Linking Arms

Purposeful Living
  • 4.6 (11)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Semimonthly

The Linking Arms podcast is a lifestyle podcast, brand, and community brought to life by Purposeful Living. An organization focused on empowering all women to link arms in creating a better world. Delving into themes such as wellness, spirituality, self-development and so much more, this podcast is known for creating real, raw and hilarious moments during their conversations with fascinating women from all walks of life. Each episode proves to provide their listeners with actionable insights and highly relatable stories.

  1. 19h ago

    Spirit, Soul & Body (Part 2): Nine Practices That Form You From the Inside Out

    If Part 1 was the why behind soul health, Part 2 is the how. And it is rich. Nadine and Carla Sands are back, and this time they're getting practical. Drawing from John Mark Comer's book Practicing the Way, Carla walks through nine spiritual practices pulled directly from the life of Jesus — disciplines that don't just shape behavior but invite the Holy Spirit to do something in you that you simply cannot do for yourself. But before the list even begins, Carla offers something important: a reminder. These practices are not a measuring stick. They are not a checklist to perform or a ladder to climb. They are, as Carla puts it, the table we set for the Holy Spirit to come and do what only He can do. The goal is never behavior modification. The goal is heart modification. The goal is Jesus. The nine practices are: Sabbath, Solitude, Prayer, Fasting, Scripture, Community, Generosity, Service, and Witness. Carla unpacks each one with care, including a beautiful breakdown of four distinct types of prayer — talking to God, talking with God, listening to God, and simply being with God — and a tender word about Sabbath for anyone whose weeks are overfull, overscheduled, and running on empty. (Hint: that may be most of us.) From there, the conversation turns to implementation — because knowing the nine is one thing, and actually living them is another. Carla offers a clear, grace-filled framework for how to start: go to God first and ask what He wants to highlight. Start where you are, not where you think you should be. Think subtraction before addition. Don't do it alone. And expect slow, small changes over time — because consistency over time is where transformation lives. Carla also offers a beautiful lens for thinking about which practices to start with: disciplines of abstinence (Sabbath, Solitude, Fasting, Generosity — the ones that require pulling back) and disciplines of engagement (Prayer, Scripture, Community, Service, Witness — the ones that require leaning in). Depending on your season of life, your personality, and where God is stretching you, one of those categories may feel like your natural starting point. And she wraps it all with a simple, freeing rhythm: daily, weekly, and monthly or seasonal practices — so the whole thing begins to feel livable rather than overwhelming. GUEST BIO Carla Sands serves as Ministry Director at Purposeful Living, Inc., where she walks alongside women in their spiritual formation and growth. A trusted voice in the Purposeful Living community, Carla brings deep theological grounding and genuine warmth to every conversation. She is passionate about helping women understand who they are in Christ and what it looks like to be whole — spirit, soul, and body. SCRIPTURE REFERENCES Mark 2:27 — "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Referenced in the Sabbath discussion)Hebrews 12:2 — "The author and finisher of our faith" (Referenced in the seed-planting analogy)RESOURCE REFERENCEDPracticing the Way by John Mark Comer

    29 min

  2. Jun 3

    Spirit, Soul & Body: Understanding True Spiritual Health with Carla Sands

    What does it really mean to be spiritually healthy? Not just going through the motions, not just checking boxes, but truly, deeply healthy from the inside out? In this first part of a two-part conversation, Nadine sits down with Purposeful Living's own Ministry Director, Carla Sands, to explore what soul health actually is and why it matters more than most of us realize. Carla opens with a beautiful framework that will stick with you: picture a bullseye. At the center is your spirit. Around it, your soul. And on the outside, your body. This image becomes the lens through which everything else in the conversation unfolds. From there, Carla walks through the three theological tenses of salvation — justification, sanctification, and glorification — and connects them to that same bullseye. Justification is that one sacred moment when you said yes to Jesus. Glorification is the eternity that awaits. But sanctification? That's where we live. That's the lifelong, ongoing process of being made more and more like Him. And that is the soul health this episode is all about. Nadine and Carla talk honestly about why this matters — not just for our own peace and joy, but because we are called to be salt and light. The fruit we bear isn't for us. Like an apple tree, it's for the people around us: our children, our husbands, our friends, our church family. When we are spiritually healthy, something unexplainable starts to flow out of us. Not from us. Through us. They also name something important: spiritual health is not about performance. It's not about a checklist. Reading your Bible every morning doesn't automatically mean your soul is well, just as the Pharisees' religious discipline didn't reflect a heart surrendered to God. True soul health is about intentional formation, setting the table for the Holy Spirit to do a work in you that you cannot do in yourself. GUEST BIO Carla Sands serves as Ministry Director at Purposeful Living, Inc., where she walks alongside women in their spiritual formation and growth. A trusted voice in the Purposeful Living community, Carla brings deep theological grounding and genuine warmth to every conversation. She is passionate about helping women understand who they are in Christ and what it looks like to be whole — spirit, soul, and body. KEY TAKEAWAYS The spirit, soul, and body can be pictured as a bullseye — and soul health lives in the middle, the sanctification layer, where daily life actually happens.The three tenses of salvation (justification, sanctification, glorification) give us a framework for understanding where spiritual growth fits into our faith.We are called to bear fruit — but like a fruit tree, that fruit isn't for us. It's for the people God has placed in our lives.Spiritual health is not performance. Spiritual disciplines are the table-setting; the transformation itself is God's work.Passivity is not neutral. If we're not being intentionally formed by God, we are being formed by culture.He never asks us to be perfect. He asks us to be willing.SCRIPTURE REFERENCES Matthew 5:13-14 — "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world."Galatians 5:22-23 — The Fruit of the Spirit 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 — The body as God's temple

    24 min

  3. May 19

    On Humility (Part 2): From Shadow Mission to Freedom

    In Part 1 of this conversation, Jenni Balda introduced us to the shadow mission: the hidden, subconscious drive to prove, perform, or protect ourselves that quietly hijacks our God-given calling. If that episode cracked something open in you, this one is where the healing begins. In Part 2, Nadine and Jenni get practical. Awareness is only the first step, so Jenni walks us through exactly what comes next. It starts with curiosity. Not condemnation, not a complete overhaul of everything; rather, a willingness to slow down and ask: where am I feeling pressure right now? From there, Jenni lays out a clear, grace-filled path forward: name the shadow, bring it into the light, and refuse to let it hide behind excuses or old stories. She makes an important distinction here: it is worth going back to find where you first took on the shadow mission, where the wound was, where the lie began. But visiting that island is not the same as making it your permanent address. The conversation moves into one of the most tender parts of the episode: asking God what was actually being offered to us in that moment we chose the shadow instead of truth. Inviting Him to replace the lie with what He says is real. Receiving—truly receiving—the identity that was always already ours in Christ. And when the shadow mission creeps back? Because it will. Jenni reminds us that returning to a familiar struggle doesn't mean we haven't grown. As one wise counselor put it: it might be the same rock, but you are at a higher elevation. You are not the same woman who fought this battle the last time. Jenni closes with her verse for the year, Psalm 131 — a peaceful, beautiful picture of what it looks like to live from the other side of the shadow mission. Humbled. Quieted. Resting. Content in Him. That is the goal. And sister, it is worth every bit of the work. Guest Bio Jenni Balda serves as the Spiritual Growth and Development Coordinator at Purposeful Living, Inc., where she supports the ministry's spiritual depth and leadership development as part of the executive leadership team. Jenni brings a Scripture-rooted, compassionate approach to helping women identify what's driving them beneath the surface — and find their way back to the freedom and rest that is already theirs in Christ. She is also a trained coach at Purposeful Living and available to walk through this topic one-on-one. Scripture References2 Corinthians 10:1, 4–5 — Referenced from Part 1; the divine weapons we have to demolish the arguments and strongholds of the shadow mission.Philippians 2:3 — "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others more significant than yourselves." Christ's humility as our model — free to serve, free to lead, free to surrender.Psalm 131:2 — "I am humbled and quieted in your presence, Lord. I am your resting child and my soul is content in you." Jenni's verse for the year and the portrait of a life free from the shadow mission.

    21 min

  4. May 5

    On Humility: Understanding Your Shadow Mission with Jenni Balda

    In this episode of Linking Arms, host Nadine sits down with Jenni Balda, Purposeful Living's Spiritual Growth & Development Coordinator. Jenni introduces the concept of the shadow mission — a term that describes what happens when our God-given calling gets hijacked by a hidden need to prove, perform, or protect something about ourselves. Jenni opens by affirming that God has given each one of us a unique mission — one that can show up in our leadership, our careers, our homes, and our relationships. But tucked right alongside that calling, often running quietly in the background, is a shadow mission fueled not by faith, but by insecurity, fear, and unmet relational needs. And the telltale sign? Weariness. That bone-deep exhaustion that just won't quit, no matter how hard you work or how much you give. The conversation takes a surprising and deeply freeing turn when Jenni reframes humility entirely. Rather than something quiet and shrinking, true humility — the kind rooted in Christ — is bold. It's confident. It's the freedom to fully show up as who God made you to be, without the weight of needing to prove it to anyone. The shadow mission, she explains, keeps us performing for an identity we already have in Him. Drawing from 2 Corinthians 10 and Philippians 2, Jenni walks through how selfish ambition and vain conceit — the very things Paul warns against — are the shadow mission at work. And until we can name what's running beneath the surface, we can't demolish it. Whether you feel crystal clear about your calling or you're still in the beautiful, unfolding process of discovering it, this episode will meet you exactly where you are. Because as Jenni reminds us: we all have a shadow mission. The question isn't if — it's what are you going to do about it? Stay tuned for Part 2, where Jenni walks through practical, step-by-step tools to help you recognize your shadow mission, bring it into the light, and begin walking in the true freedom and identity you already have in Christ.Guest Bio Jenni Balda serves as the Spiritual Growth & Development Coordinator at Purposeful Living, Inc., where she is part of the executive leadership team supporting the ministry's spiritual depth and leadership development. Jenni brings a thoughtful, Scripture-rooted approach to helping women understand their identity in Christ and lead from a place of security rather than striving. Scripture References 2 Corinthians 10:1, 4–5 — "The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds...we demolish arguments and every pretense that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."Philippians 2:3 — "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others more significant than yourselves."

    26 min

  5. Apr 14

    Getting Unstuck (Part 2): Nurturing Your Mindset

    Welcome back, sister. If you caught Part 1 of this conversation with Lauren Alcorn, you already know that getting unstuck starts with nourishing your body and anchoring in your beliefs. Today, Lauren and Nadine pick right back up — and they save the best for last. In this episode, Lauren unpacks the third and most powerful pillar of her framework: nurturing your mindset. Using a blueprint analogy that will stick with you long after you finish listening, Lauren explains why every cell in your body is literally listening to what you think and feel — and why living at a chronic 80% stress state is not just exhausting, it's keeping you from healing. Together, they talk through what it really looks like to build a mindset toolbox: how to identify a symptom without claiming it as your identity, how to surrender the illusion of control, how to filter what you let into your mind the same way you filter what you put into your body, and how to ask the question that changes everything — what is mine to own, and what is mine to release? This is the kind of conversation that is disheartening and empowering all at once. Because the truth is, you are incredibly powerful over your internal world. And that changes everything. Key Takeaways: Your mindset is your most powerful healing tool. Every cell in your body is responding to what you think and feel — not just in acute moments of fear, but all day long at a chronic, low-grade level.Most women are living at 80%. That means running at a near-constant state of stress, worry, and hypervigilance — and our bodies are paying the price. Healing requires getting that number down.Stress is only stress if we think it's stress. We can't control the chaos of the world, but we can change how we interpret and respond to it. It starts with reminding yourself: this is just a shadow.Build your mindset toolbox. When a symptom surfaces, work through these steps: (1) Vocalize what you're feeling without claiming it as your identity. (2) Check your four basics — sleep, hydration, food, movement. (3) Ask what you can let go of. (4) Reach out and connect with someone who will speak truth over you.What's mine to own, and what's mine to release? This is the question that sets you free. We cannot control everything — but we can steward our own internal world.Filter what goes into your mind. Just as you're intentional about what goes into your body, be mindful of what you allow into your mind. News, social media, fear — if it isn't yours to carry, let it go.Your body heals itself when you let it. Lauren's reminder is so simple and so profound: when we stop irritating the wound and give our body what it needs, it knows exactly what to do.Working on yourself changes more than just you. When we manage our own mindset and model peace for our children, Lauren believes — and so do we — that it can genuinely change the world.Scripture References: Jeremiah 17:7-8 (Deeply Rooted — trusting God, not self-sufficiency)Philippians 4:6-7 (Do not be anxious; bring your needs to God)Romans 12:2 (Be transformed by the renewing of your mind)2 Corinthians 10:5 (Take every thought captive)

    24 min

  6. Mar 31

    Getting Unstuck: From Surviving to Thriving with Lauren Alcorn

    Sister, have you ever felt like you're running on empty—stuck in the same cycles, the same patterns, the same overwhelm—and wondering if this is just... your life? In this episode, Nadine sits down with Lauren Alcorn, a psychiatric nurse practitioner with 20 years of experience, who has built a practice around integrative, Biblically-grounded healing for women and families. Lauren shares her own story of normalizing pain in her early years and how that journey led her to a powerful framework for getting unstuck at the root—not just managing symptoms. Together, they unpack what it actually means to be stuck, why so many women mistake exhaustion for rest, and the danger of letting a symptom become your identity. Lauren introduces the first two pillars of her three-part framework for getting unstuck: nourishing your body with your basic biological needs and anchoring in your beliefs, purpose, and connection. This is warm, practical, Spirit-led conversation that will meet you right where you are.

