Libsyn Directory

#439 God, Can We Chat? Bringing Our Doubts to God with Niki Hardy

Release Date: 04/30/2025

Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

Well friends, today’s episode is going to be a bit different! After nine years of weekly episodes, I’ve made the decision to take a break from the show for a little bit. This isn’t something I’ve taken lightly- it's something I’ve been praying about, wrestling with, and reflecting on for months. And while it’s hard to hit pause on something I love so much, I know it’s the right time. With my daughter heading into middle school, my son starting fourth grade, my first year of seminary coming to a close, and my 40th birthday around the corner (!), life has been beautifully full. In...

#440 - Organize First, Decorate Second with Whitney English

Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

I’m thrilled to welcome back my friend, Whitney English, to the show today! She is an author, artist, and self-proclaimed reluctant expert in surviving family drama with grace... and a glue gun. Whitney is known for telling the truth with humor, finding beauty in the mess, and believing that good stories and good design can heal just about anything- whether she’s organizing a junk drawer or untangling generational dysfunction. Her new book, Organize First, Decorate Second, is out now, and today, we’re diving into everything from the psychology of organization and decoration to practical...

#439 God, Can We Chat? Bringing Our Doubts to God with Niki Hardy

Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

I'm thrilled to welcome Niki Hardy to the show this week! Niki is the author of the Audie Award-nominated Breathe Again and One Minute Prayers for Women With Cancer. Her newest book, God, Can We Chat? A Daringly Honest Guide to Growing Closer to God, One Doubt at a Time, hit shelves in March, which I’m so excited to chat about today. Niki has left corporate life, moved continents, gone to seminary, planted churches, launched businesses and nonprofits, and navigated seasons of deep loss, cancer, church hurt, and painful uncertainty. Through it all, she firmly believes that God loves a...

#438 - Chicken-Fried Wisdom & the Women Who Raised Us (Right-ish) with Melissa Radke

Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

You are in for an absolute treat this week! My guest is the one and only Melissa Radke- bestselling author, speaker, TV personality, comedian, and the self-proclaimed HGIC (Head Girlfriend in Charge). With over 1.1 million followers, Melissa has been lifting women up since 2016, dishing out everything from hair tips to life advice with her signature humor and heart. Her brand-new book, Chicken Fried Women, just hit the shelves, which is a love letter to the strong, faith-filled, flawed, and unforgettable women who shaped her life. She reflects on generational legacies, healing family dynamics,...

#437 From Resentment to Repair in Marriage with Dr. Morgan Cutlip

Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

This week on the podcast, I’m joined once again by the brilliant Dr. Morgan Cutlip- author, psychologist, and relationship expert. She is known for equipping individuals and couples with practical, down-to-earth tools to navigate the most challenging parts of relationships. She has a true gift for turning psychological research into relatable, real-life strategies, and she shares her wisdom through her books, courses, blog, podcast, and social media platforms. Morgan first joined us to talk about her book Love Your Kids Without Losing Yourself, and now she’s back with her brand-new...

#436 - Shatterproof - Pain to Purpose with ESPN's Lauren Sisler

Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

This week, I am so excited to be joined by the incredible Lauren Sisler. She is an Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster, ESPN sideline reporter, author, keynote speaker, and the queen of the sideline shimmy. After landing her dream career with ESPN and reporting on college football and gymnastics, she began to open up about a story she once kept hidden: losing both of her parents to opioid addiction. Through sharing her journey, Lauren has not only shed light on the stigma surrounding addiction, but she’s also found a powerful way to help others navigate their own struggles. Whether...

#435 - The Sacred Order of the Underestimated with Mary Marantz

Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

I’m thrilled to welcome back my dear friend Mary Marantz for her third appearance on the show! If you’ve been here a while, you already know how incredible Mary is- she’s a powerhouse in every sense of the word. As a podcaster, author, speaker, photographer, and coach, she truly does it all. Today, we’re diving into her latest book, Underestimated, which releases later this month. We’re talking about what it means to be underestimated, why fear is a boring liar, and how playing small was never part of your purpose. This conversation was so good and I’m so excited to share it with...

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Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

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Can I Laugh On Your Shoulder?

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Niki has left corporate life, moved continents, gone to seminary, planted churches, launched businesses and nonprofits, and navigated seasons of deep loss, cancer, church hurt, and painful uncertainty. Through it all, she firmly believes that God loves a cheerful doubter.

In this conversation, we talk about what it means to bring your real questions and struggles to God, and how to navigate those seasons when it feels like He’s silent. It’s a rich and hope-filled reminder that joy can exist even in the hardest seasons.

4:30 – Niki 101

• Moving from the UK to North Carolina
• What led Niki to becoming an author
• Niki’s family and love for nature

6:11 – The Cheerful Doubter

• Niki’s struggle to reconcile her doubts
• Turning towards God in times of doubt
• How doubt and faith can coexist

12:51 – Walking in Doubt

• For the person that feels let down by God
• Practical steps for doubt walking
• The acronym “CHAT”

23:35 – The Legacy of Doubting Saints

• Peter walking on water
• Devotional elements and exercises Niki’s book
• Holding doubts and joys together

29:08 – God, Can We Speed Chat?

• Rapid fire questions with Niki
• Where you can connect with Niki
• Getting your copy of God, Can We Chat?

FEATURED QUOTES

“I think God actually loves a cheerful doubter. I think he'd rather we came to him than we just slid out the side door.”

“Feel free to question His presence and His provision and His providence and His goodness and His mercy, and cry out to Him, but turn towards him, not away from him.”

“I think holding the doubt and the questions and the confusion in tension with the joy and the love and the faith that we do have is just such a healthy way of walking our faith journey out.”

Learn more about Niki:

https://www.nikihardy.com/

Get your copy of God, Can We Chat?

https://www.nikihardy.com/godcanwechat

Niki on Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NikiHardyauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niki.hardy/?hl=en

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