Episode 42: From Armored to Undone: A Story of Trauma, Faith, and Healing

Episode 46: You Have Made It | How to Let Go of the Old Version of Yourself & Step Into God’s Next Season

Out of the Old and Into God's New Life moves quickly. One minute you feel grounded in who you are and the next, everything around you seems to shift—your priorities, relationships, opportunities, and even the way you hear God. In this episode of Redeeming Her, Deborah Larson and Katie Shive unpack a powerful truth: sometimes the greatest barrier to growth isn’t fear of the future—it’s attachment to the version of ourselves that got us here. We often hold onto old strategies, old identities, and familiar patterns because they once worked. They protected us, helped us survive, or created success in a previous season. But growth requires movement, and movement requires trust. Deborah reflects on the idea that stepping into what God has next means creating room for it. Not abandoning your past—but recognizing that yesterday’s tools may not serve tomorrow’s purpose. One of the most memorable moments of this conversation is the simple declaration: “I made it.” Not because life is perfect. Not because every question has been answered. But because it’s important to recognize how far you’ve already come. Too often, we live as though we’re still waiting for life to begin. We focus on what hasn’t happened yet instead of acknowledging the thresholds we’ve already crossed. Growth rarely arrives with certainty. More often, it shows up as discomfort, stretching, and moments that require us to trust before we fully understand. The invitation is to stop measuring yourself against old expectations and start asking better questions: What version of me am I still carrying? What am I afraid to release? What opportunity feels unfamiliar but aligned? Throughout the conversation, Deborah and Katie return to one recurring idea: God often reveals direction one step at a time. We want complete blueprints, but growth usually comes through trust, quiet knowing, and staying available to what comes next. That means releasing the pressure to have everything figured out and allowing space for new understanding to develop. If you’re entering a new season and feeling uncertain, maybe the answer isn’t becoming someone entirely different. Maybe the next season of your life begins by letting go of who you no longer need to be. Declare it: I made it. REDEEMINGHER.COM

Episode 45: (Part 2) Healing After Betrayal: How to Trust Again Without Living Behind Emotional Walls | Redeeming Her Podcast

Listen to Episode 40 first for the full story with Sarah Stoke: https://youtu.be/fLBMI52oPN0 __  What happens when protecting your heart starts keeping you stuck?In this powerful follow-up conversation on Redeeming Her, Deborah Larson welcomes Sarah back to continue her story of betrayal, grief, separation, rebuilding trust, and discovering what healing actually looks like inside a marriage.Too often, guarding our hearts feels like wisdom—but sometimes it's survival disguised as strength.Sarah shares the private conversations she had with God during separation, the struggle of navigating grief and disappointment, and the difficult work of choosing vulnerability over self-protection. Together, Deborah and Sarah unpack what happens when pain, identity, marriage, pride, family roles, grief, and faith collide—and what redemption can look like on the other side. If you've ever asked: • Why did this happen to me? • How do I trust again after betrayal? • Can a marriage survive separation? • What if grief changed who I am? • How do I stop living behind emotional walls? • What does faith look like when life doesn't go as planned? This conversation is for you.REDEEMINGHER.COM

Episode 44: Healing Emotional Triggers: How to Break the Nervous System Loops Keeping You Stuck | Redeeming Her Podcast

