Making Peace & Beyond Podcast

In this episode of the Making Peace and Beyond Podcast , Jamie Norton sits down with Ginny Long to unpack why so many of us hide behind masks, pretending everything is “fine” while we’re hurting inside. Together they explore attachment styles , the impact of childhood wounds , and how repeating familiar but unhealthy relationship patterns can keep us stuck. You’ll hear raw and honest reflections o...

Anger isn’t always what it seems. Beneath the shouting, silence, or simmering resentment often lies something deeper: fear. Fear of rejection, abandonment, failure, or even love itself. In this episode of the Making Peace and Beyond Podcast , Jamie Norton and guest Raman Baishnab peel back the layers of anger to reveal its true roots and how we can move from destructive patterns to freedom, peace,...

Jamie sits down with her dear friend Anne to talk about facing a terminal diagnosis, preparing for the end of life, and discovering the unshakable peace that comes from trusting God. With honesty, humor, and grace, Anne shares her journey through stage four cancer, how faith has shaped her outlook, and why she chooses to embrace each day as a gift. Whether you’re navigating your own hard season or...

In this episode of the Making Peace and Beyond Podcast , host Jamie Norton welcomes Scott Lessing to explore the journey of true transformation. They discuss the power of vulnerability, breaking free from shame, and how God’s healing work reshapes our identity. From overcoming addiction to learning to trust again, this conversation dives deep into the challenges and victories of spiritual restorat...

How do we connect with today’s teenagers in a rapidly changing world? In this episode of Making Peace and Beyond , host Jamie Norton sits down with Valerie O’Brian, founder of Aspen, to discuss the challenges of engaging with the next generation. From youth ministry to parenting, they explore the questions young people are actually asking—about faith, pain, identity, and even dinosaurs—and how we,...

How do we live with integrity in a world that often values image over authenticity? In this episode of the Making Peace and Beyond Podcast , host Jamie Norton sits down with her son-in-law, Dr. Jonathan Schaeffer, pastor of Grace Church and a leader in the Alliance movement. Together, they explore the power of living in truth, the necessity of transparency for healing, and the role of integrity in...

Jamie sits down with Danny for a heartfelt conversation about faith, struggles, and the journey toward true connection with God. Despite their generational differences—Jamie, 81 and Danny, 21—they share a common pursuit: discovering what it means to live in the joy and freedom Christ offers. Together, they talk about personal transformation, the impact of social media on relationships, and the imp...

Is singleness a problem to solve or an opportunity to thrive? In this episode, Jamie sits down with Isabella to explore the challenges and blessings of being single in today’s world. They discuss how society pressures women to seek completion in relationships and how to break free from the myth that marriage defines identity or success. Isabella shares her personal journey of heartbreak, rediscove...

How do the wounds of our past shape us? And how can God’s grace bring healing where we least expect it? In this heartfelt episode, Jamie Norton welcomes one of her oldest friends, Chris Meekins, to talk about the power of sharing your scars and the freedom found in vulnerability. Chris shares his journey of sobriety, recovery, and discovering peace after years of struggle. Together, they dive into...

What happens when the life you’ve built falls apart—again and again...and again? Pete and Joni Romito share their raw and powerful testimony of how God stepped into their brokenness and did what they couldn’t: rebuild their marriage. From the struggles of blending a family to confronting childhood trauma and wrestling with control, Pete and Joni's journey reveals the beauty of surrendering to God’...

One third of households in the U.S. (nearly 13.6 million) are single parent families. Being a parent is hard enough but being a single parent can be grueling. There is little social recognition of the complexities of raising children alone and almost no community/church support. In this episode, Jamie meets with Ginny Persons to discuss their experience of being single parents and the inevitable t...

In this episode, Jamie Norton is joined by Mark Valley to discuss one of the most significant barriers to personal growth and healing: the difficulty of change. Together, they explore why change is so challenging, the role of counseling, and the importance of confronting truth for genuine transformation. They also delve into the dynamics of shame, self-preservation, and the necessity of a safe env...

