In Essentials Unity, in Nonessentials Liberty, in all Things, Love with Moravian Pastor Dave Geyer

In Essentials Unity, in Nonessentials Liberty, in all Things, Love with Moravian Pastor Dave Geyer

I sit down with Dave Geyer, a pastor in the Moravian church. We discuss local history in Northeast Ohio, Moravian church history, a commitment to unity and love and I try to give you help you get to know this Christian denomination you may not already be familiar with.

Advent Hope

At this point, I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping this will upload! We’re exploring Advent and the theme of hope in our lives this week - and I get to share an interview with Molly McKenney where we talk about the surprising thing she’s doing to help end human trafficking. Here is the link to Molly’s page! https://dressember2020.funraise.org/fundraiser/molly-mckenney?fundraiserPrompt=548557

Let’s Talk About Stuff with Eli Craig and Tyler Miller

[https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f611962cb3cd50957f413da/1601318754963-J9A75BDTVXMDCFEKYUNR/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w] The show is officially moving to a bi-weekly format. Do I love making a podcast? Yep. Love sharing it with you? You bet! But finding the space and time to record these conversations around our kids schedules, plus the time that goes into editing and research is not easy to do while working and raising a family. I love doing this, and making the show bi-weekly makes it much more sustainable for us! Today, I’m excited to share a three way conversation with you. Friends of the show may remember Tyler from episode 2, and should certainly remember my husband Eli! Tyler has been wanting to talk about how we think about heaven and earth, so he’s back, and we spend a lot of time on that topic today! As if that wasn’t enough, we’re also going to talk about how our relationship with God has changed after having kids. What does it mean to think about God as a father, and about how our theology impacts our parenting. I have to admit that the last topic we explored got me a little bit fired up. I actually raised my voice a little bit, ha! While I care deeply about all the topics we explore and stories we share on this podcast, this issue of women’s roles and what the Bible says women are and aren’t allowed to do is one that I’m particularly passionate about. A friend of the show wrote into us asking us to consider, is it possible that Paul was somewhat sexist? And we really get into it. Here’s our grab bag conversation, remember, if you have questions, or topics you’d like us to explore reach out via email, text, or come to our page right here on anchor and leave us a voice memo! We’re happy to do it.  TLDR: We talk about heaven and earth: -what is heaven? -what does Genesis 1 mean when it's talking about heaven? -Where do we get our ideas about it? -What did Jesus say about it? We talk about theology for parents: -Parental delight between God and us -"Little Sinner" or "Saint in Training" Theology And we ask, 'Is Paul Sexist?' -and I get a little fired up, I'm sorry.  Blessings to you until the next time we're together!

Embodied Spirituality with Eli Craig

Today I’m excited to have my favorite person ever come on the podcast with me! If you don’t already know my husband, you’ll love him. He’s kind, thoughtful, and he’s always pushing me to learn and grow. Today, we’re sitting down and talking about embodied spirituality - what is it? Why does it matter, and what does our baby have to say about it? Well, not really, but Judith does interject into our conversation a few times. Apologies in advance for the abrupt ending, but she decided that podcast time was over! Eli and I spend our time exploring the concept of embodied spirituality. We take the time to define what that means and why we consider it so important. We talk about agreeing with Jesus vs. doing what Jesus did and ask, 'what does love do?' I'm hopeful that this is just the first step in a longer conversation. So, let me know, what did you think about this podcast? Did it challenge you like it did me? Drop me a line any time, or shoot me an email! I'm easily reached at Byrnese.craig@gmail.com Thanks for listening in! Have a beautiful week.

Mental Wellness: Navigating Mental Health and Healing in the Church with Allie Mast

I'm so excited to share this conversation with my friend Allie Mast!  But first I want to let you know this conversation may not be appropriate for all listeners. Content includes conversation about mental illness and depression, postpartum depression, self harm, and other topics of that nature. If you usually listen with your children around I’d encourage you wear earbuds for this episode.  Allie and I talk about the nature of mental illness. Is it chemical imbalances, is it spiritual attack, is it lack of faith, and so on. I don’t think there are quick fixes for anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses. Treatments are as complex and variant as the patients those treatments are crafted for. I make a statement later on referring to brain chemistry imbalances - and while I do recognize that is a part of the puzzle of mental health, medicine alone cannot bring healing and health. Bessel Can Der Kolk, a world renowned expert on the way trauma effects the brain has this to say: “The brain disease model (that is, the model which reduces mental illness to merely chemical imbalance) overlooks four fundamental truths: Our capacity to destroy one another is matched by our capacity to heal one another. Restoring relationships and community is central to restoring well being. Language gives us the power to change ourselves and others by communicating our experiences, helping us define what we know, and finding a common sense of meaning; We have the ability to regulate our own physiology, including some of the so-called involuntary functions of the body and brain through such basic activities as breathing, moving, and touching and We can change social conditions to create environments in which children and adults can feel safe and where they can thrive.” All of that being said, healing does not happen in a vacuum. If you’re currently experiencing mental health unwellness, consider this your invitation to bring that to the light. Healing is possible, and you are worthy of being healthy. As always, feel free to reach out via email to me at byrnese.craig@gmail.com! & Thanks to my husband for sound editing!