This Good Word With Steve Wiens

Episode 215 | The Book of Waking Up with Seth Haines

Seth Haines is one of those friends that makes me want to pursue things that really matter. His new book is vintage Seth Haines: poignant, at times snarky, and pure gold throughout, The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Divine Love That Reorders a Life is a beautiful call to attach yourself to a love that satisfies deep down. This is how Seth describes his new work: 

I wrote The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Divine Love That Reorders a Life for those who want to wake from their coping mechanisms, attachments, and addiction and wake to the Divine Love that brings true, inner sobriety. Grab a copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookish (my favorite independent book seller)*. Then, as you read, come back here to check out the library of books that influenced The Book of Waking Up. (And don’t forget to check out my award-winning book, Coming Clean: A Story of Faith.)

*Reminder: Consider supporting your indie booksellers.

You can follow Seth on Twitter, Instagram, and on his website. 

Episode 214 | Try Softer with Aundi Kolber

I met Aundi Kolber at the Festival for Faith and Writing in 2018, and she’s been a friend ever since. This is Aundi’s second time on the podcast, and this is how she describes herself:

I am a deep thinker and deep feeler. Sometimes I get bored with small talk. I love stories, people, counseling, theology and my precious family. I find myself constantly amazed by God’s faithfulness in my life. I write, think, and chew on this often. I believe that Jesus is my ultimate hope and healer. I am a licensed professional counselor in Castle Rock, CO and attended Denver Seminary for my graduate education. I am married to the love of my life and have a daughter and son who are the joy of my heart. My hope for this blog is to create a space to dig into hard, funny, and imperfect things. My work has been featured on Relevant, CT Women, The Huffington Post, The Mudroom, Happy Sonship and Circling the Story.

If you enjoyed my conversation with Aundi, check out her website, follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and you can buy her brand new book, Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode--and into a Life of Connection and Joy.

Click here to subscribe to my weekly newsletter, Finding God After Losing Faith.

Episode 213 | The View From Rock Bottom with Stephanie Tait

For Stephanie Tait, pain has never existed on a spectrum opposite of joy. Pain, with the way it weaves into our lives, families, and work habits, has been the connecting point of grace and struggle that defines her career. As an author, speaker, disability advocate, and trauma survivor, Stephanie aims to do what she believes is sorely lacking in our trending conversations around Christianity – to partner sound theology and practice with the unashamed acceptance of struggle in the present tense. She aims to create space for the reality of suffering, as well as practical tools and experience for its management, in the center of our faith ethic, our communities, and our joy.

Our conversation centered around the themes of her new book, The View From Rock Bottom, and also about the subtle ways most of us buy into a kind of prosperity gospel, even though we may not realize it.

Visit Stephanie’s website or follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Buy The View from Rock Bottom here.

Click here to sign up for my weekly newsletter, Finding God After Losing Faith.

Episode 212 | Finding God After Losing Faith

So many of us begin thinking about resolutions or "words for the year" as we wrap up one year and head into the next. One of the things that I'm going to be especially intentional about in 2020 is being rigorously honest about what I say I believe. You may not believe this, but there are many times when I simply nod along, agreeing with what I should agree with, while internally I am feeling angsty. So, I'm committing to doing the work of being kind and compassionate, while also refusing to simply go along with something I don't really believe in. 

For some reason, when I get a bee in my bonnet like this, it actually helps me to create something related to what I'm wanting in my own life so that other people can be on the journey with me. So, I'm creating a new weekly resource called Finding God After Losing Faith. Like I described on this episode, this weekly email will be designed to help people to keep searching for God even after a certain belief system - or religious system - has stopped working for them. Each week I'll share the best and most inspiring resources I'm finding that's helping me as my own faith evolves. 

This resource will be totally free, but it will only be available to my weekly email subscribers. You can subscribe by clicking here. 

Episode 211 | Advent, Part 4

The season of Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar, and it's a season of naming our deepest longings, those places in our lives where everything feels shrouded in darkness and hopelessness. It's a season to ask for light to come into those places, for Christ to come into those places. It's a season to practice waiting for the impossible to become possible. 

My conversation is with Ruth Haley Barton, a dear friend and the Director of the Transforming Center in Chicago, Illinois. 

The music on this episode is by Page CXVI (used by permission) from their album Advent to Christmas. 

Episode 210 | Advent, Part 3

The season of Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar, and it's a season of naming our deepest longings, those places in our lives where everything feels shrouded in darkness and hopelessness. It's a season to ask for light to come into those places, for Christ to come into those places. It's a season to practice waiting for the impossible to become possible. 

My conversation is with Ruth Haley Barton, a dear friend and the Director of the Transforming Center in Chicago, Illinois. 

The music on this episode is by Page CXVI (used by permission) from their album Advent to Christmas. 

Episode 209 | Advent, Part 2

The season of Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar, and it's a season of naming our deepest longings, those places in our lives where everything feels shrouded in darkness and hopelessness. It's a season to ask for light to come into those places, for Christ to come into those places. It's a season to practice waiting for the impossible to become possible. 

My conversation is with Ruth Haley Barton, a dear friend and the Director of the Transforming Center in Chicago, Illinois. 

The music on this episode is by Page CXVI (used by permission) from their album Advent to Christmas. 

Episode 208 | Advent, Part One

The season of Advent marks the beginning of the church calendar, and it's a season of naming our deepest longings, those places in our lives where everything feels shrouded in darkness and hopelessness. It's a season to ask for light to come into those places, for Christ to come into those places. It's a season to practice waiting for the impossible to become possible. 

My conversation is with Ruth Haley Barton, a dear friend and the Director of the Transforming Center in Chicago, Illinois. 

The music on this episode is by Page CXVI (used by permission) from their album Advent to Christmas. 

Episode 207 | The One Where Jenn Interviews Me

Last week (episode 206), I had such a great conversation with Jennifer Dawn Watts that we immediately scheduled a time for her to interview me. I found myself reflecting on some of the things she asked me - and some of the surprising ways I answered - days after we talked. I hope you enjoy our conversation. 

Episode 206 | Real with Jennifer Dawn Watts

Jennifer Dawn Watts is the Founder and CEO of Living Well Counselling Services, with two locations in Calgary Alberta offering services in person and worldwide via telephone and online AND she's one of my favorite new friends. We could have talked for hours!!!!

For more about Jenn, make sure to check out the Show Notes!