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What happens when the pain we carry feels too buried, too dark, or too shameful to bring into the light? Catherine's powerful story of abortion, shame, and ultimate healing reminds us that redemption thrives in vulnerability.

Catherine never planned to share her abortion story publicly. For years after her procedure in 1981, she buried the memory, numbing her pain through what she calls "reckless living" until hitting rock bottom at age 28. Even after finding faith, she faced what countless post-abortive women experience: the inability to forgive herself despite believing in divine forgiveness. "It's just so unnatural for a woman to end the life of her child," she reflects, explaining the deep psychological wound that persisted for decades.

The turning point came unexpectedly. After confiding in sisters and close friends, Catherine felt called to share her story publicly during a church event in 2009—despite overwhelming fear of judgment. What followed was transformation, not just for her but for many who heard her story and recognized their own pain. A profound shift occurred when someone told her, "You are a mother and you will see your baby in heaven." This perspective allowed Catherine to honor her unborn child and reshape her identity. Now when asked if she has children, she responds with courageous honesty: "I don't have earthly children, but I have a baby in heaven."

Catherine's message resonates beyond abortion. Whether you're carrying shame from past choices, abuse, addiction, or any painful secret, healing begins when we stop hiding. "You can't heal what you don't face," as host Tonya reminds us. If Catherine's story touched something in you, reach out. She's offered to connect with listeners who need support in their healing journey. Download our free 5-day healing workbook at tonyashellnutt.com and take your first step toward freedom today.

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Have you ever found yourself stuck in that excruciating space between obedience and outcome, wondering if God has forgotten you? That painful waiting room is exactly what we're tackling in this soul-nourishing episode.

The harvest is indeed coming, but growth requires patience. Drawing from personal experience, I share my family's challenging two-year period after relocating from Montana to South Carolina—a season filled with divine silence that had me questioning everything. What felt like abandonment was actually God's intimate invitation to deeper trust. This waiting period, though painful, ultimately positioned my husband to own his company and led me to my current fulfilling role.

Gardening offers us the perfect metaphor for spiritual growth. Just as plants develop strong roots underground before producing visible fruit, our souls undergo significant strengthening during quiet seasons. Your foundations are being reinforced, harmful habits are shifting, and old wounds are receiving divine attention—all beneath the surface. The enemy's favorite tactic is convincing you nothing's happening when everything is happening.

Remember that God isn't slow; He's thorough. Faith isn't passive waiting; it's active preparation. Clean out areas of your life—whether toxic relationships, harmful habits, or physical clutter—to make room for what you've been praying for. Like Penny Chenery of Secretariat fame, whose persistence created a legacy affecting every Kentucky Derby horse this year, your faithfulness today creates ripples far beyond what you can currently see.

Ready to prepare the soil of your heart? Visit tonyashellnutt.com for our free five-day healing challenge workbook. The harvest doesn't come to the fastest—it comes to the faithful. What will you do today to show God you're ready for what He has prepared?

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The garden of your life needs regular weeding - a truth that resonates deeply whether you're nurturing actual plants or cultivating personal growth. Drawing from my childhood experiences of weeding as punishment, I share powerful insights about identifying and removing the things that steal energy from what matters most.

What's draining your potential right now? Perhaps it's bitterness disguised as boundaries, shame whispering you'll never change, addictive behaviors masquerading as stress relief, or relationships that feel comfortable but keep you stuck. These emotional and spiritual weeds don't ask permission - they simply take up space, and if left unchecked, they'll choke out everything you're trying so hard to grow.

The painful truth is that sometimes what helped us survive becomes what prevents us from thriving. Those coping mechanisms and familiar patterns might feel safe, but they're cluttering your soil. This episode offers practical guidance for recognizing these patterns and finding the courage to uproot what doesn't belong in your new season. Through scripture, personal stories, and actionable steps, we explore how eliminating a weed isn't a loss - it's a gift to what you want to grow. Take the challenge: identify what's stealing your peace each morning and commit to clearing space for what truly matters. Download the free five-day healing workbook from my website to help you through this process of spiritual gardening. Ready to make room for what's holy in your life?

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Have you ever mistaken a good day for deep healing? That fleeting moment when everything seems better might just be a beautiful bloom—but what about the roots beneath?

This week on Courageous Overcomers, we're digging deeper than last week's conversation about blooming where you're planted. We're examining what truly anchors us during life's storms by exploring the difference between momentary progress and lasting transformation. Drawing from Jeremiah 17:8, we discover that resilience isn't about never being shaken—it's about never being uprooted.

Together, we examine what constitutes strong roots versus shallow ones. Daily Scripture, honest relationships, and genuine self-reflection nourish our spiritual soil, while shame-based silence, numbing behaviors, and emotional avoidance slowly poison it. I share personal examples from my own journey, including parenting missteps and ongoing struggles with emotional eating, to show that healing isn't about perfection but honest growth.

The most beautiful revelation? You're not actually the gardener in this story—you're being tended to by a God who doesn't rush your growth, doesn't discard what looks messy, and doesn't demand overnight transformation. He's pruning what no longer serves you, cutting back mindsets rooted in performance, bitterness disguised as boundaries, and people-pleasing that once felt holy but now feels heavy.

Ready to evaluate your own root system? Download our free Five Day Cleanse and Heal Workbook at tonyashellnutt.com to begin identifying wounds, implementing action steps, and reflecting on Scripture that anchors you in truth rather than emotion. Share this episode with someone who needs to hear that becoming unshakable isn't about the absence of storms, but about being rooted in the One who never moves.

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Have you ever wondered if anything beautiful could possibly grow from your broken places? The soil of past pain, addiction, betrayal, or heartbreak might seem too damaged to support new life—but that's exactly where the most resilient growth begins.

Drawing from her family's annual gardening tradition, Tonya Shellnutt explores the profound parallel between tending a garden and nurturing our healing journey. Just as we carefully prepare soil, wait for the right planting time, and persist through unpredictable weather, our recovery requires patience, faith, and courage. The transformative promise of "beauty for ashes" from Isaiah 61:3 comes alive through practical wisdom about blooming right where you are.

True courage, Tonya reminds us, isn't waiting for perfect conditions to grow—it's growing anyway "in the mud, in the mess, in the cracks." Whether you're showing up when you'd rather shut down, praying when you feel nothing, or taking one small step toward healing, these brave choices are the seeds of new life. "Blooming doesn't mean the storm didn't hit you," she explains, "it means you didn't let it have the final word."

This episode introduces the powerful concept of creating your own "Bloom Board"—a visual reminder of the ashes you've faced, the beauty currently emerging, and the growth you dare to hope for. From forgiving someone who never apologized to breaking generational cycles, these personal milestones mark your journey from brokenness to beauty. Remember: you aren't buried—you're planted. And with God's help, something beautiful is already growing in your broken places.

Email Tonya for your own Bloom Board template and join a community of Courageous Overcomers who are finding new life after difficult seasons. If all you see today is dirt and broken ground, don't give up—your most beautiful blooms may be just beneath the surface.

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What happens when childhood trauma becomes the foundation for revolutionary joy? The remarkable story of Jesse Cole and the Savannah Bananas offers powerful lessons about resilience that transcend the baseball diamond.

Jesse Cole's journey from a broken home with an addicted mother to creating the baseball phenomenon that recently filled Clemson's Death Valley with 81,000 cheering fans demonstrates how adversity builds the emotional muscle needed for extraordinary vision. His willingness to go $1.5 million in debt, sell his home to make payroll, sleep on a twin air mattress in a cockroach-infested apartment, and survive on $30 weekly grocery budgets reveals what true belief costs before breakthrough arrives.

