Explore every episode of the podcast The GoodHard Story Podcast
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 104: Katherine's Top 10 Takeaways | 19 Jun 2025 | 00:37:18 | |
This season of The GoodHard Story Podcast has been rich beyond belief. Every episode was inspired by a question or suggestion YOU sent to me, so thank you! Because of your thoughtful contributions and vulnerability, we’ve had dozens of life-giving and heart-changing conversations with people who are living their good/hard lives with clarity, intention, courage, faith, and (of course) transcendent hope. I am so grateful that you shared so many hours of the past year with me, friends. So many of these episodes have been a balm to my own soul, and I don’t want to forget all the goodness I’ve found here. So to celebrate the final episode of this season, I’m rounding up my ten favorite takeaways. (And they were SO hard to choose!) I plan to preach these truths to myself when I need them most and I hope you can do the same! The GoodHard Story Podcast team will be taking a much needed summer break, but we’re already planning the most glorious lineup for Season 5. We’ll be back with all-new conversations in September! Remember, our catalog of over 100 episodes is always available in your favorite podcast app for you to savor (or binge!) in the meantime.
Ep. 68 with Debra Fileta - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/88d861cf62c5b4da4d75c7785fc488bc Soul Care: Find Life-Giving Rhythms, Live Restored, Avoid Burnout, Discover Unspeakable Joy by Debra Fileta - https://a.co/d/8SV3xKC Ep. 71 with Adam Young - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/127f135d0f8f4b67fd2d4b5de256ad7c Ep. 76 - 5 Reasons You Are Worthy of Receiving Care - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/cd2cbb41bb24b4579194d998830fb778 Ep. 78 with Ken and Joni Tada - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/137f31e9a3346ad15652b286b65cc0cc Ep. 81 with Dan Allender - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/52f3e1bcc8767db0cb460dc734ba528b Story Work Conference - https://theallendercenter.org/event/storyworkconference/ Ep. 82 with Lysa TerKeurst - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/e37e33f2946bef380ca85f60b7b0f792 Ep. 85 with Brook Hensley - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/73c154ab9a616c9219a36816624e92f1 Ep. 93 with Mary Austin Hall - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/9ef2f04fc5f02e71b20fa5b7aa2a6014 Ep. 94 with Dr. John Swinton - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/565eb21c7e2a0b580d942c64560f312f Ep. 98 with Philip Yancey - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/7ff1ca2eb98b273f3d5479dc5504d9f3 Where the Light Fell: A Memoir by Philip Yancey - https://a.co/d/47InSUW Learn more about Hope Heals: https://hopeheals.com/ Learn more about MEND Coffee and Goods: https://www.mendcoffee.com/ Make a donation: https://hopeheals-bloom.kindful.com/ Hope Heals Hangouts: https://hopeheals.com/hangouts Scriptures referenced in this episode: Genesis 50:20 Galatians 6:5 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 103: Tell Your Story, Heal Your Heart with Dr. Curt Thompson | 12 Jun 2025 | 00:59:44 | |
What story do you believe you’re living in? Friend, your answer to that question could not be more important. Learning to tell the truest version of my story to empathetic listeners has healed my heart after so much breaking. A decade and a half of this work has helped me integrate the hurt with the hope, and God’s goodness with his mystery. Today I’m sitting down with the person who taught me how to start telling that story years and years ago—Dr. Curt Thompson. Dr. Thompson is a renowned psychiatrist, author, and speaker who brings together the wisdom of neuroscience and spiritual formation to help people (like me!) understand and re-narrate their lives. In this episode we’ll cover:
If you want to be transformed by your suffering but need some support in making that happen, this conversation is for you. Show Notes: The GoodHard Podcast Episode 71 with Dan Allender - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/127f135d0f8f4b67fd2d4b5de256ad7c Make Sense of Your Story: Why Engaging Your Past with Kindness Changes Everything - https://a.co/d/6XHzUiJ Scriptures referenced in this episode: John 16:33 Mark 5:25-34 2 Corinthians 4:16 Deuteronomy 8 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 102: Imagining a Good Future with Amy Julia Becker | 05 Jun 2025 | 01:04:51 | |
Seasons of suffering can take so much from us—our health, a loved one, our sense of security. There’s a more expansive loss that runs through all those other kinds of loss: we lose our ability to imagine a good future. We only remember pain and hurt, which means we anticipate a future filled with more pain and hurt. I don’t think it has to be this way. Even when the worst things happen, it’s possible to dream new dreams. And it’s possible to imagine a good future for ourselves and for the people we love. Today we’re talking to a woman on the leading edge of imagining—and creating—good futures. Amy Julia Becker is an author, speaker, and one of my very favorite thought leaders in the faith and disability space. Hours after giving birth to her first daughter, Princeton grad Amy Julia received the unexpected news that her little girl had an intellectual disability. Amy Julia’s lived experience paired with her brilliant mind and love of Jesus make her an invaluable guide as you and I take the next step toward a future filled with hope. Here’s what you’ll take away from this conversation:
If you need inspiration to begin imagining a good future, this episode is for you. Show Notes: The GoodHard Story Ep. 94 with Dr. John Swinton - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/565eb21c7e2a0b580d942c64560f312f A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations, and a Little Girl Named Penny by Amy Julia Becker - https://a.co/d/hHW7Xfs Hope Heals Camp - https://hopeheals.com/camp/ The Life We're Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World by Andy Crouch - https://a.co/d/hpkQxOO The GoodHard Story Ep. 98 with Philip Yancey - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/7ff1ca2eb98b273f3d5479dc5504d9f3 Where the Light Fell: A Memoir by Philip Yancey - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/7ff1ca2eb98b273f3d5479dc5504d9f3 Re-Imagining Family Life with Disabilities Workshop - https://amyjuliabecker.com/workshop/ The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children by Alison Gopnick - https://a.co/d/70JXPiS Amy Julia’s Substack - https://amyjuliabecker.substack.com/ Amy Julia’s podcast - https://amyjuliabecker.com/podcast/ Amy Julia on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/amyjuliabecker/ Scriptures referenced in this episode: *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 101: Blessed Are Those Who Mourn with Megan Fate Marshman | 29 May 2025 | 01:03:15 | |
Blessed are those who mourn. Most of us have heard it over and over…but I know I’m not the only one wondering how this could be true in God’s kingdom. Megan Fate Marshman will give you imagination for how the mourning and meek and poor in spirit might be called blessed…and might actually believe they’re blessed. This friend of mine has navigated the deepest kind of loss after her husband’s death in 2021. Since then, Megan has become a survival guide for grieving and healing with hope. She is navigating her “new normal” with incomparable grace, gratitude, and a steady trust in God’s good plan. Today she’s sharing how she’s managing to do that, and how you can too. Here’s just a bit of the riches waiting for you if you listen:
If you need a fresh vision for flourishing in the most difficult seasons, this episode is for you. “The good things of God are chiefly peace of conscience and joy in the Holy Ghost in this life; fruition of God’s presence, and vision of his blessed face in the next, and these good things God never bestows upon the wicked, never withholds from the godly.” - Sir Richard Baker “Settled Into Place” by Oh Sparrow - https://youtu.be/oa7zaK_lP-k?feature=shared Megan Fate Marshman on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/meganfate/ Relaxed: Walking with the One Who Is Not Worried about a Thing by Megan Fate Marshman - https://a.co/d/4m4JNv2 Scriptures referenced in this episode:
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 100: How to Heal in Your Home with Phylicia Masonheimer | 22 May 2025 | 00:51:05 | |
From the early days of my stroke recovery, home—and all the rituals of home—have been a major part of my healing. Home has looked a lot of ways over the years, but my family and I have always tried to make it a place of comfort, rest, and connection. If you’re on a journey to finding a “new normal,” I cannot overstate the importance of making your home into a place of healing. So how do we do that exactly? Today I’m joined by Phylicia Masonheimer, who believes in the power our homes have in forming us and ministering to others. We’re talking through the big and small ways that any home can be a place of soul-deep rest and renewal. Phylicia is a mom and wife, bestselling author, Bible teacher, and the founder of Every Woman a Theologian. Her work is all about helping Christian women understand, live out, and communicate their faith with clarity and grace. I took away so much from our conversation. Here’s a preview:
If you’re looking for the first step toward your new normal, this conversation is the place to start! Show Notes: Mend Coffee and Goods - https://mendcoffee.com/ Every Home a Foundation: Experiencing God through Your Everyday Routines by Phylicia Masonheimer - https://a.co/d/4WZyrQh Phylicia’s website: phyliciamasonheimer.com Phylicia on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phyliciamasonheimer Scriptures referenced in this episode: Psalm 16:6 Psalm 84:11 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 99: How to Live A Life That Doesn't Feel Like Mine with Susan Robinson | 15 May 2025 | 00:34:51 | |
At some point, you’ve probably felt like you were living in some strange alternate version of your life. Maybe it was after a tragedy as dramatic as a stroke. Perhaps it was something as mundane as realizing you’re middle aged. We desperately want to find our way back to the way life used to be, but it turns out that version of life is beyond our reach. So what are our options here? We can keep longing for what was—unsatisfied, absent, and stuck. Or we can learn to love the “new normal” in front of us. Yeah, I like that option. Today I’m joined by my wise and wonderful friend Susan Robinson to uncover how we can learn to love the lives we never imagined living. I loved this conversation so much. Here’s a preview of what we got into…
I hope you enjoy this important conversation, friend, and, even more than that, I hope you can learn to truly enjoy your one precious life. Show Notes: Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting - https://a.co/d/51XN3fq What's Here Now?: How to Stop Rehashing the Past and Rehearsing the Future--and Start Receiving the Present by Jeannie Stevens - https://a.co/d/4EUeIXu The GoodHard Story Podcast Episode 96: Losing Memory and Keeping Hope with Alzheimer's Expert Megan Carnarius - https://pod.link/1496882479/episode/60ed5c2e5e34383a7079f18c20333809 Scriptures referenced in this episode: *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 98: Receiving the Gift You Didn't Want with Philip Yancey | 08 May 2025 | 01:00:43 | |
“Hope is believing in advance what can only be understood in reverse.” These words have been the rally cry of my soul for over a decade now, but I didn’t come up with them myself. Philip Yancey did. This gentle, thoughtful writer has spent his career exploring the topic of suffering which, as you can imagine, has meant so much to me. Today I have the honor of sitting down with Philip to talk about some things that we can’t understand today, but trust we’ll understand some day. (Like his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis.) This hour with Philip filled my soul, and I think it’ll do the same for you. Here’s what you can expect if you join us in the conversation:
If you need a compassionate, encouraging voice speaking into your suffering—whatever it may be—then this episode is for you! Show Notes: Where Is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey - https://a.co/d/6xf3QxV The Gift of Pain: Why We Hurt and What We Can Do About It by Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand - https://a.co/d/3GapVr9 “Parkinson’s—The Gift I Didn’t Want” by Philip Yancey for Christianity Today - https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/02/philip-yancey-ct-parkinsons-diagnosis-gift-i-didnt-want/ How Should We Then Live?: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture by Francis A. Schaeffer - https://a.co/d/f5H3bxk Where the Light Fell: A Memoir by Philip Yancey - https://a.co/d/47InSUW Scriptures referenced in this episode: 2 Corinthians 1:4 Romans 8 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 97: Having It Out with God with Erin Moon | 01 May 2025 | 01:00:53 | |
Some of you will want to turn this episode off about three minutes in because we’re talking about deconstruction. I say this with love: skipping this episode would be a mistake! Whether you’ve never doubted your faith for a moment or you’re ready to burn it all down, today’s conversation has something so good for you. I guarantee it. Having an out-of-the-blue stroke as a healthy 26 year-old and losing the life I loved so dearly pretty much cured me of pretending I had all the answers. Grief, heartbreak, and unmet expectations have a way of undoing the framework we have for reality—and that includes the way we understand God, the Bible, and our faith communities. Friends, on the other side of all my certainty I found something so much better. I learned mystery and doubt aren’t something to fear or feel ashamed about. My guest is the remarkable Erin Hicks Moon. She’s an hysterically funny and incredibly poignant writer and podcaster who has become a beloved spokeswoman for those of us who are tired of pretending to have all the answers. Here’s a preview of what we’ll get into:
If you need to feel less alone and ashamed as you wrestle with your doubt, this episode is for you. Show Notes: I’ve Got Questions: The Spiritual Practice of Having It Out With God by Erin Moon - https://a.co/d/eqjrhLn Meredith Ann Miller - https://www.instagram.com/meredithannemiller Counterpoint series from Zondervan - https://zondervanacademic.com/products/category/counter-points Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand by Jeff Chu -https://a.co/d/1tXrmDU The Faith Adjacent Podcast - https://faithadjacent.com/ Erin on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/erinhmoon Erin on Substack - https://erinhmoon.substack.com/ Scriptures referenced in this episode: Genesis 32:22-32 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 96: Losing Memory and Keeping Hope with Alzheimer's Expert Megan Carnarius | 24 Apr 2025 | 00:57:28 | |
