LOVE IS FEARLESS

In our last episode, we shared the discovery that has been quietly reshaping our lives: what if Jesus is inviting us, not simply to believe in the Kingdom, but to inhabit our Father's world? Once we began living that way, another question emerged:a Why hadn't we been living this way before? That question eventually gave birth to the Story Maps. We didn't create the maps because we wanted a framework. They grew out of months of discovering what it felt like to trust God's design and participate in the ordinary rhythms of the world He made. Morning light. Movement. Real food. Rest. Relationships. Peace. None of those practices felt like techniques for becoming better people. They simply felt like life in a different world. The deeper we looked, the more we realized we had spent years trying to become good in the world we had made, rather than learning to receive life in the world God made. The Story Maps became our attempt to sketch the difference between the world we had inherited and the world we were learning to inhabit. In this conversation, we share the story behind those maps, why stories came before diagrams, and why we now think of the maps as companions rather than conclusions. Continue the Expedition 📖 Read the companion Field Notes on Substack: LIF #174 | The Story Behind the Maps 📄 Download the first Story Maps companion resource from the Field Notes and carry it with you as you read Scripture, watch a favorite story, or simply pay attention to the ordinary moments of your week. 🌿 Learn more about The Story Expedition and John 15 Academy If this conversation encouraged you, we'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who enjoys asking good questions and exploring alongside others. Together, let's go see.

It's been six months since we last recorded an episode of Love Is Fearless. We thought we were simply taking a break. Looking back, we think we were being invited into a deeper discovery. In this conversation, we share why this season of the podcast feels different. Rather than offering another framework or a collection of answers, we're learning to notice something we had overlooked for years: what if the Kingdom of God is not merely something we believe in, but the reality we were made to inhabit? Together, we explore why the ordinary world has become more interesting than ever—why Jesus so often pointed to birds, vines, seeds, and children—and why we believe the invitation isn't to figure everything out, but to begin paying attention. Whether you've been listening from the beginning or this is your first episode, we're grateful you're here. Let's go see. Continue the Expedition Read the latest Substack article: I Didn't Know There Was Another World Listen to Janet's conversation with Dr. Ben Edwards on You're the Cure: [Audio link] [YouTube link] Learn more about The Story Expedition and John 15 Academy: https://john15academy.com Thanks for listening. If this conversation encouraged you, we'd love for you to share it with someone who might enjoy exploring alongside us.  

If you've been told your exhaustion is a personal failure — that better boundaries or better self-care would fix it — this episode is for you. Because what if the problem isn't how you manage your energy? What if the problem is where it's going? Janet and Doug name a pattern that lives quietly inside countless women's lives: the hidden energy tax of narrative management. The relentless, often unconscious work of holding your own pain and protecting others from the weight of their impact — simultaneously, in the same breath, sometimes in the same sentence. Janet tells her own story in this episode — the well her mother fell into, the weight her father let his children carry, the marriages where the pattern felt completely natural because she'd been practicing it since childhood. And the marriage counseling room that confirmed what her nervous system already believed: your pain doesn't get to stand alone. It has to wait until you've managed everything else first. This is a conversation about the trap that looked like spiritual maturity, and the difference between genuine gifting and powerlessness wearing a spiritual disguise. This is a conversation about what God actually offers when you stop spending your energy protecting everyone else from the truth. Your energy belongs to you. To your healing. To your flourishing. That's not selfishness. That's obedience. In this episode: The hidden energy tax: the devastating math behind women's exhaustion Narrative management — what it is, where it comes from, and what it's costing you The trap of "be good enough to be safe" and why spiritual maturity can't get you there The difference between genuine compassion and powerlessness dressed as spiritual maturity What God promises when you stop controlling the story Four questions to sit with this week Four practical takeaways to begin redirecting your energy Scripture referenced: Psalm 46:1 — I am your refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 25:3 — No one who hopes in Me will ever be put to shame. Matthew 11:28–30 — Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened... Resources mentioned: A free AMA (Ask Me Anything) with Janet and Doug - the first Thursday of every month, 8-9 pm (CT) E is for Energy, Not Powerlessness - an article on Substack Before We Knew Our Wounds Were Real — a companion article on Substack Connect with Janet: Website | Substack | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Together, there is great hope.  