    23 min

  7. Mar 17

    Healing at the Root (Part 2): Practical Steps for Gut Health, Stress & Hormones

    In Part 2, Nadine and Michelle roll up their sleeves and get into the real, everyday steps you can start taking today to heal from the inside out. This isn't a lecture — it's more like sitting across the table from a brilliant, faith-filled friend who just happens to know exactly what your body needs. They dig into what whole-food eating actually looks like (spoiler: shop the perimeter), what mindful eating really means (hint: it has nothing to do with Oreos in the pantry), and why stress might be the single biggest thing sabotaging all your healthy habits — even when you don't feel stressed. Michelle introduces the concept of high-functioning anxiety, a quiet driver for many type-A women who never see it coming. The conversation also touches on hormones — and why liver health, healthy fats, and cortisol control are the trio every woman over 40 needs to understand. Nadine gets refreshingly real about her own patterns, and Michelle meets her with grace, wisdom, and zero judgment. Practical takeaways you can carry into your week: deep breathing practices, breath prayers rooted in scripture, a 2-3 times daily alarm reset, mindful task-switching, presence over productivity, and a go-to afternoon snack that actually keeps you full. Michelle closes with an invitation to go deeper through her upcoming course — a resource worth watching for. This one is a keeper. Listen, take notes, and then share it with the woman in your life who needs it most. Guest Bio Michelle Landrum is a Certified Natural Health Professional who has been helping families — especially moms — get to the root of their health issues for over 10 years. As a mom of five, she knows firsthand the challenges of keeping a family healthy in today's world. What makes her approach unique is integrating physical, emotional, and spiritual healing from a Christian perspective — because true wellness happens when we address the whole person, not just symptoms. She's passionate about helping families live naturally healthy lives so they can thrive. Instagram & Facebook: @loves7graceWebsite: loves7grace.comProgram: Heal Your Gut, Thrive in Grace — Michelle's signature class walking families through her holistic approach to gut healthComing Soon: Michelle's new in-depth course covering all the pillars discussed in this episodeScripture References Philippians 4:13 — "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."Philippians 4:11 — "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

    27 min

  8. Mar 3

    Healing at the Root: Wholeness for the Mind, Body & Spirit, feat. Michelle Landrum

    Sister, what if the key to healing wasn't another prescription, but getting to the root? In this episode, Nadine sits down with Michelle Landrum, a Certified Natural Health Professional, mom of five, and founder of Love's 7 Grace. Michelle's story begins in her early twenties, when a nurse handed her more prescriptions than most 80-year-olds carry — and something in her said, there has to be a better way. That moment sparked a decade-long journey toward true, lasting wellness. Michelle shares how she discovered that real healing isn't just physical. When she began integrating emotional and spiritual health alongside natural remedies, everything changed for her and for the families she serves. From a rambunctious little boy whose parents couldn't believe the turnaround, to a woman who found freedom from antidepressant medication through holistic support, Michelle's client stories remind us that God designed us as whole people, and our health should reflect that. The conversation goes deep on gut health (did you know up to 98% of health challenges start in digestion?), the hidden impact of food stress and cortisol, and why chronic stress is quietly sabotaging so many women's well-being — especially after 40. Michelle walks through her five-pillar framework: whole food eating, macronutrients and assimilation, natural remedies, stress management, and faith as the foundation. This episode is equal parts practical and soul-stirring. Whether you've been on a health journey for years or you're just beginning to wonder if there's more to wellness than what your doctor has offered, this conversation is for you. Tune in to Part 2 for Michelle's practical, step-by-step action items to start healing your gut and thriving in grace. Guest Bio Michelle Landrum is a Certified Natural Health Professional who has been helping families — especially moms — get to the root of their health issues for over 10 years. As a mom of five, she knows firsthand the challenges of keeping a family healthy in today's world. What makes her approach unique is integrating physical, emotional, and spiritual healing from a Christian perspective — because true wellness happens when we address the whole person, not just symptoms. She's passionate about helping families live naturally healthy lives so they can thrive. Instagram & Facebook: @loves7graceWebsite: loves7grace.comProgram: Heal Your Gut, Thrive in Grace — Michelle's signature class walking families through her holistic approach to gut healthScripture Reference Philippians 4:11 — "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

    21 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

The Linking Arms podcast is a lifestyle podcast, brand, and community brought to life by Purposeful Living. An organization focused on empowering all women to link arms in creating a better world. Delving into themes such as wellness, spirituality, self-development and so much more, this podcast is known for creating real, raw and hilarious moments during their conversations with fascinating women from all walks of life. Each episode proves to provide their listeners with actionable insights and highly relatable stories.

Information

  • Creator
    Purposeful Living
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    102
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Purposeful Living
  • Show Website
    Linking Arms