A short episode to close up Season Two and give you a ministry update!  

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Tears of Gold :: Stories of Hope

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Debi Rooney had an admittedly fairytale life with her husband, three sons, a grandbaby and one on the way.  In January 2009, Debi's fairytale life came to an abrupt end when her husband and oldest son died in a tragic plane accident.  In an instance, Debi became a grieving widow and a grieving mother.  With the peace that only comes from God, Debi shares her testimony of grief and persevering in hope despite deep heartache.  She is a powerful witness of God's goodness in overwhelming loss. 

Resource Mentioned:

• Book of Job 
• A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss by Jerry Sittser
• Into the Deep: One Man’s Story of How Tragedy Took His Family but Could Not Take His Faith by Robert T. Rogers 
• Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman
• Focus on the Family for a counselor 
• Philippians 3:10-11 
• Real Life with Gina Pastore and David James-KKLA  
• Shattered: Struck Down, But Not Destroyed by Frank Pastore 
• Picking Up My Shattered Pieces: Bouncing Back When Life Throws you a Curve Ball by Gina Pastore 
• Debi’s non-profit - Wild Goose Lighthouse - a non-profit ministry to practically love others who are in need  

Tears of Gold :: Stories of Hope

www.tearsofgold.com

[email protected]

IG: @tearsofgold16

FB: @tearsofgold16

In 2006, Jena Holliday was diagnosed with Lupus at the age of 18.  It rocked her world to be hit with such a hefty chronic illness at such a young age.  In this episode, Jena shares what she has learned in the last twelve years from her initial diagnosis, to doing life on her own, to surrendering to God, to trusting and praising him despite the diagnosis.  Today, Jena's journey and gifts are channeled into her blog Spoonful of Faith where she shares her life as a wife, mother, artist, and follower of God.  I was inspired by Jena's testimony of God's faithfulness come what may.

Resources mentioned:

Isaiah 30:15

Follow Jena:

Blog: http://www.spoonfuloffaith.com/

Instagram:

@spoonfuloffaithstudio

@aspoonfuloffaith

@despitethediagnosis

Tears of Gold :: Stories of Hope

www.tearsofgold.com

[email protected]

IG: @tearsofgold16

FB: @tearsofgold16

Dana Bonilla was already juggling several big life situations (living overseas, married life, a new baby!) when her father's health began to decline.  Dana and her husband, Andres, were living in Ecuador with their infant daughter, Naomi, as the family sorted out her father's health concerns.  Ultimately being diagnosed with Lewy Body disease, Dana made several trips between the two countries to help manage all the things related to her father's health, care, and estate and ultimate passing. In this episode you'll hear her real reflections of losing a loved one and how God was present in her pain.  And now getting to see the beauty of this pain being redeemed in her current role overseas.  

Resources Mentioned:

GriefShare seminars and support groups

Follow Tears of Gold:

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What do you do when marriage isn't forever?  What do you do when staying becomes unsafe?  My friend and guest, "Joan" shares her story about leaving a destructive marriage for her own safety.  She opens up about her experience of God and the body of Christ as she wrestled with how to love God and walk a path she never thought she would be walking.  With vulnerability, compassion, and authenticity, Joan shares her story of a God who revealed Himself to be bigger than the box she thought He fit in.  

Due to the sensitivity of this particular story, Joan is not my guest's real name.  She has requested it to be withheld for safety reasons.  Although her real name will not be published, Joan has compassionately made herself available to connect with if you find yourself resonating with aspects of the journey she walked on.  You may contact me at [email protected] and I will facilitate a connection as appropriate.

Resources Mentioned:

The Emotionally Destructive Marriage: How to Find Your Voice and Reclaim Your Hope by Leslie Vernick

Codependents Anonymous group

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead by Brene Brown

Online course by Brene Brown (courses are no longer available as of December 2017, but you can explore her website for other content)

Codependent No More : How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie

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Marla Christian knows the pain of walking the tumultuous road alongside a loved one with an addiction.  And she knows the deep love of God in the midst of that pain and uncertainty.  In today's episode, you'll hear Marla share about parenting a son with the disease of alcoholism and the grief of losing him to that disease.  Far from becoming bitter in her grief, Marla's shares her authentic faith in God in the depths of pain.  She also shares how God showed up in the words and hands of people around her to be "God with skin on".  With grace, humor, and genuine love, Marla's episode will be a gift to anyone on a similar journey.  

