Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 231 - Finding Perspective in the Unexpected with Kelley Scites

What do you do when life takes a turn you never saw coming? How can you step into a story you didn't plan for yourself?

For Kelley Scites, the wrestling with those questions began after an unexpected surgery. What had promised relief from pain and a new lease on life ended with having to be put on full time oxygen. The life she had imagined as an active mom came to a screeching halt as she had to adapt to this new pace of living. But it was through this shift in her story that Kelley began to see the importance of perspective. Living focused on Heaven rather than her current circumstances began to give her hope in what at times felt hopeless.

In this honest conversation, Davey sits down with Kelley to talk about why perspective is so important in circumstances that won't change, learning to trust God with the outcome of our story and choosing growth over bitterness.

The details of Kelley's story may be different than yours, but they offer a rich insight into how our perspective can make or break us in the middle of hard things.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 230 - God's Sovereignty in Our Darkest Moments with Greg and Cathy Buffkin

It can be so hard to see, let alone accept the hand of God in the middle of our deepest pain. How can you learn to trust God's sovereignty in your darkest moments?

For Greg and Cathy Buffkin, that was no small feat. After losing their adult son Ryan to suicide, it was difficult to accept their loss and find the strength to move forward after so much pain.

Living every parent's greatest fear, the Buffkins found themselves wrestling with difficult emotions and yet, managed to find the Lord in the most heart wrenching loss they had ever endured.

From their pain, they have a new found purpose as they've sought to equip others as they navigate walking alongside someone who has lost a child.

In this episode, Davey sits down with Greg and Cathy to talk about what it looks like to experience God's sovereignty in grief, the best ways to support someone who has lost a child, and the difference between healthy and unhealthy ways of healing after loss.

Grief is an inevitable part of our lives this side of heaven, which is why this conversation is so important for all of us as we come face to face with pains we never imagined.

Whether or not you've endured the loss of a child, this episode will give you important insight into what it means to choose healing when grief threatens to overwhelm.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

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.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

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.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 227 - The Antidote to Fear with Katie Piazza

What do you do when fear wants to rule your life after loss? How do you find freedom when anxiety threatens to steal your peace?

For Katie Piazza, it was the truth from God and His Word that set her free from what could have been a life full of unending anxiety. After losing her young daughter Colette to cancer, Katie faced a decision that would be difficult for any mother to make: would she allow fear and despair to rule over her life and home or would she choose the antidote to fear, Jesus? Though a long and difficult journey, Katie choose to place her hope in Christ even after such a devastating loss. From that, she has experienced freedom like never before.

In this episode, Davey sits down with Katie to talk about how to reconcile God's goodness in the midst of terrible circumstances, where to place our hope when life is hard, and how to live unafraid of the future in spite of all the pain and grief we face.

You don't have to know the deep ache of losing a child to encounter the incredible encouragement Katie's story and faith offers to anyone who wrestles with fear, despair or regret in a broken world.

In this episode, Megan joins Davey to talk about learning to take difficult seasons step by step, why knowing the truth of God's Word matters in the midst of it and how community can help us along the way in our pain.

Whether infertility is part of your story or not, this conversation will teach you how to walk in your own hurt over the loss of a dream as well as how to help others through theirs.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 226 - Grieving What Never Was with Megan Smalley

How do you grieve what never was? What does it look like when your grief is over a dream rather than a reality?

For Megan Smalley, learning to navigate the unseen grief and pain of infertility was difficult and at times, lonely. Megan experienced the whole range of emotions that came through her initial diagnosis of infertility to the arduous, sometimes discouraging path through IVF to the wrestlings that came after three miracle babies. At no point was her journey easy, but within it, God had important lessons and unending comfort to guide her through. And from that, she was able to in turn help others walking a similar path through an online community called The Infertility Sisterhood.

In this episode, Megan joins Davey to talk about learning to take difficult seasons step by step, why knowing the truth of God's Word matters in the midst of it and how community can help us along the way in our pain.

Whether infertility is part of your story or not, this conversation will teach you how to walk in your own hurt over the loss of a dream as well as how to help others through theirs.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 225 - Wrestling with God in Grief with John Onwuchekwa

How do you find your way back to faith when grief seems to tear it apart? For Pastor John Onwuchekwa, losing his brother Sam sent him down a path that he never expected.

Having spent his whole life teaching others about the goodness and power of God, John found himself questioning the very foundational truths he so often preached.

Grief made him feel like a liar. But he slowly began to see that it was in the wrestling that these truths and others he hadn't learned, could be found.

Through community, honesty with God and persistence, John traveled the road back from what seemed like a lost belief into a deeper faith than he ever could have imagined.

In this episode, join Davey as he and John talk about the importance of others walking with us in grief, the wrestlings that can come out of loss and why hindsight is better than insight.

If you are finding yourself drifting off the path of faith in your pain, this conversation will encourage you to find your way back.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 224 - Redemption Out of the Dust with Chris and Steph Teague

What happens when the life you've built turns to dust? For Steph Teague, it began with just a few short sentences: "I don't think I believe in God anymore and I want a divorce".

Hearing those words from her high school sweetheart, Chris, was devastating and yet, she slowly began to rebuild her life after such a deep hurt. Chris was on a seemingly separate journey through addiction, doubts, and deconstruction.

In time, the Lord got a hold of Chris' heart and he experienced true life transformation, only to realize the mistake he had made in leaving his wife. Through God's kindness, the two would later reconcile, remarry and go on to start a band called Out of the Dust, where they would write songs of the loss and redemption in their story.

Join Davey, Chris, and Steph as they talk about how to trust God when those we love wrestle with doubts and deconstruction, healing a marriage after brokenness, and the importance of community in whatever pain we face.

This episode is an encouragement for anyone who feels like life's circumstances are beyond repair and who longs for redemption out of the dust.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 223 - Healing from the Hurt of Purity Culture with Carlie Tice Cleveland

What do you do when you realize the things you've been taught don't quite match up with God's Word? How do you navigate when what you believed to be true of the body of Christ doesn't hold up when you need care and protection?

For Carlie Tice Cleveland, experiencing an abusive relationship was painful enough yet more hurt was heaped upon her when the response of Christian leaders was shaming and blaming. It was through that difficult season that Carlie began to rightfully question some of the lessons she had learned through the years about purity.

Her questions led her to untangle some prescriptive religious rules that ignored the heart of God's purpose in pursuing purity. In this episode, Carlie and Davey talk about the heart of the matter when it comes to sexual ethics, warning signs in abusive relationships and the importance of deconstructing ideas that don't align with scripture.

This conversation is so important for those who know or love young people who may be wrestling with what purity truly means.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 222 - Making Today Count with Liset Navas

What if your worst-case scenario happened? Could you still say that God is good? For military spouse Liset Navas, those questions prompted a searching and wrestling with God long before she lost her husband, US Marine Captain Mo Navas in combat in 2020.

Just days before the world shut down from Covid, Liset got the knock at the door that no military wife wants to receive.

In her grief, Liset found that she had to answer those hard questions about God and His goodness while walking her four young children through the painful loss of their father.

In this episode, Davey has a conversation with Liset about the importance of numbering our days as well as our spouse's, grieving with hope, and leaning into the fears and doubts that come before and after a loss.

Whether or not you are a military spouse, this episode is a powerful challenge for us all to keep a heavenward perspective about life and learn to live each day to the fullest.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 221 - Finding Beauty in the Valley of Miscarriage with Abbey Wedgeworth

What do you do when loss reveals more questions than answers? How do you navigate the doubts and anger that come when God doesn't answer a prayer or longing?

For Abbey Wedgeworth, finding beauty in the valley of miscarriage was no easy feat. It was through her wrestling in her pain, that she began to see the lessons her heart needed to learn, even though her mind knew the truth of God's Word.

While Abbey was well-versed in her knowledge of God's truth, the loss of a pregnancy brought a deeper understanding of the goodness of God in moments where she may not have fully felt it. And it was in one of her greatest pains that God brought forth an important and needed ministry for other women walking through a similar loss.

In this raw and honest episode, Davey and Abbey talk about what it looks like bring our honest questions to God, the ways suffering can teach us to depend on the Lord in a new way, and the humility pain and lament offer us.

You don't have to have experienced a miscarriage to glean from this rich conversation and find beauty in your own valley, whatever it may be.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 220 - Life Is a Vapor with Micah McElveen

After a near-death experience, how do you return to life? For Micah McElveen, it took almost losing his life to begin to live fully alive.

After diving head first into a wave as a teen, Micah found his story taking an unexpected turn due to a near fatal injury. In what can only be explained as a miracle, God gave Micah a second-chance at life and the realization that life was truly a vapor.

It was from the difficult journey through the physical, emotional and spiritual pain that God showed Micah the purpose He had for him. Years later, Micah began a world-changing ministry called Vapor that serves the most marginalized and in need people around the globe through clean water, medical care and meeting other physical needs while sharing the gospel.

It is through that work and his own story of suffering that Micah has been given a unique perspective on what it means to live fully alive, how to find purpose when life threatens to take it away, and the importance of caring for the least of these in the world.

Davey sits down with Micah for an important conversation that will help you look at your own story and know that you are alive to make a difference.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 219 - Wrestling through the Emotions of Job Loss with Dale Kreienkamp

"We're letting you go." It's the words no employee wants to hear and yet, job loss is at a staggering high. What do you do when the company you've given your time and talents to tells you they no longer have a place for you?

Job loss and unemployment is more than just a financial loss, it can lead to a spectrum of emotional, spiritual and mental pain points as well.

Dale Kreienkamp knows all too well about the feelings that can come after being let go, having experienced it not once, but twice in his career as an executive.

In this episode, Davey sits down with Dale to talk about how to wrestle through the emotions of losing a job, practical steps to take in the waiting, and how to help those we love who may be going through unemployment.

Whether or not you personally are walking through this, you'll want to listen to this episode to gain insight on what to do when life takes an unexpected turn.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 218 - Learning to Depend on God after Loss with Lisa Appelo

Have you ever asked yourself how life can be good again after a devastating loss? Have you found yourself having to learn to depend on God in your deepest pain?

