What do you do when your past keeps showing up in your present? How do you address the pain from childhood as it presents itself in your adult life? For Dr. Mark McNear, a childhood of every kind of abuse and trauma left him completely broken. From sexual abuse as a small boy and the harsh emotional abuse of his father to several traumatic events of violence and being hit by a drunk driver, Mark's entire life was marked by extreme pain. The wounds o f his past begin to manifest in his adult life through addiction, anxiety and depression. As a therapist, Mark had helped walk others through their pain and yet he needed to receive the same care he so often gave away. It was through the gentle compassion of his wife and others and the grace of God that Mark began the difficult journey towards healing. Mark would go on to share his personal journey to help others in theirs in his book, Finding My Words, A Ruthless Commitment To Healing Gently After Trauma. In this vulnerable conversation, Eric and Mark discuss how to love people well in the midst of their addiction, finding hope in the process of healing, and seeing God's grace move when you are struggling with the grips of shame. If healing has been a difficult journey and one that feels incomplete, this episode will show you that while you may not be instantaneously "fixed" this side of heaven, you can experience the richness of God's love and mercy in every new day through His gentle process of tending to your wounds.   Website: www.markmcnear.com Book: Finding My Words, A Ruthless Commitment To Healing Gently After Trauma https://a.co/d/gIERfT2 Join us for the final 5 Steps Zoom Call of 2023 and start your journey towards healing now: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere Do you have a child in your life dealing with some big feelings? Aubrey Sampson's new book, Big Feelings Days, can help kids and their adults process the pain of life. Get it now wherever books are sold: www.aubreysampson.com/big-feelings-days/ It's so hard to watch someone who is hurting after a recent loss or trauma has changed everything for them. The When Everything Changes: Navigating the Early Days of Loss, Trauma, and Tragedy mini-course will help those you love walk through the early days of grief and suffering and find hope on the other side: www.nothingiswasted.com/everythingchanges

How do you find the words to pray when you are in the middle of loss and suffering? How do mark the holy moments, both big and small, in a special way? Author Doug McKelvey and artist Ned Bustard have collaborated on three volumes of Every Moment Holy, books filled with liturgies to help people find the words in the joyful, the mundane and the most difficult moments of life. In their second volume, Every Moment Holy: Death, Grief, and Hope they offer prayers for those who are in the middle of life's most painful seasons. From helping those who are caregivers to offering words for those who are facing their own mortality, their book combines both visual art and words when it is hard to know what to even say. Ned would eventually experience the art he was creating to help others serve as a balm to his own heartache in the loss of his wife. It was through the power of Doug's writing and Ned's creative process that Ned felt the power of this work in his own personal pain. In this episode, guest co-host Eric Schumacher discusses with Doug and Ned how liturgies can help us find the words to pray, the creative process in creating meaningful work, and what happens when what you create for others ends up ministering to you. If you've ever found it hard to pray in either the moments of grief or in the everyday moments, this conversation will teach you the power of liturgy in our journey as believers.   Website: https://www.rabbitroom.com https://www.worldsendimages.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everymomentholy https://www.instagram.com/quothdouglas https://www.instagram.com/nedbustard Book: Every Moment Holy Volume 3: The Work of the People https://store.rabbitroom.com/products/every-moment-holy-vol-3-hardcover Do you have a child in your life dealing with some big feelings? Aubrey Sampson's new book, Big Feelings Days, can help kids and their adults process the pain of life. Get it now wherever books are sold: www.aubreysampson.com/big-feelings-days/ Want to learn more about Pain to Purpose? Learn more: www.course.nothingiswasted.com Has a recent loss, trauma or tragedy upended your world? Let us guide you through those early days: nothingiswasted.com/everythingchanges

Warning: This episode does briefly discuss loss by suicide and may not be suitable for all listeners. How do we care for a loved one with a disease that steals their memories? How do we tend to ourselves when we are helping aging parents? For Guideposts Editor-in-Chief Edward Grinnan, these were the very questions he had to answer after his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Edward had to learn not only how to walk through such a difficult disease, but also how to face the reality that he too might one day suffer from it. Edward went on to chronicle his own journey through his mother's illness in his latest book, A Journey of Faith: A Mother’s Alzheimer’s, A Son’s Love, and His Search for Answers. It was through his journey that he was able to see with clarity God's presence and love. In this episode, Davey talks with Edward about how telling our stories reveals who we are, the impact Alzheimer's Disease has on families and caregivers, and specific ways that caregivers can care for themselves while tending to their loved one with the disease. If you are being impacted by Alzheimer's, caring for aging parents or know someone who is, this conversation will encourage you to see how God can show up in the ways we show up for those we love.   Website: guideposts.org/author/edward Book: A Journey of Faith: A Mother’s Alzheimer’s, A Son’s Love, and His Search for Answers www.shopguideposts.org/a-journey-of-faith.html https://a.co/d/hUcuOek Do you have a child in your life dealing with some big feelings? Aubrey Sampson's new book, Big Feelings Days, can help kids and their adults process the pain of life. Get it now wherever books are sold: www.aubreysampson.com/big-feelings-days/

How do we move towards the cross when our journey is full of detours, distractions and divergence from the abundance and freedom Christ offers us? For author, musician and pastor Josh White, learning to navigate the terrain of his past wounds while pastoring wasn't a linear course. When the hurt from growing up with an alcoholic father began to bleed into his life and ultimately his ministry, Josh went down the difficult road of examining himself and his story. Through his own personal reflection upon his life and upon the crucifixion of Christ, Josh wrote Stumbling Toward Eternity: Losing & Finding Ourselves in the Cross of Jesus, as a way to better understand the freedom that the cross offers to each of us. In this episode, Davey talks to Josh about why we are seeing leaders fall to scandal, how to notice pinpoints of God's grace, and where to even begin in the mess of learning to forgive those who have deeply wounded us. This conversation is an encouragement to anyone who has ever felt like their spiritual walk was more of a stumble than a climb upward as they heal and grow in greater understanding of the work Jesus did upon the cross for each of us.   Website: www.joshawhite.com Instagram: instagram.com/josh.alexander.white Book: Stumbling Toward Eternity: Losing and Finding Ourselves in the Cross of Jesus https://a.co/d/2HledTF Do you have a child in your life dealing with some big feelings? Aubrey Sampson's new book, Big Feelings Days, can help kids and their adults process the pain of life. Get it now wherever books are sold: www.aubreysampson.com/big-feelings-days/ Want to see healing and life transformation after the pain you've encountered? Check out the Pain to Purpose course and start the path towards healing today: www.course.nothingiswasted.com Have a friend who is walking through something difficult? Invite them to our next 5 Steps to Taking Back Your Story zoom call with Davey Blackburn. Send them this link to sign up: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere

What can we learn from those who have walked the road of suffering before us? How do we take the stories of Christians whom we admire and glean the hard-won wisdom from what they've endured? Many know the story of Elisabeth Elliot, who lost her first husband Jim after he was killed when on a missionary trip in a remote part of Ecuador. She would later lose her second husband, Addison Leitch, to cancer. Yet in all of her pain and loss, Elisabeth was a prolific teacher, speaker and author, pointing others to her only source of comfort in her suffering, Jesus. Elisabeth's legacy has touched countless number of lives and has impacted how others have viewed their pain including Davey and Kathy Reeg. Kathy was drawn to Elisabeth's teaching at an early age and through what she can only explain as several God moments, would become the head of the Elisabeth Elliot foundation, which has worked tirelessly to preserve Elisabeth's legacy and artifacts from her life. In this unique episode, Davey sits down to talk with Kathy about the importance of understanding God's sovereignty in our suffering, Elisabeth's willingness to do what God asked of her, and how each of us have the same power of the Holy Spirit that worked in Elisabeth in our own lives as we face trials and difficulties. The legacy of Elisabeth Elliot is a reminder that God is faithful when our lives are full of suffering and that even when our stories are not the ones we want, He is working for good in whatever heartache we are experiencing.   Website: https://elisabethelliot.org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisabethelliotfoundation/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elisabethelliotfoundation Want to access all that Nothing is Wasted has to offer to help you in your healing journey? Join Community Plus and get resources like our masterclasses, Curated Pathways, and more for just $20/month. www.nothingiswasted.com/communityplus Are you ready to take a step towards healing? Join Davey on our next FREE, live Zoom call and learn 5 Steps to Taking Back your Story. Sign up today at: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere Has a recent loss, trauma or tragedy upended your world? Let us guide you through those early days: nothingiswasted.com/everythingchanges

