Social media, what do you think about it? Do you think social media hurts your friendships
or do you think it helps keep you connected?  The answer is both. Social media can help strengthen friendships and it can also hurt  friendships.  It all depends on how YOU choose to use your social media.  Do you use it to consume or do you use it to connect?
 
Today my guest, Angela Pitnikoff and I chat about social media & how we can take control of how we use it in regards to being intentional in our friendships. When it comes to friendships, social media has created a whole new ball game.  It gives us the ability to stay connected with virtually anyone at any hour of the day, but it also can make it much harder to have deep meaningful connections.  Angela shares ways to use social media in ways to grow our connections with the people that we care about.  This conversation definitely  inspired me to not just be a "scroller" on social media but a friend who sees and engages in what my friends are posting. 

Angela is a Pastor's wife, mom to 3 boys, new podcaster, & worship leader. She loves helping women understand their true identity that only comes from Jesus! She has a heart to also take people into the deeper places with God through worship!

CONNECT WITH ANGELA:
Facebook: Kingdom Daughters Sisterhood
Instagram: @mrsangelapitnikoff
Podcast: The Kingdom Daughters Podcast

CONNECT WITH ME:
Facebook:  Connecting in the Chaos
Instagram :  @heather.oncken
Email : heather@connectinginthechaos.com
Click here for my free guide Simple Ways to be Intentional in our Friendships.
Click here to leave me a review at iTunes!! Let me know why you love this podcast.

I have my friend Mary Ann Griffith a licensed therapist back with me today, and we are discussing the 5 love languages.  This conversation is based off of Dr. Gary Chapman's best seller, The 5 Love Languages.  We dive into what the 5 love languages are, and why it is so important to know the love languages of those closest to us.  Love languages gives us an insight on how a person receives love. When we understand how someone receives love then it in return can help us to show them love in the way that they best receive it.  Taking the time to learn the love languages of those closest to you will not only take the guess work out of how to show them that you love and appreciate them, but it will also help build and strengthen that relationship. 

Gary Chapman The 5 Love Languages
Click Here to take the Love Language Quiz

CONNECT WITH MARY ANN:
Instagram: therenewalsession
Podcast: The Renewal Session

CONNECT WITH ME:
Facebook:  Connecting in the Chaos
Instagram :  @heather.oncken
Email : heather@connectinginthechaos.com
Click here for my free guide Simple Ways to be Intentional in our Friendships.
Click here to leave me a review at iTunes!! Let me know why you love this podcast.

Valentine's Day is almost here and for those who are single this time of the year can be painful and difficult.  Valentine’s Day often brings to mind images of happy couples exchanging gifts & a date out on the town, enjoying dinner by candlelight.  If you aren’t in a romantic relationship, Valentine's Day can feel like a slap in the face.  It may seem as if everyone is married or has a significant other except you. 

Today my guest, Merritt Onsa and I discuss why this time of year can be painful if you are single and what we can do to show our single friends that they are loved and they matter.
Merritt married later in life at the age of 39.  She shares the struggles she experienced with being single much later than she expected and gives some practical ways we can love our single friends.

If you are a single friend listening to this I want to remind and encourage you that if God has placed the desire in your heart to be married, continue to seek Him in asking for that.  Remember that God's timeline and our timeline rarely line up but that we can trust that His perfect timing is the best. Know that your worth and value is in Jesus alone and no human being can fill the void that only Jesus can fill.  To my married friends please take this time and look for ways your can be intentional in your everyday to show your single friends the value and importance that they bring to your life.  I pray this episode leaves you encouraged and loved.

CONNECT WITH MERRITT:
Facebook:   Devoted Dreamers   
Instagram:  @merrittjo
Website:  merrittonsa.com

CONNECT WITH ME:
Facebook:  Connecting in the Chaos
Instagram :  @heather.oncken
Email : heather@connectinginthechaos.com
Click here for my free guide Simple Ways to be Intentional in our Friendships.
If you are loving this podcast and its helping you with your friendships, would you head on over to iTunes or your favorite podcast app and leave a rating and review?
Click here to leave me a review at iTunes!!  Let me know why you love this podcast. 

Happy February!! Today we are talking all things Galentine's Day.  For those of you that are not familiar with Galentine's Day let me fill you in.  Galentine's Day is celebrated on February 13th and is a day to celebrate all the women in your life that you love.  How fun, right??
 It is a day that gives us all the opportunity to let our friends know how much we love them, and how important they are in our lives!

My sweet friend Brandy Traylor joins me today.  We are share a little history of Galentine's Day and also why we think it is so important that we take this day to celebrate it.  We also give you some simple suggestions on how to celebrate this day.

We hope that after you listen to this episode that it will inspire you to celebrate this fun day with all the gals in your life.


CONNECT WITH ME:
Facebook:  Connecting in the Chaos
Instagram:  @heather.oncken
Email: heather@connectinginthechaos.com
Click here for my free guide Simple Ways to be Intentional in our Friendships.
Click here to leave me a review at iTunes!! Let me know why you love this podcast.

Hey Friends, I am back!! I took a much needed break to enjoy the holiday season but I am happy to finally be back.  This episode is short and sweet.  I am going to give you a preview of what is to come next month on Connecting in the Chaos and also share my vision for the podcast as I transition into season 2. 

CONNECT WITH ME:
Facebook:  Connecting in the Chaos
Instagram :  @heather.oncken
Email : heather@connectinginthechaos.com
Click here for my free guide Simple Ways to be Intentional in our Friendships.
Click here to leave me a review at iTunes!! Let me know why you love this podcast.

These days, we are more connected than ever through social media. Most of us have hundreds of "friends" on all of our different social media networks, yet we find ourselves lonelier than  we have ever been.  Experts have declared that we are in a loneliness epidemic.
Today, I am talking with Sue Donaldson about why we feel so lonely and what we can do to get out of the loneliness.  Sue loves mentoring & teaching about hospitality and believes that hospitality is one of the best ways to reduce the loneliness we feel.

Speaker, author, Sue and her husband, Mark, live in San Luis Obispo, California. Sue taught high school English, part of the time in Brazil with Wycliffe Bible Translators. She and her husband, Mark, have raised 3 daughters who keep them at the bank and on their knees. Sue loves connecting people to one another, to God, and to His Word, and has been speaking for the last 20 years or so with long pauses for babies, diapers and soccer pasta parties. She blogs at WelcomeHeart: Knowing and Showing the Heart of God and hosts a weekly podcast: Make it Count: Living a Legacy Life- https://welcomeheart.com/podcast

Sue's Free Resources:
Click Here for Sue's free resources on hospitality and connecting.
Click Here for printable guide to Five Ideas for Holiday Gathering.
Click here for Hospitality Challenge.

Sue’s books:
-Come to My Table: God’s Hospitality and Yours
-Hospitality, 101: Lessons from the Ultimate Host, a 12-Week Bible Study
Table Mentoring: A Simple Guide to Coming Alongside
-Say Something Special: 252 Conversation Starters, The Ultimate Guide to Stimulating Table     Talk

CONNECT WITH SUE:
Facebook: Sue Moore Donaldson
Instagram: @suemooredonaldson
Twitter: @welcomeheart
Pinterest: welcome_heart

Sue's 15 keynotes and 8 Retreat Series can be found here:  https://welcomeheart.com/speaking-topic-detail
Join Sue's Facebook group Welcome Heart, Welcome Home https://www.facebook.com/groups/welcomeheart

CONNECT WITH ME:
Facebook:  Connecting in the Chaos
Instagram :  @heather.oncken
Email : heather@connectinginthechaos.com
Click here for my free guide Simple Ways to be Intentional in our Friendships.
Click here to leave me a review at iTunes!! Let me know why you love this podcast.

The holidays can be a challenging time of year for someone who has lost a loved one.  Whether that loss was this year or four years ago, the holidays can be hard.  My guest, Tricia Roos, is no stranger to grief and she shares her story of the loss of her daughter, Annabelle.  She discusses with me what it looks like to walk through both grief and the holidays and how the holidays can be a triggering time for someone who has experienced a loss.  She gives practical ways we can be sensitive and thoughtful during the holidays to our friend who has experienced a loss.  When we don't acknowledge our friend's loss, we can come off as being insensitive or like we don't care.  That very often is not the case.  The reality is that grief can be uncomfortable and many times we may feel like we do not know the right thing to say or do.  After this conversation with Tricia, I pray that you walk away from it feeling more comfortable and better equipped to be supportive during the holidays for a friend after a loss.

Tricia also shares about her new book called "When Wishes Change."  This book is an open-eyed look at blind trust and is a lesson for all ages that hardship can end in hope. This book is for anyone who has had to surrender their dream of what they wanted their life to look like for the life that is God's plan. We know that surrendering our dreams can be hard, but we also know that God's plan and way is always best.

CONNECT WITH TRICIA:
Book Link: Click Here to purchase When Wishes Change
Facebook: When Wishes Change
Website: www.whenwisheschange.com
Instagram: @whenwisheschange
Tiktok: @whenwisheschange   

CONNECT WITH ME:
Facebook:  Connecting in the Chaos
Instagram :  @heather.oncken
Email : heather@connectinginthechaos.com
Click here for my free guide Simple Ways to be Intentional in our Friendships.
Click here to leave me a review at iTunes!! Let me know why you love this podcast.