Forgiveness Is For YOU - Overcome Trauma Through Forgiveness

Friends,  What if some of the things you've taken personally were never actually about you? In this episode of Forgiveness is for YOU, I explore an idea from forgiveness expert Dr. Fred Luskin: we often take other people's behavior personally and turn it into a story about ourselves. Someone rejects us, betrays us, criticizes us, or treats us badly, and we begin to believe their behavior says some...

Friend,  What if forgiveness has less to do with excusing what happened to us and more to do with how we carry what happened? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Frederic Luskin, director and cofounder of the Stanford Forgiveness Projects. For more than 30 years, Dr. Luskin has studied forgiveness and its impact on our health, relationships, emotional well-being, and spiritual lives. In our convers...

Friends,  Do you have a forgiveness list? If so, who’s on it?  In this collaborative episode, fellow podcaster Neil Matthews, Host of the “Other People’s Shoes” Podcast, and I discuss how he came up with the idea of a “Forgiveness List” and how putting himself on the list became a challenge for him.  Neil talks about his struggle to forgive himself. He shares his story about a time he considered e...

Friends,  How do women find connection with other women in this world filled with hurry and distraction? The answer is Haven Circles, a place where women can connect authentically, away from social media and other distractions.  In this episode, I sat down with Alli Koscal, author of Love and Loyalty: Heart Lessons from the Book of Ruth and Founder of Finding Havens ministry, seeking to connect wo...

Friends, What if our fear of death has less to do with death itself and more to do with how our culture has taught us to think about it? In this episode, I’m joined by the founder of Inhora Home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to have a conversation about something most of us would rather avoid: the end of life. Inhora Home is creating a different kind of space for people who are dying: a safe, welcom...

Friends, What if the way we’ve been taught to build a business is actually working against the way human beings are designed to flourish? In this episode, I’m joined by Anna Saucier and Megan Gephart, founders of Apostolic Fruit, for a conversation about a different way to think about entrepreneurship that puts the whole human being at the center. Rather than treating a business like a factory tha...

Friends,  My guest in this episode, Audye Gonzalez grew up in a small town, the daughter of divorced parents, raised by a mother whose love came with conditions she spent years trying to name. Today she's the creator of the "Still Stuck" workbook, and she's spent her career helping adult daughters of narcissistic mothers recognize the five trauma patterns that keep showing up in relationships, and...

Friends,  In this episode, founder of You Are Made New Ministry,  De Yarrison,  a uniquely Catholic healing ministry for men and women survivors of domestic abuse, betrayal trauma, and addiction shares how she first heard her calling in an unexpected place: surrounded by more than a thousand teenagers in stillness before God at a youth conference. That moment set her on a path to develop a ministr...

Hello Forgiver,  In this episode, I sit down with Jane Snyder, affectionately known as Mama Jane, founder of Wisdom Wellness Coaching and host of the Cycles and Sanctity podcast. As a Catholic Womanhood Coach, fertility educator, and certified mindset coach, Jane helps women rediscover the wisdom of their reproductive health while uncovering the beliefs and emotions that shape their relationship w...

Friend,  Have you ever watched someone you love go through a painful betrayal or heartbreak and felt totally helpless? We want so badly to help our friends and family heal, but well-meaning advice like "you just need to let it go" or "holding onto bitterness only hurts you" can actually do more harm than good. In this episode, we tackle the tricky question of how to walk alongside someone in deep...

Friends,  Healing trauma often happens in layers. Just when we think we've worked through the pain, another memory, emotion, or grief surfaces, inviting us into deeper healing. In this Summer Rewind episode, I share the story of the man who became my primary father figure during childhood, my Uncle Isaac. As I continue my own healing journey through somatic practices and grief work, I've been refl...

Friend,  We all have dreams, but sometimes our dream isn’t what God had in mind when He created us.  In this Summer Rewind of S1E14, my guest, Monica Herber, shared her dream of starting a family, but when that dream was dashed because of infertility, she and her husband decided to adopt. They fell in love with their beautiful little boy, but after multiple diagnoses, their dream of a healthy chil...

Friends,  Healing is not all gloom and doom. When we've been deeply hurt, betrayed, or disappointed, it can feel as though suffering has taken over every corner of our lives. Yet even in our darkest seasons, moments of joy remain available to us. The challenge is learning how to recognize and receive them. As part of this Summer Rewind series, I'm revisiting one of my favorite short episodes. In t...

Friends,  In this Summer Rewind episode, I'm bringing back my conversation with Fr. Thomas Berg, originally released as Choosing Forgiveness. Together, we explore one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian life: what happens when guilt lingers long after we've sought forgiveness. Many of us understand God's mercy intellectually, yet continue carrying shame, self-condemnation, and regret....

Friends, In this episode, I explore the mother wound: how early relational experiences shape identity, distort boundaries, and quietly influence how we relate to ourselves, others, and even God. I focus my discussion primarily on the mother-daughter relationship.  Many daughters grow up learning to perform for love, manage emotional climates, and abandon their own needs in order to maintain connec...

Friends,  If forgiveness takes place in the heart, what kind of heart is capable of forgiving? In Episodes 21 and 22, I explored the anxiety that often accompanies forgiveness and practical ways to move through it. In this episode, we go into the heart itself. June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus , a devotion that invites us to contemplate Christ's boundless love for humanity. As I refle...

Friends,  In this episode, I sit down with Catholic Coach, Husband, and Father, Andrew Lanchoney, to discuss the impact of pornography on the human person and the journey toward healing and freedom.   Together, we explore the deeper questions beneath pornography use: What are we really searching for? Why do so many people feel stuck? And how do we begin restoring authentic desire in a culture that...

Friends, What if the anxiety you feel around forgiveness isn’t resistance… but protection? In this episode I explore the very real fear, confusion, and nervous system responses that can surface when we begin considering forgiveness after trauma, betrayal, abuse, or deep emotional pain. Forgiveness is often presented as simple or immediate, but for many people, the thought of forgiving can activate...

*Content Warning* This episode contains mature content not suitable for minors. Please use discretion when listening.  Friends,  In this episode, I explore one of the most difficult and rarely discussed questions surrounding forgiveness: Who will I be if I let go of unforgiveness? For many people, unforgiveness is not simply an emotional response to pain. It becomes intertwined with identity, safe...

Friends,  As Memorial Day approaches, we pause to remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. But there is another group of veterans quietly fighting battles long after deployment ends, those struggling to transition home, find belonging, and rediscover hope in civilian life. In this deeply important conversation, I’m joined by retired Lt. Colonel John Garcia, host o...

Friends,  In a world marked by division, violence, and deep injustice, the question of forgiveness becomes anything but simple. In this deeply personal episode, I reflects on my lived experience of Apartheid, a system that shaped my childhood, understanding of safety, and relationship to truth.  As global events echo familiar patterns of oppression and silenced voices, this episode explores what i...

Friends,  What does it do to your heart, your body, and your sense of safety to love someone struggling with alcohol use? In this episode, I’m joined by holistic health and fitness coach Tresa Salters, who shares her story of loving a spouse with alcohol use disorder, and the lasting impact it had on her mental, physical, and spiritual health. While much of the conversation around addiction focuse...

Friends,  In today’s episode of Forgiveness Is for YOU, I’m joined by forgiveness coach Abigail Sikes, who shares her story of forgiving her ex-husband nearly nine years after their divorce Abigail shares how God redeemed the pain of divorce by calling her into forgiveness ministry.  In this conversation, we talk about: How infidelity leaves wounds that don’t quickly resolve The physical cost of u...

Friends,  When a marriage ends, many Catholics are left asking: Where do I belong now? Am I still part of the Church? And can I ever remarry? In this episode, we explore the reality of divorce through the lens of the Catholic faith and the often misunderstood annulment process. My guest, Theresa Matters, shares her personal journey through divorce and her experience seeking an annulment, and offer...

Friends,  Divorce can feel like both a personal and spiritual rupture, leaving many questioning where they stand with God, the Church, and even themselves. But what if healing doesn’t require walking away, but instead how to remain? In this episode, I’m joined by Carolyn Klika Catino, who shares her own journey through divorce and the deep healing that followed. Now serving others through her apos...