The Alli Worthington Show

How to Prepare for Lent with Tsh Oxenreider

One of the reasons I started this podcast was to create a way to learn something every week. Well, friends, Tsh Oxenreider came prepared to teach me all about Lent. Growing up Southern Baptist, I had a surface level understanding of Lent and the importance of it. So when Tsh wanted to talk about the divine aspects of Lent and how to observe it, I knew you might find our conversation interesting. Her most recent book Bitter & Sweet: A Journey into Easter is a kind companion for your walk through Lent. Since it's the Monday before Ash Wednesday, I hope you’ll find our conversation interesting and informative. I know I did! Tsh Oxenreider is the bestselling author of several books, most notably Shadow and Light: A Journey into Advent and At Home in the World, her memoir about her family’s year traveling around the world and living out of backpacks. She’s also a travel guide, teacher, and podcaster, and she lives in Georgetown, Texas, with her husband and three children. She is equally happy snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef with her family and putzing around her own backyard.  Listen to learn more about: Understanding the significance of the 6 weeks leading to Easter, starting from Ash Wednesday.   The Three Pillars of Lent. The 5 questions to ask yourself when you are deciding what to give up for Lent. Favorite quotes: Lent is a gift that I am truly grateful for. It is not something God demands of us, it is something that God gives us through the Church. The beauty of lent is so much more than what we can give up. Lent is a slow journey towards Easter where we start off with the hard and we end up with a sense of redemption about the practices we have participated in. In tandem with the letting go you are also adding something good to your life -that is the beauty of Lent. It’s helpful when you are praying about what to fast from for Lent  to know that you are going to mess up, meaning the point of this is not to do it perfectly. In this episode I answer this question:  How can I overcome procrastination? (34:50) Links to great things we discussed:  1. Tsh's Website  2. Encanto Movie  Soundtrack 3. Downton Abbey 4. Zebra Ballpoint pens 5. Readkit App  6. Atomic Habits 7. Standing Strong Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :) xo, Alli 

How to Find Friends as an Adult with Jennie Allen

Hey friends! The lovely Jennie Allen is on the show with me today. If the last two years taught us anything, it’s that we need friendships and community more than ever. Our conversation is a  powerful reminder that we need to look for new relationships and fight for those who matter.  Tune in to hear us talk about society's past and present and the results of those changes. And Jennie’s insights about why women struggle with friendships or finding friends. We also chat about Jennie’s new adventure into the world of TikTok, what she experienced at Passion last year, her new book, and what happens when you’re obedient to God.  Jennie is the founder and visionary of women’s organization IF: Gathering, the host of the top-rated Made for This podcast, and the New York Times bestselling author of Get Out of Your Head.  Listen in to learn more about:  How obeying God brings the supernatural into our everyday lives.  What causes our generation to be the loneliest and what we can do about it. How to identify what makes for a good friend and what are some red flags to look for in our current relationships.  Favorite quotes: Our God is communal and built us not as people to do community, but we are, in our essence, community. We are literally, from the womb, communal people who come from a communal, triune God who is three in one in His being. When we expect to disappoint people and we expect them to disappoint us there is a lot more grace in the world to mess up and to work it out. You don’t need perfect -You just need that we can actually go somewhere and be awkward together and spend time together. We are broken as a culture, and something has to change. We all came out of the womb looking for someone looking for us.  In this episode I answer this question:  What do you collect? (40:30) Links to great things we discussed:  1) Spotify Hot Country Playlist 2) Spiderman movie 3) Alias 4) Get your life back book - John Eldrege 5) Dwell app 6) Anastasia Brow gel 7) Ipsy 8) Ghostbusters Afterlife 9) Spotify 90s road trip 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/jennieallen3/

How to Have Hope in a Divisive World with Max Lucado

Friend, you are in the right place today! Max Lucado joins me for a conversation full of hope and encouragement, and I am so excited to share it with you. Max gives us an update on his recent health crisis, what his youth was like growing up in West Texas, and his new book, 3:16: The Numbers of Hope.  Over the last several years, we’ve all been through so much. There is so much division, a lot of which is steeped in a “me first” mentality and anti-God philosophy. Max brings an encouraging word from one of the most famous verses in the Bible, John 3:16, and how God can love us no matter what if we seek Him. Max and I also discuss what we think Heaven and will be like, as well as the idea if someone can “out-sin” God’s love and forgiveness. And he shares an exciting new online study that kicks off next month.  Max Lucado is a pastor, speaker, and bestselling 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, and his message is for the hurting, the guilty, the lonely, and the discouraged: God loves you; let him.   Listen in to learn more about:  Max’s conversion story and what it was like for him to come back home to the church.  Heaven’s policy for who gets in. How he decided that an entire book on John 3:16 was the next book to write.  Favorite quotes: 1) This whole promise that is found in John 3:16 has been a treasure to me. I clung on that verse, in fact in the book I call it a life vest, cos I have clung to that throughout my life. For me, personally, it is that verse that summarizes the gospel, that expresses our hope so well, so brilliantly simple yet so deeply profound.  2) I think we forgot that the whole purpose of being here is to say Yes or No to God’s invitation to come and spend forever with Him in a restored garden of Eden. 3) I have a sinful inclination within me, but I am chosen by God, I have been made special, I am indwelt by His Holy Spirit and I am being prepared for Heaven. All these ideas that give me strength and joy I would have missed out on had I not been willing to put my trust in the ability for God to forgive me. 4) Studying John 3:16 increased my longing for heaven and increased my horror of .   In this episode I answer this question: How do I convince myself or others that the business I'm building is worth it? (32:00) Links to great things we discussed:    1. Max Lucado’s Website   2. Free 5 - Week Online Bible Study 3. Ain't no sunshine 4. The Chosen 5. The Grand Slam Book 6.  Peloton 7. Standing Strong   Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :) xo, Alli

How to Increase Marital Satisfaction with Gary Thomas

Friends! As promised, Gary Thomas is back with us on the show today! Gary is one of my favorite people to interview because he breaks down tricky subjects into conversations we can feel good about. That’s why I love his books so much, too!  Today, we’re talking about a topic that’s part of many of our lives but not often part of our regular conversations – married . His newest book co-written with Debra Fileta, Married , is a guide for Christian married couples to reimagine their love lives both in and out of the bedroom. Friends, this is not an episode to listen to with your kids around as Gary and I talk about adult topics, but I believe in sharing conversations that will help you live well. This conversation is a reminder and encouragement that doesn’t have to carry shame with it, and that God designed it for our pleasure. I’m so glad we have authors like Gary who tackle subjects like this and hold space for conversations that can feel challenging to explore. Gary Thomas is a bestselling author and international speaker whose ministry brings people closer to Christ and closer to others. He unites the study of Scripture, church history, and the Christian classics to foster spiritual growth and deeper relationships within the Christian community. Listen in to learn about: Why is so difficult to talk about for people who grew up in the Church What God intended to be like for women (spoiler alert: it’s not always about the man) Three hallmarks of a healthy life and relationship according to Gary’s research   Links to great things we discussed:  1)  Let it be Jesus - Christy Nockels 2)  The Godfather Movie Series 3)  Rocky Movie Series 4)  Peloton Exercise Bike 5)  Married Book  6)  Gary Thomas Website  7)  Citizen Kane 8)  Run to the Father - Cody Carnes 9)  Run to the Father - Matt Maher 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/garythomas3/

How to Stop Striving with Ruth Chou Simons

Does it feel like your anxiety level is at an all-time high?! You’re not alone. Ruth Chou Simons joins me to talk about how to care for ourselves, especially when we feel like we have to keep striving to make things feel like they’re okay. After the last two years, I’m sure that everyone is feeling it in one way or another. It’s one of the reasons why I had to hit the pause button on writing my next book till this year.  Ruth and I explore the pressure we feel to do more, define what striving is, and discuss ways we can check in with ourselves when we are doing more from our own power instead of relying on God’s plan.  We also dive into how to ultimately find God’s grace and why what He offers is so much better than the hamster wheel of performance and perfection. This conversation is so good and you may want to take notes! Ruth drops some brilliant truth bombs for us.  Ruth is a talented artist, and a best-selling, award-winning author of several books, including her latest release When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace. Listen to learn more about : How to stop subscribing to the Gospel of Self-Improvement and replace it with the Gospel of Grace. How we can cease striving and yet be productive and fruitful.  How to discern making Christ our role model as opposed to making ourselves the hero of our own stories.  Favorite quotes: The truth is we have to be honest and keep realigning our hearts with what is true,(because pandemic or not),  it is pretty easy to spiral into a narrative or a thought pattern that takes you far from what is actually true. Weariness in itself is not some awful thing. It is that weariness that is self-induced by carrying the weight of performance, approval and belonging - all those things on our own shoulders, thinking that it was up to us to hold all things together and that, is not the gospel. If we are Christ followers until we know what is unshakeable and true about our identities in Christ and until we know what is sure and true and what we already have in Christ, we will be chasing after something thinking that we can attain it for ourselves, when it was meant to be given by God alone.   In this episode I answer this question: 1. How do I know what to name my Business? (34:50) Great things we discussed:  1. When Strivings Cease 2. Graceland by Ruth Simmons 3. John Piper's quote on sleep 4. Ruth's favorite song - City of Lights 5. Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 6. The Disciple of Grace - Jerry Bridges 7. Nars Concealer 8. Ruth Chou Simmons Instagram 9. American Underdog 10. Brooke Ligertwood - A Thousand Hallelujahs 11. Standing Strong Order your copy of Standing Strong here. Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :) xo, Alli  www.alliworthington.com/ruthchousimons2/

How to Uncomplicate Friendship with Andi Andrew

Hey friends! For almost two years we’ve been doing what we can to navigate a global pandemic, lockdowns, and basically a new way of life. Our relationships with others have taken a dramatic hit because of this. We’ve had to make choices on what’s best for ourselves and our families, sometimes at the expense of our friendships.That’s why I’m so excited about today’s show as my friend, Andi Andrews joins me to talk all about friendships, how to maintain healthy friendships while practicing good boundaries.  Andi also shares about her book, Friendship: It’s Complicated. I loved her perspective on what it was like writing a book on friendship in the middle of a pandemic!  Andi Andrew is an author, speaker, as well as co-founder, and co-pastor with her husband, Paul, of Liberty Church, in New York City. In 2015, she launched the She Is Free Conference to equip and activate women to walk in freedom, spirit, soul, and body, and see others set free in their sphere of influence. Listen in to learn more from Andi about:  What life has been like leading a church in the middle of a pandemic in New York City The importance of being vulnerable with a few and authentic with many  How to determine if your friendships are healthy  The difference between self-preservation and good boundaries  How to reduce the drama in our friendships   Favorite quotes: 1. A wrestle really came for me when I got to a place where I got so defeated in my female relationships that I sat before God and I felt the Holy Spirit say to me “Andi you are the common denominator in every relationship you are in.” 2. You can have self control, you can’t control the outcome of anyone else's choices. You can’t stop them from doing what they’re doing but you can make decisions that change who you are so that you can become a better friend. 3. We need to learn to be vulnerable with the few and authentic with the many.  4. Boundaries protect us instead of causing us to self preserve. It helps us to guard our heart and our mind and to take responsibility for our lives.  5. Sometimes to break the drama cycles in our life we have to sit with someone and have a hard conversation and sometimes that will bring peace and be beautiful and sometimes it will end a friendship.    In this episode I answer this question: What are 3 tools you swear by in your business? (35:18) Great things we discussed:  1. Andi Andrew2. Friendship—It’s Complicated 3. Gratitude 4. Bridge to Haven 5. Facing Codependence: What It Is, Where It Comes from, How It Sabotages Our Lives6. Secrets of the Secret Place: Keys to Igniting Your Personal Time With God 7. Savor Beauty  8. Here As In Heaven 9. The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years 10. Standing Strong Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :) Xo, Alli

How to Live Fully (without Getting It All Right)

Today’s episode is a special one! I’m joined today by a new friend, Mallory Ervin, and whew, what a powerful story she has to tell!  Mallory is a former Miss America contestant, ran the Amazing Race with her father three times, and now hosts the popular podcast Living Fully. She also runs a global lifestyle brand that turned her passion for sharing her love of fashion, beauty, and life into a platform for impact.  She shares with us the behind the scenes of the Amazing Race (y’all it’s so fun!) and her journey with her addiction to perfection and success. She also talks about the lessons she learned from her time in rehab and how that inspired her upcoming book, Living Fully: Dare to Step into Your Most Vibrant Life. Listen in to learn more about:    The role systems and habits play in her life and the book that made all the difference Her experience and history with competing in the Amazing Race multiple times Two pivotal moments that changed her life forever    Favorite quotes: I realized how attached I become to what people saw on the outside and my appearance and how much that became ingrained in who I needed to see myself as.  It is so hard to break free from attachments and these beliefs we have about ourselves: the masks we wear and these shields we hold up and these people that we make ourselves into. It can hold you back from a whole full life if you don’t explore that. There are days where I don’t want to open the harder door. Where I do want the ease and comfort of just fine. I will fight against it until the day that I die.  You might not lose your life but you’ll lose a pretty amazing version of it if you stay in your comfort zone.  In this episode I answer this question:   How do I know if I’m cut out for business? (30: 45)   Great things we discussed: 1. Mallory Ervin 2. Living Fully: Dare to Step into Your Most Vibrant Life 3. Miranda Lambert ​​4. Yellowstone 5. The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain 6. Sing 2 7. Firm Foundation 8. 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/malloryervin/

How to Recognize a Toxic Relationship with Gary Thomas

Hey Friends! My DMs and inbox have been full of questions lately about one specific topic  – toxic relationships, and ultimately, toxic people. How to deal with them. How to identify them. And how to safeguard yourself against them as a Christian. So, I’m bringing back an episode from the archives with my friend Gary Thomas, where he talks in depth about toxicity, how to be in relationship with others, and how to break free of a toxic cycle.  I hope it’s helpful to you as we invest in our emotional and relational health together in 2022! Listen in to learn more about: 1. The difference between a difficult relationship and a toxic one 2. Playing spiritual offense vs spiritual defense  3. Why it’s so important to break free from toxic cycles   Favorite quotes: 1. If somebody is trying to get you to stop being you or get you to stop doing what you are convinced God wants you to do- for you that person is toxic. It’s an attack on your being and an attack on your mission. 2. Jesus had such freedom to walk away and it wasn’t about failing or succeeding it was about the person just not receiving. 3. I walk away from toxic people not to go binge Netflix. I walk away to invest with reliable people. I walk away from toxic relationships into healthy relationships.    Great things we discussed:  1. Gary Thomas 2. When To Walk Away 3. Kari Jobe: Steady My Heart 4. A Practical Treatise Upon Christian Perfection 5. Strava app 6.. Kari Jobe : Favorite Place  8. Encanto  9. Standing Strong P.S. Gary will be back later this month for a new episode, and I can’t wait for you to find out what we’re talking about then. It’s a good one, y’all! Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :) xo, Alli www.alliworthington.com/garythomas2/

How to Live a More Authentic Life with Hosanna Wong

Happy New Year, friend! Thank you for being here and investing in yourselves.  Joining me today on the show is with the lovely Hosanna Wong. She is an international speaker, author, host on TBN’s “Better Together,” and spoken-word artist who grew up in an urban ministry on the streets of San Francisco. Hosanna shares with us her story of growing up in San Francisco, and some of the lessons learned along the way. We also talk about living authentically and the right (and wrong) way to do evangelism, especially with your own family.  We also talk about: Revisiting significant places in our histories, like Hosanna returning to San Francisco and some of the trauma she experienced there as a child.  How we can fight for the people that we love by stepping into their world and fighting for the relationship. The importance of coaches and therapists in the lives of Christians, even though they already have Jesus.  How to make an impact with or without big, public (sometimes viral!) spiritual moments  I sincerely hope you are inspired from my conversation with Hosanna, feeling empowered to fight for your relationships and to live an authentic life this year.   Favorite quotes: 1. There are so many lies that the enemy tells us that we often believe that keep us from being who God has called us to be and doing what God had called us to do.  2. Fighting to be right is the perfect plan on how not to save the world. It’s the perfect plan how not to show God’s love to people. 3. If we want to reveal God’s real love to the people right next to us, many times our greatest witness will be our with-ness. How are we coming alongside people and being with them where they really are.    4. We are partnering with Him on His mission for everyone to know how loved they are. 5. When we overcomplicate it and believe the lie that we have to do something big to do something important, the enemy has victory in us ignoring the people right in front of us.  In this episode I answer this question: 1. How can I get over my fear of promoting myself? As a coach I know I need to promote but I feel self conscious about it. (45:16)Great things we discussed:  1. Hosanna Wong2. How (Not) to Save the World: The Truth About Revealing God’s Love to the People Right Next to You 3. Believe For It 4.  The Office5. Breaking Free from Body Shame: Dare to Reclaim What God Has Named Good 6. Woman Evolve: Break Up with Your Fears and Revolutionize Your Life 7. Hunter Boots  8. West Side Story  9. West Side Story Soundtrack 10. Standing Strong Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :) xo, Alli 

Life On Purpose with Tanya Dalton

Hey friends! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  You are in for a treat on today’s show because my new brilliant friend, Tanya Dalton is joining me on the show today. In this episode, we have a perfect chat as we wrap up this year and start planning for 2022!  Tanya and I take a deep dive into what holds us back, disrupting those patterns, and how to move forward in purpose and intentionality. Additionally, we talk about Tanya’s latest book  “On Purpose: The Busy Woman's Guide to an Extraordinary Life of Meaning and Success.”  And she shares practical action steps  on how we can use “cathedral thinking”, incorporate our legacy work and how to build the momentum to keep moving forward.    Listen in to learn more about…  How the typical 5-year plan isn’t helpful and tips on what to do instead   How we tend to fill our calendars but actually we need to fill our souls  The surprising lesson Tanya has learned as she has scaled her business  Having “ perfect balance'' means we aren’t given our best selves. We need to learn one way or another for a season.   Favorite quotes: 1. We want to have goals but goals are not the goal. Goals are the vehicle to get us to the life we want. They’re part of the milestones getting us to the big, bright beautiful future we are dreaming about. 2. The goals that you set for yourself need to be aligned with that vision that you have, what I call your cathedral.3. I think that it's really about the small steps. Yes big steps are good and it looks really good on social media to have these big giant steps but at the same time it's the small steps that bring you joy.  4. Overwhelmed isn't having too much to do, it's not knowing where to start.  5. Productivity isn’t about doing more, it's about doing what's important.   Great things we discussed:  1. Tanya Dalton2. On Purpose: The Busy Woman’s Guide to Extraordinary Life of Meaning and Success 3. The Beatles 4. Ted Lasso 5. Voxer 6. Asana 7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing  8. The Truly Co  9. Standing Strong   Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :) xo, Alli