There is born within you an internal conversation with God. This conversation is highly enjoyable, and the most amazing thing about it is that no outward circumstances can interrupt it. – Jeanne Guyon

Is such a thing really possible?

Is joy outside of circumstances a pipe dream or a reality for some believers?

Today’s podcast guest, Amanda Wilson, is a real life friend (and prayer mentor) who shares her faith journey.

Amanda grew up in the church. Her performance was perfect and she believed God was pleased. Then her theology was rocked. She learned personally how bad things could happen to good people.

Doctors diagnosed her beloved father with ALS (degenerative muscular disease) and gave him 2-5 years to live.

Fifteen years later her father is still living, can speak and smile. And most importantly he enjoys intimate conversations with God.

In this episode Amanda shares how God revealed His deep love for her (outside of her performance) and how she is learning to live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Through her dad’s experience we all learn joy outside of circumstances is truly possible.

**If you are a local Dallas listener, come out on October 22nd and watch the documentary about John Paine’s life, “The Luckiest Man”. Hopefully it will be shown in more theaters around the country. Watch the trailer below (or click here if reading via email).

What we chat about:

* When you’ve had a good Christian childhood. . .to make God happy.

* When life doesn’t go perfectly and you assumed it would if you follow the rules.

* When you realize you have a skewed view of who you are in Christ.

* When you choose to work with a community to re-learn your true identity.

* When you can no longer move your body and still know deep joy.

* When you long for visible fruit from the Holy Spirit, outside of your circumstances.

Links Mentioned:

* Captivating Revised and Updated: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul **

* Celebrate Recovery Groups

* Al-Anon –for family of people with addictions

* Steps Into God’s Grace: Spiritual Formation through God’s Word and the 12 Steps of Recovery**

* The Luckiest Man by Fotolanthropy —Tickets to premiere

* Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit**

**Amazon Affiliate Link

How to listen to the podcast:

1.Listen on the blog. Click through to GodCenteredMom.com and click the play button at the beginning of this post.

2. Listen on your smartphone, iPad or iPod Touch – There are a lot of great podcasting apps. Apple has a free one (that I mentioned) in the app store, there is also one called Downcast. It allows you to search for shows, subscribe to them and even speed up the audio. If you don’t have an iDevice, you can listen via Stitcher.

3. Subscribe to the Podcast – access the podcast in iTunes (Click here to access via iTunes).