Let the Verse Flow: Personal Growth Thru a Creative Lens

You Are Not an Island: The Power of Letting Others Care for You (Part 9)

We are not meant to get through life alone. In this episode, I share my mom’s ninth lesson: the importance of letting others take care of you.  Today's spoken word piece, one of my new favorites, is about how we aren't islands. Even if we don't recognize it, we don't live in a vacuum. We need connection; even when the world feels intrusive, and people are "too much to handle," we still need anchors in our lives. Those are the people we can really count on. The ones who truly care about our lives. Asking those people for help or letting them take care of you when you need it makes your life better – and gives their lives purpose. Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe. Songs in this episode: Tea Time by Falls; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World Poem:  I Am Not an Island Related Episodes:  Start Before You’re Ready: Creative Courage and the Power of Experimentation (Part 8) - Episode 71 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-8/] The Healing Power of Touch - Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 7) - Episode 70 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-7/] Learn the Language of Nature — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 6) - Episode #69 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-6/] Being Hateful is Incompatible with Being Whole – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 5) - Episode #68 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-5/] Giving Without Expectation – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 4) - Episode #67 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-4/] Take Notice of Little, Beautiful Things — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 3) - Episode #66 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-3/] Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-2/] Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode #64 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-1/] Resources: Lucy the Elephant [https://lucytheelephant.org/] Journal Prompts: 1. Write about a time when a friend or family member took care of your needs. What did they do, and how did it make a difference? 2. Are you accepting of others taking care of you? Explore why you are or aren’t. 3. What new perspectives have you learned that you could have only gotten from letting someone else into your life? Jill's Latest Audiobooks: Lessons in Cornbread: A Memoir of Rebuilding [https://www.audible.com/pd/Lessons-in-Cornbread-Audiobook/B0GYB2H275?qid=1777736923&sr=1-1&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=4GT7TSMYRDDGF5P47SYP&plink=KKz6wjm11tgCjzHE&pageLoadId=PGgsMeeYH6RzXAIn&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1] Prayers for When Anxiety Won't Let Go: Scripture-Rooted Prayers for Calm, Clarity, and Peace in Overwhelming Moments [https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt] If you’ve been using these episodes as a space to reflect or journal, I recently narrated a short audiobook that supports that same kind of practice — something you can listen to in a single sitting or revisit for just a few minutes a day. It’s a devotional book called Prayers for When Anxiety Won’t Let Go, and it’s designed for moments of overthinking or overwhelm.  You can find it on Audible: https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt [https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt]

Start Before You’re Ready: Creative Courage and the Power of Experimentation (Part 8)

Today's lesson (#8 in my 10-part series called "What My Mama Taught Me: 10 Life Lessons on Compassion, Creativity, and Courage”) is about starting before you are ready and having the courage to experiment and pursue the creative projects that interest you. Whenever I begin something new, I tend to research it thoroughly. But there comes a point when learning has to give way to doing. That’s where I found myself with audiobook narration. After nearly a year of coaching, I was told I was ready to audition and book my first projects. I was both terrified and excited. There were things I could only learn by actually doing the work—and each book would sharpen my skills in a way preparation alone couldn’t. So I started before I felt ready. And within a month, I booked two audiobooks. The first is now available, and the second is on the way. The process stretched me—recording, proofing, editing, and mastering—but it also accelerated my growth and confidence. Now it’s your turn. Press play on today’s episode, and consider what you might begin before you feel ready. Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe. Songs in this episode: Quartz Stroll by Soulplusmind; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World Poem:  The Bravesome Echo Resources: Juggler Francis Brunn [https://youtu.be/Jj6JcIy8WOo?si=md8Di0Rkr9K08W3C] Jill's Latest Audiobook: Prayers for When Anxiety Won't Let Go: Scripture-Rooted Prayers for Calm, Clarity, and Peace in Overwhelming Moments [https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt] Related Episodes:  The Healing Power of Touch - Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 7) - Episode 70 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-7/] Learn the Language of Nature — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 6) - Episode #69 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-6/] Being Hateful is Incompatible with Being Whole – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 5) - Episode #68 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-5/] Giving Without Expectation – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 4) - Episode #67 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-4/] Take Notice of Little, Beautiful Things — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 3) - Episode #66 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-3/] Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-2/] Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode #64 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-1/] Journal Prompts: 1. Who has stood in your corner when you’ve explored new creative paths? How did they help you move forward? 2. Write some words of encouragement you could tell yourself when you doubt your ability to learn a new skill or engage in a creative venture. 3. Write about a time when persistence and action resulted in a personal achievement. Can you apply that same energy to your current creative projects? Please subscribe & leave a review if you enjoyed today's episode.💜💛 Fo If you’ve been using these episodes as a space to reflect or journal, I recently narrated a short audiobook that supports that same kind of practice — something you can listen to in a single sitting or revisit for just a few minutes a day. It’s a devotional book called Prayers for When Anxiety Won’t Let Go, and it’s designed for moments of overthinking or overwhelm.  You can find it on Audible: https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt [https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt]

Healing Thru Touch - Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 7)

My mom’s 7th life lesson was on the healing power of touch; the way simple, physical gestures like a hand on the chest, a stroke of the forehead, or a hug can calm the nervous system and communicate love without words. In this episode, we’ll explore how touch can regulate stress and anxiety through somatic practices, how early experiences with affection shape the way we give and receive love, and how the body, especially the gut, holds and communicates emotional truth. Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe. Songs in this episode: Whatever Weather by Basket; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World Poem:  Lemonade, It Flows Resources: 10 Somatic Exercises and Techniques for Anxiety: Expert-Approved [https://rickhanson.com/somatic-exercises-for-anxiety/] The Gut-Brain Connection [https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/the-gut-brain-connection] Related Episodes:  Learn the Language of Nature — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 6) - Episode #69 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-6/] Being Hateful is Incompatible with Being Whole – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 5) - Episode #68 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-5/] Giving Without Expectation – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 4) - Episode #67 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-4/] Take Notice of Little, Beautiful Things — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 3) - Episode #66 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-3/] Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-2/] Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode #64 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-1/] Journal Prompts: 1. How do you like to be touched by your loved ones? Recall and write about the way a loved one's touch made your body (and mind) feel. 2. Would somatic practices help reduce your overthinking? Write a list of three ways you could explore somatic meditation when faced with anxiety or worry. 3. What has your gut been telling you about the current state of your work or home life? How might listening impact your future? Please subscribe & leave a review if you enjoyed today's episode.💜💛 Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/ Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com.  If you’ve been using these episodes as a space to reflect or journal, I recently narrated a short audiobook that supports that same kind of practice — something you can listen to in a single sitting or revisit for just a few minutes a day. It’s a devotional book called Prayers for When Anxiety Won’t Let Go, and it’s designed for moments of overthinking or overwhelm.  You can find it on Audible: https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt [https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt]

Learn the Language of Nature — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 6)

