Hole in My Heart Podcast

It’s the end of 2023, so we are reflecting, looking ahead, and asking, “Do Laurie and Steve look alike?” Lol… (Matt and Laurie’s kids seem to think so…) HOWEVER, the conversation mostly revolves around… What did we learn in 2023? Based on what we learned, how do we want to engage 2024 with more wisdom? What simple tool did and are we using (and you can use, too) to plan the year? Grab the last of the egg nog, and let’s hang out! // Highlights: “There were times throughout this year that God felt really distant. But in that, I found myself longing for His presence.”—Steve “I started to find that the gym is the place I can tend to myself. I am not working with clients. I am not getting not getting milk for the kids. I am just there. No headphones on. In silence, lifting weights.” —Matt “The default of life is to chase fires and try to put them out. That’s how we were living and that’s how we can mostly live. I don’t want to do that all of the time . . . It’s hard to play and laugh.” —Laurie // Question of the Week: There is no question of the week officially, but we DO want to know: Do Laurie and Steve look alike? :D // Do the Next Thing: The list of Core Needs can be found here with the 2024 printable That Core Needs Series? Here The Gardens series? Here Our Impossible Marriage book? Here Watch the podcast video here

This time of year can feel unfair: “Just kick back and enjoy the season! But also get the perfect present for everyone. But don’t do too much! #selfcare But do enough so that you tell people you love and appreciate them. But don’t! But also do.” Thank the Lord we brought in our friend and wellness expert, Bonnie Gray, to help us learn how to approach this and every season not with another way to perfectly-imperfectly self-care your way into health and wholeness, but to sink deeply into the love of Jesus. We also discuss: Are people either helpers or those who are helped? What does the left brain/right brain have to do with this conversation? How can soul care be more than taking a bath or vegging out on our favorite TV show? What simple practices can we begin today to calm anxiety? // Highlights: “Being lonely, stressed, sad, or anxious doesn’t mean we are not strong. It just means we need to be loved.” —Bonnie Gray “We try to feel better by thinking our way out of stress, but we need to nurture our way to relieve stress.” —Bonnie Gray “Research shows that taking a ten minute walk outside lowers cortisol and releases the happy hormone serotonin more than 45 minutes working out at the gym.”—Bonnie Gray // Question of the Week: What is your go-to TV genre? // Do the Next Thing: That soul care quiz? Here Her book? Here Our HIMH Pod FB Group? Here Contact us? https://www.youtube.com/@wcsgradio

Ya’ll. This episode. It could put language to some things some of us have been holding onto for too long. How? Author and scholar Zach Wagner, author of ‘Non-Toxic Masculinity,’ unpacks: What is toxic masculinity? How does it relate to Purity Culture? How did Purity Culture affect both men and women? How can men and women approach each other with a gospel lens instead of a sexual-threat lens? How do we process the science (or is it even science?) that men are more visual than women? How can men (and women) heal from what was taught? If you wonder if you have been affected by Purity Culture in any way, this episode may be for you. // Highlights: “It is not male to be sexual. It is human to be sexual.” —Zachary Wagner “Purity culture was overly formulaic in its thinking about human sexuality and relationships. It’s just ‘Do this, do this, and do this, and you’ll get a good result.’ But that’s just not how life works in a broken world.” —Zachary Wagner “What is toxic masculinity? The way I define it is that it is a way of living out your male embodiment that dehumanizes yourself and/or others.” —Zachary Wagner “As well intentioned as these resources were [such as ‘Every Man’s Battle’], I fear that they sometimes created a self-fulfilling prophecy where a toxic version of masculinity from the broader culture (the stereotype that ‘men only think about one thing’) was … baptized and Christianized. It turned into, ‘That is how God made men.’ Not something that men should mature out of.” —Zachary Wagner “I don’t think we should be telling young men, ‘Hey, you’re visual. That’s just how it goes!’ You should say, ‘Hey, if you find yourself visually sinning against other people, you need to stop treating them like objects and start treating them like humans.’” —Zachary Wagner // Question of the Week: Is there a time of day you seem to always look at the clock? What time is that? Why do you think you look at the clock at that time every day? // Do the Next Thing: Find Zachary’s book here You can find all of his work here He is also onTwitter/X and Instagram at @ZacharyCWagner You can watch the episode here Listen to an episode that has views from a women's perspective with Rachel Joy Welcher here

How would you pastor a congregation filled with a range of people from academics to farmers, and then walk them through the human sexuality conversation? Pastor Aaron Henning, lead pastor at State College Alliance Church in Pennsylvania, tells us how engaged the topic with a congregation that was and is exactly that makeup. How did he do it? What did he learn? How did fear interplay with his preaching? How did it go? Join us on our third and last in our courageous pastors series to hear how you can encourage yourself or a pastor-friend in engaging this important conversation. // Highlights: “You can easily create a position and then wall off that position. You can say, ‘This is who we are and the rest of the world can go to heck.’ You can do that, but that’s not being on mission.” —Aaron Henning “We have smart people in our congregation. I really wanted to be prepared to speak intelligently, and to be able to present views that are defensible and embraceable and make sense: ‘Why do you draw this line here instead of here?’” —Aaron Henning “There were a lot of people saying, ‘This is everywhere, it is all around me. I do not feel equipped. I do not know how to have a spiritual conversation, and I definitely don’t know how how to have a missional conversation with somebody who wouldn’t think like me or who isn’t a follower of Jesus.’” —Aaron Henning // Question of the Week: What is the best pen to write with? (You guys . . . lol: “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this question.”) // Do the Next Thing: That Barna study? Find it here Join the HIMH Podcast FB Group here Watch the episode here

Today we continue our Courageous Pastors series by interviewing Tom Kang, a lead pastor in Los Angeles, CA, on how he led his congregation through the human sexuality conversation. Additionally, we explore: What is unique about Tom’s West Coast church and their cultural vibe? How can pastors cascade the human sexuality conversation to all of their leaders in a realistic way? Why did he choose a dialogue over a monologue? How did it go? (How many people walked out, and how many were grateful?) What would he say to a pastor considering preaching about this topic? This series has been encouraging us deeply. We pray it is doing the same for you and your community! // Highlights: “Everyone was having this [human sexuality] conversation anyway—in the lunchroom, in the locker rooms, in the car rides on the way to school. This conversation was happening everywhere—except church. I asked myself, ‘What’s happening? What’s going on there?’” —Tom Kang “Andy Stanley talks about how the church should be the safest place for any conversation. I remember when I first heard that a few years ago, and I thought, ‘That is so true, but that is so not going on.’” —Tom Kang “Everyone is going to walk away somehow offended. You are not going to be liberal enough, and you are not going to be conservative enough. You are not going to be biblical enough, you are not going to be contextual enough. You need to come to terms with that.” —Tom Kang “You’re going to have to roll up your sleeves if you’re going to do a sermon like this.” —Tom Kang // Question of the Week: What chore in your home is visible to you but invisible to your spouse/housemates? (So you end up doing it and they don’t?) Sorry for all of the fights this sparked @ everyone heh heh... ;) //Do the Next Thing: Listen to Tom’s dialogue-focused sermon series here Get a Salt Rifle (for bugs) lol here That $7 drain cleaner the guys were freaking out about? Find it here lol Watch the episode here!

We are so excited about this: Today, we are launching a mini-series interviewing three pastors from the South, the West Coast, and the East Coast on how they went from conceptualization of a sermon series on human sexuality to actualization. Why? In 2019, Barna shared the results of a study that said three of the top four things pastors feel both pressured and limited to speak on are related to human sexuality. If pastors feel so limited and yet pressured to speak on this, how in the world do they do it? Instead of hypothesizing, we put the microphone in front of three pastors who did it. First up: A pastor from the U.S. South, Dr. Josh Laxton. We ask him: What is unique about his culture (he is from the South but currently preaches in central Florida)? What was the conversation like within his church to prompt the sermon series? How did he prepare his leadership team? What elements were critical to have within the sermon? Why? How did it go? //Highlights: “One of the reasons why people inside the church or outside the church have a difficult time digesting what pastors say is how they approach saying it: They don’t approach [challenging topics] with tears.” —Josh Laxton “Through the 2000-year history of the church marriage, family, gender and sexuality has always been primary [doctrine] but because of the cultural context was what it was you didn’t even think about it. But now that we are living in this post-Christian, post-Christendom type of culture now we have to clarify: This is what we’ve always believed.” —Josh Laxton “I know that the call to pastoral ministry is not only the call to know the power of Jesus’ resurrection, but to participate in his suffering... Part of that suffering is leading through very tough and messy issues and situations.” —Josh Laxton //Question of the Week: What is your nickname and how did you get it? //Do the Next Thing: Hear the sermon Josh preached here That Barna study? Find it here Hear Laurie and Josh’s conversation about his sermon on *his* podcast here Find more about Josh here: www.Joshlaxton.com or on his IG: Joshlaxton1 Join the episode conversation on FB here Watch the episode on YouTube here

We get questions related to this topic often. Parents and disciple-makers of young kids are understandably anxious and wondering; How can we guide kids in a way that makes them both courageously truthful and loving? Pastor and author, Sam Allberry, comes back on the show to help us answer discipleship questions based on his new children’s book on marriage, ‘God’s Signpost.’ In addition to questions about teaching kids about marriage, Sam unpacks: What are Christians doing poorly when it comes to engaging gender/sexuality/marriage? What are we doing well? What did Sam need from his Christian community while growing up in order to thrive today? How should we talk to a teen (or tween) who wants us to use their preferred pronouns? How should we biblically consider pronoun-usage in our workplaces and places of worship? //Highlights: “If we start with the prohibitions [about marriage]; it’s very hard to make it seem like we are talking about something good.” —Sam Allberry “The redefinition of marriage wasn’t when we turned it into a same-sex thing. The redefinition of marriage happened when we turned it from a covenant into a contract.” —Sam Allberry “We must ensure that the relational quality of our church life is such that a young person growing up in church does not feel like their happiness rests on their marital status.” —Sam Allberry //Question of the Week: What non-word-word do you use often, and what is your definition of it? //Do the Next Thing: Here is Sam’s new children’s book! We mention a Christianity Today article on pronoun usage here Annnnd, we were right. We have interviewed Sam two other times. :) Here are the other two episodes: Seven ways to navigate a sexually shifting culture here What God has to say about our bodies here Watch the full episode through WCSG here Join the conversation about the episode here!

Moving forward can feel terrifying: Like we are jumping out of an airplane and we don’t know if we have a parachute. Why does it feel that way? Today, author, multi-ministry founder, and teacher, Christine Caine, joins us to answer this question as well as: What happened to us in Covid that made us extra afraid of moving forward? Why is moving forward not automatically betraying or ignoring our pasts? How do we know when it’s time to move on? What if we feel we have to do penance for past sin? How can we move on from that? How does cancel culture play a role in this? //Highlights: “Fixating on your past with a desire to go back is very different than facing your past in order to move forward.” --Christine Caine “The blood of Jesus does not give us amnesia, but it does give us a life beyond our past.” --Christine Caine “Trust what you know about God more than what you don’t know about the future.” --Christine Caine //Question of the Week: What are you dumb at? ;) (This was one of our best questions so far IMHO lololol) //Do the Next Thing: Get Christine’s book here Listen to our previous episode together, “How Not to Give Up,” here Learn more about Propel + Wheaton Master’s here Join our HIMH Pod FB Group here

Today on the podcast, ministry leader Brenna Blain joins us to help us discern how, when, and where to share our own stories with others. Together, we unpack: How do you know when you are ready to share? What was Brenna’s most challenging audience to share with? What are the benefits and challenges to opening up? //Highlights: “The question I have not always gone to but I need to go to is, ‘Why? Why do I feel I need to share this or want to share this? Is it because I want attention?’… Or is it that I truly feel like God is asking me to share this, and then I need to work out what parts of this story am I supposed to share and in what context?” —Brenna Blain “It’s a little bit cliché, but [one of the biggest benefits for me in sharing my story] is getting to be the voice I wish I had heard growing up. I wish so badly I had heard from someone who was same-sex attracted who clung to a biblical sexual ethic. I wish it so badly.” —Brenna Blain “Sometimes, I just need to sit and say, ‘Do I believe that God knows what he is doing? Do I believe that he is faithful even if his faithfulness means keeping a door closed to me?’” —Brenna Blain //Question of the Week: Are you a pumpkin-spice-everything, can’t-wait-to-put-on-a-sweater person about fall? Or nah? (You guys have a lot of feelings about pumpkin spice and sweaters lolol) //Do the Next Thing: Listen to when Laurie was on Brenna’s podcast here Follow Brenna on IG here Steve mentions this episode where we talk about our hunger for authentic community here Watch the video of this episode here

It’s the season seven launch!! We are so glad to be back with you all, and are equally glad to engage last season’s identity theme one more time to ensure we take it from the ethereal to the practical. The person here to help us do this is the author of ‘Finding Your Best Identity’ and ministry leader, Andrew Bunt. Andrew joins the team today to talk about: How can we know which parts of us are the true us, and which are not? Is sexual identity and gender identity core to who we are? How can we engage the world’s mantra of “Listen to your heart” to know who you are? How can we engage the world’s other mantra of “Let others define who you are”? //Highlights: “Questions of sexuality and gender . . . have become so tied to identity in the cultural context around us that when people hear--that out of faithfulness to Jesus--I am choosing not to have a relationship with another man, people say, ‘Well, isn’t God asking you to deny who you really are?’ It’s seen as so core to identity . . . it’s considered bad news for somebody like me.” —Andrew Bunt “We are who God says we are. This actually frees us from defining ourselves by what we feel inside or defining ourselves based on the opinions of others.” —Andrew Bunt “I define identity as ‘our controlling self understanding.’” —Andrew Bunt “My sexuality describes me. I am attracted to other guys. I am same-sex attracted, gay, whatever language you want to use. I am not denying that. I am not ashamed of that. . . . But that describes part of my experience. It doesn’t define me. What defines me is that I have been adopted by God as his child.” —Andrew Bunt //Question of the Week: What was (or is) your favorite school supply? (You guys sure love some Lisa Frank! Lol) //Do the Next Thing: Find Andrew’s book here Join the HIMH Podcast FB Group here You can watch the episode here

“I think there are reasons we deny our pain including that we can are overwhelmed (‘Where do I start?’), the fear of ‘This will make things worse”… Or, we don’t have he community around us to help us process.” --Steve O'Dell Today, as only the Holy Spirit can do, these first three Shorts episodes link together. So today, we continue our accidental theme of "Spiritual practices that help us to become real" with Steve talking about why we avoid pain. Additionally, we talk about: How can we become people who can walk with others in challenging places? What is the cost of not engaging these painful places? What is the first step toward feeling these hard parts of our hearts? We also talk about these lament episodes here And talk about Healing Care Join us?

“One thing I have learned about Jesus is that He wants to sit in uncomfortable emotions with me [Heb. 4:15]. If I am not willing to sit in these emotions, then how is He supposed to sit in them--with me?” --Matt Krieg Oh, dear, wise Matt. Today on HIMH Shorts (where we toss around the host table, “How has the gospel been good news for you lately?), Matt brings up his topic of emotional resilience… What is it? How can we know when it’s time to move on from a negative emotion? How can we know if we need to stay in the suffering longer? We’d love for you to join the conversation. And after? Feel free to tell us what you think on the FB group here On IG here Or email us! [email protected]

Heyyyyy!!! We may be in-between seasons, but we missed you all so much we wanted to drop three, surprise mini-episodes for the next three Fridays!! In HIMH Shorts, Matt, Laurie, and Steve will host brief (heh heh, we will try!), one-topic conversations answering, "How has the gospel been good news for you lately?" This week, Laurie is up! She heard YOUR requests for a walk-through of her Episode 202 practice of The Bookshelves. What is that practice? Why does she do it? How has it impacted her? (And does Matt do it, too? lol) Kick back, lay back (if you want to do the practice with us), and join the crew as Laurie shares her nightly practice that has been deepening her identity in the love of Jesus. P.S. Do you like these mini-episodes? Should we keep them up? Let us know by messaging Laurie on IG (laurie_krieg) or emailing us at [email protected]

Today, we wrap up season six by asking Matt, Laurie, and Steve if we have met our goal for the season: “Do you feel like you can walk into any room confidently because your identity is more rooted in Christ?” So, have we? :D We truthfully answer this question as well as: What we do when we feel tempted toward sexual sin or with wanting to buy everything in Pottery Barn? How is Laurie’s health? Has it changed? How do we engage with believers who are clearly “producing fruit,” but are choosing to walk outside of God’s design for marriage? //Highlights: “When it comes to relational conflict, the message I often tell myself is, ‘Resolution is the goal.’ I am learning that transformation is the goal. The issue may not be resolved (or easily resolved), but I am called to stay present in it when all I want to do is make it go away.” —Steve O’Dell “To have someone who is my friend love me in the midst of wrestling with sexual temptation removes a layer of shame, and makes me feel like, ‘Okay. I’m actually normal. I just want idols instead of God like everyone else.’”—Laurie Krieg “As much as we look at other people’s hearts, we have to first look at our own.” —Matt Krieg //Question of the Week: We want to hear from you all! Drop a review or let us know what you think of the podcast this season by emailing [email protected] or joining the HIMH Podcast FB group! (Search it, answer a couple of questions, and you will be in!) //Do the Next Thing: We mention this episode with Branson Parler We mention this episode with Alison Cook And this episode with Toni Collier We also talk about our episode with David Bennett here To join the podcast conversation, find us here Watch the episode on Youtube here Thanks for a great season!

The lines are open, friends, and we are taking your questions today! What questions? How do you recommend talking with young kids about LGBTQ things/the definition of marriage? Should marriage make us happy or holy? (Or is that the wrong question to ask?) What qualifies as abuse in a relationship? (How does it compare to misuse of a person?) How should we engage with libraries where they prominently display books that are LGBTQIA-affirming (of transitioning or same-sex relationships)? What are the pros and cons of coming out/sharing your story? Pull up a chair, and join the dialogue! //Highlights: “Matt and my philosophy of parenting is: Here is reality. How can we dole that out in gentle, slow, repetitive conversations at varying levels of age-appropriateness so that when they encounter [same-sex relationships or wrestling with gender] in their schools, churches, or in themselves they are not caught off guard and hide, nor are they caught off guard and jump to Love is Love.” —Laurie Krieg “My definition of abuse is that it is a systemic maltreatment or dismissal of the dignity of another person verbally, physically, or emotionally.”—Matt Krieg “You know and I know that everywhere you go there are people … who still make gay jokes a decent amount. If it’s not gay jokes, then it’s ‘*Gasp*! Oh, it’s June! The flag, and the Pride!’ And you’re sitting there, and even though you have zero rainbow flags, you’re not going to Pride, and you’re wrestling with your own heart, you don’t feel safe sharing with them now because they are so exasperated about people like you.”—Laurie Krieg //Question of the Week: Where would you like to visit that you have not been? (Thanks for joining the conversation!) //Do the Next Thing: A blog Laurie wrote about how to come out/share your story here Want to share feedback about the season with the hosts? Email us: [email protected] Or, find Laurie on Instagram here Watch the podcast here

Oh, man…from start to finish this conversation sings…! Author and ministry leader, Toni Collier, helps us to finish the final “I am” in our identity series by exploring “I am healing for…” What we mean by this is when you’re going through a dark time, have you ever considered the people you will impact if you keep going through the darkness to the light? What if you gave up? Whom would that affect? Although we never want to have the core of our healing work be for other people (ideally, that motivation is for God and for ourselves), others are valuable to consider as they can energize our healing journey. What else do we talk about? How did a performance-driven heart drive Toni when she wasn’t following the Lord and when she was? What might Toni say to someone really wrestling with depression today? How did Toni start caring more about what Jesus thinks than others? //Highlights: “The thing that brought me out of my depression and suicidal ideation was people who said, ‘We will be with you in the valleys, but we won’t leave you there.’” —Toni Collier “Ya know? I just don’t think I care what anyone else thinks but God. I don’t know what happened, something clicked… If I just solely care what He thinks, then through that lens I should treat others with kindness and respect and honor and show up.” —Toni Collier “When I was able to start saying ‘No’ to people that’s when my ‘Yes’ to Jesus became bigger, more consistent, and more clear.”—Toni Collier //Question of the Week: Are you a hot box or a cold box or just right? (Do you run hot, cold, or just right? You guys had a lot of opinions about menopause on this one lol) //Do the Next Thing: Find all of Toni’s work here Snag the video here Catch all of WCSG’s work here Hear our last episode with Toni and her husband, Sam here

Today, we talk codependence (over-reliance on people for our sense of stability), counter-dependence (under-reliance on people), and interdependence (healthy dependence on people) on the podcast, and the conversation does not disappoint. Psychologist and author, Dr. Alison Cook, leads us biblically through questions about codependence as well as: Is it right or wrong to put others first? How can we be both worthy of care yet also “conceived in sin” (Ps. 51:5) How can we trust again after being burned by others? How does all of this relate to our identity? Pull up an earbud, friends. This is a great one. //Highlights “If I had a word for pastors, I would say: Don’t assume that folks are coming in with a healthy relationship with the self before we ask them to die to it.” —Alison Cook “We change in the context of care and compassion verses in the context of condemnation and judgement and criticism. That’s just what’s true psychologically… ‘God’s kindness is what leads us to repentance.’ (Rom. 2:4).” —Alison Cook “In a healthy home there is that balance of, ‘You are so important, you matter, you are worthy, I am here for you, my dear child. And, as a part of that, I want to equip you to go out among other people and from that place of knowing how valuable you are, shine that light of value onto others.’ That’s a very different thing than, ‘Put others first! You don’t matter. It’s more about them!’ That’s not actually true. It’s because I know I matter, and I have experienced what it feels like to matter to God I can come into your life and shine some of that onto you—that you matter just like I matter.”—Alison Cook “Learning how to trust again after one has been wounded? … ‘I was hurt in the past, I don’t ever want to depend on somebody again.’ To me that’s a cue that we need to repair something in the self. ‘What cues did I ignore? It’s not my fault and there his no shame in that, but I did ignore some cues…How will I do that differently next time?’ … Oh, that’s hard when you have been burned.”—Alison Cook //Question of the Week: What healthy food makes you feel sad when you eat it? (Ya'll are funny.) //Do the Next Thing: Watch the podcast here Hear Alison with us the last time she was on the podcast talking about how to deal with overwhelming thoughts and emotions here Find Alison’s latest book along with all of her work here

What is it about adult friendships that can make them so hard to cultivate? People move, change, or we simply lose touch. What is the secret of friendship making (and keeping)? (Is there one?) Author and founder of The Friendship Lab, Sheridan Voysey, is back on the podcast today to help us unpack these questions as well as: Why is friendship often overlooked? Is it true that 1 out of 4 adults in the Western world has no close friends? —What are the four characteristics of a true friend? How does knowing we are befriended relate to our identity in Christ? You’re welcome to pull up a seat at the friendly podcast table! //Highlights: “We have a huge friendship crisis going on in the Western world right now. Here in the United Kingdom, somewhere between 20 to 25 percent of all British adults…have no close friends. And, 1 in 10 people…have no friends at all. That’s roughly echoed in America…with 30 to 40 percent of [American] people over the age of 35 being chronically lonely… Around 1 in 4 people in Australia have no close friends. So, we have this 25 percent rate floating around the Western world, and 10 percent have no friends at all. I really felt God saying, ‘What if you were to focus on that figure, and bringing it down? What would that take?’ And I thought, ‘My goodness, a book would not scratch that itch.’” —Sheridan Voysey “This whole stigma around loneliness, stigma around friendlessness—everybody in the world (even if they simply go and move houses) will find themselves lonely for a time and need to make new friends. So, we all go through this, and we need to de-stigmatize it.” —Sheridan Voysey //Question of the Week: In what outfit would artist draw your cartoon character? (Because you wear it so often?) //Do the Next Thing: Watch the video here Listen to Sheridan’s last episode with us about wrestling through infertility and other life disappointments here Learn more about Sheridan’s Friendship Lab Read Sheridan’s work here Sheridan mentions the book, 'Theology of Play' by Jurgen Moltmann

Humanity’s desire to “be known” starts somewhere deep in the soul. However, when some of us experience being known, it can be such a jarring experience that we move toward a couple of options: Stoicism (“I’m good without that deep knowing…that’s too uncomfortable…”) or addiction/consumption (“I need that feeling more!”). What’s the proper response to being known by God and others? With friend of the podcast, Joan Rozeboom, we cover this topic as well as: How does Joan, a single foster mom, feel known by God and others? What parts of us need to be known and what need to be “put to death” as Paul says in Colossians 3:3-10)? How can single people and married people truly know each other like Jesus prays for us to know one another in John 17:21)? Join us? //Highlights: “God, I don’t understand how this can be your best for me but you promised you will withhold no good thing from me. So, I am going to reject the lie that God is withholding something good, and I am going to believe that God has a great purpose in this. And I am going to rest in Him even if I never see the good or the purpose this side of eternity.’” —Joan Rozeboom “The reality is you are left out as a single person a lot--I don’t want to downplay that at all. But when my perspective changed to: How can I serve? Who can I invite in? How can I go up to someone who is new and invite them instead of standing there and saying, ‘Why is no one welcoming me?’ When that perspective changed, that changed everything for me in my interactions in the church.” —Joan Rozeboom “When we understand how truly known and fully loved by God we really are? We don’t *need* to find these things in other places. It’s nice if someone else knows me, but I don’t *need it* from them because I *have it* from God.” —Joan Rozeboom //Question of the Week: Are you a finder or a loser? (Your listener stories are hilarious!) //Do the Next Thing: Watch this episode here Hit us up with your questions/comments at [email protected] Here are some sample Identity Statements you’re welcome to steal and adapt for yourself! I am loved by God (Jer. 31:3, Mark 5:41) I am made on purpose (Eph. 2:10) I am healing for _________ (Matt. 28:19) I am learning to love all of the parts of me (1 Jn. 4:19-20) I am made perfect because of the cross alone (Heb. 10:14) I am valuable, and proof of my value is in my existence (Ps. 139:16-17) I am about the process not perfection (John 21:15-17) I am redeemed (1 Cor. 6:17) I am safe in God’s hands (Matt. 10:28) I am known by God; He knows my health, my mind, my emotions everything— when no one else does, not even me (Ps. 139:13-18) I am learning to do all to the glory of God (Col. 3:17) I am forgiven (Rom. 5:8) I am nurtured by God; he cares for my every need (Luke 12:6-7) I am loved by a God who is for me (Romans 8:31-34) I am learning to reparent myself with God (1 John 3:1) I am worthy of care because I am imago Dei (Gen. 1:27) I am capable because of His strength in me (Galatians 2:20, 2 Cor. 12:8-9) I am running my own race therefore I never need to envy (Psalm 23, 37, Matthew 6) I am chosen. (Eph. 1:4) I am loved by a God who is in control of all things (Eph. 1:21) I am foolish to put any confidence in my human effort. All I can do is boast about what Christ Jesus has done for me. (Phil. 3:3, 7-11)

Today, we continue our identity series by exploring our deep-rooted need to know we are redeemed. Why? How? We ask these questions and more of our guest, theologian and author, Branson Parler. We also explore… What if we feel we are too far gone to be redeemed? How does suffering play into this conversation? How does all of this help us walk with friends who wrestle with gender? //Highlights: “In last couple of years, God said to me, ‘Are you anchored in who I am or in who you are? Will you walk away from your job as a tenured professor of theology at a college to do this new thing I am calling you to that is going to serve the church? … Will you let go of this and walk into any room confident because you are a child of God?’” —Dr. Branson Parler “A key myth in our world is that we can resolve suffering. ‘There are ways we can *now* get rid of all that.’ Unfortunately, a lot of churches perpetuated this notion: ‘If you just prayed this way you wouldn’t have dysphoria or have this sense that there is no alignment!’ … When I look at the body of Jesus, it is a suffering body. It is a body that goes through cross and resurrection. … [However] I can’t say that to somebody who is wrestling with questions of gender identity if I have not myself asked, ‘How is Jesus calling me to take up my cross?’” —Dr. Branson Parler //Question of the Week: What is one joke you don’t forget? (Branson has some real cringe ones for us!) //Do the Next Thing: Find Branson’s ministry here Read Branson's book here We reference Branson’s other episodes with us. Find “How to Talk with the Kids” here Find “The Problems with Polyamory” here We reference the conversation with Pete Scazerro, too. Find “How to Be Emotionally Healthy” here We reference Embodied by Preston Sprinkle. Find it here Watch the episode here

If you take away how people perceive you and how you perform tasks, what is left of you? Today on the podcast, we are launching a series on identity with the goal to help us know who we are “in Christ” so deeply that we can walk into any room with confidence. Join us today as we talk about the origin of this series as well as: What comes to mind when you think of yourself? Why did engaging the sexuality conversation attack Laurie’s identity so deeply? What are some of our “templates” or defaults of how we perceive ourselves, and how can we shift them if they are unhealthy and/or sinful? //Highlights: “I’ve been doing this conversation for nearly a decade now, and I’m going to be one to push the brakes and not the gas when it comes to anxiety over this thing…. [But] I sense the enemy is trying to attack who we are—our identity. He’s been doing that since Adam and Eve, but there is something extra right now. And instead of roll over and say, ‘Whatever!’ Let’s engage it with grace and truth and courage.” —Laurie Krieg “I was driving down the Beltline and I was weeping. ‘Okay, try to stay together, I’m driving! I need to be able to see the road.’ I was weeping the whole time, because it was like God saying ‘Don’t you worry my child, I will hold you.’” —Matt Krieg “If you guys use Microsoft Word [you may know] you can do File—>New—>From Template…. ‘Oh, there is my old template.’ Seeing myself as a shell as a person who is only good for giving to others and doesn’t have worth in and of herself… I can wake up every day and say, “File—>New—>From Template: Worthless. File—>New—>From Template: You have to perform your to get value (or be perfect). What are your templates?” —Laurie Krieg //Question of the Week: What do you always say in your "about me" after "I am a child of God, etc..." Or what WOULD you say if you were brave enough. “I am…” //Do the Next Thing: Watch this episode here Let us know what you think of the episode or ask us anything by emailing: [email protected] Continue the conversation by joining the HIMH Podcast Facebook group here

Whenever we hear people talking about some of the topics we engage in (sexuality, marriage, addiction, sin, repentance, trauma, etc.), we hyper-tune our ears for what they believe and how they hold to what they believe. If you’re curious about our views, this is the episode for you! Today, we answer: What is our philosophy of approaching the LGBTQIA conversation? Why do we start the sexuality conversation with talking about the purpose of our lives? Why do we usually use “LGBTQIA” and not “same-sex attracted”? (But we are willing to use either?) How do we view inborn sin vs. internal, created-order goodness? How might we encourage you to respond when someone tells you “I am gay?” //Highlights: “We need to submit all of these identities to Christ. Whether that is our sexual identity (heterosexual, not straight, LGBTQIA, etc.), or being a mom, or being a white evangelical in America. Am I submitting all of my identities to Christ and letting him sift out the garbage because there is garbage in all of it?” —Laurie Krieg “If you go into a hyper-conservative situation and you say, ‘I am gay,’ they might be picturing the most extreme stereotype they have that might be very inaccurate to the way you live your life. Vice versa, if you go into a more liberal community or within the LGBTQIA community and you say, ‘I’m same sex attracted,’ that might be a trigger for them to think, ‘Oh, this is an ex-gay narrative, and they think I need to be straight in order to be saved’ (and that’s not what you mean). Therefore, changing the words that you use based on the context helps you to be more understood.” —Matt Krieg //Question of the Week: What is your favorite or least favorite word? //Do the Next Thing: To watch this episode visit here We mention this episode with Michael Card: We talk about this episode on shame Request to join us at the HIMH FB page here Email us your questions or thoughts at [email protected] We mention Core Needs. Here is that list: Affirmed: Overwhelmingly approved of (Ps. 118:6, 2 Cor. 1:21-22) Desired: Specially chosen—no pretense necessary (Is. 41:0, John 15:16) Included: Wanted in this group, team, or partnership; I belong (Is. 43:1, Eph. 2:19) Loved: Unconditionally accepted (Jer. 31:3, Rom. 8:39) Nurtured: Cared for; held (Is. 40:28, Matt. 23:37) Purposed: Filled with a sense of profoundly mattering (Ps. 57:2, Rom. 8:28) Rested: Re-centered and reset in mind, body, spirit; includes having fun (Ex. 23:12, Ps. 127:2) Delighted In: Seen as unique and special (Ps. 139:14, 1 Cor. 12:27) Protected: Unafraid; trusting everything is under control (Prov. 18:10, Matt. 10:28) Noticed: Seen inside and out (Gen. 16:13, Ps. 139:7-8)

We do! Who is Steve? Who is Laurie? Who is Matt? Today, we are going to get to know the people behind the microphones. Steve shares his story of depression, feeling inauthentic, and finding hope in Jesus in the midst of addiction. Matt offers his journey of depression and subsequent porn addiction in marriage. Laurie shares how she learned to trust Matt again after his deception and addiction, as well as shares her own story of wrestling with attractions to the same sex throughout her entire life. As always, the team shows the gritty reality and beautiful glory of following Jesus in real life. **Content/Trigger Warning: Laurie shares a brief and not graphic reference to her sexual molestation when she was 11. //Question of the Week: How would you finish the following… “Nothing gets geriatric [insert your generation] going like… [insert something your generation loves like Coldplay, Polly Pockets, hair bands, or something else that your generation loves!]” //Highlights: “God did answer the prayer, but … I was like, ‘It needs to look like this. It needs to happen like this… where I don’t get in trouble. Where I don’t get exposed--and I can maintain my image.’” —Steve O’Dell “Because of what we have been going through with Laurie’s health stuff, I am completely powerless. That is is hard for me. I want to escape… [but] God is helping me not to disconnect. “ —Matt Krieg “Steve, I so relate (and to Matt, you too!) to that double life. We so want our churches to be these authentic places, but we are not great at knowing how to work with mess.”—Laurie Krieg //Do the Next Thing: Watch a video version of the episode here For all of the podcast episodes, visit www.Lauriekrieg.com/podcast We reference the Broken/Beloved Pastors series, and you can find the first episode in that series here

You guysssss!!!!! After over a year off of the air, the Hole in My Heart Podcast is back!!! We are back and we got a shiny new studio and some awesome new friends who are producing this thing. Through a new partnership with West Michigan’s 91.3 WCSG, the Hole in My Heart Podcast has the opportunity to reach more people with the truth that the gospel is good news for *everyone* every day. (!!) Today, Laurie, Matt, and Steve get behind the microphones (and cameras!) to re-acclimate long time listeners and welcome new ones. We do this by: Playing Two Truths and a Lie with each other (Can you guess the right answer?) Talk about how the gospel has *still* been good news for us in the last year Offer how the podcast began, how we connected to WCSG, and why we named it “Hole in My Heart” anyway…? Engage a conversation about sin, neediness, and why we run to things we don’t truly want or need Share what we are looking forward to in the new season of HIMH!! (Eek!) //Highlights: “Whether or not I get healed (I don’t know), I do know eternal [victory] is guaranteed.” —Laurie Krieg “Often times, we can look at our needs and think they are character flaws or deficiencies when in actuality they are created order.”—Matt Krieg “I am excited about integrating. I think God has been working on me a lot on integrating—on becoming a real, whole person.”—Steve O’Dell //Do the Next Thing: Watch the episode here We mention: Episode 24: Is There Hope for Us? We mention The Marriage Series Want to connect? Email us at [email protected] or find a community with other listeners on the HIMH Facebook group here

Well, dear family, we have an announcement. What is it? First, let's hang out for a while, and talk about... How did that "word for the year" go for you? In light of that reality, how has the gospel been uniquely good news for you this year? What is coming next for the podcast and our ministry in 2022? We'd love for you to sit at the podcast table one more time with us. :) //Highlights: "If you are listening and you feel this frenetic burden to go and save the world, Jesus already did that. Abide in Him, walk in Him, and He will show you how to have your doing come from your being." -Laurie Krieg “[Let’s] not just be like, ‘Well, that’s just Christianity, isn’t it? It’s suffering.’ …No, that’s not why Jesus came, so that we have to suffer and hate everything. There’s this good desire in us for this shalom and this peace. And if you want that, that’s a good desire.” -Laurie Krieg //Do the Next Thing: Want to send a note about how this podcast has affected you? Rate and review it, or email us at [email protected]. We also mention these episodes—check ‘em out! Practically Living Life in the Presence of God with Ken Boa here How to Not Give Up with Christine Caine here The First Episode of Season 5 here Join our Facebook group here! If you need a fresh look at Scripture, the CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast! Learn more here

The ugly truth has just come out: One spouse has just confessed to unfaithfulness and the other is reeling in shock. Where do we go from here? Is there hope for a marriage in crisis? Does Jesus have something to say to this place? We are thrilled to bring back our friends Johnny and Amanda McKenna, who have been in this place and walked through—with Jesus’ help—to the other side. Give it a listen? // Highlights: “Pray the prayer that was prayed over me, which is a super scary prayer to pray…but that prayer of ‘Whatever needs to come into the light, come into the light.’ Days before my confession, I was told that that prayer was being prayed over me.” --Johnny McKenna “I ... have to trust that God’s gonna be there … when everything does come out and the pieces are ready to be put back together and God can begin His restoration work.” --Johnny McKenna // Do the Next Thing: Missed our first conversation with Johnny and Amanda? Check it out here! Looking for community with other podcast listeners? Join our Facebook group! If you need a new look at Scripture, the CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast! Learn more about our new favorite Bible at csbible.com. We would love it if you would rate the podcast for us, on any of your favorite listening platforms!

Did you know that CS Lewis’ lifelong best friend was gay? Did you know that Francis Schaeffer was against orientation-change pursuit for gay people? Did you know that Billy Graham was a compassionate defender of gay people who fell into sexual sin? Did you know that John Stott encouraged the church to “repent of the crippling ‘homophobia’… which has coloured the attitudes toward homosexual people of too many of us, and call our fellow Christians to similar repentance”? You guys…the church wasn’t always so terrible at the LGBTQ conversation, praise God. Pastor and author Greg Johnson helped us understand this truth as he unpacked the church’s history, but he also shined light on some of the more dark shadows of our past and current state as he shared his own journey as a celibate pastor who experiences attractions to the same sex. This is not an episode to miss… // Highlight: “[John] Stott said, ‘If the Church can’t be family for gay people, if they can’t be known and loved and understood within the Church, then the Church needs to quit calling itself the family of God.’” -Greg Johnson // Do the Next Thing: Want to hear more from Greg? Go get his book! You can also check him out on Christianity Today! Looking for community with other podcast listeners? Join our Facebook group! If you need a new look at Scripture, the CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast! Learn more about our new favorite Bible at csbible.com.

In a world of pain, identity can be hard to find. With a diagnosis of PTSD, it can be even harder. How do we navigate knowing who we are—and equally important, who God is, in a world that assaults us with lies day in and day out? How do we do that with trauma? With cheerfulness and grace, Bonnie Gray tells her story and helps to answer these questions. Listen with us? // Highlights: “If you go through trauma and you don’t have Jesus, you’re gonna have to be a better version than what you were before…. But if we have Jesus, we say, ‘You know what, I can’t do it. And the beauty is that I don’t have to do it all. Life can be beautiful, even if it’s not perfect.’” -Bonnie Gray // Do the next thing: Want more of Bonnie? Check out her website! We love her book! Go grab it here! Enjoyed listening today? You can find Bonnie’s podcast here. Looking for community with other podcast listeners? Join our Facebook group! If you need a new look at Scripture, the CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast! Learn more about our new favorite Bible at csbible.com.

Emotional health is something that can feel elusive and impossible. But is it? And even if "attaining" total emotional health on this side of eternity is unlikely, what steps can we take to at least walk toward it? And why do we need to? With the wisdom and tenderness of a kind father figure, pastor and author, Pete Scazerro, helps us answer some of our questions about the pursuit of emotional health. Together we explore the above questions as well as: Why is the usual church-discipling paradigm to live burned out and overextended? What if we say "no" to people and they get mad at us. How do we process that? Are there really two types of people in the world: the helpers and the helped? We'd love to have you join the conversation. // Highlight: “Say the United States is gonna cease to be a world power, and fall, and become this dominated country by another country. We may live through that. I mean, who knows what’s gonna happen? The point is: COVID, all the pressures, are putting pressure on our inner life. But, you see, if you can develop an inner life with God that’s robust, the Roman Empire can fall, but you’re okay. Because your happiness is not dependent on your circumstances.” -Pete Scazerro // Do the Next Thing: For resources on building a Rule of Life, click here! And here is the logic behind it Want more of Pete? Check out his website here. You can also see his books here. Looking for community with other podcast listeners? Join our Facebook group! If you need a new look at Scripture, the CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast! Learn more about our new favorite Bible at csbible.com. Watch this Conversation!

Sometimes, God wants to use counseling to help us heal. Sometimes, it’s the Bible. Sometimes, it’s the powerful word from a dear friend. Sometimes, it’s prayer. Sometimes (oftentimes?), it’s all of the above. When Michelle Kyle and I (Laurie) met together for coaching, she said she felt “stuck.” I didn’t know if I could help her get unstuck, but using a prayer technique I have been engaging for 15 years, I thought I would give it a try. What did we do? Did she get unstuck? What was the process, and how can I engage something like that today? What cautions do Matt and I have when engaging this process? Join us for this powerful and practical conversation on listening prayer and we will dive into these answers and more. // Highlights: “I just remember praying, ‘God, you’re gonna have to do something, because I literally close my eyes and I usually see nothing.’ And so I did….And all of a sudden, I did, it happened, and I could see myself on the edge of the pier.” -Michelle Kyle “You [Laurie] had asked me, ‘Do you want to invite Jesus into that space?’ And I said, ‘Well, He’s actually already there.’” -Michelle Kyle // Do the Next Thing: Want to learn more about listening prayer? Check out Matt’s episode about it here. We talk about it in this episode, too! Looking for more resources? We’re big fans of HealingCare.org. If you need a new look at Scripture, the CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast! Learn more about our new favorite Bible at csbible.com.

This is another episode we would pay you to listen to if we could. Do you approach your friendships, your work, or the pain in your life more as the orphan, the stranger, or the widow? Don’t know what that means? We didn’t either until we read “Redeeming Heartache” and then talked with the brilliant psychologist, Dr. Dan Allender, and to our new wise friend, author and therapist Cathy Loerzel. Dan and Cathy helped us understand each of these approaches to the world, and invited us to live redeemed as a priest, prophet, or king and queen. Together we explore: What if I don’t think I’ve ever had trauma? Do I still need to do heart work? Why do I need to look back at my past? My present is hard enough. Why do I act this way in challenging situations? Join us? // Highlights: “To be able to rest and receive delight and have gratitude, you need to be able to be open to what other people can offer you.... So if you’re never in that place of being able to receive that with an open, trusting heart, then you’re always…coiled up and ready for the place that you’re gonna be harmed next. So it keeps you from being able to receive surprise and delight and play because you’re always, always, always looking around the corner.” -Cathy Loerzel “The reality is we all bear some of the effects of the Fall, and that’s what we’re calling trauma.” -Dan Allender “You can’t heal the present without going back to the past.” --Cathy Loerzel // Do the Next Thing: Want more of these two? Go read their book, Redeeming Heartache! Check out the Allender Center, which both Dan and Cathy are a part of founding and leading! Dan is a veteran on the podcast! Here’s our first episode with him. Looking for a fresh way to read Scripture? The CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast! Learn more about our new favorite Bible at csbible.com. Want something deeper than just the podcast? Join our Facebook group and discuss with us!

Without unnecessary clutching of our metaphorical pearls, when we look around, it does seem like there is something going on spiritually when it comes to an attack on the human body. What’s going on? Pastor and author Sam Allberry, a friend of the show and author of the new book “What God Has to Say about Our Bodies: How the Gospel Is Good News for Our Physical Selves” helps us answer this question and more. Together, we explore: Why is our body an integral part of our true selves? How can we walk with our friends who experience gender dysphoria? Why does it seem like so many people are giving up right now when it comes to making potentially harmful choices with their bodies? How can we address gender without using a list of “This is what it is NOT,” but “This is what it is?” Why is shame so often related to our bodies? We’d love to have you sit your embodied self down at the podcast table and join us for this needed conversation. // Highlights: “The very yearning itself is a reflection that we’re made in God’s Image…. We sense there should be more than there is, that there should be a sense of wholeness and of satisfaction and completion that seems to elude us…. But the fact that we’re foreign means that our understanding of that is incomplete and our ways forward with that feeling are very twisted and skewed as well.” -Sam Allberry // Do the Next Thing: Want more of Sam Allberry? Start here, with his book! Don’t have time for the whole book? He also has a blog! You can check it out here. He can also be found as a contributor on the Gospel Coalition! Here’s this article he wrote on the significance of the rainbow (yes, that rainbow) for all of us. Looking for a fresh way to read Scripture? The CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast. Learn more about our new favorite Bible at csbible.com! Follow Laurie on Instagram for updates!

Desires: We all have ‘em. And sometimes they really get in our way. What are we supposed to do about this? Does Jesus care about our desires? Does He value them? As our good friend Curt Thompson points out, Jesus first question in the gospel of John is, “What do you want?” Clearly, our desires matter to God. How and why? Listen with us to find out. // Highlights: “Jesus’ assumption is that what I want is a really, really big deal.” -Curt Thompson “[When I am wounded] I don’t desire, I devour.” -Curt Thompson “…[S]till Jesus says, ‘What is it that you want?’ And I’m like, ‘What else is there to want? I’ve run out of all the options that I’ve made, that I’ve created.’ And this is when He comes with Himself and undoes us. Because—what I really want? I wanna be loved, I wanna be seen, I wanna be known, I wanna be wanted. And even though it terrifies me, I even want to be wanted by [Jesus], including the parts of me that I hate the most. And Jesus is saying, ‘I’m all in. And the parts of you that you hate the most? I’m not afraid of that, and you can’t make me leave the room.’” -Curt Thompson // Do the Next Thing: Want more of Curt? We have loads! (We’re big fans of him around here.) For the basics, check out his website, including his NEW BOOK, The Soul of Desire! To hear more from Curt on our podcast, check out these other episodes! Episode 64: Exploring Our Souls of Shame, pt. 1 Episode 65: Exploring Our Souls of Shame, pt. 2 Episode 138: Shredding Shame in a Pandemic Are you looking for a community with whom to explore more of the issues discussed on the podcast? Join the Heart of the Matter on Facebook! Looking for a great translation of the Bible? The CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast! Learn more about our new favorite Bible at csbible.com.

How many people do you know who currently feel slightly-to-very discouraged about their faith? Do you have a sense that the Bible could be a great help, but you don’t want to come across as legalistic or dismissive of their struggles? How do you walk alongside your friends? (Or, how do you walk alongside yourself if you’re struggling with cracking the Bible?) Author, podcaster, and Bible teacher Tara Leigh Cobble is here to help. Together, we explore: How does the Bible relate to our identity? What reading program can I start today without being overwhelmed by starting today? How important is it to have someone who can walk with you? How did Tara Leigh go from, “I can’t do this any more,” to caring about the Scriptures and Jesus more than ever before? Join us? // Highlights: “I was reading Scripture with the lens to understand how do I get what I want from God, first of all?…And I was also looking [for] how can I please Him? Because, frankly, if I please Him, if I do what He wants, then He’s gonna do what I want….And my pastor friend said, ‘You’re reading it backwards. You’re reading it as thought it’s a mirror, and it’s not. It’s a lens to behold the living God.’” -Tara Leigh Cobble // Do the Next Thing: Are you looking for Bible study resources? Head over to BibleRecap.com. Want more of Tara Leigh? Check out her website here! Also—we are in love with this study from Tara Leigh! Go get it! In this episode, we mention the coaching options with Laurie, but her schedule is currently full. If you are interested in learning more, email [email protected]. The CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast. Learn more about our new favorite Bible at csbible.com!

“I’ve thought, ‘I don't know if I can do this, I don't know if I'm good enough or talented enough or whatever,’ but never had I thought [before that moment], ‘I don't know if I want to,’ because I really knew the price of going forward.” —Christine Caine The first time we had this conversation with anti-human trafficking activist and internationally sought-after speaker and author Christine Caine, it was life-giving to all of us. The second time we listened, it felt doubly hope-infusing because of where we are at in our journeys now… Anyone else feeling the global slump of discouragement and despair? Has anyone else wondered, “Why am I doing this?” Or “How did I get here?” Christine came and did not cheerlead us out of it, rather she empathized and encouraged from her own two-year journey with a dark night of the soul… We’d love to have you join this powerful conversation. // Highlight: “I've thought, ‘I don't know if I can do this, I don't know if I'm good enough or talented enough or whatever,’ but never have I thought, ‘I don't know if I want to,’ because I really knew the price of going forward … But then I turn to [my husband] and I said, ‘But Jesus would know. Jesus know that I didn't press on … Jesus would know that I coasted my way into eternity—if I didn't press on and keep running my race.”—Christine Caine // Do the Next Thing: Find Christine’s book and all the things here Learn more about the Propel-Wheaton Cohort here The CSB translation is a sponsor of the HIMH podcast. Learn more about our new favorite Bible here Join our Facebook group to connect with other listeners!

Real talk: When we think about raising our little kids in a porn-saturated world, we want to raze the whole broken system to the ground. That we even have to have this conversation plain ol’ stinks. (Darn you, Fall of Man!) Then, we start to brainstorm: How long can I keep porn away from our kids? (Forever?) What if they have already discovered it? (Am I the worst parent?) How early are we supposed to talk about the “goodness of God’s design” for sex (the mechanics of it), and how early is too early? As first-generation parents, youth leaders, and aunts and uncles of kids with cell phones (ie. porn in our kids’ pockets), we can feel overwhelmed by how to engage the porn conversation. But … annoyingly … we have to. Can someone please help us? Ministry leaders and researchers Josh Glaser and Daniel Weiss are here with the assist, and the conversation we had was helpful and hopeful. Join us? // Highlights: “In one study, 75 percent of parents felt their kids hadn’t seen pornography, but 50 percent of those kids in that group admitted they had looked at it. So, that means half of those parents were unaware that their kids were looking at pornography.” —Daniel Weiss “It’s a natural human response…that when we’re found out in our sin, we like to run and we like to hide. It’s a protective mechanism. And so, instead of inviting our kids to lie to us or to evade the truth, we just let them know what we know.” -Josh Glaser “It’s not whether or not my kid would look at pornography—that’s the wrong question. The right question is: ’Is pornography the content or kind or material that will respect my family’s boundaries or my family’s values?’ It’s not. Pornography is seeking to be found. You can be frustrated … angry … but, that’s why it’s so important to be intentional and proactive [to not only] talk about the dangers out there, but more importantly, [to talk about] the beauty of what this was all made for—God’s design. Give them the positive, the beautiful first so that everything else seems to be the counterfeit, not the other way around.” —Daniel Weiss // Do the Next Thing: For more on this topic, check out Jay Stringer’s book Unwanted. You can also listen to this interview we did with Dan Allender, who addresses the connection between shame and sexuality. Join our Facebook group to connect with other listeners!

So...shame. It's talked about quite frequently and often with rightful animosity, but have you ever considered there might be some good types of shame? Buckle your seatbelt as we engage the three types of shame and why they are so important--not just when engaging the LGBT+ conversation, but anyone's life. Matt, Laurie, and Steve also dive into how the rest of SEASON FIVE will look, and why they are choosing to follow Jesus--even now in often-brutal 2021. Toxic Shame: Whole body self-hate "Who I am is worthless." From the enemy (Satan) Happens before, during, or after we sin (or even if we didn't) Guilt: "What I did was not worth it." From the Holy Spirit Happens only after we sin Godly Shame: Helps us to feel the weight of our sin so we don't repeat it From the Holy Spirit Happens after we sin (or if we didn't) See: 1 Cor. 6:5 (“I say this to shame you”), 2 Cor. 7:10 (“godly sorrow that leads to repentance”) // Highlight: “The antidote to shame is being seen in our mess and loved in our mess….[Confession] can be this joyful thing, it doesn’t have to be this—it shouldn’t be—this ‘You’re worthless’ thing!….We don’t have to—just because we’ve been tempted toward something or even if we’ve sinned—we don’t have to hate ourselves, guys! We can confess and be free!” -Laurie Krieg // Do the Next Thing: Our book, An Impossible Marriage, talks often about these three types of shame and how they manifest. Check it out here! And for more on shame, check out this resource by the expert, Curt Thompson: The Soul of Desire. For those of you who are married and maybe feeling stuck, here’s an extra resource as well! “14 Days to Unstick Your Marriage.” Want to be more involved with the podcast? Check out our Facebook group!

Engaging conversations on race or sexuality is a hard, holy task. As Christians, we don’t always do it well, even if our hearts are in the right place. Are these conversations the same? How are they different? Can we advocate justice and unity without endorsing what is not God’s best? And how do we do this with our friends? Stephanie Thole entered into this conversation with extraordinary grace and kindness, and we are thrilled to listen in again. //: Highlights “We were one of the few black families. I remember always being so attracted to all of these white boys. In my mind, I was like, ‘I gotta get rid of this…’ I understood at a very early age that that was not allowed.” —Stephanie Thole “I was very much aware at how different I was. That I was ‘other.’” —Stephanie Thole “A lot of us have made mistakes, have had hard conversations, have offended the wrong person, and it’s been a painful, awkward experience. Don’t let that stop you. Keep walking.” —Stephanie Thole //: Do the Next Thing For more on this conversation, check out our friends Daniel Hill and Rebecca McLaughlin! They lend their voices well to these issues. The Secular Creed by Rebecca McLaughlin. White Lies by Daniel Hill. You can also listen to our interview with Rebecca McLaughlin here! Have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! Follow Laurie on Instagram for more ministry updates!

Sometimes, we need the cold water bucket of siblinghood thrown over our heads and our questions. What happens when we feel attraction toward our friends? What if we become enmeshed with other people? How do we guard against turning inward rather than outward, and encourage one another to continue on mission with Jesus? Rachel Gilson shares her story and the beauty of being family in Christ in really helpful ways. We’re thrilled to revisit this conversation with her. Listen in with us. //:Highlights “We kind of intuitively sense that a sibling relationship is a special kind of relationship: It has both really deep intimacy but is absolutely not erotic.” –Rachel Gilson “A lot of time what temptation does is it wants to pull away our focus from, ‘God has given me gifts and opportunity to—with His Body—build His kingdom.’ Temptation ends up being this big gospel waste.” –Rachel Gilson “Occasionally, you get this best friend situation where you turn inward like an ingrown toenail … you end up pairing up in a way that shuts out the broader body. There is something about sibling-hood that reminds us we are a part of a family.” –Rachel Gilson //: Do the Next Thing For more from Rachel Gilson, check out her book, Born Again This Way. Also, check out her article “I Never Became Straight” on Christianity Today, which one of the most read of its time. You can also listen to our first episode with Rachel Gilson here. Also! Check out Kelly Needham on codependency here. Have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! Join our Facebook group for more updates!

After witnessing three excommunications of leaders in the church, Brad Klaver vowed that he would never share his same-sex attractions with anyone. The Holy Spirit had other plans. After over a decade of pastoring and marriage, God brought Brad face to face with himself—and it changed his life forever. Will you join us as we listen again to this beautiful story of gospel transformation? I Highlight I “I remember exactly where I was watching [the excommunications] unfold. In me there was this internal wrestle of fear of: ‘I don’t know where this came from. I don’t know why I have this. I don’t know where this all began or what was done to me to make me like this, but all I know based on what I am seeing now is … this is what happens if people find out. You admit it, and you are shown the door.’ … I said to myself… ‘I will never tell anyone. Ever.’ That commitment was kept for 25 years.” –Brad Klaver “If there’s one piece of encouragement that I could give listeners—invite the person you don’t understand to your table. There’s power in the fellowship around the table….There’s a reason that there’s power in communion, in the breaking of bread and of prayer. And the fact of the matter is that, for Michelle and I, the thing that we longed for most when we stepped down….We were never invited over for dinner…” -Brad Klaver I Do the Next Thing I Want more stories of Christians surrendering their sexuality? Check these out: Greg Coles’ beautiful autobiography Single, Gay, Christian. https://www.amazon.com/Single-Gay-Christian-Personal-Identity/dp/0830845127 Rachel Gilson’s incredible story Born Again This Way. https://www.amazon.com/Born-Again-This-Rachel-Gilson/dp/178498390X And for more resources on sexuality, visit the CenterForFaith.com. Have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! https://csbholylandillustratedbible.com Follow Laurie on Instagram for more ministry updates! https://www.instagram.com/laurie_krieg/?hl=en

Guys! We’re back with this highly requested conversation with our REAL LIFE FRIENDS Johnny and Amanda. What happens when a pastor suffers addiction in silence? What happens when he has an affair? What happens when health problems keep a couple from having sex? Is there hope for marriages that go through these things? Johnny and Amanda are here to say YES! God is a God of redemption and their story is beautiful proof. It’s worth the listen. I Highlights I “I constantly felt like I didn’t measure up. Pornography was an escape from that feeling for me. ‘Finally, I don’t have to feel that just for that moment.’ But after that moment is over . . . now I’m right where I started, and in an even worse spot.” –Johnny McKenna “We could not have sex for two years of our marriage. I was so ashamed. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, what was wrong with my body. I didn’t understand it. It’s so hard and embarrassing to talk about with people . . . I felt so helpless.” –Amanda McKenna “All this is going on and I’m saying to myself … ‘You’re such a scumbag … It’s time to take my life … I’ll be gone, but my legacy will be in tact. I won’t be this pastor that is another Hall of Shame member. I won’t have to tell my boys that I failed them–that I cheated on their mom. I won’t have to tell my youth group kids and leaders. I can at least provide for them financially. They’ll be in a better place because I have life insurance.’ I thought that was the best case scenario. Those were the lies Satan was whispering in my ear.” –Johnny Mckenna ”One of the things [my friend] said was, ‘Amanda, God is saving your husband right now.’ It shocked me. ‘What do you mean He’s saving us? It feels like He’s killing us.’ But then that meaning sunk in: Johnny was living bound and held captive by his sin. But now, God was in the process of saving him. …That’s really beautiful if you think about it: God steps into the mess and he fights for you.” –Amanda McKenna I Do the Next Thing I Have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! https://csbholylandillustratedbible.com Join our Facebook group for more updates! https://www.facebook.com/groups/himhpodcast

We are thrilled to be revisiting the Broken and Beloved Pastors series! In the next three episodes, we’ll hear the stories of three pastors who are, like all of us, “more loved than we can imagine and more sinful than we believe.” What happens when a pastor wrestles with gender dysphoria? What happens when the same pastor is called to bring that wrestling into the light, in his marriage and with his community? What happens to his ministry? To his marriage? To his identity? Ben and Lauren Schulke answer these questions and more as they recount their story with us. We are honored to share it with you. I Highlights I “I very much tried to control the image of how people saw me. But . . . when people know me they can choose to love me and not some facsimile.” –Ben Schulke “I got to this place where I said, ‘I would rather be obedient to God than preserve something temporary–like my job.'”–Ben Schulke “Ben’s identity is not gender dysphoria. His identity is not whatever other sin or brokenness he is dealing with. That’s not who he is. He is a son of God, and he is loved by Him.” –Lauren Schulke I Do the Next Thing I For more on this conversation, check out Mark Yarhouse’s book Emerging Gender Identities! It’s exciting stuff. :D https://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Gender-Identities-Understanding-Experiences/dp/1587434342 You can also check out Preston Sprinkle’s book on trans* issues, Embodied. https://www.amazon.com/Embodied-Transgender-Identities-Church-Bible/dp/0830781226 Have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! https://csbholylandillustratedbible.com Follow Laurie on Instagram for more ministry updates! https://www.instagram.com/laurie_krieg/?hl=en

The gender conversation today is swirling with confusion and hurt for everyone involved. How do we as Christians enter into this conversation? Today, we revisit a conversation with Heather Skriba, who, having wrestled with gender dysphoria her whole life, has a compassionate and truthful perspective on this issue. We’re thrilled to share this episode once again! Join us! I Highlights I “God never just settles for salvation. He is truly redeeming everything.” -Heather Skriba “There are people in my life that didn’t call me by name for two years, and by extension, didn’t use a pronoun when referring to me … How can you expect to have any trust or relational equity built if you are not even willing to refer to someone in a way that distinguishes them as human?” –Heather Skriba “I didn’t know how to let God into the painful, hurting, and dark places of my heart–not just gender– but anxiety, codependency, insecurity, and self hatred. I didn’t know how to access the heart of God in those places … I think that is something that is really missing from a lot of relationships when people try to walk with LGBT people and LGBT Christians.” –Heather Skriba I Do the Next Thing I For more on this conversation, check out Mark Yarhouse’s book Emerging Gender Identities! It’s exciting stuff. :D https://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Gender-Identities-Understanding-Experiences/dp/1587434342 Have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! https://csbholylandillustratedbible.com Join our Facebook group for more updates! https://www.facebook.com/groups/himhpodcast

So often, sexuality brings shame right on its heels. How can we banish it? How can we heal? Join us today as we revisit this conversation with Dr. Dan Allender to learn how stepping into the light and grace of Jesus can heal our shame when it comes to sexuality. ***Heads up: We do address sexual trauma in this episode, though not graphically. If this is part of your story or that of someone close to you, please take care of yourself and listen with caution.*** I Highlights I “The return on investment for the kingdom of darkness is profound in regard to abuse. [It] disintegrates some level of our faith, our ability to trust, our ability to dream and hope, and certainly our ability to give delight and pleasure to one another.” –Dan Allender “I think contempt is our way to manage shame with a level of control that annihilates ourselves so we don’t feel, so we don’t want, so we don’t risk. Contempt is really just another form of self-hatred that allows us to lessen the experience of shame.” –Dan Allender “I’ve seen it literally thousands of times: People who enter the truth and allow their hearts to receive kindness … that’s the context for the Spirit of God to bring about remarkable change.” –Dan Allender I Do the Next Thing I Check out Dan’s books! * *Healing the Wounded Heart*: https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Wounded-Heart-Heartache-Transformation/dp/0801015685/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuKW167mj4gIVr__jBx1WqA6aEAAYAiAAEgKOSPD_BwE&hvadid=174217451664&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9017520&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t2&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15049734708914584592&hvtargid=kwd-2871614828&hydadcr=24629_9648897&keywords=healing+the+wounded+heart&qid=1558126587&s=gateway&sr=8-1 * *God Loves Sex*: https://www.amazon.com/God-Loves-Sex-Conversation-Holiness/dp/0801015669/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=god+loves+sex&qid=1558126633&s=gateway&sr=8-1 While you’re at it, head over to the Allender Center for more resources and information! https://theallendercenter.org/ Looking for more podcasts? The Allender Center has a good one. https://theallendercenter.org/category/podcast/ For ministries updates from Laurie and the Crew, join our Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/himhpodcast Have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! https://csbholylandillustratedbible.com

