Barb Raveling's Blog

Making friends as an adult isn’t always easy, especially if you’ve moved to a new town or entered a new stage of life. Sometimes the hardest part is simply overcoming the awkwardness of putting yourself out there!

After living in the same town for 30 years, my husband and I moved to a new town where we had to start building friendships all over again. In today’s episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, I share six tips I’ve been using to make new friends.

We’ll talk about how to find opportunit...

Do you long to feel closer to God—not just know about Him, but truly know Him and experience His love? In today’s episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, I visit with New York Times bestselling author Stasi Eldredge about her new book, The Ladder of Love: A Pathway to Emotional Healing and Spiritual Intimacy with Jesus.

Stasi shares how our relationship with God can deepen as we learn to know Him as our Potter, Shepherd, Father, Brother, Friend, and Bridegroom. We also talk about what can get ...

Do you ever reach for the nearest treat and say, “I’ll just have this one . . .”? Or get on your phone for “just a minute,” then look up an hour later and wonder where the time went? “It’s just one bite” or “It’s not a big deal” can feel true in the moment. But when we’re trying to break a habit or develop a new one, those little exceptions can keep us stuck.

In today’s episode, we’ll talk about why “just this one time” matters more than we think. We’ll look at the role boundaries play in devel...

Do you struggle to do hard things—even when you know they’re important? Do you procrastinate because a project feels overwhelming, or feel like giving up when you hit an obstacle? Maybe you’ve tried to break a habit or make a change in your life countless times, and you’re beginning to wonder if you can actually do it.

When we procrastinate hard things—or quit when things get hard—it makes us feel hopeless, overwhelmed, and depressed.

This is something God has been working on in my life for the...

Do you ever look at someone else’s life and think, If only I had their life, I’d be happy? 

Comparison has a way of stealing our joy. We look at someone else’s marriage, career, family, ministry, or success and start believing that happiness is just one different life away.

But God offers something better than comparison—He offers contentment.

In today’s episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, I’ll share seven biblical and practical steps you can take to stop comparing your life to others and ...

Do you ever find yourself reaching for your phone or a snack whenever you’re bored, stressed, or overwhelmed?

You’re not alone. Today’s world makes it easier than ever to turn to food and screens for comfort, entertainment, or escape. But God offers a better way.

In this episode, we’ll look at three biblical strategies to help you break free from unhealthy phone and food habits:

Do you ever find yourself reaching for your phone or a snack whenever you’re bored, stressed, or overwhelmed?

You’re not alone. Today’s world makes it easier than ever to turn to food and screens for comfort, entertainment, or escape. But God offers a better way.

In this episode, we’ll look at three biblical strategies to help you break free from unhealthy phone and food habits:

Do you ever feel like you can’t relax until you get caught up? Maybe you’re looking at a long to-do list, unfinished projects, family responsibilities, or upcoming events and thinking, If I could just get everything done, then I could relax.

But here’s the problem: When we have a million things on our list, we never get caught up! There is always one more thing we can do.

Thankfully, we don’t need to get caught up to experience peace.

In this episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, we’ll attac...

Do you ever find yourself worrying about your kids, decisions, world events, or the future? If you’re a worrier, you know how stressful it is to dwell on worst case scenario and not be able to get those thoughts out of our heads. If we want to let go of those worries, one of the best things we can do is renew our minds. In this episode of the Christian Habits Podcast, we’ll talk about how to renew your mind when you’re anxious, worried, or afraid.

We’ll discuss three practical techniques that c...

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night worrying—and can’t get back to sleep? Or replay worst-case scenarios, trying to solve problems that haven’t happened yet? Or maybe your worry is just a low-grade stress in the back of your mind that drives you to that habit you’re trying to break. In today’s episode of the Christian Habit Podcast we’ll discuss 5 things you can do when you can’t stop worrying. I hope it helps!