019 Finding Freedom and Breakthrough
Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Release Date: 08/22/2019
Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: Join me with Melissa Heiland as we talk about an important but sensitive topic: what is sexual abuse, and how we can offer hope for sexual abuse survivors. In the US, 10% of all children experience some form of sexual abuse before they turn 18. These numbers are likely low since sexual abuse is underreported. The victims are most likely to be female (75%), but these numbers are rapidly changing as boys are increasingly the targets of molesters. A whopping 90% of the children who are abused know their abuser which often points to a family member, teacher, scout...
info_outline 258 How to Hold Onto Faith While Waiting for HealingYour Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: Dr. Michelle Bengtson joins David Robison of LifeToday to explore the challenging journey of maintaining faith during periods of waiting for healing. Drawing from her personal struggles and professional insights as a neuropsychologist, Dr. Bengtson shares about the emotional, physical, and spiritual pain that tests our faith. Through her new book, "The Hem of His Garment," she offers hope, encouragement, and practical advice to those navigating the complexities of pain and waiting. Join us as we discuss the importance of pressing into faith, the biblical examples of those who...
info_outline 257 The Truth About Anxiety in Motherhood: How to Overcome Overwhelm and FearYour Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: All moms worry, right? Motherhood tempts many moms to worry, especially about the wellbeing of their children. Are they breathing? How can I keep them healthy? What if they don’t make friends at school? But for moms who experience anxiety, worry quickly elevates into debilitating overwhelm, fear, and doubt. This can make normal tasks of motherhood overwhelming and joy-less. Courtney Devich and I share the truth about anxiety in motherhood and how to overcome overwhelm and fear. Quotables from the episode: Many moms believe the adage, “I’m a mom, it’s my...
info_outline 256 Lessons You Can Learn from Broken FriendshipsYour Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: Relationship conflict can be difficult. Can good come from broken relationships? How do deal with mutual friends after a breakup? How do we get over the pain of friendships that end? And how does Jesus teach us to be a good friend? Join me with Jessica Van Roekel for Lessons You Can Learn from Broken Friendships. Quotables from the episode: It could be safe to say we become God’s enemy when we harbor the sin of unforgiveness in our heart, which is why we must be careful not to point fingers at our ex-friend. Jesus tells us to take care of the log in our own eye before...
info_outline 255 How to Heal After a Friendship BreakupYour Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: The contributors to a friendship breakup are varied and as individual as the parties involved. A spectrum of relationship commitments falls under the umbrella of friendship. Friendships can range from acquaintances, colleagues, familial, casual, close, or intimate. The type of friendship prior to a breakup affects the depth of the wound. Many questions exist around friendship breakups ranging from “why do friendships end?” to “what does this say about me?” and even “what do we need when friendships end?” In the last episode, Jessica Van Roekel and I talked...
info_outline 254 How To Repair a Friendship with Grace to Move from Hurt to HealingYour Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: What do you do when your friend walks away from your relationship without explanation or chance for reconciliation? Guilt and shame keep Christian women from talking about it. It’s embarrassing, confusing, and often heartbreaking. In this episode, Jessica Van Roekel and I talk about a common event, that few in Christian circles discuss openly. Misunderstandings happen and disagreements occur even in the healthiest of relationships. In a world that seems to thrive on discord, it can be tempting to run from conflict in a friendship. But conflict can bring about...
info_outline 253 How To Find Your Natural Prayer Style and Unleash Your Prayer PotentialYour Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: Do you ever feel uncomfortable praying in public? Do you ever envy the prayer-life or prayer style of others after you hear them pray? Do you ever feel guilty for not praying more like those you admire? What if I assured you that God is more interested in your heart and in having a relationship than he is the eloquence of your prayers? Join me with Janet McHenry to discover how your personality influences your prayer life and learn practical ways to pray so that you find your natural prayer style. Quotables from the episode: I started prayerwalking in the fall of...
