Timestamps:
 0:00 Intro — meet Julie Berry
 0:46 Growing up Catholic in Argentina
 1:54 The line her mom drew: birth control and Opus Dei
 3:53 ‘That’s a capital sin’ — confession at age 10
 6:09 Witnessing hypocrisy in church
 7:47 Walking away from Catholicism — yoga, Buddhism, and a God without guilt
 11:02 Teaching spirituality and the start of manifestation
 14:04 Discovering Deepak Chopra’s yoga school
 16:51 Divorce, loneliness, and a friend’s kindness
 18:03 Trying church again in Colorado — too crowded
 22:31 Her most distant moment: her father’s death
 27:31 Her closest moment: moving to Denver for herself
 28:33 Her daily relationship with God today
 32:16 The book that changed her life at age 13
 34:43 Defining God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit
 40:19 Two stories of answered prayer
 44:01 What she loves — and struggles with — in scripture
 46:22 Why she doesn’t go to church now
 49:53 Is there such a thing as a sin-free day?
 52:28 Finding purpose through teaching
 54:58 Closing thoughts and where to find Julie

If this conversation resonated, subscribe for more honest faith stories on Big G Talks — and let us know in the comments: when have you felt furthest from God, and what brought you back?

Timestamps:
 0:00 Intro — Episode 5: Unanswered Prayers
 0:26 Point 0: Faith isn't transactional
 1:14 Confession: testing God with prayers
 2:31 Point 1: The types of unanswered prayers
 3:13 1a — Selfish prayers vs. prayers to help others
 8:18 1b — Wrong direction, right silence
 10:13 1c — Chasing results vs. the journey
 12:15 Point 2: Scripture never promises every prayer gets answered
 15:23 Point 3: Get curious, not discouraged
 16:32 Point 4: The prayer that got answered (a serial-dating confession)
 19:56 A theory on which prayers get answered

If this episode helped you think differently about prayer, subscribe for more honest conversations about faith — and drop a comment with a prayer of yours that wasn't answered the way you expected.

This one's less structured than usual — I sat down to write out why loving Jesus feels so difficult for me personally, and it turned into a waterfall of reasons. So instead of saving the big realization for the end like I planned, I moved it up front. This might end up being part one of a series.

What I get into:
- Why I'm a perfectionist and a control freak about faith, and how that makes we want a "right answer" for what loving Jesus even looks like
- Why obeying Jesus's teachings — especially loving my neighbor — feels so awkward in real life (yes, there's a bit about literally knocking on my neighbor's door to say "I love you")
- Why Jesus can feel like he's stuck 2000 years in the past, and why it's easier to feel love from a friend who says "I love you, man" today than from Scripture written centuries ago
- Why I think I'm just bad at love in general — awkward expressing it, afraid of giving too much, and putting "love" on a pedestal I don't feel like I can reach
- The fear that if I tell Jesus I love him, it's somehow fake or transactional — like I'm just trying to get something out of it
- Wrestling with "faith without works is dead" vs. the idea that the sacrifice on the cross already covers it — and landing on the idea that maybe love is just having faith that the sacrifice actually happened

This is Big G Talks: real people, real faith, told honestly — including when it's genuinely hard.

🌐 www.BigGTalks.com

#BigGTalks #Faith #Christianity #ChristianPodcast #spirituality

Mimi rates her belief in "God" a 2.5 out of 10 — but that number doesn't tell the whole story. We get into her philosophy of a "source energy" that runs through everyone, why she calls herself a "recovering Catholic," and the two brain hemorrhages (nine years apart) that made her rethink everything about mortality, purpose, and faith.

What we get into:
- Why Mimi believes in "source energy" instead of a "big guy in the sky"
- Surviving two brain hemorrhages — the first at 22, an unexpected second one years later — and what it's actually like to think you might die
- Family ghost stories: a broken garage fan that turns itself on, and what that means about energy after death
- The "eight grams theory" and why she believes souls can have unfinished business
- Growing up Catholic, the guilt and shame that came with it, and why she now calls herself spiritual rather than religious
- Finding her purpose as a storyteller — from wanting to be an actor as a kid, to teaching, to standup comedy, to now working on a documentary
- A very honest, very funny story about praying over croissants on a first date

By the end of the conversation, Mimi's own number moves from 2.5 to 3.5 — proof that just talking about this stuff can shift things.

This is Big G Talks: real people, real faith (or lack of it), told honestly.

Find Mimi:
🌐 writingwithmimi.com
📸 Instagram: search "Mimi Hayes' Brain"

🌐 www.BigGTalks.com

#BigGTalks #Faith #Spirituality #Interview #MimiHayes

I spent 15 years (age 19 to 34) believing in "the universe" as my higher power instead of God. In this episode I walk through the real pros and cons of both — no judgment, just my honest experience — and then share the personal story of how I ended up choosing a relationship with Christ instead.

What we get into:

• The cons of believing in "the universe" as God — it's vague, and for me, it got lonely

• The one real pro of believing in the universe (and why it's more compelling than people admit)

• Why church left a bad taste in my mouth, and how that pushed me away from God for over a decade

• The pros of faith in Christ — specific teachings, grace, forgiveness, and yes, even the "self-help" angle

• The real con of choosing Christ: you can't fully avoid the church

• My own journey — growing up attending church out of obligation, 15 years exploring the universe, meditation, and other philosophies, and finally coming back to faith in Christ at 35

This isn't a sermon. It's just a regular person's honest attempt to figure out real-life spirituality, out loud.

🌐 www.BigGTalks.com

Chapters:
0:00 Christ or the universe? Setting up the question
1:25 Believing in "the universe": the cons
2:44 Believing in "the universe": it gets lonely
3:36 The one pro of believing in the universe
4:26 Why church left a bad taste in my mouth
5:33 Pros and cons of believing in Christ
7:06 Pro: specific teachings, grace, and forgiveness
7:53 "God and Jesus love me more than I hate myself"
9:00 Con: you can't fully escape the church
11:00 Christ, self-help, and real life
12:25 My story: church as a kid, 15 years chasing "the universe"
14:41 How I came back to faith in Christ at 35
16:37 Closing thoughts

#BigGTalks #Faith #Spirituality #Christianity #ChristianPodcast

In this short intro episode, I explain what Big G Talks is all about: honest conversations with everyday people — not just pastors or platform-builders — about what it actually looks like to pursue a relationship with God in ordinary life. Whether you're a mechanic, a mom, or just someone trying to figure out your own faith, this show is for you.

What is Big G Talks? A podcast about real-life spirituality.
Why Big G Talks? Because that honest, unpolished story is missing from most faith content today.
Who's talking? Regular people — not professionals selling a brand or image.
When do new episodes drop? Whenever life (and guests) allow — stay tuned.

More episodes coming soon. Thanks for being here from day one.

🌐 www.biggtalks.com

#BigGTalks #Faith #Spirituality #Podcast #ChristianPodcast