In this episode:

* Lauren and Joy took a real break from recording this week, so instead of skipping it, they’re sharing something from the archive: a values workshop Lauren taught a couple of years ago inside a community Joy was hosting at the time

* A breakdown of Russ Harris’s The Happiness Trap and why values, rules, virtues, and goals are not the same thing

* Five research-backed reasons values matter, including how the World Health Organization uses this same framework in refugee camps

* The four areas of life this workshop is built around: work, love, play, health, and why “family” or “faith” are categories, not values themselves

* A live workbook conversation with Joy and a friend, working through their own values in real time

* What surprised them, including the idea that a value can be seasonal and doesn’t have to last forever

Prompts for this week:

Is there a value you hold that you’re not currently living out? Are you still allowed to claim it as yours?

Looking at your four areas, work, love, play, health, pick just one value to focus on this week instead of five.

What’s a personal “rule” you’ve been mistaking for a value?

Resources and Links Mentioned:

* The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris — https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-happiness-trap-second-edition-how-to-stop-struggling-and-start-living-russ-harris/ce72845c925af76b

* Values workbook mentioned in the episode — https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-IUy1rucYHRYyq2RarGwO6k2kqXPV-hu/view?usp=drive_link

* Meridian Soul Care: https://www.meridiansoulcare.com/

Connect with us:

🐚 Joy Star Bright / Meridian Soul Care

* Website: https://www.meridiansoulcare.com/

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meridian.soul/

🪄 Lauren Barr / The Smarter Creative

* Website: https://thesmartercreative.com

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesmartercreative/

* YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thesmartercreative

Loved this one? Share it with a friend, or send us a DM, comment, or voice note on Instagram telling us your own values.

In this episode:

- Lauren gives a verdict on her 40-day video challenge: she's posted almost every day

- Joy just got back from a Renovare retreat in Colorado Springs and a trip to San Antonio, and is still getting her days back

- The value for the episode: Pilgrimage, the practice of journeying toward a holy place — and what that looks like in ordinary life

- Joy shares a framework she calls "Becoming the Dream of God," built around four concentric circles (intimacy, identity, inheritance, influence) and four cornerstone beliefs from Bill Johnson

- Lauren's favorite book on pilgrimage: The Way of the Pilgrim, a 19th-century Russian text about what it means to pray without ceasing

- Joy's: Hinds' Feet on High Places — specifically the illustrated version — and the road treasures the character finds along the way

- Lauren shares something she heard from Becoming Your Future Self Now about a study where teachers were told three random students had the highest IQ scores — and at year's end, those kids actually outperformed their peers

- Joy reflects on what she learned working alongside her daughter Lucy to pack up her apartment in San Antonio, and how they actively chose not to let the pressure wreck their relationship

- Joy is starting a 100-painting project inspired by Flora Bowley's Fresh Paint, and beginning work with a creative coach to develop a Meridian Soul Care certification curriculumPrompts for this week:

Where am I headed, and what am I longing for? What is my true north actually pointing toward — and do I believe it's available to me? What do I believe about God? What do I believe about myself on the journey?

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

The Way of the Pilgrim (19th-century Russian mystic text)

Renovare Institute

St. Francis Retreat Center, Colorado Springs

Becoming Your Future Self Now by Benjamin Hardy

Caleb Ralston (personal brand/content creation podcast)

Fresh Paint by Flora Bowley

The Scrappy Elephant (local shop where Joy found the book)

Psalm 84:5-7 (The Passion Translation): "How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord. Within their hearts are the highways of holiness. Even when their paths wind through the dark valley of tears, they dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain. He gives to them a brook of blessing filled from the rain of an outpouring. They grow stronger and stronger with every step forward, and the God of all gods will appear before them in Zion." — Read on Bible.com

Bill Johnson's books

Connect with us:

🐚 Joy Star Bright / Meridian Soul Care

Website: https://www.meridiansoulcare.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meridian.soul/

🪄 Lauren Barr / The Smarter Creative

Website: https://thesmartercreative.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesmartercreative/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thesmartercreative

Want to continue the conversation? Drop a comment on Substack or YouTube, or find us in our DMs on Instagram. We'd love to hear what pilgrimage means to you.

In this episode:

→ Lauren made it happen: she figured out the logistics and is heading to the beach in South Carolina for a solo trip. Seven hours in the car alone, and she's very happy about it.

→ Joy dropped her son off at Camp Deerfoot in North Carolina for two weeks with no phones. Her mama heart is adjusting.

→ Joy is still working on her Instagram content pillars and is leaving Saturday for a 10-day trip that includes helping pack up Lucy's place.

→ The value this week is simplicity. Lauren and Joy unpack what it means, how it shows up differently for each of them, and why the opposite of simplicity isn't minimalism. It's chaos.

→ Joy shares something personal: years of overcomplicating her life were tied to self-sabotage and a deep belief that she didn't deserve to succeed. Simplicity changed when her identity changed.

→ Lauren notices AI-generated client emails that are needlessly elaborate and how complexity without self-expression is just cumbersome.

→ Lauren is doing a 40-day YAP challenge with a TikTok creator she followed. She's posting every day and gaining followers. The big lesson: soul over strategy.

→ Joy is in the Renovare Institute, writing papers, and noodling on the question of what it actually means to become like Jesus, especially as a woman.

→ Lauren is sitting with a belief she's still carrying: that making money has to require a lot of effort. She's not sure that's true.

