Joy in suffering.
God's presence in the darkness.

That's what Darci is here to teach us.

I had such a hard time choosing just two quotes for this week’s Praise Through It, so I’m going to include some of her other gems right here, instead of my own words like I usually do.

If you are in a dark place of suffering, or have been before, or want to arm up for battle in the future, this episode is for you.

Read below for some snippets, and then spend 30 minutes here, listening.

I was like, ‘Really, a second time? What didn’t I learn the first time, God?’

I stopped praying for awhile. I learned how much of my prayers were genie prayers. … asking God for this, and asking God for that. And ‘can you do this?’ and ‘can you do that?’

I developed this friendship with God in this really deep, dark place.

There’s an understanding in suffering that can only come from God.

We meet in a dark place, but it’s a beautiful place, too. Because God inhabits this dark place. It’s not the same darkness Satan inhabits.

Yes, I have received a lot of joy in suffering.

The beauty beyond the thorns is Jesus.

I can sit in fear and not be afraid because I know He’s working good in suffering.

I don’t know the why. But I trust. I know that He is good. And He is God, and He knows what He’s doing. So I’m just facing Him, and letting Him direct.

If anyone feels like they’re on a bumpy road, like washboard bumpy, instead of on a smooth road, that doesn’t mean your purpose is thwarted. Look at what God is trying to show you because it might be better than what you had planned.

“The reality is: you are free.”

Paul Henderson said that during our podcast conversation when we recorded about two months ago, and I still have those words rolling around in my head.

More than the line of a worship song. More than a line in a podcast. More than a (good, true) soundbite. It is REALITY. I am free. You are free.

In this conversation, Paul Henderson—author and Dean of Students for an elementary & middle school—talks to us about living in that reality for ourselves and for the people around us. With constant encouragement and a raw faith that shows itself over and over, Paul talks about his decision to have a relationship with God, his work with his students, marriage, parenting, and more.

Listen in for 25 minutes of how to find freedom & then stay right in it, every single day.

Show notes

Slave No More: Conquering the Master Within
Paul Henderson online
Paul Henderson on Instagram (Fatherhood On the Fly)
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Virginia Commonwealth University
Farmville, Virginia school system 1957-1964

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“Oh you’re used to that right? You guys move all the time.”

I’ve heard that sentence a few times because of the … 14? … collective residences we’ve had in the 16 years we’ve been married. The truth is, though, that it actually isn’t that easy based on the number of times you’ve done it in the past. Our last move was actually the most difficult, and our third was the easiest.

Heather Eberhart is a military wife—and the only repeat guest on Praise Through It (Together) this summer!—and she talks with such honesty and grace and knowledge about what it’s like having your military family uprooted … again. How do we parent through those huge transitions? How do we hold onto our faith and rest on God’s absolute promises when everything swirling around us feels the opposite of sure and absolute?

Listen in to find out how.

Show notes

Connect with Heather online
Sign up for Heather’s newsletter
Resources for the military family
Heather on Instagram
Kristen Strong
When Change Finds You

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Do you know someone in your life whose superpower is JOY?

If not, meet Dorina Gilmore. She is an author, speaker, and self-titled Glory Chaser. She teaches us how to chase God’s glory—look for his goodness & his glory—in every aspect of our lives. And this passion of her heart comes from a deeply sincere place, since the plan she had for her life has been thrown off course more than once.

Listen in for encouragement on how to see God’s glory in your big and small moments.

Show notes

Dorina online
Dorina on Instagram
Fort Bragg 10-miler
Army 10-miler
HaitiGO
Walk Run Soar
A Trip to the Garbage Dump: When God Enlarged My Heart for Mercy

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I’m not known for my love of social media, but Megan Ericson is. She is quite literally the one voice I listen to when I need or want to learn something about social media. She keeps it simple, easy, and judgment-free. And she is a JOY to talk to!

Megan walked me through the Instagram world in 2021 when I was part of her Instagram challenge. In this conversation, she walks us through the good side of social media, how to be a light in a world of trolls, and how to work your kids through the online space.

Social media is not going away, that is for sure. In its evolution over the last 20 years, we’ve heard everything from social media saves lives to social media has ruined the world.

Maybe there’s an in-between, and Megan can for sure teach us how to show up and be a positive light in the online space.

Show notes

MeganEricson.com
Megan Ericson on Instagram
Megan on Twitter
Megan on Facebook
Megan on LinkedIn
Kellerman’s Mountain House (Dirty Dancing Experience)

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Show notes

Drumline / Drum core
Hope Church
Eastman Kodak
Delco
Xerox
Zoom
Eastman School of Music
Praise Through It: Change
Psalm 46
Purpose Driven Life
Psalm 63
Sheltering Mercy

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Latasha & I could talk for hoursssssss.

We don’t here. You’re welcome. But it’s a great conversation filled with truth and laughter and new friendship. She is as open and honest as anyone could be about body image struggles from childhood all the way on up.

Listen in here for some great encouragement on eating those three cookies, exercising because it’s a privilege to do so, and loving the body God gave to and made for you.

Show notes

Overcome to Become podcast on Spotify
Overcome to Become podcast on Apple
Latashaferguson.com

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Emily Bernath is an author, a spiritual leader, and a sexual assault survivor.

She shares all the pieces of her story in her books & with other women so that they might know their worth in Christ, no matter what has happened in their past.

In our chat, Emily reminds us that our identity is 100% rooted in God, in who He made us to be.

Show notes

Broken Lenses: Volume 1
Broken Lenses: Volume 2
Emily Bernath (website)
Emily Bernath on Instagram

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