
Haven!
A safe space for curiosity and conversation.Big Sister Advice 🤍Honest Conversations 🗣️Your Internet Bff 🦋Submit topic requests to hello@havenpod.com
Latest episodes

Nov 21, 2023 • 32min
Keeping Best Friends Forever?
BFFS!
Is it realistic to think you can keep a best friend forever?
How do you nurture a friendship over time so that it can evolve throughout the years and seasons? Or, when do you know that it's time to cut bait and appreciate it for what it was?
I bring in one of my longest friends (17 years!) Mariah McManus Goss to talk about the concept of longterm friendships. Our relationship start off bonding over some chunky Forever 21 necklaces and has now evolved through job changes, cross-country moves, marriage & children.
What I've realize is that my nature is to nurture relationships and keep them afloat, but the underbelly of that is a tendency is to hold on too long past its expiration date and hope it can get back to what I loved initially.
Together we talk about the give & take of longstanding relationships and also sprinkle in some of our favorite memories together too.
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Nov 13, 2023 • 25min
The Facts of Life... & Other Lessons My Mother Taught Me (Part 2 of 2)
This episode is a continuation of last week's discussion about the necessity of evolving your parenting style as your child transitions between seasons. I brought in my own mom, Lisa Whelchel, to talk a bit about the her motherhood journey with us three kids over the years.
In Part 1 we talked about toddlerhood through jr. high, while in this episode, Part 2, we explore high school through adulthood. The teen years can be a tricky time for both child/mom as they learn to navigate unchartered territory and new boundaries, but then after they become an adult another dramatic shift needs to take place in order to evolve together.
Hint: It requires more & more autonomy until ultimately you aren’t “parenting” your adult child whatsoever.
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Nov 6, 2023 • 38min
The Facts of Life... & Other Lessons My Mother Taught Me (Part 1 of 2)
🚀 NEW SEASON LAUNCH 🚀Season 2 is all about relationships and my own Mom so graciously agreed to come and talk about the mother/child bond & evolution over time in our kick-off episode!
The title of the episode is a bit tongue in cheek as I’m not sure how many will get that tongue in cheek reference, but my Mom, Lisa Whelchel, was on a show in the 80’s called The Facts of Life.
Yet, the reason I’m having her as a guest is because she is truly the person who has had the biggest impact on me out of anyone in my life. After a clip of me reading some feedback she gave me went viral and hit over a million views the comments were flooded by people curious what a healthy mother/adult daughter even looks like with request to hear more from her wisdom.
Season 2 will have more frequent content (mini-episodes dropped weekly!) and this ep is broken out into two parts and the final portion will be dropped next Mon!
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/haven-the-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 27, 2023 • 1h 2min
Side Character Energy: Parenting Edition
Our culture says “be the main character of your own story” which I can understand and get the idea…
But, I am the main character in only one movie - my own - and I’m a side character in everyone else’s.
How can I make the most in my supporting role in other people’s lives?
Where I would see this most frequently is in my relationship to my kids - as their parents, we have to see them as the main characters and not just an extension of OUR story. Our lives. Our wishes for them. Etc.
I bring in a mom I’ve looked up to from afar whose 11 year old prospected me in the neighborhood with her babysitting resume. On the intro call she asked if my kids “had any allergies she needed to know about” and I was sold. I thought “who is this young female entrepreneur and also how did her mom do it?”
So I took Lara Richardson to lunch. She is a badass professionally as the CMO of Hallmark Media (helloooo Hallmark Christmas movies have already started, yay!) but she took her role as a mother with just as much focus, intention, and leadership as she does her career.
We talk all things toddlerhood to pre-teen together!
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/haven-the-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 9, 2023 • 48min
Longings and Unmet Desires
Has your heart ever longed for something you couldn't quite reach? Whether you're held back by circumstance, talent, timing, capabilities, fate, or luck it doesn't really matter on the "why" when it comes to dealing with the disappointment.
