Hole in My Heart Podcast
Religion & Spirituality
About
On the Hole in My Heart Podcast, Laurie Krieg, her licensed-therapist husband, Matt, and their friend ”and most professional radio voice,” Producer Steve talk about how the gospel is good news for everyone every day. They most frequently talk about sexuality, addiction, trauma, discipleship, parenting, and mental health through a historically biblical sexual ethic lens, and with a bit of humor.
Episodes
- Episode 262: Uncomplicating Our Relationship to God | Hosanna Wong
You ever felt stuck in your relationship to God because it felt…just too hard? The season now doesn’t look like 10 years ago. Your friend’s faith seems better than yours. You’re too busy. Too frustrated. Too…disconnected. What if trying ha…
- Episode 261: How to Become a Person | Debra Fileta
You ever feel like you’re still figuring out how to become a person? Yeah, us, too. Bestselling author, therapist, and speaker, Debra Fileta, is here to help us learn some people skills we might not even know we are missing. Together we ta…
- Episode 260: How Should Christians Think About AI? | Christopher Lind
It’s time to talk about AI! We sit down with AI expert Christopher Lind and ask: What even is AI? • How can we have a gospel lens when it comes to engage it? (Is that possible?) • What is the potential for evil? • What about good? • Is the…
- Episode 259: The Myth of Good Christian Parenting | Kelsey Kramer McGinnis
We know there is not *a formula* for parenting and discipleship, but is there at least a “Christian” way to do it? Author Kelsey Kramer McGinnis says, “That’s talk about that.” Okay! Let's do it. With her book, The Myth of Good Christian P…
- Episode 258: HIMH Podcast LIVE!! | Laurie & Matt Krieg
It’s our first ever Hole in My Heart Podcast LIVE, and we are taking your questions as they relate to raising wise kids in a sexually broken world: What are Matt and Laurie’s stories—and how do they relate to the Hole in My Heart? How did…
- Episode 257: From 2016 to 2026 | Kristen Miele
We are reflecting today on the last 10 years of the sexuality conversation with ministry leader Kristen Miele. We explore changes over the last 10 years as well as: How has fear of the conversation morphed in the last 10 years? How have di…
- Episode 256: It’s Time to Talk about P*rn | Greta Eskridge
We always love conversations with people who truly understand the complexities of human sexuality, and today’s guest is no exception. Author and podcaster Greta Eskridge joins us to help parents and caregivers navigate one of the most chal…
- Episode 255: Why We Wrote This Book Now | Laurie & Matt Krieg
It’s behind the scenes time of our latest book! Matt interviews Laurie on the writing process and more: What was the inspiration? What were the hardest and best parts in writing? What does it mean “by Laurie Krieg with Matt Krieg”? What is…
- Episode 254: Faith and Food | Aarti Sequeira
Food Network star and author, Aarti Sequeira, is bringing the party to the podcast today. We hear her story of finding Jesus as well as: How did she get into the Food Network world? Does she even struggle with cooking dinner every day? How…
- Episode 253: Q&A: Marriage vs. Singleness, Helicopter parents, LGBTQ Family | Laurie & Matt
Happy New Year! We’re kicking off the year by diving into your thoughtful questions, including: How do we find the courage to speak truth with love? How can I love a gay friend well when they enter a same-sex relationship? How can a same-s…
- Episode 252: Healing the Wound Within | Chuck DeGroat
We’ve got author, pastor, and therapist Chuck DeGroat in the house—and he brought at least one of us to good tears. In this episode of the Hole in My Heart Podcast, we talk about healing the wound within and explore: Why so many of us swin…
- Episode 251 | Q & A: Age-Appropriate, Boys Painting Nails, & Two Choices
It’s another Q and A! You ask, and we are thinking it through with you. What did you ask? “My husband is gay and left our family to be with a man. How do I talk with my kids about this?” “My son wants to paint his nails, play with dolls, o…
- Episode 250: Tame Your Thoughts | Max Lucado
People have 70,000 thoughts per day and about 80% of them are negative. What is that doing to our emotional health? What is that doing to our actions? How is that affecting our very DNA? Global bestselling author and pastor, Max Lucado, is…
- Episode 249: Father Yourself First | Glen Henry
How can we walk with others—our kids or those we are called to disciple— if we are wounded by our own parents? We need to be fathered by the Father first. Today, author and popular YouTuber, Glen Henry, helps us understand his journey of b…
- Episode 248: Surrendered Sexuality | Juli Slattery
We don’t just follow a biblical sexuality We surrender our sexuality. What does that mean? Today we have Authentic Intimacy co-founder, author, and psychologist, Juli Slattery, back on the show to help us understand the difference as well…
- Episode 247: Q & A | Attraction, Protecting our Kids & Cross-Dressing
You aren’t making it easy for us today! Today, Laurie and Matt take YOUR questions including: + How should we navigate attraction—when it’s not to toward our spouses? (Single people, there is is stuff in this one for you especially when we…
