Many who use pornography struggle to quit when they try to, even if they deeply believe it's wrong and even while using various tricks and techniques and "praying more". Porn is often seen as the problem, and it is a problem. But what if porn is the (false) solution being offered to a different "problem". On this vulnerable and raw episode, Dr. Carol talks with Drew Boa about how he came to see "porn as my pacifier". They unpack the often-unaddressed issues that lead to pornography use. Hear how...
Jun 04, 2024•34 min
Most people know sex trafficking exists. But you might imagine that's something "out there" and could never affect anyone close to you. And why would someone ever get hooked into that lifestyle? Why don't they just leave? Dr. Carol's guest on this episode is Jasmine Grace Marino. As a former sex worker who now helps and advocates for others on the journey out of that lifestyle, she talks openly about the matters of the heart that are at play for those affected by sex trafficking, including the r...
May 28, 2024•34 min
May is mental health awareness month. It's no secret that mental health issues have become a pandemic in our culture. How can Christians navigate their own mental health in ways that are both effective and consistent with their faith? And what might the Christian church have to offer in the broader mental health arena? Joe Padilla, licensed and ordained minister, talks with Dr. Carol about the Mental Health Grace Alliance - validated in scientific journals, and perhaps the largest network of Chr...
May 21, 2024•43 min
With all the talk in the last few years about "toxic masculinity," what is a real man? Does it have to do with doing "manly" things such as sports or being outdoors? It can't be being "nice;" that's not appealing. What's really at the core of being a man, particularly as God intended? Author, radio host, and advocate for children's healing Brant Hansen talks with Dr. Carol on this episode about the kind of men, and especially young men, we need. He describes some critical decisions a young man n...
May 14, 2024•37 min
What did you expect out of life and marriage? Are you getting what you wanted? Life can get busy and overwhelming for a man in the "stress bubble" in trying to manage life, marriage, perhaps kids, career, and trying to be the man God created you to be. You could use some help. Jim Ramos, author, speaker, and founder of Men in the Arena, is Dr. Carol's guest on this episode. They talk about the major mindset shift Jim had to experience that changed everything in his life and especially in his mar...
May 07, 2024•51 min
There are many reasons for and ways of becoming hard in our cruel world. You may think a hard heart is a good and protective thing. When harm or disappointment comes, a natural human response is to develop a tough and closed heart. But that also closes you off to the good things God intends for you and wants to work in you. Is there a way to cherish a soft heart in a tough world? Mother, writer, and teacher Charaia Rush is Dr. Carol's guest on this encouraging episode. They talk about how shame ...
Apr 30, 2024•39 min
If you've been wrestling with sexual "stuff," you may wonder things like, How did I end up this way? Why do I keep doing this? Why do I keep trying harder and nothing seems to change? Why aren't my prayers working? How do I get out of this mess? In this conversation with Dr. Carol, counselor, author, and minister Jay Stringer explains why the details of your story, especially your sexual story, shine the light on the path to healing. He uses attachment theory to explain how we come to be where w...
Apr 23, 2024•48 min
Transgender issues have become a hot topic in culture and in the Christian church. Is the cultural narrative missing the point, and if so, where? How can Christians address the distress those struggling with gender issues experience in a redemptive way? Dr. Carol's guest on this fascinating episode is Walt Heyer, who transitioned to living as a woman for eight years, and then de-transitioned back to his birth gender. Walt has now devoted his life and influence to helping others who are strugglin...
Apr 16, 2024•43 min
In part one of last week's conversation, Dr. Carol described why information alone is not effective in bringing sexual wholeness, and why experiences and true connection is necessary. In part two, you'll hear what Dr. Carol Ministries has already been doing to help people grow into sexual wholeness, and some of the results. And you'll hear about the new kind of experience we are offering to help people bring Jesus into the places they need Him most, and how you - or a friend - can be a part of t...
Apr 09, 2024•20 min
There's an abundance of information available in regards to sexuality and relationships. But that information has not resulted in any lessening of sexual brokenness - in the culture at large or within the Christian church. Something is missing. In this first of a two-part conversation, Dr. Carol addresses that missing piece by discussing neurobiology, the way God created human beings with the need for intimacy (different from sex), and the process God uses to bring us to integration and wholenes...
Apr 02, 2024•29 min
If your marriage is difficult, when is it a character issue? And when is it the way someone's brain is wired? How do you respond with grace while protecting your sanity? Neurodiversity, in particular autism spectrum disorder, impacts human relationships deeply, especially marriages. On this episode Dr. Carol talks with Dr. Stephanie Holmes, psychologist and coach specializing in neurodiverse Christian marriages, about how understanding brain wiring provides perspective on living wisely in a diff...
Mar 26, 2024•37 min
Same-sex attraction and homosexuality are hot-button issues both in culture and in the Christian church. But beneath the debates about behavior, as important as those are, there are deeper matters of the heart including the need for attachment and intimacy. How does that connect with what Scripture says about homosexuality? In this challenging and deep episode, Dr. Carol talks with Anne Edward about her own journey through lesbianism, the matters in her heart that led her out of that, and what i...
Mar 19, 2024•46 min
Confused, emotionally exhausted, or feeling crazy or depressed about your marriage? These might be signs you are being impacted by narcissistic and emotional abuse. Narcissism is a loaded word in our contemporary culture. But how do you know if that's what you're experiencing is your imagination, or is truly toxic? Dr. David Hawkins, director of the Marriage Recovery Center, has been dealing with individuals so affected for over 40 years. He joins Dr. Carol on this episode to provide a sobering ...
