5th 30 — Help and Hope — MARKINC.org - Help and Hope by Faith

Posts tagged 5th 30

Help for Parenting Children with Disabilities

Help for Parenting Children with Disabilities

In this conversation, Sharon Betters and Steph speak as two friends, as they talk about the fact that a child with disabilities might be different but is not “less than”. Sharon and Steph discuss how hurtful comments from others might be a reflection of their own hearts and the need for each of us to learn more about the lives of those parenting children with disabilities. Listen in as Steph challenges us to consider how we respond when around a child with disabilities. Do we recognize them as deserving of the same love and care as a child without disabilities? Does your church enfold such families into the body of Christ? Steph shares how a biblical worldview of disabilities, that is, God’s view, will transform your heart.

Parenting, Special Needs, CaregivingMARKINC MinistriesFebruary 14, 20222020, 5th 30Comment

Shattered Expectations

Shattered Expectations

Studies show that the loss of a spouse, whether through divorce or death is one of the most devastating losses a human can experience. Our podcast guest, Deb McQuilkin, knows the unspeakable grief of loss of a husband through an unwanted divorce and the sorrow of losing a beloved husband through death. Perhaps

Grief, RelationshipsMARKINC MinistriesFebruary 12, 20222020, 5th 30Comment

Loss of A Child

Loss of A Child

In this interview, Dr. Chuck and Sharon Betters discuss their story as parents who lost Mark, their sixteen year old son, in a devastating car accident. They are honest and they are real about their struggle to not only face each day without Mark but also to reconcile the love of God with His sovereign care.

GriefMARKINC MinistriesDecember 1, 2021Loss, Grief, Death, Loss of a Child, Car Accident, Library Block, popular, Popular, 2020, 5th 30Comment

Marital Betrayal and Reconciliation

Marital Betrayal and Reconciliation

Stephanie Broersma lived a charmed life until the day she discovered a deleted online conversation between her husband and another woman. When confronted, he confessed to a ten-year addiction to pornography and multiple affairs. In this conversation with Sharon Betters Stephanie shares the story of moving through anger, betrayal, fear, and finally redemption. Her remarkable story brings hope to one

Conflict, Grief, Relationships, Addressing SinsMARKINC MinistriesNovember 30, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Help! I'm Married to the Pastor

Help! I'm Married to the Pastor

In this candid and fun interview, Jani Ortlund and Sharon Betters talk about what it’s like to be married to their pastor. Jani and Sharon have been married to their pastors for over fifty years – that’s 100 years of experience between them! Using Jani’s book, Help! I’m Married to My Pastor as a springboard, they cover such topics as how to help pastor husbands deal with depression, create a home where the “PKs” feel safe and unaffected by congregational expectations, cultivate romance in their marriages, deal with gossip and prioritizing personal intimacy with Jesus.

Faith, RelationshipsMARKINC MinistriesNovember 15, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

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

Enough About Me!

Enough About Me!

“Who am I? What is my purpose? I thought I could have it all and I do. But I am restless, I feel like I’m missing something.” Statistics show many American women are weary, struggle with depression, and self-medicate with alcohol, flattery, and more. Suicide rates for women are on the rise. What’s happening? More

Faith, Grief, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesOctober 12, 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

Helping Others Go Through What We Went Through

Helping Others Go Through What We Went Through

1 in 8 couples have trouble getting pregnant. That's about 6.7 million people each year who have trouble conceiving. - 10—15% of women who know they are pregnant will experience a miscarriage. Some studies say it’s higher. - About 1 pregnancy in 100 at 20 weeks of pregnancy and later is affected by stillbirth, and each year about 24,000 babies are stillborn in the United States.1 - This doesn’t take into account the number of babies diagnosed in the womb with a terminal condition – meaning if they survive their birth, they will not live very long. Kathe Wunnenberg knows the sorrow of such losses. In this transparent conversation with Sharon Betters Kathe shares her own journey of grieving infertility, miscarriages and the loss of her

Faith, Relationships, CaregivingMARKINC MinistriesSeptember 14, 20212020, 5th 30 Comment

Pastors & Criticism - Part 2

Pastors & Criticism - Part 2

In Part 2 of this Help & Hope podcast Nick Thompson, co-author with Joel R. Beeke of Pastors and Their Critics continues his conversation with Chuck Betters about the difference between betrayal and criticism and how to handle criticism from church members. Part 2 focuses on how to create a church climate where it is safe to share concerns with your pastor and elders along with the reality that sometimes no amount of reconciliation efforts will reap sweet fruit.

