Jess Connolly is an author, church leader, and coach. She’s also a woman who has experienced decades of shame and pain in her body. She’s been on a journey to break free from body shame using God’s truth and now she is inviting women to join her. As she puts it, she’s obsessed with the freedom that is ours for the taking. Today’s episode is a little different. For one, we’re going to jump right into my conversation with Jess. Also, our conversation is going to largely focus on her new book, Brea...
Jul 19, 2021•57 min
Hope Carpenter is a pastor, author, wife, and mom. Along with her husband Ron, she pastors Redemption Church in Greenville, South Carolina and San Jose, California. She has also authored two books, The Little Pink Book, and most recently, The Most Beautiful Disaster. When Hope is not helping her husband lead Redemption or spending time with her grandchildren, she often travels to Pakistan, Dominican Republic, Argentina, and Mexico to do missions work under the umbrella of Hope for the Nations. H...
Jul 12, 2021•42 min
These days the concept of self-love is tossed around a lot. And often, it can be assumed to be a shallow, abstract, or even self-indulgent concept. For that reason, and so many others, I am so glad I have Karlyn Benn on the show today. Not only does Karyln give us a helpful definition and understanding of this concept, but she explains how it has transformed her own life. Karlyn Benn is licensed professional counselor and Glō Coach. In her coaching work, she helps women live a life full of joy, ...
Jul 06, 2021•40 min
Abby Turner is a food blogger, speaker, and writer. Born into a large family, she grew up in Central Arkansas, where she learned the importance of community and hospitality at a young age. After obtaining her master’s degree from Baylor, Abby lived in 6 states in 5 years and learned how essential community is to wellbeing and faith. Abby’s passion is to encourage women to stop wasting time waiting for the perfect family, house, or table and to start opening their homes, cooking for friends, and ...
Jun 21, 2021•53 min
Do you ever wonder how such incredible beauty and such profound brokenness can coexist in the world? And in the midst of those seeming competing realities, what does that mean about God and his goodness? It’s questions like these that today’s guest has studied, struggled with, and recently written a book about. Sarah Clarkson is a writer and theologian who currently lives in West Sussex in England with her husband, son, and daughter. Sarah recently finished her MSt (Master of Studies) in modern ...
Jun 14, 2021•41 min
Katherine Wolf is a survivor, communicator, and advocate. After giving birth to her first son in 2008, Katherine miraculously survived a catastrophic stroke. Since that day, Katherine and her husband, Jay, have committed their lives to champion the truth that suffering and joy can coexist in your good/hard story. In that pursuit, Katherine and Jay have written two best-selling books (Hope Heals and Suffer Strong), created a thriving online community, and founded Hope Heals Camp for families affe...
Jun 07, 2021•45 min
Melanie Penn is a gifted singer/songwriter who writes pop songs at the crossroads of faith and culture. Melanie began formal vocal training at a young age and eventually moved to New York City to pursue a career on Broadway. After years of being a mainstay in New York City’s theater scene, including a run of playing Sandy Dumbrowski in Grease for a Broadway touring company, Melanie decided to transition to song writing and pursue a career as a solo artist. Melanie has released several albums, in...
May 31, 2021•48 min
Christyna Johnson is a Dallas-based, Non-Diet Registered Dietician whose nutrition philosophy is rooted in the social justice framework of Health at Every Size (R) and seen through the lens of Intuitive Eating. After years of personally struggling with negative body image, disordered eating, and anxiety, Christyna is thankful that she has now come to find a flourishing relationship with her body and food. She now loves helping others find that same freedom in their bodies and with food. As Chris...
May 17, 2021•34 min
Daron Babcock is the founder and executive director of Bonton Farms near Dallas, Texas. Starting as a garden in a small lot, Bonton Farms has grown into two fully functioning, organic farms, one in the Bonton community and a separate 40-acre farm south of Dalllas. Before the Farm’s presence Bonton was what was considered a food desert. The mission of Bonton Farms is “to restore lives, create jobs and ignite hope in a once forgotten and neglected neighborhood with some of the most marginalized pe...
May 03, 2021•53 min
My time with Allen Arnold was such a gift. He totally breathed new life into the concepts of creativity and living life as a true adventure. Allen Arnold is an author (The Story of With and Chaos Can’t) and speaker. He is also the Executive Producer of Content for John and Stasi Eldredge’s ministry, Wild at Heart. In short, Allen’s passion is awakening people’s hearts to pursue their dreams and creativity with God. As Allen so poignantly says in our interview, when we bring something new into ex...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Today’s episode is a little different. Back in Episode 18, I shared a little about my story and why I’m so passionate about beauty and why I even started Impossible Beauty in the first place. In today’s episode, I share a bit more about why I care so much about this topic and why I hope you’ll join me in redefining beauty and seeking after true beauty. So please sit back and I hope you enjoy part two of “Why I’m So Passionate about Beauty.”
