We are in the middle of the 5-Day Courageous Care Challenge. This challenge is going to help you replace fear and uncertainty with courage and compassion. We are going to be looking at the top five obstacles and objections to taking action when someone you love is hurting so that you don’t live with regret because you didn’t reach out. Today, we’re diving into the second obstacle, and that is that you are unavailable. In other words, “I don’t have the time.” Is that true, or is it just an excuse...
Jul 20, 2021•11 min•Ep. 20
I am so excited for you to join me today as we kick off the Courageous Care Challenge. This is going to be a power-packed week that can completely transform the way you reach out to your friends and neighbors and love them—really love them—when they are struggling or hurting. And it all starts by recognizing what is getting in the way of reaching out in the first place. Why is it that we can have someone who means so much to us, and we see that they are hurting, and we do nothing? Absolutely not...
Jul 19, 2021•9 min•Ep. 19
I don’t know about you, but there have been several seasons in my life when I struggled to find and experience joy. And whether you are grieving or struggling with depression or medical issues, I want you to know that it really is possible to find joy in those hard and heavy places. To help us learn how to do that, my friend Kristen Joy is chatting with us today, sharing some of her own stories and pointing us to places in God’s Word that challenge our thinking about what joy is and how we find ...
Jul 13, 2021•48 min•Ep. 18
We are wrapping up our series about how to respond in different situations when it comes to encouragement and care. Some have been from the perspective of the helper, such as how to respond when someone asks about your hurting friend and how to respond when a friend won’t let you help. Others have been from the perspective of the one needing support and encouragement, like how to decline an offer of help gracefully, and today’s episode, how to respond to hurtful comments when you are grieving. D...
Jul 06, 2021•13 min•Ep. 17
Has there ever been a moment in your life when everything just changed? One phone call that radically altered your world? One comment that impacted how you saw everything around you? One experience that changed the trajectory of your life? That was a traumatic experience, and today, my guest Kristen Brock is going to help us understand what trauma is, how it impacts us, and how we can better come alongside those who are experiencing it or healing from it. It’s a powerful conversation you won’t w...
Jun 29, 2021•42 min•Ep. 16
I can’t wait to dive into today’s guided Scripture reading with you. As I prepared it, God spoke some really powerful truths to me, and I’m sure He will do the same for you. I encourage you to take a moment to pause and get ready, if you have not done so yet. Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted for 5-10 minutes. Quiet your heart. And then, when you’re ready, join me in the prayer as we begin. Let’s encourage one another… Kari CONNECT: Shop Encouragement + Sympathy Gifts Facebook In...
Jun 24, 2021•10 min
Have you ever had someone offer some sort of support or help to you that you didn’t necessarily want? But you didn’t know how to say no without hurting their feelings? Today, we’re talking about how to respond when someone offers help you don’t need or want. In other words, how to gracefully and respectfully decline. Because, again, there are times we really do need to say no to someone’s offer. The challenge is doing it in a way that is honest, yet appreciative. We don’t want to simply dismiss ...
Jun 22, 2021•13 min•Ep. 15
What do you do when you offer help to a friend who is going through a difficult time, and they say “no”? How do you handle that? I know it is so incredibly easy to take it personally when a friend turns down our offer to help. But today, I want to help you think through why they may not be in a place to accept help right now, as well as some tips that will help us respond in a healthy and God-honoring way. Because, my friends, if we don’t respond well, we will damage the relationship and push ou...
Jun 15, 2021•14 min•Ep. 14
We are starting a kind of mini-series where we are going to talk about how to respond in different situations. You know, some of those awkward situations that happen when we’re trying to encourage and care for our friends who are hurting. We’re starting with the question, “How do I respond when someone asks me about my friend?” Specifically, your hurting friend. The one others know is going through something. I’ve been in this situation so many times, and I bet you have, too. The details might b...
Jun 08, 2021•11 min•Ep. 13
How many of you serve with the kids at your church in some way? How many of you at least smile and wave to the kids when you see them on Sunday? What you may not realize is how many of those kids are coming with some type of hurt or struggle, whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual. How can those of us in the church care for them during this time? Here are three very powerful, but very simple things you can do to care for kids in your life who are hurting--especially as a Sunday school...
Jun 01, 2021•15 min•Ep. 12
Welcome to our third bonus episode. In our bonus episodes, we engage with some different spiritual practices together. This is a chance for us to explore some practices we may not be familiar with, and ultimately, it’s for the purpose of staying close to God so that we can share His love, care, and encouragement with those around us who are hurting. Today, I want to share with you one of my favorite classic prayers. Sometimes we aren’t comfortable with written prayers, because the words seem arc...
May 27, 2021•10 min
Today, we are going to address the question of how to ask for help when you need it. Because, let’s be honest: we all need help. Can we just admit that right off the bat? Yet asking for help can be so incredibility difficult. So I want to explore why that might be and then walk you through some questions to help you get to the point where you can very clearly and simply ask others to help you during a specific season in your life. While today, I am speaking to those situations where we need to b...
May 25, 2021•11 min•Ep. 11
Last week, we began a really important conversation with Karen Altizer about grief, so if you haven’t listened to episode 9 yet, I invite you to do that. In the first part of our conversation, Karen shares her grief story and we talk about a few different things related to grief, like how to support someone who is grieving and what that can look like. I walked away with so many practical ideas, and I was also reminded of how important it is to talk about those who have passed away, to actually u...
May 18, 2021•27 min•Ep. 10
We are going to start a conversation about supporting a friend through grief. And I invited Karen Altizer to help me with this. Karen will introduce herself as we begin our chat, but I want you to know how much I appreciate Karen sharing with us. As you know, it can be hard to have these conversations and share our own experiences, and I so appreciate Karen’s vulnerability, openness, and sensitivity to the emotions and experiences that grief brings. It is just a tender conversation that I pray w...
May 11, 2021•28 min•Ep. 9
We say we want to encourage others, and I completely believe that desire is within us. Yet I think one of the things that trips us up the most is that we simply aren’t paying much attention to those around us. We’re too busy. We’re too focused on us . And that’s what I want to talk about today. How do we cultivate the habit of paying attention so that those around us who are hurting don’t get overlooked? Let’s encourage one another… Kari QUOTES + BIBLE VERSES: “‘What do you want me to do for you...
May 04, 2021•10 min•Ep. 8
Guided Scripture reading has been powerful for me because it helps me engage with the story in a deeper way. It’s often combined with a practice called imaginative prayer, where you use all of your senses and imagination to enter into the story itself. What sounds do you hear? What does it smell like? Who is around you? And then God uses these details and stories to speak to you right where you are. It might feel a little strange at first. We’ve been taught to use our reasoning and knowledge whe...
Apr 29, 2021•15 min
Today I want to share with you a conversation I had with Laura Howe, founder of an organization called Hope Made Strong. I met Laura online and, when I saw what her mission was, I immediately asked to have a chat with her to learn more. Hope Made Strong is all about equipping church and ministry leaders to care for those in their community in a healthy and God-honoring way. And whether you’re a ministry leader or not, I know you’ll learn so much through this conversation. We talk about five thin...
Apr 27, 2021•34 min•Ep. 7
Today, I want to share something incredibly special with you. You see, I gave a message back in 2016. A message that ignited all this we call Love Does That. A message that my husband Mike, before we even got married, heard. And this phrase—Love Does That—became a motto, of sorts, for our marriage. So when I started a simple Etsy shop to sell a devotional I had written and had to come up with a name for the shop, the only thing that came to mind was Love Does That. Yet Love Does That has grown t...
Apr 20, 2021•20 min•Ep. 6
It’s so important for us to grow in discernment because we need God’s help when it comes to encouraging and caring for those around us. It’s not a one-size-fits-all answer. Our needs are different. Our personalities are different. Our situations are different. What would be encouraging for one person might be humiliating for another. And so we come to God with a posture of openness for what would be most meaningful to our friend, and not just what is most convenient for us. In future episodes, w...
Apr 13, 2021•12 min•Ep. 5
Discernment is another foundational topic for us as we consider how to offer encouragement and care to those in our lives who are hurting. Think about the questions you have when someone you care about is hurting: How do I know how God is leading me to help others? My friend seems to be having a hard time. How do I know whether to approach them about it or not? What do I say to loved ones who are hurting? When do I say "yes" to helping someone and when do I need to let others be the ones to help...
Apr 06, 2021•14 min•Ep. 4
In this podcast, I want to teach you a really simple way to check in with someone without intruding. I offer this because I know how difficult it can be to see someone who is struggling, but question the best way to approach them and ask about it. We feel like we’re butting in, or maybe we feel like we’re going to offend them if we ask questions. Or maybe we’re just afraid of rejection. But we’ve got to find a way to break through those fears and concerns because… what if NO ONE checks in with t...
Mar 30, 2021•8 min•Ep. 3
Hey, my friend. I want to welcome you to this special bonus episode where I share a guided prayer and meditation about sitting with our friends in their grief and heartache. I invite you to find a quiet place where you can truly engage with the prayer, truly ready to engage with God, or to come back to it when you find yourself at a loss of words when your friend is truly struggling. I let this episode end with quiet music, and I invite you to sit there with God until you’re ready to end this pr...
Mar 26, 2021•11 min
Today, we are going to talk about one of the most important truths when it comes to encouraging others, a truth that will help us set the foundation for all the other conversations we’re going to have. Are you ready? Here we go: we can’t encourage everybody. I would love to make and send a card to every person I know who is having a hard day or going through a difficult season. I would love to be able to pick up groceries and make meals and watch kids and drive people to appointments… but I can’...
Mar 23, 2021•8 min•Ep. 2
In this introductory episode, learn a bit more about my journey from ministry to ministry-minded business and how God is calling me to do more than make encouragement and sympathy gifts, but actually use my gifts of teaching and speaking to equip Christian women like you to care for your loved ones in times of grief. We all have similar questions and concerns when our friends are hurting: What do I say? What can I do? I feel like I’m intruding… Won’t they ask for help if they need it? I don’t ha...
Mar 16, 2021•5 min•Ep. 1
