Episode 285 - Reflections on Family, Ethnicity, and the Sacred Work of Belonging with Tasha Jun
How do you navigate living between two completely different worlds? How do you honor the culture of a parent while being a part of another culture that doesn't always do the same?
For author Tasha Jun, learning to love and embrace the culture of her Korean mother while finding a place to belong in American culture left her feeling caught between two worlds at times. Being biracial, Tasha struggled with a sense of belonging, but even more so, with her own identity in feeling too much and not enough at times. Learning to love who God made her, including the different parts of her culture, helped her to fully experience the love of God in the messy middle of understanding and embracing who she was. As she became a mother, she saw the sacred gift in her own heritage and give that gift to her children.
In this raw and honest conversation, Davey and Tasha discuss what it is like to feel "othered," how writing can be a tool for healing, and seeing God meet you in your identity while learning to grieve the ways we feel like we don't belong.
If you've ever felt like an outsider in any sense, this episode will encourage you that you belong in the beautiful kingdom tapestry that God is weaving together and your unique makeup is exactly what God intended.
Episode 257-Embracing the Messy and Complicated Journey of Adoption and Fostering with Jillana Goble
Parenting is complicated whichever way you come into it. When grief and trauma are part of the equation, it can add even more layers to navigate. How do you sit in the messiness of adoption and fostering while learning to see the joys and the wins in the midst of it?
For Jillana Goble, it has been through the challenges of parenting via birth, foster care, and adoption that she has learned to welcome the invitations the Lord offers in the tensions of it all. As she said yes to the difficulties and joys, she has seen her own understanding of God and family widen in an unimaginable way. She has learned that parenting of any kind does not come with a road map or a formula with a promise, but rather it is the small, daily obediences to say yes to loving our children well in all circumstances. It is there that we begin to see God show up in places that were once thought to be irrevocably broken.
In this conversation, Davey sits down with Jillana to discuss the often complicated nature of adoption and fostering that we don't always see as well as how understanding how integrated we are-mind, body and soul-can help us love kids who have gone through unfathomable loss and trauma and how in it all, Jesus shows up in the mess.
Whether you have adopted or fostered or know someone who has, this episode will help you see that God invites us to know Him more through the imperfect and often difficult stories we all walk through.
Episode 229 - Building Resilience in the Face of Adversity with Dr. Danisha Keating
How do you persevere in the face of unending challenges and difficult circumstances? Where can you find the strength to keep going when life tries to knock you down over and over again?
For Dr. Danisha Keating, building resilience seemed impossible after a traumatic childhood filled with abuse and moving in and out of the foster care system. Her journey in life was hard, at one point leading her to be a caretaker for her younger siblings while in college and yet she persevered to graduate and go on to earn her PhD.
Now, she spends her life reaching back into the fire, encouraging kids walking a similar journey in the foster care system, to know that their lives have promise and hope beyond their current circumstances. In all the trials she has endured, Dr. Keating has anchored her hope in the Lord and her identity in Him.
In this episode, Davey sits down with Dr. Keating to discuss what it looks like to build resilience in a life that is full of difficulty, the power of community in encouraging those low on hope, and how healing can lead us into a life of purpose in helping those who are walking the road we once did.
This conversation will leave you inspired as you hear how even the most dire of circumstances can forge a deep-seated resilience in our hearts as we move forward into a future filled with possibility.
Episode 228 - Choosing Joy in Chronic Pain and Painful Circumstances with Lindsey Wheeler
How do you choose joy when it feels impossible? What can you do when a chronic diagnosis leaves you debilitated?
For Lindsey Wheeler, the answer did not come easily. After a Lyme disease diagnosis left her struggling to get out of bed everyday, Lindsey knew she had to make a choice: to see the good in life in spite of her circumstances or to dwell in self-pity.
It wasn't easy, but Lindsey chose to change her perspective on her life in the middle of so many challenges that included her health and raising a child with special needs.
It was that perspective shift that has given her the strength to bring hope to others in their pain. She started a company called Bottle of Tears that provides curated gifts of comfort to those who are hurting.
In this episode, Davey talks with Lindsey about what it looks like to choose joy when life feels hard, the power in reminding people that they are seen in their pain and why community matters so much in our suffering.
This conversation is an encouragement for anyone who has ever felt like some parts of life cannot be "fixed" this side of heaven and offers an invitation to hope and joy in the midst of it.
Episode 209 - Finding Passion and Purpose in Pain with Jesse Bradley
How do you find purpose in pain that seems to have no end in sight?
Pastor and former athlete Jesse Bradley found himself facing that question when anti-malaria drugs sent him on a ten year journey of healing from chronic pain and health issues.
Jesse sat down with Davey to have a conversation about what it looks like to find purpose in our pain when it doesn't seem to be getting better. It was in the hardships of that experience as well as others that Jesse found his true path towards healing and becoming a conduit of healing for others.
His journey has included being a child of divorce, fostering and adoption in his own family as well as becoming a pastor passionate about sharing the love and truth of the gospel.
This conversation will inspire you towards hope and healing no matter what pain you are facing.
Episode 196 - Claire Culwell
Claire Culwell’s story in one that has to be heard to be believed. As the adopted daughter of two loving parents, Claire eventually found herself wanting to meet her birth mother. When she was finally able to, she could never have foreseen how that first conversation would go.
What Claire’s birth mother revealed to her on that day would shock Claire to her very core, and her life would never be the same.
Claire sits down with Davey to share her unbelievable story and how she’s learned more about God, forgiveness, and the value of life through this incredible journey.