When Faith and Feelings Collide: A New Podcast is Coming
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how many Christian women I’ve leaned across the table from who love Jesus deeply… and yet feel exhausted inside. They’re quietly and desperately wishing something would change.
They’re leading.
They’re serving.
They’re showing up.
They’re doing all the things. And still, something feels off.
They pray. They read their Bible. They believe God is good. But beneath the surface, there’s anxiety. Overthinking. Self-doubt. A heaviness they can’t quite name — and often, a quiet shame for even feeling that way in the first place.
I know that tension well, because I’ve lived it.
There have been seasons in my own life when I looked like I had it all together on the outside while emotionally I was barely holding myself together. I was doing all the right things, saying all the right words… showing up, but inside, I felt disconnected from myself, from my people, and at times, even from God. In my head, I completely gave up more times that I can count.
What I didn’t realize then is that faith isn’t meant to bypass the things that make us human. Our faith is meant to show us a better way to be human. Jesus didn’t shy away from brokenness, pain, or people who were, in reality, a mess! He moved toward them. And she showed them a better way. The Way, in fact.
Here’s the thing: too many Christian women were taught that if we just prayed more, believed harder, or trusted God better, the fear, grief, confusion, and overwhelm would go away. Poof! Vanish as if it had never been there in the first place. But that kind of thinking quietly teaches us to avoid what’s real instead of tending to it with God’s truth and self-compassion. That way, avoiding difficult things, can lead to shame and fake-it-til-you-make faith that doesn’t hold up in real life.
It’s not meant to be that way at all. Emotional health and spiritual growth are not mutually exclusive. They are deeply intertwined. In fact, I’d argue it’s quite difficult to have one without the other.
God created our minds, our nervous systems, our emotions, and our stories. He is not threatened by our questions, our pain, or our process. He meets us there — with kindness and patience.
Over the years, through leadership, loss, and my own healing journey, I’ve seen this again and again: real transformation can’t happen if we pretend we’re always okay. It happens when we bring our whole selves to the feet of Jesus. If I’ve learned anything at all, it’s that God can’t address what you refuse to acknowledge. So, when we stuff our feelings or try to pretend them away, it doesn’t make us better. It actually has the opposite effect.
We have to do better. The conversations are important. That’s why The Purpose Project exists. And, that’s why I’ve been quietly working on a new podcast the last few months.
Why the Purpose Project Podcast?
It’s the kind of space I craved so often over the course of my life. Most recently as I stepped away from executive leadership doing work that I deeply loved because it didn’t fit anymore. It was a big change, with big feelings, and it was painful. The Purpose Project Podcast is a space for honest conversations about what it looks like to walk with God through seasons of change — the ones that stretch us, shake us, and shape us into who we’re becoming.
We talk about all the things: faith and feelings, emotional and spiritual health, leadership and burnout, identity and calling, and how to find courage and hope in disappointment.
This isn’t about having it all figured out. Because, who does?
It’s about finding God in the middle of your real life, mess and all. It’s about learning to be brave, present, and hidden in Christ even when things aren’t going the way you hoped.
My prayer is that anyone who listens feels seen. That they feel less alone. That they’re reminded you don’t have to choose between being spiritually devoted and emotionally honest. You get to be both. You have to be both.
I don’t know what season you find yourself in today. But, you’re welcome here. I’d love for you to follow along.
You can find the Purpose Project Podcast here:
www.thepurposeproject.us/podcast