We tend to look for answers outside ourselves. From books. Church. From friends or family. Even from society. We are called deeper, to sink down inside ourselves, where what we need is intertwined with what the Divine has to offer us. The place where we can trust and rest and then go and do. (Esther Goetz)Our guest this week is our very own Esther Goetz. Esther is a deconstructing mama of four, an author and spiritual director, dedicated to helping you take your next step in the growth of your soul.On this episode, we explore the very important idea of reclaiming our internal authority that was taken away from us by high-control religion, culture and even family systems.We chat in depth about these ideas:The value of spiritual direction, what it is not and what it is.The difficulty of moving from external authority to internal authority. Some of the messages we’ve received in high-control religion.The importance of embarking on this journey to discover ourselves and take up the mantle of making decisions from a place of internal authority.Some practical tools for reclaiming our own internal authority.Taking the practices of spiritual direction and applying them to our parenting.Resources that Esther has for those who find themself parenting and in this ever-evolving faith journey.Our favorite words from this podcast episode were things like "companionship" and "connection" and "divine spark" and "holy listening" and "midwifery." Find out why when you listen.LASTLY, we have a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT at the end of the podcast about a resource that's coming up in the summer! WE ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT IT!You can find Esther at the following:Website: estherjoygoetz.comSpiritual Direction: Heard and HeldSpiritual/Author Spaces:Facebook:  Esther, the Dolly Mama Instagram: @estherthedollymamaMoms of Big Kids:Facebook: Moms of BigsInstagram: @momsofbigs