Have Hope; Will Travel

There's no way around it: hurt people hurt people. On this episode of Have Hope; Will Travel Amanda Turnbull shares her story of experiencing church hurt, leaving the church her husband was raised in, and overcoming the toxicity and shame she experienced. Questions addressed: About Amanda Amanda Turnbull is the co-founder of Asha Media and the ... Read More about 101 Unpacking and Re-Constructing After Church Hurt [Amanda Turnbull]

There's something really beautiful about hearing someone talk to God. This week on Have Hope; Will Travel podcast, we're celebrating episode {100} with a compilation episode of guests praying. Find the Podcast Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and your favorite podcasting app. Or read the transcript. Leave a Review It would mean a ... Read More about {100} Prayers of the Saints [Compilation]

Every parent's nightmare became Ashley's reality when her three-month-old son passed away at daycare. In this Have Hope; Will Travel podcast episode she vulnerability shares that experience, what grief looked like for her, and how she keeps her son's memory alive. Find the Podcast Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and your favorite ... Read More about 99 Walking with God Through Child Loss [Ashley]

No one expects addiction to happen to them. In this episode of Have Hope; Will Travel, Katie Lain shares her story of how she developed an alcohol addiction and the challenges she ran into attempting to overcome it. Ultimately she found a treatment plan that has been incredibly successful for her and many others but ... Read More about 98 Unlearning Alcohol Addiction [Katie Lain]

I like to think most people—at least most Christians—don't enter into a marriage expecting it to end in divorce. Yet it's the reality for a lot of people. In this episode of Have Hope; Will Travel, guest Sara Slaybaugh walks us through how to identify healthy and unhealthy relationships, divorce in the church, and how ... Read More about 97 Divorce in the Church [Sara Slaybaugh]

In attempt to give their children a better life than the Italian circus they were raised in, Amanda's parents found themselves in a cult. In this episode of Have Hope; Will Travel Amanda shares about that experience, compiled with her experience being sex and labor trafficked, and how writing has always been an escape for ... Read More about 96 Cults, Trafficking, and Writing [Amanda Catarzi]

It can be hard to be a Christian in a secular workplace. Some fields make that even harder than others. Grace Tran has some experience here as a female Christian in technology in Silicon Valley. She's got a powerful story of being the daughter of immigrants, growing up in Silicon Valley, and leaving a high-paying ... Read More about 95 Faith at Work [Grace Tran]

This week we're journeying where no Have Hope; Will Travel podcast episode has ever gone before: we're going to talk about abortion. Jenny Lee vulnerably trusts us with her story of having an abortion in a country where they're illegal. She talks about what led to that place, how she felt and feels about her ... Read More about 94 Freedom from Shame [Jenny Lee]

Brittany Simmons spent 24 years in the United States Army. She's a graduate of and has taught at West Point Military Academy and she's been deployed to Iraq twice. The first time she was a platoon leader in charge of 32 Military Police Soldiers who experienced a lot of up-close and personal combat. Her soldiers ... Read More about 93 Leading Alone [Brittany E. Simmons]

We all love to travel, don't we? It's why we're here: listening to different stories and different perspectives from all around the globe. This week we're learning from someone who's taken multi-culturalism to the next level. Janet Sandberg is a Canadian married to an American who's lived in Canada, the United States, Germany, Indonesia, and ... Read More about 92 Raising a Family Across Three Continents [Janet Sandberg]

There is a gap between what churches provide and what single adults need. MaryB. Safrit fills that gap with resources, guides, coaching, and so much more. This week on Have Hope; Will Travel podcast she's helping us understand why singles matter, she's educating us on how we can love singles in our lives well, and ... Read More about 91 Single Like Jesus [MaryB. Safrit]

I love bringing real-life friends onto the show to share their story and their perspective. This week guest has a powerful story of becoming involved in drugs, his life with a drug addiction, his near experiences, the journey to recovery, and the joy he now shares in Jesus. It's a gift to get to work ... Read More about {90} Addiction, Recovery, and Hope [Florence Mayez]

You hear it all the time: people differentiating Catholic and Christian. Are the two really all that different? This week we're traveling to New Mexico to learn from a Catholic friend what it means to be Catholic, some differences, and some similarities. Topics Addressed: Connect with Carrie Connect with Carrie on Instagram or on her ... Read More about {89} Surrendering for Greatness [Carrie Miller]

