The Nothing Is Wasted Podcast

Episode 312 - In His Hands with Jessika Sanders

What do we do when we find ourselves in the middle of a medical crisis with our kids? How do we learn to trust God with our most precious gifts, our children?

For author Jessika Sanders, learning to surrender and trust the Lord was a journey after she found herself in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). It was through that experience that she began to not only pray for her own child, but the countless others that she met while attending to her son's medical condition. As she saw the need for support and care for those in the NICU and PICU, she felt led to begin a ministry for parents who find themselves in the stress and uncertainty of a medical crisis. Her ministry, Praying Through, offers practical support and encouragement for families journeying through the NICU, PICU, and child loss. Her upcoming book co-authored with Eric Schumacher, In His Hands: Prayers for your Child or Baby in a Medical Crisis, helps parents with specific prayers to pray when the words may be hard to find.

In this conversation with Eric, Jessika shares how God often will prepare us in advance for the valleys we will walk through, the importance of surrendering to the Lord in a crisis, and ways that anyone can help a family facing a difficult medical journey.

If you or someone you know is a parent in the midst of a life altering medical diagnosis of their child, this episode will be a balm of hope in helping you remember that when everything feels completely out of your control, the Lord is inviting you to just be still and trust Him in the unknown.

 

Website: www.jessikasanderswriter.com
www.prayingthroughministries.org
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jessikasanderswriter
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JessikaSandersWriter/
Book: In His Hands: Prayers for your Child or Baby in a Medical Crisis https://a.co/d/fbqoKXi

Do you need a reminder in your pain that God isn't done with your story? Sign up for our free, 7 day devotional delivered straight to your inbox: www.nothingiswasted.com/7-day-devo

Do you have a child in your life dealing with some big feelings? Aubrey Sampson's new book, Big Feelings Days, can help kids and their adults process the pain of life. Get it now wherever books are sold: www.aubreysampson.com/big-feelings-days/

Want to start your Pain to Purpose journey? Learn more: www.course.nothingiswasted.com

Episode 311 - Incurable Faith with Andrea Herzer

What do we do when there is no cure for our pain? How do we live with joy and thanksgiving when our physical reality is a chronic condition?

For author Andrea Herzer, learning to find joy in her chronic pain and incurable diagnoses was a feat. While her mind longed to be grateful, her physical condition made it seem impossible. And yet through her journey with chronic pain, cancer, and an accident, she was able to see God's kindness to her in the middle of her literal aches. Learning to rely on others and keeping her faith when God doesn't heal has been a struggle and yet through it, she has experienced more and more of the Lord's goodness in her life. It was through her own story that she was able to take the lessons God was teaching her and write Incurable Faith: 120 Devotions of Lasting Hope for Lingering Health Issues.

In this conversation with Eric, Andrea shares how to hold on to your faith when God doesn't answer your prayers in the way you wish He would, where Jesus can be found in our physical pain, and why we can't expect medical professionals to be our saviors.

If you're experiencing any form of suffering that is chronic in nature, this episode will remind you that God gives us unimaginable strength in our greatest weaknesses.

 

Website: www.andreaherzer.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/incurablefaith
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/lifeforillness
Book: Incurable Faith: 120 Devotions of Lasting Hope for Lingering Health Issues
https://a.co/d/gKUQ5uq

Are you ready to take a step towards healing? Join Davey on our next FREE, live Zoom call and learn 5 Steps to Taking Back your Story. Sign up today at: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere

Need some hope right now in your valley? Or have a friend who could use some encouragement through suffering? The Pain to Purpose 42-Day Devotional is the perfect companion in your pain. Get your copy and gift one to a friend who needs it: www.nothingiswasted.com/store/pain-to-purpose-devotional

Are you looking to move from your pain into newfound purpose? Learn more about the Pain to Purpose course and start your healing journey today: www.course.nothingiswasted.com

Episode 310 - The Marriage Gift with Aaron and Jennifer Smith

How do we move through our deepest hurts in marriage? What do we do when the marriage we envisioned is not the one we are living in?

For authors and podcast hosts Aaron and Jennifer Smith, the difficulty they endured in the early days in their marriage made them wonder if they would even make it as a couple. Troubles with physical intimacy and disappointment threatened to undo their union. It took them learning to be vulnerable and transparent within safe Biblical community for God to start to heal the places of brokenness in their marriage. And it was through learning how to be honest with others that God began to reveal an opportunity for them to serve others in their marriages by sharing about their own. Through the Marriage After God podcast and their many books on marriage, including their latest, The Marriage Gift: A Daily Devotional Journey to Inspire, Encourage, and Transform Us and Our Prayer Life, the Smiths have been able to help others find healing in their relationships and to turn to God every step of the way.

