Can we go there–to the root of our unruly inner dialogues–so we can find peace and strength and mental relief? That's my invitation to you today.

Our inner thoughts have had too much say for too long. They keep us in the shadows, thinking small. They sabotage our friendships and our focus. Cloud out the voice of God so we think we're on our own.

Where do we start? Here, with five easy-to-implement practices to keep our self-talk in check.

Links mentioned:

1. Get a FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

Maybe there's a similarly pesky voice of perfectionism following you around inside your head, telling you that you should be able to get incrementally better. Every. Single. Day.

It's relentless.

You're worn out from all your undue try-hard.

But also, maybe you carry a bit of shame around with your perfectionism.

You're told you worry too much.

Focus on the wrong things.

Care too much about your work.

Can we talk about you? How you can be a perfectionist and have peace of mind? How you don't have to turn off your desire to do your best? How your perfectionism can be an asset, not just to you or a supervisor, but for God's kingdom?

Links mentioned:

1. Get a FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

Self-doubt surfaces quickly when it's thinly veiled behind borrowed confidence and temperamental self-esteem. Maybe this is your story.

To others, you appear secure, but you feel deeply insufficient inside. You can take the lead, finish the work, maintain a high standard of excellence, and pass as having it together. But you can't outrun the voice that whispers,

If only they knew how little you know, how long you've been in this role, or how lost you feel . . .

If only they knew how un-brave and undeserving you actually are . . .

If only they knew how meticulously you mask the peculiar aspects of your personality . . .

If only they knew the 14-year-old inferiority you never outgrew . . .

I've given ground to similar, self-sabataging thoughts. Spun in circles fueled by incessant overthinking. Second-guessed my way to the safest way forward.

I admit I've dismissed myself before anyone else could. Pulled away from friendships, convinced I'm more burden than blessing. Deflected praise because I disbelieve my own worth.

If you are nodding your head to any of this, there is hope. I wish we could sit down together and remind each other of what's irrevocably true of us. But maybe the reason we don't believe it yet is because we've skipped a step, so let's start there.

Links mentioned:

1. Get a FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.
3. Stuff I'd Only Tell God by Jennier Dukes Lee
4. Sacred Prayers by Ann Voskamp

To you, Googling "how to be a better person." You, longing to be the sort of neighbor who effortlessly welcomes others into your home, leans into conversations with sincerity and delight, and spills over with hopefulness. You, with your burgeoning summer calendar and dwindling blank space. You, feeling squeezed between ideals and actual life.

You don't need an out-of-reach plan, additional demands on your time, or an annoying voice filling your head with "shoulds." So here are some simple summertime tips that will fill you up rather than deplete you.

Links mentioned:

1. If baby steps are your pace, get a quick tip in your inbox each week to help you connect with your neighbors and let your faith ripple into your neighborhood.

2. Get a FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days

3. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

I sign up on a whim. One half-marathon for Saturday, through hilly horse country. My calves are still tight from three runs the same morning, because my impetuous mind decided to run to the start line of a community 5k, which also meant I had to get home on foot after the race.

Honestly, my only hope of non-stop running for the half is contingent on keeping a slow, steady pace. And resting.

Funny how sometimes the best way to prepare is literally to take a break. To slow to a walk. To sit in the sun. To stretch. To strengthen with pilates.

Fear tells me to cram-train, to sprint up more hills, to prove (pre-race) to myself that I can make it that many miles. But muscle memory brings quiet assurance that I've gone the distance. My own permission slip from my last half-marathon says it's okay to break pace, to walk a spell, to simply finish.

This close to the race, rest will get me further than distance training.

And maybe it hits close to home in other areas of my life too. I'm a work-in-progress when it comes to rest. Sometimes my stubbornness is misdirected, and I strive for excellence in relatively inconsequential areas. Too often, I keep my proverbial plate full by working ahead in order to create margin for a future version of myself (who will simply find something else to perfect or create). You see the cycle. Perhaps you can pinpoint the same pattern in your own life.

Links mentioned:

1. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

Sometimes you are doing too much, and you know it from the tumble of thoughts burying the task that truly needs your attention. You find yourself making slow progress in several areas simultaneously. At every spin, you find more before you that could be straightened, sorted, or scheduled.

Oh friend, I get it.

I admit I mostly (okay, only) wipe out the interior of my fridge when I should be packing for a trip. I tidy the pantry and put wheels to a wild whim of an idea when I have barely enough margin for the minimum. I make spontaneous updates to pages on my website that don't need to be fixed.

The higher my stack of urgent responsibilities, the faster my brain churns. There is a reason I keep an AquaNotes pad in my shower to capture sudden inspiration.

If you struggle with your relationship with work–fighting excuses, inefficiency, or exhaustion–welcome! There's grace and good news, I find, for real people like us.

My slow journey through the New Testament lands me in the book of Colossians, and this week I'm lingering in chapter three. Here's what strikes me about verse 17: Paul doesn't say to do your work unto the Lord only when your load isn't too much, or only when you can keep your priorities in a God-honoring order, or only when you don't feel stressed, stretched, or sidelined.

Links mentioned:

1. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days

2. If you're not getting weekly gratitude stories, you can sign up HERE.

3. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

Sometimes I can get stuck in my routine. I start my morning the same way every day I can. I fall into a rhythm with school and gymnastics and church. I even put plates a certain way in the dishwasher–every time.

In the midst of the repetition, faith can begin to feel a bit monotonous. Perhaps you've experienced this. You might feel like you're on autopilot, mudding through the motions, willing your heart to be in it. Maybe you're struggling to keep up with the minimum because the needs that take your time? Well, they keep multiplying.

Links mentioned:

1. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

It feels like summer, and I sit on the step with Seph Schlueter singing through my portable speaker. Funny how you can play worship songs on repeat, but they move you forward, rather than in circles. Yes, you are essentially listening on loop, but the lyrics unravel your reservations and amplify your expectancy with every replay.

Links mentioned:

1. Songs I Play on Repeat playlist.
2. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
3. Read the written version of this episode HERE.