Let's Unpack That with Alex & Grace | Christian Life Coaching, Faith, Marriage & Parenting

Hey friends, this episode's a bit different!

We wanted to share the real, raw, behind-the-scenes, in-progress testimony (that's STILL unfolding) of a personal life update (and what led up to it), including a few of the lessons God's been teaching us in the process, in hopes that it might encourage you in your own journey, too.

NOTE: We recorded this in December 2023, so when we say "this" year, we mean 2023.

Also, there is a LOT more that we left out since it was already getting long (including how Alex made HIS work decision, a testimony that came out of his announcement, many prophetic words and encounters we had that added confirmation, etc.)...

But one thing we especially wanted to highlight is that a MAJOR part of this decision was based on the long-term vision God has given the both of us for our future family, wanting to be better positioned and equipped to best serve those whom we believe we're called to serve, and overall continuing to follow God's lead in laying the groundwork in faith (let us know if you wanna hear more about that stuff in the future)!

Wherever God may lead each of us in our unique journeys, may we all keep focusing our eyes on Jesus and learning to sense His nearness, see His faithfulness, and earnestly seek His heart and all the beautiful ways He's inviting us to boldly partner with how He's already at work in and around us... with all He's entrusted to us and will continue to provide for us.

We are so grateful for your support and prayers, and excited to share more in the coming weeks and months!!

To be continued...

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• How God completely changed their perspective on money & giving
• God-centered money principles (vs. what we've all been taught)
• POWERFUL miracles they've gotten to experience (and partake in)
• Navigating money conflicts in marriage and relationships
• Practical examples & tips to invite God into your finances
• The secret weapon behind couples with a less than 1% divorce rate
• How Linda overcame shopaholism and being daunted by finances
• Why financial freedom isn't actually about having more money
• How to become financially savvy WHILE staying focused on God

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💬 Get personalized help overcoming your life's challenges & internal barriers through our 1-on-1 Spirit-led & science-based coaching. Book a FREE Discovery Call: https://withthetrans.com/consulting-alex

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What does it look like to honor God in our pursuit of health and fitness? Why is it so much harder to value health and wellness for some versus others? How can we set and stick to our 2024 health goals, without falling into the trap of *unhealthy* obsession?

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🆓🎁 GET YOUR FREE 2024 GOAL-SETTING GUIDE: Start your New Year with clarity, intention, & actionable focus WITH God! Used & loved by many for the past several years, with exciting UPDATES for 2024, this guide is our BEST version yet, to help you make 2024 your BEST year yet! Happy New Year!! → Get it for FREE here: withthetrans.com/goals ✨

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Today, join us for testimonies and lessons guaranteed to inspire you from Matt Huffman, Owner of The Ark Fit and fellow Christian entrepreneur based in Orange County, California.

Matt shares his personal story of being in the plumbing business, to moving his family to California without a plan - and how God led them to launch The Ark Fit.

We delve into:

• What it looks like to cultivate a God-honoring relationship with health and fitness
• How our physical / mental / spiritual health are all connected
• The secrets to finally achieving your health goals
• What God has taught Matt about doing "Kingdom business" with him - and for HIS glory
• and MUCH more...

Tune in for invaluable wisdom, POWERFUL stories, and keys that will help you make 2024 your HEALTHIEST year yet!

ABOUT OUR GUEST
In 2018, Matt Huffman founded The Ark Fit, a top-rated fitness group-class gym based in Orange County, California. He and his wife are dedicated to creating welcoming, fun, and values-driven experiences for their customers, and on a mission to build a wellness center and movement that helps people cultivate holistic health and wellbeing. Find out more at thearkfit.com or @thearkfit on Instagram.

