When someone has walked through a painful circumstance, none of us would blame them for having a negative outlook. Life has been hard, so it’s easy to assume that life will continue to be hard. That’s only natural, right? But LeAnne Lavender defies that. She and her husband Derek have walked through some terrible circumstances. But instead of being grim and pessimistic, LeAnne has a different approach. She sits down with Davey to share Derek’s and her story, and how she continually chooses optimism in the face of unimaginable challenges.

The first part of Chris and Emily Norton’s story is inspiring enough on its own, but it doesn’t stop there. They’ve walked through seasons of deep depression, they’ve become parents and foster parents, and much more. In the second part of their conversation with Davey, Chris and Emily share some more struggles they’ve walked through and how they’ve not only overcome them but turned around and used their season in life to change the lives of others.

Chris Norton’s life changed forever when he misjudged a tackle while playing football. A stadium full of fans and players watched as the young college player was wheeled out on a stretcher, completely unmoving, and Chris was left wondering if he’d ever walk again. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Chris went from laying paralyzed on a stretcher to walking across the stage at his college graduation. Chris and his wife Emily share how God brought them together, how they’ve overcome overwhelming challenges, and more in the first part of their incredible story.

It only takes an instant for our lives to change forever. For Maria Hatch-Bowersock, that instant came in the form of a phone call. The voice on the other end told her that the plane carrying her parents and brother had crashed. Her mother and father were both dead, and her brother had little chance of making it. Maria shares her story with Davey and talks about how she learned to see God’s goodness even when things are far from good.

Every pregnancy comes with its risks and worries. Along with the miracle of new life come fears of all the things that could go wrong. For Callie and Kevin Colwick, those fears were realized when complications with her pregnancy left her in a coma with little chance of survival. Kevin spent months in the hospital, unsure if he would ever see his wife awake again. Callie and Kevin sit down with Davey to talk about this season, its aftermath, and how it has shaped their relationship with God.

There’s an old joke that pastors only work one hour a week. While anyone who’s ever been around a church can probably tell just how far from the truth that is, perhaps not many people know how hard ministry can be as well as Tim and Denise Harlow. Tim is the senior pastor of Parkview Christian Church, and he and wife Denise have walked through more than their share of the disappointments, discouragement, and pain that come with devoting your life to ministry. Tim and Denise sit down with Davey to talk about their story and the lessons they’ve learned in every season of ministry.

This week marks two years of The Nothing Is Wasted Podcast! Thanks to all of you who have listened and supported us over these last couple of years! To celebrate, Mel joins us in the studio to ask Davey and Kristi some of your questions, hear the powerful story how Davey and Kristi met, and talk about some exciting new things that are coming to Nothing Is Wasted Ministries in the future.

If our children are our legacy, then Kate Battistelli’s legacy speaks volumes. Her daughter, Francesca Battistelli, is a Grammy-winning singer and songwriter who’s work has helped define Christian music for years. But Kate’s story starts before any of that. She shares her story of how God not only redeemed her story of abortion and infertility, but how he continues to call her into bigger and better things.

Brent and Jana Seaman are a testimony of how God can redeem the messiest of stories. A few years ago, Brent had gone through a divorce and spent time in prison, and Jana was mourning the death of her husband. Neither of their lives were anything like what they would have wanted, but God wasn’t done. Now they’ve made it their mission to help people experience the same type of life change that they did, and they sit down with Davey to share the story of how they got there.

Caleb Kaltenbach was given every reason to run as far away from Jesus and the Church as he could. Growing up with both of his parents in same-sex relationships, Caleb saw people hate his family in the name of God. But Caleb’s life would eventually be changed by an encounter with a Jesus who was different, and a group of Christians who modeled their faith by loving people no matter where they were. Caleb sits down with Davey to talk about this experience and his mission to reconcile the church and the LGBTQ community.