Welcome to or welcome back to the Journey Through Life Podcast. I am Justin Barton and this is my show. Some of you may or may not have already listened to this podcast before, but it’s all about ordinary people with extraordinary stories and allowing a space where people can reflect on our own lives and look inward to learn wisdom from the life lessons and experiences of the guests of this show. I also invite my awesome guests to share some of the things that are most important to them so that ...
Jun 15, 2020•1 hr 4 min
Welcome to or welcome back to the Journey Through Life Podcast. I am Justin Barton and this is my show. Some of you may or may not have already listened to this podcast before, but it’s all about ordinary people with extraordinary stories and allowing a space where people can reflect on our own lives and look inward to learn wisdom from the life lessons and experiences of the guests of this show. I also invite my awesome guests to share some of the things that are most important to them so that ...
Apr 20, 2020•1 hr 9 min
"When things go wrong - there is always a right". Hear these words of wisdom and of hope from a very well-spoken and hopeful woman, Lindsey Marlin. In this conversation we learn of tragic and great experiences that have guided this ordinary woman with an extraordinary life and story. Today we will be journeying with Lindsey Marlin, a woman that I had spoken to once, for maybe 20 minutes before we had this call. And from that discussion, I felt the draw to ask her if she would be a guest on my po...
Apr 13, 2020•1 hr 5 min
This is the wrap-up episode of the Journey In Recovery series. In this, I share some of my biggest take-aways from this experience. There are others that will likely come to my mind after recording this, but, that is where I am now. If, after listening, you had other insights, I would love to hear about them. You can email me at thejtlpodcast@gmail.com. If you also would like to share your own experience, strength, and hope in a slightly different format than this one where we discussed primaril...
Apr 06, 2020•36 min
In this close-out episode, we speak with Bert B, an alcoholic and drug addict with more than 48 years sobriety about Step 12. Bert has ties to some of the founders and original members of Alcoholics Anonymous and has some great stories about recovery, healing, and his experiences from his life have made him into quite the thinker. There are many places in this episode where he shares something that just blows my mind and goes beyond my current wisdom and comprehension. This wisdom is something t...
Mar 26, 2020•1 hr 10 min
Just a quick heads up. This, is one of the most powerful conversations I have had thus far. I feel that this is a vital episode to share with young men and young women as parents feel it an appropriate age to do so. But this story starts at the age of 12 and is really relatable to many issues of today. This week we will be talking with Phil about Step 12. Phil’s story starts at 12 years old with exposure to internet pornography and quickly spins out of control to suicidal thoughts and plans. We ...
Mar 23, 2020•1 hr 3 min
This week we will be talking with Yitzy about Step 11. Yitzy, while having a shorter sobriety date than most of those I have spoken with, has some good insights into prayer and meditation and Step 11. I am grateful to him for taking the time out to record this episode in this series. If this is your first episode of this series (or of this podcast as a whole), I highly recommend that you go back and listen to all of the previous episodes of this Journey In Recovery series at some point. There ar...
Mar 20, 2020•1 hr 15 min
This week we will be talking with Matt D about Step 11. It is pretty interesting to me that many of the new ideas and practices that I have learned about and that I am putting into place in my own life have to do primarily with Step 11. This is another powerful conversation with some really good insights into Conscious Contact with God. If this is your first episode of this series (or of this podcast as a whole), I highly recommend that you go back and listen to all of the previous episodes of t...
Mar 16, 2020•1 hr 13 min
This week we will be talking with Nick, an alcoholic and addict with over 3 years sobriety, about his experience, strength and hope with Step 10. In this conversation we really focus on the importance of being constantly aware and taking minute-by-minute inventory of self and being accountable to self and others in recovery. He shares his “God shot” as he calls it, where God came into his heart and made him a changed man. This conversation is a very meaningful one and definitely heart-felt. If t...
Mar 09, 2020•56 min
This week we will be talking with Wendi F, another lustaholic/sexaholic. In this conversation we explore her life experience that led her to an eventual awakening. We discuss what it means to find the core of an addiction and how it differs from many of the ancillary or appendages to an addiction. We discuss a new life with a Higher Power and the absolute power of having a sponsor to help you walk through the steps of recovery. This is another powerful conversation that will help break the stigm...
