Sunny huddled up with mindset and transformation coach, Laurie Dufresne to talk all things “limiting beliefs.” 

We discuss marrying action to truth, blaming the enemy (gulp), and other excuses that may be halting your journey. 

In Laurie’s own wilderness season, she found a passion, a dream, a bigger mission to serve women, to help them shift mindsets, master emotional reactions and take back control in areas of life where they’ve felt stuck the longest. And today, she graciously huddled up to bring the Wild Hope community a taste of freedom in this area.  

Whether you’re struggling with your health, your confidence, your relationships, or your purpose, Laurie reminds us;  you don’t have to stay where you are. You can break free!  

This episode will inspire you and have you eager to take hope-fueled action to rise and step into the wide open spacious life. 

You can get Laurie’s  “Breaking Free” Journal and her introductory masterclass for FREE! Plus, get on the waitlist for her new digital course and workbook. Ladies, do us a favor- thank her for investing in our community by following her on social media and sharing this episode! 

https://www.lauriedufresnecoaching.com/

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**Sensitive Topic Warning. May not want to listen at work or with kiddos running around. **

There are moments when staying silent isn’t an option—and this is one of them. In this raw and deeply honest episode which is outside the norm of our episodes, Sunny throws open the doors on a conversation the church has too often avoided. Abuse. Injustice. Wounds hidden under the rug of religion. This isn’t just a conversation about broken systems—it’s a call to every one of us to rise up, disrupt the comfortable, and be the change.  

With holy outrage, personal experience with sexual & spiritual abuse, and tender conviction, Sunny challenges us to stop hiding behind spiritual clichés and Hobby Lobby signs  and start asking the real question: Are we bearing the image of God well in how we show up for the hurting?

This episode isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about staring down the places where compromise and silence have left people suffering alone and with a picture of Jesus that doesn’t accurately reflect his Heart.—and choosing something better. A revival that starts not in the world, the church, but in our own surrendered hearts. 

This is a call to courage. A call to repentance. A call to change. Because healing the house of God starts with us.

For those of you swimming in the waters of healing from abuse- we ask you to prayerfully consider connecting with a counselor - we were not designed to swim in these waters alone. 

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The Curious Shift from Overwhelm to Overflow- 

BONUS EPISODE COMPANION- Rise & Step: The Overflow Toolkit

Ever feel overwhelmed, like you’re drowning in demands, expectations, and emotions—and just trying to stay afloat? 

In this soul-stirring episode, we get real about the weight so many women are silently carrying. From busyness and burnout to the emotional and spiritual toll of doing ALL THE THINGS. Sunny Cain names what so many of us feel—but don’t always say out loud: overwhelm is real, and it’s costing us more than we realize.

But what if it doesn’t have to be this way? And what if God has been showing us the way since the opening lines of scripture?

Today we introduce a powerful reframe—the curious shift from overwhelm to overflow—plus our OVERFLOW TOOLKIT (FREE Download) to walk you through what it looks like in your mind, body, emotions, soul, and behavior. With compassion and clarity, Sunny offers reflective questions and gentle truth to help you establish order, find margin, and redirect your current choices to align with what matters most to you right now.  All of this so that you can move forward into the spacious life you were created for. 

Let’s make the shift—from chaos to clarity, from pressure to peace, from overwhelm to overflow.

Because wild hope begins right where you are.

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“You complete me.”

In this raw and real episode of Wild Hope Rising, Sunny and Tammy tackle one of the sneakiest hope duds out there: the belief that another person can be your source of completion, healing, or identity.

From the highs of listener wins to the gut-wrenching grief of unmet expectations, they hold space for it all — marriage tension, friendship disappointment, church hurt, and the deep ache of dreams that didn’t come to pass. And yet, right there in the middle of the mess, they invite you to do something radical: let misplaced hope die so true hope can rise.

This conversation is honest, a little firey, and completely drenched in grace. It's for the woman who’s given too much power to people. For the one grieving what never became. For the one ready to release control and finally breathe.

Because real hope?

So let’s put the dud to death.

Let’s go there, ladies. It’s time to breathe deep, get real, and walk wildly free.

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Hope Dud #4 The Pressure for Perfect 

Ever feel like you’re falling behind on some invisible checklist? Like if your life doesn’t look polished, filtered, and all-together, then somehow you’re not enough?

In this real and relatable episode, Sunny Cain opens up about the pressure for perfection that so many of us carry — from family milestones and life transitions to the messy middle moments (like a hilariously chaotic trip to the bank). With vulnerability and a little humor, she shares how the weight of trying to "get it all right" can actually keep us from walking in the freedom we were made for.

This one is a permission slip to breathe.

Sunny invites you to trade the curated version of life for the real, rooted one. Because wild hope doesn’t grow in perfection. It grows in the cracks, in the honest places, in the life that’s fully lived.

Let’s go there, ladies.

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Hope Dud #3 – Hope Isn’t Numb: Rethinking What Healing Feels Like

Is it possible that our pursuit of healing can actually drain our hope? In this real and raw episode, Sunny Cain continues in the "Hope Dud” series- those sneaky false anchors we cling to when walking through wilderness seasons.  She unpacks the lie that healing means you won’t still feel the weight of your past—and invites listeners to define healing from a new paradigm- one where both the ache and the hope can co-exist.

Sunny shares from her own story—childhood wounds, physical struggles, emotional burnout—and asks the hard questions: What if healing isn’t a checklist? What if freedom looks different than we thought?

If you’ve ever felt like your journey toward healing is wearing you out more than lifting you up, this one’s for you. Let’s ditch the performance and step into the kind of healing that actually brings hope.

Let’s go there, ladies. It's time to breathe deep, get real, and walk wildly free.

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Buckle Up! It’s Time for Wild Hope