"Big girls don't cry!" Maybe you've heard it, maybe you've said it, or maybe you even believe it. In this episode, Lindsey shares how a tearful moment with her daughter taught her a lesson about embracing vulnerability and how to find comfort in the sufficiency of Christ.

In today's One Voice episode, Susan shares how the Lord spoke a word of encouragement to her from a most unexpected source. 

In today's One Voice episode, Lyerly shares what she's learning about busyness, balance, and the one thing worth being concerned about. 

Welcome to the first episode in our summer series, Embodied Holiness One Voice. In today's episode, Susan shares what an experience in traffic court taught her about how the Lord can turn even the most difficult and undesirable situations into holy and sacramental moments. 

If a spontaneous celebration broke out right now, what would you be celebrating? How easy is it for you to play? What do you do for fun?  We discuss all this and more in today's episode, so buckle up! This is a fun one!Questions for Personal or Group Reflection:If a spontaneous celebration broke out right now, what would you be celebrating? What do you do for fun?Have you ever noticed yourself being annoyed by other people's celebrations?What difference does it make to understand celebration as a discipline rather than simply a reflex? Name five delights that are present in your life right now. What If It's Wonderful by Nicole Zasowski

In this episode, we talk with our good friend Kristin McNair about how she has learned to trust God during a season of infertility and how she continues to find hope in this season of waiting. We also explore a terrific book, Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren. Even if infertility is not an issue for you, it may very well be for someone you know and love. Kristin's perspective is good for all of us to hear. Also, the spiritual principles she's learned are applicable to all of us.  Thanks for listening!About Kristin:Originally a native of Mobile, AL, Kristin McNair has been a Hattiesburg, MS transplant for over 15 years. She attended The University of Southern Mississippi where she completed her B.S. in Child and Family Studies. Kristin is the Parish Administrator at Trinity Episcopal Church. While struggling with infertility issues for a combination of almost 5 years (& counting), Kristin became passionate about spreading awareness & normalizing the topics surrounding it. Kristin and her husband, Luke, of ten years are blessed with their 4-year-old daughter, Eleanor, and have a Bernese Mountain Dog, Penny. She enjoys roller skating, reading books, taking nature walks with her family, and singing in a local community choir called The Meistersingers.

Today we explore Chapter 12, "Confession and Laughter - Why Lightheartedness is the Truest Kind of Miracle", from Emily P. Freeman's book Simply Tuesday. Listen in as we explore our own reactions to embarrassments and failures, how to nurture a more lighthearted approach to your flaws, and why Encanto is our favorite movie.Questions for Personal or Group Reflection:How do you typically respond to your embarrassing moments: Shock, shame, or lashing out?How does shock prevent you from apologizing or cause you to shrink back from others?Can you think of a time when you were able to be lighthearted about an embarrassing moment?What connections and experiences have you missed because you are either remembering a former embarrassment or fearing a new one?What storylines do you tell yourself when you are humiliated?How can taking your failures and mistakes to the Lord help you heal? What do you think the Lord would say to you?How can talking to another person about a failure help you heal?"Nobody escapes being wounded... The main question is not how can we hide our wounds so we don't have to be embarrassed, but how can we put our woundedness in the service of others. When our wounds cease to be a source of shame and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers." - Henri NouwenHave you known someone who has become a wounded healer? How did you see that lived out in their life?And the most important question yet: Have you watched Encanto yet? If not, your homework is to drop everything you're doing, grab your tissues, and enjoy the beauty that is Encanto. ☺️Simply Tuesday - Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World

