Get Ready With God

I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to control how people perceive me, and I’ve learned how exhausting—and limiting—that can be. In this episode, I’m talking about the freedom that comes from living in alignment with my integrity and letting other people misunderstand me when I can’t control their story.

I’m getting a little salty about the obsession with what “counts.” Whether it’s scripture study, work, or personal goals, I think we’re missing the point when we focus more on checking the box than on whether our effort is actually moving us toward the outcome we want.

I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to control the outcome, but losing my son taught me something I couldn’t ignore: sometimes you can do everything in your power to change what’s coming and still have to let it happen. Inspired by The Odyssey, I’m thinking about the balance between fighting like hell, taking action, trusting God, and eventually getting on the raft and letting yourself be carried home.

What do you do when someone you love starts questioning the faith that means so much to you? In this episode, Julie reflects on parenting adult children with humility, trust, and compassion. Instead of focusing on controlling outcomes, she explores what it looks like to trust God, validate honest questions, protect the relationship, and choose love over agenda.

Does following God invite more opposition—or prepare you to face the challenges that were already coming? In this episode, Julie questions the narrative that the more good you do, the more you're attacked, and shares why she'd rather focus on God's power than fear the darkness. A conversation about courage, willingness, and choosing hope over fear.

What if following God doesn't protect us from hardship—it prepares us for it? Today we're talking about letting go of a transactional view of faith and discovering the kind of peace that doesn't depend on our circumstances.

I realized something while painting my office this weekend: I don't actually struggle with perfectionism. I struggle with high expectations. And those are not the same thing. Today we're talking about the difference between perfection and growth, why failure is actually required to meet high expectations, and why I don't think God ever expected us to be perfect in the first place.

Today I'm sharing one of the most sacred parts of my grief story. We talk about loneliness, the presence of someone you love, and why some experiences feel like evidence that there's something more than what we can see. If you've ever wondered where God is in heartbreak, this episode is for you.

Were we sent to earth to learn how to suffer, or to discover a deeper kind of joy? In this episode, I share a reframe that's been changing the way I think about pain, faith, and the purpose of our lives. Maybe suffering isn't the lesson after all. Maybe it's the path that teaches us to recognize a joy that's deeper, steadier, and less dependent on our circumstances.

Sometimes the people we love can see something in us that we can't see in ourselves. Inspired by Kacey Musgraves' song "Rainbow," this episode explores how loving others gives us a glimpse into the way God might love us. What if, even in your hardest moments, there's still a rainbow over your head? What if God sees your potential long before you can see it yourself?

Why are we so determined to prove we're right? Whether it's faith, parenting, politics, or the food we eat, we spend so much energy defending our choices and comparing ourselves to everyone else. Today we're talking about the freedom that comes when you stop trying to win every argument, stop needing everyone's approval, and let your relationship with God become deeply personal instead of performative.

The most sacred moments of our lives are often the most painful. Today, I'm reflecting on grief, the thin space between heaven and earth, and why trauma and divinity sometimes seem to exist in the very same moment.

A new mom asked me, "When do you start feeling normal again?" The more I thought about it, the more I realized maybe we're asking the wrong question. Today we're talking about the grief of becoming someone new, why life isn't meant to leave us unchanged, and how God often works through transformation instead of restoration.

My 15-year-old said something after work that I haven't stopped thinking about: "Good stories are great, but they suck to live." Today we're talking about the difference between wanting an outcome and wanting the life that produces it, why meaningful lives are often built through uncomfortable days, and how to tell if a dream is actually yours by looking at what it requires of you.

We were told to build a personal brand. But what if turning yourself into a product comes at the cost of your identity? Today I'm talking about the pressure to monetize ourselves, why chasing culture can leave us disconnected from who we're meant to become, and why I believe our calling should shape our lives more than our personal brand ever could.

What if freedom comes from giving yourself fewer choices? Today I'm sharing a simple system that has helped me navigate everything from body dysmorphia to faith deconstruction to OCD tendencies. Sometimes healing isn't finding the answer. Sometimes it's recognizing that a particular thought spiral has lost the privilege of your attention.