Emotional Health Episodes

God says: Don't worry; look at the birds. How can this simple act chase away anxiety that harasses the mind, fires emotions, and troubles the body? When we look at the birds, we learn: The same God who cares for the birds will care for me. Val and her guest co-host, Jackie Greene, share how coming to God and lingering in His presence brings peace and provision into our lives.

"Prayer and Jesus," is the way for us to find hope, healing, and happiness in our struggles, suffering, and sorrow, says Pastor Jackie Greene. In this episode, Jackie shares how anyone can call out to God in their brokenness, and God will come close and walk through these dark periods with us. God has abundant Life waiting for us! John 10:10

In this episode, Val Brown interviews author Barbara Isaac Croce about her book 'A Journey into Hope: An Interactive Journal for Women.' They discuss the importance of processing thoughts and emotions and training the heart to look at life from a "Hope in God" perspective. Barbara shares the Biblical pattern for training the soul found in Psalm 42:11. The Psalmist acknowledges the current state of his soul--despairing and disturbed--then he directs his heart to God, to trust in Him, and to worship Him as his Help, his God to whom he can run. “What you focus on, grows. That’s the truth. If you focus on all the darkness in your life, that’s all your eyes will see—because we’re trained. This is how God made us: He made us to become what we look at. If you look at God the whole time and His goodness and His character, that’s what will grow in your life. And that’s a matter of perspective. And so we train ourselves; we train our hearts to look a certain way. There’s no magic…Hope is …

In this world, we have mental, emotional, and physical suffering; grief, disappointments, trauma, lack, relational difficulties, and more. Trouble and tribulation are common happenings to all. Is it possible to find Peace in a world of chaos with circumstances like these? Cindy Lou Rummel, the author of her new devotional, "Sereni-Tea, Finding God's Peace in a World of Chaos," shares how to find Peace in the most difficult circumstances. She says, "We can only have true peace on this side of heaven through Jesus Christ."

God, if You love me, why did You let this happen to me? Where are You? Don't You care? The heart of God for us in suffering is that we would find Him as very present help in our time of need, our Comforter in our suffering. Bad things happening to us are not an indicator that He doesn't care or that He doesn't love us. God is always good, even when our circumstances aren't good. And His love for us never ceases. Find yourself and the heart of God in the story of Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Jesus from John 11:1-45.

Do you need hope that overcomes in every circumstance? Hope in suffering; a comforting hope for devastating circumstances; hope when circumstances won't change; a God-sourced Hope; a way to direct ourselves out of hopelessness and into this life-giving Hope. This Hope exists--in God. "Now may the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

When I feel anxious or afraid in The Storms of Life, God gives me peace, strength & courage to help me fight what comes against me. "Sometimes God calms the storm, and sometimes He calms His child."

Codependency - My story in dysfunctional relationships. Codependency stifles healthy self-image, and activates coping mechanisms; thereby, we bring our dysfunction into our relationships. It takes time to recognize unhealthy patterns, but freedom and victory await us on the other side!

Being honest in emotions - Let's talk about it! Why is emotional honesty so scary and so hard to communicate? Often the roots are in our family of origin, our church, and dysfunctional relationships. Our family of origin may have taught us that "bad" emotions are unacceptable; "Fix your attitude, or I'll fix it for you!" Church may have taught us that emotions can be overridden by thinking differently; "By the way, here's the verse that fits that!" Dysfunctional Relationships sometimes "forbid" a person to express their true feelings, without a consequence. In this episode, we talk about why being honest in your emotions is acceptable, healthy, and good for the soul and spirit.

Guard Your Mind / Control Your Thoughts - Ashlee Frazier, Guest. Points from our conversation: From her book: What is going into your mind? What are you consuming? How are those things influencing your life? God tells us to guard our minds and exercise self-control over our thoughts. The more we think about something, the stronger, and more controlling that thought becomes. We CAN and SHOULD do the work to take control over our thoughts. Become conscious of what you think and how your thoughts are affecting your emotions and the course of your life; purposefully work with renewing your mind; clean out the closet / maintain the garden [of your mind]; let God and others you trust help. You CAN guard your thoughts and control your mind.

Taking Back the Narrative - Ashlee Frazier. Ashlee, the author of Taking Back the Narrative, talks with us about how external narratives seek an entrance into our minds and then control over our lives. Whatever narrative we embrace shapes our self-worth, our authentic identity, our emotional honesty, how we relate in friendships, our degree of confidence to relate to God in a personal way, the choices we make, and more. Gain the confidence to challenge areas where you have struggled or succumbed to unhealthy narratives and life practices.