Your Next, Best Step

By Janet J.

Faith-forward wellness for busy Christian women—science and Scripture in 15 minutes for energy, peace, and follow-through.

Your life is full, and you still want to feel bette

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FAQs about Your Next, Best Step:

How many episodes does Your Next, Best Step have?

The podcast currently has 160 episodes available.

Your Next, Best Step episodes:

February 20, 2026Episode 054: Stop Planting What You Don't Want to Harvest - Values Alignment for Midlife Women
Are you investing time and energy into things that aren't growing the life you actually want?
In this episode, Coach Janet J introduces the "mango tree principle" - if you don't like mangos, why are you planting mango trees? It's a simple metaphor for a powerful truth: what you water multiplies, and midlife is the perfect time to check if you're planting on purpose.
What You'll Learn:
The quiet ways we plant "mango trees" in relationships, commitments, and habits without noticing
Research-backed science on self-concordant goals, authenticity, and person-activity fit
Why misalignment with your values creates mental overload and physical stress
A practical 10-minute "Harvest Audit" to identify what you're planting and what you actually want to grow
SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: "Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness." James 3:18
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
13min
February 20, 2026Your Next, Best Step Trailer: Ep 054 - Tomorrow: Stop Planting What You Don't Want to Harvest
If you don't like mangos, why are you planting mango trees?
Tomorrow's episode asks a brave question:
If you harvested exactly what you're planting right now in your relationships, commitments, and habits - would you actually want that harvest?
In this 90-second preview, Coach Janet J introduces the "mango tree principle" and reveals why so many capable, caring women wake up one day wondering, "When did my life get this cramped?"
What's coming tomorrow:
The science behind values alignment and why misalignment creates mental overload
Research on self-concordant goals and what Carl Rogers called "congruence"
A practical 10-minute "Harvest Audit" to identify what you're planting on purpose
Listen to this teaser, then catch the full episode tomorrow morning.
(Perfect for Christian women 45-60 who feel stretched thin and want to make sure their daily choices are actually growing the life they want.)
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
2min
February 18, 2026Episode 053: What Are You Changing This Lent? (Using This Sacred Season for Real Growth)
Growing up, giving up jelly for Lent taught me something unexpected: sometimes "giving up" is really about making room for something better.
Today on Ash Wednesday, let's reframe Lent not as deprivation, but as a sacred 40-day window where changes actually stick—because you're making them for God, not just relying on willpower.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why Lent creates a container where change becomes possible • The surprising habit research about missing days (it won't derail you!)
What Isaiah 58:6 really means about the "fast God chooses"
How to use Lent strategically: releasing what steals space, adding what restores
Why changes you make "for God" bypass the resistance you feel making them "for yourself"
SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?" Isaiah 58:6
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
13min
February 18, 2026 Your Next, Best Step Trailer: Ep 053 - What Are You Changing This Lent?
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday - and I'm asking a different question than "what are you giving up?"
What are you CHANGING this Lent?
Here's what I've discovered over the years: the changes I make "for God" somehow bypass the resistance I feel making them "just for myself." There's something about offering your practice to God that transforms it from self-improvement project to spiritual partnership.
🎧 This is a 90-second preview of tomorrow's Ash Wednesday episode.
FULL EPISODE DROPS TOMORROW (Wednesday, Feb 18) at 7am MST
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
2min
February 17, 2026Episode 052: Preparing for Lent: How to Slow Down and Make Space for God (Before Ash Wednesday)
What if Lent isn't about spiritual performance reviews or proving your discipline? What if it's actually the one season when positive changes stick - because you're making them for God, not just relying on willpower?
This episode reframes Lent as an invitation to slow down, get honest with God, and create space for the changes you've been struggling with all year.
You'll discover:
How Lent is practiced across Christian traditions (not just Catholic) and why the timing varies
Why changes made "for God" often succeed when willpower alone fails
How intentional space during Lent supports your nervous system and relationships
SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: "Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
10min
