Well, hey there, welcome to Job With Julie. I am your host Julie Slattery.

This podcast is a listener-swarded outreach of authentic intimacy, a ministry dedicated to

helping people make sense of God and sexuality.

Now have you ever paused and really thought about some of the stories or

narratives that drive your life?

You know, our narratives provide the lens through which we see people and

make sense of what happens to us. We believe narratives about ourselves, about

other people, about the world, about God, and these narratives heavily influence the choices we make and the people we actually become.

And that's going to be the subject of my conversation today with Dr. Jennifer Holberk.

Jennifer is a professor of English and General Stahlberg. today with Dr. Jennifer Holberk.

Jennifer is a professor of English and general studies at Calvin University,

and she's the author of the book, Nourishing Narratives,

The Power of Story to Shape Our Faith. As you'll hear Jennifer say, the stories we

we believe they normalize issues and concepts, stories teaches things

and stories shape us.

So intentionally leading into understanding and examining the stories we tell ourselves is really important.

And as a single woman, Jennifer has a lot to say about the narratives that she grew up with around marriage, family, and singleness,

particularly within the church, and the way those play out. So this is definitely

an episode everyone needs to lean into. So grab your coffee, get comfy, and let's listen to my conversation with Dr. Jennifer

Holberg.

Well, Jennifer, I am so glad to have this opportunity to talk to you about some of the concepts behind your book

Nourishing Narratives, which is a great title.

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