Podcasts about redemptive

In this deeply personal and spiritually charged episode of Flow, Cam Cooksey takes listeners on an emotional journey through the lens of brotherhood, faith, and the fight for truth. Titled after the classic ballad “He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother,” Cam opens up about growing up alongside his autistic older brother, sharing heartfelt stories, difficult realities, and the transformative beauty that comes from embracing challenges with love and faith. This isn't just an autism awareness episode, it's a raw conversation about the weaponization of medicine, the soul-crushing effects of over-vaccination, and the silent epidemic few dare to name. Cam blends his personal experience with community insight, shining light on heavy metals, EMFs, and detox protocols like chlorine dioxide that are being explored by families searching for answers. As the show flows from deep philosophical insights to vulnerable chats with the live audience, Cam reminds us that being our brother's keeper isn't a burden...it's our calling. Whether discussing spiritual warfare, the poisoning of our children, or the power of authenticity in a broken world, this episode is a testament to grace, grit, and the light that lives within us all. Honest. Redemptive. Unmissable.

Scripture References: Philippians 3:1-11; Acts 9:15-16; 1 Peter 3:18; John 17:3; Ephesians 2:13; Revelation 21:1-3Intro:Context: Philippians 3, Paul writing from prison.Focus on Paul's radical transformation: From Saul, the zealous persecutor who jailed/oversaw the killing of Christians, to Paul, the apostle jailed for Christ.What could cause such a complete reversal? (Think: converting core beliefs/loyalties). Paul had a direct encounter with the risen Christ (Acts 9). His conversion wasn't just religious affiliation; it was a fundamental shift.Key Points:Conversion 1: From the Ladder of Legalism to the Cross of Christ (Phil 3:4-9)Paul lists his "blue-chip" credentials (circumcised, Israelite, Benjamin, Hebrew, Pharisee, zealous persecutor, legally righteous). He had maximum "confidence in the flesh."He counts all this previous "gain" as "loss" and "rubbish" compared to the value of knowing Christ.Contrast: The "Ladder" mentality (perform well = acceptance; fail = rejection - exemplified by the coach clip/ "American way") vs. The "Cross" reality (righteousness comes not from our works/law, but through faith in Christ's work for us).This Gospel truth needs constant repetition ("It's safe for you," v. 1) because we naturally revert to the ladder.Conversion 2: From Life FOR/FROM God to Life WITH God (Phil 3:8, 10-11)Paul's driving desire wasn't just duty for God or benefits from God, but intimacy with God: "that I may know him," "gain Christ," "be found in him."What the Gospel achieves (forgiveness, eternal life) are vital, but they are means to the ultimate end: knowing and being with God Himself.Forgiveness isn't just wiping a slate; it cleanses to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). Eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3).Analogy: Seeking spousal forgiveness – the true goal is restoring connection/relationship, not just easing guilt or getting perks.The ultimate question shifts from "Who wants benefits?" to "Who wants God?"God's Desire: Life WITH YouGod's primary goal isn't just making us morally better, but bringing us relationally closer (Eph 2:13). He desires communion.Consider God's attractiveness: Humble (Incarnation), Serving, Loving (sacrificially), Redemptive (meaning in suffering), Powerful (Resurrection).Does God want me, even knowing my failures? The Cross is the definitive YES. He takes us "as is," confident in His power to heal and restore. He sees, knows, loves, moves towards you.All history points toward God dwelling with His people (Rev 21:3).Conclusion:These conversions—rejecting legalism for grace, shifting from performance/benefits to relationship—aren't one-time decisions but ongoing processes.We continually need to recognize the "ladder" in our hearts and choose the Cross, choose life with Him.Call to Action:Acknowledge the need for these conversions again today.Consciously choose the Cross over the ladder.Seek life with God, not just for Him or from Him. Recognize His desire for you.Remain in His love (Jude 21) – that relational space is where you truly belong, wherever you go. Support the show*Summaries and transcripts are generated using AI. Please notify us if you find any errors.

On this episode Shane discusses a number of scenes from the book of Exodus and shows how they point to Christ and his ultimate redemptive mission. Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the bread of life, the living water, the light of the world, and the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.SHOW NOTESArticlesFinding Christ in All of Scripture, Shane RosenthalNew Life in the New Year: The Story of Exodus, Shane RosenthalPassover, The Last Supper & The Day of Crucifixion, Shane RosenthalWhere Was Jesus Crucified?, Shane RosenthalConsidering Alternatives to the Resurrection, Shane RosenthalBart Ehrman on Jesus & The Claim of Resurrection, Shane RosenthalDid Palm Trees Grow in Jerusalem at the Time of Jesus? Shane RosenthalSimon of Cyrene: An Intriguing Archaeological Discovery, Shane RosenthalThe Date of John's Gospel: Are We Witnessing a Paradigm Shift? Shane RosenthalJoanna: Luke's Key Witness? Shane RosenthalBookesEchoes of Exodus: Tracing the Theme of Redemption, Roberts & WilsonThe Angel of the Lord, Matt Foreman & Doug Van DornChrist in All of Scripture (5 Book Series), Foreman & Van DornThe Lamb of God: Seeing Jesus in Exodus, Nancy GuthrieJesus in the Old Testament, Iain DuguidJourneys with Jesus, Dennis JohnsonThe Surprising Genius of Jesus, Peter J. WilliamsThe Jewish Gospels, Daniel BoyarinThe Jewish Targums & John's Logos Theology, John RonningA Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith, Craig EvansA Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Gospels, Craig EvansProof of the Gospel, Eusebius of CaesareaAudioThe Angel of Yahweh, Humble Skeptic. #70 with Foreman & Van DornThe Sinai Inscriptions, Humble Skeptic #71 with Michael S. Bar-RonDid The Exodus Ever Happen? Humble Skeptic #69 with David RohlJacob's Ladder, Humble Skeptic #63 with Richard Bauckham and othersBabylon, Humble Skeptic Episode #66 Decoding the Prophecies of Daniel, Humble Skeptic #68 How to Read & Apply the Old Testament, WHI #1568 with Iain DuguidWere Jews Expecting a Suffering Messiah? Shane RosenthalJewish Views of the Messiah, with Daniel BoyariinStories of Jesus: Can We Trust Them? with Peter J. WilliamsThe Jesus of History & The Gospel CreedLocating Golgotha, with David RohlVideoThe Tools & Rules of History, with Gary Habermas, David McIlroy & Shane RosenthalOn November 8th, 2024, trial attorney Mark Lanier moderated this panel discussion at the Lanier Theological Library in Houston Texas. The forum was inspired by the release of two exhaustive volumes on the historicity of Jesus' Resurrection by Dr. Habermas: On The Resurrection Vol. 1: Evidences, and On The Resurrection Vol. 2: Refutations.Who Is Jesus? Bridging Diverse Voices, St. Louis, MO, April 24th.Shane Rosenthal and Michael McClymond will be defending the historic Christian view of Jesus at this Christian / Muslim conversation which will take place at St. Louis Community College Meramec (located at 11333 Big Bend Rd, in Kirkwood, MO). The purpose is to highlight some of the differences between Christian and Muslim perspectives related to Jesus' identity and mission and to take questions from students. This event is brought to you by St. Louis Community College in partnership with ReThink315. Click here for more info.Share with Friends & FamilyIf you're a fan of the show, please share with others and consider posting a link to this episode via your social media feed. Just copy the URL of this page, paste it into your feed, and write a few words. Also, consider writing a positive review of this podcast via the Apple Podcast app, or your preferred podcast portal. The more reviews we get, the more exposure we get! Thanks for your help!Make a One-Time Gift or Upgrade to a Paid SubscriptionConsider supporting The Humble Skeptic podcast by making a one-time gift or upgrading to a paid subscription via Substack ($5.95 per month, $59 per year). Tax-deductible giving options are also available. Click here for more information. Get full access to The Humble Skeptic at www.humbleskeptic.com/subscribe