Mar 02, 2020•1 hr 4 min
This week we once again have 2 episodes covering the same step. This second episode will include Angie, a lustaholic, sharing her experience, strength, and hope in her path of addiction and recovery. In this conversation, Angie talks tactfully but completely honestly about the path of destruction that she had unknowingly left in her wake after some traumatic experiences in her childhood. She shares of her awakening to her own situation and he journey to make things right with herself, with God, ...
Feb 27, 2020•1 hr 4 min
This week we will be hearing the experience, strength, and hope of a couple of people in 2 different episodes in their experience in Step 8. We start with John, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. And you can just hear the value he puts on being honest with himself and others in this conversation. Honesty with self and others is really one of the cores of real recovery from anything, including addiction. If this is your first episode of this series (or of this podcast as a whole), I highly r...
Feb 24, 2020•1 hr 6 min
Today we will be hearing the experience, strength, and hope of Joe C in his living in Step 7 in his life. Now, a heads up on this one. The sound quality is a little rough in spots on this episode. The online recording did not come through great. BUT, the content is amazing. So, please listen past the flaws in the sound and to the beauty of what is being said. If this is your first episode of this series (or of this podcast as a whole), I highly recommend that you go back and listen to all 8 of t...
Feb 17, 2020•1 hr 3 min
Today we will be hearing the experience, strength, and hope of Father Bill W, who was celebrating his 47th anniversary of sobriety being a guest on this show. He shares his own experience, faith and hope and focusing mostly on Step 6. If this is your first episode of this series (or of this podcast as a whole), I highly recommend that you go back and listen to all 7 of the previous episodes of this Journey In Recovery series at some point. There are 12 Steps and they are in a prescribed order fo...
Feb 10, 2020•1 hr 17 min
Today, we will walk with Jennifer as she shares her experience in addiction starting at about age 14 with alcohol and then moving into marijuana and other drugs and psychedelics in her search for God in her life and also in her quest to numb things from her childhood. She will share about her experience with Step 5 in this episode. Step 5 reads, “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. So many people get hung up here also, as we really don’t want...
Feb 03, 2020•51 min
Today we will be hearing the experience, strength, and hope of Cameron in relation to the 4th Step of Recovery. Now, Cameron and I were connected through the person that was our Step 2 guest, Harvey. If you haven’t listened to those episodes, I highly recommend it… Actually, I highly recommend that you listen to all 5 of the previous episodes of this Journey In Recovery. There are 12 Steps and they are in a prescribed order for a reason. So, whether you do that now, or after you listen to this e...
Jan 27, 2020•1 hr 15 min
Today we will be hearing the experience, strength, and hope of a alcoholic who is 32 years sober, Bill M. You will quickly come to love his hard Boston accent and the honest manner in which he shares his story. Step 3 is the step that every single person I have interviewed so far has come back to as a hinge pin in their recovery, and as such, I have decided to interview 2 people about Step 3 so, there will be 2 episodes again this week. The next one, with Kastle, will be released on Thursday, Ja...
Jan 20, 2020•58 min
Step 2 moves to the next … well… step of recovery. It reads, “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity”. Today we will hear the second part of a long and very meaningful conversation I had with Harvey E in Toronto about Step 2. Harvey and I became fast friends in this conversation as I had only had 1 previous 1 or 2 minute conversation with him. I loved the manner in which he discussed Step 2. I love the way that his sponsor walked him through Step 2. And I ...
Jan 16, 2020•56 min
Step 2 moves to the next … well… step of recovery. It reads, “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity”. Today we will hear the first part of a long and very meaningful conversation I had with Harvey E in Toronto about Step 2. Harvey and I became fast friends in this conversation as I had only had 1 previous 1 or 2 minute conversation with him. I loved the manner in which he discussed Step 2. I love the way that his sponsor walked him through Step 2. And I l...
Jan 13, 2020•53 min
I am a firm believer that there is a reason for “random thoughts” that just pop into our minds. And if we act on them, we or someone else can be greatly strengthened and blessed by those actions. I am very excited to kick off the year 2020 with a very special 12 week series of the Journey Through Life Podcast. This series is called Journey In Recovery. I have interviewed many different people from many different locations and many different backgrounds on one of each of the 12 steps of recovery ...
