Melanie Penn is a Nashville based songwriter at the crossroads of faith and culture. Melanie was a mainstay in the theatre scene in New York City for several years, most notably playing Sandy on the Broadway national tour of Grease!

In my time with Melanie, we discuss her transition from Broadway to songwriting, and the helpfulness of attending to our emotions in decision making and discernment. She also shares about the experience of losing her dad. In that discussion, Melanie reminds us of humanity’s need for rescue and the hope we celebrate this Christmas season. Also, amidst society’s fear-based messages around getting older, Melanie reframes aging as an opportunity to become more alive.

JohnsonDecember 23, 2024melaniepenn, morealive, aging, reframingaging, beauty, grief, death, christmas, hope, impossiblebeauty, impossiblebeautypodcast

"Rebuilding After Loss" with Dawn Mann Sanders

After having two miscarriages, followed by the sudden loss of her husband, Dawn Mann Sanders felt like it was the end of her world as she knew it. Dawn is a Bible teacher and author of When Your World Ends: God’s Creative Process for Rebuilding a Life.

In her book, and in today’s conversation, Dawn shares what she’s learned about rebuilding after significant loss, as well as what the creation story in the book of Genesis taught her about her own process of grief and rebuilding. If you’re looking for hope and purpose on the other side of loss, this conversation is for you.

JohnsonOctober 14, 2024dawnmannsanders, rebuildingafterloss, grief, loss, impossiblebeauty, impossiblebeautypodcast, whenyourworldends

"We Don't Grieve Alone" with Amanda Held Opelt

After a series of miscarriages, the loss of her grandma, and then her beloved sister, Amanda Held Opelt found solace in an unexpected place, in exploring ancient grief rituals in practices. In her first book, A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals of Grief and Healing, Amanda explores how such ancient grief rituals and practices can be a vessel for honest expression, communal connection, and even healing.

Amanda is an author, speaker, and songwriter. She has spent 15 years serving in the non-profit and humanitarian aid sectors and lives in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina. In my time with Amanda, we talk about the complexity of living in a world that can be both stunningly beautiful and so very broken. She helps us see the beauty of ritual and community and how loss has the potential to deepen our capacity for love, faith, and healing.

"When a Loved One Leaves for Heaven" with Sarah Berger

When Sarah Berger’s nineteen-year-old son went to heaven, Sarah found herself plunged into deep grief. Having journaled her experiences in the wake of that event, Sarah shares her insights with us in her book, Hope in the Eleventh Hour: A Mothers’ Journey Through Grief with Eternal Eyes and in today’s episode.

Sarah helps us see both life and death with an eternal perspective. She also helps us open our eyes and hearts to how God might be speaking to us amidst our grief and how she experienced God as good and loving amidst her own grief. Overall, Sarah encourages us with so many overlooked truths about God, ourselves, and our loved ones this side of heaven.

JohnsonJanuary 16, 2023sarahberger, hopeintheeleventhhour, eternity, eternallife, grief