Restoring the Soul with Michael John Cusick

Have you ever struggled with the pain of betrayal, especially in intimate relationships? On today's episode of Restoring the Soul, we hear from Julianne Cusick, a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in helping individuals and couples navigate the difficult journey of forgiveness and reconciliation after intimate partner betrayal. Julianne's powerful story of healing and redemption provides hope and encouragement for those who have experienced sexual betrayal in their relationships.Julianne Cusick, who Bill Arnold recently interviewed on Faith Radio, explored the challenges of navigating betrayal trauma and shame and the importance of finding a confidential support system. Julianne also shared her insights on forgiveness and reconciliation, emphasizing the need for trust, repentance, and commitment to ongoing healing and growth to restore a relationship after an intimate partner betrayal. Her marriage to her husband, Michael Cusick, is a testament to what can happen when two people are willing to forgive and work toward restoration.Julianne and Bill delved into the current landscape of pornography, affairs, and infidelity and its impact on relationships and the church. Julianne shared a word of caution for those whose spouses may not be forthcoming. She invited listeners to learn more about the intensive counseling programs offered through Restoring the Soul. Join us for this inspiring and insightful conversation with Julianne Cusick, a true champion for healing and forgiveness.HELPFUL RESOURCES:Afternoons with Bill ArnoldEpisode 218 - Julianne Cusick, "A Holy & Horrible Journey"Episode 195 - Julianne Cusick, “Devastated But Not Destroyed”Episode 166 - Julianne Cusick, "Treatment Barriers to Healing from Betrayal Trauma"Episode 165 - Julianne Cusick, "Barriers to Overcoming Betrayal Trauma"Episode 115 - Julianne Cusick, "5 Things Husbands Can Do to Support Their Wives After Betrayal"Episode 114 - Julianne Cusick, "5 Facts Wives Need to Know After Betrayal"Support the showENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:- Follow us on YouTube - Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS- Like us on Facebook- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter- Follow Michael on Twitter- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com Thanks for listening!

"I still have friendships, friends that still will not speak to me because what I publicly said about Willow Creek." - Laura BarringerLaura Beringer, co-author of "A Church Called Tove," shares her experience with toxic church culture and explores the patterns and habits of toxicity, including a narcissist culture, fear culture, resistance to justice, celebrity culture, and leadership culture. She emphasizes the need to create a culture of goodness that resists abuses of power and promotes healing.Key Points1. Toxic church cultures prioritize the institution over individuals and often operate from a place of fear and control.2. Individuals may experience a loss of innocence and disillusionment when a trusted leader falls from grace, leading to a crisis of faith and disorientation.3. Healing and restoration are possible through confession, forgiveness, and receiving grace.4. The congregation and the leader must create a culture of goodness.5. Healing from spiritual abuse requires finding a safe counselor and telling your story.6. Safe counseling provides a supportive, non-judgmental space to address trauma.7. Recovery from trauma is a journey and can be aided by professional support. HELPFUL RESOURCES:A Church Called Tov: Forming a Goodness Culture That Resists Abuses of Power and Promotes HealingSupport the showENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:- Follow us on YouTube - Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS- Like us on Facebook- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter- Follow Michael on Twitter- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com Thanks for listening!

“God is using us to testify to His goodness, but that's not why He loves us.” - Alan NobleFor many people, sorrow, anxiety, and mental illness are everyday experiences. We can see this as clear as day in a post-COVID world, and while we have made tremendous advancements in therapy and psychiatry, the burden of living still comes down to mundane choices that we each must make.Alan Noble joins Michael to discuss caring for yourself when you don’t want to. When it’s essential to rise above your circumstances and put one foot in front of another. They’ll discuss Alan’s latest book, which Intervarsity Press published, called "On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living." Alan Noble is an associate professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University. He has written for the Atlantic, Vox, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and First Things. He is also the author of Disruptive Witness, and You Are Not Your Own.This is a deeply personal conversation for both of them, and we invite you to join Michael and Alan as they teach us how to steward our suffering.__________Support the showENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:- Follow us on YouTube - Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS- Like us on Facebook- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter- Follow Michael on Twitter- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com Thanks for listening!