Jan 06, 2020•56 min
A quick announcement for the first 12 weeks of 2020 in the Journey Through Life Podcast. Welcome to Journey In Recovery! Check out our partners: Links to sponsors and to things discussed in the podcast. A Life Untold: www.alifeuntold.com Promo code JUSTIN to save 10% Sheppard Brackets: www.sheppardbrackets.com Promo code JTLPOD5 to save 5% Announcing a new partner and the new promo code will be available Jan 6, 2020: Radford Pines Home Decor: www.radfordpineshomedecor.com.
Dec 30, 2019•6 min
In this week's episode of the Journey Through Life Podcast, we talk to a fascinating and REAL person. Jennifer Leeds is an amazing woman who has and is working through some major things. The transformation that she talks about in this story is amazing. You will get amazing insights, motivation, and wisdom from this conversation. This conversation goes into some very real, and sometimes dark places. But, I love how the light of the Son is always on her horizon and how she chooses to open her eyes...
Dec 16, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Such a good conversation this week with Klaus Voigtlaender. He was born in 1941 in Nazi Germany and witnessed as a young child the burning of Dresden at the end of the war along with many other tragedies. He watched as the Americans liberated Germany and then marched away, relinquishing East Germany to the Soviets. His family miraculously escaped Soviet Germany when he was about 11 years old and went through refugee camps and eventually emigrated to the United States. This story follows Klaus' l...
Dec 09, 2019•1 hr 16 min
In this powerful and heart-wrenching conversation with C.J. Eagar, we go places where no one wants to go. Into the untimely death of a child. We also go into the rarely-discussed effects of those similar trials in the emotions, lives, and marriages of those who walk through them. C.J. talks about each of these things in a way that brings emotion, hope, pain, and insight that can and will help any of us as we also trek through our own wintery seasons of life. Also announced in this episode is a f...
Dec 02, 2019•1 hr 12 min
In this episode, we Journey through the life and experiences of a wonderful, godly man, John Dubois. There is so much meat in this conversation that you really must listen to the whole thing. He is a deeply spiritual and religious man who lives his religion through the amazing work and service he provides to those who are "invisible" to so many of us. We tackle many difficult topics, not the least of which is suicide. John's takes on suicide will likely open your mind and heart and cause you to ...
Nov 25, 2019•1 hr 17 min
In this Journey Through Life with Richard Long we journey with him from his early days in the deep South with financial difficulties and parents who refused to give up and refused to abandon their principles and new-found faith. We learn of struggles that he dealt with as a youth and some life-changing experiences that he had while walking in the deserts of Arizona with the Anasazi Foundation as a young walker. We see how these lessons learned have continued to help Richard and his family as he ...
Nov 18, 2019•1 hr 13 min
In this conversation with Christine Schwan we range from her earliest days as a young girl in Chicago to her eventual home of Phoenix Arizona where she learned that having a voice is vital to connection. Through cool experiences and decisions she learned how important it is for everyone to have a voice, and in the process, found her own voice. She parlayed a career as a speech-language pathologist into many avenues, one of which I am very excited about - she is a team yoga instructor for the Chi...
Nov 11, 2019•1 hr 17 min
In this week's episode of the Journey Through Life Podcast we converse with Shawnee Jarman about her life and many of the lessons learned through the many experiences that have brought her to where she is today. We discuss the importance of finding your true authentic self and then living and being that way. We discuss the power of seeking happiness even through perceived difficulties. We talk about Assuming Positive Intent (one of my favorite take-aways from this conversation), and how to analy...
Nov 04, 2019•1 hr 4 min
In this conversation with Andrea Bodine, we journey through her life which started in a orderly home in Alaska to a small farming and rodeo community in central Utah to where she is today in Mesa, Arizona. Andrea talks of the fun and trial of her life growing up and then of the bulldozer of an unexpected diagnosis of breast cancer and the treatment, recovery, and reconstruction of life and body and mind. In this conversation a concept was brought up that has revolutionized my thinking of how to ...
Oct 28, 2019•1 hr 19 min
In this meaningful conversation with Shannon Tompkins, the Journey Through Life Podcast ranges throughout her life from early lessons from her grandfather to more recent lessons from her aunt. We talk of addiction and living with a loved one who took her on paths that she did not sign up for, and yet doing all she can to make it work. She talks of her own journey of healing (that continues today) by working the 12 steps of recovery, even though she was not the addict. She is a great example of t...
Oct 14, 2019•1 hr 1 min
