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You love your kids more than anything. So why do they sometimes bring out a version of you that you don't even recognize? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with author and Christian life coach Natalie Hixson for an honest conversation about motherhood, anger, and what happens when we realize that sometimes we're the ones who need help. Natalie shares her own painful journey with anger, how it affected her family, and the moment a therapist helped her see that her daughter's behavior wasn't the real problem she needed to address. Natalie is a wife, mother of three, podcast host, and author of Lord, Why Did You Give Me These Children? A Faith-Based Approach to Overcoming Mom Anger. After struggling with destructive anger in her own home, Natalie spent years working through the patterns she had carried into motherhood. Today, she helps other Christian moms recognize their triggers, learn to regulate their emotions, and begin repairing relationships that have been hurt along the way. This conversation is about more than learning how to stop yelling at your kids. It's about recognizing what's happening in your own heart, taking responsibility without getting stuck in shame, and allowing God to work through the sometimes uncomfortable process of change. Natalie also shares what her relationship with her now-adult daughter looks like today, offering a beautiful reminder that our past mistakes don't have to define who we become. What We Cover Natalie's personal struggle with anger and the moment she realized she needed help How our childhood experiences and learned behaviors can affect the way we parent Why changing our perspective can change how we respond to frustrating situations What to do when you're praying, reading your Bible, and still struggling with anger How to apologize to your children and begin repairing trust without demanding forgiveness Practical ways to pause, regulate your emotions, and respond instead of react Moving beyond guilt and shame while still taking responsibility for harmful behavior How God helped Natalie rebuild her relationship with her daughter and find joy in motherhood again Key Quotes "It was okay that I was angry, but it wasn't okay to yell at you." — Natalie Hixson "It's never too late to restore your relationship with your kids." — Natalie Hixson Connect with Natalie Hixson Website: NatalieHixson.com Instagram: @angrymamacoach Book: Lord, Why Did You Give Me These Children? A Faith-Based Approach to Overcoming Mom Anger Podcast: Motherhood Restored Free Resource: Download Natalie's Trigger Tracker — A free resource to help you recognize and understand your anger triggers. Join the Conversation Have you ever walked away from a parenting moment wishing you'd handled it differently? Motherhood has a way of revealing things in us that we didn't even know were there. But we don't have to figure it all out alone. We'd love to hear what stood out to you from this conversation. Come connect with us on Instagram or join the women in our Echos of Impact Community. A Note for Listeners This episode includes an honest discussion of parental anger and past emotionally and physically harmful behavior toward children. Please listen with care. If anger is affecting your family's safety or well-being, reaching out to a licensed mental health professional is an important step toward getting support. Final Notes If this conversation encouraged you, consider sharing it with another mom who might need to hear it. And if you've been enjoying Echos of Impact, we'd be so grateful if you'd follow the podcast and leave a review. It helps other women find these conversations, too. ❤️

Have you ever felt like you needed to change something about yourself just to be accepted? Maybe you've been called too quiet, too different, or just too much. And even years later, those words still affect how you see yourself. In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with award-winning author Cally Logan to talk about the labels we carry, the pressure to fit in, and what it looks like to find our identity in who God says we are. Cally is the author of three books, a Senior Writer for Crosswalk.com, and has spent nearly a decade as a school teacher. Her award-winning book, The Wallflower that Bloomed, grew out of her own experiences with bullying, insecurity, and learning to embrace the person God created her to be. She shares how the words spoken over her as a teenager followed her into adulthood, and how spending time with God helped her begin separating other people's opinions from the truth about who she is. Together, Briana and Cally explore what it means to stop measuring ourselves against everyone around us. They talk about friendship, finding people who allow us to be ourselves, and trusting God's timing when our lives don't look the way we thought they would. Because maybe blooming isn't about becoming someone different. Maybe it's about allowing God to grow something beautiful in the person He already created you to be. What We Cover How childhood labels and bullying can shape our identity long into adulthood Why being different doesn't mean something is wrong with us Learning to recognize God's truth over other people's opinions The story and message behind The Wallflower that Bloomed Finding freedom in friendships where we don't have to pretend How time alone with God can help us grow Trusting God's timing when life looks different from everyone else's Finding the courage to follow God, even when He calls us outside our comfort zones Key Quotes "Just because your life doesn't look like everyone else's doesn't mean that it's wrong." — Cally Logan "But that does not make it true. And that does not mean God did." — Cally Logan Connect with Cally Logan Website: callylogan.com Books: Explore Cally's Books on Amazon Instagram: @callylogan Facebook: @callyloganofficial Join the Conversation What's a label you've carried that you're learning to let go of? We'd love to hear what stood out to you in this conversation. Book Giveaway! We're giving away a copy of Cally's book, The Wallflower that Bloomed! To enter, simply reach out and share something that stuck with you or a takeaway from this episode. Connect with us on Instagram or join the Echos of Impact Community on Facebook. Final Notes If this conversation encouraged you, share it with a friend who might need the reminder that she doesn't have to change who she is to be loved by God. And if you're enjoying Echos of Impact, we'd be so grateful if you'd follow the podcast and leave a review. It helps other women find these conversations, too. ❤️

