Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast

Episode Summary:  Have you ever hit rock bottom in your life? Perhaps received a life-threatening diagnosis? Or lost the one person who kept your feet on solid ground? How do you carry joy and sorrow in the same breath? How do we handle the rock bottom experiences in life? Today we’re going to be talking about how to handle life’s rock-bottom experiences.  Quotables from the episode: Home is where...

Episode Summary:  If you have ever been a victim of spiritual abuse or you know someone who has, you're in the right place. I talk with my guest, Jill Monaco, about how to find freedom from spiritual abuse. What is it and how can you find freedom so you can heal? Quotables from the episode: One incident of spiritual abuse made me desensitized to it so it happened again and again. Spiritual abuse u...

Episode Summary:  A God-designed life doesn’t start when you say “I do” or when you get engaged or even when you meet “the one.” It’s been happening as long as you’ve been alive—even if you’re still single and wish you weren’t. Hannah Schermerhorn knows what it is like. She was months away from getting married when her wedding was called off. She feared being single again, but in the following yea...

Episode Summary:  Are you tired of dieting? Feeling weak and tired? Are you tired of the dieting yo-yo of losing weight only to gain it back again and more? What do you do when you hate dieting? Today we’re talking about help for disordered eating. My guest has been there, understands, and offers hope, help, and healing for the diet-weary soul. Quotables from the episode: Disordered eating comes f...

Episode Summary:  Have you ever felt the sting of rejection with that sense of betrayal and disappointment that breaks your heart? Did you know there’s a positive side to rejection that we can use as an opportunity and a tool to cope with rejection? Jessica Van Roekel is back to share about 4 lenses that you can use to reframe and cope with rejection. We talk about what rejection is, how to know w...

Episode Summary:  Have you ever struggled with rejection? Rejection shows up every day in the world and it’s up to us to change the way we respond to it and address it. Join me as I talk with Jessica Van Roekel about how to overcome rejection. Quotables from the episode: I believe wholeheartedly that we experience struggles so that God can use us to help others. Rejection is a thread that runs thr...

Episode Summary:  It seems in recent years, people have become more familiar with the terms narcissist or narcissism, especially as a component of abusive situations. While there is a lot of information out there, not all of it is accurate, so I wanted to share my perspective as a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist. We’re changing things up just a bit this week. My friend, Aliene Thompson,...

Episode Summary: Have you ever imagined a life without hurry, relentless work, multitasking, or scarcity? In a world that tells us to do more, accomplish more, and be more, what is that doing to us and is that consistent with what God says?  Time management is an industry that capitalizes on time anxiety. We are told that we must be more productive, and we buy countless books and listen to innumer...

Episode Summary:  Most Bible-believers are not Bible-readers. Many Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God, but never actually read it. Or they may read bits and pieces, one verse or passage at a time but struggle to apply it to their lives. There are so many reasons why this is true, but it is possible to start today. Even if a person has never read a complete chapter for themselves,...

Episode Summary:  It’s the time of year when we assess what we’ve accomplished over the past year, and begin to think about goals and changes for the new year. Some people make New Year’s resolutions. Others create vision boards. Pam Farrel and I share two ideas for how to start your new year off right! Quotables from the episode: The acronym for FOCUS is Follow One Course Until Successful. Wherea...

Episode Summary:  Every year at this time, we enter into the holiday hustle and bustle, and All. The. Things. The tree, the shopping, the decorating, the wrapping, the baking, the parties…I’m so grateful to a perfect God for the gift of Christmas Hope. Without the birth of Jesus, we would have NO HOPE. In this episode, we talk about Christmas Hope. I’m going to share my grown-up Christmas list, pr...

Episode Summary:  Have you ever thought about the fact that God doesn’t need us to accomplish things in this world, but that he offers the opportunity for us to partner with him? Have you ever pondered what partnering with God means, or how to go about it? In this episode, I chat with Kim Avery about partnering with God in the nitty, gritty details of business and life. Quotables from the episode:...

Episode Summary:  Do you long to feel a closer connection to God? To discern His voice, experience His peace, and live in His joy? Erica Wiggenhorn and I talk about how to experience God’s faithfulness when surrounded by uncertainty, how to reignite our hope instead of losing heart, and how to realize the call of God, reawakening our purpose when we experience revival in our own hearts. Quotables...

