PRN: Pause, Renew, Next

One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is 2 Corinthians 4, so you can imagine my delight when I found out that today's guest, Rev. April H. Cranford, recently led her church through a worship series about this passage. They called it the Treasured Clay Worship Series. She says,”throughout the series, we explored […]

What does it mean to be in process? As we prepare to wrap up Season 7 of the podcast, I'm offering some reflections on what it means to be a human in process. We'll also circle back around to some themes that we've talked about this season. I hope that you come away from this […]

It's been a couple of months since we did a Scripture meditation together, and it seems fitting to focus on themes of suffering and resurrection this week as we approach Easter. We'll begin our time together with a breath prayer and then transition into the reflection and meditation time. If you'd like to follow along […]

If you know a child with big, baffling behaviors, then today's episode is for you! If you don't, stick around, because this conversation will open your eyes to the reasons behind behaviors you may have dismissed as being a result of “willful behavior” or “bad parenting.” I am so grateful for my guest today, Fran […]

When's the last time you were curious? To be human means you are a question asker, and in today's episode we're going to reflect together on both the beauty and the frustration of this process. I hope you come away from this episode with a new perspective on learning. May you be encouraged on your […]

In this podcast episode, I'm joined by my colleague Josh Howlett, to talk about an often mentioned, but little understood emotion, joy. Josh embodies joy, and I'm so thankful he could join us to share his perspective on this subject. We talk about cultivating joy, the importance of joyful movement, and Josh shares what it […]

Ruptures can occur in all of our relationships, but have you ever considered that you can have ruptures within your relationship with yourself as well? Today, we're continuing our series on being a human in process by examining this idea. We'll also talk a bit about the importance of attunement and grace. If you enjoy […]

Today, we're continuing our theme of being a human in process, by considering normal human emotions and reactions that tend to come up as we are navigating life as a human on planet earth. Particularly, we're looking at emotions and reactions related to the fight/flight response. In January we talked about anger, fear, and stress, […]

Today we're looking at the other half of the fight or flight response by considering fear and stress. What are they? What purpose do they serve? In what ways are they often misunderstood? We'll talk about all of this and also look at some examples of where fear shows up in the Bible. As always, […]

Today we're considering an often misunderstood but necessary emotion, anger. Being a human in process means that we will experience a variety of emotions, both comfortable and uncomfortable. In the next couple of episodes, we'll be covering some of the less comfortable emotions. In this episode, I'd like to talk about anger, what it is, […]

If you love birds or nature, then you are really going to enjoy today's conversation with guest, Courtney Ellis, about her new book, Looking Up: A Birder's Guide to Hope Through Grief. This is such a great episode about ministry, grief, mindfulness, and soul-care. It's also sprinkled throughout with great bird facts! Courtney is a […]

Today, we conclude our series on the Psalms by examining Psalms of new orientation. We'll be looking for signs of life, of rescue, of reversal of fortune, and of thanksgiving as we meditate upon Psalms 34 together. What is clear in all of these Psalms of new orientation is that there is a celebration of […]

We're continuing our series on the Psalms and what they teach us about being a human in process. Today, we're talking about psalms of disorientation. These are songs of darkness, of grief, of anger, of lament, and of complaint. These psalms answer the question of how we might worship and pray when our world is […]

Today we continue our series on the Psalms and learning what they teach us about being a human in process. We'll be meditating on a psalm of orientation today, Psalm 19. Psalms of orientation evoke gratitude for the blessings of creation and God's good law. It just so happens that we'll be reading this on […]

We might call this mini-series, “where faith meets mental health.” More specifically, we would call it, “where worship and prayer meet mental health.” For the next few weeks, we are going to be diving into the Psalms and examining them through Walter Brueggemann's lens of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. This framework beautifully encapsulates being […]

How can we find hope when darkness and suffering linger? This week's guest, Claudia Campbell, shares about her experience of wrestling through just that question. She recently wrote a book of reflections called These Stones Remain, in which she processes the Lord's faithfulness through dark seasons. Claudia is full of joy, and her authenticity is […]

Join me today for a short and sweet reflection episode about how the Lord's grace met me in an unexpected way last spring. We'll start by doing a regulation exercise together called the magic moustache. Then, I'll share a story about a bird from the Lord. I'd love to hear your story of how the […]

It's time for a biography episode! Today, we're talking about Helen Roseveare, a doctor, writer, missionary, speaker, and ditch-digger. Her faith and her story will both inspire and challenge you. I was first introduced to Helen's story a few years ago, and over the past few months as I was considering who to study next, […]

If you feel like you're in survival mode and white knuckling your way through life, then this episode and this book are for you. It was a joy to have Sarah Pascual on the podcast today to talk with me about a book that we both recently read called, Try Softer, by Aundi Kolber, MA, […]

Today, we're continuing our series of being in process by exploring the five grief stages. Loss is a normal part of the human journey, and it's helpful and empowering to understand the ways in which we may experience it. Although when we think about grief, often sadness is what comes to mind, there is actually […]

This week we're talking about a subject that is an integral part of the human condition, grief. It's a pretty important topic to start with, when it comes to being a human in process, because to be human, means to face loss: loss of dreams, expectations, people, and relationships. Although this episode is definitely not […]

In this short reflection episode, we're diving into the theme of Season 7: being a human who is in process. You'll hear how I arrived at this theme and some of the things that you can expect throughout the coming months on the podcast. We'll begin our time together with a slow-down exercise and end […]

Welcome to Season 7 of the PRN Podcast! I'm so excited to kick of this new season with a fantastic guest, Sarah Westfall. Sarah recently wrote a book called, The Way of Belonging: Reimagining Who We Are and How We Relate. I loved getting to dive into deep conversation with her about such an important […]

Do you need a gentle invitation to exhale? If so, then this conversation is really going to minister to you. This is the last episode of Season 6, and I am so happy that we could end the season with this conversation about slow-living. My guest today is author and podcaster, Jodi Grubbs. She and […]

As we wrap up Season 6 about telling our stories, I want to leave you with some practical places to begin your own story work. In this reflection episode, I'm laying out four integral parts of story work: reflection, writing, telling, and listening. I hope you'll come away from this episode with good ideas, practical […]

Join me for this 12 minute Scripture meditation episode as we reflect on the imagery of Christ as our Good Shepherd. We'll be spending time in both Psalm 23 as well as in John 10 if you'd like to read along. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hike the Appalachian Trail? It sounds epic, right? Well, today's guest, Julie Long, is here to talk about her family's Appalachian Trail adventure. Her husband and son are currently hiking it, and are nearing the end. She talks about what their experience has been like, […]

In today's reflection episode, I'm exploring an existential spiritual question: Are we supposed to bear fruit in every season? This question relates to both soul care and our stories, because the truth is, we all experience different and unique seasons of life. Join me for 11 minutes as we do a slow-down and centering exercise […]

Have you ever thought about how God's will intersects with your story? In this reflection episode, we'll consider specifically what we're telling ourselves about God's will and how that affects our thinking, our view of ourselves, and our stories. So, in story language, we'll be talking about three parts: the past, the story that's already […]

Today, we'll be examining the characters who show up in our stories through the lens of relationship. Specifically, we'll be talking about 3 paradigms for relationship: independence, codependence, and interdependence. Each of these relationship strategies affect the way we view relationships, and thus the way we interact with the people in our lives. I hope […]

What are emotions and what purpose do they serve? In this episode, we'll answer that question, as well as talk about how we can recognize, name, and learn to regulate them. It was a joy to talk in this episode with my friend and fellow counselor, Deni Huttula, about emotional regulation and about her book, […]

In today's episode, we're going to be meditating on one of Jesus' parables, and gleaning what He is teaching about His kingdom through the story. If you'd like to read along, we'll be reading from Luke 12. As always, we'll read the passage 3 times, so that we can spend time thinking, noticing, repeating, pondering, […]

In the second part of my conversation with Leah, she shares about the unexpected difficulties she has faced as a parent. Leah is a single parent of four adopted children, and she honestly talks about the realities of that journey. She also speaks about being a parent of children with special needs. Leah is so […]

Pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and settle in for quite a conversation today, friends. It was a joy to talk with my friend, Leah Stirewalt, as she shared her story on this episode. It is no easy story, and to say the least, it has layers. Leah has experienced unexpected grief […]

Did you know that there is more than one kind of memory? In telling our stories, we are accessing both explicit and implicit memories to form a coherent narrative. In this episode, we'll begin with a calming exercise, then talk about the role of about explicit and implicit memory in our lives and in our […]

What is memory, and how does memory affect how we process and tell our own story? In the next couple of episodes we're going to dive into that subject together. We're also going to talk about how we are story-bound people. So, join me for this 150th episode of the podcast, as we explore our […]

Join me today, as we spend a few minutes together meditating on one the stories of Jesus. His stories, called parables, are earthly stories that carry a heavenly meaning. They share ideas and metaphors to describe his Kingdom. If you want to read along, we'll be in Matthew 13, in the New Living Translation. We'll […]

As we continue the theme of examining our stories, today I'm posing the question, what if it turns out that your story is ordinary? Join me today for an 11-minute reflection episode. We'll begin with a grounding exercise, reflect together on what it means to live an ordinary life, and then close with a benediction. […]

In today's episode, we're continuing to ponder our own stories. Specifically, we're examining how the lens of how suffering affects our stories. To do so, I'm using Walter Brueggemann's framework for considering the Psalms in 3 parts: Orientation, Disorientation, and Reorientation. Regardless of which of these three frameworks you currently find yourself in, I hope […]

What makes a compelling story? On this episode, I talk about this idea and more with author, Katie Powner. She was on the podcast three years ago to talk about her first book, The Sowing Season, and today, we're talking about her newest book, The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass. On this episode, Katie and […]

This is a relaxed episode. No music. No centering practice. It's just me, being honest with you, about my own soul-care practices in this season. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

In today's podcast episode, we're going to be meditating on a familiar story, but from a different perspective. We'll begin our time together with a breath prayer, and then examine the story of The Good Samaritan. Get ready to employ your holy imagination! May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

It was a joy to have Alicia Akins back on the podcast today to talk about her new book, The Gift of the Outsider: What Living in the Margins Teaches Us About Faith. This season we are talking about stories, and one story that needs to be told is that of the outsider. In this […]

All day, every day, we are being inundated with an onslaught of stories, but do we have a limit to how many stories we can take in? In today's episode, we're going to talk about that very thing! We'll start the episode with a slow-down exercise, then spend some time considering how the stories we […]

This season on the podcast we are immersing ourselves in stories: the stories of Scripture, the stories of guests, and learning from storytellers. However, there's another story that deserves to be looked at this season, and that's your story. In today's episode, we're beginning to examine and engage our own stories. We'll begin with a […]

What happens when you firmly know your whole life story, only to one day find out a secret that changes the way you look at your past? My guest today, Robin Parish, lived through just such a life shift. She shares today about her healing journey, and how she is reframing her story. You will […]

It's been a while since we've had a soul-care reflection episode, and what better way to reflect, than with a Scripture meditation. This season, our theme is “Tell Your Story,” so we are spending some time with the stories of Jesus, the Author himself. In today's episode, we're reflecting on one of the shortest parables, […]

Today, we begin season 6 of the podcast! This season our theme is, Tell Your Story, and what better way to begin, than to talk to a storyteller. Our podcast guest today is, T.I. Lowe, storyteller and author. Personally, I'm a fan of her books, so it was a joy to get to sit down […]

This is the last episode of Season 5, and I'm so thankful for another great season! Today's episode is such an important addendum to this spring's podcast series on attachment. My guest today is an old friend of PRN, Melissa Corkum. She was on the podcast a couple of years ago to talk about connected […]

Today, we're finishing our attachment series, by talking about moving from insecurity in our relationship with God to a place of security. Remember all of the insecure attachment styles? We're going back over them today, but differently! Instead of relating them to our earthly relationships, we're exploring how they present themselves in our relationship with […]

Before we close our attachment series, I wanted to spend some time talking about what attachment looks like in our relationship with the Lord. Of course, that begs the question: How can we be attached to someone who is invisible? In order to do that, we're diving into Scripture to find examples of secure attachment. […]