Episode 33: Breaking the Cycle of Silence

Whether you're a war veteran or abuse survivor, staying silent keeps us from the very thing that could aide our healing and recovery, connection to others. It can also create generational cycles of managing pain through dysfunctional or maladaptive means. Here I talk with author Peyton Garland about how the message “Silence is Strength” gets passed down through generations. Let's break those cycles!

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Episode 24: You Aren't Your Failures

I was delighted when a friend introduced me to Episode 24’s guest, Cindy Villanueva. We were both unwed teen moms who bounced back from that failure only to end up with divorce, domestic violence, and career setbacks as part of our stories. We both learned that we aren’t our failures. And, thanks to our faith, we’ve also learned that we aren’t what we’ve accomplished. Our identities are more than our degrees, careers, and even our children.

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Episode 23: How to Own Your Story

If you’ve been through any kind of toxic situation whether it was a relationship or a certain work or living environment and you want to learn how to find the gifts in that, how to not only survive it but thrive because of it, then you’ll want to tune into this season. We will look at narcissistic, toxic people and situations. How to spot them and how to deal with them.

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Spiritual Identity Part 3 of 3: Don’t Get Religious on Me

This is the third episode in a three-part series called Spiritual Identity that explores deconstruction and inclusivity. Not everyone who listens to The All Gifts Podcast is a Christian. I hope to make it a welcoming space for anyone. So, in the spirit of inclusivity, in this episode, I demystify and define some common Christian religious terminology and concepts.

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Spiritual Identity Part 2 of 3: Recovery Time

Did you know that our journey with God has stages? And did you know that along that journey there are times of intense doubt where you question everything you once were taught and believed? If you are in that stage right now, what if I told you there is nothing wrong with you? That what you are going through is not only perfectly normal but that it’s also really, really good?

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Spiritual Identity Part 1 of 3: Don’t Call Me a Christian

Since I started The All Gifts Podcast, I’ve noticed that I cringe when I hear myself say I’m a Christian. I’ve even found myself saying, “All Gifts isn’t a Christian podcast.”

Being someone who sees the value in being self-aware and of course, vigilant about my relationship with God, I wanted to understand why. Why was I distancing myself from Christianity?

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How to Overcome Abuse in Marriage

In Episode 18 of The All Gifts Podcast I’m joined by Jodie Cooper, my first international guest! Jodie is Australian and writes children’s books for Christian families. Jodie and her husband have two small children. In this episode, we talk about how a few years in, Jodie found herself in an abusive marriage with punishing behavior, moods and tones used to manipulate and control.

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How can we evolve spiritually?

Episode 17 of the All Gifts Podcast, I’m joined by guest Molly LaCroix who obtained her master’s in marriage and family therapy at a seminary and writes about the intersection of faith and well-being. In this episode, she shares about being diagnosed with breast cancer in April of 2020 and how she relied on a spiritual practice she developed to deal with this in the middle of the pandemic.

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Chronic Illness, Pain, and Anxiety

In Episode 15 of The All Gifts Podcast, I talk with Mary Kate Brown, a writer and homeschool mom of three little girls about her journey with the autoimmune illness Crohn’s Disease. Through the nine months it took to diagnose this inflammatory bowel disease, the birth of her third child, dealing with insurance, hospitalizations and eventually, major surgery, Mary Kate suffered.

When she was at the height of her physical suffering, Mary Kate became aware that she was also battling emotional wounds. She discovered that her inner life was affecting her physical body. God used her condition to unearth unhealed areas of her life and put her on a path of spiritual, emotional, and physical healing.

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Addiction: Doing What I Don't Want to Do

This week’s episode of the All Gifts Podcast is about my journey overcoming marijuana and alcohol addiction. Author Jennifer Evans joins me to share a few laughs as we talk about the things that have helped us get and stay sober through the insanity of life, popular recovery language that no longer serves our needs, and how good it feels to be free.

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A Time to Rebuild

2021 is a time to rebuild. Lana Negrete, owner of Santa Monica Music Center, takes us behind the scenes of the news footage of the 2020 riots, describing the difference between the looters and the protesters. And shares how she, a small business and non-profit owner, used the pain of nearly losing it all to pivot her business and her perspective.

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