Just Love Them

This episode is a little different—instead of Shiree interviewing a guest, she shares an interview where she was the one answering the questions. With permission, Shiree airs her recent conversation with Chad Shober, host of The Pneuma Meditation podcast.Chad’s podcast is non-denominational, created to bring people of different faiths together through Christ-like love, respect, and understanding. In this open and heartfelt interview, Shiree shares:Personal stories from her life and the struggles that shaped herHow those challenges have transformed her perspectiveWhat her biggest challenge is right nowInsights on finding peace and connection across differencesIt’s a refreshing, raw, and uplifting conversation about faith, growth, and unity—you won’t want to miss this one.🎥 Watch the video version and listen to Chad’s original episode HERE.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

In this episode, I’m joined by Jeanna and David Hepburn, who share their remarkable story of healing, redemption, and love.For years, David wrestled with the pull of pornography, the burden of guilt, and 20 years spent away from God. Ultimately, God gave Him a miracle as great as "parting the waters of the Red Sea". In another state, Jeana walked her own path of heartache, learning to trust God in the consequence of others’ choices. Though they were not together during those difficult years, each discovered the peace and restoration found in the atonement of Jesus Christ.In God’s perfect timing, their separate journeys of healing ultimately brought them to each other. Today, their marriage is built on understanding, grace, and faith.Their story is a beautiful reminder that it’s never too late for God’s healing to change us, bring us back to Him, and even create new beginnings. This conversation is filled with honesty, hope, and the assurance that no matter where we’ve been, Christ can make us whole again.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

This week’s guest is Lindsay Schiess—speaker, therapist, and professor at the University of Utah—who brings both professional expertise and deep compassion to one of the most tender experiences families face.As a therapist, Lindsay has worked with individuals on both sides of faith transitions. She offers thoughtful insight into why it feels so painful when a loved one leaves their religion—and explains how, at its core, it’s often an attachment wound.In this powerful conversation, Lindsay shares practical tools to help you navigate the swirl of emotions that can surface: grief, fear, anger, confusion, and even shame. She teaches how to honor your own experience without dismissing it, so you can create enough internal safety to truly hold space for others.If you’ve ever felt torn between staying true to yourself and staying connected to someone you love, this episode will help you understand what’s happening beneath the surface—and how real healing begins.Connect with Lindsay: InstagramLinkedinLindsayschiess.comPodcast: Therapist Question BoxConnect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

Why does it seem like God speaks so clearly to some people… but not to you?In this episode, I share a powerful and unconventional way I’ve learned to receive clear, loving direction from God—especially during seasons of confusion, heartbreak, and strained relationships.When a loved one leaves the faith…When family dynamics feel painful…When you don’t know what to do next…We plead for answers. We want clarity. We want peace.Today I talk about:Why God doesn’t communicate the same way to everyoneHow to recognize the way He speaks to youA deeply personal experience that changed how I see my familyA powerful form of prayer that has brought me remarkable clarity and healingThis practice has softened my heart, strengthened my relationships, and brought answers when I desperately needed direction.God is not silent.He is not withholding.He wants to speak to you.If you’re seeking clearer direction and deeper peace, this episode is for you.To receive updates/information about the upcoming support group, go to ⁠shireebest.com⁠  Fill out the form on the home page with the word "interested" in the message box.Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

What do you do when one child leaves and later returns… another passes away from the effects of drug use… and a third relationship feels distant?In this deeply moving conversation, Karen Smith shares her journey as a mother navigating all three realities. With remarkable grace and honesty, she opens up about addiction, grief, hope, disappointment, and the steady love of God that carried her through it all.Karen reflects on:Loving a child who leaves—and welcoming them homeLosing a child to the heartbreaking effects of drug useNavigating family strain and relational distanceReleasing control and trusting God with her childrenLearning to see her children the way God sees themThrough unimaginable pain and uncertainty, Karen discovered a powerful truth: God’s love for our children is deeper, more personal, and more redemptive than we often understand.This episode may gently shift your paradigm—from fear to faith, from striving to surrender, from worry to trust.If you’ve ever wrestled with heartbreak in your family, felt helpless watching a child struggle, or wondered how to keep loving when it hurts, this conversation will meet you there.You will be inspired. And you may never see your children and other loved ones—or God’s love—the same way again.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

When someone you love steps away from the faith you cherish, it can be hard to feel love. It can be hard to be a light. It may be more likely that you feel devastated. Rejected. Afraid. Angry. Sad.So how do you truly love and be a light when your heart is hurting?In this episode, I share three life-changing shifts that helped me love my children who left the church—without compromising my faith or values. You can’t control another adult’s choices. But you can control your heart.And when you change, the relationship changes.If you’re tired of tension, walking on eggshells, or feeling rejected… this episode will give you a path forward.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

