Karen DeArmond Gardner is a survivor of thirty years in a marriage where she was verbally, emotionally and at times physically abused. She talks about how her own work of writing a book, speaking to others and helping to educate communities around the issue of domestic abuse, has been helpful for her own growth and healing.

She points out that churches are not always equipped to deal with this issue. She states it is better to go to shelters, support groups, therapy and advocates who will listen and point victims to the resources needed to begin living life apart from the abuser. Karen also says that social media can have groups that may be helpful. She gives us some practical steps when attempting to help those we may encounter who are in the situation.

Karen's work in her book, link listed below, has not only helped her to heal and move forward in the aftermath of domestic abuse, but she shares stories of how telling her story has helped others. She calls our attention to the fact that when we judge women for not leaving, we need to understand there are reasons why they do not feel they can leave. Her book emphasizes the process of healing and the very real difficulties women can face when choosing to leave the abusive relationship.

She also states that experiencing the love of God and understanding that it was never His plan for women to be abused was a tremendous addition to her healing. Although most of us grew up with thinking that saving a marriage regardless of cost to a partner in that union, it is a false narrative.

To learn more about Karen's ministry and find resources visit Amazon and find her book. Hope for Healing from Domestic Abuse: Reaching for God's Promise of Real Freedom by Karen DeArmond Gardner.

Visit her website at: Another One Free website https://anotheronefree.com/

The website for Stephen Ray Watts and the band Dotsero https://dotseroband.com

The website to connect with Laura Padgett https://lauralpadgett.com/

Today, my guest, author and speaker Lori Ann Wood, discusses where her story of a divine detour has taken her and how sharing her story has helped other people. After discovering she had end-stage heart failure, she began to ask the questions of God that we are trained not to ask. This is a follow up to our original interview that took place on March 8, 2023 called, "Involuntary Tide Turning." Please feel free to go back and listen to that for more of her backstory.

Her journey began nine years ago and she says it has been up, down and anything but linear. During this time, she encountered so many faith questions as she found she was not the only person who was on a detour and had questions as well. She says people are looking for similarities and when we find that we are not alone, it becomes easier to bear life's difficulties and especially those detours we didn't plan on.

Lori Ann says she was afraid to ask questions because she was sure she would break the fragile faith base that was handed off to her from her mother. She was concerned that she would lose her faith if she got in, dug around and asked the hard questions about what was happening to her. She tiptoed into asking questions when she had nothing to share with blog subscribers, friends and family in terms of good news.

Quoting Romans 8:8 which says, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them," she began to wonder if God was true to His word. She asked why she was seeing things in her life as not working out for what she considered to be to the good.

She asked questions like, "Is this all there is? And is God really good?" As she wrote her story and talked to others she began to hear others ask the same questions. Accepting that this situation did not make sense and she may not see problems resolved in this life helped her to move forward.

She wrote her book, "Divine Detour: The path you'd never choose can lead to the faith you've always wanted," in a short story format. That proved to be helpful to other people because when people are in pain and confusion, their attention span is very short, as was hers initially. People have reached out and said her story resonated and began to share stories in texts and emails. She now saw the burden was being made lighter (not taking difficulties away) for her and others. This gives people permission to ask and wrestle with their own questions.

Lori states that sharing stories of our lives and trials, we can trace the thread of God's grace throughout mankind's history. We are all in a bigger story than just our own lives. Our chapter in God's story is being used for a bigger purpose. Even though we may not get the ending we would like, Lori Ann emphasizes that the story does not end when we take our last breath.

To reach out to Lori Ann, find her books or other resources please go to https://loriannwood.com/

The website for Stephen Ray Watts and the band Dotsero https://dotseroband.com

The website to connect with Laura Padgett https://lauralpadgett.com

In a rare presentation of a solo episode, I talk about my philosophy that we can indeed learn to love, speak and walk with dignity, even in a world where winning at all costs is everything. Pulling from real-life experience, I share a story from my 2018 publication "Jesus in Shorts: Twenty-five Short Stories of Life-Changing Jesus Moments."

The lead story in that collection of short stories is one about almost losing a life-long friend because of my insistence on being right. While in the dentist's chair, I learned a valuable lesson about trying to talk intelligently with my tongue numbed. In short it is dangerous and harmful, not only to others but to myself as well.

Being led into God's Truth about the danger of an unbridled tongue, (James 3:8), I was also led to make an amends to someone I hurt, and accept her amends to me. A lesson I share in hopes of helping others realize they are not perfect and sometimes we can hurt others. But there is redemption in the form of forgiveness in God’s love. That truth will help make us bold enough to ask forgiveness from one we may have hurt, and accept the amends of one who has hurt us.

For more of my short stories, please consider purchasing a copy of my first short story anthology (title listed above) which is available for purchase on my website or on Amazon. You can also find short stories on my blog on my website at
https://lauralpadgett.com/

The website for Stephen Ray Watts and the band Dotsero https://dotseroband.com