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Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith

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Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith

Sarah Young

Millions have been encouraged and inspired by the words of the #1 best-selling 365-day devotional "Jesus Calling." Listen to real-life stories of faith as told by those who have experienced the power of living in His presence.

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  1. 169God Loves Broken People: The Next Door’s Lauren, Aja, & NatalieWhen we’re mired in shame, it’s hard to believe we could ever be worthy of God’s grace. But when we step aside and allow God into the pit, He can pull us out of our mess and use our lives to show His glory in ways we could never imagine. Today we hear from Lauren, Aja, and Natalie—three women who have traveled through The Next Door, a nonprofit, faith-based organization that helps women coming out of incarceration to rebuild their lives. With vulnerability and strength, these women remind us there is nothing we can do that can separate us from God’s love.    Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young, author of Jesus Calling Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling weekly prayer call Jesus Calling interview with Next Door graduates Janie & Tammy The Next Door non-profit organization  Nashville, TN    Interview Quotes: “The Next Door has completely changed my life. I had to find me again.” - Lauren, The Next Door “There’s a difference between guilt and shame. Guilt is, ;I feel bad for something I've done,” but shame is, “I feel bad because of who I am.’” - Lauren, The Next Door  “God really shows up when we get out of the way and let Him.” - Lauren, The Next Door “[The Next Door] took me in. And I'll never forget walking in the building and taking the biggest deep breath, because it was like coming home again. You know, I didn't have a home. And that's what they've become for me.” - Lauren, The Next Door “When I finally stop trying to save myself, to let Him save me, He does it's much bigger than I could have ever done for myself.” - Lauren, The Next Door “You have no idea what you'll do until you're in the grips of [addiction]. It was really hard. But because it was so hard, it helped someone else, and it qualifies me to speak life into other women. That, to me, is all the hope I need.” - Lauren, The Next Door  “When I came to The Next Door, I found a greater relationship with God.” - Aja, The Next Door “We would read Jesus Calling at the beginning of group every day, and it would just fall right in line with what was going on in my life. And today, it is still falling in line with what is going on in my life, right in the middle of my struggles.” - Aja, The Next Door “There is a God and He is real. AlI you have to do is hold onto His hand and He will do the rest. Hold on to Him. He will lead you where you need to go.” - Aja, The Next Door “I found that not only does He know broken people, but He loves broken people that can help broken people.” - Natalie, The Next Door   ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.37 min
  2. 170God Can Rewrite Any Story: Cyntoia Brown-Long and Liz Marie GalvanSometimes we picture our lives going one way, until we encounter impossible choices and painful struggles we never saw coming. But no matter your past, your pain, or your mistakes, when we give our stories over to God, He can write a new ending for us—one filled with potential and purpose. On today’s episode, author and activist Cyntoia Brown-Long is joined by her husband Jamie Long as she shares her redemptive story of an adolescence marred by trafficking and drug use that led to a murder conviction and a life sentence in prison. Despite the walls around her and no guarantee of freedom, Cyntoia determined to expand her horizons and better herself personally in prison. But Cyntoia found it was when she began to give her life back to God that a new chapter really started to unfold. Cyntoia’s husband Jamie tells how God miraculously brought the couple together, and how He’s using them to not only strengthen each other, but to help others find justice and mercy. Interior designer Liz Marie Galvan tells the story of a life seemingly filled with joy and opportunity. Married to the love of her life, she had a budding career in design and dreams of a family—until she was confronted with the harsh reality of infertility. Hesitant to share her pain with others, she eventually found community with those who were walking through the same issues. Now, through the work she does to create cozy homes and being open about her personal story, Liz Marie sees how God can be a light during our darkest of hours and how He can redeem our stories for a greater good.   Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling weekly prayer call Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith [Original Video Series] featuring Rita Wilson Cyntoia Brown-Long Simon Shuster Book publisher ‘Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System’ book   Libscomb University PBS Documentary: Me Facing Life  #FreeCyntoia hashtag (Twitter) Bill Haslam (Tennessee Governor)   Liz Marie Galvan Cozy White Cottage: 100 Ways to Love the Feeling of Being Home The Found Cottage Christopher Lowell Trading Spaces   Interview Quotes: “I knew that there was some way that I could live some type of meaningful life [in prison].” - Cyntoia Brown-Long “Jesus is always calling. He has a word for you 365 days every year. It doesn't stop. He's always there. He's there when you need Him. He's there just to say, "Hey, thank you." - Jamie Long “But to experience true freedom—whether in prison or out of prison—it comes through Him.”- Cyntoia Brown-Long “He is a God of second chances.” - Cyntoia Brown-Long “Even though I was in a physical prison, I was in prison within prison. I was in a prison of anger. I was in a prison of my past, constantly letting that anxiety hold me captive.” - Cyntoia Brown-Long “No matter what your prison is, you just have to submit to Him and cast all your cares on Him and let Him do what He does. That's who He is. He's God.” - Cyntoia Brown-Long  “I was able to meet an entire community of people that were going through the same struggle [through my blog]. It was so helpful to be able to rally together and give each other hope and pray for each other.” - Liz Marie Galvan “I was starting to stumble a little bit and wonder why I was going through this. And I was looking to God, wanting to know why I was not able to bear a child. It was one of the darkest seasons of my life.” - Liz Marie Galvan ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.43 min
  3. 171God’s Perfect Purpose for Our Imperfect Lives: Rita Wilson and Lisa Osteen ComesMany of us spend our lives trying to match our talents with the world’s need. We want to feel useful, after all. But when we’re hustling to get dinner on the table, or shuttling loved ones to doctor’s appointments, or rushing to meet a deadline, “finding our purpose” feels like a task that’s way too big to check off the list. But even if we don’t feel it, God has a purpose for our lives, and is doing great things, even through imperfect humans. Our guests, actor/producer Rita Wilson and pastor Lisa Osteen Comes, remind us that God has put greatness inside each of us, and as we travel through our lives, He reveals new gifts we can use to reach others.   Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling weekly prayer call Jesus Calling podcast - “Using Our Gifts for Good: Musciaian RaeLynn & Writer Kristy Cambron Rita Wilson Halfway to Home album The Spark song Throw Me a Party song   My Big Fat Greek Wedding movie Mamma Mia! Movie   Screen Actor’s Guild The Brady Bunch sitcom   Lisa Osteen Comes  Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) You Were Made for More: How to Become All You Were Created to Be book   The Singing Contractors’ “How Great Thou Art”   Interview Quotes: “We're works in progress. We're not really finished, and we are constantly trying to be better.” - Rita Wilson    “But at the end of the day, you want to be remembered for making someone's life better.” - Rita Wilson    “Having been blessed with an extraordinary life, you almost become more thankful. You can't take credit for it. In a way, I feel like everything that I do—anything good that is coming out of it, I believe—is from a higher power.” - Rita Wilson   “Creativity is time independent.” - Rita Wilson “All these things come against us in life, and sometimes it looks like we're not gonna make it, we're not going to live out our dreams. But with God's help, we can.” - Lisa Osteen Comes “What did God put in you naturally? What are your gifts, what are your talents? Because whatever He puts in you, He's going to use for your destiny, for His purpose, for His glory.” - Lisa Osteen Comes "I am God's child and He has a plan for me. He will help me if He calls me. He will equip me and help me to do whatever He has called me to do." - Lisa Osteen Comes ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.30 min
  4. 172The Life-Changing Power of Connection: Jeremy Miller, Brandon Lane Phillips, & The Singing ContractorsSome days, it feels like we’re facing battles alone. But the truth is, God is always with us. And He shows His presence through the connections we have with others. Today’s guests share how cultivating strong friendships over time have transformed their lives. TV actor Jeremy Miller (best known as Ben Seaver on Growing Pains) and pediatric cardiologist Brandon Lane Phillips met when they were kids, and eventually, Brandon’s fight for Jeremy would end up saving his life. Indiana friends and contractors Josh Arnett and Aaron Gray were propelled to fame when they put aside their tools to record a spontaneous hymn of worship—and one Facebook video later, the viral singing sensations “The Singing Contractors” were born. With these stories, we remember that when we step outside our comfort zone and reach out to others, God can use those people and those moments for His purpose.   Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling weekly prayer call NEW! Jesus Calling Magazine  The Unfailing Kindness of Christ: Candace Cameron Buré and Kristin Fry   Jeremy Miller & Brandon Lande Phillips When I Wished Upon a Star book IMDB: Jeremy Miller, ‘Ben Seaver on Growing Pains’ IMDB: Kirk Cameron  IMDB: Alan Thicke Congenital Heart Defect Tetralogy of Fallot Starlight Children’s Foundation    The Singing Contractors  “How Great Thou Art” song “Working on a Building” CD   Interview Quotes: “If I could go from my little town in Louisiana to meet these people in Hollywood, then as far as I was concerned, I could do anything.” - Brandon Lane Phillips “I started running from God. I wasn't angry at God, I was just ashamed. I knew I was doing everything wrong. I quit going to church. I quit praying. I quit everything. I just ran the other direction. And it was a miserable way to live, I can tell you that. “ - Jeremy Miller “My family, my faith, and my recovery are the center of my life every single day.” - Jeremy Miller “[I am] able to utilize all the hurts, all the problems, all the horrors that I went through in my addiction, and even growing up, to help others.” - Jeremy Miller “The fact that God gives us that opportunity to take that pain and those struggles and use them for something good and give them a purpose is such a blessing. And in my mind, it makes all of it worth it.” - Jeremy Miller  “God's plan—good, bad, or indifferent as it's affecting our life at that moment—is exactly how He meant it to be. So wherever we are, whatever we're dealing with right now, at this moment, is exactly perfect.” - Jeremy Miller “What did Jesus do? He equipped the unequipped . . . I feel it's what He's doing with us. We're unequipped, but He's helping us every step we take.” - Aaron Gray, The Singing Contractors “What keeps us going is when we know that something as little as what we're doing can encourage somebody else—that encourages us to keep going and to keep pressing on. That's why we do it.” - Josh Arnett, The Singing Contractors “The ultimate friend and the ultimate encourager is Jesus himself.” - Josh Arnett, The Singing Contractors “When tools, beards, Jesus, and our music collide—it's fun to talk about the tools and beards and everything. But at the end of the day, we just want to uplift Jesus’ name.” - Aaron Gray, The Singing Contractors ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________  Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.37 min
  5. 173A Pilot & a POW Cling to Faith During Crisis: Tammie Jo Shults & Carlyle “Smitty” HarrisThere is always light, even in the darkest times. Today’s guests faced the most unimaginable circumstances, but by clinging to faith, they survived and protected others. Southwest Airlines pilot Tammie Jo Shults saved the lives of 148 passengers when she safely landed a plane after an engine exploded mid-flight. In the middle of chaos, Tammie Jo’s conversation with God gave her peace during the crisis and helped reveal a solution to landing the plane. Retired Air Force pilot and former Vietnam POW Col. Smitty Harris spent years in prison teaching others a method of communication called the tap code, which helped boost morale and spread information among other prisoners. Smitty shares powerful stories of secret church services and moments that helped prisoners survive mentally, physically, and spiritually. Through the uncertainty of survival, Tammie Jo and Smitty realized that God will never forsake us—He will always provide a way.    Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling weekly prayer call Becoming an Everyday Hero:  Neal McCoy & Rodney D. Bullard   Tammie Jo Shults Nerves of Steel (Young Readers Edition) book Holloman Air Force Base Jungle Pilot Book (Nate Saint)   Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris Tap Code: The Epic Survival Tale of a Vietnam POW and the Secret Code That Changed Everything book Hanoi Hilton Ho Chi Minh Tap Code, Chapter 1 on audiobook   Interview Quotes: “Whenever I dreamed about what I wanted to do in life, I dreamed without fences.” - Capt. Tammie Jo Shults “There are some times when we just have to take what's not fair and and work around it.” - Capt. Tammie Jo Shults “He asks us to pray for people that don't treat us very well, because He'll deal with them. But dealing with us, in our own heart, in that situation, is really the first step to overcoming it.” - Capt. Tammie Jo Shults “Hope doesn't have to change our circumstances to change us.” - Tammie Jo Shults “Our communication [with the tap code] became so fast and so good, and we were interested in so many things, between each other and trying to find out information. . . . We talked about God, religion, and how important it was, especially now. It turned out that we were all Christian.” - Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris “We used our time [as POWs] productively. We had classes in almost anything you'd want. There would be someone in that group—it was pretty educated group, everyone had at least a Bachelor's degree and [there were] quite a few Masters.” - Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris “The hardest part about those eight years being away from my family was just that—being away from my family.” - Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris “And I knew, even in the darkest times, when things were at their lowest, lowest ebb, I knew I could always pray and I knew someone was listening, they could do something about it.”  - Col. Carlyle “Smitty” Harris   ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.40 min
  6. 174You’re Different—And God Designed You That Way: Sally & Nathan Clarkson and Hayley MorganWe were not designed to be perfect; we were designed to be uniquely us. Today’s guests, authors Sally Clarkson and her son Nathan, and writer Hayley Morgan share their stories of struggling to accept their differences and imperfections. Though Nathan was discouraged because he didn’t fit into society’s mold, and Hayley feared she wasn’t perfect enough, God revealed His purpose for their lives and has helped them utilize their gifts in ways they never knew possible. Their stories remind us even if we can’t see it, God has a bigger plan ahead for each one of us, and He can use our differences to do all kinds of good.   Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling weekly prayer call When Your Purpose Seems Unclear, Seek God: Jeremy Cowart & Elisabeth Hasselbeck   Sally Clarkson  Nathan Clarkson “Only You Can Be You: What Make You Different Makes You Great” book “Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him” book   Hayley Morgan The Twig Goes Out On a Limb blog “Always Enough, Never Too Much: 100 Devotions to Quit Comparing, Stop Hiding, and Start Living Wild and Free” book   Interview Quotes: “Even in the midst of my adolescent angst, I found a God who says He loved me as I was, and I found a God who said I was made for a purpose, and that all these differences could be used for His glory and for the story that He wanted to tell with my life.” - Nathan Clarkson “Let's rejoice in this place and find out how we can bring light to any of our dark corners, but also to learn to be content within the story that we've been given.“ - Sally Clarkson “Every single personality, whether they're loud or or whether they're shy, whether they like adventure or they like sitting at home reading—we wanted to give a book to parents that would imprint the minds of their children to say, ‘All of us are an incredible, magnificent reflection of the fingerprints of God as He made us each individually for His own glory.’“ - Sally Clarkson “I started to untangle the idea of grace and grace for every day, not just grace as a one time event.” - Hayley Morgan “Once I really understood grace, I had to apply the gospel to my life every day, to myself every day. I'm never going to grow out of needing it. That freed me up so much to then walk with the Lord, not just try to please Him and try to impress Him.” - Hayley Morgan  “The Lord has used my failures in equal or greater measures than He has used my successes to draw me closer to Him.” - Hayley Morgan  ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.25 min
  7. 175Heavenly Connections: Kristin Chenoweth, Joanne Rogers, & Montell JordanOne of God’s greatest blessings to us are friends and neighbors. And in fact, God designed us to care for each other, to learn from each other, and to support each other in life’s most difficult moments. In today’s episode, entertainer Kristin Chenoweth shares how good friends have mentored her and shaped her—and how actor/producer Rita Wilson sharing a copy of Jesus Calling strengthened her faith. As the wife of Fred Rogers, Joanne Rogers saw firsthand how an open heart and a soft word can change a relationship, and she shares how important reconciliation and being a good neighbor was to her husband. R&B sensation and now-pastor Montell Jordan tells how, even in the midst of worldwide music success, a family friend saved him from the brink of losing everything he loved, including his marriage, by sitting him down to have a painful discussion. More than ever, we need connection with others who will walk alongside us through thick and thin—and God wants us to be that friend to others as well. Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Always Jesus Calling weekly prayer call God’s Perfect Purpose for Our Imperfect Lives: Rita Wilson and Lisa Osteen Comes The Joy of Spreading Love, One Heart at a Time: Deliliah and Gary Thomas   Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Chenoweth Arts and Education Fund Broadway Bootcamp Kristin Chenoweth Theatre   Hallmark’s A Christmas Love StoryKristin Chenoweth’s Christmas Concert with the Tabernacle Choir   For the Girls recording Art of Elegance recording   Joanne Rogers A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood movie Montell Jordan Victory World Church Lecrae   Interview Quotes: “Work hard, play hard, love what you do. Life's short. Don't live beyond your means. All those things—stay humble. A smile goes a long way. Don't sweat the small stuff. Those kinds of things that I heard growing up helped me a lot.” - Kristin Chenoweth “A lot of people say you should do your prayer or meditation or your quiet time, whatever that is for you, in the morning. But for me, it's a nighttime thing.” - Kristin Chenoweth “I believe that sometimes things happen to you so that God can speak, because sometimes you can't hear when you get too busy.” - Kristin Chenoweth “I think it's important, when you have been given opportunities and had success, you need to give it to the people behind you.” - Kristin Chenoweth “[Fred and I] did have a very good friendship, which I think is very important for young married people.” - Joanne Rogers “His program was his ministry.” - Joanne Rogers “Everything is so divisive right now. Someone said to me, ‘He would be on his soapbox,’ and I said, ‘Oh, no, I don't think so. He would just be walking the walk and trying to do what he could with reconciliation.’“ - Joanne Rogers “A lot of times I was in church, but church wasn't always in me.” - Montell Jordan “Everything changed for me, having a number-one record as your first record out of the box. I didn't recognize that great success did not come with an instruction manual.” - Montell Jordan “[My wife Kristin and I] are still regularly recovering to make sure that that we maintain what God restored.” - Montell Jordan ”When God closes the door, no man can open it. And when he opens the door, no man can close it.” - Montell Jordan “Maybe this is something that people need, and our story is something that makes sense to people who are navigating through landmines and fields that we've already crossed.” - Montell Jordan, on sharing his story ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.34 min
  8. 176Understanding a God Who Is For Us: John Maxwell & Nate PyleAs we walk unexpected paths in our lives, we’re joined by a God who never leaves our side and is involved in every step of our journey. On today’s episode, John Maxwell shares the joy of understanding the God who speaks in Jeremiah 29:11, who has “plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future.” He also shows us that we all have leadership qualities if we’re positively influencing others’ lives.    When he was a young husband, pastor Nate Pyle never imagined he’d have to face the “for worse” part of his marriage vows so early. As he and his wife experienced infertility and struggles with mental health, Nate began to think about the difference between giving up and letting go, and how God helps us move through grief and times of suffering. Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling App Jesus Calling weekly prayer call T. D. Jakes and Don Moen: Where Is God When Our Dreams Are Crushed?   John Maxwell Leadershift: The 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace book The Leader's Greatest Return: Attracting, Developing, and Multiplying Leaders book   Nate Pyle More Than You Can Handle: When Life's Overwhelming Pain Meets God's Overcoming Grace book   Bible Gateway Trevor Brazile   Interview Quotes: “Everything I know about leadership is from the Bible.” - John Maxwell “I think God's Word is the ultimate leadership book.” - John Maxwell “God’s incredibly interested in all your junk.” - John Maxwell “If I'm 1000 steps from God, He takes 999 steps to my door.” - John Maxwell “The moment I ask questions, I start connecting with people, because now I'm valuing their opinion and I'm starting to influence and lead them from where they are, not from where I am.” - John Maxwell “This idea that God won't give you more than you can handle, I think, is a way in which we try to shelter ourselves from the world, because the world is more than you can handle.” - Nate Pyle “We read through the Bible, what we see, more often than not, is that the way God chooses to save His people is not to save them from the negative experience, but rather to save them through it.” Nate Pyle “We have to remember that sometimes God shows up through the people who show up next to us as we're walking through something difficult.“ - Nate Pyle “Suffering is the common denominator for all humans. It's the thing we have in common.” - Nate Pyle ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.28 min
  9. 177Through Life’s Ups & Downs, There Is Jesus: Trevor Brazile & Zach WilliamsGod never leaves our side, no matter what. On today’s episode, 24-time PRCA rodeo champion Trevor Brazile shares how bull rider Cody Custer helped him rededicate his life to Jesus, and why he is instilling strong cowboy values of honor, respect, and faith into his children. Christian music artist Zach Williams shares how God reclaimed his story as a struggling rock star and transformed his life toward creating a different kind of music, touching more lives than Zach could have ever imagined—thanks, in part, to a surprise collaboration with Dolly Parton. Both Trevor and Zach show how God stuck by them in good times and bad, even if they didn’t feel His presence, and how they honor Him by using their platforms to spread His love to others.  Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling Textured Gray Leathersoft with Full Scriptures  Trusting God to Fill the Gap: Rodeo Stars Tyson Durfey (w/ wife Shea Fisher) and Cody Custer Dolly Parton Believes in God, All Things are Possible   Trevor Brazile Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Zach Williams Rescue Story album Rescue Story video “There Was Jesus” Live CMA Performance with Dolly Parton   Redeemed by Big Daddy Weave   His Haven Ranch   Interview Quotes: "[My son] may not choose to be a rodeo cowboy . . . but I wanted him to grow up in a culture of respect, not only for people, but for animals." - Trevor Brazile ”Philippians 4:13—I like that [verse]. ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ Because we can't do everything under our own power. We need God's help sometimes—all the time.” - Treston Brazile ”Unconditional love is perfected when we love Him back, and that's why it's so important to spend that time in the Word and just build on that relationship.” - Trevor Brazile “The success that we've had has given me a platform to let people know that it wasn't all me. It was my Savior.” - Trevor Brazile “I just fell in love with this idea that I could start writing these songs and telling these stories in this season of life that I was going through.” - Zach Williams “I was thinking that I should be happy for all the things that I have, but nothing I was doing was filling this hole in my life.” - Zach Williams “My wife invited me to go to a prison with her and share some of these songs. And for me, that was like the first time that God had really spoken to me and said, ‘These are the songs. These are the people. These are places. This is the music that I have for you to write.’” - Zach Williams “To hear people share a story with me and be like, 'Hey, man, I heard your song, "Fear's a Liar," and it saved my life' . . . it's better than any award you're going to get or any kind of recognition." - Zach Williams “God has been doing some pretty amazing things in my life over the last few years.” - Zach Williams ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.28 min
