The Nothing Is Wasted Podcast
by That Sounds Fun Network
The Nothing is Wasted podcast explores the deep impact of trauma, loss, grief, and tragedy, while providing listeners with the hope and healing of Jesus. Born from Host Davey Blackburn’s own story of trauma and grief after the tragic loss of his wife Amanda and unborn child during a home invasion, this show features powerful stories of resilience and faith and practical tools to navigate pain and heartache. Listen each week for encouragement and insight as guests share how they’ve found that even in life’s darkest, most tragic moments, pain can lead to purpose and with God–nothing is wasted.
Episodes
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Episode 454 - Psalms of Lament for Life After Trauma with Nick Hamilton (Veteran's Day Episode)
How can we bring our hardest questions to God when trauma has left us with pain, confusion, and uncertainty? And what if the Psalms of lament can become a resting place where we are free to be honest about our suffering and discover that God meets us there?Former Navy Chaplain Nick Hamilton has...
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Episode 453 - From Prison Inmate to Mayor: A Journey of Reconciliation and Restoration with Jermaine Wilson
What happens when the life you've built around pain, addiction, and survival comes crashing down and God meets you in the middle of the brokenness? And how can confronting the pain we've tried to avoid become the beginning of discovering who God created us to be?Jermaine Wilson's story is one of...
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Episode 452 - Christian Weariness and Resilience with Tish Harrison Warren
How do we keep going when we find ourselves exhausted, spiritually weary, or in a season that feels like a desert? And what can the wisdom of ancient Christian traditions teach us about developing resilience in the midst of modern life?Tish Harrison Warren is an Anglican priest and author who...
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Episode 451 - Waves of Child Loss and the Practical Arks that Carry Us Through with Matthew Efird
How do you find rest when grief comes in waves and the child loss you’ve experienced changes everything? And how can faith prepare us to endure child loss while still believing that God is good?Matthew Efird knows the profound pain of child loss and the questions that come with walking through...
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Episode 450 - Courageous Divorce with Alisha Roth
How do you move forward when the marriage you once hoped would last forever comes to an end? And what does it look like to rebuild your life with faith, courage, and hope after divorce?For Alisha Roth, walking through divorce meant facing not only the loss of her marriage, but also the questions,...
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Episode 449 - God's Grace Covers Refinement in Marriage with Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman
How do you continue to choose love when marriage brings disappointment, failure, and unmet expectations? And how can God's grace sustain a family through the valleys of loss, grief, and the refining seasons of life?For Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, more than 40 years of marriage have…
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Episode 448 - Living Well While Waiting as Bereaved Parents with Brad & Jill Sullivan
How do you find hope after the unimaginable loss of a child? And what does it look like to walk through grief with people who truly understand your pain?After losing their 17-year-old daughter, Hannah, to brain cancer, Brad and Jill Sullivan discovered the life-changing power of being surrounded…
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Episode 447 - Cultivating Cultures of Care in Churches with Laura Howe
How can churches become places of healing for people navigating trauma and mental health challenges? And how can those who care for others avoid compassion fatigue and burnout?Laura Howe is a mental health clinician and community development strategist who equips churches to care well for their...
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446 - Discipling Youth on the Streets with David Washington
How do we bring hope to communities facing generations of poverty and hardship? And what role does the local church play in renewing neighborhoods and transforming lives?Pastor David Washington knows firsthand the power of hope in the midst of impossible circumstances. Growing up in an…
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Episode 445 - After Amen with Tyler Staton
How can speaking to God in a new way invite us into a deeper way of seeing and hearing from Him? What role can poetry play in helping us communicate with our Creator?For pastor and author Tyler Staton, the words penned on a page during his cancer journey were never intended for anyone but himself...
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Episode 444 - Caregiving with Grit and Grace with Jess Ronne
How do we find the true rest our souls need in the most pressing seasons of life? What does it look like to stay grounded in who we are when the needs around us feel constant and consuming?Author Jess Ronne knows this reality deeply. As a mother caring for her special needs son into adulthood…
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Episode 443 - Bringing Healing to Every Part of Your Soul with Dr. Audrey Davidheiser
Why does it sometimes feel like different parts of us are pulling in opposite directions? How do we begin to notice, understand, and care for the parts of ourselves that are trying to cope with pain, loss, and grief?For psychologist and author Dr. Audrey Davidheiser, understanding Internal Family...
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Episode 442 - Tough Enough with Trey Tucker
How can men begin the journey toward vulnerability when they've been taught to hide their emotions? What does it look like to engage honestly with your feelings when you've never developed the habit of paying attention to them?Author and therapist Trey Tucker has helped countless men learn to...
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Episode 441 - Hope Heals with Katherine Wolf
How do you learn to embrace a story you never would have chosen for yourself? What does it look like to find hope in places where healing feels impossible?Author and speaker Katherine Wolf was living an ordinary life with her newborn son and husband in law school when in 2008, at just 26 years…
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Episode 440 - How Attachment Can Move You into Confident Faith, Courage, and Connection with Geoff and Cyd Holsclaw
How do we begin to understand the landscape of our soul in light of our spiritual journey? What does it look like to live a more integrated life—one that honors the connection between mind, body, and spirit?For pastors and authors Cyd and Geoff Holsclaw, these questions became deeply personal as...
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Episode 439 - God Won't Leave You There with Anne Graham Lotz & Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright
How can God's Word reveal His character to us in seasons of suffering? What can the stories of those in Scripture teach us as we walk through the valleys of pain?Authors and Bible teachers Anne Graham Lotz and Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright were raised on a firm foundation of faith and have spent their...
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Episode 438 - From Broken to Brave After Betrayal with Tammy Gustafson
How do you begin to heal after one of the deepest forms of betrayal? What does it look like to reclaim your sense of self when it feels shattered or lost?Author and counselor Tammy Gustafson knows firsthand the pain of intimate betrayal. Through her own story, as well as the experiences of...
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Episode 437 - Learning who God Is After Loss with Alena Franklin
What does it look like to discover who God is when you experience profound loss at a young age? How can a teenager find their identity in Christ while navigating grief and pain?For actress and author Alena Franklin, the sudden and tragic loss of her mother, Wynter, at just 14 years old left her...
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Episode 436 - The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery with Dr. Lee Warren
How can we begin to untangle the thoughts and emotions that are keeping us stuck or pushing us toward unhealthy forms of coping? What does it look like to embrace the God-given agency we have over our minds?Dr. Lee Warren is a practicing neurosurgeon who has experienced the depths of grief and…
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Episode 435 - How to Build Deep Community When You Want to Hide from Your Pain with Toni Collier
How do we find people who can help us carry the weight of our stories? How do we learn to experience safety in community when relationships themselves have often been the source of deep pain?Author, speaker, and podcaster Toni Collier has endured profound hardship throughout her life, including...
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Episode 434 - Healing Trauma Through Somatic Practices with Lacey Jervis, Part 2
How can you tell the difference between big emotions that are part of the human experience and true dysregulation connected to past trauma? What does it look like to safely move the energy of anxiety, fear, and stress out of the body?Lacey Jervis helps countless women recognize the ways their...
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Episode 433 - God Is Not Disappointed in Your Humanity with Lacey Jervis, Part 1
How do we reconcile our dysregulation after trauma when it comes to our faith? What is the connection between our physiological experience and God?It was through Lacey Jervis own experience with trauma that she began to understand the profound impact the body’s physical responses can have after...
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Episode 432 - The Divine Counselor with Alex Seeley
How can we partner with the Holy Spirit in our own journey toward healing? What role does the Spirit of God play in breaking strongholds in our lives?For author and pastor Alex Seeley, it was her own experience of healing through the power of the Holy Spirit that revealed how important—and often...
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Episode 431 - Finding Lasting Freedom from Pornography Addiction with Drew Boa
Warning: This episode discusses pornography addiction and may not be suitable for all listeners.How do we break the stronghold of addiction when it becomes deeply attached to our lives? What do we do when the pain of our past resurfaces through patterns of addiction?Drew Boa didn’t fully realize...
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Episode 430 - From Pain to Purposeful Leadership with Carolene Mays
How do you break free from an abusive cycle when it feels like there’s nowhere else to turn? How can God take the pain of the past and transform it into purpose as you rebuild your life after trauma?For former public official, TV show host, and speaker Carolene Mays, imagining the life and...
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Episode 429 - When the Pain of the Past Resurfaces with Chris Durso
How do we begin to move through the pain we’ve buried for so long? And how can our willingness to be vulnerable create space for others to share their own stories honestly?Pastor Chris Durso never imagined how a single question could uncover years of suppressed pain. During a therapy session, the...
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Episode 428 - Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic with Jonathon Seidl
What happens when the escape you turn to begins to take over your life? How do you begin to heal the deeper wounds that often lie beneath addiction?For author and podcaster Jonathon Seidl, the descent into alcoholism was rooted in unresolved childhood pain. After experiencing his father leaving…
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Episode 427 - Renew Your Mind and Rewire Your Brain with Dr. Karl Benzio
How does God heal the mind? And what happens when faith and science meet in the middle of our pain?For decades, conversations about mental health and faith often felt disconnected. But psychiatrist Dr. Karl Benzio has spent his life exploring how Scripture and neuroscience actually point to the...
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Episode 426 - Getting Back Up When You're Shattered By Loss with Courtney Pray Duke
How do you get back up after a life-shattering loss? How do you find hope when you must surrender to God the life you thought you’d have?Courtney Pray Duke was living her dream with her husband, Andrew, and their three young children when one day changed everything. As she was putting the…
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Episode 425 - Jesus Loves You More with Hunter Beless
How does discipleship shape the way we make sense of pain and suffering in our lives? Why is Scripture so important—not only for our own spiritual growth, but also for the growth of our children?As a military wife, Hunter Beless began to recognize her own need for deeper discipleship amid the...
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Episode 424 - Living Shameless with Ken Freire
How do you find a way forward when shame from sexual abuse threatens to keep you stuck? What do you do with pornography and sexual addiction when they’re intertwined with the wounds you’ve carried for years?For podcast host and entrepreneur Ken Freire, finding freedom from pornography and the...
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Episode 423 - Walking with God through the Heartache of Divorce with Vaneetha Risner
What do you do when you find yourself living a life that was never your plan? How do you navigate the heartache of divorce and come out the other side stronger?Author and speaker Vaneetha Risner was no stranger to suffering long before her husband told her he had met someone else and wanted a...
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Episode 422 - The Bible Is For You in Suffering with Amanda Bible Williams
What does the gospel speak into our suffering? How can the Bible anchor us with hope in our deepest pain?Author and co-founder of She Reads Truth, Amanda Bible Williams has helped countless people understand the importance of Scripture in their everyday lives. But it was through her own...
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Episode 421 - It's Never Wrong to Do the Right Thing with Nicole C. Mullen
How do we make sense of the pain others have caused us in light of the choices we’ve made? What do we do when we find ourselves somewhere we never intended to be?Christian recording artist Nicole C. Mullen opens up about the pain she endured in an abusive marriage. As she reflected on her…
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Episode 420 - When Hurting People Come to Church with Shaunti Feldhahn and Dr. James Sells
How can the Church move from constantly referring people in pain elsewhere to becoming the first place people turn for healing? What would it look like to create spaces where everyday believers are equipped with the tools to step into the hurt of those they encounter?Social researcher Shaunti...
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Episode 419 - Kiss the Fire with Shawn Johnson
WARNING: This episode contains conversations about suicide ideation and may not be suitable for all listeners/viewers. How do you get back up when life seems determined to knock you down? What does it look like to move toward the fire of adversity and pain in our lives instead of running from...
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Episode 418 - God Chose Me with Charles Metcalf
WARNING: This episode contains conversations about suicide ideation and may not be suitable for all listeners/viewers. How do you find hope again when the pressure of life builds to an unbearable level? What does it look like to find confidence in God’s love instead of worldly success?Like many...
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Episode 417 - Building Your Family the Way God Builds His with Andrew Hopper
How do we model the way God brings each of us into His family? How can we faithfully support families who choose to grow their families through fostering or adoption?For Pastor Andrew Hopper, adopting a child with special needs has opened his eyes to a deeper understanding of what it means for…
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Episode 416 - Holy Disruptor with Amy Duggar King
How do you begin to disrupt the toxic family patterns you experienced as a child? What do you do with the dissonance between the outward appearance of your life and the reality of what was?For Amy Duggar King, life was lived in two very different worlds. One appeared happy and carefree, marked by...
