The Nothing Is Wasted Podcast

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.

 

Book- Victorious: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through the Valley of the Shadow https://www.amazon.com/Victorious-Mother-Daughters-Journey-Through-ebook/dp/B08LMCL22R

http://thispresenthope.org

https://www.facebook.com/Colette-the-Victorious-103414871575330/photos

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.

 

Website: https://www.megansmalley.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MEGANSMALLEY/
Book: Give Grace: How to Embrace the Beauty of Life’s Brokenness https://www.amazon.com/dp/140021758X?psc=1&smid=A2JP70VDYUHTKB&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp
The Infertility Sisterhood: https://www.theinfertilitysisterhood.com

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.

Website: https://www.johno.co
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jawn_o/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnosr
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MrJawnO
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jawno
Book: We Go On: Finding Purpose in All of Life’s Sorrows https://www.amazon.com/We-Go-Finding-Purpose-Sorrows/dp/0310460115/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1PTJ7BY9UXHD2&keywords=we+go+on&qid=1651257118&sprefix=we+go+on%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-2

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.

 

Website: https://outofthedustmusic.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outofthedustmusic/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/outofthedustmusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Yp0ywd05n7U64KpZ8JSbu?si=bJa7JY6_TJmwhAsyqiLpdg&nd=1

Episode 223 - Healing from the Hurt of Purity Culture

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 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.

 

Website: https://www.carliecleveland.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlieraecleveland/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmv4z5NLTvn-ZYVQdcmfAIw
Real Truth Ministries Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealtruthministries/
https://www.therealtruthministries.com/

"Ask the Question" available on Spotify, Apple, Anchor, Google, and Youtube: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-the-question/id1615108377
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmv4z5NLTvn-ZYVQdcmfAIw

My Esther Bible Study:
https://www.carliecleveland.com/theblog/queen-esther

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.

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.

 

Website: https://www.abbeywedgeworth.com
Instagram: @abbeywedgeworth
Podcast: Held https://www.abbeywedgeworth.com/podcast
Book: Held: 31 Biblical Reflections on God’s Comfort and Care in the Sorrow of Miscarriage
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1784984779/ref=as_li_tl?camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1784984779&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&linkId=013acf4ce7fdcfd6c074f13b5bc2b033&tag=abbeywedgew01-20

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.

 

Website: www.micahmcelveen.com ; www.vaporministries.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/micahmcelveen/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MicahMcElveen/ ; https://www.facebook.com/VprMinistries
Book: Dying for Purpose: Light for the Lost, Directions for the Found

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.

 

Website: www.dalekreienkamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HowLongOLord/
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/DaleKreienkamp/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpwLNR4ACJ6BA0SOM5ZQTsQ
Book: How Long, O Lord, How Long? Devotions for the Unemployed and Those Who Love Them

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.

 

Website: https://lisaappelo.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisaappelo/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AppeloLisa
Book: Life Can Be Good Again: Putting Your World Back Together After it All Falls Apart