Aging is a privilege and we should treat it like the gift it is. But the gift of aging comes with complex challenges and unavoidable sadnesses, like memory loss. If you’re caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s or dementia—or if you’re facing a memory loss diagnosis yourself—I want to offer some encouragement and practical wisdom for you to navigate this tender experience as well as you can. This week’s podcast guest is Alzheimer’s specialist Megan Carnarius, who is doing the hard and holy work of dignifying the experiences of people living with memory loss. I pray today’s conversation with Megan gives you fresh hope for your future and the futures of the ones you love. Here’s just a preview of what Meg and I covered:
If you need expert advice for navigating the realities of memory loss, this episode is for you. Show Notes: A Deeper Perspective on Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias: Practical Tools with Spiritual Insights by Megan Carnarius - https://a.co/d/dI1lbRs Scriptures referenced in this episode: 2 Corinthians 4:16 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 95: Invisible Wheelchairs with Caroline Young | 17 Apr 2025 | 00:39:55 | |
I’ve processed and shared countless insights from my second-chance life, but no idea has resonated more deeply and widely with you all than the idea of “invisible wheelchairs.” You know what I’m talking about—those unseen parts of our stories that feel like they’re holding us back from the most abundant versions of our lives. Maybe your invisible wheelchair is shame, doubt, worry, loneliness, or insecurity. As a physically disabled person, I’m dealing with “invisible wheelchairs” that have absolutely nothing to do with my stroke. There’s plenty of dysfunction to go around (HA!) and I’m letting you into what feels most disabling to me these days. On this episode, my teammate Caroline and I are working through the invisible wheelchairs in our own lives and the opportunities they offer us, if we have eyes to see them. Tune into this episode to hear how you can… Identify your invisible wheelchairs Find creativity within your unique constraints De-personalize and get curious about your invisible wheelchairs Show up as the person you are today, not the one you thought you’d be If you’ve needed language for the inside stuff that’s holding you back, this episode is for you! Show Notes: Suffer Strong: How to Survive Anything by Redefining Everything by Katherine and Jay Wolf - https://a.co/d/beOpiYd Open Spaces Podcast with Jeff and Jourdan Johnson - https://www.theopenspacescollective.com/podcast Mend Coffee and Goods - https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Hope Heals Camp - https://hopeheals.com/camp The Story Work Conference - https://theallendercenter.org/event/storyworkconference/ Make Sense of Your Story: Why Engaging Your Past with Kindness Changes Everything by Adam Young - https://theallendercenter.org/event/storyworkconference/ Scriptures referenced in this episode: Romans 12:!2 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 94: You're More Than Your Mind with Dr. John Swinton | 10 Apr 2025 | 00:47:36 | |
“It's not so much our story that makes us who we are. It’s God’s story who makes us who we are.” Identity, for so many of us, is the sum of our memories, our personality, and the ability to tell the story of who we are. So what’s left when we lose all the things that make us who we are? John Swinton is a disability theologian who is helping people find God in the experiences of mental illness, memory loss, and intellectual disability. This gentle genius (with a glorious Scottish accent, I might add!) hangs out in the places where memory, identity, and disability meet. Turns out, there’s much to be learned about how to live and how to love from people experiencing mental challenges. Dr. Swinton shared more profound thoughts in our hour together than most of us will have in a decade. You don’t want to miss his insights on...
If you want to believe there’s more of us beyond our memories and our minds—or if you want to hear my attempt at a Scottish accent!—then this episode is for you. Show Notes: Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship by Dr. John Swinton - https://a.co/d/fHyOjJW Scriptures referenced in this episode: Colossians 3:3 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 93: How to Face Your Grief Head-on with Mary Austin Hall | 03 Apr 2025 | 01:24:03 | |
Today I’m offering you a masterclass in grieving well. One day—maybe even today—you will look at your story and see the very thing you prayed you'd never see. You could numb out and absolutely no one would blame you. But you have another option. It's harder, but so much better. Today, in my most tender conversation ever on The GoodHard Story Podcast, my strong-yet-soft sister-in-law Mary Austin Wolf Hall shares the treasures she's found in the deep darkness of a late term miscarriage. She’s faced her grief head-on as an act of faith and I’ve been changed by witnessing it. Here’s a preview of what we’ll unpack:
If you want to face your grief head-on when the time comes, this episode is for you. Friends, my conversation with Mary Austin will focus on late term miscarriage and infant loss. I pray God will use our words to encourage those of you who are ready to hear them. If this discussion doesn’t feel supportive to you today, please feel free to skip today’s episode. Show Notes: MEND Coffee and Goods: https://www.mendcoffee.com/ Treasures in the Dark: https://a.co/d/7JrkmFv Dark Clouds Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop: https://a.co/d/bC8aXBN Empty Arms: Hope and Support for Those Who Have Suffered a Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or Tubal Pregnancy by Pam Vredevelt: https://a.co/d/enkfvtb Risen Motherhood Podcast Grief mini-series: https://www.risenmotherhood.com/grief Scriptures referenced in this episode: Job 42:10-13 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664bebWant 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/hopenoteGet to know us:Hope Heals: https://hopeheals.com/Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/campMend Coffee: https://www.mendcoffee.org/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ | |||
| Episode 92: Your Depression Battle Plan with Hannah Brencher | 27 Mar 2025 | 00:47:04 | |
You’ll reckon with depression at some point in your life, if you haven’t already. Whether it’s seasonal, circumstantial, or a lifelong reality, it’s possible to “partner with God” as we navigate depression. I had the privilege of taking notes from the winsome and wise Hannah Brencher about the disciplines she’s putting into place to live faithfully with depression. Whether you’re dealing with darkness today or simply looking to optimize your mental wellness, this conversation is packed with practical tips and refreshing takes on caring for our minds and souls. This is what’s waiting for you on this episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast:
If you’re looking for trustworthy straight talk about being a person of faith living with depression, this episode is for you. Show Notes: Hannah Brencher on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hannahbrencher Scriptures referenced in this episode: John 9 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals 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 91: Having the "Manna Mindset" in Life with Chronic Pain | 20 Mar 2025 | 00:51:03 | |
