Open Doors: Conversations with Heart of the Father

What happens when someone deeply involved in psychic practices and Reiki realizes it isn’t bringing real healing?

In this fascinating episode, Lisa sits down with ministry team member Meg Ethridge, a former psychic and Reiki master, who shares her journey out of the occult and into true freedom.

Spurred by a sincere desire to help people coupled with intermittent psychic experiences, Meg opened a storefront offering occult services to clients. “I didn’t go looking for the occult, the occult found me,” she explains. But over time, she began to recognize that these practices were not helping people in the way she had hoped.

Meg shares candidly what led her into the world of the occult, what brought her back to the church, and how she eventually was pointed towards Heart of the Father Ministries. 

Her story reaches a profound moment when she shares, "And by the time I got to the end of [the Unbound session], for the first time I felt the Holy Spirit literally come through the top of my head through my whole body.” 

In a culture where social media often glamorizes occult practices as sources of insight or empowerment, Meg’s story provides a powerful witness that real healing comes from one Source alone. 

If you’ve ever been curious about the reality behind psychic practices, or are searching for deeper spiritual healing, this episode is for you.

Don’t miss this riveting conversation that proclaims the truth of God’s love, His mercy, and the freedom He longs to give.

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Release: April 2026
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In this episode, we meet Alejandro Rivero, a husband, father, and businessman from Mexico whose relationship with God was once distant—but through the power of Unbound Ministry, he came to know the Father in a loving and personal way.

“Something was changing inside of me,” Alejandro shares regarding the transformation of his faith. He describes how the Holy Spirit brought to light a childhood memory that helped him recognize lies he had believed. That moment opened the door to healing and greater understanding.

Moved by his new freedom, Alejandro made it his mission to help others in Spanish-speaking countries experience the same love of the Heavenly Father. Among Alejandro’s initiatives are weekend retreats for college students to become trained in the Five Keys, and equipping others to bring Unbound Ministry across Mexico. He and his team are participating in Pentecost2026.com in Cancun, continuing in their mission to share freedom and the Father’s love.

Listen today to hear Alejandro’s personal and profound story of how healing begins with truth!

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Release: April 2026
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In this final episode of our book study, Jenn, Matt, and Lisa bring everything together by exploring two powerful themes: charismatic prayer and the ultimate call to become like Him. What does it really mean to pray in the Spirit, and how does that kind of prayer actually transform us?

The three talk about how charismatic prayer isn’t just about emotional expression or spiritual gifts, but about surrender, intimacy, and allowing the Holy Spirit to shape us from within. As they reflect on the final chapter, we turn our attention to the deeper promise at the heart of the Christian life: that through grace, we are being conformed more and more into the likeness of Christ.

This episode is both a conclusion and an invitation to continue seeking the Holy Spirit, to remain open in prayer, and to trust that God is faithfully at work in us.

Because in the end, prayer isn’t just something we do… it’s how we become who we were made to be.

 Find Personal Prayer: A Guide to Receiving the Father’s Love

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Release: April 2026
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In this week’s episode of Open Doors Podcast, Emily, Jacqueline, and Lisa continue their Lenten book study on Personal Prayer: A Guide to Receiving the Father’s Love, diving into chapters on Scripture, Eucharistic adoration, and devotional prayer. 

The conversation explores the richness of Lectio Divina, an ancient practice that helps Christians engage more deeply with sacred Scripture. Emily describes it as “chewing” on the Word of God, noting, “It gives you permission to think out loud with God in prayer.

Listen as all three women share dynamic personal examples on topics including scripture memorization, miraculous answered prayer, Adoration chapels, and repeating “The Jesus Prayer” — a devotion rooted in ancient monasticism.

And don’t miss Jacqueline’s story about a time in college when the Lord spoke to her through scripture and it proved life-changing!

For next week, read Chapters 10 & 11 and tune in to hear the final episode of our Lenten Series on Personal Prayer: A Guide to Receiving the Father’s Love.

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Release: March 2026
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Jacqueline, Jenn, and Lisa continue our Open Doors podcast walk through Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love. In Chapter 6, they discuss the honest, sometimes uncomfortable journey that exists within the human condition caused by original sin and one’s own limitations. They talk about the temptation to discouragement, the “pit of desolation,” and how the Five Keys of Unbound help remove barriers that keep us from experiencing the Father’s love. 

Jacqueline shares how God met her in a very dark season and later used that experience to help her accompany others in their dark place. Jenn reflects on Jesus’ tender encounter with the apostle Peter by the fire on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias and how the Lord approaches each of us with the same mercy.

The three explore St. Thérèse’s Little Way as an invitation to bow low, surrender, and embrace our littleness, as opposed to just “trying harder.” 

Under Chapter 7, they discuss the beauty and stability of liturgical prayer, which the authors describe as “Heaven on Earth,” and how it can be a call to enter, respond, and participate.

Find the Lenten Study Reading Schedule

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Release: March 2026
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In this episode Jacqueline, Jenn, and Lisa cover Chapters 4 and 5 of our Lenten study of  Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love. These three examine the depths of loving God by touching on themes like surrender, self-absorption, suffering, and praying to a hidden God. The Lord is always drawing us to himself, giving us faith. Coupled with our natural efforts, however feeble, our faith is met and sustained by Him. 