When it comes to addressing trauma in our stories, it can seem as though cultural expectations and the messages received as young boys can keep men from engaging in their pain and ultimately, experiencing true healing. How can men better address their stories of hurt and heartache in a way that helps them to move forward with both strength and tenderness? Counselor and author Chris Bruno began to see a pattern emerge in his own story and in the countless others of those he counseled. Men who didn't receive a clear path in terms of their journey from boyhood to manhood and who didn't address their wounds, often struggled with maladaptive behavior patterns that hurt themselves and others. When there wasn't intentional attunement to their stories of pain, their lives and the ones around them were deeply impacted. It was through this realization that Chris based the work in his practice and his books in order to help men find a way through the terrain of their own hearts and lives into the healing and redemption that God intended. His latest book, Sage: A Man's Guide into his Second Passage, helps men navigate midlife and beyond. In this deep conversation, Davey sits down with Chris to talk about how there is always a story behind our behaviors, the impact of how boys are raised in their emotional health as men, and the stages of every man's journey. This episode is a reminder that God longs to enter into the painful parts of our story and help us find a way to turn that pain into tender strength for those around us.   Website: https://www.restory.life/ https://www.restorationproject.net/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storyrestored/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReStory.Life/ Book: Sage: A Man's Guide Into His Second Passage https://a.co/d/9ASZBpm Do you need a reminder in your pain that God isn't done with your story? Sign up for our free, 7 day devotional delivered straight to your inbox: www.nothingiswasted.com/7-day-devo Want to be a part of the Nothing is Wasted Prayer team? Sign up today: www.nothingiswasted.com/prayerteam Pastors, looking for a way to establish a path towards healing and redemption within your church? Join Davey Blackburn for a live call on how Nothing is Wasted can help: www.nothingiswasted.com/pastors

How does the gospel apply in the loss of a marriage? Where can everyone involved find hope after the pain of divorce? Having grown up as a pastor's kid of a world renowned theologian, John Piper, Barnabas Piper knew the right theological answers in life. It was through his own personal journey of pain after an unwanted divorce that led him to a newfound understanding of God's grace and mercy in his hurt and ultimately, his life. Since then, as a pastor, Barnabas has been able to help others through their own feelings of shame and heartache and has pointed them to the ways in which the gospel applies to all. In this honest conversation, Nothing is Wasted guest host, Eric Schumacher sits down with Barnabas to talk about the transition between theological knowledge into a true understanding, what the gospel says to everyone who is affected by a divorce, and how the Church can love people well through the pain of a broken marriage. This episode is for anyone who has walked through or has loved someone who has walked through a divorce as it reminds us all that God's redemptive love and the hope of the gospel applies to every pain we will ever endure.   Website: barnabaspiper.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/barnabaswpiper Facebook: www.facebook.com/bpiper Book: Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another https://a.co/d/bV3MTag Would you love to help those in your church partner with God to take back their stories of pain and trauma? Bring the Pain to Purpose course to your church and let the healing begin: www.nothingiswasted.com/churches It's so hard to watch someone who is hurting after a recent loss or trauma has changed everything for them. The When Everything Changes: Navigating the Early Days of Loss, Trauma, and Tragedy mini-course will help those you love walk through the early days of grief and suffering and find hope on the other side: www.nothingiswasted.com/everythingchanges Looking for a way to help your church members find purpose in their pain? Bring the Pain to Purpose course to your church: www.nothingiswasted.com/churches  

How can you turn an ending into a beginning? What do you do when you find yourself wrestling with God over the losses you are experiencing? For pastor and author Tim Timberlake, after losing his father as a young man, who was his hero, he had a lot of questions and anger towards God. He found himself wrestling in ways he never had before. And yet through it, God clearly revealed the purpose He had for Tim's life after such a painful loss. Since then, Tim has answered the call into ministry, following in the footsteps of his father. And Tim has seen God teach him how to overcome when the odds seem stacked against him. It was those lessons of learning to overcome and deal with loss, hurt and challenges that led to his book, The Art of Overcoming: Letting God Turn Your Endings Into Beginnings. In this episode, Davey sits down with Tim to talk about what you can find in your wrestlings, how to step into the calling and assignments God has for you and how to experience true peace in your pain. If you've ever wondered how to begin to overcome in the face of adversity, this conversation will remind you that God offers a fresh perspective when it comes to your pain that can help you see past the hurt and focus on the hope that is on the other side.   Website: www.timtimberlake.tv Instagram: www.instagram.com/ttimberlake/?hl=en Facebook: www.facebook.com/TimTimberlakePage Book: The Art of Overcoming: Letting God Turn Your Endings into Beginnings https://a.co/d/6JUweCq Are you a pastor or church leader who wants to see redemptive healing take place in your church? Find out more about how you can bring Pain to Purpose to your church: www.nothingiswasted.com/churches Has a recent loss, trauma or tragedy upended your world? Let us guide you through those early days: nothingiswasted.com/everythingchanges Do you need a reminder in your pain that God isn't done with your story? Sign up for our free, 7 day devotional delivered straight to your inbox: www.nothingiswasted.com/7-day-devo

WARNING: This episode discusses pornography and may not be suitable for all listeners. What do you do when you struggle with an addiction, but you don't fit the common narrative of those who struggle with that addiction? For author and speaker Jessica Harris, it was often difficult to even talk openly about her addiction to pornography that started as a teen because most people deemed this a male-only problem. But, porn addiction affects women as well as men. In fact, in recent years the amount of women who have consumed and became addicted to porn, has significantly increased. And yet, even in places like the Church, this topic is often taboo or not talked about. And for those who suffer from the effects of this addiction, it can breed shame and isolation, which keeps them from experiencing the healing and hope Jesus Christ offers. It was because of her own journey that Jessica decided to begin sharing her story through her ministry, Beggar's Daughter, and help other women struggling with pornography addiction to know they are not alone. In this important conversation, Aubrey sits down with Jessica to discuss how the narrative in the Church surrounding pornography is often harmful to women who are struggling with this addiction, the freedom that comes from sharing our story, and how healing can come for those who are suffering silently. You don't have to have struggled with a similar issue to see how shame is a powerful weapon of the enemy to keep us from breaking free from the lies and strongholds that stop us from the invitation to healing that Jesus offers.   Website: https://beggarsdaughter.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beggarsdaughter/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beggars.Daughter/ Book: Quenched: Discovering God’s Abundant Grace for Women Struggling with Pornography and Sexual Shame ​​https://a.co/d/9PJ6aqM Are you ready to take a step towards healing? Join Davey on our next FREE, live Zoom call and learn 5 Steps to Taking Back your Story. Sign up today at: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere Want to find out how you too can remove the debris of crisis in your life and move forward with a renewed sense of victory and purpose? Learn more about the Pain to Purpose course at: www.course.nothingiswasted.com It's so hard to watch someone who is hurting after a recent loss or trauma has changed everything for them. The When Everything Changes: Navigating the Early Days of Loss, Trauma, and Tragedy mini-course will help those you love walk through the early days of grief and suffering and find hope on the other side: www.nothingiswasted.com/everythingchanges  

What do we do when our suffering makes us feel angry at God? How do we continue to hold on to our relationship with the Lord when we are struggling with difficulties and trials in our lives? For author, musician and spiritual director, Strahan Coleman, his battle with chronic illness left him depleted physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. And while it felt as though so much was being stripped away in his life, he also began to experience an expansion when it came to his relationship with God. It didn't come easy though, but only through the painstaking honesty and lament in his cries to the Lord for help and healing. Through it, Strahan learned the power of being with God rather than simply working for Him. It was that journey that led him to write, Beholding: Deepening our Experience in God, in which Strahan encourages believers to see prayer as a beautiful invitation of not just seeking, but becoming. In this deep conversation, Eric sits with Strahan to discuss the role of prayer in our suffering as well as our daily lives, what to do with anger towards God, and what it looks like to behold God in our suffering. If suffering has ever left you wondering if God even cares, this episode will remind you that the Lord wants you to come to Him with all of your pain and emotions and to learn to simply behold Him in the process.   Website: www.commonerscommunion.com Instagram: www.instragram.com/commoners_communion Book: Beholding: Deepening Our Experience in God https://a.co/d/59iiNiw Have a friend who is walking through something difficult? Invite them to our next 5 Steps to Taking Back Your Story zoom call with Davey Blackburn. Send them this link to sign up: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere Want to learn more about Pain to Purpose? Learn more: www.course.nothingiswasted.com Has a recent loss, trauma or tragedy upended your world? Let us guide you through those early days: nothingiswasted.com/everythingchanges