Today's lesson from my mom (lesson 6) is about learning the language of nature. How to let nature inspire your creativity, channel and reflect your emotions and bring comfort and micro-moments of mindfulness into your life. This episode begins with a spoken-word piece on the subtle ways we are connected to the natural world, from a whale song to moss-covered branches to wind, water, and soil. It’s inspired by my childhood trips to Cape May with my mom, where we heard whale songs, collected pebbles and shells along the shore, and admired the patterns and shapes of driftwood, horseshoe crabs, and jellyfish. Those same natural objects, patterns, and landscapes would shape our creativity, help us regulate emotions, and now even hold a space for my grief. From found objects to seasonal rhythms to quiet moments of observation, this episode explores how nature makes a creative home for us and offers us companionship through life’s changing seasons.   Let's slow down to notice the natural world and embrace its imperfection and beauty. Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe [https://app.soundstripe.com/]. Songs in this episode: Ocean Meditation by Shimmer; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World Poem:  Sunbeams are Thrown Related Episodes:  Being Hateful is Incompatible with Being Whole – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 5) - Episode #68 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-5/] Giving Without Expectation – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 4) - Episode #67 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-4/] Take Notice of Little, Beautiful Things — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 3) - Episode #66 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-3/] Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-2/] Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode #64 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-1/] Journal Prompts: 1. What nature-inspired motifs or objects do you feel connected to, and why? 2. If your stress had a landscape, what would it look like? What would your relaxation landscape look like? 3. How does nature offer a safe space and container for your emotions, especially when you are dealing with uncomfortable feelings? Please subscribe & leave a review if today’s episode inspired a connection between you, nature, and your creative spirit.💜💛 Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/ [https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/] Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/] Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com [https://www.jillhodgevo.com/].  If you’ve been using these episodes as a space to reflect or journal, I recently narrated a short audiobook that supports that same kind of practice — something you can listen to in a single sitting or revisit for just a few minutes a day. It’s a devotional book called Prayers for When Anxiety Won’t Let Go, and it’s designed for moments of overthinking or overwhelm.  You can find it on Audible: https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt [https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt]

Being Hateful is Incompatible with Being Whole — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 5)

In Part 5 of the Lessons My Mama Taught Me series, I reflect on a powerful truth my mother lived by: being hateful is incompatible with being whole. The episode opens with a spoken-word poem about the distances we travel to understand one another and how the differences we see on the surface often dissolve when we look more closely. I then share the story of my mother, a white woman raised in a small, religious town, who chose love over prejudice when she married a Black man in the late 1950s and refused to hide her family to satisfy social expectations. Looking back at her courage feels especially timely given the escalation of racial tensions and violence in the U.S. I also reflect on the words of Frederick Douglass (1845) about the long history of hateful beliefs that are justified under the veil of “Christianity.” In this episode, we explore: * how hate limits our ability to live fully,  * how our true values are revealed through the choices we make, and  * how acceptance and compassion create the foundation for a more meaningful life. At its heart, this episode asks a simple but challenging question: What kind of life can we build if we refuse to let hate take root in our hearts? Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe [https://app.soundstripe.com/]. Songs in this episode: The Games We Play by Nu Alkemi$t; Some Kind of Wonderful by Nu Alkemi$t; Con Sazón by In This World Poem:  Vellumed Eyes Related Episodes:  Giving Without Expectation – Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 4) - Episode #67 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-4/] Take Notice of Little, Beautiful Things — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 3) - Episode #66 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-3/] Recognize the Good in Others — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 2) – Episode #65 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-2/] Let People Know You Love Them — Lessons My Mama Taught Me (Part 1) - Episode 64 [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/what-my-mama-taught-me-lesson-1/] Journal Prompts: 1. Write about a prejudice that you overcame. What helped you understand it and let it go? 2. How are you accepting people as they are, and how do those feelings of acceptance impact your life in a positive way? 3. How do you define Christian values? Write about the role of accepting others in that definition. Please subscribe & leave a review if today’s episode made you think about how love and acceptance make you whole. 💜💛 Follow Jill on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/ [https://www.instagram.com/jillhodgevo/] Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com [https://www.lettheverseflow.com/] Let the Verse Flow is part of Jill Hodge’s voice actor and audiobook narration work. Learn more at jillhodgevo.com [https://www.jillhodgevo.com/].  If you’ve been using these episodes as a space to reflect or journal, I recently narrated a short audiobook that supports that same kind of practice — something you can listen to in a single sitting or revisit for just a few minutes a day. It’s a devotional book called Prayers for When Anxiety Won’t Let Go, and it’s designed for moments of overthinking or overwhelm.  You can find it on Audible: https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt [https://tinyurl.com/yx4p6nwt]