Today, I want to offer you some prompts that are especially for those seasons of grief and heartache. Now, grief looks like a lot of different things, right? The death of a loved one. The loss of a friendship. The move from one town to another. Letting go of dreams or expectations. The heaviness that comes when we realize our life has just been radically changed. Today, I want to share with you ten questions that you can use as journal prompts in these seasons of grief. Be sure to download the c...
Dec 21, 2021•15 min•Ep. 45
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. I’ll be honest: it might feel a little strange at first. We’ve been taught to use our reasoning a...
Dec 16, 2021•13 min
Knowing the Stages of Change impacts our ability to help others, or even to understand our own healing journey. Which stage are you in? Which stage is your friend in? Precontemplation Contemplation Preparation Action Maintenance What are some important truths to keep in mind as we seek to support a friend through a major change? Listen in to find out! Kari GRIEF IS HARD. Whether you are reeling from the death of a loved one, struggling with loss of community, or feeling lost and unanchored, you ...
Dec 14, 2021•16 min•Ep. 44
Have you ever had a friend or family member who was going through a challenging situation and you wanted to help them, only to realize that your help wasn’t actually all that helpful? Today, we are talking about those moments when we might be hurting or enabling someone through our actions, which doesn’t really lead to the help or healing they need in their lives. What does it look like to set healthy and God-honoring boundaries? How do we know the specific ways we can help someone through a sea...
Dec 07, 2021•36 min•Ep. 43
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the tension of experiencing grief and heartache in a season of celebration, how it can be hard to hold those two things together in a way that feels authentic and true. And I gave you three truths to hold onto when it came to going through a difficult holiday season of your own. But today we’re talking about difficult holidays from a different angle, and that is, how do we support those in our churches and communities who are grieving this holiday season? H...
Nov 30, 2021•13 min•Ep. 42
Imagine this scenario with me… someone from church is going through a difficult time. Maybe they have a surgery coming up this week, and you want to send them a card to let them know you are thinking about them and praying for them as their big day comes up. So you go to your desk to grab some cards, but they’re not where you thought you had them. You dig around in your drawers and files, but still can’t find them. That’s okay, you’ll just use computer paper instead. So you open your printer to ...
Nov 23, 2021•10 min•Ep. 41
I have a something so incredibly special to share with you today. I actually hinted at it in my last episode, but I want to take some time and explain it more fully so you can join me in this. For those of you who don’t know, in addition to working as a spiritual director for women who are experiencing depression or grief or any sort of difficult season in their life, I also own a gift shop where I make encouragement and sympathy gifts like our Tear Bottles and Mini Tear Bottle Necklaces. And as...
Nov 18, 2021•10 min
I have such a special episode for you today. I know that you are here listening to this podcast because you care so very much for those around you. God has given you a heart for those who are hurting. And so when it comes to the holiday season, you want to find not just a gift off the shelf, but a truly meaningful gift, something that will comfort and encourage your friend and let her know that she is not alone in her hurt and grief. Today, I am going to highlight four shops that are perfect for...
Nov 16, 2021•9 min•Ep. 40
This week, I welcome back Jennifer Brianne from Pens to Prison Ministry to share with us about a special project to express God’s love to the inmates this holiday season. It is such a tender and practical way to reach out to those who are often forgotten about. Listen in and then be ready to take action, because the deadline is coming up in just a week or two. But it really only takes a few moments of your time to make such an incredible impact. Kari JOIN THE HOLIDAY BLITZ WITH PENS TO PRISON MI...
Nov 09, 2021•16 min•Ep. 39
It is now November, and that simple change in month means that so many of us are starting to think about the holidays—planning and buying gifts and decorating. And I know a lot of people are buying gifts early, not knowing how long shipping might take or if what they want to get is even going to be available in a month or two, and so they are snagging it now. But for some of us, holidays also bring along a bit of sadness or stress. Holidays can be hard for numerous reasons. It could be that a lo...