Returning guest and family relationship therapist Emil Harker joins the podcast to tackle a question many of you quietly wrestle with: What do you do when “just love them” feels like “let them take advantage of me”?In true, animated Emil-style, he breaks down what healthy boundaries actually look like—not walls, not ultimatums, but respectful limits that protect connection and self-respect. Emil shares practical communication strategies that help you stay loving without losing yourself, and shows how honoring both sides can lead to relationships that feel safer, stronger, and more balanced.Connect with Emil: emilharker@gmail.comEmil's podcast, The Emil ShowWebsite: EmilSpeaks.comConnect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

Sometimes the most dangerous lies aren’t loud or obvious.They sound like your own thoughts.In this episode, Shiree shares a powerful realization that came while sitting in the temple—one that changed the way she understands how the adversary works on faithful, covenant-keeping people.Rather than pulling us off the path outright, Satan often works quietly, whispering discouragement, shame, blame, and defeat in ways we don’t even recognize as deception.This episode explores:Why discouragement and defeat never come from GodHow to recognize when a thought isn’t actually yoursThe “slippery slide” many of us don’t realize we’re onHow the Savior stays close—even when the lies feel loudIf you’ve ever felt worn down, blamed yourself for things you couldn’t control, or struggled to feel peace despite doing your best—this conversation is for you.You are not alone.And awareness changes everything.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

Grief doesn’t only come from loss we can name or explain. Sometimes it comes from shattered expectations—especially when someone we love chooses a path different from the one we imagined for them.In this episode, life coach Lindsey Shumway joins me to share a powerful and compassionate grief protocol she has taught to many of her clients—and recently used herself as her daughter took a direction Lindsay didn’t expect.Lindsey opens up about her own experience with honesty and tenderness, then walks us through a simple but deeply meaningful 4-step process designed to help us move through grief rather than get stuck inside it. This protocol honors both love and disappointment, allowing space for pain without letting it define the relationship—or us.If you’re grieving what could have been, what you hoped for, or what didn’t turn out the way you planned, this conversation may offer exactly the support you’ve been looking for.Lindsey's books: I Chose You, 101 Creative Dates for Latter-day Saints, Teeny Tiny Talks, What Baptism Means to Me are available at www.cedarfort.comThe FREE Heart-Centered Breathing Meditation: https://meditation.hello-bliss.comThe Emotional Guidance Scale:  https://thejoywithin.org/authors/abraham-hicks/moving-up-the-emotional-guidance-scaleConnect with Lindsey at: www.hello-bliss.com, @helloblisslifecoachingConnect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

In this episode, I share a powerful journaling method that helped me move through a season of deep emotional pain—and has the potential to ease both emotional and physical pain.After learning this approach from my friend and past podcast guest Julie Hawkes, I discovered a simple but profound truth: unresolved emotions can keep our nervous system stuck in pain. When those emotions are safely expressed and released, the pain no longer needs to stay.If you’re carrying pain—grief, anger, fear, heartbreak, or even unexplained physical symptoms—I invite you to listen with an open heart and consider giving this “medicine” a try.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

This beautiful bonus episode is a meditation that can be used to accompany the "Junk Journaling" method for the last 10 minutes, or can be used as a stand-alone meditation any time you want to use it. This meditation is a gift for you.

Alyce Jeppesen is an interfaith chaplain, devoted wife, and mother to a beautifully blended family of seven. Her life story includes seasons of deep pain and profound growth—abuse, divorce, remarriage, blending families, cancer, having multiple family members leave the church, and courageously questioning her own faith.In this tender and honest conversation, Alyce shares her journey through heartbreak and healing, what it has meant to stay present in uncertainty, and how her heart has been restored along the way. Her story offers gentle wisdom and “golden gems” of insight that bring hope, compassion, and peace—no matter where you find yourself on your own path.Connect with Shiree at: ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

Welcome to Season 3 of Just Love Them. This season is an invitation to find peace, heal relationships, and learn to trust God with the people we love—especially those who have stepped away from our faith.In this episode, we explore a powerful truth that brings deep comfort: God’s love and help are not reserved for just the obedient or the “faithful.” God is aware of every one of His children and is actively involved in all of our lives—regardless of belief, behavior, or church attendance.This episode gently challenges the belief that God withdraws His love or help when someone steps off the covenant path. Instead, it offers reassurance that God never abandons His children. He is present, aware, and working for good in the lives of all whom He loves—including your loved ones.God is not an all-or-nothing God. His love is constant, inclusive, and relentless. And on this truth, you can rest.Peace is possible.Scripture ReferencesJohn 3:17John 14:18Hebrews 13:51 Nephi 21:14–16Doctrine & Covenants 18:10Doctrine & Covenants 50:40–42Alma 36:3Moroni 7:33Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

