Habits of Hope: Cultivating a Deeper Life with God
Are you looking to build rhythms of daily life that strengthen your faith and bring you closer to God? Habits of Hope is your guide for developing spiritual habits that nurture your soul and deepen your connection with God. Hosted by Ginger Harrington and co-host Larissa Traquair, each episode explores how small, consistent choices can lead to significant spiritual growth.
At Habits of Hope, we believe that cultivating a life rooted in hope comes through daily rhythms that help us trust God’s faithfulness, even in difficult seasons. Whether you're looking to refresh your spiritual practices or find encouragement during hard times, this podcast provides practical tools and biblical wisdom to help you grow spiritually.
In this podcast, we will help you:
- Feel more connected to God in your daily life through practical spiritual habits.
- Overcome stagnation in your faith by fostering consistent spiritual growth.
- Trust God’s faithfulness, even during life’s hardest moments.
- Establish and maintain daily rhythms of prayer, reflection, and scripture.
- Navigate life's stresses with spiritual and emotional encouragement rooted in faith.
- Reconnect with God when you feel spiritually empty or distant.
- Build a consistent and meaningful prayer life with simple, actionable strategies.
- Overcome doubt and find renewed hope in your faith journey.
- Release unhealthy comparisons and trust in God’s unique timing for your life.
- Discover purpose and meaning in everyday life through small, intentional habits of faith.
Each episode offers inspiring conversations, stories, and actionable steps to help you live a life of faith, hope, and purpose. If you're ready to build habits that foster a deeper connection with God, then you're in the right place. Let’s get started—because a deeper life begins now.
Habits of Hope: Cultivating a Deeper Life with God
61.How Gratitude Can Anchor Your Heart Through Grief and Trauma
Gratitude may feel impossible in grief or trauma, but it can still become a steadying anchor for your heart.
Gratitude sounds simple until life shatters. In this tender, two-part conversation, we explore what gratitude looks like in the real valleys of grief and trauma—and why it often feels out of reach when your heart is hurting.
In the first half of the episode, Larissa shares honestly from her experience as a widow and how long-rooted spiritual habits helped steady her when nothing in life felt predictable or secure. We talk about why gratitude feels harder in heavy seasons, how grief narrows your world, and practical ways to interrupt the negative spirals that come with discouragement and emotional overload.
In the second half, we’re joined by licensed professional counselor Heather Shealy-Mawhirter, who brings biblical wisdom and clinical insight to the conversation. Heather helps us understand how trauma affects the mind and body, why gratitude can feel “inaccessible” after traumatic loss, and how gentle, realistic steps can create space for healing without minimizing pain. Her metaphors and guidance bring clarity, compassion, and hope for anyone who feels overwhelmed by what they’re carrying.
Whether you’re grieving, healing from trauma, or supporting someone who is, this episode offers steady encouragement and practical tools to help you anchor your heart in God’s presence—one small step at a time.
Key Takeaways
- Why gratitude feels especially difficult during grief or trauma
- How long-term spiritual habits can hold you steady when life falls apart
- The difference between grief and trauma—and why both affect gratitude differently
- Why feelings aren’t facts, and how truth helps reframe your perspective
- Gentle ways to interrupt negative thought spirals before they take root
- How gratitude helps widen your view when trauma narrows life to survival
- Why gratitude doesn’t bypass the pain—it anchors what is still meaningful, good, and true
Heather Shealy-Mawhirter, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor in Texas and a Narrative and Solution-Focused therapist with extensive experience working with survivors of sexual trauma, anticipatory grief, and life-transition challenges. She brings a unique experiential approach
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- Sign up for the beautiful Habits of Hope mini-devotional
- Ginger's Website: https://gingerharrington.com/
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- Larissa’s Website:https://www.gr8tfulchick.com/
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- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/gr8tfulchick
Habits of Hope Podcast is for informational and inspirational purposes only. This podcast is not a substitute for professional advice—spiritual, medical, legal, or otherwise.
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