“Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God.” - G.K. Chesterton

On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael and Brian launch into the first of a seven part series of podcasts on Michael’s book, Surfing for God. In a world where there are 68 million searches for pornography every day and where 70 percent  of Christian men report viewing porn in the last year, it’s no surprise that more and more men struggle with an addiction to this false fantasy. Common wisdom says if they just had more willpower or more faith, their fight would be over. Is the answer really that simple? Listen in and find out.

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“The solution to lust is to see women. It isn’t to avoid them. It’s to see women as whole people made in the image of God.” - Sheila Wray Gregoire

On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes speaker, blogger, award-winning author Sheila Wray Gregoire. About 800,000 people read her blog every month, “To Love, Honor and Vacuum” and her book, “The Good Girl’s Guide to Great Sex” won the 2012 Grace Irwin Award for the Best Book Written by a Canadian Christian, one of the largest literary prizes in Canada.

Her latest book, “The Great Sex Rescue” is due to hit the shelves on March 2nd (you can pre-order through Amazon) and we’re thrilled to feature her conversation about the book with Michael today.

To learn more about Sheila, visit her website.

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“Certain kinds of care for betrayal trauma actually makes people stuck or worse in their recovery.” - Julianne Cusick

On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael concludes his conversation with Julianne Cusick about Betrayal Trauma. Today they will focus on Treatment Barriers to Healing from Betrayal Trauma. This follows up from our previous episode on Barriers to Overcoming Betrayal Trauma. In summary, some barriers are:

• Continued evidence of the partner acting out
• Gaslighting (which is lying that changes a person’s perception)
• Partner’s inability or unwillingness to own their impact
• The partner’s inability or unwillingness to open up and be honest about his healing journey.

Even if you feel this episode is far from where you are relationally, there is a chance you might know someone who is struggling in this way - so be sure to lean into today's conversation.

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“It’s impossible to recover from betrayal trauma when you’re still a victim of betrayal trauma.” - Julianne Cusick

On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes back Julianne Cusick for the next two episodes as they discuss Betrayal Trauma. Today they will focus on Barriers to Overcoming Betrayal Trauma.

Did you know that you can follow Michael and Restoring the Soul on social media? Simply do a search on Facebook and Twitter for the Restoring the Soul podcast. You can also find Michael on Twitter by searching for him personally. And as always, be sure to tell a friend about the podcast.

In this podcast, we hope you will discover:

• Why a woman stays stuck in the process of betrayal trauma
• Understanding what “gaslighting” means
• Common barriers to heal relationally to betrayal trauma

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“I want to become the person that naturally is like Jesus because I have been with Him for so long.”  - Dr. James Bryan Smith

Dr. James Bryan Smith is the founder and Executive Director of the Apprentice Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation, as well as a founding member of Richard J. Foster’s spiritual renewal ministry, Renovaré. He is an ordained United Methodist Church minister and speaks throughout the world about Christian spiritual formation. 

In the fall of 2016, Dr. Smith was part of the Friends University team that developed a master’s degree program in Christian spiritual formation and leadership. He is the author of the best-selling “The Good and Beautiful” book series and “The Magnificent” series.

In this podcast, we hope you will discover:

• The difference between spiritual formation and discipleship.
• The devastating result of teaching people only the spiritual disciplines.
• Why James refers to himself as the “Forrest Gump of Christianity”

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“Wholeness and holiness are inseparable.” - Dallas Willard

On this edition of Restoring the Soul, we dig deep into our archives for one of the most important discussions Michael has taken part in. In his words, it was one of the highlights of his life. Together, let’s go to Los Angeles. The year is 2008 and we’ll be privileged to listen to Michael’s discussion with Dr. Dallas Willard, who for several decades taught Philosophy at the University of Southern California, and was the author of several books including The Spirit of the Disciplines, Hearing God, and The Divine Conspiracy.

Dr. Willard passed into glory at 77 years old in May of 2013.

In this conversation, he and Michael discuss spiritual formation, having an interactive relationship with God, the idea that solitude is the most radical of the disciplines. And so much more. You’re going to want to listen intently to this conversation - even playing it over again so that you don’t miss anything.

We also want to take this opportunity to congratulate Apple IDs who go by Rathclayton1 and Atlasfreak, respectively, as they are the winners of a copy of Andrew Bauman’s book, “The Sexually Healthy Man. Thank you for your reviews on Apple Podcast - please send an email to [email protected] with your current address and we’ll be sure to get a book right out to you!