“I’m sober and I love it because I found something better than drinking.” - Jim CusickOn this edition of Restoring the Soul, we are introduced to Michael’s father, James Edward Cusick...otherwise known as "Jim." We are offered the rare privilege of stepping inside an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to hear Jim’s story which was recorded when he was 80 years of age.One of the primary reasons we are making this recording available to you is to emphasize the importance of legacy and the impact one’s story can have on present and future generations. For you see, Jim’s life with its many ups and downs, was very influential on the man his son Michael has become today.We trust you will be impacted by this podcast. Thank you for listening!Support the showENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:- Follow us on YouTube - Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS- Like us on Facebook- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter- Follow Michael on Twitter- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com Thanks for listening!

Michael John Cusick discusses the gap between belief and experience in Christianity. He explores the gospels of performance, experience, activism, and brokenness. Topics include overcoming lust and pornography, living the questions, the importance of brokenness, and experiencing God.

“I don’t work well with people who have it all together.” - Dr. Janelle HallmanOn this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes his colleague and one of Restoring the Soul’s Intensive Clinical Soul Care Specialists, Dr. Janelle Hallman.Janelle is a Licensed Professional Counselor, ordained minister, professor, author, and speaker on issues such as redemption, healing, and wholeness. Her passion is to counsel, facilitate, teach, and share realities about God, life, and the human experience in a way that transforms and touches a person’s heart. She loves working with any individual or couple seeking greater wholeness.Dr. Hallman has served as an adjunct professor at Colorado Christian University. She is an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary and regularly supervises, trains, and consults other therapists, pastors, and lay leaders.Dr. Hallman received her MA in Counseling from Denver Seminary and her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University. She loves beauty, babies (being a grandmother, of course!), nature, reading, and absorbing the spiritual masters.*Today's conversation was initially recorded in July 2021*Support the showENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:- Follow us on YouTube - Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS- Like us on Facebook- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter- Follow Michael on Twitter- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com Thanks for listening!

"Nothing affects the human heart more than our sexuality.” - Dan AllenderHow do we begin the process of healing from past sexual abuse? How do we deal with the pain, the hurt, and the emotional brokenness that has taken hold of our lives? How are we able to move on?Dan Allender says in his book, The Wounded Heart, “The journey involves bringing our wounded heart before God…”We’re pleased to feature Michael's conversation with our good friend, Dr. Dan Allender. Dr. Allender pioneered a unique and innovative approach to trauma and abuse therapy. For over 30 years, the Allender Theory has brought healing and transformation to hundreds of thousands of lives by bridging the story of the gospel and the stories of trauma and abuse that mark so many.On this edition, Michael and Dan Allender talk about topics such as: Why every one of us is sexually broken, whether or not we have experienced sexual abuse or specific sexual harm. The major difference between man and woman, male and female, as we are made in God’s image. The category of lust as “desire gone mad” and why it’s crucial to understand lust in terms of relief and revenge.Dan also co-hosts The Allender Center’s weekly podcast with Rachael Clinton Chen, which has had over 2 million downloads. *Today's conversation was originally recorded in November 2020*Support the showENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:- Follow us on YouTube - Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS- Like us on Facebook- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter- Follow Michael on Twitter- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com Thanks for listening!