  By Mary Lindow As you settle in to listen to this podcast, maybe you're facing difficult times and you wonder how God can still have a plan for your messy, hurting, perhaps disillusioned life. What about your loved ones, or those in the neighborhood around you? There's so much brokenness that it can feel like anything you do to help is like a drop in the ocean. I certainly have had several moments this past season, months, days even, of being broken, disillusioned, angry, all the emotions that can go with hearing terrible stories of betrayal, clergy abuse, child abuse, adult children being estranged from parents, parents being estranged from their adult children, walking many from sadness over deep wounds from past relationships, festering with anger, guilt and shame. This service of working with broken people that God has called us to, (and me specifically these past couple of years as a Biblical pastoral Counselor), well, seeing and hearing the sadness, can wear you thin at times, and I go running to the feet of Christ over and over again, asking him to make sense of how humanity can be so vicious and destroy one another. Of course Jesus came to die for all of us, and in fact was broken, beaten, bruised and yes, he wept. So He knows the anguish and grief that can tow us under! The Lord has always been close to those who are crushed and broken, right from the very start.   Brokenness Doesn't Distract Or Hinder God. He extends endless compassion and love to us, even when we are feeling absolutely crushed. When we don't want anyone to see our brokenness, our shame, He is always close, never with judgment but always with kindness. The kind of kindness that heals. The question is: “Does brokenness have any purpose?” Or is it a hindrance to God's plans and promises? Can God Turn Our Brokenness Into Something Beautiful?   In Matthew 26, Jesus had His last meal with the disciples before He went to suffer on the cross. Now, even though I've read this passage many times, something rich recently stood out. “As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take and eat it; this is my body'. (Matthew 26:26). First, Jesus took the bread, Then He blessed it, And then He broke it.   Now, I thought to myself … “Why would He not first take the bread, break it and then bless it?”   There's A Purpose To Why Jesus Did It This Way. The blessing comes before the breaking, because this was the theme of Jesus' life: Jesus was blessed by the Father and the Spirit during His baptism (Matthew 3:16-17). Jesus endured the brokenness on the cross (Luke 23:26-39). And, Jesus conquered death through His resurrection and then ascended to the right hand of the Father. This is the greatest blessing for believers because we are united with Christ and fully restored to God!  (Ephesians 1:20; Ephesians 2:4-6).   Blessed Then Broken Then Blessed again. That's the pattern.   Maybe You're In A Season Where You Feel More Broken Than Blessed. I understand. But because God has blessed us with His Son, every ounce of brokenness we experience on this side of eternity is pointing us toward the blessing of heaven, where we will be reunited with Christ, if we trust in Him. God also redeems our current brokenness as a means of blessing others who are also broken (2 Corinthians 1:4). We Can Know With Confidence That When We Endure Brokenness And Pain, There Isn't An Ounce Of Our Brokenness That Is Not Under The Blessing Of God!   This Is A Hard Truth To Grasp. It may even be something we want to reject because it feels unfair or even cruel! I agree that it can feel that way. Even Jesus Himself agrees. Just a few verses after the Last Supper, He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and cried out, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38a, CSB). We don't have to dismiss our feelings when it comes to our brokenness. Even Jesus felt the full range of His emotions before His most broken moment. We can come before God in humility with our raw, honest emotions. We can bring our brokenness to Him. We can trust that Jesus is with us, NOW. And, we can look to the cross and the empty tomb, knowing that though we experience brokenness, Jesus overcame it.   Brokenness Isn't The End For Us. Blessed, then broken, then blessed again. Lord, give us the grace to endure this reality.   I don't think it's a coincidence that Jesus, who was blameless and pure, had scars that remained after his resurrection. Jesus' scars were not a flaw. They're a reminder that even the Savior of the world has experienced brokenness. They also give us a tangible answer to our doubts, like they did for Thomas. In a moment of faithlessness, doubt and brokenness, God meets Thomas with compassion and kindness. Jesus' Scars Are A Demonstration Of The Lengths He Went To For Us, a sacrifice given to restore hope in a broken world full of broken people. And the same hands that were nail-scarred? They have our very names written on them as a promise that God will not ever forget or forsake us (Isaiah 49:16). Just like a scar, they're permanently written as a reminder of God's commitment to us, no matter how broken we feel.   Very Few See This Bleak Moment For What It Really Is.      It's a chance to see their need for something that is beyond themselves. But my friend, this can be a moment where the soul can cross over from its own empty silence, into an expected quiet that is alive with His presence. It silences the anguish, the anxious restlessness into a calm and still place of peace. It's as if the soul finds that in this dark place, there is a secret well of sweet water, and it springs up and overflows with light and life.    LEARNING TO PASS INTO THIS PLACE OF THE SPIRIT AND ALLOWING GOD TO KEEP YOUR SOUL IN REFRESHING SILENT TRANQUILITY IS A TRUE ACT OF THE MATURING BELIEVER.   God Put You On Earth In Your Exact Place For His Specific Purpose, and you are living in that purpose, even when you don't know it. Your soul may be grumbling and resisting, but you are living the story that God is ready to reveal to you. God is a lot bigger than you expect Him to be. He's a lot bigger than your circumstances. He is a God of detail. He is deeply involved in the small details of your life, but He has a "bigger yes" for you. Your true glory is the revelation of His splendor, his amazing ability to create redemptive “Resurrection moments” revealed in you day by day.   In 1 Peter 1:6. It says,  "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials."   As Jesus Is Revealed In You, You Can Rejoice No Matter What.   The Display Of His Glory Often Comes Through Your Wounds. Your dark nights and cries of longing are lovingly heard, and as His bright light dawns, your grief contrasts with His glorious joy. In brokenness, God works in you something beautiful, deep, and solid to offer others. You are developing inner strength as you are being blessed, broken, and given as an offering in your trials. True strength comes from your desperate need of God. You are a joy to Him as you offer yourself as a representative of His sufficiency. Paul said He wanted to know Christ and be conformed to the fellowship of sharing His sufferings, knowing there's a resurrection coming. (Phil. 3:10).   Know that your Father created you for this time, for these very circumstances. He knew exactly what would be happening in your life as you are living it right now. He knows the impact for which He is preparing you, that still awaits you. Be Filled with his Grace and hope to lean into the purpose that you were create for, in spite of difficult people, through hard circumstances, and through tough challenges.   Your Purpose, My Purpose Is In The Process. We won't get there overnight. We won't mysteriously wake up with it one morning. But today we are closer than yesterday, and tomorrow we will be closer than we are today. Be at peace in Him to know these things, and rejoice in Him. HE IS ALIVE! We Are Not Alone.   Let's Pray Together, Dear Lord, Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by how painful earthly brokenness can feel. Please help us, help me remember that you Jesus are our greatest blessing. You are with us now with me now, as we face hardship and grief and sadness and await a day when you will make all things new. Give me strength, give those that are listening strength as we long for this day, and we ask this in the name of the Resurrected King of Heaven, Jesus Christ, The Messiah. Amen.   I Know That Many Of You Are Going Through Many Things In Your Own Lives and there is so much going on around us everywhere right now as the Lord is more than shaking his church. He is exposing so many uncomfortable things, but what he is really doing is bringing his people back to a place to where HE alone is enough, his word alone is light and life, strength and guidance, no matter how difficult or dark the times can be. His word will penetrate past all of that panic and bring us daily comfort. I'd like to call it daily bread since we're on the subject of talking about bread, and remember because Christ was the bread of life and he gave it to us, and since we've given our lives to him, we are now bread of life to others with whatever we speak out of our mouth in the name of Jesus. It has to be in accuracy and mimicking the way he lived and walked. If it isn't, then there's going to be difficulty there's going to be pain. It's going to cause pain. It's going to cause difficulty.   So I Encourage You, If You're Running And Hiding or if you're trying to protect yourself from something that you've done that you know needs to come out into the light,run to Jesus, then tell the truth and get the help that you need. It won't be easy, but that clawing horrible feeling of waiting for the shoe to drop will end, and the enemy will no longer have a foothold in your mind. For Those That Are Suffering Because Of The Behaviors Of Others and you know that there just doesn't seem to be an answer or an end in sigth, and certainly no vindication. I encourage you to not back away and to stand where God has you, but don't grow bitter and don't look for revenge. This is when we take it back into our own power at our own strength. I Bless You Today! I encourage you to get before the Lord and ask him to show you “the way” that he has for you during these times where he is maturing you, maturing his bride, and it is all for the glory of the ONE who laid down that entire greatness so that we would have an access to return to heaven.   Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed, as long as the complete message, website, podcast link and information for Mary Lindow is included. Thank You! 2025 "THE MESSENGER"  - Mary Lindow www.marylindow.com www.marylindow.podbean.com   If you would be so kind and assist Mary helping her to meet other administrative needs such as website and podcast costs, or desire to bless her service in ministry with Spirit-led Love gifts or regular support:   Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of:  ► Personal Checks ► Business Checks ► Money Orders ► Cashiers Checks To:    His Beloved Ministries Inc.  PO Box 1253 Denver, Colorado 80614
 USA    Or feel free to use our send a tax-deductible gift with   Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow  Under the name of - Mary Lindow - His Beloved Ministries Inc.    ALL gifts are tax-deductible under His Beloved Ministries 5013c non-profit status.   We are financially accountable and have been in full compliance since 1985. THANK YOU!    

Send me a DM here (it doesn't let me respond), OR email me: imagineabetterworld2020@gmail.comToday I'm honored to introduce you all to: Satanic and Masonic ritual abuse, governmental mind control, and organized abuse survivor, loving mother and devoted wife, survivor small group facilitator, homeschool extraordinaire, and a woman who walks and heals all things with the power of the Holy Spirit on her side: Kate In the tapestry of life, few threads are woven with as much resilience and grace as that of Kate, a woman whose story is a testament to the enduring power of faith and the human spirit. Born into a lineage steeped in the enigmatic traditions of Freemasonry, Kate's family tree bore the unmistakable emblem of the square and compass at its heart. On her father's side, her ancestry stretched back a millennium, the lineage tracing to the year 1000. Yet, the maternal branches of her heritage remained shrouded in mystery, save for the towering figure of her grandfather, a 33rd-degree Mason whose legacy loomed large.Kate's earliest memories flicker like candlelight - soft, fleeting glimpses of church pews and the presence of her grandmother, a woman of Christian devotion. It was this grandmother who, when Kate was just five years old, insisted that her mother take them to a Billy Graham crusade. There, amid the sea of souls, Kate encountered the gospel in its purest form - simple, clear, and radiant. In that moment, she surrendered her young heart to Jesus, unaware that this act of faith would become the cornerstone of her survival. For even then, Jesus was her unseen protector, cradling her through the darkest shadows of her childhood, shielding her from the horrors of abuse so profound that her mind mercifully veiled them in forgetfulness.That same year, as Kate stepped into the world of kindergarten at an elite private school, her life took a chilling turn. The institution, privy to her family's legacy and her ability to dissociate, singled her out to be entered into clandestine government mind control programs. What could have broken her instead forged a quiet strength, a resilience that would define her journey. Years later, after high school, Kate charted a path of service and healing, training first as a paramedic and then as a nurse. It was during this season that she met a gentle, steadfast man who would become her husband. For three decades, they have walked hand in hand, building a life rooted in love and unshaken by the storms of her past.Together, they welcomed two children into the world - precious souls who, like Kate, would face targeting by unseen forces. Determined to shield them from harm, Kate and her husband made a radical choice: they forsook daycare and embraced homeschooling, pouring their hearts into raising their children in a sanctuary of their own making. Today, as Kate reflects on the Luciferian agendas she believes permeate schools and academia, she feels a profound gratitude for that decision - a choice that preserved her children's spirits in a world she sees as increasingly treacherous.Now, Kate lives a life of quiet purpose, working part-time at a group home where she tends to adults scarred by ritual abuse and schizophrenia. Her days are a ministry of compassion, a reflection of the healing she has found in Jesus. Through divine orchestration, He has gathered around her a small, sacred circle of fifteen fellow survivors - kindred spirits with whom she shares daily prayers, scripture, and the tender exchange of their healing journeys. Together, they form a beacon of hope, lifting one another up with encouragement and faith.CONNECT WITH KATE: FB: https://www.facebook.com/llamafuzz.Support the show

What if your suffering wasn't meaningless? In this powerful episode of The Catholic Couple Podcast, we sit down with Megan Hjelmstad, Catholic author, speaker, and wife and mother of four, to dive deep into the mystery of redemptive suffering.We unpack her brand-new book, Offer it Up: Discovering the Power and Purpose of Redemptive Suffering, and explore how uniting our pain with Christ's can transform not only our lives but the lives of others. Megan shares her personal journey, practical wisdom, and the healing that comes from offering our trials to God with trust and purpose.If you've ever asked, “Why am I going through this?” or “What's the point of suffering?”, this episode will give you hope, clarity, and a new way to suffer well—with Christ, for others, and for your own sanctification.