info_outline 252 Depression: A Christian's Guide to Navigating the DarknessYour Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: Join me with Alicia Michelle for a candid discussion about my personal journey through depression as a Christian doctor. Not only did we focus on depression's physical, emotional and spiritual components, but we also addressed fundamental questions surrounding depression, such as its definition, the intersection of faith and mental health, barriers to self-recognition, and practical strategies for identification. You won't want to miss this episode as we offer insights on depression from personal, professional, and spiritual perspectives. Questions we answer in this...
info_outline 251 How to Find Mental Rest and Calm Your Racing ThoughtsYour Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: Do you ever have difficulty calming your racing mind when life is stressful? Do you lay awake at night, unable to tame your thoughts so you can sleep? Do the stresses of life tempt you to fall into the trap of second-guessing yourself or others? Then you’ll be glad you tuned in to today’s episode where Alicia Michelle and I share how to find mental rest and calm your racing thoughts. Quotables from the episode: Our busyness, perfectionism, and people pleasing often originates with core negative soundtracks that play in our minds from early childhood. Our tendency...
info_outline 250 Unmasking the Unexpected: A Guide to Coping with Unforeseen EventsYour Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast
Episode Summary: Life doesn't always go as planned, but that doesn't mean we can't navigate the twists and turns. Join me with Jillian Benfield for a guide to coping with unforeseen events—gaining insights into the beauty of vulnerability, the healing process, and finding strength in unexpected places. Learn how to turn unforeseen events into stepping stones for personal growth. Quotables from the episode: When unexpected events hit our lives, we realize just how fragile we really are. Unforeseen events are the gateway to living more vulnerable. For me, grief looks like good pastoral...
info_outlineEpisode Summary:
We all struggle with pain from our past. Places where brokenness continues to cut deep into the fabric of our soul. If you have ever felt stuck, and really, no matter where you are on the path to wholeness, our discussion today will comfort, equip, and challenge you to keep pressing forward, past brokenness to healing.
My guest, Jennifer Watson, author of Freedom! The Gutsy Pursuit of Breakthrough and the Life Beyond It https://amzn.to/2KRuPpv shares her story as a pastor’s wife and women’s ministry leader who has battled depression, anxiety, brokenness, and insecurities.
Quotables from the episode:
- We all struggle with pain from our past. Places where brokenness continues to cut deep into the fabric of our soul. If you have ever felt stuck, then this is the episode for you to listen to. [click to tweet]
- no matter where you are on the path to wholeness, our discussion today will comfort, equip, and challenge you to keep pressing forward, past brokenness to healing. [click to tweet]
- You can’t ask someone for direction when they’ve never been where you are going.
- Sometimes we need to seek the input of counselors, or mentors, or those who are more spiritually mature to help us heal and move forward with our lives.
- Freedom in a holy confidence to be able to walk in who God created you to be. There is a holy confidence in how God wants to use us.
- There is a military definition of breakthrough that says it’s the advancement beyond enemy territory. Can’t you just imagine stomping through enemy territory, and not just going up to it, but going beyond it to take back what has been stolen.
- People have a natural tendency to retreat from pain. But truly, you have to feel it to heal it. You can try to stuff the pain down and ignore it, but if you do, it will come back at an inopportune, unexpected time later.
- The enemy wants us to remain stuck in our brokenness. He wants us to be fixated on our problems instead of the promises of God.
- We have to be intentional about not going into hiding anymore, and facing our issues head on, no matter how painful, no matter how long it takes.
- We have to remember that God is so much bigger than our situations.
- No matter what battle we are facing, we are not facing it alone. God repeatedly says in His word that He will never leave us, and in fact, in Exodus 14:14, it says He will fight for us, if we will just be still.
- Where do your thoughts go? A couple indications that we’ve become stuck in a broken place and haven’t moved forward is when we find our conversation always returning to the event, or the person, or the offense, or when we start rehearsing conversations in our mind that we wish we’d had with the person who hurt us.