“Suffering doesn’t work like a statistical map. It’s up close. It’s personal.” - Philip YanceyIt was 3 years ago today that Michael John Cusick had a conversation with Philip Yancey. Good Friday, 2020…at the beginning of what would later become known as the Covid 19 Pandemic, a global crisis that sent shockwaves throughout communities, causing fear, anxiety, suffering, and death to many. But we as Christians serve a Savior who was well-acquainted with grief and suffering. Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” We still have much to learn and share with the world about the challenges associated with pain, grief, and suffering".On this edition of the podcast, we’re going to take some time to remember. Three years ago could feel like an eternity, but we suspect that while you listen to today’s conversation between Michael John Cusick and Philip Yancey, those three years will melt away, and it will feel like yesterday.Although Philip Yancey needs no introduction, you should know he has spent his entire career as a journalist and writer exploring themes of suffering and pain and asking, “Where is God when it hurts?”As everyone worldwide was somehow affected by COVID-19, we wanted to offer you this look back and hope you will be encouraged as we move into another Easter weekend. Support the showENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:- Follow us on YouTube - Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS- Like us on Facebook- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter- Follow Michael on Twitter- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com Thanks for listening!

“When we see God’s heart, our own heart becomes free.” - Michael John CusickPsalm 46:10  “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!” The Psalms describe a time when the world is falling apart. We’ve all had a time like that, where the foundations of our lives are shaken. Yet despite the calamity, Psalm 46 proclaims that God is a fortress and we need not fear. That was true for the nation of Israel thousands of years ago, and it’s true for us today. On this edition of Restoring the Soul, we’re digging deep into our archives to feature a presentation Michael gave to the students at Denver Seminary titled “Less Is More.” The essence of the message is about our need to be still and rest in what God has done for us in Christ. And that the depth of our relationship with God will be directly related to the depth at which we enter into our own souls.We wanted to share a few reviews we recently received through Apple Podcasts. A listener writes:"Not only do I love the podcast, but so does my Amazon account. 😁 So many great interviews with amazing people. My library of books has grown tremendously since I started listening to the podcast, but more importantly, my walk with Jesus has grown more. Thank you, and keep up the great work."And another said:"I like this podcast, and I do not consider myself Christian… was truly born atheistic but would call myself spiritual at this point and intrigued with much of the wisdom of the bible. This podcast is great for those navigating infidelity and attempting to heal themselves and their marriage."We love hearing from you and encourage you to drop us a quick note through Apple Podcasts or via email at info@restoringthesoul.com.Support the showENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:- Follow us on YouTube - Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS- Like us on Facebook- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter- Follow Michael on Twitter- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com Thanks for listening!

“Healing requires fierceness and tenderness.” - Aundi KolberMany of us don’t realize that just as God is profoundly kind and compassionate to us; we are invited to steward that compassion toward ourselves in the form of self-compassion. How do we do this? We begin to practice gentleness and attentiveness toward our wounds in the same way that God is already kind to us.On this edition, we’re featuring a discussion Michael had with our good friend Aundi Kolber, congratulating her on the recent publishing of Strong Like Water on March 21st. Today, Michael and Aundi will devote their time together discussing what it means to discover self-compassion. If you’re not familiar with Aundi, she is a Licensed Professional Counselor, writer, and speaker from Castle Rock, Colorado, who specializes in trauma- and body-centered therapies. As a trauma survivor, Aundi brings what she has learned about the work of change, the power of redemption, and the beauty of experiencing God in our pain. Connect with Aundi at aundikolber.com, on Facebook, and Instagram.Helpful Resources:Bonus content from AundiPrevious episodes with Aundi:Episode 110 - Aundi Kolber, "Try Softer, Part 1"Episode 111 - Aundi Kolber, "Try Softer, Part 2"Episode 70 - Aundi Kolber Part 1, “Healing Trauma: Getting Unstuck and Becoming Whole”Episode 71 - Aundi Kolber Part 2, “Healing Trauma: Getting Unstuck and Becoming Whole”Episode 199 - Aundi Kolber, "Understanding Attunement"Episode 251 - Aundi Kolber, "Strong Like Water"Support the showENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:- Follow us on YouTube - Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS- Like us on Facebook- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter- Follow Michael on Twitter- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com Thanks for listening!