You might recognize Becky because she's been on the podcast before (Episode #22 - Fighting for Joy with a Healthy Mindset). I wanted to have her back on now because over the course of the past year she and I have had so many rich conversations about ALL kinds of things and I wanted to share pieces of that with all of you. Today I asked her to share a "Top 5" list of ways that she is fighting for joy in this season of her life. I think you’ll love her wise perspective about things like identity, loving well, and seeking beauty. Becky is so tender to the things of the Lord and I know you'll be blessed by the way she ties everything back to her faith and her relationship with God.

My last episode was with Brooke Kyes, a young mom in her 20s, and today its a woman thriving in her 60s. Its such a privilege to bring you a wide range of perspectives. Each season of life brings its blessings and challenges and its so helpful to hear stories of how to fight for joy through it all! So today, soak in the words of my dear friend Becky. As always, if you find some encouragement in this episode, I would LOVE to hear from you. And, I always appreciate when you share the podcast with others. Its one of the best ways you can support my work and ministry. Thanks for listening!

**Today's episode is brought to you by Faithful Counseling, an amazing online Christian counseling service. I'm excited to offer my listeners 10% off at: faithfulcounseling.com/fightingforjoy. Quality counseling is a worthy investment and can be such a powerful tool in the fight for joy!

Even though LuAnn has experienced firsthand the brokenness of this world, she exudes an unbelievable amount of joy! LuAnn has one of the most beautiful and genuine smiles, her laugh is contagious, and she always seems to have a song in her heart. As we talk together on this episode today, you’ll quickly find out where her abundant joy comes from (spoiler alert: it comes from her deep love for Jesus!). God's work in her life has produced such beautiful fruit. Through many years of walking closely with Him, she has developed a sweet dependence on Him, she treasures His Word, trusts His promises, believes in the importance of staying in close community with other believers, and regarding our topic today, she has learned about the necessity, comfort, joy, and power of prayer. I hope as you listen you are spurred on in your own prayer life. Or maybe it will prompt you to start praying for the very first time. I love how practical LuAnn got and I think her insight will help and encourage you, as it did for me. And really, as we continue to talk through these many ways to fight for joy, I can’t think of many that top prayer!

*The Fighting for Joy Podcast is sponsored by Faithful Counseling, an online Christian counseling service that pairs you with a professional licensed therapist who will combine Biblical wisdom with their clinical expertise in mental health to help you address your unique situation. As a Fighting for Joy listener, you can receive 10% off at: faithfulcounseling.com/fightingforjoy. Quality counseling is a worthy investment and can be such a powerful tool in the fight for joy!

Cathy lives in Omaha, has 4 amazing kids, works at a local hospital, and has headed back to school. She is spinning a lot of plates in life right now but does it with grace and wisdom, aiming to just do "the next right thing". Over the past couple of years, she has grown to become a dear friend to me and I always walk away from our time together feeling encouraged, spurred on, and blessed. I'm sure you're going to feel the same way after hearing her insight today!

Living in tight community with others through the ups and downs of life is something that we really value as a family. We have worked hard to create it and find our "tribe" wherever we have lived. But I have to say, when Jackson died, we understood it and experienced it on a whole new level. We were so blessed and helped by the amount of comfort, support, and encouragement that our community surrounded us with when we were absolutely overwhelmed with sorrow and pain. And, our strong community continues to be here for us in such meaningful and helpful ways as we continue to keep pressing forward in grief.

This brings me to my guest today, Jodi Nemec. Jodi is one of my best friends and her family is an important part of this strong community...an important part of our family's personal community. They are some of the people that we most closely live life with here in town. They value living in community with others just as deeply as we do, so its a blessing to have this conversation with her. I think you’ll love hearing her story of how their family changed some major aspects of their life in order to live more closely and more intentionally with others. We also try to give you a glimpse into what living in community together has looked like for our two families (both before and during our grief journey) as well as some practical ways that we hope you can further expand your circle, or deepen the one that you already have.

As you listen, I hope you are reminded that you aren’t meant to walk through life alone - that building a sense of community wherever you are is worth the hard work, the challenging times, and the long-term commitment. Don’t be discouraged if you don't feel like you are a part of a tight knit community yet…it’s not too late. You can start now! Even in the midst of social distancing there are ways to connect and create community. We even share a little bit about that towards the end of our conversation. I hope this episode reminds you, or begins to help you see, that BOTH in good times and bad, living in tight community, and being purposeful about being known and knowing others is such an important, practical, and life-giving tool in the fight for joy.

Becky is well-known for her amazing photography, but in our community, she is also known and admired for her strong faith, her creativity, her care for other women, her style, and the beautiful ways that she serves and loves people well. And, while she really does invest in our town and love this place, she’s also become quite an influencer on social media, inspiring women of all ages in all parts of the country with the wise perspective and beautiful insights that she shares.

On the episode today, Becky talks about transforming her thought life and how keeping a healthy mindset has been crucial in her personal fight for joy. She shares how she has learned to break negative thought patterns and cling to specific truths in God's Word when fear, worry, or negative thinking fill her mind. Along with mindset and perspective, we touch on a number of other interesting topics like simplifying, the mind/body connection, overworking, the blessings of Instagram, and the importance of daily practices. I know you will love hearing her heart today and I hope you are encouraged by our conversation.

Naomi is passionate about wholistic care. She works to help people thrive with a healthy body, a healthy soul, and a healthy spirit. We are created as whole beings, so what is going on in our mind affects our body, and what is going on in our body affects our soul, and so on. Pursuing health in all of these areas better equips us to deal with the blessings and difficulties in life. Living wholistically is also a key tool in growing in our love for God and our love for others, and of course, helps our fight for joy.

The work that Naomi does through wholistic care is so special and unique and I’ve loved learning more about it. I’m thrilled to introduce her to you today and share another tool that can help you fight for joy!

My guest on this episode is Jenny Estudillo. Jenny is my neighbor, a very dear friend, and someone that I live a lot of daily life with here in Fremont. I’m so excited that she is my first guest in 2020 because the topic that we cover today is something that a lot of people tend focus on at the start of a new year - and that is exercise. After enjoying the holidays, it's typical for people to make new year’s resolutions around physical activity...and that’s great! We do need to be moving our bodies and finding ways to fit exercise into our lives on a regular basis - but what is special today is that Jenny and I are going to focus in on how working out and training our bodies can actually be one of the most practical and helpful tools in our fight for joy. We are whole beings and taking care of our physical bodies can also tremendously help our emotional and spiritual well being! Physical activity is a practical tool that almost everyone can implement into their life in some way. I hope you find this episode really helpful as you continue to explore the various topics that I’m highlighting during this season, and I know you are just going to love getting to know Jenny! Thanks for listening.

I don’t think there is anyone who would argue that this world is not broken. There are so many hard things to deal with in this life…both big and small. But, I started this podcast to remind us all that there IS still hope to be found. Yes, the fight for joy can be hard-fought, but we can help one another keep fighting! Through our stories, we can point each other to the comfort, help, and peace of Christ, and encourage one another to keep pressing forward and keep moving towards God and His love - and today Jen does exactly that! I hope you are helped and encouraged by our special conversation.

Today you get to hear from my friend Kelle Carnes. On this episode she shares about how something as practical as writing has helped her press on through the midst of a hard season in her life - moving their family of 6 away from the comfort and familiarity of Nebraska to New York!! She has started a wonderful blog (www.tryingtolivesimply.com) as a result and you definitely need to become a subscriber!

Listen in as Kelle so honestly shares about how she experienced new levels of sadness, fear, and regret after the move, and how she has had to let herself grieve the loss of many things that she held dear. You will be inspired by hearing about the new ways that Kelle turned to prayer, writing, and gratitude. These practical tools began to help her see this huge life change as an invitation to trust God more deeply. I hope you are encouraged by her words (and her writing)...she has such a beautiful and tender story of fighting for joy to share!

Mike and Leanne's second son, Andrew, was born with complications and he was given a 25% chance of survival. After enduring 7 and 1/2 months of traumatic ups and downs, sweet Drew went to be with the Lord in July of 2013. With Jackson dying in June of that same year, our grief journey has been on a very similar timeframe. Our stories are different and our sons died at different ages and through different circumstances, but God has given us such likemindedness in one another. It has been such a help to have a kindred spirit like Leanne to walk through grief with. In the midst of such heartbreaking circumstances, we have seen our friendship as a kindness of the Lord. I think you will be touched by this tender conversation between two grieving moms who have become friends and confidants through great loss and great hope.

Melissa's own suffering has made her keenly aware of mine and she has been such a help to me in grief. She was one of the first people to show up at our door when Jackson died and she hasn't stopped showing up for me since.

No matter where you land on the political spectrum, please know that this podcast is not about politics...it's about friendship, and faith, and pressing on. Melissa leads by example in this fight for joy. She has a strong and deep faith that has provided such hope and gratefulness, but her story reminds us once again that faith doesn't make the consequences of this broken world hurt any less. I hope you are encouraged and inspired in your OWN fight for joy as you listen.

Shortly after we graduated from college, Cathy experienced the sudden and traumatic loss of her mom. Listen in as she shares some of her story of loss and how it has shaped her life and faith. Cathy is such an encouragement to me, and I know she will be for you too!