Introduction: "Pain has a way of interrupting purpose. And when pain lasts long enough, survival replaces growth." This devastating reality defines most of the systems we've built—medical, educational, even in the church. We've become really good at helping people survive, but we've stopped dreaming about helping them flourish. Today we're exploring the difference between empire dreams (optimizing within broken systems) and kingdom dreams (believing God has designed something better than we can imagine). You're in the right place if: You've settled into helping your kids just cope with life when deep down you wonder if there's supposed to be more than surviving You keep asking "what's wrong with my kid?" instead of "what's wrong with how my kid is experiencing childhood?" You've been told "this is as good as it gets" and you've started to believe it You're tired of building better coping mechanisms when what you really want is healing and wholeness Imagine a car manufacturer where 60% of vehicles break down. Instead of redesigning the car, they just get better at repairs. No factory would do this—but this is exactly what we're doing with our children. Sixty percent of kids struggle with mental health issues, yet we're building better coping mechanisms instead of asking what's breaking them. Three False Traditions: The Medical System - Dr. Ben Edwards discovered that much of our medical system is built on theories proven false, with exaggerated pharmaceutical claims and almost no advice about nutrition, peace, movement, and hydration. The false tradition: "Manage your symptoms with medication." The kingdom dream: "What if your body was designed to heal?" The Neuroscience System - Dr. Lee Warren (Episode #170) says the idea that you're stuck with the brain you have is just a theory—and it's not true. Neuroplasticity proves that when you take every thought captive, you literally build a different brain: new neural pathways, different hormones, new cells. The kingdom dream: "Transformation by renewing your mind is literal biology." The Education System - Janet shares her journey from traditional education (modifications and accommodations) to Charlotte Mason's philosophy at Ambleside School. Same children, radically different results—they flourished. The kingdom dream: "What if children are designed for transformation, not transaction?" Empire Dreams vs. Kingdom Dreams: Empire dreams optimize within broken systems—outcome-driven, asking "How do I acquire power in the current system?" They focus on treatment and management. Dreams have a ceiling. Kingdom dreams pursue transformation itself—trust-driven, asking "What if God has designed something better than I can imagine?" They focus on prevention, restoration, and flourishing. Dreams are supernatural. Key Takeaways: What am I dreaming about? Am I optimizing within the current system, or dreaming about transformation? Get honest about whether your dreams have a ceiling or are kingdom-sized. What false traditions have I accepted? Where have I settled for "this is as good as it gets"? Name one area where you've stopped asking questions and started just coping. What would I dream if I believed God could give me a bigger thought than I could have by myself? What if the pain isn't chronic? What if healing is possible? Ask God to give you His dream. Where do I see the 60% problem in my world? Where are systems producing broken results, but we keep building the same way? This week, ask God one kingdom question about something you've accepted as unchangeable. Listen, write down what He shows you, and share it with one trusted person. Remember: When pain disrupts purpose and survival replaces growth, we need dreams bigger than coping mechanisms. We need kingdom dreams. God is already dreaming them—we just need to ask Him what He sees.     Resources Mentioned: Education by Design, Not Default by Janet Newberry: https://a.co/d/aGuYDfx  Substack article "D is for Dreams, Not False Traditions": https://open.substack.com/pub/janetnewberry/p/d-is-for-dreams-not-false-traditions You're The Cure podcast with Dr. Ben Edwards: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/youre-the-cure-w-dr-ben-edwards/id1266700954  Dr. Lee Warren: https://wleewarrenmd.com/  Join the Conversation: Register for our monthly AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the first Thursday night of each month by visiting john15academy.com/services  Together, there is great hope.  

