Sacred Story Podcast

Laura talks with Paul and Anna (not their real names) about how God used physical healing to validate His authority and existence in their lives when they both came to faith in Jesus as teenagers. Paul lived in Pakistan while growing up. He describes the persecution that led to him fleeing the country, and the continued danger for his family back in Pakistan. Anna is from Germany, and came to Christ through youth leaders. This amazing couple also shares with Laura their heart for refugees including stories of men and women they have met. Their experiences show how God is moving to draw people from around the world to Himself. They explain critical barriers which can keep a refugee from beliieving in Jesus and how to address the hesitations and questions. In the last portion of the conversation, Paul shares a need his family has in Pakistan, and offers a GoFund Me opportunity to contribute. We believe that believers live a better story when we are aware of God's greater story around the world. Please pray for Paul and Anna and their families. 

Laura Wilcox, the host of the Sacred Story podcast, talks with her guest, Erica, who shares about her parent's divorce at the age of ten. Erica explains how she battled feelings of abandonment and rejection from her Dad. These wounds affected the decisions she made as a teenager which resulted in poor choices, leaving her feeling compromised in mind, body, and spirit. Laura asks Erica how she came to know the Lord during this time, and Erica explains that she heard about a God who loved her unconditionally in Jesus Christ through friends involved in Young Life. At age 17, Erica began her new life in Christ with a heart to love and serve Him. Even as she did so, she realized that she harbored anger and resentment toward her father. Through the counsel of a mentor, Erica recognized she had the power to forgive through Jesus' life in her. Since forgiveness is a decision and also a process, Erica shares how she trusted the Lord over time to repair her relationship with her father, beginning with a simple phone call once a month. To wrap up the conversation, Erica describes her relationship with her father after 12 years as growing and more fulfilling than she thought it could be. Erica's story called Forgiving My Dad can be found in the Sacred Story LIbrary. God has used Ericas's story to give hope to many in the area of finding healing after being wounded by a parent's acitons and/or behavior. If you'd like to explore writing a chapter of your story, gather your community for a Sacred Story Retreat. 

Laura and Karyssa talk about her struggle to understand "the invisible hand" that took the breath out of her chest as she grew up. Karyssa explains that she felt misunderstood until she was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) in high school. Laura asks Karyssa about responses that were helpful from the believing community and those that were unhelpful or even hurtful. The topic of lament when a woman's story takes an unexpected turn is addressed. Karyssa talks about the difficutly of making sense of sufffering knowing that God is able to heal. Laura asks Karyssa how she would encourage another woman dealing with chronic illness and how believers can encourage loved ones who have ongoing health challenges. Karyssa's story called God is Good When I Have Chronic Illness is found in the Sacred Story library. If you'd like to write your Christ- centered story of hope, consider hosting a retreat with your fatih community. 

Host Laura Wilcox welcomes Ashley back to the Sacred Story Podcast for a conversation about transformed lives in the Middle East. Ashley shares how the underground church in Iran is one of the fastest-growing underground churches in the world, despite intense persecution.

Ashley describes her ministry in another Middle Eastern country where Iranians and other nationalities have settled. While she and her husband are always looking for the next "person of peace" who is ready to hear the good news about Jesus, they also wait patiently and prayerfully in their interactions with others for God to make it clear that someone is seeking Him. For example, one woman saw a photo of believers in Jesus and expressed she wanted the hope she saw in their eyes. She and others in her circle of influence soon came to faith in Christ.

Laura asks Ashley how Western believers can learn from the suffering, persecuted church in the Middle East. Ashley shares that the suffering church there is also a thriving church, marked by a joy and perseverance many Western believers have not yet imagined. 

Laura also asks how listeners can join God's harvest in the Middle East. Ashley says, "We want to connect with Western believers who have a God-given burden for the Middle East. We're called together to fulfill the Great Commission." Ashley asks for prayer for open doors, protection from the enemy and wisdom in the relationships and conversations she and her husband have as they look for those persons of peace. Find out more about Ashley's ministry in Sacred Story Podcast Episodes 53, 18, and 7. 

