“God doesn’t talk to me.” “I can’t hear God’s voice.” “I don’t know what God sounds like.” Hearing from God is pivotal to the life of a Christian. Not only do we seek guidance from His Word, but we also ask Him questions about which path to take, what to do, and how He wants us to behave. We want insight into situations we find ourselves in. And we long to receive His words of love and comfort, especially when life around us is full of chaos and heartache. Yet there are times when we struggle to...
Aug 19, 2025•11 min•Ep. 184
There are many ways to journal, but one of my favorites is to journal as I read the Bible. I take note of things that grab my attention, I ask questions, and I explore various ideas together with God as a result of the passage I’ve read. Today, I want to invite you into a Bible journaling session with me. We’ll pray and journal through Psalm 23:3 together. And though it is a familiar passage, I pray God would meet you there and share His heart with you. I know this has been a powerful verse for ...
Aug 05, 2025•13 min•Ep. 183
As women, as moms, we carry a lot of responsibilities, and sometimes a lot of expectations—from ourselves and from others. Yet one thing is clear: God has called us to keep our families as a top priority. The question is, how do we do that? In this episode, I talk with life and business coach Danielle Roberts and we explore what this might look like, often sharing personal examples from our own lives. Danielle and I are both work from home, homeschooling moms, but we recognize that women fill al...
Jul 15, 2025•35 min•Ep. 182
Have you ever prayed for God to open doors for you so it’s clear which way you should go, which decision you should make? But, my friend, take a minute and think about the sayings we Christians have: · If God shuts the door, He always opens the window. · God doesn’t close one door without getting ready to open another with bigger and greater things. · He will open the doors of opportunity as He sees fit and close doors that He doesn’t want us going through. Are these true? Are they the whole tru...
Jul 01, 2025•13 min•Ep. 181
It’s probably no surprise to you that I am an avid reader, averaging about one or two books a week. Not only do I read for fun, but I also get to read for work, editing and proofreading book manuscripts right before they get published. I’m guessing that if you’re listening to this episode, you like to read, too. And I’ve learned that books can often prompt some powerful journaling sessions with God. But how do you know which books to journal about and what to write? Today, I’ve got 8 ideas to ge...
Jun 17, 2025•11 min•Ep. 180
Deciding on my major in college really wasn’t that hard for me. I knew I wanted my studies to focus on the Bible and speech. I wanted to learn more about His Word so that I could communicate it clearly to those around me. So that’s what I did: I majored in communication and minored in biblical studies, taking as many classes as I could to understand more about the Bible and spiritual formation. The truth is, as much as I love supporting women as they seek healing in God and as they journal toget...
Jun 03, 2025•20 min•Ep. 179
It's funny how pieces of our stories get set down, lost, discovered, or picked up again. Some pieces we hide away, hoping never to look at them again. (We think if we don't acknowledge them, they never really happened, right?) Of course, some pieces always stay with us, regularly in the forefront of our minds. And some, we never really know how they're going to fit in until years down the road. But they're all pieces of us . They're not good, necessarily. They're not bad, either. They just... ar...
May 20, 2025•12 min•Ep. 178
What hard decisions have you had to make? Maybe it regarded your job, like me. Or maybe it focused on which school your kids should go to, or where you live. Maybe someone in your family needed extra care from you, and that meant you had to step away from something else, at least for a little while. There are hard decisions, and then there are decisions you don’t want to make—when your heart and your head are telling you two different things. Lauren Black had a decision like this. And she has ha...
May 06, 2025•33 min•Ep. 177
In high school, my best friend and I were known as the Perfectionists. We had high standards for ourselves when it came to our school work, our extracurricular activities, and our jobs. If someone asked us to do something, they knew it would be done and be done well. Extremely well. While I have relaxed some over the years, I still have a high standard I hold myself to. Remember that strength of “responsibility” I mentioned last time? I tend to beat myself up if I don’t meet a deadline or forget...
Apr 15, 2025•9 min•Ep. 176
I’m pretty good at juggling multiple commitments and responsibilities. In fact, my number one strength per StrengthsFinder is “responsible” and my spiritual gifts include the gift of administration. Yet when everybody needs something at the same time, it can get really hard, really fast. And when I start to feel overwhelmed or discouraged, I’ve noticed that I usually end up retreating. In other words, I hide away. Can you relate? We can’t just ignore these seasons altogether. They are just a par...
