AuthorDino Katsiametis

Marcus Slaton (12)

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#71 – Army Vet Discovers Faith In God’s Power Helps With PTSD – Beau Dobbs

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      1. Single Dad Beau Dobbs knows that his greatest purpose in life is to be a good father.  Though as an army veteran he suffers  with PTSD, Beau looks to God to support him with his children and with his struggles.  His life is changing in powerful ways.“ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” – Philippians 4:6
        1. Greatest purpose in Beau’s life is to be a good father and a good Christian man.
        2. Beau’s blog is called “A Call To Manhood” at acalltomanhood.com
        3. Biggest Weakness – Surrendering to God’s plan.  Whenever Beau plans his own life, God erases it.
        4. Biggest Strength – Beau’s ability to turn to prayer and have faith that God will provide in his perfect time.
        5. Dark Time – January of 2014.  Beau had been suffering from PTSD for 10 years and depression.  God was trying to get Beau’s attention and in Oct he had a near fatal car accident and in November his grandfather passed away.
        6. As Beau asked God about what to do with work, his boss didn’t renew his contract, but God provided and he had a new job that day.  His girlfriend left him, but Beau felt the hand of God.
        7. Beau was never a believer and struggled with the definitions of good and evil during his time in the Army.  Why did God let evil exist?
        8. Beau took his children to church, but was never a follower until recently.  He believes that the Lord was slowly working on him and bringing him to faith.
        9. He began to realize that he was not the man he used to be, but he was beginning to have faith that God had a plan.
        10. PTSD affects everyone differently.  The VA is a great organization, but there are many other organizations as well like “Wounded Warrior”.
        11. Chaplains in the military and Christian friends were instrumental in helping him find God.
        12. Beau has been raising his kids now as Christians and they help to keep him accountable.  It’s something that they share.
        13. In a short time since Beau surrendered to God, powerful things have happened.
        14. Recommended Book: “Manly Men” by Stephen Mansfield

         

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Marcus Slaton (11)

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#70 Allowing God To Cure Cancer – Byron Hack

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    1. Spending time with Jesus every day will change your life and no one knows that better than Byron Hack.  Byron had strayed from his faith until he was diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 25.  After being angry with God, he heard the voice to surrender and watched a miracle happen when he did.“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” – Luke 10:27
      1. Byron manages a software group and has been married for 26 years with 2 kids.  He has been volunteering for Glad Tidings India since 2006.
      2. Biggest Weakness – Making time for Jesus every day as a first priority.  Life is busy and Byron lets it get in the way.
      3. Biggest Strength – Raised in a Christian home and has a good foundation of scripture.   The last few years he’s been able to trust God more and more.
      4. Dark Time – In high school  and college Byron had turned away from God.  When he met his wife Kathy she was a Christian and prayed to God for him to find his faith.  Byron was diagnosed with testicular cancer and could’ve been dead very soon.  During this time he started asking God why this was happening.  He bought a student bible and started reading again.
      5. After surgery and chemotherapy and Byron was waiting on results and trying to decide about their wedding.  He and Cathy got into a massive fight and he begins yelling at God.  His bible reading for the day was about the last supper.  The disciples don’t understand why Christ must suffer.  The Holy Spirit hit him and said “you turned away from me and it’s time you surrender to me.”
      6. Byron had a breakthrough, surrendered and called Cathy who couldn’t be happier.
      7. That following Monday his number was 0 so that he was able to do the final 2 rounds of Chemo and plan his wedding.
      8. Byron believes that God just wanted to wake him up to his faith.  The Lord blessed him with 2 healthy kids.
      9. As you start a family you worry about the future and take things into your own hands instead of trusting God.  Byron began owning Real Estate and it went well for a while until the crash.  The lesson was don’t try and build your own kingdom by yourself, put your trust in the Lord.
      10. The hypocrisy of some Christ followers made Byron question his faith as well as thinking that God was barring good people from salvation who weren’t believers, but he learned to look at it as Jesus guiding people to the way to survive.
      11. Advice – It’s OK to be angry with God, but don’t blame him, ask him for guidance.
      12. Gods Man of Influence – Love God, Love others and share the joy.
      13. Recommended Book – “Clay in the Potter’s Hand” by Diana Pavlac Glyer
      14. Recommended Book – “Seeking Allah Finding Jesus” by Nabeel Qureshi

       


       

For past shows and to learn more about the God’s Men of Influence community, check us out at www.godsmenofinfluence.org

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3

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#69 Recovering A Marriage From Pornography Addiction and Infidelity – James & Teri Craft

