Unashamed Unafraid

Theron’s story is one of deep tragedy and amazing healing. Despite all he experienced, he has gained an intimate relationship with God. Although Theron is still working on this recovery, the way he talks about his marriage and his new relationship with God is truly inspiring. Sharing stories that are unashamed and unafraid is our mission. However, this means they are usually raw, real and authentic. DISCLAIMER: Theron’s story has some traumatic experiences he faced in his childhood, so be forewarned. 

For our 7th Anonymous Questions episode, we brought back a favorite guest Todd Olson, LCSW. Todd is one of the founders of LifeSTAR and practices here in Utah. He will address three questions we received. The first one is about dealing with sexual addiction while having bipolar disorder. The second one is about dailies and what they are. The third one is about shame. Shame is such a big topic that we will be covering that in a future podcast. As always we commend the courage of our anonymous question-askers for being willing to reach out and be vulnerable.  

We have been extremely excited about promoting A Warrior Heart Retreat. What is it? You will have to listen to understand what it is and what it is not. If you want to know more about the accommodations and other questions you might have, please listen to this episode (click here) we did before. But before they get into the podcast, they have announced that an anonymous donor has donated a full free scholarship to the retreat (that’s $445)! To enter the giveaway you must: 1- Follow us on FaceBook and Instagram (@unashamedunafraid) 2-Tag 5 friends on the episode post 3- e-mail James@unashamedunafraid.com a brief e-mail about why you want to be considered. The podcast has four guests who share their experience at the retreat Aaron, Mike “Blake”, Mike, and Sway.

Richard and Becky's story is an amazing story of honesty, creating boundaries, finding God, and ultimately the path of healing and hope. Richard does a great job of talking about how he has found acceptance with God even though he’s not perfect. Becky shares how she has been able to support Richard while creating boundaries and safety for her own healing.

In this episode, we had the privilege of interviewing Sway & Rachel. We discuss how his addiction started, how it eventually spiraled out of control and how it impacted their lives. God brought redemption into their lives through getting caught, an amazing therapist, and their children. Rachel explains how solid boundaries brought safety for her and their marriage. They give us the straight talk on how difficult the path of recovery can be but how it truly is worth it. We know you can find hope in their story of courage, grit, and redemption. We also announce the winner of the Heart of a Woman retreat giveaway!

At Unashamed Unafraid we know the women go through a lot. The Heart of a Woman Retreat can be a powerful tool to help women heal. This year we decided to give back in our small way by sponsoring one woman to go on the retreat this year. Find out how below! Heart of a Woman is a retreat produced by women for women. It is a three-day event starting on a Thursday and ending on a Saturday. It is held in Wanship, Utah (near Park City, Utah). The retreat is unlike anything you have ever experienced.t is the women’s version of the Warrior Heart Retreat for men.

How much courage does it take to send us an open question like this? I want to commend our anonymous question submitter for such great courage! Your question is likely a question many have. We hope this helps and we want you to know that you are also helping others by submitting your question. In this episode, we address a question which is centered around resentment. Resentment is a stumbling block in recovery we all have to face. But it isn’t insurmountable. It can be overcome. Steve, James and his wife Kristy talk about their personal experiences with and opinions about resentment, forgiveness, self-compassion, validation, and more. If you have an anonymous question, please submit it to us at chris@unashamedunafraid.com.

At UnashamedUnafraid we know this is a very sensitive and tough situation to be talking about. You may have a very visceral reaction to listening to this podcast. We hope you walk away considering just how far-reaching Christ’s atonement really is and know that no matter who you are or what you’ve done there is always hope for redemption. Paul's story of addiction includes becoming a registered offender but is an amazing story of the redemption we all are looking for. 

We have had some great questions submitted. I again want to commend those who had the courage to reach out and be vulnerable. Truly a great example of being Unashamed and Unafraid! We had a great group to answer these questions. I was joined by Sherie Christensen, MFT along with James and Kristy who shared their recovery story with us last year. Questions in this episode deal with how to do disclosure, support a struggling spouse, and how to get long distance resources.  

I first heard Dave’s story in 2014 and it was amazing. I apologize that this episode is so long, but his story is amazing. I just couldn’t edit anything out. I hope you take the chance to listen to his whole story—there is so much open and wisdom to gain from Dave’s journey through drug and sexual addiction and his awesome recovery.