In this insightful conversation with Davey, Aaron and Jennifer share how the struggles in their marriage taught them the power of prayer, how community can be an agent of healing in our relationships, and the way God can use our own vulnerability to welcome others to share their pain.

If you're in a season of difficulty in your marriage or know someone who is, this episode will encourage you to keep praying, even when you feel like giving up.

 

Website: https://www.marriageaftergod.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/marriageaftergod/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/marriagesaftergod
Book: The Marriage Gift: A Daily Devotional Journey to Inspire, Encourage, and Transform Us and Our Prayer Life https://a.co/d/dtqYVUn

Want to access all that Nothing is Wasted has to offer to help you in your healing journey? Join Community Plus and get resources like our masterclasses, Curated Pathways, and more for just $20/month. www.nothingiswasted.com/communityplus

We know every pain is unique. That's why we created Curated Pathways to give you everything we have that applies to your specific pain point. www.nothingiswasted.com/pathways

Do you need a reminder in your pain that God isn't done with your story? Sign up for our free, 7 day devotional delivered straight to your inbox: www.nothingiswasted.com/7-day-devo

Episode 309 - Experiencing God's Strength in Your Weakness with Emily Jensen

How do we begin to experience the strength of God in the middle of our weaknesses? How can we allow the Creator of all to enter into our greatest place of need?

For author and podcaster Emily Jensen, walking through her son's medical challenges revealed weaknesses in her spirit that were unlike any she had faced before. The missed milestones, the extensive plans for intervention, and her own grief in the midst of it all revealed to her a need for God's strength where she felt the weakest. It was learning to navigate the waters of parenting a child with special needs that led her to a greater reliance on the Heavenly Father's power in her life. Through co-hosting the Risen Motherhood podcast and her recent book, He is Strong: Devotions for When You Feel Weak, Emily explores what it looks like to truly lean into the supernatural strength we all need when it comes to all the ways we experience brokenness this side of heaven.

In this honest conversation, Eric sits down with Emily to talk about the different kinds of weaknesses we can face, the challenges of parenting a child with special needs and how the gospel applies to all of our weaknesses.

If you've ever found yourself at the end of your own strength, this episode will serve as an encouragement that it is in that place that God's power is most magnified in your life.

 

Website: https://emilyajensen.com
https://www.risenmotherhood.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyajensen/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmilyAJens
Book: He is Strong: Devotions for When You Feel Weak https://a.co/d/gkOMney

Has a recent loss, trauma or tragedy upended your world? Let us guide you through those early days: https://www.nothingiswasted.com/everythingchanges

Do you need resources to help guide you in your specific pain point? Our Curated Pathways are designed to give you everything we offer in one place when it comes to your unique journey: https://www.nothingiswasted.com/pathways

Life is difficult and pain is real. Join Davey as he helps you move through your pain and on to a life of purpose and meaning in a LIVE Zoom call. https://www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere

Episode 308 - Made for People: Why We Drift into Loneliness and How to Fight for a Life of Friendship with Justin Whitmel Earley

How do we live in the most connected generation and yet feel so alone? What do we do when we find ourselves struggling with loneliness?

Author and lawyer Justin Whitmel Earley argues that loneliness isn't the way God intended for us to live because we were made for deep and intentional friendships. It was his own journey through a season of depression and anxiety led him to discover the power of spiritual disciplines including the practice of embodied community. In his latest book, Made for People: Why We Drift into Loneliness and How to Fight for a Life of Friendship, Justin looks at how we as a culture have gotten to this epidemic of loneliness and how we can find our way back to what God has for us when it comes to friendship.

In this episode, Davey talks with Justin on how spiritual disciplines can help us in our suffering, the ways in which our daily decisions are forming us and how to combat loneliness with true, Christ-centered connection.

If you are struggling with feeling alone even though your life is full of interactions each and every day, this conversation will help you recognize how to take the first steps towards the life-giving friendships God has for you.

 

Website: https://www.justinwhitmelearley.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwhitmelearley/
Book: The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose in an Age of Distraction
https://a.co/d/jc0XVmY
Habits of the Household: Practicing the Story of God in Everyday Family Rhythms
https://a.co/d/gNVJHGk
Made for People: Why We Drift into Loneliness and How to Fight for a Life of Friendship
https://a.co/d/akLPtMI

Life is difficult and pain is real. Join Davey as he helps you move through your pain and on to a life of purpose and meaning in a LIVE Zoom call. www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere

Want to see healing and life transformation after the pain you've encountered? Check out the Pain to Purpose course and start the path towards healing today: www.course.nothingiswasted.com

Pastors, looking for a way to establish a path towards healing and redemption within your church? Join Davey Blackburn for a live call on how Nothing is Wasted can help: www.nothingiswasted.com/pastors

Episode 307 - How Suffering Shapes Our Hearts with Andrew Peterson

How does suffering shape our hearts? How do we tell the story of our pain in a way that both heals our own ache and helps others in theirs?

