Hole in My Heart Podcast

Episode 59.5: Happy T-Day 2k18 Style with the Crew

Heyyyy! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the United States! Happy "we are thankful for you all" if you are not in the States. In this 8-minute special we debate whether or not you put the stuffing in the turkey.
(Answer: Find Alton brown's killer recipe on the link below for turkey SANS STUFFING. Throwaway turkeys are welcome for such goodness.)
We also get a lil' bit serious on what we are thankful for. Get it here, kids. That Link: (At the bottom of the last episode): https://www.himhministries.com/blog/episode-59-a-tiny-living-act-of-obedience

Episode 59: A Tiny [Living] Act of Obedience with Ashley Auerbach

What do you get when you cross 350-square-feet, six people, a one one-eyed cat named Sirius, and an honest look at what makes up our identity? This episode.
Ashley Auerbach, a mom of four turned-tiny-living expert (whose life is soon to be featured on a TV show!), talks about obedience and the beautiful shredding it does to our perceptions of self.
We also have her figure out our tiny living problems such as how to play Cones of Dunshire in our hypothetical new RV, and what to do in said hypothetical RV if we want to buy our kids those crazy huge Costco bears for Christmas.
We laugh and get real per usual.
 
//: Highlights:
“My identity was wrapped up in what I did for people and how I entertained and how I opened my home. Because I couldn’t do any of those things my identity took a real hit. And it’s still taking a real hit.” --Ashley Auerbach
"[God] allowed these circumstances of my health to fail so I could get to the place where I would say ‘yes’ to the more he would have for me." --Ashley Auerbach
 
//: Do the Next Thing:
Follow Ashley on Instagram here or at AuerbachAdventures 
Follow here blog here
For More

Episode 58: If Looks Could Heal with Kelly O’Dell

Yup. We are talking about looks. Specifically, clothing. This may seem like too surface-level of a conversation for this podcast, but aren't clothes an expression of who we are? An expression of who God made us to be?
We would say, yes.
This conversation arose as I (Laurie) was stressing out way too much about what to wear on a stage. I found myself dressing for my audience as opposed to dressing as an expression of who God made me to be.
Then Kelli ODell--a friend and our Producer Steve's wife--entered the scene. She got to know my heart and helped me express it tangibly.
Now, I don't stress. I just live.
If you feel annoyingly stressed about expressing yourself tangibly via clothes, you may leave practically encouraged after listening.
 
//: Highlights:
"When you do this process and find out, 'These are my colors, these are the shapes that look good,' it simplifies your life . . . You are freed up to focus on other people. You kind of forget about yourself." --Kelli O'Dell
"So many of us see what looks cool on XYZ celebrity, and we are like, 'Okay, that is a cool look. I want to try that on.' What Kelli does is she confirms whether that particular look is right for you as an individual. Versus trying to be like someone else, it's helping you be more like who you are." --Steve O'Dell
 
//: Do the Next Thing:
Do you want to hit up Kelli for ideas for you? Email her here
For More (Including quizzes you can take!)

Episode 57: The ”Whys” Behind Pornography Addiction with Jay Stringer

If you have ever struggled with pornography addiction or are close to someone who has, please listen to this episode.
Licensed mental-health counselor, ordained minister, and author Jay Stringer, helped peel back the layers of understanding for all of us as we heard results of his nearly 4,000-person study on the "whys" behind unwanted sexual behavior.
From the research laid out in his incredible book, Unwanted, we dig into family systems that can foster certain types of lust and anger, the power of shame (and what removes it), and steps to take toward actual freedom.
And of course, Chuck Norris and some ridiculous high-fiving action make an appearance.
 
//: Highlights:
"We need to learn to listen to our lust, and see what it says about us." --Jay Stringer
"We need to begin to break some of the silence up, to say, 'Because we are made in God's image we are sexual, and that is a beautiful, stunning thing. And yet because evil cannot destroy the glory and goodness of God, evil will then go after that which most reflects God's glory and image, which is of course, our sexuality.'" --Jay Stringer
"If we are really wanting change, what does it mean to not condemn ourselves for our unwanted sexual behavior, to not hate ourselves for our sexual story, but to be kind about how it in some ways makes a lot of sense--given the life that we've had?" --Jay Stringer
 
//: Do the Next Thing:
Check out Jay's site
This site is also amazing
Get his book!
Follow him on Twitter
For More

Episode 56: Seven Ways To Navigate A Sexually Shifting Culture with Sam Allberry

Do you intrinsically feel the shift in culture over the last ten years or so, but you can't quite name it?
Author and pastor Sam Allberry can. ​In addition to being a really great hang, Sam lays out four cultural shifts and seven responses to those shifts on today's episode.
This is not one to miss.
 
//: Highlights:
"As I deny self I don't become less me. As I follow Jesus and deny self I become more the me God had thought up in the first place. Isn't that amazing? God can take a group of us and we all become more like Jesus, but we won't become more like each other." --Sam Allberry
"Jesus is not as easy as we think he is when it comes to these issues. That is so important to know because if they are angry at this stuff they aren't angry at Christianity, they aren't angry at me, they aren't angry at you, they aren't angry at the church. Actually, their real issue is with Jesus, and they need to realize that." --Sam Allberry
 
//: Do the Next Thing:
Listen to the talk we reference here
Look into Living Out Ministry
Check out Sam's book on some of these issues here
You can follow him on Twitter here
For More

Episode 55: Purity Movement or Sexual Integrity? with Jason Soucinek

If you grew up in the purity movement era of Christianity--where a lot of talk around sexuality was based on 'just say 'no' to sex before marriage'--were you burned by it? Encouraged by it?
Our friend, Jason Soucinek, executive director and founder of ProjectSix19 talks us through the benefits and detriments of talking about sexuality with a focus on this type of purity, and helps us consider another way.
We also dig into favorite group games (just don't talk about kickball kaythxsbye), get a bit crazy about being inclusive of single people, and have a giant take us to Goofball Island for reasons we still don't quite know.
 
//: Highlights:
"As a parent, you want to be Google to your children--especially when it comes to [sexuality]." --Jason Soucinek
"I think if we're only looking at two parts [fall and redemption] and we are starting with the Fall, then our language is going to be around sin, and the language of, 'no, 'bad,' and 'not good.' We'll eventually get to 'image of God' or 'Jesus' or 'forgiveness,' but that's just not the story I see taking place. It starts with, 'It was very good.'" --Jason Soucinek
 
//: Do the Next Thing:
Check out Jason's sexuality equipping ministry here
These may be especially helpful for parents:
Parent's Primer on Sexual Integrity
Parent's Primer on Internet Pornography
For More

Episode 54: Family Dinner with Angela Bowles

Every week, we invite people into our home for food, conversation, and games. It's basically the podcast but in real life.
My real life little sister, Angela Bowles, talks about how this works both as a biological sibling and sister in Christ.
We also discuss the first time I shared my story with Angela (on her 16th birthday?!), how we get motivated to do difficult things, and PLEASE listen to the after-closing bloopers. We guffawed.
 
//: Highlights:
"I got super convicted by my own mouth on a stage. I was talking [on a platform] about how the Church is the hope of the world, and how we need to open up our doors to anyone who needs family. It was the Holy Spirit pinpricking my heart saying, 'You got to open up your own home and invite people in.'" --Laurie Krieg
"That's why Fram Din works: It's because it's not about sexual issues necessarily, it's about being 'with.'" --Angela Bowles
"I've really loved seeing the interaction of people with our daughters. Our oldest daughter, Gwyn, is super excited: She starts praying for the family and it's all of her cousins, all of Family Dinner, and all the people she interacts with that she cares about. It's really cool to see that in her mind that they truly have been adopted into the family." --Matt Krieg
 
//: Do the Next Thing:
Check out this book: Family on Mission!
For More

Episode 53: Saying ”Yes” with Tom and Dana Mollhagen

Do you ever wonder how people can go from living comfortably to saying "yes" to serving people courageously?
We do.
So we asked some of our friends how they did it.
Tom Mollhagen transformed from being born in a brothel in India, to living the American dream, to going back and serving those he left behind. His wife, Dana, went from accepting Jesus on a swing set at five years old, to a successful nursing career, to working side-by-side with Thomas in India.
Our friends are not special Christians; they are normal Christians who are obedient.
Hear how they went from the American dream to saying "yes" no matter what (and of course play a ridiculous game alongside them) on this week's episode.
 
//: Highlights:
"I was born in a brothel. I was the untouchable, and the lowest caste. We had no hope. The only way they can live out of that caste system is by bringing the gospel and telling them they don't have to live that life. God paid for it... We don't have to earn it anymore." --Tom Mollhagen
"The gospel is so needed-both for the predator and the victim. I am kind of repulsed  by that because we only want to think about the victim. But both need huge redemption. As I've see this, [the perpetrators] need to be redeemed from viewing anyone as an object. . . . For the children who have been through things (so many people who have been trafficked): The Lord has to heal that hurt. There is so much in this world that needs to be made right. . . God starts to do that work in us now, but there is a waiting in that hope that is to come." --Dana Mollhagen
 
//: Do the Next Thing:
Check out their organization, Faith in Deeds
For More

Episode 52: Good Faith Takes Good Courage with Gabe Lyons

91% of US adults believe the best way to find yourself is by looking within yourself, and 2 out of 5 Americans believe that, when it comes to what happens in the country today, "people of faith" and "religion" are a part of the problems in our country.
How can we speak into this environment as believers?
Author, speaker, and leader of leaders, Gabe Lyons, helps break down how Christians can be both courageous and faithful in a world that thinks we are extreme and irrelevant.
We launch the courage conversation by talking about a time when someone quite innocently (but publicly) accused me of something, and Gabe represented Jesus well by advocating strongly for me. 
We also discuss the Gabe's Enneagram number, one of his most embarrassing moments, and we all were privileged to watch God weave the conversation together with the themes of courage and confession.
This one is not one to miss.
 
//: Highlights:
"People are afraid to speak up... There is actually this belief in the 'boogey man'--this monster out there that's bigger in your mind than it really is. You start to realize that when you start to tell the truth, people are hungry for the truth, they are looking for the truth, nobody is saying the truth, and finally when somebody does in a kind, loving way (and with the right posture), people start to respond." --Gabe Lyons
"The reality is most people are not looking for a debate. They are looking for someone who is loving and kind, but also willing to be confident in what they believe." --Gabe Lyons
"Confession is the initial act that starts to open up a door of freedom--of shame being removed, and us living out in a courageous way what God wants to do. If we don't do that, we don't usually have courage. We don't feel comfortable telling anybody else what we believe is true, because we do feel judgmental. Because we know that in our own life we have things we haven't confessed. It is critical to confess so we can then (with confidence) approach all the issues and topics and conversations that we need to be bold about in our society." --Gabe Lyons
 
//: Do the Next Thing:
Follow Gabe on Instagram and Twitter
Read Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman's books!
For More (including some statistics from his book)

Episode 51: Radically Normal with Josh Kelley

Do you ever feel like you are a spiritual extremist? Some days you're running so hard and fast toward Jesus, and then you get tired. Or you mess up. Or someone says something to throw you off and you stop. And putz around a bit. And get discouraged. But then you get convicted and you start sprinting until you...don't.
This back-forth, sprint-stop can be exhausting.
Josh Kelley, author of 'Radically Normal', talks through some of this "obsessive Christianity" and "complacent Christianity."
What is the difference?
How can we halt the extremism cycle?
It was a conversation that made us all think. And laugh. (We play a game called "Christian or Secular" and the team has to decide if the lyrics belong to a Christian or not Christian song. Enya seems to walk the line of both.)
 
//: Highlight:
"I face more temptation going to a Bible study than going to the bar. And this is why: I was a smart kid, and my identity was being this smartest one in the room--knowing more about the Bible. Every time I walk into a Bible study or walk into a church, my temptation to prove myself or to prove my spiritual astuteness is overwhelming." --Josh Kelley
“Whether it’s a bartender or a barista or a pastor or whatever God has called you to, you can be 100 percent completely devoted to God in that place. The only thing that’s preventing you from being a whole-hearted follower of Jesus is not your education level, it’s not where you live, it’s not your job, its whether or not you choose to follow Him . . . with your whole heart.” –Josh Kelley
 
//: Do the Next Thing:
Read Josh's book! Radically Normal: You Don't Have to Live Crazy to Follow Jesus
Check out Josh's site!
For More