What do you do in the interim of an unmet desire?
In my experience it can be hard to hold both truths at the same time: a lot of this is out of my control, but not all of it.
My nature is to white knuckle something to force it into existence, but sometimes there are odds bigger than me that I can't quite budge.
Maybe your nature is to "let go and let God" then subsequently abdicating any responsibility in the situation.
How can we hold both equally? Not forcing our will into a situation but also not being entirely laissez faire to things we hope for.
I bring in my friend Gaia as we talk a little bit about our own journeys with this topic and also how to support a friend if perhaps they are in this current season.
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/haven-the-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 25, 2023 • 50min
Navigating Sister Dynamics
Do you have a sister and wonder if you're complicated relationship is "normal?"
Or do you not have a sister and are curious if it really is all that it's hyped up to be?
Inspired by my last episode where a childhood friend ratted me out (in a loving way) for complaining about my sister buying matching Ugg boots... I bring back my little sister as a guest to the show.
We talk about how being born 13 months apart caused me to crave independence while she would have been happy to tag along to anything & everything I was doing.
She also brings up the great point that there seems to be more of a competition element within the sister/sister dynamic more-so than a brother/sister dynamic.
I will add the caveat that my Producer encouraged me to re-do the intro and warn people that we were a bit unhinged / all over the place in our storytelling - so just be prepared for the multiple story tangents we go on together down memory lane...
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/haven-the-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 11, 2023 • 44min
Blind Spots & Hidden Vices
We all seem to have blind spots - areas we are weak in or aren’t able to accurately perceive ourselves. For me it can be as small scale as moving too quickly and incurring many typos (thank God for Grammarly!) or as large scale as being so focused in my perspective that I find it difficult to entertain alternative avenues.
There is the old saying “it takes two to know one” so oftentimes without family, friends or community who love us enough to speak hard truths and make us privy to them we likely would never be made aware of them.
So, since we all have them, how can we try to root out those blind spots in our lives?
I dive into this concept of tactical and practical ways to understand yourself better with my childhood friend Emily Fullerton Hutchinson.
We then parlay the topic into how these can even morph into hidden vices if we are segregating (even subconsciously!) portions of ourselves out that are “unapproved” or “unwelcome” and “not allowed.”
Join us as we dive into Real Housewives, disassociation, weed gummies, and more!
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/haven-the-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 28, 2023 • 34min
The Movies That Change Us
Most of us grew up watching movies, but there was always one that you wanted on repeat.
Have you ever wondered what drew you to that particular movie?
For me growing up I loved “The Little Mermaid” and only looking back as adult can I see the common threads of what drew me to that story. Her independence, curiosity, exploration, rejection of the norm, and quest for adventure are all themes I was aligning with.
Ultimately, movies are storytelling - which has been around since the beginning of time. Stories tell us about ourselves and are how we process the human journey.
For this episode I bring in my friend Mackenzie (who also did the logo for my podcast - helloooo https://mackenzielauren.com/) and we hear a bit about her fav childhood movie, Halloween costume genres, and overall approach to her branding work.
After you listen to the episode my question to you is - what did you love as a kid? And what were you trying to identify internally and also tell the world about yourself through that?
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/haven-the-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 snips
Aug 14, 2023 • 36min
Free Marriage Counseling: Money & Sex
In this podcast, the hosts discuss the impact of money on relationships and share practical tips for a healthy sex life. They also highlight the importance of open communication, maintaining intimacy after having kids, and emotional and physical foreplay. Additionally, they emphasize the significance of seeking professional counseling before marriage.

13 snips
Aug 7, 2023 • 43min
Free Marriage Counseling: Conflict & Communication
This podcast provides free marriage counseling, focusing on conflict, communication, and expectations. The speakers discuss the complexities of relationships, approaching decisions as a couple, taking a pause in arguments, the power of open-ended questions and creative prompts in communication, the value of individuality and open communication, and navigating conflict and communication.