Stephanie Freethy was a police officer in Houston, TX, for 13 years. In this week's episode she's willing to “go there” with us—to share her perspective as a white female cop, to talk about police brutality, and to offer an insider's look at policing. Topics Addressed: Connect with Stephanie Connect with Stephanie at StephanieFreethy.com. Find ... Read More about {88} An Internal Look at Policing [Stephanie Freethy]

Kellina Powell lost her hearing at age 4 when her daycare didn't follow instructions to treat her ear infection. Ever since then, she's lived in two different worlds—deaf and hearing. Join us on Have Hope; Will Travel podcast as we learn about her experience, hear her perspective, and explore what's supportive and what's not actually ... Read More about 87 Deaf Queen Boss [Kellina Powell]

At Have Hope; Will Travel we're not afraid to take on hard topics. In this episode Sequana Murray has agreed to go deep with us as we talk about: poverty, single-motherhood, depression, suicide, creativity, music, recreation, and so much more. Topics Addressed: Connect with Sequana Connect with Sequana at Bandysnotebook.net, on Instagram @BandytheNomad, and on ... Read More about 86 Befriending Depression [Sequana Murray]

Lori Ann Wood was in pristine health when she was diagnosed with heart failure. She walked herself into the ICU with 6 perfect of her heart functioning. Against all medical odds, she survived and she's joining us this week on Have Hope; Will Travel podcast to share her story and how it changed her faith. ... Read More about 85 Divine Detour [Lori Ann Wood]

Is suffering redeemable? That's the big question we're tackling this week with guest Karis Meier. In this episode of Have Hope; Will Travel Karis shares her own experience with chronic illness, how it has affected her relationship with God, and her perspective on suffering—as someone with some first-hand experience. Topics Addressed: Connect with Karis Connect ... Read More about 84 Suffering Redeemed [Karis Meier]

Emily is an unlikely worthiness coach who specializes in helping people stop feeling like they aren't enough so that they can confidently be themselves. She joins us this week on Have Hope; Will Travel podcast to share about her experience growing up in a cult church, leaving said church and community, and restoring her relationship ... Read More about 83 Realizing You Are Worthy [Emily Louis]

We say it every week: your story matters. How you tell your story matters. What you believe about your story matters. This week's guest is a storytelling consultant who shares about how she overcame sexual abuse and survived a childhood cult. She offers us some advice on how to alter our stories from trauma and ... Read More about 82 Living an Altered Story [Mischelle Saunders-Gottsch]

This week's guest and I have spent a lot of hours together—studying, traveling, and theologizing. We went to college together, served in ministry together, and studied abroad together. This week on Have Hope; Will Travel podcast we're inviting you into the conversation as we talk about God and LGBTQ+. Rev. Dr. Keith A. Menhinick is ... Read More about 81 Finding Freedom in Sexuality and the Church [Keith Menhinick]

Evening Snow is the oldest of 13 children. When she was adopted from Ethiopia, she joined the Snow family to become the oldest of 8. In this episode Evening shares about her transition from Ethiopia to the United States, learning English as her third language, and how her legal and biological ages are different. We ... Read More about 80 Pros and Cons of Adoption [Evening Snow]

This week we welcome back Marla Taviano for the second part of the conversation we had in episode {76}. This time we're talking about race–two women sharing their journeys to becoming antiracists. Topics Addressed: What is White Girl Learning? Why becoming an antiracist matters What we can do to make the world a more inclusive ... Read More about 79 White Girl Learning [Marla Taviano]

Ana Maria Tromp is an overcomer who's lived in three different countries and speaks four languages. She's a recovering perfectionist willing to share what she's learned from burning out and now becoming a women's empowerment coach. Topics Addressed: Growing up in a dysfunctional household Living in Venezuela, the Netherlands, and Aruba Learning to speak four ... Read More about 78 For the Overachiever [Ana Maria Tromp]

Kelsey Pfleiderer was in her twenties when she was (eventually) diagnosed with a spinal tumor. Now she uses authentic storytelling to talk about chronic illness, grief, and motherhood in hopes that others find their own story in hers. Topics Addressed: Kelsey's story of being diagnosed with a spinal tumor in her twenties How to find ... Read More about 77 Authentic Storytelling Meets Spinal Tumor [Kelsey Pfleiderer]

This is the first of a two-part conversation with Marla Taviano of White Girl Learning. In this episode, we're going to talk about her life as a missionary in Cambodia, her divorce, and her deconstruction journey. Later this fall we'll share the other part of the conversation about being white women learning about race–why it ... Read More about 76 Deconstruction and Divorce [Marla Taviano]

Conversations at Have Hope; Will Travel can get deep and heavy. It's fun to end the conversation on a light note: an abstract question that unites us all: If you could be any inanimate object, what would you be and why? As with the guests, there's so much diversity and creativity in the answers. It ... Read More about 75 If You Could Be Any Inanimate Object

There are a lot of complex perceptions behind the terms “foster care” and “foster youth.” Today our guest Tori Hope Petersen is a foster care survivor, foster care advocate, foster parent. Listen as she shares her story as a former youth in foster care and how faith, hope, and advocacy have taken root from her ... Read More about 74 Faith, Hope, and Foster Care [Tori Hope Petersen]

We have a very special guest I'm excited to introduce to you all today! It's my dad. My dad (Dennis) is a husband, father (duh), executive coach, and he is on the board of multiple non-profit organizations. I invited him on the podcast not just to share embarrassing stories from my childhood but to share ... Read More about 73 Story Time and Leadership Lessons with Dad [Dennis Axelson]

Today I get to introduce you to my real life friend, Laura Quam. While a missionary, Laura was inspired to step into the foster care gap with the goal of seeing biological families reunited. She is currently in the process of becoming a licensed foster parent, and she's pursuing that as a single woman. Laura ... Read More about 72 Becoming a Single Foster Mom [Laura Quam]

This week I have the pleasure to share with you a conversation with Mabel Ninan. Mabel grew up in a minority Christian community in India and is now a non-fiction writer, speaker, wife, and mother living in the United States. Today we discuss how God has woven her story as an immigrant into the larger ... Read More about 71 Finding Our True Home [Mabel Ninan]

Today we get to hear from Hillary Walsh, a military spouse, mother of four kids, immigration lawyer, law professor, business-owner, author, and speaker. Seriously, what doesn't she do? Hillary shares her story about growing up in rural Kansas, becoming an immigration lawyer, and finding commonality with her clients. Topics Addressed: Hillary's childhood in rural Kansas ... Read More about 70 Love for Country and for Reform: A Conversation with an Immigration Lawyer [Hillary Walsh]

This week we're talking about toxic relationships. Our guest is Katina Horton, who has many areas of expertise as an author, speaker, podcaster, Christian life coach, voice creator, and computer technician. Katina runs a ministry called Valley of Grace, where she helps women in toxic relationships break unhealthy relationship patterns and reclaim their power and ... Read More about 69 Healing from Toxic Relationships [Katina Horton]

Today we have the opportunity to talk with Angela Alexander, who is retired from the Air Force and now works as an author, speaker, and grief coach. Angela shares her story of losing her two youngest sons in a car accident while she was on active duty across the world. We discuss loss, grief, and ... Read More about 68 Turning Pain into Power and Grief into Peace [Angela Alexander]

Well friend, this week it's just you and me! On this episode of Have Hope; Will Travel, we're talking about my recent experience with jury duty. Did you just groan a little inside? Let's talk about why we have that negative reaction and what we can do about it. Join us today as we talk ... Read More about 67 Being Called for Jury Duty [Katie Axelson]

This week we're traveling to Jamaica to hear Crystal Daye's story of growing up in inner city Kingston. In the episode, we're taking on hard topics including poverty, molestation, abortion, and murder. Crystal also shares her story of redemption and her passion for empowering women. Topics Addressed The religious and social culture of Jamaica How ... Read More about 66 Redemption and Empowerment [Crystal Daye]

Ezelis Sanderson is a CODA, a Child of Deaf Adults, and from an early age felt that God has given her a purpose to be a bridge between the Deaf and hearing communities. Today she is an American Sign Language interpreter, wife, and mother of two kids—one who is Deaf and one who is a ... Read More about 65 CODA: A Bridge Between the Deaf and Hearing Communities [Ezelis Sanderson]

Apple | Google | Amazon | Spotify | Transcript The stories we tell ourselves are powerful. Sometimes those stories even have to compete with negative narratives coming our way from the people around us. Today we're talking with Paul Forchione, who has spent his life rewriting the script set before him and now he helps others do the same. Paul who was born ... Read More about 64 Rewriting Your Story [Paul Forchione]

