Janell welcomes Aundi Kolber, a Licensed Professional Counselor and author, to explore how the flow of strength helps us move beyond trauma to true flourishing. Aundi reminds us "that seeing resurrection is no small thing."

• Aundi explains the "window of tolerance" – the optimal zone where we can feel emotions without being overwhelmed.
• Trauma can narrow our window of tolerance, making us feel unsafe even when we're secure.
• The "flow of strength" moves us from situational survival responses to integrated strength that combines fierceness with tenderness.
• Our nervous systems need "metabolization" to process difficult experiences into long-term memory rather than fragmented triggers.
• Practical grounding techniques help orient us to present safety when we feel activated by past trauma.
• Practicing simple awareness techniques, such as "I am aware of the light coming through my room," helps regulate our nervous system.
• True strength is "the capacity to meet life's challenges," not suppressing emotions or white-knuckling through difficulty.
• "We work FROM love, not FOR love" – our value doesn't come from how well we heal.
• Self-compassion practices might need to start with small steps if safety feels threatening after prolonged trauma.

Explore more through Aundi's books "Try Softer," "Strong Like Water," and "Take What You Need: Soft Words for Hard Days." Order them here.

Watch Aundi as she describes what it means "to try softer." Aundi on YouTube.

Support the show

Begin Your Heartlifter's Journey:

1. Visit and subscribe to Heartlift Central on Substack. This is our new online coaching center and meeting place for Heartlifters worldwide.
2. Download the "Overcoming Hurtful Words" Study Guide PDF: BECOMING EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY
3. Meet me on Instagram: @janellrardon
4. Leave a review and rate the podcast: WRITE A REVIEW
5. Learn more about my books and work: Janell Rardon
6. Make a tax-deductible donation through Heartlift International

Psychological flexibility transforms how we mother and mature. I welcome psychologist Jill Stoddard to explore how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help women navigate anxiety, stress, and the challenges of parenting with more significant presence and authenticity.

• Understanding psychological flexibility as being present, being open to internal experiences, and making value-aligned choices.
• Learning that values are how we appear in life—not feelings, outcomes, or others' behaviors.
• Recognizing avoidance patterns: The Doer, The Hider, The Compulsive, The Thinker, and The Otherer.

• Practicing mindful willingness through simple exercises like changing hand positions or breathing techniques.
• Breaking the cycle of resistance with the mantra: "This is uncomfortable, but it's just a feeling. It is not dangerous; it is temporary, and I can handle it."
• Distinguishing between acceptance of internal experiences (ACT) and radical acceptance of external reality (DBT).
• Finding ways to apply ACT principles during challenging parenting moments with young children.

Take the quiz to discover your avoidance pattern at jillstoddard.com/quizzes and explore Jill's books "Be Mighty" and "Impostor No More" for guided exercises on developing psychological flexibility.

Be sure to check out Jill's "Two-Minute Tips" on Substack.

Support the show

Begin Your Heartlifter's Journey:

1. Visit and subscribe to Heartlift Central on Substack. This is our new online coaching center and meeting place for Heartlifters worldwide.
2. Download the "Overcoming Hurtful Words" Study Guide PDF: BECOMING EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY
3. Meet me on Instagram: @janellrardon
4. Leave a review and rate the podcast: WRITE A REVIEW
5. Learn more about my books and work: Janell Rardon
6. Make a tax-deductible donation through Heartlift International

Today is National Picture Book Day, so we celebrate by bringing the voices of Rob and Amy Dixon to the table. In this episode, I speak with Amy and Rob Dixon about their new picture book, Penny Preaches, which helps normalize girls in church leadership roles. We:

• Explore the theological frameworks of complementarianism versus egalitarianism in church settings.
• Understand how women's leadership gifts remain untapped – "the church has been trying to fulfill the Great Commission with half the team on the bench."
• Discuss the importance of representation and modeling in helping children envision possibilities: "It's hard to be what you can't see."
• Look at how to raise children with an egalitarian mindset through transparency and collaboration.
• Respond to resistance with "convictions held with humility" rather than combativeness.
• Unleash the powerful message that "God gives good gifts to everyone" regardless of gender.

