Upside Down Podcast

How do you honor the ways in which you’ve grown while having grace for your past self? Lindsy Wallace interviews Kayla Craig, the “Day One” of the Upside Down Podcast, along with fellow co-hosts Patricia Taylor and Alissa Molina for our final episode.In this episode, we:Hear from Kayla about how she sees God in a more vibrant, beautiful way since the podcast first startedReflect on how different conversations and guests have expanded her language and helped her shape her questionsDiscuss Kayla’s vocational discovery of deep spiritual writing that is accessible and maintains an eye for wonder and beautyHear about her current and upcoming projects, including two books and a new podcastTalk about her hopes for five years from now: less burnout, more communal rest, and more tendernessLearn about Kayla’s fascination with the TitanicJoin us for the very last episode of our little podcast that could! Let us know what one word would describe your journey with this community. Thank you so much for being a part of the conversation all these years.News, Notes, and Links:Follow Liturgies for Parents on Instagram, subscribe to the podcast, and grab Kayla’s book, To Light Their Way.You can continue to support the Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help keep this podcast accessible.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’ll still be on Instagram. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Support the show

What happens when you step into your truest self? Kayla Craig interviews fellow Upside Down Podcast host Patricia (aka Patty) Taylor with Alissa Molina and Lindsy Wallace in our second-to-the-last episode.  In this episode, we:Hear Patty describe the growth she has experienced since becoming a co-host and how it’s deepened her confidence in who God created her to beTalk about how the podcast has provided a space to show up fully as yourself and what it’s like being with people who are not just willing but eager to be on the journey with youDiscuss her significant shift on social media to becoming an anti-racism educator with #somethoughtsfromyourblackfriendHear the wisdom she has to impart to those who resonate with her storyAcknowledge the sacrifices and losses that can come from walking out one’s convictions—and how it’s still worth itLearn what episodes inspired her, affirmed her, and broadened her faithDiscover everyone’s hot takes on raw tomatoes  Join us for our last couple of episodes and hear insights and stories from our hosts that you don’t get from our regular episodes or social media.  News, Notes, and Links:Want to listen to or revisit some of Patty’s favorite episodes? Check them out here: The Enneagram For Justice Seekers, The Gender & Ethnicity of God with Dr. Christena Cleveland, Native with Kaitlin Curtice, and Maternal Justice with Cessilye Smith.You can continue to support the Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help keep this podcast accessible.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Support the show

How does being in an ecumenical space expand and enrich our spiritual lives, within and beyond the walls of the church? Patricia Taylor, along with Kayla Craig and Lindsy Wallace, put Upside Down Podcast co-host Alissa Molina in the hot seat in the second of our final four episodes.In this episode, we:Hear from Alissa as she explains what the podcast has brought to her life and how it has helped her embrace Catholicism even moreReflect on how the podcast brought up questions of the heart that forced her to see how she’s embodying faith beyond the space of worshipDiscuss how past topics and guests revealed that there are so many places to experience GodTalk about the unique ecumenical space the podcast has offered over the years and the impact of it on her faithLearn more about From Here, the nonprofit media organization that Alissa started to encourage the love of God, neighbor, and selfJoin us for our remaining episodes to hear more from our hosts and learn about their journey over the years with the Upside Down Podcast. We’re so grateful to have you along. News, Notes, and Links:Be sure to check out From Here and all of its offerings. You can continue to support the Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help keep this podcast accessible.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Support the show