The original of this powerful episode aired on Feb. 24, 2025.Faith and hope are essential to belief—but what happens when we anchor our hope in the wrong thing? This week, Melonie Mullen joins us to share her journey, the hard lessons she’s learned, and the incredible transformation that comes when we shift our hope to the right place. Don’t miss this inspiring conversation about perspective, trust, and finding true peace.Check out Melonie’s blog⁠HERE⁠ to read about the shocking event that happened less than 24 hours after we recorded this episode—and see how she applied these very principles to find peace in the midst of it all.Connect with Shiree:Email: imlivinginjoy@gmail.comFacebook:⁠ Just Love Them⁠Website:⁠Shireebest.com

The original of this powerful episode aired on January 6, 2025.Understanding how people give and receive apologies differently can be a game-changer, especially when faith differences create tension or distance. We’ll discuss the five apology languages, how they can help bridge misunderstandings, and ways to use them to foster healing and connection with those you love.If you're feeling hurt, lost, or unsure how to mend a strained relationship, this episode is here to help. We’ll explore practical ideas and heartfelt perspectives to guide you toward understanding, healing, and peace. Tune in and let’s work through this together.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠Take the quiz: ⁠https://5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/apology-language⁠Buy the books: ⁠The 5 Apology Languages⁠⁠The 5 Love Languages

Welcome to Episode 100 of the Just Love Them podcast! What a perfect topic to celebrate it with: JOY. At Christmastime we see the word everywhere, but real, lasting joy goes far deeper than holiday décor or happy moments.Tune in to this episode to learn how joy is different from happiness, and how to get more of this deep and fulfilling feeling into your life - regardless of what you are currently experiencing. Joy is a gift from God, and it is meant for YOU.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

Today’s episode is all about the promises you have access to right now. Did you know that the promises we read about in scripture weren’t just for ancient people—but are extended to you, personally, today?Julie Hawkes, a master scriptorian, joins me to share powerful stories from the scriptures alongside experiences from her own life. Together, we explore how God steps into impossible situations and keeps His promises in ways that are often unexpected, tender, and transformative.If you need a reminder that God is aware of you—and is already working in your story—this hopeful episode is one you won’t want to miss.The Laws of Peace podcastConnect with JulieGet the Scripture CardsConnect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

We’ve all had a moment when a tiny pebble sneaks into our shoe and makes it almost impossible to keep walking. We stop, we remove it, and we move forward.But what about the pebbles in our hearts—old hurts, resentments, memories, or disappointments that stay hidden until something shakes them loose?In this episode, I share a deeply personal story of discovering a pebble I didn't know I still carried. A story about a niece I loved like my own daughter—our closeness, our drifting apart, and the shock of realizing that years later, I still held hurt.When tragedy struck her life, I wanted to help. But that pebble—unnoticed, unacknowledged—made generosity feel hard. Pain blocked compassion. I wasn’t proud of how I felt, but I was honest about it. And that honesty opened the door to healing.This is an episode about:💛 Listening to your heart instead of ignoring the pain💛 Letting God remove what you cannot💛 Replacing hurt with love💛 Choosing compassion over resentment💛 Letting miracles begin inside you. Resources Mentioned🔸 Write & Burn Method LINK🔸 Additional heart-healing tools 🔸 GoFundMe for Olivia (Niki) — LINK

In this deeply personal and faith-affirming episode, Shiree shares tender stories of young people—and her own experience—wrestling with God’s silence. From a returned missionary praying on a mountainside for a butterfly that never came, to a young woman pleading in the celestial room for assurance, to Shiree’s teenage prayers that seemed to go unheard for months, we explore the painful question so many ask:Why doesn’t God answer when we are trying so hard to reach Him?Through scripture, personal witnesses, and sacred examples - this episode invites us to see unanswered prayers not as abandonment, but as part of God’s refining, strengthening, deeply intentional plan.This episode is a reminder that God has a plan, even when we don’t understand it. He sees what we cannot. And while His timing may feel painfully slow, He is always near, always aware, always working for our highest good.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com

Join Shiree and special guest Michelle D. Craig, former First Counselor in the General Young Women Presidency, for a heartfelt conversation about the pain, growth, and unexpected beauty that can come from life’s hardest seasons.Together they explore what it means to feel the feelings without losing hope, how to recognize Christ’s hand in the smallest details of our lives, and the powerful difference between our job and His job.Michelle shares insights about trusting the Savior through uncertainty and reminds us that He always stands ready to rescue, heal, and save—no matter where we are on the path.If you’ve ever wondered how to find faith and meaning in the middle of struggle, this episode will speak peace to your heart.Connect with Shiree at ⁠shireebest.com⁠ Join the⁠ "Just Love Them" Facebook group⁠Email Shiree at imlivinginjoy@gmail.com