There’s a reason certain emotions keep showing up long after the moment passed. The panic, vulnerability and the overthinking. The emotional triggers that seem to come out of nowhere. Most people assume they’re “broken.” They assume they lack discipline, emotional strength, or faith. But what if your nervous system is simply doing what it was designed to do: protect you? In a recent episode of the Redeeming Her [http://redeemingher.com]Podcast, hosts Deborah Larson [http://DeborahLarson.com] and Katie Shive unpacked the connection between emotional triggers, trauma loops, faith, and nervous system healing. What emerged was a deeply practical conversation about how emotional wounds are stored in the body, how healing actually works, and why reframing your thoughts is far more than “positive thinking.” One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding emotional healing is the idea that emotional reactions are purely spiritual or purely mental. They are not. Your body, brain, emotions and spirit work together. Deborah Larson explains that the nervous system is designed for two core functions: survival and efficiency. That means when your body encounters a trigger connected to past pain, embarrassment, fear, rejection, or trauma, your nervous system reacts automatically before your logical brain has time to intervene. Think about that for a second. You are often reacting before you are consciously choosing. This is why people can: * overreact emotionally * shut down during conflict * fear vulnerability * spiral into anxiety * avoid opportunities * self-sabotage relationships or business growth … even when they genuinely want healing. Your nervous system remembers what your mind tried to move past. During the episode, Deborah shares a powerful personal example about remembering a humiliating ninth-grade speech class experience where she froze emotionally and walked out crying. Decades later, the emotional root still surfaced when vulnerability became activated again. That moment revealed something important: The root wasn’t public speaking. The root was emotional vulnerability connected to loss & embarrassment. This is how emotional loops work. The trigger today is often connected to an unresolved emotional memory from years earlier. And here’s the critical part most people miss: Healing is not always linear. Katie Shive explains that emotional wounds often have layers. However, you may think you already healed something, only to realize another layer surfaces later. That does not mean you failed; but instead, it means your healing journey is continuing. One of the most fascinating insights from the podcast is how the brain stores emotional memory. According to Deborah Larson, emotional memories are not stored chronologically like a timeline. Instead, they are layered and stacked internally, meaning present-day triggers can reactivate the original emotional root beneath the surface. This explains why: * certain conversations instantly trigger anxiety * vulnerability feels dangerous * criticism feels disproportionally painful * abandonment fears resurface unexpectedly * emotional reactions seem irrational Your nervous system is not trying to sabotage you. It's trying to protect you based on old data. People are exhausted. They are tired of surface-level motivational advice that tells them to “just think positive” while ignoring how emotional trauma actually impacts the brain and body. This conversation bridges the gap between: * faith * neuroscience * emotional healing * practical nervous system tools * spiritual growth And frankly? More conversations like this are needed. Because many people are silently carrying emotional loops they do not know how to break. If emotional triggers keep resurfacing, that does not mean you are failing. It means your nervous system is asking for healing, awareness, and safety. Freedom to: * move forward * stop self-sabotaging * trust again * become emotionally present * heal old wounds * rewrite your future Your story is not over. And your nervous system is capable of healing. REDEEMINGHER.COM

Episode 43: From Yale to Prison to Redemption | The Story of Chip Skowron

What happens when you have everything—status, wealth, success—and lose it all overnight? In this powerful episode of Redeeming Her, Katie Shive and Deborah Larson sit down with Chip Skowron to unpack one of the most dramatic redemption stories you’ll ever hear. From Yale Medical School and Wall Street success to prison—and ultimately, spiritual transformation—this conversation dives deep into identity, surrender, and what true restoration actually looks like. This is not a comeback story. This is a complete rebuild. If you’re feeling stuck, ashamed, overwhelmed, or like you’ve gone too far to come back—this episode will challenge that belief. 👉 Key topics: * Losing everything… and why it saved his life * The moment that changed everything (April 2011) * Marriage breakdown → full restoration * Parenting after failure and rebuilding trust * Why prison became the place he feels closest to God * What real redemption actually means (and why most people get it wrong) 🎯 If this episode hits you—don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with someone who needs it. RedeemingHer.com

Episode 42: From Armored to Undone: A Story of Trauma, Faith, and Healing

He was 15 when everything changed. One moment, life felt normal. The next, his father was gone—lost to suicide. And just like that, something inside him shut off. Seth Stoke, the son of Deborah Larson, shares how he still showed up. Still functioned. Still looked “fine.” But internally, he stopped feeling. Not because he wanted to—but because it felt safer than facing the pain. Over time, that shutdown didn’t look like weakness. It looked like strength. He became more disciplined. More controlled. More driven. Adrenaline replaced emotion. Performance replaced connection. From the outside, he had it together. Inside, he was completely disconnected. That’s the trap. When strength becomes armor, it doesn’t just block pain—it blocks everything. Years later, life caught up. Loss resurfaced. His brother died. His marriage started to break under the weight of everything he never dealt with. And for the first time… he couldn’t outrun it. So he did the one thing most people avoid. He stopped. No plan. No control. Just honesty: “I don’t know who I am anymore.” That moment changed everything. Because healing from trauma and faith doesn’t start with strength. It starts with surrender. He stepped away from the noise. Work paused. Life simplified. Focus shifted to his family—and to facing what he had avoided for years. It wasn’t clean. There were breakdowns. Silence. Days that felt heavier than anything before. But this time, he didn’t run. And slowly, things shifted. He started to feel again. To lead with clarity instead of control. To rebuild—not from pressure, but from truth. The man who once shut down emotionally became someone his family could depend on. Not perfect. But present. That’s what healing actually looks like. Not polished. Not fast. Real. And here’s the truth most people avoid: You don’t heal by staying strong. You heal by being willing to be undone. Ask yourself: * Where have I shut down? * What am I avoiding? You don’t need all the answers. But you do need to start. Because everything you want—clarity, peace, direction— lives on the other side of that honesty. If this feels familiar, don’t scroll past it. Learn more: RedeemingHer.com #suicide #addiction #RedeemingHer #God