What happens when our view of God becomes more expansive, and what does it reveal to us about ourselves and others? Lindsy Wallace is the first Upside Down Podcast host in the hot seat, as she’s interviewed by fellow co-hosts Alissa Molina, Patricia Taylor, and Kayla Craig. In this episode, we:Talk about Lindsy’s personal and spiritual growth over the duration of the podcast, including connecting with a more expansive view of GodReflect on finding the Divine at the end of ourselves, when so much has been stripped awayHear about Lindsy leaning into her 7 wing (as an enneagram 8)Discuss what it means to live all of it—the exciting and the terrifying—as she’s going through all the thingsLearn what topics and people Lindsy wishes we had time to cover and interviewTalk about hope for the future (hint: it’s in the margins) Join us for part one of four episodes in which we interview each host, sharing personal stories, reflections, and responses to an array of rapid-fire questions as we wind down The Upside Down Podcast.News, Notes, and Links:Check out Mary Graham on Instagram. Have you ever listened to our interview with Father Gregory Boyle? Find it here.You can continue to support the Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help keep this podcast accessible.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Support the show

We’ve got a special announcement to share. Co-hosts Kayla Craig, Lindsy Wallace, Alissa Molina, and Patricia Taylor come together to bring you an important update about the future of the Upside Down Podcast. News, Notes, and Links:You can continue to support the Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help keep this podcast accessible.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Support the show

What does hope mean to you, and how do you practice it? Lindsy Wallace talks with award-winning musician, writer, and activist Andre Henry about sustaining hope, translating it into action, and how art can help dismantle empires. In this episode, we:Talk about his newly released book, All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep, and who he wrote it forGo over Andre’s practice of always reading something about hope to remind himself of what’s possibleAsk what the role of art is in the work of justiceTalk about how artists can play so many roles in the movement: creative strategist, messenger, morale keeper, and so onDiscuss what it means for Andre to be an artivistConsider the power of a committed minority working toward social progressTalk about relationships he’s lost and what he’s gained in community, hope for change, and space for himself to truly beDiscuss the connection between hope and action, as well as the role has faith played in sustaining hopeGo over Andre’s hope regimen to stay healthy and mitigate despairJoin us in this rich conversation as we dive into how hope is more than optimism: it’s about imagining and creating a better world and writing history. Let us know what you think and what hopeful action you can take in your own communities. News, Notes, and Links:You can find Andre on the web, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and SoundCloud. Order your copy of Andre’s book, All the White Friends I Couldn’t Keep, here.Check out the book Andre mentioned, Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit, here.Learn more about the work of Erica Chenoweth, Ph.D. on civil resistance. Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

How do we know when we are in a space of true belonging, where our whole person can be welcome, present, and safe? Co-hosts Patricia Taylor, Kayla Craig, and Lindsy Wallace talk with writer, liturgist, and speaker Cole Arthur Riley about freedom and belonging—the good and the bad kind.In this episode, we:Discuss how Black Liturgies came to be and why Cole chose to initially remain anonymousShare definitions of true belonging: spaces where we have the freedom to question, doubt, and change our minds without our status of belonging being at riskConsider how our bodies know what belonging is as opposed to assimilation or conformityTalk about the importance of solitude to better understand what belonging is for each of usPoint out how not all belonging is good and that there are consequences for both staying and leavingAsk what our ancestors teach us about belonging and liberation from harmful spacesWonder what it looks like for there to be a space of belonging for everyone and how, perhaps, it starts with the least of these to shape that spaceJoin us in this conversation about finding belonging and the community that comes with it. We hope it gives you more language for your journey and imagination for what could be.News, Notes, and Links:Follow Cole and her work on her website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and be sure to grab a copy of her new book, This Here Flesh.Add Toni Morrison’s Beloved to your bookshelf, if you haven’t already.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

It’s our 100th episode! Co-hosts Kayla Craig, Alissa Molina, Patricia Taylor, and Lindsy Wallace celebrate this milestone by looking back on where they’ve been, what they’ve learned, and what they hope for this little podcast that could and the community that’s grown from it. In this episode, we:Hear from listeners, former guests, and past hosts about their Upside Down Podcast memories and reflections Talk about how the podcast came to be: to create a space for honest conversations about faith, justice, and cultureRemember how each of us got to a point where we needed these conversations and whyDiscuss how caring for ourselves is a communal act and necessary for dismantling unjust systemsRecall pivotal moments with different podcast guests that stayed with us and even shaped our thinkingCelebrate the over five years of building and being a part of this incredible communityThank you so much for being a part of this space, whether you’ve been a longtime listener or you’re just joining us. We’re honored you’re here.News, Notes, and Links:Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