Jenn likens Matt’s call into ministry to an example from Chapter 4 and emphasizes their surety of God’s timing in the moment. She also speaks about her experience in reading Personal Prayer, feeling challenged to full abandonment and pursuit of the Lord. She speaks of offering up suffering to Him rather than allowing for self pity or self absorption.

Lisa highlights the Psalms as the “Christian’s prayerbook,” giving examples of the Psalmist’s words that aid the heartcry within varied places of human experience. Jesus is our example of turning to God when feeling forsaken and He will rebuild amidst divine silence. 

They conclude this conversation with a deep prayer surrounding words from St. Paul of the Cross that speak of surrender and abandonment to God’s will.

Just when you think this book can't get any better, it does. Listen and share with a friend!

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Release: March 2026
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Join us in covering Chapters 2 & 3 of our Lenten book study: Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love with Jenn, Jacqueline, and Emily. This beautiful conversation explores how prayer is less about performance and more about relationship with a loving Father.

“It got me excited for prayer!” Emily shares, reflecting on the book’s image of communion with God as two drops of wax melting together, fused in a way that can never be separated. Together these three talk about opening up to the Lord in new and vulnerable ways. 

Jacqueline reflects on the shared root of the words attention and tension, noting how prayer draws her out of her own concerns and into deeper intimacy with God. “I want to be attentive so the Lord can draw me in,” she says.

Chapter Two lists six “entrances” to vulnerability and stresses the importance of persevering in prayer. Jenn, Jacqueline, and Emily openly share how these themes apply to their own spiritual lives as they “keep showing up.” 

The episode also explores three levels of conversation in prayer—transactional, positional, and transformational—and how God invites us into deeper dialogue with Him. Finally, the hosts dive into the mystery of silence, drawing on insights from St. John of the Cross, who teaches that God’s eternal “word” is spoken from silence.

Emily concludes with a personal story drawn from her silent retreats, offering insight into ways God calms our fears and meets us in the stillness.

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Release: March 2026
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“The Introduction is something I often skip in a book,” Jacqueline admits with a laugh,  “but this one was so good I read it three times!” She continues on to emphasize the word “receiving” from the title of our Lenten book, Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love. 

Jacqueline, Emily, and Lisa sweetly unpack the idea of being vulnerable in contemplative prayer and delve further into the focus of Lenten disciplines and how dying to oneself brings about fruit. 

They discuss how prayer reshapes the way we relate to others, whether in marriage, moments of conflict, or even toward those we struggle to forgive. They then explore how prayer softens the heart and makes room for full, authentic forgiveness.

Lisa offers a vivid image from the St. Vincent Archabbey,  a bubbling fountain with its source likened to the Lords’ streams from which we draw, letting Jesus reveal Himself to us so we bubble over.

The episode concludes with lines from a hymn that speak of the overflowing fountain of God’s redeeming love.

Join us and go deeper in prayer, vulnerability, and the fruit of dying to self.

For next week: Read Chapters 2 & 3 of Personal Prayer 

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Release: February 2026
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For our Lenten series kick-off, join Matt as he hosts Fr. Boniface Hicks , Benedictine monk, spiritual director, and co-author of Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love.

This deep and practical book brings the depth of human experience together with the traditions of Christian prayer to present the path to an intimate and vulnerable relationship with God. God so longs for this intimacy with us!

Fr. Boniface describes different types of conversations and how they relate to sharing one's heart and whole life with God. He explains how we encounter God in the silence of contemplative prayer, tying it back to that fundamental relationship of an infant in its mother’s arms.

We learn from Fr. Boniface his favorite forms of prayer and in “keeping it real,” he shares a personal prayer struggle and how he works with that part of himself. 

Join us for this wonderful series about prayer and receive the Father's love in a profoundly personal way.

For next week: Read the Introduction and Chapter One of Personal Prayer and tune in for a discussion between Jacqueline, Emily, and Lisa.

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Release: February 2026
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In this episode, host Jenn Lozano welcomes back  Bonnie O’Neil, author, spiritual director, and executive director of Alpha Mid-Atlantic, to discuss her newly released Lenten devotional, Where the Light of Hope Falls: A Lenten Journey of Returning, Rest, and Rescue.

As Lent approaches, Bonnie shares the heart behind writing a guided devotional that moves beyond behavior modification and into deeper relationship with Jesus. 

Drawing from Isaiah 55, she outlines the book’s journey: beginning with who Jesus is, growing comfortable with confession and repentance, confronting deeper patterns like shame and scarcity, and ultimately moving outward to become agents of light in the world. 

With wisdom from her experience in spiritual direction, she offers encouragement for persevering when self-examination feels difficult and encourages us to find deeper freedom in Christ!

The episode closes with a peaceful, guided prayer inviting listeners to rest in the boundless mercy of God and enter Lent grounded in His love.

Learn more about Bonnie and her books here.

Find her on a previous episodes "Is God Still Good Even When Life Isn't?"

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Release: February 2026
Music by Christian Harper
Production by Christian Harper