- Episode 246: Don’t Try This Alone | Toni Collier
Many of us know that we were not made to be alone, but what if we don’t have good friends? What if we don’t have friends who we can rely on in not just the good times but the hard? Today, ministry leader, speaker, and author Toni Collier i…
- Episode 245: A New Tool To Help the Next Generation | Preston Sprinkle
It’s hard to meet a parent of young kids today who isn’t desperately wondering how to equip their kids for this sexually broken world. Thankfully, God is calling people to resource parents to equip their kids with a gospel vision for human…
- Episode 244: The Day I Knew I Was Burned Out | Steve, Matt, Laurie
Burnout. Maybe you’ve experienced it—or maybe you’re in it right now and can’t quite name it yet. All we see is: 1 . Emotional exhaustion 2. Autopilot living or cynicism 3. Loss of fulfillment Yup. That’s burnout. How can we heal from it?…
- Episode 243: Family Devotions Don’t Have To Be Hard | Ruth Chou Simons
It’s our season wrap episode, and we could not have asked for a better guest. Ruth is a teacher and author, and she knows the real-life challenges of helping kids to and parents to turn their hearts toward God. How can we practice somethin…
- Episode 242: The Gap between Our Experience and our Faith | Michael John Cusick
THIS EPISODE. We literally cried. All of us. And it led to a mentoring relationship between Matt and our guest, Michael John Cusick. Why? We were struck thinking about how to *actually live* in that tension between our faith and our experi…
- Episode 241: Ministering to Families in Crisis | Jennifer Ripley
As ministry leaders and therapists (Matt and Laurie), we have often wondered: When do church leaders and pastors utilize therapists and para-church ministries and when do they care on their own? Do pastors always outsource? Do they never o…
- Episode 240: How to Help Our Kids Navigate A Porn-Saturated World | John-Michael Bout
If the average age of pornography exposure is between 8 and 12 years old, and the majority of Christians are looking at it regularly, we need to talk about it. Specifically, documentary creator and author John Michael Bout helps us ask and…
- Episode 239: How to Form a Gospel-Identity in the Next Gen | Jonathan Holmes
It’s so easy to identify as “I am what I do” or “I am how I feel.” The next generations especially seem to feel this pull. How can we help Gen Z and Alpha understand who they are in Christ? How can we start with our own identity so we spea…
- Episode 238: Screens: From Fighting to Flourishing | Chris McKenna
Many parents feel a mixture of emotions about screens: On one hand, we see they can be useful tools. On the other, we feel a lot of shame because we are probably addicted to them ourselves and we let our kids use them too often. We feel sh…
- Episode 237: Parenting Without Panic | Rachel Gilson
Parents and caregivers of the next generation need help to lead their kids in an affirming-LGBTQ world. Our guest and author, Rachel Gilson, said it well on today’s episode: “Even my friends who had great discipling moms and dads didn’t gr…
- Episode 236: Remember Discipleship? Let’s Do It | EK Strawser
Discipleship is something Christians are talking about more. It’s so important. But…what is it? Today, author and pastor Eun (EK) Strawser helps understand what discipleship is as well as: --How can we become a community that centers disci…
- Episode 235: The Most Important Part of Parenting | Dan Allender
This episode left us speechless. Today, we are joined again by psychologist and author Dan Allender to talk about the most important part of parenting: Your marriage. (If you are a single mom or dad, we bless you and intersperse much of th…
- Episode 234: Your Parenting + Discipleship Q & A | Matt, Laurie, Steve
To launch our spring season focused on parenting and discipling the next generation, we are starting with YOUR QUESTIONS. We toss around: “What parts of ‘the sex talk’ were helpful for us when we were growing up?” “How can we protect our k…
- Episode 233: Why Can’t We Stay Friends? | Bryan Loritts
Happy new year! Let’s talk about friendships? Author and pastor Bryan Loritts joins us today to discuss: Are friendships seasonal? (Should they be?) How can we make and keep lifelong friends? How should we think about boundaries with frien…
- Episode 232: The Genesis of Gender | Abigail Favale
If you care about the gender conversation at all, we believe this conversation is critical. Dr. Abigail Favale wrote Laurie’s favorite book on gender this year called “The Genesis of Gender,” and the conversation about it is—*chef’s kiss*—…
- Episode 231: Everyday Evangelism | David Bennett
We LOVED this conversation. In the midst of divisive ... everything… in the world today, it reminded us about what really matters: JESUS. THE GOSPEL. And that sharing Jesus (evangelism) is an absolute joy when you love Him. Theologian, aut…
- Episode 230: Laurie’s Book Club | Anxious Generation
We’re trying something new called Laurie’s Book Club, where “she reads the book so you don’t have to. Granted, we would love it if you read the book and “discussed” it alongside us on the pod, but if you’re anything like most of the world,…
- Episode 229: Let’s Get a Proper Theology of Suffering | Kelly Kapic
Suffering, eh? Sounds … super … fun. Ya know, the older we get, the more we realize just how important our theology of suffering is when we are … well, suffering. As Kelly Kapic said in today’s episode, “You don’t realize how flimsy your t…
- Episode 228: Discipling Someone Who Wrestles with Gender | Kat LaPrairie
When I [Laurie] met Kat, she was planning to marry her girlfriend and was considering transitioning to male. But God was already drawing Kat to Himself, and He tapped me on the shoulder to join the process. Hear the whole discipleship jour…
- Episode 227: Recovering Our Souls From P*rn Addiction | Sam Jolman
A new Barna study says 54% of Christians watch p*rnography. This number is only 7 percentage points behind the percent of all U.S. adults who consume it (61%). We need help. How can we get the help we need for our addictions at a soul-deep…
- Episode 226: Are You Weak? Good! | Eric Schumacher
Many of us grew up in the church hearing that weakness was a good thing: In our weakness, God is strong through us. If that’s true, why does weakness feel so terrible? Today, we talk with author, podcaster, and pastor, Eric Schumacher abou…
- Episode 225: How to Stay Sane Through Another Political Cycle | Preston Sprinkle
Something we so appreciate about Dr. Preston Sprinkle is he doesn’t tell us what to think, he encourages us to think about what we are thinking about. When it comes to engaging politics, we need people to help us think about politics bibli…
- Episode 224: Why We Need to Look Back to Move Forward | Lisa-Jo Baker
If you have ever struggled to process your story (and who hasn’t??), this episode is for you. Author, teacher, and child-of-a-one-time angry father, Lisa Jo Baker, takes us by the hand and guides us to take the tiniest look back so we can…
- Episode 223: Protecting Our Kids in This Wild World | with Julia Sadusky
If you’re a parent or mentor of young kids right now like we are, I am pretty sure you could marinate in fear every day of the week. Add the fact that it is up to us parents and mentors to teach these kids facts and wisdom about sexuality…
- Episode 222: Q & A with the Kriegs | Therapy, Burnout, and Your LGBTQ Q’s
It’s that time again: Let’s take your questions and try to respond with wisdom! Here are the ones we respond to today! How do you know when or if you need to move on from a therapist? How can we walk with people experiencing unwanted sexua…
- Episode 221: Two Approaches to Pride | Part 2 with Elizabeth Delgado Black
Today, we conclude our two-part series looking at strategies to intentionally and evangelistically approach Pride Month. To continue the conversation, we talk with Elizabeth Delgado Black who is an evangelist and the co-founder and preside…
- Episode 220: Two Approaches to Pride | Part 1 with Stephen Nylen
Some Christians write off June’s Pride festivals as Sodom and Gomorrah. They don’t think anyone there could possibly want God. Are we so sure about that? At least two ministries in the U.S. are regularly going to Pride festivals in their a…
- Episode 219: Treasures in the Dark with Katherine Wolf
When we are going through suffering, we don’t usually think, “Hmm, what treasures might God have for me to discover here?” It just feels like suffering. However, author and major stroke survivor, Katherine Wolf, has a message for us: God h…
- Episode 218: How Not to Be Discouraged in a Discouraging Year with Derwin Gray
“Hope in the gospel and discouragement are not mutually exclusive,” Pastor Derwin Gray encouraged us on today’s episode. But, how is that possible? The world can feel so defeating: Politics, racial division, pastor scandals, congregant sin…
- Episode 217: What Trees Can Teach Us About Living with Joy Marie Clarkson
This is a very gentle but powerful episode. Since having the conversation, I (Laurie) can’t stop seeing the people-as-trees metaphor everywhere. How? You’re just going to have to listen to find out. :) // Highlights: “We all have the seaso…
- Episode 216: From Christian Cult to Christ Follower with Christy Lynne Wood
Christy grew up in a hyper-legalistic system that added rigid rules to the gospel of Jesus. (You might have seen glimpses of it if you watched the documentary, ‘Shiny Happy People.’) Even after leaving, Christy internally battled the legal…
- Episode 215: A Testimony of Surrendered Gender with Kyla Gillespie
Oh, wow. This story. How does one woman go from a childhood of following Jesus as much as she knows how, to professional hockey, to same-sex relationships, to transitioning to male for six years, to finding the real Jesus, and then to de-t…
- Episode 214: What is Uniquely Hard and Hopeful for Married People Now? With Chris Bruno and Tracy Johnson
Is anyone else feeling like they are in a rut in their marriage? Maybe you’re not in crisis mode, but it’s kinda just . . . meh? It’s easy to function; to sit on opposite couches and scroll on your phone. But, do you wonder if marriage cou…
- Episode 213: The Value of Singleness with Dani Treweek
We are going to talk about singleness until we as the Church get this right, friends. People talk about how marriage gives us a vision of eternity in how two different people seeking union shows the world a picture of how God (who is so di…