Our Advent series kicks off today: four weeks of preparing our hearts and our minds for the coming of Jesus, as we look forward to celebrating the incarnation at Christmas.

This is the first week of Advent, and it's all about hope!

I considered doing our Advent series solo, but the more I thought and prayed about it, I really felt that we all need to be pastored, to have a pastor's voice speaking into our lives and helping us navigate this sacred (and sometimes chaotic) season. There is no pastor I trust more than Dusty Smith.

Full disclosure: Dusty is my pastor. I have known him for two decades, and I can tell you with certainty that 1- he is a trustworthy person with the utmost integrity, and 2- our church is growing and thriving under his leadership. I'm so grateful to get to have him on the show for this series.

Pastor Dusty and his wife, Jennifer, planted Depot Church in North Carolina 12 years ago, where he is lead pastor. Dusty and Jennifer have four sons, ages 5-16.

Join Dusty and I as we talk about:

• what Advent is, and why we observe it
• defining biblical hope
• what to do when hope is hard to find
• where we see hope in the Christmas story

LINKS

Connect with Dusty via Depot Church

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We're all holding a mixed bag that doesn't go away just because it's Thanksgiving. The holidays are a magnifying glass, making everything feel bigger, for better or worse.

In this short and candid episode, Kayla is getting real about holding grief and gratitude, hard seasons, and why we don't have to be afraid of the dark.

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As we look ahead to Christmas and celebrating the birth of Jesus, join me for a look at His lineage, the women we find there, and what we can learn from their stories.

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As we continue our conversations about who we are in light of who God is, today's episode is all about living as people who Jesus has set free.

Today, we are digging into mental health, shame, the lies we believe, and the freedom that is available to us in Christ.

I hope that pointing to God's faithfulness in my story will help you see His faithfulness in your story. There is help, and there is hope.

National mental health hotline: 988

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As we continue to talk about who we are in light of who God is, I wanted to revisit a conversation I had earlier this year with my friend, Jenn Jett Barrett.

Jenn and I got to dig deep on what she calls "the holy work of living whole," bringing our full selves to be with Jesus, and it starts with getting honest with God.

Jenn Jett Barrett is the founder of The Well Summit, where she creates spaces for women to care for their souls in a way that is emotionally healthy.

Jenn is such a deep well. I loved our conversation, and I'm excited to share it with you today!

Listen in as we talk about:

• the redemption we are waiting for, and the redemption that is already ours
• being honest about our grief
• making margin to be with God as we process all the things that come with being human
• living surrendered vs. living resigned
• when grieving makes us (and others!) uncomfortable
• cultivating curiosity in your relationship with God, and shedding the shame of not doing "enough" for Him
• how being emotionally healthy helps us view God rightly

LINKS:

Connect with Jenn on Instagram

Get the Dwell Journal

Learn more about The Well Summit

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Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness feels like something sad but distant...until it happens to you.

In this episode, I'm sharing my own story of grieving the baby I lost to miscarriage, what the grieving process looked like as I was walking through the early days of loss, and what it looks like now, years later.

Whether you have experienced pregnancy and infant loss or a different kind of grief, I hope you walk away from this episode knowing that you may never be the same, but you will be okay. There's hope here, always.

LINKS

Previous episodes with Kayla's story of miscarriage/pregnancy loss and infertility:

• Episode 8: The Family You Hoped Would Be
• Episode 14: You Don't Have to Choose Between Grief and Gratitude
• Episode 34: What to Say (and what not to say) to Your Infertile Friend

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My dear friend Hannah Clements is a mom who has experienced the loss of her son, Isaiah. She is also a licensed clinical mental health counselor. Her personal story and professional experience make her a wealth of wisdom when it comes to grief, and I'm so grateful to have her back to share some of that wisdom with us today.

Join Hannah and I as we talk about:

• what it really looks like to walk through the stages of grief
• the importance of doing our own grief work, and how that helps us better show up for our people
• resisting the temptation to isolate in our grief
• identifying healthy and unhealthy grieving patterns

LINKS

Listen to Hannah's previous episodes of The Bitter and the Sweet podcast: Episode 9 and Episode 56

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How does loss impact our sense of identity?

October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness month. It's good and right to have a month to remember, but for those of us with babies in Heaven, we know we remember all the time.

My dear friend Hannah Clements has walked the hard road of infant loss. God has used her greatest pain to bring something beautiful to our community, and I'm so glad and grateful we get to share it with you today.

Join Hannah and I as we talk about:

• Hannah's own story of loss with her son, Isaiah
• how grief and loss impacts our sense of identity
• Carried Ministries- Hannah's ministry for loss moms (miscarriage to adult children)
• the power of remembering

LINKS

Connect with Hannah on Instagram

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Listen to Isaiah's story on Episode 9 of The Bitter and the Sweet podcast

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