“The question for our lives is not whether we will surrender, but to whom or what we will surrender.” - Gordon Dalbey

In this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael and Brian discuss the move from the Soul Snare pattern to the path of Soul Care. As we consider our brokenness, when negative feelings arise, our reflex is to avoid or control them. Carl Jung was referring to this idea when he wrote that all neurosis is caused by the avoidance of necessary pain. By avoiding or controlling our brokenness, the whisper of porn (or any other addiction, for that matter) can become a shout, and the lying promises of our addiction begin to sound like a sensible solution. Then we profoundly mishandle the ache of living in a fallen world.

It is our hope that by listening to this important discussion, your heart will be free from the fixation on your addiction to be captivated by God’s love, all so that your heart can be given more fully to God and others.

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“Shame is like a raincoat over the soul that repels the living water of Jesus that would establish us as His beloved.” - Andy Kamiski

All of us have hiding places where we stow away our shame. Where do you hide yours? What memories or triggers send you scurrying for cover? If the voice of shame could be silenced, what do you think the voice of Love might say to you? What do you long to hear?

Understanding shame is crucial in our journey from lust and addiction to freedom. Discover the path to freedom on this episode of Restoring the Soul as Michael unpacks the chapter on shame and core beliefs from his book, Surfing for God.

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“It’s important to understand our brokenness because it’s what drives our sinful patterns, our addictions, and our compulsions.” - Michael John Cusick

The following is an excerpt from Michael John Cusick’s book, “Surfing for God”.

“King David was a man intimately acquainted with his brokenness. Aware of his divided heart, he wrote in the Psalms, “Train me, God, to walk straight; then I’ll follow your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I’ll worship in joyful fear.” (Ps. 86:11 MSG)

As a man heals from his bondage to porn, he must understand his brokenness and allow it to compel him toward Jesus. Our brokenness is our only requirement for receiving God’s grace.”

On this episode of Restoring the Soul, you will discover the 5 Ws of Brokenness:

Wickedness - sin that has gone really far. We turn away from God.
Weakness - a limitation or vulnerability that we carry.
Woundedness - wounds of presence/wounds of absence.
Warfare - we are in a battle. We have an enemy.
Wiring - we are physiological beings.

If you have missed any of the previous conversations about Surfing for God, click on the corresponding link:

Surfing for God, Part 1
Surfing for God, Part 2
Surfing for God, Part 3

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“I’ve always been most passionate about trying to help people connect the broken reality of their life to the reality of God’s heart.” - Michael John Cusick

Hope is life-giving, but to deeply and intensely desire something and not receive it can be virtually unbearable. On the other hand, the consequences of losing our spiritual thirst can be as dramatic as losing our physical thirst. How can we love God with all our minds, hearts, souls, and strength when the desires of our hearts and souls are not operating at full capacity? Our souls’ thirst is the core desire from which everything else in the Christian life flows.

During this episode of Restoring the Soul, you will discover the Seven Core Desires & Longings

• Attention: To be seen
• Affection: When I see you, I want to be with you
• Affirmation: You have what it takes
• Acceptance: I deeply desire & thirst to belong
• Significance: I want to matter for just who I am
• Satisfaction: Fullness. Contentment. It is well with my soul.
• Security: My soul finds rest in God alone.

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“All sin promises us something but it never delivers on the promise.” - Michael John Cusick

On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael and Brian present the second episode in a seven part series of podcasts on Michael’s book, Surfing for God. Today’s discussion reveals the broken promises of pornography.

Pornography promises:

• Validation of our manhood but without requiring strength.
• Sexual fulfillment without relationship.
• Intimacy without requiring risk and suffering.
• Passion and life without connection to your soul.
• Power over women without responsibility and humility.
• Comfort and care without depending on others.

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“There was something deeper, something more real that I was drawn to in what he said.” - Jim Cress

On this edition of Restoring the Soul, Michael and Jim Cress remember Dr. Larry Crabb who recently passed away.

The following is the post written by The Larger Story:

It is with great sadness and astonishing joy that we tell you of Dr. Larry Crabb’s arrival in Heaven early Sunday morning. Heartache because we already miss him so much, and heartfelt delight because we each have a faint sense of just how much he is now enjoying the great celebration and perfect rest of life in the presence of the Trinity.

As one who taught so many of us that it is possible to trust no matter our circumstances or condition of soul, Larry can now testify to the unspeakable joy and unlimited goodness of God. It truly is well with his soul.

Rachael, Kep, Ken and the family are grieving together and want you to know that they are well. They are planning two memorial services, one in Charlotte and one in Denver for mid- April and both of those will be livestreamed at LargerStory.com.  We will send more details as these plans are finalized. The Crabb family is grateful for the outpouring of love and support that you have offered to them and appreciate your patience as they navigate this season together.

The Larger Story team also requests your patience as we work to fulfill orders from our store during this time of disruption. We will get those items to you as soon as we can and we apologize for the slight delay as we adapt to our current situation.

During his long and fruitful life, Larry Crabb ushered so many into a new and more vibrant life with the Trinity, and now his death is continuing to stir us to become more fully alive to the future waiting for us in heaven:

3-5 What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.

6-7 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.  1 Peter 1:3-7

Larry lived his life firmly anchored in the truth of this scripture, and now he is healed and whole and his lifelong faith points us all to the certainty of God’s great victory. What an honor to be part of his legacy.

Blessings,

The Larger Story Team

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“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

Support the show

ENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:
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Thanks for listening!