Reverend Courtney Ellis joins Theology on Purpose to talk about navigating life's toughest transitions with honesty, gentleness, and hope. Drawing from her book Weathering Change, Courtney explores how God meets us in seasons of uncertainty through small, sustaining practices, deep self-awareness, and even the wisdom of the natural world. Tune in to be inspired by this grace-filled vision for faith that can hold anxiety, doubt, and change without rushing toward easy answers.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

• Why change often reshapes our faith—and how God meets us in that process

• Curiosity as a spiritual practice during anxiety, grief, and uncertainty

• How creation reveals God's character and invites deeper attentiveness

• "Krill-sized nourishment": small practices that sustain us in overwhelming seasons

• Reimagining spiritual practices through delight, embodiment, and everyday life

Get the show notes here: https://sarahkbutterfield.substack.com/s/podcast

Take the Connect with God quiz here: https://connectwithgodquiz.com/

Faith doesn't always look like courage. Sometimes it looks like choosing, again and again, where to fix our gaze. In this solo episode of Theology on Purpose, I reflect on a moment of fear on a snowy hill, the wisdom of Scripture—from Hebrews to the crossing of the Red Sea—and what it means to look honestly at darkness without letting it determine our direction.

Get the free download: https://sarahkbutterfield.substack.com/

In this episode of Theology on Purpose, food scholar and theologian Kendall Vanderslice joins Sarah for a conversation about food as a site of spiritual formation. Kendall shares her journey into food and theology and explores what the practice of baking bread can teach us about faith. They reflect on how spiritual growth happens not through control or performance, but through learning to trust God with the work of transformation.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What bread-making reveals about spiritual growth and trust

• Why rest is not a reward, but an act of faith

• How curiosity and joy shape a healthier life with God

• Faith as embodied, sensory, and communal

• Food, control, and fear-based cultural narratives (especially in the Trad Wife movement!)

• The table as a place of healing, resistance, and connection

Connect with Kendall here: https://kendallvanderslice.com/

Get the show notes here: https://sarahkbutterfield.substack.com/s/podcast