The Alli Worthington Show

Latest Episodes:

Chasing Happy with Phil Waldrep Nov 22, 2021

Show notes

We all yearn to be happy right? Most people come from a place where they think if they just buy one more thing or accomplish one more goal, they’ll be happy. But it rarely works out that way. Most of us are always left wanting more.

I call this getting stuck on the happiness hamster wheel–continually chasing that one more thing and never really finding it. That is the enemy’s strategy. However, when we finally find what God designed us to do and do it, happiness and joy are natural side effects of it.

Today, I am so excited to have the amazing Phil Waldrep on the show to talk about the constant drain of chasing happiness, how to find your purpose, and his new book, Chasing Happy.

Listen in to learn more about:

Phil’s decision to write a book on happiness and why we need it now more than ever
How to discover our God-given talents (Phil gives us a masterclass in doing just that!)
How to navigate the challenges of living from a place of joy
Discovering your purpose when you’re not in ministry or the Church
Practical advice on what to do once we find our purpose

Favorite quotes:

1. Most people who are trying to be happy will never be happy. It happens when people discover what God designed them to do, what God wants them to be, and they do it. That's when happiness is the byproduct.
2. I have discovered that in most of our lives, when God gave us a purpose, he also gave us a passion to do that.

3. I think the more you get in line with your purpose and your passion in life, the more productive you're going to be and the more influential you're going to be.

4. When you're trying to discover your purpose, remember it's not always the big things. It's not always profound things.

5. Happiness is very dependent on happenings, what's going on around us. But joy is deeper.

In this episode I answer this question:

How did you balance being a wife and a mom while starting a new business? (36:50)

Great things we discussed:

1. Phil Waldrep

2. Stop Chasing Happy

3. The Andy Griffith Show
4. The Bully Pulpit
5. Waze App
6. Passion To Profit

7. Eternals

8. At Lash’d Mascara

9. Standing Strong

Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)

xo,

Alli

www.alliworthington.com/philwaldrep2/

Break the Pattern with Karen Ehman Nov 15, 2021

Show notes

The holiday season is fast approaching, friends! You know, the busy season where we overperform, try to make everything perfect and say yes to all the things. But, what would the holidays look like if we didn’t run around trying to make others happy all the time?

I’m so excited to have my friend and prolific author, Karen Ehman, back on the show again this week. We sit down to talk about Karen’s new book When Making Others Happy Is Making You Miserable and how to live out your own priorities despite what others think. Plus, Karen shares ways that we can cultivate strategies for knowing when to say yes and how to say no to ultimately break the pattern of people pleasing and confidently live our lives.

This one is super practical, with grace-filled advice, and I think it will resonate with so many of us during this busy season.

Listen in to hear more about:

Why Karen knew it was time to write this particular book
How saying no can be one of the most important things we do
How to handle the pushers, pouters and guilt-bombers when we start putting up boundaries
Karen’s practical and simple advice on what to say yes or no to and shares her “stop it” statements for recovering “people-pleasers”

Favorite quotes:

1. As Christians, we want to be loving and helpful. We want to serve, we want to put other people before ourselves and consider others as better than ourselves. We want to do all of that. But when we cross the line and we're doing it because someone expects us to or we're trying to get in their good graces, now we are doing the right things for the wrong reasons.
2. I realized after the first 10 years of parenting that I don't have to do every single tradition, every single year, in order to make fun memories for my kids.

3. Other people's happiness is not my assignment. It's God's assignment to bring people joy. It's not my assignment to bring them temporary happiness.

4. If God is really calling you to do something, don't fail to do it because you're afraid that somebody won't approve. You don't need their permission.

In this episode I answer this question:

1.When you’re working with your business coaching clients, what habits or beliefs are the ones that make some of them unable to succeed? (40:45)

Great things we discussed:

1. Karen Ehman
2. When Making Others Happy Is Making You Miserable

3. Smooth Deep Brown Noise
4. Only Murders in the Building

5. The Hidden Art Of Homemaking
6. Vegetable pods

7. Picture This

8. The Story I’ll Tell

9. Invasion

10. Standing Strong

Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)

xo,

Alli

www.alliworthington.com/karenehman2/

Healing and Hope with Philip Yancey Nov 08, 2021

Show notes

Hey Friends! What a show this is. I am so excited to have the amazing Philip Yancey with us to talk about his personal journey with God. This is such an important conversation, and I hope you’ll walk away from it feeling encouraged and inspired.

Philip and I take a deep dive on his experiences growing up in an Independent Baptist Church, the difficulties with his mother, and how we can make sure we are living a life of grace. We also discuss his new memoir, Where the Light Fell.

As you may know Philip is a Christian author who writes about questions and topics of faith that matter to both believers and doubters alike.

Listen in to learn more about:

How growing up in a rigid household gave Philip the wrong picture of God.
The importance of nuance in our prayers to God. It is not a voting competition where we need to get a number of people on our side to persuade God to do something.
His journey of making peace through the years with seeing God as a loving parent.
How the experience with the Church and your experience with God are two very different things.

Favorite quotes:

1. Grace means there’s nothing you can do to make God love you more.
2. Grace-healed eyes means seeing the world not through the performance, merit, ranking eyes that we tend to do around us but rather through God’s eyes.
3. I’ve learned early on what you believe is important. You got to get it right. Some people who claim to speak for God happen to be wrong and we shouldn’t take it at face value when they say they are speaking for God.

4. God wants us like little children to climb into a parents lap and say this is what I want.

5. Don’t make your decision about relating to God based on your experience in the church.

Great things we discussed:

1. Philip Yancey
2. Where the Light Fell: A Memoir

3. Reckless Love
4. The Good Doctor
5. Paul: A Biography
6. Nespresso Vertuo Coffee and Espresso Maker by De'Longhi, Piano Black

7. Dune

8. Pieces

9. Standing Strong

Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)

xo,

Alli

alliworthington.com/philipyancey/

Do It For A Day With Mark Batterson Nov 01, 2021

Show notes

Our life is directly related to our everyday habits. We are one habit away from accomplishing any goal that we set. But what if those things don’t come naturally to you? What does it take to build a new habit?

I’m super excited about today’s show. The always brilliant Mark Batterson joins me today to talk about the intersection of faith and habits, how the practice of gratitude can be life-changing, and his new book, Do It For A Day.

Mark Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. One church with multiple locations. NCC is focused on reaching emerging generations and meets in theaters throughout the DC metro area. NCC also owns and operates the largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill. Mark holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Regent University and is the New York Times bestselling author of 19 books.

Listen in to learn more about:

Mark’s experience of writing his latest book and why he chose the topic of habits
When setting your goals, you should make them measurable, meaningful, and maintainable.
Mark shares how the science of habit formation is as old as the sermon on the Mount.
If the habit we are trying to implement doesn't match who we truly are, then we won’t keep doing it.

Favorite quotes:

1. Leadership starts with self leadership and self leadership boils down to daily habits. What are you doing one day at a time?
2. If faith is being sure of what we hope for then I think goal setting can actually be a spiritual exercise.
3. You have to 3-M your habits. You have to make them measurable, you have to make them meaningful, and you have to make them maintainable.

4. Habit formation is really identity formation.

Great things we discussed:

1. Mark Batterson.com
2. Do It for a Day: How to Make or Break Any Habit in 30 Days

3. Lord Send Revival
4. Ted Lasso

5. Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

6. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from A Secret World

7. TimeHop

8. No Time To Die

9. Great Things

10. Summer Island: A Novel

11.Standing Strong

Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)

xo,

Alli

www.alliworthington.com/markbatterson/

Taking Back Time with Christy Wright Oct 25, 2021

Show notes

Hey friends, I’m so excited to welcome my dear friend Christy Wright to the show today! In this episode, we’re answering the questions most of us find ourselves asking frequently: Where did all of my time go? And how do I get it back?!
Christy and I dive into having a balanced life, how social media affects mothers, and examine if we can truly have a balanced life in an out-of-balance world.

In our conversation, we talk about Christy’s new book “Take Back Your Time, ” and she shares practical tips on how we can redefine what life balance is to take back our time. As you’ll hear from her in the episode, real balance is about doing the right things at the right time.

Listen in to hear:

Christy’s strong feelings on the phrase, “ It’s the thought that counts!”
How balance is not something that you need to do; instead, it is something that you become.
What can cause the internal narrative of “you’re failing” and how to stop it in its tracks.
Christy share practical, super-tactical ways to embrace this type of balance in our lives.

Favorite quotes:

1. Life balance comes when you do the right thing at the right time. When you do that you will feel that sense of balance you’ve been looking for.
2. You can be super productive and still not feel happy.

3. Even a good thing at the wrong time is a wrong thing.

4. Priorities are not a set it and forget it thing. You can change your plan, you can change your mind, you can change your priorities and you should because what matters to you is determined by the season that you’re in.

In this episode I answer this question:

1. How do you recalibrate when you’ve gotten off course with your goals? (40:25)

Great things we discussed:

1. Christy Wright

2. Take Back Your Time: The Guilt-Free Guide to Life Balance

3. The Man
4. Ted Lasso
5. The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World

6. Famcal

7. Standing Strong

Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)

xo,

Alli

www.alliworthington.com/christywright/

Trusting God with Jackie Hill Perry Oct 18, 2021

Show notes

Hey friends! On the show today, the brilliant Jackie Hill Perry joins me to talk all about her new book, Holier Than Thou (isn’t that a great title?!), why she wrote the book, and how we can trust God because He is Holy, and not in a scary, rigid way we may have heard growing up in the Church.

Jackie Hill Perry is a mom, writer, poet, and artist whose work has been featured in the Washington Times, The 700 Club, Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, and other publications. Since becoming a Christian in 2008, she uses her speaking and teaching gifts to share the light of the gospel of God as authentically as she can.

We also dive into a variety of topics such as the crisis of discipleship and holding others accountable, how we are wasting time not to trust God, and why believers should care about God’s holiness.

Listen in to learn more about:

How idols are unholy and insufficient to be God for us. The fact that God is alive makes Him sufficient as a Savior for us.
What believers get wrong about God’s holiness
How suffering and sin, in so many ways, have protected us against God. We need to remember that if God cannot sin, He cannot sin against you.

Favorite quotes:

1. Discipleship is simply allowing someone in your life, or being in someone’s life where you can not only observe how they live but also be taught how they live.

2. We need people in our lives to impart wisdom and we need people in our lives that we can impart wisdom to.

3. God’s holiness is not just his moral purity but it's also his transcendence. The fact that he exists differently from us, that he is a creator not a creature. He is external, he is not finite.

4. Caring about God’s holiness is caring about God himself.

5. It’s always going to fail you if you don’t know God.

In this episode I answer this question:

1. How do you work from home and stay productive? (32:42)

Great things we discussed:

1. Jackie Hill Perry
2. Holier Than Thou

3. Come Thou Fount
4. Big Brother
5. When Narcissism Comes to Church
6. Water Flosser

7. TimeHop

8. Be Praised

9. PowerSheets

10. Called Creatives

11. Standing Strong

Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)

xo,

Alli

www.alliworthington.com

Choosing Peace with Chip Ingram Oct 11, 2021

Show notes

We all know that living through a pandemic is hard and uncertain work. Almost every day, we face new challenges politically, culturally, and spiritually. Most of us want to look for more peace in our lives, but how do we choose peace considering all that we have been through?

Today’s guest helps us do just that! Chip Ingram joins us to bring fresh perspective and wise insight into how we really can choose peace in a world we can’t control. I wish I could have Chip on the show every month! Every time he is here, he says something that I just know is a gift from God.

Chip Ingram is a Christian pastor, author, and teacher. He is the founder, teaching pastor, and CEO of Living on the Edge, an international teaching and discipleship ministry. He’s passionate about helping Christians really live like Christians.

Listen in as we talk about:

Why Chip decided to write a book about peace in the middle of a pandemic.
How God’s agenda isn’t to get your life to work out exactly as you have planned. His agenda is to get you to trust Him and that requires faith.
Understanding the peace of Christ. Chip breaks it down for us on how to actually experience that peace.

Favorite quotes:

1. We never really know what we actually believe until it’s tested.

2. Faith isn’t going to happen without risk. If there is no risk, there is no faith.
3. God’s agenda is not to get your life to work out. God’s agenda is to get you to trust Him.

4. Greed must die before peace can live. Because our treasure both reveals but it also directs our affections.

5. We have to put our treasure where we want our heart to be.

Great things we discussed:

1. Chip Ingram
2. I Choose Peace: How to Quiet Your Heart in an Anxious World

3. Can’t Help Falling In Love With You

4. Faith Driven Entrepreneur: What It Takes to Step Into Your Purpose and Pursue Your God-Given Call to Create

5. Air Vent Clip
6. Chip Ingram App

7. Reminiscence

8. Worship For Fierce Faith

9. Standing Strong

Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)

xo,

Alli

www.alliworthington.com/chipingram2/

Made for This Moment with Max Lucado Oct 04, 2021

Show notes

Confusion, chaos and crisis don’t even begin to cover the challenges we faced over the past 18 months. Most of us are still facing challenges big and small while continuing to hold what’s happening in the world around us. We don’t know what next month or even next year will hold.

That’s why I’m grateful to have the always wise and wonderful Max Lucado on the show today. Max shares with us his insights and personal takeaways from his latest book, You Were Made for This Moment, based on the book of Esther and God’s promised deliverance. He also talks about his own recent life-changing diagnosis.

Max Lucado is a pastor, speaker, and best-selling author who, in his own words, “writes books for people who don’t read books.” He serves the people of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. I absolutely loved our conversation, and I hope you leave it feeling encouraged.

In this episode, we discuss:

How God always has strategically placed in the right place at the right time and His people responded.
How the issue of identity in the book of Esther compares with our struggle with it today.
How God gives us the capacity to face the challenges He knows are in our future.
How we can live in our faith boldly, even if we are in the midst of a difficult season.

Great things we discussed:

The Blessing
The Chosen
Faith in a Faithless World
Christianity Today Podcast
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Standing Strong

Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)

xo,

Alli

www.alliworthington.com/maxlucado/

Being Human with Kate Bowler Sep 27, 2021

Show notes

Hey friends! You are in for an absolute treat of a show today! The delightful and brilliant Kate Bowler sits down with me to talk all about how to move forward with life when it’s not really what you would have picked out for yourself.

Kate is a New York Times best-selling author, podcast host, and associate professor of the history of Christianity in North America at Duke University. And she’s one of my very favorite humans.

She shares her story of being diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at a young age, what she learned during her cancer journey, how she really feels about the phrase “living your best life now,” and what we can do when unexpected changes in life turn our carefully laid plans upside down.

Listen in to hear about:

What happens when we distract ourselves from that muted ache that comes with just being a person
What we sacrifice when we say we’re going to live in the present only
What the Bible says about the human experiences, especially suffering
What happens when we ignore our fragility in exchange for “living our best lives now”

In this episode I answer this question:

I recently parted ways with my best friend of 10 years, how do I grieve someone who is not actually dead? (45:09)

Great things we discussed:

1. Particle Man

2. Friday Night Lights

3. Raising a Rare Girl

4. Vivino

5. The Ordinary Facial Mask

6. Standing Strong

Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)

xo,

Alli

www.alliworthington.com/katebowler2/

Finding Hope and Healing with Sheila Walsh Sep 20, 2021

Show notes

For over 18 months, we have been learning how to cope with the pandemic. Some of us focus on our families, and some of us watch disaster movies (or The Great British Baking Show!). But the uncertainty and the overwhelming level of sad and disappointing news has caused cases of depression and anxiety to accelerate at alarming levels.

The temptation to give up is real, which is why I’m so honored to have my friend Sheila Walsh on the show today for a very special conversation about mental health.

Sheila is an author, Bible teacher, and television host and, fun fact: she’s originally from Scotland! In this episode, she shares with us her mental health journey with clinical depression and the practical actionable steps we can take to manage this hard season. She also shares about her book, Holding on When You Want to Let Go, and what she learned as she managed her depression during the isolation of the pandemic.

Tune in to learn more about:

How to best support loved ones when they’re experiencing a difficult season
How the church is responding to conversations about mental health and challenging the stigma of shame around struggle
How God hears and holds us even when we don’t have all the right words in prayer
How you can incorporate Sheila’s daily practices to help with depression

In this episode I answer this question: