Today, I would like to walk with you through a mini Blue Christmas service. While many churches offer these services, traditionally held on December 21, I know that not everyone does, nor can everyone attend. And, let’s be honest, sometimes we’re not quite ready to name our losses in community with others yet. We’re still trying to come to grips with what has happened. A Blue Christmas service is designed especially for those who have experienced loss or are suffering or lonely during the holida...
Dec 06, 2022•16 min•Ep. 95
In case you haven’t noticed it, we’ve kind of had a theme going on these past few weeks, and that is finding God in the silence. So when I saw Celia Miller’s Advent devotional called Be Still & Know and have been reading about her own journey into silence and stillness, I invited her back to the podcast to share with us. We talk about how Celia was introduced to the spiritual practice of silence, her initial response, ways we can incorporate silence into our daily lives, and why silence with...
Nov 29, 2022•34 min•Ep. 94
Renee Leonard Kennedy wrote a book called After the Flowers Die: Encouragement for Walking Through Life After Loss . Through her writing, she shares with both honesty and some humor about various aspects of grief that she has experienced through the loss of loved ones. Renee and I talk about the difference between coping with grief and processing it, we talk about what it might look like to postpone grief and how to find the time to actually grieve our loss. And we also talk about what Bible rea...
Nov 22, 2022•48 min•Ep. 93
In this month’s bonus episode, we are going to explore the practice of imaginative prayer. Imaginative prayer is allowing God to help you enter into a Bible story by visualizing it, using your five senses, imagining that you are there, watching it all unfold in front of you. Or maybe God leads you to enter in as one of the main characters of the story. That happens, too. Today, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I want to go through the story of the grateful leper with you. Because to me...
Nov 17, 2022•11 min
I’m not going to go on and on about the busyness of the season or why our culture has set up this way. You know what it’s like. You know the pressure you feel. You also know that one of the things we miss out on when we’re caught up in the holiday hustle is that it leaves us with little room to pay attention—to what we’re doing, to the people we’re with, and to what God is doing in our lives. Are you willing to give that up? Imagine replacing hurry and anxiety with peace and joy. Imagine having ...
Nov 15, 2022•10 min•Ep. 92
When we go through difficult seasons like grief or anxiety or illness, we can find ourselves asking so many questions of God: Why did this happen? What am I supposed to do? You said You’re good, but this doesn’t feel good. You said You’d give me Your peace, but I don’t feel Your peace. I feel turmoil. I feel anger. And we ask these questions whether we are the ones who are struggling or if we’re the ones loving a friend through a difficult season. It’s hard to see those we love struggle, is it n...
Nov 08, 2022•12 min•Ep. 91
Back in September, we went through a 4-part series about posturing our hearts to hear from God, and each heart posture started with the letter R. The first R was ready . We talked about getting ready to meet with God—creating a physical space to have some time alone with Him but also creating an inner space and preparing our hearts to hear from Him. The second R was recognize . We talked about recognizing God’s voice, His presence, His invitation to you in that moment. What does God have to say ...
Nov 01, 2022•17 min•Ep. 90
On a recent trip, I realized there are plenty of ways to reach out to others even when you’re far away—whether you’re on vacation or with a family member who had to travel for medical treatment, or any number of reasons. Or maybe it’s a loved one who lives too far from you for you to be able to see them in person. And today, I wanted to share some of those long-distance encouragement ideas with you. Because I know you. And while there definitely times we need to completely unplug from others and...
Oct 25, 2022•10 min•Ep. 89
I’m sure there are times when a friend of yours is going through a difficult season, and you really want to help. You feel like this is something God has called you to do and you’re eager to show her how much you care. But then you start going through your options: Maybe you can spend some extra time with her. But you're too busy with family and work and volunteer commitments to really offer her much of your time. Maybe you can send her a care package. But the budget's pretty tight this month an...
Oct 18, 2022•9 min•Ep. 88
As I continue to lean into written spiritual direction, I’ve been reading letters of spiritual direction from people of the past. Namely, Francis de Sales and Padre Pio. Francis de Sales lived during the 17th century and served for a time as the bishop of Geneva. Padre Pio, meanwhile, was an Italian priest from the 20th century. I have enjoyed learning how these two men—and more like them, I’m sure—wrote letters to others in spiritual direction. They are the forerunners of my more modern-day sty...
