Savoring Summer and Giving Thanks In the Middle of Your Story with Ann Voskamp- Episode 999

12 snips

Aug 25, 2025

Ann Voskamp, a New York Times bestselling author known for her impactful works on gratitude and spiritual growth, joins to discuss finding joy amidst suffering. She highlights the gifts we can carry from summer into fall, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging our life's challenges as part of our growth. The conversation explores themes of faith, the need for divine grace in difficult times, and the transformative power of gratitude. Ann shares insights from her devotional, encouraging listeners to embrace their journeys with mindfulness and reflection.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

When We Cause Our Own Pain

Suffering from our own mistakes requires conviction not condemnation. Repentance invites deeper experience of Christ's grace and transformation.

INSIGHT

Disciplines Are Channels, Not Currency

Spiritual disciplines are channels, not self-produced fruit. Ann realized she had relied on her own effort instead of depending on the Spirit to produce lasting change.

INSIGHT

Fruit Of Flesh Versus Spirit

Much of our 'fruit' can be sarx (flesh) not pneuma (Spirit). Recognizing this reframes failures as signs to depend more on God, not self-reliance.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

If you’ve been feeling stuck lately or every conversation or thing around you just feels hard, we’re going to talk about it today. Ann Voskamp going to help us figure out how to find some gifts in the middle of suffering as we answer the question, “What are the gifts of summer I should take into the fall?”

Go grab a copy of her 40-Day devotional Loved to Life and join me on Sept 10th (or sooner!). And also if you have never read One Thousand Gifts, I highly recommend getting a copy of that too!

If you're following along in your TSF Seasons Guidebook, we switched the date of this episode around, and we’re skipping ahead to page 91. As always, the guidebook is available for you at anniefdowns.com/seasons.

Find the show notes here

. . . . .

In September, we’re reading the Gospels together over on the Let’s Read the Gospels podcast and we’re using the Chronological Bible. So if hearing Ann talking about going through John chronologically sparked interest in you, we’d love for you to join us! We’ll start reading that version on September 1, so make sure you’re subscribed!

. . . . .

If you enjoyed this episode, I think you’d also these:

. . . . .

Want to watch this episode? Watch on your Spotify App, or head on over to our YouTube Channel and be sure to like and subscribe!

. . . . .

#thatsoundsfunpodcast

. . . . .

Thank you to our sponsors!

BetterHelp: Our friends get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/THATSOUNDSFUN.
WayFair: Get organized, refreshed, and back to routine for way less. Head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home.
AG1: Go to drinkAG1.com/soundsfun my friends will get a FREE Welcome Kit worth $76 when you subscribe, including 5 AG1 Travel Packs, a shaker, canister, and scoop!
NIV Application Bible: Save an additional 10% on any NIV Application Bible and NIV Application Commentary Resources by visiting faithgateway.com/NIVAB and use promo code THATSOUNDSFUN.
Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at shopify.com/soundsfun.
Thrive Market: Head over to ThriveMarket.com/THATSOUNDSFUN to get 30% off your first order and a FREE $60 gift.
Helix Sleep: Go to helixsleep.com/thatsoundsfun for 20% off sitewide. Make sure you enter our show name after checkout so they know we sent you!

NYTimes bestselling Christian author, speaker, and host of popular Christian podcast, That Sounds Fun Podcast, Annie F. Downs shares with you some of her favorite things: new books, faith conversations, entertainers not to miss, and interviews with friends.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices