THRIVE Episode 15: Interview with Amy Seiffert
Today is the conclusion about soul care. I hope you enjoyed last’s week’s interview with Jolene Underwood who is a soul care mentor. She added a thoughtful approach and mindset to this conversation.
Today we are in for a treat talking to Amy Seiffert.
Amy has been writing, teaching, and speaking on staff with CRU for over 17 years and is currently the Director of Outward Movement at Brookside Church. She is married to Rob since 2001, and they live in Bowling Green, OH with their three children Robby, Olive, and Judah.
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Marriage Frustrations Because of the Pandemic?
You’ve been furloughed.
You’re stuck at home with your spouse and/or children all day.
You’re on another Zoom call instead of communicating face-to-face.
In crisis, it’s normal to feel frustrated and exhausted. When you are feeling frustrated, it’s easy to let those frustrations spill into your marriage. This can look like either distancing yourself from your spouse or becoming easily annoyed with your spouse, resulting in patterns of withdrawal. But when you withdraw from your spouse, you lose an emotional connection, making you more vulnerable to arguments and conflict.
The antidote to this is
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THRIVE Episode 14: Jolene Underwood
Today, we will continue the conversation with very dear friend of mine , Jolene Underwood. She is an emotional health warrior and soul care mentor. She provides practical and spiritual support for cultivating life within the Christian soul by drawing upon her personal journey towards emotional health, her psychology background, and a passion for Christian counseling.
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Date Night
Earlier this week, my husband and I were chatting about ways to have a date night in the midst of the challenges associated with shelter-in-place. But this small interaction was yet another example of how, like so many things in our world right now, date night is either non-existent or different. Kids are always around, resources are limited, and exhaustion is at an all-time high.
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THRIVE Episode 13: An Interview with Rachel Kang
We are in new the middle of a series on soul care. Last week’s interview with Becky Lauridsen was so good! I loved her practical advice on soul care and how we can practice this daily.
Today we will continue the conversation with a new friend of mine, Rachel Kang:
Rachel Kang is a writer, editor, and the creator of Indelible Ink Writers, an online writing community full of journal-keepers and closet poets. She is a graduate of Nyack College in New York where she studied Creative Writing with Bible and Christian Ministry. Rachel's writing has been featured in Christianity Today, (in)courage, and My Influence Circle. When she is not hiding behind the pages of poetry and paperback, you'll find her drinking tea, chasing laundry piles, and stealing away for mornings at the lake. She lives with her family in North Carolina, a blink away from The Queen City.
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THRIVE Episode 12: Interview with Becky Lauridsen
April is FINALLY here! We made it through another LONG week in the midst of COVID-19, social distancing and the global pandemic.
Today, We are starting a new series on soul care. For years, I used the term self-care. I heard influencers online talk about self-care Sunday. Chatting about facial masks and getting a pedicure. Getting pedicures and massages are amazing! But these acts aren’t enough to truly care for your soul.
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Now What? Marriage In the Midst of COVID-19
Now What? Marriage In the Midst of COVID-19. Thanks to the coronavirus, you and your spouse are now experiencing a new threat, a new challenge. As of this week, most major Texas cities are now sheltering in place. These mandates have led to drastic changes in our daily lives. Whether you or your spouse are essential workers or newly-appointed WFH (work-from-home) professionals, you are facing new challenges in your marriage.
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THRIVE Episode 11: Struggling Well With Anxiety
Tune into the final episode of each topic, I’ll give you an opportunity to put everything you’ve learned into practice. Thank you so much for being here! I believe reading this will leave you feeling excited, educated, and empowered. I hope you read to last week’s episode about the coronavirus. Identify Your emotion. How many of you know you are anxious as you are experiencing anxiety? How many of you don't realize it at the time? Raising your hands, if you're comfortable, We are likely a combination of both. Sometimes you may feel utterly aware of your anxiety. Pounding heart, rapid heartbeat, tense jaw, sweaty palms, feeling weak.
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Surviving the QuaranTEEN
I was recently talking with my friend, Alli, about her own quaranteen predicament. She and her husband were in the middle of a well-deserved Sunday nap when their eighteen-year-old barged in.
Her son asked if he could make a run for the border, the Taco Bell sort. In a groggy haze, (you know, when you wake up and have no idea what day or time it is), Alli remembered, “Wait, what, no! We're in lockdown mode!” She had to tell her hungry son to find lunch at home because of social distancing. Frustrated by this turn of events, he slammed the door and stormed off.
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Reinvigorate Your Marriage with Mindfulness
Mindfulness is being present and fully aware of what you are experiencing in the moment.
You may be wondering how this fits in with ways to grow your marriage.
I want you to think about some of the frustrations you’ve experienced in the past couple of days. Were you angry about what happened at that moment? Or were the emotions you were feeling related to hurts from the past or worries about the future? Strengthening Exercise
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THRIVE Episode 10: Thriving in the Midst of CoronaVirus
My thoughts about Covid-19. In this episode, I share how I’m struggling in the midst of this pandemic. Why I’ve been struggling and why you may be struggling as well. As always, I want to leave you feeling equipped and empowered with a few action steps to help in the midst of the chaos. We'll talk about some steps you can take to cope with your anxiety. This includes how to care for people in your world like aging family members and children.
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THRIVE Episode 9: Interview with Jacyln Weidner
Considering all the fear and anxiety with the current situation with the Coronavirus .. the topic of anxiety is so timely!
On this week's episode, I'm interviewing Jacyln Weidner. Jaclyn lives just outside of Vancouver,Canada with her husband and 3 talkative little girls. She loves Jesus, strong coffee and helping women move from surviving to thriving. She is the host of the Ready to Thrive Podcast where she shares practical tips and a whole lotta Jesus!
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THRIVE Episode 8: Interview with Kristin Funston
Welcome to Episode 8 of THRIVE: Mental Health and the Art of Living Free!
March is finally here... can you believe it?
Today, we begin a new series on anxiety and how to cope with it. For most, Anxiety is often a vague concept. We know it affects our emotions, but for some, it can be difficult to describe. This is because anxiety feels different for everyone. However, I believe with all the special guest interviews we have this month, it will leave you empowered, educated, and feeling a little more normal. Kristin Funston Episode 8
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Parenting Your School-Aged Child Through the Coronavirus Pandemic
Overnight, our world has changed.
Grocery stores are decimated by desperate shoppers. Malls, theaters, and airport terminals are abandoned. We are being asked to self-quarantine and only go out for essentials. If you had told a friend earlier this year that you wanted to practice “social distancing to flatten the curve,” they would have stared at you blankly. But it’s not just our jargon that’s changing— it’s our way of living.
You are no longer just a parent to your child. With schools closed indefinitely, you are now their teacher. In addition to suddenly being thrust into the role of teacher, you’re also acting as their counselor, seeking to help your child process all that is going on while trying to make sense of it yourself. Being a parent always requires wearing multiple hats, but wearing this many hats can be overwhelming
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Admitting you're struggling isn't the same as admitting defeat
One of the hardest things for me to do is to ask for help. I just don't like it. By nature, I’m a helper. I love to help other people, which makes me good at my job. My family loves (for the most part) that I enjoy helping them with their problems and making their life more comfortable. There are a lot of great things about being a helper, but there is also a significant downside.
I prefer to deny my own needs for the sake of others. It may sound good to deny yourself. But this isn’t how we are designed. We were made to be dependent on God and to need His strength and power.
I’m wondering if you can relate to what I'm talking about. Maybe it's easier to deny what you feel instead of being honest about your current struggles. Maybe you’re like me, and it's easier for you to help others than it is to ask for help.
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Episode 7: Strengthen Your Relationship with Others by Strengthening Your Relationship with Yourself
I am so glad that you are here! This podcast is a series format. This means each month you will hear about different mental health topics. These are issues I’m thinking about, seeing in my office, or have personally experienced. Here are some examples: anxiety, negative thoughts, parenting a child with mental issues - and so much more. We will be looking at these topics from a Christian perspective.
We are all in relationships. However, the fact is even though we are relational beings, we are incredibly lonely. Google the phrase loneliness epidemic and you’ll see what I mean.
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Thrive Episode 6: Interview with Amanda Davison
The entire month of February, we'll be talking all about relationships! Do you want to improve your personal relationships? Do you feel that you struggle with behavioral patterns when it comes to relationships? Do you feel that you just keep making the same mistakes over and over in your interpersonal relationships?
Hey, we've all been there!
In today's episode, I sit down with Amanda Davison, founder of A Wife Like Me to discuss marriage and relationships.
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Thrive Episode 5: Creating Healthy Relationships After Abuse - Part 2
This month we'll be talking all about relationships! Do you want to improve your personal relationships? Do you feel that you struggle with behavioral patterns when it comes to relationships? Do you feel that you just keep making the same mistakes over and over in your interpersonal relationships?
Hey, we've all been there! But, what if you weren’t the problem. What if you're just using the wrong part of your brain that is the issue? PART 2
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Thrive Episode 4: Creating Healthy Relationships after Abuse
This month we'll be talking all about relationships! Do you want to improve your personal relationships? Do you feel that you struggle with behavioral patterns when it comes to relationships? Do you feel that you just keep making the same mistakes over and over in your interpersonal relationships?
Hey, we've all been there!
But, what if you weren’t the problem. What if you're just using the wrong part of your brain that is the issue.
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Thrive Episode 3: Breaking Bad Habits
Thank you for tuning into Episode 3 of Thrive: Mental Health and the Art of Living Free! Today we are concluding the series about the importance of habits. In the episode, I discuss a 5 step process to help you do the habits you’ve always wanted to have.
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