LifeAudio

Connect with God — on Abide, a Christian meditation app that provides a biblically grounded place to experience peace and progress in your relationship with Christ. Use this biblical meditation, narrated by Bonnie Curry, to center yourself on the truth in God's word. How well do you know and live God’s Word? Meditate on 1 John 2:5-6. Allow the music & nature sounds, deep breathing, prayer, and scripture help you connect with God in a new way. 

For a 30 day free trial of our premium ad-free content, your trusted friend for meditation is right here: https://abide.com/peace

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Do you ever feel like the pressure of the holidays only makes your heart ache more? Thanksgiving can bring out feelings of stress, grief, and loneliness, especially when life isn’t going the way we expected. But what if you could still feel thankful even in the toughest moments?

In this episode, Bonnie explores how to cultivate gratitude when your heart is hurting and provides 3 powerful mindset shifts to help you find peace amidst life’s hardest moments. Take a moment to breathe in encouraging truth and practice a soul-care tip to help you connect with God’s peace this Thanksgiving. Whether you’re celebrating joy or navigating challenges, Bonnie guides you toward healing through gratitude.

Tune into this episode to learn how to express your emotions honestly, embrace the power of storytelling, and how to use a simple prayer practice on God’s faithfulness to experience true thanksgiving.

Key Takeaways:
- Use 3 mindset shifts to boost your emotional health and spiritual wellness
- Science of Expressing True Emotions: Helps release stress and nurtures gratitude.
- Science of Storytelling: Lifts your spirits and strengthens your emotional bonds.
- Soul Care of Psalm 105: Reflecting on God’s faithfulness through Scripture like Psalm 105 helps you cultivate lasting peace and thanksgiving.

Breath Prayer:  (inhale) The nearness of God is my good (exhale) The Lord is my refuge

Scriptures:  But as for me, the nearness of my God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge. Ps. 32:7
Soul Care Tips: 3 tips to heal your hurting heart during Thanksgiving
LINKS & RESOURCES

-  Register now "Journaling with Jesus" Soul Care Course: https://thebonniegray.com/soulcareschool/
-  Take my FREE Soul Care Quiz at soulcarequiz.com – your wellness assessment!
-  Get Bonnie's Bestselling book "Breathe: 21 Days to Stress Less" https://amzn.to/4azae1K

-  Subscribe to FREE Breathe Newsletter for Fall Quarter Soul Care! https://thebonniegray.com/subscribe/

-  Follow Bonnie at www.instagram.com/thebonniegray & www.facebook.com/thebonniegray

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Sleep better and Stress Less— with Abide, a Christian meditation app that provides a biblically grounded place to experience peace and progress in your relationship with Christ. We hope this biblical sleep meditation, narrated by Bonnie Curry, helps your body relax and your mind rest on the truth found in scripture. Be lulled to sleep with the poetic descriptions and themes of love and hope throughout this biblically inspired tale. May you be encouraged by this story of wisdom, folly, and grace.

For a 30 day free trial of our premium ad-free content, your trusted friend for better sleep is right here: https://abide.com/peace

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us

A Prayer to Get Started

In today’s episode with Nicolet Bell, we explore how praying for our children can sometimes feel like tackling that overstuffed closet under the stairs—full of good intentions but easily abandoned when overwhelm sets in. Just like cleaning out a messy closet, the most important thing in our prayer lives is that we begin. God meets us in the small starts, the imperfections, and the honest moments.

Reference: Psalm 105:4

Prayer: Father, help me to look to you and to seek you always. I ask for you to guard me from being intimidated or overwhelmed and help me to just get started. I desire to make praying for my children a priority in my life, and I need your help in making that happen. 

LINKS:

How to Pray God's Word For Your Children Guide

Follow Everyday Prayers @MillionPrayingMoms

Get today's devotion and prayer in written form to keep for future use! 

Support the ministry with your $5 monthly gift through Patreon.

Discover more Christian podcasts at LifeAudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at LifeAudio.com/contact-us

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Queremos invitarte de todo corazón a nuestro devocional, donde hablaremos de Jesús como el Príncipe de Paz. Él nos ofrece una paz verdadera, distinta a la del mundo, una paz que calma el corazón aun en medio de las tormentas. Ven y acompáñanos para juntos recibir este regalo de Dios y recordar que no estamos solos, porque Su Presencia nos sostiene siempre.

Escrito por Luciano Goicochea

CANAL EN TELEGRAM

GRUPO EN WHATSAPP

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This week’s episode is a little different. We’re pulling back the curtain on one of our BJDW Community Masterclasses, the kind of deep, beautiful, heart-level conversations we host each month with special guests to encourage our community gals on the journey to freedom.

We’re joined by Sharon Hodde Miller, author of Free of Me and Gazing at God, to unpack the root of insecurity, and why we often feel insecure when we’re standing on something shaky.

Sharon shares how our culture has taught us to treat insecurity by focusing more on ourselves… when the real freedom comes from shifting our gaze to God. She talks about why self-focus is exhausting, what true biblical self-denial looks like (hint: it’s not self-rejection), and how to spot when we’ve made something about us that was never meant to be.

If you’ve ever found yourself striving for validation, wrestling with comparison, or feeling “not enough” in your faith, parenting, or purpose, this conversation is going to offer you so much encouragement!.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why you sometimes feel insecure because you’re standing on something insecure
• The two causes of insecurity and why self-focus is often the hidden one
• What the Bible really says when people bring their insecurities to God
• The difference between self-denial and self-rejection (and why it matters)
• How “self-focus” often masks pain or unhealed wounds
• What to do when insecurity or comparison starts spiraling
• How to gently re-center your gaze on God instead of yourself

Links & Resources:

☀️ Join the January 40-Day Alcohol Fast https://butjesusdrankwine.myflodesk.com/januaryfast

Books by Sharon Hodde Miller:

Free of Me: Why Life Is Better When It’s Not About YouGazing at God: Discovering the Freedom of a God-Centered Life

Sharon’s First Podcast With Us: Free of Me: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/but-jesus-drank-wine-other-stories-that-kept-us-stuck/id1661252590?i=1000651035959

Join our community: https://butjesusdrankwine.com/community 

Order your copy of Love Life Sober: A 40 Day Alcohol Fast to Rediscover Your Joy, Improve Your Health, and Renew Your Mind  https://amzn.to/42l7z9C 

Connect on Instagram: @butjesusdrankwine

Watch on YouTube: Come hang out with us HERE !

The creators, hosts, and producers of the But Jesus Drank Wine podcast are not healthcare practitioners and therefore do not give medical, psychological or professional advice nor do they intend for the podcast, any communication on behalf of BJDW or otherwise to be a substitute for such. Additionally, the views and opinions expressed in any mention of and/or linked resources are those of the authors/owners of those resources and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the But Jesus Drank Wine podcast team or guests of the show.

When life feels heavy, it’s easy to wonder if anything good could come from the pain. But 2 Corinthians 1:4 reminds us that God never wastes what we walk through. The comfort He gives us becomes the comfort we offer others. That truth reframes suffering—not as something pointless, but as something God can shape into purpose, compassion, and strength. Our stories, even the hardest chapters, can become lifelines for someone else who needs hope.

Highlights

• God uses our struggles to equip us to comfort others with the same grace we received (2 Corinthians 1:4).

• Wise mentors and spiritual leaders can help us see purpose in seasons that feel confusing or overwhelming.

• Suffering often becomes a refining tool—shaping character, deepening faith, and anchoring us more firmly in Christ.

• Real-life examples remind us that even in pain, God can shine through our attitudes, words, and perseverance.

• Faith is strengthened through community; we grow by learning from those who have battled before us (2 Timothy 1:5; Hebrews 12:1).

• God often heals deep wounds in the midst of present struggles, using past hurt to bring present comfort.

• No season of difficulty is wasted—God works through it, in it, and beyond it.

Gift Inspiration: Crosswalk's Holiday Gift Guide

Looking for a meaningful way to celebrate the season? Check out our Holiday Gift Guide—from beautifully illustrated Bibles and devotionals to novels, greeting cards, and picture books, there’s something for everyone on your list. Wrap up stories for loved ones, tuck a book into your own nightstand, and join us in celebrating the wonder of giving this Christmas!

