Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol

What do you do when the life you were expecting falls apart? In today's episode, Dr. Carol's guest and author Katie Kelley talks about how she believed that her background of growing up in a stable, privileged home and following the rules meant avoiding life's deepest hardships. Then came her son's severe autism diagnosis, the adoption of her daughter, an unwanted divorce, and the weight of single parenting. In this conversation, she shares how those unexpected turns reshaped her life and her understanding of God. She also offers honest wisdom on keeping bitterness at bay by focusing on what you can control, resisting self-pity, and remembering that others are carrying heavy burdens, too.

Now remarried and navigating a blended family of eight children, Katie is still learning what it means to depend on God one day at a time. She discusses the message of her book Grace Will Be There, reminding us that God gives us the grace we'll need for today, not for a crisis 10 years from now.

For more about Katie Kelley on her website, or Instagram

Find Katie's book: Grace Will Be There: Finding God in the Life We Aren't Ready For

More from Dr. Carol Ministries:

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment. No matter what story you carry from your past, everything changes when you invite Jesus to become part of that story!

Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol - A one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural- based perspective.

Have a question for Dr. Carol? She loves to hear from you! You can send her a confidential message here.

What if becoming more like Jesus has less to do with how much you know and more to do with who you're becoming? We can read the right books, listen to Christian podcasts and attend great churches. We can even know all the right answers. Yet we may still struggle with anger, insecurity, addiction, the need for approval or unhealthy relationship patterns.

In this episode, Dr. Carol talks with professor and author Chuck DeGroat about the "hidden architecture" of character. They discuss why genuine Christlike transformation requires more than information or outward spiritual practices. Chuck explains how our earliest experiences can shape the ways we protect ourselves, hide and seek validation. He also explores why deep character formation doesn't happen overnight. It happens through safe relationships, embodied spiritual practices and a willingness to approach our weaknesses with curiosity rather than shame. You'll discover why trying harder to eliminate unwanted behaviors may miss the pain underneath them. You'll also learn how staying grounded and compassionately connected to others can help you navigate disagreement. This conversation offers a different picture of spiritual maturity — one that moves beyond managing appearances and invites God to transform who you are beneath the surface.

More from Chuck DeGroat:

Soul Care Collaborative on YouTube

Follow Chuck DeGroat: Instagram Facebook X Substack

Click here to order Chuck's book: Who You're Becoming: The Slow and Courageous Work of Cultivating Character in a Narcissistic Age

Check out our previous episodes with Chuck DeGroat: Narcissism at Home or at Church, and Your internal Dashboard and Finding Healing

More from Dr. Carol Ministries:

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment. No matter what story you carry from your past, everything changes when you invite Jesus to become part of that story.

Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol - A one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural- based perspective.

Have a question for Dr. Carol? She loves to hear from you! You can send her a confidential message here.

Parenting doesn't end when your child becomes an adult. But parenting them the same way has to. That transition can be harder than many parents expect. When do you speak up, and when do you stay quiet? What do you do when you disagree with their choices? And how do you handle the grief when the close relationship you once shared begins to look very different? In this episode, Dr. Carol talks with Dr. Kathy Koch about how parents can move from directing their children to walking alongside them as coaches, mentors and trusted advisors. That means learning to listen without immediately correcting, asking permission before offering advice, and choosing shorter conversations over lectures that may only push an adult child further away.

But what happens when the distance becomes painful — or your adult child disengages altogether? Dr. Koch offers hope for parents navigating strained relationships, unmet expectations and even differences over faith. She explains why your adult child cannot become the source of your identity or happiness and why sometimes you need to grieve the relationship you hoped you would have. You'll also hear how to communicate without triggering defensiveness, let go of regret over past parenting mistakes, and look for small signs of progress rather than demanding immediate change. And when your child has walked away from faith, you'll discover why demonstrating the reality of your own relationship with Jesus may be far more powerful than trying to convince them to return to church. Just because your role may have changed doesn't mean your influence has disappeared.

For more about Dr. Kathy Koch, visit Celebrate Kids or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Be sure to check out her book Resolve Conflict and Find Peace and Hope with Adult Children

Dr. Koch's previous episode on Relationship Prescriptions: Helping Your Children Develop Character and Healthy Habits

More from Dr. Carol Ministries:

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment. No matter what story you carry from your past, everything changes when you invite Jesus to become part of that story.

Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol - A one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural- based perspective.

Have a question for Dr. Carol? She loves to hear from you! You can send her a confidential message here.

God didn't create us as disconnected compartments of spirit, soul, and body. In this episode, Dr. Carol along with Avery and Zion Montgomery explore the biblical vision of whole-person health, rooted in the idea that God desires to make us whole in every dimension of our being. They discuss how the coming alive of our spirit when we encounter Jesus is designed to lead us toward greater health in our soul and body also. They also explore the danger of spiritual bypass, when we use spiritual language or practices to avoid paying attention to emotional, relational, or physical realities that also need care.

What might it look like to steward your whole self intentionally? The conversation explores the role of stress and discipline in developing anti-fragility, the Parable of the Sower as a picture of the "soil" of our hearts, and why bearing abundant fruit requires God's Word to take root throughout our whole being. You'll also hear practical tools for assessing and cultivating greater integration including a Wellness Wheel, spiritual disciplines such as fasting and Sabbath, and opportunities for deeper transformation through Intensives. The goal isn't perfection or simply getting every area of life "right," but moving toward greater wholeness, integration, and shalom—becoming the fully alive people God created us to be.

Click here for more about Dr. Carol Ministries.

Get your Believer's Wellness Wheel here.

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment. No matter what story you carry from your past, everything changes when you invite Jesus to become part of that story.

Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol - A one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural- based perspective.

Have a question for Dr. Carol? She loves to hear from you! You can send her a confidential message here.

You can know your attachment style, understand your personality, read all the books, and still find yourself reacting in the same old ways. Why? Because information is not the same as transformation. In this conversation, Dr. Carol and author and licensed therapist Dr. Alison Cook explore what it takes to move psychological and spiritual insights from your head into the deeper places of your soul. They talk about secure attachment, why no human being can provide the fullness of security our souls need, and why true security begins with an inner attachment to God.

The conversation introduces the idea of an "inner family"—the responsible controller, the wounded shadow, and the vulnerable young one—and offers a compassionate way to respond when these different parts of us become activated. Rather than suppressing or shaming those reactions, we can see them as bids for connection. The simple practice of "recognize and return" helps us notice what is happening inside without judgment, and then return to the truth that we are loved by God right in the middle of it. Over time, this kind of practice can retrain our souls toward greater security, integration, and genuine transformation.

Connect with Dr. Alison Cook on her website, her podcast The Best of You, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube

Find her book The Secure Soul: Finding Inner Strength and Connection When Trust Doesn't Come Easy

More from Dr. Carol Ministries:

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment.

Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol provides a one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural- based perspective.

Have a question for Dr. Carol? She lov

What if Scripture was meant to be experienced with more than just our minds? In this episode, Dr. Carol talks with biblical scholar and Biola University professor Dr. Jeannine Hanger about what it means to engage the Bible through our whole selves—our bodies, senses, memories, and experiences. Drawing from her work Engaging Jesus with Our Senses, Dr. Hanger explains how Western Christianity can sometimes reduce discipleship to acquiring information, while Scripture invites us into something much richer. Together, they explore the sensory language woven throughout the Gospel of John—from Jesus as the Bread of Life and Light of the World to His compassionate touch and Mary of Bethany filling a room with the fragrance of costly perfume.

Dr. Hanger also offers practical ways to slow down and encounter familiar passages differently. She shares how practices such as Lectio Divina, walking while reflecting on Scripture, creating worship playlists, and intentionally noticing sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and touch can help biblical truths move from something we simply know to something we more deeply experience. Along the way, Dr. Carol and Dr. Hanger discuss the powerful connections between scent and memory, the significance of physical touch in Jesus' ministry, and why sensory metaphors such as tasting God's goodness or carrying the fragrance of Christ still speak so powerfully today.

Dr. Hanger also gives a glimpse into her upcoming project, Engaging the Epistles with Our Senses, and considers why physically gathering, worshiping, eating, serving, and living in community with other Believers matter for our spiritual formation. If your time in Scripture has begun to feel primarily intellectual—or simply routine—this conversation may help you encounter God's Word with fresh attention and your whole self.

For more about today's topic, check out Dr. Hanger's book, Engaging Jesus With Our Senses.

You can follow Dr. Hanger on Instagram, X, or Facebook.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Carol Ministries, including information about:

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment.

Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol - A one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural- based perspective.

What does it mean to be a sexual person when you're not married? In this replay of a webinar presented at the Sexual Integrity Leadership Summit, Dr. Carol challenges some of the assumptions the church has often made about Christian singles and sexuality. Sexuality doesn't disappear when you're single, and marriage isn't the goal of the Christian life; becoming like Jesus is. Jesus Himself was single, yet He was fully human, fully alive, and completely whole. Dr. Carol explores the important distinction between sexuality and sexual activity, and between sex and the deeper human need for intimacy.

So how can Christian singles pursue genuine sexual and relational wholeness while honoring God's design for sexual activity within covenant marriage? Dr. Carol offers practical steps including consecrating your sexuality to Jesus, learning emotional self-regulation, developing an intentional plan for moments of temptation, and cultivating deep friendships with people who truly know you. And she challenges churches and Christian leaders to stop treating singles as people waiting for their "real life" to begin, but to instead help them flourish, experience meaningful intimacy, and become more like Jesus right now.

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment.

Find Dr. Carol's book Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories About God, Love, and Relationships

Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol - A one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural-based perspective.

What happens when the person who was supposed to help you feel safe, loved, and known instead becomes a source of hurt? In this episode, Dr. Carol talks with Dr. Sarita Lyons, author, Bible teacher, and psychotherapist, about mother wounds—the emotional and spiritual wounds that can shape our identity, relationships, and even our picture of God. They explore how experiences with our mothers can contribute to people-pleasing, over-functioning, parentification, and difficulty trusting others, while also recognizing that many mothers who wound their children are carrying wounds of their own.

Healing doesn't require pretending the wound didn't happen or abandoning biblical honor. Dr. Carol and Dr. Lyons unpack the important difference between honoring a parent and obeying a parent, especially when an adult child needs healthy boundaries with an unsafe or unrepentant mother. Through honesty, grief, community, professional help, the Holy Spirit, and the healing love of Jesus, it is possible to face these wounds and move toward wholeness. The goal isn't to erase your mother from your story; it's to allow Jesus to redeem your story and become the perfectly loving parent to you that your heart ultimately needs.

Connect with Dr. Lyons on her website, Facebook, or Instagram.

Find Dr. Lyons' book Honor Thy Mother: How to Grieve, Heal, and Make Peace with Your Mother Wounds

Find out more about the Honor Thy Mother conference coming up October 2-3, 2026

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment.

Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol - A one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural-based perspective.

What if learning to follow Jesus more deeply also means learning to recognize what isn't from Him? In this conversation at Austin Christian University, Dr. Carol shares from her journey from medicine into ministry as she and her host Avery Montgomery explore spiritual growth, personal stories, and intimacy with God. They talk about why our stories matter, how shame drives us into hiding, and why bringing our whole story into the light can become part of our spiritual transformation. Rather than beginning with the brokenness of Genesis 3, our stories begin with the goodness and intention of God in Genesis 1—and our journey toward wholeness includes rediscovering that original design.

The conversation also explores the integration of what we know about God with what we experience in our hearts and bodies. Dr. Carol offers a practical framework for discerning the work of God from the work of the enemy: confusion, condemnation, and control are warning signs that "it ain't Him," while the Holy Spirit leads us toward conviction, freedom, and a way forward. The episode closes with three practices for spiritual health; stay clean, stay connected, and stay consecrated. You'll gain. a sense of what it looks like to stand firmly in the freedom Jesus offers while continuing the slow, sometimes difficult work of becoming whole.

You can learn more about Dr. Carol Ministries by clicking on the link.

Dr. Carol's In-Person Intensive Weekend will help you experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment.

Interested in a one-on-one format? Dr. Carol's practical encouragement and scriptural-based perspective can help through Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol.

Have a question for Dr. Carol? She loves to hear from you! You can send her a confidential message here.

What if the sexual struggle you're trying so hard to overcome isn't really about sex? In this conversation, Dr. Carol talks with Dr. Floyd Godfrey about the powerful connection between attachment, intimacy, mental health, and sexuality. We're born with a deep biological need for connection and belonging, but when those needs are wounded or unmet, they can sometimes become fused with sexual desire. Sexual behaviors or attractions may then become attempts to meet legitimate needs for connection, affirmation, comfort, belonging, or mentorship in ways that ultimately leave us even more empty.

Dr. Godfrey explains why lasting healing requires us to look "under the hood" rather than focusing only on behavior modification. Recovery may involve identifying old wounds, changing unhealthy patterns and environments, building intentional relationships and support, and most importantly, inviting Jesus into the deeper places of our story. The goal isn't to become nonsexual, but to become increasingly whole—to learn how to meet our God-given needs for intimacy and connection in healthy ways through relationship with God and with other people.

Learn more about Dr. Floyd Godfrey and his work here, including information about his book Healing and Recovery

More from Dr. Carol Ministries:

In-Person Intensive Weekend - Experience true healing and wholeness as you unpack your personal story around intimacy and relationships in a safe, caring, Christ-filled environment.

Individual Coaching with Dr. Carol provides a one-on-one format to help you navigate your personal journey through practical encouragement and scriptural- based perspective.

Have a question for Dr. Carol? She loves to hear from you! You can send her a confidential message here.