Conversations With Cinthia

Our culture tells us we should be so many things we are not, then tells us (without knowing us) that we should accept ourselves and embrace high self-esteem.  God, on the other hand, is completely aware of who we are and how He made us.  The things He has to say about us are not uninformed or generic.  He knows what He made each of us to be, and He knows what we've each done with it so far.  Today Cinthia looks at Psalm 139 where the Psalmist expresses awe at how well God knows him and at the amazingly creative work God did in making him.  So what does this mean for how we handle our lives?  Join Cinthia to look at God's incredibly intimate care for us and what it means to respond to the One Who made our fingerprints.

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Do you ever long wistfully for a time when your life seemed full of potential, when it seemed your life would be filled with meaning and you would truly make a difference?  Just because we start counting ourselves out doesn't mean God does.  Sometimes, when we think a person has passed his prime and is beyond the age when people can make something of themselves, God is just getting started.  Whatever your failures, whatever your age, whatever your circumstances and however life has happened, God is still working, or He wouldn't still have you here.  Join Cinthia to rethink your ideas about what "too late" really means and to reignite your willingness to let God take you places you may not have dared to dream.

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How much hope do you have left?  Is your hope strengthening or waning?  Our culture likes to tell us to reach for the stars and make our dreams come true, but reality often steps in to crush our highest and deepest hopes.  The Bible, however, acknowledges that life is often crushing, and it seems to associate hope with attachment to things bigger than ourselves —God, His law, the Truth as He communicates it to us, etc.  Cinthia explores what it means to place our hope in Jesus rather than in our dreams, systems, or social and political processes.  There is a hope that does not disappoint; join Cinthia to consider how to more fully cling to this hope.

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Is addiction being adequately discussed in church?  Ron Smedley is a pastor, as well as the Executive Director of Mission Recovery, a project of S.A.V.E. (Survivors and Victims Empowered) that seeks to advocate and educate regarding addictions, including opiate addictions.  He has also been a parole officer and a caseworker with Child Protective Services, and is currently a trustee on the local school board as well as serving on several other boards for non-profits.  Today he joins Cinthia to discuss the crisis, as well as the programs he and others have created to help people who are struggling with addictions, whether their own or those of loved ones.  He and Cinthia discuss shame and stigma, barriers to recovery, and ways the church can address addiction inside and outside its walls.

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In a world of soundbytes, really listening to each other can seem a dying art, one that takes more energy and time than we want to allow.  But we have a God Who listens to us, Who truly attends to us.  Following His example requires learning how to listen to Him and to others -- and even to ourselves.  Today's guest is Dr. Leighton Ford, a man who some say has mentored more people (especially Christian leaders) than anyone else alive!  He and his wife Jean began a ministry to Christian leaders after losing their 21-year-old son.  He joins Cinthia today to discuss his books A Life of Listening:  Discerning God's Voice and Discovering Our Own and The Attentive Life:  Discerning God's Presence in All Things.   Whether you listen for a living or have trouble truly hearing and discerning anything these days, join Cinthia to learn from a master of attending to what matters.

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We hold on so tightly to the things we think give us life.  We fear loss and change, and we desperately cling to our own self-definitions.  But so often God knows we are hanging onto the things that kill us, thinking they are our salvation.  He longs to give us life, real life, but to do so He has to kill parts of us that are choking the life out of who we were meant to be.  Today Cinthia revisits an excerpt from her book God Wants You Truly Living, Not Walking Dead.  Are you willing to let God kill what's killing you?  Will you let the One Who made you define your identity?  Whether you're ready to do it or ready to panic at the very thought, join Cinthia to consider what's really at stake, what we really gain, and what we really lose by holding onto what God wants to end.

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Our culture tends to value accomplishment, busyness, and a fast pace.  We may not always get the sleep we need, and describing ourselves as "tired" is common.  Tired, however, is different than weary.  Weary is a deeper problem, and it needs a deeper remedy.  If you feel beaten down, if apathy is creeping into your life, if pain and loss of hope are nipping at your heels, join Cinthia to consider what kind of refreshment your heart, mind, and body need today.

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Have you ever wondered if events in your life were orchestrated by God or happened coincidentally?  Rob Ekno, who once lost a thriving broadcasting career to drugs and alcohol, is celebrating 28 years of sobriety this fall!  Today he joins Cinthia to discuss his book Is It God or Coincidence? Coming to Grips with the Unexpected Wonders in Life.  Sometimes life is confusing, but Rob Ekno encourages us to be open to see God at work in our lives.

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Forgiveness is one of the toughest issues we face in life, whether we are struggling to forgive ourselves, people we love, or people we never want to see again.  Today Cinthia is delighted to welcome Ruth Graham for a discussion of her book Forgiving My Father, Forgiving Myself.   Ruth Graham describes her own realization that she knew nothing about forgiveness after a visit to men on death row at Angola Prison, as well as what she learned about what forgiveness is and is not.  If you have ever struggled to forgive yourself, others, or even God (and we’re not saying God actually does anything wrong here, but we’re using this phrasing because we get angry and disillusioned with Him sometimes), this episode is for you.

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Loneliness is about more than how many people we have around us or what level of contact we keep with others.  The relationships we have with ourselves drastically influence the relationships we have with each other, which means that the work of reducing loneliness may need to begin inside us.  Today, Cinthia encourages us to look at what’s really going on inside us.  Are we judgmental of ourselves and others?  Do we get angry about the things that disturb God, or are we fighting and ranting about lesser issues?  Sometimes we are our own worst enemies, and we need the love of God for ourselves to rescue us from our sense of isolation.

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