Sarah's Story: Finding my voice. My twenties were categorized as driven and successful. My resume boasted of working for influential organizations. I was a popular communicator traveling across the globe to speak to students. And I became an author at the young age of 27. But then, I turned 30, had kids, faced some rejection and was felt like I had peaked in life. Where the twenties were driven with confidence, my thirties felt like a lonely space. Having accomplished so much in life to that point, I wondered if this was it. I felt like there was a formula to life, a certainty to things. But my thirties proved that life was more uncertain than I had believed. In those years, I longed to communicate with women again. I longed to connect with others through conversation. In October of 2015, the podcast, Surviving Sarah, was born. It was to be a place where I could use my voice again to help other women know they aren’t alone. It was a place where I could help women survive right where they are—in their life, their relationships, their work and their faith. After years of living and learning, I wrote a new book about how motherhood has raised me. A Mother’s Guide to Raising Herself: What Parenting Taught Me About Life, Faith and Myself is a guide that captures that journey of realizing that as I was parenting my girls, I was actually parenting myself. Now, my forties are categorized as a different confidence—a confidence in the journey of discovering who I am and stepping confidently into that person. It’s a journey defined by curiosity and surrendering to the uncertainty of it all. And as Anne Lamont says, “The opposite of faith is not doubt, it’s certainty.” By embracing the uncertainty with curiosity, my faith has been reconstructed. Related Links: WEBSITE: sarahbragg.com INSTAGRAM: @sarahbragg FACEBOOK: @SURVIVINGSARAHPODCAST 

Thriving Beyond Belief with Cheryl Scruggs

Sarah Bragg

Born prematurely, Johnny has cerebral palsy and is mostly confined to a wheelchair. He has participated for several years in numerous myTeamTriumph (mTT) 5Ks, Marathons and Triathlons being pushed by able-bodied athletes. Inspired by mTT, Johnny and his Dad began doing 5Ks, marathons and triathlons on their own. This ultimately led to Johnny setting a goal most would have thought to be impossible. He wanted to walk a mile in a race. Up to that point, his longest “walk” aided by a walker was 20 steps. Through hard work and a habilitative-educational program called the Conductive Learning Center in Grand Rapids, MI, he competed in his first race using his walker. This 5K was covered by local media, WOOD TV8, and soon gained national attention when it was featured on ESPN’s E:60 show which chronicled his transition from wheelchair-bound participant to actually competing as he finished the “Final Mile”. Related Links: WEBSITE: JohnnyAgar.com INSTAGRAM: @officialjohnny_agar TWITTER: @agar_john 

Johnny Agar

Do Less So God Can Do More Popular speaker, Billie Jauss, shares how to make room for God in her latest book. Every believer experiences dry seasons in their lifetimes when you're doing all the right things but feel painfully disconnected from God. Bible study? Check. Volunteer ministry? Check. Daily quiet time? Check. But nothing seems to be working. While most of Billie Jauss’s adult life has been filled with the adventure and excitement of being married to a professional baseball coach, it took a quiet Sunday morning to propel her on the spiritual journey of a lifetime. Now, her passion is for everyone to experience God’s immeasurably more—just as she has Don't let your busy life get in the way of your connection with God. Author Links: Website: https://www.billiejauss.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/billiejaussauthor/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/billie_jauss/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/billiejauss 

Billie Jauss

Erica is an award-winning author and the founder of Every Life Ministries, bringing you the truths of Scripture to transform your life. By digging deeply into God’s Word, Every Life Ministries encourages you to discover your unique purpose, accept God’s promises, and live by His power. Erica is the author of three Bible studies released by Moody Publishers: An Unexplainable Life, The Unexplainable Church, and Unexplainable Jesus: Rediscovering the God You Thought You Knew.  Erica serves on the women’s ministry leadership team for her church and regularly teaches in various venues. She's also taught women in the Arizona State Prison system, and overseas. She loves to bring God's Word to anyone who’ll listen, whether it’s a large women’s conference, a church women’s retreat, her own kitchen table, or across your computer screen with her teaching series or YouTube Channel. Erica is also a regular guest teacher on Bridges, an online show on the Christian Television network viewable on most cable networks, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Android TV. A graduate and post-graduate of Azusa Pacific University, Erica lives in Phoenix with her best friend and husband, Jonathan, and their four children, only two of which are human. The others are furry and adorable.

