The GoodHard Story Podcast

Did you know that scholars have identified 39 distinct emotions that Jesus felt recorded in the Bible? Is anyone else as encouraged by this as I am?! Our emotions can be a pathway to wholeness and healing if we know what to do with them.  This is just one of MANY gems of wisdom waiting for you on The GoodHard Story Podcast. While guest Debra Fileta is not *technically* my therapist, this episode was so cathartic it might as well have been a paid session! Debra is an author and licensed professional counselor who is using her life to study the emotional health of Jesus and sharing how we can access that health for ourselves. I left our conversation with a deeper understanding of my own feelings and some simple practices for taking ownership of my emotions. If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away: A simple formula for intentional healing Identifying the belief systems underneath our feelings Why we project our pain onto God Differentiating between the voice of God and anxiety How to prevent emotional explosions Taking control of our thought patterns The difference between self care and soul care Desperate to experience emotions in the way God intended? This episode is for you Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast. Show Notes All things Debra Fileta! Debra's website Instagram Talk to Me Podcast Soul Care by Debra Fileta Reset by Debra Fileta Treasures in the Dark by Katherine Wolf Katherine on Debra’s Podcast What’s Here Now? by Jeanne Stevens I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequest Scriptures referenced in this episode: Romans 12:2 John 10:10 John 2:1 Matthew 13:1 *** There's so much more to the story: Click here⁠⁠ for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: ⁠⁠@hopeheals⁠⁠ Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here.

“Our theories about God and the way he works get confronted with the reality of our lives.” This is the most refreshing conversation I’ve had in a long time, friends, because I got to talk about some kind of taboo topics without an ounce of the baggage. Joining me this week is Andy Squyres, a brilliantly one-of-a-kind songwriter who never, ever shies away from graciously grappling with the tough stuff. I’ve received so much from his songs and essays, and I received even more from speaking with him about all my favorite things—you know, like suffering, sorrow, and doubt. Normal! If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away: Comfort for the days that God feels absent Hope for a new kind of faith after deconstructing Where to fit doubt into your friendship with Jesus What to do when God doesn’t come through for you An alternative response to political anxiety Looking for a safe place to work through some doubts about who God is and whether he’s good? Then this episode is for you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast. Show Notes Andy Squyres on Instagram: @andysquyres “Casimir Pulaski Day” by Sufjan Stevens The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch “Backwards Kingdom” by Sam McCabe ft. Andy Squyres “Why It Matters” by Sara Groves The Cellist of Sarajevo *** There's so much more to the story: ⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠ for more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me! Follow me in Instagram: ⁠⁠@hopeheals⁠⁠ Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, my monthly digest of only the good stuff, like short reflections from me and a curated roundup of the Internet’s most redemptive content. Subscribe here.

Before the GoodHard Story Podcast takes a short summer break, Katherine is recapping her favorite moments from Season 3. She’s distilling over 30 hours of conversations and reflections into a potent 20-minute dose of hope! What you’ll take away from this conversation… Start a community from scratch Reframing our emotions as a strength instead of a weakness Becoming better—instead of bitter—because of our losses As we prepare for the next season of the podcast, we need to hear what YOU want to hear! Let us know what hurt you’re holding today so that we can start some helpful, healing conversations between Katherine and her most trusted teachers. If you want to help us create future episodes, email us at resources@hopeheals.com or DM us on Instagram (@hopeheals) with questions you’d like answered or topics you want covered. Show Notes: Donate to Hope Heals: hopeheals.com/give Favorite Season 3 Moments: Episode 37: Ask Amy Julia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-37-ask-amy-julia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ueGdkR3BPASl10PY319Gx?si=e1356478bdc240f7 “Experiencing disability or being in proximity to disability is a way to embrace our own humanity. It can also call us into love, care, and mutual receiving.” ——— Episode 39: Putting It Into Practice with Caroline Young Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-39-putting-it-into-practice-with-caroline-young Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/39AXj8Bk71LjcUbHAHQpnH?si=0625bc43b2a74d63 “Find the people without the people and make them your people.” ——— Episode 46: “Strong Like Water”: Designed for Emotional Agility with Aundi Kolber Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-46-strong-like-water-designed-for-emotional Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0EN8lXrxbRjGXNY7WyFWqg?si=d3474bb03cf94a3c “When Jesus promised to give us ‘life to the full,’ he was giving us permission to embrace the full spectrum of human emotion. We are being invited into experiencing deep feeling and emotional flexibility as a strength, not a liability.” ——— Episode 55: Hard-Fought Contentment: Integrating Our Losses into Wholeness with Jerry Sittser Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/epiode-55-hard-fought-contentment-integrating-our-losses Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6fzhl7BoYlQ0S2K4IKvEEe?si=1bcf5b1d507c4a12 “Grief does not have to diminish us. Grief can become integrated into healthier, more whole versions of ourselves.” “Our responses to loss can define us, rather than the loss itself defining us.” “God, spare me from a perfect life.” ——— Episode 60: My Prayer for YOU: Borrow This Benediction for the Good/Hard Life Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-60-my-prayer-for-you-borrow-this-benediction Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4vJvuFKDPa2a765SojnlQS?si=77c38e6cd34c4320 “I’m not responsible for what has happened to me, but I am responsible for what I do with it.” ——— Episode 63: Wonderful/Terrible: Cultivating a Gritty Faith Instead of a Pretty Faith with Kay Warren Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-63-wonderful-terrible-cultivating-a-gritty Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Iq8Y3prH2QQMfIoezsRIX?si=62242adb5e3b4a0d “We are never more like Christ than when we are sitting with people in their suffering.” Scriptures referenced in this episode: Romans 8:32 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Romans 15:13 *** Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote Get to know us: ⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/ ⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp ⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

Have you ever spent a thousand hours studying something? Other than the back of your own eyelids, that is. Today, Katherine is joined by her friend Dr. Joel Muddamalle, who recently spent one thousand hours studying everything the Bible has to say about humility. He’s sharing everything he learned with us! What he has to say might surprise you, and it’s certain to convict you. If you sense you might be harboring hidden pride and finally feel ready to recover your God-designed humility, this episode is for you. What you’ll take away from this conversation… Why humility is the key to developing resilience against humiliation How to invite God to re-order your ambitions Making the switch from resenting your limitations to resting in them instead All things Joel Muddamalle: https://linktr.ee/muddamalle The Hidden Peace: Finding True Security, Strength, and Confidence Through Humility by Joel Muddamalle: https://a.co/d/bYj1ypQ Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/camp Proverbs 31 Ministries: https://proverbs31.org/ “These Are The Days” by Cory Asbury: https://g.co/kgs/fRaQBGz Scriptures referenced in this episode: Genesis 1, 2, and 3 Matthew 11:28-29 Philippians 2:8-9 *** Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote Get to know us: ⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/ ⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp ⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

Katherine spent her first Mother’s Day unconscious in an intensive care unit, a fact that has brought a flavor of bittersweetness to every Mother’s Day since. Today she’s reflecting on the experiences of parenthood that were eventually restored to her, as well as the ones she will simply never get back.  If your life is feeling more like a famine than a feast and you’re hungry to hear from someone who has found her way back to a full life, this episode is for you. Today’s episode is an excerpt from the Treasures in the Dark audiobook! If you’re listening on Spotify Premium, you can stream Treasures in the Dark for free as a part of your subscription. Grab your own copy of the book today in print, ebook, or audiobook formats at treasuresinthedark.com or wherever books are sold. Show Notes: Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting by Katherine Wolf: https://hopeheals.com/treasures Scriptures referenced in this episode: Joel 1:16 Joel 2:25-27 *** Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote Get to know us: ⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/ ⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp ⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

In this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, Katherine discovers a kindred spirit in Kay Warren, who founded the beloved Saddleback Church with her husband Rick. Kay and Rick have endured the earth-shattering loss of one of their sons, who died by suicide in 2013. Both Katherine and Kay were in tears by the end of the conversation, which spans from the complexities of mental illness to the life-saving power of respite to the privilege of sitting with suffering people. Kay could not have been more generous in sharing her hard-won insights into the most terrible kind of grief. What you’ll take away from this conversation… What to do when God stops making sense The single experience that can make us more Christlike The one question you should never ask someone who is suffering How a marriage can withstand unimaginable loss If you need to hear a story of deep hurt and even deeper hope, this episode is for you. Show Notes Hope for Mental Health: https://hope4mentalhealth.com/ Breathe: https://saddleback.com/connect/ministry/outreach-retreats The Wounder Healer by Henri Nouwen - https://henrinouwen.org/read/the-wounded-healer/ Lews Smedes - https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/smedes_recordings/ Walter Brueggemann - https://www.walterbrueggemann.com/resources/ “Pay mind to your own life, your own health, and wholeness. A bleeding heart is of no help to anyone if it bleeds to death.” - Frederick Buechner Scriptures referenced in this episode: 1 Corinthians 15:43-45 *** Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote Get to know us: ⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/ ⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp ⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

As Katherine observes the sixteenth anniversary of her stroke this week, she’s reflecting on one of the most transformative treasures she’s discovered in the darkness of her pain: If the worst day of Jesus’ life was eventually called good, then maybe one day my worst day could be called good too. But this is no ordinary podcast episode! We are so excited to be sharing a clip straight from the Treasures in the Dark AUDIOBOOK! If you enjoy this little preview book, we sure hope you’ll pick up a copy of your own. And if you’re listening on Spotify Premium, you can stream Treasures in the Dark for free as a part of your subscription! Grab your copy of the book today in print, ebook, or audiobook formats at treasuresinthedark.com or wherever books are sold. Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting by Katherine Wolf: https://hopeheals.com/treasures *** Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote Get to know us: ⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/ ⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp ⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