Apr 19, 2021•22 min
Can I just say that Ginny Owens is amazing?! For years, I have listened to and loved her music and in our time together, I experienced firsthand how very authentic and beautiful her heart and her faith are. For those of you who are new to Ginny Owens, she is a singer/songwriter and speaker, who was named the Gospel Music Association’s 2000 New Artist of the Year. Ginny has also won 3 Dove Awards, multiple ASCAP awards, sold over a million records, been a top performer on the Christian radio char...
Apr 12, 2021•49 min
My conversation with Bunmi Laditan was so refreshing. Bunmi is simultaneously hilarious and full of wisdom. She also has the invaluable gift of putting you completely at ease in her presence. Bunmi is a writer living in Quebec, Canada whose work ranges from the humorous to the poetic, including titles such as The Honest Toddler, Confessions of a Domestic Failure, Dear Mother, and her most recent book, Dear God: Honest Prayers to a God Who Listens. In my time with Bunmi, she shares about her fasc...
Mar 30, 2021•48 min
The work Ben Higgins is doing in the world is undoubtedly inspiring. While you may know him from ABC’s twentieth season of The Bachelor, Ben has gone on to use his platform to do beautiful things in the world. Alongside a couple of his friends, Ben founded Generous International, a for-profit company that invests 100% of its profits from coffee and apparel into life-changing partner organizations that improve education, create jobs, feed children, and empower communities to eliminate poverty. Be...
Mar 15, 2021•27 min
I absolutely loved my conversation with Javoni Cobb. Javoni is an eating disorder recovery coach at the Eating Disorder Center in Rockville, Maryland. She has her master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and currently works with teens and adults struggling with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and body image issues. In her work with clients, Javoni seeks to help them break free from disordered behaviors, to discover food freedom, body acceptance, and self-compassion. In our time toge...
Mar 08, 2021•44 min
Kellie Haddock inspires me. She has lived through tragedy and found hope on the other side and now inspires others to do the same. Kellie is a singer, songwriter, wife, and mom. She is a former widow whose music draws on real-life stories of beauty, heartache, hope, and the celebration of life. Kellie has performed in Iraq, Israel, China, and across the U.S. and her albums include Leave the Light On, Wild Love, and her Christmas album Peace on Earth. She has sung and spoken alongside Tim Keller,...
Mar 03, 2021•42 min
Kristy Cambron is a vintage-inspired storyteller, writing from the space where art, history, and faith intersect. She’s a Christy Award-winning author of historical fiction, including her bestselling debut, The Butterfly and the Violin, and nonfiction, including the Verse Mapping series of Bibles and Bible studies. A self-proclaimed history nerd, she loves to chase all things research, going behind the scenes at a Ringling Bros. Sarasota mansion, touring a former TB sanitarium, and exploring the...
Feb 15, 2021•48 min
Today on the podcast, I have a very important conversation with Whitney Otto. In our time together, Whitney talks about her experience as an endurance athlete, particularly as a world champion rower. Whitney was a member of the national rowing team and an alternate in the 2000 Olympics. She has also worked with Women’s Sports Foundation to help bring sport to girls in the inner city. Following her full-time rowing career, Whitney went on to get her masters degree in Counseling Psychology and wor...
Feb 08, 2021•39 min
Jonathan is an incredibly gifted England-based photographer, the creator of a photography course for children called “Cultivating Wonder,” and is a copyrighter for Penguin Random House publishing. In his photography work, Jonathan largely specializes in photographing families and children, in addition to providing portraits for branding and start-ups, headshots, engagements and weddings. In my time with Jonathan, he describes his photography work in the most profound and beautiful ways. He helpe...
Feb 01, 2021•41 min
Shawna Boren is the Engagement Pastor at Woodland Hills. She has served in various pastoral staff roles in both Texas and Minnesota for over 20 years, but it is at Woodland Hills where Shawna is passionate about helping people find their place of belonging within the larger congregation. She is married to her husband, Scott, and they are parents to four children, three boys and one girl. In my time with Shawna, she shares her powerful story of how love has transformed her life, her own struggles...