Nov 02, 2021•13 min•Ep. 38
Today I want to share with you something that I shared with my Sunday school class a few weeks ago. It has been a message that has continued to resonate with me, and I know that many of you will relate to it, as well. There are a lot of times when I’m working my way through a book of the Bible and a story just gets stuck in my heart and I keep coming back to it. And that’s what today’s episode is all about. It’s a story that got stuck in my heart and, as I reflect on it and process it, another l...
Oct 26, 2021•17 min•Ep. 37
Imagine with me, if you will… you get that email from church letting you know that so-and-so’s family needs meals for the next three weeks as they adjust to having a new baby at home. You click the link and sign up for a couple of the days. You love to serve others in this way, providing a meal so they can get the rest they need, as well as time just to be with baby. But then you begin to wonder… how can you make it truly special for them? More than just a meal? There are a lot of people today w...
Oct 19, 2021•8 min•Ep. 36
Can I guess what you’re thinking? You saw the title to this episode and thought, “Job was the one who needed encouragement, wasn’t he? Not the one to offer it.” But today, I want to share with you this little insight into Job: he was an encourager, too! I have absolutely loved learning about this part of his life. And truth be told, we don’t have a lot of information about it, but it’s just enough to show us that Job cared about others and reached out to them when they were having difficult seas...
Oct 12, 2021•10 min•Ep. 35
Oh, my goodness, do I have a treat for you today. I sat down with a new friend, Jennifer Brianne, and we had a great chat about reaching out to those who are hurting. And you guys, we had never really talked before, so essentially, it was like we were having a virtual coffee chat and you guys just get to listen in to the conversation. And it’s so good. I love Jennifer’s heart to reach out to those who are often forgotten about or judged. And it really challenges me to stop and consider if I need...
Oct 05, 2021•38 min•Ep. 34
Today, I wanted to talk about the idea of getting ready to meet with God. Now, the caveat is that you can talk to God anytime, anywhere, right? In fact, we’re instructed to pray at all times, aren’t we? Ephesians 6:18 says, “Pray in the Spirit at all times.” And 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, “Never stop praying.” And that is such a blessing, such a gift, that we can talk to God at any moment. We don’t have to be anywhere special, we don’t have to wait for a certain time. We can just talk. But what ...
Sep 30, 2021•14 min
Today, we are going to talk about something that might seem a little unusual, and that is written spiritual direction. A couple of months ago, I did an episode that explored spiritual direction in general, and how we use direction to listen to God together, to attune ourselves to His presence and movement in our lives. And I answered several frequently asked questions when it comes to spiritual direction, like, When do I need spiritual direction? What do you do in direction? What does a session ...
Sep 28, 2021•13 min•Ep. 33
I don’t know what season you are in right now, but I do recognize that in some seasons of life, we are simply going to have more availability than we do in others. But we looked in episode 20 at how a lack of time can be an obstacle, an excuse we use to NOT reach out to others. We said, “I don’t have the time. I don’t have the time to take them to their doctor’s appointment. I don’t have the time to cook them a meal.” We saw how our busyness can prevent us from caring for others. So today, I wan...
Sep 21, 2021•11 min•Ep. 32
Today, I just want to have a bit of a heart-to-heart conversation with you about something that I feel so many of us get stuck by, and that is failure. And what I want to focus on today is when we think we mess up when it comes to caring for those around us. We say the wrong thing. We do the wrong thing. We don’t send the card like we were going to. We give a gift card to a restaurant instead of cooking a meal at home like we wanted. We ignore the hurt and don’t do anything at all. And we let th...
Sep 14, 2021•12 min•Ep. 31
I’m starting this episode with a confession: I am a bookworm. I’m actually one of those nerds who, since 2015, has kept track of every book I’ve read. Anybody else? Anybody? There is no doubt that I have a soft spot for books. In fact, that’s one of the hardest things for me to say no to, when one of my kids asks for a book. I want to encourage a love of reading and learning in them, and so we have plenty of books around our house for them to read or look at. So, as an avid reader, I wanted to s...