Conflict in life and relationships is inevitable, but conflict doesn't have to end in disaster. In this episode, we're joined by special guest Rev. Bruce Case to discuss how followers of Christ can learn to disagree, resolve the conflicts we tend to avoid, and create real change.Bruce is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and has served as the lead pastor of Parkway Heights UMC in Hattiesburg, MS for the last five years. He grew up in Brookhaven, Mississippi, has served churches in central and south Mississippi, and also founded a church in Palmer, Alaska. Bruce is a leader in the group End Racism for Good  (ER4G) for the Mississippi Annual Conference. He is also a certified life coach.Bruce is married to Jennifer, who is a fifth-grade math teacher at Oak Grove Upper Elementary School.  They have two children: Tripp, 23, and Susannah, 19.  They have a beautiful Great Pyrenees named Luna.  Bruce will be taking a new appointment in June of 2022 where he'll serve as the lead pastor at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Jackson, MS. Questions for Personal or Group ReflectionHow do you respond or react to conflict?How do you see conflict being fueled in toxic ways on social media?Have you ever considered that conflict can result in a gift? If not, how might this perspective change how you approach or handle conflict? "If you discover yourself on the extreme end of anything but love it's time to reevaluate."Ashley Abercrombie,  Love is the Resistance How do you put your own opinions and rights above love when it comes to being in conflict with others?"The narrative of Scripture is trying to mark us as ambassadors for Christ." ~Bruce CaseAs you consider the truth that followers of Christ are his ambassadors in this world, how do your words and actions reflect Christ in the face of conflict? What adjustments do you need to make? What attitudes do you need to confess?Bruce said, "If you want to make everyone happy, sell ice cream." Where are you "selling ice cream" instead of leaning in and dealing with conflict in healthy ways?How will you use what you've heard today to engage in better conflict? Check the list below. What on this list might be the hardest for you to put into practice?Listen more than you talk.Consider where the other person is coming from.Consider that there is some truth in what they're saying. Look for it. Bring it out.Find the common ground you share.Pray and be reflective before engaging.Don't handle conflict on social media or via text or email. Meet face-to-face as often as possible.Don't ask loaded questions. Ask "help me understand" questions.Give the other person time to process and think."What are you growing when no one is watching? What are your faithful ordinary practices and will they sustain you when conflict calls?" ~Ashley AbercrombieResource mentioned: Love is the Resistance by Ashley Abercrombie

Anyone who's been to Disney World has experienced some pretty amazing hospitality. Disney really gets hospitality. As followers of Christ we are also called to live a life of hospitality — a hospitality even more radical than Disney's. In this episode we'll explore Scripture for evidence of the radical hospitality of Christ and share stories of where we've experienced it in our own lives. Questions for Personal or Group Reflection:What's the best hospitality you've ever received?Why was that act of hospitality so meaningful? How did it make you feel?When you think about the hospitality Christ lived and taught, what are the most challenging aspects of his teaching for you? Have you ever thought about how love and hospitality are the actions of freeing someone? How does that image open your mind up to what loving acts of hospitality might look like in your life?Where do you need to be more hospitable?What is one thing you can do today to share the hospitality of Christ with another person?Resource Mentioned: Radical Hospitality - Benedict's Way of Love, by  Lonni Collins Pratt and Father Daniel HomanFive Practices of Fruitful Congregations, by Bishop Robert Schnase

Far too many of us suffer from a lack of self-compassion. We often speak to ourselves in ways we would never speak to someone else. On today's episode we discuss our own struggles with self-compassion and explore ways we can become more self-compassionate people.Questions for Personal or Group Reflection:How kind are you to yourself?  Bring into your mind the last few statements you've made directly to yourself over the last few hours or the past few days. Now consider: What messages did you tell yourself? What kind of tone did you use? How did that make you feel emotionally, physically?"Self rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the beloved. Being the beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence."Henry NouwenHave you ever considered that self-rejection can have a negative impact on you spiritually? If so, how have you noticed it affecting you? If you struggle with negative self-talk, can you name when that started for you?What seems to trigger your negative self-talk?How would you rate your own self-compassion practice on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being "I'm terrible at practicing self-compassion" and 10 being "I've never been hard on myself. Self-compassion is so easy for me!" What intentional practices of self-compassion do you incorporate into your life? If you don't have any, will you choose one to begin practicing this week?"Our brokenness is what needs to be accepted. Unfortunately, this is what we tend to reject. Here the seeds of a corrosive self-hatred take root. This painful vulnerability is the characteristic feature of our humanity that most needs to be embraced in order to restore our human condition to a healed state. The spiritual life begins with the acceptance of our wounded self." ~Brennan Manning, Abba's ChildResource mentioned:  Abba's Child by Brennan ManningYou might also like Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Kristin Neff