When You Love a Prodigal

MARKINC Ministries

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When You Love a Prodigal

a Conversation with Judy Douglass

Sharon Betters, Judy Douglass

Perhaps one of the hardest pains for a parent to endure is when a child makes dangerous choices that are sure to lead to life-changing consequences. Judy Douglass, author of When You Love a Prodigal, knows this anguish first hand yet her story focuses on how parenting her son Josh drove her to the heart of Jesus where she learned truths about herself and the life—transforming power of God’s grace. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Judy talks about how it was in the darkness that she discovered the power of prayer. Judy’s story is not only instructive for parents of a prodigal but brings hope to those who are in the “prodigal child waiting room”. Judy is the founder and host of Prayer for Prodigals, an online worldwide community for those who love someone who is making destructive choices.

When Your Brother Dies, and You're 11 Years Old

Doug MacGray , Dr. Chuck F. Betters

Each year about 50,000 children die in the United States. While a profound loss for parents, what about their siblings? Doug MacGray, was eleven years old when he lost his sixteen-year-old brother, Ricky. How does an eleven-year-old grieve? How is the grief journey of a sibling different than the grief journey of parents? In this sometimes emotional conversation, Doug shares with Dr. Chuck F. Betters some of the ways his brother’s death affected him and how grief for a child is different than the grief of an adult. It’s our hope that Doug’s story will help parents understand the grief of their children a little better and also encourage those who have lost siblings at a young age.

Chronic Pain

Bill Condon , Sharon Betters

In 2016 about 20% of US adults had chronic pain – that’s about 50,000,000. Eight percent of those adults had high-impact pain – that’s about 20,000,000 people with debilitating chronic pain. People suffering from high -impact pain often suffer in isolation and without much understanding or sympathy. They don’t have a cast or any visible sign of injury, yet their pain changes the way they live life. In this Help & Hope podcast, Dr. Betters talks with Bill Condon, who knows what it is to not only experience chronic pain with no hope of healing, but also the devastation of the losses that often accompanies chronic pain. Bill explains how depression took him into such a dark place he no longer wanted to live. Yet in the middle of debilitating pain, Bill’s story is one of hope. If you or someone you love suffers from any kind of ongoing pain, Bill’s story will encourage you, and help you find a way to walk by faith in the middle of the pain and/or come alongside someone who lives with chronic pain.

The Good Gift of Weakness

Eric Schumacher, Sharon Betters

Our culture deifies strength—and sadly, the church does too. Who has the most successful ministry, the largest congregation, or the godliest family? Our misplaced faith in human strength is a false hope with no basis in Scripture. But a closer look throughout the Bible reveals the central role human frailty plays in the redemption story. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s power is made perfect when people are at their weakest. Far from an undesirable defect, God designed our weakness to draw us closer to himself. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Eric Schumacker shows us how weakness is a main theme throughout Scripture and encourages us to ask the question about every Bible story, “Where is the weakness?” The answer to that question will also showcase our utter dependence on the Lord’s strength. And then Eric shows how God designed our human frailty to draw us closer to Him in a way that helps us display His perfect strength amid our weakness. As we learn to accept the good gift of weakness, we will experience true strength—the kind that only comes from a loving and infinitely powerful God.