Finding God in Our Pain

You will be so encouraged to hear all that my guest, Serena Dyksen has to share. Serena is an author, speaker and she and her husband Bruce are the Chief Visionary Officers for the ministry, She Found His Grace. After Serena found healing for her abortion, she accepted God’s invitation to spearhead His plan to bring healing and restoration to others just like her. Per their website SheFoundHisGrace.org, their mission is “For men and women to find forgiveness after abortion and be set free from shame, guilt and regret. Turning our pain into purpose.” I’ll start with this statistic that Serena shared however, this episode does not shame or guilt anyone. You’ll hear Serena share her abortion experience at the age of 13 and how it impacted her life for many years, even in ways she didn’t connect with the abortion. We are discussing truths, facts, personal stories and examples but only encouragement for those who are hurting is what you’ll hear. Serena shared that 63 million babies have been lost to abortion so that made me think about the ripple effect. If we want to look at, say a ballpark figur with regard to the level of pain that is present in our communities, our families, our churches we can’t forget that there is a set of parents. We need to remember that the abortion has affected 2 additional people (per baby) who will potentially live with guilt and shame. She Found His Grace Ministry has a mission to provide post abortion healing so mothers and fathers can find forgiveness, purpose and redemption. Every hurting heart that connects with She Found His Grace is pointed to the only One who can do such a transformational work of the heart. Only God is the superior opponent for satan. God is the only reason we can know anything good in the reality of a broken world and an enemy who hates us. God has the power and the authority to use the very thing that satan meant to destroy you with and give it purpose in your life. Victory over sin and shame is God’s expertise. How can we experience a come back from one of life’s most devastating choices? Jesus’ example on the cross and his resurrection is for us today and He offers us that same ability to rise again to new life in Him. Yes, we’ll know new life in eternity with Him but the God of the Holy Bible is alive and active in our life today and he offers us new life. New life to experience and to know it in the here and now. I stress this because I want you to know that you can never go too far and that you are not alone in your pain and confusion. Throughout this podcast episode you’ll hear reason after reason to reinforce this truth. Serena and I talked about so many things one of which was how the abortion pill has shifted the abortion clinic from an office environment into the personal home. This move shifts the responsibility and magnifies how the mom is even more isolated in her abortion experience. Something that Serena is hearing more and more is that when the so called “clump of cells” passes from the body looks more like a baby than the women were prepared for. The level of trauma is layers deep. What are they supposed to do under those circumstances because abortion clinics do not offer any after care even though they know how traumatizing it is for their customers. Something that I wasn’t aware of and I don’t hear it being talked about AT ALL is the abortion pill reversal option. Serena shares some helpful and encouraging information and a beautiful testimony of a woman who regretted taking the abortion pill, took action within the required timeframe, received and took the reversal antidote pill and was able to deliver a healthy baby. Here’s a perspective I never considered, on the She Found His Grace website there are personal stories from siblings who grieve the loss of the aborted baby and Serena shares that these are some of the most passionate supporters because they see the healing transformation their family experiences and they want that for other...

My guest Cindy LaFavre Yorks is on a mission to help people identify their emotions and press into the heart of God for both healing whenever needed and the ability to live in peace. Cindy will help you get to the root cause of various emotions such as anxiety, worry, fear, overwhelm right down to the root cause. Once identified, any lie based thinking will be challenged and rewritten with the truth of God’s word. Doing this will deliver you into a place of freedom as you begin to interrupt thought patterns and belief systems that we’ve built on lies. This is where freedom is introduced into your life because dismantling lie based thinking will bring results that will be seen and felt in the quality of your life and your relationships not to mention the physical peace in your mind and body. Cindy showed me a colorful wheel that has 6 core emotions and from there the wheel fans out into other possible underlying emotions. It looked intimidating but as she talked me through it I can see where it’s an effective tool that goes right to the heart of things. This pinpoints a starting place, an emotion to work with and begin your healing journey right away. As I talked with Cindy I realized how tangled our emotions can be and gained a better appreciation on how important it is to take the time to sort them out. Cindy’s knowledge, the ability to ask the right questions, her tools, especially the emotion wheel partnered with the word of God, will give you the ability to take ownership of your emotions. Cindy equips you to actively move toward healthy emotions and healthy mental condition for the win. And the win is using God's truth to find freedom and peace. We talk about personalities like those who stuff feelings down, those who don’t know what they really feel and would prefer to avoid having to confront them as well as those who explode saying exactly how they feel without a filter. In the middle of looking at these types of reactions that people have Cindy said something that stood out to me (among other things), she was talking about being embarrassed by forgetting to pay a friend for their services and how Satan can get a foothold with emotions such as embarrassment. This caused Cindy to want to avoid other friends who might know she failed to pay their mutual friend Then Cindy begin to isolate, which of course is satan’s playground of the mind. Cindy’s experience reminded her of the power of our emotions to cause chaos and anxiety until she was able to get back to her friend and make that payment. Just another reminder of why we need to pause and evaluate our emotions when they seem out of proportion to the situation, whenever they’re over the top or even concerning when the result is unhealthy (as a pattern for responding) such as isolating or avoidance. Because ultimately satan’s strategy is to separate us from our friends and especially separate us from God because He is the Fountain Head of truth. He’s the God of relationship and therefore satan will delight and work overtime to rob us of knowing freedom and thriving at life especially in these specific areas of our life. I like that Cindy didn’t side step the fact that the way we process our emotions is a life-long challenge but that the gift you give yourself when learning to identify them is that you do so quicker. Being more efficient at identifying unproductive thinking helps us to resolve our emotions faster which returns us to a healthy mental condition even sooner and that is a beautiful thing if you ask me. This reminds me of being a Christian in the sense that It’s not that we’ll never sin again, it’s that we recognize our patterns faster. We begin to take immediate responsibility, we repent which keeps an ongoing, open communication relationship with God. Because satan is betting, hoping that we’ll hide ourselves form God (because of our sin). That way satan can work us over punishing us as he mentally beats us up about our sin. Cindy shared so much...

