Returning to Joy

Welcome back to the final episode of Returning to Joy Season 4! The past several weeks have been so rich with reflections and new insights around the rest that Jesus offers, and the ways it can both heal us and empower us. In this final episode, we'll consider that simply knowing what Jesus says about rest is often not enough to keep us from being swayed by the demands and pace of the world around us. An active resilience is required, and is the kind of rest that Jesus modeled for us in the midst of everything that was set before him. We hope you enjoyed this series, and we will see you in March for Season 5! Stay in the loop by following us on social media and signing up for our newsletters at www.returningtojoy.com. Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Thanks for listening to the Returning to Joy podcast. This week's episode is an invitation to have faith again, and not just a belief in Jesus but also in his authority and his power. True rest requires a faith like the Centurion in Luke 7. One that chips away at our belief that we must always try harder and do more to accomplish anything, and one that continues to trust that at his very word, it will be done. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Welcome to this episode of Returning to Joy. This week is both an encouragement and a challenge to not only let in the light of Jesus in your life but to also bring forth that light to the darkest places. It is not only about the decision to receive the light but also a participation that God invites us into, to bring that light into the darkness of the world around us. You will hear about several impactful moments from Gabrielle's sabbatical, and the truth that the Lord put on her heart about the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness that does not overcome it. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Drawing from the work of Old Testament theologian Walter Brueggemann, Gabrielle discusses the concept of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation as seen in the Psalms and in Jesus's life. These movements symbolize the human experience of comfort, crisis, and resolution. Brueggemann’s perspective emphasizes the realness and authenticity of the Psalms, which capture raw human emotions during moments of disorientation. In this episode, Gabrielle creates a space for listeners to sit with and confront their feelings of disorientation, whether they stem from personal challenges or external sources like news headlines. She then guides listeners through Psalms 13, offering prayers and reflections between verses, encouraging those in the midst of hardship to lean on God and trust in His presence. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god and Dandelion Meditation Support the show

Thanks for tuning into this week's podcast! This episode we are continuing in our series, Sabbath Stories: Embracing Rest in a Restless World. Each episode we will unpack the sacred call to rest and renewal, as well as a practical practice to help you integrate rest rhythms into your life. This episode we'll continue to look deeper at the pilgrimage that the Israelites made, and unpack the parts of the journey that reveal something beautiful about our own journey with God. We'll touch on the idea of entering in to rest rather than receiving it, as well as consider the ways that God has intended for rest to be communal, and something we experience and share with others on our journey. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Welcome back to Season 4 of the Returning to Joy Podcast! This week we continue in our new series, Sabbath Stories: Embracing Rest in a Restless World. Each episode we will unpack the sacred call to rest and renewal, as well as a practical practice to help you integrate rest rhythms into your life. This episode we'll dive into the kind of rest that we find in Jesus, and the freedom in it that He calls us and those around us to enter into. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Welcome to Season 4 of the Returning to Joy Podcast! This week we continue with our new series, Sabbath Stories: Embracing Rest in a Restless World. Each episode we will unpack the sacred call to rest and renewal, as well as a practical practice to help you integrate rest rhythms into your life. This episode's key concept: Rest is Resistance. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Welcome to Season 4 of the Returning to Joy Podcast! This week we are kicking off a new series, Sabbath Stories: Embracing Rest in a Restless World. Each episode will unpack the sacred call to rest and renewal, as well as a practical practice to help you integrate these rest rhythms into your life. This episode we sit down with Rosalind Hervey - a friend, mentor, and a spiritual mother to many in our community. She will help us unpack what it means to embrace our identity as children of God, and the ways that God can meet us in seasons of fear, confusion or distress. She will also share some practices that can help open our hearts to the ways God may want to shape our perspective on the world and how we engage it. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Thank you for tuning in to Part 2 of our conversation with Taylor Rogers, Executive Director of Wildfire Network. Wildfire Network is a community that exists to help the dreams of Jesus come true— in and through His people. In this episode, we'll continue our conversation about reimagining the church as we know it. We'll begin to dive into not only alternative metaphors and ways of understanding the church we are striving to be, but why it's important to have these conversations in order to connect with one another and with Christ. It's in those spaces of unity and connection with the body of Christ, that we really experience healing, justice, and restoration. This episode wraps up Season 3 of the Returning to Joy podcast. Thank you for journeying with us, and stay tuned for our comeback in August with some exciting episodes in Season 4. Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