How do you break up with American Christianity and meaningfully make space for those in deconstruction? Co-hosts Alissa Molina, Patricia Taylor, and Kayla Craig talk with Jonny Craig, Kayla’s husband, our podcast editor, and the host of The Digital Community—an online space for sharing questions, doubts, and wonderings about God and culture.In this episode, we:Dive into what deconstruction means for many and the experience of realizing that the world we learned about in church is different from the actual world we inhabitTalk about the creation of The Digital Community and how it’s for people who are looking to find spiritual fullness and safety beyond the walls of the churchPoint out the effort to preserve power by criticizing deconstruction and vilifying people of color and womenConsider the lonesome, lonely journey of being in deconstruction and how much we need to connect with each otherAsk the question, “What is culture, and what is Christ?” when unpacking church, biblical translations, and so onTalk about the need to divest from whiteness and sit under the leadership of historically marginalized groupsJoin us for this conversation about finding and holding space for deconstructing and dismantling. Our hope is that you come away encouraged to persist in unlearning and learning, wherever you are.News, Notes, and Links:Check out The Digital Community’s website and on Instagram! Want to hear more? The Digital Community also has a podcast.You can follow Jonny on Twitter here.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

Have you ever considered just how paradigm-shifting grace is? Co-hosts Kayla Craig and Lindsy Wallace have a conversation with New York Times bestselling author, USA Today columnist, and CNN Senior Political Analyst Kirsten Powers about her new book, Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered, and Learn to Coexist with People Who Drive You Nuts. Together, they talk about what grace is—and what it isn’t—and what it can do.In this episode, we:Point out that practicing grace is far from passive or weak and that it’s more for ourselves than for those we extend it toGo over what grace looks like as an enneagram 8Talk about how trauma influences our relationship with the world and peopleDiscuss the trap of dualistic thinking and how it prevents us from empathizing and seeing possibility in othersConsider how learning from other cultures and belief systems that do not adopt dualistic thinking can help inform us about graceTalk about the misappropriation and spiritual bypassing around grace in faith spacesDive into the humanizing effect of grace and how it can dismantle polarizing thinkingJoin us for this conversation about the practice of grace and how it can move us toward wholeness and a more just society. We hope it encourages you to live into it more fully and deeply.News, Notes, and Links:Want to follow along with Kirsten? You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and (sometimes) Twitter!Be sure to check out her book, Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered, and Learn to Coexist with People Who Drive You Nuts.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

How do we talk with young people about fighting racism when we’re struggling with it ourselves? Co-hosts Patricia Taylor, Lindsy Wallace, and Kayla Craig talk with Dr. Jemar Tisby—the founder of The Witness, Inc., cohost of the Pass the Mic podcast, and a New York Times bestselling author—about the need to normalize having conversations about racial justice with the young people in our lives.In this episode, we:Discuss how Dr. Tisby’s new book, How to Fight Racism Young Reader’s Edition: A Guide to Standing Up for Racial Justice, came aboutTalk about how you keep going in the pursuit of racial justice when attacks and accusations are thrown your wayRemember the example of others who persisted before us, like Fannie Lou HamerPoint out that Christianity can inspire movements toward equity and justice, despite being used to justify the oppositeTalk about the importance of digging in with our families when it comes to racial justice and not letting headlines disciple our youthEmphasize the need to continue educating ourselves about racism to interrupt generational ignoranceAsk how we can encourage youth to persist when they see grownups behaving badlyJoin us for this inspiring discussion about fighting racism by raising up the next generation of justice seekers. We invite you to share your thoughts with us on Instagram and in our Facebook group! News, Notes, and Links:Follow along with Dr. Jemar Tisby on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Substack, and be sure to pick up a copy of his new book, How to Fight Racism Young Reader’s Edition: A Guide to Standing Up for Racial Justice.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