Order this powerful children's book: Penny Preaches

Learn more abut Rob's books: Dr. Rob Dixon

Learn more about Amy's other children's books: Amy Dixon Books

Support the show

Begin Your Heartlifter's Journey:

1. Visit and subscribe to Heartlift Central on Substack. This is our new online coaching center and meeting place for Heartlifters worldwide.
2. Download the "Overcoming Hurtful Words" Study Guide PDF: BECOMING EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY
3. Meet me on Instagram: @janellrardon
4. Leave a review and rate the podcast: WRITE A REVIEW
5. Learn more about my books and work: Janell Rardon
6. Make a tax-deductible donation through Heartlift International

Tracy Braylock, holistic nurse and well-being advocate, joins us in exploring the revolutionary concept of relaxation as a radical act of faith. We discuss how believers can engage their God-designed relaxation response to exist in a state of peace regardless of external circumstances. In this episode, Tracie and I discuss:

• Understanding radical relaxation as removing stress from its root like a radical medical procedure.
• Learning to identify our divinely designed relaxation response and intentionally engage it daily.
• Recognizing when we've misidentified ourselves by our stress or health conditions rather than our God-given identity.
• Teaching children relaxation practices through breathing, meditation, and mindful moments.
• Viewing relaxation as a spiritual practice that requires trusting God with our productivity and deadlines.
• Addressing the compounded stress our bodies have stored over years or decades.
• Practicing self-awareness by noticing when we participate in our stress response.
• Finding personalized relaxation triggers through nature, writing, aromatherapy, or play.
• Embracing the counterintuitive truth that "a calm life is a strong life."

Visit Tracie's website and order her new book: Radical Relaxation

Learn more on Tracie's Substack: The Remedy

Learn more about Aromatherapy: A Beginner's Guide

Support the show

Begin Your Heartlifter's Journey:

1. Visit and subscribe to Heartlift Central on Substack. This is our new online coaching center and meeting place for Heartlifters worldwide.
2. Download the "Overcoming Hurtful Words" Study Guide PDF: BECOMING EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY
3. Meet me on Instagram: @janellrardon
4. Leave a review and rate the podcast: WRITE A REVIEW
5. Learn more about my books and work: Janell Rardon
6. Make a tax-deductible donation through Heartlift International

Brittany Piper, author of "Body-First Healing: Get Unstuck and Recover from Trauma with Somatic Healing." Brittany transforms our understanding of trauma recovery with her groundbreaking approach that places the body—not just the mind—at the center of healing. After surviving sexual assault, foster care experiences, and profound loss, Brittany found conventional therapy lacking until she discovered the missing piece: somatic healing that addresses trauma stored in the nervous system.

In this powerful conversation, Brittany guides us through the revolutionary science behind trauma recovery. She illuminates how our bodies get stuck in survival responses long after danger has passed, creating chronic stress that manifests as anxiety, rage, shutdown, or illness. Most importantly, she offers hope through accessible somatic practices that can help reset our nervous systems and reclaim our lives.

The discussion delves into fascinating concepts like polyvagal theory, neuroception, and titration. Brittany explains how our nervous systems operate as a three-state ladder rather than a simple on/off switch and demonstrates simple techniques to create evidence of safety for our hypervigilant systems. Perhaps most reassuringly, she emphasizes that healing isn't about eliminating all stress or uncomfortable emotions but developing the capacity to return to safety after activation.

Brittany's Story mentioned in our conversation: My Survivor Story

For more on Somatic Healing: traumahealing.org.

Learn more from Brittany and order her new book: Body-First Healing.

Visit Brittany's YouTube Channel: @HealwithBritt

Visit Brittany on Instagram: @healwithbritt

Support the show

Begin Your Heartlifter's Journey:

1. Visit and subscribe to Heartlift Central on Substack. This is our new online coaching center and meeting place for Heartlifters worldwide.
2. Download the "Overcoming Hurtful Words" Study Guide PDF: BECOMING EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY
3. Meet me on Instagram: @janellrardon
4. Leave a review and rate the podcast: WRITE A REVIEW
5. Learn more about my books and work: Janell Rardon
6. Make a tax-deductible donation through Heartlift International

Sarah Boyd, child development expert and author of "Turn Down the Noise: A Practical Guide to Building an Emotionally Healthy Family in a Chronically Overstimulated World," joins me for a profound conversation about building emotionally healthy families in our chronically overstimulated world. Despite increasing awareness about resilience and mental health, anxiety and depression rates among children continue to rise dramatically. Sarah offers a powerful reframe: what if these emotional struggles aren't the problem but symptoms of our overstimulating environment?

Sarah shares practical strategies for building emotional regulation capacity. "Interrupting the build-up" involves recognizing rising emotions before reaching the explosion point, then intentionally changing your state through simple actions like stepping outside or having an impromptu dance party. "Reframing" helps us actively reinterpret challenging situations through empowering questions.

Learn more about Sarah's book at Turn Down the Noise.

Learn more about Resilient Little Hearts and Sarah's children's book.

Order Janell's new collaborative book: Healthy Habits for the Home

Support the show

Begin Your Heartlifter's Journey:

1. Visit and subscribe to Heartlift Central on Substack. This is our new online coaching center and meeting place for Heartlifters worldwide.
2. Download the "Overcoming Hurtful Words" Study Guide PDF: BECOMING EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY
3. Meet me on Instagram: @janellrardon
4. Leave a review and rate the podcast: WRITE A REVIEW
5. Learn more about my books and work: Janell Rardon
6. Make a tax-deductible donation through Heartlift International

As we enter the 40-day season of Lent, author and pastor Aubrey Sampson helps us uncover the spiritual wisdom and "strange gifts" that often hide inside grief. In her new book, "What We Find in the Dark: Loss, Hope, and God's Presence in Grief," Aubrey shares how losing her best friend of twenty years sent her into a dark night of the soul. She shares, "Sometimes the dark nights of life and faith have strange gifts. Conversely, we find ourselves free from the superficial in our lives. We discover peace and the assurance that we are loved. And we experience a deeper, more honest relationship with the God we found in the dark."

Visit Aubrey's website and pre-order her new book, Aubrey Sampson.

Download Aubrey's "Five Questions to Ask When You Wonder if God is Still There."

Listen to Aubrey's podcast, "Nothing is Wasted."

Learn More About The Lent Collection with Emily P. Freeman

Support the show

Begin Your Heartlifter's Journey:

1. Visit and subscribe to Heartlift Central on Substack. This is our new online coaching center and meeting place for Heartlifters worldwide.
2. Download the "Overcoming Hurtful Words" Study Guide PDF: BECOMING EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY
3. Meet me on Instagram: @janellrardon
4. Leave a review and rate the podcast: WRITE A REVIEW
5. Learn more about my books and work: Janell Rardon
6. Make a tax-deductible donation through Heartlift International

"At the heart of every why question beats a desire for healing and rebuilding, a yearning to find purpose and fulfillment once again" (Sanders).

In When Your World Ends, author Dawn Mann Sanders digs deep into the creation story and unearths a seven-step process by which God brings us out of the void of grief and loss and invites us into creativity and new beginnings. With her hard-earned unique perspective, authenticity, and courage, Dawn explores the transformative power of life’s unexpected invitations through the lens of grief and creativity.

Learn more about Dawn's book and work: When Your World Ends.

For more information on the Writing Conference, Dawn mentions: She Speaks 2025

Support the show

Begin Your Heartlifter's Journey:

1. Visit and subscribe to Heartlift Central on Substack. This is our new online coaching center and meeting place for Heartlifters worldwide.
2. Download the "Overcoming Hurtful Words" Study Guide PDF: BECOMING EMOTIONALLY HEALTHY
3. Meet me on Instagram: @janellrardon
4. Leave a review and rate the podcast: WRITE A REVIEW
5. Learn more about my books and work: Janell Rardon
6. Make a tax-deductible donation through Heartlift International