Thanks for stopping by for a new episode of When Gathering Light. Victoria and I are joined in the studio today by our good friend Rob Lavy. We will be talking about Rob's healing journey which includes reconstructing his faith and finding new purpose in his career because he serves a loving God. We will discuss the new product that he has created with some encouragement from his wife Christie and Victoria.

The new product is the Bilater-Roll. It is a beautifully carved piece of yellow pine, and you simply roll a marble or in the larger version a pinball back and forth and soothe your anxious brain. I have been using it and many in the therapy world are using it in their practices. We will get into more detail in this episode but if you want to get a sneak peek go to Etsy and look up: Bilater-Roll and you will find photos and some videos, pricing and more.

Thanks for listening to When Gathering Light's newest episode. We really appreciate your ongoing support. We love you all. Peace!

Join Victoria and Matt as they settle back into Akron Recording Studio for their 2026 season. They recap what has been going on for them and discuss Matt’s new book “Prodigal Daughter”. Matt shares what it has been like for him to create his first book of fiction about a woman who navigates the complex dynamics of alcohol addiction and her hard-fought battle for sobriety.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of “Prodigal Daughter” email him at mattgutbrod@yahoo.com.

Join Matt, Victoria and their guest, Laurie Bohrer, as they discuss interpersonal dynamics between siblings throughout one's lifespan. We are born into our unique family systems, and we can be defined by birth order in our formative years. Matt, Victoria and Laurie explore what it looks like to move beyond birth order in our family systems to foster healthier adult relationships with siblings. Additionally, not all family systems can adapt to a sibling initiating a desired change in adulthood. This often leads to the need to create distance/separation from sibling dynamics in order to continue the path towards healing and maturing.

Regardless of your dynamic, we hope that you find this episode a conversation starter within your own homes, friendships and family dynamics.

Thanks again for listening, Matt and Victoria

Join Matt and Victoria as they discuss what it means to foster post-traumatic growth and resiliency in your healing journey. As we navigate trauma-informed therapeutic interventions in our recovery, we often focus on what happened and can lose sight of what can be gained on the other side truth. Victoria and Matt discuss what it means to move beyond maladaptive ways of coping with our histories to a divine encounter with Christ. As we invite Jesus into our stories, we move from survival from the truth of our experiences to an encounter with wisdom, mercy, compassion, mindfulness and humility.

As always, we hope this episode opens up conversations with those that are walking alongside you in your journey of healing.

Many of us have heard about the inner wounded child, but what about the inner wounded teenager within us?

Victoria and Matt welcome back Laurie Bohrer, a licensed therapist, to explore the many facets of the inner wounded teenager. We explore how this part of us can show up in our adult life and how we react to this often-unannounced broken part of us. We befriend our own rebellious inner teens and bear witness to their struggles with identity and role confusion. As we reflect on better understanding who we were back then we are led to find new ways to love our inner young person. We discuss the reality that back then our coping skills were limited by a young brain. Therefore, as we change the lens on the camera, with our adult hearts and minds, we find an abundance of love and mercy for these parts of ourselves. We hope this inspires you to befriend your own inner wounded teenager to bring forth a deeper sense of compassion and curiosity for this often-neglected part of one’s healing journey.

Thanks for your continued support.

Shout out to the skater girl who has returned to the ice.

Peace and love!

Victoria and Matt

As we begin Season 3 of "When Gathering Light" we return to a topic that often has a resounding effect in our relationships with significant others, spouses, family and friends and that's our trauma histories.

We are all survivors of something. Whether we have survived smaller difficult events or larger woundings, we aren't always cognizant of how they will reveal themselves in our relationships. We agree that Satan will use these injuries to try to separate us from God. It's essential that we find the resources to begin the healing process either with a loved one or on our own.

Victoria and I offer our own humility as we have gone back to therapy to work through some difficult stressful issues in our marriage. We of course try to find some humor in these struggles but as is so often the case we find communicating with love and inviting the Holy Spirit into the hard places brings forth the most fruit. As is always the case with this podcast, we hope to create dialogs amongst loved ones. Fear is mitigated by love when we talk things out and listen with open hearts.

We thank you for all of your support over the last two years. If you have a topic that you would like us to consider or a guest who would offer new light, you can send Matt an email: mattgutbrod@yahoo.com

Peace and Love,

Victoria and Matt

Join Matt and Victoria as they explore some of the anxiety inducing aspects of our twenty-first century world and how we can potentially create self-care micro-adjustments to reduce the effects on us. Do we go online to have our voice heard, sometimes to our detriment? Do we join groups on-line to feel a part of something even though we can find ourselves struggling with the messaging? What if our community fosters fear and mistrust? Where is God in this plethora of digital noise and fear induced social connections?

Our aim is to create a dialog amongst our listeners and their loved ones so that they can foster social interactions grounded in the fruits of the spirit and not a spirit of fear. Thanks for joining us in this dialog as we navigate our own personal and professional lives and strive to stay connected in this modern digital world. Peace!

Many of us are being called to be caregivers for our parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and friends. Victoria and Matt talk about some of the challenges, frustrations and the potential for God's grace in the middle of this often-affirming journey. Is it our job as a Christian? Can we tap into a new understanding and a deeper relationship with our loved ones? Can we have meaningful conversations with other family members as we define rolls and plans for caregiving? We ultimately serve the most amazing Caregiver of all, a loving God. Can we emulate Christ in our efforts? Join us in this important dialog. Shalom!