My guest, Rachel Shirley is a Certified Professional Coach and Pet Loss Grief Companion and she’s here today to talk about her book, Pet Loss and Divine Healing - A compassionate Guide for navigating your Devastating Loss. When Rachel and I were connected up I was so excited to learn that there is true support for those who are grieving the loss of a beloved pet. I love my pets but I’m also one who tries to just push through my grief possibly because I’ve bought into societies value system with regard to grading the level of importance when it comes to death. I don’t really know why I try very hard to push through the death of my pets Every time I’ve lost a pet I am utterly heartbroken but I never take the time to grieve like I need to and with each passing pet loss my grief seems to get more difficult and more difficult. I had my 13 year old, little 5lb Yorkiepoo put down in March of 2023 and it broke. My. Heart. So much so that I kept feeling like I wanted to cry the whole time I was talking with Rachel and even now tears are threatening to start but as usual I’m holding them back as I do this intro. Something that is in the distance for me is that I currently have 2 senior dogs who are each 11 years old and a cat who is 7 years old. Flesh or fur we never get them as long as we want them so it is inevitable that I will have to lay them to rest some time in the near future. The thought of that causes me to struggle with whether or not I’ll get any more animals. I just don’t know if my heart can take it.So when I learned there is grief support I knew I wanted to share this with you, my listeners! Rachel is someone who cares about your beloved fur baby and she can help you navigate this painful season. As soon as Rachel starts talking you’ll be able to tell that she’s comforting and kind, two wonderful traits that let you know you can trust her with your pain and that she’s genuinely there to help heal your broken heart. She knows your pain firsthand because she lost her beloved fur baby, Winston. We delve into all the aspects of her book which, in my opinion cover the full scope of what someone will go through when they lose a pet. I can’t think of a topic in her book that she left out right down to the last chapter where it addressed the los of various professions that either care for dogs like veterinarians as well as dogs who serve their community both professionally and personally to include military, police, support animals. But she didn’t stop there, she brings these additional topics to the table…having to euthanize a pet due to financial or behavioral issues, a pet who died of a tragic accident. She addresses people who do not have children and she wraps up her book by sharing first-hand stories from her clients. Some of the topics that Rachel and I talked about were how does one process grief for a pet, the importance of a bond between human and pet, is there a right way or wrong way to grieve, honoring your precious fur baby and we didn’t side step the debate about pets going to heaven. At one point Rachel and I talk about our pets being a gift form God and how much they embody His spirit of unconditional love, joy, and tangible affection. We refer to God reveling Himself through our pets…I even said that His spirit shows up in animals…but to be clear I’m not saying that God is a dog or is a specific animal I’m saying that God uses our pets and any animal he wants to speak to us….like the Balaam’s donkey in the book of Numbers 22:21-39 - not only did the donkey save Balaam’s life because God reveals Himself to the Donkey… but God also opens the donkeys mouth and he spoke truth, common sense to Balaam. So when/if you hear me say that God is like a dog or a cat etc. I’m not saying He is an animal but that He uses His creation to reveal His nature and give tangible ways that we can experience His character. If you’re grieving the loss of a precious pet, I hope that what Rachel shares with you today will...

The topic, or the question for today is, can God's plan for your life be ruined, specifically ruined by our own poor choices, or can it be ruined by the choices of other people by way of impacting our life? I wish that question was cut and dry, but the answer is yes and no. That's the best short answer I can provide, but we're going to use Scripture as our basis as we push out this topic. There are tons of truth that will show you, no, God's plan for your life cannot be ruined, no matter the contributing force. However, near the end of this podcast, I talk about the one thing that can indeed block God's plan for your life, and I don't think you'll be surprised when you hear what it is. I do hope that you'll receive a fresh dose of encouragement and that you feel empowered to take the next step. And here's how this topic came up and why I wanted to share it with you. I had the chance to speak at a Christian women's event, and Psalm 23 was the verse that their gathering was based on. I get excited about Psalm 23 (as many of you know this about me). Memorizing that particular Psalm has been such an incredible weapon for me, not only in my every day, ordinary life, but it's my lifeline when things are complicated and painful. When I proclaim Psalm 23 over my life or the life of my loved ones, it infuses me with hope, encouragement, confidence, and it strengthens my faith muscle. Allow me to tie this in really quick as another resource for Psalm 23. After I had a measure of grief healing, I could look back and see how God worked in my life in ways (at the time) that I did not discern, and I wanted to share how God showed up. And so, I did a stand-alone podcast episode titled Here's How Psalm 23 Showed Me God's Faithfulness. In this episode I gave tangible examples of what it meant for God to be faithful in the midst of my grief. Currently it has over seven thousand six hundred downloads (I'll put the link in the show notes). I add that little bit of info because in this episode we're going to specifically build on Psalm 23:3 as our core scripture. With regard to the question, can God's plan for our life be ruined, the verse reads, "He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." The purpose of drawing the focus in on that specific verse is that I want to look at God's heart for restoration, as well as look at other examples of how the heart of God is to restore us to his paths of righteousness, who He created us to be for His name's sake. Think about how invested God is in us. We are His name sake. If you're one of my faithful listeners, many of you know my story of unexpectedly losing my husband in early 2018. It was six years ago as of February 21st, 2024. He left our home at 8AM. Everything seemed fine. However, by lunchtime that same day, he had a massive heart attack and passed away. Something my boys and I never saw coming. Never. Out of that pain a portion of my redemption is to encourage believers in the dark valleys of life, so I spend a lot of my time looking at the good God I profess through the lens of pain and suffering. I have the precious privilege of my guests allowing me into some of the most vulnerable moments they've ever known. It is an intimate space to be allowed into because I get a glimpse of how God enters into our pain and how he works in the privacy of someone's personal devastation. When life no longer resembles anything we once knew, I think it's a fair request we make of God to put things back like they used to be. I too have pleaded with God. I had been with my husband for a little over 33 years. I repeatedly asked the Lord to give me back my normal, return things to how they used to be. Give me back my old life. Struggling under the weight of pain and an internal fight to orient myself and to gain my footing, in my mind, it actually seemed possible that if I could just go back to the way things used to be, everything would be OK. Life would be good...

My guest today is the former Clinical Director of Christian Psychotherapy Services where he had been in practice since 1989 but then left that practice to become the Founder of the Meadows Healing Prayer Center. He is a mental health professional and a licensed clinical social worker. My guest is Frank Meadows and he has been counseling and ministering with Theophostic Healing Prayer and seeing countless people being healed and delivered. This episode with Frank Meadows takes a very close look at the benefits of healing and deliverance. You’ll hear me press into this healing and deliverance a few times as I try to dig down for a deeper understanding. Frank takes us back to his roots on why he would even become interested in the healing ministry and how it impacted his life. He does an incredible job of explaining healing and deliverance as he shares his practices, methods and overall goal when he’s working with a client. What excites me the most about the deliverance ministry is that even though we’re Christians the fact remains that we still deal with trauma and with Theophostic Healing Prayer we have the ability to be set free. Which equates to peace for our minds and our hearts. Ever wonder why a Christian pastor can also be a slave to porn? Why would a Christian wife be unfaithful? Didn’t she make a vow to her husband in the presence of God? Wouldn’t you be shocked to find out that a highly respected Christian is prone to fits or rage and physically abuses his/her spouse and children? There’s been more than one Christian family dealing with wayward children struggling with drugs, alcohol, identity issues, same sex attraction. Why are believers still using curse words in their every day language? Why are we lying about things, cheating people or the business we work for? Especially if we know God’s word and walk in a deep relationship with him? And yet, that is exactly what can and does happen. Ultimately, we know that becoming a Christian does not mean that we are instantly perfect. We were born into sin and our maturing process with God is done in layers as He washes off the residue of this life, transforming us into His likeness. Could it be that believing what we read in the Bible or hear in church is not enough or more accurately our knowledge needs experience too? If our living God wants a living breathing relationship with us might He want to take us from believing what we read/hear to knowing by way of experiencing His benefits? I believe so because when we experience God it reinforces what we’ve read/heard/believed with our mind and now our heart has proof because of God’s peace and freedom that floods our life. I’m not knocking traditional therapy, I’ve used it, it’s great but the difference that I have experienced between traditional therapy and Christian deliverance therapy has been hands down a level of sustained peace in my life that I have never known before. At the core of my heart, mind, body I am at peace. I’m not saying that situations/circumstances/people do not challenge that peace but I have a place of rest that I can continually return to or build on whenever I find myself using/trying to create self-protection/coping skills. Because remember, as Christians we don’t need to go looking, begging, praying, wishing, hoping for God’s peace, healing, deliverance. It’s already there. We’re called to engage what is already available to us and live with the benefits in the here and now. Let’s get into this episode because I want you to hear all the good stuff that my guest Frank Meadows has to share, let’s dive in and hear how our lie based thinking is how we stay trapped and how using Theophostic Healing Prayer to dismantle these barriers opens up a floodgate of freedom and peace; living water poured into our hearts, bodies, minds. Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrivie.com Connect with Frank on his website: https://www.meadowshealingprayercenter.com/about-us/ Bio: Frank is the founder of...

My guest is Mary Beth Powers and we connected over the topic that we’re discussing today, unhealthy soul ties. Mary Beth is a long-time Bible teacher, a certified speaker, she currently serves as a connection Pastor at her church and we’ll be able to call her author as soon as her book is completed and published. Additionally, she leads a healing ministry called Freedom. We talked about the impact that soul ties have on relationships, personal growth, and the importance of recognizing and breaking these ties through self-evaluation, Godly instruction, leaning into the heart of God and professional counseling with regard to trauma associated with some soul ties. Mary Beth defined a soul tie and while it is not a biblical term she connected the dots for us with regard to how the Bible refers to uniting/joining/cleaving to someone as the same result of a soul tie. I had a lot of curiosity about soul ties because it’s not something often spoken about in church and yet when they go undetected they rob us personally in countless ways, some of which are delaying our ability to fulfill the calling on our life, becoming a victim because of a lack of identity, staying stuck in trauma which cripples mentally, emotionally/physically. These are some of the possible results of staying attached to unhealthy soul ties. I asked some very pointed questions about pornography soul ties, how soul ties created in past sexual relationships impact current ones. We talked about abusive relationship soul ties. I even asked Mary Beth about unwanted soul ties that are forced upon us such as rape and she even included incest in that portion of the discussion. In short, it was a very I interesting topic for me. You may hear Mary Beth back on my show again because the book that she is in the process of writing is on generational curses and that is something else that I’m very interested in! Let’s jump in and educate ourselves on soul ties, see if they apply to our life and if so, let’s break them off and walk in countless new levels of freedom! Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com Connect with Mary Beth: Website marybethpowers.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/mary.b.powers IG: girl.be.still Bio: Mary Beth is passionate about seeing women experience Jesus in a life-changing way. She speaks authentically as a safe place for women to share their struggles. Whether one-on-one or from a podium in a room full of women, she loves to see women thriving in the fullness of Jesus! Mary Beth is a certified speaker and long-time Bible teacher. She currently serves as a connection Pastor at her church. She is known for her infectious personality and caring for others. She has a deep devotion to her family. She is married to her forever crush, Mike, and they parent three children together. They live in North Alabama in a small but growing town called Hazel Green. They enjoy the empty-nest season, and together, they love to travel and try out new restaurants. She loves exploring new coffee shops, but most days, you will find her curled up next to her Aussie, Hartlee, coffee in one hand and her journal in the other, finishing a book about God’s unfailing love. But she has a new role that she finds her favorite: being a Nana to her 3 new grandsons!

My guest, author Noah Asher has written a book titled Chaos, Overcoming the Overwhelming. Noah uses his personal experience with chaos and leads us through what I believe (after talking to Noah and hearing this examples) is our own journey into, through and out of what Jesus modeled on the cross. Don’t get me wrong our pain and suffering do not fulfill the same purpose and plan as the crucifixion. It will never equate to the work He accomplished. My point in making the connection of the Easter weekend from Friday to Sunday is that Jesus took all of our suffering, anguish, shame, guilt, regret, trauma and nailed it to the cross. This is proof that He has the power to turn our chaos into purpose too! Through the model that Jesus gave us on the cross of overcoming the evil of this life, when we experience heartbreaking seasons we have an example of what processing the pain of this life looks like: Friday can be the pain of the impact, the moment our life changed forever. Saturday is the waiting season in-between Friday and Sunday. And then Sunday is the season of healing and restoration. Noah breaks down a season of chaos into 3 phases: *The Prepare Season - I really liked that Noah equips us to prepare for our own Friday moment. I was really curious to know, how can someone actually prepare for their life to be interrupted with chaos because we all know it’s not an “if it happens” scenario it’s a “when it happens” reality and yet I don’t consciously prepare for bad things to happen. So his insight is very helpful to first recognize that you probably are preparing yourself you just didn’t recognize it and then to see other ways you can equip yourself. *The second season is In The Midst - Noah terms it as your Saturday season. You’re between the life changing event and the healing, restoration, redemption phase. Noah talked about how we can make this time as beneficial as possible, what value does this phase even have? What can you learn about God in (what I call the) the struggle season because it can be full of questions as we struggle to understand all that has been impacted. Questions like, "Why did you let this happen God?” "Why did this happen to me?” "What am I supposed to do with my life now?” "Who am I now?" *And the final season, the Aftermath which I now term as Sunday. This is a time of healing, restoration and redemption - but what does that even mean in an individual life? It means a lot of beautiful things. Discovering your purpose, receiving revelation of God’s heart for you as his son or daughter and Noah talks about several more. Noah did a fantastic job of making this topic of chaos very relatable and as you’ll hear he adds humor to what can be a very weighty topic. Not only does he back up his revelation and the real examples with Biblical truth, he also adds a little wit with references to characters such as The Lion Kin and Eeyore. I asked Noah if there was a difference between chaos and trauma, and we talked about grief and grace, perseverance on the journey and we used Joseph’s story (among other biblical examples) to look at how God repurposed everything that was done to Joseph to bring good out of despair, and not just good for Joseph but for many and of course that echos the work of the cross as well. When you think about the good that the cross produced for as many who will accept Jesus’ payment for our sin debt. Let’s listen in to find out how to navigate the 3 phases of chaos so that we might be prepared when our Friday arrives. If we’re prepared we know Who to turn to so that we can go from pain to purpose! We can have hope in a better tomorrow because we have the promise and the proof that Sunday is coming. Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com Connect with Noah: Website: www.thenoahasher.com IG: @TheNoahAsher on Instagram Email: chaosovercomer@gmail.com Bio: Noah Asher is an author, Chaos-survivor, business owner, and communicator. Noah helps people find purpose within their pain...

This conversation is deeply layered and beautifully delivered by my guest Angie Baughman who intimately knows loss and what it means to live with complete uncertainty. A simple car ride with her family turns their world upside down. She’s in the car with her husband and 2 young sons, a vehicle crosses the line and hits them head on. The crash affects her entire family; immediate, extended, church as well as their friends. Everyone who was courageous enough to step into roles and take on responsibilities of what it entails to support a family. The tragic results of the accident put Angie and her oldest son who was 7 years old at the time, in the hospital. Between the two of them they had 8 surgeries. In the blink of an eye she began a journey of loss and total uncertainty at no fault of her own. And then at a point where she’s gaining some independence, she’s working hard to hit the physical therapy goals with a strong desire to do away with the level of need and personal care she receives, including the desire to be the one making all of the decision for her and her family, but then she’s blind signed by a brain bleed. It was a result of the car crash but yet it doesn’t present itself until 18 months later. She’s in a great place of improvement, moving forward and now she’s starting all over again. Because of her extended recovery Angie’s belief system, and not exclusive to her faith, is more than simply challenged or shaken, it’s shattered. Since satan is famous for attaching himself to our traumas, in the midst of Angie questioning everything about her life, satan brings a past trauma to the forefront of her mind/heart. Satan’s intention, of course, is to destroy Angie with this compounding trauma but she decides to accept God’s invitation and allow Him to heal her. In the intimacy of His invitation, He lets her know, He’s not giving her back the life she had, He’s taking her back to move her forward. Satan may have brought back past trauma but God was going to reveal His heart to healing. He was preparing a table for her in the presence of her enemy. At one point in our conversation I asked her how do we take negative/traumatic/lies/thoughts captive to Christ and she lays out several things we can do to interrupt satan’s intentions and rewrite them with God’s promises. If you’re living with uncertainty or it’s one of your biggest fears, then you’ll find quotable wisdom that you can hang on to, right down to her parting words as we closed our time together. Listen in to discover what those lifelines are that Angie has to share. Let’s dive in to find God in the painful places of life. Live Loved and Thrive! @ alifeofthrive.com Connect with Angie: Website: https://livesteadyon.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/angiebaughman421/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/livesteadyon YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwl0_Edd8fNHz7y1jLOqj4g Bio: Angie Baughman is a pastor, Bible teacher, author, podcaster, founder of Steady On ministries, and creator of the Step By Step Bible study method. At sixteen, she was groomed into a romantic relationship with a high school teacher and faced community rejection when she went public with her story. Knowing and living by the promises of God helped free her from layers of shame, and she now creates resources that help people cultivate consistent Bible study habits.

