Do you ever compare yourself with others? Check out this conversation with author and podcast host Shannon Popkin.

In this episode, we have a podcast inception—yes, a podcast within a podcast. The hosts of the Freely Given podcast join me on the Mercycast. Katie Koplin, author of Encouragement for Motherhood, and Gretchen Ronnevik, author of Ragged, share their perspectives on being comfortable with being uncomfortable. We explore how the gospel meets us in our discomfort and talk about seasons in life and how, because of Christ, discomfort is not permanent or defining.

This week, rather than hearing a story, I want to pause and discuss the importance of sharing our stories and being vulnerable. Whether you believe it or not, everyone has a story that matters, and our stories have the power to impact others.

Julie Sunne, author of Sometimes I Forget, 60 Reminders of Hope for Your Hard Days, joins me to share her personal experiences of suffering, including miscarriages and caring for her daughter, and how these challenges have deepened her faith.

How do we heal? In this episode, I am joined by Jay Stringer, a licensed mental health counselor and author of the award-winning book Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing.

In this episode, I talk with Ginny Owens about her journey of starting over and finding light amid suffering. Ginny Owens has spent the past two decades sharing her heart with listeners and readers as a singer/songwriter, author, teacher, and advocate. Her new book, Singing In The Dark, shows how we can experience light in the middle of our suffering.