Emotional healing isn’t about fixing you. You are not a project to be fixed but a person to be loved. It’s not through your effort and all that you can do to heal your soul. It’s welcoming the presence of God into your pain. In this episode, I'm talking about what it means to emotionally heal, looking at scripture to see what God says about emotional healing, and giving three ways you can begin to emotionally heal. You don’t have to continue to live in pain and believe you are alone, abandoned, ...
Feb 15, 2023•20 min
When our goal is to read the Bible daily and to get in the habit of consistently reading, it’s important we address how habits are formed. Reading the Bible daily is not something we check off of our to-do list. Our human effort alone does not change or transform us. It’s the Holy Spirit who delivers and transforms us, which is why reading the Bible daily is important. God provides the revelation of Himself to those who follow Him. In this episode, I talk about how habits are formed, discuss dif...
Feb 08, 2023•20 min
My heart is to see you challenge the way you think to change the way you live. In this episode, I'm joined by Sarah, one of the students in my Spiritual Growth Framework Course, so you can hear from her perspective about why this program has been so powerful in changing her perspective and relationship with God. Rooting for you, Jessica Facebook Community: Support Group for Christian Women to Process Hurt and Find Hope >> https://www.facebook.com/groups/2090810004481127/ Getting Started: D...
Feb 07, 2023•16 min
We all have moments when we're confronted with something that causes us to clench our fists and tighten our jaws. In those moments, it’s not that we need to tell ourselves to not be angry. It’s in those moments that we get to redirect our anger to God. Not to ourselves, not to the person who wrongfully accused us or hurt us, but to the One who knows the anger we carry. In this episode, I talk through three different ways scripture instructs us to process anger with God. Don’t allow the sun to go...
Feb 01, 2023•15 min
Our quiet time with God will not always produce a feeling, but we can guarantee that we are becoming transformed. We know this because it’s not about what we do by effort - the Spirit is who brings transformation. In this episode, I explain the purpose of quiet time with God, why it's important, and how to spend your time with Him. The length of the quiet time does not matter, but it should be enough time to meditate on what was read and then pray about it or anything else that comes to mind. Dr...
Jan 25, 2023•18 min
In this episode, I want to share with you 3 prayers for anxiety: Befriending Your Body Speaking Life in the Wildnerness Healing Your Heart Our prayer life is more than perfect Bible words. It’s communion and communication with God. It’s a relationship. We don’t have to approach our time with God with a systematic equation, hoping He hears our prayers for anxiety. We can be confident, knowing, He hears and answers our prayers. I don't know what you have been through, but I can say, without a doub...
Jan 18, 2023•17 min
Dealing with our emotions biblically is not about bypassing what someone is going through, but rather helping them take the truth and apply it to their certain situation. I think, as believers, we are known for spiritually bypassing people in the name of Jesus and calling it holy. In layman’s terms, spiritual bypassing is using our faith to disregard our real human experiences. Dealing with emotions biblically allows the truth to be the foundation and healing while leading them in love to realit...
Jan 11, 2023•21 min
What approach do you currently have to reading the Bible? Whatever your method, taking time to read the Bible is a valuable practice. However, knowing how to read the Bible can give you greater insight into the context and how you can apply it in your life. In this episode, I'll talk through where to start reading the Bible for beginners, how to study the Bible verse by verse, and Jen Wilkin's 5 Bible study tips. You can find bullet points at https://www.jessicahottle.com/how-to-read-the-bible-f...
Jan 04, 2023•18 min
We all have moments in our lives where trust between relationships breaks. The question always comes up, “If people continue to hurt me, how can I trust that God isn’t hurting me too?” In our minds, we know the word says God cares and He won’t leave us, but it becomes hard to receive in our hearts when it seems as though relationships become like revolving doors, people regularly coming and going. Feeling spiritually safe is knowing we are saved through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jes...
Dec 28, 2022•18 min
Have you felt the weight of not living up to everyone else's standard for you? When we fail to meet the expectations of others, we can find ourselves overwhelmed with shame. Sometimes, it can even lead us to question who we are. In this episode, I break down the differences between shame and guilt, explain healthy shame versus toxic shame, and take a look at what the Bible says about how we can overcome shame. Rooting for you, Jessica Connect with me -> www.jessicahottle.com Free Stuff: Join ...
