CrossCurrent Podcasts

We were made for connection, but relationships don’t always come easy. In today’s conversation, Debra Fileta breaks down the “seasons” (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) that relationships naturally go through. She provides practical tools and encouragement to help us tend to our relationships well, ultimately guiding us to follow Christ’s example of love first.

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Improve Your Sex Life to Improve Your Marriage -- A great sex life is something you make, not something you find.This exclusive free video series contains research-backed strategies for improving sexual satisfaction and communication that have already helped thousands of couples experience greater mutual pleasure and closeness than ever before.

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Do you have a story or comment on how Focus on the Family impacted you or your family? Leave a message for Jim Daly!

If you enjoyed listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, please give us your feedback.

Arguments long used to explain the choice for an abortion have now been used to explain the horrible choice to kill a child outside of the womb.

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For more resources visit breakpoint.org.  

When five-year-old Gabby Walker walked into a church in Honduras, she was living in extreme poverty. Her mother worked multiple jobs, there were days without enough food, and Gabby often felt alone.

That Sunday, she heard clearly about Jesus’ love for her—and wondered, “Does Jesus know who I am?”

Then someone handed her an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.

Before she opened it, Gabby whispered one of her first prayers: “God, please let there be a Barbie doll in here.”

What happened next planted a seed that would affect not only Gabby’s life, but her mother’s as well.

Today, Gabby is married, homeschooling three children in Mississippi—and now she packs Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes with her own kids.

In this episode, Leslie Nunnery and Gabby talk about the extraordinary impact of ordinary faithfulness: a kindergarten teacher who faithfully shared God’s Word, friends who invited Gabby to church, an unknown family who packed a shoebox, and a God working through it all.

You’ll also discover why packing a shoebox can be such a meaningful family discipleship opportunity—helping our children look beyond themselves, practice generosity, pray for children around the world, and participate personally in sharing the gospel.

How to Pack • Find a Drop-Off Location • Build a Shoebox Online

Samaritan’s Purse also allows families to track where a box goes when they make the suggested shipping/ministry donation online, which could be especially fun for homeschool families.

Want to write with me? I'm writing alongside you three days a week on the Kingdom Writers YouTube channel: Map It Monday, Write Again Wednesday and Finish Line Friday, 15 minutes each. Find the Write With Me playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTMzBhneZCBY

Distraction is not a character flaw. It is the water all of us are swimming in now, and working against it takes an actual plan.

Shelley gives you three. Name the one thing that distracts you most and set a single boundary around it. Ask God each morning which of your big rocks goes into the jar first. Then protect one block of focused work with everything else turned off.

She also talks openly about the burnout she hit in 2017 and the years she spent retraining her brain afterward. If 15 minutes is all you have, that counts. The point was never the length of the block. It is that nothing else gets in.

We were made for connection, but relationships don’t always come easy. In today’s conversation, Debra Fileta breaks down the “seasons” (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter) that relationships naturally go through. She provides practical tools and encouragement to help us tend to our relationships well, ultimately guiding us to follow Christ’s example of love first.

Get "Relationship Skills" free with your gift.

Improve Your Sex Life to Improve Your Marriage -- A great sex life is something you make, not something you find.This exclusive free video series contains research-backed strategies for improving sexual satisfaction and communication that have already helped thousands of couples experience greater mutual pleasure and closeness than ever before.

Get More Episode Resources 

Do you have a story or comment on how Focus on the Family impacted you or your family? Leave a message for Jim Daly!

If you enjoyed listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, please give us your feedback.

Downplaying religious zealously is not only to misunderstand what motivates Islamic terror, it has led us to foolish responses.  

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Join us at the 2027 Colson Center National Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. Register at colsonconference.org.

Teen suicide is a subject no parent ever wants to face—but in today’s world, it’s a crisis that cannot be ignored. In this heartrending and hope-filled "Best Of" episode, Catherine sits down with featured guest Emma Benoit, a vibrant young woman whose hidden battle with anxiety led to a suicide attempt that changed her life forever, and with expert guest Jennifer Ellers, a Christian counselor and crisis responder specializing in youth suicide prevention.

Host Catherine brings listeners a gripping and candid conversation about the epidemic of teen suicide—a tragedy impacting families in every community. With staggering statistics showing suicide as the second leading cause of death among young people, the need for awareness and action has never been greater.

Special Guests:

• Emma Benoit: Once a vibrant, high-achieving varsity cheerleader, Emma survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 16. Paralyzed from the waist down, Emma has transformed her pain into purpose, becoming a passionate advocate for mental health and suicide prevention.

• Jennifer Ellers: Christian counselor, crisis responder, trainer, and author specializing in youth suicide prevention. Jennifer’s insights bridge clinical expertise with faith-based hope.

What You’ll Discover in This Episode:

Emma’s Hidden Battle
Hear Emma Benoit candidly recount how crippling anxiety and private pain led her to the brink—while outwardly, no one suspected she was suffering. “No one knew...because I was ashamed of it,” she shares, highlighting the dangerous power of stigma and secrecy (08:17).

Warning Signs & Early Intervention
Jennifer Ellers unpacks what every parent needs to know: the evolving age of onset (with cases now seen as young as six years old!), the often-masked signs of distress, and why honest, nonjudgmental conversations are the most important tool parents possess (10:12).

The Seductive Lie of Suicide
Both Emma Benoit and the experts stress that “no one wants to end their life—they want to end their pain.” The moment after her attempt, Emma was flooded with regret—a pattern echoed by many survivors. Suicide is rarely about death, but the desperate desire for relief (22:31).

The Spiritual Battle Beneath the Surface
Catherine, Emma Benoit, and Jennifer Ellers break the silence on the spiritual warfare at play—how despair is more than physical or emotional, but a real assault on hope itself. “You won’t convince me there’s not a spiritual component… that voice, that seduction, I absolutely believe is Satan,” Jennifer Ellers declares (34:56).

Hope, Healing, and Taking Action
This episode is not just a call to awareness—it’s a message of hope. Emma’s road to recovery, both physically and spiritually, is nothing short of miraculous. She offers a lifeline to every young person listening: “It’s okay to feel that way. Just hang in there. It gets better, and hope is so real” (40:34).

Practical Guidance for Parents:

• Ask the uncomfortable questions, openly and directly.

• Cultivate an environment where feelings are named and normalized.

• Treat mental health as a body, mind, AND spirit issue—seek help, including professional and faith-based support.

• If there is a threat of harm, remove potential means and seek immediate intervention.

Notable Moments:

“Death isn’t what [the suicidal] are after—it’s the escape from the turmoil and pain.” – Emma Benoit
“It’s a mind, body, spirit issue. If you leave out any one aspect, you’re not treating the whole person.” – Jennifer Ellers
“God has a plan to deliver eve