Living Influence with Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd

Have you ever wondered if you can really trust your own heart?

For many of us, we've spent years in church hearing that our "hearts are deceitful." But when we come to Christ, He gives us a new heart. And learning to trust what He's already done can change so much about how we see ourselves and relate to others.

In this episode of Living Influence, Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd have a thoughtful conversation about shame, trust, and the freedom we have in Christ. Bill also shares from his own life as they explore what Scripture teaches about our new identity and the Holy Spirit living within us.

It's a beautiful reminder that we can keep growing in the truth of who God says we are and learning to live with greater freedom, grace, and love.

Join Bill and Scott for this encouraging conversation on Living Influence.

 In this episode:

00:00 Welcome to Living Influence
01:48 Recognizing the Voice of Shame
04:34 How Do We Experience Who God Says We Are?
05:02 Did God Give You a New Heart?
06:32 How Shame Affects Trust and Love
07:47 When Shame Silences the Voice of Truth
09:55 Romans 6: Receiving Truth from the Heart
10:32 Bill's Journey from Shame to Trust
12:12 Will I Love You or Use You?
12:46 Finding Love After Loss
15:41 Galatians 5: The Difference Between Law and Grace
17:34 Is Your Theology Keeping You in Shame?
18:53 The Holy Spirit's Power Over Shame
20:31 Why Grace Changes Everything
21:07 Recognizing the Hidden Voice of Shame

If this conversation encouraged you, consider subscribing and sharing it with someone who needs the reminder that they are not defined by shame 

One of the most important conversations you'll ever have is the one happening inside your own mind.

In this episode, Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd explore the hidden voice of shame—the internal narrative that quietly convinces us we're not enough, causes us to strive for approval, and shapes the way we relate to our spouses, children, coworkers, and friends.

They also discuss the hope found in the gospel: that through Christ, we're invited to live from a different voice—one rooted in truth rather than shame.

When we begin trusting who God says we are instead of the stories we've believed about ourselves, everything changes.

If this conversation encouraged you, consider subscribing and sharing it with someone who needs the reminder that they are not defined by shame.

In this episode:
00:00 Introduction: Why this conversation matters
01:31 The hidden voice that's quietly shaping your life
03:25 How shame convinces us we're never enough
08:05 A childhood story that shaped identity
11:24 The difference between the voice of shame and the voice of grace
14:20 What if the cross freed you from shame—not just sin?
16:34 Can the voice of truth become louder than the voice of shame?

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/

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Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books

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This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team.

What is the fundamental difference between punishing a child's bad behavior, and lovingly disciplining them back into alignment with who they truly are?

In this episode, Bill and Scott explore the difference between punishment and discipline, emphasizing that healthy discipline is intended to bring a child back into alignment with who they are, rather than simply punishing undesirable behavior. They discuss the vital role of truthful affirmation in helping children understand their identity, including how a lack of affirmation can create a hunger for significance and achievement that usually isn’t easily found. Bill and Scott demonstrate how parents can help their children feel deeply known and established in who they are.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(00:15) How discovering grace gives the freedom to accept correction without feeling the need to justify yourself.

(01:59) Connecting discipline and grace to scripture, and understanding what it really means.

(04:38) How rigid rules and structures tend to incite rebellion, rather than guide behavior.

(07:06) Punishment does not correct people.

(10:02) Affirmation is a crucial counterbalance to correction and how children who grow up without affirmation can struggle to understand who they are.

(13:13) Genuine affirmation must be rooted in truth.

(17:02) Affirmation touches the heart, rather than the ego.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

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* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

How can you establish healthy consequences for your kids while maintaining a strong personal connection with them?

In this episode, Bill and Scott explore how grace changes the way parents respond to their children's behavior. They share that grace does not remove consequences, but allows parents to remain connected to their children, without defining them by their behavior. They also talk about how grace is never soft on sin, but rather provides the relational safety necessary to discipline children while honoring their hearts, and protecting them from shame. Bill and Scott encourage parents to trust God with themselves, so their children can learn to trust their parents, their own hearts, and the relationship they share.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(01:10) Grace is never soft on sin, but rather serves as the ultimate answer to sin while maintaining real consequences for behavior.

(05:19) God's grace goes beyond trusting Jesus with sin and includes learning to trust Him with who you are.

(09:04) How experiencing grace allows parents to love their children unconditionally.

(13:20) The importance of creating a safe environment where children are not afraid to be known.

(16:16) Allowing children to see a parent's genuine struggles creates space for them to exercise and trust their own hearts.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

How does viewing yourself as a saint instead of a sinner change how you parent?

In this episode, Bill and Scott discuss how viewing yourself as a sinner, rather than a saint who sins, causes parents to parent out of shame and fear. This can lead parents to focus on compliance and behavioral control. As a result, children tend to respond by losing trust and developing resentment. Scott and Bill share a different, and Biblical, perspective by embracing God's truth of being a saint who is dead to sin. This allows parents to stop managing behavior, build deep trust, and extend genuine love to their children. 

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(00:40) The difference between defining yourself as a sinner versus a saint who sins.

(02:39) Bill describes how a theology based on self-control and willpower can convince parents that they are masters of their own behavior, ultimately allowing shame to define them.

(06:38) Parents who do not trust themselves may parent from authority and raise children toward compliance rather than helping them mature into healthy adults.

(10:22) How shame creates contradictory messages—telling people to try harder while simultaneously convincing them they will never be enough—and how this dynamic can affect parenting.

(13:15) Hiding standardizes distrust, which prevents children from experiencing true parental love.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

Are your rules helping your children mature or keeping them dependent?

In this episode, Bill and Scott talk about the vital distinction between child compliance, enforced by rules, and heart-level obedience rooted in trust. They discuss how parenting can gradually move from protecting children with rules toward giving them guidelines, choices, responsibility, and opportunities to participate in their own development. By fostering authentic trust, and allowing children to participate in choices and consequences, parents can guide their children toward true freedom, maturity, and healthy identity.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(00:04) Whether children should be compliant or obedient.

(02:38) How parenting should gradually move from rules to guidelines.

(05:07) Obedience means acting upon the love, trust, and guidance of someone who is trusted.

(08:33) Develop, rather than squash, children's individual tastes.

(14:49) How guidelines can include consequences while allowing children to participate in determining those consequences, helping them take greater ownership of their choices.

(16:11) Freedom is a byproduct of obedience, and grace is experienced through trust.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

What is defining you right now? Your shame, or what God says about you?

In this episode, Bill and Scott explore how shame can become a defining force in a parent’s life, producing exhaustion, isolation, defensiveness, and a constant need to justify being right. They talk about how parents can move from being defined by shame and condemnation to living in the freedom God provides. They discuss the importance of trusting that believers have died with Christ, received a “new heart” and the Holy Spirit, giving them freedom to be known and loved, rather than remaining hidden and protected. Parents can now live in grace, forgiveness, and who God says they are, so they can love and nurture their children from a place of freedom.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(01:31) The Biblical promise of no condemnation and why many believers still let shame define their daily lives.

(04:45) Shame is an exhausting master that creates a need to be justified, and robs people of joy.

(06:36) Believers must recognize that they died with Christ. Shame and sin then lose their authority when a person embraces that reality.

(10:03) How the Holy Spirit dwelling within believers provides a power over sin that self-effort cannot achieve.

(12:28) How practicing quick forgiveness prevents past hurts from triggering shame and returning to a life of condemnation.

(14:22) Live the Christian life defined not by how little they sin, but by God and for the benefit of others.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/

Are your children's reactions revealing unresolved issues within you?

Children often expose the unresolved issues and shame that parents carry, making parenting an unexpected opportunity for personal maturity and growth. In this episode, Bill and Scott discuss how listening, trusting God, and confronting the roots of shame can transform the way parents respond to their children. Parents can mature, rather than reacting defensively or passing blame onto them. Scott and Bill also share how forgiving yourself and others will break the cycle of shame by trusting God with your own brokenness. This allows parents to relate to their children with freedom, trust, and emotional healing.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(01:40) Scott shares how repeating his son's words back to him helped diffuse arguments and build trust.

(03:00) Children have a unique way of exposing a parent's unresolved shame and internal issues.

(07:41) Parents need to live out who God says they are, rather than allowing past shame to define them.

(12:34) How shame is connected to unresolved pain. Encouragement to forgive those who hurt you, and forgiving yourself for your past actions.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

Do your children see you trusting and living out the truth you teach them?

In this episode, Bill and Scott challenge parents to move beyond behavior modification and focus instead on building trust that opens a child's heart to truth. They discuss how parents must personally experience and act upon the truth they teach so it can be authentically passed down to the next generation. Additionally, parents need to allow God to heal their own wounds and regrets, so they can become vehicles of healing for their children. God's grace can break destructive generational patterns and create a different future for the generations that follow.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(01:28) Why an important part of parenting is maturing a child rather than using behavioral techniques to control behavior.

(04:18) Bill discusses the danger of teaching children biblical knowledge without helping them develop genuine trust in the truth being taught.

(05:51) How trust opens the heart to receiving truth that genuinely transforms a person.

(08:14) Parents help children trust truth by actively modeling that they believe that truth, and have acted upon that truth themselves.

(11:32) How the miracle of forgiveness and repentance breaks generational patterns of dysfunction.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/ 

How do you think your child would respond if you were more honest with them about your own imperfections?

In this episode, Bill and Scott begin a new parenting series by asking a foundational question: Do your children trust you? They explore why trust grows when parents are willing to be known, honest about their imperfections, and intentional about earning relational access, rather than only exercising authority. Scott and Bill challenge parents to prioritize connection, share their stories, ask permission to speak into their children's lives, and become people their children can trust enough to receive love, truth, and guidance.

Topics Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd discuss in this episode: 

(00:22) One of the greatest gifts a parent can give a child is becoming someone they can trust.

(03:57) The common fear parents hold about admitting past mistakes to their children.

(06:28) Children do not need perfect parents, but need to see how their parents deal with imperfection.

(09:09) How Jesus laid aside His authority to be known as a person serves as a model for authentic parenting.

(15:54) This kind of parenting requires time, intentionality, and a willingness to prioritize children within the life a parent is living.

This episode was brought to you by Bill Thrall, Scott Boyd, and the Living Influence team. 

Learn about Living Influence: https://www.livinginfluence.com/ 

Subscribe to the Living Influence podcast: 

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LivingInfluencePodcast 

* Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4kP9Mm2 

* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2F2RSvXKfU08Q5LVTCyIYI 

Learn about Bill Thrall’s books: https://www.livinginfluence.com/books 

Follow and like the Living Influence podcast on social media: 

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livinginfluencepodcast 

* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livinginfluencepodcast 

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61576202821527 

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co/