Good Hard Story Podcast

Recently I received emails from two people in very different circumstances who were grappling with (essentially) the same question: Who is telling me the story of who I should be?

Their messages struck me so deeply because, for the first half of my life, I asked other people to tell me that story. I desperately wanted to please people by giving them the power over who I was and what I should do. Then I was set free by, of all things, a massive stroke. My new physical limitations meant I was no longer capable of pleasing everyone, all the time.

And neither are you, whether you live with disabilities or not. So let’s get real about it. 

We simply cannot go any further into our conversation on identity formation without coming to terms with who we’re trying to please. My teammate Caroline Young is joining me on this week’s episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast to offer a glimmer of hope (and maybe a big deep breath) for all of us people-pleasers and perfectionists. Here’s what we get into:

• Discerning God’s conviction from man’s condemnation
• My honest opinion on perfect church attendance
• Acting out of guilt versus obedience
• Identifying the outside influences on our self-image

If you want to prioritize pleasing God over pleasing people, this episode is for you!

Show Notes:

I Shall Not Want by Audrey Assaud - https://youtu.be/e5xEYgGr6ms

Star for Jesus and Other Jobs I Quite by Kim Stuart - https://a.co/d/4GnHtlN

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

Hosea 6:3

***

There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.

Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠

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/

If you think your calling is collateral damage in the hurt and hardship you’ve experienced, I understand how you’re feeling. The work I’m doing now looks nothing like the dreams I had for my life. But now, I can’t imagine dreaming up anything better.

Today on The GoodHard Story Podcast we’re covering one of my all-time favorite topics: how our limitations—rather than our strengths—invite us to lean into God’s calling for our lives. Give me 45 minutes of your day and I’ll give you a new way of approaching your purpose. I’m sharing how you can…

• Figure out what your “creative best” actually is
• Take radical responsibility of your story 
• Allow your calling to evolve and grow
• Dream new dreams for your life
• Find clarity through your boundaries

If you need fresh vision for the good purpose in your hard story, this episode is for you.

Show Notes:

Treasures in the Dark Entry 46: Dreaming New Dreams - https://a.co/d/4n1npsd

“The most progress we can make is turning around” - C.S. Lewis

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

• Psalm 16:6
• John 3:30
• Galatians 6:4-5
• Romans 8:28
• Ephesians 4:1

***

There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.

Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠

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/

How could it be true that God withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly?

I spent years trying to make God’s ways align with my definition of goodness, but nothing ever seemed to click. Finally, I realized I actually needed to redefine what goodness meant to me. It was not an easy process, let me tell you, but it has formed me for the better.

My friend Lysa has been on the same journey of redefining everything in a life that has upended every expectation she had. While our pain has taken completely different forms, she is my sister in suffering whose extraordinary character has been formed by hardship, not in spite of it. No one is more qualified to coach us on identity formation than Lysa TerKeurst.

I’m inspired and challenged by who she is today and who she is still becoming, and I think you will be too. You do not want to miss out on the goodness and grit today episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast. Here’s just a preview of what you’ll take away:

• Identifying shame scripts in your life
• What to do with the things that will never make sense to you
• Making space for the sweetness of the unexpected
• Selecting your soul’s board of directors

If you’re ready to become better instead of bitter because of your heartbreak, this episode is for you.

Show Notes:

Therapy and Theology Podcast - https://lysaterkeurst.com/therapy-and-theology/

I Want to Trust You, But I Don't by Lysa TerKeurst - https://a.co/d/2Q6mHfK

Lysa’s TikTok dance in New York - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDTBG8np6mm/

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

• 2 Corinthians 1:4
• Psalm 84:11

***

There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.

Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠

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/

I don’t re-listen to my own podcast episodes often, but I’ll be replaying this one many times over. My guest Dr. Dan Allender is a trauma therapist. And if you just assumed this episode has nothing for you, consider Dr. Allender’s words: “All life east of Eden is a form of trauma.”

Whew. 

So, yeah, you need to hear this. Dr. Allender’s work has been a gamechanger in my life and I insist that you have access to his wisdom, too! He has given me a framework for understanding, grieving, and telling my story, and I cannot think of a more trustworthy voice to speak into our conversation on identity formation. 

On this episode, the kind and brilliant Dr. Allender shares…

• The one thing you can do to take a step toward health

• Why wrestling with God can be a form of worship

• How to create the community you long to be a part of

If you want support in becoming who you’re meant to be, this episode is for you.

Show Notes: 
The Allender Center - https://theallendercenter.org/

The Allender Center Podcast - https://theallendercenter.org/category/podcast/

Curt Thompson Confessional Community - https://curtthompsonmd.com/the-way-of-the-confessional-community/

Adam Young on The GoodHard Story Podcast Episode 71 - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-71-what-your-feelings-are-asking-of-you-with/id1496882479?i=1000671653634

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

2 Corinthians 4:10

Romans 12:15

Psalm 22:1

***

There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.

Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠

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/

It’s 2025, friends. Who do you hope to become in the year ahead?

You and I are probably not going to become people of resilience, compassion, and courage by accident. Our circumstances, beliefs, relationships, and decisions are shaping our souls—in both good and hard ways—every minute of the day. I want to understand exactly how it’s happening. And what I can do to create the identity I want.

Today we’re talking to my winsome friend Bob Goff—author, speaker, and unofficial spokesperson for belovedness. This mentor of mine knows how to live whimsically *and* strategically, and I am determined to learn how to do it too.

On this episode, Bob is sharing exactly how you can…

• Find God’s one and only plan for your life and mine

• Start asking “What if?” with HOPE instead of anxiety

• Become a note taker of your own life (and why it will change everything)

If you’re ready to start living like you’re loved (because you are), this episode is for you!

Catching Whimsy: 365 Days of Possibility - https://www.bobgoff.com/books/catching-whimsy/

Treasures in the Dark Entry 32: The Habit of Hope - https://a.co/d/3mcRhmK

Treasures in the Dark Entry 60: What If? - https://a.co/d/3mcRhmK

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

• Romans 8:19-23 (The Passion Translation)

• Romans 5:3-5

• Hebrews 11:1

• Galatians 5:6

• Philippians 4:6

• Mark 9:24

• 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

***

There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.

Follow me in Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/⁠

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/

"Hope is not a fixed point I will reach. Hope is the living force that propels me through the ongoing cycle of hurting and healing."

In these sacred weeks surrounding Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be.

Each week in the month of December, I'll be sharing a short reflection that invites you reconsider your darkest seasons as times of formation, preparation, and possibility.

Treasures in the Dark Read Along

Starting January 9, 2025, I’ll be hosting a 90-day read along of Treasures in the Dark over on Instagram. Make sure you’re following me there because I’ll be streaming some readings from the book, sharing behind the scenes content, and hosting discussions with all of you. If you want to grab your own copy of Treasures in the Dark, it’s available wherever books are sold. You can find the audiobook on Spotify or Audible.

Like what you heard?

There's so much more to the story⁠⁠. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.

Follow me in Instagram: ⁠⁠@hopeheals⁠⁠

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=4e5a0a76749b4d91

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 at https://hopeheals.com/hopenote.

"Hope is an escape hatch from the what-if loop because it gives you and me permission to live the lives we have. It narrows our vision to work with what’s in front of us. Hope puts to rest all the lives we could have lived and gently reminds us, “This is the one you’ve got. Don’t waste it.”

