How do you begin to experience freedom from the sin that grips you? What does it look like to walk in purpose while still struggling with that which holds you back?

For author, pastor and podcaster, Tim Ross, finding his way towards healing after childhood sexual abuse led to his own patterns of pornography addiction, took some time. Through Jesus and therapy, Tim was able to learn how to get to the root of the bad fruit in his life. It was because of his own journey that he wanted to take others to a place of authenticity and vulnerability in the parts of their lives they often kept hidden. Through his podcast, The Basement, and latest book, Welcome to the Basement: An Upside Down Guide to Greatness, Tim explores how being real with our struggles can help us discover our true identity and experience the greatness God has for us.

In this conversation, Davey chats with Tim about how to mentor people in the way of Jesus, the ways in which our journeys toward freedom may differ, and how God will build purpose into our lives from our pain and struggles.

If you've ever wondered where you can lead with the truth of what you're walking through, this episode will remind you that true greatness can be found when we are willing to go low and be honest about our struggles and hurt.

How do we move towards the cross when our journey is full of detours, distractions and divergence from the abundance and freedom Christ offers us?

For author, musician and pastor Josh White, learning to navigate the terrain of his past wounds while pastoring wasn't a linear course. When the hurt from growing up with an alcoholic father began to bleed into his life and ultimately his ministry, Josh went down the difficult road of examining himself and his story. Through his own personal reflection upon his life and upon the crucifixion of Christ, Josh wrote Stumbling Toward Eternity: Losing & Finding Ourselves in the Cross of Jesus, as a way to better understand the freedom that the cross offers to each of us.

In this episode, Davey talks to Josh about why we are seeing leaders fall to scandal, how to notice pinpoints of God's grace, and where to even begin in the mess of learning to forgive those who have deeply wounded us.

This conversation is an encouragement to anyone who has ever felt like their spiritual walk was more of a stumble than a climb upward as they heal and grow in greater understanding of the work Jesus did upon the cross for each of us.

What do you do if much of your pain is caused by your own choices? How do you begin to break free from shame and find God's grace in your past?

For author, pastor and Bible teacher, Ines Franklin the journey towards healing has taken some time, but God has been with her every step of the way. Having grown up without a father, Ines found the wounds of her past and her own decisions led her to living with immense shame. She divorced twice, had two abortions, and had been engaged in an affair. When she came to know Jesus, she still carried around the scars that her pain and shame had left on her.

As she began to more fully embrace the gift of God's grace in her life and as she told her story more openly, she started to see the shame lift and God used her brokenness to help others. In her latest book, Uncharted: Navigating Your Unique Journey of Faith, Ines looks at how each of us have our own road to walk when it comes to our faith and how even our greatest struggles can be used as a part of God's greater plan for our lives.

In this episode, guest host Vaneetha Risner sits down with Ines to discuss how to disentangle shame from our stories, learning to understand God's grace in our lives and the importance of absorbing the pain we've caused others.

If part of your pain is because of your own decisions, this conversation will encourage you that God can use even your worst choices to bring about healing and hope for yourself and others.

What happens when we experience wounding at the hands of one of the most influential people in our lives...our father? How can we even begin to heal ourselves, our relationships and how we see God when our dad has let us down?

For author Kia Stephens, the impact of an absentee father had lasting effects on her life. She started to notice the void of desiring to have a father in her life and not receiving the care she had wished she had from him in her life. This wound impacted everything from her own identity to how she related to God as a father. It was through writing about her own experience that she discovered many people, especially women, were struggling with the lasting imprint of a father wound, whether from divorce, incarceration, abandonment, or rejection. With one in four people growing up in fatherless homes, Kia knew she had to speak up about how God healed her own father wound. It was through her book, Overcoming Father Wounds: Exchanging Your Pain for God’s Perfect Love, that Kia shared her story and how she found healing from her father wound.

In this important conversation, Davey and Kia sit down to talk about what a father wound is, the way the enemy seeks to continue destructive generational patterns, and how to forgive your father after whatever you have endured.

Chances are you or someone you know has experienced the damage of not having a father fulfill his calling in leading and loving his children. If you are a dad, this episode will help you to understand the importance your presence plays in the lives of your kids. And if you have been wounded by your father, you'll learn to exchange your pain for God's perfect love.