Have you ever considered that Jesus is who he is because of a woman? Co-hosts Patricia Taylor and Kayla Craig talk with writer Kat Armas about this bigger, expansive, abuelita faith—one that persists, resists, and survives.In this episode, we:Discuss the influence of Kat’s Roman Catholic upbringing on having a tangible and embodied view of Mother MaryTalk about Julian of Norwich’s image of Jesus as mother as well as Jesus being raised by a mother and being mothered himselfMarvel at how marginalized women can contain the most sacred and most holyDefine what abuelita theology means and how it’s birthed through our lived experiencesGo over the difference between persistence and resistance and where they can meet and overlap on the journey to justiceAsk who is in our spiritual genealogies and who are the theologians in our lives who wouldn’t be considered one by the dominant cultureWonder what are the places where we haven’t been trained to experience God Join us for this stirring conversation about what a lived theology looks like from the perspective of being a woman. We hope that it enriches your experience of the Advent season.News, Notes, and Links:Follow along with Kat through her website, on Instagram, on Twitter, and through her podcast. You pick up her beautiful book, Abuelita Faith, here. Check out the Chasing Justice Masterclass that Kat co-led with Dr. Yolanda Pierce, “Rooted: Elders, Ancestors, and Collective Memory” here.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

How do we navigate grief ourselves and with others? Co-hosts Patricia Taylor and Alissa Molina have a conversation with J.S. Park, who is a teaching pastor, writer, and interfaith hospital chaplain about persisting through grief and the ministry of presence.In this episode, we:Discuss the vulnerability of sharing our grief, how it can open us to being wounded or experiencing healingDefine the role of a chaplain and the experience of vicarious griefTalk about how those in crisis can question whether or not they are allowed to grieve and where that shame of grief comes fromCover what it means to bypass someone’s pain and our instinct to want to problem solveAsk about the role of the church in navigating grief, pointing out how believers can often mishandle it through spiritual bypassingConsider how we can push back on the need to “fix” a person’s grief immediately and the significance of just showing up insteadTalk about how letting grief in can offer us a fuller and more human experience, connecting us to those who went before us Join us for this rich conversation about the experience of grief and how we can grieve well, for the sake of ourselves and others. We hope you find permission and safety to grieve, whatever you’re going through. News, Notes, and Links:Follow along with J.S. Park on Instagram and Twitter, and be sure to pick up a copy of his book.Read this Instagram post from September 4 that we referenced.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

How do you live an open-handed life while protecting your peace? Co-hosts Lindsy Wallace, Alissa Molina, and Kayla Craig explore the topic of boundaries: what they mean and why they’re crucial in our lives, relationships, and the spaces we exist in. In this episode, we:Define what boundaries are and how they can be designed for the mutual health and flourishing of ourselves and others around usConsider how boundaries can show up in our lives to help us to rest, safety, and receiving what we needGet honest about struggling with the guilt of setting good boundaries Talk about how the idea of boundaries can carry negative connotations, especially in church settings in which we (especially women) are expected to sacrifice and pour out constantlyDiscuss the necessity of unlearning the suppression of our needs in order to serve others and replace that with learning how to articulate our needs insteadLook at the example of Jesus, who often withdrew to lonely placesPush back against the cultural expectation that we have to do everything and show up a certain way to be valuedAsk what is ours to press into and what is the most loving thing to do for ourselves and other peopleJoin us as we dig into why we need boundaries and process out loud what this looks like in our lives. We hope this episode encourages you to check in with yourself. Feel free to share your thoughts on this episode with our community on social media!News, Notes, and Links:Brené Brown writes about three ways to set boundaries.Check out this succinct explainer on boundaries from GoodTherapy.We found this Healthline article about protecting your emotional space to be super helpful.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

What’s missing when we fail to see the fullness of humanity in the disabled community? In this episode, co-hosts Lindsy Wallace and Kayla Craig talk with Dr. Amy Kenny about persisting in disability, healing versus fixing, and much more.In this episode, we:Reframe the concept of disability away from a hierarchy and instead look to how we think of the natural worldTalk about how being an image bearer is not stripped away when our bodies work in a different wayGo over what ableism is, how we engage in it without even realizing it, and how the prosperity gospel feeds into itDiscuss the disabled Christ, the erasure of disability in scripture, and how we miss out on the richness of scripture when we leave out marginalized communities Talk about how we need to go beyond giving a seat at the table and pursue belonging, leading, and flourishing for the disabled communityGet a preview of her upcoming book, My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church, which deals with the difference between healing and curing as well as rethinking the way we understand disability in the BibleJoin us for this stirring conversation about how we typically view disability and what we might experience instead when we trade in that story for a truer, fuller one.News, Notes, and Links:Amy’s work has been featured in Roxane Gay's The Audacity, We are not shadows (an anthology), Sojourners, and the Freedom Road podcast. Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

What is our first inclination when we hear or see something that stretches the way we see things? Do we reach for fear?  Do we shut down?  Or do we remain curious, asking ourselves questions about our thinking? In this episode, Alissa Molina and Lindsy Wallace interview former co-host Shannon Evans about her recent book release, Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality.In this episode we:Talk with Shannon about her approach in writing this book Discuss the ways the book stretched Alissa and pushed her to practice a curiosityExplore how curiosity often leads to greater depth and learningEncourage a spirit of wonder, curiosity, and depth when considering motherhoodRemembered that kids are often great models of curiosity“I wonder what would happen if we digested these questions as a form of instruction for our own spiritual lives?  What if we took our theological views or our political and social views and held them up under the microscope of our children’s inquisitiveness?  What might change, evolve or broaden if we began pelting previously unquestioned beliefs with questions for the first time?" (Rewilding Motherhood)News, Notes, and Links:Order your copy of Shannon’s phenomenal book here.Make sure to follow her on Instagram and sign up for her newsletter.Books that were mentioned in this episode: Theology of the Womb:  Knowing God Through the Body of a Woman and Body of Stars.  Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! You can visit us here where you can learn more about this podcast or pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.And you can always find us on Instagram at @upsidedownpodcast. Support the show

What comes to mind when you think of prayer? In this episode, Patricia Taylor, Alissa Molina, and Lindsy Wallace interview co-host Kayla Craig about her upcoming book, To Light Their Way: A Collection of Prayers & Liturgies for Parents, and expanding our idea of prayer. In this episode, we:Ask Kayla where her belief that prayer is real and powerful comes from, especially in light of how much prayer gets casually thrown aroundConsider how everything in our lives can be prayerRecount how a difficult experience led Kayla to examine what prayer meant to her and the transformation that happened in her understanding of prayerDiscuss how she addresses tough and complex topics in a nuanced, inclusive way that makes space for allAsk what does persistence in prayer through our weariness and our wait look likeJoin us as we talk about Kayla’s journey of putting together her book. We can’t recommend it enough to anyone with children in their lives: caregivers, educators, and so on.  News, Notes, and Links:Preorder a copy of To Light Their Way: A Collection of Prayers & Liturgies for Parents from Amazon or from Soul Book Nook, a Black-owned book store that’s local to Kayla and can ship anywhere.Can’t wait to get your hands on your copy? Here’s a special preview.Kayla has put together a collection of free gifts as a thank you to anyone who preorders the book before October 5. Get access to a printable collection of 12 breath prayer cards, a 5-day guided devotional for overwhelmed parents, and a downloadable art print for your home or office.Are you on Goodreads? Be sure to add Kayla’s book to your lists and leave a review.Follow Liturgies for Parents and Kayla on Instagram, and check out Kayla’s website here. We love Cole Arthur Riley’s prayers at Black Liturgies. Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

