Don't Mom Alone Podcast (healing)

We all walk through seasons of transition, whether we leave something behind by choice or it was chosen for us. Life after a disruptive event or during life transitions can feel like “starting over” just as much as a move clear across the country. You may be asking the question, “who am I here?” even in familiar places and routines. Author Shauna Niequist encourages us in what to hold on to and what to let go of, through seasons of loss. 

She equips us with three tools for the journey - curiosity, self-compassion, and courage. We discuss how prayer can tenderize an angry heart, and Shauna shares how hanging on to writing and hospitality, even when they felt like impossible disciplines, helped her journey forward through grief and change.

Shauna Niequist is a wife, mom, and author to numerous books including, Present Over Perfect, Cold Tangerines, and Bread and Wine. Her new book, I Guess I Haven’t Learned that Yet, releases on April 12, 2022

 

Connect with Shauna Niequist: 

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Direct download: ShaunaNiequistEp362.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

How do you respond when a difficult situation comes your way? One that feels out of the blue, or that doesn’t have a clear solution, or all the solutions you’ve tried haven’t worked? 

In this birthday episode (Happy Birthday Heather!) join Heather and DMA team member, Stephanie Snow, as they talk through what it looks like to process through all those thoughts that circle around our brains as we deal with the difficult stuff of life. We talk about not only how to sort out your own thoughts, but how to come alongside friends, family, and even your children to listen well and ask good questions. 

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Direct download: HeatherStephEp359.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:31am CDT

Think of 9 women you know. Statistics says that 1 of those women was sexually abused as a child. This week, Angel Ricchuiti bravely tells us her story of sexual abuse within the church. She gives us hope that God heals, restores and is near to us through the body of Christ and skilled professionals. You will hear practical ways to listen well and come alongside a friend who suffered trauma as you are graciously invited into her story. And, you will be encouraged to think about the process of uprooting fears and walking in freedom caused by hurts. Be informed and empowered toward empathy and compassion whether trauma or abuse is a part of your story or not. 

 Angel is a wife, mother of four, as well as a trained counselor. 

WARNING: This episode contains references to child sexual abuse within the church. We know Angel’s story may be especially hard for some, as it may stir up very real feelings. Please be encouraged, Angel’s story is full of hope and healing, too. While this episode might not be good for little ears, it is a story that will equip you and help you walk in more freedom.

Connect with Angel Ricchuiti: 

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Resources for Sexual Abuse Recovery and Prevention:

Books for Kids:

Books for Survivors:

People to Follow:

Books Recs & Questions to Ask Your Local Church Leadership:

  • On Guard – Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse at Church, by Deepak Reju
  • We Too – Mary E. Demuth
  • Who knows about/ keeps track of convicted sex offenders in our congregation? 
  • Who monitors their coming and going on our campus? 
  • Who on staff is responsible to check in with their probation officers and confirm the reason for their status on the sex offenders list and recommendations they have for securing safety?
  • What is the safety plan for these individuals? What is included & who supervises this plan?
  • How often does the supervisor meet with this perpetrator or other known perpetrators AND fact check the information they provide? 
  • Is he or other known perpetrators chaperoned while on campus?
  • Do we have an official document which discloses how we as a church body agree to handle this particular issue?
Direct download: AngelRicchuitiEp355.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:27am CDT

Jenn Kautsch is an empty nester mom and a retired "grey area" drinker. She takes us into her story of feeling tired, stuck on auto-pilot, and ready for a change when it comes to her relationship with alcohol. 

Through her own journey of seeking God about her casual drinking habit that was becoming a toxic mental battle, Jenn stopped asking if her drinking was “bad” for her and reframed it.

“So I turned it around and I started asking myself the question, Jenn, is it good enough? Is your drinking good enough for you? Is your relationship with drinking, helping you become the best version of yourself? Is it taking you where you really want to go? Is it matching up to your outsides being like your insights or are you walking around with duplicity in a divided mind and a mental tug of war?”

After choosing to embrace a sober lifestyle, Jenn started SoberSis,  a like-minded community of women who are renegotiating their relationship with alcohol without labels, shame, judgment or rules.

We talk about how God brought her freedom from what felt like a divided life -- constantly feeling in conflict and stuck in an internal tug-of-war so she could live a more wholehearted life. And how she’s now been able to connect with close to 20,000 women from all over the world through her SoberSis community of women.