Dec 21, 2022•17 min
Emotional eating is something that all of us do and will continue to do. However, I am a firm believer in that we can recognize when we are emotionally eating and get curious about what it is that we need. I want to help you to stop emotionally eating mindlessly. In this episode, I talk about what emotional eating is, why we keep eating our feelings, and how we can break free from emotional eating using Biblical principles. Rooting for you, Jessica Connect with me -> www.jessicahottle.com Fre...
Dec 14, 2022•15 min
How do we know if we are hearing God’s voice, the enemy, or our feelings? Hearing God’s voice requires us to think about what we are thinking instead of allowing what comes to be to have an ultimate say over our lives. When we bring God’s Word into our current thoughts, our thoughts are confronted with two opposing viewpoints. Since Jesus is the embodiment of truth, anything that goes against His Word is a lie. When we realize that Jesus invites us to see His perspective and not ours, then heali...
Dec 07, 2022•14 min
To lean on God is to be interdependent with Him. It’s knowing that we cannot depend on ourselves alone and that we are also a part of bringing heaven to earth, co-laboring with Christ. However, we struggle to lean on God because our beliefs about God have hindered us from trusting God. Not to mention, God isn’t someone who is right in front of us. How can someone care who isn’t physically here? In this episode, I'm sharing 3 Bible life lessons from Psalms that help us lean on God. Learning to le...
Nov 30, 2022•14 min
The depth we know God is the depth we will be able to trust God. Overcoming anxiety isn’t about pushing away your feelings, ignoring them, or treating what you are going through like nothing. Overcoming anxiety starts with knowing who God is to you and what you believe He believes about you. In this episode, I explain how our physical response to anxiety is connected to the beliefs we carry about God and how scripture instructs us scriptures to handle our cares and what to do with them. Rooting ...
Nov 23, 2022•13 min
We can spend years building trust and growing deeper into our relationships only for a moment to occur that can begin to slowly destroy the time invested. When that happens, rebuilding broken trust takes time and the intentional pursuit of restoration. In this episode, I'm talking about what happens when trust is broken, how to rebuild trust with that person by taking Biblical action, and how to learn to trust again. I know repairing broken trust is not easy, but time will help begin to rebuild ...
Nov 16, 2022•15 min
Have you ever said to yourself, “Why can’t I stop eating when stressed?” Learning how to stop stress eating isn’t about getting food under control; it's about understanding that food cannot solve emotional hunger. Being able to stop stress eating God’s way is not about applying scripture to cover up a wound, but rather allowing God to heal the wound. Healing happens when our hearts become aligned with His word and we begin to live from our relationship with Him. In this episode, I explain what s...
Nov 09, 2022•20 min
Anxiety has increased so much recently that it's rare to find someone who says they're not managing at least a mild level of anxiousness. If you're a Christian, that anxiety may be compounded by the guilt you feel for your inability to "cast all your cares on Him." In this episode, I'm talking with author, podcast host, and certified NeuroCoach Alicia Michelle about what is happening in our bodies when we experience anxiety, how we can dig out the root of it, and the gift we have to use our God-...
Nov 02, 2022•26 min
We can bury the pain of our past, but it doesn’t mean it’s dead. Trusting God with our future means it’s equally important for us to allow Him to heal us from the pain of our past as well. In this episode, I'm talking through three ways we can know our past needs healing, taking a look at what scripture says about how we can heal from old wounds, and sharing why trusting God is essential for our restoration. Healing is not about convincing ourselves or others we have moved on, it's about honesty...
Oct 26, 2022•13 min
Scripture talks about three kinds of strongholds. One is a fort, fortress, castle, or secure place (a physical place) to be safe against the enemy’s attacks. Another example is when God himself is referred to as our stronghold. The third refers to negative patterns of thinking, prideful thoughts, or worldly messages that have written negative messages on the minds and hearts of believers. In this episode, I'm talking about how you can use God's Word to destroy the negative strongholds in your li...
Oct 19, 2022•19 min
Unfortunately at some point, we all experience heartbreak, whether it be from the loss of a relationship, a friend, or a dream. With that loss comes complex emotions and if we're not intentional, we can get stuck in our pain. In this episode, I'm chatting with Kandace Bateast about what it looks like practically to process through and heal from heartbreak in a healthy way. Kandace is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, author, and host of the Goodbye Heartbreak, Hello Purpose podcast. Al...