In these sacred weeks leading up to Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be.

Each week in the month of December, I'll be sharing a short reflection that invites you reconsider your darkest seasons as times of formation, preparation, and possibility.

Treasures in the Dark Read Along

Starting January 9, 2025, I’ll be hosting a 90-day read along of Treasures in the Dark over on Instagram. Make sure you’re following me there because I’ll be streaming some readings from the book, sharing behind the scenes content, and hosting discussions with all of you. If you want to grab your own copy of Treasures in the Dark, it’s available wherever books are sold. You can find the audiobook on Spotify or Audible.

Like what you heard?

There's so much more to the story⁠⁠. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.

Follow me in Instagram: ⁠⁠@hopeheals⁠⁠

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=4e5a0a76749b4d91

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 at https://hopeheals.com/hopenote.

"Some of the best fruit in my life will be incubatedin dark, cold seasons of suffering."

In these sacred weeks leading up to Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be.

Each week in the month of December, I'll be sharing a short reflection that invites you reconsider your darkest seasons as times of formation, preparation, and possibility.

Treasures in the Dark Read Along

Starting January 9, 2025, I’ll be hosting a 90-day read along of Treasures in the Dark over on Instagram. Make sure you’re following me there because I’ll be streaming some readings from the book, sharing behind the scenes content, and hosting discussions with all of you. If you want to grab your own copy of Treasures in the Dark, it’s available wherever books are sold. You can find the audiobook on Spotify or Audible.

Like what you heard?

There's so much more to the story⁠⁠. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine.

Follow me in Instagram: ⁠⁠@hopeheals⁠⁠

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=4e5a0a76749b4d91

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 at https://hopeheals.com/hopenote.

"Suffering confronts me with the question, What is it i want from God? Do i want the gifts, or do I want the Giver Himself?"

In these sacred weeks leading up to Christmas, I want to acknowledge that the holiday season isn’t such a bright time for all of us. These final days of the year can be a painful reminder of what we once had. What is no longer. What will never be.

Each week in the month of December, I'll be sharing a short reflection that invites you reconsider your darkest seasons as times of formation, preparation, and possibility.

Treasures in the Dark Read Along

Starting January 9, 2025, I’ll be hosting a 90-day read along of Treasures in the Dark over on Instagram. Make sure you’re following me there because I’ll be streaming some readings from the book, sharing behind the scenes content, and hosting discussions with all of you. If you want to grab your own copy of Treasures in the Dark, it’s available wherever books are sold. You can find the audiobook on Spotify or Audible.

Did you like what you heard?

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.

I became disabled in an instant, but my husband Jay did not become a caregiver in that same instant. No one, like, gave him a pamphlet or anything! He had to learn by trial and error, and the stakes were high.

Many of you, dear friends, are in a marriage with a caregiver or care-receiver and you’re navigating what it looks like to uphold a version of your vows you didn’t see coming. I am the first person to affirm what a complex position you are in.

After nearly 17 years of this caregiving-in-marriage deal, we’ve learned a few things about healthy conflict, surrendering control, and releasing old dreams. We’ve also made all the mistakes. So Jay and I want to share a little wisdom—and a LOT of encouragement.

Here’s what you can expect from our time together on The GoodHard Story podcast this week:

• The #1 way we “beat the odds” of divorce after a traumatic brain injury
• What’s worked for us (and what hasn’t worked) in conflict resolution
• Leaning into non-traditional gender roles in our marriage
• Deciding to dream new dreams for our lives
• How I stopped feeling like a burden in my marriage

If you’re longing to feel seen and supported in a caregiving marriage, this episode is for you.

Show Notes:

The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller - https://a.co/d/9P0hVVF

Stanley Hauerwas - https://stanleyhauerwas.org/

Hope Heals Camp - https://hopeheals.com/camp

Ep. 76 - 5 Ways to Start Believing You Are Worthy of Care - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-76-solo-5-ways-to-start-believing-you-are-worthy/id1496882479?i=1000676043943

Ep. 74 - Unspoken Demands for a Perfect Life with Sho Baraka - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-74-unspoken-demands-for-a-perfect-life-with/id1496882479?i=1000674277593

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/

If there is such a thing as icons of caregiving, Joni Eareckson Tada and her husband Ken are those icons. After a diving accident at 17, Joni became a quadriplegic. Ken and Joni met and joined lives years later. As Ken put it, he “married into disability.” 

These two saints have cared for one another faithfully for over 40 years, but it’s not always perfect. Joni and Ken were generous to share about the hard conversations they’ve had to have about overwhelm and burnout. Even through all the hard, this couple affirms again and again how the experiences of caregiving and care-receiving have shown them the heart of Christ. 

From healthy communication tips to practical ideas for self care to receiving care well—WOW, do we have a lot to learn from these two?! Join us at the table to receive loads of wisdom from two of my heroes, including…

• Ken’s experience of dating and marrying someone with a disability
• What it takes to care for Joni’s body in a day
• How Joni expresses her gratitude for the care she receives
• Practical rhythms of restoration and self care for both caregivers and care-receives
• Navigating conflict in the complexities of caregiving relationships
• Keeping a sense of joy in their unusual marriage 
• Healthy communication tips 

If you are craving some real talk about all things caregiving and care-getting, this episode is for you.

Joni and Friends website

Hope Heals by Katherine and Jay Wolf

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

1 Samuel 16:7

John 15:13

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 ⁠here⁠ 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.

Get to know us:

⁠⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠⁠

⁠Instagram⁠⁠

Matt and Ginny Mooney gave round-the-clock care to their first son, a baby boy who lived for just 99 days. All parents are caregivers, of course, but the Mooneys became caregivers in ways they never could have imagined.

Now, 18 years later, the Mooneys have opted into a lifetime of complex caregiving as they raise an adopted daughter living with autism and cerebral palsy. I am fascinated and challenged by their choice to take on more responsibility, more heartache, and more grief.

My two gracious friends were kind enough to answer every one of my probing questions with humor and vulnerability. And if you join us for this conversation, I bet they’ll feel like your kind, funny friends by the end, too!

Here’s what you can expect to hear on this week’s episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast:

• An honest answer about the most difficult part of caregiving
• The one thing the Mooneys want most for their daughter living with significant disabilities
• What to do when you navigate grief and caregiving differently than your spouse
• The best thing to say and do on tender anniversaries
• What to expect from your typical kids—and what  NOT to expect—when it comes to caregiving for a sibling
• Matt and Ginny’s #1 recommendations for caregiver self care
• If you’re grappling with the good/hard realities of caregiving of any kind, this episode is for you.

Show Notes:

99 Balloons

A Story Unfinished: 99 Days with Eliot

rEcess

bEfriend

Mend Coffee & Goods

Hope Heals Camp

***

Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Want a little hope in your inbox?

⁠⁠Sign up here 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.

Get to know us:

⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠

⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠

⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠

Instagram⁠

Can I have 27 minutes of your day? That’s all I need to convince you of something you’ve probably never allowed yourself to believe: you are worthy of care.

I’m highly qualified—and highly persuasive—in making this pitch to you because, after becoming significantly disabled as a 26-year old, I can truly say that I am at peace with my place as a care-receiver. All thanks to 5 mindset shifts. (And a lot of help from Jesus.)

If you haven’t reached that place of bone-deep peace, I’m going to change your mind. Or if you’re a caregiver for a person who needs a lot of extra help, I’m going to invite you into a new way of seeing your situation.

Here’s a preview of what I’ll share on tomorrow’s episode of The Good/Hard Story Podcast. Subscribe on your fave podcast platform to make sure you get the episode tomorrow.

• Identifying the lies you’re believing about needing care

• Realizing you’re not unique in your need for care

• Confronting your bias against dependence

• Reframing caregiving as an invitation, rather than a duty

• Finding the “brand” of care only you can give

I am so passionate about this conversation, and I want you to join me in it. If you need a radical mindset shift when it comes to being a caregiver or a care-getter, this episode is for you.

You asked, we answered. And you know we never shy away from the messy, complex, and possibly even invasive questions because we want to be your living survival guides through it all. Bring it on, people!

This week’s episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast is a special “ask us anything” sesh with me and Jay all about how we’re navigating suffering alongside our nearest and dearest—kids, families of origins, friends that feel like family, and even each other. Sit down with us to hear some deeply personal (yet somehow universal) experiences, opinions, and bits of advice.

We’re sharing all kinds of thoughts about…

• Engaging kindly with family members who are waiting for you to be “healed”

• Feeling like a burden to your family and friends

• Raising kids who are frustrated by your family’s limitations

• Celebrating what we have now while acknowledging what we won’t get back

• The miraculous power of making new memories

• Shielding our kids from suffering

• Finding your “framily” in the places you probably don’t want to find them

• Deciding to have another baby after my stroke

If you need help believing your hardships could be a gift to the people you love most, this episode is for you.

Hope Heals Camp

Find the full story of deciding to have another baby in Treasures in the Dark Entry 66: Carpe Diem

Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast!

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

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.

Get to know us:

⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠

⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠

⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠

Instagram⁠

Grief, then gratitude. The longer I live and the more pain I encounter, I’m further convinced that this is the healthy cycle of suffering: grief then gratitude. Mourn the life you thought you’d have, then give thanks for the one right in front of you.

Because if we’re honest, most of us have some deep-down assumptions about what our lives should look like. For me, that assumption didn’t include a massive stroke or disabilities. And for my friend Sho Baraka, his perfect life plan didn’t involve raising sons with autism.

Sho is living out his good/hard story in that grief-and-gratitude rhythm, and he shared all about how he got to that place. Today, Sho is receiving his family—and his life—as an “abstract masterpiece of what the Master did.”

Whew, how good is that?

If you join us in this conversation, here’s what you’ll take away:

• Encouragement for when we don’t get the miracles we hope for

• How to see suffering as an opportunity rather than a punishment

• A new way to respond to uninvited prayers for healing

• Insight for grieving the loss of the lives we thought we’d have

• Advice for married people raising kids with disabilities

If you need to release your demands for a perfect life and open your hands to the gifts of the life you actually have, this episode is for you.

Show Notes:

Sho Baraka on Instagram

And Campaign

He Saw That It Was Good: Reimagining Your Creative Life to Repair a Broken World by Sho Baraka

The Big Tent Initiative from Christianity Today

A Prayer for Parenting a Child with Special Needs

 Every Moment Holy Volume 3

“Words, 2006”

Spectacular Bond: Reaching the Child with Autism by Miriam Blank

ASD Reading

***

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

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Get to know us:

⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠

⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠

⁠⁠Mend Coffee⁠⁠

My son was just six-months and five days old when I nearly died. Virtually 100% of my parenting career has been informed by the deepest kind of pain. I often find myself wondering, if I could, would I give my sons a different story? One that didn’t include my stroke and all the suffering it caused?

I didn’t have much help wrestling with that question as a new (and newly disabled) mom. So I want to encourage and equip you—the mom or dad struggling to shield their kids from the suffering—with practical advice for parenting through your pain.

Our kids are gonna survive the suffering. And, spoiler alert, I believe they might even be better because of it.

Join me and my unbelievably wise friend Susan to find out how to…

• Intentionally narrate your family story to your kids

• Empathetically encourage resilience

• Reframe overwhelm as abundance in your home

• Guide your family through non-linear grief

• Prevent raising kids who are afraid of the world

• Discern what slack to cut in your home during hard seasons

• Find rest for yourself so your can parent well

If you need a parenting pep talk from someone who’s processing her own pain, this episode is for you.

Show Notes:

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

Raising Girls and Boys Podcast with David Thomas and Sissy Goff

“True hospitality is when someone leaves your home feeling better about themselves, not better about you”. - Shauna Niequist

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

James 1:4

Romans 5:3  

Romans 8:28

Ephesians 4:1

***

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!

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⁠⁠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.

If you’re like me, you often hear from people reflecting back on how they made it through a hard time. We need those stories, and I value them deeply. But I really, really want to hear from the people who are in the thick of their pain, without a neat resolution or final closure in sight. My dear friends Brent and Ashley were kind enough to share their experience of present-tense pain, specifically in the form of a life-altering medical diagnosis.

As you and I know all too well, hurt refuses to be contained. It reverberates through families and communities. Brent and Ashley are no exception. Their suffering has had a profound effect on their marriage, their kids, and their friendships. But so has their hope.

Live from the center of the storm, Brent and Ashley are giving you and me a look into how they manage to make it through each day. And I am so eager for you to benefit from their generous, hard-won wisdom.

If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:

• Proof that investing in your community today matters for tomorrow

• Why Christians should be the first to acknowledge the sting of death

• Practical insight for having hard conversations with young kids about how your family is hurting

• Encouragement that your suffering can be an invaluable gift to the people in your life

• Why you shouldn’t wait for easy times to start making memories with the people you love

If you need some honest but hopeful company in your misery, this episode is for you.

Show Notes:

Ashley Monogue Photography

Integrus

Hope Heals Camp

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

Ecclesiastes 7:2

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I’ve been healed in so many ways by learning to tell my story. But there’s some work that needs to happen before we can tell our stories. That work starts with our emotions.

The stories of your life and mine are hidden beneath our emotions. When we understand the emotions, we understand the story. And, as I said, understanding our own stories is totally crucial to healing and wholeness. (Why do you think I tell my story for a living?!)

This conversation with Adam Young is a bucket list item for me. Adam is a brilliant trauma therapist who specializes in supporting people in understanding the story of their lives. The harm, the heartache, and the miraculous joy to be found in the midst of all the hurt. His work has been transformative for me.

Friend, you cannot miss this conversation because God might just use Adam’s wisdom to transform you too.

If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:

• Why the past might still feel present to you

• How we know negative emotions belong in the “Christian plot”

• Why your biggest trauma isn’t the only story that matters in your life

• How to stop minimizing your experience of hurt so you can move toward healing

• How to gather a community that can bear witness to your hurt and healing 

If you’re searching for an empathetic guide to emotional health, this episode is for you.

Show Notes:

The Place We Find Ourselves Podcast

Bessel van der Kolk - https://www.besselvanderkolk.com/

Ep. 16 Why Lament (Surprisingly) Leads to Life and Freedom

Dan Allender

Curt Thompson

GoodHard Story Podcast Episode 68 with Debra Fileta

Confessional communities

Treasures in the Dark

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

• Job 9 and 10

• John 11:35

• Jeremiah 6 and 8

• Habakkuk 3:17-18

• Genesis 50:20

• Psalm 119:32

• Romans 12:15

***

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

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⁠⁠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.

God is giving you and me permission to feel our feelings. But are we giving permission to ourselves?

I’m on a quest to engage my emotions with health and wholeheartedness, and Jennie Allen joined me on a leg of the journey. Jennie is a friend of mine who happens to have written the book on understanding and expressing our feelings as God intended us to.

My conversation with Jennie is as heartfelt as it is practically applicable to your life. Her generous wisdom will leave you equipped to understand what you’re feeling, put those emotions in their proper place, and then use those feelings as positive points of connection with God and other people.

If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:

• Step-by-step instructions for engaging your emotions in healthy ways

• Reconciling the reality of your fallen-ness with the validity of your feelings

• Encouragement to stop fixing and start feeling for your hurting friends

• A prayer from Jennie FOR you

If your emotions leave you feeling like too much or too little—or, somehow, BOTH—this episode is for you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast.

Show Notes:

@jennieallen on Instagram

Jennie's website

IF:Gathering

Gather25

Untangle Your Emotions

Hope Heals Camp

Confessional Communities

Get Out of Your Head

Dan Allender

Adam Young

GoodHard Story Podcast Episode 68 with Debra Fileta

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

• Ecclesiastes 3:4

• Hebrews 4:15

• Ecclesiastes 7:2

• John 16:33

• John 11:35

• Ephesians 4:26-27

• Jeremiah 17:9

***

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!

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“I’m a Christian because of the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus wept.”

Something I didn’t wake up to until after my stroke is the fact that joy and sadness can co-exist. In fact, they can do it pretty beautifully if we allow them to.

My friend Scott knows how to be sad. That may sound like a backhanded compliment, but hear me out. I think learning to fully engage our sorrow is one of the healthiest rhythms we can find, especially as followers of Jesus. He was, after all, called the “man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” So how do we befriend our sadness in the way of Christ?

That’s what I’m covering on this week’s episode of The GoodHard Story Podcast, with the help of Scott Erickson. An artist, writer, and one of the most intriguing thinkers I’ve ever known, Scott has found deep camaraderie with Jesus through his sadness. And he’s inviting you and me to do the same.

If you join me on this episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast, here’s what you’ll take away:

• Releasing yourself from being a constant sales pitch for Jesus

• Making the shift from getting God’s attention to awakening to where God is at work

• What we mean when we talk about hope

• A peek into Katherine’s new SOS group

• Scott’s hack for facing his fears

Want to invite God into your sadness, but don’t know where to start? This episode is for you.

Show Notes:

@scottthepainter on Instagram

Scott’s Substack Image Pilgrimage

Scott’s story of meeting Sadness at Disneyland

Inside Out

Hope Heals Camp

Justin McRoberts

Honest Advent

Art Against Despair

The GoodHard Story Podcast Episode 76 with Andy Squyres

Backwards Kingdom

Treasures in the Dark Entry 65: A Library of Living Survival Guides

Telling Secrets by Frederick Buechner

Dan Allender

Curt Thompson

Say Yes

Future Dead Artist mug

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

• John 11:35
• Isaiah 53:3
• Romans 5:3
• 1 Peter 5:10
• Psalm 139:7-10

***

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

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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.

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!

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⁠⁠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

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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

***

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Get to know us:

⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/

⁠⁠Hope Heals Camp⁠⁠: https://hopeheals.com/camp

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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

***

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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

***

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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

***

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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

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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

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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 

***

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479

Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb

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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.

This week, Katherine is sharing why Resurrection Day has never meant more to her than it does now.

For most of us, “resurrection” means the one-time-only, past-tense miracle that proved Jesus was who he said he was. It was an experience specific to him.

But after surviving a catastrophic stroke, Katherine realized she really needed resurrection to apply to her. In a slow-motion miracle of her own, she experienced victory over death. It’s looked less like a rolled-away stone and more like being rolled away in a wheelchair. But even so, resurrection became personal and present-tense.

So what has she learned? Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t a one-time event. It was actually a first-time event that sparked a chain-reaction of resurrection through the rest of time. He set the staggered but certain rhythm of disappointment then delight, hard then good, wounding then healing, death then new life.

This week on The Good/Hard Story Podcast, we’re unpacking what resurrection has looked like in Katherine’s day-to-day and how you might experience it in your own way. And if now is NOT the time for new beginnings in your life, she has a word for you too.

Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting by Katherine Wolf: https://hopeheals.com/treasures

“Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front” from The Country of Marriage by Wendell Berry

Mend Coffee & Goods: https://www.mendcoffee.org/

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

A Grace Disguised by Dr. Jerry Sittser

Joni by Joni Eareckson Tada

Hope Heals by Katherine and Jay Wolf: https://hopeheals.shop/collections/books-resources/products/hope-heals-signed-personalized

“The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die…What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it…What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether. They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.” - N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope

Scriptures Referenced:

John 11:25

***

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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/

Today Katherine is trying her best to keep her cool as she interviews her longtime hero Dr. Russell Moore, the editor in chief of Christianity Today. You don’t want to miss Dr. Moore’s fresh insights on some of our favorite themes, like dealing with unmet expectations and anticipating God’s future presence and provision in our stories.

If you’re looking for nuanced approaches to some weighty issues in Christian culture and in your personal relationship with God, this episode is for you.

What We’ll Cover:

• Why being failed by our idols can actually be a grace

• The virtues we can cultivate when we find ourselves in “the wilderness” of life

•  How to maintain relationships with when your ideologies and opinions don’t align

• Finding security within mystery

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast.

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Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell Moore: https://a.co/d/htjNDnm

“A Christian is one who points at Christ and says, ‘I can't prove a thing, but there's something about his eyes and his voice. There's something about the way he carries his head, his hands, the way he carries his cross—the way he carries me.’” - Frederick Buechner

The Russell Moore Podcast: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/russell-moore-show/

Christianity Today: https://www.christianitytoday.com

Scriptures referenced in this episode:

Hebrews 6:19

Romans 5:3-5

***

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Be honest. Deep down, are you waiting for a happy ending before you feel permission to celebrate your life? In this solo episode, Katherine is sharing how she stopped waiting for closure and began practicing the spiritual discipline of “joyful rebellion” against fear and despair.

We want to share something that could change everything for you: It’s possible to celebrate the lives we *actually* have, rather than the lives we wish we had.

Because when we celebrate our here-and-now lives, we are taking radical ownership of the stories we’ve been given. We’re thanking God for another day in the land of the living. We’re acknowledging that He is with us in the messy middle.

Today on the podcast we’re talking…

• What it looks like to celebrate and mourn at the same time

• Katherine’s personal and practical recommendations for hosting your own “brokenness brunch” (which includes a very enthusiastic sidebar on frittatas!)

• The life-changing magic of surrounding ourselves with a diversity of hard stories

• Why we should NEVER “save the good stuff” for special occasions

• How to take radical ownership of the story you’ve been given

If the hope of a happy ending is getting in the way of your healing, this episode is for YOU!

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Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting by Katherine Wolf: https://hopeheals.com/treasures

Adam Young’s research on the healing power of telling your story: https://adamyoungcounseling.com/2019/12/10/why-engaging-your-story-heals-your-brain/

***

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/

After Katherine’s stroke nearly 16 years ago, she was desperate for a “survival guide”—some voice to offer real hope in the aftermath of such disorienting loss.

Jerry Sittser, the author of A Grace Disguised, was one of the few trustworthy resources she found after searching far and wide. Dr. Sittser became a bona fide member of the young suffering club when he lost his wife, mother, and young daughter in a catastrophic car accident. The lowest point in his life has developed an astoundingly robust faith and authentic joy. 

Sounds like someone we could all learn from, doesn’t he?

What we’ll cover…

• The possibility that grief could become integrated into healthier, more whole versions of ourselves

• Allowing our responses to loss to become what defines us, rather than the loss itself defining us

• Discovering new capacities to develop hard-fought contentment after losing the good things in our lives

• Practical ways to offer comfort to the people in our lives who are suffering

If your loss is swallowing you whole today and you’re in desperate need of a survival guide, this episode is for you.

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⁠⁠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/

Let’s acknowledge an uncomfortable reality: No matter how much healing we receive, a low-grade sadness will remain.

In this vulnerable episode, Kathering shares how surprised she was to realize that having a second baby after her stroke couldn’t replace the months and years of motherhood she  lost with her first baby. A low-grade sorrow hummed deep in her heart, and she didn’t know what to do with it.

This side of heaven, all the redemption and restoration in the world might not erase our pain completely. A dull ache will always remain. Instead of trying to shake the low-grade sorrow, we can choose to learn from it instead. Today, Kathrine’s sharing what lessons she took away.

What we’ll cover:

• Examining the true source of our sorrows

• Seeing our pain as proof that we’re made for wholeness

• Developing the habit of calibrating the core of our hope daily

If you’re looking for language to wrap around that lingering ache in your heart today, this episode is for you.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or at hopeheals.com/podcast.

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/⁠

What if some of our problems were never meant to be solved or eliminated? What if we began reframing some problems as opportunities for knowing Jesus more?

In this episode, author and former pastor Curtis Chang joins Katherine to share how his lifelong experience of anxiety has led him to an entirely new understanding of loss, prayer, surrender, and even parenting.

If anxiety has felt like a barrier to spiritual growth rather than an invitation into deeper relationship with God, then this episode is for you.

What We’ll Cover: -How we know that Jesus experienced anxiety, and why that’s good news for those of us dealing with anxiety today -Biblically supported and science-backed ways to cope with our fear of loss -How to thoughtfully parent the most anxious generation in history - 3 practices that can increase our capacity to hold loss 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/⁠

Few topics today are more taboo than death. We’re told that nothing matters more than hanging on to our youth and health and beauty. So how could the END of life be relevant to this moment in our lives?

In this solo episode, Katherine lays out three surprising lessons she learned after nearly dying and how they’ve changed the way she’s living here and now.

If you’re hungry for fresh perspectives on your problems in the present moment, this episode is for you!

What We’ll Cover:

• The benefits of surrendering the illusion of control

• Gaining clarity on what matters by meditating on our mortality

• How confronting death can train us to cope with other losses

  
  

  
  

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/

How would the narrative of your life, your pain, and your identity change if you started telling your story as if God intended it specifically for YOU? (Spoiler: he did!) Laura Wifler, who is raising a daughter with disabilities, shares how a conscious shift to gospel-thinking is transforming her experience of suffering.

What We’ll Cover

• Choosing stewardship instead of balance when schedules feel too full

• Cultivating “compassion paired with dignity” for hurting people

• Living out the motto “my life is yours”

If you need renewed energy to join God in co-authoring the story of your life with trust, gratitude, and curiosity, this episode is for you.

Laura Wifler is a writer, podcaster, and co-founder of Risen Motherhood and is based in central Iowa. She has authored multiple bestselling, award-winning books for children, including, "Any Time, Any Place, Any Prayer," and "Like Me," and is the co-author of the Risen Motherhood book. You can find her on Instagram, @laurawifler.

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/

Most of us are living stories we never would have chosen. Even so, friend, it’s possible for you to live these un-hoped-for realities well. 

If you’ve found yourself in a place of suffering, this chapter of your life must start with total shock, sadness, and disbelief. But it doesn’t have to stay in that place. Let’s talk about how.

Today Katherine is sharing a few tips she’s picked up while learning to love—yes, really, LOVE—the life she has. 

What We’ll Cover…

• Taking intentional time to grieve your losses.

• Telling your story to empathetic listeners.

• Celebrating the process, not the outcome. 

• Recognizing your assignment in this life.

• Cultivating habitual gratitude for what remains. 

• Deciding to love your life.

Today, if you only have capacity for the quickest and most practical tips for owning your story, this episode is for you.

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/

Matthew Sleeth, MD, a former emergency room physician and chief of the hospital medical staff, resigned from his position to teach, preach, and write about faith.  Dr. Sleeth has spoken at more than one thousand churches, campuses, and events, including serving as a monthly guest preacher at the Washington National Cathedral.

Recognized by Newsweek as one of the nation's most influential Christian leaders, Dr. Sleeth is the executive director of Blessed Earth and author of numerous articles and books.

He lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with Nancy, his wife of more than four decades. Their grown children serve with their families in full-time parish ministry and as medical missionaries in Africa.

We’re talking to one of the more interesting people on the planet today, Dr. Matthew Sleeth, who is going all in on becoming a “force for life in a culture of death” in realms as varied as creation care to suicide prevention to the practice of Sabbath.

Katherine and Matthew exchange vulnerable stories of their rock-bottom moments and the ways God has miraculously transformed their relationship to suffering. Matthew dispels the taboo around suicide by offering biblical honesty, comfort, and hope for the massive number of us grappling with absolute despair in our stories.

If you need real hope in the hard stuff today, this episode is for you.

What We’ll Cover:

• Forming a prayer life that looks more like wrestling and less like a wishlist

• How to stop waiting for miracles and start recognizing the miracles we’re experiencing here and now

• Realistic practices to help us do the things we don’t want to do by putting them into perspective and recognizing where God is at work

• What the story of God’s word has to say about suicide

  
  

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⁠⁠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/

What happens when you invite thousands of people with medical complexities to middle-of-nowhere Alabama in the heat of summer? Radical joy and electrifying camaraderie, that’s what.

Katherine sits down with just a few of the people who make Hope Heals Camp happen. For nearly eight years, Katherine and the team have hosted this subversive gathering of people who have suffered greatly but are determined to heal together. What could sound like “the ultimate true bummer of all time” (to quote Katherine) is actually one of the most hopeful places that exists.

Part classic summer camp, part church experience, and part group therapy, Hope Heals Camp is offering resources, respite, and relationships to entire families experiencing disabilities. No matter the diagnosis, age, or location.

And the best part? It’s free of cost to every camper.

If you’re interested in learning more about being a camper or volunteer—or you just need a big dose of optimism about the deeply good things happening in the world—don’t miss this behind-the-scenes conversation about one of the most unique offerings on earth.

Volunteer and camper applications open January 18, 2024 at hopeheals.com/camp.

What We’ll Cover:

• How Katherine went from resisting her place in the disability community to founding a camp for families affected by disability
• What exactly makes Hope Heals Camp unique among any other family retreat in the world
• Our culture of mutual ministry that invites every participant the dignity of serving and the comfort of being served

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Hope Heals Camp video: https://youtu.be/ZHlsGl_L3pI

Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/camp

The 5 Stages of Changing Attitudes from the Wheaton College Center for Faith & Disability: https://www.wheaton.edu/wheaton-center-for-faith-and-disability/disability-foundations/the-5-stages/

You’re invited to ramble with Katherine and Leah as they reflect on when “the most wonderful time of the year” doesn’t feel all that wonderful. Our hurt, especially during the holidays, could drive us into isolation, shame, or guilt. But it could also invite us into a unique camaraderie if we’re willing to share our pain with other people. Join the conversation, covering everything from the holy burden of becoming a survival guide to releasing yourself of some holiday to-dos to a much-anticipated Hope Heals Camp announcement!

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“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10 ESV

Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/camp

Make a tax-deductible donation: https://hopeheals.com/give

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold  from those who walk uprightly.”  Psalm 84:11 ESV

“The good things of God are chiefly peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost, in this life; fruition of God’s presence, and vision of his blessed face, in the next.” - Sir Richard Baker

Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in Our Hurting:

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⁠⁠Hope Heals⁠⁠

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Instagram⁠

Join Katherine & Jay as they welcome beloved friends of the Hope Heals community, David Thomas and Sissy Goff in for a candid conversation on parenting. The best stuff comes from the hard stuff, but none of us want our kids to go through the hard stuff. What decisions are we making to stand in the way of our kids experiencing opportunities for resilience and growth in safe ways? This is a great conversation that you do not want to miss!

David is the Director of Family Counseling and has been a part of the Daystar staff for the last 25 years. He guides Daystar as co-executive director, meets with clients for parent consults, provides assessments with new families and supervises the guys’ staff. He is the author of ten books including the best-selling Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys and Raising Emotionally Strong Boys: Tools Your Son can Build on for Life. He co-hosts the “Raising Boys & Girls” podcast and has become a sought-after speaker across the country.

Sissy is the Executive Director of Daystar Counseling Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee, where she works alongside her counseling assistant/pet therapist, Lucy the Havanese. Since 1993, she has been helping girls and their parents find confidence in who they are and hope in who God is making them to be. Sissy is a sought-after speaker for parenting events across the country and is a frequent guest on media outlets including CNN, Good Morning America, Inside Edition, NBC Nightly News, and Christianity Today. She is the bestselling author of 13 books including her latest, The Worry-Free Parent: Finding the Confidence You Need So Your Kids Can, Too.

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“If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.” - Richard Rohr, Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality

““Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid.” - Frederick Buechner, Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC's of Faith

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being,the more joy you can contain.” - Khalil Gibran, “Oh Joy and Sorrow”

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Suffering and death are guaranteed for all of us, so why are we so poorly prepared to engage with them? Dr. Lydia Dugdale, an expert on medical ethics and author of The Lost Art of Dying, gives us heartbreaking and thought-provoking insights on the widening access to physician assisted death and the “glorification of choice.” Katherine and Dr. Dugdale discuss how we can think differently about what it means to live, suffer, and die with dignity and purpose—especially those of us living with disabilities. So what does Dr. Dugdale prescribe to us to be able to die well? Acknowledging our mortality and living (and dying) within a community of people.

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The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom by Dr. L.S. Dugdale

“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:2-3 (NIV)

Ars moriendi (The Art of Dying)

Canada’s assisted death statistics since 2016 (Reuters)

“Canada Euthanized 10,000 People in 2021. Has Death Lost Its Sting?” by Ewan Goligher for Christianity Today

Not Dead Yet

Me Before You (2016 film)

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…” Ephesians 4:1 (ESV)

Dying in the Twenty-First Century edited by Dr. L.S. Dugdale

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Join Katherine as she continues her "Finding Treasure" series!

Do you want to know the secret to  being able to truly love the story you’ve been given? It’s called emotional agility, and it’s a choice available to all of us at this very minute. Katherine shares a story from her teen years that had the potential to be a viral-video-worthy embarrassing moment, but instead became a formative testament to the magic of emotional flexibility. Let’s find out what it looks like to trade in toxic positivity or total dejection for the super powers of well-developed creativity, curiosity, and responsiveness within the lives God has assigned to us. The surprising first step to emotional agility? Letting your story break your own heart.

Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting will be  available April 9, 2024. Pre-order today.

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Did you know Hope Heals has run an online shop for almost as long as the organization has existed? In this episode, we’re giving you a rare peek behind the scenes of the Hope Heals Shop and recommending our favorite gift-worthy items for the holiday season.

Jay and Katherine catch up with our Shop Manager Tutta about our current lineup of mission-driven keepsakes that serve as a tangible reminder of hope. The foundational feature of our business is a commitment to partnering with ethically minded makers from around the world. Because if our whole deal is about connecting people with true hope, we want that to include the people making our shop items! And you know who else receives hope from your order? Our Hope Heals Campers! Every purchase from the Hope Heals Shop directly benefits Hope Heals Camp so our campers can continue attending free of cost.

Prodigal Pottery

HOPE Sweatshirts

Holding Cross

Kintsugi Frame

Kintsugi Ornament

Kintsugi Ring Dish

Black Anchor Hat

Camp Anchor Hat

Keychain

T-Shirts

Tumblers

Candles

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Join Katherine as she chats with the legendary Max Lucado on this Episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast. Max shares about his new book - God Never Gives Up On You - which is the story of Jacob. Hear them dig into how dealing with our past is essential for being able to move forward into the future, and how God does great things through the greatly broken. We don’t have to pretend that we’re not broken. When we’re candid about our brokenness, God gets the credit.

Katherine and Caroline cover the practicalities of what it looks like to enter into the suffering of the people in our lives. They also discuss practicing gratitude as the antidote to comparison, which allows us to believe that the boundary lines around our lives are good and purposeful. Katherine reflects on how we can protect the narratives that are spoken over us to avoid becoming victims of our own stories. She also shares how she and her husband Jay continue to show up to a marriage full of complicated dynamics they never could have anticipated. Finally, Katherine relates some rhythms that have been enriching her life lately, like a New Testament reading plan and her family’s quick and simple gratitude practice.

Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg

Anatomy of the Soul by Dr. Curt Thompson, MD

Brené Brown on Empathy

Psalms 16:6 - “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (NIV)

Philippians 4:19 - “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

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Katherine reflects on a recent reunion with childhood friends that brought into striking relief the gap between the expectations they had for their lives, and the reality of the lives they are actually living. She walked away from the experience convinced we must expect more of God and less of the world. But how exactly can we do that? Katherine tells us how she’s doing it.

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Treasures in the Dark: 90 Reflections on Finding Bright Hope Hidden in the Hurting will be  available April 9, 2024. Pre-order today.

Camp Desoto for Girls

Hope Heals Camp

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Scriptures Referenced:

John 16:33 - “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (ESV)

Isaiah 43:2 - “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (NIV)

Isaiah 45:3 - “I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” (NIV)

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Hope Heals

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Join Katherine for a new segment she is calling “Ask Amy Julia” with one of her dear friends and Hope Heals Camp alum, Amy Julia Becker! Amy Julia Becker is an award-winning writer and speaker on faith, disability, and family. She is the author of four books, including To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and Hope, a guest opinion writer for national publications, and the host of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast. Becker is a graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv). She lives with her husband and their three children in western Connecticut.

Notes: 

5 Things I Wish I Had Known When Our Daughter Was Diagnosed with Down Syndrome - Free Download from Amy Julia 

Doctor’s Still Don’t Know How to Talk About Down Syndrome 

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Join Katherine as she chats with Brandi Wilson on her unexpected journey into life as a single mom, and what that journey has looked like as she stepped into this new season.

Brandi Wilson is an author, coach, and speaker who has

been in leadership for more than a decade at Leading and

Loving It, a non-profit created to empower women to

love life and ministry. Brandi has helped plant two

churches and is passionate about walking alongside

single moms and divorced women as they navigate

parenting and life. Her latest book is Better Than Okay:

Finding Hope and Healing After Your Marriage Ends.

Brandi lives with her three sons in Nashville, TN. More

at lovebrandiwilson.com.

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Rev. Esau McCaulley, PhD is an associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. He is the author of many works including Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance and his book  Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope won numerous awards, including Christianity Today’s book of the year. His latest project is a memoir entitled: How far to the Promised Land: One Family’s Story of Hope and Survival in the American South. He is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. His writings have also appeared in places such as The Atlantic, Washington Post, and Christianity Today. He is married to Mandy, a pediatrician and navy reservist. Together, they have four wonderful children.

Keep up with Esau:

On Instagram

His website

His books

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Join Katherine as she shares her thoughts on what it means to make hope a habit.

ALSO! Katherine is THRILLED to be part of the IF Gathering this year and she would LOVE for you to join her! This February 23rd and 24th, they are hosting the 10-year celebration at Dickies Arena in the heart of Fort Worth, Texas. If you've never been, this is an incredible two days (a Friday night and Saturday) for you to worship and hear from teachers and pastors who will remind you what our time here on earth is really for: telling people about Jesus. Tickets are $175, and secure your ticket now, and let's make IF:2024 an unforgettable journey together. Be sure to get your tickets here before they are sold out!

Hope Heals Book

Pre-order Treasures in the Dark 

Scriptures Referenced: 

• Ephesians 4:1
• Isaiah 45:3
• Isaiah 61:3
• Habakkuk 3:17-18
• Psalm 42:5
• Psalm 16:6

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Join Jay + Katherine on the back porch of Hope Heals Camp for a conversation with their dear friends, Heather + Josh Avis. 

Heather and Josh Avis are the founders of The Lucky Few, they are the proud parents to three amazing kids: Macyn, Truly and August. Together, they are a multi-able, multiracial family grown together by adoption. Heather is a New York Times best-selling author, podcaster and a Down syndrome advocate. Together Josh and Heather are working to create a more inclusive world where everyone belongs. For more than a decade, they have led this effort by shouting worth, shifting narratives and reimagining what it looks like when we embrace our differences.

Join Jay + Katherine on the back porch of Hope Heals Camp for a conversation with their dear friend, and Pastor to Teens at camp, Nigel Darius, for a conversation of community, belonging, and belovedness.

Nigel is a purveyor of all that is true, noble, good, and lovely. His formats and interfaces take just about every form—live lectures, poetry, illustration, podcasts, community organizing, and social justice work. No matter the medium, Nigel consistently communicates one resounding message: there is hope for the healing of humanity.

You can find out more about Nigel on his website, check out his book, Fragments & Finality, and be sure to follow him on Instagram. 

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Join Jay and Katherine Wolf as they sit down with their friends, Jarrett and Jeanne Stevens on the back porch of our favorite place in the world: Hope Heals Camp. They discuss the complexities and joys of doing both life and ministry together, and the unimaginable grief their family has walked through these last few years. This is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

Jarrett and Jeanne Stevens are the lead pastors of Soul City Church in Chicago, IL. They are both prolific authors, speakers, and pastors, and parents to the lovely Elijah and GiGi. 

Jeanne is a sought-after speaker, leader, and writer. Her passion to develop people to live boldly & fully gives her a unique voice of hope and challenge. Be sure to check out her most recent book:  What’s Here Now - How to Stop Rehashing the Past, And Rehearsing the Future - and Start Receiving the Present.  

Jarrett is the author of several books including Four Small Words, The Deity Formerly Known As God and Creative Matters, and his newest book: Praying Through. 

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Hope Heals

Hope Heals Camp 

Mend Coffee

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Jay & Katherine Wolf are joined by their dear friend, Curt Thompson, MD on this very special episode of the GoodHard Story Podcast recorded at our beloved Hope Heals Camp.

In this episode, Curt shares about his newest book, The Deepest Place: Suffering and the Formation of Hope, and how suffering is a defining reality of life. Yet so many of us are so focused on avoiding discomfort that we've never learned how to actually suffer. But what if we could move from anxiety to durable hope? Katherine and Jay take a dive in with Curt on what hope in suffering looks like, and how to find hope amongst the heartache.

Be sure to check out Curt's other books as well: The Anatomy of the Soul, The Soul of Desire and The Soul of Shame. 

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This week, Hope Heals team member, Caroline Young, joins Katherine to ask her what it has looked like over the last 15 years to put all of the lessons she has learned and shares about into practice. 

We are so thankful you all joined us for this season on the podcast. We are headed to Hope Heals Camp for the summer, so we will be on a short break, but be sure to subscribe to see when our first episode of our next season airs in the fall! 

To learn more about Hope Heals, you can find us at:
www.hopeheals.com
www.mendcoffee.org
www.hopehealscamp.com
www.instagram.com/hopeheals

Join Katherine and her dear friend, Lysa TerKeurst, as she shares how, while the last several years of her life have been some of the hardest - filled with pain and heartbreak, she has seen God move in astounding ways. 

Lysa TerKeurst is a New York Times bestselling author of more than 25 books with more than
6 million books in print. Her most recent books include Good Boundaries and Goodbyes,
Forgiving What You Can't Forget, and It's Not Supposed to Be This Way. She is president and
chief visionary officer of Proverbs 31 Ministries and has a social media reach of more than 8
million followers. Lysa writes from her family’s farm table in North Carolina. Connect with Lysa at:

Lysa's Website
Proverbs 31 Ministries
Therapy and Theology

Check out Lysa's newest devotional, You're Going to Make It. 

Other resources: 

Therapy & Theology Episode on Divorce: Moving on When Your Marriage Doesn't

To learn more about Hope Heals, you can find us at:

www.hopeheals.com

www.mendcoffee.org

www.hopehealscamp.com

www.instagram.com/hopeheals

On today's episode, author and disability advocate, Amy Julia Becker, join Katherine and Leah to discuss the complexities, importance and beauty of created sacred spaces of community for all people. To learn more about Amy Julia Becker, visit her website and find her on Instagram. Check out her most recent book, To Be Made Well along with discussion guides and other amazing resources.

To learn more about Hope Heals, you can find us at:

www.hopeheals.com

www.mendcoffee.org

www.hopehealscamp.com

www.instagram.com/hopeheals

Join Katherine and her dear friend, Kate Bowler, as they discuss living in the Joyful Rebellion if this GoodHard Story. Kate Bowler, PhD is a New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, and a professor at Duke University. She studies the cultural stories we tell ourselves about success, suffering, and whether (or not) we’re capable of change. At age 35, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage IV cancer, causing her to think in different terms about the research and beliefs she had been studying. She penned the New York Times bestselling memoir, Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved), which tells the story of her struggle to understand the personal and intellectual dimensions of the American belief that all tragedies are tests of character. To learn more about Kate and her books, including her newest release "The Lives We Actually Have" check out her website.

To learn more about Hope Heals, you can find us at:

www.hopeheals.com

www.mendcoffee.org

www.hopehealscamp.com

www.instagram.com/hopeheals

On this episode Katherine shares her heart on what Redefining Good looks like as we live out this GoodHard Story in our lives. 

• Suffer Strong page: 81 - 82
• Scripture References: John 16:33; Ps. 84:11; Ps 42:5; Ps. 16:6; Romans 8:28; Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 4:1; 2 Corinthians 1: 3-5 
• Sarah Groves "Open My Hands"
• Sir Richard Baker quote “good things of God, cannot be taken because they’re not things at all…” 
• Podcast with Jess Connolly
• “King of My Heart”  by Bethel Music
• Find Suffer Strong here. 

To learn more about Hope Heals, you can find us at:

www.hopeheals.com

www.mendcoffee.org

www.hopehealscamp.com

www.instagram.com/hopeheals

On today's episode, Jess and Katherine talk about the good and hard stories of having a kingdom perspective on our bodies all abilites, security, and living free. They talk about Jess' latest book, Breaking Free from Body Shame and how this topic far exceeds aesthetics but encompasses seeing practicing acceptance and seeing the goodness in our bodies. You can learn more about the wonderful work Jess Connolly is doing at her website  and find her on Instagram, Twitter , and Facebook.

To learn more about Hope Heals, you can find us at: 

www.hopeheals.com

www.mendcoffee.org

www.hopehealscamp.com

www.instagram.com/hopeheals

On today's episode, Jay Wolf and disability advocate and author, Amy Julia Becker join Katherine for a chat! 

Amy Julia Becker is an author, speaker, wife, and mother to three children and resides in Connecticut. As her work reflects, she is a brilliant academic and is a graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary. Amy Julia’s writings on disability, privilege, culture, family, and faith have appeared in multiple national publications including Christianity Today, The Washington Post, and online for The New York Times. Amy Julia hosts the podcast, Love is Stronger Than Fear. She has written multiple books, with her most recent To Be Made Well. 

Learn more about Amy Julia Becker here or find her on Instagram, and check out her books White Picket Fences, To Be Made Well and many others here. 

To learn more about Hope Heals, you can find us at:
www.hopeheals.com 
www.mendcoffee.org
www.hopehealscamp.com
Find us on Instagram

On today's episode, Hope Heals team member, Leah Case, reads questions to Katherine that we received on Instagram. On this unique and special Ask Me Anything, we are excited to share things from Katherine's coffee order, to the hardest part of her stroke recovery. Join us for a peek inside of Katherine's life!

Links that Katherine references:

Mend Coffee: opening this fall in Atlanta, GA

Learn more about Joni Eareckson Tada and her amazing ministry

Katherine's Wheelchair 

Kristian Stanfill

To learn more about Hope Heals, you can find us at:

www.hopeheals.com 

www.mendcoffee.org

www.hopehealscamp.com

 www.instagram.com/hopeheals

On today's episode, Bob Goff joins Katherine is sharing how he has used the good and the hard parts of his story to bring joy to the people around him. Bob is the author of the newly released New York Times best-seller, Undistracted as well as the NYT bestselling books Love Does, Everybody Always, and Dream Big. He is the Honorary Consul to the Republic of Uganda, an attorney, and the founder of Love Does—a nonprofit human rights organization operating in India, Uganda, Nepal, Somalia, Afghanistan, USA, Congo and Dominican Republic. He's a lover of balloons, cake pops, and helping people pursue their big dreams. You can learn more about Bob on his website, and find him on Instagram.

To learn more about Hope Heals, you can find us at:

www.hopeheals.com 

www.mendcoffee.org

www.hopehealscamp.com

 www.instagram.com/hopeheals

 In this first episode you will hear from the Hope Heals co-founders, Jay & Katherine Wolf as they reflect on the last 15 years of their journey since Katherine's stroke, and the last 10 years of Hope Heals as an organization, and reflections of the past while looking forward to the future. 

Levi and Jennie Lusko are pastors, authors, and parents who are embracing the gifts of suffering. We consider them kindred spirits and have learned tremendous lessons about the fierce power of hope through their teaching and their friendship. The Luskos are no strangers to struggle, especially since the sudden death of their five-year old daughter Lenya in 2012. Few people are better equipped to explore the hope to be mined from the darkness of the past.

Joni Earekcson Tada is in our hall of fame of heroes. She is overflowing with grit and grace and has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, all while living with quadriplegia. Joni never fails to show up to the good/hard work before her, and she challenges us to do the same each and every day. Join us as we hear Joni's powerful perspective on finding our callings within our unique limitations.

Sazan and Stevie Hendrix join us to reflect on the refining tensions of partnering in marriage and business. The Hendrixes, who have created an online community of over a million people, inspire us to seek out life-giving connections in the digital space so we can share our hard-won lessons with people we never would have met otherwise. They share practical insights about how setting healthy boundaries can ultimately lead to the flourishing of your network of relationships.

We're sitting down with Dr. Curt Thompson for a conversation on the unexpected places where trauma and beauty meet. Curt is a psychiatrist and author whose work inspired significant portions of Suffer Strong. His transformative teachings on paying attention to what we remember in order to  anticipate the future with hope have been a guiding principle for our second-chance lives, and have prepared us to recognize the beauty in every broken thing.

Scott Erickson joins us for a conversation about re-narrating our stories of failure and healing. Scott is an artist and theologian who is creating a visual library of prayer through his visio lectios, simple illustrations that somehow sum up our most sweeping thoughts about God and ourselves. Come along as we find the place where failure and healing meet, particularly in this season where the death of expectations have left space for healing and, ultimately, new life.

Join us for a conversation with Priscilla Shirer, who fully embodies the place where celebration and loss meet. Priscilla candidly reflects on her current season of life, in which she’s lost loved ones, as well as the certainty of her own health. She taught us how to hold grief and gratitude together in this good/hard life. You don’t want to miss this transformative conversation on the unexpected gifts of loss and the surprising places we can find the best celebrations.

Join Jay and Katherine as they discuss the reality of how suffering shapes our lives. What do we do in the middle, when we don't know the ending of our story will be? Is it possible to find hope in the dark?

Join Jay and Katherine as they discuss calling, perspective and how to actually see the opportunities right in front of you - today.

Join Jay and Katherine and their conversation about healing. Can we give away comfort when we are still hurting? How do we find strength in the places we feel most weak?

Join Jay and Katherine as they talk about the power of community, and what it means to walk closely with each other through suffering and celebration.

Join Jay and Katherine as they talk about their journey of marriage and the power of commitment.

Join Jay and Katherine as they talk about beauty and the topic of shame - so often woven into the narrative of personal beauty. Does true beauty have an arrival? What if the moments that break us open, create something new to give away to others?

Join Jay and Katherine as they talk about some of their own fails, and what it looks like to reorder expectations - making space to believe God could do more than we imagine.

Join Jay and Katherine as they dive into the topic of loss - what it has meant in their lives, and what they have found on the other side of sustaining the unimaginable.

Join Katherine and Jay as they dive into the topic of trauma and what happens on the other side of the unexpected.

Join Jay and Katherine for a conversation about the serious business of celebrating.

Join Jay and Katherine as they discuss the practice of telling your story, learning from the past and truly finding freedom - even when nothing can ever be the same again.

Join Jay and Katherine on this episode as they discuss limitations that life can bring, and the path to freedom in those constraints.

We are here to cheer on the strength that is not just in spite of your struggle, but right in the middle of it.