Today's episode deals with some difficult topics and listener discretion is advised. According to the 2023's national survey data (988Help.org), about 14 million U.S. adults reported having serious thoughts of suicide. In 2022 49,000 Americans died by suicide, the highest number ever recorded. In my own life (Eric), my brother committed suicide. Sometimes circumstances and bad choices can lead to depression, and the enemy wants us to think that there is no hope. That's a lie! Today, Casey Temple shares the first part of his amazing story. There are some hard things to hear but, in the end, God can turn any life from hopeless to hopeful! If you are someone you know is having thoughts of self-harm, please call or text 988 right now or go to https://www.988Help.org

Casey and his wife Tisha are involved in the Recovery Alive ministry and share the hope of Jesus everywhere they go. https://www.recoveryalive.com

Have you ever ignored an issue in your life that you knew was a problem, but you simply disregarded it, thinking maybe it will just go away or possibly you’ll deal with it later? We call this behavior denial and depending on the issue it can have major consequences that eventually hurt you and possibly the people that you love. In this episode I talk about the 6 negative effects of denial and what happens when I ignore God. It's only when I turn and face God that I can fully step out of denial. This is an interesting topic but requires courage as we look inward at ourselves.

Some of the greatest Bible characters had the messiest lives, but God still used them. In fact, Paul said that it is in our weakness that we are made strong. This is counterintuitive and the enemy wants us to keep our sins, flaws and shortcomings secret. However, maybe God wants to use these secrets to perform an amazing miracle in your life. Mac & Mary Owen had some secrets, but it wasn't until those secrets were brought into the light that God could use those same secrets to perform so many miracles!

Mac is the Global Director for Celebrate Recovery and he and Mary serve hand-in-hand to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who need healing from all kinds of hurts, bad habits and hang-ups.