Rebecca Ortiz and her husband, Joe, were looking forward to welcoming their third child into the family.  Towards the end of her pregnancy Rebecca's body was signaling that something wasn't right and their, daughter, Rose Josephine, was born five weeks premature with physical limitations.  After months in the NICU until she was stable enough to go home, Rosie's condition was still uncertain and not able to be diagnosed.  Rosie just celebrated her first birthday in March and though her condition remains a mystery, she has made slow and small but steady progress in that time.  In today's episode you'll get to hear from Becca as she shares her journey of walking out a complicated pregnancy, a tough labor, and an even tougher first year of her baby's life.  Through it all, God was and still remains a loving and faithful presence to the Ortiz family as they love and raise Rosie Jo.

Resources mentioned:

Nehemiah 8:10

Philippians 4:6

The Next Right Thing podcast by Emily P. Freeman -

Name the Narrative episode (15)

What do you do when the rug feels like it has been pulled out from under you?  Marisa Wagner learned to look to her Father and cling to the truths in His Word.  Marisa's world was rocked to it's core when her father took his own life and, while still reeling with that complicated grief, her younger brother died in a motorcycle accident just six months later.  And, yet, through deep and heart wrenching pain, Marisa turned to the one place she knew could be certain of, God's arms.  In this episode, you'll hear Marisa recount the story of losses and her story of hope in the Healer of all. 

References Mentioned:

Songs:

“Oh God” - Citizens & Saints (the actual song that Marisa mentioned)

“Forever Reign” - Hillsong (The song I thought Marisa was talking about, but it's not.  Still a good song that I wanted to link anyways.)

Bible Verses:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Psalm 121

2 Corinthians 10:5

SoCal native, Alison Dear, now calls Texas home.  The beach-loving wife and mom to four boys never thought that she would live anywhere but near the ocean she holds dear.  Her story took a different path after a series of decisions, court battles, and ultimately a cross-country move as a type of safeguard for their family.  In this episode, you'll hear Alison's testimony of surrender, obedience, and trust when the choices of other people impacted her family and her life.  Before you listen, I want to give you a heads up that parts of Alison’s story may seem a little vague to you and that is intentional. Given the nature of the story that you’ll hear as it unfolds, some of the details have to be withheld for the protection of different parties. I wanted to let you know that upfront and encourage to not let that become a distraction from the impact of Alison’s story. Alison has a powerful story in the midst of really difficult, emotional, and personal circumstances. Allow yourself to hear the God themes of her story instead of the important, but non-essential, details you will hear today.  Now, go click play and be blessed by a testimony of hope!

Resources Mentioned:

Psalm 109:30-31

Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman (a consistent favorite amount my guests!)

Daring to Hope by Katie Davis Majors

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College sweethearts, Lesley Miller, and her husband, Jonathan, were excited to be welcoming their firstborn child together.  The joy of their daughter's arrival was soon shadowed by a cancer diagnosis for Jonathan at the age of 29.  Lesley shares the ups and downs of that year of juggling new motherhood while caring for her husband during cancer treatments.  She talks about God's faithful presence in their lives and the radical love of the community around them.  Today Jonathan is cancer free and the Millers are running around after three children together.  With a testimony of resilience, joy, and faithfulness, I know you will be blessed to hear Lesley's story!

Resources/References mentioned in this episode:

"How Not to Say the Wrong Thing" (ring article)

There is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do when Life is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love by Dr. Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell

Psalm 112:7 

Book of Ruth

Don't Waste Your Cancer by John Piper

A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble by Paul David Tripp

Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman

Proverbs 6:9

Lesley's Spotify playlist to listen to during difficult times (or really anytime!).  Mercy in the Storm

Pinterest board of Cancer Resources

And a little shout out to Coffee + Crumbs that Lesley mentioned toward the end.  Lesley was the amazing podcast host for Coffee + Crumbs podcast before God called her into a different chapter for her life.  You can check out C+C's collaborative blog of motherhood stories as they support and encourage mother's!  (I've been a long time fan of C+C myself).  

Finally, you can follow Lesley at her blog: lesleym.com which also contains links to her social media accounts.  

Thanks for listening!  

You can reach Tears of Gold at www.tearsofgold.com