Making Peace & Beyond Podcast

One third of households in the U.S. (nearly 13.6 million) are single parent families. Being a parent is hard enough but being a single parent can be grueling. There is little social recognition of the complexities of raising children alone and almost no community/church support. In this episode, Jamie meets with Ginny Persons to discuss their experience of being single parents and the inevitable trials and struggles associated with raising children alone. Both Ginny and Jamie became single parents when their children were very young. With openness and vulnerability, they examine multiple issues including divorce, children, social issues, and discuss the differences in how they attempted to find a life for themselves and their children. Jamie and Ginny encourage the church and the community to have compassion for the ever-growing number of single parents and offer suggestions for support and inclusion.

In this episode, Jamie Norton is joined by Mark Valley to discuss one of the most significant barriers to personal growth and healing: the difficulty of change. Together, they explore why change is so challenging, the role of counseling, and the importance of confronting truth for genuine transformation. They also delve into the dynamics of shame, self-preservation, and the necessity of a safe environment for vulnerability and healing. Through personal anecdotes and professional experiences, Jamie and Mark provide a deep understanding of the complexities of change and offer valuable guidance for those seeking true healing.

Join us as we navigate the intricate paths of human behavior, the power of truth, and the journey towards wholeness in Christ.

Are you a parent or an adult child who feels like you are “walking on egg shells” with each other? Are you angry or withdrawing from each other? This may be particularly true if the parent/child relationship was difficult. 

Linda Nearhood and her daughter, Hope, struggled with each other for most of Hope’s childhood and their relationship was on the brink of ending when Hope reached her adult life. 

In this episode, Jamie talks with Linda and Hope about the pain of their early relationship and the steps they took to, not only heal, but to find a healthy and viable relationship with each other. This episode offers practical ways to navigate healthy, long lasting relationships even when conflict arises.

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"Anyone can die but only the blessed grow old..."

Join Jamie Norton in this episode of the Making Peace and Beyond Podcast as she digs into the topic of healthy aging with special guest April Surovi, a certified dementia practitioner with over 14 years of experience. Together, they explore the importance of community, the misconceptions surrounding aging, and practical steps for maintaining mental and physical health in later years.

April shares her insights on the evolving perception of assisted living facilities and the critical role social engagement plays in preventing dementia. Discover why staying active and connected is essential for a fulfilling life after retirement and how society's fear of aging can be overcome with wisdom and a positive mindset.

Whether you're approaching your senior years or supporting a loved one, this episode offers valuable advice and heartfelt stories that inspire a new outlook on aging.

In this episode you’ll hear: 
* Stereotypes vs the reality of aging
* How to know when to seek help and support
* The benefits of staying socially active and engaged
* Personal anecdotes and professional advice on thriving in old age

Thanks for joining us for this enlightening conversation that aims to bring peace, joy, and freedom to all stages of life.

We can be addicted to more than substances and recovery is more than just stopping- it is learning to truly live, love and successfully manage life’s stressors! In today’s episode, Jamie welcomes addiction medicine specialist, Raman Baishnab, MD to talk about the physiology of addictive behaviors and the complexities of recovery. Raman and Jamie talk candidly about their own struggles and give both personal and professional perspectives on successful recovery. Their stories and professional experiences offer greater understanding of one of least understood problems in our world and encourage compassion for our own or loved one's struggles.

Are you struggling to understand the relationship of sex and love either in your marriage or your personal life? Are you puzzled about your inability to manage your body sexually? What is healthy sex anyway? How can God’s gift of sex destroy your ability to love? We live in a culture that has distorted the gift of sex in so many ways. In this episode Jamie has a frank discussion about sex with Spencer Kline, a licensed counselor and certified sex addiction therapist. Jamie and Spencer discuss the reality of sexual confusion, compulsively, and its power to enhance or destroy our relationships.

Is your idea of yourself determined by another person’s opinion of you? Or a job? Or an achievement? Or some applause you have gotten? If so, you might be codependent! When we don’t know who we are, we become dependent on someone or something outside ourselves to tell us who we are. Unfortunately, our sense of who we are then becomes dependent on the opinion and affirmation of whoever or whatever our identity depends on. When the feedback is negative, we become anxious and try harder to regain approval.

In this episode, Jamie has a conversation with her colleague, Mary Ann Foote, about codependency and the danger of lost in another’s world and how to reclaim the your true identity.

Blown apart by control, criticism, betrayal, and adultery; Eddie and Sarah sought divorce. They were culturally in line with the cancel culture. At the time of their divorce, neither wanted reconciliation. They were convinced that there was no way back to each other. God had other plans! Fortunately, they both sought their individual healing through Christ and healing programs offered through their church. Both loved their son and were committed to co-parenting him. Over the next couple of years, they began to become friends and eventually realized a new, more honest love and knew that they wanted to remarry. Today they describe their marriage as a relationship based on honesty, acceptance, forgiveness and vulnerability. It’s a great story of individual and marriage redemption.

A wedding is a noun that celebrates a moment of romantic expectations. A marriage is a verb that chooses daily to share life’s blessings and difficulties with another person. All too often a wedding does not translate to a healthy marriage. Forty to fifty percent of all first marriages in The U.S. end in divorce. For second marriages the percentage jumps to 60-65%. Fairy tales, popular music, and romantic movies lead us to believe that another person can make us secure, happy, valuable and significant. What a heavy burden and unrealistic expectation to believe that another person can save us from ourselves and give us what only Christ can give! 

In this episode, Jamie talks with marriage pastor, Michael Campbell, about the treasures and pitfalls of marriage and the importance of being independently mature enough in Christ to be maturely dependent on another person.

Is your world filled with chaos, anxiety and stress? So many of our lives seem overwhelming and make us feel as if our life is unmanageable. It often seems that the more we try to find a sense of control, the more out of control life feels. 

In this episode, Jamie and Heather Palisen discuss how a Christ centered adaptation of the 12-steps of recovery offers a way of managing daily life for all of us. No matter what happens in our life, this simple way of living can offer a peaceful way of living for all of us.