"When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze… The promise is not that you will never walk through the valley of death. The promise is, when you walk through that valley, God will go with you."

Sometimes the weight of loss and suffering is too great a burden to bear, and there's no way to dress it up with easy answer to theological niceties. In this episode, Pastor Kelsey invites us into her experience of losing her mother as a child, tenderly reflecting on how grief and faith weave together in unexpected ways. Drawing on the words of Isaiah and her own experience, Kelsey pushes back on harmful narratives that declare tragedy as "part of God's plan" and instead explores the quiet assurance at the heart of progressive Christian faith: that God's promise is not to prevent suffering, but to accompany us through it.

Rather than denying or dismissing the truth of pain, this conversation roots itself in the promise of resurrection - that death will never have the final word, and that new life will emerge, not by the waving of a magic wand, but through God's grace and a love that pierces the barrier between this life and the next.

Connect with us:

• Website: moveyourfaith.org
• Subscribe to our weekly devotional: Embody Faith
• Instagram: @pastorkelseyb and @faithinmotion.pod
• Support our ministry: moveyourfaith.org/give

“If my care for my kids is relentless... does God love me like this?”

Elizabeth came on to share about her book, Love Like a Mother: How the Sacred Work of Motherhood Reveals the Maternal Heart of God. But this conversation wasn’t just about her book - it is an invitation to explore a part of God that often goes ignored, unnoticed, and suppressed: the feminine, maternal side of God.

In all of our multitude of experiences with motherhood, Elizabeth invites us to see how mothering, in all its forms, and in all of its intensity and ordinariness, reveals the expansive and nurturing heart of God.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How viewing God through a maternal lens can expand and deepen our faith, no matter your gender or experience with motherhood
• Stories from scripture—often hiding in plain sight—that show God’s love in very maternal, embodied ways
• Honest reflections about wrestling with new images of God, and the courage it takes to lean into the discomfort
• How ordinary, daily acts of care can become sacred ground for encountering a God who is tender, present, and nurturing

About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Berget is a speaker and author of Love Like a Mother: How the Sacred Work of Motherhood Reveals the Maternal Heart of God. Her work has appeared in Christianity Today, Coffee + Crumbs, Mothering Spirit, and other online spaces where mothers gather to find meaning in the mundane.

She shares her thoughts in her Substack newsletter, Back of the Flock, where she explores the image of God in the everyday work of motherhood. Berget has lived in Africa and Asia but now resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, three kids, and one mischievous dog. And yes, she'd love to hold your baby.

Connect with us:

• Website: moveyourfaith.org
• Subscribe to our weekly devotional: Embody Faith
• Instagram: @pastorkelseyb and @faithinmotion.pod
• Support our ministry: moveyourfaith.org/give

Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me.
- John 14:1-14

This Lectio Divina on John 14:1–14 is a gentle, guided prayer practice that invites you to slow down, breathe, and spend a few quiet moments with God.

Lectio Divina is an ancient Christian practice of praying with scripture—listening, reflecting, and resting in God’s presence. In this episode, we’ll move through John 14 together, creating space to notice what God might be stirring in you.

You don’t need any prior experience with Lectio Divina or meditation—just a willingness to pause and listen for God’s love within and around you.

This episode is part of our ongoing Lectio Divina podcast series, offering guided Christian meditation and scripture reflection. Episodes air every other Thursday.

Connect with us:

• Website: moveyourfaith.org
• Subscribe to our weekly devotional: Embody Faith
• Instagram: @faithinmotion.pod and @pastorkelseyb
• Support our ministry: moveyourfaith.org/give

Some days, the most honest prayer I can offer is a question. Maybe you feel that, too—the uncertainty bubbling up, and the wondering if doubt means we’re drifting away. This episode is a gentle companion for those shadowy places of faith, where wrestling with God feels both lonely and necessary.

This week on Faith in Motion, we explore why doubt and uncertainty aren't the enemy of faith, but hallmarks of a faith that endures and grows.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• A deeply personal story of navigating faith, loss, and belonging in young adulthood
• Why doubt is not opposed to faith, but is part of its strength and resilience
• Reflections on Jacob’s and Thomas’s stories as examples of holy wrestling and curiosity
• The concept of the “restlessness of the heart” and how it keeps us returning to God
• An invitation to see faith as something flexible, enduring, and alive

Whether you’re in the middle of a dark night of the soul or just need permission to ask your questions out loud, this episode is an invitation to rest in God’s presence—with all your doubts, curiosity, and hope.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Dynamics of Faith by Paul Tillich

“You don’t have to be perfect.” - Rev. Krista Zimmerman

Pastor Kelsey sits down with Rev. Krista Zimmerman for a thoughtful conversation on presence, perfectionism, and practicing a more grounded, grace-filled faith.

Together, they explore what it means to be present in ministry and daily life, how to set healthy boundaries (especially with technology), and why letting go—while difficult—is often necessary for spiritual growth. They also reflect on grief, the gift of being a beginner through analog hobbies like watercolor and coloring, and the freedom that comes when we release the pressure to be perfect.

Kelsey also shares a return to the heart of the podcast: conversations with women in ministry about their theology and spiritual lives—what they’re preaching, praying, and discerning in this season.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Letting go and why it’s essential for growth
• How a “word of the year” can shape your spiritual practice
• Navigating grief after the loss of a beloved pet
• The spiritual invitation of analog hobbies and creative practices
• Simple, practical boundaries with technology
• Moving beyond perfectionism toward grace

About Krista

Pastor Krista Zimmerman has been ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) for 15 years. She currently serves St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Aurora, IL. She loves being a pastor but her favorite title is aunt!

Mentioned in the episode:

• The “Brick” device for setting digital boundaries
• The first episode of Brene Brown & Adam Grant’s Curiosity Shop podcast

Connect with us:

• Website: moveyourfaith.org
• Subscribe to our weekly devotional: Embody Faith
• Instagram: @pastorkelseyb and @faithinmotion.pod
• Support our ministry: moveyourfaith.org/give

Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?

- Luke 24:32

Lectio Divina is a spiritual practice that invites us to slow down, breathe, and spend a few quiet moments with God. Together, we’ll listen to scripture, reflect, and pray. You don’t need any prior experience or expertise; just a willingness to pause and listen for God’s love within and around you.

Connect with us:

Website: moveyourfaith.org
Subscribe to our weekly devotional: Embody Faith
Instagram: @faithinmotion.pod and @pastorkelseyb
Support our ministry: moveyourfaith.org/give

“Perhaps it was Thomas who made the disciples face the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection.”

In this special episode, I share a sermon that my mother, Rev. Sheryl E. L. Peterson preached back in April of 1985, in honor of the 30th anniversary of her passing on April 8th. I found this while going through some of her papers, and it felt like a nudge from the Holy Spirit that this was the sermon of hers I found - just a few days before most churches around the world would hear sermons on the same scripture passage - about Thomas touching the wounds of Christ.

In her message, my mother shares about Thomas’ deep faith and willingness to not look away from the pain and suffering Jesus went through. She invites us to consider what we are unwilling to touch, and call us to a faith that is active - one that reaches out, rather than shrinks away from the suffering of others. It’s a powerful reminder to not be afraid to touch.

Scripture: John 20:19-31, NRSVUE

Connect with us:

Website: moveyourfaith.org
Subscribe to our weekly devotional: Embody Faith
Instagram: @pastorkelseyb and @faithinmotion.pod

Support our ministry: moveyourfaith.org/give

“There's nothing and nowhere where God won't go. God can handle the pain, the doubt, the disbelief—and naming it allows us to honor the space and the time.”

In “The Blessings of Small Steps,” Pastor Kelsey sits down with Reverend Kimberly Knowle-Zeller to explore how blessing the messiness of everyday life opens us to God’s presence, especially when hope feels scarce. Together, they discuss how simple practices can help us remember the sacred within our routines, and how blessing others (and ourselves) is an act of trust and courage in a hurting world.

In this episode, you'll hear:

• Honest reflections about parenthood, pastoral care, and finding God in the mundane
• How the practice of writing blessings became a way forward during seasons of exhaustion and uncertainty
• The power and vulnerability of sending words out into the world—and letting them go
• Why naming pain and hardship aloud can reveal what is sacred, without bypassing what is real
• An original blessing from Reverend Kimberly Noel Zeller’s new book, Small Steps

About Kim

Reverend Kimberly Knowle-Zeller is an author, pastor, and mother whose writing brings grace to life’s hardest, messiest corners. Her newest book, Small Steps: Blessings to Lift Your Soul on the Pilgrimage of Life, draws from her experience offering blessings at bedsides, in sanctuaries, and amid long nights as a mom. She writes for numerous faith publications and shares weekly reflections and blessings at Walk and Talk on Substack.

Show notes

• Preorder Small Steps: Blessings to Lift Your Soul on the Pilgrimage of Life
• Subscribe to Reverend Kim’s Substack: Walk and Talk

If you’re feeling weary, chaotic, or just longing for something real, this conversation is for you. Listen in for a quiet reminder that you are not alone—and that blessing can meet you right where you are.

Connect with us:

• Website: moveyourfaith.org
• Subscribe to our weekly devotional: Embody Faith
• Instagram: @pastorkelseyb and @faithinmotion.pod
• Support our ministry: moveyourfaith.org/give