Guest: Dr. Lee Warren, Board-Certified Neurosurgeon Introduction: What if you could change your brain by changing your mind? Board-certified neurosurgeon Dr. Lee Warren joins us to reveal something revolutionary: you're not stuck with the brain you have. Through groundbreaking neuroscience research, we now know that what you repeatedly think about literally restructures your brain. For parents learning to live from agency instead of control, understanding what's actually happening in your nervous system changes everything. Dr. Warren's new book, The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery: Connecting Neuroscience and Faith to Radically Transform Your Life, releases February 3, 2026. You're in the right place if: You wonder why you keep defaulting to control, even when you want to parent from peace It feels impossible to break old patterns even though you know the truth Your child struggles with thoughts like "I'm stupid," "I'll never learn," or "everyone else can do this but me." You avoid letting your kids struggle because you want to protect them from pain You want to understand the neuroscience behind why fear-based parenting creates control operating systems in your children You're ready to break generational patterns of fear and shame in your family Episode Highlights: Mind vs. Brain - The Revolutionary Truth Traditional neuroscience has taught that your brain generates everything about you—your personality, memories, even your sense of having a mind. But here's the problem: there's no actual science proving this is true. It's just a theory. Through functional MRI imaging developed around 2000, we can now see what really happens: your mind directs your brain, not the other way around. Your brain is like your kidneys or heart—an organ that carries out the interaction of your mind with the world. This changes everything. The Neuroscience of Fear vs. Gratitude When you're afraid, your amygdala (a walnut-sized area in your limbic system) triggers fight-or-flight responses. It's tiny and can't think well—it can only react. But your hippocampus acts like a one-way switch: it either triggers your amygdala OR your frontal lobes (billions of neurons designed for rational thinking). The deciding factor? Fear or gratitude. You literally cannot be grateful and anxious at the same time. This is exactly what Paul described in Philippians 4:6-8 two thousand years ago: "Don't be anxious, be grateful instead...think about what's noble, true, lovely..." Paul was 2,000 years ahead of neuroscience. The Auburn University Discovery Dr. Warren shares the pivotal moment at Auburn University's MRI Research Center when he and his wife Lisa watched a patient's brain respond to different thoughts in real-time. When thinking about the worst day of her life, her amygdala lit up, blood pressure rose, heart rate increased. When thinking about her happiest memory, frontal lobes activated, peace indicators appeared, blood pressure and heart rate dropped. That's when God spoke to Dr. Warren: "When you do surgery, you intentionally make a structural change in someone's brain to improve their life. When someone changes from harmful thoughts to helpful thoughts, they're also intentionally making structural changes in their brain to improve their life. That's surgery too—self-brain surgery." The Power of Anti-Fragility We've been taught that humans are fragile—easily broken and needing protection. But Scripture, neuroscience, psychology, and social science all agree: we're actually anti-fragile. You can't be as strong as you're capable of being without being broken a few times along the way. Romans 5:3-5 explains the process: suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Your mid-anterior cingulate (the part of your brain that handles willpower and resilience) literally gets stronger when you do hard things you don't want to do. George's Story - From Dyslexia to Fearless Dr. Warren's 7-year-old grandson George couldn't read despite being brilliant at everything else. He was diagnosed with dyslexia and worked with a tutor for 8 months, making up 3 grade years in reading. When George called his grandfather and said, "Pop, I'm a reader!" everyone wept. But here's the lesson: George is now fearless at age 10 because he faced the hardest thing in his life—not being able to read—and overcame it. If his parents had blamed the school or lowered standards, George would still be afraid of things he doesn't know how to manage. Instead, he knows nothing in his entire life will be as hard as learning to read, and he did it anyway. Mary's Story - From "I'm Stupid" to Syracuse Graduate Janet shares about 10-year-old Mary who had every learning label and refused to pick up a pencil or book. When learning to type, every mistake beep triggered outrage: "I'm stupid, I'll never learn, you hate me." After 3 days, Janet transcribed Mary's words on a whiteboard and asked, "Can we call this list 'lies'?" They created a truth list: next to "I'm stupid" was "I'm capable," next to "you hate me" was "you believe in me." Mary's new instruction: every time she heard the beep, name the truth. Beep. Truth. Beep. Truth. Struggle, truth. In 3 weeks, Mary typed 35 words per minute with 98% accuracy. She recently graduated from Syracuse University on a creative writing scholarship. The Critical Lesson for Parents Don't just let your kids suffer—teach them to struggle well in truth. Many of us developed unhealthy willpower and over-functioned in dysfunctional environments out of fear, not agency. When you teach children that everything they think isn't true and that even when something is true, there's more to the truth God wants them to see, you're giving them the tools for transformation. Come alongside them. Show them how to confess their story to God, ask Him what's true, then walk in that truth. The Three Sources of Thoughts Not every thought you think comes from you. Thoughts come from three sources: (1) your brain's automated patterns, (2) yourself and the Holy Spirit, or (3) the enemy. Learning to discern which source is speaking—and training your children to do the same—is essential for self-brain surgery. Key Takeaways: Start practicing self-brain surgery today. When you're triggered or afraid, confess your actual story to God. Ask Him what's true. Walk in that truth. Let your kids see you do this. Do one hard thing you don't want to do. Your mid-anterior cingulate cortex gets the signal that you're the kind of person who can do hard things, making all future hard things easier. This works for your kids too. Let your children suffer when it's safe to do so. Don't protect them from scraped knees, failed tests, or rejected friendship notes. Their brains are built for this. The Bible promises it. Your child needs evidence that they can survive hard things before they face the next hard thing. Teach the "two truths" practice. When your child says "I'm stupid" or "I'll never learn," acknowledge their feeling ("Yes, this is hard right now") AND teach them to name the truth ("AND you're capable, AND you're learning, AND struggle doesn't define you"). Focus on what you're grateful for, not what scares you. Your hippocampus is a one-way switch—it either activates your fear response or your thinking brain, but not both. Practice gratitude to literally change your brain chemistry and model this for your children. Remember: the generational chaos ends now. God has declared it, and He's made your mind and brain to promise it's true. You can't give what you haven't received, so do this work for your sake AND your children's sake. Closing Thought: "Let your adversity make you more like Christ. It will make you more of who you're supposed to be. The more we stop thinking 'I want to live my own truth and follow my own way' and instead follow His way, the closer we get to Him, the better we use our brains, the better we use our hearts, the more alive we become, the more free we become." - Dr. Lee Warren     Resources: Dr. Lee Warren's new book: The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery: Connecting Neuroscience and Faith to Radically Transform Your Life (Available everywhere books are sold, including an audio version read by Dr. Warren) Website: DrLeeWarren.com (for books, podcast, YouTube, Instagram, and the School of Self-Brain Surgery) Dr. Lee Warren's podcast  Connect with Love Is Fearless: Email: [email protected] Contact information for Formation Cohorts and family consulting. Website: John15Academy.com Together, there is great hope.