- When we focus on problems instead of promises of God, we get stuck.
- We all need to have those trustworthy people in our life who will not coddle us, but speak truth into our lives when what they see in our lives is not lining up with God’s truth. But they have to be a safe, selected few. Not everyone can fill that role.
- God wired us to have a deep need for connection, so we need others in our lives. So we want to know others and we want to be known. The only way we can do that is by being vulnerable and sharing the broken parts of our stories; the part of our stories that aren’t quite healed yet.
- Women have a strong tendency to compare themselves to others, including comparing how bad their situation is to another’s.
- Sometimes we don’t need others to have the right words to say or to be able to fix our situation, we just need others to be present in our pain. But we are so uncomfortable with silence and pain, that we say things to cover up our discomfort. That’s exactly what happened with Job. His friends came and sat with him in silence for a week, to grieve with him. And they didn’t get in trouble until they started to speak.
- We can’t look to other people and expect them to be able to heal our hurts or fix our brokenness. Only God can do that.
- Something that can help us when we are in the middle of the mess, is reminding ourselves that whatever we are going through is temporary—it won’t last forever.
- It’s also powerful to focus on the Problem Solver rather than the problem itself.
- Another way to move beyond our brokenness is to take a “negativity fast” where we don’t allow ourselves to talk about the negative things or complain about things in our lives.
- Interrupting negativity with praise, and positivity and all of the good things that God has done for us, is a game changer.
- What we need to remember is that even when we don’t see it, God is working out all things for our good. We can bank on His promises so that our problems don’t get to steal the spotlight.
Scripture References:
- John 14:27 ISV “I’m leaving you at peace. I’m giving you my own peace. I’m not giving it to you as the world gives. So don’t let your hearts be troubled, and don’t be afraid.”
- John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; but I have come that they might have life and have it to the full.”
- Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Recommended Resources:
- Freedom! The Gutsy Pursuit of Breakthrough and the Life Beyond It. By Jennifer Watson https://amzn.to/2KRuPpv
- https://drmichellebengtson.com/hope-prevails-the-beginning-of-freedom/
- https://drmichellebengtson.com/walking-in-freedom/
- https://drmichellebengtson.com/do-your-part-let-god-do-the-work/
- https://drmichellebengtson.com/what-ails-you-when-you-need-gods-healing/
- https://drmichellebengtson.com/bible-verses-hope-when-you-need-healing/
- https://drmichellebengtson.com/10-scriptures-when-you-need-healing/
- https://drmichellebengtson.com/the-pain-in-change/
- “Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises” by Dr. Michelle Bengtson https://amzn.to/2ZSTP4N
- “Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression” by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award https://amzn.to/2zB0e7J
- “Hope Prevails Bible Study” by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award https://amzn.to/2yMdN46
Social Media Links for Host and Guest:
Connect with Jennifer Watson:
- Website: https://www.jenniferreneewatson.com/
- Instagram: instagram.com/jenniferwatson
- FB: facebook.com/jenniferreneewatsonwriter
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JreneeWatson
For more hope, stay connected with Dr. Bengtson at:
- To order Hope Prevails: https://drmichellebengtson.com/hope-prevails-book/
- Website: https://drmichellebengtson.com/
- Blog: https://drmichellebengtson.com/blog/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrMichelleBengtson
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrMBengtson (@DrMBengtson)
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmichellebengtson/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmichellebengtson/
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/drbhopeprevails/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MichelleBengtson
- Radio Show Host: http://graceandtruthradio.world/shows/your-hope-filled-perspective/
Guest: Jennifer Watson
Jennifer Watson is the author of Freedom! The Gutsy Pursuit of Breakthrough and the Life Beyond It https://amzn.to/2KRuPpv. Jennifer is a pastor’s wife, mother of two teenage daughters, and national speaker. Jennifer has been in full-time ministry for twenty years and is passionate about investing in others.
Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson
Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson