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Posts in Illness

Now I Lay Me Down to Fight - Breast Cancer

Now I Lay Me Down to Fight - Breast Cancer

When Clarissa Moll’s young husband, Rob, died unexpectedly, she soon realized she was at a crossroads. Would she walk toward hope or slide into hopelessness? In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Clarissa answers such questions as:

Is there any way to prepare for such a tragedy? Are there stages for grief? What kind of work can grief do in our hearts that grows the fruit of the spirit? How is it helpful to “welcome” an emotion like fear – how does dissecting an emotion help us keep those emotions in check – or should we even try to keep them in check? What about regrets? Either for our own behavior or read more…

Warrior Woman, IllnessMARKINC MinistriesNovember 13, 20232020, 7th 30Comment

Hidden Wounds and Scars of Chronic Illness – Is There Hope?

Hidden Wounds and Scars of Chronic Illness – Is There Hope?

Roasann has experienced disappointment, pain, and loss – but her scars and wounds are not obvious – very much like many of you. Today Rosann lives with the kinds of chronic illness that many of you contend with – often alone in your struggles because they are not visible wounds or scars. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Rosann offers encouragement to fellow travelers, that though the pathway is often hard and you feel hopeless and helpless, there is a light in the darkness and purpose in the pain.

Illness, Warrior WomanMARKINC MinistriesOctober 24, 20232020, 7th 30Comment

Breast Cancer - Faith Wears Pink

Breast Cancer - Faith Wears Pink

Christine 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…

Faith, Illness, Warrior WomanMARKINC MinistriesOctober 9, 20232020, 7th 30Comment

The Unexpected Treasures of Down Syndrome

The Unexpected Treasures of Down Syndrome

When unexpected moments change life’s trajectory, we’re left with a choice: Do we overcome the unexpected, as the world recommends, or undergo it? In this conversation with Sharon Betters and Chuck L. Betters, Author Jillian Benfield says experiencing an unexpected season begins a transformation that deconstructs read more…

Parenting, IllnessMARKINC MinistriesMay 12, 20236th 30, 2020Comment

Relentless Pain, Beauty Beyond the Thorns

Relentless Pain, Beauty Beyond the Thorns

In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Darci, and Mark freely answer questions about their struggle to find a “new normal” when Darci was incapable of caring for their girls or their home. Mark brings the unique perspective of a full-time caregiver and how Mark sometimes struggles with meeting all the needs of their children and his wife. They both share the spiritual challenges of understanding the sovereignty of God over what seem like set backs and unfair loss and how the Lord has met them in their most broken read more…

Faith, Caregiving, IllnessMARKINC MinistriesFebruary 6, 20236th 30, 2020Comment

Beyond the Book - Ask the Author

Beyond the Book - Ask the Author

No matter your season of life, wherever God has placed you is your platform for glorifying Him. But sometimes, it’s really, really hard to see the rutted, muddy pathways of life as an opportunity to reflect Jesus, isn’t it? If you are in such a place, this special edition of the Help & Hope podcast is for you. Over the summer we held Beyond the Book, Ask the Author as a free virtual live event where guests could submit questions read more…

Faith, Grief, IllnessMARKINC MinistriesDecember 9, 20226th 30, 2020Comment

Sexual Betrayal in Marriage

Sexual Betrayal in Marriage

Some stats state that 50% of married couples in churches have experienced sexual betrayal in their marriage. When a wife learns about her husband’s sexual betrayal, in the blink of an eye, a bomb detonates and blows up her marriage. The very foundations on which she built her home shatter, and she can barely breathe, let alone find her way out from under the rubble. Ellen Dykas has walked read more…

Illness, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesNovember 9, 20222020, 6th 30 Comment

Mental Illness & Marriage

Mental Illness & Marriage

There is so much we do not know about mental illness, including deep depression that results in the inability to even get out of bed, let alone function in daily life. Many more people than we realize struggle every day to do the next thing with their will because of sadness, a lack of joy, and purpose reigning in their hearts. They have tried everything to get better but nothing helps. Add to this equation the spouse who read more…

Illness, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesOctober 26, 20226th 30, 2020Comment

Ordinary on Purpose

Ordinary on Purpose

Dr. Mikala Albertson aimed to be exemplary in all she did – marriage, motherhood, her career – but her seemingly picture-perfect life began crumbling when she realized her doctor husband was addicted to drugs and nothing was perfect after all. Listen in as Mikala shares her story of striving and suffering in the hunt for perfection and found that embracing her gritty, messy, complicated, tough ordinary life led her on read more…

Illness, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesSeptember 16, 20226th 30, 2020Comment