What if some of the Bible stories you've pictured your whole life aren't actually described that way in Scripture? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Julie Remington, founder of Honest Imagination and author of The Forgotten Nativity: A Historically Honest Christmas Story, for a conversation about slowing down, asking better questions, and discovering the richness we can miss when we assume we already know a familiar story—especially the Christmas story. Julie studied linguistics and spent years living overseas with a Bible translation organization, where learning another language and culture changed the way she approaches Scripture. Living inside a culture very different from her own showed her how easily we can misunderstand words, actions, and stories when we don't understand the world they came from. As a neurodivergent mom, Julie also shares how noticing small details and asking questions others might overlook has shaped the way she reads familiar biblical stories. Through Honest Imagination, she's now creating historically honest Bible stories for curious kids and helping families imagine the world of the Bible in ways that are faithful to Scripture and informed by history. As Julie began digging into the nativity story, she discovered that some of the images many of us grew up with aren't actually found in the biblical text. The "inn" may have been a guest room. The manger may have been inside an ordinary family home rather than a detached stable. The shepherds may have looked very different from the men we usually see in nativity sets. And those details aren't just interesting trivia—they can help us see the story with fresh eyes. Briana and Julie also look beyond the Christmas story at familiar passages like the prodigal son, Mary and Martha, and verses we often hear pulled out of context. The heart of the conversation isn't about proving what everyone else got wrong. It's an invitation to stay curious, read Scripture for ourselves, and remember that sometimes the truth is even better than the version we thought we knew. Julie also brings the conversation back to Emmanuel—God with us—and challenges listeners to ask whether that's real in their own lives. She shares a simple practice she's teaching her daughter for the moments when fear shows up. What We Cover: Why Julie wrote The Forgotten Nativity How cross-cultural experience changed the way she reads Scripture, and why historical context matters How Julie's neurodivergence has shaped the way she notices details and asks questions What the Bible actually says about the "inn," and why the manger may have been inside an ordinary family home What we may have assumed about the shepherds that Scripture never actually says The deeper cultural meaning behind the prodigal son What it meant for Mary to sit at Jesus' feet Familiar verses that can sound very different when read in context How slowing down and approaching the Bible with curiosity and humility can change the way we experience Scripture Why better context can deepen our trust in Scripture rather than weaken it A practical way to invite God into moments of fear Key Quotes: "I want my child to know that she can trust the Bible." "When you read Scripture, it's cross-cultural." Connect with Julie Remington: Book: The Forgotten Nativity: A Historically Honest Christmas Story Sign up to be notified when the book releases The Forgotten Nativity Free Coloring Pages Link   Instagram: @honestimagination Facebook YouTube   Join the Conversation: Have you ever read a familiar Bible story and suddenly realized, Wait… does it actually say that? We'd love to hear what you've discovered as you've slowed down and taken a closer look at Scripture. Follow Echos of Impact on Instagram Join the Echos of Impact Community Final Notes: If this conversation encouraged you, follow Echos of Impact wherever you listen so you don't miss an episode. And if you have a minute to leave a review, it helps more women find these conversations and means so much to us. Thanks for being here, friend.

Marriage can be beautiful and deeply life-giving… and still bring out parts of us we didn't know needed work. In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise pull back the curtain on their own marriages and have an honest conversation about what they've learned through nearly 35 years of combined marriage. They share how they met their husbands, what they still love about them after all these years, the rhythms that have helped them stay connected, and some of the places where marriage has stretched them the most. From different conflict styles and perpetual arguments to video games, parenting, intimacy, codependency, apologies, and learning when to step in versus when to let go, this conversation isn't about pretending they have marriage figured out. It's about recognizing that loving someone well sometimes means communicating what you need—and sometimes means trusting God enough to stop trying to manage their growth for them. At the heart of the episode is a reminder that a healthy marriage isn't a conflict-free marriage. It's two imperfect people continuing to turn toward each other, stay curious, repair when things go wrong, and allow God to work in both of them. A note before listening: This conversation reflects Briana and Cherise's personal experiences in healthy, safe marriages. They also acknowledge that some marriages involve emotional or physical unsafety, and their experiences aren't meant to be a formula or comparison point for every relationship. What We Cover: How Briana and Cherise met their husbands—and what first drew them to each other Why going to bed together every night has become an important rhythm in Cherise's marriage Staying connected without expecting your spouse to be your everything Making room for friendships, hobbies, and individuality within marriage Why laughter has helped carry both marriages through hard seasons Putting your marriage before your kids while still being present parents What it looks like to model healthy conflict for your children Why conflict itself isn't necessarily unhealthy The reality of having the same disagreements again and again Cherise's honest struggle with video games in her marriage—and learning the difference between communicating a need, nagging, and quietly holding contempt What happens when one spouse wants to resolve conflict immediately and the other needs space Learning to apologize, repair, and recognize when your spouse may communicate remorse differently than you do The temptation to notice all the ways your spouse could grow Why you can't be your spouse's Holy Spirit Supporting your husband without over-functioning, enabling, or trying to fix him Trusting God with your spouse's growth Recognizing when your desire to "help" is actually being driven by anxiety The many different kinds of intimacy within marriage Protecting time together when you have children at home Staying curious about your spouse, expressing gratitude, and choosing to turn toward each other instead of away Learning the small things that make your spouse feel seen and cared for The power of prayer and focusing on your own growth with God Key Quotes: "You can't be their Holy Spirit." — Cherise "Turn toward each other and not away from each other." — Cherise Join the Conversation: What part of this conversation felt familiar in your own marriage? Maybe it was the way you handle conflict. Maybe it was realizing how easy it is to try to manage someone you love. Or maybe it was the reminder to keep turning toward each other in the ordinary, everyday moments. Come talk with us on Instagram or join the Echos of Impact Community on Facebook: Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/echos_of_impact/ Echos of Impact Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/echosofimpact Final Notes: If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend who might need the conversation too. And if you've been enjoying Echos of Impact, follow the show and leave a review. It helps more women find these conversations and reminds us that the honest stories we share really do matter.