  10. 178Joyful Connection with All God's Creatures: Bull Rider Cody Nance and HIS Haven RanchWhether our friends walk on two legs or four, connection gives meaning to our lives. God often uses these bonds to show how we can care for others, but what we don’t often realize is that those opportunities help us learn how to care for ourselves, too. Bull rider Cody Nance talks about how his faith and career blossomed through his family and through friends he met on the rodeo circuit. HIS Haven Ranch mentors Laurie Baer and Janice Larsen share how they serve kids who are hurting in their community through horse therapy by providing an additional support system to their lives, reminding us all how God's creatures, big and small, can bring joy to our lives.  Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling Weekly Prayer Call God’s Gift of Pets: Animal Rescue Advocate Lavonne Redferring and Country Singer Irlene Mandrell   Cody Nance Paris, Tennessee Cody Nance Instagram Cody Nance Facebook Cody Nance Twitter    HIS Haven Ranch   Dailey & Vincent   Interview Quotes: “I've been able to be used on a platform like I've never imagined before, and I'm just thankful that God is allowing me to do that.” - Cody Nance “I do believe that God saved me when I was young, but I believe I lost track of the most important thing, and that was being faithful in my love for Him and His worship.” - Cody Nance "[When] I'm strapped to the back of a [2,000 lb. bull] jumping in the air and kicking . . . sometimes it gets a little wild. But He's always there and He's always taking care of me." - Cody Nance “Our four-legged friends gave us a picture and a model of something that God could do on a greater level.” - Laurie Baer “Our mission was to make a place that would empower and transform lives through healing and the Savior.” - Laurie Baer “We pray that the perspective that [our riders] have will be an eternal perspective, so we'll use a horse and we use the Word of God. And they seem to work really well together.” - Laurie Baer  “It's not our job to judge the growth. It's not our job to judge the fruit. It's our job to sow the seed, to water the seed, and that means giving God's Word and dispensing it freely.” - Janice Larsen  “We're all at risk for something, if we're being honest with ourselves. We all have vulnerabilities.” - Laurie Baer   ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.22 min
  11. 179Taking the Hope of Christmas to a Hurting World: Dailey & Vincent and Ernie HaaseChristmas can be a time for joy, but also for reflection—and for many, a reminder of lost moments and loved ones. This week’s guests, musicians Dailey & Vincent and Ernie Haase, remind us this season is filled with hope, because God loved us so much that He sent Jesus into the world. These artists tell us how they fell in love with music (from bluegrass to gospel) and why they center their songs and shows around positive messages. Dailey & Vincent recently released The Sounds of Christmas project, and share their warmest (and most hilarious) Christmas memories and family traditions. Ernie Haase gives a behind-the-scenes look at the way his new album with Signature Sound, A Jazzy Little Christmas, was born out of a fun-filled holiday trip to New York, and how we can still celebrate the holiday while honoring those who are no longer with us at Christmas. Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling for Christmas Dolly Parton Belives with God, All Things Are Possible episode Celebrating the Power of Jesus’ Love:  Mark Lowry and CBD President Ray Hendrickson episodeChoosing Christ Through Doubt & Fear: Bear Grylls & Rhonda Vincent episode Lifting Up Others Through Service: Country Singer Jimmy Fortune and US Army Veteran Jess Key episode Shining God’s Light Through Music: Oak Ridge Boys & Aaron Watson episode Dailey & Vincent The Sounds of Christmas album The Dailey & Vincent show on RFD Television “Jingle Bells” video International Bluegrass Music Association Ricky Skaggs BibleGateway (1 Timothy 6:12) Hallmark Channel Christmas   Ernie Haase “A Jazzy Little Christmas” album Cathedral Quartet The Message Bible, Eugene Peterson New York Cares (Winter Wishes program)   Interview Quotes: “The most important part about all the music, just boiling it down to the bare bones, is the way you speak to other people. The songs that we pick and the way the songs speak to their hearts and give them such peace and joy.” - Darrin Vincent “It's a universal language—music speaks to everybody.” - Darrin Vincent “We don't know what all these people are going through. But many people in that audience are going through something. It is our job to go out there and take them on a 90-minute ride that will make them forget whatever they're dealing with, and hopefully leave there feeling a lot better.” - Jamie Dailey “My testimony is that a perceived no might be just a not now from God.“ - Ernie Haase “What Sarah has done with the Jesus Calling book, for me, she’s made Jesus very personal, very relatable.” - Ernie Haase “Hopefully, by people listening to our music and enjoying our music, it'll make the season a little bit brighter for some people.” - Ernie Haase  ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.26 min
  12. 180Being Real When Life Isn’t Great: The Genesis Project & Carrie Stuart ParksSome of God’s greatest miracles come when He brings good out of dark places. In Ogden, Utah, pastor Matt Roberts felt he didn’t feel comfortable inviting his friends and neighbors to church as it didn’t feel like a place where people could be vulnerable, so he decided to create an open community he thought they—and he—would feel like they belonged. When his former youth pastor, Rob Cowles, came for a visit, Rob knew The Genesis Project was something special and decided to plant his own location in Fort Collins, Colorado—in, of all places, a former strip club. Carrie Stuart Parks was a young woman with a flair for art when her father, the head of the School of Law Enforcement in northern Idaho, decided to invite Carrie to use her talents on crime scenes. Carrie became enamored with the work, helping victims close the chapter on some of the darkest moments of their lives. She even began a second career as a thriller novelist—not knowing her mentor was a wildly successful author himself—and work to help reach not knowing her mentor was a wildly successful author himself—now reaches the world through stories and emotions we all can relate to. Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling Large Text Cloth Botanical Cover God Can Redeem Your Struggles: Joel & Luke Smallbone and Sandi Patty Lolo Jones Olympic athlete   The Genesis Project Matt Roberts The Genesis Project, Ogden, UT   Rob Cowles The Genesis Project, Fort Collins, CO   The God of New Beginnings: How the Power of Relationship Brings Hope and Redeems Lives book Gary Haugen International Justice Mission, founder   Carrie Stuart Parks FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia Secrets to Drawing Realistic Faces book Frank Peretti author Unitarian Universalism HarperCollins Christian Publishing   Interview Quotes: "It was really hard to invite [my friends and community] to church with me. It was such a cultural gap . . . " - Matt Roberts “That time in Portland was very monumental for us, really learning what it meant to be an embedded church in the middle of a culture that desperately needed a Savior.” - Matt Roberts “What does it mean to live bravely in the way of Jesus?” - Rob Cowles, on Gary Haugen “There was an authenticity about their worship [at The Genesis Project], because they really knew what it was to be brought back from darkness, brought back from death into new life.” - Rob Cowles “Community doesn't happen by accident. We have to actually cultivate and create a space where people can come in and be real, be open, and be honest.” - Matt Roberts “What happens is if you create a culture where it's not safe to talk about your brokenness, to talk about your failure, to talk about your pain, that then you naturally create a culture where you have to be fake.” - Rob Cowles  “I pray that I will be salt and light to them as I speak to them. I wear a cross, I let them know, just by having that cross on the outside, where I'm coming from. I don't say anything to them. I just let the presence of that and my words be, hopefully, helpful.” - Carrie Stuart Parks  ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________  Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.36 min
