In His Grip Podcast feed

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 – Early Onset Dementia. Robin’s son, Justin, gradually changed from a kind, engaged husband, father and son into a man his family didn’t recognize. He lost his family and was imprisoned before doctors finally diagnosed him with frontotemporal dementia or young onset dementia. This is a heart-breaking story, but Robin offers light in the darkness.

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 Meador joins Sharon and Chuck Betters to answer this question and more as he describes how each day reminds him he cannot beat this disease. He knows his time on this earth is short. But, for Dale, this disease has renewed his confidence in heaven and God’s perfect love. In this conversation, Dale gives us a glimpse into how he is not only preparing himself but also his family for his absence and much more. Dale’s natural joyful perspective on life comes through but he wants all of us to know his perspective does not minimize the deep grief and fear ALS patients experience. His desire in sharing his story is for others to experience the same help and hope of Jesus he experiences every day. We are so grateful for Dale’s willingness to offer help and hope not only to the one diagnosed with ALS but also to those who love them.

How do we build a legacy of faith and how do we ensure that we pass that on to our children, grandchildren and that our faith becomes a tradition passed on throughout our family line? Building a Spiritual Legacy is a study of the book of Psalms.

How do we build a legacy of faith and how do we ensure that we pass that on to our children, grandchildren and that our faith becomes a tradition passed on throughout our family line? Building a Spiritual Legacy is a study of the book of Psalms.

In this conversation and in their book, Making Room for Her, Barbara and Stacy Reaoch jump headfirst into a topic sure to generate much discussion and maybe even confrontation: Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships. Mother-in-law jokes are easy to find and most expect daughters-in-law to roll their eyes when their mothers-in-law are mentioned. Barbara and Stacy’s perspective on how two women who love the same man can not only get along but cultivate a deep, loving friendship goes against our culture’s view of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships. In this Help & Hope conversation with Sharon Betters, they encourage listeners, especially those in challenging in-law relationships to refuse to give up on pursuing godly responses to broken places. Friends, listen and realize, there is hope even in the midst of messing feelings and past hurts.

How do we build a legacy of faith and how do we ensure that we pass that on to our children, grandchildren and that our faith becomes a tradition passed on throughout our family line? Building a Spiritual Legacy is a study of the book of Psalms.

Is singleness a gift or a curse? If you’re single because you never married, divorced or widowed - are you just in a waiting room, marking time until you meet the right person, or is singleness a place filled with opportunities you would not have if married? Is it wrong to pray for a spouse? How do you respond when well-meaning friends say hurtful things like, “I don’t understand why some guy hasn’t snatched up you – you’re so nice.” Sharon Betters and Jenilyn Swett, Director of Adult Ministries at Restoration Community Church (PCA) in St. Louis and author of Singleness, Living Faithfully, talk about the answers to these questions and much more in this Help & Hope podcast.

The following sermons by Dr. Chuck F. Betters were preached as part of the God Will Make a Way series.

Many people have experienced betrayal, someone violating your trust perhaps by lying, cheating, some kind of abuse, putting their own interests ahead of yours when they promised otherwise. Betrayal affects every part of our hearts, often in ways we don’t understand at first. Some hurts we carry with us to the day we die, they are so deep and seem impossible to resolve. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Wendy Alsup shares the impact of betrayal from her own life, not only through an unwanted divorce but also in her church life. But Wendy doesn’t leave us in the much of betrayal. Instead, she speaks frankly about the power of forgiveness. Wendy’s view of forgiveness is not stereotypical. Pulling examples from her own life, Wendy talks about the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation and how understanding ambiguous loss can help us as we grieve the losses of betrayal. Whether you are still gasping for air as the impact of betrayal hits you hard or you are carrying the wounds of broken relationships from years ago, this conversation will help guide you through the minefields of grief and loss.

The following sermons by Dr. Chuck F. Betters were preached as part of the God Will Make a Way series.

The following sermons by Dr. Chuck F. Betters were preached as part of the God Will Make a Way series.

Stephanie Hubach is no stranger to the challenges of raising a child with special needs. As a researcher in disability ministry and the mother of a son with Down Syndrome. Stephanie has spoken to thousands of parents about the struggles and the blessings of children who might be seen by our culture as dispensable, but in God’s world, they are indispensable and we lose many gifts and blessings when we do not recognize that what appears weak to us is actually, the strong. Steph’s passion for families raising children with disabilities moved her to write, Parenting and Disabilities – Abiding in God’s Presence as a daily devotional designed to turn hearts toward Jesus.

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.

The following sermons by Dr. Chuck F. Betters were preached as part of the God Will Make a Way series.

The following sermons by Dr. Chuck F. Betters were preached as part of the God Will Make a Way series.