My guest today is a grief specialist, she is certified in critical incident stress debriefing, a certified trauma-integrative practitioner, an 8-time award-winning author on grief, and the founder of The Grief & Trauma Healing Network. Anne-Marie Lockmyer has quite a well-rounded education on grief but her passion is to help grieving widows. She’s a widow herself, so my conversation with Anne-Marie is both from her personal experience as well as her professional ability to help widows process and heal. We had a great conversation that I’m excited to share with you! Some of the things we talked about were: what does it mean to be blessed in a Christian context when in fact we’re not exempt from pain and suffering; the complexity of grief (that it does affect the brain and the body); giving yourself permission to grieve, to be angry, to laugh, to have joy. Grief is a roller coaster at best so the focus is to care for yourself as you journey through. We talked about healing and that it is possible. Doesn’t mean you forget about your loved one or that you’re not honoring them anymore if you’re not sad. It doesn’t mean that your life will magically return to what it used to be. Sadly, it will never be the same. It will be different, but it can still be beautiful. As Anne-Marie shares her experience of unexpectedly losing her husband Mark and it happens while she’s out of the country. I add that because I personally think that not being able to get to your loved one at such a critical time adds yet another layer of trauma to the trauma. Her husband passed from a brain aneurysm, this not only leaves her blindsided and numb but they have a special needs son who responded to his father like no one else. When Anne-Marie received word over the phone, in a foreign country that her world had been ripped apart and would never be the same, she asked one thing of God. "God, if I have to go through this, may I glorify you, honor Mark and impact lives?" As you listen to the message on her heart, or visit her website, check out her widows retreat and engage her extensive resources, I think you’ll see that God has honored her request. God has taken the very same thing that evil intended to destroy Anne-Marie with and did something really beautiful. Let’s listen in so that we might find God in the midst of pain and suffering. Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com Connect with Anne-Marie: Email: annemarie@griefandtraumahealing.com Website: Grief & Trauma Healing Network https://griefandtraumahealing.com Free online grief support site: MyGriefCare.com https://www.mygriefcare.com Your Grief Guides YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxXrACWW7qjFlQ1A26onCMQ Anne-Marie’s 8-time award-winning book “When Their World Stops - The Essential Guide to Truly Helping Anyone in Grief” https://amzn.to/3Sb2T2f Bio: Anne-Marie Lockmyer is a grief specialist, certified in critical incident stress debriefing, a certified trauma-integrative practitioner, 8-time award-winning author on grief, and founder of The Grief & Trauma Healing Network. As a widow herself, Anne-Marie knows the pain and devastation that grief and loss cause and is living proof that you can go from surviving to thriving. Anne-Marie works with people worldwide, and is passionate about advocating for and loving grievers and being an educational catalyst to society on grief and loss.

What do we do when God interrupts our life and turns it in a completely different direction? My guest, Morgan McCarver has an answer to that question. Just when all of her disciplined years of dance training and mastering control of her body was about to pay off in the world of competitive dance, she was forced to submit to a surgery that would avoid severe health complications in the future. Morgan would endure a spinal fusion surgery that would alter her body’s ability to comply with the demands of dance. With a year long recovery ahead, and without dance, Morgan felt the need to create so she and her mom began to look for various outlets. What could possibly be out of convenience for her mother’s schedule, she enrolls Morgan in a summer camp and her class is a pottery workshop. You’ll hear how God uses this seemingly insignificant enrollment to then open a whole new world for Morgan. Morgan makes mention of the book of Genesis (in the Bible) reminding us that humanity is first introduced to God through the creation process and it’s that side of His nature that He shares with Morgan as a way of revealing His heart to her. The beauty He brings forth through this form of expression in Morgan can be found in numerous art galleries, her Etsy account and in the pages of the book she’s written, titled, “God the Artist: Revealing God’s Creative Side Through Pottery.” As Morgan creates with her hands, God is creating in her and through her as well and it’s the same for each of us. Listen in to discover the beauty God has for us in the creative process and how it can be overlayed onto what He’s doing in our lives as the individuals He created us to be. Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com Connect with Morgan: www.morganmccarver.com (find the link to her book, Etsy shop & if you buy wholesale, her link to Faire.com) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgan_mccarver_porcelain/?hl=en Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/morgan.mccarver.7/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgan-mccarver X (formerly Twitter): https://www.sotwe.com/GodTheArtistBk Bio: Morgan McCarver was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Her work is inspired by her female mentors of past and present, as well as her connection to Victorian corsetry through her scoliosis journey. She received an art degree with a ceramics concentration and a double minor in art history and business in 2019 from Anderson University in Anderson, SC. McCarver had the honor of receiving the 2019 Outstanding Art Major Ceramics Award her senior year. As a 2020 701 Center for Contemporary Art prize finalist, she had the honor of being the youngest artist to ever make it that far. She is a multi-award winning artist who recently received an Artist Support Grant to attend a national ceramics conference. She has had the honor of displaying her work in 3 solo exhibitions, “FemininiTEA” 2020, “The Strength of a Wildflower” 2022 and “Postures in Porcelain” 2023. She recently completed a residency at Edgewood Cottage in Blowing Rock Summer 2023 and participated 2022 as well. McCarver has studios in Asheville, NC and Spartanburg, SC. Her art can be found in various galleries around the Carolinas and Tennessee. Her first book, “God the Artist: Revealing God’s Creative Side Through Pottery,” will be released with Morgan James Publishing January 9, 2024.