Erica Wiggenhorn

I am so excited to have Nancy Houston with me today on Thriving Beyond Belief! We talk about a topic that is necessary in our culture today and one that is good for our hearts. We discuss intimacy within marriage! Nancy shares her story with us and how she has gotten to where she is today. Nancy’s book Love and Sex was released in February, which is the Christian guide to healthy intimacy. She wrote the book for those 18 and older to try and help others find their pathway to healthy intimacy. She is also a certified sex therapist who devotes her time to helping couples restore their relationships, seek healing and help, and to fully enjoy marriage the way God intended it to be. Nancy had some beautiful things to say regarding her past and dealing with abuse. She reminds us that in Scripture, God shares that He is not ashamed of us or what has happened to us, but He wants to meet us and reconstruct from the ruins of our past. She also shares that we must recognize the need for healing. She discusses coming from a place to self-hatred to seeking outside help that helped reinforce that her past was not her fault and that your past is not your fault. We see that through His Word, the Lord wants to meet us in the midst of our hurt and be our great Healer. Nancy’s definition of thriving is facing our negative realities and walk through them to experience the LIFE on the other side. We have to leave our Egypt to reach our promised land. It doesn’t mean it is an easy journey, but it is a worthy one. Our God wants us to thrive in this way in all areas of our life- including our sex life with our spouse! Nancy reminds us that God specifically designed us with a purpose. He is not ashamed of sexuality because He designed us to be sexual beings that gain attachment and closeness within the bond of marriage through intimacy. He desires that your intimate life is enjoyable and strengthens the marriage! We as a Christian culture need to remember to connect our spirituality with our sexuality. Often we don’t believe they are connected. But, in fact, they are stronger when they are connected. We discuss at length those that are currently dealing with a disconnect in their marriage. Nancy discusses the scientific reasoning behind our need for attachment within marriage, what leads to breaks in the attachment, and how we can work through better communication to repair the disconnect. She encourages couples to learn to tell your spouse what you need instead of keeping score against them. Rather than blame your spouse, ask for what you feel you are lacking. She also encourages those that have tried everything and their spouse is unwilling to change to keep seeking help. Continue to pray over your marriage and tap into resources to find that intimacy again. We end with talking about how sex in marriage was not created to be an obligation to either party, but to be a beautiful and pleasurable experience. Nancy talks through Scripture that beautifully portrays what intimacy in marriage looks like for both people, male and female. Join me today as we gain wisdom in being healthy in every way in our marriages.

REPLAY: Nancy Houston

Join me this week on Thriving Beyond Belief with my guest Rachel Macy Stafford. In LIVE LOVE NOW Stafford shows readers how to become a truth-teller, encourager and guide to help young adults through the top stressors they face today—academic pressure, parental expectations, technoference, lack of purpose, isolation and the absence of effective coping skills. Stafford bravely and beautifully weaves in her own parenting struggles and breakthroughs throughout the book. She exposes a season of personal depletion and overwhelm that culminated when she raised a casserole dish over her head and smashed it on the kitchen counter – a scene that every adult can relate to. Stafford was relieved that her apology to her teenage daughter, who had been a witness, was met with suggestions of loving, self-care tactics – ones that Rachel had modeled countless times to her family members during their difficult times. Stafford says, “In the face of failure, shame, and embarrassment, in times of loss and rejection, in moments of pain and trauma, our kids will recall the moments they saw us struggle. But it won’t be the struggle that they will remember most, it will be the resilience, the effort, the refusal to give up and the willpower to keep trying.”

