Good Hard Story Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

“Our theories about God and the way he works get confronted with the reality of our lives.”

This is the most refreshing conversation I’ve had in a long time, friends, because I got to talk about some kind of taboo topics without an ounce of the baggage. Joining me this week is Andy Squyres, a brilliantly one-of-a-kind songwriter who never, ever shies away from graciously grappling with the tough stuff. I’ve received so much from his songs and essays, and I received even more from speaking with him about all my favorite things—you know, like suffering, sorrow, and doubt. Normal!

If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:

• Comfort for the days that God feels absent
• Hope for a new kind of faith after deconstructing
• Where to fit doubt into your friendship with Jesus
• What to do when God doesn’t come through for you
• An alternative response to political anxiety

Looking for a safe place to work through some doubts about who God is and whether he’s good? Then this episode is for you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast.

Show Notes

Andy Squyres on Instagram: @andysquyres

“Casimir Pulaski Day” by Sufjan Stevens

The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch

“Backwards Kingdom” by Sam McCabe ft. Andy Squyres

“Why It Matters” by Sara Groves

The Cellist of Sarajevo

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There's so much more to the story: ⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠ for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me!

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Before the GoodHard Story Podcast takes a short summer break, Katherine is recapping her favorite moments from Season 3. She’s distilling over 30 hours of conversations and reflections into a potent 20-minute dose of hope!

What you’ll take away from this conversation…

• Start a community from scratch

• Reframing our emotions as a strength instead of a weakness

• Becoming better—instead of bitter—because of our losses

As we prepare for the next season of the podcast, we need to hear what YOU want to hear! Let us know what hurt you’re holding today so that we can start some helpful, healing conversations between Katherine and her most trusted teachers.

If you want to help us create future episodes, email us at resources@hopeheals.com or DM us on Instagram (@hopeheals) with questions you’d like answered or topics you want covered.

Show Notes:

Donate to Hope Heals: hopeheals.com/give

Favorite Season 3 Moments:

Episode 37: Ask Amy Julia

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-37-ask-amy-julia

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ueGdkR3BPASl10PY319Gx?si=e1356478bdc240f7

“Experiencing disability or being in proximity to disability is a way to embrace our own humanity. It can also call us into love, care, and mutual receiving.”

———

Episode 39: Putting It Into Practice with Caroline Young

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-39-putting-it-into-practice-with-caroline-young

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/39AXj8Bk71LjcUbHAHQpnH?si=0625bc43b2a74d63

“Find the people without the people and make them your people.”

———

Episode 46: “Strong Like Water”: Designed for Emotional Agility with Aundi Kolber

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-46-strong-like-water-designed-for-emotional

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0EN8lXrxbRjGXNY7WyFWqg?si=d3474bb03cf94a3c

“When Jesus promised to give us ‘life to the full,’ he was giving us permission to embrace the full spectrum of human emotion. We are being invited into experiencing deep feeling and emotional flexibility as a strength, not a liability.”

———

Episode 55: Hard-Fought Contentment: Integrating Our Losses into Wholeness with Jerry Sittser

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epiode-55-hard-fought-contentment-integrating-our-losses

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fzhl7BoYlQ0S2K4IKvEEe?si=1bcf5b1d507c4a12

“Grief does not have to diminish us. Grief can become integrated into healthier, more whole versions of ourselves.”

“Our responses to loss can define us, rather than the loss itself defining us.”

“God, spare me from a perfect life.”

———

Episode 60: My Prayer for YOU: Borrow This Benediction for the Good/Hard Life

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-60-my-prayer-for-you-borrow-this-benediction

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4vJvuFKDPa2a765SojnlQS?si=77c38e6cd34c4320

“I’m not responsible for what has happened to me, but I am responsible for what I do with it.”

———

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

Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-63-wonderful-terrible-cultivating-a-gritty

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Iq8Y3prH2QQMfIoezsRIX?si=62242adb5e3b4a0d

“We are never more like Christ than when we are sitting with people in their suffering.”

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

Romans 8:32

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Romans 15:13

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Get to know us:

⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/

⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp

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

Today Katherine is trying her best to keep her cool as she interviews her longtime hero Dr. Russell Moore, the editor in chief of Christianity Today. You don’t want to miss Dr. Moore’s fresh insights on some of our favorite themes, like dealing with unmet expectations and anticipating God’s future presence and provision in our stories.

If you’re looking for nuanced approaches to some weighty issues in Christian culture and in your personal relationship with God, this episode is for you.

What We’ll Cover:

• Why being failed by our idols can actually be a grace

• The virtues we can cultivate when we find ourselves in “the wilderness” of life

•  How to maintain relationships with when your ideologies and opinions don’t align

• Finding security within mystery

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast.

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Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore: https://a.co/d/htjNDnm

“A Christian is one who points at Christ and says, ‘I can't prove a thing, but there's something about his eyes and his voice. There's something about the way he carries his head, his hands, the way he carries his cross—the way he carries me.’” - Frederick Buechner

The Russell Moore Podcast: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/russell-moore-show/

Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

Hebrews 6:19

Romans 5:3-5

***

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⁠⁠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

Be honest. Deep down, are you waiting for a happy ending before you feel permission to celebrate your life? In this solo episode, Katherine is sharing how she stopped waiting for closure and began practicing the spiritual discipline of “joyful rebellion” against fear and despair.

We want to share something that could change everything for you: It’s possible to celebrate the lives we *actually* have, rather than the lives we wish we had.

Because when we celebrate our here-and-now lives, we are taking radical ownership of the stories we’ve been given. We’re thanking God for another day in the land of the living. We’re acknowledging that He is with us in the messy middle.

Today on the podcast we’re talking…

• What it looks like to celebrate and mourn at the same time

• Katherine’s personal and practical recommendations for hosting your own “brokenness brunch” (which includes a very enthusiastic sidebar on frittatas!)

• The life-changing magic of surrounding ourselves with a diversity of hard stories

• Why we should NEVER “save the good stuff” for special occasions

• How to take radical ownership of the story you’ve been given

If the hope of a happy ending is getting in the way of your healing, this episode is for YOU!

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

Adam Young’s research on the healing power of telling your story: https://adamyoungcounseling.com/2019/12/10/why-engaging-your-story-heals-your-brain/

***

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/

After Katherine’s stroke nearly 16 years ago, she was desperate for a “survival guide”—some voice to offer real hope in the aftermath of such disorienting loss.

Jerry Sittser, the author of A Grace Disguised, was one of the few trustworthy resources she found after searching far and wide. Dr. Sittser became a bona fide member of the young suffering club when he lost his wife, mother, and young daughter in a catastrophic car accident. The lowest point in his life has developed an astoundingly robust faith and authentic joy. 

Sounds like someone we could all learn from, doesn’t he?

What we’ll cover…

• The possibility that grief could become integrated into healthier, more whole versions of ourselves

• Allowing our responses to loss to become what defines us, rather than the loss itself defining us

• Discovering new capacities to develop hard-fought contentment after losing the good things in our lives

• Practical ways to offer comfort to the people in our lives who are suffering

If your loss is swallowing you whole today and you’re in desperate need of a survival guide, this episode is for you.

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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/

Let’s acknowledge an uncomfortable reality: No matter how much healing we receive, a low-grade sadness will remain.

In this vulnerable episode, Kathering shares how surprised she was to realize that having a second baby after her stroke couldn’t replace the months and years of motherhood she  lost with her first baby. A low-grade sorrow hummed deep in her heart, and she didn’t know what to do with it.

This side of heaven, all the redemption and restoration in the world might not erase our pain completely. A dull ache will always remain. Instead of trying to shake the low-grade sorrow, we can choose to learn from it instead. Today, Kathrine’s sharing what lessons she took away.

What we’ll cover:

• Examining the true source of our sorrows

• Seeing our pain as proof that we’re made for wholeness

• Developing the habit of calibrating the core of our hope daily

If you’re looking for language to wrap around that lingering ache in your heart today, this episode is for you.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast.

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/⁠

What if some of our problems were never meant to be solved or eliminated? What if we began reframing some problems as opportunities for knowing Jesus more?

In this episode, author and former pastor Curtis Chang joins Katherine to share how his lifelong experience of anxiety has led him to an entirely new understanding of loss, prayer, surrender, and even parenting.

If anxiety has felt like a barrier to spiritual growth rather than an invitation into deeper relationship with God, then this episode is for you.

What We’ll Cover: -How we know that Jesus experienced anxiety, and why that’s good news for those of us dealing with anxiety today -Biblically supported and science-backed ways to cope with our fear of loss -How to thoughtfully parent the most anxious generation in history - 3 practices that can increase our capacity to hold loss 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/⁠

Few topics today are more taboo than death. We’re told that nothing matters more than hanging on to our youth and health and beauty. So how could the END of life be relevant to this moment in our lives?

In this solo episode, Katherine lays out three surprising lessons she learned after nearly dying and how they’ve changed the way she’s living here and now.

If you’re hungry for fresh perspectives on your problems in the present moment, this episode is for you!

What We’ll Cover:

• The benefits of surrendering the illusion of control

• Gaining clarity on what matters by meditating on our mortality

• How confronting death can train us to cope with other losses

  
  

  
  

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/

How would the narrative of your life, your pain, and your identity change if you started telling your story as if God intended it specifically for YOU? (Spoiler: he did!) Laura Wifler, who is raising a daughter with disabilities, shares how a conscious shift to gospel-thinking is transforming her experience of suffering.

What We’ll Cover

• Choosing stewardship instead of balance when schedules feel too full

• Cultivating “compassion paired with dignity” for hurting people

• Living out the motto “my life is yours”

If you need renewed energy to join God in co-authoring the story of your life with trust, gratitude, and curiosity, this episode is for you.

Laura Wifler is a writer, podcaster, and co-founder of Risen Motherhood and is based in central Iowa. She has authored multiple bestselling, award-winning books for children, including, "Any Time, Any Place, Any Prayer," and "Like Me," and is the co-author of the Risen Motherhood book. You can find her on Instagram, @laurawifler.

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/

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/