Connect with Jenn: 

Links Mentioned:  

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Direct download: JennKautschEp345.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

Self differentiation, emotional enmeshment and emotional cut-off… We got some new-to-me terms to learn in this episode, but you’ll be very glad you stick with us for the definitions. And I promise there won’t be a pop quiz at the end. 🤣

I’m chatting with Nancy Houston, a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Sex Therapist specializing in individual, marital, and sexual issues. We go deep on some important concepts that I wish I’d learned earlier on in my marriage. 

The big one is self differentiation. Who am I separate from motherhood and marriage? And how can I stay a healthy individual in those roles without swinging too far either direction. Nancy shares practical tips and breaks down big concepts to get us going down the path of self discovery. 

“Health is being able to hold the middle where we can have some grace for ourselves and one another. Where we can have some quiet. Until I can stop judging myself so harshly, I'll never stop judging you.”

Connect with Nancy: 

Links Mentioned:  

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Direct download: NancyHoustonFinalEp335.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

If you've ever strived for perfection, then you know how it feels when you fall short.

Maybe you aren't the one carrying a list of all you "need to do to earn God's love." But more the type who carries a "Never Good Enough List” with all the reasons you'll never be able to earn His love.

Either way, Amy Carroll, (author, speaker, Proverbs 31 contributor) is on the podcast this week helping us break up with perfect.

In this episode (and in her new book), Amy helps us recognize the lies we have been believing and the Truth to set us free.

Lies like: "I was created to produce perfection" or "People are obstacles to my tasks" or "If I have the right stuff, my life will be perfect."

My favorite quote from our conversation was:

Only when I end my own pursuit of perfection can God do a perfecting work in me. --Amy Carroll

 May you experience a supernatural freedom from the struggle to be perfect. May your friendships deepen, your family be strengthened and your awareness of God's love grow as you stop striving and surrender to His gentle heart work.

Connect with Amy:

Breaking Up with Perfect :: Blog :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Pinterest 

What we chat about:

  • The events making Amy aware of her perfectionism
  • The impact a mentor had in Amy's journey to lose the list of perfect
  • The supernatural work God did on Amy to break the shell around her heart, to feel His love
  • The two perfect super moms in Amy's head--torn between two ideals.
  • The destruction of friendship when perfectionism enters.
  • The different types of perfectionists and their lists: good girl list or the never-good-enough list
  • The possibility of passing on perfectionism to our kids.

Links Mentioned:

Discussion Questions:

  1. Have you had friendships end because of your struggles with perfection? When friends go through hard times do you wonder how to be a good, imperfect friend? 
  2. Do you have a mentor? Is there someone you wish you could meet with? Could you make a plan to meet with her once in the next few months? 
  3. Could you relate to Amy’s struggle to feel God’s love and having a list of things you have to do to be right with God?
  4. What areas are you striving for perfection in motherhood? Who is your mental ‘ideal’ mom? Earth-mama, right-on-schedule mom? 
  5. Which type of perfectionist do you relate to—the good girl list or the never-good-enough list? Need to measure up or will never measure up? Or do you swing between the lists? 
  6. What have you found helpful to break up with perfection?

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Direct download: SofMWk4.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

There is often a disconnect from what we read in scripture and how we experience life. God say, “I have not given you a spirit of fear,” but we keenly feel fear and anxiety. We know that God has taken away our sins, but we still feel like it comes between us and hearing His voice. 

One powerful way to work towards freedom in these areas is through a biblically-based program of inner healing prayer. My guest Jennifer Barnett of Freedom Prayer joins me to talk about inner healing prayer or freedom prayer, a powerful process that helps restore individuals to a more fruitful and fulfilling walk with God.

“Inner healing prayer is its own sort of type of prayer. If you're not familiar with it, we would say it's some really intentional time devoted to allowing God to remove anything that would hinder someone from a full abiding relationship with him. That could look like sin, wounding, ungodly beliefs, or lies that we believe about ourselves, God or other people.”

My experience with inner healing prayer has been so powerful and I believe it can be for you too. For more information on Freedom Prayer visit their website at https://freedomprayer.org

Connect with Freedom Prayer: 

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Direct download: JenniferBarnettEp323.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

On a recent Instagram survey I learned that 68% of y’all have experienced broken friendships. I knew we needed an episode to help.

The last year has not been easy for any of us. So many things in our lives changed in response to the pandemic, political and racial tensions, and the loneliness of quarantine life. In the midst of everything, it has been hard to keep friendships healthy.