My guest today is Rose Anne Forte (For-Tay). She is an Alcohol-Free coach, a Positive Intelligence Coach and an International Best-Selling author of the award winning daily devotional titled, “The Plans He Has for Me.” Today’s episode is discovering more about her 12 week devotional and the challenge to purposefully consider the possibility of a transformed life. Rose Ann was a successful executive, ministry leader in the church, bible teacher, mom, wife and more but when her marriage fell apart she found herself in a place of desiring to be free from the psychological slavery of her alcohol habit. One of the great things I feel that Rose Ann is doing in the program that she’s created (by marrying the secular addiction program she used with the true, lasting hope and change that the God of the Holy Bible offers), is to shift our mindset about labels such as alcoholic, recovery and sober. In my personal opinion, she’s taken a very practical approach about these 3 words moving them from a secular viewpoint to the transformed reality that God provides. That made sense to me because of the complete work of Christ on the cross and the fact that by His stripes we are healed. Not partially healed. Not kinda healed. But healed. And I agree that healing takes place in layers but that does not negate the full redemptive restoration accomplished on the cross that is available to us today and every day. Don’t get me wrong, I think labels are important when it comes to identifying a problem. Labels help to establish a starting point to work from. Once a problem is identified it helps with taking responsibility for the changes you need to initiate. What does taking responsibility do? It moves you from the victim mentality (another label) to victor, a much better adjective. Do relapses happen? Sure. Rose Ann and I talk about that aspect of breaking any type of addiction. Relapse is part of being healed in layers. If you struggle with or have struggled with addiction, it will always be a part of your testimony with regard to the journey you went through. However, that doesn’t mean that you’re tied to that label or this world’s value system. If there’s one thing (among many) that a personal relationship with Christ gives you it’s living above the chaos and limited understanding of this world. What I’m getting at is, at some point there comes a time when you leave behind the words alcoholic, recovery and sober. Rose Ann talks about this in more detail. You reach a point where you’re reigning in life, free of addiction and in this case alcohol. The recovery process is complete, you're living a life that no longer resembles addiction. With every layer of healing we step into the progressive story of renewal and redemption that Christ is writing over our life. He’s writing a much bigger love story with us as the unique person He created us to be. His heart is to help you break free from the grip of this life and step into who He created you to be when He knit you together with His own hands. If you feel like something in your life is out of sync, maybe something has a bigger hold on you than you feel comfortable with/it’s nagging you or if you’re clear that you struggle with any type of addiction, Rose Ann’s personal transformation will give your heart encouragement to know that freedom is possible. If you’d like to consider the possibility of a transformed life, check out Rose Ann’s 12 week program, “The Plans He has for Me.” The link is in the show notes. Also included in the show notes are links to Rose Ann’s free resources which I think they are also on her website. ThePlansHeHasForMe.com Listen in for a dose of encouragement from Rose Ann Forte! Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com Connect with Rose Ann: Articles and free resources: Website Podcast: Say Goodbye and Imagine! Podcast Instagram: @roseannforteplans Bio: Rose Ann is an Alcohol-Free Coach, a Positive Intelligence Coach and International Best-Selling author of...

My guest and friend, Tina Ivey allowed me to ask questions about her personal trauma of domestic and sexual abuse. Tina has not only survived sexual abuse by her father but she’s excelled beyond merely surviving. She is living a life that is full, busy and rewarding. I personally feel that one of the strongest markers for a life of thrive/thriving is to live in peace, contentment and forgiveness. Those qualities describe Tina. In this episode we talk about many aspect of abuse such as what keeps victims from speaking up? What is something that the average person can look for in order to help someone who is experiencing sexual abuse? Additionally, Tina shares her foster care experience that included a neighbor girl who was a bully. Tina also shares how she and that girl (after they had become adults) cross paths and how God challenged Tina’s ability to forgive. I asked Tina about forgiveness in 3 areas: her father, God and herself. Like so many abuse victims, she withheld forgiveness from herself the longest. She shared about her regrets and the healing process that took place as she wrote her book titled, Better Than I Should be: Overcoming Sexual and Domestic Abuse through Forgiveness and Personal Healing. The book became available for purchase on December 20, 2023, so it’s available now. We didn’t get to discuss all that Tina’s book reveals so the purchase link will be in the show notes if you’d like to read more about her journey. She had the proverbial cards of life stacked against her since she was a tiny girl but God does amazing things with simple childlike faith. Real quick before we get started, when I was looking at the transcript there is a part of our conversation where Tina refers to Jaci. I noticed we did not share who that is. Jaci is Tina’s daughter. Let’s get to it. Listen in for a small glimpse into Tina’s journey through sexual abuse and her steadfast faith in believing that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He’ll do. Lived Loved and Thrive! Connect with Tina: IG - christina.w.ivey FB - https://www.facebook.com/christina.w.ivey Resources: Tina’s book: Better Than I Should Be: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Should-Overcoming-Forgiveness/dp/B0CLMVMWBC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YZSKAX6THOO&keywords=better+than+i+should+be%2C+tina+ivy&qid=1703796036&sprefix=%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1 Safe House Project: safehouseproject.org Amy Watson - Wednesday’s with Watson. Amy has a powerful story of her own and is a strong advocate for hope, healing and restoration. Connect with Amy: WednesdaysWithWatson.com Living Waters - Help for those who are dealing with sexual and relational brokenness- https://www.desertstream.org/who-we-are & https://www.desertstream.org/find-a-group Bio: Christina Warren Ivey Grew up in a small rural town in Martin County, NC. As a young girl, her childlike faith led her to invite Jesus to be her Lord and Savior and she has pursued Him ever since. Growing in her personal and intimate relationship with Christ has given her the keys to find healing and forgiveness after years of abuse. Better Than I Should Be is her first book and will walk you through her journey to emotional wellness.

If you’re dealing with overwhelming pain my guest Darci Steiner has a testimony of amazing resilience as she lives out the debilitating affects of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome or CRPS. In her book, Beauty Beyond the Thorns, Darci reveals how God cares for us in the darkest valleys in life. What she shares can benefit anyone who is dealing with pain that makes it seem like there's no way out. While we didn’t discuss in detail the medical side of self-care I wanted to mention it now. If you’re experiencing a crisis of mental health, emotional health of physical health, consider medical professionals and/or medication (per your doctor) in addition to your faith journey. Unrelenting pain can be a very lonely journey so Darci points us to the One who will never leave nor forsake us. God is always present, always listening and ready to tend to you. CRPS is called the suicide disease because when ranked on a pain scale, CRPS is found to be the highest pain one can feel hence the suicide disease label. People who know this level of unrelenting pain want to escape, permanently. Especially because they’re told there is no cure. But God, right? Twenty years ago a fall down the steps ignited Darci’s first experience with CRPS. The pain was so great that she did not have an appetite and became malnourished and was dying. Darci shares a little bit about her story of being bedridden for 2 years and the healing journey she experienced. What gripped my heart is that 5 years ago on a very special day for her family, the simple need of having to go back into the venue to grab something that she forgot and a chair topples from a stack and strikes her in the ankle. Immediately the pain seared from the injury and Darci knew she was headed back into CRPS. So at the time of this recording she is living with CRPS once again. She talked about the difference in how she engages God’s heart this time. Because of her vulnerability, we get a glimpse of a maturing faith forged in deep pain that produces an intimacy with God that cannot be developed in any other context. One of the ways that Darci’s faith matured is that while in God’s word she received revelation on the distinction between being and doing. Darci’s pain severely limited her ability to engage in some of the most simple things in life…at one point of being bedridden for 2 years, as Darci lay in bed she asked her husband to create a tent over her with the bed sheet because when it touched her skin it caused excruciating pain. As she lay in bed day in and day out she began to question the purpose of living. She couldn’t do anything, she wasn’t of any help, she couldn’t enjoy her young daughters. Life was happening around her but without her. Even today she can only watch her grandchildren with assistance and short intervals. It’s in this quiet place of simply being with God that she discovers a whole new level of intimacy with Him. The revelation that His only request for her, for any of us is to be with Him. A weight was lifted and she began to see the beauty of Christ’s extravagant love for her in the humble posture of being. One last thing and we’ll jump into the conversation with Darci. I especially loved how Darci shares that in the dark valleys of life God is there. I know we’ve heard that a thousand times but it’s a great reminder that we don’t have to go looking for Him. We don’t have to pray for Him to find us. We don’t have to check off the good Christian checklist for Him to show Himself. He’s already there. We simply need to engage Him in the being. If you’ve been struggling with the thought that a good God would not have you suffer like this I challenge you to reframe that. God is good because despite the reality of the pain in this life, He doesn’t abandon or reject us nor does He leave us to figure it out on our own. He enters into our pain with us, comforts us, leads us into healing, and untangles our fears. In short, He gives us His very presence. Darci was the...

