Pursuing Uncomfortable with Melissa Ebken
This weekly podcast addresses the issues that keep us awake at night. Am I a good enough mom/dad/spouse? Am I living up to my potential? Am I giving my kids what they need to be successful in life? What will my parents need from me as they age? Am I a good co-parent? How can I handle confrontations better? All of these things make life difficult and uncomfortable! Let’s lean into all the uncomfortable and yucky stuff to find a path forward to a life we really want to live. (Music by Joe Calindrino, “September’s Realm”)
Recent Episodes
Episode 46: Pursuing Authentic Conversations About Religion and Polit…
Brian Kaylor, a Baptist minister with a Ph.D. in political communication, is president and editor-in-chief of Word&Way. He writes…
Episode 45: Pursuing Mental Health After Trauma with Betsy Rosam
After experiencing and healing from many painful experiences, Betsy realized that her mission in life is to help other women iden…
Episode 44: Pursuing Overcoming Anything In My Way with Urmi Hossian
Urmi Hossain is a full-time female worker in the financial services industry. She has been working in this industry for about six…
Episode 43: Pursuing the Super Hero Inside You with Matt Wilson
Matt is a 6ft 4inch heavily Tattooed strongman, who lives to serve. After 2 unsuccessful marriages, and several jobs in the corpo…
Episode 42: Pursuing Wholeness Beyond an Alcoholic/Rageaholic Father …
A child of the ‘50s and ‘60s, Connard dropped out of engineering school in 1968, and as a result of the draft, served in the US A…
Episode 41: Pursuing Better Relationship Through Conflict with Dr. Em…
Dr. Garzitto has been developing, promoting and implementing positive communication practices and conflict support skills for ove…
Episode 40: Pursuing Normal When Your Parent is Ill with Michelle Hod…
Michelle is writing a memoir about growing up with a parent with schizoaffective disorder. It will be a disjointed and bumpy ride…
Episode 39: Pursuing Relationship After Estrangement with Dave Koll A…
Dave will never cease in his desire to shine in a way that helps others find their way. He is a mesmerizing storyteller and autho…
Episode 38: Pursuing Strength, Sobriety, and Success at the Gym with …
As a world-record-holding strongwoman, personal growth expert Kathryn Bennett is an 40 under 40 award winner, celebrated speaker …
Episode 37: Pursuing Good Enough with NICU doc Dr. Susan Landers
Dr. Susan Landers is a neonatologist who worked full-time in the NICU for over thirty years and raised three children to young ad…
Episode 36: Pursuing Open Conversations With Teens with Cai Graham
Cai Graham is a Parenting & Teen Mentor, Podcaster, International Speaker and Amazon #1 bestselling author of The Teen Toolbox™. …
Episode 35: Pursuing Mental Toughness with Clifford Starks
Clifford Starks is a Coach and Consulting looking to help entrepreneurs get their time back by focusing on what they love and del…
About the Host
Melissa Ebken
Podcaster, Pastor, Author, Coach
Melissa was called into ministry, much to her surprise, after becoming a biologist and serving for ten years in the IL Army National Guard as a utility helicopter mechanic, the first woman to do so. She has served in Illiopolis and Niantic since 2001.
Melissa is at home in the difficult spaces of peoples’ lives, willing to listen and to walk with those who struggle and suffer. She is a trained coach and has consulted with churches in conflict. Her current pursuits include founding a Virtual Assistant training academy, forming a ministry co-op to better serve small churches, supporting nurses to thrive in stressful climates through building emotional intelligence, and guiding people who are ready to lean into and overcome difficult challenges and experiences in their lives.
She authored a book Teach Us To Pray: An Ancient Model For a Modern Day, and has a podcast called Pursuing Uncomfortable.