On each episode, Shannon Popkin and her guest talk through one of the most interesting or astonishing stories (narratives) of the Bible, and how to live like it's true. Know the story, share the story, live the story! Shannon is the author of five books, and speaks regularly for Christian women's retreats, conferences, and events. Shannon lives with her family in West Michigan. Learn more at www.shannonpopkin.com.
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Shannon Popkin Podcasts

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How to be a Non-Steamrolling Woman With Influence | Katie M. Reid | Judges 4 - Deborah
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51:51Have you been trying to influence the people around you by steamrolling over them? If you try to control and micromanage, they’ll resist your influence, not embrace it. But if your faith is in God, and you’re receiving wisdom from Him, you’ll become a faith-building asset to those you have influence over. I have Katie M. Reid, author of a new study…
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God Judges People Who Don't Want To Be Happy | Champ Thornton | Exodus - Plagues
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35:52How do we talk with our kids about salvation without overwhelming them or avoiding the hard stuff? In today’s conversation, I’m joined by Champ Thornton, author of 10 Questions About Salvation. We're talking about how to help kids understand faith, repentance, judgment, and mercy in a way that’s both truthful and tender. Champ shares from his own e…
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The Truth About God's Offensive Judgment & Rising Mercy | Lindsay Schott | Genesis 6-9 - The Flood
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48:59What if I find the flood kind of offensive? What if it makes me uncomfortable? If Jesus is kind and forgiving, how can God just end everybody? Lindsay Schott joins me to explore the flood narrative, where God grieves over human wickedness but also offers mercy through rescue. Lindsay shares how God transformed her judgy heart and gave her more comp…
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From New Age To New Believer: Community Vs. Judgment | Kara Seymour
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38:41What happens when a woman deeply entrenched in New Age invites her new community of Christian friends over to her house filled with Hindu statues and oracle cards? In part 2 of my conversation with Kara Seymour, she shares about how her new relationship with Jesus changed everything—but not immediately. Kara talks about the beautiful community and …
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From New Age to New Life: One Woman's Amazing Story | Kara Seymour
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36:50Kara Seymour was deeply entrenched in the New Age movement as a Kundalini yogi. She was also thoroughly convinced that Christians were judgmental, boring, and brainwashed. So she was as surprised as anyone when she met a group of Christian women who became her new best friends. I can't wait for you to hear her amazing story of transformation, the j…
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When You Get The Miracle but Forgo Gratefulness {Allison Brost}
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43:19When your heart is breaking, what does it look like to notice God's goodness? Can gratitude grow in the soil of deep grief? In this episode of the Live Like It's True podcast, I'm talking with Allison Brost—who lost a child—about how grief and gratitude can intertwine in the most unexpected ways. Listen in as we talk about the healing power of grat…
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God Wants To Be The Answer To Our Desperate Prayers {Rachel Wojo}
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28:09What is the answer to your most desperate prayer? Could the answer to your complex situation actually be quite simple? Join us for part 2 of this episode on the Live Like It's True podcast, where Shannon and Rachel Wojo finish their conversation on the story of Hannah's complex prayer to the Lord. She is desperate. She is misjudged. And yet she see…
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Desperate Prayers: Finding God's Strength in Dark Times {Rachel Wojo}
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38:54Have you ever felt desperate in your times of trial or grief? Have you been mad or hopeless about your situation? Join us for part 1 of this episode on the Live Like It's True podcast, where Shannon interviews Rachel Wojo about the loss of her daughter and associated times of her desperately praying to the Lord. By looking at the story of Hannah in…
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Is Your Girl Excited About Her Bible & Her Purpose? {Dannah Gresh}
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43:27Does your girl know what her purpose is? Is she ready to take a stand for Jesus in a crazy-hair sort of way? If you're not sure and that sounds a little scary (for you and for her!), join me for a powerful conversation with Dannah Gresh. Dannah is passionate about helping your girl find her purpose by meeting a Person in the pages of her Bible. In …
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Discipleship: Passing the Beautiful Baton of Grace {Hunter Beless and Courtney Doctor}
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48:58What would change if you thought of discipleship as passing the baton of grace from one generation to the next? Courtney Doctor and Hunter Beless have teamed up, not only to write a Bible study on Titus, but to model a Paul-and-Titus type friendship, rooted in discipleship. Join us as we discuss the relationship between Paul and Titus, the bad repu…
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Overwhelmed? Here's The Way Back To Vibrant Joy {Asheritah CiuCiu}
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44:33Have you lost your joy? Do you wake up tired and snap at your kids? Are you overwhelmed with all you must do? Asheritah Ciuciu, author and speaker, joins me for an honest conversation about how to live like it's true that Jesus's yoke is easy and his burden is light—especially if life feels exactly the opposite. Where else can I listen to this podc…
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When Your Giant Problem Looms, Worship Gives You Perspective {Donna Amidon}
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46:19When giant-sized problems pop up in your life, your feelings can't be trusted to guide you. Donna Amidon joins Shannon on the Live Like It's True podcast to talk about the story of Joshua and Caleb in Numbers 13 and 14. Learn how to choose worship to gain perspective and overcome your fear. Where else can I listen to this podcast? Go HERE to find t…
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The Surprise of Unusual Kindness to Strangers in Need {Kristin Elizabeth Couch}
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44:05Have you ever been the recipient of kindness that was surprising or unusual in nature? How did that kindness cause you to respond? On today's episode of the Live Like It's True podcast, Shannon is joined by author, Kristen Elizabeth Couch, to discuss Paul's journey from Acts 28, where he is shipwrecked, and thrown into an unknown territory with unk…
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How to Overcome Loneliness by Giving Up Control {Becky Harling}
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27:22What is making you feel lonely? Do you struggle to find an answer to this question and have you ever considered that it might be your need for control? Join us on this episode of Live Like It's True, where Shannon chats with author, speaker, and podcaster, Becky Harling, and continues the story of two sisters, Rachel and Leah, and learn about their…
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The Truth About Envy and Your Loneliness {Becky Harling}
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32:04Have you ever considered that your envy of others may be causing you to also feel...lonely? Maybe your time spent on social media is actually causing you to feel more alone and less connected, like you'd hoped. Are you constantly comparing yourself to others and noticing a growing distance between yourself and those with whom you are comparing? Joi…
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Introducing Jesus: What Happened When He Assumed Authority {Rachel Jones}
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35:13Do I truly believe that Jesus has all authority over this world? If so, then why am I fretting? Why am I losing sleep? Why do I have this innate need for control? Rachel Jones joins me on the podcast to talk about the day Jesus's authority was challenged in the synagogue. And the shocking events that unfolded next will convince you that this world'…
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Astonishing Faith Is Like A Puppy, Begging For A Crumb {Erika VanHaitsma}
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35:40Have you ever thought to ask God for just a crumb? Have you considered that the smallest piece of God's mercy is extravagantly more than what you need? Join us on this episode of the Live Like It's True podcast, where Shannon is joined by Erika VanHaitsma, from "The Context and Color of the Bible" podcast, to hear about how Jesus is astonished by t…
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Jesus: A Bettering Life Hack Or Satisfying Like Bread? {Felicity Carswell & Sarah Dargue}
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45:52Have you ever wondered how you can "come to Jesus," when you are living in the 21 century, and He is seated in heaven? Jesus said "come to me," but he spoke those words on a hillside in Israel more than 2,000 years ago. How do I come to him today? On today's episode of the Live Like It's True podcast, Shannon is joined by Felicity Carswell and Sara…
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People Love Your Success, but God Just Loves You {Vera Schmitz}
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35:55What do people celebrate about you? Do they love your performance? Do they cheer you on for your successes? And what happens when you can't deliver what everyone expects? Vera Schmitz experienced this, after training for—but not going to—the Olympics. Learn how you, like Vera, can revel in God's love and grace for you, which has nothing to do with …
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Christmas: How To Surrender Control And Receive The Impossible {Kristi Huseby}
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37:49"How can this be?" Mary asked the angel. She knew where babies come from. And in response God gave her—and us—tangible proof that he is the God who does the impossible. Joining me for part two of a conversation on the Live Like It's True podcast is Kristi Huseby. Join us and learn how you too can surrender to God and receive the impossible this Chr…
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Lessons from Mary on Daring to Surrender Control {Kristi Huseby}
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30:35What are you trying to control? How is it affecting your relationships with people and with God? Kristi Huseby joins me on the Live Like It's True podcast to talk about the story of Mary, who dangerously risked it all and surrendered to God. And God invites you to do the same. Bible Passage: Luke 1 Get your Freebie: False Narrative Watchlist Recomm…
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Story: How to Make a Point, Not an Enemy {Gabe Hartfield}
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33:38Would you like to learn how to make a point without making an enemy? Would you like a compelling way to offer truth in a world of competing narratives? In this second part of my conversation with Gabe Hartfield, we talk about the power of crafting effective stories that resonate with people—whether we're sharing them from a platform or in relations…
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Story: God's Captivating Way of Revealing Truth {Gabe Hartfield}
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30:59"This one time, when I was twelve..." The next time you're losing your audience, say this and everyone's head will bob up. There's something about story that captures our attention, isn't there? And God—the author of the Bible and the creator of human beings—knows this. Join me for a fascinating conversation on the Live Like It's True podcast with …
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The Powerful Habit of Lifting Our Eyes to See Others {Brenda Yoder}
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37:12What if we lifted our eyes more? What if we looked up from our screens and phones and took in the simple landscape? What if we made eye contact and actually noticed the people around us? Technology has given us ways to connect, but it's also complicated our relationships with each other as humans, don't you agree? Brenda Yoder is joining me on the …
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How to be Behind God's Door of Safety {Shadia Hrichi}
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31:03In the Bible, there's always a door between God's destruction and his deliverance. Some people try to blockade themselves and keep destruction out. But a much wiser approach—the one Rahab took—is to choose safety behind the door of deliverance that God provides. Are you behind the door? In part two of a conversation on the story of Rahab in Joshua …
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God's Astonishing Response to the Faith of Just One {Shadia Hrichi}
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34:33What would God do if there was only one in a city of thousands, who wanted to be rescued by him? And what if that one person was a prostitute? On the Live Like It's True podcast, we're talking about the astonishing story of the spies God sent to Jericho—not for a reconnaissance mission, but a mission to rescue a prostitute named Rahab. Guest: Shadi…
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How to Live Like It's True that God has Control {Kori Pennypacker}
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44:55How has God used a storm to show you that you're not in control? And how has he used that storm to invite you to surrender control to Him? In this episode of the Live Like It's True podcast, Kori Pennypacker of Bible2School.com and I are talking about the story of Jonah—the prophet who stubbornly tried to run away from God and was swallowed by a wh…
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The Surprise of Suffering and Empowering Truth {Amy Lively}
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48:01How do you expect the story to go, once you begin following Jesus? Do you anticipate bigger and better realities for your life? Have you considered suffering might be part of the equation? In this episode of Live Like It's True, Amy Lively and I discuss Peter's misconception about suffering and the hopeful truth that Jesus offers him. Guest: Amy Li…
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The Truth About Comparison, When You're the Mom with Less {Lara d’Entremont}
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44:19What if that other mom is able to raise six kids and chickens, plus make her own cheese, and you can barely keep up with your one child and keep him from the brink of disaster? Listen on: Apple | Spotify | Other Guest: Lara d’Entremont Bible Passage: Parable of the Talents - Matthew 25:14-30 Freebie: Live Like It's True Workbook Resound Media: Go t…
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A "Lifequake" Story of God's Faithfulness and New Beginnings {Tracie Miles}
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38:14Have you experienced a "Lifequake"? Perhaps an unwanted divorce, a job loss, a health or financial crisis? Tracie Miles and I talk about the context of Jeremiah 29:11—and what is and isn't promised to us in our lowest moments of exile. Tracie's story of God's faithfulness will inspire, challenge, and equip you for the new beginnings up ahead. Guest…
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Jesus's Assurance & Challenge for a Wounded Doubter {Dr. Michelle Bengtson}
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33:58Have you ever doubted that the Bible is true? That people could rise from the dead? That Jesus is really God? Today on the Live Like It's True podcast, Dr. Michelle Bengtson and I are talking about a wounded doubter named Thomas, and how Jesus responded. Find out how Jesus offers you both assurance and a challenge as well. Guest: Dr. Michelle Bengt…
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The Story that Will Make You Re-Think Your Scars {Dr. Michelle Bengtson}
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34:40Have you ever tried to hide your scars? And what about your hidden scars on the inside? Do you try to cover over the most painful parts of your life? And have you looked forward to having no scars in heaven? Today on the Live Like It's True podcast, Dr. Michelle Bengtson and I had a conversation that I think might make you rethink any misconception…
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How to Change Your Brain, Using Stories Of The Bible {Dr. Alan Weissenbacher}
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38:37Did you know your brain can change? And did you know willpower isn't what makes the change? This was a fascinating conversation with Dr. Weissenbacher on the Live Like It's True podcast, giving you some of the science that supports what we do here on the podcast. Rehearsing stories from the Bible can change your life! Listen to learn how. Guest: Dr…
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How Jadedness Blinds You and Simple Faith Makes You See {Melissa Spoelstra}
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46:36How has your jadedness kept you from seeing clearly? And how could simple faith open your eyes to the truth? Melissa Spoelstra and I are talking about a story in the Bible, where people were divided in how they saw Jesus after he leaned down and made mud by spitting in the dirt. The line dividing these people—and us today—will ultimately separate t…
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When You Can't See Why, But You Trust God Anyway {Carol Kent}
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27:22Why God? I don't understand why you're doing this? Have you ever cried out to God with a prayer like this? Last time we talked with Carol Kent about that horrifying day she got the unthinkable news that her son was being arrested for first degree murder. We talked about, "When God Says You Must Lay Down Your Isaac," and compared Carol's experience …
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When God Says You Must Lay Down Your Isaac {Carol Kent}
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35:04Have you ever been tested by God? Has he asked you to lay down someone or something that is precious to you, just like he asked Abraham to place Isaac on the altar? In this episode of Live Like It's True, Carol Kent tells her painful story of laying her precious son on the altar, before the Lord. Learn how to respond in faith when God asks you for …
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Vulnerable Faith, When it's Too Risky to Hope {Hope Blanton & Chris Gordon}
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52:48What if God eavesdropped on your heart? Would he hear you sighing and scoffing about impossible situations? Would he see you rolling your eyes at the idea things could change? In this conversation with Hope Blanton and Chris Gordon on the Live Like It's True Podcast, we're discussing the day God came to lunch at Sarah's table, and inviting her to b…
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The Truth About God's Control When You Feel Threatened {Beth Runkle}
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45:49God is in control. We say that, but sometimes it's hard to believe it with the whole world seems to be coming unhinged. In this episode of Live Like It's True I'm talking with military spouse, Beth Runkle, about a section of Sarah's story that is hard to read. Abram has put Sarai in a vulnerable position and she's taken by Pharaoh into his harem wh…
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The Interesting and Surprising Origin Story of God's People {Courtney Doctor}
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29:46Have you considered the magnitude of God's promises to you? Has your life been shaped by those promises, the way Abraham and Sarah's were? I'm so grateful for Courtney Doctor and her brilliant mind. Don't miss part one of this great conversation. This time, we're talking about all of the surprises tucked into the origin story of God's people. Guest…
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The Surprise of the Story is That God Takes Initiative {Courtney Doctor}
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29:07When Courtney was in her early twenties, she was in a church membership class, where the gospel was being explained and she kept raising her hand, saying, "I chose God. I know; I was there..." Can you relate with the sense that you were the one who chose God? What if your story is actually one of God taking the initiative? And what if that was actu…
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The Astonishing Resurrection of a Dead Marriage, Past Hope {Jill Savage}
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33:45If you don't know what to do because your husband doesn't seem to love you anymore, and you're worried your marriage is dead, this conversation about what God did in my friend Jill's marriage offers so much hope. Jill Savage is an author and speaker, and she and her husband Mark do marriage coaching—which might surprise you if you heard part one of…
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When He Lies And Betrays: One Wife's Story Of Redemption {Jill Savage}
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31:52She never expected what she saw on his phone that night. And no one expected the surprise ending to their story. Joining me on the Live Like It's True podcast, Jill Savage tells her story of discovering her husband's affair, and how God sustained her through a very difficult season. This is part one of a two-part conversation of redemption and hope…
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From Trauma to Testimony: One Mom's Story of Tenacious Faith {Sana Latrease}
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32:33When Sana when through the trauma of almost losing her nineteen-year-old son in a car crash, she did the unexpected: she shared the forty-three day experience on social media and asked the world to pray that God would do the impossible. Why? Because—as she says—then, "Everyone will know it was God." In part two of this conversation with Sana Latrea…
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From Trafficked to Triumph: One Woman's Faith Story {Sana Latrease}
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34:42Where was God, when a little girl was being trafficked by the mother who should have kept her safe? On the Live Like It's True podcast, I'm talking Sana Latrease to talk about her story of God's faithfulness, even in the middle of her childhood trauma. This isn't the story Sana would have written, but it's the story God wrote for her. Also check ou…
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One Woman's Painful Trial and Promise-Driven Perspective {Gabriela Puente}
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42:44At age 27, Gaby's cancer treatment are narrowing her options for one day having children. Yet Gaby walks this painful path between her trial and God's promises with perspective and hope. She shares her story in my latest episode on the Live Like it's True podcast. Gaby's story is also highlighted in my new Bible study, Shaped by God's Promises: Les…
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How to be Happy, Minus the Envy and Comparison {Melissa Kruger}
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39:09Have you been comparing yourself? Are you envious of someone God has treated "better" than you? In a story about envious grumblers who are comparing, Jesus invites you to be one of the happy ones instead. Guests: Melissa Kruger Bible Passage: Laborers in the Vineyard - Matthew 20:1-16 ESV Get your Freebie: The Live Like It's True Workbook Mentioned…
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Faith Tested: One Missionary Kid's Story of Commissioning in Crisis {Heather Cofer}
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33:01Would you ask your twelve-year-old to bravely live her faith, in a time of crisis? In part two of our conversation, Heather Cofer shares the story of her twelfth birthday in Mongolia and how—even when she was so afraid—her dad commissioned her to walk by faith. She also tells about the crisis her husband's family (also missionaries in Mongolia) fac…
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When God Says You Need to Leave Everything You Love {Heather Cofer}
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27:38What if God asked you to leave everything you love? Would you do it? Heather Cofer talks about her experiences as a child in Mongolia which still shape her life today. Heather's story is highlighted in my new Bible study, Shaped by God's Promises: Lessons from Sarah on Fear and Faith. Whether you're here because you're reading that book, or you're …
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When She Has More Wealth And I Want What's Fair {Lydia Brownback}
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50:17Why does she have more? Why do I have less? And what does Jesus say, when I want what's fair? In this episode of the Live Like It's True Podcast, we're looking at a story Jesus told in response to these very questions—the parable about the bigger barns. I'm so honored to have Lydia Brownback, author of the Flourish Bible Studies, joining me for thi…
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The Right and Wrong Way to Compare Sin {Lindsay Schott}
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1:04:20Have you ever felt unworthy, because of your sin? Or have you every tried to comfort yourself by comparing with someone who sinned in worse ways that you? In this series, we're looking at comparison stories that Jesus told, and this one is a story about comparing sin. But it's a story with a twist that might surprise you in the best way—especially …
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