Licensed professional counselor Shundria Riddick is here to walk us through some healthy ways to work toward reconciliation and how to know when to walk away from friendship that is hurtful. We talk about setting healthy boundaries, having clarifying conversations, and how to analyze the health of relationships.

Connect with Shundria: 

Links Mentioned:  

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Direct download: ShundriaRiddickEp321.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

Our kids begin to feel and respond to shame as early as 15 to 18 months of age. Those early moments can begin a lifelong struggle with feeling unworthy, inadequate and unlovable. Shame also disintegrates us (separating our thinking brain from our feeling brain) and isolates us from others. 

My guest is Dr. Curt Thompson, a psychiatrist and expert on the effects of shame and how to find freedom from the lifelong negative messages that come after us and our family.

“One of the things that we notice about shame is that because we are immobilized and we are hiding, shame does not actually ever allow us to move toward God. This is why we have to have someone come and find us. This is why when our children are experiencing shame, we have to go and find them. This is why it's important for us as parents to have others who are coming to find us.”

YES! Moms don’t let moms sit in shame. We can choose to seek out others when they are stuck in the shame cycle. Who are your 2 or 3 moms that will help you tell your story more truly? 

Dr. Thompson walks us through some practical ways to build in memories and physical reminders to work against shame in the future for both ourselves and others. And throughout our conversation he points back to how God doesn’t leave us to deal with shame alone.

“The beautiful thing is Jesus isn’t worried about our kids. He's not worried about your mothering. He's delighted. He knows how hard this work is and he knows that we will do it imperfectly. Even when we have our worst moments in which we foist to shame upon our kids or when our kids experience shame against everything that we're doing to try to combat it, God is saying: ‘I'm not worried. I never run out of options.’”

Connect with Dr. Thompson: 

Links Mentioned:  

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Direct download: CurtThompsonEp308Final.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

Between the pandemic and uncertainty of this last year and all the pressure of the upcoming holiday season, there is a lot of potential for conflict. My friend and mentor Lynn Hoffman is here with some timely advice on how to engage in this inevitable conflict in a healthy way.

We talk about doing some inner work when you feel hurt by someone or see conflict on the horizon and Lynn shares some stories of how examining her own heart and feelings have made all the difference in her own relationships. 

“It’s about recognizing that I'm a limited human being and I have a limited amount of emotional capacity. It is not infinite. So it's my responsibility. Not somebody else's to pull back and spend some time with the Lord.To do some inner work to really figure out, okay, what's going on with me and what do I need at this moment?”

Whether you find yourself in new, hard places of stress and conflict or fear the constant repeating of old woundings when interacting with family, this episode is for you. 

Questions to ask yourself in conflict:

  • What happened?
  • What do I think about this situation and person?
  • What did I want (expect)?
  • How do I feel (now and any related past feelings)

Links Mentioned:  

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Direct download: LynnHoffmanEp307.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

Do  you  ever  find  yourself  replaying  and  reliving  the details of the deepest hurt in your life? My guest today has endured a devastating, public heartbreak – and she has wrestled with the lingering,unresolved pain which followed. Author and speaker Lysa TerKeurst joins me to share part of her  journey of  learning to forgive what you can’t forget.

“I don't want to make this sound more clean and pretty than it actually was. It was hard. It was horrific. It was terrible. And walking out something as devastating as an affair in a marriage created tremendous burden and tremendous hardship. But I will say that one commitment that I made that was really important was that I can feel hurt, but I don't have to choose to live hurt. Or perpetuate that hurt into other people.”

Lysa shares vulnerably and offers advice for anyone who feels stuck in a cycle of unresolved pain. We talk about the huge help a Christian counselor has been both for Lysa and her children throughout this process and how she delved into what the Bible really says about forgiveness.

“The Bible never says that people have to forgive and forget. It actually says quite the opposite. If we can be healed of it, it is actually beneficial not to forget because it becomes a testimony that can be used in powerful ways. And that's part of the good that God can bring in our story. I think how we know that we are experiencing healing is the way that we tell the stories of our lives.”

Connect with Lysa: 

Links Mentioned:  

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Direct download: LysaTerKeurstEp304.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

As minister and mom of one with another child on the way, Dominique Young looked like she had it all together —  great job, great family, great ministry. But a few months into her second pregnancy she started experiencing postpartum psychosis, high anxiety and began hearing voices.

The feelings she always tried to mask or hide behind helpful scriptures could not be controlled anymore, but she started to find breakthrough when she learned that her real problem was fear.

“I always thought faith was easy. If I just said something and I kept moving, then God, on the back end, without my knowledge would take out all the fear. All I had to do is quote enough scripture. And what God began to show me is that he wanted me to have faith that he is God, so that I could just be human.”

We talk about her experience of getting a new perspective on faith, learning to experience emotions in a healthy way, and allowing herself to rely on others more and she started her journey toward health and wholeness. Now, she helps other moms do the same with her online community of Faith Mamas.

Connect with Dominique Young: 

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Direct download: DominiqueYoungEp295.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

When I recorded this interview in 2015 I had no idea just two years later my father would pass away. Stacey's wisdom on grief became my lifeline.

This year with so many losses our hearts have experienced constant, low-level grief. On top of being quarantined, some of you may have lost loved ones. As moms, you've been unable to have time/space to grieve (or have a formal memorial service).

Today’s podcast guest is my soul sister friend, Stacey Thacker. She and I have been chatting about life, Jesus and family for the many years. Stacey writes online and has authored several books (a new one releasing in just a few months--Threadbare Prayer). When we conducting this interview Stacey shared so much of what she had learned from the loss of her father.

Since the interview she's experienced additional trauma and grief. Through it all she remains tethered to her faithful God. She is wise and can be trusted.  

My hope is whether you are the one who has experienced loss or not, you will be encouraged that even when our worst fears are realized, God’s grace is ever present. And as Stacey points out:

“He holds all things together. And all things means all things.”

What we chat about:

  • How the message of Stacey’s book, “Hope for the Weary Mom” became real
  • How do moms grieve while handling the dailiness of motherhood
  • What actions and words of friends comforted her the most
  • How children grieve differently
  • How to be available and present with a grieving friend
  • What moments over the course of the year bring back grief
  • How do you manage your home when one child has to be hospitalized
  • How God holds all things together

Connect with Stacey:

Site :: Facebook :: Twitter :: Pinterest

Links Mentioned:

**Amazon affiliate links

Featured Sponsor: PrepDish get two weeks of FREE meal plans if you go to http://prepdish.com/dma 

Direct download: SofMWk6StaceyThacker.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

As moms, we know we need rest. We usually equate rest with sleep or rest with a vacation, but this week’s guest shares a much bigger picture of our need for rest in multiple areas of our lives. 

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a medical doctor, wife and mother to two boys. She had everything she’d dreamed of and worked hard to achieve, but wasn’t enjoying it. 

“So I kept pushing and pushing myself till I got to the point where I literally just burned out. I wasn't happy with my job. I couldn't see how my marriage would survive. I didn't want my kids anymore. I was just at the end of myself. I didn't want the life I created.”

After reaching this breaking point, she went on a journey of restoration and healing where she learned to connect with God and with his plan for rest. Now she shares her research and methods with her patients and with all of us. If you’ve ever felt tired and at the end of yourself, this episode is for you. 

“We already have permission to rest, but the mommy guilt that sometimes comes tells us we don’t. That is really a lie. I look at it as the John 10:10. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. And he's doing it to a lot of us through our inability to rest, our inability to trust God that when we lay things down that he is able to uphold them.”

What we chat about:

  • When Saundra reached her breaking point from stress and lack of true rest
  • We have physical limits to what we can do as moms 
  • How Saundra researched rest and looked at scripture for clarity on how God rested
  • The seven types of rest are physical, to mental, spiritual, emotional, social, sensory and creative.
  • The difference between a vacation and resting
  • Paying attention to a place that feels painful in your body in the moment vs ignoring it
  • Finding emotional rest through connection with friends, even through video chat if getting together is impossible
  • The importance of authentic, open friendships with women who can relate to your life situation
  • Ideas on how to stay engaged with your husband and reignite your marriage
  • Putting limits on social media time so that your mind has down time
  • Tips for getting mental rest and release ideas that make your mind race
  • Sensory rest-- what it is and ways to get it
  • It is not selfish to prioritize resting. It keeps you from having a toxic reaction to those around you.

Links Mentioned: 

Website: http://ichoosemybestlife.com/

Book: http://ichoosemybestlife.com/sacred-rest/ 

Quiz: http://restquiz.com/ 

Featured Sponsor: BetterHelp

Visit betterhelp.com/DMA and join the over 1,000,000 people taking charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional. DMA listeners get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/DMA.

Direct download: SofMWk5Saundra.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend Aubrie Norman. We have walked together in community for a few years and it’s been a gift to see her family’s journey toward healing. 

Aubrie and her husband Thomas came to their marriage from broken families and felt the weight of unresolved issues from their past. As their family grew, so did the stress and lack of communication about each of their emotional needs.

