Healing from Spiritual Abuse Archives

Two Hotel Rooms: One Rescue Mission [Episode 344]

September 9, 2025

You know how sometimes life gives you lemons and then instead of sugar for lemonade, the church hands you a moldy marriage book and says, “Submit harder”? That was my reality. In this episode, I take you back to a hotel room where I was nine months pregnant and seriously questioning if I wanted to keep living.

Instead, I stumbled my way out of despair and into freedom thanks to a stack of books, a laptop, and eventually, the real God (not the mean knock-off version I had been worshiping).

Out of the Poisoned Pond: Jennie’s Story [Episode 343]

September 2, 2025

What happens when you grow up in hyper-conservative church culture, marry your Bible camp sweetheart at 20, and then spend decades swimming in a poisoned pond of patriarchy, affairs, gaslighting, and spiritual abuse? Jennie’s story is a real look at what it takes to finally climb out of the muck and into fresh water.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Is it me? Or is this whole thing just completely bonkers?” then pull up a chair. Jennie’s journey from silent suffering to empowered freedom will resonate with every woman who’s ever been told to “submit more, pray harder, and wear longer skirts” while her husband runs wild and gets a pat on the back from church elders.

The "Let Go, Accept, and Love" Tool (and what a mother learned in her custody battle)

How to Find Peace When Your Marriage Feels Toxic [Episode 342]

August 26, 2025

Do you ever feel like you’re drowning in guilt, shame, and Christian “shoulds” while trying to survive a toxic marriage, a brutal divorce, or the aftermath of both? What if I told you that letting go, accepting reality, and loving yourself isn’t just a cliche, but it can actually change everything?

In this episode of Flying Free, I dive into the “Let Go, Accept, and Love” tool (a.k.a. LAL, because who doesn’t love an acronym?). Plus, you’ll hear how one brave mama used these steps in the middle of a soul-crushing custody battle, and she came out stronger, freer, and a whole lot wiser.

Faith in Freefall: When You Don’t Know What You Believe Anymore

August 1, 2025

Have you ever felt like your faith packed a suitcase, jumped off a cliff, and left you blinking in the rubble of what used to be your spiritual life? In this episode, I’m joined by my good friend and fellow coach Diana Swillinger to talk about what it’s like when everything you thought you believed about God, church, and even yourself suddenly stops making sense.

We’re not sugarcoating it, friend. We’re talking spiritual betrayal, religious trauma, excommunication (oh yes, I went there), and what happens when your church treats your divorce like an unpardonable sin.

If you’ve ever doubted your beliefs, lost your community, or felt spiritually homeless, this episode can be a much needed dose of validation and sanity.

And by the way, God’s still there. Even when you’re not sure who God even is anymore.

Praying for a Miracle—When the Miracle Might Be You Walking Away [Episode 337]

July 22, 2025

What if the miracle you’ve been begging God for—the divine intervention, the total transformation of your emotionally bankrupt marriage—is actually you walking out the door?
In this episode, I pull back the curtain on my own bathroom-floor prayer sob sessions (complete with cold tile and mascara rivers) and challenge the dangerous theology that says staying in abusive marriages = holy martyrdom.
If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of “pray harder, suffer longer,” it’s time to consider that the still, small voice urging you to get out might actually be God.

Why Do I Feel Sorry for My Mean Husband? [Episode 335]

July 8, 2025

Let’s talk about that weird emotional hangover you get after confronting your husband’s bad behavior. You know, the one where he hurts you, but somehow you end up feeling sorry for him? Yep. That old chestnut. In this episode, I get real about the trap so many of us Christian women fall into, the compassion boomerang that keeps us stuck in abusive marriages.
I’ve lived this. I breathed this for 25 years. I know exactly what it feels like to see the abuse for what it is, feel a spark of righteous anger… only to have it snuffed out by a fake tear, a Bible verse, or a bouquet of “I didn’t mean it that way” flowers. Before you know it, you’re back to feeling like the monster for having feelings in the first place.
So I’m calling it out. We’re unpacking why this happens, how it messes with your brain, and what you can do to flip the script and start feeling sorry for the person who truly deserves your compassion: you.

Category: Healing from Spiritual Abuse