As Laurie says, “We’re kind of lament-obsessed around here.” It’s true. And it made running this episode a second time an easy choice for this series. Since the first time this episode ran, there is still pain and brokenness in our lives, and we need a place to take it. Cue Mark Vroegop, ushering us to the feet of Jesus with this spiritual practice that truly has revolutionized our lives. Will you lament with us today? I Highlights I “People who know how to lament are comfortable with saying less or nothing. They intuitively have a heart that is oriented toward empathy. They don’t panic when their friend says something that is edgy or a little scary.” –Mark Vroegop “Lament is not just crying. Lament is talking to God about what causes the crying.” –Mark Vroegop “One out of every three songs in the official songbook of God’s people–songs that had music and were sung–reflect this sort of minor key [lament] tune. We are not only unfamiliar with lament, but our churches are generally lament-light.” –Mark Vroegop I Do the Next Thing I Check out Mark’s book, *Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament* here: http://markvroegop.com/books/ Want more of Mark Vroegop? Read some of his articles here! * “Strong Churches Speak the Language of Lament” on Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/strong-churches-lanuage-lament/ * “Dare to Hope in God: How to Lament Well” on Desiring God: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/dare-to-hope-in-god For more on lament, listen to Laurie’s “How to Lament in the Face of Pushback” talk here: https://soundcloud.com/laurie-krieg/bonus-facing-the-unthinkable-talk Also, to learn about Safe Place Prayer, find Matt’s thoughts here: https://soundcloud.com/laurie-krieg/bonus-safe-place-prayer-with-matt Have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! https://csbholylandillustratedbible.com Join our Facebook group for more updates! https://www.facebook.com/groups/himhpodcast

Welcome to TAKE TWO of Exploring Our Souls of Shame! Rerunning this episode was an obvious choice because we *all* deal with shame. Curt Thompson beautifully describes not only the experience of shame, but also its antidote: Jesus. Join us as we learn resilience and joy in this brilliant conversation! I Highlights I “The gospel–if it is good news–does not begin with ‘I am more sinful than I believe.’ It begins, in fact, with ‘I am more loved than I can imagine.’ It is in that space of being loved incessantly, relentlessly, that we become aware just how sinful we are.” –Dr. Curt Thompson, M.D. “God–even in His pursuit–He is not going to shame us. He is not going to twist my arm. He is not going to shame me for not having my shame cleaned up well enough. He is going to relentlessly pursue me.” –Dr. Curt Thompson, M.D. “The healing of shame is not just a way for us to not longer feel bad about ourselves. It’s a way to re-commission us to do the work of goodness and beauty that God has had for us since before the creation of the world.” –Dr. Curt Thompson, M.D. I Do the Next Thing I Check out Curt’s book, the *Soul of Shame.* https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Shame-Retelling-Stories-Ourselves/dp/0830844333 Want to learn more about shame? Listen to our other episodes on it here! - Episode 155: Getting to the Root of Porn in a Time of Turmoil with Michael John Cusick - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/getting-to-the-root-of-porn-in-a-time-of-turmoil-with-michael-john-cusick/ - Episode 164: The Spiritual Garden with Carolyn Schroeder - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/the-spiritual-garden-with-carolyn-schroeder/ - Episode 166: The Emotional Garden with Peace Amadi - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/the-spiritual-garden-with-carolyn-schroeder/ - Episode 173: Marriage and Mental Health with Aaron and Jamie Ivey - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/marriage-and-mental-health-with-aaron-jamie-ivey/ - Episode 83: Sexuality and Shame with Dan Allender - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/sexuality-and-shame-with-dan-allender/ - Episode 82: How to Lament with Mark Vroegop - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/how-to-lament-with-mark-vroegop/ Are you liking this series? Have thoughts about this episode? Email us at [email protected]. Have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! https://csbholylandillustratedbible.com Follow Laurie on Instagram for more ministry updates! https://www.instagram.com/laurie_krieg/?hl=en

Welcome to the first episode of our Take Two series! It was so hard to choose episodes to highlight over the past four (FOUR?!) seasons, but we’ve narrowed it down to a few that we’ll show you over the next several weeks. This episode discusses Chapter 5 of Francis and Lisa Chan’s book, *You and Me Forever*, as well as some of the good and hard of Matt and Laurie’s own story! Get ready for a good one guys, we’re excited to revisit this! I Do the Next Thing I You can check out *You and Me Forever* by Francis and Lisa Chan at this link! https://www.youandmeforever.org Hear more of Laurie and Matt’s story in *An Impossible Marriage*. Find the book at this link! https://lauriekrieg.com/product/an-impossible-marriage-what-our-mixed-orientation-marriage-has-taught-us-about-love-and-the-gospel/ You can also check out Laurie’s story on Remnant Radio and the Happy Hour podcasts! * The Remnant Radio: https://luminarypodcasts.com/listen/the-remnant-radio/the-remnant-radios-podcast/christian-discuss-lgbtq-subjects-with-laurie-krieg/41bf747e-2cec-4218-acd6-860419d9e3b5 * The Happy Hour: https://jamieivey.com/hh363/ Here are a few of the episodes that were “Runner’s Up” for our favorites! * Episode 111: Can’t We All Just Get Along with David Bennet - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/cant-we-all-just-get-along/ * Episode 167: The Social Garden with Greg Coles - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/the-social-garden-with-greg-coles/ * Episode 107: Why Male Friendships are Challenging with Sam and Blaine Eldredge - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/why-male-friendships-are-challenging/ * Episode 152: Are Women Responsible for Male Lust? with Rachel Joy Welcher - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/are-women-responsible-for-male-lust-with-rachel-joy-welcher/ * Episode 96: Healthy Community (& Touch) As a Single Person with Meg Baatz - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/healthy-community-and-touch-as-a-single-person/ * Episode 157: Gen Z’s Sex, Marriage, and Singleness Questions with Sean McDowell - https://lauriekrieg.com/podcast/gen-zs-sex-marriage-and-singleness-questions-with-sean-mcdowell/ Do you need “a friend in the trenches”? Sign up for a coaching session with Laurie here! https://lauriekrieg.com/product/one-coaching-session-with-laurie/ Also, have you seen our new favorite Bible yet? Check it out here! https://csbholylandillustratedbible.com

Even though picking favorite episodes from this season is like choosing a favorite child, we snagged your top listened-to ones from this season (and some of our most memorable conversations), and reflected on clips from them. Here are the episodes we cover: “Caring for People Wrestling with Gender” with Mark Yarhouse “Shredding Shame in a Pandemic” with Dr. Curt Thompson “Defining Stress and Success” with John Mark Comer “Start Where You Are” with Rashawn Copeland “Intro to the Gardens’ Series Part 2” with Matt and Laurie “Marriage and Mental Health” with Aaron and Jamie Ivey We also get honest about how we feel about how this season went, and we look ahead to the summer and fall (SEASON FIVE!) Thanks for being a part of what made this season really sweet. There is no reason to do this thing without you. // Highlights: “We’re trying to be proactive, to make the Church a place where it’s safe to wrestle with things, and one of the primary ways we can do that is to really stop worshipping at the feet of marriage and start worshipping at the feet of Jesus.” -Laurie Krieg // Do the Next Thing: Are you interested in any LGBT+/sexuality/Church oneness trainings we do? Email Michele at [email protected]

We think this episode might be worth listening to more than once. It’s that good and that important…especially this month (Pride Month). Author and teacher, Rebecca McLaughlin, takes some of the real-life theological conversations many of us are having right now and helps us to respond with grace and truth. She explores these questions and more: How can we respond kindly and truthfully when people say to us, “Love is love! Why can’t you just love people!”? What can we say when people tell us that holding to a historical biblical view of marriage is intrinsically harmful (ie. It encourages suicidal behavior)? What if people point at slavery being acceptable in the Bible, “And it was wrong about that, so it must be wrong about ‘homosexuality’”? What if friends also say, “How can you prevent people from loving who they want to love?” We’re going to go there, friends. We need to—with grace, love, and truth. // Do the Next Thing: Find all of Rebecca’s books here. Follow us and what we are up to here.

“I used to think I was the only one who was lonely. After all, when you look around, other people don’t look lonely. They just look like they are drinking a latte.” —Dr. Kelly Flanagan Goodness, this quote from Dr. Kelly Flanagan’s new book, "True Companions: A Book for Everyone About the Relationships That See Us Through," gripped us. If loneliness is that deep-seated reality that you have corners of your heart that only you and Jesus understand, aren’t we all lonely? And isn’t it time we admit it? Dr. Kelly Flanagan thinks it’s not only time to admit our lonely realities but to befriend loneliness. After talking with him and reading his book, we are convinced we should do the same. Okay…but as we/before we do this, we have a few questions: What is the difference between loneliness and isolation? How much are our friends/family/the Church responsible for alleviating isolation and how much is on us to process with Jesus? Why is befriending this loneliness journey better than avoiding with Netflix and wine? Pull up your own loneliness to the table and listen in to what we found to be a beautiful, de-isolating, honest conversation. // Highlights: “A lot of us think of lonely as a feeling that goes along with a certain set of conditions. But when I’m talking about loneliness, I’m talking about it as a fact, like a fact of our humanness.” -Dr. Kelly Flanagan “[T]o love companionably, to love with the love that we call phileo...is to come alongside, to enter into the life, to say, ‘I’m gonna walk along with you in this.’” -Dr. Kelly Flanagan “We have to cultivate the capacity to create spaces of non-doing.” -Dr. Kelly Flanagan “A thousand hearts [on Instagram] leaves us feeling isolated....We need to be attentive to populating our lives with people who we are working together [with] to see each other and understand each other as well as we can.” -Dr. Kelly Flanagan // Do the Next Thing: Go get Dr. Kelly’s books, True Companions and Lovable! Looking for someone to walk through stuff with you? Check out coaching with Laurie! Follow Laurie on Instagram for updates on what’s going on next!