SEASON 4 • EPISODE 4

Grief in the Garland

How to Hold Joy and Sorrow in the Same Season

Home for the Holidays Series

The holidays can magnify what’s missing just as much as what’s present. In this tender and deeply reflective episode, Coach Gigi invites you into an honest conversation about grief, memory, and learning how to hold joy and sorrow in the same season. Grief in the Garland is for the sister who loves God, shows up for others, and yet feels the quiet ache of loss, change, or longing during the holidays.

Through fresh Scripture, brain and mental health insight, and pastoral care, this episode explores why grief often surfaces during the holidays and how God meets us gently in these tender places. Coach Gigi shares a deeply personal story about her mother and a cherished Christmas wreath that became a living metaphor for love, memory, and learning how to honor what was without forcing ourselves to preserve what can no longer hold. This episode offers permission to slow down, give grief a place, tend to what feels fragile, regulate your body, and trust that healing is still unfolding.

Anchored in the truth of Exodus 15:26, this episode reminds us that healing is holy and that God is still Emmanuel, God with us, even here. Grief is not a lack of faith. It is love that still matters. If this season feels complicated, quieter, or heavier than expected, this conversation offers compassion, wisdom, and hope rooted in the love of Christ.

This episode is sponsored by FOCUS: Faith & Mental Health, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization where mental health meets the ministry of hope. Learn more, book coaching, partner with us, or support our mission at https://focusfaithmentalhealth.com/

We are deeply grateful to No Child Goes Hungry for their generous food donations supporting families in Paulding County, and to Publix for gift cards supporting our holiday food basket initiatives. You can also support our outreach and community efforts through our Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DUJNOXS1DPDA?ref_=wl_share

Coach Gigi’s newest book, Withholding Love: When Intimacy Becomes a Weapon, is now available as an ebook, with the paperback coming soon. This powerful, faith-centered resource explores how intimacy can be withheld as control or punishment and offers biblical insight, psychological clarity, and practical solutions for healing and restoration. Get the ebook here: https://a.co/d/8sD1MEq

Additional books by Coach Gigi include:

My Body Is God’s Gift https://a.co/d/iEwYbVx

Jesus, Lover of My Soul https://a.co/d/8NzA35Z

Beautifully Broken https://a.co/d/a4AViP5

Catch & Release: Seeds of Deception https://a.co/d/bBCiNIw

Children’s books:

Chef Gigi Serves Today https://a.co/d/7cprHL7

Gigi’s French Bakery https://a.co/d/5lUJ9Qy

If you are experiencing domestic violence or feel unsafe in your home or relationship, help is available. You can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), text START to 88788, or visit https://www.thehotline.org/

Background music: “Be Still and Know.” Written and composed by Geleta “Gigi” Parker. Arrangement and piano accompaniment by Debary Thompson.

Season 4, Episode 3

Home for the Holidays: When Peace Feels Complicated

Welcome back to Faith & Focus: A Moment for Your Mind. I’m Coach Gigi, best-selling author, board-certified brain and mental health coach, and CEO and Founder of FOCUS: Faith & Mental Health, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit where faith and mental health meet and where we believe healing is holy.

In this episode, we continue the Home for the Holidays series by naming a truth many people carry quietly. The holidays can stir joy and grief at the same time. For some, home feels warm and familiar. For others, it feels tense, triggering, or emotionally complicated. And for many, it is all of the above.

This conversation blends Scripture and psychology as we explore peace, emotional safety, boundaries, and why familiar environments often activate old patterns. We talk about how the nervous system responds during the holidays and how God invites us to create holy space without abandoning our well-being. This episode includes biblical encouragement, psychological insight, prayer, and a reminder that you are allowed to care for your heart while still honoring God.

This episode is sponsored by FOCUS: Faith & Mental Health, Inc., serving women, children, and families through faith-centered mental health coaching, education, and community outreach.

Community and Gratitude

We extend heartfelt thanks to No Child Goes Hungry in Virginia for their continued generosity and major food donations supporting families in Paulding County. We are also grateful to Publix for providing gift cards that helped make our holiday food baskets possible. Your partnership is changing lives.

You’re invited to support our work by attending The Healing Table fundraising dinner on Saturday, December 20 at 5 PM. Visit the Contact Us page on our website for details. You can also support our outreach through our Amazon Wishlist, with items going directly to families in need.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3DUJNOXS1DPDA?ref_=wl_share

Books by Coach Gigi

Coming Soon

Withholding Love: When Intimacy Becomes a Weapon

Children’s Books Available Now on Amazon

Chef Gigi Serves Today

https://a.co/d/7cprHL7

Gigi’s French Bakery

https://a.co/d/5lUJ9Qy

My Body Is God’s Gift

https://a.co/d/iEwYbVx

Adult Faith and Healing Resources

https://a.co/d/8NzA35Z

https://a.co/d/a4AViP5

https://a.co/d/bBCiNIw

Learn more about our mission, book a coaching session, donate, or stay connected at

https://focusfaithmentalhealth.com/

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or emotional abuse, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org. You are not alone.

Background music credit

Written and composed by Geleta “Gigi” Parker. Arrangement and piano accompaniment by Debary Thompson.

Thank you for listening and for allowing God to meet you in real life, not a picture-perfect version of it. Breathe deep, stay prayed up, remember you are not too far gone, you are never alone, and stay focused

When Holidays Trigger Old Wounds: Finding Peace in a Season That Stirs Up More Than Joy

The holiday season can be beautiful, but it can also awaken memories, expectations, and emotional triggers we didn’t ask for. In this honest and deeply grounding episode, Coach Gigi explores why the holidays often stir old wounds, how emotional labor takes a toll on the mind and body, and how to stay centered when stress, disappointment, or pressure tries to steal your peace.

You’ll hear a vulnerable personal story about carrying the weight of Christmas for years — cooking, hosting, giving, showing up — while feeling unseen, overwhelmed, and emotionally stretched thin. You’ll learn why your nervous system reacts the way it does during stressful seasons, how trauma memories show up, and how to hold space for yourself while still honoring God and your healing journey.

This episode blends biblical wisdom, mental health insight, grounding techniques, guided reflection, and prayer to help you move through the holidays with honesty, rest, and grace.

Topics in this episode:

• Why holidays trigger emotional and spiritual memories

• The weight of invisible labor during high-pressure seasons

• Feeling unseen, unappreciated, or emotionally overloaded

• How trauma responses show up in the body

• What biblical peace looks like under pressure

• Grounding practices for real-time overwhelm

• Reflection questions to deepen emotional clarity

• A prayer for protection, comfort, and holiday peace

• Safety + support resources

FOCUS: Faith & Mental Health, Inc.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting women, children, and families through trauma-informed care, mental health education, and community programs.

Support the mission or donate at:

👉 https://focusfaithmentalhealth.com

Amazon Wish List for our Year-Round Fill-A-Backpack Initiative:

👉 https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/19CEUZIY3WJ6X?ref_=wl_share

Books by Geleta “Gigi” Parker on Amazon:

• Beautifully Broken

👉 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CL1D2RZK

• Catch & Release: Seeds of Deception

👉 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJLZ7F1P

• My Body Is God’s Gift

👉 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D37NPDX1

• Jesus, Lover of My Soul: Helping Women Worship Through Grief

👉 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4S6V1HS

Safety Resources:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988

Music Credit:

Be Still and Know That I Am God

Written and composed by Geleta “Gigi” Parker.

Arrangement and piano accompaniment by DaBarry Thompson.