Episodes

  • Episode 161: Alastair Sterne-Recovering Joy

    Episode 161: Alastair Sterne-Recovering Joy
    Nov 12 2024
    Alastair Sterne’s invitation to joy was an unexpected one. Ironically, it was while struggling with depression that he started to pay attention to the full array of his emotions, including joylessness.

    In this fascinating conversation with creative director turned pastor, Alastair Sterne, he discusses his latest book, Longing for Joy: An Invitation to the Goodness and Beauty of Life. Alastair is currently the associate pastor at Coastline Church in Victoria, British Columbia. In our time together, he talks about why joy can be so elusive, how we can hold joy alongside suffering, how joy connects us to God, and practical ways we can cultivate joy. Regardless of where you are emotionally today, Alastair’s insights are sure to inspire and encourage you.

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Episode 160: Tara Beth Leach- Hope in Turbulent Times

    Episode 160: Tara Beth Leach- Hope in Turbulent Times
    Oct 29 2024
    In a turbulent world filled with so much darkness, where and how can we find hope? Furthermore, what role might we play in embodying real hope in a very broken world. These are the kinds of questions I tackle on the podcast today with Tara Beth Leach.

    Tara Beth is an author, speaker, and the senior pastor at Good Shepherd Church in Naperville, Illinois. Her most recent publication is a six-week Bible study entitled, Live in the Light: Radiating the Hope of the Letters of John. In our time together, Tara Beth shares about the important role the church plays in living out light and hope in a broken world. She also talks about how we might live in a grounded and authentic hope and what has inspired her in the belief that, in the end, light wins. Tara Beth also shares some important distinctives of authentic beauty, versus societal ideals she sees at work inside and outside of the church.

    So, if you’re needing a reminder of what true beauty is or where hope might be found, this episode is for you.

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    35 mins
  • Episode 159: Dawn Mann Sanders- Rebuilding After Loss

    Episode 159: Dawn Mann Sanders- Rebuilding After Loss
    Oct 15 2024
    After having two miscarriages, followed by the sudden loss of her husband, Dawn Mann Sanders felt like it was the end of her world as she knew it. Dawn is a Bible teacher and author of When Your World Ends: God’s Creative Process for Rebuilding a Life.

    In her book, and in today’s conversation, Dawn shares what she’s learned about rebuilding after significant loss, as well as what the creation story in the book of Genesis taught her about her own process of grief and rebuilding. If you’re looking for hope and purpose on the other side of loss, this conversation is for you.

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    29 mins
  • Episode 158: Michael Ulloa- Calling Out Nonsense in the Fitness Industry

    Episode 158: Michael Ulloa- Calling Out Nonsense in the Fitness Industry
    Oct 1 2024
    So often the fitness industry can feel intimidating, while messages around health and wellness can be confusing or fuel fear and anxiety. And that’s where Michael Ulloa comes in.

    Michael is an online personal trainer and performance nutritionist. In his online platforms, and in his work with clients, Michael is calling nonsense on unhelpful or ill-advised fitness and nutrition messages. With a background in occupational therapy, he takes a holistic approach to client care, bringing lightness, balance, and joy to the fitness, health, and wellness space.

    ​In my time with Michael, he talks about his own journey, falling prey to fitness content and struggling with body image, as well as the lies he sees at work in the fitness industry. He also discusses how he sees cultural beauty standards influencing the fitness industry and tips for navigating fitness and nutrition content. So, if you’re looking for clarity and balance in your journey with food and movement, this conversation is for you. ​

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    44 mins
  • Episode 157: Jodi Grubbs- Invitation to Slow Living

    Episode 157: Jodi Grubbs- Invitation to Slow Living
    Sep 16 2024
    After leaving her childhood home on the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean, author, slow-living guide, and podcaster, Jodi Grubbs, had assumed the rapid pace and hustle culture in the U.S. Soon, she realized that burnout had crept in, and God was inviting her to a return to the "island time" of her past.

    In her book, Live Slowly: A Gentle Invitation to Exhale, and in today’s conversation, Jodi invites us to grasp a more sustainable approach to life, anchored by the pauses of spiritual practices and an openhandedness before God. Jodi desires to give us all permission to slow down, to see what we’re missing when we don’t slow down and shares practical ways to adopt more gentle life rhythms. She also kindly shares about more tender parts of her journey, such as learning to trust God again after losing her first husband.

    If you’re ready to take a deep breath and settle into a slower, more intentional way of life, this conversation is for you.

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    41 mins
  • Episode 156: Oona Hanson- Parenting Without Diet Culture

    Episode 156: Oona Hanson- Parenting Without Diet Culture
    Sep 4 2024
    Amidst the pressures and messages of diet and wellness culture, it can be hard to know how to help the next generation establish a healthy relationship with food. And that’s where Oona Hanson comes in.

    Oona Hanson is an educator and parenting coach. Through her writing, workshops, and private consultations, she supports families in raising kids who have a healthy relationship with food and their body. Oona also worked as a Family Mentor at Equip, where she was part of a multidisciplinary care team treating children with eating disorders. She has been featured in television programs, like Good Morning America, and her work has been featured in various publications, including People, USA Today, US News & World Report, Today, CNN, and The Washington Post.

    In our time together, Oona discusses what lies from diet culture she sees at work in the lives of the families she works with, how a focus on “healthy eating” can become harmful, myths and misunderstandings about eating disorders, and ideas on how to help kids and teens develop a life-giving relationship with food. If you’re looking for help walking away from diet culture and modeling something different for the next generation, this episode is for you.

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    54 mins
  • Episode 155: Dieula Previlon- Does God See Me?

    Episode 155: Dieula Previlon- Does God See Me?
    Aug 20 2024
    Given the pain and suffering in the world, when life isn’t so beautiful, it can be hard to know how to interact and relate with God. In today’s episode, Dieula Previlon helps us see how leaning into our questions with God can bring about healing and transformation in our lives.

    Dieula is a licensed professional counselor, ordained minister, certified life purpose coach, and the founder of the non-profit, ElevateHer International Ministries. ElevateHer works to empower women around the world to heal from trauma and become instruments for healing, peace and hope through large and small group trauma healing training.

    In my time with Dieula, we talk about her new book, Does God See Me?: How God Meets Us in the Center of Our Trauma-Healing Journey. Dieula helps us see the importance of lament, why integrating hope is pivotal in the trauma healing journey and reminds us that we are indeed seen by God.

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    47 mins
  • Episode 154: Micha Boyett- Living Into the Dream of God

    Episode 154: Micha Boyett- Living Into the Dream of God
    Jun 25 2024
    Words have the power to form us. And that has indeed been the case for author, youth pastor, and podcaster, Micha Boyett. In today’s conversation with Micha, she explains how living with the beatitudes, while raising her son with Down syndrome and autism, has deeply formed her.

    In our time together, she talks about the Dream of God, a reality in which everything is defined by the love of God, and how that concept has shaped her. She also talks about a renewed understanding of what ‘blessing’ means and how we hold the tension of longing for the Dream of God, while living in a very broken world. In Micha’s latest book, Blessed Are the Rest of Us, she was invited into a new way of living in the world, a way of wholeness and flourishing that Jesus taught about. And in today’s conversation, she invites into that same way of living.

    Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.
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    51 mins