The Nothing Is Wasted Podcast

If you've ever served others in ministry, you know how quickly you can go from a thriving, joy-filled season to one in which you become a target for criticism and betrayal. How do you protect your heart when the very people you are serving hurt it? How do you navigate the wounds inflicted upon you by the people of God? As a pastor's wife, author Joanna Weaver knows all too well how deep the pain can cut from those she has served. Throughout her life-long service in women's ministry and alongside her husband in churches, she has experienced her fair share of hurt that came from people. It can be easy to wall off your heart, move away from relationship and choose to isolate. But, Joanna has found that even in those moments of relational wounding, God has important lessons to teach us in order to shape us more in the image of Christ. As we allow God to reveal parts of ourselves He longs to heal, we can grow in character and strengthen our faith to trust Him in all circumstances. In this conversation, Davey and Joanna talk about how to handle the relational wounds and betrayals of ministry, how to not waste the pain from it, and why it is so important for leaders to seek healing for their hurt. You don't have to be a leader in ministry to glean from Joanna's wise words. The truths she shares are universal for us all as we live in community and face offense of every kind. Website: https://www.joannaweaverbooks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannaweaverbooks/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoannaWeaverBooks/ Book: Embracing Trust: The Art of Letting Go and Holding On to a Forever-Faithful God Want to get started in your pain to purpose journey? Check out our free 5 Steps to Taking Back Your Story Webinar that can help you no matter what you have been through: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere Looking for resources form Nothing is Wasted for your specific pain point? Check out our NIW Curated Pathways: www.nothingiswasted.com/pathways Have questions in your pain to purpose journey? Join us once a month for a FREE Live Coaching session with Davey and our certified coaches. Sign up at: www.nothingiswasted.com/livecoaching Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WARNING: This episode contains conversations about suicide ideation and may not be suitable for all listeners/viewers. The statistics are staggering: twenty-two veterans die by suicide a day. After years of serving in the Army, Fernando Arroyo almost became one of those twenty-two when the pain of his experience in the military made him want to end his life. Finding hope and healing in the aftermath of war and post-traumatic stress was no easy task. The transition from a life full of meaning and purpose as a Paratrooper in the Army into the civilian sector was difficult for Fernando. He went from having a tight knit community, a brotherhood, with a common mission into a life where he felt alone and without purpose. That pain began to build as he was reminded of his past and eventually, he found himself on his couch with a gun, ready to end his life when the Lord miraculously intervened. From there, he found restored hope once he began to be open and honest about his struggles. Through sharing his story and what he was walking through, a newfound purpose emerged as he found other veterans who needed understanding and help in their own journey. Now, Fernando serves veterans at Step Forward Academy, helping them through the transition from military to civilian life and has recently written a book chronicling his journey called, The Shadow of Death: From My Battles in Fallujah to the Battle for My Soul. In this special Veteran's Day episode, Davey and Fernando talk about the difficulty for veterans to transition out of the military into the civilian world, the powerful impact that can come when we share our story, and the importance of community in our lives and our healing. Whether you are a veteran or not, this conversation will help you walk with others through the most painful parts of their stories and encourage you in sharing your own. Website: https://www.paratrooperarroyo.com/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/paratrooper_arroyo FB: Fernando Arroyo- https://www.facebook.com/fernando.arroyo.37266 Twitter: www.twitter.com/airbornenando Book: The Shadow of Death: From My Battles in Fallujah to the Battle for My Soul Register now for our next masterclass Hope for the Holidays: Navigating the Season When It Hurts with NIW certified coach Amy Sylvestre on Thursday, November, 10th at 8pm EST: www.nothingiswasted.com/masterclass Are you ready to take back your health and learn about holistic living the way God intended? Join Kristi Blackburn as she takes you Back to the Garden in her live, 8 week online wellness course where you'll gain practical tools to help you on your journey towards wholeness and health. Learn more at: www.linenandroots.com/course Want to get started in your pain to purpose journey? Check out our free 5 Steps to Taking Back Your Story Webinar that can help you no matter what you have been through: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've been around here at Nothing is Wasted, you probably know the story of how we came to be as a ministry. It was after his own pain to purpose journey in which Davey Blackburn lost his wife, Amanda, and their unborn child in a tragic home invasion that God birthed this idea of a ministry that walked others through whatever pain they faced. In this special two-part conversation, Davey sits down with Aubrey to discuss what the past few months have been like as the legal side of their journey came to a close with the trial and sentencing of the perpetrator of Amanda's murder.   