My Chains are Gone Podcast

Jana Rae has such a sweet soft heart for Jesus and you might find yourself shedding a few tears alongside of her. She speaks about how the power and grace of God protected her and carried her through her younger years of running from God. She started following God as a single mom and later married a man that cared deeply for her and her daughter but was not a follower of Jesus.  Fast forward.. and this past December, Jana Rae got to see 32 years of prayer answered seeing her husband step into a relationship with God. He was baptized in our church and it was one of the highlights of my year to rejoice with them! At the end Jana Rae shares of a hard new trial that she is walking into. I hope you enjoy Jana Rae’s story!

Daniel shares his story with us today. He grew up in the church knowing the teachings of the Bible but feared truly giving his life to Jesus because of his relationship with his abusive father. Although his classmates and teammates would have thought Daniel’s was successful and happy, depression, anxiety, and addiction to pornography plagued him. In college, God used several new friends to show Daniel grace, love, and compassion. God chipped away at Daniel’s fearful heart and has replaced it with a joy filled Gospel loving heart. I hope you are encouraged by Daniel’s story.

It is my turn! So many brave people have gone before me, putting on vulnerability and sharing their stories. I faced quite a few challenges - from cold after cold after cold (you can still hear my stuffy nose) - to wrestling with whether my story mattered - to worried if I could share my story without a complete monotone 60 minute boring monologue. God injected me with courage and today you get to hear how God has worked in snapshot moments of my life.  I love being a part of the family of God. I hope you find yourself encouraged today and remember that your story is important too. 

Today, Fred shares his story which includes a season of homelessness. He shares about the rays of light and hope that he and his wife experienced living on the street through the kindness of strangers in Anaheim, California. He attributes God’s grace for sustaining and bringing them to a new place in life with a home and Christian community. Listen as he gives a face to the homeless and reminds us of the image bearers of God that our living on the streets in our country.

My Chains are Gone is back! I've had a long break, but I am back and planning to produce an episode a month. Stay tuned! Today, Rachel shares her story. Rachel is one of my favorite ladies to talk with about theology. She backs up what she believes with scripture and does not shy away from difficult topics. Rachel bravely shares about her experience with same sex attraction, homosexuality, faith, the church, and the faithfulness of God. I hope you are encouraged by the work of God in Rachel’s life.

Today Jake shares his story of how God made his spiritual heart alive in spring semester of 2009. He developed a hunger for God’s word and desired to walk in God’s purposes for him. Jake was on the track to teach and be involved in church planting when his life got turned upside down. He shares of his fight for survival after experiencing a heart condition which ultimately led to heart failure. He woke up from a coma with a brain injury which radically changed his ability to communicate, move, and perform daily functions. Jake shares of how his life as a follower of Jesus has changed and how his trust in God has deepened. It is evident that God is working in and through Jacob. Jake did not receive a set back with his health trauma and current disability, but he received a step forward - towards God’s purposes for him. In this interview, Jake mentions his blog - I have already been encouraged and challenged by some of Jake’s writings, admonishing believers in how to love people with disabilities well. If you are interested, check out his website www.fromgroanstoglory.com I hope you are encouraged by Jake’s story and how the Lord has sustained his life physically and spiritually through such trauma.

God is our refuge and strength,     an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way     and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam     and the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:1-3 I really enjoyed sitting down with Kelly and hearing her journey of faith. Kelly and her husband watched many of their friends rejoice with positive pregnancy tests while hers remained negative. She shares how God met her in that season of disappointment.   A few years later, they were met with a different trial.  Cancer. The daughter they prayed and waited for took a turn for the worse with a diagnosis of Leukemia. God was faithful carrying them and giving them a loving community. Allie is joyfully on the other side of fighting cancer, and Kelly shares of the gentleness of God as she now processes her experience. The Bible reminds us that He is strong - always and forever. He is always on the throne. He is always good. I was encouraged to hear of the ways that God met Kelly and her family in the midst and aftermath of a cancer diagnosis. He will never let go of us! I hope you enjoy Kelly's story!