Aubrie carried every perceived failure in marriage and parenting thinking it was her responsibility to make life better.

“There's obviously something I'm doing wrong. I'm a new wife and mom, so I felt the weight of responsibility. That really goes back to a huge lie, I have believed for a long time in my walk with the Lord. That it's up to me to do something and that God's waiting on me.”

She takes us into her family’s story of recovery and how she’s learned to trust God to take care of her relationships.

 

Links Mentioned:  

Sponsors:  

Sun Basket -- www.sunbasket.com/dma 

Crossway --  Exploring the Bible Together along with a selection of ESV children’s Bibles for 40% off with a free Crossway+ membership. For more information, visit crossway.org/DMA5.

Direct download: AubrieNormanEp284.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

We’re all processing the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has made to our daily routines. As we adjust to the new normal of sheltering-in-place, I wanted to share some information I’ve found helpful from Dr. Henry Cloud.

On a recent webinar I attended, Dr. Cloud talked through the psychology and the science of all that’s happening in our brains as our worlds have been turned upside down. He shares great ways to help us and our families stay mentally healthy during this unique time in history. (or during any time of crisis)

“We need to view ourselves like a house in how we're experiencing COVID-19 matters. The foundation of a house or a human is this sense of bondedness and connectedness to God and people. Relationships are vital to our structural integrity. ”

Connect with Dr. Henry Cloud: 

Links Mentioned:  

Sponsor a Child with Compassion

Text HEATHER to 83393, and you’ll get a link back to a child you can sponsor.

Go to compassion.com/dontmomalone to start sponsoring a child.  

Direct download: DrCloudReCapEp281.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

Direct download: DMA_-_226_-_2.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 9:21pm CDT

Direct download: DMA_-_224_FINAL.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 4:40pm CDT

It’s all too easy slip into believing lies over God’s truth. My guest today shares that healing is possible and opens up about her personal healing journey from both physical and emotional abuse and chronic illness.

An author, radio host, and national speaker, Susie Larson, talks about how intertwined our emotional, spiritual, and physical health are. We talk through stories that are in her new book, “Fully Alive”, and she shares about some powerful experiences she’s had with the Lord.

“The Lord whispered through the chaos in my bathroom. The storms reveal the lies we believe and the truth we need. The enemy’s railing and saying I’m going to get you. I’ve got you by the throat and I felt like my throat was starting I could swallow and my esophagus was spasming. It’s just horrifying to hear the whisper again. Storms reveal the lies we believe and the truth who need.

There’s so much hope and truth in this episode for all of us who are believing for healing this side of heaven. For more inspiration from Susie, I highly recommend her book, “Fully Alive”**, which is available for pre-order right now.

What we chat about:

  • Susie’s experiences with abuse both physical and emotional
  • How our bodies hold onto trauma and hindrances to the healing process
  • Storms reveal the lies we believe and the truth we need
  • The idea of blessing guilt and surrendering to God for healing
  • The lie of learned helplessness and the truth that we’re not helpless with Jesus
  • Rejecting the lies of the enemy and addressing unbeliefs in our soul
  • Confronting the scar tissue of our past and the life that’s on the other side of it
  • God absolutely heals and it isn’t specifically a lack of faith that keeps us from receiving healing
  • Jesus entered in to other’s pain and suffering, that’s our calling too
  • The dangers of over medication and distraction that can keep us from being healed
  • The integral role of rest in the healing process

Links Mentioned:

**Amazon affiliate link to help support the production of this podcast.

Direct download: SusieLarsonEp218.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

No matter the battleground . . . Marriage challenges. Child struggles. Health trials. Overwhelming circumstances. How do you maneuver the daily attacks that rob your joy and peace?

This week’s mentor is Jan Greenwood, author and pastor of equipping at Gateway Church in Southlake, TX. In 2009, Jan was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. After the first battle, she experienced years of healing. Then four days shy of her 6 year recovery anniversary, cancer resurged in her body.

In this episode, Jan shares what God’s taught her about waging war. And how the football term #squareup impacted her battle strategies differently from the first and second time she fought cancer. Jan shares what it means for her to rest and let God fight for her. And encourages each of us to get a word and direction from the Lord for our unique situations.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this episode:

This time my mindset has had to become one of agreement and not one of opposition. And squaring up is not about being steadfast in the Word of God, but its really about can I square up in such a manner that I can look at Jesus and trust Him.

I’m not very brave and not very strong. When I’m weak there’s a strength that shines through. And when I’m afraid, He makes me courageous.

I know how to fight but I don’t know how to rest.

What we chat about:

  • How God spoke to Jan at the news of cancer’s resurgence.
  • How Jan found comfort in her son’s football word “square up”.
  • The difference between how Jan has fought cancer the first time and the second time.
  • What “square up” means for her in this season.
  • The story behind the hashtag Jan uses: #bravestronggirl.
  • How her battle with cancer impacts her mothering.
  • Jan’s desire to get women to war together instead against each other.
  • The revelation to choose life and not succumb to death.
  • What rest looks like in Jan’s every day.
  • How you need your own word and direction from God.

Links Mentioned:

**Amazon Affiliate Link

Direct download: SofM2018JanGreenwoodWk3.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

Our first featured mentor is the fabulous Sheila Walsh!!

“God had no grandchildren. He only had sons and daughters. Faith is something you have to choose for yourself.”

Those words started Sheila Walsh on a journey to know God and His love for her. From the tragic death of her father to professional success as 700 club co-host to discover freedom and peace in a psychiatric ward, Sheila shares a bit of her beautiful broken story.

“Suffering can be a gift from God. Because it really draws you closer to His heart. And a greater understanding that it’s never about me getting it right its about Christ who came to make everything right.”

This may be a “top ten favorite” interview for me. I’ve been a fan of Sheila and her work for years. But her wisdom and God’s grace in this episode ministered to me in a way and time that I needed most. Resonating with my soul that “through the broken places Christ’s love is closest to us.”

We also talk about fun ways to share the good news of God’s Word with your kids. How to keep the conversation open and allow our kids to ask hard, unanswerable questions. To give them the freedom to speak truth and know it doesn’t change God’s love for them.

What we chat about:

  • Sheila’s incredible testimony
  • How brokenness is where God brings His love to us
  • The story behind “Gigi, God’s Little Princess” series
  • Fun ideas of how the Walsh family did “devotion time”
  • Allowing our kids to be free to speak truth and ask hard questions
  • Her latest book in “The Bible is My Best Friend” series to help lead your child to Jesus

Links Mentioned:

**Amazon Affiliate Link

Direct download: SofM2018Wk1SheilaWalsh.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

As moms, we know we need rest. We usually equate rest with sleep or with a vacation, but this week’s guest shares a broader picture of our need for rest in multiple areas of our lives.

Saundra Dalton-Smith is a medical doctor, wife and mother to two boys. She had everything she’d dreamed of and worked hard to achieve, but wasn’t enjoying it.

I kept pushing and pushing myself till I got to the point where I literally burned out. I wasn’t happy with my job. I couldn’t see how my marriage would survive. I didn’t want my kids anymore. I was just at the end of myself. I didn’t want the life I created.

After reaching this breaking point, she went on a journey of restoration and healing where she learned to connect with God and with his plan for rest. Now she shares her research and methods with her patients and with all of us. If you’ve ever felt tired and at the end of yourself, this episode is for you.

We already have permission to rest, but the mommy guilt that sometimes comes tells us we don’t. That is really a lie. I look at it as the John 10:10. ‘The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.’ And he’s doing it to a lot of us through our inability to rest, our inability to trust God that when we lay things down that he is able to uphold them.

What we chat about:

  • When Saundra reached her breaking point from stress and lack of true rest
  • We have physical limits to what we can do as moms
  • How Saundra researched rest and looked at scripture for clarity on how God rested
  • The seven types of rest: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social, sensory and creative.
  • The difference between a vacation and resting
  • Paying attention to a place that feels painful in your body in the moment vs ignoring it
  • Finding emotional rest through connection with friends, even through video chat if getting together is impossible
  • The importance of authentic, open friendships with women who can relate to your life situation
  • Ideas on how to stay engaged with your husband and reignite your marriage
  • Putting limits on social media time so that your mind has down time
  • Tips for getting mental rest and release ideas that make your mind race
  • Sensory rest– what it is and ways to get it
  • It is not selfish to prioritize resting. It keeps you from having a toxic reaction to those around you.

Links Mentioned:

**Amazon affiliate link

Direct download: GCMSaundraDaltonSmithEp209.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

Losing a baby to miscarriage or later in pregnancy is heartbreaking, especially when you are struggling with infertility. Imagine experiencing that type of loss multiple times. My guest and friend, Shawna Beucler shares the story behind her two healthy sons and the many babies she can’t wait to see again in heaven.

If you’re walking through the journey of infertility or have a friend who is, Shawna shares so beautifully why you shouldn’t walk alone in these places of pain and the power of friends lifting you up in prayer every day.

We would not have gone through and survived that time in our life had we not had people praying for us around the clock. Because sometimes the anger and the heartbreak when your heart meets tragedy… there is no prayer you can form. I needed a break from the Lord and I had other people holding that connection for me.

What we chat about:

  • Struggling with infertility, medical interventions and trying to get pregnant
  • IUI, IVF and miscarriages
  • Feeling the door shutting on future pregnancies
  • The Lord wants us to desire to love and know him
  • Losing a final baby and the traumatic process of going through delivery
  • People praying for you made the difference
  • Why Shawna wants to share her story
  • The healing that can come from talking about the pain in your life
  • Keeping your marriage together in times of deep grief
  • 1 Timothy 1:7 – For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
  • Philippians 4:13 – I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
  • Psalm 27:14 – Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
  • Luke 1:37 – For nothing will be impossible with God.
  • How to help a friend who is walking through infertility

Links Mentioned:

Direct download: GCMShawnaBeuclerEp203.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

The Bible tells of healings, miracles and the power of the Holy Spirit, but God’s power didn’t stop after the New Testament. Today’s guest Courtney Smallbone shares her personal story of God’s power in the hardest circumstances imaginable.

Supernatural healing is for today. Courtney’s story of finding freedom from anxiety and miraculous healing for her infant son is a powerful testimony of God’s faithfulness.

As moms we have a lot of fear and anxiety. We carry a lot. We have these little people that we’re in charge of and discipling. It gets exhausting and hard. I felt like the Lord just filled me with himself. He has given me not the spirit of fear, but love and power and a sound mind. I needed a sound mind when I was dealing with anxiety. He has given us power through his Holy Spirit and we can walk that out as moms in everyday life.

What we chat about:

  • Courtney’s testimony of seeing God move in her life and health
  • How Courtney met her husband Luke Smallbone of For King and Country
  • The impact of Luke’s autoimmune disease on Courtney and her family
  • Dealing with anxiety and prescription medicine dependence
  • Getting freedom from the shame and finding healing holistically
  • The importance of community in the healing process
  • Why the church needs to embrace a holistic approach to healing and helping people be open about sharing their struggles
  • Courtney’s physical issues with her most recent pregnancy
  • The miracle of her son’s healing
  • Teaching our kids that prayer is powerful and effective and that God is real
  • Worshipping with your children invites them into a lifestyle of worship
  • Hearing God for others and the gift of the praying in the spirit

Links Mentioned:

Direct download: GCMCourtneySmallboneEp201.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

After 15 years of marriage, Jenn Jett experienced the pain of divorce. But in that place of brokenness, she felt peace that God would redeem and heal her as she said, “Yes” to him. 

Listen as she shares her story about how the Lord pursued her, fought for her and surprised her more than she expected with his redeeming love.

The Lord called me to himself and said, ‘Your hope does not need to be in the success of your marriage, it needs to be in me.’ We are so motivated by measures of success and we can look at our circumstances and either feel great or responsible and shameful.

What we chat about:

  • Jenn’s story of brokeness and pain in marriage and divorce
  • Redefining redemption from God’s perspective
  • Marriage and motherhood can become idols
  • Saying Yes to the things of God can take us on an adventure
  • The importance of community and friends as we process lies we’re believing
  • The power of prayer and learning not to hold back in prayer
  • Healing and restoration is possible even after what feels like a catastrophe
  • The Lord pursues and fights for us through multiple ways
  • Scripture: Isaiah 61 & 62
  • Finding our identity in Christ is so key before we have a hard life situation

31 Days for Prayer for the Dreamer and Doer“** 

Links Mentioned:

Direct download: GCMJennJettEp193.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

If you’ve ever ended the day feeling like a failure and critiquing every misstep, then this episode on practicing self-compassion is for you.

As a licensed marriage and family therapist and life coach, Kim Fredrickson has counseled and taught others about self-compassion for years. When she received an unexpected terminal diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis, a rare side-effect of the treatment she had received for breast cancer, she wrote a book to leave for her children on giving that same compassion to the grandchildren she may never meet.

When people feel ashamed, they blame other people because they feel like if I really look at my shame then I’m going to collapse inside. That’s why self-compassion is desperately important because kids feel shame a lot. They fail at everything at the start.

What we chat about:

  • Kim’s story of receiving a devastating diagnosis after completing treatment for breast cancer
  • How she’s chosen to spend the years she has left with her family
  • The new book she wrote for when her children have kids called “Give Your Kids a Break: Parenting with Compassion for You and Your Children”
  • How it’s a process to develop a compassionate inner voice
  • Applying grace and truth to every situation in our lives
  • Variety of temperaments–some that are harder on themselves than others.
  • The difference between self-compassion and self-pity
  • Encouraging your children to practice self-compassion and reinforcing it by showing ourselves that same
  • Giving our kids the language to identify their failings and separate them from their self- worth
  • Moms have a really hard job. It’s ok to acknowledge that.
  • The importance of taking care of ourselves as moms
  • How to talk to your kids after you’ve been hard on yourself and reframing it with self compassion

Links Mentioned:

Direct download: GCMKimFredricksonEp188.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:00pm CDT

Scripture tells us to ‘cast our cares upon the Lord’. But how do we practically obey that command while gripped by the stronghold of anxiety? Today I’m talking with Ashley Willis about battling anxiety, a topic she’s experienced first hand.

Whether you’ve experienced anxiety personally or not, chances are someone in your life will. Listen as Ashley discusses practical ways to get to the root of anxiety, and how to fight fear with the truth of God’s Word.

We’re answering the questions you shared with me over on Instagram. Questions about whether anxiety is a sin, when/if medication should be used, how to help a spouse who is anxious and several other questions. Thank you for being brave in sharing your stories with me. You are not alone.

What we chat about:

  • Is a Christian’s struggle with anxiety a form of sin?
  • Coping with anxiety by understanding the lies the mind believes and replacing those lies with the truth of God’s Word.
  • When to address anxiety with Christian counseling and medication, if necessary.
  • How do we practically obey the command of casting our cares upon the Lord?
  • Wrestling with the decision to take medication for anxiety and depression.
  • The importance of addressing the root of anxiety and not just the symptoms.
  • Fighting anxiety by reciting Scripture and praying out loud.
  • How to come alongside family members battling anxiety.
  • The importance of talking openly about anxiety in safe contexts, especially as moms.
  • Keeping the fear of “what-if’s” from overrunning our lives.
  • Jesus’ example of spending time alone to commune with His Father.

Biblical Counseling Resources:

Links Mentioned:

Direct download: GCMAshleyWillisEp180.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

“I can almost hear your question. The . . . what idol? Love Idol? How can love be an idol? Love was God’s idea. We were created in God’s image, and God is love!

Paul wrote to the Corinthians: ‘These three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.’ Yet we take God’s ‘greatest’ and contort it into an idol. We twist our desire for approval into a false god. . .

This book is for any of us who want to live content in God’s perfect love, freed up from the wearying demands of the Love Idol.”

–Jennifer Dukes Lee

 Moving from an award-winning news reporter to farmer’s wife, Jennifer found her need for other’s approval followed her like a parasite.

She chronicles her journey of (continued) healing in her new book, “Love Idol: Letting go of your need for approval–and seeing yourself through God’s eyes”, which released last week  (Get a copy here) 

Can you relate to craving love so greatly it becomes the driving force to all your decisions and actions?

I definitely can. People pleasing consumes my thoughts, my time, and my energy.  So, I’m forever grateful to Jennifer for writing this fabulous book and for taking the time to chat about it on this week’s GCM podcast.

On this podcast episode we discuss:

  • What is a love idol?
  • Whose love are you seeking? And Who has given it to you already?
  • How do you admit you need help and accept healing?
  • What is the process of tending to the garden of your heart?
  • How does the love idol show up in our mothering?
Show Notes:

Connect with Jennifer Dukes Lee:

Twitter :: Facebook :: Blog 

More God Centered Mom posts on the topic of seeking people’s approval:

“When I want to please people” (guest post at DoNotDepart.com)

Servant of God: alternative to People Pleaser

Direct download: GCM_ep_18_Jennifer_Dukes_Lee.mp3
Category:healing -- posted at: 12:30am CDT

Heather interviews Francie Winslow, author of the blog, "Up, In and Out". They discuss the topic of spiritual health. Is there something blocking a deeper relationship with God? A brokenness or past hurt in need of healing? Francie guides the listener through the process of restoration and freedom. She also gives ideas on how to help our children process their own feelings and lies they believe, directing them to the truth in God's Word. 

Direct download: GCMep4_Francie_Winslow.m4a
Category:healing -- posted at: 9:00pm CDT

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