Redemptive Authority - Luke 20:1-19

Yahweh's appointed times, such as Passover and Unleavened Bread, are not merely historical observances but prophetic foreshadowings of Yahshua's sacrifice and redemption, revealing Elohim's plan of salvation. These feasts offer deeper spiritual insights and understanding for those willing to look beyond ingrained traditions and misunderstandings of scripture. 

Daniel Higbie (‘98) discusses how business owners and entrepreneurs can work to impact and grow the cultures they live in, focusing on good work over profit. At Hillsdale College, Daniel pursued a degree in Rhetoric and Persuasive Communication before getting his master’s in international relations. Since finishing school, he has been running The St. James Tearoom in Albuquerque, New Mexico —a business he co-founded with his mother to bring the tradition of British high tea to their community.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a world full of temptation, Jesus shows us the way to true freedom.This week at Ethos, we dove into Luke 4 and explored how Jesus succeeded where Israel failed, breaking the pattern of sin and setting us free. We learned that:• We are no longer subject to sin - Christ's sacrifice gives us renewed humanity NOW, not just in eternity • We can overcome temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit • God's redemptive story is still unfolding, and we get to be part of it!As followers of Jesus, we are called to be 'heaven and earth people,' bringing God's kingdom to life in our everyday world. Get more out of today's teaching by visiting our Church Online page for things like our community guide, a weekly devotional, and the teaching slides. EthosOH.com/churchonline___________Ethos is a life-giving community committed to keeping Jesus at its Center. We are on a mission to love all people in Jesus' name so that we may all Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, & Make a Difference.EthosOH.com

Joel - A Christological Redemptive Prophecy

Ruth 4:1-17Rev John  Trapp

Ephesians 4:15-16 | Rev. Steve Green

The rights of a child of God

This Sunday, Pastor Ashley Anderson continued our Missional Formation series, where we are exploring what we believe are the “core competencies” of living life on mission with Jesus. This week we learned about the distinctive of The Redemptive Edge and the discipline of blessing beyond barriers. In His final few moments with His disciples in Matthew 25, Jesus prepared them for His death, resurrection, ascension, and future return. He spoke explicitly on the coming day of the Lord, where He will return in the fullness of His glory with all the angels, and the nations will be gathered before Him as He judges them according to their treatment of the poor and oppressed. Pastor Ashley called us to reevaluate our posture towards the poor against the heart Jesus clearly holds for the marginalized and oppressed.

Looking at the narrative of Moses' interactions with Pharoah, we notice a distinction that God makes between HIS people and Pharoah's people. Is that distinction still in play all of these thousands of years later? Do Christ-followers have a God recognized distinction today? If so, what does that look like today and what does the Bible say that it looks like in the future?

In this episode, Dave and Laura sit down with Shelby Abbott to talk about his journey through pain and betrayal to God's transformation, moving from anger to seeing the Gospel in every moment of life, navigating doubt, and questions arising from our cultural moment. Shelby is an author, public speaker, and campus minister. His passion for ministry has led him to speak at churches and college campuses all over the United States. He has authored 5 books and countless blog posts. He has a wife and two daughters and lives in the Philadelphia area.  https://shelbyabbott.com/Pre-order Dave's book here:On AmazonOn New Growth Press

Premature Rupture of Membranes is a very common cause of induction which leads down the cascade of interventions. While it's not uncommon it can be frustrating when it happens 3 births in a row! Today my guest came on the show to share her story of the MAJOR difference in management of PROM from the hospital and then at home with a midwife.    Felicia is a mom of 3 and former corporate engineer turned stay at home mom who has spent the last 15 years walking down a path to a more natural lifestyle.  She shares her lifestyle and holistic living tips on instagram at @Justalittlescrunchy.  After two births that ended with a cascade of interventions, including inductions and epidurals, and a horrible hospital stay at the height or early Covid in April 2020, she was determined to experience an undisturbed birth at home.     Connect with Felicia: IG: @Justalittlescrunchy Checlist download: https://justalittlescrunchy.com/free-low-toxic-kitchen-checklist/  Email: felicia@justalittescrunchy.com   Connect with Aly: IG- @peacefulhomebirth FB Group- www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulhomebirth

Ya'll get to meet Julia's parents today! On this episode of The In Between, Julia talks to Grace & Jeff Silliman (otherwise known as Julia's mum and dad). They talk about their own faith mentors, intergenerational faith, the joys and challenges of being a sage in the church, and what it means to develop intergenerational communities where we all learn from and enjoy one another. Pass this episode along to a sage you know, or maybe consider taking a step toward cultivating intergenerational friendships in your own life. As Pope Francis reminded us: "Young people bud and foliage, but without roots they cannot bear fruit. The elderly are the roots.” A tree can grow tall, but without deep roots, it'll blow over in the first strong wind that comes by. So let's grow together: EVERY generation for FUTURE generations. 

Did you make a decision to follow Jesus? Text "MADENEW" to 94000.Follow along with our notes on the YouVersion Bible App: https://bible.com/events/49406992CONNECT▪️Web: https://faithfamilyoh.com▪️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faithfamilyoh/▪️Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faithfamilyoh/▪️X: https://twitter.com/faithfamilyoh▪️Support: https://faithfamilyoh.com/give

This week, we share a Palm Sunday sermon offered by Rev. Bill Haley back in 2016. He shows how Jesus both fulfilled and overturned the long-held hopes of Israel when he rode into Jerusalem on a colt.Explore Other Lenten ResourcesExplore the Full Archive of Bill's Sermonsinthecoracle.org  |  @inthecoracleSupport the show

Most Wednesdays, our Communications Director, Michelle Leichty, hosts a Facebook Live discussion with the preaching pastor from the previous Sunday. Visit our Facebook page to watch the discussion shortly after 1pm on Wednesdays: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/covenantepc⁠⁠Be sure to follow our Facebook page for notifications of when the discussion is posted!

Learning Weekly in the Office we begin the Pesach aka Passover Preps for the Redemptive times we are in... Especially the Purification & Unity of this coming Shabbos Parsha Vayakhel & Parah... Geulah to Geulah Purim to Pesach hands us the keys to our personal and national Redemption... Bringing the Schienah into our homes, hearts and United Souls... United Souls - Extracts from New Book Section 2 - by Eli Goldsmith - 51 - Focus by Contracting to Expanding - Advice for our Crazy Generation! https://open.substack.com/pub/eligoldsmith/p/united-souls-extracts-from-new-book-60e?r=oyu71&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true #unitedsouls #newflow #trump #bibi #gaza #israel #TuBShevat #Purim #Advice #Mission #Focused...

Date: March 16, 2025Scripture: Acts 2:14-47Preaching: Brently JordanSeries: RipplesFind notes or a transcript of this sermon on our blog: https://www.covenantepc.org/blog/ripples/

Did you make a decision to follow Jesus? Text "MADENEW" to 94000.Follow along with our notes on the YouVersion Bible App: https://bible.com/events/49403464CONNECT▪️Web: https://faithfamilyoh.com▪️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/faithfamilyoh/▪️Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faithfamilyoh/▪️X: https://twitter.com/faithfamilyoh▪️Support: https://faithfamilyoh.com/give

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. — Psalm 139:23-24 Engaging in personal reflection leads to self-discovery and growth. Taking time to explore our thoughts, emotions, and actions can lead us to redemptive, healing, and empowering outcomes. In my own life, I've experienced the benefit of reflective practices. Through the examen of Ignatius, for example, I've learned to discern God's presence in my daily life, identify areas for improvement, and seek God's guidance for the future. This exercise has brought clarity, peace, and a deep sense of purpose. Taking a personal inventory has also been beneficial to me. By honestly assessing my strengths, weaknesses, and values, I've been able to make intentional decisions aligned with my beliefs and aspirations. This self-awareness has led to personal growth and a stronger sense of identity. Imagination is important in reflective practices. Envisioning different outcomes or a favorable future can inspire hope, motivate us, and build our resilience. We can see beyond our current situation and consider new possibilities. Psalm 139:23-24 reminds us to invite God into our self-reflection, asking him to reveal any areas in our lives that need redemption and guidance. This process leads us on a path of healing and empowerment guided by the Lord's wisdom and grace. Father in heaven, guide us to seek your wisdom. May our introspection be redemptive and healing, aligning us with your purposes. Amen.

Writer and activist Shane Claiborne calls out the hypocrisy within fundamentalist Evangelical Christianity in America, advocating for a return to the radical compassion of Jesus.Shane challenges what it means to truly be "pro-life," challenges its entanglement with Christian nationalism, and its allegiance to Donald Trump. As he unpacks these priorities, he wrestles with what to keep, what to challenge, and what bones to "spit out” along the way.

Believers Voice of Victory Video Broadcast for 03/10/2025. Have you ever wondered what you are redeemed from? Walk through the Scriptures with Kenneth Copeland on Believer's Voice of Victory as he shows you the way to access all the BLESSINGS God has provided. Discover the victory you've been given in Christ!

Our call to change our world is a call to care for one another. We are all part of God's creation and He commands us to be our brother's keeper.

Our call to change our world is a call to care for one another. We are all part of God's creation and He commands us to be our brother's keeper.

In this episode we turn to Geerhardus Vos's discussion on divine fatherhood as presented in Biblical Theology (pp. 365–369). Vos masterfully traces the theme of God's fatherhood from the Old Testament to the New, demonstrating both its continuity and the profound transformation it undergoes in Jesus' teaching. We explore key theological distinctions, including: The development from a national to an individual application of fatherhood The redemptive, rather than universal, nature of divine sonship Jesus' unique relationship with the Father and its implications for believers The eschatological significance of adoption into God's family Along the way, we challenge modern misconceptions about the fatherhood of God and discuss why Vos firmly rejects the notion of universal divine fatherhood. Join us as we uncover the richness of this biblical doctrine and consider its implications for the Christian life. Watch on YouTube and Vimeo. Chapters 00:07 Introduction 05:31 The Divine Fatherhood of God 10:37 Biblical References to God as Father 14:13 God as a Father to the Nation of Israel 17:26 The Scope of Divine Fatherhood 21:38 Divine Fatherhood Is Not a Macro-Attribute 24:26 The Redemptive and Eschatological Nature of Divine Fatherhood 29:45 God Relating to Believers as Father 34:23 Clarifications on Alleged Universal Fatherhood 38:37 Expansion of the Concept in the New Covenant 43:50 The Practical Import of Divine Fatherhood 46:59 Conclusion This is Christ the Center episode 897 (https://www.reformedforum.org/ctc897)

RENEWED RELATIONSHIPS | Redemptive Parenting | Benji Horning

Mike shares a message about the growth that comes from failure.

Mike shares a message about the growth that comes from failure.

In this episode of Everyday Leaders, we sit down with Greg Enas, a visionary leader whose journey is marked by a deep commitment to human dignity, community impact, and redemptive enterprise. Greg served as the Senior Director at Eli Lilly and Co, and currently serves Vice Chair at Chorus Inc, and a Venture Catalyst at Innovatov. His leadership influence extends through his roles as the former President of Trinity Fellows Academy, Founding Board Chair at The Oaks Academy, and involvement with the Harrison Center for the Arts. Greg's heart for empowering the poor and oppressed is evident as he shares his passion for restoring human dignity through purpose-driven enterprise. In our conversation, we explore Greg's story, which is a testament to the transformative power of leadership rooted in faith, purpose, and a heart for the oppressed. Whether you're looking to lead with greater empathy or create impact through redemptive enterprise, this episode will inspire you to take meaningful action.Connect with Greg through:Citizen 7 Praxis Guild Indianapolis Cohatch Polk Stables Books Greg is Reading Heaven, Hell and Paradise LostGateway to Statesmanship: Selections from Xenophon to Churchill Culture and Anarchy After 1177 BC: The Survival of Civilizations

God's Redemptive Quest: What the World Needs Now | Westerville Campus | February 23, 2025

Part four of the "Taking Care Of Business" series. Pastor Lindsey adds to the series teaching about REDEMPTIVE PURPOSE. Nothing is wasted, God has a way of redeeming things and turning it for good!

This week we share a sermon preached by Rev. Bill Haley back in 2016.  He dives into an overview of the core mission and message of Jesus' ministry—bringing the kingdom of God.  He helps us understand what the Kingdom of God actually is and what it has to do with our everyday, 21st-Century lives.Learn More About Spiritual Direction through CoracleExplore the Full Archive of Bill's Sermonsinthecoracle.org  |  @inthecoracleSupport the show

"Cultivating the Young," Ora et Labora (Faith & Vocation), Luke 15:11-32, The Rev. Drew Hill. Our vocation is more than simply work we get paid for—it is how God has intentionally created us in his image to do good and meaningful work in partnership with him. In this sermon series (Ora et Labora), we'll explore how God interacts with our vocation, in whatever season of life or field of work we find ourselves in. How do we participate in God's redemptive work through our vocation?

Lily's VBAC birth story episode is finally here!!! You know and love her just like we do. She not only manages the social media content here at The VBAC Link but also spends so much time connecting with you personally. She has the biggest heart for VBAC and champions all types of empowered birth.Lily walks us through her experiences with ectopic pregnancy, loss, her traumatic Cesarean, and how she persisted through a 66-hour long labor without an epidural to achieve her hospital water birth VBAC.If you followed her pregnancy journey, you saw that Lily was incredibly proactive during her pregnancy. She built the strongest team of birth and body workers. She was specific in her desires, yet remained open-minded. This served her so well in labor and made all the difference during her birth!Needed WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, everybody. You guys, today is a very exciting day. We have recently had two of our VBAC Link team members have their babies. Paige was one with the first Maternal Assisted Cesarean in Korea, and today is the second with Lily. Oh my gosh. If you guys have been on our social media, you have seen our cute Lily. She is just so amazing. She's so fun. She's in the DMs on Instagram literally every day chatting with you. I just absolutely adore her. She's so incredible. Lily is a born and raised Colorado-- I don't even know how to actually say this. Lily is a born and raised Coloradoan.I think that is how you say it.She's from Colorado, living in northern Colorado with her husband, son, and daughter. She is a kinesiologist who works in community health and a dual-certified fitness instructor passionate about movement and wellness. After an unexpected Cesarean two and a half years ago, Lily found The VBAC Link and began planning her VBAC and is excited to share her story today. I cannot wait for you to hear it. This was actually the first time that I got to hear it in its entirety. It's just amazing, and I'm excited for you to hear it. Like I mentioned, Lily is also our social media assistant at The VBAC Link and is truly honored to empower and hold space for all the Women of Strength in our community. You guys, she is absolutely amazing. We love her so, so, so, so much. We do have a review that we're going to share, and then we are going to turn the time over to our sweet Lily to share her stories. This review is by Savannah, and it says, "Started listening to The VBAC Link Podcast around 16 weeks pregnant and continued throughout my pregnancy. It was so good and encouraging for me as a mama who was preparing for a VBAC. It helped me gain confidence, and helped me know what to look for and watch out for in my providers. Hearing other stories was so encouraging and helped me gain so much knowledge. I had my hospital VBAC unmedicated with an 8-pound, 15-ounce baby and I know the knowledge I gained from this podcast played a huge role in being able to advocate for myself and get a better birth outcome." Congratulations, Savannah. We're going to talk a little bit about this today as well with Lily on the podcast how sometimes the thought of going to the hospital is scary because of stories you've heard or things you've heard. But VBAC can happen in the hospital, and it can be beautiful, and it is beautiful. I think it always dials back to me to finding the best provider for you, finding the best location that feels right for you, building your team, and doing what is best for you in the end. So I really am so excited one minute after the intro to turn the time over to Lily. Okay, Ms. Lily, I really am so excited because I was even texting you the day you were in labor. I don't really know all the details, but I've seen your incredible pictures. Oh my goodness, your pictures are so incredible, and I've heard a little bit from you so I really can't wait. So let's talk. Let's talk about these births.Lily: Okay. Yeah. So every Cesarean story is what starts us off, so I will go with that. But I'm going to try to be fast because I feel like my birth was really long. I have a lot more to say about my VBAC, but I always try to really honor our story in that before we had our beautiful, amazing rainbow baby boy, we also experienced a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy prior to having our son. I lost my right fallopian tube. I always like to be the encourager that you can get pregnant naturally with one fallopian tube. It turns out fallopian tubes are not fixed body parts, so when we got pregnant with our son, I ovulated from the side I didn't have a fallopian tube on, and my other tube was able to come over and grab the egg and sense the ovulation which feels so miraculous.Meagan: So incredible, so incredible. I love that message that you're dropping for our community because I think if someone was in that situation as you know, it could feel very defeating and uncertain.Lily: Yeah, it feels really scary. I remember thinking, "I'm at less than 50% fertility if I've lost one tube," but that's not true. Statistically, it's really pretty equal to people with both fallopian tubes, which is kind of neat.Meagan: Yeah.Lily: After that, I started acupuncture. My sweet friend, Montana, we had been friends for years and she's always been like, "You should come see me." She specializes in women's health and fertility and loss and all the things. I started acupuncture then, and I say that now cause it has continued. I always say I'll never not be a patient of hers ever again because she's the best. I started to do that, and then we got pregnant. we found out we were pregnant on the last day of week of prayer at our church, which was really incredible and just felt like such a tangible miracle. We chose to go with a birth center for our care. We did that because I had a lot of hospital trauma. I just didn't think that a hospital was a safe place for me to have my baby. I'm a big believer that we should birth wherever feels the safest. We went for birth center care and had a great experience at our birth center.We loved our midwives and were really excited for birth. I think I hear so many times as women tell their VBAC stories that often we feel underprepared going into our first birth, and it leads to a cascade. I think I was the birthiest nerd of all. I felt like I was really prepared going into birth. I was excited for it. I had a lot of birth education. I had been a birth podcast listener forever and ever. I just felt really empowered in birth and all the things I was doing, chiropractic care and acupuncture and all the stuff. We did get to 41 weeks, and at my 41-week appointment, my midwives gave me a 3-page-long induction protocol because in our state, we have to transfer at 42 weeks. So it was their, "This is the last-ditch effort when you are 41--", and I can't remember how many days, "we want you to do this big thing." It was a daily schedule. "You're going to wake up and you're going to go for a drive on a bumpy road, and you're going to eat this, and you're going to do this." It was really overwhelming. Meagan: Yeah.Lily: Well, the night before we were supposed to do that protocol, the doula who was on-call at the center was texting me and was like, "Hey, how are you feeling?" I was like, "I don't know. I feel really nervous to do this big long thing." She suggested that I journal out all of my fears about birth and see if that did anything. I journaled all my fears, and I burned it in our kitchen sink. As I walked up the stairs, I had my first contraction. I'm also a huge believer that our emotions play such a huge role in our labors. So I was really stoked that my labor started and all the things. That's the same doula that we had for our next birth too, which is really cool. So yeah, I labored all of that night. It was Friday that I went into labor, that evening. Saturday, I labored. My midwives came and checked in eventually. My doula did come over, did some stuff with me, hung out and helped me labor, did some homeopathy, some emotional release work, and all the good stuff. But my labor was really, really long.So by Sunday, my midwives were like, "Hey, you are super exhausted. We want you to take a Benadryl and try to take a nap." I am a girly who does not take a lot of medicine. So this Benadryl knocked me on my booty. I had six really awful contractions trying to take a nap. After I got back up from the nap, I got back on the toilet which is where I was loving to labor. I stood up because I was like, "Okay, I think maybe things are starting. I'm finally getting a pattern. Maybe I can finally go to the birth center." I stood up, and I checked the pad I was wearing. There was a copious amount of meconium. Not water, but meconium which is scary, you know? I knew right then that I was going to have to transferred. It was thick. It was poop.Meagan: Yeah, yeah.Lily: There was no water stained. It was just meconium. And so I called my midwife, and in her sweet midwife voice, I said, "Do I have to transfer?" And she goes, "It's definitely a conversation we have to have." I was like, "Okay. So, yes." She explained that because of the way the meconium came out, she now thought my son was breech because his butt was right up against my cervix, and it just came right out. Soo she came over. Actually, she wasn't even on call. She happened to live in our neighborhood. She came over and checked me and all the things, and she's like, "Yep, this feels really different than a few hours ago. He's definitely breech. We do have to transfer." And so as we're transferring, in my mind, I know that we're probably going to have a Cesarean. My midwives were really great in that they called ahead and they were like, "Hey, we called ahead. No one's willing to do a vaginal breech delivery, or at least they're not trained in it." But my midwives were also really encouraging that, "If this is something you want to do, you have a right to deny a surgery. You have that right. We will be here in support of that." They don't have hospital privileges. They were out-of-hospital midwives, so they had to transfer me. They could go with me and essentially be that emotional support, but we were still kind of in COVID times, so I had to also choose who I wanted to be in there with me. It was 2022. I just felt so defeated. I was so mad that I wasn't going to get the birth that I wanted. I started screaming through contractions. I can confirm that does make it worse. I was just pissed. And so I opted for a Cesarean. It was really tough. I remember as we were leaving my house, asking my midwives, "I can have a VBAC at the birth center, right? Like, you can do VBACs?" They were like, "Yep, but let's get this baby out first." So I transferred. I had my Cesarean. I think it went as smoothly as it could go. I remember there was this a sweet tech who-- I was just in a lot of pain, and she gave me the biggest hug as they put my spinal in and was stroking my back saying, "This is the last one. This is the last one. You can do this." And it was like, "Okay." There was some tenderness there. But post that was a lot of grief, and I think we've all experienced that and a lot of hard. I never saw the surgeon who did my surgery ever again. None of my follow-ups were with her. It was just some random OB. I was so thankful that I had been at the birth center because I got all of their postpartum care, so I had a couple of home visits and a lot of really tender care from my midwives, which was exactly what I needed. And then I found The VBAC Link. I remember finding it on a walk because I had listened to birth podcasts for years, like I said, and suddenly it was grievous to listen to this thing that I loved hurt my feelings to listen to. It was like, "Oh gosh, I don't want to listen to the first-time mom who had an amazing waterbirth, and it was pain-free." It just was grief. Meagan: Right.Lily: So when I found The VBAC Link, I was like, "This is exactly what I needed. This is stories of women that give me hope and not just that trigger jealousy," which I think is a very real and valid emotion.Meagan: Very, very real. Very real and valid.Lily: It's okay to feel that way, but I remember going for all of my postpartum walks and listening to The VBAC Link and crying through every episode and all of the things. And then, just in that postpartum time, I got back into fitness. I have a background in kinesiology and teach a lot of fitness classes. So I got back to the community and finding that, and then I also got to work here which is so fun a year ago in November which is so cool. I think it's really a cute thing that my year anniversary was in November, and that's when I had her, so how cool that I spent a year empowering other women and also getting to plan my own which was really fun. So if you've ever DM'd us on Instagram, you're probably talking to me.Meagan: Yep, yep. She's in there every day a lot of the day because we get a lot of messages. We really do.Lily: And we want to answer all of them. I want you to feel seen and known and all the things. So if you're getting an answer, you're not getting a robot.Meagan: Yeah, you're absolutely not.Lily: You're getting me or Meagan or Olga or Ashley. You're getting one of us which is really neat.Meagan: Yep. Yeah.Lily: Okay. So then we got pregnant again, eventually. So we had planned to start trying when our son was two. We got pregnant a couple months before his second birthday. And again, it was such a redemptive moment of going from having a really hard trying to conceive to me, a girly with one fallopian tube getting pregnant on accident. Are you kidding me? It's crazy. But it was so great. It was really scary at first. We did have some early pregnancy bleeding. We thought we were having another miscarriage. And at the same time, my dad had his appendix rupture, so he was in the hospital septic while I'm early pregnant bleeding. It was just a hellstorm at first and felt really scary. But I knew that I was going for my VBAC, and that was really grounding. I won't share a ton of this journey. My midwife, Paige, and I were on the podcast earlier in 2024, so if you want to listen to that podcast about finding care, but I'll just quickly cover essentially the birth center that I was supposed to be at that I always dreamed would be my redemptive birth again was the same midwives. Oh, Matilda is grabbing my ears.Meagan: Also, the episode is 342 if you want to go back and listen.Lily: Yes. For midwife stuff.Meagan: Yes.Lily: So essentially, my midwives were amazing and I love them, but the birth center just wasn't in our financial capability. They don't take insurance. This time around, it was just not something that we were able to do. I started my care at the birth center and was really grateful to be there because they really knew my story, so they held me through the worry about miscarriage. And then we ended up having to navigate transferring care, so I interviewed another birth center that was in-network with our insurance that was about an hour away. I interviewed my midwife, Paige, and her practice partner, Jess. I told my husband when we went in to interview them, I was so terrified to like these hospital midwives and that I would have a hospital birth. And I did. I fell in love with them. I think that's so important. One thing I get really frustrated with, I think, especially in the more crunchy birth community is that we are often told that hospital birth can't be beautiful and that you can't have a physiological birth in a hospital.Meagan: Yep.Lily: I'm here to tell you that that's wrong. We have to stop telling women that the place that they feel safest is less than in any way. If a hospital is where you end up, then that is incredible and amazing and that's where you should birth if that's what feels right for you and your baby.Meagan: Yeah. It's the same thing with like epidural versus non-epidural. It doesn't matter. You're not any less powerful or strong or amazing if you birth without an epidural versus an epidural or out of the hospital versus the hospital or a planned Cesarean versus not going for a VBAC or if it goes to a Cesarean.We have to start having more love for one another in our community. Even though it might be something really great for one person, and they believe that, and that's okay that they believe that, that doesn't mean it's right for that next person.Meagan: Totally, totally.Lily: Yeah. So we navigated what hospital care was going to look like. At the time, our hospital was under construction, so they were "letting"-- I put that in quotes-- letting you labor in the tub, but you couldn't deliver in the tub at the time. The tubs were home birth tubs that they were blowing up in the rooms and all these things. But by the end of my pregnancy, the low-intervention rooms were open, and they were supporting waterbirths which I think is so neat to see from a hospital. So yeah, we were really excited. This time, I did more acupuncture. I continued to see my amazing acupuncturist. She's amazing. Montana Glenn if you ever need her in northern Colorado. I did switch chiropractors. Last time, I went to just the chiropractor that I'd always gone to. She wasn't Webster-certified. This time, I did go see a Webster-certified chiropractor. Laura is amazing. That really changed a lot of my pelvic pain and things like that.I was way more active in this pregnancy. With my son, I was working at a Barre studio, and the fitness studio closed about halfway through my pregnancy. I kind of just petered off the train of staying active. But with my daughter, we were able to, I say we because she was there. I worked out until the day before I was in labor. I teach spin, strength, and yoga. It's a combo. It's called Spenga. I was there all the time. I did stop on the spin bike at 34 weeks pregnant because I learned that that's not great for baby positioning, and it can shorten some of those ligaments. I stopped doing the spin bike at that point to be really cautious of position. Speaking of that, I had a standard kind of pregnancy. I would talk with my midwife forever and ever. I came in with questions about my birth probably on day one. She was like, "Girl, you're 16 weeks pregnant. Chill, no." But I had questions, and I would come in every time. I did feel like a first-time mom in that sense because the last time, I had a lot of expectations of I knew what the birth center