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    1. James Craft used pornography to cope with his childhood pain.  He and Teri married young and became very visible Christian Pastors.  James’ pornography addiction led him to an affair and Teri to a very difficult decision.  In this episode Teri talks about how her journey with God helped her decide to stay with James and how Pure Desire Ministries helped them to rebuild trust and faith in their marriage.
      1. Teri knows that there were years of sin in their marriage that Teri may have noticed, but shut herself off from.  God wants us to live in truth and honesty, but sometimes we don’t.
      2. The Lord reminded Teri to be pure of heart and all will be recovered and so she went on a journey with the Lord.
      3. It is so important to have a consistent walk with the Lord even in the little things so that you can be ready for when the storms come.
      4. By the time the infidelity was discovered, James and Teri were already miles apart.
      5. Teri still loved her husband, but now she was damaged by him and the question became “Lord how can you make this a safe place?”
      6. Teri doesn’t hear the Lord just for her husband, she hears him for herself.  When they were pastors they felt like they had to be perfect and Teri was afraid to say that things were going wrong.
      7. They are no longer looking for a perfect marriage.  Teri said to James, “I will give you grace if you meet me with truth.”
      8. Pure Desire Ministries counseling was all through Google hang video conferencing.  One thing they learned is that staggered disclosure gives the spouse the emotional make-up of a rape victim.
      9. It is the hardest thing to be publically vulnerable about pornography and infidelity and it is difficult for Teri to watch James stand in front of groups to talk.
      10. Teri seemed to only have hame surrounding their marriage, but the friends who showed Grace inviting the family over for dinner is what propelled them forward.
      11. The Craft family mantra is “When in doubt, give them grace.”
      12. James was afraid to come out with his sin because he saw how people treated sinners.  In Pure Desire Ministries they’ve created a safe space to talk about your sin.
      13. The family can’t stay together if you live in shame, you must instead have relentless communication.  When you feel shame, communicate.
      14. The children still healing and can’t be forced to feel a certain way about God or the betrayal.  Teri is honest with her children and apologizes when she and James are wrong.
      15. Confession before God is crucial to heal as well as walking through a process and surround yourself with the right people.  Not everyone should be part of your journey.  Be consistent and celebrate your victories.

       

       

For past shows and to learn more about the God’s Men of Influence community, check us out at www.godsmenofinfluence.org

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#68 Homeless and Alcoholic To A Cherished Life – Derek Boyd

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    1. Alcoholism and violence put Derek Boyd in jail, but you would not recognize who Derek says he was if you met him today.  This is surely God at work.  Listen to Derek’s struggle and testimony and hear the power of our Lord’s work in this inspiring episode.“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” – James 2:17
      1. Biggest Weakness & Strength – Not helping enough people, but his mission is to help others.
      2. Dark Time – Derek grew up in a broken home with a lot of fighting and police.  When his mom passed away at 9 years old his father left and he was raised by his grandmother.  He didn’t understand why his mom was taken and he resented God.
      3. Derek became an alcoholic and stopped going to work and burned many bridges.  Soon he was alone and homeless on the street.
      4. Derek’s bottom kept getting deeper for 16 years.  He had no relationship with his family and hadn’t talked to his daughter for a year.
      5. Originally, Derek believed alcohol was a solution to his pain, but in his early 20’s he realized it had become a problem.
      6. If you think you’re an alcoholic, ask yourself honest questions.  Can you stop once you start or is it interfering with your life.  To recover, you must accept that you have a problem.
      7. Derek got into a fight in his home while he was drunk and was grabbed by a cop whom he reflexively elbowed.  He ended up in jail for about a month and a half.
      8. Jail was terrifying for many reasons.  At any moment you could be put in a position where the choice is end your life or remain in jail for life.
      9. He began asking God for help, but he knew it was out of crisis.  Derek started by telling himself he wouldn’t drink, but an alcoholic convinces himself that he could handle it.
      10. The solution to recovery had nothing to do with drinking.  He was spiritually sick and needed to trust with God, then clean house and finally help others.
      11. Derek now has a thrilling career where he can help people.  The relationship that were broken have been amazingly repaired.  Derek is engaged to the love of his life and is able to people through recovery.
      12. Contact Derek: carpidiem3983@gmail.com

       

       

For past shows and to learn more about the God’s Men of Influence community, check us out at www.godsmenofinfluence.org

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Help us spread the Word and please rate our show on itunes and leave comments for us. Tell us what insights you took from this episode.

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