The Alli Worthington Show

Getting Unstuck with Chip Ingram

As we begin to come out of the pandemic fog we've been in, we can feel stuck. After a year of limbo, we’ve been unable to move forward. Wondering what the next day, week, or month would hold. Many of us leaned in and got closer with God. But we don't know how to move forward.   On Today's episode, I have my friend and fan-favorite, Chip Ingram, on the show. We dive into what it looks like to get spiritually unstuck and how to move forward with power in this new season. Every time I have Chip on the show, I always walk away with fantastic nuggets of wisdom that I know are just for me! This time is no different, and I hope it’s the same for you. 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.   In this episode, we discuss: How to live from God's approval and not for God's approval. Gratitude as the heart of thanksgiving and how important it is in our process of transformation.  Chip breaks down transformation and God's intent to make us like Jesus. Favorite quotes: 1. The marriage of the gospel and the American dream have gotten so intertwined. I think there are times where we have very unbiblical expectations. That if I really do trust God and I really love him, and I lean in, there's going to be deliverance, joy, or effervescence. A sense that I'm going to be more than a conqueror, but I probably won't suffer. 2. There is a practice of thanksgiving that is so important on this journey. It allows us to stay in line and keep in step with the Spirit. 3. At the heart of life change is understanding that change begins with your thinking.  4. Keeping the big picture is critical. Then recognizing that the only thing you or I can control is today. 5. We've got to begin to filter and look for the subtle messages in what we read and watch and listen to that may not be ‘bad, evil, or violent’ but they keep sending me messages that I don't measure up or that life could be easier. Those are the subtle things that the enemy wants to embed in our psyche. These messages keep us discontent or  thinking that we're not doing well, when we might be making great progress. Great things we discussed: 1. Chip Ingram at  livingontheedge.org and the Chip Ingram App 2. Yes! You Really CAN Change 3. Waymaker4. Victoria 5. Godzilla vs Kong6. The Blessing 7. Standing Strong Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :) xo, Alli 

The State of Our Kids with Sissy Goff

After a year of living through a pandemic, we are all uncertain, anxious and even a little bit cranky about things going back to normal. As adults, we have a lifetime of practice building coping strategies that work for our individual personalities and lifestyles. But what about our kids?  A year of distance learning, isolation from friends, disruption of routines and continued uncertainty only adds to anxiety they may already feel and not know how to manage. That’s why I invited Sissy Goff on the show today to talk about the state of our kids in a post-pandemic world and how we can better support them. Since 1993, Sissy has helped girls and their parents find confidence in who they are and hope in who God is making them be, both as individuals and families. She is a sought-after speaker for parenting events and the author of twelve books, including her latest release for teenage girls, Brave. Join us as she shares her insights and knowledge on:  How anxiety and depression manifest differently in boys and girls. Practical ways parents can support their children who struggle with anxiety. The number one thing parents can do to help support the mental health of their kids.   Favorite quotes: 1. Culturally we’re just doing too much and moving too fast. And kids are often getting the brunt of that unintentionally from us as adults. 2. For adolescents, so much life for them comes from peers. The loneliness really immediately started impacting them in a very different way. 3. Anxiety is an overestimation of the problem and an underestimation of ourselves. 4. Anxiety is the most prevalent condition among kids but it's also the most treatable.  5. When we can come up with a name for anxiety, it loses its power.   In this episode I answer this question: I want to host Bible study but I didn’t go to seminary, is it okay that I host one? (45:13) Great things we discussed: 1. Find Sissy at her website & on Instagram 2. Brave 3. Goodness Of God4. Parenthood5. Late Migrations6. K. McCarthy 7. Hold On To Me 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/SissyGoff/

Make Overthinking Your Superpower with Jon Acuff

There’s an old bumper sticker quote that goes, “Don’t believe everything you think.” But we’ve all done it. It starts as a tiny idea or worry that we push to the back burner. Then slowly over time, it grows and grows until we eventually act on it or let it dictate our decisions. Changing our mindset is a choice, but it’s easy to forget that we are in the driver’s seat when it comes to our thoughts. That’s why I asked my good friend Jon Acuff to join me on the show today. Jon is whip-smart, funny and a New York Times bestselling author, but more than that, he’s on a mission to help others flip the script on overthinking and turn it into a superpower.  Throughout our conversation, he shares what he’s learned throughout his research on overthinking and talks about the tools we need to master our thoughts. I loved this conversation, and I just know you’ll love his unique blend of humor, honesty and hope. Stick around to the end to hear all about: 1. What Dolly Parton has in common with telegrams and bald eagles  2. The four simple words you can use to make any goal easier 3. How words can easily control of our thoughts, feelings and emotions 4. The most surprising discovery Jon learned from his research for his new book Soundtracks   Favorite quotes: I think everyone tends to undervalue the things they're good at and overvalue the things other people are good at.2. At some point, everybody has to live out the thing they are good at and enjoy being good at that.3. The soundtracks we listen to have a lot more power than we think. They’re playing constantly and what if we can do something about that? What if we can choose the soundtrack we listen to? 4. Repeating things that are positive about yourself puts them at the top of your playlist. So when you’re in a situation where something happens, it’s like your brain grabs the most recent song.   In this episode I answer this question: 1. How do you decide when to invest in your business?  (52:28)   Links to great things we discussed:  1. Jon Acuff Website 2. Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking 3. Immunity 4. Married At First Sight5. Alone6. I Hate Running And You Can Too7. Vulnerability Is My Superpower 8. Leap Over A Wall 9. Leuchtturm Notebook 10. The Falcon and the Winter Solider 11. LUMIFY Redness Reliever Eye Drops 12. 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/jonacuff/

Building a Life You Love with Emily Ley

Have you ever noticed how we tend to enjoy the things we are intentional about a little bit more than our routine, day-to-day lives? What if I told you that it’s possible to build a life you love and rediscover your most authentic self without winning the lottery or upending your entire world?  Well, you’re in for a treat, friends! My dear friend Emily Ley is joining me on today’s show to talk all about how to create a life you love (and not just one that people will envy on the Internet!). You may know Emily from The Simplified Planner® or her bestselling books A Simplified Life, Grace Not Perfection, or her newest release Growing Boldly. She’s built a life she loves, and she’s on a mission to help others do the same.  In today’s episode, we talk all about life, business, and what happens when you imagine the life you dream of then create a plan to make it happen. She also shares practical ways for women to rediscover themselves, especially after spending so much time in the role of a parent or caregiver.  Tune in to hear more about:  The big risk Emily took that failed spectacularly and what she learned from it. Identifying when you’re operating overcapacity and how to implement changes to save your sanity. Emily’s “Build” philosophy and her personal challenge to every listener out there. Favorite quotes: 1. There is a time and a place for that kind of work, for the sacrifice. If you're not balancing that work with a season of rest, of nourishment, of taking care of yourself you are absolutely going to fail. 2. I think that we have this responsibility to live our lives in a bold way, but what if we lived our lives that brought others up with us. 3. I really believe that nothing about you is to be wasted. And when you know these things about yourself, you are suddenly looking at a pile of bricks that you can use to build the life you love.4. Look at life and make a choice. What matters right now? Is it the deadline? Or is it the fact that my kids need me? Is it simply getting dinner on the table? What is it? Which ball is in the air that I cannot drop? Let me give myself permission and grace to tell everything else: not right now.   In this episode I answer this question: 1. Do you have tips and suggestions when it comes to networking? (31:54) Great things we discussed:  1. Find Emily Ley on Instagram 2. Growing Boldly: Dare to Build a Life You Love  3. Simplified Sisterhood 4. Handclap 5. Call The Midwife 6. Essentialism 7. Vinter’s Daughter 8. Interstellar  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/emilyley/

Writing It Down with Ally Fallon

Have you ever noticed how much power the simple act of putting pen to paper has? Whether we’re jotting down our to do list, writing out a prayer that’s too precious to speak, or organizing our thoughts when making a decision, writing things down signals to our brain it’s time to take action. And author Ally Fallon is here to tell us why! In her new book The Power of Writing It Down, Ally shares how writing every day can change our lives.  And she would know! She’s published over 13 books and coached hundreds of writers through storytelling workshops. And I’m so excited she’s joining me today to talk about using writing as a tool for personal growth.  We talk about the science of actually writing our prayers, words, and thoughts down and how we can remove some of the self-inflicted pressure that makes us feel stuck. She also gives us her best tips to develop a daily writing practice and reveals the #1 reason people avoid writing things down. Tune in for the whole episode to hear us talk about:  How writing things down enables you to tap into parts of your brain that are on cruise control most of the time. Being the hero of your own story and what can change when we challenge our victim mindset. The shared connection between the practice of writing and talk therapy (and how it may even help the work being done!) Favorite quotes: 1. In the modern world writing is not an option, it's a necessity, we're all doing it. And the data is really clear that a regular practice of writing can produce really meaningful and positive change in our life. 2. The fastest way to write something bad is to be like I've got to write something good. 3. Truth has a strong reputation for getting us out of ruts. When we access the truth, even if the truth is uncomfortable and we wish that weren't the truth, that's usually the thing that unlocks our path forward. 4. Great stories start with great questions. If you don't like the story you're telling, ask better questions.   In this episode I answer these questions: 1. How do you regulate the time you spend on your phone?  (43:40) Great things we discussed:  1. Ally Fallon2. The Power of Writing It Down 3. Swingin’ 4. Imposters 5. Know My Name 6. Ergobaby 360 7. Ted Lasso  8. Hymn Medley  9. Standing Strong Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :) xo, Alli  www.alliwortghington.com/allyfallon/

Parenting From a Place of Peace with Crystal Paine

We’re shifting gears this week and talking about parenting! I don’t usually cover parenting here on the show, so I invited my good friend Crystal Paine to join me.   Now, you may know her as the Money Saving Mom, but her message goes beyond good deals at the grocery store. And I’m so glad she’s with us today to talk about what it’s like to be vulnerable, especially when it comes to parenting our children.    We dive into love-centered parenting, mom guilt, and what happens when we let our kids make mistakes. She also talks about her latest book and the hard-won lessons she’s taken away from shifting from results-based parenting to a love-centered model of raising her kids.   You’re going to want to stay until the end of this episode, friends! Tune in to hear: Crystal’s journey with one of her children, who was experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts How our mental, physical and spiritual health affect our parenting styles and choices Practical tips for productive communication with your kids and how to ask for (and accept!) their feedback     Favorite quotes:   1. When we cram truth in and we continue to call out the lie and  replace it with truth, it rewires our brain. Like scripture talks about renewing our mind, it's that rewiring of the way that we've always thought that allows us to renew instead of walking in lies and letting those lies be what we lead with. It allows us to have freedom and to walk in truth, and then to live out of that truth.2. Are the words that you are saying to yourself, about yourself and letting just kind of swirl around in your brain, are those words that you would say to other people?   3. Our kids are paying attention to that life we're living before them. And that’s probably going to be the most powerful sermon we are ever going to preach to them.   4. Ultimately, I want to be able to send my kids out as adults, not dependent children. And so if I'm going to do that, I have to let go and not just create all these rules in order to protect them from never getting hurt, never having to make choices and never making mistakes.   5. How we interact with our kids affects how they view God.   In this episode I answer this business question:   Would you rather have in your team a nice fool or a reliable jerk?  (40:01)   Great things we discussed: 1. Crystal Paine: The Money Saving Mom & On Instagram @TheMoneySavingMom2. Love-Centered Parenting  3. Graves Into Gardens 4. Off The Clock5. We Were The Lucky Ones6. Laura Vanderkam’s Track Your Time 7. The Lord Of The Rings   8. God Of Israel   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/crystalpaine/

Defeating Our Doubt and Disbelief with Angie Smith

Today I’m with the hilarious, vibrant Angie Smith. She is the author of Woven: Understanding the Bible as One Seamless Story and I couldn’t be more honored to have her by my side as we talk doubt and disbelief.  We all have moments where we doubt God’s plan for us and, maybe, even wonder if He’s really even there. Certainly, a loving God wouldn’t allow us to suffer or withhold the things we most desire, right?  Friends, I’m here to tell you that doubt and disbelief happen to all of us, even the most public Christian figures, writers, and speakers. But doubt doesn’t surface because we don’t want to believe. Instead, it helps us gain clarity on what we believe in and reveals the true nature of our faith.  That’s why I’m so glad Angie is here with me today. She shares her own experience of trying to run from God during a traumatic season, how doubt affected her faith journey, and what we can do to process the guilt that sometimes comes along with disbelief.    Join us for the conversation as we talk about:  How God continues to call us, even during the most traumatic time of our lives.  How our doubt is proof that we want to be reminded that God is real.  And about that time that Angie broke into an American Airlines lounge.    Favorite quotes: 1. I feel like through the process of this I lost my dad and I found my Father again. 2. For a lot of us, the doubting doesn’t come because we don't want to believe, it comes because we so desperately want to. 3. People don’t feel smart enough to study the bible. They feel like it's all been figured out. But here's this and it's super empowering that we have access to all of these things and we can look it up. 4. I always say go into scripture with curiosity. I think that starts to uncover all of these “wait, I didn’t know” moments. Then you kind of chase that rabbit for a little bit.   Links to great things we discussed:  1. Angie Smith  and on Instagram @officialangiesmith2. Woven  3.Summer of 69 4. Africa 5. Married At First Sight 6. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality 7. EyeVac Home  8. Dunkirk  9. Promises  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/angiesmith/

Transforming Your Marriage (Not Your Spouse!) with Toni Nieuwhof

Our marriage mini-series continues this week with a question we’ve all likely asked ourselves at some point in our lives: wouldn’t I be better off alone? It’s a question that creeps up on us in moments where we feel stuck, overwhelmed and disconnected from the person that matters most.    This week, Toni Nieuwhof joins me on the show to talk about those moments of doubt, guilt and worry that affect our relationships. She has worked with hundreds of families over the years, often as a divorce attorney, and she tells us what she’s learned from those difficult experiences along with the important lessons she and her husband, Carey, have learned as they took their own marriage from unhappy to thriving.   In today’s episode, Toni shares research-driven data, real-life examples and practical tools to transform struggling relationships into healthy, safe spaces. We also chat about her book, Before You Split: Find What You Really Want for the Future of Your Marriage, and she gives her best advice for fighting for the couple instead of yourself and how the light of Christ can help us identify self-limiting beliefs.    Some of my favorite moments from our conversation include:   1. The 5:1 ratio and its importance in our interactions with our spouse, significant others, and even our children.  2. How kindness and respect are essential pillars of the family space and how we can use them to change our family dynamic. 3. How our reliance on God and those we’re in relationship with can help us become fully alive.   Favorite quotes: 1. Sometimes looking inside is scary. Or it feels painful. And yeah, there's some pain to go through, but if you can sit with it and not back away, and just move through that pain, there's just something so beautiful on the other side.2. The victim story you may be telling yourself is probably blurring your vision. 3. We had to come to the point where we could realize that the only emotions we can really try to influence or control are our own.   4. Just sit with your spouse's emotions and validate them, and accept them for what they are.  5. It's really hard when you're in the midst of the struggle to recognize just how much value your spouse has in the eyes of your child. Your child needs both of you.   Great things we discussed:  1. Toni Nieuwhof 2. Before You Split  3. Gratitude 4. Pride & Prejudice 5. Forgiving What You Can’t Forget 6. Raw Hemp Seeds 7. Window Bird Feeder  8. Titanic  9. Gladiator  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/toninieuwhof/

Rebuilding Your Marriage with Kevin Myers

Hey friends! We’re kicking off a mini-series on marriage this week, and I couldn’t be more excited to share this conversation with you!  Marriage is a beautiful and life-giving experience for many of us because we have a trusted partner by our side to celebrate the good times and weather life’s unexpected storms. But sometimes the storms can begin to overwhelm the relationship, and we can easily find ourselves in a relationship that looks nothing like it did when it began.  Today, author and 12Stone Church senior pastor Kevin Myers and I talk about tackling common marriage problems, rebuilding our relationships, and making them stronger than ever before.  We also talk about his book The Second Happy along with seven strategies to rebuild your marriage, how to use prayer to work on internal problems that help us (and our spouse!), and how to evict the elephants in your marriage.   Listen in to hear: How fighting fairly allows for intimacy in a relationship and how this intimacy helps us grow closer as a couple and with God. How to view conflict resolution through “buckets” and when to apply water on your issues instead of gas.  How God can help us with our marriage through thoughtful and intentional prayer.   Favorite quotes: 1. I think a lot of times people feel the weight of carrying both sides of the problem and you can't. You can only carry your side. 2. You realize in the life of ministry, if you're really devoted to helping people, that some things are broken that they can't fix and only God can fix. 3. Everybody in the church carries two buckets and you're either adding to harmony or conflict, but you're never neutral. 4. We tend to use marriage rather than build it, because we're trying to build so many other things in our world. 5. You cannot consistently pray over someone you love and consistently despise them.   In this episode I answer this question:   What’s your take on the law of attraction?  (36:52)   Great things we discussed:  1. Kevin Myers at 12Stone2. The Second Happy: Seven Practices To Make Your Marriage Better Than Your Honeymoon 3. Stairway to Heaven4. The Mandalorian5. Change Your World 6. Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secrets 7. Groundhog Day8. The Schuyler Sisters 9. Guns and Ships 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/kevinmyers/

How (Not) to Read the Bible with Dan Kimball

I started this podcast to create a safe space for exploring our faith, our beliefs and new ideas. Well, friends, this conversation with Dan Kimball delivers and I can’t wait for you to hear it!   Dan is an author who focuses on encouraging us to think creatively about breaking the negative stereotypes both the church and Christians face. And our conversation today is inspired by his new book, How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-women, Anti-science, Pro-violence, Pro-slavery and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture.    During our time together, we talk about the dangers of using Scripture out of context and what we can do when someone uses the Bible against us to discredit our beliefs. Dan also gives us a helpful lens to use when reconciling challenging parts of the Bible, especially violence and slavery, with our faith.    And don’t worry, we wrap up the episode with some fun talking about why Scripture is anti-shrimp, how to get a donkey into a bathtub, and if there are really unicorns hiding out in the Bible.   In this episode, Dan and I talk about: The truth of God’s character and how we can learn from everything in the Bible, including themes of violence  How information is our strongest defense when it comes to safeguarding our faith, especially for younger generations Seeing the Bible as a library instead of a science manual and how we can use it to inform our modern-day questions, but not necessarily answer them.    Favorite quotes:   1. Most Christians are not prepared to address the not-so-nice sounding bible verses. We just have to be prepared.    2. We have to know how to read our bible, the good verses and the crazy sounding verses. 3. Never read a bible verse by itself.    4. The bible was written to other people. But it was written for us so we can understand who God is.    5. We have turned the bible into a science manual trying to get our modern day questions and that wasn’t its intent. Links to great things we discussed:  1. Dan Kimball 2. How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-women, Anti-science, Pro-violence, Pro-slavery and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture3. The Fat Man4. The Chosen 5. Greenland  6. Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy With God7. Skull Socks 8. Max Richter Sleep Album 9. Standing Strong    Hope you loved this episode! Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and slap some stars on a review! :)   xo, Alli