She Rises: Faith, Freedom and Order for Christian Women

Johanne Hewlett
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The podcast for Christian women who are tired of survival mode and hungry for something deeper than cultural narratives. Rooted in Scripture and a biblical worldview, She Rises helps you renew the mind, resist pressure-driven living, and build peaceful, Christ-centred rhythms for real life. This is grounded, truth-forward encouragement for women navigating life with faith, clarity, and hope. Hosted by Johanne Hewlett, author and founder of She Rises. FREE devotional: johewlettauthor.com/free-devotional Ministry: johewlettauthor.com/ministry/she-rises https://ko-fi.com/johannehewlett

  1. 4d ago

    #81 The Ways We Learn to Survive — and Why They Can Be So Hard to Let Go Of

    Last week, I introduced you to more of the girl I was. This week, we're looking underneath her story. What did her mind and body learn to do with the things she couldn't understand? For me, survival appeared in ways I didn't recognise for decades: compulsive nail biting, rituals, shutting down into overwhelming sleep, anger, self-blame, seeking care indirectly, being indispensable and constantly trying to fix myself. I simply thought these things proved something was wrong with me. Therapy eventually helped me ask a different question: What were these behaviours trying to do for me? In this deeply personal episode, we explore: • Why survival strategies develop in the first place • The childhood compulsions and rituals I couldn't explain • Biting my nails until they bled and wrapping my fingers in sellotape • Why simply stopping a behaviour may not address what sits beneath it • The strange way the emergency can end while the survival strategy stays • My years of overwhelming sleepiness and what therapy later suggested about shutdown • How receiving care through illness became emotionally complicated • Why being useful and indispensable can become tied to worth • How the “good girl” can grow into the adult people-pleaser • Control and the attempt to create safety • Why ordinary family life sometimes triggered disproportionate anger in me • The difference between understanding behaviour and excusing harm • Why shame didn't change me • Responsibility without self-hatred • How survival patterns can become part of our identity • Why boundaries, rest, vulnerability and asking for help can initially feel unsafe • The difference between what needs repentance and what needs compassion • How independence and invisibility can both become forms of armour • Four questions to help you gently explore one pattern in your own life Memoir: Everything But the Past: A Family, a Secret and the Courage to Break the Pattern is available through my website www.johewlettauthor.com Scripture: Psalm 34:18, Romans 12:2, Isaiah 43:18–19, John 8:36 With love, Jo x

    #81 The Ways We Learn to Survive — and Why They Can Be So Hard to Let Go Of

  2. Sep 30

    #80 The Girl Before the Woman: How Our Past Shapes More Than We Realise

    For years, I looked at the woman I'd become and asked what was wrong with me. I rarely asked about the girl who came before her. The child who learned to be good and stay out of trouble. Who experienced abuse she couldn't understand. Who learned to keep things quiet. Who was bullied at twelve and began measuring her body, clothes, voice and laugh against other girls. Who later believed changing her appearance might finally make her feel enough. These experiences looked like separate chapters for decades. Eventually, I began seeing the threads between them. In this deeply personal episode of She Rises, I'm sharing parts of my story from Everything But the Past — not because I expect another woman's childhood to look like mine, but because she may recognise some of the conclusions I carried into adulthood. We talk about: • How a childhood can contain both genuine love and painful experiences • Becoming the “good girl” • Childhood sexual abuse and the shame a child can wrongly carry • How silence and self-editing became familiar • The story of a lost tube of Lypsyl and why the size of my panic matters to me now • Being bullied at twelve and learning to make myself smaller • Measuring my voice, clothes, body and laugh against other girls • Why running became a place where my body finally felt right • Having breast implants at eighteen and believing fixing my body might fix me • The humiliating restaurant encounter with my former school bullies • How usefulness and being needed became tied to value • Growing into an adult while part of me still felt thirteen • Why criticism became evidence that something was fundamentally wrong with me • Therapy, responsibility and learning to see my younger self differently • Childhood beliefs another woman may recognise even when her story is completely different • Why understanding the past doesn't require blaming it • How faith helped me separate what shaped me from who I actually am Memoir: Everything But the Past: A Family, a Secret and the Courage to Break the Pattern is available through my website www.johewlettauthor.com Scripture: Psalm 139:13–16, Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 43:18–19 With love, Jo x

    #80 The Girl Before the Woman: How Our Past Shapes More Than We Realise

  3. Sep 23

    #79 When Is It Fear — and When Is It Discernment? What My Own Story Taught Me

    Something doesn't feel right. Is that God warning you? Genuine discernment? Anxiety? An old fear being activated? Or simply a feeling that needs more information? That distinction hasn't always been easy for me. Growing up, I learned to read rooms, notice moods and adjust myself around other people. Later, therapy helped me understand both how those patterns had shaped me and how years of doubting my own perception had affected my ability to trust myself. In this episode, I'm bringing those lessons together with the themes of Armed & Anchored to explore what healthy biblical discernment can look like. We talk about: • Why fear and discernment can begin with the same uneasy feeling • The difference between noticing something and immediately drawing a conclusion • Why urgency can be a clue that fear is driving us • Why discernment isn't simply “trusting your gut” • Learning to take your perceptions seriously without assuming they're infallible • How awareness can tip into anxiety • Why patterns matter more than isolated moments • The difference between discomfort and danger • Why feeling peaceful doesn't automatically mean something is right • Receiving wise counsel without outsourcing responsibility • How your past can affect the way you interpret situations • Five questions to help separate observation, fear and wisdom • Helping children learn to notice feelings without being ruled by them Free resource: Download the Armed & Anchored workbook free through my website www.johewlettauthor.com You can also find Armed & Anchored and my memoir, Everything But the Past, through my website: www.johewlettauthor.com Scripture: James 1:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Proverbs 3:5–6, 2 Timothy 1:7 With love, Jo

    #79 When Is It Fear — and When Is It Discernment? What My Own Story Taught Me

  4. Sep 16

    #78 Truth Before Peace: The Lesson I Had to Learn the Hard Way

    For years, I thought keeping the peace was one of the kindest things I could do. Don't upset people. Smooth things over. Make allowances. Forgive. Move on. But eventually I learned that peace which requires truth to be hidden, softened or denied isn't really peace at all. In this episode of She Rises, I'm revisiting one of the central themes of Armed & Anchored — truth — through the lens of what I've learned in my own life. We explore: • Why outward calm isn't necessarily genuine peace • How we learn to self-edit in relationships • Why truth is foundational to stability • The difference between feelings being real and being authoritative • Why truth sometimes makes things feel worse before they get better • The limitations of “my truth” • How compassion can become distorted when it requires us to deny harm • Why clarity isn't cruelty • The cost of keeping peace at any price • Boundaries, reconciliation and truth • What children learn when adults avoid disagreement • Why truth must also be allowed to confront us • Four questions to help identify whether you're protecting peace or avoiding truth Free resource: Download the free Armed & Anchored workbook through my website www.johewlettauthor.com You can also find both Armed & Anchored and my memoir, Everything But the Past, through my website www.johewlettauthor.com Scripture: Ephesians 6:14, Ephesians 4:15, John 14:6, John 17:17

    #78 Truth Before Peace: The Lesson I Had to Learn the Hard Way

  5. Sep 9

    #77 Armed & Anchored Revisited: Does Your Faith Hold When Life Gets Hard?

    It's easy to feel spiritually steady when life is going well. But what happens to our faith when circumstances change, prayers seem unanswered, fear rises or we simply don't know what happens next? In this episode of She Rises, I'm revisiting Armed & Anchored and exploring what steady faith actually looks like under pressure. Strong faith isn't the absence of fear, emotion or questions. Sometimes it's being deeply shaken and continuing to return to what is true. We talk about: • Why strong faith doesn't always feel strong • What the shield of faith teaches us about pressure • Why faith can't be built around the outcome we want • The difference between optimism and trust • What “standing firm” actually looks like • Why urgency makes discernment harder • How slowing down can be an act of faith • The quiet, ordinary ways faith is tested • Why spiritual formation happens before the crisis • The difference between discernment and anxiety • What children learn from watching us handle pressure • Faithfulness versus trying to control the outcome • Three questions to help you return to steadiness when life feels difficult Free resource: Download the free Armed & Anchored workbook through my website and work through the reflection questions at your own pace. www.johewlettauthor.com Armed & Anchored: A 7-Week Guide to Reclaiming Biblical Clarity, Discernment and Steady Faith in a Confused World is also available through my website. www.johewlettauthor.com Scripture: Ephesians 6:13, Ephesians 6:16, Isaiah 26:3, 2 Timothy 1:7

    #77 Armed & Anchored Revisited: Does Your Faith Hold When Life Gets Hard?

