When it comes to the thin spaces of our lives where we are laboring to birth life,  it's difficult to overstate the power of a midwife, or wise woman, who has walked the journey before us and can offer her hope, peace, and courage along the way. For this week of advent, Katy and Tracy discuss the places where they have labored for life, and needed the guidance of another woman and where they have each gotten to provide that encouragement in the aftermath of their own hardships. With a special attention to what God has to say about the strength of a laboring mother and the hope of a midwife, this week is sacred, connective, and inspiring. Join us for  the conversation!

For journaling prompts that coincide with this episode and walk you through each day of advent, sign up at Red Tent Living [https://redtentliving.com/].

The Journey of Advent: Laboring with Joy and Grief

“Carrying” life of any kind is a personal journey for each life bearer. As we carry life within us, nurturing it until it is ready to be born into this world, we come to understand our motivations, our hopes, our fears, and our purpose in new ways. The same was true for Mary. For the second week of Advent, Katy and Tracy reflect on what carrying life meant to Mary, what shalom looks like in the world, and how we all can embrace peacemaking in our everyday lives. How might you bring shalom into the world this Christmas season?

For journaling prompts that coincide with this episode and walk you through each day of advent, sign up at Red Tent Living [https://redtentliving.com/].

The Journey of Advent: Carrying Peace with Katy Stafford and Tracy Johnson

Welcome to the first week of Advent. This is a season of waiting and anticipation: a season of leaning into the hope that God is with us and God comes to us again and again. In the coming month, Katy and Tracy reflect on what advent means for us today. Inspired by Mary's journey as a pregnant mother, we examine advent through the various stages of carrying and birthing life into the world (whether physcially or metaphorically). It's a series of Christmas conversations unlike any other, and we hope you'll join us on the journey!  *Trigger Warning* This episode engages the biblical story of Bathsheba and her experience of sexual violence.

For journaling prompts that coincide with this episode and walk you through each day of advent, sign up at Red Tent Living [https://redtentliving.com/].

The Journey of Advent: Conceiving of Hope in the Darkness with Katy Stafford and Tracy Johnson

This week, Eliza and Haley reflect on their individual journeys to embracing their call to spiritual leadership as women of color. Together, Eliza and Haley bring wisdom and grace as they share stories of navigating spaces where they have not always been welcomed or celebrated. And, they give perspective on how to keep showing up with courage, clarity, and truth, no matter the context where you are called to lead.  Kind, generous, and boldly differentiated, Eliza and Haley are a gift you won't want to miss. Tune in to their conversation on female pastoring and leadership.

For more stories from brave, ordinary women, join us at Red Tent Living [https://redtentliving.com/].

Owning Your Space: Embracing Spiritual Leadership with Eliza Bast and Haley Wiggers

To be human is to have a body. We each negotiate our relationships with our bodies: at times fraught, and at times more self-accepting. Mother/Daughter Duo Tracy and Katy reflect on their own relationships with their bodies, particularly in their current seasons of post-menopause and pregnancy. Together, they approach their bodies with curiosity and gratitude. Join them for a different kind of conversation around seeing and celebrating the body that has carried you here today.

For more stories from brave, ordinary women, join us at Red Tent Living [https://redtentliving.com/].

Honoring Your Body with Katy Stafford and Tracy Johnson

Most of us who have attended or are attending church regularly have faced questions and tensions about what it means to be a part of a body of Christian believers. Churches are spaces filled with diverse opinions and convictions about what it means to follow Jesus well and who belongs at the table of God. At their best, these diverse opinions serve to refine love for one another with gentleness and permission and growth. At their worst these convictions become weapons on power and abuse, silencing marginalized voices and those whom we demand repent or submit for what we perceive to be a God-imposed limitation or judgement on their selves. So how on earth are those of us who love Jesus to remain a part of these fraught and flawed communities? That's the question Tracy and Emily tackle together, reflecting on the various church communities they and their families have participated in over the decades.  Join in their tender searching and reflections.

For more stories from brave, ordinary women, join us at Red Tent Living [https://redtentliving.com/].

Staying in Church with Tracy Johnson and Emily Mills

Motherhood is a journey, unfolding with lessons and transformations as we care for our children and grow into the parents they need. Together, Tracy and Lyndsey reflect on their own journeys of motherhood and how profoundly their ideas of motherhood have shifted from when they initially embarked on that road to the way they mother today. Tearful, hilarious, and tender, join  this candid conversation about the lessons that motherhood has to teach us if we are brave enough to keep becoming alongside our children

Reimagining Motherhood with Tracy Johnson and Lyndsey Ribble

How often do we think of bravery as the courage to "go and do" when in reality it often takes just as much courage to choose to stay put? Therapists and mothers, Heather and Rachel share stories with each other of courageous moments when they chose to stay put. Mindful of the care they offer themselves and the stories they live out in front of their children, these two women consider the less obvious sides of bravery and kindness. Join them for this warm and inviting conversation.

For more stories from brave, ordinary women, join us at Red Tent Living [https://redtentliving.com/].

The Courage to Stay with Heather Stringer and Rachel Blackston

What are rituals and why do they matter in our everyday lives? Host Tracy Johnson sits down with therapist and ritual maker Heather Stringer to explore to power of rituals in drawing us into the present, helping us mark moments of significance, and orienting the people we love toward what's happening in our lives. Challenging our preconceptions of ritual, Tracy and Heather share a heartfelt and embodied conversation about the spiritual practices that reconnect us to the beauty of our lives.


For more stories from brave, ordinary women, join us at Red Tent Living [https://redtentliving.com/].

The Power of Ritual with Tracy Johnson and Heather Stringer

In this conversation therapist and advocate Danielle Castillejo connects with host Katy Stafford to consider how we best show solidarity for one another. Bridging their own experiences (and missteps) along their journeys of honoring difference, engaging culture and race, and owning their own impact, Katy and Danielle reflect on how solidarity begins with engaging your own story truthfully. Tune in for more of their fascinating back and forth and for the chance to think about your relationship with showing solidarity differently. 

For more stories from brave, ordinary women, join us at Red Tent Living [https://redtentliving.com/].

Sisterhood & Solidarity with Danielle Castillejo and Katy Stafford 

There's something so powerful about telling stories right from the middle of our everyday lives and having another woman affirm, "yes, I get it, and I have had those feelings too."

Join Tracy Johnson, Katy Stafford, and the beautifully ordinary women of Red Tent Living in wide ranging conversations about life, friendship, and the seasons we find ourselves in.  Together, we'll share our truths, getting honest and exchanging laughs while we practice a bit of bravery in showing up for each other.

The Red Tent Living Podcast