Amy Julia was a high-achieving, religiously devout Princeton grad who lived with the nagging feeling that there must something *more* to life than what she had experienced so far. Then her first child was diagnosed with Down syndrome, and Amy Julia began her journey into a version of “the good life” that she never expected. Amy Julia joins Katherine for a deeply vulnerable conversation about the theological reckoning that took place in her heart and mind when she became a parent to a child with intellectual disabilities. She emerged with a new understanding of God’s love and her own inherent value. Today, eighteen years later, she's inviting us all to re-imagine what belonging and belovedness really looks like for people with AND without disabilities.  What We’ll Cover: How to determine if you’re settling for a lesser version of the good life The one place in the Bible where we get an “equation” for God and what it means about how we see ourselves and other people Why there are no such things as “special needs,” only human needs https://amyjuliabecker.com/ https://www.instagram.com/amyjuliabecker/ Reimagining the Good Life Podcast: https://amyjuliabecker.com/podcast/ Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/camp/ “The Blurring Is Part of the Beauty”: https://comment.org/the-blurring-is-part-of-the-beauty/ Andrew Leland: https://www.andrewleland.org/ Mend Coffee & Goods: https://www.mendcoffee.org/ “Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” - Philip Yancey  Scriptures referenced in this episode:  Luke 14:15-24 *** Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote

Are you ready to replace the “God, help me to have a good day tomorrow” bedtime prayer? Maybe for your kids…and maybe for yourself! Today, Katherine is offering you a benediction fifteen years in the making. What started as a bedtime prayer for her sons has become her prayer for a generation of souls hoping to live their good/hard story well to the very end. If you need fresh inspiration and real-talk motivation for your prayer life today, this episode is for YOU! What We’ll Cover: What we miss out on by seeing life as only good OR hard. How we can become better, instead of bitter, from our suffering The surprising ways that Jesus defined “blessedness” and what it means for our pain The opportunity we have to reframe painful limitations as the places of ultimate freedom Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting by Katherine Wolf: https://hopeheals.com/treasures “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses This Is a Joyful Rebellion! by Brad Montague - https://youtu.be/Pp_gxJspWEI?si=K7Uf_qvq9EAXVY-e My Benediction for The Good/Hard Life May you see life as a good/hard story that God is writing. May you open your hands to release old dreams and receive new ones. May you find the miracle you’ve been looking for has been right in front of you all along. May you accept the stunning capacity you have to endure because of Jesus, who endured for you. May you live out the hardest parts of your story with a joyful rebellion against the darkness. May you believe the boundary lines around your life are good and pleasant because God uniquely assigned them to you. May your invisible wheelchairs become avenues to a new kind of freedom because of Jesus Scriptures referenced in this episode: Psalm 139:16 Isaiah 43:18-19 John 12:37 John 16:33 Deuteronomy 31:6  Psalm 16:6 Philippians 4:13 Galatians 6:5  *** Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb Want a little hope in your inbox? ⁠⁠Sign up for the Hope Note⁠⁠, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote Get to know us: ⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/ ⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp ⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠: https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Instagram⁠: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/

Raise your hand if, in the last week, you’ve answered the question “How are you?” with some version of “Good! Busy, but good! Just tired.” In the kingdom of hustle, busyness is next to godliness. Rest is something to be earned. But in the kingdom of God, rest is an invitation from Jesus himself. Today Katherine is joined by Jess Connolly to talk about why we’re all so tired of being tired and what on earth we can do about it.  On this episode we’ll cover… The four types of fatigue you could be experiencing without even realizing it Why the Sabbath is evidence of God’s love for his kids The surprising secret to dealing with exhaustion If you need a starting place to form sustainable and transformative rhythms of rest, this episode is for you. Social Caption: Raise your hand if, in the last week, you’ve answered the question “How are you?” with some version of “Good! Busy, but good! Just tired.” And, if I can be really honest, I kind of love giving that answer. I hate to admit it, but being tired feels like a status symbol. In the kingdom of hustle, busyness is next to godliness. Rest is something to be earned. But in the kingdom of God, rest is an invitation from Jesus himself. I recently sat at the feet of my friend and teacher Jess Connolly to understand why we’re all so tired of being tired and what on earth we can do about it.  On the latest episode of #TheGoodHardStoryPodcast we’ll cover… The four types of fatigue you could be experiencing without even realizing it Why the Sabbath is evidence of God’s love for his kids The surprising secret to dealing with exhaustion If you need a starting place to form sustainable and transformative rhythms of rest, this episode is for you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast.