Finding Joy Through Life's Unexpected Turns with Emi Naegle

This week, I sit down with Emi Naegle—mom and content creator—who was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) just days after having her first baby. In that first year navigating heart failure as a brand new mom, she walked through an incredibly heavy season of health challenges and loss.

In this conversation, she shares how that experience changed the way she sees everyday life and deepened her relationship with Jesus Christ. We talk about what it really looks like to choose joy when life feels different than you planned, and how faith gives us the strength to keep moving forward.

She also shares the simple, practical ways she brings light into her days—from small routines and micro traditions to creating beauty in the ordinary moments of motherhood.

This episode is a gentle reminder that joy isn’t found in perfect circumstances—but can be created, one small thing at a time.

Follow Emi on Instagram @emi.naegle

"In The Strength of the Lord" by David A. Bednar

Cozy: The Art of Arranging Yourself in the World by Isabel Gillies

Sadie's Cozy List:

Cold soda in a styrofoam cup

Walking around art museums

Beautiful tile

Baby’s breath

Driving in the rain

Blasting music with the windows down and singing as loud as I can with the wind in my hair

Kitchen dance parties while making dinner

Denim

Fresh white socks

Cadbury eggs

Wood fruit bowls

Ponderosa pines

The sound of lawn mowers in the summer

The smell of freshly cut grass

The shades of pink during sunset

Cobblestone

Chocolate zucchini cake

Chicken noodle soup - klooshers

Oversized hoodies

Cameras

Taking videos

Looking at old pictures

Looking at yearbooks and old letters

Reading old journals

Journaling

Sitting at the temple

Playing guitar (listening to my dad play guitar)

Location scouting

Tree tunnels

Chain link fences

30 second cuddles

Holding my kids

Having a child/baby fall asleep on you

Road trips

Gas station candy

Night runs and walks

Street lights

Stars & constellations

Sleeping under the stars

Crisp winter days after it’s snowed when the snow clings to the trees and crunches on the ground. Especially early morning walks on these days.

Post it notes

Blank page journals

Laughing

Listening to Taylor swift cds

Percy Jackson & Harry Potter

Raindrops rolling down the car window as you drive - watching the path it chooses to take

Making wishes on dandelions

Pebble ice in a hospital cup

Fuzzy socks at night

Doing my nails

Scorching hot showers

Hot bath and reading after a workout

Shopping at the mall and eating pretzel bites