Episode 107: Loving Someone Who Does Not Remember You

Episode 107: Loving Someone Who Does Not Remember You

If you are loving someone whose mind is slipping away from you — a parent with dementia, a husband with Alzheimer's, a sibling or friend whose memory keeps shrinking — the grief you carry has a name. Most people will never name it for you. So we are doing it here. In this episode, I sit with one of the most under-discussed experiences in the sandwich generation: caregiver grief. The kind that begins long before a funeral. The kind that comes with no casserole and no recognized mourning period. By the end of this conversation, you will: •  Recognize the specific kind of grief you have been carrying — and why it has felt so heavy and so invisible •  Understand what one researcher means when she says closure is a myth, and why that reframe matters for women in long-haul caregiving •  Walk away with two small, doable steps to help you steady yourself this week SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV) Research note: This episode references the work of Pauline Boss on ambiguous loss, the program of research on anticipatory grief in dementia caregivers led by Franziska Meichsner and Gabriele Wilz, and demographic data from the Alzheimer's Association 2024 and 2026 Facts and Figures reports. Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

BONUS: Silence Is Not the Same as Absence (YNBS 106)

Researchers studying what they call spiritual dryness have found something worth knowing, so if God feels silent right now, let me share a sentence to help you carry it if you're in that season. Then join me for the latest YNBS episode (106) where we walk through a small, repeatable practice that may bring you closer to God than another devotional plan ever could. "Has God Forgotten Me? When Faith Feels Loud and God Feels Silent" Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

Episode 106: Has God Forgotten Me? When Faith Feels Loud and God Feels Silent

There is a question many faithful women carry that they will not say out loud. It surfaces at two in the morning, in the carpool line, in the middle of the worship song everyone else seems to feel. Has God forgotten me? If you are still praying, still serving, still showing up — and God feels silent anyway — this episode is for you. Here is what you will walk away with: * Why God's silence often feels like rejection — even when nothing has actually changed between you and God. * What researchers studying spiritual dryness have learned about how common this is among the most devoted believers. * How dryness shows up in your body, your mind, and your relationships — and why that matters. SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: Psalm 13:1–2 (NIV) Research note: Spiritual dryness research from Büssing and colleagues at Witten/Herdecke University, and attachment to God research from Beck and McDonald. Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

BONUS: “Before the Sun Sets” Prayer (YNBS 105)

“The sun may stay up late. That does not mean you have to.” Join me for a short prayer to make the longest day a little better as we lean into the reminder that that God made the day, the night, summer, winter, and the limits inside all of it. Feel free to check out the latest episode of Your Next, Best Step (105) for a gentle reminder for the woman who is running on backup battery this summer - "The Longest Day of the Year and the Shortest Fuse" Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.

Episode 105: The Longest Day of the Year and the Shortest Fuse

The longest day of the year sounds beautiful. So why are you running short on patience by 6:12 in the evening? If summer feels less like a season of joy and more like a season of slow depletion, you are in the right place. The science says it is not your character. It is heat, evening light, and modest sleep loss all chipping away at your emotional bandwidth at the same time. In this episode, I will walk you through what is actually happening in your body around the summer solstice, why your short fuse has a physiological explanation, and one small thing you can do before the sun sets tonight to help restore your energy. Here is what you will take away: * Why “more daylight” often costs you more than it gives back * How heat and modest sleep loss shrink your patience without you realizing *  A grounded, faith-rooted way to receive this season instead of pushing through it SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT: Psalm 74:16–17 (NIV) Research note: Noelke and colleagues, 2016, Environmental Research, on ambient temperature and emotional well-being. Ready for your next step? FREE 5-Minute Daily Reset (instant download): YourNextBestStep.com  [https://YourNextBestStep.com] Weekly encouragement + practical tips: YouTube @CoachJanetJ [https://www.youtube.com/@CoachJanetJ] Instagram: @janetjjaecks [https://www.instagram.com/janetjjaecks/ ] If this episode resonated with you, please follow/subscribe and share with a friend who needs their next step.   One small step. One day at a time.