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
Read MoreBarbara 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
Read MoreMention “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
Read MoreDiscontent 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
Read MoreSometimes 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
Read MoreIn this Help & Hope interview, Jessica Thompson, author of How to Help Your Teens with Anxiety, talks to Sharon Betters about some of the root causes of anxiety and offers practical tips for how parents can get their kids talking about anxiety and how they come alongside of their children during their teen years.
Read MoreWhile most do not experience motherhood as a crisis, every mother has experienced periods of weariness, frustration, regrets – and shame because we just don’t feel like we’re enough for the tasks at hand. In this conversation with Sharon Betters and Melissa Weisenfels, Christina Fox, a mother herself, encourages us that there is minute by minute help and hope for mothers, no matter what season of life. Christina has a special love for mothers struggling to find hope in those especially hard days and shares her love in her book Sufficient Hope, Gospel Meditations and Prayers for Moms.
Read MoreWhen Lovette told her mother she was pregnant, her mother took her to an abortion clinic despite protests and tears. A few months later, Lovette was again pregnant, and though she cried, she followed the routine and returned to the abortion clinic. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Lovette Vasser shares her story with hope that her journey to healing will help other women.
Read MoreWe’re all waiting for something. It might be a spouse or a baby. It might be healing or a home. Regardless of what we're waiting for, it’s easy to feel discontent when things aren’t going as planned and our dreams are delayed—especially when questions of 'Why?' and 'How long?' remain unanswered. God uses seasons of waiting not only to teach us patience and make us more like Himself, but He also uses unmet longings to paint a powerful picture of the bride of Christ waiting for the day when He returns and God’s kingdom reigns.
Read MoreIn this poignant conversation Claire describes how her birth mother told her about the abortion, Claire’s response to the news, and how she is watching the Lord bring beauty from ashes as she shares her story across the country as a means of showing a real life baby is the victim of abortion.
Read MoreBill Tell experienced severe burnout and depression without warning and he discovered he could not “pull himself up by his own bootstraps”. Depression was like the hand of a giant pushing him deeper and deeper into darkness he could not fight on his own. Bill’s honest account of this lonely and dark time encourages each of us to review the grid through which we live life.
Read MoreIn this conversation Sue Tell shares about her reaction to her husband Bill’s severe burnout and depression. After over forty years of serving in ministry, Bill suddenly slid into a dark pit of depression. He was incapable of “pulling himself up by his own bootstraps”. Sue describes how their lives dramatically changed and their struggles brought new depth to their marriage.
Read MorePastor Bob Allums, husband and father, learned at thirty-two years of age that he faced the battle of his life against throat and mouth cancer. The possibility that the disease and treatment would destroy his ability to speak, to preach and teach was real. Before the diagnosis, Bob struggled with overwhelming depression, a darkness whose roots he could not identify.
Read MoreHow do you pursue your dreams when congenital muscular dystrophy threatens your independence? At fourteen years of age, Tim had a fourteen-hour surgery to straighten his spine. Tim describes how the post surgical excruciating pain led him to question God’s wisdom and love. He had to relearn to walk and cannot walk without assistance to this day. But instead of turning inward into a bitter, young man, Tim persevered through a year of pain and rehabilitation that helped him learn to walk with assistance. The recovery period gave him time to think through his goals of pursuing a life of purpose. In this transparent interview, Tim shares some of the ways he intentionally interacted with other students and school staff, as well as his own understanding of God’s purposes for his life.
Read MoreBob Petterson was abandoned by his mother, shifted from one abusive foster home to another, bullied not only by kids but by some of his foster parents, beaten and sexually assaulted by numerous people tasked with being his protectors. Is there any hope for such a child? Bob shares how he grew into a hope-filled man who learned to trust God.
Read MorePost Abortion Stress Syndrome, though not recognized in the medical community, is a real diagnosis in which thousands of women and men live with guilt, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and more in the aftermath of abortion. In this interview, Jill, a woman who has had four abortions, offers her story as a means to encourage women and men to discover the healing that is possible.
Read MoreSuicide was on teen Denise Haas’ mind a lot, so much so that she tried several times to take her life. Her parents’ divorce shattered her world and finding purpose in life was very difficult. In this compelling conversation, Denise transparently shares her story in an attempt to grab the hands of teens who are struggling with similar darkness and compel them to “just hold on!”
Read MoreThe third leading cause of death in 15 to 24 year olds is suicide and depression. This interview is an honest conversation with two professionals who have helped teens and families through these struggles. Parents and teens alike will benefit from strategies to help teens find hope in the darkness of depression.
Read MoreJoy was 10 years old when her mother lost her battle with aggressive breast cancer. Her two little sisters looked to her for mothering. She became her father’s confidante as he tried to navigate grief, single parenthood, and looking for a new wife. Joy’s story gives listeners a glimpse into how the loss of a parent can create an ever widening circle of grief that takes years to process.
Read MoreA young woman, beginning to see her career as a recording artist start to take off, hears the diagnosis no young person ever expects: “You have an inoperable brain tumor.” Listen as Caitlin describes her battle to find a cure and then just when life seemed to be turning around, the news that shook her world once
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