Nicole Lyon Roccas

In case you missed the article I wrote earlier this week for the Re-Creation Podcast. Not something I wanted to write, but also felt necessary.

Not Everything is Beneficial: Fr. Seraphim Rose and the Nature of Complicity “Did he know?” It’s an important question. It also might be the wrong one to be asking.

Calling fellow writers! Between Pascha, marathon training, and regular life, I’ve slacked on reminding folks here that the next round of my weekly writing circle starts a week from today, April 30, 2026!

Women writers of all experience levels interested in a gently (read: not annoyingly) faith-based creative community focused on generative writing and just sharing life in a meaningful way together. Dm me if you’re curious and want to know more!

This season we’ll be loosely focusing on nature and place-based writing. Not that everyone has to be writing about nature, but through some of the prompts those who want to will have some extra opportunities to explore how place, beauty, and natural unfolding shapes our lives, work, and writing.

Learn more or register:

✍️ 🌱Spring/Summer 2026 Weekly Writing Meetups for Women (April 30 - July 23, 2026) Morning pages? More like boring pages.Even though I’ve published three books, I still struggle with maintaining a regular writing practice—unless I’m cowering under a deadline, caffeine overdose, or mental picture of Asian beetles invading my office unless I hit 500 words.The only time writing...

We've only ever met through Facebook, so it seems appropriate that I share about the thoughtful conversation Eleni and I got to have with Orthodox veterinary doctor Jesse Alexis Vallecillo about the impact of human agency on the lives of animals--for better and for worse.

S2E7 // "Tell the Bees": What Animals Know And We've Forgotten (Dr. Jesse Vallecillo) Listen now | What can we learn from veterinary science about healing the fragmentation between humanity and creation?

"Stepping into the wilderness of Lent, I am confronted not by emptiness but by overgrowth—the thorns and briars of busyness, the dense canopy of commitments that have choked out the light without my noticing. Most of the time, what threatens my soul is not any kind of lack, but rather excess. There are too many good things, too many worthy tasks, too many fun races and writing projects and good books crowding out what actually sustains life. In this kind of wilderness, I struggle not with how to survive a barren landscape but with how to just clear enough space in the excess to catch a glimpse of the light."

https://nicoleroccas.substack.com/p/thoughts-on-entering-lent-and-welcoming

Is there such a thing as helpful shame? How do we navigate the fine lines between toxic shame, humility, and life-giving repentance? Was Christ traumatized on the Cross, and why does that question matter to both our christology and our healing?

These are some of the questions Eleni and I got to talk with Fr. Stephen Freeman about in today's episode of the Re-Creation Podcast. Listen on Substack or wherever you get podcasts.

S2E3 // Knowing God beyond our Shame (Guest: Fr. Stephen Freeman) Can shame ever be helpful? Find out in this episode as we talk with special guest Fr. Stephen Freeman.

One of the hardest spiritual questions many of us face on the healing journey (myself included) is this: How do we understand ourselves as sinners in a way that’s actually safe and life-giving--not an abyss of self-hatred?

This can be a tricky thing, especially if abuse, cruelty, or chronic shame has been part of one's experience. Survival may have meant taking the blame, becoming the scape goat, or shrinking ourselves to keep the peace. When we emerge from those experiences, the church’s language of sin and repentance can feel like one more like one more brick in the wall of self-loathing.

But what if there’s another way to hear these words? What if our “sinner status,” rightly understood, could be a path toward freedom rather than self-destructiveness?

These are some of the topics we explore in the latest episode of the Re-Creation Podcast with Dr. Peter Bouteneff , Professor of Theology at St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary and author of one of my favourite practical theology books, _How to Be a Sinner_. It’s an important conversation, all the more timely as Lent approaches, and one I’m especially grateful to share with you. Listen wherever you get podcasts!

https://recreationpodcast.substack.com/p/s2e2-how-to-be-a-sinner-after-trauma

Still room to join! Next round of my weekly writing circle starts this Thursday. Check it out here:

A fun way to deepen your writing in 2026 Winter 2025 Weekly Writer Meetups start January 8!

Is shame ever a helpful emotion? New episode of the Re-Creation Podcast just dropped! Eleni and I talk about emergence of shame and blame after the Fall, what it means for us in the context of our own rupture events, plus a friendly shoutout to Fr. Stephen Freeman's book on shame, Face to Face.

Check it out here or where ever you listen to podcasts.

S1E10 // "In The Beginning" - Shame, blame, and fig leaves Listen now | In today’s episode, we’re still in the Garden—reflecting on the role shame and blame play after trauma, loss, and other rupture experiences in our lives.

Ok friends - My fall group coaching program starts next week!

This 6-week group is especially for those who’ve done some healing work after trauma or major life setbacks, but who are now wondering: how do I connect what I’ve learned in healing with the life of faith?

It’s for people who wonder things like:

I need to set boundaries with certain people in my life in order to stay safe/healthy/vaguely sane, BUT Scripture tells us to love unconditionally. How do these things fit together?

We’re called to “pray unceasingly,” but sometimes the Jesus prayer actually spikes my anxiety symptoms.

I love the Liturgy, but parts of church life can still feel overwhelming. Is there a way to stay engaged and grow without burning out?

If your soul’s been running on fumes (or your nervous system’s been waving a white flag 🏳️), come join us for six weeks of slowing down, grounding, and gentle faith-infused restoration. Learn more + sign up here 👇

Restore: A 6-Week Trauma Transformation Journey from the Christian East (Coming November 2025) - Nicole M. Roccas What happens when your faith and your wounds meet? Restore is a gentle, trauma-informed group coaching program for Orthodox Christian women who long to grow spiritually again after wounding experiences. Together, we’ll explore how Christ meets us in our pain and invites us into deeper healing, hop...

Eleni and I are are super excited to hosted this webinar together on October 19! Join us for an evening of learning and growing together as women, with Axia Women.

Join us on October 19th for a conversation with Eleni Opperwall and Nicole Roccas on the ways we find healing and transformation through our wounds. Together, we’ll explore what it means to be human after trauma through honest, hopeful conversations. Learn more and register here: https://www.axiawomen.org/node/2252

If cost is an obstacle, please let us know!
(Orthodox women only, please)