In this final episode of Season 3, we take a look at why fear and faith are each a choice. We get to decide which spirit we're going to partner with. One leads to blessing and peace while the other leads to anxiety and prolonged suffering. A quick dive into some Bible passages show us that God takes note of our attitudes and which decision we make has a long-lasting impact on not only our own life but generations after us. This one will inspire you! Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.graceop...
May 27, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 37
In a world where we often get instant feedback and instant information... where we can research anything fairly quickly and get the answers we desire... living with the concept of mystery can be pretty difficult. We can struggle to be okay in situations where the outcome or intentions aren't readily evident, especially when it comes to matters of faith. Things happen all the time that remind us we are not in control; God is. Today's episode helps you to remember that you don't have to know all t...
May 20, 2025•21 min•Season 3Ep. 36
All of us are feeling both the negative and positive impact of technology on our daily life, yet statistics and research are starting to show a detrimental affect on mental health when it comes to social media, screen time, and information overload. This episode unpacks some of the data regarding technology's role in our world and offers some solutions on how we can balance our needful reliance on it with a healthy connection to life outside of our devices and continuous contact with the broader...
May 13, 2025•23 min•Season 3Ep. 35
What often attracts us to people is often what, over time, repels us from them - their differences. The preferences and unique qualities that make them special can turn into annoyances if we don't make allowance for them and learn to appreciate them for what they are. This episode is a particular challenge aimed at faith communities and churches to grow in grace and celebration of the way God has created each of us and what every person can bring to the table. Visit and subscribe to my blog at: ...
May 06, 2025•25 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Living in a society that has made it very attractive to take the easy route, many of us are living far below our personal potential when it comes to our faith, our goals, and our mental health. We have chosen to settle for average and fitting in with the crowd when God created us for so much more! Today's episode is a challenge to you to do the hard things and resist the temptation to choose the most convenient path. Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.graceopens.blogspot.com Twitter: @opento...
Apr 29, 2025•22 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Much of the time, we are certain about things we think we know. We have strong opinions about politics, personal practices, religious norms, style, etc. but we are doubtful when it comes to the things we actually should be confident in like faith, being fully known and loved, or the constancy of God's presence. Today's episode aims to help you be assured of the important things you should be believe in while also giving you permission to hold loosely the beliefs that perhaps aren't serving you w...
Apr 22, 2025•25 min•Season 3Ep. 32
All of us feel like failures at some point. Sometimes, we even feel like we've blown it so bad that we can never be forgiven or offered a second chance. But life with the resurrected Christ is different: He meets us where we are and invites into a new reality of transformation where forgiveness and change is available. Because of Jesus's sacrifice and rising from the dead, we now have hope and eternal life. Enjoy this special Holy Week episode, and have a blessed Easter! Visit and subscribe to m...
Apr 15, 2025•27 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Neuroscientific research as well as spiritual experience both agree that, in order for humans to thrive, they must have healthy connection. Unhealthy attachment or lack of proper connection lead to all kinds of emotional and physical problems. Today's episode unpacks Jesus's guidance to stay connected to the "true vine" and why we need to ensure we are attached to the One who alone gives us life and meaning. Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.graceopens.blogspot.com Twitter: @opentograce2015...
Apr 08, 2025•27 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Suffering happens to everyone. As much as we hate to admit it, nobody gets through life unscathed in some way. But often, we fail to properly equip ourselves for these inevitable hardships. We don't anticipate them coming our way and end up reacting to them while we're in the midst instead of fortifying our faith, our relationships, and our lifestyles ahead of time. This episode will take you through some simple steps so you can prepare your soul for future seasons of struggle. Visit and subscri...
Apr 01, 2025•21 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Secrets kill. They ruin relationships, organizations, reputations, health, and just about everything else. They are silent thieves of peace, joy, love, and so much more. Transparency and willingness to bring our secrets into the open is a huge factor in mental health. If we're living a lie and hiding the truth about something (or unwilling to call out somebody else on their lie when it matters), we will struggle to reach the place of wholeness that we desire. Healing starts by honestly and vulne...
Mar 25, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 28
There are many circling definitions of what compassion looks like today and many calls for it amidst political, social, and religious tensions. So what is true compassion, and what does that look like in our everyday lives? More importantly, how does faith intersect with it, and how can we move deeper into real compassion as imitators of Jesus? This episode will bring a lot of clarity to issues of our day and how we ought to approach them. Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.graceopens.blogsp...
Mar 18, 2025•32 min•Season 3Ep. 27
In many situations, we feel out of control. There's a lot that happens that's just out of our hands and sometimes, that can blind us to the things we actually DO have control over. In this episode, you'll learn the power of responsive choice - that there are a lot of things that you can decide the outcome and whether or not in ends in wholeness and healing. This will be an extremely liberating concept for your life! Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.graceopens.blogspot.com Twitter: @opentog...
Mar 11, 2025•22 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Perhaps you're struggling to interact with emotionally volatile people at your workplace, your church, in your family, or with a friend and you keep finding yourself getting pulled into their strong emotions and reacting with some of your own. How can someone keep their cool when others are losing theirs (and maybe even blaming YOU for it)? How can you avoid turning into them when the natural response is to mirror back what we are seeing? Today's episode walks you through some biblical truths on...
Mar 04, 2025•25 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Sometimes it's easy to think of God as being at the beginning of your journey or waiting for you at the end, but many of us miss Him in the middle. We get into the valley moments, the in-between seasons where the race gets tough, and lose sight of the simple fact that He is running alongside us and will be with us all the way. There are moments when we could use a reminder that God hasn't gone anywhere, and that's what today's episode aims to do. Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.graceopens...
Feb 25, 2025•18 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Any causal observer of modern society will notice that the ability to dialogue well is becoming almost extinct. Most people don't know how to have a conversation - let alone a difficult one - without it escalating into something hurtful. Knowing how to talk through something, especially when it's a sensitive or difficult subject, is key to healthy relationships and success as well as keeping your own personal sanity when others get defensive, offended, or combative. This episode will walk you th...
Feb 18, 2025•35 min•Season 3Ep. 23
"I am a perfectionist!" We've all heard someone say it, or we've said it ourselves. And it today's world, where high performance is praised and even required, it can be easy to slip into unhealthy patterns of thought and behavior surrounding excellence. Perfectionism can ruin relationships, health, faith, and pretty much your whole life if not addressed. Today's episode will look at why perfectionism can be so destructive and how to gain some perspective and balance when it comes to accepting li...
Feb 11, 2025•26 min•Season 3Ep. 22
In a short-order, fast-pace world where everyone expects everything instantly, grief puts our endurance to the test and makes a myth of such expectations. When loss hits, there is nothing you can do to pretend it doesn't exist or to expect you'll just "get over it" in a minimal period of time. Grief forces us to rethink our perspective of time and adjust our expectations accordingly. We will not process or make peace with our loss overnight and sometimes, it can take months or even years. This e...
Feb 04, 2025•19 min•Season 3Ep. 21
A lot of people sadly feel that they are, in some way, a mistake. Maybe in their race, their gender, their story, or because they really blew it, they feel as though their identity is wrapped up in the mistakes they've made, what their background is, or what's happened to them. Today, this episode aims to point out why none of us are a mistake but instead are dearly loved and wanted and to help us see the innate dignity we possess as creations of God. Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.grace...
Jan 28, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Many of us think of faith as trust and belief in God. But what if faith actually had two aspects to that? What if God's ability and then God's willingness were separate conversations? Perhaps some of our doubts stem from the fact that we're stuck on why God wasn't willing to do something we know He's capable of! This episode will unpack the two sides of faith and why they matter, hopefully giving you a greater perspective when it comes to the divine will of God concerning your life. Visit and su...
Jan 21, 2025•18 min•Season 3Ep. 19
When people think of steps to healing, most will easily come up with things like counseling or therapy sessions, rehab, dietary changes, etc. But there are often many other seemingly less obvious but equally important steps toward wellness and transformation that deserve to be looked at as well. This episode takes you through some of those in hopes of expanding your awareness of and commitment to being mentally healthy in 2025! Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.graceopens.blogspot.com Twitt...
Jan 14, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 18
In this day and age when so much drives us to look toward and plan for the future... when the faith community is constantly telling us to fix our eyes on eternity... we can sometimes miss the things God is trying to show us in our present. We can be blind to the ways in which so much of what we think we have to wait and hold out for are already being answered in our here and now. We can have rest and healing and meaning and vitality available to us right where we're at. This episode intends to h...
Jan 07, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 17
We're about to turn the page on another year and with that come new opportunities, challenges, goals, and hopes for what might lie ahead in 2025. While none of us knows for certain what is in store, it's always good to identify our dreams, desires, and objectives for the New Year as well as ask ourselves how badly we really want to chase the changes or aspirations we say we want. Today's episode will help you refine your personal vision for the year ahead. Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www....
Jan 01, 2025•23 min•Season 3Ep. 16
The Christmas seasons is upon us with all of its merriment and activity. Yet I wonder how many of us are actually pausing to think about the shocking wonder of the fact that the King of the Universe humbled Himself and came to this fallen world on a rescue mission unlike any other. Are we awed by this reality? Or have we lost sight of the astonishing "Reason for the season"? This week's episode calls on us to step back and be amazed at the true meaning of Christmas. You won't want to miss it! Vi...
Dec 17, 2024•21 min•Season 3Ep. 15
Like nature, life is a cycle of seasons. Sometimes we are in the expectation of Spring's possibility while at others, we are in the throes of Winter's darkness and chill. Learning how to transition through and embrace each season is key to our being able to grow and get out of each one what God is intending to show us. This episode shows you the hidden beauty of each season of life and how you be fruitful and hopeful even in the seasons you dislike the most. Visit and subscribe to my blog at: ww...
Dec 10, 2024•22 min•Season 3Ep. 14
As aspect of the mental health conversation that is often overlooked is: leadership. We focus so much on the individual and their emotional needs that we fail to take a look at what messages or treatment is coming from the top-down in their workplace, home life, team or church environment, or any situation that involves higher levels of authority. Leaders play a big role in creating a healthy or unhealthy emotional and mental ecosystem for the people they lead, and this is why we need to talk mo...
Dec 03, 2024•24 min•Season 3Ep. 13
It's the week of Thanksgiving Day, and we're taking some time in this episode to unpack the significance of gratitude and why it matters to our physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health. We'll also discuss it's intricate connection to joy. You won't want to miss this! Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.graceopens.blogspot.com Twitter: @opentograce2015 Instagram: @opentogracealaska Parler: @Opentogracealaska MeWe: Katherine Singer...
Nov 26, 2024•17 min•Season 3Ep. 12
There are many ways in which we wonder if we're doing enough. Often driven by comparison struggles or cultural pressures and expectations, we can find ourselves moving beyond just the question of, "Is it enough?" to "Am I enough?" This episode helps to redefine work and value and is especially targeted at parental figures and those wrestling with trying to find meaning in their work. You will appreciate this! Visit and subscribe to my blog at: www.graceopens.blogspot.com Twitter: @opentograce201...
Nov 19, 2024•19 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Do you ever find yourself questioning if God is real or if He's active in the world today? Do you struggle when your desire for a miracle goes unnoticed and it seems like God isn't answering your prayers? Do you feel the pain of watching others get the miracle they prayed for while you're still waiting for your own? This episode dives into the supernatural...it's impact on our lives as well as it's place in God's plan. You'll walk away encouraged today to keep looking for evidence of God existen...
Nov 12, 2024•25 min•Season 3Ep. 10
We have a complicated relationship with tears. Tears are our most common way of expressing human emotion, yet many of us are unsure of how to explain or embrace these intense feelings when they come. Today's episode uncovers the varied kinds of tears and their important place in the human experience as well as God's relationship to tears and why they matter. You'll also learn how to identify what your tears are saying and how to apply what they show you to your life moving forward. Check out my ...
Oct 29, 2024•18 min•Season 3Ep. 9
One of the often overlooked aspects of mental health is the tax of walking through an extended health crisis. Whether you are the one caring for someone, experiencing the health issues yourself, or just trying to be a supportive friend from the outside, having realistic expectations of how to cope with and survive a serious health journey is absolutely necessary to making it through to the other side. This episode will give you a personal insight into the difficulties of a long-term health crisi...
Oct 22, 2024•25 min•Season 3Ep. 8
