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The scariest thing about kids and tech isn’t just what they can find—it’s what can find them. Greg & Bobby sat down with Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes and president of Better Tech, to map a practical path through the chaos: clear relational scripts, layered technical guardrails, and a mindset that trades “set it and forget it” for steady, confident presence.

Chris breaks the work into two buckets—relational and technical—and shows how the ratio shifts as kids grow. For little ones, lock down devices and avoid exposure; for teens, double down on agency and honest talk.

We explore the five habits of a tech-ready home (you'll want to get to know these). Chris outlines layered protection—router, device, location, and app—and explains why your router is the most important device you own. If your teen already has social media, you’ll get “ridiculously direct” scripts for sextortion-proofing and an approach that invites confession without shame.

We also touch on policy and the broader movement: how Better Tech equips classrooms and pushes for laws that protect kids and hold platforms accountable. You don’t need a computer science degree to lead your family well—you need small, consistent actions and language your kids can remember when it matters.

#chrismckenna #protectyoungeyes #bettertech #delayistheway #families #parenting #childhoodtrauma #adolescenttrauma #digitalresponsibility #gospel #grace #awaken #awakenrecovery #awakenpodcast #whatwereallywant #wwrw #recovery #connection #conversation

ProtectYoungEyes.com

The Better Tech Project

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Anytime we can encourage people in caring professions we love to do it! If you walk with, pastor, or counsel people going through hard times, this is a conversation you're going to want to hear.

Karrie Garcia is a pastor, life coach, and author who inspires change in others by boldly sharing her journey to freedom. She has seen firsthand how God’s true redemptive purpose for our lives does not begin once we’re free from pain, rather it stems directly out of that pain.

Since 2014, her nonprofit Freedom Movement has offered people the chance to process and heal on the road to freedom through offerings like workshops, certificate program and one-on-one coaching.

By learning how spirituality and the body (particularly the brain & nervous system) are impacted by trauma, we can be more confident that the help we provide is truly helpful and addressing not only surface symptoms, but more importantly what's going on under the surface. Healing and freedom involve the brain, the body, and the Bible.

#karriegarcia #freedom #freedommovement #freeandfullyalive #neuroscience #storywork #connection #counseling #caregivers #spirituality #growth #change #therapy #healing #trauma #vulnerability #recovery #grace #gospel #transformation

Karrie Garcia website

Freedom Movement website

Free & Fully Alive (Karrie's book on Amazon)

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It can be scary to examine spiritual messages we've heard all our lives, but it sometimes can also be the path to experiencing God more truly, deeply, and biblically.

Steve Cuss is an author, speaker, and pastor who has a passion for understanding what drives Christians to feel anxiety, fear, and exhaustion about their faith & relationship with God. He has written books that examine the role anxiety plays in leadership (Managing Leadership Anxiety), and the troubling gaps we notice in our spirituality (The Expectation Gap).

In an illuminating conversation, Steve talks about the importance of...

• Leaders and caregivers being spiritually and emotionally healthy.
• Realization that not every dramatic spiritual story is meant to be an exact template for exactly how all Christians should react.
• Understanding that self-condemnation about lack of spiritual progress actually keeps us stuck and frozen.
• Discovering gentle steps we can take to increase resilience and move in the directions we desire.

#stevecuss #expectationgap #managingleadershipanxiety #humansized #spirituality #growth #change #curiosity #kindness #selftalk #spiritualpractices #therapy #healing #trauma #vulnerability #recovery #grace #gospel #transformation

SteveCussWords (Steve's website)

Steve's books (Amazon)

Five Steps to Christmas Sanity PDF (signup download)

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It's December, and just like last year, we're giving you something extra for the holidays. Each week in December we'll release a new episode for you to enjoy! Please remember to follow/subscribe to the show, write a positive review, and share us with others. ALSO, if the show means something to you, please consider a financial gift to help us continue! (Link to give below)

For the first December episode, we caught up with a friend who is both a therapist and a lover of Christmas! Thaddeus Heffner lives in Franklin TN, and has been practicing therapy there since 2009. Many of Thaddeus' clients are people who have also connected with Awaken.

In addition to helping people, Thaddeus loves Christmas and he loves his community. A few years ago he and a friend started a Christmas tradition connected to the lighting of the Franklin Christmas tree. It has grown into something the people of Franklin look forward to each year. Thaddeus has even written a children's book about the tradition.

We talk about Christmas, we talk about therapy, we talk about walking with people as they heal, grow, and begin to take agency and ownership over their own process. It's a rich conversation and we hope you'll be encouraged by it.

Merry Christmas!

#thaddeusheffner #franklinchristmastree #christmastraditions #beersandcheers #therapy #agency #trauma #healing #addiction #vulnerability #recovery #grace #gospel #transformation

Franklin Christmas Tree Facebook page

The First Franklin Christmas Tree book (Amazon)

Thaddeus Heffner’s therapist website

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It's critical for ministry leaders to understand their responsibility and opportunity to help people in their churches who are sexually struggling. That was a key theme in our rich conversation with Sam Black, Director of Recovery Education at Covenant Eyes. Sam explained that empathy plus action breaks porn’s grip, and how churches can become truly safe communities for strugglers and spouses. We talked about practical tools, trauma-informed insights, and a clear path toward allyship, healing, and prevention.

Some of the themes from our conversation included...
• Early exposure + repetition + pain = a common pathway into pornography.
• Allyship and accessibility work better than traditional accountability.
• How mind-body-spirit healing helps interrupt the addiction cycle.
• What constitutes safe people in safe places with a safe process.
• How church leaders often unintentionally add harm to betrayed spouses.
• Sex (or more sex) is not the solution to porn use.
• How to find available, practical, ready-to-use tools for pastors and leaders.
• How healing it is when leaders admit mistakes & repair ruptures.

#samblack #covenanteyes #thehealingchurch #pornographyaddiction #therapy #healing #addiction #trauma #vulnerability #recovery #grace #gospel #transformation

Covenant Eyes website

Five Stones pastor kit (FREE from Covenant Eyes)

The Healing Church book (Amazon)

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What if sadness isn’t the problem—what if the real drain is the energy we spend trying to avoid it? To celebrate our 50th episode, Greg & Stacey talk with therapist and author ADAM YOUNG (host of The Place We Find Ourselves podcast) for a frank, tender, and deeply practical conversation about story work, lament, and the courage to feel. Adam unpacks why facing your past can enlarge your heart, expand your capacity for joy and grief, and finally quiet the buzzing smallness that comes from numbing out.

Adam shares his own journey into therapy and the frameworks that helped his symptoms make sense. We explore the Psalms as a living handbook for honest prayer, including the lines that complain to God about God. Adam even shares a simple way to write your own psalm. No spiritual shortcuts—just truth told in the presence of love and trust.

We also dive into idolatry as a compassionate diagnosis; how story work reveals the holy desires beneath compulsions & addictions: to be seen, soothes, safe, and secure. When those desires are honored, we gain the expulsive power of a new affection and reconnect to real freedom.

We're so grateful to Adam for making our 50th episode so special. We hope you'll subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show.

#adamyoung #adamyoungcounseling #theplacewefindourselves #makesenseofyourstory #thebigsix #storywork #therapy #healing #addiction #trauma #vulnerability #recovery #grace #gospel #transformation

AdamYoungCounseling.com (many resources available here!)

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It's always fun and encouraging to talk with other people who work in the same spaces. NICK LIBERTO is the executive director at Proven Ministries, an organization committed to "seeing a revival of sexual integrity throughout the entire Bride of Christ." They provide support and resources for men, women, and ministry leaders. Proven has created many resources to support sexual integrity, including TheSexTalk.com, an online course for parents who want to effectively provide sexual education and discipleship for their kids.

Nick is also the co-host of the I'm Telling God About This podcast, and recently published his first book, a satirical how-to guide called "How to Remain Humble When You've Never Been Wrong in Your Life: A Self-Help Book for the Man Who's Never Needed One."

But while topic of humility is approached satirically in his book, Nick understands true humility is no laughing matter: it's a critical part of healing and recovering from unwanted sexual behaviors, porn addiction, etc. We get into a great discussion on the role of humility in living healthy and free.

Nick lives in Lynchburg, VA with his wife and three children.

#nickliberto #provenministries #provenmen #sexualintegrity #pornaddiction #sexaddiction #thesextalkdotcom #healing #recovery #grace #gospel #transformation

Proven Ministries (website)

TheSexTalk.com (online parents’ course)

I’m Telling God About This (Spotify) (Apple Podcasts)

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In the category of sexual addiction recovery, there are a few people who deserve to be called pioneers. BARBARA STEFFENS is definitely one of them. Over the last quarter century she has begun and advanced invaluable philosophy and resources related to partner betrayal trauma. Previous sex addiction conventional wisdom referred to the addict's partner as a "co-addict," used phraseology that ignored the post-traumatic stress partners undergo, and suggested they may bear some responsibility for their partner's addiction.

Barb, and many others since, have introduced a more compassionate and helpful approach, acknowledging betrayal trauma for the actual traumatic experience it is, and offering help and resources for partners seeking to heal from the extensive wounds of being betrayed.

Barb is the founder of APSATS, the Association of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists; an organization that trains therapists to more compassionately and effectively work with partners of sex addicts.

#barbarasteffens #apsats #betrayaltrauma #betrayaltraumarecovery #pornaddiction #sexaddiction #healing #recovery #grace #gospel #transformation

DrBarbaraSteffens.com (Barb's website)

APSATS (Assn. of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists) website

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