In our world today, "church" has become synonymous with a building, an institution, or a religious gathering. However, as we delve into the origins of the word "Ekklesia", that has often been translated to the word "church", we uncover a much more profound and transformative concept. Taylor Rogers is the executive director of Wildfire Network, a community that exists to spark and sustain the calling of God in the lives of believers by providing free services to help the new dreams that JESUS was planting to take flight. In this episode, Taylor will share some of what he has learned about being the kind of church modeled by Jesus and being able to see miracles of all kinds when we do so. Tune in for our next episode to hear Part 2 of this conversation with Taylor around reimagining the church as we know it. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Thanks for joining us for this special episode of Returning to Joy. In this episode, we’ll sit down with Gabrielle’s mother, Denise Leonard. In a season that has felt tumultuous and challenging for Gabrielle and her family, Denise has shared a word from the Lord that we want to share with the listeners today. When God is preparing us for a new thing He is bringing into our lives, and when we transition into a new season with the birth of something new in front of us, it often doesn’t feel good. It can sometimes be painful, confusing, intense, difficult… But God is graceful, and there is wisdom to be gleaned from looking at the actual process of childbirth. Denise will walk us through this and more, and will send us with a mother’s prayer. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Thanks for tuning into this week’s podcast. In this episode, we’ll hear from Mashaun Hirschler, Mission Leader of T.H.U.G.G.I.N for Christ - a ministry that is aimed at serving those who are stuck on the streets. While mindful of the complicated psychological and sociological factors that contribute to addiction and homelessness, they seek to address the 'whole person' in Jesus’ Name. You will hear some of Mashaun’s story, and his radical transformation because of Jesus. He was called out of the street, and now has been called back to serve those who are still trapped. He also shares some invaluable wisdom about modeling the way of Jesus by meeting and loving people where they are at, no matter what their situation may look like. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

This episode is a continued conversation with John Garland, pastor of the San Antonio Mennonite Church and Chaplain of the Interfaith Welcome Coalition. As you heard in the previous episode, much of his work and mission is dedicated to displaced and marginalized families in his area. As a result, he often has to confront questions that we would do well to consider for ourselves - questions of justice, division, action - and how can we be sure we’re doing the right thing? Together we’ll wrestle with some of these questions, and learn about ways that we can be aligned with God’s heart for those in need, and also how we can sustain in this work by recognizing our participation in God’s miracles around us. To learn more about Pastor John Garland, visit his page on the SAMC website: https://www.sanantoniomennonite.org/our-pastors Support the show

John Garland is the pastor of the San Antonio Mennonite Church and Chaplain of the Interfaith Welcome Coalition. John pastors from the discipline of “no action without prayer, no prayer without action.” His applied theology interprets Christianity as a trauma-transforming faith movement, he reads Scripture as divinely inspired through and for traumatized communities, and he understands hospitality, story, and prayer-centered community as the most powerful tools of healing. In this episode, we’ll hear about why it’s important to consider scripture from a lens other than our own, as well as how we can practice hospitality and why it’s crucial to the mission of God. You’ll hear stories, encouragements, and meaningful lessons from Pastor John’s journey walking alongside the displaced and asylum seeking communities around him. To learn more about Pastor John Garland, visit his page on the SAMC website: https://www.sanantoniomennonite.org/our-pastors - New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Often in our culture and especially in the Western church, we tend to describe God in abstract terms and with intangible qualities, and can even find ourselves desiring information about God rather than a testimony about our relationship with Him. But the Lord is real and moving around us in ways we can know with our senses. He is speaking and revealing Himself to you in a unique way, and there are concrete truths about God that you have a personal witness to. So today, ask yourself, who has God been to you? What concrete descriptions about God are true and tangible to you? It’s these qualities and truths that unlock the potential for firm foundations in your journey with Jesus and your identity in Him. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show! Support the show