Sep 07, 2021•12 min•Ep. 30
One of my core beliefs as a children’s ministries director, one that I continue to hold today, is that children already experience and know God in a deep and personal way. Kids are not junior varsity Christians. They are able to communicate with God, to hear from Him, and to engage with Him in so many incredible ways. But because we are adults, we don’t always see it. We don’t always believe it. What looks like child’s play to us can really be a form of prayer. What looks like them using their i...
Aug 31, 2021•48 min•Ep. 29
“When our soul is in turmoil, God does not want us to be passive. We must pray, yes. But sometimes we need to stop praying. We need to stop listening to our soul recite its fears. Then is when it's time to preach to our soul.” That quote from Jon Bloom was something I read during a Night of Prayer and Worship at church about six years ago. And it is what started my journey of learning to talk to my soul. I know, it sounds odd. But, it is actually quite biblical. And in today’s bonus episode, I w...
Aug 27, 2021•10 min
I love when I am reading God’s Word and He just brings to light something I haven’t seen before, don’t you? A year ago, I was reading through the books of First and Second Kings, and I really lingered with the stories of Elijah and Elisha, the prophets. And I stumbled upon two stories that I had known about Elisha, but that hit me in an entirely new way. And it hit me big enough that I STILL think about it today. Hebrews 4:12 says that God’s Word is living and active, and part of that means that...
Aug 24, 2021•13 min•Ep. 28
Today, we are going to talk about a part of encouragement and care that is often overlooked—or, rather, it’s often used as an excuse to NOT reaching out to those around us who are hurting. We’re talking about the cost of caring for others. Now, I don’t mean financial cost, though there are actually many times and situations where you may need to be willing to part with some money in order to care for someone else. No, we’re talking about some of the other costs involved. And really, these are sa...
Aug 17, 2021•11 min•Ep. 27
I don’t know about you, but I always get a little anxious when visiting someone who is sick, especially when they aren’t a close family member. Am I interrupting them? Are they truly up for visitors? How can I help? This week, I have a special treat for you as I join BriAnne Bell, a registered nurse with experience working in the ER, and we have a conversation regarding encouragement and care in a health setting. Topics flow from tips for nurses to connect with their patients while caring for th...
Aug 10, 2021•54 min•Ep. 26
Eugene Peterson wrote, “It is easier to find guides, someone to tell you what to do, than someone to be with you in a discerning, prayerful companionship as you work it out yourself. This is what spiritual direction is.” If you noticed in my introduction, I speak to my background in communication, spiritual direction, and ministry. And recently, I was asked, “What is spiritual direction? How is that different from coaching?” And so I wanted to set some time aside today to address that question, ...
Aug 03, 2021•16 min•Ep. 25
Raise your hand if you have ever set a goal or intention at the beginning of the year and then promptly forgotten about it? Or maybe you got distracted and it simply got pushed to the side. This is where reflection comes in. Why is reflection so important? Why do we need to pause and take a look back? Trevor Hudson said that we don’t learn from our experiences; we learn from our reflection upon those experiences. It is when we pause and think about our experiences that we are able to identify bo...
Jul 29, 2021•13 min
It was about 15 months ago when I stepped down from my job in children’s ministries to go what I call “all in” with Love Does That. And as I share that story with different people, I keep getting asked, “How did you know? How did you know to step down? How did you make that decision?” And let me tell you, it was not easy. I know a lot of you might be facing similar decisions—whether to step down from a job, whether to move, whether to pull your kids out of public school and homeschool them, whet...
Jul 27, 2021•13 min•Ep. 24
We are on the last day of our 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 last obstacle, and that is that you are unwilling. In other words, “I don’t want to.” Join me as we take a deeper look at this obst...
Jul 23, 2021•13 min•Ep. 23
We are on day 4 of our 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 fourth obstacle, and that is that you are uncomfortable. In other words, “It’s hard to watch my friend struggle.” Join me as we take a dee...
Jul 22, 2021•10 min•Ep. 22
We are on day 3 of our 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 third obstacle, and that is that you are unfamiliar. In other words, “I don’t know anything about what my friend is going through.” Join m...
Jul 21, 2021•11 min•Ep. 21
