In this episode of the "God Pod", Leanne invites you to redefine "surrender" and actively shift from self-reliance to God's guidance. Diving into the first ingredient AND the first "God Block", the focus is on Self-Acceptance as both an ingredient for a loving Self-Image and a potential block to receiving God's love.

Consider this episode a roadmap to recognizing and addressing your own "God Blocks", fostering self-acceptance, and taking practical steps to actually break through the "Paradox of Acceptance"...and how to accept yourself (even with all the messy bits) when you DON'T accept yourself.

HOST: Leanne Ellington // @leanneellington // StresslessEating.com

To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.

Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leanne is kicking off a new series based on her own experiences navigating "The Paradox of Worthiness" (as she calls it). As in, how do you feel worthy when you don't feel worthy?

There is so much talk nowadays about self-love and worthiness, but the crucial question remains: How do we truly embrace it if all we’ve ever known is the opposite? How do you suddenly feel worthy if all you’ve ever known is feeling unworthy?

In this kickoff to the series, Leanne introduces you to (what she calls) "The 5 Blocks To Love", and how she discovered that when it came to actually FEELING worthy of being loved, that was a really hard concept for her to grasp at first. It felt like something was actually blocking her.

And that's when she discovered that there were "5 Blocks" that were hindering her ability to RECEIVE what was already there, and that this was what was actually causing her resistance. She also discovered that removing those blocks catapulted her ability to connect to herself, others, and God.

You're going to get an in-depth look at each of these blocks in this upcoming series, but first she dives into the fusion of faith, neuroscience, and self-image as a pathway to feeling worthy and putting yourself in the optimal position to remove your own blocks.

Episodes Mentioned:

- The Faith-Brain Connection: Where Self Image Meets Neuroscience
- A Scientist Goes Looking For God
- How God Helped Me Heal My Fears About Being Alone the Rest of My Life

Authors Mentioned:

- Curt Thompson: https://curtthompsonmd.com/

- Chip Dodd: https://www.chipdodd.com/

HOST: Leanne Ellington // @leanneellington // StresslessEating.com

To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.

Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PART 4 of 4: If you're tired of the 'say-do' gap, this episode will help bridge the divide and you'll see that you can achieve results by working smarter, not harder. The final part to break free from negativity and help you nurture an "emotionally healthy" brain is the doing and you're awesome for making it to the homestretch!

In PART 4 you learn:

- How to play a "winning game" (And STOP playing a "losing game")
- Minimums, not maximums (and how this is also part of neuro-magic)
- How to "Reverse Engineer" your life.
- Now you can truly “act as if.”

All the resources mentioned in this episode can be found at:
www.LeanneEllington.com/ActingAsIf

This is a 4-part series, so if you missed PARTS 1, 2 & 3 go give them a listen. Amy & Leanne designed it to listen to (in order 1-4) to help you learn, grasp, and use right away – even if “positive thinking" or “acting as if” has NEVER worked for you in the past.

HOST: Amy Brown // @RadioAmy // RadioAmy.com

HOST: Leanne Ellington // @leanneellington // StresslessEating.com

To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.

Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PART 3 of 4: In this episode you will discover the truth about beliefs & change with Amy as Leanne shatters myths, revealing the powerful role of genuine belief in transforming your life.

In PART 3 you learn:

- How your CURRENT Self-Image & Beliefs unconsciously undermine what you truly want.
- Why "You can’t kid a kidder" (Why you cannot "B.S." your self-image)
- Positive vs negative neuro-associations -- and how to make your Self Image beliefs (what they refer to as) "neuromagic"
- How to do "A Beliefs Overhaul" (The 3 Steps that you can wash, rinse, repeat)

All the resources mentioned in this episode can be found at:
www.LeanneEllington.com/ActingAsIf

This is a 4-part series, so if you missed PARTS 1 & 2 go give it a listen. This was designed to listen to (in order 1-4) to help you learn, grasp, and use right away – even if “positive thinking" or “acting as if” has NEVER worked for you in the past.

HOST: Amy Brown // @RadioAmy // RadioAmy.com

HOST: Leanne Ellington // @leanneellington // StresslessEating.com

To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.

Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PART 2 of 4: Ever wonder why your thoughts and feelings don't sync up? Amy & Leanne share a fresh-yet-totally-doable approach that will help you reclaim the reins of confusing thoughts in our head…so that stepping into WHO YOU WANT TO BE actually becomes possible!

In PART 2 you learn:

- Why it's not your CIRCUMSTANCES that dictate your reality, it's your THOUGHTS, and how every single thought CAUSES a feeling-- not the other way around.
- Why your Self Image knows how you really feel, so before you can "act as if" or "believe a new reality", it's got to FEEL good, FEEL true, and resonate.
- How to truly flip "negative emotions" on their head and find the gold in what it's trying to teach you.

All the resources mentioned in this episode can be found at:
www.LeanneEllington.com/ActingAsIf

This is a 4-part series, so if you missed PART 1 go give it a listen. This is designed to listen to (in order 1-4) to help you learn, grasp, and use right away – even if “positive thinking" or “acting as if” has NEVER worked for you in the past.

HOST: Amy Brown // @RadioAmy // RadioAmy.com

HOST: Leanne Ellington // @leanneellington // StresslessEating.com

To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.

Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PART 1 of 4: Are you feeling stuck or battling self-doubt? Do you want to take ownership of your life by taking ownership of your thoughts? If yes and yes, then "Acting As If" is for you! Amy Brown & Self-Image Scientist Leanne Ellington designed this 4-part series to help you shift your thoughts, so that “Acting As If” becomes possible for your brain to adopt. In each episode, you get effective strategies to break free from the grip of negativity & gain insights on nurturing an "emotionally healthy" brain.

In PART 1 you learn:

- Why "Acting As If" is not a matter of positive affirmations or fake-it-til-you-make it.
- Rewiring your brain for peace in the chaos
- Distinguishing the data vs the drama of your situation
- How to give yourself your own "reality check" to stop the downward spiral of thoughts in your brain.

We can all struggle with downward spiraling thoughts:

"Why did I eat that?"
"Why didn't he call me?"
"Why can't I stop that?"
"Does that make me a bad mom?"
"Why should I bother? Is this just how it will always be?"

Things like "fake it ‘til you make it" + turning everything “into a positive" will NOT outsmart your brain...and there’s a reason why.

All the resources mentioned in this episode can be found at:
www.LeanneEllington.com/ActingAsIf

HOST: Amy Brown // @RadioAmy // RadioAmy.com

HOST: Leanne Ellington // @leanneellington // StresslessEating.com

To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.

Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sydney was in ministry. She was serving God, leading others, preaching His love and promises. But behind closed doors, she felt miles away from Him.

She knew God's word. She could quote the promises. She believed they were true... for everyone else. But for her, they felt so far off. Like words on a page that didn't quite land in her heart.

And on top of that, she was going through a breakup, questioning her job, unsure of her next steps, and secretly struggling with food in a way she'd never fully acknowledged before. She found comfort in food. She thought that was normal. But she didn't realize how much that comfort was masking a deeper disconnection from herself and from God.

Sydney was stuck in a cycle of comparison, shame, and pressure. She put so much pressure on herself to have her walk with God look a certain way, to feel a certain way about Him. And when she didn't, the shame would creep in. She couldn't separate her circumstances from her view of God. And she couldn't separate the drama in her head from the truth.

Everything felt true. The lies felt like facts. And she didn't know how to sift through it.

In June 2025, at 26 years old, Sydney made a decision. She wasn't going to keep living like this. She wasn't going to let this be her narrative for the rest of her life. She was single, she had time, and she knew: why not now?

In this powerful case study, Sydney shares how she finally learned to separate what she perceived to be her reality from what was actually true. How she got to the bottom of the iceberg instead of just trying to fix the tip. How she learned to feel her feelings without falling down the rabbit hole. How she stopped slapping positive affirmations and Scripture on top of pain that hadn't been processed.

And how she finally invited God into the one area of her life she'd kept Him out of: her food, her body, her self-image.

Today, Sydney is living from a place of freedom. She's comfortable being alone with herself and with God. She actually looks forward to journaling and praying. She's not turning to food for comfort anymore because she's found real comfort in God and in herself.

And the sweetest part? She's now able to pass on what she's learned. She's helping her friends catch the lies they're believing. She's loving people better because she finally learned how to love herself.

If you've ever felt like you know God's promises are true but they don't feel true for you, or if you've ever felt disconnected from God even while serving Him, Sydney's story is for you. Because healing isn't about trying harder or knowing more. It's about getting to the root. And it's about finally inviting God into the places you've kept Him out.

HOST: Leanne Ellington // StresslessEating.com // @LeanneEllington // @theteenagerbrain

To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.

Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the emotions you fear most are actually the gateway to your greatest freedom? In this final episode of our series, Chip and Leanne explore how to stop fearing emotions and start listening to them instead. They break down the connection between numbing and disconnection, why vulnerability is the key to healing, and how embracing your emotions can lead to real joy and fulfillment. With practical tools and mindset shifts, this episode will empower you to move from numbing to healing—so you can reclaim your peace, presence, and power.

Visit Chip's website at: ChipDodd.com

You can order your copy of Chip's book, The Voice of the Heart: A Call To Full Living HERE.

Listen to the Living With Heart Podcast HERE.

HOST: Leanne Ellington // StresslessEating.com // @leanneellington

To learn more about Leanne, head over to www.LeanneEllington.com, and to share your thoughts, questions, feedback, or guest suggestions instantly, head on over to www.WhatsGodGotToDoWithIt.com.

Follow Leanne on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leanneellington/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.