Are you a parent or an adult child who feels like you are “walking on egg shells” with each other? Are you angry or withdrawing from each other? This may be particularly true if the parent/child relationship was difficult.  Linda Nearhood and her daughter, Hope, struggled with each other for most of Hope’s childhood and their relationship was on the brink of ending when Hope reached her adult life...

"Anyone can die but only the blessed grow old..." Join Jamie Norton in this episode of the Making Peace and Beyond Podcast as she digs into the topic of healthy aging with special guest April Surovi, a certified dementia practitioner with over 14 years of experience. Together, they explore the importance of community, the misconceptions surrounding aging, and practical steps for maintaining mental...

We can be addicted to more than substances and recovery is more than just stopping- it is learning to truly live, love and successfully manage life’s stressors! In today’s episode, Jamie welcomes addiction medicine specialist, Raman Baishnab, MD to talk about the physiology of addictive behaviors and the complexities of recovery. Raman and Jamie talk candidly about their own struggles and give bot...

Are you struggling to understand the relationship of sex and love either in your marriage or your personal life? Are you puzzled about your inability to manage your body sexually? What is healthy sex anyway? How can God’s gift of sex destroy your ability to love? We live in a culture that has distorted the gift of sex in so many ways. In this episode Jamie has a frank discussion about sex with Spe...

Is your idea of yourself determined by another person’s opinion of you? Or a job? Or an achievement? Or some applause you have gotten? If so, you might be codependent! When we don’t know who we are, we become dependent on someone or something outside ourselves to tell us who we are. Unfortunately, our sense of who we are then becomes dependent on the opinion and affirmation of whoever or whatever...

Blown apart by control, criticism, betrayal, and adultery; Eddie and Sarah sought divorce. They were culturally in line with the cancel culture. At the time of their divorce, neither wanted reconciliation. They were convinced that there was no way back to each other. God had other plans! Fortunately, they both sought their individual healing through Christ and healing programs offered through thei...

A wedding is a noun that celebrates a moment of romantic expectations. A marriage is a verb that chooses daily to share life’s blessings and difficulties with another person. All too often a wedding does not translate to a healthy marriage. Forty to fifty percent of all first marriages in The U.S. end in divorce. For second marriages the percentage jumps to 60-65%. Fairy tales, popular music, and...

Is your world filled with chaos, anxiety and stress? So many of our lives seem overwhelming and make us feel as if our life is unmanageable. It often seems that the more we try to find a sense of control, the more out of control life feels.  In this episode, Jamie and Heather Palisen discuss how a Christ centered adaptation of the 12-steps of recovery offers a way of managing daily life for all of...

None of us are exactly alike. Our histories, needs, feelings, beliefs and perceptions are different. The more time and space we share with another individual, the more individual differences we will inevitably confront. Conflict avoidance resulting from a dysfunctional or abusive history, fear of rejection, survival responses, and lack of problem-solving skills can and will destroy relationships o...

Life is not a mental illness. Life happens! Life hurts! Pain, loss and suffering are inevitable. God gave us the process of grief to adapt to change and to integrate loss. But we live in a world where we believe we should be “happy” all the time and we have come to think something is wrong with us when we hurt or suffer. We tend to avoid or numb pain and suffer in silence. We never embrace the pai...

Anxious, stressed, irritable, lonely and exhausted? Ignoring your body, your spirit and your relationships? Are you working so hard to get to somewhere you are not that you never get to live where you are! Are you becoming a human doing instead of a human being? There is a place where we can live in peace, rest and relationship—it is called the present. It is the only place that we can really be a...

At some point during our lifetime, we all will be victimized. Life is inevitably filled with pain and suffering. Relationships will hurt and betray us, we will experience loss and disappointment, and life will seem unfair and often brutal. Unfortunately, we have become a society that has developed a false belief that, “once a victim, always a victim.” Many develop a victim identity that leads to a...

Are you tired? Are you always running, hustling, overworking, overwhelmed, stressed out, feeling like your life is on the edge of a cliff and will fall apart if you let go for a minute? You may be suffering from the “illusion of control.” The truth is that you never had control in the first place. The illusion of control has plagued us since the beginning of man. What would happen if you released...