  13. 181Never Give Up the Fight to Get Better: Lolo Jones & Evander HolyfieldNo matter where we grow up, no matter who our parents are or which zip code we live in, each of us will meet challenges. And in those moments, we have a choice: do we give up, or do we keep going? Today we talk with two athletes who, with God by their sides, have endured the sting of defeat and the joy of victory. Lolo Jones is one of only ten athletes who have competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympic games. Lolo shares how some of the hardest moments of her childhood helped her to compete on the world stage. When he was growing up in Atlanta, Evander Holyfield found community (and a hint at his athletic future) at the Boys Clubs of America. He shares how his mother and his faith guided him into a storied boxing career, and why sometimes our defeats are more instructive than our wins. Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling Weekly Prayer CallJesus Calling app Serving Our Savior in the Spotlight: Josh Turner and Michael McDowell episode    Lolo Jones  Salvation ArmyHurdles of Hope FoundationLondon Olympics   Evander Holyfield Atlanta’s Boy’s Clubs of America   Riddick Bowe Michael Moorer Mike Tyson Lennox Lewis John Ruiz Muhammad Ali Interview Quotes: “I definitely think that my hardships molded me for the life that I would have to go through later.” - Lolo Jones  “This statistic of kids that have incarcerated parents—it tremendously increases their chance that at one point in their life, they will be incarcerated as well. I wanted to break that chain.” - Lolo Jones “I know my childhood strengthened me for a time to stand on the world stage and compete.” - Lolo Jones  “If I go through hardships, I know to say, ‘Okay, this really, really hurt me. This is frustrating. I wanted this so bad, and it was ripped away,’ instead of being like, ‘How could you, God?’”- Lolo Jones “As Christians, we try to predict how God's going to use us, and when He doesn't use us in that manner, we become hurt.” - Lolo Jones  “I became who I am because I really wanted to please my momma. My mom was so disappointed so much her life, and I wanted to be that joy.” - Evander Holyfield “Having setbacks paves the way to show you how good God is.” - Evander Holyfield “Every time you mess up, you've got to have Somebody who will give you another opportunity.” - Evander Holyfield ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.33 min
  14. 182Who Are We Really? Beth McCord & Esther Fleece Allen Show Us God KnowsEver wonder exactly who you are and what you were made for? Today’s guests tell how, as they pursued ways to know God and themselves a bit more, He’s helped them understand their true selves—not what other people say they are. Enneagram coach Beth McCord shares how she and her husband, Jeff, used this popular personality test to understand each other and improve their marriage, finding out the attributes God gave them both along the way. Author Esther Fleece Allen explores the power behind the names that God gives us, and how this can help us shed labels others might give us so that we can hear who God says we are while discovering His purpose for our lives.  Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling Weekly Prayer Call True Connection with God and Each Other: Darlene Zschech and Margaret Feinberg episode    Beth McCord YourEnneagramCoach.com The Enneagram Collection Book Series Becoming Us: Using the Enneagram to Create a Thriving Gospel-Centered Marriage book   Esther Fleece Allen No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending book Your New Name: Saying Goodby to the Labels that Limit book     Interview Quotes: “If we learn why people do what they do, we can have more empathy, understanding, grace, mercy, compassion, and love in ways that really reflect the heart of Christ.” - Beth McCord “God created us all differently, and each of the personality types have a beautiful way that we reflect in it.” - Beth McCord  “So often my heart wants to do it myself, to figure it out myself, to pull myself up by my bootstraps. But only Christ can fix me. Only Christ can love me. Only Christ has everything accomplished for me.” - Beth McCord “Something that is very sacred and important to God is names.” - Esther Fleece Allen “[I ask myself,] ‘Who does He say that I am and how can I begin to believe the new names He's given me, apart from the labels that I've associated with for far too long?’” - Esther Fleece Allen  “God does not speak to me in a condemning way like these labels are doing. God speaks to me in a new way, a language that I'm not even really familiar with, because we're so used to criticism in this life.” - Esther Fleece Allen “There's power in a name. There's power in what we name others, what we name future generations, and there's power in the name we take on for ourselves, of who we're going to become.” - Esther Fleece Allen ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________  Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.19 min
  15. 183His Hand Will Guide Us Through the Darkness: Luke Pell and Jack DeereNone of us is guaranteed a pain-free life. But when we can’t see the right way to move forward, that’s where God steps in to take us by the hand and leads us out of the dark. On today’s episode, Army veteran and Bachelorette contestant Luke Pell and author/speaker Jack Deere share some of their painful moments—an unexplainable, near-death experience; watching a spouse slip into an alcohol addiction; losing a child—events that almost caused them to give up. But each man reminds us: when it feels like we have nothing left to cling to, God is there. And He’s ready to guide us through those experiences so that later, we can support others who may not be able to find their way out, either. Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling book Jesus Always Family Prayer Calendar   Luke Pell ABC’s The Bachelorette show West Point - United States Military Academy Mayo Clinic (PTSD) BibleGateway   Jack Deere Dallas Theological Seminary Even in Our Darkness: The Story of Beauty in a Broken Life book Young Life C. S. Lewis John Snyder Oil Company   Nona Jones, Facebook’s Global Faith-Based Partnerships   Interview Quotes: “As you become an adult, you have to figure out what your faith really means to you.” - Luke Pell “If you're not growing and getting stronger and [going in] the direction of your goals, you're going to be digressing in the wrong direction.” - Luke Pell “One of the biggest victories in my faith was that I came back to a spot where I was completely surrendering my plans and my expectations back to God, and what purpose I was put on this earth for, instead of [wondering] what I could get out of this world and what people thought of me.” - Luke Pell  “Only one thing does matter: it’s the legacy that you left, the inspiration that you left in the world, the people that you inspired, your faith that you were able to show to the rest of the world around you, and the lives that you were able to change.” - Luke Pell “Then God shows up and comes alongside you through somebody [who] gives you inspiration, or however that message comes, ‘You're gonna be okay. You're gonna make it through.’” - Luke Pell “I've really learned to appreciate those moments of uncertainty, when you're feeling more alone and you're feeling like you don't know what tomorrow holds. . . . Those are the times when I get the most direct purpose from God in my life.” - Luke Pell “We have to really stay true to ourselves and true to our faith, and keep that faith walk intact, regardless of what the rest of the world is throwing at you every day. The more we're thinking about the rest of the world and what they're thinking about us, the less we're thinking about what God has for us and where our faith walk should be.” - Luke Pell  “[My] childhood produced this desire to keep really tight control in my life. I blocked out some of the stuff and thought, Feelings are bad. Stay in your mind. Don't go to your feelings. That was the hardening effect that my childhood had on me.” - Jack Deere  “When you're seventeen years old and everybody you've ever loved has left you, to hear that God won't leave you is just too good to be true.” - Jack Deere “The only Person who never needed any help chose twelve helpers. Why? For the pleasure it gave Him to love those twelve apostles and to teach them to love what He loved.” - Jack Deere “Although I had plenty of my own shame, I didn't even think in those categories. I just thought, You have an unpleasant feeling. Just get rid of it. I lived out of my mind, not out of my feelings.” - Jack Deere “I began to see that the most important thing in life is feeling the affection of God, actually being friends with Him. We love Him because He first loved us.” - Jack Deere  ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.37 min
  16. 184Women Leading through Forgiveness and Grace: Nona Jones & Alex SeeleyOur planet holds more than seven billion people, and each one reflects who God is—because He created every one of us in His image. Today we hear from two women who have learned the value of who God created them to be and now lead others into finding their own worth as they carve out new spaces to foster connection. Nona Jones, head of faith-based partnerships at Facebook, shares how she overcame years of abuse and trauma to learn that she’s more than what happened to her, and chose forgiveness as a way out of her shame. Today she connects with churches all over the world and people searching for God’s purpose for their own lives. Pastor Alex Seeley shares how difficult it was to uproot her life in Australia to follow God’s calling for her family in America, only to discover that churches in the US didn’t seem to have a place for her. Alex shares how she and her husband Henry created The Belonging Co as a place to help artists and musicians in Nashville without a church home to experience God’s presence, and the life-changing power of discovering His presence in our own journeys.   Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling book Jesus Calling Weekly Prayer Call Nona Jones Success From the Inside Out: Power to Rise from the Past to a Fulfilling Future Book    Alex Seeley The Belonging Co Church The Opposite Life: Unlocking the Mysteries of God’s Upside-Down Kingdom Book  Biblegateway (The Beatitudes) Planetshakers Ministry   Interview Quotes: “The reason I was acting out [was] because of so much chaos at home. I was responding and reacting to trauma, and nobody ever asked me why I was acting that way. They just assumed I was a bad kid.” - Nona Jones “I have this scar on one of my wrists that's a constant reminder of what I tried to do [to end my life], but it's also a reminder of God's grace, because He determined that my life was worth living, even when I didn't see it.” - Nona Jones “Trauma really changes the way you see yourself. The thing I would like to encourage other people to know is you are not what happened to you.” - Nona Jones “Twenty-five minutes after I resigned from my job in faith, Facebook called me out of the blue.” - Nona Jones “If you look at the life of Jesus, He didn't tell people, ‘Hey guys, come see me at the temple on Sunday at 11:00, I have this amazing series that's coming up.’ He didn't do that. He ministered to people wherever they were.” - Nona Jones “Just like a healthy family needs both parents to bring balance to home life, I think a church so needs the balance of male and female attributes of the father heart of God.” - Alex Seeley “There are so many people that are hungry for an encounter with God, but they're being given a religious experience, but not this amazing encounter with the Holy Spirit and Jesus.” - Alex Seeley “To have an encounter where Jesus changes your life, and then people take note of the change that's happening.” - Alex Seeley “I think the world is confused, because people who call themselves Christians are not acting in an opposite spirit. They're acting like everybody else.” - Alex Seeley “I've been a Christian for thirty-five years, and I can't get past the fact that He loved me while I was a broken mess.” - Alex Seeley ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.31 min
  17. 185Discovering Light When Our Hearts Are Breaking: Linsey Davis & Grace Anna RodgersLife will give us our share of dark times, but we can choose to be the light. Today’s guests share how they use the power of story to share messages of hope and purpose. Award-winning ABC News correspondent Linsey Davis shares how she has taken lessons from her childhood in church, her time as a reporter, and the values she’s trying to instill in her young son to show that what’s important is loving people, not focusing on our differences. After several miscarriages, when Angela Rodgers discovered she was pregnant again, she was told the baby would have several health issues—but Angela loved her little girl and knew God had a plan for her life. Dynamic mother-daughter duo Angela and Grace Anna Rodgers are now sharing nine-year-old Grace Anna’s gift of singing with the world, spreading happiness and reminding others that what matters about people is who they are on the inside, not the outside.    Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling book Jesus Calling Family Devotional Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for KidsJesus Calling App   Linsey Davis ABC’s World News Tonight ABC’s Good Morning America ABC’s Nightline The World is Awake: A Celebration of Everyday Blessings book One Big Heart: A Celebration of Being More Alike Than Different book   Angela and Grace Anna Rodgers GraceAnnaSings.org  Grace Anna Sings: A Story of Hope Through a Little Girl with a Big Voice book Who Do You See When You Look at Me? book Grace Anna singing the National Anthem (Facebook video) Conradi Hunermann Syndrome Sammy Kershaw Bobby Henline   Contemporary Christian Music artist Austin French   Interview Quotes: “[My mom was] very much responsible for my falling in love with storytelling and with writing and with the English language.” - Linsey Davis  “When I look back now, I think [my time in church as a child] was so important to who I am today.” - Linsey Davis  “I can see God's hand in other people's lives, for sure. But when truly catastrophic things happen, I don't know how to explain it. But I have to believe that God has a plan.” - Linsey Davis “My son's five, and when he comes home and he's met a new friend, he doesn't tell me about their race or their background or religion or culture. He just says what they have in common.” - Linsey Davis “Let's say, ‘Hey, we have different color skin and hair and features and likes and dislikes. But guess what? God gave us all this one unique gift. He gave us all one big heart and that's the most important part, because that's where love starts.’” - Linsey Davis “From the very beginning, we wanted Grace Anna, even when the doctors didn't give us a whole lot of hope.” - Angela Rodgers “What would touch my heart so deeply is you would see these colonels and these generals with all these medals be brought to tears when Grace Anna would sing the national anthem.” - Angela Rodgers “Sometimes you go through things that change who we become.” - Angela Rodgers “I think God made each of us with unique gifts. We’re all different in some way. So we can show love by being kind and trying to learn from each other.” - Grace Anna Rodgers ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.25 min
  18. 186Meeting the Healer of Broken People: Amy Kavelaris & Austin FrenchJesus didn’t come for perfect people—He came to heal the broken and the hurting. Today’s guests, artist and author Amy Kavelaris and Christian music artist Austin French, share how God met them in their broken places and healed their lives and hearts. Amy draws inspiration from the awe-filled way her three little girls see the world, and it reminds her of the light God is in her life. When she gets overwhelmed by demands on her time or struggles to navigate life’s changing seasons, Amy remembers that God is creating opportunities for her. Austin French faced an internal battle with Christianity for years, only to realize he wasn’t hurt by a broken God, but by broken people. He finally found peace and healing when he learned that Jesus wants every piece of us. We are not defined by our scars—we’re defined by His.    Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling book Jesus Calling AppJesus Calling® for Easter. With 50 Jesus Calling devotions Jesus Calling interview with Mercy Me’s Bart Millard Amy Kavelaris Bloom Print Studio Harper Collins / Thomas Nelson / Tommy Nelson Good Night, My Darling Dear book   Austin French ABC’s “Rising Star” NBC’s “The Voice,”   Interview Quotes: “I just had this innate feeling that God existed and that I just wanted to follow Him with my life.” - Amy Kavelaris ”I think it's so important that we celebrate God's creation. It's fun to add a little whimsy and sparkle into the everyday, because our kids see the everyday as wonderful and extraordinary.” - Amy Kavelaris ”I get so much more from watching [my girls] and seeing how they react to [the world]. It's just this beautiful relationship that we have, where it 100 percent inspires what I do every day.” - Amy Kavelaris ”This is all about Him. He’s the only reason I'm doing any of this.” - Amy Kavelaris  “I find that the only joy and freedom is when we gaze upon His light and His truth. It's then that we find that true, indescribable joy, and stop chasing after what the world tells us we need.” - Amy Kavelaris “I didn't understand why we had to change who we were at church and why we couldn't be who we were all the time. As an eight-year-old kid, I wrote down: I never want to be a Christian.” - Austin French “I realized that I had been hurt by broken people, not Jesus. Jesus is what He told me He was—He was the Healer of broken people.” - Austin French  “We're very needy people, all of us. We need people. We need a God who's with us and working with us.” - Austin French ”I think the only way to find a relationship with Jesus and truly find freedom in Jesus is to understand that brokenness is a part of this story.” - Austin French “We're not defined by our scars or the scars that you're walking through right now— we're defined by His. - Austin French ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.28 min
  19. 187Seeking a Life of Love & Truth: Rev Run & Justine Simmons and Matt BrownWe’re able to share our hearts and to love others because God chose to love us first. Today’s guests, Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons of RUN-D.M.C. and his wife Justine, along with evangelist and founder of Think Eternity Matt Brown share how they’ve learned to develop qualities of pure, selfless love and how this love has profoundly changed their lives. When he was at the height of his music career, Rev Run couldn’t ignore the void inside him, and it wasn’t until he discovered Jesus that he finally felt whole. He and Justine share their marriage secrets and what it takes to make a relationship work (spoiler alert: put God first!). There’s one nagging thought that keeps Matt Brown up at night: how will the world ever feel God’s love if Christians don’t accurately represent it? If we want to experience the full love that God has for each of us and spread that love to others, we need to set our intentions of seeking that love daily. Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling bookJesus Calling for Kids, Girls Edition devotional BibleGateway   Patti Callahan Henry Becoming Mrs. Lewis book Rev Run & Justine Simmons Old School Love: And Why It Works bookJoseph "Rev Run" Simmons God, Can You Hear Me? Children’s bookRolling Stone Magazine   Matt Brown Think Eternity Truth Plus Love: The Jesus Way to Influence book   Interview Quotes: ”It's just funny how you can visualize and set your intentions, and things just come to pass.” - Rev Run “There's this void that success and money can't fill.” - Rev Run “You’d think that making hit records or money or cars or fame or people saying, "Oh, you're the greatest," people praising you for making your music would do it. But actually, when you start praising God, that's when you get happy.” - Rev Run  “I love [my husband] so much, but I love God more.” - Justine Simmons “Spending and dedicating time with God leads to a better hearing ear.” - Rev Run “Enjoying each other's company is probably a big part of staying together.” - Rev Run “God has a way of making it clear to us where He wants us to go and what He wants us to do. . . . To grow in the Lord, and to reflect God to the world around us, we need both truth and love.” - Matt Brown “How is the world supposed to see the grace of God if the people of God are not gracious?” - Matt Brown ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
  20. 188Growing Brave to Become More: Rebecca Bender and Patti Callahan HenryFear of the unknown and fear of change are some of the greatest struggles we will ever face. How can we possibly leave behind what’s familiar to us? How will we know where to go next? What will happen to us and our loved ones? It can be terrifying, lonely, and confusing. Today’s guests share how they found the courage to make a change, which led them to freedom and joy like they had never experienced. Human trafficking survivor and activist Rebecca Bender opens up about the life she was manipulated into and how, by listening to God’s voice and the strong spirit that He gave her, she found a way out. Novelist Patti Callahan Henry shares how she left her job as a nurse to become a writer, and the story she wrote about C.S. Lewis’ wife, Joy, who also took a leap of faith that led her to a love that she never could’ve imagined for herself. If you’re considering making a change in your life, remember this: it is in the uncomfortable and the unfamiliar that we grow and have an opportunity to depend on God like never before. And He has plans for hope and a future for each one of us.  Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling book Jesus Calling: The Jesus Calling MagazineJesus Calling for Kids at Barnes & Noble (PINK and BLUE versions) Rebecca Bender Rebecca Bender InitiativeIn Pursuit of Love: One Woman’s Journey from Trafficked to Triumphant bookNational U.S. Trafficking Hotline: 1 (888) 373-7888 to get help today Patti Callahan Henry Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis book Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis [Podcast]   C.S. Lewis Yale Younger Poets Award   American Idol finalist Dave PittmanTourette’s Syndrome Interview Quotes: ”I felt like an outsider, which pushed me, I think, even further away from wanting to be a part of a community of faith.” - Rebecca Bender  ”You can't imagine going back to hopelessness, so you choose to look the other way because you really want the dream that's being dangled in front of you.” - Rebecca Bender “I was so, so filled with knowing that I could hear the voice of the Lord, the voice of the Creator of the universe who chose to talk to me, and that really kept me through some of my darkest times.” - Rebecca Bender “This is my favorite part about God: how He breaks off chains, He breaks up shame. He can completely redo our lives.” - Rebecca Bender “You have to be real with God. He knows what you're thinking, and He knows even more than you do what's happening in your brain and in your mind and your heart. So just crying out to Him helps really shift and give you some revelation and helps you take your eyes off of your circumstance to see what He has in store.” - Rebecca Bender “What I love about the work that God allows me to do today is not only do we get to bring justice for the victim . . . but I love that it's also creating constant change in the community.” - Rebecca Bender ”You know, Jesus loves girls like me—we’re all over the Bible. Put the shame on who should own the shame, which is the perpetrators.” - Rebecca Bender “[My faith] transforms, and it transforms me. As long as it's always about the indwelling God, I feel fairly safe in my faith.” - Patti Callahan Henry “I do believe that it was the first time Joy ever truly loved, and it's because she first found her true self in God.” - Patti Callahan Henry ”We might need to pack up everybody's expectations and everybody's demands and everybody's definitions of us.” - Patti Callahan Henry “My favorite quote by Joy is, ‘If we should ever grow brave, what on earth would become of us?’" - Patti Callahan Henry ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
  21. 189When We Can’t See God’s Plan, Trust His Heart: Dave Pittman & Rachel Van Kluyve“Why me, God?” Sound familiar? We’ve all questioned why God has allowed bad things to happen in our lives, but this week’s guests, musician Dave Pittman and home designer Rachel Van Kluyve, have faced serious trials that caused them to question their purpose and how to move forward. Growing up, Dave faced bullies because of his Tourette’s Syndrome. After a deep, dark battle, Dave learned to embrace what made him different. As he’s built his music career post-American Idol, today Dave uses his music and experiences to help others find their reason to live. After Rachel had her first child, she grappled with postpartum depression that isolated her. As she began to post online about her decorating hobby, she began to build a supportive, close-knit online community that now helps women and girls around the world. Today Rachel shares her book She Built Herself a Home and how people can easily create spaces to build closer connections to God and to each other. Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling book Jesus Calling for Easter  Jesus Calling ‘What’s Good’ YouTube series featuring Dave Pittman Jesus Calling podcast episode with Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Jeremy Cowart   Davd Pittman “Crazy Brave’ song “Different Kind of Love” album Tourette Syndrome ABC’s American Idol Neil Patrick Harris Bible Gateway   Rachel Van Kluyve CrateandCottage.com She Made Herself a Home: A Practical Guide to Design, Organize, and Give Purpose to Your Space book Facebook Marketplace   Lauren Alaina Interview Quotes: “I was more afraid of living through that again than I was of dying.” - Dave Pittman, on being bullied as a child with Tourette Syndrome ”My mom—both my parents—just drilled into my head and my heart the importance of accepting yourself for who you are, and not just who you are, but who you are in Christ, your identity, who you've become in your walk with Christ.” - Dave Pittman “I think it's okay to ask why, even now, because Job did. We look at Job in the Bible, he asked God, ‘Why? Why is this happening to me?’” - Dave Pittman “Anyone can accept something they have to do, but when you can embrace something that you get to do, it’s different. It changes things.” - Dave Pittman ”After I had my first baby, it just kind of all fell apart. I got postpartum [depression]. I lost myself. You know, I was a smart magna cum laude graduate, and I just didn't know what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be, and it spiraled quickly out of control.” - Rachel Van Kluyve “When I started my Instagram journey, I felt the Lord specifically saying, ‘Everyone knocks social media for not being a good thing for this generation. But I want to use it for good.’” - Rachel Van Kluyve “We have the power to do so much as moms, as women. [We can] sit at home with a touch of a button and some ingenuity, and we can put together this great thing for people around the world.” - Rachel Van Kluyve “When we built this house, I prayed specifically that we'd always be hospitable. And it's really the home that's never closed. So because of that, our why has become hospitality, and letting people see Christ at all times, and that they're welcome here.” - Rachel Van Kluyve  “It's all about creating that space that gives security and peace so that you can give it to others.” - Rachel Van Kluyve ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
  22. 190Keeping Hope Alive Through Unexpected Losses: Lauren Alaina and Kreis BeallGod will always be with you, supporting you in times of joy and carrying you through times of despair. This week’s guests tell how, after weathering success and loss, sharing their artistic talents with others have brought hope and healing: country music artist Lauren Alaina and hospitality pioneer Kreis Beall. Lauren traces her path as a young singer from the American Idol stage to Dancing with the Stars and beyond. After American Idol, Lauren remembers how, as a 15-year-old, the sudden pressure in the spotlight alongside horrific social media comments about her appearance spawned an eating disorder, and how her faith and family helped her through that dark time. And Lauren shares why she knows God is real, after her beloved stepfather described heaven as he slipped away from the earth. In the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, Kreis Beall and her husband Sandy slowly built a luxury destination resort called Blackberry Farm, where Kreis’s talents soared as she shared her gifts for design and hospitality. Though she’s won considerable success, it wasn’t until she developed a relationship with God later in life that she truly felt successful—and she recalls how her new-found faith helped her through the devastating loss of her son, Sam, which she shares in her memoir called The Great Blue Hills of God.   Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling devotional Jesus Calling for Easter  Lifeway’s $5 Promotion on Jesus Always   Lauren Alaina American Idol (Season 10) Dancing with th Stars (Season 28) Mayo Clinic (Melanoma Cancer) “The Other Side” lyric video   Kreis Beall Blackberry Farm The Great Blue Hills of God: A Story of Facing Loss, Finding Peace, and Learning The True Meaning of Home book Bible Gateway (Matthew 10:25)   Anne Beiler, the founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels   Interview Quotes: “There are always going to be people who are going to have something to say that is not nice. But if I feel good about myself, and I have people around me that lift me up, that takes the power away from them.” - Lauren Alaina “We turn our back on Him, but He never turns his back on us. And [if] we're willing to go back to Him, He's always there.” - Lauren Alaina “I don't want some young girl out there looking at me and thinking that I'm just the most confident person in the world, because I choose to be confident. . . . I was very insecure for a long time, and I've had to work really hard on learning to love myself.” - Lauren Alaina  ”I think the most important thing we can do is lift people up and love others and and know that someday we're all going to be reunited in the kingdom of heaven.” - Lauren Alaina “I'm constantly thinking about the next step, where we're going, what we're going to do. I love to set goals, but I think it's also really important to count your blessings where you are right now.” - Lauren Alaina “It's super important to find what God means to you. He means something different to everyone. He is my best friend and my Father and all of these things, but for me, He is just a source of strength, and someone that I can talk to when I'm weak.” - Lauren Alaina “I think having someone who totally believed in me fueled the fire. And it kept pushing me to dream and create.” - Kreis Beall “Sometimes the role of success can put a blinder on the things that are really important in life.” - Kreis Beall ”As I slowed down, I could experience more than in all the busyness and success that ruled my life.” - Kreis Beall “Once you uncover the joy that God provides for you, joy is always deep within. And it remains, whether happenings are good or bad.” - Kreis Beall “I don't know what I would have done without my faith if Sam had died five years earlier, if either one of my children had.” - Kreis Beall “I have had a lot of sorrow and loss in my life, but it's important for me to look at all the joy.” - Kreis Beall ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
  23. 191Life Is Hard, But God Is Good: Anne Belier and Nancy HicksGod works in mysterious ways. When we have the road mapped out, He can take us in an entirely different direction than where we thought we were headed. Auntie Anne’s Pretzels founder, Anne Beiler, shares how she was striving to keep up the pretense of a perfect life, but when her daughter was tragically killed and Anne was manipulated and abused by someone who should’ve been a counselor, Anne buried herself in secrets. Eventually Anne discovered the power of confession, and she decided to let go of guilt and live with transparency. And today God has taken Anne’s pain and used it to help her lead a life of compassion. Starting her entertainment career as a professional singer, Nancy Hicks felt God pulling her away from music to become a host at QVC, where she ministered to others on and off screen. As her life changed, Nancy felt God guiding her to a life in ministry, and today Nancy’s mission is to share God’s love with the world.   Links, Products and Resources Mentioned: Sarah Young Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling books Jesus Calling devotional Jesus Calling for Easter  Lifeway’s $5 Promotion on Jesus Always Jesus Calling episode, “Women Leading through Forgiveness and Grace: Nona Jones & Alex Seeley”   Anne Beiler Auntie Anne’s Pretzels Anne Beiler’s new book, “The Secret Lies Within: An Inside Out at Overcoming Trauma and Finding Purpose in the Pain Bible Gateway Bobcat Equipment   Nancy Hicks QVC Broadcast Programming Nancy Hicks’s new book, “Meant to Live: Living in Light of the Good News” Parsons Institute (Fashion) FIT in New York (Fashion) Wheaton College (Chicago, IL) Mayo Clinic (Colon Cancer) John and Stasi Eldredge   Interview Quotes: “Secrets leave you powerless, they keep you in a place of darkness, keep you defeated. These secrets that talk to us inside do not allow us to live in freedom.” - Anne Beiler  “Confession can change the trajectory of your entire life and your family.” - Anne Beiler “I had to experience all this pain so that I could be compassionate with those who are suffering in our world today. “ - Anne Beiler “Guilt says, ‘I did something wrong.’ Shame says, ‘I am something wrong.’ So in our pain, we believe lies.” - Anne Beiler “When I feel decisions are tough, and things don’t always turn out the way I prayed for or believed that they should turn out, that's my go to: Life is hard, God is good. ” - Anne Beiler “I was like, Where am I going here? At the end of this one event that I was singing at, I sensed the Lord saying, “Continue to use the gift to honor me.” - Nancy Hicks “If you call yourself a follower of Christ, you don't get to pick whether or not you get to be a minister of the gospel, or whether you're in ministry. Everything is ministry.” - Nancy Hicks “It didn't matter what time, I was in my car, I'd be praying and saying, “Abba, use me today. Use me in the green room. Use me in the makeup chair. God, use me as light and salt.“ - Nancy Hicks, on ministering while she was at QVC “I remember holding my arms wide out, tears streaming down my face, and just saying, ‘God, what are we gonna do with the next chapter of this one life? I am all in for the kingdom, and I don't have anything holding me back.’ I just begged God, ‘Spend me. Just spend me.’” - Nancy Hicks“I think there is no substitute for an authentic relationship which takes time with God.” - Nancy Hicks ________________________ Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel: Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0  Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O  ________________________    Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Jesus Calling Website Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
  24. 192God Is the Restorer of Our Hearts: John & Stasi Eldredge and Chris & Emily NortonIn our darkest moments, when we’re searching for hope and healing, we can take comfort in this: we serve a God of restoration, and His greatest desire is to heal our hearts. And all around us, we can see God’s handiwork in the living testimonies of lives restored by Him. Husband-and-wife ministry team John and Stasi Eldredge share how they help others discover (and, for some, remember) the life-changing power of turning your focus back to God, which John outlines in his devotional Restoration Year. Chris Norton was a young college football player when he suffered a devastating injury that left him paralyzed below the neck. With grit and faith, he worked hard to overcome negative diagnoses and met the goal of walking across the stage at his college graduation. Chris and his wife Emily share how they’ve weathered some of their toughest times. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
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