304: Jill Baughan and The Adventure of Joy

Jill Baughan is an author, speaker, podcaster and joy-seeker who, through adventure and play, helps people find joy, no matter what else is happening good, bad or ugly in life. Long ago, as a kid on the Tilt-A-Whirl,she learned a valuable life lesson, and that was this: It is entirely possible for a human being to laugh and throw up at the same time. Today, Jill shares how her father’s death changed her view of God, how she learned to have fun and follow Jesus at the same time, and the real value of lament. Jill’s story reminds us that it’s both the laughter and the tears that make life beautiful.

Listen to Jill’s story in your favorite podcast app now!

Stories Jill shared:

• Signing up to be the Chick-fil-a cow and what she learned from it
• Feeling like life was as good as it gets growing up in Indiana
• The vacation that changed their family
• The first prayer she remembers praying
• The poor reaction to her father’s death that shaped her view of God
• How the church surrounded her family
• Searching for how to have a relationship with God as a teenager
• Going to church camp
• Discovering 1 Corinthians 13 and what it meant to her
• The youth leader that taught her that you can have fun and still follow Jesus
• Struggling with infertility
• Her daughter’s divorce and how God taught her to pray
• The value of lament
• Why she stared a writing and her podcast

Great quotes from Jill:

I still love the Church; I haven’t always loved the church.

I didn’t really ask questions for a long time after that.

I loved them before I knew them. God came near. And he brought redemption out of brokenness.

Prayer is a mystery.

Even if you get a “happy ending” that does not negate the sorrow you experienced.

Resources we mentioned:

• Jill’s website
• Born to Be Wild: Rediscover the Freedom of Fun by Jill Baughan
• A Hope Deferred: A Couple’s Guide to Coping With Infertility by Jill Baughan
• Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church by Rachel Held Evans

Related episodes:

• Caroline Harries and the Invitation of Hope
• Douglas Groothuis and Walking Through Twilight
• Becky Antkowiak and Faithfulness Through Grief

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