Author and speaker Lisa Appelo knows all too well what it looks like to search for meaning and joy in life when your world falls apart. In the summer of 2011, she found herself a widow and single mom of seven children after the sudden, tragic loss of her husband, Dan.

Davey chats with Lisa about how she walked her children through their own painful grief, how death revealed her idol of self-sufficiency and how she learned to lean on God for everything in her journey towards healing.

Whether or not you have lost a spouse, Lisa's wisdom on how pain can shape us and wake us up to eternity is for you. Her story is a reminder, no matter what your pain, that life can be good again.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 217 - Holding onto Hope in the Midst of War with Yuriy and Madison Perekotiy

For many Americans, the recent headlines about the war in Ukraine came as a shock, but for the people living in the reality of the conflict, life has felt unstable for quite some time.

Ukrainian missionaries Yuriy and Madison Perekotiy know firsthand what it is like to live in a place where wars and rumors of wars exist as part of daily life. But when the most recent invasion happened while they were in the United States for a visit, the helplessness of being so far from home and the people they know, love and serve became a difficult reality to bear.

In this episode, Davey and Kristi have a candid conversation with the Perekotiy's about what is happening across the globe in Ukraine, the trauma that war can unleash on so many and how others can step in and help, no matter where they are.

If you've been watching the news and feeling at a loss as to what to do, you won't want to miss the insight and honesty the Perekotiy's share about how we as believers can help the most vulnerable in the world right now.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 216 - How to Heal Our Racial Divide with Derwin Gray

In a world so broken, it is no wonder that division can be seen everywhere, even within the walls of the Church. The past few years especially have shone a light on how pervasive the sin of racism still exists to this day within our communities and within the body of Christ.

Through his own personal experiences and his study of God's word, former NFL player turned pastor, Derwin Gray, has a vision for how healing can come where there is so much pain when it comes to the topic of race.

The early Church proves that God's desire for His people is diversity and healing our divides is possible through the power of Christ's resurrection.

Davey talks with Pastor Derwin Gray about what it looks like to heal our racial divide, encouragement for those who have experienced racial trauma, how to deal with the sin of racism in our hearts and a hope for a future in which we all see the beauty in God's design.

Let this conversation embolden you to become an agent of change in your church, your community, and your home.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 215 - The Path Out of Loneliness with Dr. Mark Mayfield

When it comes to our struggles with our emotions, pain and story, one of the most difficult by-products to navigate is the loneliness that we can experience as a result of our journey.

A pervasive sense of being unseen and unknown can lead to a deep feeling of hopelessness. With raw honesty, Dr. Mark Mayfield shares his own personal journey in learning how his unhealed emotions led to a feeling of being alone and how finding language to identify what he was experiencing brought him to a place of healing.

In this conversation, Davey and Mark sit down to talk about what loneliness is, what it can to do us and how we can find the path out of loneliness.

Whether you've felt bouts of loneliness because of the recent pandemic, have felt isolated as a pastor or church leader or if depression and anxiety have made you feel alone, this conversation is for you.

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Episode 214 - Happiness is Down Syndrome with Misty Snyder

What happens when the excitement of a pregnancy comes to a screeching halt with the words you never expected to hear: Down syndrome?

For many parents, it can feel like a life sentence of fear and unknowns. What started out as a grief over the life Misty Snyder was expecting to have with her second-born child, ended up to be one of her greatest gifts.

While she wrestled through the anxieties and mourned the expectations of what she thought motherhood of two would be like, Misty has found a richer, more fuller life than she could have ever imagined. She has taken her pain and turned it into a vibrant, encouraging community called Happiness is Down Syndrome to support other parents grappling with the challenges and joys that come with loving a child with Down syndrome.

Join Davey and Misty as they talk about what to do when life takes an unexpected turn and how to find happiness in the midst of it. Whether you are a parent of a child with special needs or just know one, this episode will help you see the good in the hardest moments of life.

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Amy Sylvestre Amy Sylvestre

Episode 213 - Experiencing God’s Breakthroughs in Infertility and Miscarriage with Traci McCombs

How can you experience God's breakthrough when your circumstances seem to go from bad to worse? For Traci McCombs, that journey was a long and difficult one as she endured several miscarriages, a season of infertility and a cancer diagnosis while also facing the challenges of being a military spouse.

Just when she thought all hope was lost, God broke through in unexpected ways. In this conversation, Davey and Traci sit down to talk about what it can look like to learn to trust God instead of the outcome of our situation and how God's peace and love are available to us no matter what unfolds in our story.

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Episode 212 - Walking with Grief with Clarissa Moll

How do we learn to walk with grief? Clarissa Moll has been learning to do just that ever since losing her husband, Rob, in a tragic hiking accident in 2019. Through her pain, Clarissa has seen grief transform her into a more compassionate person while teaching her how to live more fully in the midst of great loss.

In this conversation, Davey and Clarissa sit down to talk about what to do with the most intimate, sacred parts of your story, how to transform your trauma into post-traumatic growth and ways to help others who are hurting while still in your own pain.

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