Oct 11, 2022•16 min•Ep. 87
While I’m thankful for having the Bible to read on my own, I also don’t want to forget the power of having God’s Word read over you. Have you ever sat and listened to someone read Scripture? Like, just read it over you, letting the Holy Spirit move and work in your heart? Today, I wanted to offer that gift to you. I am going to read through three passages that speak of God as being our Good Shepherd. This is an image of Him that has spoken tremendously to me over the past several years, and the ...
Oct 06, 2022•15 min
Do you ever have thoughts like these? You’re not good enough. You need to try harder. Everything is fine. I think we can all attest to moments when our thoughts are negative, unhelpful, and—worst of all—not true. But how do we even begin to turn things around? Today, I’d like to introduce you to life coach and spiritual director Gem Fadling. Gem is one of the founding partners of an organization called Unhurried Living, where they train people to rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better. Gem ju...
Oct 04, 2022•36 min•Ep. 86
Today, we are wrapping up a series about posturing our hearts to hear from God. As women who are going through difficult seasons—or as those caring for those going through difficult seasons—we are constantly seeking God’s guidance and presence, aren’t we? These four heart postures, each beginning with the letter R, help us to hear from God. The first R was about getting ready to meet with God. The second R was about recognizing God’s voice and movement in our lives. The third R was about receivi...
Sep 27, 2022•12 min•Ep. 85
We are on week 3 of a series about posturing our hearts to hear from God. Because as women who care for others, or as women who are going through a difficult season of our own, we are desperate to hear from God. We want to know that He’s with us. We want to know what He wants us to do in this specific situation. We bring our questions and doubts to Him and wait for Him to answer. And so we come to Him. We meet with Him. The first R was about getting ready to meet with God. We want to prepare our...
Sep 20, 2022•13 min•Ep. 84
Last week, we started a series all about posturing our hearts to hear from God. Specifically, we talked about the first R—ready—and how we can get both our physical space and our inner space, our hearts, ready to meet with God. In essence, we are preparing ourselves to hear from Him, especially in those moments when we are trying to discern a specific question or issue. Today, we are going to talk about the second heart posture: recognize. Recognize is all about learning how to recognize God’s v...
Sep 13, 2022•13 min•Ep. 83
Welcome back to Let’s Encourage One Another. My name is Kari Bartkus and I work as a spiritual director to women who are going through difficult seasons like grief, depression, fear, or anxiety. And I do so through a modern-day, letter writing style of spiritual direction, so we use email to write back and forth, sharing our questions, insights, and reflections with one another. One of the tools I use as I serve these women is… well, I don’t have a fancy name for it, but it consists of 4 R’s to ...
Sep 06, 2022•13 min•Ep. 82
Imagine this scenario with me. There’s a lady from church who recently lost her husband. She used to teach your Sunday school class, so you have developed a relationship with her through that, even though it has been a while since you’ve had much of a conversation with her. God has laid it on your heart to encourage her, but you’re just not sure how. You’re quiet. You don’t know what to say or how to approach her. You don’t know what she needs, and you’re nervous to ask. You don’t even know if s...
Aug 30, 2022•14 min•Ep. 81
With it being fall, I know it is a natural season for change. Summer is coming to an end, kids are starting school, and some students are heading off to college. Routines are getting adjusted and Bible studies might be starting back up. The relaxed pace of summer is giving way to a more structured lifestyle, with more responsibilities—or at least different ones. But there are other kinds of transition, too. Maybe you are starting to care for a family member who can no longer care for themselves....
Aug 25, 2022•8 min
If you have been listening to the podcast for any length of time, it is probably no surprise to you that I am an introvert. A pretty big introvert, at that. And I know that either you relate to me, or perhaps you are an extravert but have a close friend who is an introvert, and maybe there’s a lot about them that you don’t quite understand. Today, I wanted to share 5 creative ways that you can encourage an introvert in your life—whether they are going through a difficult season or if you just wa...
Aug 23, 2022•10 min•Ep. 80
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...