February 16, 2026Your Next, Best Step Trailer: Ep 052 - Preparing for Lent: Why Changes Stick When You Make Them for God
What if Lent isn't about spiritual performance reviews - but about finally making changes that actually stick?
Tomorrow's episode explores something I've discovered: I resist changes I know would help me (boundaries, rest, saying no). But during Lent? Those same changes feel different. Somehow I'm able to make changes for God that I cannot seem to make for myself.
In this 90-second preview, you'll hear:
The surprising truth about why Lent gets filed under "intense" or "complicated"
What makes this season different from every other attempt at self-improvement
A completely new way to think about preparation vs. punishment
Full episode drops tomorrow (Monday, February 16) at 7am MST with:
✨ A simple 3-part Lent prep framework
✨ Two honest prayers you can borrow
✨ The 1-minute "Fast-Feast-Gift" Lent plan
✨ Research on how spiritual practices support your nervous system
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
2min
February 13, 2026Episode 051: Valentine's Day Alone - How to Handle February 14 When You're Single, Widowed, or Divorced
Valentine's Day can feel tender when you are facing February 14 alone - single by choice or circumstance, widowed, divorced, or in a relationship season that feels strained. When the "perfect Valentine's Day" looks nothing like your reality, you deserve a way through that carries grace.
In this episode, you will discover:
Why your pain on "highlight holidays" is not proof that you are failing - it is a signal asking for care
How emotional stress on Valentine's Day directly impacts your sleep, blood pressure, and physical resilience
A simple three-step Grace Plan you can use to navigate February 14 with kindness instead of overwhelm
SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: "The LORD your God is with you... He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
13min
February 13, 2026Your Next, Best Step Trailer: Ep 051 - Valentine's Day Alone: What Does God Really Think About You?
Facing Valentine's Day alone this year? Single, widowed, divorced, or in a relationship that feels strained?
Before February 14 arrives, you need to hear this.
In this preview of tomorrow's full episode, I'm unpacking Zephaniah 3:17 - a Scripture that will completely reframe how you see yourself on Valentine's Day.
You'll discover:
What the Hebrew word "sus" reveals about how God feels about you (it's not what you think)
Why your belovedness doesn't rise and fall with your relationship status
The truth about God's presence on February 14 when you're alone
This 90-second preview will give you a glimpse of the full Grace Plan I'm sharing tomorrow morning—including one simple act of self-kindness you can schedule right now to protect both your heart and your spirit.
Full episode drops Friday, February 13 at 7:00 AM MST with the complete three-step Grace Plan, research on loneliness and health, and your next best step for Valentine's Day.
Don't face February 14 unprepared. Listen to this preview now, then catch the full episode tomorrow morning.
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
1min
February 11, 2026Episode 050: Why Adult Friendships Are So Hard (And How to Make Friends in Midlife)
Remember when friendship just happened? Now it feels like scheduling connection takes the same effort as scheduling your annual physical. If you have been wondering why making friends in midlife feels so much harder than it used to, you are not imagining it.
What you will discover:
Why your brain is actually designed for a small inner circle (and why that is good news)
The real reason time scarcity makes adult friendship feel impossible - and what actually works
How to turn acquaintances into real friends without feeling awkward or needy
SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: "Encourage one another and build each other up." 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
12min
February 11, 2026 Your Next, Best Step Trailer: Ep 050 - Why Adult Friendships Are So Hard
Ever wonder why making friends felt effortless at 25 but feels impossible at 45?
Tomorrow's full episode reveals the research-backed reasons adult friendships require more intention - and why that is not your fault. You will discover why your brain is actually designed for a smaller friendship circle, what scientists found about the real time it takes to build connection, and why U.S. women face unique friendship challenges compared to other countries.
SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: "Encourage one another and build each other up." 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Ready for your next step?
FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download):
YourNextBestStep.com
Weekly encouragement + practical tips:
YouTube @CoachJanetJ
Instagram: @janetjjaecks
If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.
One small step. One day at a time.
...more
2min

FAQs about Your Next, Best Step:

How many episodes does Your Next, Best Step have?

The podcast currently has 160 episodes available.