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“We eroticize our pain to make sense of it. We sexualize our brokenness.” - Andrew Bauman

On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael welcomes Andrew Bauman, author of The Sexually Healthy Man. Now, you may have grown up in the 90's during the height of the True Love Waits movement, accompanied by Joshua Harris’ bestseller, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Many of the ideas perpetuated by this culture were infused with fear and shame, offering no practical help or guidance in equipping young people to become healthy sexual human beings. As a result, shame accompanied any thoughts around sexuality; with guys trying to white-knuckle purity and falling short over and over again. Leaving them with feelings of self-hatred and hopelessness. 

Andrew hopes his brand new book will serve as the guide - providing comfort and clarity to those who find themselves in a similar struggle for sexual health. The essays in the book are not only for men but also for women who want to understand what healthy sexuality can look like in a partner. Speaking of women, you may remember Andrew’s wife Christy as she was a guest on a September 2020 podcast called The Theology of the Womb. Definitely something worth checking out.

Andrew has graciously provided us 2 copies copy of The Sexually Healthy Man that we’ll send to a randomly selected listeners. All you need to do to qualify is log into Apple Podcasts and write a review of Restoring the Soul. Be sure to listen to next week’s podcast for an update on the winners.

In this podcast, we hope you will discover:

• How to engage with honor instead of objectification.
• For us to become whole, for us to become sexually healthy, we need to become embodied.
• What we believe is not what we say. What we believe is how we live.
• You cannot look at pornography and be an authentic man at the same time.

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“Our soul is not something that we have, it is more something that we are. It is the very life pulse within us that which names us alive.” - Ronald Rolheiser

Happy New Year! We hope that 2021 is off to a great start for you. Thankful that you have chosen to start the year off with us and hope that Restoring the Soul can become a regular part of your weekly podcast diet. Don’t forget that we have 160 other episodes from our archives featuring great conversations about life, love, and the pursuit of a whole heart. Some guests that have joined us range from John Eldredge, Lysa TerKeurst, Ian Morgan Cron, and Curt Thompson. There’s definitely something for everyone.

On today’s podcast, Michael will continue and conclude the second part of a conversation he began last week on Understanding the Soul. 

A quick summary of the 6 points shows us that: 

• Our souls are created for union with God.
• Our souls were created for life and love and joy and delight.
• Our souls are designed with a particular rhythm
• Our souls are created for connection
• Our souls can be broken
• You can forfeit your soul

Definitely worth downloading and listening if you’re interested in grasping the foundations of why we have a soul and why it’s important to care for your soul.

Today we will learn 3 consequences from not understanding the soul and that “the soul was created for union with God. For Communion. For intimacy. For one in the other.”

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“The most beautiful place in all of creation is the center of the soul.” - St. Teresa of Avila

On this Christmas weekend edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael has invited his good friend Peter Zaremba into the studio to discuss one of the most perplexing topics known to man. They’re hoping to unpack what it means to understand the soul. The human soul is central to the personhood of a human being. As George MacDonald said, “You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.” And as we’ll learn from today’s conversation, our soul is the deepest part of who we are. It’s the most real part.

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“Happiness is a sense of looking back on our life and knowing it’s been well-lived.” - Rabbi Evan Moffic

On this edition of Restoring the Soul, we’re taking a trip in the way back machine to feature a conversation with Michael and Rabbi Evan Moffic. In light of the Coronavirus pandemic and how difficult this year has been for so many, we thought it would be nice to offer a look at the ancient Jewish Happiness Prayer that helps to open up opportunities for gratitude and joy.

Respected as a Jewish thought leader both in the Chicago area and nationally, Rabbi Moffic is the author of four best-selling books. He is regularly featured as part of the Religion Panel on Fox and Friends and on CNN, and his articles appear in Huffington Post.

The Chicago Tribune described Evan as “a brilliant antidote to all that divides us. He constructs bridges where others drive wedges” and “the Rabbi we’d love to call our own. Humble, wise and good beyond words.”

Finally, we have been encouraging you to share a review of Restoring the Soul on Apple Podcasts. In return, we would randomly select a review and award the author of the review with a copy of Susie Larson’s latest book, “Fully Alive”. Well, we received a number of wonderful posts and we’re happy to say that "JimmyinNYC", if you’re reading this, drop us an email at [email protected] with your mailing address and we’ll be happy send you a free copy of Fully Alive by Susie Larson. Thank you and congratulations!

In this podcast, we hope you will discover:

• The connection between forgiving your parents and forgiving yourself.
• The ten elements of the Happiness Prayer
• The difference between happiness and pleasure

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ENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:
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Thanks for listening!