This conversation with my friend—and the founder and visionary of Sonshine Interpreting—Araya Williams, came at just the right time for me personally.

We talk about calling, identity, and taking brave steps even when you don't know how it's going to work out. Araya shares how her work with the Deaf community and the creation of Sunshine Interpreting grew out of paying attention to what moved her heart and what she couldn’t shake. Again and again, we come back to the courage it takes to listen—to God, to ourselves, and to the quieter invitations in our lives.

We also name the hard reality of what's required to walk in your calling, including self-doubt, shame, and the internal voices that tell us we’re behind or not enough. This conversation felt like a gentle reminder that our worth isn’t something we earn through productivity or success, and that clarity often comes slowly.

If you’re holding questions about purpose, feeling tender around your identity, or needing permission to be honest about your struggle, I hope this episode feels like an exhale—and an invitation to listen to the One who wants to tell you who you really are.

A few things we talk about:

• Why self-compassion matters more than we think
• How paying attention to what moves us can point us toward purpose
• The courage it takes to follow a calling without guarantees
• Naming the voices of shame and self-doubt (and not letting them lead)
• What it looks like to listen for God’s voice in real life
• Why our worth was never meant to be measured by productivity
• Letting ourselves be seen—and why that can be healing
• Living with more freedom by accepting who we are

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Living Fearless by Jamie Winship - https://a.co/d/ekDyKzx
• Sonshine Interpreting - https://sonshineinterpreting.com/ or connect on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sonshineterps
• Christian Interpreters Conference - https://www.christianinterpretersconference.org/
• Learn about coaching - https://jilliandebritz.com/coaching/

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STAY CONNECTED

• Connect with Jillian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliandebritz/
• Want to reach out to Jillian about speaking or coaching? Learn more on her website: https://jilliandebritz.com/
• Sign up for the monthly Permission Slips email newsletter: https://jilliandebritz.myflodesk.com/subscribe
• Subscribe to Permission Slips on Substack: https://substack.com/@jilliandebritz
• Be sure to subscribe to Permission Slips so you never miss an episode, and please share or review this podcast to help others find it!

"January is the new week between Christmas and the new year." —Emily P. Freeman

Join me as I make space to reflect on 2025 by sharing my list of what worked and what didn't over the past year. I hope these honest, in-process thoughts give you permission to ask yourself the same questions, and in so doing, offer you clarity about how you want to move forward into 2026 with greater wholeness and courage.

Learn more about coaching - https://jilliandebritz.com/coaching/

• For local women: Becoming Formation Group - https://jilliandebritz.myflodesk.com/becoming

Other resources from this episode:

• 20 // Delight, Unraveling, and the Stages of Faith // Susan Bouterse -

  https://www.podcastics.com/episode/387596/link/

• 21: How to Practice Being Known in a Confessional Community | Rachel Miller -

  https://www.podcastics.com/episode/389719/link/

• Center for Being Known (Confessional Communities) - https://www.thecbk.org/
• 5: Rejecting Diet Culture & Body Shame //

  https://www.podcastics.com/episode/352666/link/

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STAY CONNECTED

• Connect with Jillian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliandebritz/
• Want to reach out to Jillian about speaking or coaching? Learn more on her website: https://jilliandebritz.com/
• Sign up for the monthly Permission Slips email newsletter: https://jilliandebritz.myflodesk.com/subscribe
• Subscribe to Permission Slips on Substack: https://substack.com/@jilliandebritz
• Be sure to subscribe to Permission Slips so you never miss an episode, and please share or review this podcast to help others find it!

"We enter into relationship—we enter into meaning—through the doorway of feeling, and specifically negative feelings. To eliminate those would be to eliminate...the sweetness of actual relationship." —Justin McRoberts, author, spiritual director, and creative consultant

In this episode, author Justin McRoberts and I explore the complexities of human emotions, including the importance of embracing imperfection, the beauty of connecting with pain—both our own and others'—and the role of curiosity in our healing. Justin shares insights from his latest book, In the Low, reminding us that our seasons of darkness and depression are not evidence that we're broken, but an essential, beautiful part of being human.

We talk about things like:

• Disappointing people so that you can become who you are meant to be
• Embracing pain as a way to know ourselves—and connect with others—more deeply
• Why sitting with hard emotions takes practice
• How curiosity can help us learn from our emotions
• Reminders that our current situation is not our final destination; there is hope beyond the low
• The beauty of acquainting ourselves with our shortcomings and imperfections
• How there are depths of human relationships that we don't get to experience without pain
• The importance of inviting others to help learn about yourself (rather than fix you)

Justin McRoberts is an author, coach, speaker, and songwriter. When he’s not writing, speaking, or coaching, you can find him as the host of the At Sea Podcast. He just released his 8th book (and the 3rd he’s written with Scot Erickson), In the Low: Honest Prayers for Dark Seasons. He lives in the East San Francisco Bay Area, and he calls his mom every day.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

In the Low: Honest Prayers for Dark Seasons - https://a.co/d/h9t7RKn

Connect with Justin:

• Coaching and more - https://www.justinmcroberts.com/
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/justinmcroberts/
• At Sea Podcast - https://www.justinmcroberts.com/podcast

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STAY CONNECTED

• Connect with Jillian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliandebritz/
• Want to reach out to Jillian about speaking or coaching? Learn more on her website: https://jilliandebritz.com/
• Sign up for the monthly Permission Slips email newsletter: https://jilliandebritz.myflodesk.com/subscribe
• Subscribe to Permission Slips on Substack: https://substack.com/@jilliandebritz
• Be sure to subscribe to Permission Slips so you never miss an episode, and please share or review this podcast to help others find it!