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💬 Get personalized help overcoming your life's challenges & internal barriers through our 1-on-1 Spirit-led & science-based coaching. Book a FREE Discovery Call: https://withthetrans.com/consulting-alex

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📱 Connect with us on social! https://instagram.com/@withthetrans // https://facebook.com/withthetrans

❓ Submit questions & testimonies: https://memo.fm/unpack

🆓🎁 GET YOUR FREE 2024 GOAL-SETTING GUIDE: Start your New Year with clarity, intention, & actionable focus WITH God! Used & loved by many for the past several years, with exciting UPDATES for 2024, this guide is our BEST version yet, to help you make 2024 your BEST year yet! Merry Christmas!! → Get it for FREE here: withthetrans.com/goals ✨

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What does it look like to partner WITH God in our work and lives? How do we set goals aligned with God's desires for our lives?

Today, we dive into all of this (and more) with Shae Bynes, Co-Founder of Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur, who shares POWERFUL testimonies and wisdom guaranteed to fuel your faith!

Join us in unpacking not just working FOR God but WITH him, practical examples of Spirit-led strategies and decisions, why God allows uncertainty, and the key to overcoming fear to truly follow God wholeheartedly.

This is one of our FAVORITE episodes to date - we hope it blesses you!

HIGHLIGHTS

• 1:06 - Get your FREE 2024 Goal-Setting Guide!
• 2:45 - Intro
• 6:08 - Meeting the Holy Spirit
• 8:20 - What led Shae to leave her corporate career in 2009
• 12:00 - What God told Shae that opened her eyes
• 13:14 - What led to Grace Over Grind
• 15:20 - The testimony of how KDE divinely started
• 20:37 - Examples of working WITH God
• 23:55 - God encounter that led to the KEY to stop being a control freak
• 29:37 - Overcoming fear
• 30:51 - Resisting comparison of our processes
• 32:59 - Supernatural productivity
• 35:15 - Matching God's pace
• 36:32 - Discerning faith vs. foolishness
• 38:54 - Thinking of leaving your job?
• 43:25 - Drilling down on your core fear
• 45:16 - Importance of godly community
• 47:16 - Relying TOO much on direction from God?
• 50:25 - Goal-setting WITH God
• 54:30 - Is your goal God-led?
• 56:35 - A prayer for you ❤️

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Shae is a pioneer in the Kingdom entrepreneurship movement who's impacted over a million people through her writing, teaching, and mentoring since 2012. Her most popular book Grace Over Grind is shifting the way people engage the world around them. Shae is Executive Advisor for Kingdom Driven LLC and President and Executive Director of Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur Foundation Inc. Find her at ht

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💌 Get each week's episode & helpful resources sent directly to you for FREE, along with EXCLUSIVE sneak peeks & perks: https://withthetrans.com/email

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💬 Get personalized help overcoming your life's challenges & internal barriers through our 1-on-1 Spirit-led & science-based coaching. Book a FREE Discovery Call: https://withthetrans.com/consulting-alex

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When should we speak up, vs. just "let it go"? How do we love and honor both others AND ourselves well, even in the midst of conflict? How can we equip ourselves to navigate difficult conversations during the holidays?
 
Today, we sit down for a thought-provoking conversation with Kathy Khang, co-author of Loving Disagreement: Fighting for Community through the Fruit of the Spirit with Matt Mikalatos (recently named Book of the Year 2023 by The Englewood Review of Books).

Join Grace & Kathy as they dive into cultural & generational nuances that affect how we approach conflicts and resolution, specifically with their own personal experiences as Asian American Christian women (and why that matters).

We also explore how to live out the fruits of the Spirit amidst conflict, practical wisdom and tips on how to love and honor others amidst disagreement (for those who need a survival guide for challenging family dynamics - especially during the holidays!), and learning to embrace the messy journey along the way.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 1:10 - Intro
• 3:55 - Nuanced experiences as an Asian American Christian woman
• 8:11 - What inspired "Loving Disagreement" and why it almost never happened
• 11:28 - Civility vs. Love
• 12:20 - How Kathy grew up relating to conflict in the Korean American church
• 15:50 - The responsibility of this book
• 17:10 - A powerful story NOT in the book that deeply impacted her
• 19:33 - Does every conflict need to be resolved? (Different approaches towards resolution considering cultural / generational nuances, e.g. "swallowing suffering")
• 24:45 - Peace-making vs. Peace-keeping (according to Jesus)
• 29:22 - The most challenging fruit of the Spirit / exercising self-control in the context of conflict
• 33:46 - Practical tips and important questions for anyone dreading family gatherings during the holidays
• 40:00 - The power of our words & what that means for each of us
• 42:27 - A prayer for you ❤️

