Faithful and Flawed

Santo led a gang in East Atlanta at 17, sold drugs, and believed he was beyond repair. At 22, God met him in the back of a police car — and said three words that restored everything the streets had stolen.

In this episode of Faithful and Flawed, Christina sits down with Santo, an evangelist who now preaches in prisons, juvenile facilities and some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. He shares the night terrors that started at age 3, the word curse he spoke over his own life, the arrest where the officer who booked him shared the gospel, and the moment in March 2018 when God said “Son, I love you and I’ve always loved you” three times.

If you’ve been waiting to clean yourself up before you come to God, this one is for you. You don’t go to the hospital healthy.

This episode discusses drug dealing, violence and suicidal thoughts. If you’re struggling, please reach out to someone you trust or a local crisis line.

 If you gave your life to Jesus today, comment “Jesus” or DM us on Instagram — we want to pray with you.

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Why does God keep testing us in the same area, season after season? In this solo episode, Faithful and Flawed host Christina opens up about what her 2026 season of perseverance has taught her about faith, joy, and trusting God before you see the outcome.

Christina unpacks the biblical definition of perseverance — not just endurance, but a transformative spiritual discipline that produces character and a deeper trust in God's promises. She shares what it looks like to be tested in the same area twice, why God sometimes tests joy instead of patience, and five practical habits that have carried her through repeated seasons of testing: prayer, staying in the Word, finding someone to confide in, seeking God's presence, and refusing to isolate.

Along the way, she shares the story of a Boston Marathon runner who couldn't finish alone — a picture of what community does for our faith when we can't stand on our own strength.

Chapters:
0:00  Today: What God's Teaching Me About Perseverance
1:04  The Biblical Definition of Perseverance
3:24  Why God Tests Us In The Same Area Twice
5:51  When God Tests Your Joy, Not Your Patience
7:53  Called To Suffer Well Like Jesus
9:59  Tip 1: Pray For Wisdom & Endurance
11:44 Tip 2: Stay In The Word Daily
12:50 Tip 3: Find Someone To Confide In
14:04 Tip 4: Seek God's Presence
15:06 Tip 5: Don't Isolate — Stay In Community
15:31 The Boston Marathon Story
16:26 Scriptures To Hold Onto This Season
20:16 Closing Prayer

Scriptures referenced: Romans 5:1–5 · James 1:2–4 · James 1:12 · Galatians 6:9 · Hebrews 12:1

Faithful and Flawed is a podcast for the next generation of believers — honest, unfiltered conversations about faith, failure, and everything in between.

#FaithfulAndFlawed #ChristianPodcast #Perseverance #BiblicalEncouragement #DontGiveUp

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What if you looked like a "good kid" on the outside — but were hiding bondage nobody knew about?

That's exactly where Nate was. Born in Cuba, raised in military circles, church kid his whole life. He never partied, never got in trouble. But behind the clean reputation was years of hidden sin — including a pornography addiction he couldn't break no matter how hard he tried.

In this episode, Nate shares how a convicting sermon at a tiny 15-person church in Texas started unraveling everything — how reading Matthew 5-7 for the first time made him realize he was as guilty as anyone. And how after crying out to Jesus, night after night, he was finally set free.

But this isn't just a testimony episode. It's also a conversation about what it looks like to be a Christian creative — to carry gifts God spoke over you at 10 years old, to wrestle between music and visual art, and to eventually trust the lane God clears for you.

Nate is a Christian artist and the founder of Lamb Sessions — a multi-genre worship and community event in South Florida uniting local artists across genres (Latin, acoustic, R&B, hip hop) for the glory of God. His new EP is coming soon.

If you've ever felt like your past disqualifies you, struggled with hidden sin, or wondered how to use your creativity for the Lord — this one is for you.

In this episode:

• Growing up as the "good kid" hiding secret sin
• A pornography addiction — and the night God broke the chain
• Reading the Sermon on the Mount and seeing himself in the Pharisees
• A prophetic word at age 10 about music he ignored for years
• Choosing music over visual art — and how God made the lane clear
• Turning songwriting into prayer and journaling
• Building Lamb Sessions: uniting Christian artists in South Florida
• Why devotion to God AND excellence in craft belong together
• "I'm not more righteous — I just learned to rely on His righteousness"

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What does it actually look like when God restores what the enemy stole?
In this episode of Faithful and Flawed, Christina sits down with her friend Ceci — a mother of two, seven weeks postpartum — to share one of the most raw, specific, and miracle-packed testimonies we've had on this podcast.

In a single year, God restored her marriage after three years of separation, gave her a new home, a new car, and a brand new baby — born at home on Thanksgiving morning with just her husband and five-year-old daughter present, exactly the way God told her it would happen.

But the road to get there? That's what this episode is really about.

Ceci opens up about what it felt like to recommit her life to Jesus and immediately enter the hardest season of her life. The separation. The loneliness. Watching her ex-husband and her own brother drift into a lifestyle that broke her heart. Three years on her knees praying for a family that didn't look like it was coming back. Then God asking her — as a divorced single mother — to quit her job, and to nurse her ex-husband back to health after a near-fatal motorcycle accident where he was the only survivor out of six.

This is not a highlight reel. This is what faith in the waiting actually looks like.

In this episode we talk about:

Why coming to Jesus doesn't mean your life gets easier — it means the warfare gets real
What God means when He strips everything you built outside of Him
Why your single season with God might be the most important season of your life
The question God asked Ceci that made her quit her job as a single mom — and the miracle that followed
What it looks like to love your enemy in a way that costs you something
Why God says marriage is about holiness, not happiness — and what that actually means in the hard moments
How Ceci gave birth at home on Thanksgiving morning after her OB dropped her at 30 weeks and her midwife was in Mexico
The journal entry from February 15, 2023 — and what happened exactly two years later to the date

If you are believing for a marriage to be restored, trusting God through a painful season of obedience, or wondering if He still does miracles today — this episode is for you.
He does. And this is the proof.

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👇 Drop in the comments what part of Ceci's story hit you the most — and tell us what miracle YOU are believing God for so we can come into agreement and pray with you
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Amy was 29, healthy, and a personal trainer at one of South Florida's most well-known gyms. Then one shift, her heart stopped. She woke up in a hospital room with no memory of the ambulance, no memory of the CPR — and a doctor telling her she needed a pacemaker for the rest of her life.
In this episode of Faithful and Flawed, Amy opens up about everything she never saw coming — the fear, the depression she didn't even recognize in herself, and the identity crisis of being a fitness professional who could no longer work out the way she used to. But in the middle of all of it, God showed up.

What came out of her darkest season is something only He could have written — a faith-driven fitness community called Pit & Praise, where people come to work out and leave encountering God.

In this episode we talk about:
- Waking up in the hospital not knowing she'd flatlined
- Signing the surgery consent minutes before going under
- Being told she may never train intensely again — and what that did to her identity
- How God spoke to her in her lowest moment and gave her a new vision
- What it looks like when God strips everything away to rebuild you better

If you're in a season where God feels silent or far away — Amy's story is proof that He's been there the whole time.

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You keep asking God for clarity. He keeps asking for your obedience.

In this episode, Tayhara — pastor, mama of two, and founder of Faith Gal — shares her raw testimony of what happens when you stop waiting for the full plan and just say yes. From moving across the country with no guarantees, to launching a church under a tent in Opa-locka with no budget, to watching $10,000 in supernatural provision show up the moment they stepped in faith — this conversation will shake loose every excuse you've been holding onto. 

Tayhara also gets honest about the dark season of loneliness and depression that birthed Faith Gal, what God is saying to a generation chasing visibility over foundation, and why the secret place will always outlast the spotlight. 

What you'll take from this episode:

 - Why God often won't show you what's next until He has your full yes
 - The tent church story — how provision came miraculously once they moved in obedience
 - What the "balloon" generation gets wrong about influence and roots
 - Why covering, counsel, and real community are non-negotiable when you're building for God
 - The secret place vs. chasing visibility — and which one will actually sustain you
 - Her supernatural postpartum testimony and what God can do for your peace at home

If you've been waiting for the perfect moment, the right resources, or someone to give you permission — this episode is your sign to move.

👀 Watch until the end for Tayhara's powerful prayer over anyone feeling called but stuck.
💬 Comment below: What is God asking you to say yes to in this season? We want to pray with you.
📲 Share this with a friend who's been waiting for clarity before they step out in faith.
🔔 Subscribe to Faithful & Flawed for more honest, Jesus-centered conversations about faith, calling, and the everyday grind of following Him.📲 Follow Tayhara / Faith Gal: https://www.instagram.com/tayharajuliette?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

📲 Shop Faith Gal merch: https://thatfaithgal.com/
📲 Follow Faithful & Flawed: @faithfulandflawed

Keywords: christian podcast, obedience before resources, church planting testimony, faith and calling, saying yes to God, supernatural provision, secret place with God, christian women podcast, faith gal, building in faith, faithful and flawed

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Lifted In Faith: https://www.instagram.com/liftedinfaithmvmt?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Maribel's Page: https://www.instagram.com/maribelinmiami?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

What if your fitness journey wasn’t about “fixing your body” but surrendering your whole life to Jesus?

In this episode, Maribel shares how one night of breaking down before God in her bedroom turned into a faith & fitness movement that’s now gathering people around Jesus, worship, and wellness in Miami.

Before Lifted in Faith, there were clubs, hookups, drinking, and a lifestyle that left her numb and empty. She hit a wall, broke down, and prayed a dangerous prayer: “God, I give You my dreams, my plans, my body—use me as Your vessel.” From that night of surrender, God began to show her a vision: not just random workouts, but a Christian festival where movement, music, prayer, and the Word would all point people back to Him.

As she obeyed, He asked her to lay down old patterns—nightlife, compromising relationships, and content that didn’t honor Him. In the loneliness that followed, He led her into local fitness events… and then asked her to flip the script: turn fitness into worship and evangelism. That’s how Lifted in Faith was born—faith & fitness festivals with group workouts, prayer corners, Bible study, Christian DJs, cold plunges, and a space where people who may never walk into a church can still encounter the presence of God.

Maribel also opens up about how God re-taught her to see her body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, not an idol; how she let go of being “on brand” and chose to be obedient; and how she learned that followers, brand deals, and aesthetic feeds are nothing compared to walking in the calling God designed specifically for her.

What You’ll Take From This Conversation:

How one honest night of surrender can change your lifestyle, your calling, and the way you use your body.

Why obedience to God—even when it costs you comfort, relationships, or clout—opens doors you could never manufacture.

Practical boundaries for leaving behind a party / hookup culture and stepping into a holy, set-apart life.

How to see workouts, wellness routines, and even festivals as acts of worship instead of self-obsession.

Why you shouldn’t copy someone else’s ministry model—but go back to God and ask, “How do You want to use me?”

For anyone torn between “fit” and “faith”:

If you’ve ever thought, “I love fitness and aesthetics, but I don’t want a lukewarm life,” this episode will hit home. We don’t glamorize sin here—but we do show how Jesus takes surrendered lives, bodies, and dreams and turns them into assignments that point people back to Him.

👀 Watch to the end for Maribel’s encouragement and prayer over anyone feeling called but scared to fully give God their “yes.”
💬 Drop a comment: Where is God asking you to surrender in this season—your body, your lifestyle, or your platform?
📲 Share this with a friend who’s in the fitness / wellness world and wrestling with how to honor Jesus in it.
🔔 Subscribe to Faithful & Flawed for more raw, Jesus-centered stories of surrender, calling, and the everyday grind of following Him.

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 Your marriage can look fine on Sundays and still be shattered behind closed doors.
 In this raw conversation, two pastors share how God met them in a house full of broken furniture, betrayal, and anxiety—and turned it into the birthplace of a church and a restored family table. 

What you’ll take from this episode:

• How God can meet you in the exact moment everything feels broken and begin rebuilding what you helped destroy.
• Why unresolved childhood wounds and a fatherless culture quietly sabotage marriages—and how Jesus heals at the root. 
• Practical ways to stop being a “stumbling block” to what God wants to do in your spouse and become their partner in obedience instead.
• The power of simple things like breaking bread at the table, turning off devices, and looking one another in the eye for real conversations and healing. 
• How saying “yes” to God as a couple doesn’t just change your marriage—it impacts your kids, grandkids, church, and community.

If you’ve ever felt like your mistakes disqualified you from ministry, marriage, or being used by God, this story is for you. We don’t glamorize sin here—but we do glorify a God who takes our lowest moments and writes something redemptive through them.

👀 Watch till the end for a powerful prayer over your home, marriage, and family table.
💬 Comment below: What part of their testimony hit closest to home for you?
📲 Share this episode with a spouse, friend, or couple who needs hope for their marriage right now.
🔔 Subscribe to Faithful & Flawed for more honest, Jesus-centered conversations about faith, marriage, family, and identity.

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You tried the crystals, the ceremonies, the “manifesting”… and you’re still not healed.
You love the idea of “light,” but something in you feels more fragmented, not free.
In this episode, Taylor shares how New Age nearly broke her – and how Jesus, the true Light, met her as a Father when everyone else failed her.

Taylor grew up in a deeply dysfunctional home, with an emotionally absent mother and father, and learned to survive by striving and performing for love. That pain and father wound led her into New Age spirituality, astrology, plant medicine, and shamanism, chasing an experience of “light” that ultimately opened doors to real darkness – including demonic encounters attached to spiritual objects in her home. She shares how Jesus called her out of that deception, revealed Himself as both God and Father, and began to heal her identity and trust. Taylor walks through what it looked like to throw out New Age objects, break agreement with counterfeit spirits, and learn to rest in grace instead of striving. She also talks about what humility actually looks like after spiritual pride, and why we must stop trying to be our own “source” and submit to the real Source.

Episode Takeaways:

- How New Age, “light,” and plant medicine left Taylor more broken – and what finally exposed the deception.

- Why father wounds and performance often push us toward New Age and self-worship instead of surrender to God.

- What it means to recognize spiritual objects and agreements that don’t point to Jesus – and let them go.

- How to move from striving and control to humility, dependence, and real faith in God as Father.

- Practical encouragement if you’ve judged Christians or been hurt by religion but still feel Jesus tugging on your heart.


We don’t glamorize New Age, witchcraft, or sin in this conversation. Taylor is honest about what she did, but the focus is on what Jesus did: exposing deception, bringing deliverance, healing deep wounds, and inviting her into obedience and holiness. Everything is anchored in Jesus as God in the flesh, Scripture as truth, and the need for repentance, not vibes.


If you’ve been in New Age, manifesting, or plant medicine spaces and feel God pulling you out, this testimony is for you. Watch to the end for Taylor’s powerful prayer over listeners and a clear invitation to walk with Jesus.

If this episode speaks to you:
Drop a comment with what part of Taylor’s story hit you most
Share this with a friend who’s in New Age or wrestling with deception
Subscribe to Faithful and Flawed Podcast and turn on the bell so you don’t miss the next episode

Keywords: christian podcast, faith podcast, ex new age testimony, new age to Jesus, spiritual warfare, deliverance, identity in Christ, father wounds, christian testimony, purpose and calling.

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He was facing four life sentences at just 18 years old — trapped in gang life, addiction, and depression. But when Luis cried out to God for an escape, everything changed.

In this episode of Faithful & Flawed, Luis shares his powerful redemption story — from being lost in the streets to being transformed by the love of Jesus. This testimony reminds us that no one is too far gone for God to reach.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your past, questioned your faith, or wondered whether God can still use you, this episode will show you what happens when you surrender everything to Him.

💬 Watch until the end — Luis’s story and prayer will move you.

📖 Scriptures Mentioned

Isaiah 33:5–6 – “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times.”
John 6:44 – “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them.”
Romans 8:28 – “All things work together for good for those who love God.”

Tags:
Christian testimony, God saved me, Jesus changed my life, gang member testimony, finding God after prison, Christian transformation story, redemption story, how to stay faithful, Christian motivation, hope after addiction, Jesus delivers, powerful testimony 2025, Faithful and Flawed podcast, Christian encouragement, real faith stories

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