Meet Your Cohosts
We might be a little crazy...but we're a WHOLE lotta fun!
The Middle Ground was born out of a shared interest between two friends who both enjoy researching and diving down rabbit holes on the path to a healthier, happier, more holistic lifestyle. But we never imagined we'd be here....
Our story is probably just as unique as we are! :)
Our Story
It's kind of a story as wild as we are! Kelsi and I actually go way back—long before either of us imagined we’d be sitting behind microphones together!
We met at church when she was one of the most active kids in our youth group and I was just a new member learning my way around the church. She worked in the nursery and used to watch my daughter Paris when she was only five years old. Paris absolutely adored her and wanted to be just like Kelsi. The two of them bonded over their shared love of the Beatles and giraffes (random, we know).
After I was hired on as the Family Life Minister, Youth quickly fell under my jurisdiction. I am an absolute VBS NUT and loved working with our older teens to put on amazing Vacation Bible Schools filled with all sorts of fun themes and bible stories. Kelsi was always willing to help out and step up to lead.
Over the years, I got to watch Kelsi grow up, head out into the world, and become an incredible Family Nurse Practitioner. Her love of music and youthful energy were a perfect match to help me lead our ever growing youth group. After asking her to join us to lead youth worship we quickly teamed up to create a really fun environment for our fledgling youth program.
My friends son, and “bonus boy,” as I like to call him - Ryan, is also a great musician and singer. It made sense for him to help out as well. While none of us knew it at the time, the two of them would eventually get married, have kids and start a beautiful new life together. Now expecting their second child, the Stones are more like family than friends.
It’s pretty wild and wonderful that all these years later, Kelsi and I have come full circle and are now creating The Middle Ground together, but here we are!
Kelsi's Story
Kelsi's Wellness Journey
Elke's Story
Elke's Wellness Journey
Ever since I can remember, I’ve dealt with pretty severe eczema. As a kid, it got so bad that I remember my mom wrapping my arms and legs in bandages just to give my poor skin a chance to heal.
We tried everything. Doctors prescribed steroid creams, ointments, pills, and even weekly allergy shots—which, as a child, was exactly as delightful as it sounds. And yet, despite all of it, my skin never really seemed to get better. If anything, at times it seemed worse.
Then one summer, we went to Germany to visit my grandparents, and my Opa—my grandfather—apparently decided he had seen enough.
In very typical Opa fashion, he basically announced, “We’re going to take care of this,” and made me an appointment with a Functional Medicine doctor.
I was only eight years old at the time, but I still remember how very different that appointment felt.
Instead of simply looking at my skin and reaching for another prescription pad, she spent what felt like forever talking with my mom. She wanted to know about my health, what I ate, my lifestyle, my history—all of it. She examined me thoroughly and ordered blood work. Even as a kid, I remember thinking, Wait...why hasn’t anyone asked us all of this before?
Afterward, she sent my mom to the German Apotheke—which, by the way, somehow makes “going to the pharmacy” sound infinitely more charming—with instructions to pick up this magical little tube of homeopathic pills she recommended. My mom was also pleasantly surprised that they cost considerably less than many of the creams and treatments we had been buying back home.
Within a few days, I realized I hadn’t scratched my skin in hours.
Hours became days. The constant itching and irritation that had been such a normal part of my childhood suddenly wasn’t consuming my attention anymore.
Now, I want to be careful with how I tell this story: my eczema wasn’t magically cured, and my childhood experience certainly doesn’t prove that one type of treatment works for everyone. I also couldn’t tell you today exactly what was in that little German remedy. But I can tell you what that experience did for me.
For the first time, I saw someone approach my health by asking, What else might be going on here? instead of only asking, What can we put on the symptom?
And whatever combination of care and treatment I received that summer, I felt dramatically better.
I was young, but that experience stuck with me. It sparked a curiosity about the connections between our bodies, our environment, our food, our lifestyle, and our overall health—a curiosity that has followed me for the rest of my life.
That little girl sitting in a doctor’s office in Germany had no idea what had just been set into motion. That experience led me down all kinds of roads of exploration—and, let's be real, more than a few wellness rabbit holes.
And not every rabbit hole led somewhere useful.
But all that exploring taught me something important: I don't have to approach health from one extreme or the other.
These days, instead of automatically looking for the quickest fix, I like to ask questions, research, learn, and understand the different options available to me. Don't get me wrong—I will absolutely still reach for the Bayer when a migraine hits, and I still see a regular PCP. I’m not throwing modern medicine out the window and running barefoot into the forest with a basket of herbs.
Although...I do love a good basket of herbs....or mushrooms!
What I have learned is that caring for our bodies isn't necessarily one-size-fits-all. I’ve developed a real appreciation for looking at the whole person and being curious about the many factors that can influence how we feel.
Eventually, through my work in family life ministry, I was introduced to coaching. And wouldn’t you know it—that sent me down yet another path I never expected to take: wellness coaching.
So, through many years of self-discovery, curiosity, trial and error, and probably an unreasonable number of rabbit holes, I found this beautiful appreciation for wellness and a whole-person approach to health.
And here I am.
I just didn’t know there would eventually be a podcast involved. 😉