Spirit, Soul & Body: Understanding True Spiritual Health with Carla Sands

Spirit, Soul & Body: Understanding True Spiritual Health with Carla Sands

What does it really mean to be spiritually healthy? Not just going through the motions, not just checking boxes, but truly, deeply healthy from the inside out? In this first part of a two-part conversation, Nadine sits down with Purposeful Living's own Ministry Director, Carla Sands, to explore what soul health actually is and why it matters more than most of us realize. Carla opens with a beautiful framework that will stick with you: picture a bullseye. At the center is your spirit. Around it, your soul. And on the outside, your body. This image becomes the lens through which everything else in the conversation unfolds. From there, Carla walks through the three theological tenses of salvation — justification, sanctification, and glorification — and connects them to that same bullseye. Justification is that one sacred moment when you said yes to Jesus. Glorification is the eternity that awaits. But sanctification? That's where we live. That's the lifelong, ongoing process of being made more and more like Him. And that is the soul health this episode is all about. Nadine and Carla talk honestly about why this matters — not just for our own peace and joy, but because we are called to be salt and light. The fruit we bear isn't for us. Like an apple tree, it's for the people around us: our children, our husbands, our friends, our church family. When we are spiritually healthy, something unexplainable starts to flow out of us. Not from us. Through us. They also name something important: spiritual health is not about performance. It's not about a checklist. Reading your Bible every morning doesn't automatically mean your soul is well, just as the Pharisees' religious discipline didn't reflect a heart surrendered to God. True soul health is about intentional formation, setting the table for the Holy Spirit to do a work in you that you cannot do in yourself. GUEST BIO Carla Sands serves as Ministry Director at Purposeful Living, Inc., where she walks alongside women in their spiritual formation and growth. A trusted voice in the Purposeful Living community, Carla brings deep theological grounding and genuine warmth to every conversation. She is passionate about helping women understand who they are in Christ and what it looks like to be whole — spirit, soul, and body. KEY TAKEAWAYS * The spirit, soul, and body can be pictured as a bullseye — and soul health lives in the middle, the sanctification layer, where daily life actually happens. * The three tenses of salvation (justification, sanctification, glorification) give us a framework for understanding where spiritual growth fits into our faith. * We are called to bear fruit — but like a fruit tree, that fruit isn't for us. It's for the people God has placed in our lives. * Spiritual health is not performance. Spiritual disciplines are the table-setting; the transformation itself is God's work. * Passivity is not neutral. If we're not being intentionally formed by God, we are being formed by culture. * He never asks us to be perfect. He asks us to be willing. SCRIPTURE REFERENCES * Matthew 5:13-14 — "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world." * Galatians 5:22-23 — The Fruit of the Spirit * 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 — The body as God's temple

On Humility (Part 2): From Shadow Mission to Freedom

In Part 1 of this conversation, Jenni Balda introduced us to the shadow mission: the hidden, subconscious drive to prove, perform, or protect ourselves that quietly hijacks our God-given calling. If that episode cracked something open in you, this one is where the healing begins. In Part 2, Nadine and Jenni get practical. Awareness is only the first step, so Jenni walks us through exactly what comes next. It starts with curiosity. Not condemnation, not a complete overhaul of everything; rather, a willingness to slow down and ask: where am I feeling pressure right now? From there, Jenni lays out a clear, grace-filled path forward: name the shadow, bring it into the light, and refuse to let it hide behind excuses or old stories. She makes an important distinction here: it is worth going back to find where you first took on the shadow mission, where the wound was, where the lie began. But visiting that island is not the same as making it your permanent address. The conversation moves into one of the most tender parts of the episode: asking God what was actually being offered to us in that moment we chose the shadow instead of truth. Inviting Him to replace the lie with what He says is real. Receiving—truly receiving—the identity that was always already ours in Christ. And when the shadow mission creeps back? Because it will. Jenni reminds us that returning to a familiar struggle doesn't mean we haven't grown. As one wise counselor put it: it might be the same rock, but you are at a higher elevation. You are not the same woman who fought this battle the last time. Jenni closes with her verse for the year, Psalm 131 — a peaceful, beautiful picture of what it looks like to live from the other side of the shadow mission. Humbled. Quieted. Resting. Content in Him. That is the goal. And sister, it is worth every bit of the work. Guest Bio Jenni Balda serves as the Spiritual Growth and Development Coordinator at Purposeful Living, Inc., where she supports the ministry's spiritual depth and leadership development as part of the executive leadership team. Jenni brings a Scripture-rooted, compassionate approach to helping women identify what's driving them beneath the surface — and find their way back to the freedom and rest that is already theirs in Christ. She is also a trained coach at Purposeful Living and available to walk through this topic one-on-one. SCRIPTURE REFERENCES * 2 Corinthians 10:1, 4–5 — Referenced from Part 1; the divine weapons we have to demolish the arguments and strongholds of the shadow mission. * Philippians 2:3 — "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others more significant than yourselves." Christ's humility as our model — free to serve, free to lead, free to surrender. * Psalm 131:2 — "I am humbled and quieted in your presence, Lord. I am your resting child and my soul is content in you." Jenni's verse for the year and the portrait of a life free from the shadow mission.

