Caller Questions & Discussion:

1. Marc discusses statements that seem to show resilience but actually minimize the impact of trauma and past experiences. He explains two types of memories: implicit and explicit. Experiencing adverse childhood events isn’t about the severity of what happened—it’s about how we make sense of what we went through.
2. I’ve been unemployed for two years and have depleted my savings. My husband has savings, but he won’t cover household expenses like food. I’ve told him I want to file for a legal separation.
3. My husband did remodeling work for a widow in my Bible study, but she isn’t willing to pay him. I talked to our Bible study leader about it—what can I learn from this situation?
4. The Bible says we have a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), so why do so many Christians struggle with depression? I wasn’t in church for a year due to IBS, and it’s hard to get back into the groove.

Caller Questions & Discussion:

1. Dr. Jim shares practical ways he and his wife grow closer spiritually—through praying, reading the Bible, and meaningful conversations. You can connect with your spouse spiritually, even if it’s just 5 minutes a day.
2. How do I respond when my husband has separated emotionally from me but still plays the role of a loving husband and dad? He has anger outbursts, and we have three children.
3. I moved to a rural community in Kentucky, and people often get excluded from churches or groups due to politics and personal conflicts. How can I handle these local power struggles gracefully?
4. How can I help my 20-year-old granddaughter who says she is ‘married’ to both a woman and a man? She has a history of childhood sexual abuse, and her mother died from a drug overdose.

Caller Questions & Discussion:

1. JJ discusses how we often waste energy focusing on past regrets, anxiety about the future, or trying to control everything around us—strategies that don’t work. He invites us to stop wasting energy on what we can’t fix and instead focus on what truly helps.
2. Our 23-year-old son is bisexual and introduced us to his boyfriend last night. How do I navigate this?
3. My daughter was sexually assaulted and had an abortion as a teen; how do I deal with my guilt that still affects our communication today?
4. How can I support my 25-year-old son and his struggle with sexual integrity? He’s already been to Every Man’s Battle, but I recently saw something on his phone.

Caller Questions & Discussion:

1. According to blended family expert Ron Deal, despite good intentions, most couples who bring children from previous relationships into marriage are not prepared to deal with them. The smarter you are, the better your family will be.
2. I discovered my husband has been making a lot of phone calls to a female classmate from high school. To what extent should I insist on full disclosure?
3. I’m a single mom to two teens and have been divorced for 2 years; how do I help them adjust to me dating again?
4. I’m remarried, my husband’s adult son is in a wheelchair, and my husband and I don’t get to spend much time together. What is my role? What should I do?

Caller Questions & Discussion:

1. I’ve been married for 53 years and we are both from alcoholic families. There’s no spiritual and emotional intimacy, and it has been hard for me to let him be physically intimate.
2. My husband admitted to me that he’s taken a woman out twice and thinks that polygamy is in the Bible and he can have multiple wives. What can I do?
3. Dr. John Townsend discusses the Townsend Institute for Leadership and Counseling that he helps to lead at Concordia University.
4. My adult son and I share a car; how do I approach him about paying for his fender bender damage?
5. How did I get a phobia of getting sick, which is called hypochondriasis? How do I get over it?
6. My 80-year-old husband fell and broke his hip; how do I place him into a board and care? My daughter and her husband are worried about their inheritance because I’m paying for it.
7. My daughter is divorced because she found the person she wants to be with. She’s now living with him away from her five children in another state and says it’s God’s will. We’ve stepped in to help her ex-husband and children; how do I talk to my daughter?

Caller Questions & Discussion:

1. Our good friend Dr. John Townsend talks about his band with his sons, and the Institute he founded, Townsend Institute for Leadership and Counseling, at Concordia University.
2. How do I continue to flourish in my job with a bipolar coworker who is aligned with our boss? It’s not a safe environment.
3. I’m retired and do all the things around the house for my wife, but I love spending time alone. Am I on the autism spectrum if I don’t need people outside of my relationship with Christ?
4. I’m a 65-year-old divorce attorney. How do I refresh myself if my work is going great but my daughter is going through a contentious divorce and my grandson wrote a suicide note?
5. I’ve been in foster care, institutionalized, and in jail. I just found out that the pastor I’ve been following will be leaving my church, and I’m hurt.
6. I’m recently retired and doing everything right, but I’m sad, lonely, and depressed since I started a confusing romantic relationship a year ago.

Caller Questions & Discussion:

1. Dr. Sheri shares insights from her chapter in the book The Healing Church, where she explores the impact of sex addiction on the betrayed partner.
2. Can Jesus lie? I feel like Jesus is speaking to me about things like not wearing earrings.
3. I’m in recovery and have been a substance abuse counselor for a decade, but I still feel shame. How can I find balance when I feel like I’m an imposter?
4. Did I do the right thing by protecting my mother from a will that was ill-conceived? My father was very sick when he gave his sister and me everything in his will, but it says he wasn’t married when he was.
5. Last Wednesday, we had a blow-up with our 15-year-old foster daughter. Then she made false accusations against us. What do I do?

Caller Questions & Discussion:

1. Chris shares how he has been working on his identity in Christ and journaling about how strong roots produce spiritual fruits. Even though it’s easy to get caught up in the outcome, Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:18-19 reminds us to focus on deepening our roots in Christ.
2. Are there any Christian spiritual resources my friend can use after her home was in a house fire? She’s going to have to live in a hotel for months.
3. I was in a car accident 20 years ago when I was drinking, and the friend who was with me died. I’m struggling with survivor’s guilt, why God kept me alive, and whether I should stay in the relationship with the woman I’m dating.
4. My husband was unfaithful for the first 25 years of our marriage. I recently confronted him about going to a birthday party for a family member connected to one of the women he had an affair with, and I feel triggered and violated again.
5. I get anxious when I’m around my adult kids, and I had similar feelings around my mother. What can I do about this family-related anxiety?