Today we hear from Will, the husband of Rachelle from episode 24. Will described himself as a lazy agnostic. He was just trying to survive everyday in the midst of an abusive relationship. Will had abandoned God. However, just like the prodigal son, Will experienced the open arms of a loving Father when he called out to him in a place of brokenness. Listen for the huge turn around that God brought about in his life and how the Lord sustains him now in his daily trials.

This is a story of adoption - eternal spiritual adoption and adoption in the here and now. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15 NLT Today we hear from my friend Melissa living in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Melissa experienced a lot of trauma and brokenness as a young child, including sexual abuse from her great grandfather, an elder in the church. She bravely shares of the deep impact of the abuse. Even in her hardest moments, God never left Melissa's side. As a teenager, she was taken in by a friend’s family which set her on a new track and gave her a vision for foster care and adoption. God is healing and redeeming Melissa and her family for generations to come. I was so encouraged by the redemptive work in Melissa’s life and how God has used her trauma from the past to bring life to those around her. I hope you are encouraged by Melissa’s story too.

What a joy it was to hear from Billy Glosson today! I am once again thankful for technology, and the ability to interview someone hours away. Today Billy shares his journey of faith and how God has shaped him and given him a purpose and drive to pursue preaching and church planting in North Carolina. In some very tender parts of his story, he shares of two crushing experiences in which God faithfully carried him through – a heart-shattering with a fiancé and more recently and raw, a miscarriage with his wife, Hannah. Who else but the Lord could so faithfully bring his people through the crushing dark experiences of life? You might hear a few name-drops in this episode. I encourage you to check out Ryan’s story from episode 13, Bobby in episode 9, Derek in episode 15, and here in a few weeks, Melissa Worley! I love all these interwoven stories of God’s great Redemption story! I hope you are encouraged by Billy’s words and God’s work in his life.

Kurt loves to share about God’s work in his life. God has been with him his whole life even when he was not paying attention. Kurt experienced a lot of hurt from his father growing up and remained angry and bitter for a long time. God used a fire, the shattering of his marriage, and his daughter’s invitation to church to start opening Kurt’s eyes to the power of the Gospel in his own life. Kurt is now filled with an inexplicable joy and peace as he trusts in God’s work. I hope you enjoy Kurt’s story!

Darren shares his story with us today! He shares of his high school experience when the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to the Gospel message uniquely through a History Channel series on the Bible! God continued to pull on his heart through a high school Christian club and then his heart and desires in life completely changed. He had a new lens on life! Darren also takes us through his current struggles with health and the tough lessons he is learning about living in suffering. There are no easy or apparent answers to the question of why we suffer or when there will be relief of suffering. Escaping suffering won’t always be the result, and I was thankful for Darren’s reminder that the Holy Spirit can bring a supernatural comfort in our afflictions and knowing Christ can bring more joy then living a healthy productive life. I hope you enjoy Darren's story.

Today we hear from Annie, a wife and mom of two precious boys. Annie met Jesus in the Catholic church as a child. After a short season of running from God in college, God drew her back in through the love of a roommate and some older women as well as a summer studies trip to Greece. I loved her story of how she met her husband shortly after this trip! In a vulnerable part of Annie's story, she shared of being shaken when she and her husband were faced with a life or death decision regarding their unborn baby, Luke. In a routine mid-pregnancy ultrasound, they discovered Luke had Spina Bifida. She shares of the community and prayers during that tough season that helped shine light in their dark moments. As she shared, life was not an easy choice, but it was the right choice. I hope you enjoy Annie's story!

Sarah grew up in a Christian household, regularly attending church, and hearing the truths from the Bible from an early age. She enjoyed some of the richness of following Jesus but also had conflicting experiences of shame and guilt. She learned to live a double life in which she hid her sin, keeping friends at an arm’s length.  It was really interesting to hear what (or who) God used as a catalyst to show her the value of transparency and the freedom of confession in Christ. I have a feeling you’ll want to go listen to her husband, Tim’s story, in episode 23, after this! It is a gift to grow up in a Christian home and starting a relationship with God from an early age.  It is evident, however, no matter how long we have been walking with Jesus, we must keep using the tools he has given us to walk faithfully with him. His word, prayer, and his people can help expose our dark places, bringing light and healing.   If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 I hope you enjoy Sarah's story!!

David shares his story with us today and tells of two experiences that radically shaped his faith in Jesus. As a 13 year old, David physically was at the rock bottom and he cried out to God for help. Jesus met him and brought him to a full recovery. Then, in his early twenties, David felt a different type of rock bottom.  He wrestled with his faith and with his purpose and value in life. Jesus met him in a different way – through the arms of teenagers in Mexico. David calls Jesus life giving as he recognizes his daily existence is the result of the grace of Jesus. I hope you enjoy David’s story.

Today we hear Teresa's story! Teresa is such a sweet loving gal and God is using her to bring love to the people (and animals) around her. Named after Mother Teresa, Teresa shares how she felt the weight of living above the line her whole life. She shares of her many spiritual influences as a kid that held her together when her family broke apart and her dad jumped ship to live a homosexual lifestyle. We hear how she was trying so hard to be on God’s good side and how she came to understand grace. Towards the end, Teresa bravely shares about sexual abuse she endured and the slow healing process that God has been orchestrating for her.  We cannot work hard enough to earn God’s favor. We cannot win by trying our hardest to be loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, patient, and good enough for Him to love us. He loves us because he made us! And he has made a way for us to have peace with Him – through his Son Jesus. Teresa has learned this and embraced the grace that He offers. I hope you are encouraged to hear how God has redeemed the hard parts of her story and is continuing to redeem.

Gbenga is from Nigeria and currently a grad student at Mizzou. In his early life, Gbenga was taught a lot about the Bible by his family and church. He hoped his mother's faith and prayers would save him. When he came to America and heard arguments against the existence of God, he rejected the idea of God. Fortunately, God did not reject Gbenga. Listen and hear the people and circumstances God used to help Gbenga see that he was real and loved him. Talk about the chills! My arms were covered with goosebumps! Then hear Gbenga share how God is working in his heart now as he looks towards the future. I hope you enjoy Gbenga’s story.

Today, Rachelle shares her story! We've been trying to get together for 4 months to do this interview, but due to sicknesses and incessant mid-west snow days this was postponed until now! To give you a little foretaste, Rachelle grew up non-religious home yet poking her head in all sorts of religious books. She converted to Mormonism in her early adulthood and shares her experience of diving deep into the religion. Someone close to her eventually shared with her the message of the Gospel and after months of wrestling, Rachelle started on her journey following Jesus. As you listen to this part, I want us to remember that the people of the Mormon church are deeply loved by God and this is not an attack on the people but an invitation to look into the way God has revealed himself to the world and invited us into a relationship with Himself.  Our family has several Mormon friends that I care about deeply and would love for this to be an opening to conversation rather than a shutting of doors. Rachelle also shares about what her experience has been mothering a daughter with special needs.  I hope you enjoy this episode!

  Tim learned that money and worldly success wouldn't make him free. Knowledge wouldn't make him free. Working harder wouldn't make him free. Only Jesus  can set him free. As Tim said, there are many twists and turns to his story but the one theme remains – grace. 

There are so many beautiful gems in this interview with Charvel! Sometimes as adults, we can forget how real and active a teen's faith can be. Charvel’s experience as a believing teen and making difficult choices in light of her faith in Jesus is beautiful.  We hear her side of the story with Ethan (episode 21) turning from Atheism to Jesus. Then Charvel takes us on her journey through adulthood – complete with shifting identities, heartaches with being uprooted from places of comfort, disappointment, friendship as an adult, and wrestling with present day doubts in her faith. Again, so many beautiful gems! I hope you enjoy Charvel’s story!