Have you ever felt inadequate when trying to express your care and concern to someone who is grieving? If so, my guest Sherrie Dunlevy is going to help us understand how we can genuinely help the brokenhearted. She’ll shed some light on what to say and what not to say as well as what to do and what not to do. Plus along the way, Sherrie gives us additional insight that is going to help if you’re facing a season of loss and uncertainty yourself. Something I always like to point out is that grief is not limited to loosing a loved one. Anything that leaves us brokenhearted which equates to anytime we’re separated from that which we hold near and dear to our hearts. It’s times like that when everything familiar shifts and the pain demands a grieving process. When part of our life is torn away, we’re in need of an honest evaluation of how this tragedy impacts our life and what resources do we need to engage, in order to move toward full healing. Sherrie has a background in television as a news anchor, a radio talk show host, and she is currently a podcast host as well as a grief coach. And we can add author to her list of accomplishments because she’s published a book titled, Can I Help? Sherrie wrote this book because she has a deep compassion for those who are in a season of grief. As a grief coach her focus is to help the grieving process their pain. Based on the knowledge and insight that Sherrie has gained as a grief coach we push out the topic of grief to talk about how we can avoid adding extra stress and demands on our loved ones who are struggling with deep pain and even deeper questions. When someone is faced with the uncertainty of life, the struggle to understand their circumstance is fertile ground for isolation, confusion and to be honest, awkwardness. It’s the awkwardness that causes us to distance ourself from our loved one or to say things that are blanket statements. Blanket statements are the type of cliche comments that when said everyone knows it’s just a substitute for, I don’t know what to say. Sherrie’s book, Can I Help?, will give you the confidence to feel more at ease with the topic of grief and as you implement and practice Sherrie’s advice you become more comfortable to share space someone who is grappling with the reality of their old life vs the life they are now forced to know. There’s power in having confidence for this topic because it removes barriers and lets an aching heart know that they are seen, heard and cared about. When you’re in pain, knowing that you’re not alone is powerful enough to give people hope for a better tomorrow. The bottom line is, neither the brokenhearted nor the people who desperately want to help will have all the answers. Every situation is unique to the person who has experienced a tragedy/trauma. And the truth is, the brokenhearted can’t articulate what they need in the moment. In addition, the one who desires to be there for their loved one, feels helpless. If they both know anything, it’s that neither one can reach the pain because neither one can change the devastating reality of loss. Sherrie makes a clear distinction, which I felt was truly foundational to having the courage to reach out to someone who needs a kind word and that is, to remember it’s not about you. Sherrie and I partnered that portion of the conversation with another key truth that she pointed out: The person who wants to help can’t fix it and it’s not their job to fix it. To me, that takes a huge weight off and it allows the caregiver (not in a medical sense but rather in the context of relationship) to simply show up, sit quietly if necessary and allow their loved one to find their way through the grief. If you’ve ever felt helpless, confused, or awkward when it comes to navigating grief then listen in to see how you can remove typical barriers and create a connection of support that brings peace and invites healing. Live Loved and Thrive! Connect with Sherrie: Website Grief Coaching...

Author Jodi Howe is here to talk about anxiety. More specifically, she’s here to tell us how to do more than simply manage it. She gives us various examples of how we set ourself up for patterns of anxiety. She shares practical steps for not only catching these patterns but she also offers suggestions on evaluating our schedules and practices that we can unknowingly add overwhelm to our typical day. Jodi’s book, The Air That I Breathe is a resource that she couldn’t find when she so desperately wanted relief from the panic attacks that threatened to overtake her life. She shares the various lessons she’s learned along the way so that you can gain immediate insight vs struggling to figure out the best ways to find freedom. She also shares the countless ways that God steadied her, led her and healed her through this journey. The current (IYKYK) publishing date for Jodi’s book is November 27, 2023. You will be able to find it on Amazon as well as Jodi’s website (jodihowe.com). Christmas is just around the corner so maybe you want to drop a hint or two to let your peeps know that you’d like a copy for Christmas. Also, if there’s someone in your life who could really use help to get their anxiety under control, consider Jodi’s resource (aka her book, The Air That I Breathe) an excellent tool in seeing that come to fruition. If you’re like me you’re gonna immediately love Jodi because she’s full of life. While her wit will have you laughing I’m most impressed with her courage to be transparent about real life challenges. Even when life doesn’t look neat, predictable and pretty she doesn’t side step the hard parts but takes them on knowing that God will see her through. This book is such an incredible tool because Jodi’s personal experience has been so beautifully blended with practical steps of application and the wisdom of God’s word and the fact that He’s already laid out how we can live without anxiety, worry, fear and overwhelm. Let’s listen in to discover how we can find God in the midst of the struggle to quiet our mind and find peace in a world that is anything but peaceful. Live Loved and Thrive! @Alifeofthrive.com Connect with Jodi: Website Facebook Instagram X (Formerly Twitter) Jodi’s Bio as seen on her website: I grew up in Upstate New York. Raised in Syracuse and even attended Syracuse University. I am still a die-hard fan of everything Orangemen Football and Basketball. I also enjoy the NFL. Go Giants. Oh, and the Bills, too. After all, I am from NY! I now live in North Carolina. In between life, I have lived in New York City, San Francisco, and Albany, New York. Still, I love the South. Not the heat, but the south. The mountains are 3 hours away—the ocean, 2. It's the best of both worlds and I get all of my beloved seasons. At home, I can be found in my comfy chair with my smartphone, writing content and studying through devotionals and the Bible. And sometimes I watch a show or two. I love to be with people and am highly extroverted. I am in my "happy place" when behind a microphone. This may come as a surprise to some, but I also love to retreat on my own. I am fueled by quiet time with the Lord and peaceful surroundings. Reflecting. Praying. Dreaming. Learning and then Praying some more. Focusing on The Air that I Breathe. Which is Jesus! I have lived, grieved, and learned hard lessons through a marital break-up and family struggles (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). I also know anxiety very well, and it is my first actual testimony to God, his love, and experiencing the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). Apostle Paul tells us we will have thorns in our flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7), but God's grace is sufficient for each day. I am a testimony to that. I am a mother of 2 girls. I adore them with all of my heart. They are beautifully unique in their ways, and I am genuinely proud of them. Will you join me in my life-long journey of knowing and loving Jesus? Living in him is the abundant life...

My guest Leslie Davis, is a founder (along with her husband) of HeartCall Ministries and it’s because of the way God has blessed their marriage that makes Leslie passionate about seeing marriages healed and strengthened through the truth of God's Word. Their marriage is proof that you can have a solid, godly, blessed, rewarding marriage. Leslie and I talked about how marriage is simply two broken people bringing out the brokenness in each other but Leslie said something that I cannot ever remember considering it quite like she shared. Granted, I’ve been a widow now for a little over 5.5 years so maybe I’m just not remembering. She said, “A lot of times God will use the marriage relationship to provide healing for those broken places.” I don’t recall considering conflict in my marriage, as an opportunity to heal. Although, in hindsight it was times of frustration and feeling at my wits end in my marriage that caused me to seek my own personal healing. When I think about it, that’s so like God. He knows marriage is gong to bring our brokenness to the surface. He knows we’re going to challenge each other and it’s going to trigger all the areas where we need healing and He’s fine with that. He’s fine with it because in the process He’s asking us to give that painful place, that brokenness to Him so He can heal it. The sooner we give it to Him the sooner we get to walk in freedom. God’s heart is to heal us in the here and now. To build our trust, to show us His faithfulness and ability to Shepherd us well. A significant distinction that Leslie made is looking at the difference of what it means to have a strong identity based on who we are IN Christ AND who we are TO Christ. So good. I can’t wait for you to hear that part. We took a look at abuse, submission, obedience and humbling but it’s not the typical conversation that you may be used to hearing. Leslie believes that submission preached without including the importance of biblical leadership is not viable. Additionally, Leslie points to varying levels of trust between spouses and the fact that when the marriage vows (that were spoken between you and your spouse in front of witnesses) are broken then there’s some work that needs to be done. Whether is was submission, obedience, humbleness, or abuse, no matter our topic, Leslie balances it with clarity, hope and God’s heart for us and for marriage. I am confident that her message is going to encourage you to continue pursuing the heart of God and discovering His intention for marriage and the freedom He has for us as the individual He created you to be. We can’t forget, that if we’ve professed the Son of God as our Lord and Savior, then He’s made a vow to us. He’ll never leave us nor forsake us especially in the painful places of life. I don’t want to delay any longer, let’s listen in so that we might get a glimpse of how to find God in our pain, specifically the broken places in marriage. Live Loved and Thrive! @Alifeofthrive.com Connect with Leslie: Website Counseling Podcast Resources Facebook Instagram Bio: Leslie is the co-host with her husband, Doug, of The Vision-Driven Marriage podcast. They currently work with couples who are experiencing the overwhelm of the whirlwind of life. She earned a Master of Science degree in counseling from Illinois State University in 2008 and a Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Illinois University in 1991. She has been trained as a certified Suicide Intervention Specialist and is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Leslie has been married to Doug for 34 years. Together they have four beautiful daughters and three sons-in-law. Four sweet little granddaughters call her Nana. She likes to write, scrapbook, and has recently taken up watercolor painting. Transcript: https://www.happyscribe.com/transcriptions/463bf4a1bbd74ee6b8e335669e679edb/view

My guest Sue Corl is the Founder and Executive Director at Crown of Beauty International. Her childhood and young adult years were very difficult. She was born with a facial birth defect and from birth to 15 years of age most of those formative years were spent living with complications both physical and mental, from back to back corrective surgeries. But talking with Sue, listening to her life, hearing about her ministry, her husband and family, God has not wasted a single moment of pain and suffering and neither has Sue. In pursuit to rewrite the lies that she believed about herself, she has agreed with God on everything that He has to say about her, and the way that He loves her. Hence the birth of Crown of Beauty International. It is her passion to lead women to find freedom from the defeating lies that they think, feel, and live out in their personal lives. Sue travels all around the world and walks through every door God opens for her and she points the hearts of women to God’s truth and His deep love for them. Sue is amazing! I want let you know that the thing that was supposed to keep your mouth shut, the thing that has you feeling guilt and shame, give it to God and He’ll transform it into an adventure you would have never thought to ask for nor could you imagine. We talked about so many things but a few of those that stuck out to me were, talking about how reading God’s word (the Bible), how it transforms you through the work of the Holy Spirit. Not just from a spiritual aspect. She talked about when the word is built upon and it begins to transform us little by little it also affects our posture, the way we walk, how we talk to people, the way we show up in places, roles, responsibilities. It reminded me of this, I’m not sure if you’ve ever experienced it but sometimes when you’re talking to someone you can see joy in their eyes, a light in some people’s eyes. Without fail, every time I dig a little deeper in conversation with them, sometimes asking point blank are you a Christian or a different faith based question I find out that they are indeed Christians. Seeing a light in their eyes makes complete sense to me because we are filled with the Light of the World. Because of Sue’s international travel she talked about how our negative self-image and negative internal dialog is seen all around the world, even including men. They’ve started a separate program for men. Hearing that, I asked her what is the common dominator. And of course you can always trace it back to the one who steals, kills and destroys us from the inside out. Ultimately, we believe varying degrees of lies about ourself. Anytime we believe a lie and it goes unchecked, it is not in our favor. We will not fare well. It can start out as a good thing but at some point it has the potential to tip into a lie. We can start out confident but then end up prideful, we can start out being kind and caring but we end up being a doormat. So I had to ask her this question, how do we keep our life in balance? Sue’s response? By consistently, exposing our way of thinking to God’s truths. Challenge the triggers in our life by allowing God room to speak into those places. In doing so He’ll expose the lies for us. The best part is that He downloads His truth so that if we choose, we can rewrite what we thought was truth with the real thing, God’s truth AND His love. I saw a quote from Billy Graham “ Most of all let the Word of God fill you and renew your mind every day. When your minds are on Christ, Satan has little room to maneuver.” If you’ve been listening to several of my past podcast episodes on the healing ministry here’s something that Sue shared that lined right up with how God made us mind, body, soul, spirit, it’s all meshed together. Sue has been studying the brain and unforgiveness. She’s been reading medical materials etc. and she shares that through medical science she discovered that unforgiveness is now considered a disease because it has the...

I’m so glad you’re here today because it could mean we are a lot alike in that we struggle with letting go of guilt and shame. It does the heart good, or at least it does my heart good to know that I’m not the only one struggling with this. I wanted to share this sweet reminder, that the Lord gave me. I love when the truth of what I know about God sinks in a little bit deeper into my heart. In this case it broke off some pride I had about forgiveness and not the forgiveness we typically think of first, that of forgiving others. This was about forgiving myself. I almost want to ask you to listen to this episode at a time when things are quiet and you’re in a personal space so that you can actively respond to what a share but I know that everyone has a very busy life and therefore that’s a hard request. Whether you listen now or whether you use my suggestion later to process with God, I’m hoping to create an opportunity for you to hear God’s voice because I’m thinking you’re like me in that you already know the truth of God’s forgiveness and yet we still beat ourself up with guilt and shame. This proves there is some value in digging a little deeper, or simply lingering a little longer with focused concentration to discover freedom when it comes to forgiving ourself. Again, the quiet space is not mandatory because I was driving down the road when God spoke into my spirit. The sweetness of the Lord had me in tears. I don’t want anything to happen to you should you be driving. Maybe pull over if the love of the Lord comes over you like it did me. What I have to share today will keep pointing us back to the cross, something you may feel is a bit overdone. Not overdone with the reverence we have for the cross but possibly overdone with regard to how familiar you are with the message of the cross. Stay with me please because I can’t get to where I want to take us without going to the cross. And to be honest, as Christians it is always about the cross. It is the core of our faith. It’s what makes our faith different. The fact that we have a relationship with the Living God. An alive, active, engaged relationship. We can know our God and hear His voice. There is the potential that some parts of what I’m going to delve into might feel a little abrasive because when God revealed my pride to me in the context of forgiving myself I hadn’t thought of it as pride. Additionally, I’m well aware that when people get too close to the things that we are sensitive about it feels judgmental but when God exposes us He does it in love and He’s inviting us into deeper relationship, where trust (in Him) is matured. I want this message to be done in love so that is why I’ll be pointing you to God to have your conversation with Him. I want Him to reveal what He wants to set you free from. My goal is not to add condemnation to this conversation. That is satan’s speciality. God convicts but He never condemns, two different things. I want this conversation to be done in the same gentle, kind way that God did it for me. He didn’t call me out to embarrass me. He gently exposed my pride in order to set me free from it. It’s times like that when He takes us back to the cross, not to harm us, but to heal us. I’m going to prompt you with an exercise and it’s based on the times when the devil tries to drag us back to a place that reminds us of our shame, guilt and regret. I’ve worked through a lot of childhood trauma. I think everybody’s pretty clear on the fact that our family of origin sets the pace for our adult life and so it impacts our decisions. Those experiences help craft the lens through which we see people and the world. We make a lot of assumptions because our experiences do not have a full understanding so now we’re dealing with lies we believe, and it all creates the value system we live by. Because no family, no person, no relationship is perfect and sinless, this gives satan plenty of opportunity to try and take us back to painful...