Welcome to Season 3, friends! Thanks for tuning in. Our gaze should always be toward Jesus, but we must ask ourselves what version of Jesus are we trying to focus on? Are we worshipping the fullness of who He is, or are we trying to push attention towards a comfortable version of Him while ignoring the very brokenness He was sent to restore in the world? This is what we'll be diving into in today's episode. New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show Support the show

Beloveds, I've got good news! God's power isn't limited by your capability to anticipate or perceive His goodness. When you can't even imagine better, and your eyes can't see God's faithfulness on the horizon. You can rest assured in the truth that He is still able to do exceedingly more. In this episode, let's dive into this truth together. Scriptures Mentioned: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, Ephesians 3:20 NIV I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 NIV Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6 ESV (That word Mercy is talking about the Steadfast Love of God) Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. Colossians 3:16 Let the sunrise of your love end our dark night. Break through our clouded dawn again! Only you can satisfy our hearts, filling us with songs of joy to the end of our days. We’ve been overwhelmed with grief; come now and overwhelm us with gladness. Replace our years of trouble with decades of delight. Psalm 90:14-15 TPT The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Isaiah 40:8 NIV For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. Psalm 107:9 ESV I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord , the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalms 121:1-8 NIV Letter from the host: Dear Beloveds, Reflecting on and responding to the faithful and intelligent love of God has been therapeutic to my mind, heart, and body! I vulnerably share because I want you to experience the joy of authentic connection with Jesus, yourself, and others. Growth happens at the point of connection. Thank you for trusting me with this connection! I'm glad to be with you! With joy, Gabrielle Michelle New episodes Bi-weekly! On Wednesdays! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

Are you feeling stuck? Is there a lack of clarity on how to move forward? Does it seem like there are impenetrable barriers between where you are and what God has promised for you? You are not alone! So many people who trust the Lord are uncertain right now. They feel like they are wandering aimlessly with no direction and no leader. Yet, Christ has not abandoned you. In this episode, Gabrielle is preaching on why the moment you're in right now feels so intense and why it feels like you're shut in with no pathway forward. Scriptures Mentioned: "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle." Exodus 13:17-18 ESV "Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so." Exodus 14:1-4 ESV Letter from the host: Dear Beloveds, Reflecting on and responding to the faithful and intelligent love of God has been therapeutic to my mind, heart, and body! I vulnerably share because I want you to experience the joy of authentic connection with Jesus, yourself, and others. Growth happens at the point of connection. Thank you for trusting me with this connection! I'm glad you're here! With joy, Gabrielle Michelle New episodes on Wednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

We've got a special guest! Executive Director of Wildfire Network, Taylor Rogers, steps behind the mic to interview Gabrielle Leonard, Director of Returning to Joy. In this episode you'll hear her heart and the why behind the ministry of Returning to Joy. Letter from the host: Dear Beloveds, Reflecting on and responding to the faithful and intelligent love of God has been therapeutic to my mind, heart, and body! I vulnerably share because I want you to experience the joy of authentic connection with Jesus, yourself, and others. Growth happens at the point of connection. Thank you for trusting me with this connection! I'm glad you're here! With joy, Gabrielle Michelle New episodes onWednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show

In this episode Gabrielle has the pleasure of sitting down with Chandler Merritt for a conversation on vulnerability. Chandler is an administrative genius but more importantly she is an incredible human who has uniquely learned the role vulnerability plays in strengthening and securing her. You don't want to miss the visual picture she paints for how the process of being vulnerable fortifies the truth about our past and helps us move forward with new perspective and healing. Letter from the host: Dear Beloveds, Reflecting on and responding to the faithful and intelligent love of God has been therapeutic to my mind, heart, and body! I vulnerably share because I want you to experience the joy of authentic connection with Jesus, yourself, and others. Growth happens at the point of connection. Thank you for trusting me with this connection! I'm glad to be with you! With joy, Gabrielle Michelle New episodes onWednesdays! Bi-weekly! Thanks for subscribing and leaving a review! Please feel free to share with your family and friends. Website: https://www.returningtojoy.com/ For more frequent encouragement follow us on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/returningtojoypodcast/ Music by AG (Affirming Grace) @agmusic4god Support the show Support the show