Apr 01, 2025•9 min•Ep. 175
Have you ever found your Bible reading to be a little dull or lifeless? Is it hard to see the people of the Bible as real individuals who encountered God? There’s a practice that can help with this, and it’s called imaginative prayer. Now, every time I think about explaining imaginative prayer to others, I can’t help but think about my conversation with Eva Kubasiak on her podcast, Bible Study Made Simple. When I was talking with her, I shared with her this idea about imaginative prayer. With he...
Mar 18, 2025•18 min•Ep. 174
Do you ever talk to God—and expect to hear back from Him? Back in episode 109 , I shared a little conversation that God and I had as it related to something He was calling me to do during Lent a couple of years ago. It’s one of many conversations I’ve had with Him. Some that I’ve just sensed in my spirit as I’ve prayed about something. But some that have taken place on the pages of my journal. That’s right. Sometimes these conversations happen in writing in something called dialogue journaling. ...
Mar 04, 2025•18 min•Ep. 173
I don’t know about you, but I read a lot of books. And there are a lot of good books out there. Many of which I recommend to you. But there are only a few that really stir deeply in my soul. Neil Broere’s upcoming book, Obedience, Suffering, & Reward was one of those. When I read it, I knew I wanted to talk to him more about it. And today, you get to hear that conversation. While obedience is a simple concept to understand, it can be hard to live out. Especially when there are questions or d...
Feb 18, 2025•30 min•Ep. 172
I don’t know what it is, but life has just felt… hard. People misunderstanding one another. Feelings getting hurt. Work to do. Family to care for. Trying to balance it all while also cleaning the house and completing other mundane but necessary tasks. All piled on top of one another and it’s hard not to wonder if something deeper is going on. Is this what spiritual warfare looks like in 21st century America? Is the enemy trying to just wear us out with all the compounded grief and piled-up hards...
Feb 04, 2025•11 min•Ep. 171
I can have a difficult time explaining how I feel about something, and when it’s incredibly important to me, the words seem even harder to find. But there are other times when words feel hard, too: when you’re grieving, when you’re busy, when you’re depressed, when you’re anxious. What do you do then? Today, I want to share with you two ways you can still journal, even when you are struggling to find the words to do so. Both of these can be incredibly powerful, and I can’t wait to see what happe...
Jan 21, 2025•7 min•Ep. 170
In July of 2021, I ran my first challenge as a ministry. It was the Courageous Care 5-day challenge, and it walked women through five obstacles that prevent us from reaching out to those around us who are hurting. What was a challenge became a masterclass, which became a book. And it features the key principle behind what Love Does That is all about: that God has called every one of us to care for those around us who are going through difficult seasons. To walk alongside them. To love them. To s...
Jan 07, 2025•12 min•Ep. 169
Journaling through God’s Word is a great way to read, study, and actually engage with what He is saying to you. And since the New Year is just a few weeks away, it’s a natural time to recommit ourselves to being in the Bible. Psalm 119:16 (NIV) says, “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Not only are we to not neglect God’s Word, we are to take delight in it! Do you delight in it? Or has it gotten dreary and dull? Wherever you are in your Bible study journey, I want to suppo...
Dec 17, 2024•9 min•Ep. 168
I remember sitting on my bed, reading through a box of old journals I had tucked away in the closet. At first, it was fun, remembering some of the friendships I had and experiences I had gone through. Laughing at some of my immature moments. But instead of storing them back in the closet, I dumped them all in a trash can. Have you ever done that? Back in episode 55 , Elizabeth McCravy and I talked a bit about how there are times when you just need to throw your old journals away. And we’re going...
Dec 03, 2024•9 min•Ep. 167
In today’s podcast, we are going to dive into the story of Jesus meeting the disciples on the lake during the storm. And through that story, we’re going to ask God to show us where He is when it feels we are left alone. Because I know there are times when I—and many of my clients—are wondering where in the world God is at when we are going through a difficult season. And I can’t wait to share with you what I’ve learned. Let’s dive in. Kari RELATED EPISODES: · Episode 91 : When God is Silent: Exp...
Nov 19, 2024•17 min•Ep. 166
Last year, our family took a trip to the Smoky Mountains. One my "must-dos" was to go into the National Park and get as high as I could to see those breathtaking views. The problem? Too. Many. People. We waited an hour at the top of the mountain to inch toward the parking lot where you could get out of the car and see. And there was nowhere to park. When we realized this, my husband said, "Why don't you jump out and get a few pictures and catch up with us?" It was NOT what I had planned. But it ...
