For many people, sorrow, despair, anxiety, and mental illness are everyday experiences. And while we have tremendous advancements in therapy and psychiatry, the burden of living often comes down to some mundane choices, like "Should I still bother to get out of bed?"Dr. Alan Noble joins us to talk about life with mental anguish and his book, On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living. We talk about faith and hope in the goodness of life amid the struggles and pain.Join Attaching to God Learning Cohort: Quieting an Anxious and Avoidant Faith.Starting Nov. 12 (2024), with the live calls on Tuesdays, 2:30pm-3:30pm (EST). Link: https://www.embodiedfaith.life/attaching-to-god-cohortStay Connected: NEED spiritual direction or coaching that aligns with this podcast? Connect with Cyd Holsclaw here. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

How do we help people get their brains back online? Can the Spirit lead us through a process of healing without triggering re-traumatization? And how can we attach more deeply with God?Guest Stephanie Rossing (Licenced Marriage and Family Therapist) talks about her own journey as a therapist, discovering and receiving training in trauma treatments (EMDR and Dialectical Behavior Therapy), and how she learned to let the Spirit lead treatment and how Immanuel Prayer helps us attach to God more deeply.  Also, this Advent, check out our book all about Discovering the God Who Wants to Be With Us. Stephanie Rossing is a therapist specializing in the healing of trauma. She is also passionate about Immanuel Prayer and using embodied practices to help people strengthen intimacy with God. She longs to help people build emotionally healthy communities that thrive in a secure attachment to self, God and others. Join Attaching to God Learning Cohort: Quieting an Anxious and Avoidant Faith.Starting Nov. 12 (2024), with the live calls on Tuesdays, 2:30pm-3:30pm (EST). Link: https://www.embodiedfaith.life/attaching-to-god-cohortStay Connected: NEED spiritual direction or coaching that aligns with this podcast? Connect with Cyd Holsclaw here. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

The podcast explores the centrality of joy compared to love and its role in the current political landscape and everyday life. They delve into the coexistence of joy and suffering in Christianity and examine the power of joy, which is not dependent on material circumstances. The hosts emphasize the importance of experiencing joy to understand and experience love, and they also discuss the significance of love in relation to God.

In this podcast, the hosts explore the relevance of the Psalms in our everyday struggles and emotions. They discuss the Psalms of Praise, the Psalms of Lament, and the angry Psalms, highlighting their ability to foster a deeper connection with God. They also announce the launch of an accredited degree program, discuss updates and announcements, and delve into the complexities of joy, its relationship with suffering, and the role of gratitude and mindfulness in experiencing joy.

Jared Patrick Boyd, a Vineyard pastor and Founding Director of the Order of the Common Life, discusses finding freedom in constraints. They explore practicing spiritual disciplines in community, the obstacles to love and growth, the practice of faults and affirmations, cultivating humility in spiritual formation, and the impact of making difficult decisions with input from others.

Dr. Andrew Root, a specialist in youth and family ministry and author of over twenty books, discusses the intriguing rise of secular mysticism and its impact on the church. He explores how contemporary spirituality often prioritizes personal transformation over traditional religious frameworks. The conversation highlights the contrasts between secular recovery approaches and community-driven support systems, while also emphasizing the uniqueness of prayer within Christian contexts compared to meditation. Root argues that genuine transformation requires a connection to God.

The podcast explores formative spirituality and agency in the Bible. Dr. Richard Middleton discusses being human and how God seeks partners. They delve into the importance of submitting to Jesus and how our perception of the future affects our choices. The topic of transformation, hope, and virtue ethics in community is also explored. Lastly, joining a new family with different values and practices is discussed, emphasizing the challenges of maintaining a biblical worldview.

What character formation is required for soul care professionals, people like therapists, pastors, or spiritual directors? And what does this mean for everyone who follows Jesus? It is humility and hope, says Dr. Chuck DeGroat. It is doing your work, the work on yourself. Today we talk about how so often (like pastors) therapists in training receive little character formation even while they receive the information needed to diagnose and remedy mental illnesses.  Dr. DeGroat talks about his own pastoral and therapeutic training, how counselors (like pastors) are often taught how to help others without learning to help themselves ("doing your work"), and how cultivating humility and hope will go a little way in solving this problem. Connect with Dr. Chuck DeGroat here.And see his new Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.Or join Cyd and Geoff in their new Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation and Relational Neuroscience.Chuck DeGroat is a Professor of Counseling and Christian Spirituality and Executive Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Western Theological Seminary Holland MI.  Chuck is a licensed therapist, a spiritual director, and author of five books, one of which is When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community From Emotional and Spiritual Abuse.  As a therapist, he specialized in issues of abuse and trauma, and pastoral (and leadership) health.Join Attaching to God Learning Cohort: Quieting an Anxious and Avoidant Faith.Starting Nov. 12 (2024), with the live calls on Tuesdays, 2:30pm-3:30pm (EST). Link: https://www.embodiedfaith.life/attaching-to-god-cohortStay Connected: NEED spiritual direction or coaching that aligns with this podcast? Connect with Cyd Holsclaw here. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Have you ever been tossed around by the storms of life and wondered where God is in all? Or have you wished Jesus would quiet the storms a little quicker and more often? Today we are talking about bearing God in the storms of life. Marlena Graves is the Assistant Professor of Spiritual Formation at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, NY. She has written five books, most recently Bearing God: Living A Christ-Formed Life in Uncharted Waters.  She wants people to know God delights in them.Join Attaching to God Learning Cohort: Quieting an Anxious and Avoidant Faith.Starting Nov. 12 (2024), with the live calls on Tuesdays, 2:30pm-3:30pm (EST). Link: https://www.embodiedfaith.life/attaching-to-god-cohortStay Connected: NEED spiritual direction or coaching that aligns with this podcast? Connect with Cyd Holsclaw here. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).

Scripture tells us, “Be still and know that I am God”.  But for so many of us, this is so hard.  Today’s episode explores downtime, devotions, and distractions as we seek to be with God in our private and public lives. Our guest, Brian Heasley, is a long-term pioneer within the 24-7 prayer movement and serves as the International Prayer Director, he has years of experience in local-church and pioneer missions. Brian is passionate about prayer, mission, and justice that is rooted in a rhythm of devotional and prayerful responsiveness. Brian’s latest book is Be Still: A Simple Guide to Quiet Times.See the 24/7 Prayer MovementLECTIO 365 Prayer App for Iphone and Android.Join Attaching to God Learning Cohort: Quieting an Anxious and Avoidant Faith.Starting Nov. 12 (2024), with the live calls on Tuesdays, 2:30pm-3:30pm (EST). Link: https://www.embodiedfaith.life/attaching-to-god-cohortStay Connected: NEED spiritual direction or coaching that aligns with this podcast? Connect with Cyd Holsclaw here. Join the Embodied Faith community to stay connected and get posts, episodes, & resources. Support the podcast with a one-time or regular gift (to keep this ad-free without breaking the Holsclaw's bank).