was going to look like, and I had no idea what a hospital labor was going to look like. How many nurses are going to be in my room? Who's going to be up in my space? What does this look like? How do I do intermittent monitoring and all the things? Paige was great about, my midwife, saying, "Hey, this is what the hospital protocol is. Hospital protocol is not a law. You get to do what you want to do, and we support you in that." She was awesome. At 32 weeks, though, Matilda was breech which was really scary as a mama who had a surprise breech baby. I did all the things. If you want to know all of those things, we have an Instagram Live that is saved on our page of literally the kibosh of things that I did for flipping her. We did flip her. I also saw a bodyworker in town and a doula who's amazing. Her name is Heather Stanley, and she's the breech lady here in northern Colorado. I did some bodywork and stuff with her and worked through emotional stuff and birth stuff. It was, I think, really what I needed. Heather said that in our session, and I kind of rolled my eyes. She's like, "I think sometimes babies go breech because we've got some stuff to process." And I think that I did. I thought I processed. I went to therapy after my Cesarean. I did all the things, but I still had some stuff. I think she was teaching me, like, "Hey, let's work through this now."Meagan: Yeah, I mean, I had the same thing with Webster. He kept flipping breech. I had never had a breech baby before, but I was like, "If I have to have a C-section because you're breech, I've done all the things." I was really frustrated. We'd get him to flip, and then he'd go back. My midwife was like, "We need to stop." And I believe that it was the same thing. I needed to work through some things. He needed to be in those positions during that time for whatever reason. We had to gain more trust in our bodies and our abilities and processing. Right?Lily: Yeah, totally. So yeah, so then she flipped, and it was great. And then I just felt so seen by Paige in all of it, because she knew like, "Hey, when you get to the hospital, we'll check with an ultrasound and double-check that she's still head down because I know that's anxiety-inducing for you." I just felt so empowered with all of our decision-making. It felt like a big partnership. One thing that I struggled with with my son was I was at home laboring for 44 hours. I never got to go to the birth center. What I loved is this time, it was my call when I got to go to the hospital. It was my decision, all of it. Paige was so great about saying, "Hey, this is your labor, and we're here to make this happen." I just think she's such a unique human. I don't think care always looks like this in a hospital for sure, but it can. What if we advocated for what we deserve, you know?Meagan: Just talking to her, I love her. I love her so much, and I one day hope to meet her in person.Lily: She's the greatest human being. I tell her all the time, I'm like, "You're changing the world, and so many women need you." Actually, their practice was at one point so full of VBAC patients that they've had to unfortunately turn a couple of people away because their practice is getting full which is really amazing, though.Meagan: Yeah.Lily: And we need that.Meagan: It's a good thing. Yeah.Lily: Yeah. So super cool. All right, I think we've got labor coming. Here we go. I never felt pressure of when am I going to go into labor or any of that. Paige was super great about, like, "Hey, if you're dilated before labor, that's great. If not, whatever. Most people dilate while they're in labor," and it was just super helpful. I knew that there was no worry about when I would go into labor. There was no worry about just any of that stuff. So it was really nice to just be at peace. That's one of the reasons that I actually loved having a hospital provider because I had a lot of anxiety about transferring from a birth center again. Actually, as I tell my story, I think I would have been a transfer again. I remember them saying that in my initial consult appointment. Jess, who practices with Paige, said, "You know, what's beautiful about hospital care is that we can induce you if you need to be induced, and we have the hospital privileges, and you can have the interventions if you need them." And I did. Spoiler alert, and it was great. I got to 40 and 1. I started contractions around 11:00 PM on Tuesday night. I was already felt like it was such a blessing because I finally had contractions that were normal. I didn't have contractions like that with my son. They started out fast and furious and they were seven minutes apart or less my whole 44 hours. With this, I felt the wave of a contraction for the first time. And I remember texting my doula like, "This is already so redemptive just that I can like breathe through a contraction. This is nuts. This is so cool." There were a couple that I had to get on all fours in my bed and sway back and forth and eventually, my husband like leaned over and he was like, "You need to go to sleep. What are you doing?" I was like, "I'm having contractions." And he's like, "Oh." So it was fun. I texted my doula and just said, "Hey, I think I'm in labor," which was weird for me to say. And again, what's so great is Jessie, my doula, had been with us in our first birth and she's also a VBAC mom. It was just like God had His hands on exactly what we needed and the people that we needed even from our first birth to carry into our second. So on Wednesday, Jesse also lives in our neighborhood now, so that's fun. She came over, and we went for a walk. We did some homeopathy, and she gave me a great foot massage, and then she said, "Okay, hey. Let's try to pick things up a little bit. I want you to take a nap with your knees open." She's like, "We don't have a peanut ball," so I grabbed the triangle pillow from my kid's nugget couch. It works really well by the way. I napped with that between my legs and was able to get things to pick up a little bit. My contractions did get pretty intense, but they were still spread out. She went home for a little bit, and then I took a nap and labored. I went downstairs. We live multi-generationally, so my parents live in our basement in a basement apartment. My niece also lives with us. They have custody of her. My parents have a way cooler shower than I do because they got to customize their basement. I went down and took a shower in their shower which has three shower heads and all the stuff. I was like, "This is like a being at a birth center." So I hung out in their shower. I took a two-hour shower. My mom's like, "Our water bill is going to be insane."Meagan: How did you have hot water long enough?Lily: We have that-- I don't know what it's called.Meagan: Reverse osmosis thing?Lily: I don't know.Meagan: I don't even know. That's not the water heater. Lily: I don't know what we have. I don't know what it's called. Anyway, we did have hot water. Meagan: That's amazing, though. Lily: I was just in there chilling and music on and lights off. When I could get into the mental space of labor, my contractions would come way closer together, and things would intensify. But if I did the advice of living life, it was like they just stayed really far apart. So I was like, "I know that some of this is prodromal labor a little bit because I'm not getting into consistency unless I'm forcing myself to be there."So amongst all of this, my husband is not feeling well. I'm looking at him like, "You seem sick." My husband never gets sick. And he's like, "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine." And I was like, "No, I think that you should go get tested for something." Something in my gut was like, "You need to go in." So he went and got swabbed for the flu and all the things, and he had strep. And so I was like, "See? Good thing that we got you tested." So he started antibiotics right away. And then that night, my sweet doula came and spent the night because Jared was just not up for being a labor support and yay for having a doula because I needed someone to be there physically with me, and I needed that support, but he couldn't be there in that moment.Meagan: Wow, what an incredible doula. I love hearing that. Yeah.Lily: So she came and spent the night, and we did some like side-lying releases, which from my first labor, I knew I was going to hate it. It's just the position that, to me, is just the absolute worst when I'm in labor. It's awful. My doula was like, "Hey, so we should do some of that." And I was like, "No, we're not. I don't want to." She was like, "I think we should then."So we did some of that, and then eventually, she drifted off to sleep. My contractions again, were still staying spread out. They would get close together and then they'd fizzle. But they were intense, and that's what's hard is you think prodromal labor, and at least in my brain, it's like, "Oh, contractions are mild and really far apart," but that's just not how they were for me. They were really intense. Meagan: They can be. Eventually, I went upstairs and took a bath because I was like, "Okay, I'm just going to force them to shut down then." I need some rest. So I went and took a bath upstairs, and got them to slow down enough that I could sleep for the rest of the night.Meagan: Good.Lily: That was Wednesday, and like I said, my labor was long. On Thursday, we woke up. My doula was here with me. We made breakfast, and she forced me to eat protein. Yay, doulas. I had already a scheduled appointment that day for my 41-week or whatever it was. 40 weeks, I guess. We went into the clinic and my contractions were, I mean, maybe 30 minutes apart at this point. I remember we drove all the way. My clinic is 20 minutes for my house. We drove all the way there, and I didn't have a contraction in the car. I was like, "Okay." So we went. I was 4 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced. I did ask for the membrane sweep, but I asked for the cervical check. Not one time ever did I get a check that was like, "Hey, we should check you now." It was like, "Hey, I want to be checked now."Meagan: Yeah.Lily: It was so empowering. So 4 centimeters. She was like, "You know what? You're doing it. Yes, prodromal labor, sure, but also, your body's making progress. You're doing something."Meagan: But also not prodromal. It was a prodromal pattern and acting that way, but progressing. So, it was on the cusp.Lily: Yeah. It was weird but encouraging to hear that, okay. I've done a day and a half work. Yeah. But at this point, I'm like, ticking in my brain, like, "Okay, how long has this been?" Because my first labor was 44 hours, and I was 10 centimeters when we transferred to the hospital. I had told myself my whole pregnancy, "I can do anything as long as it's less than 44 hours." It was not. It was not. Spoiler alert. So we went home, and then my sweet chiropractor actually lives in our neighborhood. I texted her and was like, "Hey, I don't know if this is a positional thing. She feels really low and engaged, but can you come adjust me?" So she came and brought her table to my house and adjusted me. She did this thing called adductor stripping.Meagan: Oh.Lily: And so I had done an actual membrane sweep with my midwife, and then my chiropractor took her knuckles and went on my inner thighs and pushed all down. It hurt so bad.Meagan: I'm doing it to myself barely, and I'm like, oh.Lily: It was awful. But she was like, "This is the big hip-opener thing." So we did that. She even taught my doula how to do it. I looked at my doula and I said, "You're not doing that to me. So glad you learned you can do it to another client, not me." My doula went home again. I got back in the shower and was moving around. And at 4:00, I decided like, "Okay, I'm exhausted. I am ready for a change." I am the type of person who likes to go somewhere and do something. It's part of why I didn't ever feel like a home birth was the right option for me because I know that I get stuck in a space. I like the idea of going somewhere to have my baby. It felt like a good change. So I was ready, but I wasn't having contractions that were there. And I was like, "I also don't want to go to the hospital and be stuck there for a million years." So I decided to go upstairs and put myself into labor. I'm like, "Okay, I'm doing this." I turned off all the lights, and started to labor, and my mom came up and gave me a back massage. It was also cool to see her shift because in my first labor, she was super anxious. And then in this labor, she was really trusting of my process and was more just like, "Hey, what do you need?" So she gave me a really big back massage, and I listened to music, and I finally got my contractions to six minutes apart. I texted my midwife and I said, "If these stay this way for an hour, I want to come because I am exhausted. I'm ready for a change. I need this." And she's like, "Great, awesome. Let me know. Keep me posted." So I did have some bloody show, and I thought maybe my water broke. It had been an hour, and I was like, "Hey, we're going." My mom had just made dinner, so I'm scarfing meatloaf on my way out the door. Great last meal.Meagan: I love it.Lily: And then we head to the hospital. I got to the hospital, and I was 4.5, maybe a 5. So again, earlier that day, I had been a 4. So I had made a little bit of progress, but not a ton. But Paige was great. She's like, "Great, you're here." What I love about their practice is their direct admittance, so you don't have to go through triage and have some sort of evaluation to decide if you're supposed to be there or not. She was the one who made that call, and we made it in partnership with each other. I was like, "I feel like I need to be here." She's like, "Great, you're here."Meagan: Yeah.Lily: And so I chose no IV and to do intermittent monitoring which will come up in my story in a little bit, but that's kind of where I was. We started to fill up the tub, and I was laboring in the tub, and then I started to get nauseous and throwing up and all the things. In my head, I'm like, "I'm in transition. This is very transitiony." I'm watching as the baby nurse comes into my room and starts to set up the bassinet. I'm starting in my head to tell myself, "I'm so close. I'm in transition. This is happening." And as I talked to my doula afterward, she was like, "Yeah, we all thought you were in transition, too, dude. You were in it." I started to get frustrated and say, "I want to push." Not that I felt pushy, but I was just like, "I want, again, a change. I want to have a baby." And so I asked for another check, and I was 6.5 centimeters. I cursed so much, and I was like, "I just want to have my effing baby." I screamed that so loud. My poor, sweet doula and midwife. They dealt with my sass, and it's like my body knew, "Okay, we're defeated now." Everything shut down. My contractions spread apart to 20 minutes apart again. They had been 5 minutes. My mental space was not ready, and my body was like, "Okay, we're going to rest." Meagan: Yeah. Lily: And so I get out of the tub and dry off, and we decide that I'll do a little bit of pumping. My midwife put some clary sage all over my belly, and she does try. I asked to rupture my membranes because we thought maybe they had not ruptured when I thought they did. She was like, "They're definitely intact." She goes, "Nice protein intake girly because these are hard, and I can't rupture them." She's like, "You have a really strong bag of water." And I said, "Thanks, Needed, for all of the amazing collagen that I took."Meagan: I was going to say, collagen protein right there.Lily: I'm terrible at protein intake, so really the collagen from Needed was one of the strongest ways I got protein in during my pregnancy. So pat on my back for my protein intake and things to need.Meagan: Very, very good job. Very impressive. Well, because really, a strong bag of water, it is hard to get that protein and that good calcium in. It really is. To the point where she can't even break it, that's pretty cool. Pretty cool. Good job. Lily: Yeah. So then at this point, it's later in the evening, like 9:00 or 10:00. And so I started to just be exhausted. I started falling asleep between contractions. My doula is like, "We're going to wind down. Let's turn the music just to instrumental. I'm going to go take a nap." Our birth photographer is napping on the floor. Paige goes and takes a nap, and they tell my husband to curl up next to me.That was such a sweet moment of disc connection that I needed of, "This is my person and we're here. We're doing this together." We snuggled up on the bed and got through contractions together all night long. I did at one point ask to try the nitrous oxide because, in my head, that was the only pain relief that I could think of that was available to me in this low intervention room because the way that the hospital works is if you're not going to have a waterbirth, if you decide to get an epidural, they will transfer you out of this room because there are two of them, and at that point, you can't use the tub. So I was like, "Okay, I think nitrous might be my only option." So I tried that. It sucked.Meagan: You didn't like it.Lily: She was like, "You know, it's really not helpful for people that are coping with contractions well." And she said the same thing when I started asking about an epidural later on. She was like, "You're coping well, and you're relaxing." These types of things can be really helpful for people that are in the fetal position in between their contractions, but you're not, so it's probably not actually going to help because you're already relaxed. All it did was make me feel a little dizzy,  and then I was like, "Well, this is silly." I got in the shower again there. It was not as good as my parents' shower, so I did get right out of the shower. It was very cold. And so the next morning, now it's Friday. So reminder, labor started on Tuesday. Meagan: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Now we're here. Lily: Thursday morning. And so Paige comes in, and we had a really long talk about options. At this point, I am mad, and I'm just feeling like I can't do it. I keep having contractions and saying, "I can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore." In my head, I'm like, "Well, at