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Kathy Khang is the author of Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent & How to Speak Up and Alabaster Guided Meditations, Psalms Vol. 1 and 2, and a contributing author in More Than Serving Tea and Voices of Lament. She recently co-authored Lovin

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💬 Get personalized help overcoming your life's challenges & internal barriers through our 1-on-1 Spirit-led & science-based coaching. Book a FREE Discovery Call: https://withthetrans.com/consulting-alex

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This week, on top of Alex's birthday, we're also celebrating our wedding anniversary!

Marriage has been one of the BEST gifts ever—but it's also not all sunshine and rainbows. In honor of this milestone, we thought we'd share 3 key lessons that have been HUGE for our relationship (but aren't often talked about) that we've learned so far in the past 3 years.

We are FAR from perfect, but we hope these personal examples of real-life challenges and what God's been teaching us through them can speak to you and help you wherever you're at—whether you're married, engaged, dating, or single and wanting to learn more about and prepare for marriage (HIGHLY recommend!).

HIGHLIGHTS:

• 2:43 - Decision-making when you're single vs. married
• 6:26 - The gift of differences
• 9:35 - Dating/marrying a non-believer (if you're a believer)
• 12:33 - How Alex stopped being a Passive Asian Man
• 14:11 - Ways to overcome passivity / baby steps into spiritual leadership
• 15:03 -  Unhealthy feminism
• 16:46 - How women can support men to be leaders
• 19:53 - Signs of being passive
• 21:02 - What women REALLY want from men
• 24:18 - What triggers are a signals of & how to manage them
• 28:14 - Unpacking an example from when we were still dating
• 32:00 - The long-lasting impact of your family of origin & upbringing
• 32:38 - Are triggers signs of a declining relationship?
• 32:59 - More current example of triggers
• 35:33 - Recap

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💬 Get personalized help overcoming your life's challenges & internal barriers through our 1-on-1 Spirit-led & science-based coaching. Book a FREE Discovery Call: https://withthetrans.com/consulting-alex

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❓ Submit questions & testimonies: https://memo.fm/unpack

Next Friday (December 15) is... *drumroll*... Alex's birthday!! 🎉

We did a fun and juicy Q&A for Grace's birthday that many of you enjoyed, so today we're doing Birthday Q&A (Alex's Version)... Grab some tissues 🥹

We dive into what makes Alex tick, light up, and tear up 🥲 We hope that this reflective conversation is both entertaining and inspiring for you in your own life!

P.S. Thank you to those who submitted questions! Interested in more Q&As? Leave your questions in the YouTube comments :)

HIGHLIGHTS:
1:51 - A deep-dive on vegetables
4:13 - Alex's "Spotify Wrapped"
5:42 - Most important friendship traits
7:33 - Alex's "turnoff"
8:42 - Dream job
12:01 - Basketball vs. pickleball
14:53 - Mysterious Australian place
17:04 - Biggest advice to yourself 10 years ago
18:45 - Bucket list
19:41 - Living abroad
20:22 - Biggest misconceptions about you
22:50 - Biggest ways you've changed
26:18 - Purpose vs. FOMO
30:45 - How your relationship with God has changed
32:22 - How you'd spend your last day, his biggest dream
37:26 - What do you want people to remember about you
40:18 - Meeting Jesus face-to-face
43:35 - A little ask :)

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💬 Get personalized help overcoming your life's challenges & internal barriers through our 1-on-1 Spirit-led & science-based coaching. Book a FREE Discovery Call: https://withthetrans.com/consulting-alex

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Steve Kang was a fervent Buddhist trying to reach Nirvana... But at the age of 19, after overdosing and believing he had no choice but to end his own life, he vividly experienced heaven and hell - and heard God's audible voice - which changed everything.

Steve's near-death experience (NDE) was featured in the recent film After Death, whose director Stephen Gray we interviewed just last week. 

This week, join us as we dive deeper into Steve’s story, including:

• What led up to his near-death experience (and second NDE later)
• What exactly hell and heaven looked, felt, even smelled like
• The invaluable insights and lessons that have completely changed not only his whole life - but also his family and countless others in his life.

⚠️ WARNING: This episode includes brief mentions of suicide & graphic descriptions. Listener discretion is advised.

➡️📝 GET THE EPISODE "REFLECT & APPLY" GUIDE: https://withthetrans.com/blog/e34

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⭐  KEY TOPICS:
1:18 - Growing up as a Korean American Buddhist
3:38 - The experience that changed Steve’s life
8:40 - What hell was like
12:06 - Supernatural knowledge
12:40 - How Steve got out
14:45 - Total transformation from persecutor to evangelist
17:35 - Hope for non-believing loved ones
18:11 - God’s ways and truth vs. deception and sin
20:12 - What “taking up your cross” really means
20:22 - Freedom from depression
20:55 - The one thing we can’t be lukewarm about
22:13 - Shining God’s light at work
22:33 - The significance of your conscience
26:02 - How Steve’s family and friends were impacted by his change
27:04 - Does Jesus truly want everyone to be saved?
27:42 - For people feeling discouraged in their faith
28:59 - Steve’s second NDE
29:26 - The truth about sin
30:14 - Steve’s one regret
30:30 - What the failures of biblical heroes teach us
31:44 - How to actually stop striving
32:33 - The biggest advice Steve would give himself 10 years ago
34:13 - What God really wants from you
35:08 - A prayer for you ❤️

Ready to receive the eternal life Jesus is offering you? Visit https://www.gotquestions.org/how-can-I-be-saved.html

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ABOUT OUR GUEST
Steve Kang was a fervent Buddhist and now child of God Most High and servant of Jesus Christ. He has an MDiv from Talbot S

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💬 Get personalized help overcoming your life's challenges & internal barriers through our 1-on-1 Spirit-led & science-based coaching. Book a FREE Discovery Call: https://withthetrans.com/consulting-alex

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💵 Our Top-Recommended Faith-Based Financial Resources: https://withthetrans.com/faith-finances

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We are thrilled today to have Stephen Gray, the director of After Death, with us to unpack one of life's biggest questions (yet one that is far too often ignored): What happens when we die?

From investigating thousands of near-death experiences, After Death is a film from Angel Studios that explores the spiritual and scientific dimensions of mortality with the guidance of New York Times bestselling authors, medical experts, scientists, & survivors & sheds light on what awaits us after death.

Join us as we dive into  key insights from 4,000 recorded NDEs (near-death experiences), his approach to understanding & portraying descriptions of heaven and hell on screen, as well as how to interpret near-death experiences in light of the Bible and life's mysteries.

We hope this conversation encourages you and leaves you with a fresh perspective not only on the implications of death... but also the implications of how we're meant to live.

🎥🎟️ [LIMITED TIME ONLY] Make sure to get tickets to see After Death ASAP while it's still showing in theaters! Can't afford tickets? You can also claim FREE tickets that others have already "paid forward": https://angel.com/lifeafter

➡️📝 GET THE EPISODE "REFLECT & APPLY" GUIDE: https://withthetrans.com/blog/e33

⭐  KEY TOPICS:

• 2:26 - What led Stephen to make this film
• 4:43 - How NDEs brought Stephen back to faith
• 10:20 - Going from shallow faith, to losing faith, to deeper faith
• 16:04 - The lesser-known challenges of making the film & spiritual opposition
• 20:36 - How life after death impacts every person & how we live
• 24:26 - Reconciling NDEs with biblical theology
• 28:45 - Hell vs. Heaven & understanding God as love
• 31:18 - Howard Storm's NDE of experiencing hell
• 33:46 - Unpacking the goal of the film
• 35:02 - The one shared datapoint in thousands of NDEs
• 42:09 - Interesting New Age & occult perspective
• 44:19 - Future meeting with Jesus
• 45:31 - What After Death is about, Steve Kang's testimony of going from Buddhist to Christian minister
• 49:34 - The background & major finding behind John Burke's Imagine Heaven

ABOUT THE GUEST
Stephen Gray is a multidisciplinary filmmaker based out of Winnipeg, Canada & director of the documentary After De

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💌 Get each week's episode & helpful resources sent directly to you for FREE, along with EXCLUSIVE sneak peeks & perks: https://withthetrans.com/email

🆕 JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/overflowcollective

💬 Get personalized help overcoming your life's challenges & internal barriers through our 1-on-1 Spirit-led & science-based coaching. Book a FREE Discovery Call: https://withthetrans.com/consulting-alex

🎥 WATCH & Subscribe to our episodes on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@withthetrans

💵 Our Top-Recommended Faith-Based Financial Resources: https://withthetrans.com/faith-finances

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❓ Submit questions & testimonies: https://memo.fm/unpack

Today, we're diving into Part 2 of a topic that's been close to our hearts and highly requested by our listeners: the intersection of faith and depression.

Depression can often be an overwhelming, paralyzing, and isolating experience. It's easy to feel so stuck in the darkness, tempted to believe that there is "no way out," and that we're powerless to our thoughts and emotions.

Our goal with this episode is not to add more weight to your burden - but simply to be your friends from afar, to come alongside you and encourage you with truth.

The truth that you aren't alone. The truth that there IS hope and light ahead of you. That there is absolutely nothing - not even the depths of depression and despair - that can separate you from God's presence, power, and unimaginable love for you.

Ultimately, we hope these 5 tangible tips equip and EMPOWER you to take a small, courageous, intentional step towards powerfully pursuing the freedom and healing AVAILABLE for you - even in the midst of your struggles.

Because your feelings are valid, but they are not the truth.

We pray that this conversation lovingly reminds you of what's true for you today.

➡️📝 GET THE EPISODE "REFLECT & APPLY" GUIDE (& MORE RELEVANT RESOURCES): https://withthetrans.com/blog/e32

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⭐  KEY TOPICS:

• 3:02 - Addressing medication
• 5:07 - Practical Tip #1
• 5:49 - Rule of Life
• 11:04 - The trap of shame
• 11:34 - Practical Tip #2
• 15:19 - Practical Tip #3
• 17:15 - ROI of inner work/healing
• 21:04 - What Kobe Bryant & Michael Jordan have in common besides basketball
• 22:53 - Practical Tip #4
• 25:13 - Practical Tip #5
• 29:20 - Last encouragements
• 31:17 - How to support someone else struggling with depression
• 34:51 - A prayer for you ❤️

And more...

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*If you're contemplating suicide, call or text the U.S. Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for 24/7, free and confidential distress support and crisis resources for you or your loved ones. For those outside the U.S., please visit https://befrienders.org.

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💌 Get each week's episode & helpful resources sent directly to you for FREE, along with EXCLUSIVE sneak peeks & perks: https://withthetrans.com/email

🆕 JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/overflowcollective

💬 Get personalized help overcoming your life's challenges & internal barriers through our 1-on-1 Spirit-led & science-based coaching. Book a FREE Discovery Call: https://withthetrans.com/consulting-alex

🎥 WATCH & Subscribe to our episodes on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@withthetrans

💵 Our Top-Recommended Faith-Based Financial Resources: https://withthetrans.com/faith-finances

📱 Connect with us on social! https://instagram.com/@withthetrans // https://facebook.com/withthetrans

❓ Submit questions & testimonies: https://memo.fm/unpack