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Episode 415 - Discovering Hope in the Shadows of Grief with Kurt and Denette Schaer
How can you believe you are highly favored when you experience great loss? What does it look like to trust that God still loves you when tragedy strikes your family?Kurt and Denette Schaer had already seen how God can redeem suffering—having walked through Kurt’s infidelity and experiencing…
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Episode 414 - Tomorrow Needs You with Naeem Fazal
WARNING: This episode contains conversations about suicide and suicide ideation and may not be suitable for all listeners/viewers. How do you experience Jesus fully after coming to Christ? How can you continue to experience Him when life is full of pain and difficulties?Naeem Fazal has an...
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Episode 413 - Igniting Spiritual Awakening with Zach Meerkreebs
What does suffering offer us when it comes to spiritual awakening? How can we experience a movement of God after walking through a season of pain?In 2023, Pastor Zach Meerkreebs was an ordinary pastor serving at a local seminary, still walking through the emotional pain from the loss of his…
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Episode 412 - The Work and Wonder of the Wait with DawnCheré Wilkerson
How do you trust God in seasons of waiting? How do you testify to His faithfulness when the outcome isn’t what you hoped for?Pastor and author DawnCheré Wilkerson never expected her long journey through infertility to become such a significant part of her story. Yet, as she found herself in an...
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Episode 411 - How to Read the Bible with David Platt
How do you engage with the Word of God when your world is falling apart? What does Scripture offer us in our deepest pain?Pastor and author David Platt has built his life and ministry on the foundation of God’s Word—through his own personal struggles, challenges, and questions. As an adoptive...
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Episode 410 - Post-Traumatic Growth with Teresa Glantz
Can life after trauma hold something more than pain? How can you discover new purpose and growth after suffering?Nothing Is Wasted Coaching Director, Teresa Glantz, has walked her own path of trauma and healing—and has transformed her pain into a calling to help others heal through teaching about...
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Episode 409 - Cradled in Hope with Ashley Opliger
How do you hold onto hope while processing new losses after past ones? How do you reconcile the deep suffering you experience in life with the goodness of God?Ashley Opliger knows these questions well. After losing her daughter, Bridget, to stillbirth, she couldn’t imagine a greater pain. Years...
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Episode 408 - Honoring Grief and Loss During the Christmas Season with Lanier Ivester
How do we make space for our grief in the midst of what is often called a joyful season? What happens when the traditions we once cherished become painful reminders of those no longer at our table?Author Lanier Ivester understands the deep ache of loss and how it reshapes the holidays. After...
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Episode 407 - Love Your Life Even If You Don’t Like It All the Time with Rachel Awtrey
What do you do when you find yourself living a life you don’t always love? How can joy be rediscovered after seasons of sorrow and heartache?For author, podcaster, and military wife Rachel Awtrey, learning to love her life hasn’t been an easy journey. After losing her father at a young age…
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Episode 406 - Hope in the Valley with Catherine Fitzgerald
How do you find hope when life unexpectedly thrusts you into the valley of loss? How do you navigate the rugged terrain of pain?For Nothing is Wasted’s Podcast Producer and Content Director, Catherine Fitzgerald, the heartbreak and trauma of losing her brother, Zac, plunged her into a valley…
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Episode 405 - Healing from Life's Deepest Hurts with Kimberly Haar
Warning: This episode discusses domestic violence and may not be suitable for all audiences. What do you do when your life turns into a nightmare? How do you find healing from the deepest hurts imaginable?As a therapist, Kimberly Haar had spent years walking others through darkness and…
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About this show
The Nothing is Wasted podcast explores the deep impact of trauma, loss, grief, and tragedy, while providing listeners with the hope and healing of Jesus. Born from Host Davey Blackburn’s own story of trauma and grief after the tragic loss of his wife Amanda and unborn child during a home invasion, this show features powerful stories of resilience and faith and practical tools to navigate pain and heartache. Listen each week for encouragement and insight as guests share how they’ve found that even in life’s darkest, most tragic moments, pain can lead to purpose and with God–nothing is wasted.
Hosted by
That Sounds Fun Network
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