I’ve Been Struggling… When Life feels Hard & God feels Far

Happy & Healthy with Jeanine Amapola

That Sounds Fun Network

Christianity, Self-improvement, Education, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome back to Happy & Healthy! I didn't post an episode two weeks ago, and when I asked y’all what you wanted, so many of you just said “we wanna hear what’s going on in your life!” So here it is!I cover a lot in this one — from feeling like I’m in a wilderness season, to navigating postpartum life, finding a church in Oklahoma, and struggling to hear God’s voice — this episode is in a real way, my heart poured out. If you’ve ever felt lonely, confused about where God is leading, or just overwhelmed by change, I hope my vulnerability encourages you wherever you're at today. 💛 I also talk about what I look for in a church, the importance of community, slowing down, and how I’m learning to truly savor this slower season of life with Duke. Let’s be real — motherhood is hard, but it’s also the most beautiful, sanctifying journey ever. Love y’all so much — thanks for being here and allowing me to be so honest. God’s still moving, even when it’s quiet. 🙏 In This Episode 00:00 – Struggling to Hear God + Life Update 04:00 – Postpartum, Motherhood, and Adjusting to a Slower Life 10:00 – Community, Church Hunting, and Making Friends in Oklahoma 15:00 – What I Look for in a Church + Spiritual Discernment 24:00 – Wilderness Season, Feeling Distant, and Choosing Gratitude 38:00 – Being Bold in Faith + Sharing the Gospel in Real Life 47:00 – Encouragement for Moms, Purpose, and Trusting God's Timing Mentioned Resources Find Your People by Jennie Allen 40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life by Tommy Newberry OUR SPONSORS Betterhelp: Our listeners get 10% off their first month at - ⁠⁠⁠betterhelp.com/happyhealthy⁠⁠⁠ Function: Function gives you a near-360 view of your health, and my followers get a $100 credit toward membership. Just go to ⁠⁠⁠functionhealth.com/HAPPY⁠⁠⁠ or use gift code HAPPY100 at sign-up to start owning your health today. Our Place: Go to ⁠⁠⁠fromourplace.com/HEALTHY⁠⁠⁠ and use code HEALTHY for 10% off sitewide. Ritual: Get 25% off your first month at ⁠⁠ritual.com/HEALTHY. ⁠⁠ NIV Bible App: You can save an extra 10% on any NIV Application Bible or NIV Application Commentary resource by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠faithgateway.com/ NIVAB⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and using code HEALTHY at checkout. Boll & Branch: Get 15% off plus free shipping on your first set of sheets at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BollAndBranch.com/HAPPYANDHEALTHY.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Brooklyn Bedding: Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠brooklynbedding.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and use my promo code HEALTHY at checkout to get 30% off sitewide. Knowing God’s Voice: ⁠⁠⁠It's available now⁠⁠⁠ everywhere books are sold, so grab your copy today! If you’d like to partner with Jeanine as a sponsor for the Happy & Healthy podcast, fill out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Advertise With Us⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ form! Follow us on Instagram!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy and Healthy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jeanine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jeanine and Kaleb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on TikTok! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Happy and Healthy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jeanine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Say hello to the next generation of Zendesk AI agents, built to deliver resolutions for everyone. Loved by over 10,000 companies, Zendesk AI agents easily deploy in minutes to resolve 30% of interactions instantly. That's the Zendesk AI effect. Find out more at Zendesk.com. I didn't really know I was struggling with this, but I am. I'm not going to lie, there's been nights where I have cried to Caleb. See, now I'm getting emotional again. I do have people ask me a lot, like, what do you look for in a church? I feel like I've been having a really hard time just like hearing the Lord. Why I want to talk about this is because it's so easy to look online and look at Christian influencers or pastors and be like, they must hear from God all the time. That's just not realistic. And that's not my season right now. The wilderness season, it just feels so hard. And it feels so like, God, what are you doing? Someone was like, oh, Jesus is coming back on September 23rd. And I'm like, what? Scripture has convicted me so many times. And sometimes I'll be writing it and I'll be be talking about forgiveness and I'm like, oh, whether you're struggling with all the things I talked
0:57.8	about, struggling to hear the voice of God or moving to a new city or trying to find friends or
1:01.0	identity or motherhood, God is bigger than all of them. Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
1:06.6	And the answer is no.
1:14.3	What's it, everybody?
1:15.5	And welcome back to happy and healthy.
1:17.8	I'm your host, Janine Amapola Ward.
1:19.8	If you are new here, welcome.
1:21.7	I post every single Tuesday.
1:23.9	And this is a Christian podcast, but also just a podcast just to kind of help better yourself to know how to navigate struggles in life, just God's way, practically.
1:32.3	And I try to open up about my own stuff, just share kind of what's been going on in my life. And that's really what today's episode's going to be about. But I do bring on guests and talk about a variety of different things here. So I hope you guys will stick around.
1:43.3	This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. October 10th is World Mental Health Day, and I'm so
1:48.3	excited to be taking the opportunity to say thank you to therapists. Honestly, when I think
1:53.1	about the moments that have impacted me the most in my own therapy journey, it's the little
1:56.6	things. Like when my therapist asked just the right questions that made me feel so seen or seeing my different situation, like when my therapist asked just the right questions that made me feel so seen or seen my
2:01.3	different situation. Like when my therapist asked just the right questions that made me see my
2:05.3	situation differently or when I finally felt like I could just cry and let it all out without
2:09.1	being judged. Those are the moments that change you. Better Help therapists have helped over
2:13.0	5 million people around the world take steps forward like that. Behind every one of those stories
2:16.9	is a therapist who showed up, listened, and cared. And the best part, BetterHelp makes finding the right therapist so easy. They do the hard work for you of matching you based on your needs. And if you're not vibing with your first match, you can switch at any time. So if something's been keeping you up at night or you just want to grow in a healthy way, consider giving therapy a try. This World Mental Health Day, we're celebrating the therapists who've helped millions take a step forward. If you're ready to find the right therapist for you, BetterHelp can help you start that journey. Our listeners get 10% off the first month at BetterHelp.com slash happy healthy. That's BetterHelp, h-E-L-P.com slash happy healthy. And if you were returning, welcome back to today's episode. I'm really excited about today's episode because I didn't post an episode two weeks ago, and when I didn't, I posted on the Happy and Healthy page, which you guys should go check out because we do a lot of encouraging stuff on there. We do a lot of quotes and working on a lot of encouragement, scripture, carousel. So go check out the
3:08.2	podcast page. But I asked you guys what you wanted to see. And everyone said just an episode of you just catching up with us and sharing what's been going on in your life. And so that's what today's episode is going to be. I'm going to just try to be honest and real and raw, share what's been going on, share some postpartum thoughts, you know, live currently in Oklahoma, being bold in my faith.
3:27.5	Just some things I've been struggling. in real and raw, share what's been going on, share some postpartum thoughts, you know,
	...

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