Through what I call the "baseball diamond of adversity framework," Jesse's story teaches us to face our personal pain (first base), identify necessary risks and sacrifices (second base), maintain relentless belief despite setbacks (third base), and finally experience the breakthrough joy that can be shared with others (home plate). The Savannah Bananas didn't just survive—they disrupted an entire system by studying when fans grew bored and reimagining what baseball could be through dance routines, trick plays, and unconventional cheerleading squads that keep crowds engaged from first pitch to final out.

Like biblical figures Joseph and Peter, Jesse's story reminds us that God often works through surrendered courage rather than perfect circumstances. Your beginning doesn't define your legacy—your resilience does. What dream might you be afraid to pursue because the odds seem impossible? Don't settle for mediocrity or victim status. Your wounds aren't your destiny—they're the proving ground for a vision that might just change everything. Share this message if it resonates, and don't forget to leave us a five-star review to help spread hope to others walking through their own valleys.

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What does addiction promise you, and what does it actually steal? This powerful question forms the foundation of our exploration into the deceptive facade of addiction. Numbing feels like safety, but silently robs us of the very things we desperately seek: peace, purpose, and authentic connection.

Throughout this raw and honest conversation, we unpack the dangerous paradox of addiction. While it offers temporary relief from pain, it simultaneously prevents true healing. Though it promises escape from stress, it steals our ability to be present. When it offers control over chaos, it erodes trust. Most destructively, addiction creates a counterfeit comfort that destroys our capacity for deep, meaningful connections.

We dive particularly deep into how addiction impacts emotional resilience—a critical skill many in our society lack. When we continuously avoid difficult emotions through substances or behaviors, we never develop the internal strength to process those feelings in healthy ways. As a result, we remain emotionally stunted, often operating with the same coping mechanisms we developed in our youth.

Whether your struggle is with alcohol, food, social media, or other numbing behaviors, this episode offers a practical pathway forward. The "reclaim challenge" provides specific steps to take back what addiction has stolen: peace, time, connection, clarity, control, self-respect, purpose, and hope. By identifying your specific losses and intentionally working to restore them through prayer, service, and community, you can break free from addiction's empty promises.

Ready to unmask addiction's lies and reclaim what's been stolen from you? This conversation will equip you with the understanding and tools to begin your journey toward authentic healing and freedom.

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What happens when the very thing that seems to bring us comfort is slowly destroying our lives? Today we're pulling back the curtain on a rarely discussed aspect of addiction—not the chaos it creates, but the counterfeit comfort it provides before taking everything else.

Most addictive behaviors aren't primarily about chasing highs; they're about silencing the deafening noise in our heads. That overthinking mind that never stops racing. The perfectionistic pressure to always perform flawlessly. The people-pleaser exhaustion from constantly overgiving. The suppressed anger never allowed expression. The discomfort of stillness when busyness stops. The fear of not knowing who you truly are. The relentless inner critic whispering "you're not enough." The unprocessed grief. The body shame. The paralyzing fear of failure.

When we slow down and the distractions fade, these voices grow louder. Flashbacks of moments we've worked hard to forget resurface. Guilt, loneliness, and grief for everything we never received—love, safety, security—become unbearable. Addiction temporarily hijacks our brain's pain center, telling our nervous system we're safe when we're not. It numbs emotional edges, drowns out shame spirals, and provides counterfeit peace.

But there's a profound truth we must embrace: healing starts where numbing stops. Not when we have everything figured out or feel strong enough—but in that brave moment when we stop reaching for what silences our pain and start listening to what the pain has been trying to tell us all along. The bottle, the binge, the busyness—whatever has comforted you—will never heal you. Only bringing your pain into the light through naming it, sitting with it, journaling about it, and allowing truth to speak to it will bring lasting freedom.

Remember, you're not broken beyond redemption, and you're never walking this road alone. Take courage today to stop numbing, even just for five minutes, long enough to say, "I want real healing; I'm done just surviving."

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