Thanks for listening to the first episode of 2025 and we have some sad news, it is our last episode too (at least for now). After some reflection and rest, we feel it is time to take a break from podcasting to focus on other aspects of Rise and Form and our personal lives. It's one of the best formation moves we feel we can make but are still sad to be hanging up the mics for now. Please keep in touch though! We will be here, rising and forming every day!
Merry Christmas! In this Steep, Aundrea talks about how, true, Spirit-led love transcends mere feelings. She identifies a lack of empathy as a hindrance to love and gives 5 ways to enhance your empathy.
Advent week 3! Magnifying joy does not mean minimizing hardship. Attending to a more balanced perspective which includes the joy of the hope that we have in our God. One of the more prevalent researched based barriers to experiencing joy (and a cherishing of life) is a biased/imbalanced perspective that focuses on, or ruminates on negative things. Steep in!
Coming up! Aundrea discussed how groundedness and the lack of groundedness can impact our peace. She really highlights what really does bring ultimate peace and the importance of inner peace, which is... ready for it...is achievable! Well okay sort of. Aundrea highlights the importance of mindfulness and groundedness, disconnected from external chaos. The episode ends with a practical and useful guided deep breathing and visualization exercise designed to help listeners feel and hold onto peace amidst holiday stress. Steep in!
In a time like now, it is not only possible to be distracted, it is inevitable. This episode is a couple thoughts on how to cut through the distractions that hold you back and focus on your highest values.
The more reflective you are, the more effective you are! As we wrap up Season 3 of the Rise and Form Podcast, we want to take a moment to reflect on salient parts of the Fruit of the Spirit focus, exploring how we can weave these some thoghts and values into our daily lives, especially as we approach the holiday season.
As we look ahead to 2025, we’re thrilled about what’s coming next! We have some exciting plans that we can't wait to share with you. But until then, don’t forget to join us for our Monday Steep sessions where we’ll continue to offer insights and encouragement.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Your support means the world, and we can’t wait to return in January with Season 4. Until then, let’s keep reflecting on how we can apply the fruits of the Spirit in our lives and strengthen our communities. Stay tuned!
In this steep, Aundrea talks about ways to move towards gentleness by cultivating humility. She shares three key aspects of humility based off of Dr. Daryl van Tongeren's book 'Humble:' knowing yourself, checking yourself, and going beyond yourself. She emphasizes the importance of being curious about oneself, one's reactions, and others. By practicing these principles, one can foster a habit of humility, which ultimately enhances gentleness.00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:07 Exploring Gentleness and Deference
00:44 The Role of Humility in Gentleness
01:17 Understanding Humility: Knowing Yourself
02:04 Understanding Humility: Checking Yourself
02:58 Understanding Humility: Going Beyond Yourself
03:57 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
To close out the season on the fruit of the spirit, we have a chat with Dr Sherri Yoder to discuss the fruit of "gentleness". Dr. Sherri Yoder is a former Clinical Psychologist turned executive director of a not for profit; Thriving Thoughts Global, she is a leader in the global community on promoting mental health and challenging cultural narratives on that topic with her podcast, writing, speaking and influence.
"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." - Phillipians 4:5.
Steeping in Kindness with Abe! We need it right now!
We chatted with New York Times best selling author and memoir expert Susy Flory. Susy shares her insights on the transformative power of kindness, a crucial fruit of the spirit, and its significant crossover with mental health and the power of our personal and corporate narratives. With over 14 books to her name, including the acclaimed 'Thunder Dog,' Susy discusses the importance of sharing our unique stories for fostering connection, healing, and growth. She emphasizes the importance of being generous and non-judgmental when telling stories. Susy also reflects on her faith journey and how it shapes her work and writing. Tune in to explore how kindness enriches our personal and shared stories, and learn how to yield to the Holy Spirit in the creative process. This episode is filled with wisdom for us all as we as writers, storytellers, and anyone interested in the art of memoir.
To connect with Susy's life and work see susyflory.com and westcoastchristianwriters.com.
Reflections on "holding tension" and some take aways from the fruit of Goodness episode with one and only, Dr. Aundrea!
Galatians 5:22-23:"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Did you miss it? It's right there in the middle; Goodness!
Ryan Roemer is a Christian Clinical Psychologist and the perfect guest to help us understand and reflect on the often overlooked fruit of goodness! Goodness is way cooler than we thought and way more crucial to our formation and health than we had previously given it credence to.
A little cup of Joy for your Monday but before you take a sip...It's crucial to distinguish between joy and happiness. Abe drops some C.S. Lewis in here and even attempts some greek translation. What is even happening?! Rise and Form is happening!
While happiness is often fleeting and tied to external factors, joy is characterized by maturity, clarity, peace and contentment that persists even amid trials. This distinction aligns with psychological insights suggesting that true joyful fulfillment comes from internal rather than external sources. The pursuit of joy, therefore, should not mirror hedonistic tendencies where one seeks pleasure as an end goal but should focus on cultivating a deeper relationship with God!
Count it all joy to spend some time learning and unlearning what the fruit of joy actually is with our special guest Pastor Bob Johnson, from The Bridge Church Northwest. Bob details the profound, relational nature of joy through personal experiences, scriptural wisdom, and practical spiritual habits. Learn how a deep connection with God, intentional stillness, and long-term faith practices can transform fleeting happiness into enduring joy. Perfect for those seeking to understand and cultivate authentic joy beyond life's circumstances.
Hey friends, Aundrea is extracting some refined thoughts about trust and finding peace from our time with Dr. Katherine Thompson. She talks about how “letting go” leads to peace and asks, “How could trusting God help me in this situation?” It’s such a simple but powerful question. Aundrea also dives into how we get to know God? Well.... it's just like with any person, it’s about talking to Him and reading His Word. She even brings up some research (Hook et al., 2021) and reminds us to pay attention to where God has shown up in our lives, reinforcing our belief in His goodness. It’s a gentle, reflective episode that invites you to pause and think about how trust could change everything for ya. Steep in.
Dr. Katherine Thompson, is an Australian senior lecturer in mental health and wellbeing, author and fellow mental health practitioner. Dr. Katherine shares her journey of finding peace in suffering and how and letting go of "the mast" is the beginning of peace. Dr Katherine draws some of her work and thoughts on suffering and peace from theologians sycgh as Jurgen Moltmann and Richard Rohr.
“It's such a helpful thing for people to realize that it's normal human experience if you have pain or suffering, for your mind to literally fill up with the problem. And it gets to the point where you can't see anything except the problem and it doesn't mean that you've got a mental health issue.” - Dr Katherine Thompson.
She delves into her book and research on the role of suffering in spiritual and personal growth and the healing and wisdom that comes from stillness and reflection: “When you're sitting and listening, you're actually letting go of everything, just listening.”
You can find her website and books at: https://www.drkatherine.com.au/
Dr Katherine mentioned a few helpful resources including A Richard Rorh book titled “The Naked Now” and another book “Hinds' Feet on High Places” by Hannah Hurnard.
Avoidance! Dereliction! Strong words but well worth unpacking. Our episode with Adam Dell had themes of how avoidance prolongs our suffering, so for this weeks' steep, sit down with Abe and lets think on the problem of avoidance. Abe encourages some critical thought on forming lives that face our fears, develop diligence and attend to what is our responsibility.
Revisiting Our Most Popular Episode: Dr. Adam Dell on Trauma, Healing, and Faith. This is a bonus replay of our most popular episode featuring Dr. Adam Dell, a highly popular clinical psychologist and trauma expert. Dr. Dell discusses the profound impact of trauma and how there is hope for our healing. He discusses the power of moments, moments that we can sometimes underestimate and the unique hope found in his deep Psychological expertise and his deeply rooted faith in how Jesus "the only God with scars" has experienced our sufferings and knows us more than we know ourselves.
Aundrea's Reflections on Self-Control, Vulnerability, and Love In this episode of Monday Steep, Aundrea reflects on recent episodes with Kerry Paxton and Brandon Reynolds, as we explored self-control, vulnerability, accountability, and the community. Kerry highlights the crucial link between vulnerability and self-control, emphasizing the need for community support and the Holy Spirit's involvement.
Aundrea discussed overcoming feelings of shame and the importance of humility in pursuing self-control as well as the ways in which Brandon Reynolds' talk on love emphasized community support and seeing love as sacrifice.
Aundrea shares her heart on bearing with each other and encourages deeper engagement with the Bible to strengthen faith and love!
Brandon Reynolds is the founder of Into the Deep, a men's ministry that builds Christ-centered community for men and challenges one of the most pervasive problems facing our modern world - isolation. Brandon shares a transformative experience at a justice conference in Portland, Oregon, and how it inspired him to create a space where men can connect, share, and grow in their faith. We discuss what love looks like for men what it is to develop a love for self, family, friends, neighbors and God. Brandon emphasises the importance of having meaningful, long-term relationships and reflects on the vision that God gave him and the practical steps 'Into the Deep' takes to help men overcome isolation, idolatry, and discover their true identity in Christ.