Unlocking Joy After Grief | Christian Grief Support, Life After Child Loss, Bereavement, Hope and Healing for Grieving Moms
Does the thought of having to live in a world without your child cripple you? Do you lay awake at night with the ”what if’s” and the ”why’s” constantly playing in your mind, wondering if you’ll ever feel peace again? Does everything seem hard, even the little things? Do you just want someone to understand how you feel? I see you friend. In this podcast you will find the hope you’re looking for, the healing you’re longing for, and the key to living again after losing your child, all through the only way it’s possible - Jesus. Hi, I’m Courtney. Wife and mama to 6 kiddos, 1 in heaven waiting for us - and that’s why I’m here. I lost my precious 4 year old son, Sam, in 2017 and the pain and grief that instantly took over was crippling. Everything I went through after that horrific night threatened to consume me. But here I am. Years have passed. And the ONLY.WAY. I made it through was Jesus. His strength and his love carried me through a time that I could NOT have carried myself. His goodness and faithfulness were my life preservers that kept me from drowning. The hope and healing I was searching for was found in him. And it’s my joy to share with you everything this journey has taught me so far. Get ready for encouragement for your faith, tactical tips in dealing with your grief, finding hope and healing for your shattered heart, and learning how to live again. If you are screaming YES to not having to walk this road alone and letting Jesus carry you through, then I’m ready to lace up my shoes and begin walking this road with you. Learn ＞＞ www.unlockingjoy.com Connect ＞＞ courtney@unlockingjoy.com Facebook ＞＞ @unlockingjoy Instagram ＞＞ @unlockingjoy Get to know God’s Character with this Free 30 day Scripture Calendar ＞＞ www.unlockingjoy.com/godscharacter
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Episodes
Thursday Sep 05, 2024
Thursday Sep 05, 2024
A few years back I had a fresh revelation of a very familiar story in the Bible. This story reminds us how Jesus meets us in the hardest moments and offers us something incredible in return.
He doesn’t leave us alone in this messy life, but is so close to us.
If you're looking for hope and a reminder of Jesus' constant presence in your life, this episode is for you.
🔗Links Mentioned in Episode:
How Close is God in Your Grief? 4 Ways He Shows Us He's Near
4 Ideas to Breathe New Life Into Your Daily Quiet Time
My Easy Three Step Quiet Time With God Routine
✨Free Resources:
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
Find Your Lifesaver Verse
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
There’s a verse that has been such a big part of my grief journey. I have felt the promise that this verse gives us over and over again.
However, recently I heard a different take on this verse that blew me away. I couldn’t wait to share it with you.
In this episode, we dive into the closeness of the Father in our grief, and I bring you 4 ways you can know that he’s near.
✨Free Resources:
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
Find Your Lifesaver Verse
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Thursday Aug 08, 2024
Feeling peace in the middle of your grief can seem impossible. However, when we look in the Bible it’s full of promises of peace that we can claim over our grief and pain and sadness.
I’ve experienced this peace in my own grief journey, the peace that doesn’t make sense.
In today’s episode, I share a time that I felt this peace. And then we’ll go into what peace is and how you can claim it in your own grief journey.
🔗Links Mentioned in Episode:
Yes and Amen worship song
Blog Post: 15 Bible Verses About Peace in Hard Times
✨Free Resources:
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
Find Your Lifesaver Verse
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
The journey of rediscovering who you are after losing your child is such a process. And it can seem overwhelming.
In today’s episode, I break down how to start this journey into two phases with steps that you can start taking today in the process of rediscovering the new you after child loss.
This is such a process, friend. It won’t happen overnight, but I know you can begin the journey of discovering who you are again, the new you, partnered with Jesus.
🔗Links Mentioned in Episode:
Sign up to be on my email list
Grief Share
While We’re Waiting Facebook group
✨Free Resources:
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
Find Your Lifesaver Verse
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy
Thursday Jul 25, 2024
Thursday Jul 25, 2024
We all know how powerful God’s word is, especially in helping us make it through our grief journey. But why? Why is it so powerful?
