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I'm goin' audible! Intoducing Hope Layer Podcast!
Jen Mininger • Nov 21, 2019
This blog post goes along with the 1st episode of the “Hope Layer Podcast”...feel free to listen in too.
So...Maybe you know that this blog here began in February 2019….
And Maybe you know that that blog was born out of a photography project…
Possibly you know that the project was therapy for me, and I called it Restorable…
And while that all might seem really cool...I think you should also know that I don’t have it all together over here...like, I am broken just like you...
And actually...what I think we needed to be reminded of even more than that is.... that God uses broken things.
You see, in the midst of my brokenness God sent encouragement to me through my creativity...my photography. Its kinda like how a song writer writes music for personal therapy...or a poet writes a poem to work out the stuff in their hear. Well, I happen to be a visual learner who is a photographer, so I sometimes use my cameras to express my heart.
My counselor would often encourage me to journal, to pray… she would remind me that it is powerful, even healing to put words to our hard stuff
So I would pour out my heart by spilling words all over my journal, and through tears I would share my heavy with my counselor and God. One morning, while unloading to God I was saying things like, “God, Its kind of like this…” and then I would continue with a detailed description to create a picture explaining to God what my heart feels like.
The best that I could do to describe my thoughts in that moment was to speak in metaphors. I so desperately wanted to be heard and understood. I needed to express my feelings, and that morning when my expression was getting so descriptive, I learned that words weren’t enough… I needed to express my heart through visuals.
This need to see and express my heart actually landed me in the middle of a 20 acre junkyard, fully surrounded by other broken things. It was there, with cars much much older than I, that I found pictures of hope.
I set up my camera and took pictures of myself in that lineup of cars, and to be completely honest...I found it hard to leave. I was engaging in my brokenness there...while in the very same breath, I was engaging in my restoration story.
A few days had passed, and I was back at my kitchen island sorting through my junk yard pictures. I sat there journaling and praying about what I saw and what I experienced at that junk yard.
And guys...if all of this doesn’t sound crazy enough to you, well, what seemed even MORE crazy to me was that fact that I stepped even further out of MY comfort zone and shared these pictures with others.
I didn’t know exactly why, but I knew that God was very strongly compelling me to share this project through my social media business page. THIS. WAS. NOT. my comfort zone...but THIS is something that I had to trust God with….
And, I very soon became glad that I did. Cause, as it turns out… this photography project in a junk yard was NOT just for me. I am not the only one broken, I am not the only one who needs visuals of hope…. YOU DO TOO!!
Friend, I felt so surprised and humbled as the feedback poured in about how others needed the same comfort that I was receiving from my Restorable project..
You see...I was so wrapped up in my own heart’s ache, and I most definitely did NOT want my brokenness NOR my interesting form of therapy to be made in any way shape or form...public!
Rather, I wanted to quietly and safely be able to process and grow. And I do choose quietness and safety...BUT...I have learned that PART of my processing and growing is also by offering to others what God is giving to me. To serve and love others in their heartaches...EVEN when my heart has its own aches.
God used my Restorable project to show me powerful visuals of hope that I could receive AND ALSO share!
So… I shared...often reluctantly...but still God used what I could offer.
As your responses poured in, many of you would then ask me, “what are you going to do with Restorable?”
My answer... ”I don’t know, I’m just receiving from it”.
Well..it took me about a year after my junk yard trip to believe that God had more from this project for me to receive, and also to offer (to you). It took me battling fears and false beliefs. It took giant steps of faith to move forward… to share more… to believe that I have something to offer, even in my brokenness. Even without all the answers, even when low on hope, I could comfort others and show them that hope is ALWAYS a deep layer waiting to be revealed!
So, I began a blog… a home to offer more of my deeply layered heart through words and pictures. The first project being very special to me, as it was from my 20th wedding anniversary, when my husband and I took a crazy and wonderful short trip to the west coast for the first time ever! And WE LOVED it! We saw the pacific ocean for the first time, stayed on a dude ranch, hiked Smith Rock, and I even brought along a vintage wedding gown so we could get some really meaningful pictures! It was beautiful and meaningful ...and you might want to check it out...cause it turned into a Layered Photography project that we chose to share. I called this project 20thinOregon….you can find it at https://www.jenminingerphotography.com/20th-in-oregon-part-1
Anyway, because this form of therapy...this capturing my heart with my camera was so impactful, I began capturing others’ heart as well. I call that service, “layered photography” because it's not just your normal portrait that shows your new sweater or whatever. Rather, it’s a service where I meet with you, I listen to your story, and together we create an experience to capture the deep layers of your heart. Friend, its been really moving to GET to walk with others in this way. You may have seen that I do share some of their projects on my blog as well, but ONLY when they feel compelled to share.
Here’s the thing...The step that I took to do therapy to heal from my brokenness, led to the step of sharing my therapy, which led to helping others along in their therapies, then to starting a blog, and now I am slowly believing that God wants to use my words and pictures to communicate the very powerful and true message of HOPE! Because HOPE has been the comfort that I have received from God after choosing to walk through the deep layers of my heart, and now I want to comfort others with the comfort that I have received!
And it's not just my heart, or my journey that has found hope underneath of it all. II have been in awe after each Layered Photography project from the powerful layer of hope that was just waiting to be revealed in each of our broken stories.
I even get really excited about this message...so passionate about sharing it. I now find myself eager to extend this comfort, this encouragement, these powerful visuals and words that God has given me. I want that person out there to hear and see these things...that person who needs it just as much as I do. I find myself curious, who is THAT person..is it you?
And in that curiosity, I realized that this message isn’t reaching the person who is driving a car, or doing the dishes, and juggling life in such a way that maybe he/she doesn’t have the capacity to sit and read. Maybe someone isn’t able to take in these messages of hope. And that my friends, is why I am speaking to you, now audibly!
Yep...this is my introduction to why oh why a girl who only dreamed of being a wife and a mom is now starting a podcast. I have no idea what this next step will lead to, but I am finally taking this step.
Some of these podcasts will be short little messages of hope, while others will be longer and deeper. I hope to also have guests share here and there, to tell us about their own stories of hope, and their own Layered Photography projects. I believe that many of my episodes will be of me reading what I already wrote out for you in my blog… basically, I’m sparing you of having to sit and read if that just doesn’t fit your lifestyle... BUUUUT….i definitely do suggest that you do spend time in my blog, because visuals are impactful! And besides, I am really excited about my beautiful new website! And, I’ve gotta say...if your looking for help creating a professional website then, I’ve got the girl for you! Rachel Kline is a genius when it comes to the computer! And since Rachel believes in the mission of Hope Layer Podcast she wants to cheer us all on over here by offering an amazing discount to you. If you need a new website that is seo friendly and all that other cool stuff that I don’t understand, then go to www.rachelklinecreative.com/jen
to get $350 off the cost of a NEW website OR you can get a personal branding kit from Rachel for just $299 (typically $459) These are crazy, wonderful fabulous discounts on valuable services from a girl who knows her stuff! So go to that link, read all the info and take your next step!
Anyway..you guys, this website was really valuable to me and that's why I invested in it. It’s such a useful tool to give to you what God has given to me. And, since I am a visual learner it helps me to SEE those pictures. The photos help the hopeful messages sink into my brain a little further. So basically, if your like me, then this blog will benefit you too...to SEE the pictures that go along with my words...and my heart. To let that hopeful thing sink in for you...let it impact you and inspire you as you move throughout your day. Let yourself be encouraged, and before you know it, you will be encouraging someone else with the encouragement that YOU have received!
Well, Friends, I DID IT! I took that next step and recorded my first podcast! Crazy, right? Well, it feels crazy to me...and Exciting.. But, in reality...its not that big of a deal! I’m just taking my next step, sharing what God has given to me..and it seemed helpful to share audibly.
So go to wherever it is that you go to when you listen to podcasts (for me, its Itunes...that little purple “podcast” app on my iphone) and search for “Hope Layer”, or you can listen to it straight from my website https://www.jenminingerphotography.com/podcast?post_id=noID
I hope it inspires you to take whatever next step you need to take!
AND THANK YOU for joining me! I hope you will alsol enjoy my next episode where I share an excerpt from a film that was created for the restorable project. I will also tell you a bit more of who I am...cause I think it’d help ya to get to know me a bit!
I hope you’ll listen in...and I hope you’ve been inspired today!
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Bobbie went from full hustle to full halt and discovered what God can do in a valley season.
It ached to hear the harsh words that she knew could be her own, yet it felt so safe and reassuring to know that God sees her and wants her to have new lyrics in her own heart.
Acknowledging the dark as well as the light feels so honest and helpful in these moments. Although, I will warn, that it can also feel raw and not always easy, YET it is a kindness to ourselves when we start with honesty, isn't it? It is both, difficult and kind.
Letting go.. or saying "no" can be SO HARD ! We don't want to, we'd rather be awesome, all the time, in all the things! BUT... is that really working for you and your people? What do you need to steward (manage, maximize or multiply) better? Do you need to let go of something so that you may better steward something of more value… for a season?
Tracy leaned into the old car unafraid of the dirt and rust that she was now touching.
As I said in an email to my Belize Trip Prayer Team.. “ I am thankful. Actually, I am dumbfounded, humbled and in awe.”
C O N T A C T
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