What does it mean to persist these days, and what do we desire to persist toward? Co-hosts Lindy Wallace, Kayla Craig, Alissa Molina, and Patricia Taylor kick off our sixth season with a conversation about the long game of persistence and why we’re still here.In this episode, we:Talk about why we’re still showing up on this “little podcast that could” Dig into the meaning of persistence: how it’s both opposing something and imagining how it could be betterDiscuss how the definition of persisting has been twisted and weaponized in toxic ways that are detrimental to our health and well-beingAsk ourselves the question, “What are we persisting toward?” What is the endgame we are reaching for?Dive into how persistence intersects with rest, how both are acts of resistance, and the invitation to join the long line of those who have resisted before usConsider how persisting can be an act of self-discovery, empowering us to get to the truer version of ourselves by identifying what we say yes or no toGive you a bit of a teaser about this season’s offeringsJoin us as we launch Season 6 with the theme of persistence. Our hope is that you come away inspired to go with intention and take heart that to persist is to imagine something beautifully just and whole for everyone. News, Notes, and Links:Check out Iris Chen of Untigering on Instagram.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

What brings you rest? Is it something that’s easy for you to embrace, or do you find yourself struggling with it? Co-hosts Kayla Craig, Alissa Molina, and Patricia Taylor talk about the need for rest—to nourish ourselves and to love one another—in our final episode of the season. In this episode, we:Discuss how rest can be a struggle when it is often considered selfish or something to be earned instead of an innate needAcknowledge that rest is an act of resistance against grind culture and even the Western church’s culture of production and productivityAsk each other what it takes to be able to say we are worthy of rest and to believe itConsider the interconnectedness of rest: when we fill ourselves up through our rest, that frees us and creates margin to give so that others may experience restTalk about what’s at stake when we don’t rest and how our refusal to rest is a refusal to rest in GodWonder what it looks like for us to take cues from our bodies and the physical life around us and grow in awareness of those invitations to restJoin us as we conclude our fifth season with this conversation about the necessity of rest. We hope it speaks to you and encourages you to regard this act as loving and essential to the well-being of yourself and those around you. News, Notes, and Links:Savoring this quote: “God's creation is a life-giving inhale for all of us, and Sabbath is the exhale.” ― Shelly Miller, Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy WorldAnd this one, also from Shelly Miller: “Extravagant wastefulness in time might prove the most productive thing you choose for yourself.”Add “‘All of Your Ways Are Peace” by The Porter’s Gate to your playlist and soak it in.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too. You can find us individually at @patricia_a_taylor, @kayla_craig, @from_here_sessions, and @lindsy.wallace.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show

How do you begin to reconnect with your community after over a year of wading through the collective heaviness of a global pandemic? Co-hosts Lindsy Wallace, Alissa Molina, and Kayla Craig gather to connect and reflect on where we are and where we’ve been. In this episode, we:Acknowledge the importance and exhaustion of connecting and how we have to relearn how to connect with no road map for these timesCheck in with each other: how are we really doing after over a year of living through the pandemic (on top of the pandemic of white supremacy, the effects of climate change, and so on)?Ask each other what we are lamenting and grieving, as well as what practices and rhythms have been helpful throughout this timeDiscuss what we are processing: the hard reset some of us have experienced in the wake of the pandemic, stories and voices that have been amplified, and moreShare who we are paying more attention to and whose voices we are pruningTalk about what is giving us hope and the growth that we’re seeing in the cracks in the sidewalksJoin us for this honest conversation as we do some processing of the past year together. Our hope is that as we model connection together, you’ll be encouraged to pursue connection in your own life as well.  News, Notes, and Links:Follow Black Liturgies by Cole Arthur Riley on Instagram and soak in her prophetic words.Add Undrowned By Alexis Pauline Gumbs to your summer reading list.Check out Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America; Essays By R. Eric Thomas.Support more conversations like this on Upside Down Podcast! Please visit us, where you can pledge a few dollars of monthly support to help us pay our bills and keep the conversations going.Learn more at Upside Down Podcast.We’re on Instagram, too.Join the Upside Down Together listener group on Facebook!Support the show