In this episode, I go into 4 reasons why God’s word has so much power and how you can use it to help you make it through hard situations that come up in your life and in your grief journey.
🔗Links Mentioned in Episode:
Find Your Lifesaver Verse
✨Free Resources:
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy
Thursday Jul 18, 2024
Thursday Jul 18, 2024
Grief affects us in so many different ways - emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually. Our entire being is affected.
I believe there are certain things we need to prioritize in our healing journey. Today I’m bringing you 4 things to prioritize. While these aren’t the only 4 things, I wanted to bring these to you today as I think they are some important ones.
These things can help bring healing to your heart and your body, and will help you learn how to start living again after walking through such deep loss.
🔗Links Mentioned in Episode:
4 Ideas to Breathe New Life Into Your Daily Quiet Time
Easy Three Step Quiet Time With God Routine
Why You Need a Bible Study Basket - And How to Make One!
Bible App
3 Ways Walking Outside Can Play a Role in Your Healing Journey
✨Free Resources:
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
Find Your Lifesaver Verse
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy
Thursday Jul 11, 2024
Thursday Jul 11, 2024
Our child’s heaven anniversary is the hardest day of the year. The day our babies left this earth and went to heaven is a no good, awful day. So how are you supposed to make it through?
I recently went through my Sam’s heaven anniversary and I made it through the day. So I wanted to make this episode to share with you what I did to give you some ideas on how to make it through your child’s next heaven anniversary.
I pray that as you have to face this day, that you’ll feel Jesus and your child so very close to you. And I pray that these tips will give you some tactical things you can do to get through the day.
🔗Links Mentioned in Episode:
FREE Download: Find Your Lifesaver Verse
✨Free Resources:
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
Fear is one of the emotions I have really struggled with after losing Sam. If you struggle with fear as well, you know how crippling it can be.
But God has not left us to deal with this emotion on our own! He’s equipped us with things we can do, weapons we can use, against our fears.
In this episode, I go into what causes our fear (and no, it’s not the situation that causes the fear), how we can overcome that fear, and some truth we can speak into our fear.
🔗Links Mentioned in Episode:
FREE Download: 15 Bible Verses to Help You Overcome Your Fear
✨Free Resources:
Find Your Lifesaver Verse
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy
Thursday Jun 27, 2024
Thursday Jun 27, 2024
Throughout my own grief journey, I’ve received advice that just didn’t fit after losing Sam. This type of grief that we’re having to walk through, the grief of losing a child, is just not right. It shouldn’t be this way.
And so the “typical” advice that we might receive just doesn’t apply to us as grieving moms.
In this episode I bring you 4 pieces of advice that you might receive that doesn’t work in our situations. And then I give you what DOES work instead.
🔗Links Mentioned in Episode:
FREE 31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar Bundle
Ep 39 | 5 Things I Did to Bring Joy to my Life After Losing my Child
Ep 28 | Finding the Joy of the Lord in Your Grief Journey
Ep 17 | The Power of Distractions in Your Grief Journey
✨Free Resources:
Find Your Lifesaver Verse
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy
Thursday Jun 20, 2024
Thursday Jun 20, 2024
Summer is here! Summer is a great time to make memories with your family. And as we all know, memories are so precious. Memories are things we can hold on to for years and years to come.
However, most of the time memories won’t just happen - we have to be intentional in planning for them!
I don’t want you to get to the end of your summer and realize you let the time slip by without taking the time to make memories with your family.
That’s what this episode is about. I give you some tips on planning things to do this summer, plus some ideas of things you can do - both if you have little kids and if you don’t.
Here’s to making a summer full of memories!
🔗Links Mentioned in Episode:
Ep. 22 | Stop the Scroll! A Step-by-Step Plan to Reduce Social Media Usage
Ep. 37 | 3 Ways Walking Outside Can Play a Role in Your Healing Journey
✨Free Resources:
Find Your Lifesaver Verse
31 Days of God’s Character Scripture Calendar
💚Connect With Me:
Learn >> www.unlockingjoy.com
Connect >> courtney@unlockingjoy.com
Instagram >> @unlockingjoy