On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof, a young white man, attended the Wednesday evening Bible study at the predominantly black Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. An hour later, Roof pulled a concealed weapon and killed nine African-Americans as they prayed, including Myra Thompson, the wife of Reverend Anthony Thompson. Myra's murder devastated Anthony, yet he chose to privately and publicly forgive the shooter.
Read MoreAging is a season of loss on many levels. Married women fear losing their spouse or outliving their children. In fact, today there are 13.6 million widows in America, and about 700,000 women become a widow in the U.S. each year. Single women who have never married can fear being alone in the last years of life. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, seventy-two-year old Jerdone Davis frankly shares some of the emotional challenges of anticipating aging alone, including addressing how we can prepare for this season while we are younger and how can we handle the fears of being alone, especially in the last season of our lives. No matter your marital status, Jerdone’s recommendations for preparing for the last season of life will encourage you to be intentional in taking steps to make things easier for loved ones after your death.
Read MoreThis conversation between Annie Chapman and Sharon Betters will help guide daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law through the sometimes difficult maze of “sharing” a man. Annie Chapman is the author of The Mother-In-Law Dance and knows from experience how challenging it can be to get along with your mother-in-law.
Read MoreDr. Chuck Betters talks with Dr. Jim Meyer who lost his first wife. Jim shares the story of his family’s sorrow and cautions listeners that though someone who is broken might look whole on the outside, grief and depression might be ever present companions. Jim describes the depression he experienced and how his journey produced in him a passion for offering help to others who are grieving. Jim also shares how the Lord is redeeming his pain through his marriage to Kathy.
Read MoreChristine Runge Weiss, Founder of Faith Wears Pink, an online support platform for women battling breast cancer, shares how she learned she had breast cancer at the age of forty-four. Her diagnosis followed wave after wave of personal crises. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, herself a breast cancer survivor, Christine offers hope and practical help to breast cancer warriors. One evening she realized she was helping over twenty women with their questions, fears, and the unknowns of their journeys. She decided they all needed a way to talk to each other so she started a “Breast Friends” Facebook page. She eventually changed the name to Faith Wears Pink and as of today over 1000 women have connected through this platform. Faith Wears Pink not only connects breast cancer warriors but also gives gifts to women read more…
Read MoreHow do you face each day after a diagnosis of ALS or Lou Gherig’s disease, knowing you will not survive longer than eighteen months – two years? Pastor Dale Meader joins Sharon and Chuck Betters to answer this question and more as he describes how each day reminds him he cannot beat this read more…
Read MoreIn this interview, Jan Dravecky speaks candidly to Sharon Betters about how her husband Dave’s loss of his arm to cancer plunged her into a deep depression. Dave was a pitcher for the Giants when he received the diagnosis of cancer. Living with cancer is painful, but even more painful on a world stage. Jan’s body, heart, and soul finally cried, “Enough” and Jan found herself on a long, hard journey to find her way out of deep depression.
Read MoreIn this inspiring podcast former baseball star, Dave Dravecky and Dr. Chuck F. Betters talk about how cancer destroyed Dave’s successful baseball career and Dave’s struggle to deal with not only the loss of his career but understanding his true identity.
Read MoreIn this informative but at times disturbing interview, Darby Strickland draws from years of not only studying the impact of abuse but her interaction through counseling abused women. Darby is passionate about equipping local churches to be a safe place for the abused.
Read MoreNot so long ago, postpartum depression was not recognized as a real medical crisis for a mother – rather, she was often told to shake it off, pull it together, with no sympathy – after all, she was a new mother – why wasn’t she happy? Fortunately, today, postpartum depression is recognized as a real illness, a real physical crisis and there is hope. Christine Chappell knows what it is to experience post-partum depression. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, she shares her wildly changing emotions and shock...
Read MoreIn this sometimes emotional conversation, Doug shares with Dr. Chuck F. Betters some of the ways his brother’s death affected him and how grief for a child is different than the grief of an adult. It’s our hope that Doug’s story will help parents understand the grief of their children a little better and also encourage those who have lost siblings at a young age.
Read MoreIn this Help & Hope podcast, Dr. Betters talks with Bill Condon, who knows what it is to not only experience chronic pain with no hope of healing, but also the devastation of the losses that often accompanies chronic pain. Bill explains how depression took him into such a dark place he not longer wanted to live. Yet in the middle of debilitating pain, Bill’s story is one of hope.
Read MoreOur culture deifies strength—and sadly, the church does too. Who has the most successful ministry, the largest congregation, or the godliest family? Our misplaced faith in human strength is a false hope with no basis in Scripture... read more.
Read MoreIn this conversation with Sharon Betters, Miho Kahn and her husband share the story of Miho’s journey into a world of drugs, violence and abuse. Miho transparently shares her journey and how she found peace and direction in a personal relationship to Jesus.
Read MoreIs it possible to break free from drugs after a lifetime of using? Shelley Tribbitt says yes. After using drugs for over thirty years, Shelley broke free from the drugs, but then had to face the collateral damage she had done to her family and friends. In this poignant interview, Shelley describes the devastation drug use brought on her family, including the loss of custody of her children. Her daughter, Bay, joins the conversation and describes how she reconciled with her mother and why she never gave in to the temptation of drug use, even though they were readily available.
Read MorePerhaps one of the hardest pains for a parent to endure is when a child makes dangerous choices that are sure to lead to life-changing consequences. Judy Douglass, author of When You Love a Prodigal, knows this anguish first hand yet her story focuses on how parenting her son Josh drove her to the heart of Jesus where she learned truths about herself and the life-transforming power of God’s grace… learn more.
Read MoreGary Episcopo joins us on the Help & Hope podcast to share how God used his love for motorcycles and the brotherhood and comradery of motorcycle clubs to lead him into a life of demonstrating the love of Jesus to the one percenters or outlaw gangs. Growing up and even into adulthood, Gary struggled with many of the same temptations of these men and women and his understanding of the deep mercy… learn more.
Read MoreJessica shares her own story of how pornography drew her in when she was a middle schooler and how she found solace and acceptance through the internet and eventually chat rooms. Jessica describes the secrecy of her addiction and how it led to shame and guilt that she didn’t know how to break. Then, a woman acknowledged to a group of young adult females that pornography addiction was a woman thing, too. Suddenly, Jessica had hope that the chains of addiction could be broken. Jessica shares her journey as a means to offer hope to others. Learn more…
Read MoreJulie Sanford is a Recovery Mentor for wives of alcoholics. She is a wife and mom of three who found herself in a situation she never wanted to be in as the wife of an alcoholic. After several years of living in chaos, feeling alone, and unseen, she is now using her journey to help other wives of alcoholics navigate their husband’s addiction. She came to realize that it was not only her husband that needed recovery, but she also needed support. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Julie shares not only her story but hope and encouragement for those in a similar, broken place. Julie offers programs and coaching that equip women with the tools and strength needed to navigate their husband’s addiction without losing themselves in the process.
Read MoreIn this transparent interview, Jim and Karen share the highs and the lows of their international adoption journey, from how they began their adoption adventure, to the challenge of finding the new normal for their family. Listeners will get a glimpse into the reality of adoption and how it draws you closer to Jesus.
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