When it comes to addressing trauma in our stories, it can seem as though cultural expectations and the messages received as young boys can keep men from engaging in their pain and ultimately, experiencing true healing. How can men better address their stories of hurt and heartache in a way that helps them to move forward with both strength and tenderness?

Counselor and author Chris Bruno began to see a pattern emerge in his own story and in the countless others of those he counseled. Men who didn't receive a clear path in terms of their journey from boyhood to manhood and who didn't address their wounds, often struggled with maladaptive behavior patterns that hurt themselves and others. When there wasn't intentional attunement to their stories of pain, their lives and the ones around them were deeply impacted. It was through this realization that Chris based the work in his practice and his books in order to help men find a way through the terrain of their own hearts and lives into the healing and redemption that God intended. His latest book, Sage: A Man's Guide into his Second Passage, helps men navigate midlife and beyond.

In this deep conversation, Davey sits down with Chris to talk about how there is always a story behind our behaviors, the impact of how boys are raised in their emotional health as men, and the stages of every man's journey.

This episode is a reminder that God longs to enter into the painful parts of our story and help us find a way to turn that pain into tender strength for those around us.

What do we do with the messages that imprint themselves on our souls from our earliest memories? How do we overcome the most difficult parts of our story when our circumstances seemingly want to make us a statistic?

For author, speaker and advocate Tori Hope Petersen, growing up in an abusive home and entering the foster care system at a young age made her start to believe that her life didn't matter. But somehow in the midst of the darkest moments, God met her and showed her His unfailing love in the face of people's failures to love and care for her and that her life had a greater purpose. Since that season, Tori has written about her experience through the system in her book, Fostered: One Woman’s Powerful Story of Finding Faith and Family through Foster Care and has become an advocate for others. She is also now a mom, undoing the brokenness from her family of origin and creating a beautiful tapestry called family through biological, adoption and foster parenting.

In this important conversation, Aubrey sits with Tori to discuss the questions that can come when you're wrestling through a life riddled with pain, the value of community in healing from our trauma, and how the Church can become the foundation for care and love for those in the foster care system.

Whether or not your life has been touched by foster care, this episode will remind you that no matter the messages you received as a child, God's message for you is clear: you are dearly loved and none of your pain is ever wasted.

What do you do when you're overcome with anxiety? How can we connect our faith with our physical and mental health?

These are questions that Jenn Tucker began to ask after first walking her young daughter through anxiety and panic attacks, only to discover she herself was dealing with anxiety as well. As Jenn was on the journey of having a child who was struggling with both mental health challenges as well as a physical one, she started to recognize how little control she had in her world. What was often covered up under the guise of perfectionism and planning was soon recognized as her own deep seated anxiety. It wasn't until Jenn learned the spiritual discipline of breath prayer that she began to feel the peace and comfort of God, even when circumstances didn't completely change. It is through breath prayer that Jenn was able to learn to calm her body and soul and a tool God gave her as she continued to trust Him in her story.

In this conversation, Davey talks with Jenn about how we can often wrestle with the shame of perfectionism and control, why empathy grows out of our own struggles and the way that trusting God through our very breath and our prayer can be the way through whatever we are facing.

If you or someone you love have ever suffered from anxiety, this episode will give you both a practical way to find healing and the hope to keep going when life doesn't seem to go as planned.

According to current statistics, we are facing a crisis when it comes to mental health and our kids. With an increase in suicide rates, depression and anxiety, many kids and teens are facing so much more than they can begin to know how to handle. What can we do as adults to be a safe place for a young person? How can we help a child heal from trauma and crisis?

Kim Tschirret knew from her own personal story as a child with an abusive and alcoholic father that healing was possible through Christ and the help of a seemingly unlikely source: horses. Kim found solace in spending time with a horse as a young girl and knew that others could find healing too by engaging with these magnificent animals. It is what led her to start Hope Reins, a non-profit organization in Raleigh, NC, that "pairs kids in crisis with rescued horses to find hope and healing." What has transpired is a beautiful story of redemption as horses and children, both facing painful emotional wounds, have found healing through the power of their connection with one another. Since its' inception in 2010, Hope Reins has helped over 2,600 kids in crisis at no-cost to the families it serves.

Davey sits down with Kim to talk about how our past pain can lead us into an incredible redemption story for others, what kids need to feel safe, and how any adult can be a trusted source of hope in a hurting child's life.

Resiliency after trauma is possible and Kim's story shows us what a powerful salve love can be for both discarded animals and wounded hearts in the quest for restoration.

Whether we realize it or not, we’re all preachers. Even if we aren’t on a stage with a microphone or a pulpit, we all have at least one person listening to what we have to say: ourselves. In her new book Preach to Yourself, Haley Morgan talks about how we can combat the lies of the enemy by preaching God’s truth to ourselves. Haley sits down with Davey to discuss how to preach to yourself, and much more.

When Ericka Andersen met her husband Rick, she wasn't stepping into the average American relationship. Most people can't even imagine growing up like he did. Rick was raised in an environment rife with substance abuse, severe mental health problems, attempted suicides, and more. Ericka shares Rick's story with Davey and talks about the healing that God can bring to the darkest of places.

Buy Ericka's book: Leaving Cloud 9