Beloved & Beautiful Podcast

Gardens birth beauty and radiate with life. They bring rest. Refreshment. And refocus. A place of solitude. A place to think. A place to steal away for perspective.Gardens are also places where brokenness lives. Seeds fall. Bury. Break. And are then birthed into new life. Pruning takes place in the garden. Weeds are pulled. Dead limbs trimmed away. And soil is tilled and softened.In life we find ourselves in one of two gardens. A garden of pressing, crushing, pruning, or brokenness. Or a garden blooming with new life, vibrant color, and resurrection.Jesus visited both of these gardens. One of betrayal and pain. One of victory and conquering death. This week as we celebrate Easter may we take a minute to revisit and ponder on all that the Garden of Gethsemane and the garden tomb reveal to us today. May our heart be illuminated with new light into these two gardens and the transforming power available to you and me in whatever garden you find yourself in today: A garden full of despair, sorrow, and pain or the garden of life, power, and victory.

Have you ever found yourself in a season of life where it feels like those closest to you seem to be drifting away? This invisible wall ushers in space, distance, and disconnect almost overnight?What once was a close and authentic relationship now is obscure and ambiguous. You find yourself asking how, why, and when only to uncover no real substance or clues. This shift and detour in life appears to have no real reason, but perhaps there is a purpose after all.In this week's podcast, Jenn shares insight that might shed light into this road you find yourself on. Possibly your journey of separation will result in encountering a miracle you didn't know you had need of.

Every little girl dreams of being “swept away in love” when they grow up. It’s simply in our design and make-up. Fashioned from the beginning to be captivated, chosen, and cherished. When all grown up the reality sets in that maybe this was only a childhood dream. Not a reality. Chasing after “love” has left you exhaustively hopeless. The only plant growing in the garden of your heart are the weeds of doubt, disbelief, and suspicion. “Does True Love even exist?” you hear your heart whisper. The silence lingering reveals your heart’s honest answer. “I don’t think so.” Uncertain and unconvinced you go through the motions of your day, week, month, and year. Loosing more and more confidence that True Love will find you. Choose you. Love you. And free you. In this episode, Jenn shares how these feelings and shortcomings in your past attempts of finding love haunt us all. These heart longings are placed on purpose to be met by only One. To be swept away by Love is not just in the fairy tales. But has found you.

Waiting is part of life. And we all have to wait, daily, for something or someone. It's our reality if we like it or not. Big or small, wait time doesn't happen in our time. It's never on time. And seems to drag on for a long time. When we wait for what seems like eternity is there purpose? If so what is the purpose of waiting? Or are we just wasting our time? I'm so glad you asked...in this episode, Jenn shares five benefits and purposes of waiting. How it transforms us, if we let it. And how we can walk away from seasons of waiting gifted in season itself. With this fresh outlook and choice, seasons of waiting can bring about renewed strength and maturity within. Just as exercising is never comfortable to the body so too waiting is never comfortable to the soul. But the weight and pressure of waiting tone us in ways we never thought possible. The choice is yours to make.

Who likes to wait? From birth on…none of us like to wait. And yet it seems to be never-ending. We wait in line for carry out, in a doctor's office, school pick up line, grocery store checkout, rush hour traffic, on a job promotion, financial breakthrough, and the list goes on...It seems that most of our lives are spent waiting on something to happen or change. So what do you do in the waiting? How do you keep from losing strength, growing weary, or giving up? Is there some action to be taken during what seems like endless seasons of waiting? Waiting on God to move and come through for you?And how do we stay encouraged and not lose hope? Does God even hear me or care? With every day of delay, exhaustion sets in deeper and takes up more real estate in your life. You wonder, “Did I hear God correctly? Did I miss something?”. And doubt sets in. Waiting is real. And it finds us all.Listen in this week, as Jenn shares what to do in these seasons of waiting. Whatever you are waiting on...there are some actions that can bring renewed strength, expectation, and anticipation right where you are at.

There are some truths you can be sure of. As certain as the rising and setting of the sun each and every day, we can hang our hats on this one thing to be a constant, every single day. What is it? What is the one thing you will never hear the devil say? It is this: The truth. It’s impossible. And he is completely incapable of doing so. For the devil only speaks lies. It is the enemy’s native language. It’s nothing new. Since the Garden of Eden, his tricks and schemes were dripping with lies. The devil tried this on Jesus when being tempted in the desert. And it didn’t work.On this week’s episode, listen in as Jenn and guest Sonya, share the truth about who you are and how to combat lies we face as we come to the realization that we are God’s Beloved and free.