Full Transcript Below:

Our Suffering Is Not Wasted

By Lauren Fletcher

Bible Reading:

“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” - 2 Corinthians 1:4

Early on in a season of struggles with mental health, I reached out to my uncle, a pastor in California, for guidance—I needed someone to help walk me through this tough time. I vividly recall the anxiety and confusion that were a part of my everyday life. I remember both my uncle and I asking the question of why I was going through this situation.

In one of our video calls, he compassionately shared that as Christians, our suffering is not wasted. This was a game-changer. In 2 Corinthians 1:4, Paul says that when we suffer, our suffering can be used to help someone else in a future challenge. This verse gave purpose to my suffering. It changed my attitude and made my situation bearable. If God could use this, it was worth it.

One of my favorite conversations I’ve had with my uncle is when he shared about his own health issues. He recalled a time when a friend offered to pray for him for healing. He shared how he didn’t necessarily want the h

This Scripture meditation on Matthew 5:14–16 uses the lectio divina model to help you pause, breathe, and listen for God’s voice.

Step 12 of the 12 Steps invites us to live out the hope and healing we’ve received and to share it with others. It says, Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

When we experience the transforming grace of Jesus, the natural response is to let it overflow and share it with others. Or as Jesus said, “Freely you received, freely give.”

In this meditation, we’ll reflect on Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount, where He calls His followers the light of the world. Even the smallest light can break through darkness, and God’s invitation is simply to shine the light He has already placed within you.

As you listen, you’ll be invited to:

• Reflect on what it means to be a light in the world.
• Notice how God may be calling you to share His hope and love.
• Rest in the truth that your light is enough, because it comes from Him.

Take a deep breath, quiet your heart, and let Matthew 5 guide you into God’s presence.

Helpful Links:
Download your FREE companion journal for Rooted and Grounded: Scripture Meditations for Every Step of the Journey here.
This journal includes:
• All the Scriptures for this series
• Weekly reflection prompts
• Space to record what God is revealing to you

Additional links:

You can find out more about me, Jodie, at http://www.jodieniznik.com/

Follow me on Instagram @jodieniznik

Follow me on Facebook @JodieGNiznik

Learn more about Scripture meditation and download a FREE Guided Scripture Meditation Journal here.

Join my Monday email newsletter here, where I send links to the newest meditation every Monday morning.

Find out more about my partner, Life Audio, at lifeaudio.com.

Download FREE sample chapters from my Bible studies here.

Meditation Passage: 

Matthew 5:14–16, NLTYou are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

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What if your morning didn’t begin with hurry, but with holy attention? In this episode, Alan Fadling shares how simple, grounded practices help him begin each day in God’s presence.

Over the years, Alan’s early “quiet time” has matured into a rhythm of relationship—an unhurried meeting with the Living God. He describes his morning flow of silence, Scripture reading, singing the psalms, praying for others, and reading spiritual classics like The Philokalia.

You’ll hear how these rhythms have become daily invitations rather than obligations—ways of remembering God, listening for his voice, and resting in love before the day begins.

Resources mentioned:

• The New Coverdale Psalter(Anglican House Publishers)
• YouTube video about The New Coverdale Psalter
• An Unhurried Life
• An Unhurried Leader

Whether you’re exploring new spiritual rhythms or returning to familiar ones, this episode offers encouragement to meet with God as a friend. Learn how simple practices—quiet, prayer, and Scripture—can nourish your soul and prepare you for the day’s work in a deeply unhurried way.

Connect with Alan on LinkedIn or learn more about Unhurried Living programs on their website. 

Learn about PACE: Certificate in Leadership and Soul Care

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Please visit https://www.biblestudyheadquarters.com/ for more tools and resources to help you grow in faith.  You can also become a regular supporter of this podcast at the website.

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If you enjoy the show and want to buy John a coffee, please click here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/johnstange

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The "Desire Jesus One Year Devotional" can be found here:  https://amzn.to/41v1DKh

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To email John Stange directly, please send your message to [email protected].

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