Stories of Hope in Hard Times

After several surgeries and losing part of her skull, Christine Jacobson-Ware shares how feeling God's love helped her through the darkest part of her life. We also discuss: Why hugging is important How she moved from "I don't want to die," to feeling peace and thinking, "I'm not afraid. The reality of miracles How God can carry us and be with us in our most intense suffering. Why it is important...

Tamara K. Anderson shares 7 lessons learned on the 20 year anniversary of what should have been a fatal car accident. On February 11, 2001, my husband and I were in what should have been a fatal car accident. I am so thankful I survived and have been blessed with 20 more years of life. Life Lessons From the Past 20 Years The Cycle of Love and Service Humility and Saying "Thy Will Be Done"/Trust Go...

Sue Lamoree didn’t know why she was having a hard time walking until she was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis. She shares how she learned to navigate life with hope and faith from a wheelchair. On this episode Sue shares: The importance of "remembering" How God opens doors to our dreams in ways we didn't expect The benefits of Equine Therapy Get past the bitter and learn to be gracious God never...

I share a story and journal entry about how I felt shortly after my son was diagnosed with autism, and what one thing got me through. Updates on the Podcast But first, big news: On January 23, 2021, we hit the beginning of the third year of my podcast,  Stories of Hope in Hard Times.  Thank you for supporting me in this. Cool statistics about my podcast: Most of my listeners are in the U...

Mike Frazier was shocked when his wife told him she'd been a victim of sex trafficking. With God's help he found 3 tips to help his and others marriages. Dr. Mike's Story In this podcast Dr. Mike shares his story of coming to know God better when he felt so overwhelmed and broken. He shares: How God helps us with mercy when times get too hard for us to proceed alone. How God puts other people in o...

How often to we set an exciting goal only to be stopped by an insurmountable obstacle? On today’s podcast, Tamara K. Anderson shares 3 ways we can overcome these obstacles that prevent us from reaching our goals. 3 Ways to Overcome Obstacles Brainstorm about your biggest obstacles and visualize how you can overcome them successfully. Pray for help to overcome your obstacle. Sometimes you need to c...

Daren Falter is no stranger to failure, and talks about setting goals and priorities in the right order. He shows us how to succeed despite the challenges of dealing with Parkinson’s disease. In this episode, Daren talks about: An event early in his marriage which changed his perspective and goals Prioritizing the most important things in life and doing those first How God sometimes uses failure t...

Tamara K. Anderson shares an audio chapter from her book,  Normal for Me, which addresses the question: Does God give us more than we can handle? In today's episode Tamara shares: How she felt God has given her more than she could handle and how that phrase should be changed. What it felt like to be a "Zombie Mom" A powerful lesson about angels An humorous example of what 2 hours of my life l...

Mark Willis struggled through anxiety, depression, job loss and a pornography addiction before finding hope and healing in Jesus Christ. I had the opportunity to interview Mark’s wife Katy about her side of the story on my podcast earlier this year. You can listen to her episode here. In this episode we talk about: The importance of reaching out for help if you are suicidal How God often answers o...

Tamara K. Anderson shares her experience being quarantined for COVID and three things which helped her, along with the story of a Christmas miracle from WWI. Today I share three things which have helped me get through the COVID quarantine sanely: Gratitude Goals God I also tell the story of a the Christmas miracle of the truce which took place in 1914 during the first World War. Truly Christmas ha...

Teri Benson died for 26 minutes during the surgery for her aortic dissection. Listen as she shares the secrets to finding joy in life. In Teri’s podcast we discuss: How to deal with hard times Why it is important to have a purpose to pull you forward The reality of angels—both the heavenly kind and the earthly kind What heaven is like How God and prayer can help us You can choose to find joy in li...

On today’s episode Tamara tells about the gift of a friend in high school, sings the chorus of a song she wrote over 20 years ago, explains 3 reasons we need each other. Here are the 3 Reasons We Need Each other We need deep friendships which help us feel seen and heard. We have strengths and weaknesses to complement each other to make us “whole” as a team. We are God’s ministering angels on earth...

Abby Stephen's life changed when she was paralyzed in a car accident. But she beat the odds and is now a walking quadriplegic. Listen as she shares her wit and wisdom through her amazing journey of faith. Some of the topics we discuss are: Why she believes in miracles The importance of finding humor in hard situations Growing into a feeling of gratitude vs. just listing things to be grateful for H...

Tamara K. Anderson shares a personal story of a car accident and the lesson of gratitude she learned from reading her journal almost 20 years later. I also share 3 lessons we can apply during this time of year and a family tradition. Here is the transcription of today's episode: 0:01   Today I'm going to share with you a story of a car accident I was involved in, and I'm going to read yo...

Wendi was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and MS. She didn't think she could get out of bed, but discovered baby steps which helped her move forward. Listen as Wendi shares: Pray--even if you don't feel like it Building a storehouse of remembering It's not "all or nothing." Do "small or something." How walking saved her Love people where they are and love yourself too Toxic perfectionism What to d...

Do you need tips to help manage stress, anxiety or depression? Listen as Trina shares ideas to help physically, emotionally and in everyday situations. Tamara K. Anderson interview Dr. Trina Boice on coping techniques to help with stress, anxiety, and depression. This is especially needed during this time of the Coronavirus or COVID-19. We specifically talk about: The importance of taking care of...

Although she won the award of California Young Mother of the Year, Trina admits she is not a perfect parent. She shares lessons learned parenting along her imperfect road. Tamara K. Anderson interviews Trina Boice about life as an imperfect parent and the lessons she has learned along the way. Today we discuss: Miscarriages The "Whatever" Mantra Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Don't Be Afraid to Go De...

On today's episode, I get to tell you a true story the Candy Bomber after World War II and three lessons we can learn from it. 3 Lessons from the Candy Bomber Little Things Can have a Big Ripple Effect Serving Others Heals Inspiring Hope Saves Lives You can learn more about Gail S. Halvorsen, The Candy Bomber on his website: http://wigglywings.weebly.com/ Here is the transcription of today's episo...

Alma grew up wanting to reach his goals, but he knew he wouldn't achieve them in Ghana. So he set his sights on the American Dream.  In today's show Alma and I talk about: How discontent plus courage equal innovation and creation. Recognizing and reaching for your full potential. How all things work together for good to them that love God. Always look to the glory of your destination and set...

While hiking with her mother last year, Tamara learned 3 great truths that can be applied to our rugged life journeys today. The Family Trip Just before school started last year, our family took a last minute vacation to two National Parks: Yellowstone and the Tetons. I found out my 73-year-old mother had never been, so I invited her to come with us.  While in Teton National Park we did two h...

At a dark point in her life, Diane Passey decided she was too heavy to keep living. Follow her journey from grief and despair to coach. Some of the points discussed are: There will be a light at the end of the tunnel. It may be just a tiny glimmer. But it's there. There is always hope. You don't have to feel God's hand to have Him there. He's there whether or not you can feel it. We are never real...

Tamara shares an outtake from a podcast, talks about 3 tips for authenticity and shares an announcement of a hard goal she's working on. Here is the transcript from today's podcast: Tamara Anderson 0:00  On today's episode, I have a couple of exciting things I'm going to share with you. First is that this will be the first episode that I ever do an outtake on. I'm taking an outtakes from...

Rob never expected a heart attack or near death experience, but he is thankful he learned more about God, love and connection because of these hardships. Bio Rob A. Gentile was born one of four boys outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Italian immigrants. His grandfather and father worked at a steel company where Rob also began his career right out of high school. For the past 25 years, he has w...

Tamara shares 5 empowering actions to take when you're feeling drained, exhausted, worn out, and just feel you can't go on. Drained? Take These 5 Empowering Actions Today I want to talk about something that I feel is so needed in the world today. I don't know about you, but I look around and I see a lot of discouraged, drained, exhausted, and worn out people. This has been a physically, emotionall...

Jennifer didn't start life with much confidence, but through several struggles she learned important lessons on self-confidence & compassion. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife: Why You Really Need Self-Compassion Bio Jennifer Finlayson-Fife is a wife, mother of three, as well as a licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Illinois. She has a PhD in counseling psychology. Her teaching and...