Help & Hope

In 2009, Claire Culwell found out she was an abortion survivor. Claire’s birth mother was 13 years old at the time she became pregnant with Claire. Her mother took her to an abortion clinic where she had a surgical abortion. A few weeks later, she realized her belly was still growing and her mother took her back to the abortion clinic. She learned she had been pregnant with twins. One baby was aborted. Claire survived.In this conversation with Sharon Betters Claire shares the poignant moments she learned she was an abortion survivor and how she responded to her birth mother. Claire challenges listeners to recognize the horror of abortion by presenting her own life as one of value and impact.Support the show

Suicide was the tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States, claiming the lives of 47,000 people.Suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 54. There were more than twice as many suicides (47,173) in the United States than there were homicides (19,510). Sadly, suicide is trending upward, increasing 31% in the past eighteen years. Suicide among males is nearly fourt times higher than among females.(Source) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports in 2017)These statistics are startling. Judy Springer doesn’t need statistics to reveal the anguish and pain of mental illness and suicide. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, she tells how she has lived it and continues to live with the aftermath of suicide. After a lifetime of the unrelenting pain of mental illness, Judy’s beloved husband, Scott, took his own life.

In this inspiring podcast former baseball star, Dave Dravecky and Dr. Chuck F. Betters talk about how cancer destroyed Dave’s successful baseball career and Dave’s struggle to deal with not only the loss of his career but understanding his true identity.In the 1980s Dave Dravecky was a long-sought-after relief specialist. His pitching helped key the San Diego Padres' World Series run. After a few years in San Diego, Dravecky moved on to San Francisco, where he was a key part of their World Series run.However, things in 1989 would take a bitter turn for the Youngstown, Ohio native. Experiencing weakness in his pitching arm, he was examined by the Giants team doctor. The doctor noticed Purpose Aa lump in Dravecky's arm and sent him to a specialist in New York. It was there that Dravecky learned his pitching arm was ripe with cancer. Draveckey underwent treatment in hopes on returning to baseball.In September of 1989, Dravecky returned to the pitching mound, mere months after undergoing treatment for c

Long term illness has more than one victim. Naturally, the priority of energy and time must be the person who is ill. But what about the rest of the family, especially the spouse who walks beside the sick loved one? In this podcast, Jan Dravecky speaks candidly to Sharon Betters about how her husband Dave’s loss of his arm to cancer plunged her into a deep depression. Dave was a pitcher for the Giants when he received the diagnosis of cancer. Their journey captured the attention of the world when against all odds, Dave came back to the pitcher’s mound, and then gasped in horror when his arm snapped while pitching. The cancer had returned. Living with cancer is painful, but even more painful on a world stage. Jan’s body, heart and soul finally cried, “Enough” and Jan found herself on a long, hard journey to find her way out of deep depression. Jan and Dave share their journey through books, speaking and an outreach to hurting people called Endurance. Learn more about their ministry at Endurance.org.Support the

Sherry and Mike Kendrick heard the word “terminal” when Mike was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Mike prayed he would live long enough to walk his daughter down the aisle. God granted him that desire and five years later, after his daughter’s wedding, Mike stepped from earth into heaven.In this poignant conversation with Sharon Betters, a little over a year after the death of her beloved pastor husband, Sherry shares how Mike helped prepare her to be intentional in life after his absence. Sherry took practical steps to allow her room to lean into the pain but also to open her heart and hands to the treasures God gives through others. Her story will not only encourage widows but anyone who struggles with this foreign land of grief.Support the show

Whether you are in a waiting room right now because of cancer, stroke, traumatic injury, a child struggling to hold on to life, a health crisis of any kind, you know the emotions of waiting – fear of the unknown, sadness over knowing life will never be the same, anger – you name it. Yet in the midst of it all, Elizabeth reminds us of of the certain hope and peace of the gospel.Waiting. We don’t like it. We wouldn’t choose it. Yet in the middle of that waiting room, there is hope in Jesus. This conversation between Sharon Betters, Melissa Weisenfels and Elizabeth Turnage will help turn your heart toward Him if you are in that waiting room or equip you to offer help and hope to a waiting friend.Support the show

Sharon Betters interviews GRAMMY winner Laura Story who shares details of how her life took an unexpected turn when her husband, Martin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The fairytale life she had dreamed of was no longer possible, yet Laura found a "better broken' with Jesus. Laura's story will remind listeners while your situation might never change or get better, with Jesus YOU can.Support the show

“Edith, we urge you to learn Braille, train with a white cane, and learn to cook blindfolded...” These warnings from Doctors and a Rehab team along with major eye surgery and regular vision-loss monitoring by top specialists at Johns Hopkins University Hospital struck fear in Edith Yoder’s heart.. As a single Christian woman living alone in the mountains of Western Maryland she had already dealt with total vision loss in one eye. Now, the gravity of the possibility of total blindness was yet another blow as Edith felt even her “new normal” begin to crumble. In recent years her dream job as a CNA had already come to a screeching halt and it was obvious that not only physically but also spiritually, the decisions she would make in the following weeks would be crucial in this fight to retain her physical sight and her spiritual vision. In Christ, Edith has found purpose for her pain, strength sufficient for the struggles, and blessings beyond measure as she shares her message of hope to “Walk by faith, not by s

Twenty-nine year old Erin Kauffman was enjoying the fruit of years of education and working. She loved her newly purchased home and bought a new car that she could load up with equipment when traveling to school sponsored music events. Erin filled her time with work, music, friends and ministry. Then the unthinkable happened. A driver fell asleep at the wheel and at sixty miles per hour slammed head first into Erin’s car. In this moving conversation with Sharon Betters, Erin describes the devastation of realizing the bottom half of her body was crushed, the long rehab, and how this accident changed the direction of her life. Though Erin continues to struggle with long term pain and acknowledges that her medical care is like a part time job, she offers hope to anyone in similar circumstances. Erin’s story also will inspire listeners to trust that when everything feels impossible, that’s when we can see the Lord’s grace and strength in ways we never imagined possible.Support the show

“I end every day feeling defeated because I lost my temper with my kids, vowing tomorrow will be better, but it usually isn’t.”“I don’t want my kids to be “less than” their friends. I also want them to stand out as college applicants. But I don’t think I can keep up with this schedule of activities. They are ages 5 & 9.”“Whenever my child fails at something, I’m the one who feels guilty and judged.”“When is it my turn? I look forward to an hour of quiet time after the kids are in bed and no matter how hard I try, something robs me of my time”Christina Fox addresses these parenting concerns and much more in this conversation with Sharon Betters and Melissa Weisenfels. How can good parenting motives turn into idols? What should we do when we discover that our motives for doing good things for our kids just might be wrong? Christina is the author of Idols of a Mother’s Heart and numerous other books and articles. Connect with Christina at christinafox.comSupport the show

Rachel’s Craddock’s mother died after a long battle with breast cancer. Rachel was fourteen years old. Sharon Betters and Melissa Weisenfels ask Rachel some hard questions not just about her mother’s death but also her own decision to have a double radical mastectomy after she learned she had a high chance of getting the same kind of cancer as her mother. Rachel holds nothing back as she talks about how unraveling deep issues in her heart, though painful at the time, ended up as good. Rachel is the author of Slowly Unraveled, Changed from the Inside Out, and in this conversation she explains how the Gospel not only unraveled her grief but slowly unraveled communication and conflict in her marriage, her view of parenting and much more.Support the show

Cori Salchert, fosters and adopts “hospice babies” whose own families find it too hard to cope with their child’s terminal diagnosis.She is the mother of over fifteen children, some of whom died in her care. Cori traveled a very painful pathway before she arrived at her calling to caring for and loving terminally ill children so that they will not die alone. Cori shares her journey into this calling in her book, I Will Love You Forever, A True Story about Finding Life, Hope & Healing While Caring for Hospice Babies. She calls her home a “house of hope” where she and her family dedicate their lives to providing dying children with loving hospice care until the end of their lives. In this moving conversation, Cori shares with Sharon Betters how God used her years of undiagnosed pain and illness to help equip her to recognize the value of every human being, no matter how “unproductive” others might view them. Her first hospice baby was Emmalynn, a baby born missing part of her brain. Instead of dying in a

The fear of miscarriage is one of the biggest fears of a pregnant woman. Jessalyn Hutto, author of Inheritance of Tears, When Death Enters the Womb knows not only this fear but the reality of miscarriage and the accompanying grief. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Jessalyn brings hope to women who grieve the loss of their children through miscarriage. She offers a priceless gift to those women coming behind her who have experienced such deep loss. Jessalyn reminds listeners that Jesus cares very deeply about every child who is lost to miscarriage and He cares very deeply about every mother who is deprived of that life.Support the show

Bryan and his wife Sharon say the diagnosis of severe autism for his son Matthew confronted them with the reality that the future they had planned would never come. In this transparent conversation Bryan touches on how he and his wife went into survival mode, how he initially thought the could “fix” his son, the spiritual struggles they experienced and the impact of Matthew on their other children and their marriage. Though their journey has been challenging, Bryan offers help and hope to anyone experiencing upheaval through circumstances beyond their control.Support the show

In this conversation Chuck Betters sits down with Bill Tell, author of Lay it Down, Living in the Freedom of the Gospel. Bill, former Vice President of the Navigators, experienced severe burnout and depression without warning. Bill discovered he could not “pull himself up by his own bootstraps”. Depression was like the hand of a giant pushing him deeper and deeper into darkness he could not fight on his own. Bill’s calling required him to interact with people but the dark cloud of depression created the need for him to close the door of his life in order to find the pathway of healing. Bill’s honest account of this lonely and dark time encourages each of us to review the grid through which we live life. He encourages us to experience the freedom of living in the freedom of the Gospel rather than the unsatisfying prison of pursuing the praise of people.Support the show

In this conversation Sharon Betters talks with Sue Tell about her reaction to her husband Bill’s severe burnout and depression. After over forty years of serving on the staff of The Navigators, Bill suddenly slid into a dark pit of depression. He was incapable of “pulling himself up by his own bootstraps”. Sue describes how their lives dramatically changed from regularly pouring their lives out in ministry to closing the door of their home in order to give Bill time to heal. Along the way, Sue discovered treasures that not only strengthened her to walk with Bill in the darkness, but brought new depth to their marriage. You can hear more from Sue at her blog, Echoesofgrace.comSupport the show

Lisa Kowal heard the diagnosis of breast cancer and recognized she was about to begin a hard journey into the scary land of Cancer. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, also a breast cancer survivor, Lisa shares her journey in a way that will help equip those coming behind her to face this enemy with strength. Lisa and Sharon talk about some of the practical things they did to minimize the power of cancer in their lives as well as some tips for dealing with the after affects of treatment. Have you just heard those words, “You have breast cancer?” or do you know someone who is fighting cancer right now? This conversation is for you.Support the show

“Christmas. What will we do about Christmas?”This was one of the first grief-stricken questions Sharon asked her husband, Chuck, hours after learning of the death of their sixteen-year-old son, Mark. In this poignant interview, Chuck and Sharon Betters speak candidly about how they approached their first Christmas without their youngest child. If you are struggling with grief in this season that is considered the happiest of all, listen, and be encouraged that there are treasures in the darkness designed to help turn your heart toward Jesus.Support the show

In this moving and sometimes emotional conversation, Sharon Betters talks to Susanna Musser and her friend and counselor, Heidi Scott, about the sudden, accidental death of Susanna’s adopted son, Tommy. Susanna and husband Joe and their entire family welcomed Tommy into their home even though he had severe disabilities. No strangers to raising a child with disabilities, Tommy quickly experienced unconditional love. Yet God often calls us to hard places that are much more difficult than we expected. Through circumstances no one could have imagined, Tommy died. Susanna, with the help of her counselor, Heidi, shares the story of her family, her passion for adoption of children with special needs and the enormous struggle she experienced in trying to reconcile Tommy’s death while carrying self-imposed guilt no parent should experience. This conversation will not only encourage others in similar places, but will give listeners a renewed understanding of the burdens some parents bear and how to help them.Support th

Melanoma, the word strikes fear into the hearer, especially when it is a diagnosis for a loved one. Al Groves, a beloved professor at Westminster Seminary and his wife, Libbie, heard these words and knew life would never be the same. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Libbie shares the journey that her family experienced in the year after her husband Al’s diagnosis of terminal cancer. She offers her family’s story as a means of coming alongside of others who are struggling with cancer, God and grief, answering such questions asHow did you tell your children?Did you ever hit a wall where you felt you just couldn’t handle all the daily responsibilities of raising your children and caring for your husband?Al was a gifted author, beloved professor at Westminster Seminary. Did you ever question why such a gifted man who had so much more to offer had to die? What about lament? How important was and is your faith? How did it make a difference in the way you viewed this diagnosis?How did people help you?Suppo