Apple | Google | Amazon | Spotify | Transcript It was a totally normal day. Until it wasn't. This week on Have Hope; Will Travel we're journeying to and across Europe hearing Anastasia Vladychynska's story of evacuating Kyiv, Ukraine, less than a month ago. Topics Addressed How did you decide it was time to leave ... Read More about 63 One Woman's Story of Evacuating Kyiv [Anastasia Vladychynska]

It's officially March, which means we're getting hints of spring here in Minnesota, and it's also Women's History Month in the United States. I think my conversation with Chris Bhadra is a great way to kick off Women's History Month. Chris has her PhD, is a trained Indian contemporary dancer, writer, podcaster, and a self-admittedly ... Read More about 62 Tensions in Tradition: Discussing South Asian Culture [Chris Bhadra]

How often do you get the chance to talk to someone different than you about race, religion, vaccinations, and defunding the police? In my conversation with Leonard this week, he models what a charitable discussion can look like on even the most controversial of topics. I learned so much from him, and I think you ... Read More about 61 The Questions About Race You Feel Like You Can't Ask [Leonard McDonald]

This week's podcast guest has the most peaceful voice you will ever hear. Oly grew up in Kenya, moving to the United States for college. In this week's episode, we cover a lot of ground from her trans-Atlantic move, being a woman of color, being queer, her career changes, religion, and so much more. Some ... Read More about 60 Being a Queer Black Person of Color [Oly]

This week's podcast episode guest has a story of a hard childhood, rape, and child loss as a teen. Lena Cebula shares about drug addiction and how she got sold in human trafficking and was trafficked to a new continent. In the midst of all of that, she had encounters with Jesus and moments of ... Read More about 59 Love and Be Loved [Lena Cebula]

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. At Have Hope; Will Travel we're spreading awareness by hearing the story of Sariah Hastings, an overcomer of human trafficking. In this episode Sariah shares her story of being trafficked, trafficking others, and getting out. She talks about how and where she met Jesus. She offers ... Read More about 58 Overcoming Human Trafficking [Sariah Hastings]

Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanzaa! Do you know anything about Kwanzaa? I didn't before talking to Sydney James of Black on Black Therapy. Sydney James, LCSW is the founder of Black On Black Therapy PLLC. As a trauma and anxiety therapist, her services and resources are geared towards elevating mental health and wellness. She promotes cultural ... Read More about 57 What is Kwanzaa? [Sydney James]

There are rhythms to December. Both shopping and coming up with our own wishlist. Decorating the tree, the house, the yard. The first snowfall. The bitter cold. The lighting of the Advent candles. Why do we celebrate Advent? Like where did the tradition come from? Why purple/blue candles with one pink? Why a wreath? Why ... Read More about 56 The Advent of Advent

This week podcast guest and I had no shortage of things to talk about. You may be aware Chanukah is happening now (November 28-December 6) but did you know December 1 is World AIDS Day? Lisa Waldman is Jewish. Her wife is a Quaker living with HIV. Yes, we talk about it all. Some questions ... Read More about 55 World AIDS Day [Lisa Waldman]

Tanya and her husband were living outside of Atlanta with their two children when they began to dream about a different life. They sold their house, left their stationary jobs, and moved their [then] four children onto a boat to set sail on a new adventure. They've been sailing ever since 2008–raising and homeschooling now ... Read More about 54 Leaving the Safe Harbor [Tanya Hackney]

I love getting to travel and this week on the podcast we're traveling to Singapore by way of Mexico. Crunch Ranjani is from Singapore, currently living in Mexico, and joining us to talk about the Hindu festival Deepavali. Maybe you've heard it called Diwali? It's the festival of light. In this episode, Crunch educates us ... Read More about 53 The Festival of Light [Crunch Ranjani]

We all know there are a lot of opinions, a lot of perspectives, and a lot of conflict in the world right now. Even though our opinions differ, reality is that we all want the same things: we want to be heard, we want to be understood, we want to be validated. This week on ... Read More about {52} How to Listen Well [Andrea Fortenberry]

Maybe you're not feeling this but pretty much everyone I've talked to is feeling a level of exhaustion, discontentment, or discouragement. We're all ready for a change. We need something different. Back when we were allowed to share food, I made some muffins for my coworkers. Except I was out of oil. Join me this ... Read More about 51 Happiness is a Team Sport