In this episode, I continue my conversation with Dr. Bob Schuchts to discuss the connection between inner healing and our ability to discern God’s will. We talk about how wounds, fears, and distorted images of God can create interior division that makes discernment difficult, even when we sincerely desire to follow Him. Dr. Bob also offers insights into how God’s love restores what has been fragmented within us, leading us toward greater wholeness, trust, and communion.

Reflection and Discussion Questions:

* One thing that holds us back from giving God our Best Yes is fear–fear that isn’t always rational, that can come from our wounds. In that sense, inner healing can free us to make better, freer decisions. God’s love heals us, says Dr. Bob, but truth is also necessary for healing. How so? What happens if we seek to love but bypass truth?

* According to Dr. Bob, someone who has been healed from trauma “can have a communion with God and hear God at a deeper level and have more freedom than most of us”? This is a beautiful example of how God works all things for good (Romans 8:28). Does his observation give you hope for your own wounds?

Resources Mentioned:

* JPII Healing Center

* Restore the Glory Podcast

* Be Healed by Dr. Bob Schuchts

* Do You Want to be Healed? by Dr. Bob Schuchts

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If this podcast has encouraged you, consider supporting Your Best Yes on Substack to help us continue creating conversations and resources to help others seek God’s will with greater clarity, confidence, and trust.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Bob Schuchts, founder of the JPII Healing Center, to talk about how he discerned the creation of this life-changing ministry. Dr. Bob shares about the decisions, confirmations, and moments of surrender that led him from a successful counseling practice into helping others encounter Christ’s healing love on a larger scale. As he reflects on the ways God guided him through trusted mentors, family, and unexpected circumstances, I invite you to consider how the Lord may be leading you in your own decisions.

Reflection and Discussion Questions:

* Dr. Bob describes “Pentecost Thursday” – the moment of an “explosion of power of the Holy Spirit’s grace to heal;” on that day he received a “mandate from God” to start the JP II Healing Center. And yet, he still submitted to the discernment of spiritual directors and advisors. Even when God seems to move powerfully, why is it necessary to discern the source and wise to ask for input and counsel? Who should we go to about important discernment questions?

* When Dr. Bob sat down with his wife to discuss the Center’s potential impact on their family life, it was agreed that half of the events would happen in their hometown to reduce his time away from their grandchildren. Sometimes, as we seek to obey God’s call, we can be creative and come up with solutions to mitigate any negative impact on our primary vocation. How have you navigated new calls amidst existing obligations?

* Sometimes God calls us out of our comfort zone. Dr. Bob shares candidly that he initially didn’t want to offer large retreats. “I’m an introvert,” he said. “I like one-on-one. I like teaching; I was happy in a classroom with 30 or 50 people. And so the real stretching was going to larger audiences.” He also had ongoing health issues that made such intensive work and travel difficult. Have you ever had to do something that felt bigger than your natural giftings, desires, or capacity? What happened?

* Renouncing a spirit of dread also freed him to continue his travel schedule. Sometimes, it is not just the circumstance itself but our thoughts about it, which may or may not be our own. Understanding Discernment of Spirits, a framework proposed by St. Ignatius of Loyola, can help us determine the proper course of action. Are you familiar with Discernment of Spirits? Have you used it to understand your thoughts?

Resources Mentioned:

* JPII Healing Center

* Restore the Glory Podcast

* Be Healed by Dr. Bob Schuchts

We’d love to hear from you!

If this podcast has encouraged you, consider supporting Your Best Yes on Substack to help us continue creating conversations and resources to help others seek God’s will with greater clarity, confidence, and trust.

In this episode, I continue my conversation with Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, and explore Fr. Michael Scanlan’s practical framework for discerning God’s will. Through personal examples, Fr. Dave uses the “Five C’s” of decision-making, to help walk us through what discernment can look like. God is not a distant game show host waiting for us to choose the “wrong door,” but a loving Father who desires to guide us towards deeper trust and union with Him.

Reflection and Discussion Questions:

* Fr. Dave shared that God typically gives him little glimpses that “something’s coming” before a door opens in his life. It’s a distinctive, recognizable, and reassuring part of the “consistency test”. Reflect back on times when God was moving in your life, doing something new. Can you discern a pattern to how things unfold? Remember - God is mysterious and sometimes surprising, but He’s not random or erratic.

* Fr. Dave makes an important distinction between conviction and certainty. Conviction, he points out, still requires faith, testing, and working through “the feelings and fickleness” of our hearts. Have you ever hesitated in a decision because you didn’t have certainty? What might God have been asking of you instead?

Resources Mentioned:

* What Does God Want? by Father Michael Scanlan

We’d love to hear from you!

If this podcast has encouraged you, consider supporting Your Best Yes on Substack to help us continue creating conversations and resources to help others seek God’s will with greater clarity, confidence, and trust.

Welcome to Your Best Yes, the podcast! In this first episode, I sit down with Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, the president of Franciscan University, to explore the often hidden journey of discernment and the graces given when we make decisions with God. Fr. Dave shares his own story of discerning the priesthood and how his “big yes” was formed through countless smaller acts of surrender throughout his life.

Reflection and Discussion Questions:

* We are prepared for bigger “yeses” by a lifetime of smaller ones. Fr. Dave said, “I was able to say yes to the priesthood only because I’ve said yes 100 times before.” Do you realize that with every small choice you make everyday, you are freeing yourself a little more to hear more distinctly and respond to God more generously when the big decisions come? Does that shift your perspective on the eternal value of what seems, in the moment, to be ordinary or not significant?

* Fr. Dave suggests that when making a big decision–new job, moving, considering priesthood, marriage, or religious life–that we actively enter into a time of discernment that has a start and and an end. “There’s a distinction between thinking about something and being open to something and actually discerning something,” he said. Have you been generally open to something but not committed to discerning it? Could the Lord be calling you to such a time of dedicated, active discernment?

* Fr. Dave remarks that since authentic discernment is between two goods, it would be natural and even healthy to feel a sense of sadness or loss when we know that choosing one thing means saying no to another good thing. He remembers that marriage was something he knew from growing up to be beautiful and holy. What good things have you given up or sacrificed for the sake of other goods? Did you feel a sense of sadness? Did it make you second-guess?

* Speaking of second-guessing, Fr. Dave reminds us that the level of “success” or the outcome of our discernment can’t always be measured by human standards. Just because something doesn’t seem to bear immediate earthly fruit does not mean it was discerned wrongly. Does that offer you any consolation about decisions you’ve made in your life?

Resources Mentioned:

* What Does God Want? by Father Michael Scanlan

* The Wild Goose series by Father Dave Pivonka

* Sign of Contradiction documentary by Father Dave Pivonka

* My Father’s Father documentary by Father Dave Pivonka

We’d love to hear from you!

If this podcast has encouraged you, consider supporting Your Best Yes on Substack to help us continue creating conversations and resources to help others seek God’s will with greater clarity, confidence, and trust.