Miracle Mentality with Tim Storey — Episode 13: Jana Kramer: How to Heal, Trust Yourself, and Move Forward

Podcast: Miracle Mentality with Tim Storey
Host: Tim Storey
Guest: Jana Kramer
Date: November 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this engaging and intimate episode, Tim Storey welcomes actress, singer, and podcaster Jana Kramer. Together, they explore powerful themes of healing, self-trust, resilience, motherhood, and personal growth. Through candid stories and practical wisdom, Jana shares her journey of overcoming setbacks, harnessing persistence, and cultivating a “miracle mentality” to live boldly and intentionally. Listeners are treated to deep dives into career evolution, faith, parenting, relationships, and actionable self-help insights.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jana’s Multifaceted Career and Finding Her "One Thing"

• Acting as the Core Passion (03:51): Jana explains that, despite her success in music, dance, and other ventures, acting has always been her primary focus. Leaving Michigan at 18, she risked everything on her dream, demonstrating early determination and drive.
• On Early Influences (05:06): Moved by Sally Field’s performance in Not Without My Daughter, Jana realized she wanted to tell meaningful stories through acting.
• Persistence Through Rejection (07:34-09:20): Jana credits a tough upbringing with instilling resilience. She recounts lessons learned from setbacks and the importance of never having a "fallback plan."

2. Growth, Vulnerability, and Continuous Evolution

• Courage and Vulnerability on Dancing with the Stars (02:32): Jana opens up about the challenge and vulnerability of performing and competing on national TV while privately facing personal hardships.
• Career Plateaus & Preparing for the Breakthrough (10:49-12:23): Despite notable success, Jana feels her biggest acting breakthrough is ahead. She reflects on not believing in herself ten years ago, but now possesses deeper confidence and a readiness for the right role.

"I know that one day I’ll be back on a show. That’s my goal and that’s my dream. I know it will hit me because I believe in myself to know that I can do it. The difference is I didn’t believe in myself five years ago... I was the one holding myself back."
— Jana Kramer (11:26)

3. Navigating Hollywood Changes & Authenticity

• Challenge of Taped Auditions (13:35): Jana discusses how the industry’s shift to self-taping post-COVID makes it difficult to showcase her full range and authenticity to casting directors.
• Desire for Grittier Roles (13:35): She expresses a strong interest in transformative, raw roles and the willingness to strip away glamour for the sake of authenticity.

4. Healing, Recovery, and Discovery

• Dealing with Life Interruptions (17:13-18:42): Tim introduces the concept of “life interruptions” and asks Jana how she manages to balance recovering from pain while moving forward optimistically.
• Growth from Therapy and Trauma Work (18:42-21:40): Jana credits EMDR therapy and intentional healing for overcoming childhood trauma, abusive relationships, and self-doubt. She emphasizes not staying stuck in a “victim mentality,” but instead, actively searching for power and self-trust.

"I don’t want to stay stuck... Because that is literally the only way you can get through anything — you have to move through it."
— Jana Kramer (21:01)

5. Parenting, Affirmation, and Faith

• Passing On Lessons to Her Daughter (22:07-23:47): Jana’s daughter, Jolie, has affirmation posters and nightly prayers as tools for inner strength. Jana seeks to give her children the spiritual grounding she lacked, reinforcing self-worth and God’s love.
• Choosing Not To Overprotect (24:47-25:24): While aware of her own childhood pain, Jana strives not to be an overprotective parent, instead guiding her children through choices and their consequences.

6. Relationships and Communication

• Reflections on Marriage and Support (27:24-28:52): A candid discussion on how emotional labor and practical help in marriage often go unnoticed, with Jana highlighting the importance of partners supporting one another.
• Safe Places in Relationships (32:36): Jana flips the script, suggesting that both men and women need to be a “safe place to land” for each other—to be emotionally available and vulnerable.
• Deeper Issues Beneath Arguments (33:42): She notes that most fights are not about surface issues, but about deeper, unspoken needs and wounds.

"It's never really about that issue... Instead of attacking the person for, 'Oh my gosh, you’re getting upset again how I load the dishwasher,' ask, what’s underneath that?"
— Jana Kramer (33:54)

7. Self-Evaluation, Spirituality, and Seeking Peace

• Giving Herself Grace and Space to Grow (28:52): Jana candidly rates herself a “B” as a wife and mom, acknowledging the difficulty of having it all together and the importance of asking God for help.

"Who's really nailing it? Who’s really... perfect? I’m gonna—Right now I feel great, but tomorrow I might be so stressed... we can't carry it all."
— Jana Kramer (29:04)

• Importance of Prayer and Spiritual Practice (29:32): Both Tim and Jana stress the need to rely on faith, especially for those accustomed to self-reliance.

8. The Power of Letting Go and Moving Forward

• Not Letting Past Pain Define the Future (39:16-41:55): Jana doesn’t wish to be known solely for overcoming infidelity; instead, she hopes to model and teach self-trust, self-love, and personal healing as ongoing themes.
• Biblical Inspiration: “Behold, I Am Doing a New Thing” (39:16-41:55): Tim shares a favorite scripture, challenging listeners to let go of the past and embrace God’s ability to create unprecedented breakthroughs, with Jana visualizing moving out of “the woods” into the light.

"You can’t sit in it... You have to walk through the woods, and that’s when you’re going to see the light. That’s when God is going to walk you. You have to go through that."
— Jana Kramer (40:43)

9. Living in Peace

• Finding Moments of Calm (43:58-44:50): Jana describes feeling profound peace while at the water with her children, crediting these moments with spiritual grounding and a reminder to seek peace through faith and presence.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On self-belief and preparation:
  "The thing that I love that you’re doing is the damn preparation for when that opportunity hits."
  — Tim Storey (15:58)

• On moving forward through pain:
  "I want it to go back to the person in the mirror... Because you go through so much in life that isn’t just that piece of being cheated on... It’s how I move through it with the thread of it all."
  — Jana Kramer (39:07)

• On spiritual reset:
  "For behold, the word behold in the Hebrew means look up and pay attention... God is doing a new thing, never been done before."
  — Tim Storey (39:35)

• On peace:
  "Anytime I’m around water, it just calms me... Having my feet in the water, sitting on the sand, having my kids around, laughing—that brings me the ultimate peace."
  — Jana Kramer (44:20)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:32] — Vulnerability on Dancing with the Stars
• [03:51] — Acting as life’s main passion
• [05:06] — Sally Field’s influence and acting motivation
• [10:49] — Still striving for a career-defining breakthrough
• [13:35] — Desire for transformative, stripped-down roles
• [18:42] — Therapy, trauma, and refusing the victim mentality
• [22:07] — Parenting, affirmation, and teaching faith to her children
• [28:52] — Honest self-assessment as a mom and wife
• [39:16] — Letting go, spiritual growth, and “behold, I am doing a new thing”
• [43:58] — Finding peace by water with her children

Conclusion

This episode offers an inspiring blend of candor, wisdom, and hope. Jana and Tim delve deeply into the realities of career, healing, growth, relationships, and faith—encouraging listeners to trust themselves, persist through setbacks, and embrace new beginnings. Through relatable stories and spiritual insights, they model how to let go of the past, heal intentionally, and prepare for life’s miraculous possibilities.

Recommended for listeners seeking:

• Motivation to overcome life’s interruptions
• Practical self-help strategies
• Spiritual encouragement
• Insights on parenting, relationships, and personal transformation
• Permission to dream bigger and live boldly

Connect with Jana Kramer and Tim Storey online for more empowering content.