Episode Summary:  Do you ever get in a rut with your Bible study? Have you ever wondered “how can I make my Bible study more creative?” Or perhaps, “what’s the most effective way to study the Bible for me?” You won’t want to miss this week’s episode. My friend Pam Farrel and I will talk about how to make our Bible study time more creative! By the time the podcast is over, you’ll want to grab a cop...

Episode Summary:  We're approaching that time of the year again where the stress and overwhelm of the holiday season can take our emphasis off the reason for the season. We're sharing a replay of a popular podcast episode with Marcia Ramsland, the Holiday Pro. She shares how we can get organized and simplify our Christmas holidays. And the good news is, we can start now! Quotables from the episode...

Episode Summary:  Christmas time can be so stressful. Would you like to experience calm in the midst of the holiday chaos? What if I told you that you could enjoy a more simple Christmas and, in doing so, reconnect with the real reason we celebrate the holiday? Join me with Tama Fortner as we talk about how to have a Simple Christmas. Quotables from the episode: “Simple Christmas” is the book I wi...

Episode Summary: Life is busy. There always seems to be more to do than time to do it. We often miss the special moments because we rush through life. Resting allows us to savor those moments. If you struggle to rest effectively so that you can refill and refuel, this episode is for you! Marci Siether shares the art of how to rest effectively. Quotables from the episode: We often miss the special...

Episode Summary:  Kristine Brown and I talk about learning to trust God, especially in our decisions. Making decisions is a process, and it can seem overwhelming at times. Kristine shares what she learned in order to move from decision fatigue to trusting God with her decisions. Quotables from the episode: So often we trust God with the big things in life, when it’s the little things that seem so...

Episode Summary:  Lee Ann Mancini and I talk about raising children to have a strong foundation in Jesus. It’s her passion to equip parents with valuable resources so they can raise their children to have a strong foundation in Jesus—the only foundation that will last. This is such an important topic given the world we live in and the influences our children are under. We talk about how to help ki...

Episode Summary:  How do you forgive someone who hurt you emotionally? How do you forgive someone who traumatized you? How do you forgive someone who isn’t sorry? Our guest, Mark Sowersby, shares a gripping testimony of forgiveness, God’s grace, and overcoming in the midst of life’s hurts, pains, and abuses. Join us as we talk about how to forgive someone who has hurt you and isn’t sorry. Quotable...

Episode Summary:  Latest statistics indicate that about 20% of Americans have experienced attempted or completed rape. That is over 430,000 American victims each year, 1 rape every 73 seconds. Yet only 5 out of 1,000 rapists go to jail. What has led to tolerance of sexual violence and trauma? Why is this the most underreported and under-prosecuted crime in this nation? Why are so few perpetrators...

Episode Summary: Domestic abuse is the most misunderstood yet silenced epidemic of our time in our churches and in society. The numbers are mind-boggling. 35% of women at some point in their lives experience stalking, rape, and/or physical abuse, and nearly half experience coercive control and/or emotional and verbal abuse. Those numbers are astounding. And they are no different in the church. We...

Episode summary: If we’ve lived long enough, many of us have gone through difficult friendships. Sometimes, we’ve endured friendships where we’re just not appreciated as much as we give out and others seem to die way too early. Some of those relationships can be some of the most painful experiences that we go through. Join me for this replay of an author interview with Mary DeMuth about her book,...

Episode Summary: Missy Eversole and I talk about how we can be transformed and not conformed to the world. What does conformity to the world mean? How can we avoid being conformed to the world? If you’re a people pleaser, you won’t want to miss her story. Quotables from the episode: The older I get, the more I realize that all I really need is Jesus. I don’t need to be “Pinterest perfect.” I just...

Episode Summary: In this episode, my guest, Meg Glesener, and I talk about the importance of sharing our stories. Meg lived a hard life of childhood abuse, alcoholism, berating, and abandonment, yet through her trials, she learned the value of our individual stories. Sharing your story is powerful! Join us for encouragement that comes from an extraordinary story of faith. Quotables from the episod...