S2:E17 - From Pain to Purpose - Leroy Pinckney Jr.

S1:E32 The Revivalists - Genesis Chapter 45

This week Eva starts out solo until Darrell joins later in the show. In full transparency, I was not feeling well due to my chronic migraine headaches. Somehow, in prayer and pushing through, the headache gradually fades. This is military injury in action - that the Revivalists mission must continue no matter how we feel.  Joseph and his story with his family is no different. As much as I wanted to cry in pain, Joseph finally is able to break through his own moral injury and announce who he is to his brothers - and cry. He offers words of comfort instead of belittling them for what they did to him. He shares that it was for God's good that these things happened. He cried so loud the Egyptians could hear and ran to Pharaoh's staff and told them. Knowing the dire situation of the ensuing famine, Joseph prepares to relocate his family to Egypt where they could live in comfort rather than destitute and hungry. Pharaoh ups the ante and sends carts as well as nourishment to get them to come to Egypt. Jacob at first is in disbelief but then relents and acknowledges the opportunity.  In the moral injury healing and recovery realm of things, how many of us want to remain that ever vigilant victim rather than seeing the good that comes from our pain. If we instead use our empathetic hearts and find forgiveness and then that is when we start find healing in what could otherwise be a lifelong injury. There are harms even in our own systems where we often find ourselves educating others that women served in the military. Eva shared her recent experience where she had to educate a medical provider about women in the military. We also covered a renewed issue  in the news today about the Southern Baptist Convention that led to a discussion about women serving in pastoral or leadership roles.

S2:E18 From Pain to Purpose - Scott Roessler

Scott Roessler joins us this week to share his journey with operator syndrome and blast toxicity (think shaking baby syndrome) and how becoming a participant in Stanford's ibogaine study became a lifeline with a new life. Prior to the study, Scott was stuck on some self-destructive behavior that was also affecting his marriage and his relationship with his children. A buddy of his shared the opportunity about the study and the impact it had on him that finally allowed him to cry - to feel again. The emotions that he had held inside were allowed to release through a thoroughly medically supported ibogaine journey in Mexico. This has truly become Scott's pain to purpose that is also intended to help others. He also briefly spoke about his upcoming book The Operator's Guide to the Universe UG2O. Follow him on social media and watch for the release around July 4th!   #paintopurpose.  #veteranpodcast #veterans #veteransupport

S1:E32 The Revivalists - Joseph Discussion

This week we skipped our normal Chapter reading and discussed the impact of moral injury on Joseph thus far. Remember, DSM 5 focuses on moral injury and the application for veterans is that moral injury can come from many traumatic events in our lives. In thinking about the readings in the context of Joseph as a Sergeant Major and how he rose to that position next to Pharaoh despite his traumatic events of being sold by his brothers into slavery and even serving time in prison.  But Joseph chose to turn the moral injury situation around by giving out orders to his staff who then provided the bags of grain with gifts of small bags of silver to his brothers. Joseph did not do these acts out of vengeance, he did it out of love and wanting to know his family. Had they changed? Had the trauma that happened to him hardened his heart? Joseph leaned into his love of God and was living in the world, not of the world. So he chose to give grace to his brothers to alleviate the moral injury and find his own healing and recovery.  Join us next week for Chapter 45.

S1:E31 The Revivalists - Genesis Chapter 44

While it is Memorial Day 2026 - join Darrell and Eva this week as we cover Genesis Chapter 44. Now that Joseph's brothers return for more grain, Joseph devises a plan to deal with his brothers to determine where their hearts are. The major words in this chapter reflect those of guilt, shame, remorse, survivors guilt and sacrifice. One critical thing for Joseph in implementing this plan however, is that at no time does he take the lower road that his brothers did when they were younger.  The larger picture lies more with the moral injury context of this chapter. Judah, the prime instigator of Joseph's demise rises to the occasion and puts himself as the one who will take action to protect his brothers and father.  This is a tough climax to the story. Interestingly enough, Eva has been following the Dusty Turner story - a Navy Seal https://www.freedusty.com/dustys-story [https://www.freedusty.com/dustys-story] who has been wrongly convicted and imprisoned for a murder that he did not commit. Someone else did. Another Navy Seal finally recanted his testimony to take responsibility for his actions. Dusty has spent 30 years in prison and will never get that time back with his family, living a free life. His story reminds us of Joseph's story. These two Navy Seals have been dealing with moral injury from a different perspective.  #veterans #veteranpodcast #moralinjury #moralhealing #moralrecovery #wrongfulconviction #revivalists

S2:E17 - From Pain to Purpose - Leroy Pinckney Jr.

This week Leroy Pinckney Jr joins me in a real conversation. This weekend as we are honoring our fallen - I open with a real conversation and discussion about people in my life (in my people garden) - the names that we shall not forget. This show is dedicated to Kiara Williams of the Smiles Show who we lost this week. I started out as her co-host for several months a couple of years ago at like 430am or some crazy time like that. We laughed, she snorted, we prayed, we had fun and I drank coffee. Kiara, you were an incredible person and I will definitely miss you!  I then told the story about my Uncle Bethel, a Vietnam Veteran, who came back and became homeless. Lost on the streets of the US with periodic visits to our home where after a much needed shower, Momma would cut his hair and beard while the laundry got done. He carried his duffel bag with his stuff in it. That's all he had. He'd stay a little while and off he'd go.  Leroy announced the loss of his job in March on LinkedIn. I started following him. I watched how he did not lean into being a victim. Instead, he found the lion inside - "Lead Like a Lion" and pivoting with consulting for leaders. Leroy definitely has a story to tell and this is just the beginning. Follow him on LinkedIn and lean into his leadership message.  Finishing out the episode I shared my study link for Female Combat Veterans in North Texas and San Antonio areas to participate in. I need your help please! We need to share our voices and this is how we do it via a study!  Oh, and I'm returning to Texas!!! See ya'll soon!