Conflict, FaithMARKINC MinistriesAugust 14, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Pastors & Criticism - Part 1

Pastors & Criticism - Part 1

In Part 1 of this conversation Nick Thompson, co-author with Joel R. Beeke of Pastors and Their Critics talks with Chuck Betters about the difference between betrayal and criticism and how to handle criticism from church members. Pastors quickly learn that criticism comes with the territory of shepherding. This conversation took place in the middle of the 2020 pandemic and pastors are weary from the constant criticism they are getting in response to their handling of the pandemic. Rather than resolve their differences, critics choose to leave without any attempt to preserve the relationship. Most pastors give their lives to their congregation but over time

Conflict, FaithMARKINC MinistriesAugust 14, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Making the Church a Safe Place for Hurting Women - Part 2

Making the Church a Safe Place for Hurting Women - Part 2

For too long women, rather than feel safe, women often feel shame in their local churches, so much so that they will not ask the leadership for help. The idea of speaking about her personal needs and hurts to any man, let alone being in a room alone with a group of men fills her with fear. This conversation with Ann Maree Goudzwaard, Sharon Betters and Jane Anne Wilson fills us with great hope as we learn about a Shepherdess ministry designed to not only create a safe place for women in crisis but also act as a

Faith, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesJuly 30, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Making the Church a Safe Place for Hurting Women - Part 1

Making the Church a Safe Place for Hurting Women - Part 1

Chuck and Bernie discuss how many churches are ill-prepared to come alongside of women in crisis but how the scriptures outline the way to meet these needs. Bernie speaks from the experience of helping oversee such a ministry in his local church. He shares how the leadership recognized the need to make the church a safe place for women and then enlisted women to help develop a strategy for meeting this dire

Faith, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesJuly 21, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Motherhood, Shame & Guilt

Motherhood, Shame & Guilt

Barbara Juliani and Jane Anne Wilson join Sharon Betters to talk about those feelings every mother experiences at one time or another. This conversation follows an interview with Barbara about prodigal children. Barbara and her father Jack Miller co-authored Come Back, Barbara, a raw and transparent story of Barbara’s rebellion against her parents and their faith and her journey “back home”. Whenever a child rebels or disappoints

Parenting, Emotions, Later Years of LifeMARKINC MinistriesJuly 7, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Pastors & Conflict

Pastors & Conflict

This conversation is for pastors and ministry wives and those who love them. While there are occupational hazards in all lines of work, ministry families experience conflicts that sometimes not only result in broken relationships but the loss of their beloved church family. In most jobs, wives are not expected to be unpaid laborers, stand by their husband’s side every Sunday, remembering every name and something about the families, teach a class, play the piano, or host multiple gatherings for every age. What she considers deep friendships root and grow. Her children see the church as their second home. Imagine the trauma when conflict reveals that many view her only as a commodity, useful as long as her husband

Relationships, ConflictMARKINC MinistriesJune 2, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Ministry Wives, Betrayal and Restoration

Ministry Wives, Betrayal and Restoration

This conversation is for pastors and ministry wives and those who love them. While there are occupational hazards in all lines of work, ministry families experience conflicts that sometimes not only result in broken relationships but the loss of their beloved church family. In most jobs, wives are not expected to be unpaid laborers, stand by their husband’s side every Sunday, remembering every name and something about

Relationships, ConflictMARKINC MinistriesMay 19, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

A HOLY FEAR

A HOLY FEAR

Mention “fear of the Lord” and most people don’t know what it means. Is it terror in God’s presence? Is it fear He is watching and waiting to condemn us or tell us what a good person we are? Or maybe the Lord will demand we give up what is most precious to us to prove we fear Him. Or perhaps fear of the Lord grows when we think He is punishing us for past sins. In this

Faith, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesMay 4, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Joy in Caring for a Child with Special Needs

Joy in Caring for a Child with Special Needs

Thousands of families quietly and lovingly care for children with special needs. Though the days are often long and hard, many find joy in their calling and would not trade their calling for anything. Kara Dedert and her family reflect this joy in the ordinary and extraordinary moments of caring for their son and brother, Calvin. In her introduction to her blog, Kara writes, “You’ll find me writing about the good, gritty, gracy parts of faith, family and home. I’m married to Darryl and we have five kids. One of our sons has severe disabilities from Zika. It’s broken our hearts and also filled us with hope – I write about that, too.

Special Needs, CaregivingMARKINC MinistriesApril 5, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Discontentment

Discontentment

Discontent easily arises when our desires aren’t met and our plans don’t come true—but this is a dangerous path that drives us away from God. Megan Hill talks with Sharon Betters about how discontentment can be an insidious, unrecognized poison that robs us of opportunities to experience joy and intimacy with the Lord. Megan explains the meaning of contentment, how we often make discontentment comfortable in our

Grief, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesMarch 15, 20212020, 5th 30Comment

Companionship in Suffering

Companionship in Suffering

Sometimes one of the hardest places in suffering is the isolation and loneliness of pain. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Wendy Alsup shares how suffering came in wave after wave, leaving her breathless and lonely. In one particularly dark and painful period after intense surgery for cancer, Wendy discovered she was not truly

Grief, EmotionsMARKINC MinistriesFebruary 26, 20212020, 5th 30Comment