It's a new year. New beginnings. New outlook. New hope. And new things to change in your life...if you are like me, and millions of other people, making a new year's resolution is good...for about the first two months. Then excitement is lost. Energy disappears. Momentum halted. And you find yourself in the same place weeks before toasting your champagne glass watching firecrackers fill the sky.And on the coattails of slacking on your resolution follow guilt, disappointment, defeat, and feelings of failure.Is there a better way? Well, I'm glad you asked...this year let's start a new trend. Let's begin our new year from a different angle.Listen in this week as we talk about a shift from resolutions to revelations. This radical shift is sure to bring transformation instead of obligation. Striding through this next year instead of striving. And change that is here to stay.

Giving thanks is more than a holiday that comes and goes once a year. It’s a practice and discipline that bears fruit beyond measure. It changes you. Creates abundance. Births miracles. And brings new wonder and awe to daily life. But in the midst of pain and brokenness how do you give thanks? What does that look like when buried in rejection and burdened by betrayal? There is one Man who knows more than us all the power of choosing thank-full in deepest pain. Listen in this week as we see what thanks-giving releases even in the worst of life’s hurt.

Have you ever wished you had more time? More hours in your day to accomplish all that is on your list? To really live and enjoy the relationships in your life? To live life fully, more abundantly, and soak in the beautiful moments of life so fleeting and fading? Yeah, me too. We all do. What if I told you that choosing to live a life disciplined in the art of gratitude and thankfulness would create in your life more fuller and richer moments...release a childlike awe and wonder to your everyday life…or even release the miraculous in your world. Would you believe me? Well, it’s true. And it’s not my idea…it’s God’s idea and His heart toward you. Listen in as I share the beautiful benefits and transformation that living a life of gratitude brings into your life. Truly, it will transform your thinking. And change your life.

Photography is really about two things: light and focal points. As a photographer, where I choose to place the focal point of my lens is everything. It creates the mood. Clarity. Crispness. Vibrancy. And emotion of what I’m capturing. I can hon in on the littlest of details or look further down the road before me and focus on what is far before me. I choose. I then alter the appropriate light needed to accurately focus on the object or person I’m capturing. Isn’t this the same way in life? We can choose to focus on something minor and insignificant or we can zoom out and gain a grander perspective. Choosing to be thank-full is like photography. We can choose what we focus on in our journey of life and we can choose the amount of light we shed into that area of our life. This week, join me as we unwrap the first few benefits of living a life full of thanks creates in our hearts and minds. The beautiful thing is we can start now! And we can choose to change our heart’s focus and give thanks resulting in rediscovered identity, renewed hope, and joy unspeakable.

This morning I needed to reset. I woke up “on the wrong side of the bed” as the saying goes. I felt off. Grumpy. And in dire need of more than what coffee could provide. But what? What did my heart yearn for and crave?Each one of us is full of something. What is the main ingredient of your life and heart? Are you full of thanks? Or thank-filled? What seeds are impeded deep in your heart’s soil? Are they seeds of thankfulness? Gratitude? Appreciation? Or the contrary, weeds of discontentment? Ingratitude? Thanklessness? What pours out of your words and speech?Why are we commanded to rejoice always? Talk with God continually? And in everything give thanks? (I Thessalonians 5:17) Perhaps the one who made you and me, knows the deep wiring of our hearts. And the power of gratitude for our souls.This side of the Garden of Eden, you and I don’t default to a heart of giving thanks. We don’t naturally pour out gratitude and fill ourselves with thankfulness. Why would God give us this commandment in His love letter to you and me? If we already do it; why the need for a commandment?There is the answer…because we don’t do it. We aren’t naturally full of thanks. It’s a choice. It’s a discipline. It’s a decision to fill ourselves with thanks. And the outcome? Life-changing. Come walk along this road of gratitude and thanks-giving…it maybe exactly what your heart needs to “reset” and live each moment to it’s fullest.

Are you feeling sick at heart? Have unrelenting life disappointments left you numb, cynical, critical, disconnected, and focused on everything you “don’t” have? What do we do when extreme unexplained disappointments invade the very core of our being; pounding our souls relentlessly day and night? How do we catch our breath and feel again? How do we maneuver through the deepest places of our heart and find wholeness for our shattered hearts buried beneath life’s brutal attacks? Proverbs 13:12 sheds light on this, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” Hope is powerful. Hopelessness is deadly. Unrelenting disappointments create a toxic environment causing disease and heart sickness. It finds us all. Disappointment and offense are like fiery darts warring against our faith, belief, and trust. In this two part series, Jenn and guest, Hailey, discuss personal experiences and actions to take to begin finding wholeness of heart and restoring hope again.