For many, it may come as a surprise that this part of their story is just now happening, seven years after that fateful day that forever changed Davey's life. And yet, for the Blackburn's and Amanda's family, the significance of the number seven, a number that means completion in Scripture, is more than a mere coincidence. In spite of all the suffering they've endured, the timing is just another reminder that God has been with them every step of the way. And as this chapter in their journey comes to a close, a new one is beginning. In Part 2 of this two-part episode, Davey shares walking through the sentencing of one of the accomplices in Amanda's case, how you never know the impact your response to your story may have on others, and the wrestlings that can come as we struggle to understand God's justice in our hurt. Whether you've been following Davey's journey since the beginning or if you are new to the Nothing is Wasted family, this conversation will encourage you to press into the hard parts of your journey with God because His faithfulness will be revealed and redemption will come in the most unexpected of ways. The God-Shaped Brain: How Changing Your View of God Transforms Your Life by Timothy Jennings Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've been around here at Nothing is Wasted, you probably know the story of how we came to be as a ministry. It was after his own pain to purpose journey in which Davey Blackburn lost his wife, Amanda, and their unborn child in a tragic home invasion that God birthed this idea of a ministry that walked others through whatever pain they faced. In this special two-part conversation, Davey sits down with Aubrey to discuss what the past few months have been like as the legal side of their journey came to a close with the trial and sentencing of the perpetrator of Amanda's murder. For many, it may come as a surprise that this part of their story is just now happening, seven years after that fateful day that forever changed Davey's life. And yet, for the Blackburn's and Amanda's family, the significance of the number seven, a number that means completion in Scripture, is more than a mere coincidence. In spite of all the suffering they've endured, the timing is just another reminder that God has been with them every step of the way. And as this chapter in their journey comes to a close, a new one is beginning. In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Davey recounts what he encountered during the trial, how he learned to find closure outside of the courtroom, and the way the picture of his earthly father helped him deeply understand the posture of His heavenly one in the depths of his pain. Whether you've been following Davey's journey since the beginning or if you are new to the Nothing is Wasted family, this episode will remind you that even in the complicated parts of our story, God is ever so near. How do you deal with the way Amanda died? Blog Series: Are you ready to take back your health and learn about holistic living the way God intended? Join Kristi Blackburn as she takes you Back to the Garden in her live, 8 week online wellness course where you'll gain practical tools to help you on your journey towards wholeness and health. Learn more at: www.linenandroots.com/course Want to find everything Nothing is Wasted offers for your specific pain point? Check out our Curated Pathways: www.nothingiswasted.com/pathways Register now for our next masterclass Hope for the Holidays: Navigating the Season When It Hurts with NIW certified coach Amy Sylvestre on Thursday, November, 10th at 8pm EST: www.nothingiswasted.com/masterclass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are moments in life where in an instant, everything changes. How do you choose joy when your whole life is blindsided by pain? How do you find hope when you don't even know what the next hour may bring? For Kelli Campbell-Goodnow, she never imagined the turn her life would take one night in January 2016. As she went to sleep, her life was good with her loving husband, United States Marine CH-53 pilot Major Shawn Campbell and her four children that she homeschooled at their dream duty station in Hawaii. But when she awoke, she got the call that every military wife fears, there had been an accident. For five days, rescue workers searched for the wreckage of a two helicopter collision off the coast. Soon thereafter, the search ended and Shawn was among the twelve Marine lives lost. Kelli would have to immediately step into a completely unknown life. She would pack up her home and move across the country to be with family. She would decide to put her kids in school instead of homeschooling. And she would remind herself that while everything around her was changing, God did not. Davey and Kelli discuss why it is important to pay attention to the small details of our stories as they unfold, the daily act of surrender that grief requires of us, and the ways we can trust God even when our lives change completely. Kelli's story will help you face whatever circumstances you are in with a determined perspective to see God in the midst of it. Instagram: www.instagram.com/kellimcampbell Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelli.d.campbell Website: https://www.neveralonewidows.com https://foldsofhonor.org Other Widow/Widower Resources: Refuge Widowers: https://www.danielobrooker.com/retreat Songs in the Night: https://www.widowsong.org Are you ready to take back your health and learn about holistic living the