Aug 16, 2022•9 min•Ep. 79
Today, I want to talk with you about something I have sensed happening both online and in real life interactions. It’s something I notice because it’s something I have experienced in the past. So when I saw it occurring, I knew it was something I wanted to talk about. And that is the fear of being misunderstood. I see it when there’s an important topic we are discussing with someone else, and maybe we don’t know what to say, or maybe we’re talking about something, but others don’t seem to get ou...
Aug 09, 2022•13 min•Ep. 78
As those who care for others, who seek to encourage them during difficult seasons, I know there are many times when we have to make difficult decisions. We might need to decide where someone we care about is going to live: in a nursing home, at their home with health care stopping in, or at our house. We might need to decide whether or not to have the surgery that may or may not work. We might need to decide if we’re going to give up this aspect of our life for now so that we can provide extra s...
Aug 02, 2022•9 min•Ep. 77
I’ve got to tell you, there are some days where I really struggle to sense God’s presence. Sometimes, life just feels empty and the daily tasks can overwhelm—I’ve got to get dishes done, and the laundry, and the kids need baths, and this needs done, and that’s due tomorrow… and it’s just so much. And I lose sight of God being there with me. Now, we know it’s not always about experiencing Him in some fantastical way, right? We know, based on Scripture, that He is with us, whether we can sense His...
Jul 26, 2022•12 min•Ep. 76
You’ve heard me mention Journal Gently a few times on recent episodes, but I haven’t really taken the time to dive deep into what it’s about, what it looks like, and things like that. I know many of you are wondering, “Should I join? Is it a good fit for me?” My hope is to provide you with some questions to help you figure out if the program is a good fit for you right now in this season you’re in. Here we go! Kari >> SIGN UP FOR JOURNAL GENTLY http://lovedoesthat.org/journalgently...
Jul 21, 2022•13 min
Today, I want to talk about a key idea that we really need to keep in mind as we care for our hurting friends, and that is… God is the one responsible for the healing, and we are there to support God in the work He is doing. Let me explain. You and I don’t have the power to heal people from sickness or disease. That’s God’s part. However, you and I can support Him in His work by doing what He has given us to do: taking someone to their doctor’s appointments assisting them with the financial stra...
Jul 19, 2022•8 min•Ep. 75
When you have a friend who is in the thick of it, who is feeling overwhelmed by all the things, who is exhausted at the thought of returning all those messages they have received from family members and friends from church… perhaps you can offer to serve as their communication liaison. A liaison is someone who works to manage the interaction between two people or parties. In this case, as a communication liaison, you would serve as the person who receives information from your hurting friend and...
Jul 12, 2022•13 min•Ep. 74
We all need moments when we pause to reflect. When we consider deeply what we have been feeling and experiencing. When we can ask God about the things stirring in our hearts and souls. If you were part of the Writing with God retreat, you know that it’s important for us to pay attention to the things going on around us, to pay attention to the things going on inside of us, to pay attention to where God is moving, and to stop and take notice. To linger. And that’s what I’m doing with these questi...
Jul 05, 2022•9 min•Ep. 73
Today, we get to talk with Bible teacher Mariel Davenport about how to tend your soul, especially during difficult seasons of grief and hardship. You’ll hear a bit of her story as we get started in our conversation together, but just know that Mariel was an atheist who was transformed by the Word of God, and she teaches women how to turn to God’s Word to tend to their soul. Now, if you listen to any of the bonus episodes, you know we often explore spiritual practices that help us draw close to t...
Jun 28, 2022•36 min•Ep. 72
Bonus episodes are designed to be a space for us to explore some spiritual practices together. And these are so important for us, whether we are the ones caring for others, or we are the ones going through a difficult season. We need to cling to the Lord, to seek Him in the midst of the hurt and the pain. One spiritual practice is written prayers—reading prayers that others have written. I’ve found that this sometimes helps me find language to express something that I have been unable to express...
Jun 23, 2022•8 min
As women, we’ve had this metaphor held up before us. As a thermometer, we read the temperature, as it were, of the room we’re in. We can tell who is having a good day, who is having a bad day, and the general atmosphere of the room—whether we’re at home with our family, at church for Bible study, or at work in a meeting. Often, we’ve been encouraged to be thermostats, especially in the home. Instead of reading the temperature of the room, we’re supposed to “set it” by our words and actions. And ...
Jun 21, 2022•7 min•Ep. 71