Are you feeling sick at heart? Have unrelenting life disappointments left you numb, cynical, critical, disconnected, and focused on everything you “don’t” have? What do we do when extreme unexplained disappointments invade the very core of our being; pounding our souls relentlessly day and night? How do we catch our breath and feel again? How do we maneuver through the deepest places of our heart and find wholeness for our shattered hearts buried beneath life’s brutal attacks? Proverbs 13:12 sheds light on this, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” Hope is powerful. Hopelessness is deadly. Unrelenting disappointments create a toxic environment causing disease and heart sickness. It finds us all. Disappointment and offense are like fiery darts warring against our faith, belief, and trust. In this two part series, Jenn and guest, Hailey, discuss personal experiences and actions to take to begin finding wholeness of heart and restoring hope again.

Rest is a state of the heart. It is something we choose to live from. Choosing to live out of place of internal rest, peace of mind, and confidence from the inside out. It’s a daily choice and sometimes a choice moment by moment throughout our day. What are some check points or evidence if you are walking in rest? Or if you are not? Jesus said it best to Martha, unrest is a place of being divided. Troubled. Worried about many things. Rest began in the Garden of Eden. We all long for it. It’s part of our DNA from the beginning of time. And it is possible for us to live from this place today…listen in as Jenn and special guest, Carla, finish sharing what rest truly is…it may surprise you. And it is possible for you to experience true rest in your life today.

What does worry and stress produce in your life? For most of us it’s either high control, anger, impatience, focusing on task at the cost of running over people…and the list goes on. Nothing good comes from stress. And our habitual reactions to stress bring a host of rotten fruit with it. How can we change this in our lives? Obviously, stress triggers all kinds of ugly reactions in each one of us. But how do we respond in rest instead of worry and anxiousness when life is not going as planned? In this episode, Jenn and guest, Carla, share hindrances that block rest in our lives and how to begin removing those roadblocks to achieve rest! With personal experiences they share their journey and shed light into an issue we all deal with.

What does worry and stress produce in your life? For most of us it’s either high control, anger, impatience, focusing on task at the cost of running over people…and the list goes on. Nothing good comes from stress. And our habitual reactions to stress bring a host of rotten fruit with it. How can we change this in our lives? Obviously, stress triggers all kinds of ugly reactions in each one of us. But how do we respond in rest instead of worry and anxiousness when life is not going as planned? In this episode, Jenn and guest, Carla, share hindrances that block rest in our lives and how to begin removing those roadblocks to achieve rest! With personal experiences they share their journey and shed light into an issue we all deal with.

Is it possible to live a life care-free from worry, anxiety, and fear? Where do you find yourself most troubled and anxious in life? Are you consumed with distractions of life and wonder if there’s honestly a different way to live? A way to live with peace of heart and mind. Rest. And calm. You are not alone. Join Jenn and guest, Carla, as they discuss rest. Define what it looks like in our lives. What blocks us experiencing true rest? And how do we possess and practically live a life of rest every single day? There is a way. In this three part series, we pray you will be encouraged and refreshed and free from worry. Fear. And anxiety. It can be your reality, if you choose.

What is the greatest treasure we have? We hear it often that “time” is the greatest gift we have been given. Yes, time is definitely a key component to our daily lives. It is free, but not priceless…it is something we all have been given. We all possess equal allotments, 24 hours a day. I recently read this quote, “There’s only one thing more precious than our time and that’s who we spend it on.” (Leo Christopher) Who are you spending one of your greatest commodities on? Who are you spending it with? This week, Jenn shares her greatest treasure and investment of time. The returns far outweigh the input. And the benefits live beyond this lifetime. A simple choice every day will transform your life. And it all starts with this four-letter word: T-I-M-E.

In this final episode in the "Leaning Into Love" series, Jenn and Shelley discuss how to prepare yourself for those moments that you know are coming that maybe difficult, like Thanksgiving with a difficult family member or possibly an ex-spouse.  But what happens when you are caught off guard and something comes up that you didn't plan for?  How do you respond in Love in these situations?  There are two ways.  Listen in as we unwrap together situational and lifestyle preparation.  Define what they are and dive deep into how we position ourselves to be prepared for the known and unknowns of life.  

We all face difficult people and circumstances in our lives.  It's inevitable.  How do we lean into Love in those tough moments when nothing is going as you planned?  When everything in you wants to scream, kick, or run and hide.  This week Jenn and special guest Shelley continue their discussion on what it means to "Lean Into Love".  How do you practically "lean" into Love?  What are the steps to walk yourself through when difficult situations arise and completely catch you by surprise?  Tune in to this week's episode of Beloved and Beautiful podcast.