Rachel Macy Stafford

Join me this week on Thriving Beyond Belief for a solo episode! Let's talk 2020, half of 2021, struggles, joys, and thriving!! Related Links: WEBSITE: JeffandCherylScruggs.com INSTAGRAM: @CherylScruggs AMAZON: I Do Again 

Solo Episode with Host, Cheryl Scruggs

This week on Thriving Beyond Belief, we have a special episode with Jeff and myself with Aaron and Jamie Ivey, co-authors of Complement: The Surprising Beauty of Choosing Together Over Separate in Marriage. Related Links: WEBSITE: AaronandJamieIvey.com INSTAGRAM: @jamieivey AMAZON: Complement: The Surprising Beauty of Choosing Together Over Separate in Marriage 

Jeff & Cheryl Scruggs with Aaron & Jamie Ivey

In 2009, Lara Casey—PowerSheets® creator, best-selling author, and mom to three—wrote a blog post ("How to Make Things Happen") in an attempt to answer the many emails she received asking, "how do you do it all?" The blog post received a flurry of responses, resonating with hundreds of people. It sparked a movement that turned into the Making Things Happen Conference a decade ago, where she continues to lead attendees through our proven process to uncover what truly matters to them and do something about it. Those same principles are in every page of the PowerSheets® Intentional Goal Planner, our cornerstone product that has sparked powerful and positive change in thousands of women's lives across the world. Recognize her from somewhere else? For 10 years we published the acclaimed print magazine Southern Weddings, encouraging brides to plan meaningful celebrations and even more beautiful marriages. We were honored to partner with the best vendors in the business, including Southern Living Magazine, and to publish a beloved wedding planner you can still buy today. Though SW retired in 2018 so our team could focus on helping women cultivate what matters in every season of life, SW's legacy lives on!

REPLAY: Lara Casey

This week on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Paul David Tripp! Dr. Paul David Tripp is a pastor, event speaker, and a best-selling and award-winning author. With more than 30 books and video series on Christian living, Paul’s driving passion is to connect the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. Experience The Marriage Of Your Dreams Paul Tripp will encourage you with what the Bible has to say about marriage: No matter how long you have been married, you must continually realign your expectations so you aren’t discouraged and disappointed by the reality of your relationship. Learn how to treat your husband or wife with integrity and faithfulness so they fully entrust themselves to your care. Why do couples fail to experience the marriage of their dreams? They point the finger of blame and hold grudges. Instead, discover how to fight for your relationship by practicing confession and forgiveness each day. There are many definitions of love out there, but you only need to follow one example: the cross of Christ.

REPLAY: Paul David Tripp

Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, Tod Jacobs and Peter Lynn from Not a Partnership! About the Authors: Tod Jacobs Tod Jacobs is Director of the David Robinson Institute for Jewish Heritage in Jerusalem, which he co-founded in 2005. Prior to his current role teaching and counseling his students and alumni, he enjoyed a distinguished career on Wall Street as one of the leading authorities on the telecommunications industry globally. As a managing director at JP Morgan and before that a partner at Sanford C. Bernstein and Company, Tod acted as a frequent commentator on network television and in leading newspapers and magazines, and testified several times before the U.S. Congress as an expert on telecom and media issues. His credits in print and broadcast journalism, where he worked prior to Wall Street, include nominations for both the Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism and the Emmy Award. Tod lives in Jerusalem with his family. Dr. Peter Lynn Peter Lynn has served as Dean of Students at the David Robinson Institute for Jewish Heritage since its inception. An MA in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) from the University of Pennsylvania and a PsyD in Human and Organizational Psychology, Peter lectures at Touro College in Jerusalem. He is also the Founder and Director of Greatness Within Seminars, where he helps empower individuals and organizations through the application of Positive Psychology. An accomplished athlete and Ironman finisher, Peter was captain of the U.S. World Duathlon Team. Peter lives in Jerusalem with his family.