What does it look like to grow in your faith when you came from an environment that contradicted so many of the things of God? How do you become a follower of Jesus after experiencing a childhood riddled with so much trauma and pain?

For Preston Perry, growing up in the inner city and facing so many challenges from being fatherless and the collective pain of a community in crisis, Preston struggled to truly know God. As a young person, he found himself entrenched in street life, dealing drugs and watching so many around him succumb to the ills of gangs and crime. It was through being discipled by a friend who grew up in a similar environment and yet was so different from the life they both knew, that God became real to him. The power of that relationship was pivotal in changing Preston's life and leading him to Christ. Since then, Preston and his wife, Jackie, have devoted their lives to ministry. Preston is a speaker and apologist who has been able to take his experiences and speak to people who grew up in a similar context as he did as well as widen the Evangelical Christian perspective on topics like justice.

In this episode, Davey sits down with Preston to discuss how our environment can shape our worldview, the way to reach those in communities that are different than our own, the power of discipleship in leading others to Jesus and how to fight for holiness in marriage after stories of trauma.

Even if your life experiences are different, Preston's story is such a profound reminder of God's power in all of our pain and mess and how redemption can come after our trauma.

According to current statistics, we are facing a crisis when it comes to mental health and our kids. With an increase in suicide rates, depression and anxiety, many kids and teens are facing so much more than they can begin to know how to handle. What can we do as adults to be a safe place for a young person? How can we help a child heal from trauma and crisis?

Kim Tschirret knew from her own personal story as a child with an abusive and alcoholic father that healing was possible through Christ and the help of a seemingly unlikely source: horses. Kim found solace in spending time with a horse as a young girl and knew that others could find healing too by engaging with these magnificent animals. It is what led her to start Hope Reins, a non-profit organization in Raleigh, NC, that "pairs kids in crisis with rescued horses to find hope and healing." What has transpired is a beautiful story of redemption as horses and children, both facing painful emotional wounds, have found healing through the power of their connection with one another. Since its' inception in 2010, Hope Reins has helped over 2,600 kids in crisis at no-cost to the families it serves.

Davey sits down with Kim to talk about how our past pain can lead us into an incredible redemption story for others, what kids need to feel safe, and how any adult can be a trusted source of hope in a hurting child's life.

Resiliency after trauma is possible and Kim's story shows us what a powerful salve love can be for both discarded animals and wounded hearts in the quest for restoration.

How do you persevere in the face of unending challenges and difficult circumstances? Where can you find the strength to keep going when life tries to knock you down over and over again?

For Dr. Danisha Keating, building resilience seemed impossible after a traumatic childhood filled with abuse and moving in and out of the foster care system. Her journey in life was hard, at one point leading her to be a caretaker for her younger siblings while in college and yet she persevered to graduate and go on to earn her PhD.

Now, she spends her life reaching back into the fire, encouraging kids walking a similar journey in the foster care system, to know that their lives have promise and hope beyond their current circumstances. In all the trials she has endured, Dr. Keating has anchored her hope in the Lord and her identity in Him.

In this episode, Davey sits down with Dr. Keating to discuss what it looks like to build resilience in a life that is full of difficulty, the power of community in encouraging those low on hope, and how healing can lead us into a life of purpose in helping those who are walking the road we once did.

This conversation will leave you inspired as you hear how even the most dire of circumstances can forge a deep-seated resilience in our hearts as we move forward into a future filled with possibility.

There are certain issues that the church is silent on too often. Whether it’s from fear of controversy or just not knowing what to say, it’s all too easy for many Christians to be afraid of talking about topics that can seem “messy.”

Jackie Hill Perry is not one of those people. Having dealt with sexual abuse, pornography, gender confusion, same-sex attraction, and more, Jackie is well versed in these topics that many Christians fear to talk about.

And as an author, speaker, poet, and more, Jackie has found herself in a unique position to speak up about these important issues.

This week on the Nothing Is Wasted Podcast, Jackie sits down with Davey to share some of her story and how it relates to pain, healing, redemption, and more.