Louise Sedgwick, author of Lifted from Shame, shares her powerful journey out of significant childhood abuse and shame. Her story shines as a beacon of hope and redemption. She explains how God rescued her from rage, perfectionism, unforgiveness, and the lie that God could never love her. Louise hands us practical tools to replace the lies of shame with God’s truth.

Key Takeaways:

“Because what Jesus did for us is greater than the most severe abuse anyone can experience, we have hope.”

“God, show me your love in a way I can see it, not your love for all of mankind, I need to see your personal love for me uniquely, and that was a powerful journey of healing for me.”

Verses:

Titus 2:13

1 John 4:18

Jeremiah 31:3

Matthew 5

Buy Lifted from Shame: https://amzn.to/3O6P578

Connect with Louise and Lifted to Hope podcast: https://www.louisesedgwick.com/

Beth shares how God's goodness comforted and sustained her family through the loss of her beautiful teenage son to suicide. She hands us hope in the tender descriptions of God's nearness and the selfless ways others cared for them in the first few years following Jason's passing.

1 Thess. 4:11

Lamentations 3:20-23

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

2 Corinthians 1:8-10

Psalm 31:15

Beth and her family received comfort from these books:

A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser https://amzn.to/44sILMA (my affiliate links)

A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis https://amzn.to/46uvk0k

This is a good resource for Counselors:

Preventing Suicide:A Handbook, for Pastors, Chaplains, and Pastoral Counselors by Karen Mason.

https://amzn.to/43gaHCo

Kelly shares her son’s harrowing rescue from a crevasse while mountaineering and how this parallels God’s hope-filled rescue of her weary heart. You’ll discover how to wrestle through judgements about your own story and receive healing from offenses and soul-wounds through intimate experiences of God’s love and presence. Includes two personal and practical applications to open your eyes to God’s faithfulness in your own life.

Key Takeaways:

*The O of H.O.P.E: Open your eyes to God’s Kingdom story.

*God is working in ways we cannot see to accomplish purposes far beyond what we can believe.

*We wrestle through judgements to see our story within God’s larger story.

*We wrestle through our story with the lens of God’s goodness and love.

*When the disappointments come, when the landscape shifts, when the bottom falls out, when we find ourselves in a dark pit, we need to remember this pit is not our home. It's not even a campsite. It's a place that we are going through. God's path is always up and out, but it's never linear and it rarely makes sense.

Key Verses:

2 Cor 4:16-18

2 Kings 6:17=18

Zech 4:6

Ps 46:10

Deut 31:8

Ps 27:13-14

John 16:33

Isa 46:9-10

Kelly shares the first of a four-part series seeking to answer the question, how do we hold onto hope in God when I'm weary, Teaching from the acronym H.O.P.E, She'll be sharing some personal ways God has restored and renewed her hope in Him when she's struggling with weariness. 

Key Takeaways:

Hold tight to God's Word until HIs voice is louder than your circumstances and His love is larger than your fears.

Honesty opens the door to hope.

Honesty opens the door to intimacy.

Hope rises when the weary wrestle.

Wrestle through fears and lies until we hear God's heart.

Verses:

Psalm 119:81

Hebrews10:23

John 10:10

Psalm 25:14

Isaiah 46:9,10

1 John 4:18

Deut 31:8

Deanna’s childhood dream of having a large family was shattered with multiple miscarriages and the diagnosis of a reproductive genetic abnormality. In her darkest moments, she experienced new depths of God’s love and peace. 

Verses:

Psalm 27:8

Psalm 27:13-14

Romans 8:38-39

Psalm 34:17-18

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

1 John 3:1

Additional Resources:

Wait by Russell Kelfer

Rachel Wojo, author of One More Step: Finding Strength When You Feel Like Giving Up, shares her story of finding hope and strength in God’s Word when her dreams of a perfect life were crushed. She explains how God met her through a failed marriage, a daughter’s heartbreaking diagnosis and the losses of loved ones.

Read more at www.RachelWojo.com

Verses:

Isaiah 12:2

Psalm 18

Psalm 18:16-19

Psalm 119:81 (NLT)

Additional Resources:

Untangling Life Podcast with Rachel Wojo

Restore Me From Hurting to Healing: 31 Days of Embracing God’s Healing Hand on Your Heart

Lori Vober endured a life-threatening hemorrhagic stroke at the age of 29 followed by complications of epilepsy. She and her husband leaned on God's faithfulness through the uncertainties of adoptions, parenting, job losses, moves, and years of rehab.

Find out more about Lori and stroke resources here and check our her book: Choices: When You are Faced with a Challenge, What Choice Will You Make?

https://amzn.to/3r3kq1d

Verses:

Jeremiah 29:11-13

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Read her family's adoption story here

Debra Moerke, author of Murder, Motherhood and Miraculous Grace, shares her story of gut-wrenching heartache and fierce forgiveness, all while illuminating the miracle of God’s prevailing power and love.

Check out Debra’s book here, and visit her site here.

Stacie Snell experienced God's presence and hope during a miscarriage and two near death experiences involving her second child. She shares how God rescued her heart from disillusionment following the time spent with her 3-month-old baby in ICU. You don't want to miss how a few years later, her 2 yr. old describes seeing Jesus. You'll be uplifted by Stacie's hope-filled prayer at the end.

Verses shared during this episode:

Romans 15:13 (TPT)

Jeremiah 29:11

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Isaiah 40:11

Connect with Kelly: www.KellyHall.org

In this brief episode, the host Kelly Hall shares an overview of her unexpected family story and the faith questions she's wrestled through along the way. She describes the hope that emerges as God brings beauty out of broken hearts and hope out of the hard. We discover an unshakable hope that holds us even when life shakes us.

You can connect with Kelly at www.KellyHall.org