I can’t think of anyone who would intentionally sign away their freedoms to a dangerous sect or a toxic community, so how does one find themselves in this type of environment? After talking with my guest Lauren Hunter, who shares her story of leaving Christian Science, I realized that often, it comes down to a very simple unassuming entry. Christian Science was the faith of her family so Lauren was born into the teachings, practices and beliefs. Family is key. People find themselves in cults just like people join gangs or enter into relationships that end up being toxic because initially they feel like family and ultimately who doesn’t want to belong? I’ve often said this, when we look at society as a whole, (our worries, fears, anxieties, or motivations to accept less than we are worthy of, when we allow people to violate our bodies and our minds etc.)we can peel away all the different choices that people use to cope and self protect and I personally believe that we can all be boiled down to one thing. We fear being alone. I also think that our fear of being alone has to do with the way we were created. It’s in our DNA to seek relationship and yet nothing in this world will fully satisfy. Ultimately, our desire for relationship is to draw us to the One who created us. We were created for an intimate, real relationship with the living God. It was His original plan for us to dwell face to face with Him but when sin entered the Garden of Eden we were separated from Him. We’re left with the need, a deep desire to find home, to find God. This desire to find the One who fills us is a beautiful gift from the Father because once we pass from here, our soul, the part of us that lives eternally will face one of two realities, heaven or hell. God has created in us the desire to know Him so that we might choose Him and therefore live eternally with Him. The thought of not spending eternity with God grieves His heart and so He gives us an innate desire to avoid being eternally alone (separated from love, joy, peace, a place where there is no pain, no tears etc.). It is the goodness and kindness of God to give us yet another way to seek Him and choose Him. That’s the heart of a Father, to give His children every opportunity to choose Him, to have another chance at eternity with Him. Being heard, seen, loved, valued, not being alone is an incredibly powerful motivator for people to stay in destructive relationships be that faith based, dating, friendship, marriage, work etc. Lauren talks about the red flags that we need to be aware of. Granted we may not discern them at first because there is a conditioning, a soft build up to the actual abuse but some of the ones Lauren touched on were things like, the requirement to be obedient to the belief system, don’t question their authority, distrust outsiders, shoulder any burdens you experience, and undermining trust in yourself. After you hear all that Lauren talks about in this conversation you’re going to want to get her book, Leaving Christian Science. She shares more of her personal story and includes 9 other people who share their experiences and why they too left the false faith. Each chapter addresses the various theological inconsistencies taught by Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of Christian Science. Lauren and her guests compare Christian Science themes such as matter, Jesus Christ, contagion, prayer, and sin. Examining these inconsistencies provides a deeper understanding of the Christian faith that Lauren now pursues in freedom and truth. Let’s get this conversation started. Live Loved and Thrive! @alifeofthrive.com Connect with Lauren: Website: laurenhunter.net Amazon Book Page: https://amzn.to/32LKPRk Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/laurenhunter.net/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/mamahunter100 Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenhhunter LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenhhunter/ Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/laurenhhunter/ Amazon Author...

My guest Karen King has developed a passion for the deliverance ministry specifically the deliverance from demonic attachment, influence, oppression, all the plans and schemes that Satan has set against us. It’s no secret, God has a plan for your life and so does Satan but before we jump into finding freedom I do want to pause for one minute and acknowledge that some people do not believe that a Christian should or could have trouble with demonic attachments and influences or oppression, and if that's you, don’t check out. Allow me to humbly submit to you Job. A man who was tested in every single capacity of life and never sinned against God. As a matter of fact, it was because of Job’s faithfulness that God offered him up to Satan. With restrictions of course, but none the less we see Job go from traumatic emotional pain, to physical illness pain to a place where the pain turned inward on himself as he cried out to the God he believed in. We have this perspective about Job but we can also acknowledge that we’ve all been through portions of Job’s journey. Our own emotions can become weary unless we isolate ourselves from life and relationship. But isolation is Satan’s playground with regard to our mental thought life. So take the time to talk to Holy Spirit and ask Him to reveal the various ways that your enemy works against you to steal your mental health, kill your peace of mind and ultimately destroy you, even though you remain physically alive. Ask Holy Spirit to give you revelation and then whatever He reveals, take it captive to Christ. Karen is here to let us know that we can find freedom from anguish, confusion, depression and anxiety, all the ways that we suffer when Satan goes undetected and therefore runs rampant in our thought life. Times when we allow negative thoughts and experiences to overwhelm us to the point that we live in fear and cannot find any peace. We’re in constant survival mode, never confident about which way to turn. Mental health is simply one way Satan works against us and Karen feels that stored emotions in her body (from a 20 year abusive marriage) contributed to the 2 cancer diagnoses that she’s received. But it has only fueled her desire to stand on God’s word and experience what it means when we read in the Holy Bible that, "...by His stripes (His wounds) we are healed." (My emphasis inserted) He paid the price for our healing (be it mental, physical or emotional) with every drop of His Son’s blood so I am confident that the blood He’s invested is a clear indication that healing is for everyone. In other words, God wants a return on His most precious investment. Not only does Karen participate in the deliverance ministry by assisting people to be set free by the power of Christ but she herself has benefited greatly by also allowing others in the deliverance ministry to break off demonic influences that she has experienced. Additionally, she’s taken the time to investigate in what ways she has allowed Satan to have access to her and when she finds points of access she exercises the power and authority of Christ’s work on the cross. She shuts down the strongman and his structured kingdom, forbidding any division and casting them all into the pit of hell where they came from. Another way that Satan finds an access point and then we’ll get to the conversation with Karen, is when the uncertainty of life hits us it creates an environment that is rich with regard to questioning God’s goodness which in turn causes us to question God’s love for us and His intentions. Questioning God in the midst of pain is normal and expected but it’s an opportune time for Satan to attach himself to our pain and flood us with past pain that lines up with our current situation and therefore validating our emotions. All with the purpose of driving a wedge between our heart and God’s heart. Satan wants us to lose our footing on the truths that we already know about God. Satan wants us to define God based on...