Deconstructing Mamas

Latest Episodes:

Stay Out of the Way - Sarah Bessey Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

Sarah Bessey, mom, best-selling author of dozens of words and books, podcast host herself and co-creator of the Evolving Summit is with us this week.
Sarah was born and raised in the prairies and foothills of western Canada. Now living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (on the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region in southern Alberta and the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3), Sarah and her husband of twenty-one years are raising their four kids. She’s a pseudo-hermit bookworm, an enthusiastic knitter, tea-drinker, hockey fan, total hugger, endlessly fascinated with Jesus, and an embarrassing fan-girl for the tv programs Doctor Who and Schitt’s Creek.
On this episode, Sarah gently shares with us her passion for the inclusive, generous, large heart of God and how parenting has been one of her most sacred altars on her life's journey. As we sat listening to Sarah, there were so many times that we said or thought , "that's really powerful," especially when she shared what we do to "introduce God" to our kids, and mostly it's just "stay out of the way," which we dive much deeper into on the episode.
We know that we don't have to tell you to listen to this one. We're pretty sure it's already on your to-do list for Tuesday. How could it not be?
You can find Sarah at the following:

Instagram: @sarahbessey
Facebook: Sarah Bessey
Website: sarahbessey.com
Evolving Faith: evolvingfaith.com

I am Enough - Jonathan Puddle Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

Jonathan Puddle, dad of four, children's pastor and author, is with us this week.
Jonathan was born in New Zealand and now resides in Guelph, Ontario with his wife Maija and their three kids. He love books, music, movies, dark beer, good food, and long walks on the beach.
Jonathan feels passionately about living freely and loving powerfully. He believes that LOVE is a burning thing. It'll change your life forever. But as a word, it's also kind of meaningless. We love chocolate, we love puppies, we love God. God is love. God loves us. But God's love for us isn't just a passive, warm feeling, like my love of porters and ales. God's love is active, intentional and costly, it accomplishes things and it transforms lives.
FUN FACT: Jonathan is also a trance and progressive house DJ named "J Puddy" in case you're into that.
On this episode, Jonathan takes us on a journey toward love, hope and freedom. Having received so much healing from the toxic faith he grew up with, he walks beside us to the place where we can believe that we are enough to be loved. As we were listening to Jonathan, it gave us great hope that there is a very full and beautiful life on the other side of deconstructing, in the place where we are rebuilding our faith (if we choose to) brick by brick. If you find yourself angry, lonely and still weighted down by the shackles of a destructive faith and how that might be impacting your children, this episode will have you walking lighter and feeling much less alone. Listen in. You won't regret it.
You can find Jonathan at the following:
Instagram: @jonathanpuddle
Website: jonathanpuddle.com

Love is Not - Jamie Edelbrock Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

Jamie Edelbrock, mom of three tween and teenage daughters, children's author, mental health advocate and fellow deconstructing mama kicks off Season Three with us.
Jamie was born and raised in Salem, Oregon. She's married to her high school sweetheart and has been all of the following at some point: homeschool mom, preschool director, family ministry director, author, and advocate for children's mental health.
FUN FACT: She is also an ex-pat and travel and live around the world in a far-off land (you can hear more about that on the podcast).
On this episode, Jamie tackles some really tough issues of deconstructing while raising her girls, especially why she would not want them ever to believe in a God that sounds more like a narcissist than anything else (the one she was raised with). Lots of red flags that we chat through and come out the other side.
It's a conversation that is filled with the shaking of heads, lots of laughs and much-needed hope for why deconstructing toxic theology is life-changing for us and for our kids in all the best ways.
You can find Jamie at the following:
Instagram: @tangledupbook
Website: jamieedelbrock.com

Compassionate Curiosity - Shelly Robinson Dec 06, 2022

Show notes

"Motherhood is the hardest and holiest work because my kids reflect back to me what I haven't yet resolved within myself." (Shelly Robinson)
Shelly Robinson, mom of two, founder of Raising Yourself, certified family wellness coach, author of the Rebirth Journal, and creator behind the Connected Collection, a powerful bundle of transformational parenting tools, is our podcast guest this week and will round out Season 2.

She's also a lover of tacos, coffee enthusiast, Enneagram 2, ENFJ, and a neuro-spicy (hello ADHD diagnosis at 43 years old), and homeschooling mama. Her top three values are authenticity, humor, and integrity.
Shelly has taken my lived and professional experience as a coach and mother and made it her mission to educate and equip parents with the knowledge, tools, and support they deserve to reparent themselves, break cycles, and better understand the relationship between their childhoods and the way they parent.
On this episode, Shelly walks us through the very helpful and necessary idea of having to reparent ourselves as we deconstruct systems that have kept our inner child hidden, voiceless, and often wounded. All the big picture, yet practical tips Shelly has for us on this episode will not only change the way you parent, but the way you treat yourself. This is really big and a whole new way seeing the world and especially the relationships that matter the most to you. You will want to take notes and follow everything Shelly does and get your hands on the resources she has for you.
You can find Shelly at the following:
Instagram: @raising_yourself
Facebook: Shelly Robinson - Raising Yourself
Website: shellyrobinson.com
Shelly has some incredible products for you. Check them out here:
The Connected Kid Collection (launching December 12th)
Get the support you deserve with the Connected Collection, a powerful bundle of parenting tools that will give you exactly what you need to cultivate a deeper relationship with yourself and with your child.

What’s Included:

50 (physical) Connected Kid conversation cards;
Dozens of online activities to supplement the cards; and
100 page workbook called Reparenting the Younger You

Rebirth Journal (Available Now)

Grow a new way of parenting, cultivate more self-compassion, and relate to yourself and your child in a way that honors both your wholeness and worthiness.

Original Blessing - Danielle Shroyer Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

The funny, yet very insightful Danielle Shroyer, is our guest this week. Danielle Shroyer is an author, speaker, spiritual director, and former pastor. A founding member in the emerging church movement, Danielle served as the pastor of one of the nation’s first independent emerging communities of faith for nearly a decade. Her primary goal as a pastor was to help people going through a season of spiritual deconstruction find healthy, sustainable, and meaningful ways to reconstruct their faith.

Danielle has a particular heart for the spiritual-but-not-religious, and has long advocated for fresh approaches to spiritual community. Over the years, she has offered guidance to struggling and transitioning congregations searching for new ways to embody their purpose. You can find her reflections on meditation and other grounding spiritual practices at www.beasoulninja.com.

A resident of Dallas, Texas, Danielle and her husband have two children. She’s a self-declared nerd who reads voraciously and enjoys in-depth conversations about stuff some people may find boring. What she loves most in the whole world is watching someone do what makes their soul come alive. When she’s not working, you can often find her at the yoga studio or in her taekwondo dojang.
On this episode, Danielle unpacks the revolutionary and healing idea of original blessing and how it informs and transforms the way we interact with ourselves, our children and the world around us. This is a MUST-LISTEN!
You can find Danielle at the following:
Twitter: @dgshroyer
Instagram: @danielle.shroyer
Website: www.danielleshroyer.com

Pastoring, Potatoes and Parenthood- Ben Cremer Nov 22, 2022

Show notes

The fabulous Ben Cremer is our guest this week. Ben is all these things: Wesleyan. Writer. Chronic student. Constant investigator. Idahoan (Lizz and Esther had never met anyone before from Idaho). He is very well-known for the black boxes on social media filled with mic drop after mic drop of wisdom and cut-to-the-chase snippets that speak to where we find ourselves in modern Christianity in America.
What happens when you talk about pastoring, potatoes (he is from Idaho, people) and parenthood in the same Zoom space? You get an amazing podcast episode! Ben is a brandy-new dad who has big plans to raise his son and any future children without all the destructive "spirituality" that he was raised with. His story is a nail biter and while he was speaking, Esther and Lizz had shocked looks on their faces because they could hardly believe what they were hearing. It's a story that shows how harmful toxic religion can be, but also a story that gives hope that lives can be transformed and healed. A story that says, "it all stops here." A story that is much like many of our own.
Ben has a weekly newsletter that dives deep into how religion and politics intersect. He already has over 5000 subscribers (two of which are us) in a very short time because it is chock full of information, wisdom and also hope. You can sign up for it right HERE.
You can find Ben at the following:
Instagram: @brcremer

Facebook: Benjamin Cremer
Twitter: @brcremer
Blog: Constant Investigations

Spiritual Misfits - Joy Vetterlein Nov 15, 2022

Show notes

The very wonderful Joy Vetterlein is our guest this week. Joy is a lifelong church girl and former-pastor-turned-misfit-rebel who got tired of being hurt and seeing other people get hurt by evangelical Christianity. She's here to help you find your own path to spirituality, especially if you feel like a "spiritual misfit" just like her.
Joy is a fellow deconstructing mama who spent much of her journey being the poster child for Christianity while at the same time being miserable. When she lost her pastoral job (along with her calling and identity), she also lost her willingness to pretend anymore. She reminds us that although she was crushed, she was also freed.
If you haven't heard about Joy yet on this ever-evolving faith journey, you are going to want to listen to this episode. She unpacks so many things about faith and motherhood that will leave you wanting more and more. We know we do and that's why we follow her on all her social media platforms and also receive her Sunday Soul Care emails every week, that feed our own Deconstructing Mama souls. You will want to as well!
You can find Joy at the following:
Website: www.joyvetterlein.com
Instagram: @joyvetterlein
Facebook: Joy Vetterlein Creative

This Little Light of Mine - Torri Williams Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

“To be human in an aching world is to know our dignity and become people who safeguard the dignity of everything around us.”
-Cole Arthur Riley-

This Week on the Podcast:
Torri Williams, our guest this week, is an activist and brilliant soul. Growing up in a small town which was prominently white and highly evangelical as a a black charismatic fundamentalist, she found herself constantly curious about her faith and how it played out, not only for herself as a black woman, but for others who were marginalized by the church and by society.

Torri deeply believes in the power of dignity, something she views as given to every human being, regardless of race, belief system, sexual orientation, age, social status, gender and so much more.
She is a fellow deconstructing mama, married to a "white rapper," and has a blended family that includes one adult child, three teenagers, and twin six-year olds. This makes for beautiful mayhem and allows her to speak into all of us as she navigates all the complexities of motherhood, including the intersection of her evolving faith, her passion for the marginalized (especially women of color) and parenting in a multi-racial family.
In this episode, we explore why "curiosity didn't kill the cat" and how offering dignity can change our lives and the lives of our children. Dignity is the match that ignites our flames so that our lights can shine brightly for ourselves and others to be guided by and enjoy. It's one of the more powerful conversations we've had as Torri challenges our notions of who is allowed to sit "at the table" and perhaps why some are not. Lizz and Esther were much more quiet this time around because they were much more interested in listening than talking, and that tells you enough right there.
One of Torri's favorite authors, black female liturgist, Cole Arthur Riley, is the author of the above quote, a young black woman and liturgist who has challenged and changed her. Listen to the episode to find out why...
You can find Torri at the following:
Instagram: @torri1999

Mama God - Daneen Akers Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

"As long as a masculine god remains at the top of the pyramid, nothing else we do matters." Dr. Rev. Will Gaffney
Daneen Akers is the author of Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints, an illustrated children's book about people of diverse faiths working for more love and justice in their corners of the world, even when that means rocking the religious boat.

Daneen believes deeply in the power of stories. Her past projects have explored faith, identity, and belonging. Daneen loves the gloaming, the time of day when it’s starting to grow dark and there’s magic in the air. She’s also very fond of books, walks in the woods, songs around a campfire, snuggles with her daughters, and large pots of hot beverages enjoyed with friends. She lives near Asheville, North Carolina, with her family. Most mornings she’s woken up by an enthusiastic Carolina wren outside her window. She is the mother of two children, and they have been primary motivators for her writing about a faith that works for the common good.

In this episode, we explore the idea of God in the feminine, as our Mother and discuss why it's important to introduce that concept to children, especially since we espouse that God is either above gender, or genderless. It's a fascinating discussion and will open up your mind, and especially your heart to the "many-breasted One." We also find out about her latest endeavor, a wonderful children's book soon to be released, Dear Mama God.
Daneen is passionate and knowledgeable and at the same time, has a tenderness that will leave you wanting more. Listen in!
You can find Daneen at the following places:
Website: holytroublemakers.com
dearmamagod.com
Twitter: @daneenakers

Instagram: @daneenakers
@holytroublebook

@dearmamagod

Internal Family Systems - Molly LaCroix Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

"Why do Christians talk so much about love but often, fail to be loving?"

Molly LaCroix is the author of that quote, a speaker and licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT). She specializes in treating the impact of early adverse experiences and trauma, using the Internal Family Systems (IFS) Model she finds as a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to healing, and a model deeply congruent with Christian spirituality.

Molly and her husband live in Central Oregon, an outdoor paradise offering, among many things, Molly’s two favorite activities: hiking and downhill skiing. In 2018, Molly became “Minnie” to her first grandchild, a life-altering event. She loves telling people that every cliché you’ve ever heard about being a grandparent is true. Minnie and Papa visit their children and grandchildren in Southern California as often as possible.
In this episode, we take a very deep dive into the places of trauma and paths toward healing, which require us to listen to all of the parts within us that battle with, protect and need to be fully integrated with each other. We found ourselves just wanting to know more and more.
Molly is kind, gentle and brilliant, the perfect combination if you are in search of true, long-lasting self-discovery and healing. Listen in!
You can find Molly at the following places:
Website: www.mollylacroix.com
Facebook: Molly Lacroix, LMFT

Instagram: @mollylacroixlfmt
You can purchase her book here:
Restoring Relationship: Transforming Fear into Love Through Connection
OTHER MENTIONS:
Pete Enns - Bible for Normal People
Emily P. Freeman
Richard C. Schwartz, Ph.D.
If My Brain Had a Morning Meeting with Tiffany Jenkins

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