  6. Sep 2

    #76 Why I Finally Wrote the Story I Never Thought I’d Tell

    After 75 episodes of She Rises, I’m sharing something morepersonal than ever before: my memoir, Everything But the Past: A Family, a Secret and the Courage to Break the Pattern. In some ways, this book began long before I understood thestory I would eventually tell. From around the age of nine, I carried a deep sense that one day I would write a book. Years later, as my faith grew, that quiet conviction became something I believed God was repeatedly asking me toobey — even when I doubted whether my story mattered or whether anyone would want to read it. For years, I also believed strength meant moving on.Difficult things had happened in childhood, but I thought they were dealt with and safely in the past. Eventually I learned that acknowledging the past is not thesame as living in it. In this episode, I share why I finally became willing to look back, how therapy challenged the story I had told myself about who I was, and why I chose to tell something so personal publicly. I also talk about growing up in an era — and a family —where difficult things were often left unspoken, brushed aside or carried quietly. Part of my reason for telling this story is the hope that another woman might recognise herself, not necessarily in what happened to me, but in what happened afterwards. We talk about: The childhood sense that one day I would write a bookWhy obedience sometimes comes before confidenceWhy “moving on” isn’t always the same as healing The difference between what’s wrong with me? and what shaped me? Shame, self-editing and survival patterns Growing up around silence and things that weren’t talked about Why understanding the past isn’t the same as blaming itWhy another woman might recognise herself in the aftermath Truth, family and boundaries Faith, restoration and learning to live differently Scripture: Isaiah 61:3 Everything But the Past is available now through my ⁠website⁠ or ⁠Amazon⁠. https://www.johewlettauthor.com/ https://amzn.eu/d/05HzrlgV https://a.co/d/08pJsBy5 With love, Jo #SheRisesPodcast #EverythingButThePast #ChristianWomen #ChristianMemoir #FaithAndHealing #BreakingGenerationalPatterns #TraumaHealing #BeautyFromAshes

  7. Aug 26

    A Little Holiday Pause… and Something Is Coming

    This week's episode of She Rises is a little different. I'm recording this one while I'm away on holiday, so consider it a little pause in the middle of everything — a chance to step away from the usual routine, breathe, and think about what God might be doing in the quieter seasons of our lives. But there is another reason I wanted to record this episode. Something has been happening behind the scenes at She Rises. Something I've been working towards for a very long time. And next week, I'm finally going to be able to tell you about it. I can't tell you everything yet…But I can tell you that I'm excited, slightly terrified, incredibly grateful — and very ready to share it with you. In this episode, I talk about: • Why sometimes we need to step away from the usual rhythm of life • The things that happen behind the scenes before anyone sees the finished result • Learning to trust God with the next step rather than needing the whole plan • Why we sometimes confuse being ready with being certain • What God might be asking you to do in this season • And a little teaser for something very special coming next week A question for you Is there something you've been putting off because you're waiting to feel completely ready? Perhaps instead of asking God to show you the whole plan, you could simply ask:“What's my next step?” Sometimes that's enough. Next week… I'm finally going to tell you what I've been working on. And I can't wait. Thank you for being here, for listening, and for being part of She Rises. I'll see you next week. #SheRisesPodcast #ChristianWomen #Faith #ChristianLiving #WomenOfFaith #FaithJourney #NewChapter

  8. Aug 19

    #75 How to Stay Faithful When Life Feels Quiet

    When there is no obvious breakthrough, fresh instruction, dramatic shift, or visible progress, we may begin to wonder whether God is still working. In this final episode of the Vision & Courage series, Johanne speaks to the woman living in the hidden, ordinary places of faithfulness: the same kitchen, the same prayers, the same responsibilities, and the same quiet obedience. Drawing attention to the hidden years of Jesus, this episode gently challenges the belief that visible movement is the only evidence of purpose. For Christian mums, this matters deeply. So much of the holy work of home, motherhood, marriage, caregiving, and spiritual formation does not photograph well. Yet God sees the prayers whispered in tiredness, the gentle answer, the boundary held, the meal made, the child comforted, and the obedience repeated. This episode is a calm reminder that ordinary life is not a waiting room for your real calling. It is often the very place where faith is formed, holiness is practised, and deep roots grow. Quietness is not absence. Hidden does not mean forgotten. Faithfulness still matters. Scripture “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” Colossians 3:23 Reflection Questions Where does my life feel quiet at the moment? Have I interpreted quietness as absence, failure, or lack? What hidden obedience might God be asking me to value again? Am I waiting for life to feel more purposeful before living faithfully today? How might God be building deeper roots in this season? Resources For You If this series has helped you slow down, recognise what is shaping you, and return to a steadier way of walking with God, I’d love to invite you to explore Armed & Anchored. It is a seven-week guide for Christian women who want to become more discerning, more rooted in Scripture, and more able to stand steady in a noisy and emotionally demanding world. You can find Armed & Anchored through my website at johewlettauthor.com. If This Episode Encouraged You If She Rises encourages you, you can support the podcast and keep it ad-free here: https://ko-fi.com/johannehewlett Please leave a review or share it with a friend who needs peace, clarity, and hope today. With love, Johanne

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The podcast for Christian women who are tired of survival mode and hungry for something deeper than cultural narratives. Rooted in Scripture and a biblical worldview, She Rises helps you renew the mind, resist pressure-driven living, and build peaceful, Christ-centred rhythms for real life. This is grounded, truth-forward encouragement for women navigating life with faith, clarity, and hope. Hosted by Johanne Hewlett, author and founder of She Rises. FREE devotional: johewlettauthor.com/free-devotional Ministry: johewlettauthor.com/ministry/she-rises https://ko-fi.com/johannehewlett

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