→ Coming up: Joy is hiring a writing coach (Christina Hubbard) to help develop a certification for Meridian Soul Care, and possibly combine it with her Renovare final project.

Prompts for this week:

Where in your life are you overcomplicating something that could be simple? Is that connected to what you believe you deserve?

What are you learning right now? (Lauren and Joy want to know. Hit their DMs.)

Resources and Links Mentioned:

Camp Deerfoot: https://blueridge.deerfoot.org/

Renovare Institute: https://renovare.org/institute

Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: https://dwillard.org/resources/books/renovation-of-the-heart

Dallas Willard, Spirit of the Disciplines: https://dwillard.org/resources/books/spirit-of-the-disciplines

A Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelly: https://quakerbooks.org/products/a-testament-of-devotion-2793

The YAP Challenge (Jessi Jean): https://www.instagram.com/jessijeanhome/

Lauren’s Personal Brand where the YAP Challenge is happening: @laurenbarr.co

Christina Hubbard (writing coach and poet): https://www.christinahubbard.com/

Meridian Soul Care: https://www.meridiansoulcare.com/

The Smarter Creative: https://thesmartercreative.com

Connect with us:

Lauren Barr: Website | Instagram | YouTube

Joy Star Bright: Website | Instagram

We'd love to hear from you. What does simplicity mean to you? What are you learning right now? Drop a comment, leave a review, or send us a DM on Instagram.

In this episode:

→ Recap: Lauren's reformer Pilates verdict (four out of five, not sweaty, very bougie)

→ Joy met a woman at the Y who is turning 90 in November, runs 10Ks, and weighs what she weighed in high school. Joy recorded the conversation. You'll want to hear it.

→ This week's value: Authenticity. Lauren went to Merriam-Webster. Joy went to the Greek. Both landed in the same place: acting from self, not performing for others.

IFS, parts work, and what "self" we're actually being authentic to

→ Lauren's one-journal-entry story that changed her life in her 20s

→ Joy's Substack essay on embodiment and what it took to start listening to her body

→ Lauren learned to make a paper zine. She brought one. Joy lost it.

→ What's coming up: Joy has a Renovare retreat in Colorado and a birthday trip to Texas. Lauren is deciding whether to make it to a family beach trip on Edisto Island, laptop question pending.

✍️ Prompts for this week:

When are you not living your authentic self? When do you feel disconnected from who you want to be in this world?

Sit with that. Take it to your journal. And if something surprises you, you don't have to share it with anyone. Full permission to keep that one for yourself.

📖 Resources and Links Mentioned:

Raye, "Joy" from This Music May Contain Hope (2026): https://music.apple.com/us/album/joy/1871085677?i=1871086036

IFS (Internal Family Systems) — Richard Schwartz: https://ifs-institute.com

No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz: https://www.amazon.com/No-Bad-Parts-Restoring-Wholeness/dp/1683646681

The 8 Cs and 5 Ps of Self in IFS — 8 Cs: Curiosity, Compassion, Calm, Clarity, Courage, Confidence, Creativity, Connectedness. 5 Ps: Presence, Perspective, Patience, Persistence, Playfulness: https://ifs-institute.com

The Renovare Institute: https://renovare.org/institute

Cultivate by The Cageless Birds (Melissa Helser essay): https://shop.cagelessbirds.com/products/cultivate-the-head-to-the-heart-volume-1

The Creative Bodega with Em Connors (Canva content creator): https://www.thecreativebodega.com/

Canva: https://www.canva.com

Lauren's zine Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZCv86ZkWOH/?img_index=1

Free zine PDF formatter (Zine Arranger): https://nashhigh.itch.io/zinearranger

🌸 Connect with us:

Lauren Barr

The Smarter Creative: https://thesmartercreative.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesmartercreative/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thesmartercreative

Joy Star Bright

Meridian Soul Care: https://www.meridiansoulcare.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meridian.soul/

We'd love to hear what authenticity means to you. Drop us a DM on Instagram, leave a comment on YouTube, or send us a voice note. We want to hear your actual voice.

In this episode:

● Who Lauren and Joy are and how they met (paint smocks were involved)

● The story behind the podcast name Come and Grow, and what each word means to them

● Their first value: Wholesomeness. What it is, what it is not, and why it matters right now

● What they are each learning: Lauren is reading The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and sitting with the S.A.V.E.R.S. framework. Joy discovered that creativity breeds more creativity, and is making peace with keeping her art in the hobby lane for now.

● What is coming up: Lauren tries reformer Pilates for the first time and has a birthday massage on the calendar. Joy is working on an email about disembodiment and what it means to honor your body’s design.

LET US KNOW

What does “wholesome” mean to you? Drop us a DM on Instagram or leave a comment on YouTube. We would love to hear it.

Resources Mentioned:Joy’s Business Coach, Minette Riordan: https://www.minetteriordan.com/ 

The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod: https://miraclemorning.com/books/

The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-happiness-trap-second-edition-how-to-stop-struggling-and-start-living-russ-harris/ce72845c925af76b?ean=9781645471165&next=t 

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary/dp/0143129252

The Renovare Institute: https://renovare.org/institute

Flewd Bath Soaks: https://flewdsoaks.com

Connect with Joy:

Meridian Soul Care: https://www.meridiansoulcare.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meridian.soul/

Connect with Lauren:

The Smarter Creative: https://thesmartercreative.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesmartercreative/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thesmartercreative