You can also join others in daily prayer at Joshua Project's Unreached of the Day , also available as an app. This app/website provides information and prayer requests about an unreached people daily. You can join the growing number of others praying on that day for that particular people. 

If you'd like to support Ashley's ministry, let us know at [email protected].

In this episode of Unexpected Turns, host Laura Wilcox has a conversation with Madison, who recalls her worst day ever as a high school student years ago. On the same day, Madison experiences a breakup with her boyfriend, the discovery of a terrible rumor circulating in school about her, and a grade that falls well below the perfectionistic standards she places upon herself. At the end of this terrible day, Madison comes home, refuses to eat dinner, and buries herself deep under her covers to pour out her complaints to God.

As Madison cries out to God about the disconnect that she feels between God's promises and her current reality, an increasingly loud thunderstorm rages outside her bedside window. Expressing her anger and sorrow over her day, she finally tells God she has no intention of ever going back to school or even leaving her bed. At that moment, the cacophony of the wild thunderstorm suddenly and completely stops. She realizes just as suddenly that God is present and has never left her alone. 

As her perspective shifts, Madison begins to pray in a different way, and the rain begins falling softly again. God reminds her that evening and in the following days back at school that he is close and constant. As she faces the situations that devastated her on that horrible day, she slowly learns to find her security, identity, and worth in God's love, instead of in uncertain and unsteady circumstances.

When Madison's story, High School Hope, was released on the Sacred Story website, Madison shared it with her current friends. Conversations about the challenges of high school followed, and Madison found those friendships growing closer. Bonding between women often occurs when they share how difficult experiences have led to deeper faith. Schedule a Sacred Story Retreat for your women's group to experience the power of sharing stories.

In this episode of Unexpected Turns, host Laura Wilcox has a conversation with Kate, who was diagnosed with a rare venous malformation behind her right eye in her late teens. Though not cancerous, the location of Kate's mass of entangled veins posed dangers that only grew over time.

Although Kate had come to faith in Christ in her childhood, she sought for many years to handle her condition in her own strength. Instead, she focused on her job as a dental hygienist and even more on her roles as wife and mother to five children. Over time, the risks posed by her venous malformation grew serious. Doctors told her that if she did nothing, she would probably die from a rupture of the mass before the age of 40. Yet surgery posed major risks as well, so Kate pushed the decision to the back of her mind.

After a move to Nebraska, Kate's family was faced with several challenges in their new home. When her husband was offered his old job back in Texas two years later, Kate felt overwhelmed by their decision of possibly moving again. God used the stress of this decision to bring Kate to the realization that she was not as strong as she always wanted to believe. And that was okay. Her family did move back to Houston, and Kate knew it was time to seek out a surgeon who had the skill and courage to risk her needed surgery.

Since 2023, Kate has had five major surgeries to deal with the venous malformation and to seek restoration to her right eye. Though her health journey has been very difficult, she has grown in her trust in God's unfailing love, wisdom and power in her life. Read Kate's story, Eye Problems in God's Hands, on the Sacred Story website. 

Find out the untold stories in your women's community by scheduling a Sacred Story Retreat. 

In this episode of Unexpected Turns, host Laura Wilcox has a conversation with Tranece, whose world was turned upside down when she learned that her 18-year-old son had been arrested for murder. Because Tranece had just gotten engaged the day before she received this devastating news, she wondered if her fiancé Terrence would want to keep their engagement.

Yet Terrence assured her of his unconditional love and commitment to her. The wedding was on, yet Tranece found it difficult to walk the road of wedding planning while grieving her son's situation. As she learned to forgive her son and to forgive herself for any shortcomings as a parent, she also began to live in freedom from the shame of parenting a son in prison. In time, God redeemed the situation in many ways. Her son began to grow in his faith in Christ and to see prison as his place of ministry. And God began to show Tranece how He would use terrible circumstances to equip her for a ministry of hope to others.

Today Tranece and her husband have three daughters together in addition to her two sons. They have both studied at Dallas Theological Seminary, where Tranece has earned the Master of Arts in Christian Education and the Master of Biblical and Theological Studies; she is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree at DTS. Tranece is a published writer and speaker based in Dallas. Contact her for speaking engagements at [email protected].  

Read Tranece's story, "I Do" And Your Son Too, at the Sacred Story website. What stories are waiting in your women's group to be shared with others? Schedule a Sacred Story Retreat and find out!

Our host Laura Wilcox welcomes Ahmet, an Iranian refugee to Turkey, for this episode of International Harvest. After a long and arduous journey over the mountains from Iran, Ahmet arrived in Turkey in search of a better life. He had no interest in pursuing any faith, yet when he broke his leg, he became a captive audience to his Christian brother's prayers. He relented and attended a church service where his brother preached, Ahmet's first time ever to attend a Christian worship service. He was struck by the sense of peace present at this gathering. 

Soon after, an argument between Ahmet and his brother focused on Jesus' unique call for Christians to forgive their enemies. Ahmet continued to resist the Christian faith until he attended a birthday gathering of believers from different nations. He kept expecting a fight to break out at the birthday party, because the believers there were from countries at war with one another. But instead, he observed their love for one another. He could no longer resist the draw of this God of true peace and sincere love.

Now Ahmet works as a barista, preparing coffee with the secret ingredient of Jesus' love. He and his brother plan to eventually open their own coffee shop to foster spiritual conversations.

The translator for Ahmet's story is Ashlee. You can find former podcasts about her part in God's harvest on the Sacred Story website at International Harvest #18 and International Harvest #7.

In this episode of Unexpected Turns, host Laura Wilcox welcomes Lettie Carr. Lettie shares how God led her to consider a low-paying job as a women's prison chaplain in spite of her initial resistance. Lettie had recently made partner as a lawyer, and she and her husband had recently bought a new home. As she looked around for an opportunity that might give her more time with her 2-year-old son, two jobs stood out to her, one paying very well in the law profession, and the other paying very low wages as a chaplain. Though she had the lucrative job in the bag, she couldn't forget the prison chaplaincy job. She applied, hoping God would choose someone else. When she was offered the job, she waited for God to overcome her husband's reluctancy before she finally surrendered to what appeared to be God's plan.

Over 20 years later, Lettie looked back over hundreds of women's lives changed and brought to Christ. The prison's recidivism rate---the number of released prisoners who end up back in prison---was one of the lowest in the nation as God transformed lives through a vibrant church meeting within the prison walls. 

After she moved on from prison ministry, Lettie began a new ministry called Whosoever Believes, featuring a YouTube channel called the 3:16 prayer line, where those needing prayer can call in at 3:16 PM Monday to Friday. 

Read Lettie's story, A Strategic New Job, on the Sacred Story website. 

Find out what true stories are hiding in your Christian women's community by scheduling a Sacred Story Retreat to help women develop and share their stories.

In this episode of Unexpected Turns, our host Laura Wilcox speaks with Julie about beauty. Julie shares how, in her teen years, she thought her mother could use a few lessons on hairstyle and fashion. Julie competed in several beauty pageants, where she realized she would always find another woman whose beauty assets would outshine her own.

As Julie grew older, she recognized that her mother's real beauty came from her kindness, gentleness, and faith in Christ. Her mother helped one neighbor on a daily basis and volunteered many hours at a crisis pregnancy center. But as her mother grew older, she faced a heartbreaking diagnosis: Alzheimer's. In a season of coming to terms with this loss, Julie found comfort for her mother and for herself in Psalm 34:18: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." 

As Julie's mom's disease progressed, she eventually lost her ability to speak. Often Julie played worship music while she sat with her mom, sensing the depth of her mom's connection with her beloved Savior. 

Julie has grown in her perception of beauty---from the shallow, fleeting beauty she focused on in her teenage years to her desire now to be beautiful like her mother---a woman whose beauty radiates from a close relationship with Jesus. You can read Julie's story, True Beauty and Alzheimer's, on the Sacred Story website. 

What unique stories are waiting to be told in your community of Christian women? Schedule a Sacred Story Retreat to find out!