Instructions for Living a Life

IFLAL - May 13 2021 - Lauren Zehnle by Instructions for Living a Life

Ep. 69 “New Language For An Older story” with Daniel Johnson by Instructions for Living a Life

Ep. 68- "Don't Feel Guilt About Living" with Leanor Ortega-Till by Instructions for Living a Life

Ep. 67 "We Can Do Hard Things" with Tyler Strange by Instructions for Living a Life

Ep. 66 with Sami Pack by Instructions for Living a Life

Ep. 65 "You're Only As Sick As Your Secret" with Todd Garten by Instructions for Living a Life

Ep. 64 "I Am Not Afraid, For I Was Born to Do This" with Meredith Hopping by Instructions for Living a Life

Instructions for Living a Life returns for another season with a raw story of church trauma. Nathaniel invites us to hear how he endured toxic church leadership, a fractured congregation dealing in the aftermath, writing an album to work through his grief and pain, and helping to create a church that is honest about pain.

Ep. 62 "Failure Has Been My Biggest Teacher" with Kyle Meier by Instructions for Living a Life

The O'Keefe Brothers stories continue

Ep. 60 "Not Just a Heart Issue: Part 1" with Tommy, Casey, and Kyle O'Keefe by Instructions for Living a Life

Ep. 59 "Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors" with Karen Workun by Instructions for Living a Life

Ep. 58 "A Different Perspective" with Jason Ashe by Instructions for Living a Life

Ep. 57 "You Can't Kill the Flower That Blooms" with Bishop Hope Morgan Ward by Instructions for Living a Life

Amanda* offers hospital chaplaincy in a time of pandemic, an unfolding tragedy following on the heels of a devastating Nashville tornado. Still, she is insistent upon keeping her eyes open for "the good gifts of today". Rather than being in denial of pain, Amanda shares with us the necessity of setting limits for oneself, seeking regular therapeutic support, and acknowledging the stress that helping and caring for others can place upon your body and your mind. For her, poetry (both writing and reading) is vital, allowing her space to breathe and process all that her heart is facing and trying to make sense of. Amanda acknowledges the challenge of carrying the suffering and grief of others, along with daily discerning where her authentic presence will matter most. Her commitment to avoid automatically doing 'spiritual things' for those she encounters is admirable, with her choosing instead to first learn about who they are and what they love. Might we all be willing to answer our deep inner call for connection in similar ways.

eff invites us into laughter and openness, brainstorming coping skills and addressing awareness, advocacy, and the need for us to have grace with those who don't understand that our faith and mental health are inescapably woven together. We had a wonderful time speaking with Jeff, and encourage you to share this episode with anyone who might benefit from it.

Ep. 55 "A Really Good List of Questions" with Brent Levy by Instructions for Living a Life

After a traumatic church experience caused Brendon to leave vocational ministry, now many years later he is doing ministry in an unexpected place-the gym.

Ahna tells her story of living my chronic illness and embracing her identity as a person with a disability.

Sarah discusses how stigma works and how working with those with a substance addiction made her realize her own biases.

Ep. 50 "It Was So Much Easier Having Certainty" Jay Bakker by Instructions for Living a Life

How Amber learned to stop, rest, grieve and ask for help in the midst of ministry and life changes.

This week Randall talks about anxiety, grief, and uncertainty in the United Methodist Denominations and how he avoids cynicism and burnout in the church and in life.

Courtney tells her story of finding her passion and ministry on a short term business trip to India. Now ten years later she still lives there serving children with special needs.

After being expected to be physically fit, Ben found that when his physical fitness ended, he was also struggling with his own faith. Becoming a long-distance runner saved Ben's life literally, spiritually, and emotionally. Hear Ben recount the ways running keeps him healthy and in tune with God and Chrisie discuss how her body's disease impacts her spiritual health.

Jabe's journey of drug abuse began early in his life and by grace he survived. The opioid crisis wasn't in the news, but it was in his life and the life of his friends. Listen as he shares his journey of hope and reconciliation.

Embodiment, yoga, mental health, and interconnectedness

Journeying through building friendship across racial lines, and recognizing that what this actually comes down to is simply a willingness to be vulnerable as you seek friendship, period.

Jason Villegas is a pastor from North Carolina that is doing social justice work in immigration in his local context and in Clint, TX. Additionally, Brad Reeves joined him to talk about how his local community was declared a state of emergency when thousands of asylum-seekers arrived.

Ep. 41 "The Shark and the Water" with Diedre Parker by Instructions for Living a Life

Drew shares his struggles with eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and anxiety all within a message of hope.

Angelo joins us to talk about childhood trauma and the lifelong journey toward health and healing. He is a fully functional adult with a full life, but that trauma will never disappear from his life and perhaps that's a not a bad thing.

Jerusha was serving a co-pastor, adapting to being a new mom, and maintaining a healthy marriage. One day she realized that in the midst of trying to be all of the things for all of the people, she was losing herself. Her self-discovery came in the form of not just trying to be herself, but by taking on roles on a theater stage.

Indhira shares her experiences as a theologian and as a therapist, how she gives her pastor fiends space to be themselves, the purity culture, and the importance of referring those in need to a good therapist.

Wendy felt pressure to be a "version" of herself to please others. She started a church two years ago that was committed to allowing people to be their true selves. This community gave her the freedom to being her whole self both in her church and in her spiritual life.

Ep. 35 "A Box to Hold My Hopelessness" Alexandra Atwell-Lane by Instructions for Living a Life

Nate struggles with the sense that he isn't exactly what a pastor should be. Expectations from others either real or imagined case him anxiety and stress. Listen as he shares his coping skill for bouts of depression, poetry.

Ep. 33 "What We Need Is a Forest Fire" withBenjamin Yosua - Davis by Instructions for Living a Life

In Part 2 of our conversation with Charlie Baber, he shares how hitting his breaking point in his career affected him. We process together how he was able to recalibrate his life and find hope and healing and how his story reflects everyone's story in some way or another.

In Part One of a two-part episode with Charlie Baber, he tells the story of how his deep insecurities almost destroyed his faith, his health, and even his career in ministry. Part Two will tell the story of how he worked to put his faith, health, and career back together after the trauma of burn out.

Ep. 30 "May They Not Fight the Same Demons" with Candice Benbow by Instructions for Living a Life

n this 29th episode of Instructions For Living a Life, Erin Roesch invites us into her personal experience of this dissonant, doubtful, painful, and uncertain space, sharing her struggles with pregnancy, the language and expectation surrounding fertility in the church, the strangeness of Mother's Day, and much, much more. This is a powerful episode, and we are grateful for Erin's openness and vulnerability.

Jeremy lives the majority of his life alone, but by choice. Jeremy likes his space and is completely satisfied in his identity as a single person. As a Christian Jeremy feels like the church can feel like a 'dating site', yet most of his friendships and meaningful connection are found online.

In this episode we hear the story of Breanna Illene a United Methodist pastor as she decided to come out in the midst her denomination's conflict and division over 'human sexuality'. She shares her pain and her hope for the church and God's people.

Lee Schott shares the lessons she has learned as the pastor of a church inside a women's prison. Now she wants all churches to be as honest and relevant as her church community.

This week we listen to Nate's story of being a punk rock musician and attending a Christian school. Nate found that scripture was used against him in a very legalistic and judgmental environment. Hear his story of spiritual abuse and how he is reclaiming his faith as his own.

In this episode Pilar reflects on ten years of sobriety and how she discovered and deepened her faith in the midst of recovery.

Join Adam and Chrisie as they process and discuss their own recent struggles.

Wes dove head first into a every evangelical church that professed hard lines of right and wrong and expected him to share those beliefs. When he began to question some of the church's beliefs, he found that for him the way to discover what he actually believes about God is to admit he isn't certain at all about what he believes. He admits that the path from certainty to uncertainty has been difficult, but freeing as he is able to think and recover his faith for himself.

Whether we’re spending time with people we know well or those we’ve just met, communicating well is both a necessity and an art form. All too frequently, however, successful communication can be made out to be quantitative in its goals and engaging only according to what it gains us. Jesus quickly messes up that dynamic, meaning that for the Jesus–follower, communication and connection with others must mean something different. In his colorful, warm way, Nathan Arledge invites us to think about what it means to be present with others, not as a means to an end, but rather as the goal itself. On this episode of IFLAL, Adam and Nathan explore dissonance in music as a metaphor for mission, the disruptive gift of eating together, and what making salsa has to do with welcoming others with the love of Christ.

Musician Aaron Roche joins us to explore how a diagnosis of bipolar disorder has freed him into greater self-awareness. For Aaron, his music is his medicine, and how he has learned to balance his life is inspiring.