On Humility: Understanding Your Shadow Mission with Jenni Balda

In this episode of Linking Arms, host Nadine sits down with Jenni Balda, Purposeful Living's Spiritual Growth & Development Coordinator. Jenni introduces the concept of the shadow mission — a term that describes what happens when our God-given calling gets hijacked by a hidden need to prove, perform, or protect something about ourselves. Jenni opens by affirming that God has given each one of us a unique mission — one that can show up in our leadership, our careers, our homes, and our relationships. But tucked right alongside that calling, often running quietly in the background, is a shadow mission fueled not by faith, but by insecurity, fear, and unmet relational needs. And the telltale sign? Weariness. That bone-deep exhaustion that just won't quit, no matter how hard you work or how much you give. The conversation takes a surprising and deeply freeing turn when Jenni reframes humility entirely. Rather than something quiet and shrinking, true humility — the kind rooted in Christ — is bold. It's confident. It's the freedom to fully show up as who God made you to be, without the weight of needing to prove it to anyone. The shadow mission, she explains, keeps us performing for an identity we already have in Him. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 10 and Philippians 2, Jenni walks through how selfish ambition and vain conceit — the very things Paul warns against — are the shadow mission at work. And until we can name what's running beneath the surface, we can't demolish it. Whether you feel crystal clear about your calling or you're still in the beautiful, unfolding process of discovering it, this episode will meet you exactly where you are. Because as Jenni reminds us: we all have a shadow mission. The question isn't if — it's what are you going to do about it? Stay tuned for Part 2, where Jenni walks through practical, step-by-step tools [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iHcrou1XxIJX73O68hmVDK2iBBmgVYKY/view?usp=sharing] to help you recognize your shadow mission, bring it into the light, and begin walking in the true freedom and identity you already have in Christ.Guest Bio Jenni Balda serves as the Spiritual Growth & Development Coordinator at Purposeful Living, Inc., where she is part of the executive leadership team supporting the ministry's spiritual depth and leadership development. Jenni brings a thoughtful, Scripture-rooted approach to helping women understand their identity in Christ and lead from a place of security rather than striving. Scripture References * 2 Corinthians 10:1, 4–5 — "The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds...we demolish arguments and every pretense that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." * Philippians 2:3 — "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others more significant than yourselves."

Getting Unstuck (Part 2): Nurturing Your Mindset

Welcome back, sister. If you caught Part 1 of this conversation with Lauren Alcorn, you already know that getting unstuck starts with nourishing your body and anchoring in your beliefs. Today, Lauren and Nadine pick right back up — and they save the best for last. In this episode, Lauren unpacks the third and most powerful pillar of her framework: nurturing your mindset. Using a blueprint analogy that will stick with you long after you finish listening, Lauren explains why every cell in your body is literally listening to what you think and feel — and why living at a chronic 80% stress state is not just exhausting, it's keeping you from healing. Together, they talk through what it really looks like to build a mindset toolbox: how to identify a symptom without claiming it as your identity, how to surrender the illusion of control, how to filter what you let into your mind the same way you filter what you put into your body, and how to ask the question that changes everything — what is mine to own, and what is mine to release? This is the kind of conversation that is disheartening and empowering all at once. Because the truth is, you are incredibly powerful over your internal world. And that changes everything. Key Takeaways: * Your mindset is your most powerful healing tool. Every cell in your body is responding to what you think and feel — not just in acute moments of fear, but all day long at a chronic, low-grade level. * Most women are living at 80%. That means running at a near-constant state of stress, worry, and hypervigilance — and our bodies are paying the price. Healing requires getting that number down. * Stress is only stress if we think it's stress. We can't control the chaos of the world, but we can change how we interpret and respond to it. It starts with reminding yourself: this is just a shadow. * Build your mindset toolbox. When a symptom surfaces, work through these steps: (1) Vocalize what you're feeling without claiming it as your identity. (2) Check your four basics — sleep, hydration, food, movement. (3) Ask what you can let go of. (4) Reach out and connect with someone who will speak truth over you. * What's mine to own, and what's mine to release? This is the question that sets you free. We cannot control everything — but we can steward our own internal world. * Filter what goes into your mind. Just as you're intentional about what goes into your body, be mindful of what you allow into your mind. News, social media, fear — if it isn't yours to carry, let it go. * Your body heals itself when you let it. Lauren's reminder is so simple and so profound: when we stop irritating the wound and give our body what it needs, it knows exactly what to do. * Working on yourself changes more than just you. When we manage our own mindset and model peace for our children, Lauren believes — and so do we — that it can genuinely change the world. Scripture References: * Jeremiah 17:7-8 (Deeply Rooted — trusting God, not self-sufficiency) * Philippians 4:6-7 (Do not be anxious; bring your needs to God) * Romans 12:2 (Be transformed by the renewing of your mind) * 2 Corinthians 10:5 (Take every thought captive)

Getting Unstuck: From Surviving to Thriving with Lauren Alcorn

Sister, have you ever felt like you're running on empty—stuck in the same cycles, the same patterns, the same overwhelm—and wondering if this is just... your life? In this episode, Nadine sits down with Lauren Alcorn, a psychiatric nurse practitioner with 20 years of experience, who has built a practice around integrative, Biblically-grounded healing for women and families. Lauren shares her own story of normalizing pain in her early years and how that journey led her to a powerful framework for getting unstuck at the root—not just managing symptoms. Together, they unpack what it actually means to be stuck, why so many women mistake exhaustion for rest, and the danger of letting a symptom become your identity. Lauren introduces the first two pillars of her three-part framework for getting unstuck: nourishing your body with your basic biological needs and anchoring in your beliefs, purpose, and connection. This is warm, practical, Spirit-led conversation that will meet you right where you are.