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!

My guest today is a great example of this. I’m so excited to welcome my friend Shelly Waltz to the podcast. Shelly and I got connected through Instagram and her voice on social media is one of light, beauty, and joy. Shelly calls herself "Little Ms. Magnolia" and says that she fights for joy by embracing ordinary goodness. She is a self-proclaimed "steel magnolia" who is "living out her Plan B with her 4 beautiful babes"!

On today's episode we talk about things like gratitude, contentment, creating a home that is a refuge, turning 50, and looking for beauty in the ordinary things that are all around us! I’m grateful for Shelly's willingness to share a little bit of her story and how she has learned to fight for joy after her life took an unexpected and hard turn. I know you will be blessed by her wisdom and beautiful perspective.

*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!

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!

Laura is in a tougher season right now, but I'm so grateful that she came on the podcast during this time. We need examples of people who are willing to share what the battle looks like in the MIDST of the storm. It’s brave to say, “We are still trying to figure that out." Or, "I’m not quite sure how this is going to play out for us yet”. Laura is tender and honest as she shares about what grief looks like in adoption, feelings of isolation, prayer, seasons of waiting, social media, and of course, fighting for joy!

I hope you are helped and encouraged by this conversation. I know you will see beauty in the brokenness of Laura's story. God is doing some amazing things in her heart and life, and her love and gratitude for her sweet family is evident and inspiring!

Nancy and her husband, David, live in Nashville, Tennessee, with their son, Matt, living close by. They have two other children, a daughter, Hope, and a son, Gabriel, who were both born with a rare genetic disorder and both died within their first year of life. Having experienced the brokenness of this world in heartbreaking ways, Nancy has fought for joy by finding comfort and hope in God’s Word, trusting in His sovereignty, and helping others see the trustworthiness and beauty of Scripture, and the help that it provides.

For many years, Nancy has served as a mentor and influential teacher in my life. Her books and studies have equipped and helped me as I have studied the Bible, and her ministry has greatly encouraged my walk with the Lord! After Jackson died, she embraced me as a friend and fellow grieving mom and has tenderly walked with me these past 5 years. It is such a blessing to learn from a friend who is a number of years ahead of me on this grief journey. As I have mentioned in previous episodes, the Guthries host weekend retreats for couples who have lost a child, and attending one of the those retreats shortly after Jackson died has been one of the most helpful things for us in grief.

Nancy is a gracious friend and a wise teacher - I’m so grateful for her willingness to record this episode with me. Today you will hear Part 1 of our conversation.

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.

Our goal in this first episode is not to fully or perfectly tell our story. In fact, there are a few details that we almost edited out because we remembered them differently. But, that is part of trauma...and part of going through grief together, but separately. So we didn't make any edits. With this podcast, I've decided that "done is better than perfect". Grief is messy...and this podcast will be messy at times as well.

I'm thankful that Eric agreed to be my first guest. He has believed in this project from the start and I seriously couldn't have gotten it started without him. So I'm excited for you to get to know him a little bit as we share our hearts and help you better understand the “why” behind this podcast.