Oct 12, 2022•24 min
Have you ever said, “I’m depressed about my weight, but can't stop eating?” Emotionally eating is not bad in itself. However, when we are using it as a way of coping, we need to address the underlying issues. We cannot solve emotional hunger with food. Knowing about the mind-body connection helps us understand specific emotions we have towards food and why we find ourselves emotionally eating. In this episode, I talk through some reasons you might be overeating and share 8 simple ways you can be...
Oct 05, 2022•22 min
In our search for understanding and reason for what’s happening around us and in us, we can begin to wonder how we can continue trusting God in challenging times because nothing seems to make sense. In this episode, I share three reasons why trusting God in difficult times is our foundation for wisdom and healing moving forward - He’s the God who sees, our hearts are not hidden from God, and there’s nothing that can’t be redeemed or restored by God. Trusting God in difficult times isn’t about tr...
Sep 28, 2022•14 min
Does the thought of setting boundaries make you uncomfortable because you associate it with cutting people out of your life? Sometimes that is necessary, but healthy emotional boundaries lovingly offer choice to others rather than attempting to control them. When we want to create community and deepen relationships, we must communicate with others about our levels of safety and what protects both people involved from getting hurt any further. And when we refer to the Bible, we can see that bound...
Sep 26, 2022•17 min
What does it mean to forgive yourself? Scripture teaches us that we are forgiven and receive forgiveness for our sins through Jesus, therefore forgiving yourself starts with recognizing what He has done for you. We aren’t striving to be set free, we are renewing our minds to stay free. In this episode, I talk about the two types of forgiveness found in the Bible - the forgiveness of our sins and the forgiveness of others. If our goal is sanctification and becoming more like Christ, how can we ex...
Sep 21, 2022•18 min
It’s our brokenness that blinds our eyes from the truth and keeps us focused on our pain. We can’t see clearly because our pain changes our perspective, and our perspective directs our path. Over time, ignoring our emotions, feelings, and pain only obscures our vision and ability to see clearly. Trying to pray them away or ignoring them causes even more blindness to the truth. In this episode, I'm talking about how you can start learning to trust in God and grow your relationship with Him by pos...
Sep 14, 2022•17 min
Fear is at the root of our anxieties, but how can we eliminate worry and walk in Christ's peace? In this episode, I'm talking with author Ann Swindell about what fear looks like for her, the dread that inspired her to write her book Path to Peace , and the practical practices she's applied to eliminate fear and begin living in peace. Rooting for you, Jessica Connect with Ann -> website | Instagram | Facebook Connect with me -> www.jessicahottle.com Free Stuff: Join my Facebook Community to...
Sep 07, 2022•22 min
Fear does not always mean the absence of faith. Fear can sometimes mean the absence of safety. Faith over fear is what we choose, walk out, and become disciplined in. To live in faith over fear, we must also know that experiencing safety with God is physical, spiritual, and emotional. In this episode, I'm talking about how fear came to be, the foundation of fear, and what we can to do restore safety with God so we can begin living in faith over fear. Rooting for you, Jessica Connect with me ->...
Aug 31, 2022•19 min
There is no escaping the fact that we will experience pain in this world. I like to say that the depth that we love is also the depth that we can feel pain. Love opens our hearts and welcomes the possibility of what could be and what is. In this episode, I explain different types of trauma and how they can manifest in our bodies, as well as break down why truth/logic and our emotions must be in balance to experience the fullness of God and allow Him to heal our trauma triggers. Remember, God’s l...
Aug 24, 2022•19 min
Emotionally eating is not bad in itself. However, when we are emotionally eating to fill a void or it’s a constant way of coping for us, that’s when we need to address the underlying issues. We can not solve emotional hunger with food. In this episode, I explain the mind-body connection in relation to why we are emotionally eating and share three things we can focus on that will help us honor our bodies, stop emotionally eating, and find our worth in the Lord. Rooting for you, Jessica Connect wi...
Aug 17, 2022•20 min
Hearing from God means discerning between the different voices we hear. Whether it’s through our feelings and what they communicate or what the enemy is trying to distract us from or with. Hearing from God requires us to think about what we are thinking instead of allowing what comes to have the ultimate say over our lives. In this episode, I'm talking about how we can know if we're hearing from God, the enemy, or our feelings by taking a look at the fruit that each one will bring. Rooting for y...
Aug 10, 2022•16 min