way God intended? Join Kristi Blackburn as she takes you Back to the Garden in her live, 8 week online wellness course where you'll gain practical tools to help you on your journey towards wholeness and health. Learn more at: www.linenandroots.com/course Have questions in your pain to purpose journey? Join us once a month for a FREE Live Coaching session with Davey and our certified coaches. Sign up at: www.nothingiswasted.com/livecoaching Register now for our next masterclass Hope for the Holidays: Navigating the Season When It Hurts with NIW certified coach Amy Sylvestre on Thursday, November, 10th at 8pm EST:www.nothingiswasted.com/masterclass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Losing a spouse is devastating. Losing a spouse to suicide is full of layers of pain and questions. How do you even begin to wrap your mind around such a traumatic event and how do you walk your children through their pain? What do you do when a new tragedy stirs up your past wounds and hurts from your childhood? Blake Williams has spent the last year navigating those questions and so many more after losing his wife, Hope, to suicide. Having wrestled with mental health issues and chronic pain, Hope took her life in the couple's home and Blake found himself in the middle of a story he had never imagined for himself or his five children. As he has started to heal and move forward, the pain was a reminder of some of the past lies that haunted him his whole life after being abandoned and rejected by his parents. Blake could have easily allowed the old scripts he so often felt in his life to become his reality, but instead, he decided to shift his perspective from that of a victim into a victor. In this transparent conversation, Davey and Blake talk about the importance of not allowing our past to dictate our future, the paradigm shift that is necessary to keep us from going under from our hurt, and the value in learning to speak truth to the lies we are believing. You'll be encouraged to look through a different lens when it comes to your history, no matter what you have experienced. Website: https://rblakewilliams.com Book: Giant Killers: Winning the Battles that Matter Most ​​ Register now for our next masterclass Broken Vows: Experiencing Wholeness and Healing after Sexual Betrayal with NIW certified coach Karissa Sprinkle on Thursday, October 20th at 8pm EST: www.nothingiswasted.com/masterclass Are you ready to take back your health and learn about holistic living the way God intended? Join Kristi Blackburn as she takes you Back to the Garden in her live, 8 week online wellness course where you'll gain practical tools to help you on your journey towards wholeness and health. Learn more at: www.linenandroots.com/course Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are some stories with such unfathomable pain that it can seem impossible to ever see a glimpse of redemption throughout them. When the depth of heartbreak is so great, how can you ever see the light of goodness again? Jerry Sittser has walked a road of catastrophic loss that most of us cannot even imagine. In 1991, Jerry, his wife, mother, and children were hit head on by a drunk driver. In an instant, life as Jerry knew it was completely over as the wreck claimed the life of his wife, his young daughter, his mother and the wife and unborn child of the other driver. There in the complete wreckage of his life, Jerry slowly began to learn how the most excruciating of suffering can grow the soul in unimaginable ways. The lessons Jerry learned through his own grief have served as a healing balm to many through his groundbreaking book, A Grace Disguised How the Soul Grows Through Loss. Recently revised for a 25th Anniversary edition, Jerry vulnerably shared how grief has not only changed him, but grown him in ways that only suffering can. Through his story, he recognizes how all griefs, whether comparable or not to his own, invite us to step in to a grace that transforms us. In this episode, Davey talks with Jerry about how experience can and ultimately has to be the catalyst for our growth, the tensions that exist in pain and suffering, and how to step into the questions that inevitably come from our greatest heartbreak. With a hard won wisdom, a theological richness, and a profound outlook, Jerry's insight will help you process any grief you've experienced through a completely new lens. This conversation is one you'll want to listen to more than once as you glean from the deep well of Jerry's experience and wisdom. Website: www.jerrysittser.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/jerrysittser/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/jerrysittser Book: A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss Are you ready to take back your health and learn about holistic living the way God intended? Join Kristi Blackburn as she takes you Back to the Garden in her live, 8 week online wellness course where you'll gain practical tools to help you on your journey towards wholeness and health. Learn more at: www.linenandroots.com/course Join us for our next masterclass Broken Vows: Experiencing Wholeness and Healing after Sexual Betrayal with NIW certified coach Karissa Sprinkle on Thursday, October 20th at 8pm EST:www.nothingiswasted.com/masterclass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With so much going against leaders today, how can one learn to push through the hardships and challenges and stay the course? How do you keep pressing on when discouragement, rejection, or wounds make you want to quit? Glenn Burris has served his entire adult life in ministry. He has led churches and