At Christmas, we celebrate a God who does not heal from a distance, but enters fully into our humanity. In this episode, we explore what the Incarnation reveals about the way real healing unfolds — not through bypassing emotion, body, or relationship, but through inhabiting them with truth and love.

Drawing from Catholic anthropology and the Third Way framework, we reflect on why God chose flesh and blood, what that means for our nervous systems, our family relationships, and our longing for peace, and how healing happens slowly, relationally, and from the inside out. We explore how integration, rather than control or avoidance, is at the heart of both the spiritual life and relational restoration.

If you find yourself caught between staying connected and staying whole, this conversation offers a hopeful path forward.

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As mentioned, we invite you to join us for our upcoming webinar, where we’ll explore how to disentangle from family patterns without cutting people off or losing yourself. You can register here: https://unmeshed.online

And for those longing for deeper, ongoing accompaniment, our daily mentorship offers a space to walk this path with support, clarity, and presence — the kind of healing the Incarnation itself points us toward. You can find out more here: https://adrianandshae.com

Advent draws us into a kind of waiting that’s active, hopeful, and deeply human. In this episode, we explore how holy waiting mirrors the slow, interior work of healing — in ourselves, in our relationships, and within our families.

We share how waiting became a core part of our own story: navigating old patterns, living in the tension of the “not yet,” and learning to trust that God works in hidden places long before change becomes visible.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What Advent teaches us about waiting with expectation
• The difference between holy waiting and passive endurance
• Why healing unfolds slowly and why that’s aligned with Catholic anthropology
• What is and isn’t worth waiting for in your own healing
• How to stay grounded when transformation feels delayed

Referenced:

Shadow & Light Advent Reflection: https://www.tshoxenreider.com/advent

Advent Calendar: https://shopstoryofthislife.com/

If the waiting in your own life has been stirring things up…
We’d love to walk with you. Join us for our upcoming webinar where we’ll explore how to disentangle from family-of-origin patterns without cutting people off or losing yourself. Save your free seat at the link below:

https://unmeshed.online/webinar-registration-page

In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the real beginning of Third Way Mentorship — long before we ever had a name for it.

We start with a simple question we get all the time:
What is mentorship, and how did we end up doing this work?
We share how daily accompaniment became not just a professional calling, but the very thing that transformed our lives, our marriage, and the way we relate to the people we love most.

Inside this episode, we explore:

• What mentorship actually is

• How our own mentorship journeys changed our marriage

• How moving into my parents guesthouse forced us to face wounds we had avoided

• How that season became the kickstarter for Third Way Mentorship

• And lastly, what to do when the holidays feel heavy or complicated

You’ll leave this episode with a deeper understanding of where our work comes from — not an abstract theory, but real relationship, real wounds, and real healing that unfolded in the pressure cooker of family life.

If you’ve ever wondered whether change inside your family is possible…
If you’re longing for a more connected, grounded holiday season…
Or if you simply want to understand the heart behind Third Way Mentorship…

This episode is for you.

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As mentioned in the episode — join us on November 23rd for our webinar!

We’re hosting a free live webinar where we’ll teach you how to navigate family dynamics without losing yourself, shutting down, or blowing up.

The Way of Unmeshment: How to Find Peace With Your Family Without Cutting Them Off

🗓 Sunday, November 23
⏰ 7pm CST / 8pm ET
🎟 Save your seat → [Register Here]

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If this episode resonates with you and you want support as you navigate your own family dynamics — especially heading into the holidays — you can learn more or book a free call with us at adrianandshae.com.

We launched on All Saints Day because we want the saints’ intercession over this work—and because their lives show us what integrated, grace-filled healing looks like. In this first conversation, we unpack the Communion of Saints, what healthy community is meant to give us (love, belonging, formation), and why so many of us feel isolated in a culture of dis-integration—often beginning in the family, the “cell of society.” We name the pain without getting stuck in blame. Adrian shares a personal story, and together we explore how owning our woundedness—rather than fixing, minimizing, or avoiding it—opens real relationship with one another and with those who’ve gone before us.

What we cover

• Why All Saints Day matters for this podcast and our mission
• A simple, lived explanation of the Communion of Saints
• Community as a human necessity (beyond basic needs: love & belonging)
• How cultural disintegration shows up first in families—and what that means
• Moving from victimhood to responsibility without self-shame
• Adrian’s personal example of taking ownership and choosing repair
• How acknowledging wounds becomes the doorway to deep communion
• Closing intercessory prayer asking a few saints who’ve shaped our story to pray with us

Three takeaways

1. You’re made for communion. Isolation isn’t just uncomfortable—it’s contrary to who you are.
2. Naming the wound is not failure. It’s the start of healing and real connection.
3. Responsibility is freedom. Refusing blame narratives gives you the power to love with integrity.

Try this this week

• Name one pattern in your family story without judgment.
• Ask a favorite saint to intercede for you specifically in that place.
• Take one small step of responsibility (a boundary, an apology, a request for help).

Resources & links

• Our website: adrianandshae.com
• Say hello or send questions/feedback: hello@adrianandshae.com
  
  

Support the show

If this episode served you, please rate, review, and share the podcast with a friend who needs hope before the holidays. Your support helps others find this work.

Torn between protecting your heart and staying close to the people you love? There’s another way — and it starts here.

Join us to start healing family dysfunction by restoring order, finding freedom, and living in joy. This trailer introduces the Third Way — a path to wholeness right in the middle of the messy, beautiful work of family life.