Dealing with Unwanted Thoughts

Dealing with Unwanted Thoughts

Most of us can admit to seasons of struggling with unwanted thoughts, perhaps rooted in fear of the unknown, a broken relationship, a horrible past of abuse. For some people, unwanted thoughts are a nagging discomfort. Others experience them as a brutal and invisible form of torture. Thoughts spiraling out of control can lead to sleepless nights, uncomfortable relationships and wasted read more…

Illness, Emotions, TeensMARKINC MinistriesSeptember 2, 20226th 30, 2020Comment

Early Onset Dementia, A Mother’s Journey

Early Onset Dementia, A Mother’s Journey

What if your kind, gentle adult son started exhibiting bizarre behavior, so bizarre his wife got a restraining order and he ended up in prison? Our guest in this conversation, Robin, knows this terror as she lost her son little by little to an undiagnosed disease read more…

Parenting, Special Needs, Illness, Later Years of Life, CaregivingMARKINC MinistriesMay 13, 20226th 30, 2020Comment

ALS - On My Way Home

ALS - On My Way Home

How 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…

Grief, Illness, Later Years of LifeMARKINC MinistriesApril 28, 20226th 30, 2020Comment

Bipolar Mental Illness

Bipolar Mental Illness

Help! I’ve Been Diagnosed with a Mental Illness! The words, “You have a mental illness” bring fear, uncertainty, sometimes shame, loneliness, and even hopelessness. Christine Chappell heard those words as a young woman. They helped her understand many of her struggles with depression and self-harming behavior but also took her into a foreign land where she had no road map. Christine talks to Sharon Betters about how her journey began as a young adult until she knew if she didn’t get help, she might take her own life. While her diagnosis helped make sense of her disturbing emotions, it also confronted her with

Illness, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesOctober 29, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Schizophrenia - Through a Mother’s Eyes

Schizophrenia - Through a Mother’s Eyes

In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Simonetta Carr shares the story of her beloved son, Jonathan, and her experience of caring for him as he struggled with schizophrenia. Simonetta doesn’t sugarcoat the enormous challenges and emotions that were non-stop. She talks about how she fervently prayed for Jonathan, the fears she had to confront, and how the church came alongside Jonathan and her in this battle. You may not have a loved one with schizophrenia but Simonetta and Jonathan’s story will give you insight into the enormous battle facing families with such a diagnosis.

Parenting, Illness, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesSeptember 28, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Lou Gehrig's Disease and Loss

Lou Gehrig's Disease and Loss

This thoughtful conversation between two men who share the grief of losing a child will challenge listeners with their responses to grief and Ellis’ response to the illness and death of his beloved Colleen.

Grief, Illness, CaregivingBill HughesJune 19, 20202020, 4th 30Comment

Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain

In 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.

Grief, IllnessMARKINC MinistriesApril 17, 20202020, 4th 30 Comments

Hope In The Hardest Places with Lynne Hartke

Hope In The Hardest Places with Lynne Hartke

Against the backdrop of the Sonoran Desert, Lynne Hartke asks her own hard questions as cancer arrives like a thief. As Lynne wrestles with a tumble of tangled emotions, a shaken faith, and self-doubt cancer is now not only threatening her own life, but, in a surprising twist, the lives of both her parents as well.

IllnessMARKINC MinistriesDecember 20, 20192019, 4th 30Comment

Loving Your Friend Through Cancer with Marissa Henley

Loving Your Friend Through Cancer with Marissa Henley

At age 34, Marissa Henley learned she had a rare form of a deadly, aggressive cancer. Her diagnosis sent her on a journey to find the best treatment which meant long separations from her family. Marissa weaves her story in the context of how to walk with a friend through the battle of her life. Marissa equips us to not only know how to respond practically but how to better understand the questions and fears of a cancer fighter.

IllnessMARKINC MinistriesOctober 17, 20194th 30, 2019Comment

Mental Illness & Suicide

Mental Illness & Suicide

In this conversation Judy Springer tells how she has lived with mental illness and continues to live with the aftermath of suicide. After a lifetime of the unrelenting pain of mental illness, Judy’s beloved husband, Scott, took his own life. Judy shares their story as a way to redeem some of the pain of Scott’s struggle to find healing and death.

Grief, IllnessMARKINC MinistriesAugust 15, 20192019, 4th 30 Comments

Finding Purpose When You Lose Your Identity

Finding Purpose When You Lose Your Identity

In 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.

Special Needs, Illness, Special Event SpeakersMARKINC MinistriesAugust 1, 20192019, 4th 30Comment