REPLAY: Tod Jacobs & Peter Lynn

Darryl Strawberry is described as a baseball legend by many who have been dazzled by the dynamics of his game. His many accomplishments in the major leagues include four World Series titles, eight All-Star Game appearances, and a nomination to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004. He has earned the legendary nicknames and phrases of one of the most feared homerun hitters in the game of baseball: Straw’s Sweet Swing, Strawberry’s Field Forever, and The Legendary Straw Man! Though Darryl was extremely successful in his career, his personal life was plagued with addictions, abuse, divorces, cancer, jail time, and other issues. Darryl finally found true redemption and restoration in Jesus Christ. If there’s anyone who knows about redemption through God’s grace, it’s legendary baseball player, Strawberry’s life is now filled with a blessed purpose and passion: he and his wife run an active ministry and a recovery center, and he is also an in-demand speaker across the globe. But those who know Strawberry’s troubled past are aware of his very public struggles with addiction, abuse, and other destructive issues. In his latest book Turn Your Season Around: How God Transforms Your Life, Strawberry refers to his storied sports career, as well as his redemption and restoration through faith, to emphasize that once you pursue the purposes God created you for, the results are lifechanging…and the impact is eternal. This deeply inspirational, Scripture-filled book leans into sports themes, for as this baseball icon points out, “Sports often serve as metaphors for life. You know, like when life throws a curve ball you weren’t expecting that drops perfectly across the center of your world for strike three. We’ve all been there…Whether or not you’ve ever worn a uniform for athletic competition, one thing is sure—if you’re reading this book, then you’re all in for this game called life.” Today, Darryl’s purpose and passion is serving the Lord Jesus Christ by traveling the country, speaking a message of hope and restoration through the power of the gospel.

REPLAY: Daryl Strawberry

Welcome back everyone! Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast is our guest, Kat Harris! In Sexless in the City: A Sometimes Sassy, Sometimes Painful, Always Honest Look at Dating, Desire, and Sex The popular podcast host and founder of The Refined Woman shares how she researched, wrestled, and discovered a God who wasn’t afraid or ashamed of sex and desire. Realizing countless women were dying to ask the same questions she was—and to get answers from a female who had actually walked the walk—Kat compiled her findings to empower women of faith to navigate today’s dating culture with vision, clarity, and freedom. In a culture where relationships often begin by swiping right, does biblical wisdom about sex and dating still hold water? Having grown up in the height of the purity movement, approaching 30 and fresh to the dating scene in New York City, Kat Harris wasn’t so sure. Caught between the rules of her raising and popular culture’s do what feels good, she set out on a multi-year journey to find answers to her biggest questions about sexuality and faith.

Kat Harris

Welcome back everyone! Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast is our guest, Jarrett Stephens! A message of hope for an anxious day: God never changes. He is still here and ready to transform our lives. What we must ask is if we are ready to respond to him. In these turbulent times, many wonder where God is…and why he doesn’t seem to be intervening. Sure, he performed miracles in the Bible, but what about now? What about us? In The Always God: He Hasn’t Changed and You Are Not Forgotten (Jun 1, 2021, Multnomah), Pastor Jarrett Stephens reveals how God is always present, always working, and always faithful. In The Always God, Jarrett, pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, gives hope to those who think God has given up on us. It invites us to quiet ourselves and listen to the God who does not change or forget us. Not ever. And that changes everything. Jarrett asks readers: Do you wonder if God has forgotten you? He responds, “I wrote this book for you because I’ve been where you are. As a pastor, I walk with people who are where you are: in the midst of a trial, needing to be reminded that our God is always God and needing to be invited to journey with him to a place of greater assurance and intimacy. Regardless of how things may seem, he is always the same and can always be trusted.” Jarrett shares moments of his wild and sometimes painful journey, including: As a boy, when he was a victim of sex abuse from a little league coach for four years When he and his wife lost a child to miscarriage The years he prayed for a prodigal brother The suffering of a dear friend with cancer Bringing sound biblical teaching along with comforting guidance, he can help your audience answer such questions as: Is God listening and does he see me? Can I have an unwavering confidence that God is always here and always working? Can I get to a place where, no mat­ter what happens, doubt won’t overtake me?   Jarrett’s prayer is that every reader will discover in a very personal and powerful way just how faithful the always God really is. Jarrett Stephens is the senior pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church, in Houston, Texas, one of the largest and most diverse churches in America, and he is the author of The Mountains Are Calling.Previously, he served as a teaching pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church alongside Dr. Jack Graham. He has a bachelor of arts in biblical studies and psychology from Ouachita Baptist University, a master of divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctorate of ministry from Liberty Theological Seminary. Jarrett has been featured on The 700 Club, I Am Second and dozens of radio and podcast shows. “In these pages, you’ll find empathy, wisdom, encouragement, and a thoroughly biblical perspective for times when God seems distant or disinterested. Jarrett Stephens doesn’t flinch as he courageously confronts some of the most nettlesome issues that vex so many followers of Jesus. Whatever you do, don’t miss this journey toward wholeness. Let Jarrett lead you to a place of genuine hope and faith!” —Lee Strobel, bestselling author of The Case for Christ and The Case for Miracles

Jarrett Stephens

Welcome back everyone! Today on the Thriving Beyond Belief podcast is our guest, Todd & Brooke Tilghman! So often we hear “Just keep your eye on the prize!” and “focus on the ‘big picture!’" Todd and Brooke Tilghman offer this counter-cultural advice: look for the small things, not the big things––relish each and every small step/moment. When Todd Tilghman, pastor of two decades and father of eight from Meridian, Mississippi, auditioned for NBC’s The Voice, he counted it as a win simply to sing in front of an audience other than family and church members. Despite no music or vocal training, he not only made it through the blind audition––with all four celebrity judges vying to coach him––he also won the show's entire eighteenth season. In their forthcoming book, Every Little Win: How Celebrating Small Victories can Lead to Big Joy (Thoman Nelson, June 22, 2021), Todd and his wife, Brooke, share how decades of unrelenting challenges have taught them a joyful mindset of embracing not only winning NBC’s The Voice, but also “every little win” along the way. This is the first book ever written by a winner of The Voice. Fans were drawn to Todd's tremendous joy on stage, giving them much-needed inspiration during the hard challenges of a global pandemic. In Every Little Win, Todd and Brooke discuss how their focus on joy and celebrating every little win has helped them to overcome numerous challenges over their twenty-plus-year marriage. Todd and Brooke share the lessons they've learned and the strategies that have moved them from fear to faith to ever-present joy. They share in the book, “We win as we discover that in God’s economy, brokenness leads to beauty, and scarcity to abundance.” Relationships––from being a young dating couple breaking up (for the sake of Christ), to getting married, to being at the brink of divorce, to reconciling, to facing the negative aspects of social media on relationships. Parenting––from adopting two girls on a pastor’s salary (which is practically impossible without an act of God), to parenting a critically ill child (and wondering why God doesn’t answer all our prayers for our children), to having to check one of their sons into a facility to get treatment for depression following bullying at school, to helping that same son later navigate “going viral” for his artwork. Handling adversity and cultural stressors––pastoring a church during times of adversity. Mental Health––from Brooke’s own battle with anxiety/depression, to how Todd learned to support and care for her in her darkest hours, to both Brooke and Todd parenting one of their children through depression. Together, Todd and Brooke explain how to find special moments in the middle of ordinary days––from their childhoods to winning NBC’s The Voice and “every little win” in between. Through it all, Todd and Brooke count their blessings. This book isn’t sugar coated. It’s real. It’s honest. It’s intimate. And it’s hopeful. Related Links: YOUTUBE: Todd Tilghman FACEBOOK: @toddtilghmanmusic INSTAGRAM: @toddtilghman 

Todd & Brooke Tilghman

Many women feel overwhelmed with the chaos of life, struggle with the fact that life, relationships and marriage are hard, and lack what they need to truly thrive. The Thriving Beyond Belief podcast, with host, Cheryl Scruggs, and online community provide women with encouragement & support, to better manage their stress, create healthy relationships, and build a life that thrives beyond belief.

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Thriving Beyond Belief with Cheryl Scruggs

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