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As we finish out the season, I want to offer a few final thoughts about resilience. Today we’re going to be looking at the themes of resourcing and entering a new normal. As always, we’ll start our time together with a centering exercise and end with a benediction. This is the last episode of the season, and the podcast will be taking a break. Every seven years in the Bible, God’s people would let their land rest, and I’m doing the same with this podcast. God willing, I will come back after the break renewed and with joy and creativity to share with you in future seasons. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It’s an honor and joy to get to share with you. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

In today’s episode, you’re invited to meditate on an important prophetic passage, Isaiah 61, using a method called Lectio Divina, or “Divine Reading.” This method of engaging Scripture employs four movements: Reading, Reflecting, Responding, and Rest, and we will practice all of them together today. If you’d like to read along with me today, I’ll be reading Isaiah 61:1-4, &10-11 out of the New American Standard Version. If you need longer to pray, meditate, respond, or journal in the midst of this episode, please feel free to stop and start the podcast as needed. In today’s episode, I read from the book, Sacred Rhythms, by Ruth Haley Barton. If you’re interested in learning more about this practice or other spiritual disciplines, I highly recommend checking out this book for yourself. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

How might stress influence resilience? In today’s episode, we’re going to look at two important factors that help us combat stress, which also might help us build resilience. I hope you come away from this episode with a fresh perspective on stress and resilience. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus. Resources mentioned in today’s episode: Ted Talk: How to Make Stress Your Friend The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats its Young

We haven’t talked a lot about addiction on the podcast, but I think it’s a topic that deserves some time and attention. So, I’m really thankful for today’s guest, Ericka Andersen, who shares about her journey from alcohol dependence to sobriety. Ericka just released her new book: Freely Sober: Rethinking Alcohol Through the Lens of Faith, and I loved getting to talk to her about it on the podcast. In this episode, we talk about how alcohol affects and is marketed to women, specifically. We also talk about themes of addiction, self-medication, eating disorders, community, faith, and so much more. I really appreciate that Ericka’s approach to sobriety is full of curiosity and compassion, not how-to’s and action steps. My hope is that today’s episode will help to spark your own curiosity about addiction and sobriety, and give you a new or more full perspective on the subject. To find out more about Ericka or to access the resources she talked about on the podcast, visit her website: Freelysober.com. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

It’s a new year, and we’re pressing on in our resilience series! Welcome to 2026, friends. Today, we’re reflecting on how movement plays a role in building resilience, and I’m not just talking about exercise! We’ll start our time together with a grounding exercise, then spend some time reflecting on how trauma and distress can lead to stuck places in our bodies, minds, and souls. We’ll take a look at some of these frozen places and talk about how movement may play a role in building resilience. May you be encouraged in your journey with Jesus!

Whether you’re prancing, limping, or crawling into Advent, this Scripture meditation episode is for you. We’re spending time together today in Luke 1, getting a peak into the miraculous and beautiful interaction between two amazing women of faith: Mary and Elizabeth. Join me for a 15 minute pause in your day, as we slow down and refocus around the good news of Advent.

Today we’re talking about a topic that often goes under the radar or gets misunderstood: self-harm. I’m really grateful for this week’s guest, Brittany Tinsley, who shares some of her story and experience with self-injury. We talk about themes of faith, mental health and the church, ways this topic gets misrepresented, the change cycle, and elements of healing shame, gaining compassion, and receiving support. This conversation is handled with a lot of care, and whether or not you have personal experience with this topic, I think this episode will be helpful. Brittany is an author and recently released a new book: Stories Our Scars Tell: Hope, Healing, and Honesty about the Wounds We Carry. If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to know more of Brittany’s story, I hope you’ll go check it out! May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus!

If you were going to listen to just one episode about resilience this season, I would definitely recommend this one! Today, we’re reflecting on the reservoir that feeds our endurance, perseverance, and resilience. In order to persist through difficulty, we must rally and borrow upon our reserves. Naturally, we have quite an amazing ability to survive and thrive, but supernaturally, we have access to an even greater Reserve. I hope this episode is an encouragement to you and a reminder that you’re not alone. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus!

In this 15 minute soul-care reflection episode, we’ll begin with a relaxing imaging exercise and then spend time talking about a phenomenon that happens when we hit our mental and emotional limit. When we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, grieved, or trapped, our brains access what I’m calling “the escape hatch.” I share a few examples of how this phenomenon can show up, and how recognizing this pattern in ourselves is a helpful way to notice and pay attention to our emotions and needs. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

What makes someone resilient? Would you say that you are a resilient person? In today’s episode, we’re exploring reasons why we might want to expand the way we’re thinking about resilience. In our common understanding of resilience, we might be selling ourselves and others short. If you enjoy this episode, please go share it with a friend! May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

Do you ever wonder how our desires and our Spiritual gifts work together? In today’s episode, we’re talking about just that! It was a joy to have my brother and sister-in-law, Nathan and Dawn Detweiler on the podcast to talk about ministry, spiritual gifts, and resilience. Nathan, Dawn, and their three children live in Slovenia. In today’s episode, they share about their ministry journey from church planting to a children’s Lego ministry. Nathan also talks about how he started his YouTube Channel, Bite Sized Bricks. If you’d like to learn more about Nathan and Dawn and their ministry, you can subscribe to Nathan’s YouTube Channel or you can find him on Instagram. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

Join me for 20 minutes today as we meditate together on Hebrews 12. We’ll start our time together with a slow down exercise, then read and reflect together, noticing what this passage can teach us about resilience. I hope that this time allows you to pause in your day and reflect on the Word of God. Feel free to just listen and soak it in or to get your Bible and read along. We’ll be reading today in multiple translations: The ESV, the NIV, the Amplified Version, and the Message. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus!

Are you curious about diving deeper into your story? In this episode, we’re talking about storywork and how our personal narratives shape our spiritual journeys. I am so thankful for this conversation with guest, author, and spiritual director Jenn Suen Chen. She’s recently written a book called, Dim Sum and Faith: How Our Stories Form Our Souls, which we talk about in today’s conversation. In this episode we’re exploring themes of storywork, culture, resilience, spiritual growth, community, and more. Jenn’s gentle presence and valuable wisdom are a gift that ministered to me, and I’m sure you will also come away from this conversation feeling encouraged. So grab a cup of warm tea or coffee, come in close, quiet your soul, and get curious about your own story as you listen. If you enjoyed this conversation and you’d like to learn more from Jenn, I encourage you to check out her book and website. You can also find her on Instagram. If you love this podcast, please share it with a friend! You can also support PRN by donating at: buymeacoffee.com/pause. May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus!

After a long summer break, I’m so happy to be back with you for Season 8 of the podcast! This season, our theme is resilience, and today’s episode is an introduction into resilience and what you can expect this season. We’ll start our time together taking a few deep breaths, and then we’ll begin to explore the topic of resilience. I’m so grateful and excited to begin a new podcast season and to learn and grow alongside you as we gain understanding of and capacity for resilience this year. If you enjoy this podcast, there are a few ways you can show your support. Share PRN with a friend! Pray for the podcast. Donate at buymeacoffee.com/pause Subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss an episode. Thank you, friends! May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus.

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 the divine power that resides within us as clay pots, each of us carrying the treasure of Christ.” In this episode, April and I explore themes of disability, worship, advocacy, leadership, and soul-care. I’m really thankful for this conversation, and I hope you come away with a renewed gratitude for the body of Christ. If you enjoy this conversation and you’d like to know more about April or sign up for her substack, you can visit her website: aprilhcranford.com. This is the last episode of Season 7, and I’m so thankful to have spent another season with you. I’m taking off the summer to spend time with my children, but Lord willing, I’ll be back with Season 8 in August. Enjoy your summer! May you be encouraged on your journey with Jesus!