Show Notes
I’m not gonna lie to you. Yes, my stroke set me free from cultural beauty standards in so many ways. But I do NOT have it all figured out. Strongholds and struggles remain. (Like the fact I obsessively highlight my hair every 8 weeks...) So I was a little intimated by this “Ask Me Anything” episode about beauty and body image. I feel like a fraud sometimes! You showed up with honest questions, so I tried to show up with honest answers in return. And my teammate Leah joined in to add some of her signature, straight-talk wisdom—and it's SO refreshing! You need to tune in to The GoodHard Story Podcast this week if you've asked yourself any of these questions: How do I learn to love a body that contributes to my suffering? What does God think of Botox? (My answer might surprise you!) How do I reckon with the reality of “pretty privilege?” Why do I let numbers on a scale determine my value? How can I rewire my brain from thinking habitual negative thoughts? If you’re looking for an honest, outside-the-box conversation on approaching beauty and body image with hopeful realism, this episode is for you!
More from The GoodHard Story Podcast
What if the only way to bear our grief is to share it? My friend Mayer Buisson is living with the “invisible wheelchair” of Huntington’s Disease. The shame she felt around her diagnosis caused her to keep it a secret. Eventually, carrying it alone became unbearable. Today, Mayer lives with a radical acceptance of her story, and she’s inviting us into the “collateral gifts” of her grief. In this special conversation, you’ll get to sit down in a version of one of my beloved S.O.S. group gatherings to witness that it’s possible to move from shame to surrender, just like Mayer.
What do we do with the stuff that’s not good and hard, but just hard? Toni Collier is no stranger to pain. She’s navigated a childhood of tragedy and two marriages marked by abuse and infidelity. According to her, the pain hasn’t been worth it…but it hasn’t been wasted either. In our conversation, Toni shared how she’s surviving those seasons of “ashes from ashes,” and why she’s not trying to do it alone. Show Notes Mentioned in this conversation: Broken Crayons Still Color by Toni Collier
How are we expected to live well on this side of the sky? Sometimes we need wisdom for the deep, hard, dark suffering. But most of the time, we just need encouragement for the normal lives we’re living on this side of heaven. Laura Wifler is a mother and poet who finds endless inspiration in the mundanity and mess of her everyday life. In our conversation, Laura shares what’s changed in her theology of the body, why she’s relying on the grace of the present, and how a crisis of faith invited her to doubt “toward God.”
What is the first step of moving forward from the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? Join me today for a solo episode as I process some recent thoughts I’ve been having about how healing actually begins with heartbreak. I share some of the painful (and downright bizarre!) early memories of “waking up” from my stroke and being in total denial about my situation. That season taught me just how critical it is to confront the reality of our stories if we ever hope to move forward. In this episode, we’ll process through some insights about how Jesus named his pain, what true lament looks like, and a simple exercise you can borrow to confront reality for yourself.
Episode 126 - Martin Deacon on the “Weird and Wonderful” Gift of Disability What if our disabilities might give us as much—or more—as they take from us? Disability gives us the gift of dependence. That’s the mantra of Martin Deacon, the CEO of Teach Every Nation, who began to lose his vision when he was just twelve years old. In our conversation, Martin shows how his disability transformed an ordinary life into an extraordinary one. Mentioned in this episode: Hippo Lakes - https://visit.hippolakes.com/hopeheals