"It's not so much about falling in love with myself, but falling in love with who Jesus has made me to be and what that allows and invites to the world around me." -Kelsey Jenney

Most of us don't walk around feeling like we're "the best of the best of the very, very best." But Kelsey Jenney reminds us that, according to the very words of the God of the universe, we are actually "tov meod"—very good! I don't know about you, but I just can't hear that enough.

Listen to Kelsey's contagious joy as she shares about dressing up her SnuggleBears (a.k.a. her doodle doggies babies), Jesus' sense of humor, and the kind, welcoming presence of God in the middle of her ordinary little life. Our conversation covers topics like:

• Kelsey's annual Christmas photo shoot with her dogs
• Why humor and laughter are necessary to really know Jesus
• Reminders that you are made very good—and you're allowed to take up space
• Learning to love who God has made you to be
• Embracing our personhood over our position or profession
• How to practice being present with God in our ordinary, daily moments
• How naming what is real allows for deeper connection with God
• Permission to use all the exclamation points and get more dogs!!!!!

Kelsey Jenney has served on staff with the mission of Young Life for 20 years in a variety of roles. She is also a certified Spiritual Director, a certified Enneagram Harmony Triad Practitioner, and holds a certification from the Transforming Center in Spiritual Formation.

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CONNECT WITH KELSEY:

Website: https://www.kelseyjenney.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doodlediva/

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STAY CONNECTED

• Connect with Jillian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliandebritz/
• Want to reach out to Jillian about speaking or coaching? Learn more on her website: https://jilliandebritz.com/
• Sign up for the monthly Permission Slips email newsletter: https://jilliandebritz.myflodesk.com/subscribe
• Subscribe to Permission Slips on Substack: https://substack.com/@jilliandebritz
• Be sure to subscribe to Permission Slips so you never miss an episode, and please share or review this podcast to help others find it!

“People aren’t to be fixed. That’s not why we’re there. We’re there to connect. We’re there to connect with people and with God.” -Rachel Miller

Have you ever longed for deeper relationships? Are there parts of your story—or of yourself—that you keep from others because you don't know how they'll respond if you show up fully? Do you wonder if it's possible to truly experience the abundant life described by Jesus? This episode is for you.

Join me as my friend, Rachel Miller, talks about her experience in a confessional community—an intentional group of people who are "practicing for heaven" by telling their stories more truly. We talk about what it's like to be fully known by others, and the ways we've both been transformed by the compassionate presence of people who help us see ourselves through their eyes.

Listen to as we discuss things like:

• The terrifying vulnerability and healing power of sharing our stories with others
• Describing the confessional community model and the storytelling liturgy
• The power of being present to our emotions, bodies, and one another
• Permission to ask, "Will you tell me again?" when we're struggling to believe what others see in us
• How receiving compassion from our community helps us imagine the compassion of Jesus
• Invitations to practice giving and receiving love—imperfectly—over and over again

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

• Join a Confessional Community through the Center for Being Known - thecbk.org/ccs
• Being Known Podcast - Season 7: Confessional Communities
• Being Known Podcast - Season 11: Rupture and Repair
• The Soul of Desire by Curt Thompson, MD

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STAY CONNECTED

• Connect with Jillian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliandebritz/
• Want to reach out to Jillian about speaking or coaching? Learn more on her website: https://jilliandebritz.com/
• Sign up for the monthly Permission Slips email newsletter: https://jilliandebritz.myflodesk.com/subscribe
• Subscribe to Permission Slips on Substack: https://substack.com/@jilliandebritz
• Be sure to subscribe to Permission Slips so you never miss an episode, and please share or review this podcast to help others find it!

“God wants to enlarge our terrain of freedom. He wants to bring us through so he can set us free.” -Susan Bouterse

What if paying attention to our delight is part of how we notice God's invitation into a deeper journey with him?

This conversation with Susan Bouterse will invite you to expand your imagination for how God might be at work in your life, wooing you and stirring your heart in ways that "expand your terrain of freedom." Listen to Susan's journey through an unexpected career transition (from pediatrics to ministry?!), and to insights about the stages of faith—including encouragement for anyone facing their own "unraveling" or dark night of the soul. We hope you'll get a taste of the kindness of God through this honest, vulnerable conversation about how we've each experienced his love in tangible, embodied ways.

Susan Bouterse is the Pastor of Spiritual Formation at Anchor Church in Tacoma, Washington and the Executive Director of Anchor School of Discipleship & Ministry. She trained as a spiritual director through Soul Formation Academy and delights in seeing the One she loves reveal his love to another. Susan has a master’s degree in theological studies from Multnomah University. She is also an M.D. and practiced pediatrics for over 20 years before being called to ministry. Susan and her husband Phil have three grown children and enjoy the beauty and activities of the South Sound in the PNW.

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• Anchor Church: https://anchortacoma.org/
• Anchor School: https://anchortacoma.org/anchorschool
• Previous episode - Soul Companionship for Your Spiritual Journey // Kari Mirro
• Soul of Shame by Dr. Curt Thompson
• Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero
• Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer
• The Critical Journey by Janet O. Hagberg and Robert A. Guelich

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Stay connected:

• Connect with Jillian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliandebritz/
• Sign up for the monthly Permission Slips email newsletter: https://jilliandebritz.myflodesk.com/subscribe
• Subscribe to Permission Slips on Substack: https://substack.com/@jilliandebritz
• Want to book Jillian to speak or work with her as your coach? Learn more on her website: https://jilliandebritz.com/
• Be sure to subscribe to Permission Slips so you never miss an episode, and please share or review this podcast to help others find it!