Chronic pain is an (often) invisible form of suffering that can swallow someone whole—body, mind, and soul. Persistent pain is a daily reality for so many of us. It’s vitally important that we learn to cope and hope in healthy ways. Today I'm speaking with Olivia Feller-Gerber. She’s an author, entrepreneur, and advocate who has lived with the “invisible wheelchair” of chronic pain since she was a teenager. For those of us dealing with the felt-but-not-seen reality of chronic pain, I want you to lock into this conversation. I’m praying it feels like a pep talk from God himself about holding onto hope when the pain just won’t stop. Here’s what this conversation holds for you:
If life with chronic pain feels lonely and overwhelming, this episode is for you. Show Notes: Olivia Feller Gerber on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/letterstoholdhope/ Olivia’s website - https://www.letterstoholdhope.com/ Hold Hope: Encouragement for Christians with Chronic Pain by Olivia Feller - https://www.letterstoholdhope.com/holdhopebook Ep. 85 - My New Way of Understanding Beauty with Brook Hensley - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-85-my-new-way-of-understanding-beauty-with/id1496882479?i=1000689600342 Olivia’s conversation starters Instagram Reel - https://www.instagram.com/p/DFJJOXPpdHf/ Scriptures referenced in this episode: 2 Chronicles 20:21 Romans 8:28 Exodus 16 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopehealsSubscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9...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/hopenoteGet to know us:Hope Heals: https://hopeheals.com/Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/campMend Coffee: https://www.mendcoffee.org/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals | |||
| Episode 90: Ask Me Anything About Beauty and Body Image | 13 Mar 2025 | 00:39:11 | |
I’m not gonna lie to you. Yes, my stroke set me free from cultural beauty standards in so many ways. But I do NOT have it all figured out. Strongholds and struggles remain. (Like the fact I obsessively highlight my hair every 8 weeks...) So I was a little intimated by this “Ask Me Anything” episode about beauty and body image. I feel like a fraud sometimes! You showed up with honest questions, so I tried to show up with honest answers in return. And my teammate Leah joined in to add some of her signature, straight-talk wisdom—and it's SO refreshing! You need to tune in to The GoodHard Story Podcast this week if you've asked yourself any of these questions:
If you’re looking for an honest, outside-the-box conversation on approaching beauty and body image with hopeful realism, this episode is for you! | |||
| Episode 89: 5 Unpopular Truths About Beauty (Solo Episode) | 06 Mar 2025 | 00:29:02 | |
Most of us have been told a lot of lies about beauty. We’ve been given the wrong story about what beauty is, why it matters, and who it belongs to. Today I want to replace at least a few of those lies with five truths I uncovered when my outer appearance changed completely. These truths aren’t popular and they might even make you uncomfortable. (In fact, I kinda hope they do!) Facing these realities took me decades and a lot of heartache, but the pain has been worth the freedom I now feel from our culture’s ludicrous definition of beauty. During our time together, I’ll share…
If you feel compelled to refresh and realign your beliefs around beauty, this episode is for you. Show Notes: Suffer Strong: How to Survive Anything by Redefining Everything by Katherine and Jay Wolf - https://a.co/d/hR7Yj4l
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| Episode 88: An Alternative to Body Positivity with Leah Case | 27 Feb 2025 | 00:41:41 | |
The first time I looked in a mirror after my stroke, I didn’t know who was staring back at me. My face was unrecognizable, and my body might as well have been a stranger’s. It took me years to accept the reality of my new appearance. Feeling anything close to "positivity" was not in the realm of possibility. We’re living in the era of body positivity and I am HERE for it! But as a woman living with disabilities, I can’t always muster up positive feelings about a body that doesn’t function well much of the time. This reality could set me up for some major body negativity, but I’ve found another option. Today we’re talking all about body neutrality—what it means, how I got here, and why I’m convinced it’s the healthiest relationship I can have to my body. In this unguarded episode, my teammate Leah and I get vulnerable about our physical insecurities, the cultural beauty standards we have (and haven’t) internalized, our experiences with weight loss, and the weirdness of postpartum body changes. If body positivity feels out of your reach, you need to hit play on this episode in your favorite podcast app. Show Notes: Suffer Strong - https://a.co/d/8DKyzM7 Jess Connolly - https://www.instagram.com/jessaconnolly/ Breaking Free from Body Shame by Jess Connolly - https://a.co/d/fAj7sL8 Episode 85: My New Way of Understand Beauty with Brook Hensley My Body Neutrality writing that appeared on Live Original: https://liveoriginal.com/author/katherine-wolf/ Scriptures referenced in this episode: 2 Corinthians 4:16 2 Chronicles 20:12 (Katherine did not make it up!) *** There's so much more to the story. Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 87: My Body Is Not a Prayer Request with Dr. Amy Kenny | 20 Feb 2025 | 00:48:33 | |
“I am the embodiment of the worst case scenario. I am what every athlete fears and what pregnant parents dread. I am the catalyst for losing faith and questioning God.” Those stunning words were written by today’s guest Dr. Amy Kenny, a brilliant author and scholar who lives with disabilities. That phrase— “worst case scenario”—resonates so deeply with me since I was born with a congenital brain defect that, essentially, exploded out of the clear blue when I was in my twenties. Today I have the privilege of hearing from Dr. Amy Kenny. This brilliant woman’s work has helped me see that the “worst case scenario” might actually be the best case scenario for my life. She’s guided me in learning that my body—disabilities and all—is not an impediment to being an image bearer of God; it’s actually a channel through which I can bear God's image most fully. On this episode, we will…
If you need permission to believe your body bears God’s image—whether you have disabilities or not!—this episode is for you. Show Notes: My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church - https://a.co/d/3DZTIt1 Dr. Amy Kenny at Calvin University - https://youtu.be/URPc3nMll5s?feature=shared Scriptures referenced in this episode: Luke 14 - The Parable of the Banquet John 9 *** There's so much more to the story. Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 86: Walking Away from Shame (Book Preview) | 13 Feb 2025 | 00:43:01 | |
Today I’m sharing one of my favorite chapters of a book I’ve ever written. Several years ago, my husband Jay and I released a book calledSuffer Strong. It’s all about how we were able to survive anything because we were willing to redefine everything—from failure to trauma to commitment. Even beauty. That’s the chapter you’re about to hear. Before my stroke, I had never put too much focus on the way I looked. But once my face became paralyzed and my body lost a lot of its typical function, I had no choice but to confront the deep-down story of beauty that I had been told…and believed. After years of grappling with that story, I came to understand that it’s actually a story about fear, control, and shame. The truest beauty, it turns out, comes from putting down the shame and embracing our belovedness. If you’re ready to trade in your old definitions of beauty and start living in freedom, I pray hearing these words invite you to take the first step in walking away from shame.
There's so much more to the story.For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visithttps://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 85: My New Way of Understanding Beauty with Brook Hensley | 06 Feb 2025 | 01:20:42 | |
I’m going to make a big claim: This will probably be the most sweeping, inspiring conversation on beauty you’ll hear in your life. I say this with such confidence because Brook Hensley changed the way I understand beauty. And she’s about to do the same for you. Over the next several weeks, we’re going to focus deeply on the story of our beauty and our bodies—what the story is, who is telling it to us, and what needs to change. But before we get into the flesh-and-bones of it all, I want to talk about beauty as a concept. Why, oh why, does it matter to us so much? That’s where Brook comes in. This brilliant friend of mine is inviting you and me into a surprising and subversive new way of thinking about beauty. Join in on this unmissable conversation to understand…
If you’re waiting to unlock a mind-blowing expansion of your relationship to beauty, this episode is for you. Show Notes: Hope Heals Camp - https://hopeheals.com/camp/ Upcoming speaking events: https://hopeheals.com/upcoming-events The Soul of Desire by Dr. Curt Thompson - https://a.co/d/0J89OXU Beauty Will Save the World by Brian Zahnd - https://a.co/d/3N6yPdA Walter Wink - https://a.co/d/4xjwKxz “Why It Matters” by Sara Groves - https://www.saragroves.com/song-lyrics/why-it-matters The Overview Effect - https://www.nasa.gov/podcasts/houston-we-have-a-podcast/the-overview-effect/ Earth rise photo - https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230511-earthrise-the-photo-that-sparked-an-environmental-movement Blue marble photo - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Marble “This Is What I Do To Feel Close To You” by John Guerra - https://youtu.be/nSozD9_vHo0?feature=shared Andrew Peterson - https://www.andrew-peterson.com/ On Beauty and Being Just by Elaine Scarry - https://a.co/d/bj0RBTC “The last act is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.” - T.S. Eliot Scriptures referenced in this episode: 1 Samuel 14:7 Romans 1:20 Psalm 27:4 Psalm 90:17 Matthew 5:30-41 John 8:12 Matthew 5:14-16 *** There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here. YouTube Show Notes There's so much more to the story.For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 84: Hope for People-Pleasers and Perfectionists with Caroline Young | 30 Jan 2025 | 00:50:25 | |
Recently I received emails from two people in very different circumstances who were grappling with (essentially) the same question: Who is telling me the story of who I should be? Their messages struck me so deeply because, for the first half of my life, I asked other people to tell me that story. I desperately wanted to please people by giving them the power over who I was and what I should do. Then I was set free by, of all things, a massive stroke. My new physical limitations meant I was no longer capable of pleasing everyone, all the time. And neither are you, whether you live with disabilities or not. So let’s get real about it. We simply cannot go any further into our conversation on identity formation without coming to terms with who we’re trying to please. My teammate Caroline Young is joining me on this week’s episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast to offer a glimmer of hope (and maybe a big deep breath) for all of us people-pleasers and perfectionists. Here’s what we get into:
If you want to prioritize pleasing God over pleasing people, this episode is for you! Show Notes: I Shall Not Want by Audrey Assaud - https://youtu.be/e5xEYgGr6ms Star for Jesus and Other Jobs I Quite by Kim Stuart - https://a.co/d/4GnHtlN Scriptures referenced in this episode: Hosea 6:3 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 83: How I Re-imagined My Calling with Susan Robinson | 23 Jan 2025 | 00:40:59 | |
If you think your calling is collateral damage in the hurt and hardship you’ve experienced, I understand how you’re feeling. The work I’m doing now looks nothing like the dreams I had for my life. But now, I can’t imagine dreaming up anything better. Today on The GoodHard Story Podcast we’re covering one of my all-time favorite topics: how our limitations—rather than our strengths—invite us to lean into God’s calling for our lives. Give me 45 minutes of your day and I’ll give you a new way of approaching your purpose. I’m sharing how you can…
If you need fresh vision for the good purpose in your hard story, this episode is for you. Show Notes: Treasures in the Dark Entry 46: Dreaming New Dreams - https://a.co/d/4n1npsd “The most progress we can make is turning around” - C.S. Lewis Scriptures referenced in this episode:
*** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 82: Being Refined and Redefined with Lysa TerKeurst | 16 Jan 2025 | 01:02:39 | |
How could it be true that God withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly? I spent years trying to make God’s ways align with my definition of goodness, but nothing ever seemed to click. Finally, I realized I actually needed to redefine what goodness meant to me. It was not an easy process, let me tell you, but it has formed me for the better. My friend Lysa has been on the same journey of redefining everything in a life that has upended every expectation she had. While our pain has taken completely different forms, she is my sister in suffering whose extraordinary character has been formed by hardship, not in spite of it. No one is more qualified to coach us on identity formation than Lysa TerKeurst. I’m inspired and challenged by who she is today and who she is still becoming, and I think you will be too. You do not want to miss out on the goodness and grit today episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast. Here’s just a preview of what you’ll take away:
If you’re ready to become better instead of bitter because of your heartbreak, this episode is for you. Show Notes: Therapy and Theology Podcast - https://lysaterkeurst.com/therapy-and-theology/ I Want to Trust You, But I Don't by Lysa TerKeurst - https://a.co/d/2Q6mHfK Lysa’s TikTok dance in New York - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDTBG8np6mm/ Scriptures referenced in this episode:
*** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 81: Becoming Who We're Meant to Be with Dr. Dan Allender | 09 Jan 2025 | 00:54:01 | |
I don’t re-listen to my own podcast episodes often, but I’ll be replaying this one many times over. My guest Dr. Dan Allender is a trauma therapist. And if you just assumed this episode has nothing for you, consider Dr. Allender’s words: “All life east of Eden is a form of trauma.” Whew. So, yeah, you need to hear this. Dr. Allender’s work has been a gamechanger in my life and I insist that you have access to his wisdom, too! He has given me a framework for understanding, grieving, and telling my story, and I cannot think of a more trustworthy voice to speak into our conversation on identity formation. On this episode, the kind and brilliant Dr. Allender shares…
If you want support in becoming who you’re meant to be, this episode is for you. Show Notes: The Allender Center Podcast - https://theallendercenter.org/category/podcast/ Curt Thompson Confessional Community - https://curtthompsonmd.com/the-way-of-the-confessional-community/ Adam Young on The GoodHard Story Podcast Episode 71 - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-71-what-your-feelings-are-asking-of-you-with/id1496882479?i=1000671653634 Scriptures referenced in this episode: 2 Corinthians 4:10 Romans 12:15 Psalm 22:1 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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 80: Strategic Joy with Bob Goff | 02 Jan 2025 | 00:44:30 | |
It’s 2025, friends. Who do you hope to become in the year ahead? You and I are probably not going to become people of resilience, compassion, and courage by accident. Our circumstances, beliefs, relationships, and decisions are shaping our souls—in both good and hard ways—every minute of the day. I want to understand exactly how it’s happening. And what I can do to create the identity I want. Today we’re talking to my winsome friend Bob Goff—author, speaker, and unofficial spokesperson for belovedness. This mentor of mine knows how to live whimsically *and* strategically, and I am determined to learn how to do it too. On this episode, Bob is sharing exactly how you can…
If you’re ready to start living like you’re loved (because you are), this episode is for you!
Treasures in the Dark Entry 32: The Habit of Hope - https://a.co/d/3mcRhmK Treasures in the Dark Entry 60: What If? - https://a.co/d/3mcRhmK Scriptures referenced in this episode:
*** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ 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/ | |||
| Advent in the Dark Part 4: Until We Don't Need to Hope Anymore | 26 Dec 2024 | 00:12:37 | |
"Hope is not a fixed point I will reach. Hope is the living force that propels me through the ongoing cycle of hurting and healing." In these sacred weeks surrounding Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be. Each week in the month of December, I'll be sharing a short reflection that invites you reconsider your darkest seasons as times of formation, preparation, and possibility. Treasures in the Dark Read Along Starting January 9, 2025, I’ll be hosting a 90-day read along of Treasures in the Dark over on Instagram. Make sure you’re following me there because I’ll be streaming some readings from the book, sharing behind the scenes content, and hosting discussions with all of you. If you want to grab your own copy of Treasures in the Dark, it’s available wherever books are sold. You can find the audiobook on Spotify or Audible. Like what you heard? There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals 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=4e5a0a76749b4d91 Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe at https://hopeheals.com/hopenote. | |||
| Advent in the Dark Part 3: Escaping the What If Loop | 19 Dec 2024 | 00:13:18 | |
"Hope is an escape hatch from the what-if loop because it gives you and me permission to live the lives we have. It narrows our vision to work with what’s in front of us. Hope puts to rest all the lives we could have lived and gently reminds us, “This is the one you’ve got. Don’t waste it.” In these sacred weeks leading up to Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be. Each week in the month of December, I'll be sharing a short reflection that invites you reconsider your darkest seasons as times of formation, preparation, and possibility. Treasures in the Dark Read Along Starting January 9, 2025, I’ll be hosting a 90-day read along of Treasures in the Dark over on Instagram. Make sure you’re following me there because I’ll be streaming some readings from the book, sharing behind the scenes content, and hosting discussions with all of you. If you want to grab your own copy of Treasures in the Dark, it’s available wherever books are sold. You can find the audiobook on Spotify or Audible. Like what you heard? There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals 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=4e5a0a76749b4d91 Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe at https://hopeheals.com/hopenote. | |||
| Advent in the Dark Part 2: The Possibility of Winter | 12 Dec 2024 | 00:11:45 | |
"Some of the best fruit in my life will be incubatedin dark, cold seasons of suffering." In these sacred weeks leading up to Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be. Each week in the month of December, I'll be sharing a short reflection that invites you reconsider your darkest seasons as times of formation, preparation, and possibility. Treasures in the Dark Read Along Starting January 9, 2025, I’ll be hosting a 90-day read along of Treasures in the Dark over on Instagram. Make sure you’re following me there because I’ll be streaming some readings from the book, sharing behind the scenes content, and hosting discussions with all of you. If you want to grab your own copy of Treasures in the Dark, it’s available wherever books are sold. You can find the audiobook on Spotify or Audible. Like what you heard? There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals 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=4e5a0a76749b4d91 Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe at https://hopeheals.com/hopenote. | |||
| Advent in the Dark Part 1: The Gifts or the Giver? | 05 Dec 2024 | 00:13:43 | |
"Suffering confronts me with the question, What is it i want from God? Do i want the gifts, or do I want the Giver Himself?" In these sacred weeks leading up to Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be. Each week in the month of December, I'll be sharing a short reflection that invites you reconsider your darkest seasons as times of formation, preparation, and possibility. Treasures in the Dark Read Along Starting January 9, 2025, I’ll be hosting a 90-day read along of Treasures in the Dark over on Instagram. Make sure you’re following me there because I’ll be streaming some readings from the book, sharing behind the scenes content, and hosting discussions with all of you. If you want to grab your own copy of Treasures in the Dark, it’s available wherever books are sold. You can find the audiobook on Spotify or Audible. Did you like what you heard? There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here. | |||
| Episode 79: In Sickness and Health with Jay Wolf | 28 Nov 2024 | 00:49:50 | |
I became disabled in an instant, but my husband Jay did not become a caregiver in that same instant. No one, like, gave him a pamphlet or anything! He had to learn by trial and error, and the stakes were high. Many of you, dear friends, are in a marriage with a caregiver or care-receiver and you’re navigating what it looks like to uphold a version of your vows you didn’t see coming. I am the first person to affirm what a complex position you are in. After nearly 17 years of this caregiving-in-marriage deal, we’ve learned a few things about healthy conflict, surrendering control, and releasing old dreams. We’ve also made all the mistakes. So Jay and I want to share a little wisdom—and a LOT of encouragement. Here’s what you can expect from our time together on The GoodHard Story podcast this week:
If you’re longing to feel seen and supported in a caregiving marriage, this episode is for you. Show Notes: The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller - https://a.co/d/9P0hVVF Stanley Hauerwas - https://stanleyhauerwas.org/ Hope Heals Camp - https://hopeheals.com/camp Ep. 76 - 5 Ways to Start Believing You Are Worthy of Care - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-76-solo-5-ways-to-start-believing-you-are-worthy/id1496882479?i=1000676043943 Ep. 74 - Unspoken Demands for a Perfect Life with Sho Baraka - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-74-unspoken-demands-for-a-perfect-life-with/id1496882479?i=1000674277593 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 78: Self Care for Caregivers with Ken Tada and Joni Eareckson Tada | 21 Nov 2024 | 00:54:51 | |
If there is such a thing as icons of caregiving, Joni Eareckson Tada and her husband Ken are those icons. After a diving accident at 17, Joni became a quadriplegic. Ken and Joni met and joined lives years later. As Ken put it, he “married into disability.” These two saints have cared for one another faithfully for over 40 years, but it’s not always perfect. Joni and Ken were generous to share about the hard conversations they’ve had to have about overwhelm and burnout. Even through all the hard, this couple affirms again and again how the experiences of caregiving and care-receiving have shown them the heart of Christ. From healthy communication tips to practical ideas for self care to receiving care well—WOW, do we have a lot to learn from these two?! Join us at the table to receive loads of wisdom from two of my heroes, including…
If you are craving some real talk about all things caregiving and care-getting, this episode is for you. Hope Heals by Katherine and Jay Wolf Scriptures referenced in this episode: 1 Samuel 16:7 John 15:13 There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up here 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. Get to know us: | |||
| Episode 77: Caregiving as a Team with Matt & Ginny Mooney | 14 Nov 2024 | 01:08:37 | |
Matt and Ginny Mooney gave round-the-clock care to their first son, a baby boy who lived for just 99 days. All parents are caregivers, of course, but the Mooneys became caregivers in ways they never could have imagined. Now, 18 years later, the Mooneys have opted into a lifetime of complex caregiving as they raise an adopted daughter living with autism and cerebral palsy. I am fascinated and challenged by their choice to take on more responsibility, more heartache, and more grief. My two gracious friends were kind enough to answer every one of my probing questions with humor and vulnerability. And if you join us for this conversation, I bet they’ll feel like your kind, funny friends by the end, too! Here’s what you can expect to hear on this week’s episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast:
Show Notes: A Story Unfinished: 99 Days with Eliot *** Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Apple Podcasts Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up here 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. Get to know us: | |||
| Episode 76: (Solo) 5 Ways to Start Believing You Are Worthy of Care | 07 Nov 2024 | 00:33:11 | |
Can I have 27 minutes of your day? That’s all I need to convince you of something you’ve probably never allowed yourself to believe: you are worthy of care. I’m highly qualified—and highly persuasive—in making this pitch to you because, after becoming significantly disabled as a 26-year old, I can truly say that I am at peace with my place as a care-receiver. All thanks to 5 mindset shifts. (And a lot of help from Jesus.) If you haven’t reached that place of bone-deep peace, I’m going to change your mind. Or if you’re a caregiver for a person who needs a lot of extra help, I’m going to invite you into a new way of seeing your situation. Here’s a preview of what I’ll share on tomorrow’s episode of The Good/Hard Story Podcast. Subscribe on your fave podcast platform to make sure you get the episode tomorrow.
I am so passionate about this conversation, and I want you to join me in it. If you need a radical mindset shift when it comes to being a caregiver or a care-getter, this episode is for you. | |||
| Episode 75: Ask Us Anything About Marriage, Parenting, Families of Origin & More! | 31 Oct 2024 | 00:55:33 | |
You asked, we answered. And you know we never shy away from the messy, complex, and possibly even invasive questions because we want to be your living survival guides through it all. Bring it on, people! This week’s episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast is a special “ask us anything” sesh with me and Jay all about how we’re navigating suffering alongside our nearest and dearest—kids, families of origins, friends that feel like family, and even each other. Sit down with us to hear some deeply personal (yet somehow universal) experiences, opinions, and bits of advice. We’re sharing all kinds of thoughts about…
If you need help believing your hardships could be a gift to the people you love most, this episode is for you. Find the full story of deciding to have another baby in Treasures in the Dark Entry 66: Carpe Diem Subscribe to The GoodHard Story 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. Get to know us: Hope Heals Camp | |||
| Episode 74: Unspoken Demands for a Perfect Life with Sho Baraka | 24 Oct 2024 | 00:48:55 | |
Grief, then gratitude. The longer I live and the more pain I encounter, I’m further convinced that this is the healthy cycle of suffering: grief then gratitude. Mourn the life you thought you’d have, then give thanks for the one right in front of you. Because if we’re honest, most of us have some deep-down assumptions about what our lives should look like. For me, that assumption didn’t include a massive stroke or disabilities. And for my friend Sho Baraka, his perfect life plan didn’t involve raising sons with autism. Sho is living out his good/hard story in that grief-and-gratitude rhythm, and he shared all about how he got to that place. Today, Sho is receiving his family—and his life—as an “abstract masterpiece of what the Master did.” Whew, how good is that? If you join us in this conversation, here’s what you’ll take away:
If you need to release your demands for a perfect life and open your hands to the gifts of the life you actually have, this episode is for you. Show Notes: He Saw That It Was Good: Reimagining Your Creative Life to Repair a Broken World by Sho Baraka The Big Tent Initiative from Christianity Today A Prayer for Parenting a Child with Special Needs Spectacular Bond: Reaching the Child with Autism by Miriam Blank *** There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here. Get to know us: | |||
| Episode 73: Practical Advice for Parenting Through the Pain with Susan Robinson | 17 Oct 2024 | 00:40:50 | |
My son was just six-months and five days old when I nearly died. Virtually 100% of my parenting career has been informed by the deepest kind of pain. I often find myself wondering, if I could, would I give my sons a different story? One that didn’t include my stroke and all the suffering it caused? I didn’t have much help wrestling with that question as a new (and newly disabled) mom. So I want to encourage and equip you—the mom or dad struggling to shield their kids from the suffering—with practical advice for parenting through your pain. Our kids are gonna survive the suffering. And, spoiler alert, I believe they might even be better because of it. Join me and my unbelievably wise friend Susan to find out how to…
If you need a parenting pep talk from someone who’s processing her own pain, this episode is for you. Show Notes: The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom Raising Girls and Boys Podcast with David Thomas and Sissy Goff “True hospitality is when someone leaves your home feeling better about themselves, not better about you”. - Shauna Niequist Scriptures referenced in this episode: James 1:4 Romans 5:3 Romans 8:28 Ephesians 4:1 *** There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here. | |||
| Episode 72: Suffering in Real Time with Brent & Ashley Monogue | 10 Oct 2024 | 00:48:13 | |
If you’re like me, you often hear from people reflecting back on how they made it through a hard time. We need those stories, and I value them deeply. But I really, really want to hear from the people who are in the thick of their pain, without a neat resolution or final closure in sight. My dear friends Brent and Ashley were kind enough to share their experience of present-tense pain, specifically in the form of a life-altering medical diagnosis. As you and I know all too well, hurt refuses to be contained. It reverberates through families and communities. Brent and Ashley are no exception. Their suffering has had a profound effect on their marriage, their kids, and their friendships. But so has their hope. Live from the center of the storm, Brent and Ashley are giving you and me a look into how they manage to make it through each day. And I am so eager for you to benefit from their generous, hard-won wisdom. If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:
If you need some honest but hopeful company in your misery, this episode is for you. Show Notes: Scriptures referenced in this episode: Ecclesiastes 7:2 Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up here for the Hope Note, our monthly digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content, Get to know us: | |||
| Episode 71: What Your Feelings Are Asking of You with Adam Young | 03 Oct 2024 | 00:55:38 | |
I’ve been healed in so many ways by learning to tell my story. But there’s some work that needs to happen before we can tell our stories. That work starts with our emotions. The stories of your life and mine are hidden beneath our emotions. When we understand the emotions, we understand the story. And, as I said, understanding our own stories is totally crucial to healing and wholeness. (Why do you think I tell my story for a living?!) This conversation with Adam Young is a bucket list item for me. Adam is a brilliant trauma therapist who specializes in supporting people in understanding the story of their lives. The harm, the heartache, and the miraculous joy to be found in the midst of all the hurt. His work has been transformative for me. Friend, you cannot miss this conversation because God might just use Adam’s wisdom to transform you too. If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:
If you’re searching for an empathetic guide to emotional health, this episode is for you. Show Notes: The Place We Find Ourselves Podcast Bessel van der Kolk - https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/ Ep. 16 Why Lament (Surprisingly) Leads to Life and Freedom GoodHard Story Podcast Episode 68 with Debra Fileta Scriptures referenced in this episode:
*** There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here. | |||
| Episode 70: Your Emotions Aren't Your Enemy with Jennie Allen | 26 Sep 2024 | 00:42:59 | |
God is giving you and me permission to feel our feelings. But are we giving permission to ourselves? I’m on a quest to engage my emotions with health and wholeheartedness, and Jennie Allen joined me on a leg of the journey. Jennie is a friend of mine who happens to have written the book on understanding and expressing our feelings as God intended us to. My conversation with Jennie is as heartfelt as it is practically applicable to your life. Her generous wisdom will leave you equipped to understand what you’re feeling, put those emotions in their proper place, and then use those feelings as positive points of connection with God and other people. If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:
If your emotions leave you feeling like too much or too little—or, somehow, BOTH—this episode is for you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast. Show Notes: Jennie's website Confessional Communities GoodHard Story Podcast Episode 68 with Debra Fileta Scriptures referenced in this episode:
*** There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here. | |||
| Episode 69: The Sacred Side of Sadness with Scott Erickson | 19 Sep 2024 | 00:52:07 | |
“I’m a Christian because of the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus wept.” Something I didn’t wake up to until after my stroke is the fact that joy and sadness can co-exist. In fact, they can do it pretty beautifully if we allow them to. My friend Scott knows how to be sad. That may sound like a backhanded compliment, but hear me out. I think learning to fully engage our sorrow is one of the healthiest rhythms we can find, especially as followers of Jesus. He was, after all, called the “man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” So how do we befriend our sadness in the way of Christ? That’s what I’m covering on this week’s episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast, with the help of Scott Erickson. An artist, writer, and one of the most intriguing thinkers I’ve ever known, Scott has found deep camaraderie with Jesus through his sadness. And he’s inviting you and me to do the same. If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:
Want to invite God into your sadness, but don’t know where to start? This episode is for you. Show Notes: Scott’s Substack Image Pilgrimage Scott’s story of meeting Sadness at Disneyland The GoodHard Story Podcast Episode 76 with Andy Squyres Treasures in the Dark Entry 65: A Library of Living Survival Guides Telling Secrets by Frederick Buechner Scriptures referenced in this episode:
*** There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here. | |||
| Episode 68: Own Your Feelings, Change Your Life with Debra Fileta | 12 Sep 2024 | 00:45:11 | |
Did you know that scholars have identified 39 distinct emotions that Jesus felt recorded in the Bible? Is anyone else as encouraged by this as I am?! Our emotions can be a pathway to wholeness and healing if we know what to do with them. This is just one of MANY gems of wisdom waiting for you on The GoodHard Story Podcast. While guest Debra Fileta is not *technically* my therapist, this episode was so cathartic it might as well have been a paid session! Debra is an author and licensed professional counselor who is using her life to study the emotional health of Jesus and sharing how we can access that health for ourselves. I left our conversation with a deeper understanding of my own feelings and some simple practices for taking ownership of my emotions. If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:
Desperate to experience emotions in the way God intended? This episode is for you Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast. Show Notes All things Debra Fileta! Treasures in the Dark by Katherine Wolf What’s Here Now? by Jeanne Stevens I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequest Scriptures referenced in this episode: Romans 12:2 John 10:10 John 2:1 Matthew 13:1 *** There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here. | |||
| Episode 67: Getting Honest About Our Doubts with Andy Squyres | 05 Sep 2024 | 00:53:11 | |
“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:
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 *** There's so much more to the story: Click here for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: @hopeheals Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here. | |||
| Episode 66: Katherine’s Top Takeaways: One Year of Wisdom in 20 Minutes (Solo Episode) | 23 May 2024 | 00:20:26 | |
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…
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.
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 *** 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 | 16 May 2024 | 00:44:02 | |
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 64: AUDIOBOOK SNEAK PEEK: What the Locusts Ate | 09 May 2024 | 00:10:29 | |
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 63: Wonderful/Terrible: Cultivating a Gritty Faith Instead of a Pretty Faith with Kay Warren | 02 May 2024 | 00:49:27 | |
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…
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 62: AUDIOBOOK SNEAK PEEK: The Day that Changed Everything | 25 Apr 2024 | 00:07:33 | |
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 61: “Wait, Is This It?”: Re-Imagining the Good Life with Amy Julia Becker | 18 Apr 2024 | 00:41:50 | |
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:
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 60: My Prayer for YOU: Borrow This Benediction for the Good/Hard Life (Solo Episode) | 11 Apr 2024 | 00:41:28 | |
Are you ready to replace the “God, help me to have a good day tomorrow” bedtime prayer? Maybe for your kids…and maybe for yourself! Today, Katherine is offering you a benediction fifteen years in the making. What started as a bedtime prayer for her sons has become her prayer for a generation of souls hoping to live their good/hard story well to the very end. If you need fresh inspiration and real-talk motivation for your prayer life today, this episode is for YOU! What We’ll Cover:
Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting by Katherine Wolf: https://hopeheals.com/treasures “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses This Is a Joyful Rebellion! by Brad Montague - https://youtu.be/Pp_gxJspWEI?si=K7Uf_qvq9EAXVY-e My Benediction for The Good/Hard Life May you see life as a good/hard story that God is writing. May you open your hands to release old dreams and receive new ones. May you find the miracle you’ve been looking for has been right in front of you all along. May you accept the stunning capacity you have to endure because of Jesus, who endured for you. May you live out the hardest parts of your story with a joyful rebellion against the darkness. May you believe the boundary lines around your life are good and pleasant because God uniquely assigned them to you. May your invisible wheelchairs become avenues to a new kind of freedom because of Jesus Scriptures referenced in this episode: Psalm 139:16 Isaiah 43:18-19 John 12:37 John 16:33 Deuteronomy 31:6 Psalm 16:6 Philippians 4:13 Galatians 6:5 *** 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 59: Not Weak, Just Human: Finding Freedom Beyond Fatigue with Jess Connolly | 04 Apr 2024 | 00:28:18 | |
Raise your hand if, in the last week, you’ve answered the question “How are you?” with some version of “Good! Busy, but good! Just tired.” In the kingdom of hustle, busyness is next to godliness. Rest is something to be earned. But in the kingdom of God, rest is an invitation from Jesus himself. Today Katherine is joined by Jess Connolly to talk about why we’re all so tired of being tired and what on earth we can do about it. On this episode we’ll cover…
If you need a starting place to form sustainable and transformative rhythms of rest, this episode is for you. Social Caption: Raise your hand if, in the last week, you’ve answered the question “How are you?” with some version of “Good! Busy, but good! Just tired.” And, if I can be really honest, I kind of love giving that answer. I hate to admit it, but being tired feels like a status symbol. In the kingdom of hustle, busyness is next to godliness. Rest is something to be earned. But in the kingdom of God, rest is an invitation from Jesus himself. I recently sat at the feet of my friend and teacher Jess Connolly to understand why we’re all so tired of being tired and what on earth we can do about it. On the latest episode of #TheGoodHardStoryPodcast we’ll cover…
If you need a starting place to form sustainable and transformative rhythms of rest, this episode is for you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast. | |||