Jan 25, 2021•42 min
Nicole Zasowski is a licensed marriage and family therapist, writer, and speaker. She is also the author of From Lost to Found: Giving Up What You Think You Want for What Will Set You Free. In her book, Nicole reveals her own story of how challenges such as unwanted transition, multiple miscarriages, and crippling anxiety gave way to a deepened faith and connection with Jesus. In addition to maintaining a private therapy practice, her professional work includes leading marriage intensives at The...
Jan 19, 2021•34 min
Dr. Jillian Lampert is a Registered Dietician, adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota and is the Chief Strategy Officer at The Emily Program, a treatment program for those struggling with eating disorders. Dr. Lampert is also the Co-founder and President of the Residential Eating Disorders Consortium and the Treasurer of the Eating Disorders Coalition, a DC-based national organization for eating disorders policy and advocacy. Sh...
Jan 11, 2021•45 min
I absolutely loved my conversation with Adam Weber. Adam is the founder and lead pastor of Embrace, a multi-site church based out of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and the author of Talking With God, a book on prayer, and his most recent book, Love Has A Name. He also hosts a podcast called The Conversation. Adam’s home life is also very full; he and his wife, Becky, are busy raising their four kids, seven chickens, two dogs, and three fish. I laughed a lot in my time with Adam. He has a way of talki...
Dec 21, 2020•47 min
Dr. Thompson is a Washington D.C. based psychiatrist, author, and speaker who integrates interpersonal neurobiology and a Christian view of what it means to be human. He seeks to educate and encourage others as they seek to fulfill their intrinsic desire to feel known, valued and connected. Curt’s insights about how the brain affects and processes relationships help people discover a fresh perspective and practical applications to foster healthy and vibrant lives, allowing them to get unstuck an...
Dec 01, 2020•49 min
Stephanie Williams O'Brien is a pastor at Mill City Church in Minneapolis, she teaches at Bethel Seminary, and is the executive producer and co-host of Lead Stories Podcast with Jo Saxton. Stephanie has also authored two books, Stay Curious: How Questions and Doubts Can Save Your Faith and Make a Move: How to Stop Wavering and Make Decisions in a Disorienting World. I am so grateful to have known Stephanie for a couple of decades now. What has always stood out to me is Stephanie’s vibrant and st...
Nov 16, 2020•43 min
“Words not for the ears, but for the soul.” That is how Arielle Estoria describes her work. Arielle is a Spoken Word Poet, author, and speaker. She has shared her work in keynote talks with companies such as Google, Lululemon, and Tedx and has emceed events such as Anchored in Love for teenage girls, featuring surfer Bethany Hamilton. Arielle has also lead writing, social media and self-acceptance workshops in various settings ranging from students to professional development spaces. She is the ...
Oct 30, 2020•33 min
Morgan Snyder is a strategist, entrepreneur, teacher, speaker and the author of Becoming a King: The Path to Restoring the Heart of a Man. Morgan’s passion is to shape the men and women who are shaping the kingdom of God. In 2010, he established BecomeGoodSoil.com, a fellowship of leaders whose global reach offers guidance for becoming the kind of person to whom God can entrust the care of his kingdom. Morgan serves on the executive leadership team at Wild at Heart and Ransomed Heart Ministries,...
Oct 06, 2020•51 min
Evelyn Tribole’s message is a breath of fresh air. She is a wise and compassionate voice, teaching people around the world how to reconnect with their bodies and make peace with food. Evelyn is a registered dietician, the author of 9 books, and co-author of the best-selling book: Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach, which has been the basis of over 125 studies to date. Evelyn enjoys public speaking around the world and trains health professionals on how to help their clients cul...
Sep 16, 2020•42 min
Miles Adcox is the Owner and CEO of Onsite, an internationally known emotional wellness lifestyle brand that delivers life-changing personal growth workshops, inspiring content, leadership retreats, and emotional treatment. Miles is also a speaker, podcast host, business leader, coach, and works with and consults several NGO’s. His work at Onsite has been featured on 20/20, Good Morning America, New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Dr. Phil Show, and The Doctors. Miles Adcox has devoted ...
Aug 24, 2020•48 min
Melody Miles is a writer, coach, founder of the company Soulcation, and formerly an international expert at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. There she helped launch the global campaign to eradicate malaria. After working in 25 African countries by the age of 30, Melody found herself hyperventilating, in the midst of a panic attack, utterly confused why she felt so stressed, exhausted, and unhappy inside the life she always thought she wanted. In the wake of her pain, she quit her dream job...
Aug 12, 2020•35 min
