My Chains are Gone Podcast

Darren shares his story with us today!

He shares of his high school experience when the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to the Gospel message uniquely through a History Channel series on the Bible! God continued to pull on his heart through a high school Christian club and then his heart and desires in life completely changed. He had a new lens on life!

Darren also takes us through his current struggles with health and the tough lessons he is learning about living in suffering. There are no easy or apparent answers to the question of why we suffer or when there will be relief of suffering. Escaping suffering won't always be the result, and I was thankful for Darren's reminder that the Holy Spirit can bring a supernatural comfort in our afflictions and knowing Christ can bring more joy then living a healthy productive life.

I hope you enjoy Darren's story.

Today we hear from Annie, a wife and mom of two precious boys.

Annie met Jesus in the Catholic church as a child. After a short season of running from God in college, God drew her back in through the love of a roommate and some older women as well as a summer studies trip to Greece. I loved her story of how she met her husband shortly after this trip!

In a vulnerable part of Annie's story, she shared of being shaken when she and her husband were faced with a life or death decision regarding their unborn baby, Luke. In a routine mid-pregnancy ultrasound, they discovered Luke had Spina Bifida. She shares of the community and prayers during that tough season that helped shine light in their dark moments. As she shared, life was not an easy choice, but it was the right choice.

I hope you enjoy Annie's story!

Sarah grew up in a Christian household, regularly attending church, and hearing the truths from the Bible from an early age.

She enjoyed some of the richness of following Jesus but also had conflicting experiences of shame and guilt. She learned to live a double life in which she hid her sin, keeping friends at an arm's length.

It was really interesting to hear what (or who) God used as a catalyst to show her the value of transparency and the freedom of confession in Christ. I have a feeling you'll want to go listen to her husband, Tim's story, in episode 23, after this!

It is a gift to grow up in a Christian home and starting a relationship with God from an early age. It is evident, however, no matter how long we have been walking with Jesus, we must keep using the tools he has given us to walk faithfully with him. His word, prayer, and his people can help expose our dark places, bringing light and healing.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

I hope you enjoy Sarah's story!!

David shares his story with us today and tells of two experiences that radically shaped his faith in Jesus.

As a 13 year old, David physically was at the rock bottom and he cried out to God for help. Jesus met him and brought him to a full recovery. Then, in his early twenties, David felt a different type of rock bottom. He wrestled with his faith and with his purpose and value in life. Jesus met him in a different way – through the arms of teenagers in Mexico.

David calls Jesus life giving as he recognizes his daily existence is the result of the grace of Jesus.

I hope you enjoy David's story.

Today we hear Teresa's story! Teresa is such a sweet loving gal and God is using her to bring love to the people (and animals) around her.

Named after Mother Teresa, Teresa shares how she felt the weight of living above the line her whole life. She shares of her many spiritual influences as a kid that held her together when her family broke apart and her dad jumped ship to live a homosexual lifestyle.

We hear how she was trying so hard to be on God's good side and how she came to understand grace.

Towards the end, Teresa bravely shares about sexual abuse she endured and the slow healing process that God has been orchestrating for her.

We cannot work hard enough to earn God's favor. We cannot win by trying our hardest to be loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, patient, and good enough for Him to love us. He loves us because he made us! And he has made a way for us to have peace with Him – through his Son Jesus.

Teresa has learned this and embraced the grace that He offers. I hope you are encouraged to hear how God has redeemed the hard parts of her story and is continuing to redeem.

Gbenga is from Nigeria and currently a grad student at Mizzou.

In his early life, Gbenga was taught a lot about the Bible by his family and church. He hoped his mother's faith and prayers would save him.

When he came to America and heard arguments against the existence of God, he rejected the idea of God. Fortunately, God did not reject Gbenga.

Listen and hear the people and circumstances God used to help Gbenga see that he was real and loved him. Talk about the chills! My arms were covered with goosebumps!

Then hear Gbenga share how God is working in his heart now as he looks towards the future.

I hope you enjoy Gbenga's story.

Today, Rachelle shares her story! We've been trying to get together for 4 months to do this interview, but due to sicknesses and incessant mid-west snow days this was postponed until now!

To give you a little foretaste, Rachelle grew up non-religious home yet poking her head in all sorts of religious books.

She converted to Mormonism in her early adulthood and shares her experience of diving deep into the religion. Someone close to her eventually shared with her the message of the Gospel and after months of wrestling, Rachelle started on her journey following Jesus.

As you listen to this part, I want us to remember that the people of the Mormon church are deeply loved by God and this is not an attack on the people but an invitation to look into the way God has revealed himself to the world and invited us into a relationship with Himself. Our family has several Mormon friends that I care about deeply and would love for this to be an opening to conversation rather than a shutting of doors.

Rachelle also shares about what her experience has been mothering a daughter with special needs.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

Tim learned that money and worldly success wouldn't make him free. Knowledge wouldn't make him free. Working harder wouldn't make him free. Only Jesus can set him free. As Tim said, there are many twists and turns to his story but the one theme remains – grace.

There are so many beautiful gems in this interview with Charvel!

Sometimes as adults, we can forget how real and active a teen's faith can be. Charvel's experience as a believing teen and making difficult choices in light of her faith in Jesus is beautiful. We hear her side of the story with Ethan (episode 21) turning from Atheism to Jesus.

Then Charvel takes us on her journey through adulthood – complete with shifting identities, heartaches with being uprooted from places of comfort, disappointment, friendship as an adult, and wrestling with present day doubts in her faith.

Again, so many beautiful gems! I hope you enjoy Charvel's story!

Ethan grew up in a loving home but one in which there was no God and no Savior. For his family, religion was a crutch.

Why are we here? Did someone create us? If someone did create us, does he love us? Is this man, Jesus, really a historical person? Could the accounts of his disciples really be true? If those stories are true, and Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected, what does that mean for me? These are great questions for everyone to wrestle with.

I enjoyed hearing Ethan's story and how these essential questions played a role in him coming to know Jesus as his Savior and how knowing Jesus has transformed him.

How did a person growing up thinking that God was a myth come to believe that the Bible is true and Jesus is the Savior of the world?