organizations through the ups and downs that inevitably come. He has suffered the wounds that can come from being out front. He knows how often the enemy will attempt to discourage or distract you as you answer the call God has for your life. It was through his lifetime of service that the Lord taught him the value of humility and wholeness as he sought to lead others. With a pastoral heart, Glenn continues to guide and shepherd others with the hard won wisdom he has after seeing so much in ministries, organizations, and in life. Ultimately, Glenn has learned that circumstances can't dictate his outlook, but his trust in the Lord can. In this episode, Davey gleans from the deep well of wisdom that Glenn shares about how to stay in ministry for the long haul, the importance to keep our eyes focused on the eternal, and how pain can be a teacher. We are all leading in some capacity, whether in ministry, in the workplace or in our home. This conversation will equip you to keep going when life makes leading hard. Twitter: www.twitter.com/glennburrisjr Instagram: www.instagram.com/riverrun3 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glenncburrisjr/ Join us for our next masterclass Broken Vows: Experiencing Wholeness and Healing after Sexual Betrayal with NIW certified coach Karissa Sprinkle on Thursday, October 20th at 8pm EST:www.nothingiswasted.com/masterclass Looking for resources for your specific pain point? Check out NIW Curated Pathways: www.nothingiswasted.com/pathways Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you do when you were living the life you always dreamed of and find it taken away in a matter of moments? How do you learn to trust God after a tragic loss? How can you forgive when a grave injustice is done against you and your family? Laura Hao had to answer these questions and so many more when she lost her husband in a senseless murder in 2018. Laura had always dreamed of becoming a missionary since she was a little girl. She realized that dream and moved to Asia as a young woman. There, she met her husband, had her four children and began working as missionaries in the place the Holy Spirit had planted a seed of a dream in her heart so many years ago. Together, they experienced blessing and favor as they served the Lord and sought to build the Church in a closed part of the world. But that all changed just two days after returning to the United States for a time of refreshment and visiting loved ones. While packing her daughter's bag for camp the next day, gun shots echoed just outside the door. She opened it to find a traumatic scene, her husband was lying lifeless on the ground after being shot in a random act of violence. Laura experienced the depths of the darkness that grief can bring. Feeling buried like a seed, she felt as though she was frantically grappling her way out of the dark. But through it, she also experienced the illuminating light of truths that can only be found in the recesses of pain. In this raw conversation, Davey and Laura talk through a shared experience of learning to live in the darkness of a painful loss, how to trust the Lord in the seasons for grief, and how justice, mercy and forgiveness all coexist. The truths Laura and Davey share are ones that will help you as you navigate the most difficult parts of your story with honesty and hope, whatever it may be. Do you have questions in your pain to purpose journey? Join Davey and one of our Certified Coaches as they deep dive into what you want to know in monthly, free Live Coaching. Register at: www.nothingiswasted.com/livecoaching Sign up for the FREE 5 Steps to Taking Back Your Story Webinar: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's every parent's worst fear to lose a child. How do you continue to trust God when you're experiencing unrelenting pain? The journey after such a tragic loss is never linear and it can be full of chaotic feelings and opposing emotions. Yet God offers us an invitation to meet Him in the messiness of grief. For Esther Lee, that invitation was often on the cold, dirty hospital bathroom floor where she cried out to the Lord so many times during her daughter, Ava's, cancer journey. And while her grief began there and continues on well after her devastating loss of sweet Ava, she has learned that the Lord graciously allows for the anger, the questions, the fears and the doubts in the messy middle of our suffering. Esther has walked a long road of first being a parent of a child with life-threatening allergies to later receiving a diagnosis that no parent wants to hear as well as the non-stop rollercoaster of doctors and hospital visits. And while her circumstances have felt impossible and her grief has been messy, God has met her in it all. Her story doesn't tie up in a neat, tidy bow when it comes to her pain, but instead, it is honest and authentic, one that allows for the raw emotions she feels while leaving room for the truth of God's goodness and kindness as she grapples her way through every parent's greatest fear. In this moving conversation, Davey sits down with Esther to talk about how vital community can be after experiencing loss, the true wrestlings that can come in regards to God's goodness in our pain, how purpose shows up in small ways instead of big oftentimes, and learning to worship when it feels hard. No matter your story, you will be able to relate to Esther's wrestlings in the messiness of heartbreak and pain and find comfort in knowing that we serve a God who is not alarmed by it when we do. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teamavabright Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices