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Stories
How Grief Turned Into Addiction After Losing His Daughter
with Jeremy Shifflett
Jeremy Shiflett watched God work what felt like miracle after miracle in the NICU. And then, the moment he crossed back home, everything unraveled. Jeremy puts words to a moment many people recognize but rarely admit: the split second where faith feels distant and the old escape routes feel close again. In this episode we talk with Jeremy about the grief of losing his infant daughter at 10 months old, the slow drift from trying to cope into prescription drug addiction, and how clonazepam left him numb and chasing relief. From there, his story moves into meth addiction, the strain it put on his marriage and parenting, and how relapse tends to come back worse. He also speaks honestly about NICU trauma during COVID, financial pressure, isolation, and the role community played through prayer, text messages, and a bake sale that arrived exactly when the bank account ran dry.
Stories
God Retired Me From Atheism
with Bill Gates
Bill Gates, and yes, that really is his name, spent twenty years as an atheist before one Sunday night at a friend's church changed everything. Twenty-eight years later, he and his wife Sunseri are stepping into Living Free with a simple question: how do you disciple the specific thing someone is actually carrying when a Sunday sermon has to speak to everyone?
Stories
The Bail Bondsman Pastor Who Shows Up When Everyone Else Walks Away
with Pastor George Williams
Pastor George Williams posts bail at 2AM, pastors a biker church on Sundays, and leads mission trips to one of the poorest counties in America. He shares how working in the justice system shaped his ministry and what it takes to build a recovery center in Appalachia.
Stories
You Can Win at Life and Still Feel Lost: Aaron Gordon
with Aaron Gordon
Aaron Gordon beat the odds - graduating from West Point, building a successful military career - but at 54 he's still wrestling with the question most people avoid: Who did God actually create me to be? A conversation about identity, purpose, and the subtle lies that derail even "successful" lives.
Stories
He Couldn't Be With His Wife Without Watching It First
with Justin Franich
A man hid his pornography addiction so well that on his wedding night he couldn't be intimate with his wife without watching it first. That's what porn does. Rewires your brain until the real thing doesn't work anymore. We dig into the science of how pornography fries your dopamine receptors and the spiritual damage it causes to marriages. The devil only shows you the front of sin. He doesn't show you the cirrhosis, the broken marriages, the isolation.
Stories
I Was Exposed to Porn at 7 Years Old
with Justin Franich
He was 7 years old when a neighbor showed him a pornographic video. That moment opened a door that haunted him for years. Even after months of victory he felt hooks pulling him back. Then came a vivid dream and a dark presence in his room. This isn't just dopamine and brain chemistry. There's a spiritual component to pornography addiction. His breakthrough came when he spoke scripture out loud and rebuked the enemy.
Stories
The Night the Holy Spirit Walked Into My Room (6-8 Pills a Night)
with Justin Franich
There was a season where I was couch surfing in California, popping six to eight ecstasy pills a night. One night I was burning a CD for a party and accidentally downloaded worship music. That worship music confronted me. Then the Holy Spirit walked into my room like a flood. I started weeping. Real tears. The desire for drugs broke. Three months later my grandmother called and offered to fly me to Virginia. That was the beginning of the next chapter.
Stories
I Started Meth at 15... But God Wasn’t Done With Me
with Justin Franich
Meth addiction nearly killed me at 15. I got introduced to crystal meth at 14 and by 15 it was already taking over everything. I ended up with a quiet discharge from the Army at Fort Benning. Another layer of shame. The intervention happened in my grandmother's living room. That moment where you realize you've burned every bridge you thought would hold. I took a seven-hour drive to Long Island, New York and showed up at Teen Challenge empty, broken, and addicted. Freedom isn't the finish line. It's the launching pad.
Stories
Why Recovery Broke Me Before It Saved Me
with Justin Franich
Nobody tells you early recovery can hurt worse than addiction. The numbing stops and everything you avoided for years shows up at once. Fear. Shame. Grief. Drug dreams. Old memories. I almost broke during that phase. When the emotions came back. When sleep got weird. When temptation got loud. Three truths to keep you from quitting: Pain is not failure. You are not saved by your progress. Your recovery is bigger than you.
Stories
I’m Finally Sharing My Story: 20 Years After Meth Addiction
with Justin Franich
I grew up in a good Christian home, and that's what makes my meth addiction testimony hit different. I wasn't raised in chaos. But I still ended up chasing identity in all the wrong places. I dropped out. I spiraled. I was running hard and dying slow. Detoxing at 110 pounds in the back of a van. God sent a man in Long Island who didn't see what I was. He saw what I could be. Two decades later, I can say this with a clear mind. My marriage. My four daughters. Ministry. Restoration.
Stories
D1 Athlete Lost Everything to Cocaine: His Journey Back to Jesus
with Shane Curtis
Shane Curtis had everything lined up. Strong Christian home in Manassas, Virginia. Church every Sunday. D1 soccer scholarship at Longwood University. Then one collision with a goalpost shattered his fibula, stole his scholarship, and stripped away the identity he'd built his entire life around. What followed was a slow-motion spiral. Community college. Cocaine. A brief season of sobriety at Liberty that crumbled under the weight of stress and shame. One night, high and drunk, Shane took his kayak out to his favorite fishing spot. Choppy water. Tiny boat. One flip and everything sank. Phone, keys, pride. He swam to the wrong shore and spent the night alone in the woods while his family filed a missing person report. That rock bottom led him straight to Shenandoah Valley Teen Challenge. If you've ever watched your identity collapse and wondered what comes next, Shane's story will meet you there.
Stories
How I Stayed Clean for 13 Years (It's Not What You Think)
with Robert Grant
Willpower didn't keep Rob Grant free for 13 years. Godly systems did. In this conversation, Rob pulls back the curtain on what long-term recovery actually looks like. Not the highlight reel. The daily grind of staying free when the initial excitement fades and real life starts pressing in. We talk about the difference between getting clean and actually rebuilding on a solid foundation. Why new habits, healthy relationships, and spiritual disciplines aren't optional. How to choose friends when your old circle is gone. What to do when church feels uncomfortable and isolation feels easier. Rob's story moves from pivotal moments in Teen Challenge through real-world challenges like grief, identity struggles, and the quiet temptation to slip back into old patterns. If you're past the crisis but wondering how to build something that lasts, this is the blueprint.
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