Flying Free

Women who've escaped abusive relationships often become stuck in the healing process. Trauma has disconnected them from their bodies. They obsess over information that explains the pain they've been through. The dreams they had for their life still seem out of reach. They are plagued by self-doubt and self-hatred. Everything still revolves around the past, and their exes.  Sarah Ramsey, a toxic re...

Christian women facing divorce experience tremendous fear around how to protect their children and help them heal. In today's episode, I answer listener questions about staying connected to your kids post-divorce, how to handle parental alienation, a healthy approach to decision-making, figuring out if your husband is really changing, and more!  In this episode, learn: Why making tough decisions d...

Whether you've escaped your abusive marriage or not, your children bear the marks of a toxic home environment. They may even have to see their abuser on a regular basis, through scheduled visitation. Which raises the question: How do we keep our kids from further harm and teach them to protect themselves when home, the very place they are supposed to be safest, is damaging to their bodies, minds,...

We offer a ton of free resources to help Christian women feel some hope and like they aren’t alone in their painful marriages. But do you know where I personally show up every week to answer the deeper questions from individuals? To coach women on their specific problems? To teach classes and create new workshops and offer in-depth interviews with experts and survivors? To help women of faith crea...

Our questions are based on our beliefs. “God did nothing to prevent my abuse. Should I trust him for anything?” “Since separation, I have begun to avoid the Bible, church, and spiritual stuff. Where do I go from here?” “My church kicked me aside after my divorce. How do I find a safe one?”  When our life falls apart, our beliefs are challenged. This process is often scary, confusing, and painful....

In some Christian circles, the Bible is misused in order to control and neutralize half of the human race through a human construct called Patriarchy. In this interview with Rebecca Davis, we talk about what Patriarchy is, how it destroys women and families , and why it is not something the Bible promotes — but rather exposes.  This episode is for women who: Feel like the Bible has only ever been...

Guilt is killing you. Shame is overwhelming you. Fear is crippling you. You can hardly think straight.  The horror of your daily married life is mirrored by the agony within you. Natalie draws from her own story—the pains and the triumphs—to answer two listener questions from women just like you. These women have taken all the blame, and struggle with knowing their true responsibility—whether thei...

What if it’s not your fault that sex is bad in your marriage? Based on a groundbreaking in-depth survey of 22,000 Christian women, The Great Sex Rescue unlocks the secrets to what makes some marriages red hot while others fizzle out. Generations of women have grown up with messages about sex that make them feel dirty, used, or invisible, while men have been sold such a cheapened version of sex, th...

In this continuation of Episode 105 , Natalie discusses the different stories we tell ourselves to explain abuse and oppression in the world. You'll learn how to question these stories, how to discover the results these stories create in the world, and she'll give you some new ways of thinking about the problem that allow God to be both loving and powerful even in the midst of abuse and oppression...

When you're surrounded by injustice, it's easy to believe that's all the future holds for you, that's all family court holds for you. You wonder if there is any fairness for victims of abuse.  Judge Tim Fall stands as a contrast. Inside the courtroom, his rule is based on equitable and fair hearings for all. Outside the courtroom, he is an advocate for women and marginalized people groups. His int...

Why does God allow injustice and oppression? Survivors have to wrestle with this question when they lose their families, their freedoms, their children, their finances, their homes, and their churches. What kind of God allows wickedness to prevail while victims suffer alone? In this episode Natalie talks about five different ways of believing about God and how each belief is a different choice tha...

It's the deepest form of betrayal you've ever imagined or experienced. In fact, you may have denied the truth for years, because the pain of reality was too devastating. It's destroyed your view of God, men, and family. If you're wondering "How do I heal from sexual and spiritual abuse?" your first step is to start with the truth of how you've been harmed. Acknowledging the very reality you denied...

You've been promised help in your destructive marriage and recovery hundreds of times. How many of those delivered? What if you could see and hear proof before you invested in a program that offers life-changing coaching, support, community, and resources? Three women talk about their progression from victims to survivors to helping others get free — becoming Christian women who care about other C...

Has another year passed by of the same hurt, the same torment, and the same questions? You want to change your story but you're stuck. Have you been wondering whether Flying Free or Flying Higher is your next step? Two women share their stories of discovering these groups and the myriad ways their lives changed for the better. From learning what narcissism and emotional abuse are to what life can...

 One of the most satisfying and helpful things for survivors of emotional and spiritual abuse is finding answers. After living in confusion and chaos for years, answers are a homecoming for our weary souls and roots for our new identity.  In this episode, Natalie fields three listener questions from women just like you, including: How do I deal with emotional triggers? How do I find safe people? W...

The Flying Free Podcast began in January, 2018 with the hope of educating and encouraging women of faith in destructive marriage relationships. Two years and one hundred episodes later we have thousands of listeners from all over the world, and the voices and hearts of Christian women are rising to their God-given place of human dignity and honor. This is a work of love birthed from a place of hea...

These are the questions that gnaw at your bones, that leave your soul hungry, and keep you up at night. Questions asked from the fire, the long road, the dark, and the doubt. Questions like: How do you deal with the pain of being rejected by your family? You're in good company. I understand; I can relate; and there are answers and a way forward, even in the middle of your deepest pain.  " The fact...

I get so many questions from women in the Flying Free and Flying Higher programs related to parenting older, adult children who grew up in toxic homes. One of the most common? How do I support my aduilt children who grew up in an spiritually and emotionally abusive home? These relationships can be painful, tricky, and even traumatic because often the adult kids blame their mom either for getting o...

We all want to be part of a story. One of bravery, overcoming the odds, healing, beauty, and a greater purpose. In the overwhelm of trauma, all of these things seem out of reach, stolen from us, lost in the wasteland of our pain. But reclaiming our lives through words is one of the most powerful and effective ways to heal, and it's available to anyone! Learn how writing your story will help you he...

Sara was trapped in an abusive marriage. Her pain was only exceeded by the overwhelming confusion. After exhausting every avenue of help and hope, she reached a conclusion critical to every survivor's freedom and recovery: You are not responsible for your husband's behavior. Over the last three years she's been working to heal and rebuild her life, eventually starting her own business as a copywri...

My life had become a war zone. If there were red flags beforehand, I didn’t see them. I thought I was part of a fairy tale, a beautiful romance, a love story for the ages. My husband changed after we got married. I followed the script, I made all the effort, I took all the blame and responsibility. Nothing ever helped and nothing ever changed. Until I realized I could save myself.  This is Barb’s...

Parenting small children is hard. Parenting small children in an emotionally destructive home is brutal. You’re in survival mode, living in a waking nightmare. You’re confused, in pain, and don’t know how to help yourself, much less your kids. You need clarity and guidance. This podcasts gives both. Natalie covers: the lies women/children believe because of abuse the dynamics created by an abusive...

Lipstick on a pig: when you take something stinky, gross, even harmful, and try to repackage it as beautiful, desirable, and helpful. That’s complementarianism — the religious belief that women were created to be ruled over, to fulfill only certain roles, and made inherently less than the men, who have a god-given right to be their mini-lords. Gender roles contribute to emotional abuse in the home...

You spend every conversation talking in circles, being told why you're always at fault, apologizing for anything he did wrong, and feeling like a piece of human trash. The chance that you're experiencing gaslighting is 100%. It's a favorite tactic among abusers because it's extremely effective. This podcast is a one-two punch of knowledge and empowerment, exactly what women stuck in the mire of ga...

What if your desire to avoid hurting anyone is actually the reason you ARE hurting them? What if you're actually hurting YOURSELF by living out this desire too? Boundaries don't hurt others, despite the loud voices that tell you otherwise. Healthy boundaries aren't meant to control other people, ensure they think well of you, or make you into a prickly cactus no one can approach. They're a way of...