Shauna Wallace shares an amazing story with us today. The eating disorder bulimia, caused Shauna to have an unhealthy focus on her body. It wasn't until God revealed to her that her body image issues had become her idol, that she was able to successfully overcome her eating disorder. Shauna has grown in Christ and continued to be used by God over the years. Shauna is a knowledgeable Bible teacher and she shares her story so that others can be changed.

Today I’m talking to Misty Philip. Misty has struggled over the years with miscarriages, and the death of her son Liam, who was stillborn at 20 weeks. Misty shares not only her faith, but her faith in God’s goodness through these trials. Misty’s faith in God’s overall plan for her life has helped carry her through these difficult times. Misty’s story is a reminder that God is good each and every day. He’s good when things go our way, and He’s good when we are facing difficult circumstances.

Misty has been married to Peter for almost 25 years, and she has 3 sons still in school - high school and college. Her baby is 15 now! She worked for Enron and other corporate positions, but she left that to return home to homeschool her sons. At the time she felt led to leave her corporate positions, she was the breadwinner for her family, so that was a really big leap of faith for her whole family!

• The role stress played in being able to conceive
• The physical problems that her first son had at birth
• Her physical issues during her pregnancy
• Ways she made changes to help her trust God with her pregnancy issues
• Finding out that her son was not compatible with life
• Why abortion was not an option for her
• The experience of having a still birth
• Why having a special needs child was fine with them - they trusted God
• How her second born son lived with the misdiagnosis of autism for most of his life
• Why she chose to go through the process of a funeral and public recognition of life
• Why she feels strongly for life and defends all life
• How she feels about grieving and when it should happen
• The types of women she is now able to speak to because of her miscarriages and still birth
• How her marriage survived the family trials

Recommended Books:

One Thousand Gifts - Ann Voskamp

This week, Casey has a chat with guest Renee Law about her struggles and triumphs over mental illness. After experiencing a traumatic event with her daughter, Renee began to struggle with debilitating panic attacks and anxiety. Simple tasks like driving and even being alone, were enough to send her into a panic.  Things escalated to the point where Renee’s life was really not her own. 

A self-proclaimed “worrier,” Renee simply did not have the support or resources to see her anxiety and panic disorder for what it truly is, a disorder. By taking steps of faith with Jesus, fighting lies with truth from Scripture, and the support of her faithful husband, Renee has managed to overcome panic and fight down anxiety. Her mission now is to exemplify vulnerability and share her journey with other Christians so that they can overcome mental illness and live their lives free of shame and guilt. 

In this week’s podcast: 

• Experience Renee’s honesty and vulnerability as she shares her story. 
• Learn the tactics of faith Renee uses to combat anxiety and panic. 
• Rejoice in the ways Renee is currently overcoming the temptation to worry. 
• Renee shares about her ministry in Huntington, WV, and how her own story has impacted the lives of others. 
• There is grace for you in your struggles! Hear Renee’s encouragement to you. 
• Learn how to spot mental illness, and how to love on those who are suffering from it.

Links

Renee’s Ministry Blog

http://hopeattheheart.blogspot.com/

Today’s guest is Kathleen Tysinger. She’s here today to share the story of her fibromyalgia diagnosis. She went from having a busy life, to dealing with the emotional and physical changes brought about her diagnosis. 

Kathleen was raised in a Christian home and it laid the foundation for her faith-centered adult life. She’s a wife, and mother who had her world turned completely upside down by chronic illness. She always prided herself on organization and productivity, but in 2015 she went from being incredibly active, to being hospitalized with a mystery illness and in immense pain. She was eventually diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia. Needless to say, her life is now completely different than it used to be. 

Listen as she tells the story of the dramatic, life-changing diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue.

In this episode Kathleen also discusses:

• Her active lifestyle and Type A personality prior to her illness
• Going from the girl in control, to the girl with no control
• Wrestling with God over her illness, diagnosis and condition
• The more she surrendered, the more control she had over things……the paradox.
• The fears she had for her future, her marriage and her ability to parent
• How she questioned God’s goodness, when she had been previously trusting God with her life.
• The hard days - what they looked like and what they felt like
• Sometimes you don’t look sick, even when you are at your lowest point
• Lessons learned from being still
• The long-term outlook she has after dealing with her illness
• Why she needed prayer for more than healing - she needed a heart shift.

Having this diagnosis and living with chronic illness isn’t easy. There’s the constant temptation to wish for life to be the way it used to be. However, when you understand that God has a plan to use you through your present circumstances, you can actually thrive in less than desirable circumstances.

Casey talks with Tenneil Register on what it looks like to look to the cross inside of a blended family. The hardships and lessons that came with being a mom to 5 but also those really sweet moments when you can be open and vulnerable about being human and not always having it all together.

Casey has coffee with a few close friends Jana Daigle, Sarah Pipes, and Renee Hebert as they discuss what it looks like for them to be still in a very busy world.

Join us for fun with the girls!

Casey talks with Shannon Caton about being sexually abused as a child and developing an eating disorder to have some semblance of control over own body. She talks about how being obedient to what seemed like a crazy request from God turned into her healing and eventual forgiveness of the man that hurt her.

Casey talks with Jana Daigle about what her daily life looks like battling a long term illness while processing the shame that she feels. Jana describes how she handles the "why me" of her story and how she had to learn to accept being served instead of doing it all herself.

You can find Casey on: 

Twitter: @steadfastpdcast

Facebook: The Steadfast Podcast 

Instagram: steadfastpodcast 

They talk about various topics such as; how as a society we need to shift our thinking about the sex industry, how God began to heal her, how she began to recover her self-image from what it once was, and what it looks like to be married now. 

Also Rebecca talks about what trafficking looks like on college campuses and her brochure for girls to help identify if they are dating a trafficker. Rebecca’s ministry helps victims currently on her website rebeccabender.org so if you are a victim or you would like to get involved please visit her website. You won't want to miss a minute of this episode!

You can find Casey on: 

Twitter: @steadfastpdcast

Facebook: The Steadfast Podcast 

Instagram: steadfastpodcast 

Casey talks with Courtney Smith about her addiction, recovery, and finding freedom.