Author and recording artist Andrew Peterson is a storyteller. His beloved Wingfeather Saga Series tells an epic fantasy-adventure tale about three children caught in a great mystery. Exploring themes of courage, sacrifice, and redemption, Peterson masterfully captures the attention of audiences young and old alike. His understanding in the power of story came from his own love of story and through navigating his own valleys as he walked through a deep season of depression and seeing God's story reveled more clearly to Him throughout his life. As an artist, Peterson has deeply connected to audiences through his honesty in his music and writings.

In this conversation, Davey and Andrew talk about his personal journey through depression, the connection between writing and processing our lives, how we can hold both joy and sorrow in tandem, and what needs to happen before we start sharing our stories with others.

If you are wondering how to tell the story God is writing through your life, this episode will show you how to take the first steps in sharing the remarkable ways God is shaping you through both the ups and downs of your experience and will remind you of who the ultimate hero is in the story.

 

Website: www.andrew-peterson.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/andrewpetersonmusic/
www.instagram.com/wingfeathersaga
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WingfeatherSaga/
www.facebook.com/andrewpetersonmusic/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/andrewpeterson
Book: A Ranger's Guide to Glipwood Forest
https://a.co/d/4WiQ2SY
The God of the Garden: Thoughts on Creation, Culture, and the Kingdom
https://a.co/d/0SpDxfC
Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making.
https://a.co/d/2QUjOlA

Are you a pastor or church leader who wants to see redemptive healing take place in your church? Find out more about how you can bring Pain to Purpose to your church: www.nothingiswasted.com/churches

Do you need a reminder in your pain that God isn't done with your story? Sign up for our free, 7 day devotional delivered straight to your inbox: www.nothingiswasted.com/7-day-devo

Have a friend who is walking through something difficult? Invite them to our next 5 Steps to Taking Back Your Story zoom call with Davey Blackburn. Send them this link to sign up: www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere

Episode 306 - Practicing the Way with John Mark Comer

How do we practice the way of Jesus when our lives are riddled with pain and suffering? What does it look like to grow spiritually when we are hurting?

Author and Bible teacher John Mark Comer has been leading others towards what he calls an apprenticeship with Jesus, teaching how we can learn the intended rhythms and practices God wants us to engage in by simply looking to how Jesus walked and talked in this world. We are all being spiritually formed by something, he argues, and if we want it to be a formation in the likeness of Christ then we need to learn to sit with Him, become like Him and do the things Jesus did. This is the very message of his latest book, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become like him, Do as he did, which can help Christians learn the spiritual disciplines that Jesus taught and modeled for all believers.

In this deeply insightful conversation, Davey and Aubrey chat with John Mark about what spiritual formation is, what types of spiritual disciplines we should be doing in our seasons of pain and suffering, and the important impact of community when we are hurting. They go on to talk about the dark night of the soul, a spiritual experience often described by theologians but rarely discussed in churches, in which God removes the felt sense of his presence while remaining as near as He ever was. It can be one of the most disorienting experiences for those who encounter it and yet as John Mark shares, there is a richness offered in the spiritual life of the one who walks through it.

If you've been struggling to do basic spiritual disciplines in your suffering or if you've been wrestling with a deep sense of God's absence in your life, this episode is a gentle reminder that God is with you when you are hurting and that He invites you into rest and to simply be when you don't have the strength to do.

 

Website: www.johnmarkcomer.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/johnmarkcomer
Facebook: www.facebook.com/johnmarkcomer
Book: Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become like him, Do as he did https://a.co/d/8ux9p32

Do you need resources to help guide you in your specific pain point? Our Curated Pathways are designed to give you everything we offer in one place when it comes to your unique journey: www.nothingiswasted.com/pathways

Pastors, looking for a way to establish a path towards healing and redemption within your church? Join Davey Blackburn for a live call on how Nothing is Wasted can help: www.nothingiswasted.com/pastors

Would you like to bring hope and healing to your church? Learn how your church can help people find healing from pain and trauma through the Pain to Purpose Course: www.nothingiswasted.com/churches

Episode 305 - The Continual Journey Towards Healing with Davey Blackburn, Aubrey Sampson and Eric Schumacher

Have you ever wondered if you are still truly healing when the pain feels as fresh as the day you experienced a past loss or grief? How do we know that healing is happening as time moves forward, but our ache remains?

Davey Blackburn, Aubrey Sampson, and Eric Schumacher are not only hosts on the Nothing is Wasted podcast, but all have experienced their own seasons of deep grief, loss, trauma and tragedy. With pastoral wisdom and the heart of fellow sojourners in the valley, this episode is a unique roundtable conversation of what healing truly looks like at different points in our journey. Speaking from raw vulnerability, our Nothing is Wasted hosts share their own personal walk through pain and the often times messy, winding path towards healing.

In this conversation, Davey, Aubrey, and Eric tackle the role time plays in our pain, what to do when it feels as though God is absent in the days after loss, and how the journey towards healing is never a perfectly straight one.

If you are struggling to recognize whether or not healing is happening in your own life, this episode is a gentle comfort in knowing that hurt may remain for your days here on earth, but there is a hope beyond what you can see that will one day undo all the pain you've encountered.

 

Aubrey Sampson:
Website: www.aubreysampson.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/aubsamp
Facebook: www.facebook.com/aubsamp
Nothing is Wasted Episode 75 with Aubrey Sampson: https://www.nothingiswasted.com/podcast1/episode-75?rq=Aubrey%20Sampson
Latest Book: Big Feelings Days: A Book about Hard Things, Heavy Emotions, and Jesus’ Love https://a.co/d/gcJu4mC

Eric Schumacher:
Website: www.emschumacher.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emschumacher
Facebook: www.facebook.com/emschumacher
Nothing is Wasted Episode 267 Finding The Hope Of The Gospel In Miscarriage With Eric Schumacher:
https://www.nothingiswasted.com/podcast1/episode-267
Latest Book: Ours: Biblical Comfort for Men Grieving Miscarriage https://a.co/d/7YEwPu6

Do you need a reminder in your pain that God isn't done with your story? Sign up for our free, 7 day devotional delivered straight to your inbox: www.nothingiswasted.com/7-day-devo

Life is difficult and pain is real. Join Davey as he helps you move through your pain and on to a life of purpose and meaning in a LIVE Zoom call. www.nothingiswasted.com/starthere

Are you looking to move from your pain into newfound purpose? Learn more about the Pain to Purpose course and start your healing journey today: www.course.nothingiswasted.com

Episode 304 - Walking into a New Year After Loss with Davey Blackburn

How do we enter a new year after a loss or trauma? What do we do when it feels like that flip of the calendar means leaving something we held so dear in the past?

The truth is with every new milestone, including a new year, our pain can seem to be amplified by the memories of what we've lost. It can be hard to enter a new season knowing that parts of ourselves, people we love and our lives as we once knew them are in the year we are leaving behind. How do we even begin to navigate a beginning after such a tremendously painful ending?

In this episode, Davey spends some time answering the question of what it looks like to walk into a new year after loss, trauma, tragedy or pain. He shares his own personal journey after losing his wife Amanda and how we can still have agency in our lives when it seems like we have no control over anything in our lives.

If you're stepping into this new year with a sense that something so precious is remaining in the past one, this conversation will encourage you with practical ways that you can keep walking forward towards hope and healing.

 

Want to access all that Nothing is Wasted has to offer to help you in your healing journey? Join Community Plus and get resources like our masterclasses, Curated Pathways, and more for just $20/month. www.nothingiswasted.com/communityplus

Partner with Nothing is Wasted to share more stories of hope and healing by donating now: www.nothingiswasted.com/donate

Want to find out how you too can remove the debris of crisis in your life and move forward with a renewed sense of victory and purpose? Learn more about the Pain to Purpose course at: www.course.nothingiswasted.com

 

Episode 303 - Hope for the Holidays with Amy Sylvestre

The holidays can feel especially tender for those of us who have recently experienced a loss, trauma or transition. Figuring out how to move through a season where it can seem like the whole world is experiencing happiness while we are struggling with feelings of grief and sadness is hard.

How do we begin to find hope for the holidays? How do we navigate the waves of emotions and the changes in traditions we once held so dear?

In this special release episode, join Amy Sylvestre, Community Director here at Nothing is Wasted, as she shares practical wisdom from a previously recorded masterclass called Hope for the Holidays: Navigating the Season When it Hurts. This podcast episode is a special gift to you, our Nothing is Wasted listeners, as you walk through this season.

If the holidays feel different than years past because of the pain you are enduring, let this episode offer you tangible ways to honor your grief and make it through this Christmas season.

 

Find this and other masterclasses available in our store: www.nothingiswasted.com/masterclass or as part of our Community Plus Membership: www.nothingiswasted.com/communityplus

Do you need resources to help guide you in your specific pain point? Our Curated Pathways are designed to give you everything we offer in one place when it comes to your unique journey: www.nothingiswasted.com/pathways

Has a recent loss, trauma or tragedy upended your world? Let us guide you through those early days: nothingiswasted.com/everythingchanges

Want to help Nothing is Wasted to share more stories and resources of hope and healing? You can give now at: www.nothingiswasted.com/donate