least I'm going to get a VBAC. Hopefully, I can get an epidural," and then rest and those stories. I'm trying to be really open-handed because I think that's what you have to be in birth is really surrender to the process. Paige comes up with this idea to do some therapeutic rest to which I had never heard of before. I think I was texting you during this and I was like, "What is that?" She's like, "We can give you some morphine. You can either stay here at the hospital or you can go home, and hopefully, you'll nap for 4 or 5 hours. Typically, people wake up in active labor." I was like, "Sweet, sounds awesome. Give me that nap." My doula was like, "Why don't we go for a walk, first? Let's remind ourselves that it's daytime. Let's go on a walk. We'll talk about it together, and then we can come up and do our next steps." So we went out for a walk in the parking lot of the hospital. It was cold, and I threw up a couple of times. Yay. I was like, "I think I really need this. I can't continue to do this without any progress." She's like, "Great, I'm excited for you." So we went up, and they put an IV in cause I didn't have an IV. What was great was that the hospital staff was so accommodating. I was really nervous about nurses being like, "Hey, we don't like this," or whatever. Paige was also great about choosing my nurses to be the ones that are going to be more supportive. But they put an IV in. They gave me the morphine, and then they took it out. I didn't just then have an IV.We did that, and then we decided we would break my water and try to get things progressing. She did end up being able to break my water because I could sit still. I was way more relaxed with the morphine. It was supposed to be a 4-hour nap. I woke up 20 minutes later. We had sent my doula off to go run errands thinking that we had hours. I wake up 20 minutes later with really intense contractions that are peeking through the morphine, and they're super close together. I was like, "Well, crap. Let me call my doula back and get her to come back." And so that really picked things up again. It was kind of discouraging because I was expecting to get to rest, and then to have intense contractions again was like, "Oh gosh, okay. Here we go." But we did it. We labored the whole day doing that, but my contractions would never get closer than 5 minutes apart. They would stall out at that space. At 2:30ish, I asked about morphine again because I was like, "Can we do that again? If that was an option, can we try that again?" The nurses were like, "Hey, we actually think maybe you should just do some IV Fentanyl." My older brother is an addict, so I am someone who was super cautious. I had actually said it when I got there that my preference is no opioids. But this felt like, "Okay, maybe it's an option." When Paige came in and we talked a little bit, she was like, "Why don't we do that? And would you be open to doing a low dose of Pitocin?" And I was like, "Absolutely not," because in my brain, Pitocin means epidural. Pitocin is scary and hard. My contractions are already intense. I can't imagine Pitocin. Like, absolutely not. And so Paige said, "Hey, what's cool is you're already in active labor, so Pitocin is not likely going to make your contractions more intense. It will likely bring them closer together.Meagan: It's what you might need.Lily: "You might be able to wait it out, or this might be an option. Let's do the pain medicine so that you feel mentally like you can handle it." I was like, "Okay." So they placed another IV because I didn't have one in, and they gave me Pit. We started at 2 at 3:30, and then we upped it to a 4 at 4:00.Something that I will mention while I have the IV thought in my brain is I had said I was doing intermittent monitoring, and I ended up hating that. I was just irritated by people coming into my space. It felt like it interrupted my labor pattern. They had to reach down into the water if I was in the tub. I was moving, and I felt like I couldn't move or they wouldn't get it. They were just in my space a lot more. So when we started the Pitocin, the hospital policy was continuous monitoring, but they have the wireless monitors that are waterproof. They were like, "Do you feel okay with that?" I said, "Yeah, I think so, actually. I think I'm ready for people to stop touching me," because at one point, I looked at a nurse and I was like, "I understand why this is important and why you're here to check on my baby. Please go away." I hated it, but I also felt like I wanted some sort of monitoring.Meagan: I can see that though.Lily: Yeah, it was just disruptive. It's funny because in my brain, I thought that the continuous monitoring would feel disruptive, but it was great because they just put these two little dots on me. I had a belly band that went over. They were wireless. I could still move all around. It was great. Meagan: That's nice.Lily: Yeah. So at this point, I'm hooked up to Pit on the little IV pole, but I can still go wherever I want. I decided to go labor in the bathroom. This is the part of my labor that gets a little fuzzy. I was really thankful to have had a conversation with my acupuncturist prior to labor because she had a great labor experience, but she was actually a home birth hospital transfer too. She had talked about how I had said, "I don't want to do medication because I want to be really present. There's so much of my son's birth that I don't remember because of the medication." She had told me, "Hey, there is a place sometimes in labor land that your body just naturally goes fuzzy, so don't be taken aback if that's your experience." That was really helpful to know that in this transition time, things feel a little fuzzy, but I'm at peace with that versus my son's birth where it felt invasive to not have those memories.Meagan: Yeah.Lily: So we were laboring in the bathroom, and then I remember at one point yelling for Paige because my doula is in there with me. I was like, "I'm feeling pushy and ring of fiery." She's like, "Okay." We came out of the bathroom. They unhooked me from the Pitocin. They did keep the hep lock in. And again, they were really respectful and asked like, "Hey, since we've already been doing Pit, we've already put two in. Do you mind if we keep the hemlock? And we'll wrap you up. You can do whatever you want." And I was like, "That's fine. It's already there. Let's not bruise up my arm anymore." We came out, and I was laboring on all fours. I had gotten sick of the tub, and I had actually said, "I don't want to be in the tub anymore," at some point during the day, because this thing that was so great, and it is helpful, but every time I get in, I get discouraged because my contractions pick up. But then, it seems like I have to get out. My doula is looking at me, and she's like, "Hey, are you sure you don't want to get in the tub?" This was your goal. This was your goal. Are you sure?" I'm laboring on all fours, and I'm feeling pushy, and she's like, "We can fill up the tub so fast. Do you want us to just fill it up? This was your goal. Are you sure?" I was like, "Okay, yeah. Fill up the tub." The one other thing that I think was funny is that I was wearing a really ugly bra because I had had two black bras that I really wanted to wear, and they had gotten wet over two days of being at the hospital. I looked at her, and I was like, "I'm wearing my ugly bra." She was like, "Change." So my birth photographer ran over and grabbed my black bra that I wanted to have on, and I changed really fast which was really funny, and then hopped in the tub and started to just labor there. My doula and midwife coached me to wait for the fetal ejection reflex. So they were like, "If you can just breathe through these contractions, let's wait and see if your body just starts to push." I was like, "Okay, I guess we'll be here." I was in this really deep, low squat. I have 20 years of dance in my history. I teach Barre. I'm on one tippy toe. Paige told me after, "I have never almost broken a mirror trying to get so low to see what was going on because you were in such a low squat." I did deliver my daughter on my tippy toes. It was like, if I put my heel down, it hurt more. I don't know why, but my tippy toes felt great. Meagan: Interesting. Like pointe in ballet?Lily: Standing on my tippy toes.Meagan: Yeah. Yeah. Oh my goshLily: Yeah. I was in a lunge with one leg up on a tippy toe.Meagan: With bent toes, yep.Lily: I was laboring there, and these contractions felt different, which again, is so cool to have gotten to experience. At this point, Fentanyl wears off after 30 minutes, and so I really feel like it was perfect because I got it for the hard Pitocin part, which actually wasn't bad at all, by the way. It was exactly what Paige said. It just got them closer together. They didn't hurt anymore.Meagan: Increase, yeah.Lily: Yeah, it was awesome. So I highly recommend if you need it at the end to know that it probably won't increase intensity. It just can help. I was fully unmedicated at this point. I would feel the beginning of my contraction. I could breathe through. And then when that fetal ejection reflex hits, man, it is crazy. I had heard someone describe it as the feeling of when you have to throw up and you just can't stop. That is exactly what it feels like. Now I'm pushing.My body just did it by itself, and I didn't have to worry about, "Okay, how do I breathe? How do I do?" There was no counting. I pushed for 52 minutes on my tippy toes. It was so cool. My husband really wanted to catch her, and so he was right there. He'll joke forever that I bruised his hand in labor because I was death-gripping it.I remember feeling the ring of fire and all of the things. And then she just came out and her whole body came out with her head, and it just felt like the biggest relief in the world of, whoo. And then I grabbed her. So Jared's like, "You kind of stole my thunder." I was just so excited, so both of us had our hands on her and got to bring her up to my chest. What we realized is I had a really short chord. The theory is that so much of my labor was probably held back because she didn't have a lot of bungee room to descend. It kind of explained a couple of things. Yeah. She was on my chest in the tub and hanging out. And then we got off and got to the bed, and she was hanging out on my chest. And then as the cord stopped pulsing, she forgot to breathe.Meagan: Oh.Lily: And so they had to cut the cord really quickly, take her off my chest, and take her over to the warmer, and she was fine. They called in the neonatalist and all of the things, and she did eventually just come back to me after I had delivered the placenta, but that was the only scary moment. The theory is that she was still relying on the cord, and then it stopped pulsing, and she was like, "Oh shoot, I need to breathe now. Got it. Okay."Meagan: Yeah.Lily: It was great. I got to see my placenta, and I did have a marginal cord which we knew, which is when your cord is kind of off to the side of your placenta. Again, we knew that my whole pregnancy, and it was never like, "This is going to prevent you from having a VBAC" conversation. But yeah, we got to do the thing and catch a baby, and it was just the coolest thing ever. I can look back and say gosh, yeah. I probably would've been a transfer because of how long my labor was. I'm so thankful that I took the interventions when I needed them and that I had a provider who I trusted was in my corner. Never once did I think, "Oh, she's recommending this so that it goes faster," or "Ohh, she's" bothered or anything. And Paige actually had specialed me in that she wasn't on call that night, but she came in for me which was really special. I don't know. I never expected that I would have a hospital birth. I never expected that I would have Pitocin or pain medication or any of the things and yet feel so at peace with how it played out. It was absolutely beautiful and absolutely physiological in all of the ways that it needed to be.So that was her birth.Oh my goodness. I'm so happy for you. I'm so happy. I can just close my eyes, and I can see your picture. So many feels and such a long journey. Such a long journey for you to keep shifting gears. But going back into your team and all the relationships that you established working up to these days and this moment, you had all of those people come into your labor too, at some point whether it was mentally thinking about something that they had said or they physically came down the street and we're able to serve you and touch you and adjust you and work with you that way. There were so many things along the way that it's like, wow. You should be so proud of yourself for building that team, for getting the education, for having this big different experience, and for trusting your instincts. I do think in the VBAC world, in all birth world, but for the VBAC world, we do sometimes get into this, "Oh, Pitocin can be bad. Epidurals can be bad. Hospitals can be bad. This can be bad," You know, all of these things, and a lot of the times it's based on negative experiences that one has had.Lily: Or stories that you hear.Meagan: Or stories that we hear, yes. Because, I mean, how many stories have we heard about the cascade? Lily: Absolutely.Meagan: We've heard so many. But like you said, these things needed to come into your labor at the points that they did, and they served you well. When you said that you didn't expect to have these experiences, and then find them healing and positive, but I truly believe when we are making the decisions in our birth experience, when we have our birth team that we trust and know are there for us, for us, and in our corner, like Paige is and was, it's very different.Lily: It makes a world of difference.Meagan: It's very different. I mean, I have had clients where I've had providers actually say with their words, "I like to manage my labors. I like to manage my labors." So if we hear that, and then we hear the experience, you guys don't do those things because they led down a negative path. But those are so different, and so we need to remind ourselves as we're listening to stories about Pitocin and epidurals or hospitals, have a soft part in your heart for them because you never know. They may be something that you need or want in your labor. Lily: Totally.Meagan: And if we can have the education about those things and then make the choice that feels right for us in our labor, I mean, here you are saying these things. You're saying these words. "I had these experiences. I experienced Pitocin. I experienced Fentanyl that I didn't know I wanted. I had all these things, and it was great."Lily: It was beautiful. Yeah. And Paige was like, "I've never seen someone dilate to a seven with such an irregular contraction pattern."Meagan: Yes. Yeah.Lily: What I love is that a couple of days before I went into labor, someone had posted this quote. We posted it just recently to our page, but it was from the Matrescense podcast. And it says, "For every birth video that you watch where a woman calmly breathes her baby into the world, make sure you watch one where she begs, pleads for, swears, doubts, and works incredibly hard to meet her baby." I know I cried.Meagan: That just gave me the chills.Lily: "So that if that is your experience, you are not caught off guard by the intensity of birth." I had seen that before I went into labor. Someone posted it in The VBAC Link Community on Facebook. And that is exactly my experience. I screamed and I begged and I roared. Oh my god. There was no quiet breathing during my pushing. My throat was sore the next day so much so that I had them swab me for strep because my husband had strep and I was like, "Did I get strep?" But my throat was just raw from screaming. Not screaming. I would call it roaring because I wasn't high-pitched screaming. It was just the natural, primal thing.Meagan: Guttural roar.Lily: It doesn't make it less than. It was pretty dang cool. So, yeah, so that was all the things. And then in this postpartum experience, it's been so great. Paige is awesome. We've been chatting over the phone, and we had a two-week postpartum visit. I just have the best community. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the community that I have this time compared to my first and sweet friends who literally right before I came on were like, "Hey, update. How are you? What's going on? How's Tilly? What do you need?" That community has made a huge difference, too. And also, I feel like I could run a marathon because I didn't have a C-section, you know? Holy cow.Meagan: Yeah, your recovery is feeling a lot better. Lily: Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. And I was super active prior to having her, so I think that helps too, you know?Meagan: Yeah.Lily: Just feeling that strength is there and resilient. So, yeah.Meagan: Oh, my gosh. I love you. I'm so happy for you. Seriously, I can't wait to even go back and re-listen to this once it airs. You're just incredible. You're such a ray of sunshine. And truly, it is an honor to have you here on our VBAC Link team and then to be part of this story. You had said before that you haven't really even shared it in this entirety, and so I feel tickled that I get to be one of the first to hear it in its entirety.Lily: Well, thank you, friend. It's an honor to be on the team to get to hold space for everyone else's stories, and I have a squeaky baby, but it is just a joy and a dream to get to be here. So thanks for holding space for all of us who have needed it for years. We love you.Meagan: Oh, I love you back, and thank you.ClosingWould you like to be a guest on the podcast? Tell us about your experience at thevbaclink.com/share. For more information on all things VBAC including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Meagan's bio, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vbac-link/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Continuing in the series of helping parents as they begin the journey with their child coming out as LGBT+, Ricky, Bonnie, and Marsha talk about helpful, yet redemptive (and not destructive) ways to interact with a child wanting them to affirm them in their LGBT+ lifestyle. They talk about things that are good to say, as well as what not to say in these interactions.

“Someone passionately interested in the cause of the leper very carefully avoids speaking to the leper in his path in order to get on with the cause. And it occurs to me that Jesus couldn't have cared less about thecause or rights of the leper. Jesus stopped. And healed. And loved. Not causes, but people…” Madelene L'Engle.

“Someone passionately interested in the cause of the leper very carefully avoids speaking to the leper in his path in order to get on with the cause. And it occurs to me that Jesus couldn't have cared less about thecause or rights of the leper. Jesus stopped. And healed. And loved. Not causes, but people…” Madelene L'Engle.

Our vocation is more than simply work we get paid for—it is how God has intentionally created us in his image to do good and meaningful work in partnership with him. In this sermon series (Ora et Labora), we'll explore how God interacts with our vocation, in whatever season of life or field of work we find ourselves in. How do we participate in God's redemptive work through our vocation? "Cultivating the Beautiful," Ora et Labora (Faith & Vocation), Amelia Blanchard.

An excerpt from Pope Pius XII's MEDIATOR DEISponsored by Charity Mobilehttps://www.charitymobile.com/rtt.phpSources:https://www.returntotradition.orgContact Me:Email: return2catholictradition@gmail.comSupport My Work:Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/AnthonyStineSubscribeStarhttps://www.subscribestar.net/return-to-traditionBuy Me A Coffeehttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/AnthonyStinePhysical Mail:Anthony StinePO Box 3048Shawnee, OK74802Follow me on the following social media:https://www.facebook.com/ReturnToCatholicTradition/https://twitter.com/pontificatormax+JMJ+

Hi sister, in this episode, I sit down with my sweet friend, Elaine, to walk through her beautiful (and wild!) birth story. Elaine's journey to meeting her baby was full of unexpected twists—moments of doubt, laughter, and ultimately, a powerful encounter with God's presence in labor. Episode Highlights:  Elaine's experience with miscarriage and how she found peace in pregnancy. The BIG mindset shift that helped her overcome fear in labor. How God literally answered our prayer for when to leave for the hospital. The hilarious (and slightly embarrassing) labor moments we won't forget! Why support (from your husband, a doula, and prayer) makes all the difference. This episode is full of raw honesty, wisdom, and encouragement for every mama—whether you're preparing for birth or just need a reminder that you are stronger than you think.

Join Rabbi Joey Rosenfeld as he guides us through the world and major works of Kabbalah, Hasidic masters, and Jewish philosophy, shedding light on the inner life of the soul. To learn more, visit InwardTorah.org