Mar 12, 2024•54 min
Bad things happen even to good people. What happens in a person when they experience trauma or ongoing hardship? There's been a lot of talk in the last few years about trauma-informed care, PTSD, and such. How does all that integrate with faith in God and one's Christian experience? Dr. Shannae Anderson, licensed clinical psychologist, has been working in this field for over 25 years. She talks with Dr. Carol on this episode about integrating psychological trauma-informed care with the Holy Spir...
Mar 05, 2024•44 min
Culture has made many people believe you must have a happy sex life in order to be whole and fulfilled in life. The church has "Christianized" that idea, leading many to believe you are entitled to sex, especially if you're married. But countless Christian married people are finding that doesn't work out well. Author, husband, podcaster, and pastor Noah Filipiak talks with Dr. Carol on this episode about how feeling entitled to sex almost destroyed his marriage, and what he believes now. They ta...
Feb 27, 2024•48 min
How are you attempting to fill the empty places in your heart? If it's with sex, how's that working for you? And when it hasn't gone well, how do you find grace for your messy story? On this episode Dr. Carol talks with Matt and Laurie Krieg. Matt's a licensed therapist. Laurie is president of Impossible Ministries. Together they help people deal with issues around sexuality and marriage, including LGBTQ+ issues, in God-honoring ways. Here they share how they are living out grace in their own me...
Feb 20, 2024•40 min
Christians have questions about sex! But where do you go for the answers? Some questions have factual answers, but more often the questions have to do with deeper matters of the heart. In this challenging episode Dr. Carol responds to 10 questions YOU have asked, about all kinds of things - married sex, sexless marriages, single and sexual, porn, masturbation, different sexual practices, STDs, sex ed, and more. Yup, we're "going there!" And you'll want to find out more about Dr. Carol's new book...
Feb 13, 2024•40 min
The illusion that intimacy in marriage just "happens" may not even last as long as the wedding cake. Maybe the intimate connection between you was good but became broken, or maybe you've never had that strong of a connection. What are the practical steps for those who want more from their relationship to actually build true intimacy that lasts? Matthew and Joanna Raabsmith had to wrestle with that question in their own marriage. On this episode they talk with Dr. Carol about not only their story...
Feb 06, 2024•43 min
Tragically there are too many times when a spiritual leader uses their spiritual authority to perpetrate sexual harm and abuse on individuals under their care. The harm such victims experience is deep and long-lasting. And when these individuals seek help, the church's response has too often only added to their pain. In this sobering but enlightening episode Dr. Carol talks with Christian lawyer Boz Tchividjian about clergy sexual abuse in the Protestant church - a cause he has devoted a good sh...
Jan 30, 2024•45 min
Young people today are growing up in a very different world than adults did even a decade or two ago. For parents, teachers, pastors, and others who care about kids, it feels challenging to connect with them and help them become who they were created to be. Giving them facts doesn't nurture the creativity or leadership they need to develop. But what does? Dr. Tim Elmore, author, speaker, and founder of the Growing Leaders organization, joins Dr. Carol on this episode to talk about how adults can...
Jan 23, 2024•29 min
Do you find yourself struggling with people pleasing, unhealthy relationships, avoiding conflict, or trouble setting boundaries? Have you lost yourself along the way of trying to love those closest to you? Perhaps you're suffering and struggle to understand why. On this episode Dr. Carol talks with Courtney Burg about the family-of-origin dynamics that may set you up for codependency and ongoing dysfunction. And then you'll hear how to overcome your fear of setting boundaries, and what that look...
Jan 16, 2024•33 min
Does trying to get your children to obey leave you frustrated and upset? And does it seem that if you clamp down harder, your kids only resist more? What if there were a way to help your kids want to "be good," know how to do that, and actually demonstrate a healthy godly character even when you're not watching? Dr. Kathy Koch from Celebrate Kids joins Dr. Carol on this episode to help you learn how to Parent Differently. She offers practical, relatable, and spiritually-related insights and stra...
Jan 09, 2024•36 min
It's the twelfth day of Christmas. We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives. Your internal picture of God matters. That's perhaps the most important thing for 2024. The verse for today: "For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s sid...
Jan 05, 2024•6 min
It's the eleventh day of Christmas. We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives. What do YOU want for this year? Addressing our deepest desires matters - to your wellbeing, and to God. The verse for today: "The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they foll...
Jan 04, 2024•4 min
It's the tenth day of Christmas. We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives. What do you think God's goal for you is, for 2024? I think it's primarily for you to be WITH Him! The verse for today: "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s ...
Jan 03, 2024•5 min
It's the ninth day of Christmas. We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives. As we transition into a new year, what is your intention? How are you planning to live this year? What decisions are you making? The verse for today: "Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is...
Jan 02, 2024•5 min
It's the eighth day of Christmas. We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives. It's also the beginning of a new year. What have you been waiting for? And what is your hope for this year? The verse for today: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And bec...
Jan 01, 2024•6 min
It's the seventh day of Christmas. We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives. On the last day of 2023, let's talk about time - our experience of time, and God's perspective on time. The verse for today: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a...
Dec 31, 2023•6 min
It's the sixth day of Christmas. We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives. Reflecting on 2023, are you more like Jesus today than you were a year ago? How does that happen? The verse for today: "Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving e...
Dec 30, 2023•5 min
It's the fifth day of Christmas. We're celebrating Christmastide - 12 days of brief Scriptures and thoughts to let the message of Christmas nourish our heart and impact our lives. HOW can we walk as Jesus walked? What makes it work? We contemplate here how Jesus did it, and how we can too. The verse for today: "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but wh...
Dec 29, 2023•5 min
