With the release of the incredible movie, "Sound of Freedom," there is an awakening of the need to address the issue of child trafficking. In this interview, Barb Bollinger, the Director of Development from Path2Freedom where Chuck and Melanie Betters serve as House Parents, shares information about real life child trafficking happening in Southwest Florida and how Path2Freedom is bringing help and hope to these precious young girls.  Support the show

Imagine you must hand over your little baby to strangers for uncomfortable and scary tests. And imagine you know the outcome may not be what you are hoping. Katie Schnack’s son, Shepherd was born with multiple medical issues along with a rare disease. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Katie shares when she realized that saying everything is not fine was not a sign of weak faith but could actually be a sure sign of dependence on the Lord. With humor and transparency, Katie shares her...

Days, months, and years after the loss of her sister, Natasha Smith tried to hide the grief she carried. But the pandemic took away her ability to hide her sorrow and her five-year-old’s response to her unexpected tears gave her permission to grieve – not in a room by herself but with her daughter. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Natasha shares how culture insists we “move on” from loss quickly and even how the church is often not equipped to handle sudden outbursts of tears or...

Imagine hearing these words: “Make no mistake: without treatment, this is fatal.” Katy Bowser Hutson heard this message from her oncologist who made it clear that without aggressive treatment, Katy would die. She did not hear any optimism in her doctor’s voice. Katy’s diagnosis was inflammatory breast disease, and it was relentless in attempting to take over her body. In this conversation, Sharon Betters, herself a breast cancer survivor, talks with Katy about her journey, how writing poetry...

When Clarissa Moll’s young husband Rob she soon realized she was a crossroads. Would she walk toward hope or slide into hopelessness? In this conversation with Sharon Betters Clarissa answers such questions as: Is there any way to prepare for such a tragedy? Are there stages for grief? What kind of work can grief do in our hearts that grows the fruit of the spirit? How is it helpful to “welcome” an emotion like fear – how does dissecting an emotion help us keep those emotions in check – or...

Roasann has experienced disappointment, pain and loss – but her scars and wounds are not obvious – very much like many of you. Today Roseann lives with the kinds of chronic illness that many of you contend with – often alone in your struggles because they are not visible wounds or scars. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Roseann offers encouragement to fellow travelers, that though the pathway is often hard and you feel hopeless and helpless, there is a light in the darkness and...

Chuck interviews Ana Stevenson, the founder of Path2Freedom where Chuck and his wife Melanie are currently serving as House Parents at the Magnolia House. Ana felt a calling to start a ministry for girls rescued from human trafficking in 2015. Ana shares that "millions of children are being exploited annually in the global commercial sex trade. That number became real for me when I met the "one". No longer a number, she had a beautiful face, she had a name, but most importantly she has a hope...

Christine Runge Weiss, Founder of Faith Wears Pink, an online support platform for women battling breast cancer, shares how she learned she had breast cancer at the age of forty-four. Her diagnosis followed wave after wave of personal crisis. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, herself a breast cancer survivor, Christine offers hope and practical help to breast cancer warriors. One evening she realized she was helping over twenty women with their questions, fears and the unknowns of...

 It doesn’t take much research to realize anxiety is a primary emotion experienced not just by teens but adults. Our guest, Liz Edrington, is no stranger to anxiety. As a teenager, she felt overwhelmed by anxiety. Now she is a mental health counselor and wants to pass on what she’s learned. She has written a 31-day devotional for teenagers called Anxiety, Finding the Better Story. In this conversation, Sharon Betters and Liz Edrington talk about how anxiety affects us negatively but how it...

Andrea Herzer, a woman well acquainted with long-term debilitating health issues, having spent the last twenty years with multiple illnesses, including regional pain syndrome and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, joins Sharon Betters for this Help & Hope podcast. Numerous times Andrea experienced moments of hope only to have it dashed by another diagnosis, another setback. Certainly, her heart was a fertile place for bitterness and anger to grow. Yet, in Andrea, you are going to meet a woman who...

There are many blessings that come with age: retirement, grandchildren, travel, and life experience. Today’s culture, however, marginalizes old age, often portraying it as burdensome and hopeless. Many older women can feel like an encumbrance rather than a blessing to their friends and family members. In this conversation with Chuck L. Betters, while acknowledging aging can be hard and challenging, Sharon Betters and Susan Hunt encourage women to find hope through both real-life and biblical...

Jacke Rose, founder of Grieving Moms Finding Hope, joins Sharon Betters to talk about her journey to find hope and purpose after the death by suicide of her son, Randy. The loss of a child cannot be fathomed but Jacke’s son also unsuccessfully attempted to take the lives of his children, wife and father-in-law. Jacke fearlessly shares her story of how God’s amazing grace has not only given her confidence in God’s grace but immediately bonded her daughter-in-love and grandchildren with her...

Fawn Volkert's journey from sexual abuse as an infant to trying anything and everything to survive to a place of joyful thriving will stay with you for a long time. Just when you think her story could not get any worse or even more compelling, Fawn takes us deeper into her journey to a place of healing and strength. In this conversation with Chuck L. Betters, Fawn shares how her story of trauma has formed her into the person she is today. Chuck and Fawn have a candid conversation, not only...

Kathy Chapell and Elizabeth Turnage join Sharon Betters to talk about how to care for aging parents. We’re going to talk about the challenges of caring for elderly parents. Kathy and Elizabeth share lessons learned as frailty and illness required their parents to make major changes in their living arrangements. They admit they wish they had done some things differently and their transparency will help listeners reflect on their own relationships to their elderly parents. They encourage us to...

Kathy Chapel and Elizabeth Turnage join Sharon Betters to talk about how sharing our stories are a means of passing on a legacy of faith, even if our story is filled with disappointments and potholes. They start with Kathy sharing from her book, The Great Iowa Road Trip – Journey to Memories where Kathy has recorded not only precious family memories but teaching moments along the way. Four days spent with her mother, often alone for many hours as they drove, gave Kathy insights into her mom...

In this poignant conversation a son, Dr. Chuck L. Betters, talks to his mother, Sharon Betters, about her grief journey after the loss of her sixteen-year-old son, Mark. They use Sharon’s book, Treasures in Darkness as a jumping off place and dive right into some of the hardest places of grief with the goal of offering help and hope to other grieving parents. Sharon’s journal is the center piece of Treasures in Darkness and her transparency inviting others into the most intimate parts of her...

What is your first response when mundane moments turn into irritations and set backs? Or your life suddenly takes a downward spiral? What about when life runs smoothly - are you counting your blessings with great joy every single day? Christa Threfel, author of Come to Jesus, joins us to talk about how a “first response” to the mundane moments will help prepare us for those hard, stomach churning seasons and that those hard places can become a place of blessing and peace. Christa offers...

Marissa Bondurant joins Sharon Betters to share how her caregiving journey started when her family received a devastating diagnosis for her four-year-old daughter. Not only does she have comfort to offer caregivers, but her story through the land of childhood cancer will also encourage us. Marissa takes listeners deep into her journey of caring for not just one child but two children diagnosed with cancer. Her passion for helping other caregivers care for themselves shows up in her book, Who...

Lou Priolo says we are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. In this conversation with Sharon Betters and Chuck L. Betters, Lou defines loneliness and encourages us to realize loneliness is painful but it can also bring blessings. He shares stories about people in the Bible who experience deep loneliness and points out that many of the Psalmists expressed their own loneliness. Knowing others have walked the path of loneliness before us helps us realize we are not alone and there is help....

When unexpected moments change life’s trajectory, we’re left with a choice: Do we overcome the unexpected, as the world recommends, or undergo it? In this conversation with Sharon Betters and Chuck L. Betters, Author Jillian Benfield says experiencing an unexpected season begins a transformation that deconstructs our old self and reconstructs us into who God intends us to become. Jillian shares the story of how her son Anderson’s Down Syndrome and congenital heart defect diagnoses faced her...

What is a grandmother’s role in the lives of her grandchildren? How can she pass on a legacy of faith? What if she is estranged from her grandchildren, or they don’t seem to be interested in having a relationship with her? What are some practical ways a grandmother can intentionally pursue a friendship with her grands and what if they don’t respond to her efforts? What about those envious feelings when a grandmother sees all the beautiful social media posts of the perfect grandmother...

You start your day thinking it will be like any other. And then a text with four words, “Eva not breathing. Pray.” Within hours, the unexpected death of your daughter propels you and your family down into the deepest sorrow you have ever experienced. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Mel Lawrenz introduces us to his beloved daughter Eva and how her unexpected death led his family into the Land of Grief. In this conversation, Mel talks about giving freedom to people to grieve their...

“A silver wave is coming,” says author and speaker Elizabeth Turnage. Baby boomers are facing the hardest challenge of their lives – how to die well. In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Elizabeth challenges listeners to take steps now to make it easier for loved ones after you die. Elizabeth shares how her dad died without any intentional preparation of affairs or instructions for his children. She compares his response to death, to her mother’s and how she prepared a folder of...

Lauren Whitman, the author of A Painful Past – Healing and Moving Forward, answers this question and much more. For instance, why would anyone want to dig up their past? Isn’t it better to “let sleeping dogs lie”? Can we forgive and forget? How does our view of God influence our journey toward healing? How do you know when to ask a counselor for help? And how does having a counselor make the journey a little clearer? If you or someone you know is struggling with a painful past, please listen...

Darci and Mark Steiner’s lives turned inside out and upside down when Darci nearly lost her life after a debilitating fall down the stairs in her home. She was later diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and spent six years bedridden with such horrific pain she could not tolerate even a sheet touching her body. Her husband, Mark, immediately took on the role of caregiver for Darci and all the extra responsibilities of raising their two little girls. In this conversation with Sharons...