All Episodes

July 16, 2025 • 44 mins
šŸŽ™ļø Life Happens Laugh Anyway Podcast Episode 230: How to Find Encouragement When You Need It šŸ’ā€ā™€ļøšŸ“–šŸ¤£

Feeling discouraged? Overwhelmed? Gassy? (You have to listen to this episode to understand the gassy part!) šŸ˜‚ You’re in good company.

In this episode, Tracy and Cathrine get real (and ridiculous) about what to do when life is a lot. Whether you're in a tough season or just having one of those blah-for-no-reason days, this episode is your practical pep talk—with stories, scripture, and some side-splitting laughter. Yes, wheezing too!

Here’s what’s inside: ✨ Cathrine shares from the heart—from giving birth to a daughter with a heart defect, to financial stress and work injuries. She opens up about how her faith family (and real family) helped her find strength. šŸ’” Tracy talks about depression and motherhood, including losing her mom to cancer as a young wife/mom and raising five boys through chaos—like that one Christmas Eve with ZERO presents. (Don’t worry. Her siblings saved the day!) šŸ“± Our favorite encouragement habits: daily ā€œTop 10 Thankfulā€ texts and ridiculous memes šŸ“– Encouraging Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:14–15, Psalm 32:8, and a side mention of Isaiah 41:10 because, let’s be honest, it’s Tracy’s life verse.

šŸ˜‚ BONUS: Tracy talked Cathrine into revealing her most embarrassing VBS moment—which may or may not involve falling, peeing (just a little), and a well-timed toot. In return, Tracy shared a prayer that had a little extra gas in the amen. These are too good to keep secret.

šŸ‘‚ Why being a good listener might be the most powerful form of encouragement šŸ’” Plus: Cathrine shares insights from the late, great Dr. Charles Stanley on how to truly uplift others

šŸ’¬ How We Encourage Each Other (and YOU!)
  • āœ… Texting our daily Top 10 Thankful List

  • āœ… Memes that crack us up when life feels heavy

  • āœ… Just being present—a quiet listener is sometimes the best gift

  • āœ… Scripture + prayer at the right time ("Sometimes it’s not a sermon, it’s a text that says: 'I see you. I'm praying. Also… here's a squirrel meme.'")

šŸ“£ Call to Action:

We need encouragement too! 🧔 If something in this episode blessed you, made you laugh, or reminded you that you’re not alone, let us know! Send a message to: šŸ“§ tracy@tracydegraaf.com or find us on social media. We hate to be overly needy, but sometimes we just need to know you're out there. Your words might just be the boost we need today.

šŸŽ§ Listen now—and don’t forget to laugh anyway.

Ā 

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

Ā© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.