Nov 05, 2024•8 min•Ep. 165
I remember when my kiddos were little. Those months after bringing a baby home just radically change how you do life, don’t they? From trying to figure out how to get some sleep to finding time to shower to learning what temperature to warm their bottle and when they can start eating different foods… it’s just all so much. Journaling in that season looked a lot different than it did in other, more ordinary life seasons. And then there are situations where you stop journaling altogether, like Eli...
Oct 15, 2024•10 min•Ep. 164
(There are a few technical glitches in here. I apologize in advance!) What wounds do you carry around with you? I have scars on my arm from a childhood disease, places where the skin is darker than the rest. For you, it might be a physical scar from an experience that left you scraped and bleeding. Or it might be something deeper: a fear of close relationships, the ever-present sting of betrayal, the feeling like you don’t belong. On today’s episode I speak with Russell Joyce about how God can u...
Oct 01, 2024•41 min•Ep. 163
Do you ever have one of those moments when you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God has laid something on your heart? Maybe it’s an idea. Maybe it’s a truth from His Word. Maybe it’s a calling. It is these things that I often write down in my journal. These words from God that I want to remember and hold onto and keep thinking about. Well, I have experienced this recently, and today I want to share with you about the most important thing in my life right now. This episode will be a bit mor...
Sep 17, 2024•10 min•Ep. 162
C.S. Lewis wrote, “You can’t see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears.” And tears often come when we lose something or someone that was very important to us. The truth is, grief is something we all experience, especially when we lose someone we love, but even when we experience other loss, like the loss of a job, the death of a dream, and the end of a marriage. Journaling can be such a helpful way to process some of these complex thoughts and feelings that often come after su...
Sep 03, 2024•13 min•Ep. 161
Isn’t it funny how, once you get settled into a good routine, something will change that makes it out of whack? Your child finally starts sleeping through the night, but then they start waking up super early. Or you dedicated nights for your quiet time, but then your teenager decides to use that time to chat with you before bed. Or you theme out your work days, only to have appointments or sports or something interfere. And so you go back to the drawing board to modify your routine and make it w...
Aug 20, 2024•11 min•Ep. 160
Something that I have often struggled with as an adult is making new friends. It’s easier when you’re younger and in school. You see your classmates every day or kids from youth group each week. You’re given opportunities to interact and see if there is someone kind of like you that you could be friends with. Talk with. Hang out with. But as an adult, time for friendships seems more limited. While we, of course, have others at church or Bible study we can turn to for fellowship and prayer, it st...
Aug 06, 2024•37 min•Ep. 159
Several years ago, my family and I got to raise a tiny caterpillar. For weeks, we hunted down milkweed to feed it. We watched it grow. And we saw it create its little chrysalis. We even got the blessing of watching it come out of the chrysalis, and caught most of it on video. It was such a beautiful moment. While our little pet didn’t have any major trouble, we’ve all heard, I’m sure, that if you try to help a struggling butterfly out of its chrysalis, its wings will never be strong enough to fl...
Jul 16, 2024•10 min•Ep. 158
A new app popped up on my phone with one of the latest updates, and it's a journaling app! Did you get it, too? Did you try it? What do you think? I confess, even though I do some digital journaling (which I’ll talk about later in the episode), I haven’t tried any sort of journaling app yet. But I know there are several journaling apps out there. Have you wanted to check them out? Are you worried about the confidentiality of any of these apps? Do you think it might be cool to categorize your jou...
Jul 02, 2024•9 min•Ep. 157
In preparation for homeschool next year, I’ve been pre-reading some missionary biographies that we’ll be using for our history curriculum. And in the one on Amy Carmichael, it shared several times when she would spend the day in prayer, seeking the Lord on one question or another. For example, should she build a house for the Bible study she led with the “shawlies”? Should she and her group of children move to this city or stay where they were? Was it time to build a nursery for the babies? Ther...
Jun 18, 2024•11 min•Ep. 156
When you are going through something like betrayal, depression, or deep grief, it can be hard to talk about what is going on inside of you. And I dare to say, there are times when talking doesn’t actually help the situation. I remember when I struggled with depression in college, and every time I talked about it, it just seemed to make things worse. I felt alone. I felt like no one understood. I felt like I should be able snap out of it and move on. Talking was not helpful to me. Have you been t...
Jun 04, 2024•12 min•Ep. 155
