Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith

This week, we’ll hear from Victoria Arlen, a former Paralympic swimmer and ESPN personality, who shares her harrowing journey of surviving a rare autoimmune condition that left her in a “locked-in” vegetative state for four years beginning at age eleven. Beyond her physical recovery, she faced the intense emotional pressure of being labeled a “miracle,” while silently struggling with trauma and mental health. She eventually found peace by learning to embrace vulnerability, a transformation she details here.
Later in the episode, we hear from author and actress Hillary Phillips as she bravely shares about transforming a broken view of God—seeing Him as angry and tallying mistakes—into an authentic relationship. After a complicated childhood turned into years of internalizing pain, Hillary recounts the raw moment she cried out to God in anger, only to be met with a supernatural love she never knew was possible.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens
Past interview: Chris & Lindsey Wheeler
Upcoming interview: Jameson and Mary Reeder

Victoria Arlen
Victoria’s Victory Foundation
Dancing with The Stars

Hillary Phillips
My Brain While Reading the Bible - Book by Hillary Phillips
The Big Blue Book - Show ft. Hillary Phillips
The Greatest Thing Ever! - Movie ft. Hillary Phillips


Interview Quotes:
“What the doctors failed to realize was I could hear everything that they were saying, and I could see, but nobody knew that I could. So I was literally locked inside my own body.” - Victoria Arlen
“..You really have a choice—you fight or you give in. I saw how my family refused to give up on me.. They set up a hospital room in our living room and basically brought the world to me, because in their eyes, if they had a month with me, or a couple years, or the rest of my life, they wanted to take care of me.” - Victoria Arlen
“I had this peace that surpassed understanding, and this journey as my mom calls it—our tragic, beautiful journey—is where we found God. It’s where we found our family, on a whole different level, and it really set my life in a whole different direction.” - Victoria Arlen
“When I broke down, that was the beginning of that breakthrough in which God orchestrated so many things, to essentially help me get to that path where, Oh, I get that peace that surpasses understanding.” - Victoria Arlen

“It was the first time the Gospel really sunk in for me—You don’t just love me because of how I perform or because of all these outward things, You love me [through] all of that stuff that I’m seeing.” - Hillary Phillips
“Learning to be still with God and realize, Oh wait, you don’t actually expect me to be anything other than who I am. You don’t call me to wear a mask. You call me just to be. And learning how to do that is such a liberating thing, but also it’s just ongoing.” - Hillary Phillips
“I was angry and felt wronged, and God really started to challenge me on how I was showing up in love. One of the things I realized was that I was not accepting my parents as they were [or] where they were. I was holding them to this idea of who they needed to be and who they weren’t.. God really helped me realize that’s not actually walking in love. I am rejecting who they are and only holding them to this idea or their past.” - Hillary Phillips
“God didn’t promise us an easy life, He didn’t promise us a life free of suffering, but He did promise us hope and a future. He promised us that whenever we are struggling, He’ll be there with us through it. He’ll never leave us or forsake us.” - Hillary Phillips
“I think that God used that experience to really show me His love is because I had to learn to sit and see trauma up close, but also recognize it’s not my job to fix.” - Hillary Phillips
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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!
Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7
Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw
Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C
Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj
Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u
What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj
Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY
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Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Author and counselor John Eldredge joins us to share why the Christian life was always meant to be more than information—it’s meant to be deeply experiential. In this conversation, learning to receive God’s love, and allowing His presence to heal our deepest wounds.

Guest’s Links
YouTube: @WildatHeartOfficial
Facebook: @wildatheartministries
Instagram: @wildatheart

Watch this interview on our YouTube channel! https://bit.ly/4ojPthk

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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This week, we hear from Dr. Michael Guillén, a physicist who grew up in East LA, earned his PhD from Cornell, taught at Harvard, and spent fourteen years as the science editor for ABC News—including a dive to the wreck of the Titanic that nearly killed him. Dr. Guillén shares how decades of studying invisible forces in the universe—dark matter, hidden dimensions, the limits of what science can actually see—ultimately led the self-described atheist to faith and why he believes science makes the case for God stronger, not weaker.
Later in the episode, we hear from Chris Hodges, founding pastor of Church of the Highlands, who opens up about the grief, burnout, and panic attacks that brought him to a breaking point after a decade of leading one of the country’s fastest-growing churches—and the five-step process he found in scripture that pulled him out.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens
Past interview: Nathan Davis Jr.
Upcoming interview: Victoria Arlen

Dr. Michael Guillén
The Invisible Everywhere: Believing Is Seeing - Documentary by Dr. Michael Guillén

Church of the Highlands
Highlands College
Legacy Letters: Timeless Principles I Learned, Lived, and Leave Behind - Book by Chris Hodges

Interview Quotes:
“It’s not seeing is believing; it’s believing is seeing.” - Dr. Michael Guillén
“Far from there being any contradictions, actually there were a lot of similarities between how the Bible describes heaven and how modern science describes this visible realm beyond the cosmic horizon.” - Dr. Michael Guillén
“There is no fundamental contradiction between the Biblical worldview and the modern scientific worldview.” - Dr. Michael Guillén
“Now that I’m grown up, I’m still a scientist, but now I’m a devout Christian. I don’t feel that lonely. I’m finding that more and more scientists are very receptive to the idea of God.” - Dr. Michael Guillén
“Science has made it easier for me to believe in God, not harder. I’ve grown accustomed to dealing with invisible realities. It’s the bread and butter of modern science. The fact that God is invisible is no big deal for me, because I see His fingerprints everywhere.” - Dr. Michael Guillén
“I liken the process or the feelings of depression and burnout as kind of being in the cave. Like, you know there’s a way out, but you don’t know where it is and it’s dark and it’s confusing.” - Chris Hodges
“Many people only know God in the dynamic; they don’t know Him in the intimate.” - Chris Hodges
“When I had a new assignment, and a fresh purpose for life.. Joy flooded my heart the moment I knew God had something He wanted me to do.” - Chris Hodges
“I call it the bucket list principle—if you want to start living, start dreaming.” - Chris Hodges
“I think people can come out of their burnout conditions by their closeness with the Lord, by renewing their sense of purpose and hope.” - Chris Hodges
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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!
Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7
Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw
Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C
Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj
Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u
What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj
Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY
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Connect with Jesus Calling
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Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This Father’s Day week, we hear from two men whose completely different experiences of childhood and fatherhood led them to the same mission: helping dads show up with intention. Jeff Hamilton, pastor and author of Dad Academy, grew up with the rare gift of an engaged, present father. Today, he’s helping dads build stronger relationships with their children through intentional parenting.

Later in the episode, we hear from Glen Henry, known online as Beleaf in Fatherhood, whose story couldn’t be more different—a childhood marked by feeling unwanted and unloved, and a young adulthood spent shifting his identity just to feel accepted. It was becoming a father himself that finally forced the inner work he’d avoided and how he learned the importance of fathering yourself first.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens
Past interview: Dr. Meg Meeker
Upcoming interview: Dr. Michael Guillén

Jeff Hamilton
Dad Academy
Dad Academy: Raising Courageous, Capable, Confident Kids - Book by Jeff Hamilton

Glen Henry
Beleaf in Fatherhood YouTube Channel
Father Yourself First: Everything You Need to Become the Father Your Family Deserves - Book by Glen Henry

Interview Quotes:
“Kids are going to be kind of self-conscious as they start to compare themselves to the environment or to the relationships that are around them, but our job is not to let their self-worth and value be influenced by an image of what other people want them to be.” - Jeff Hamilton
“There’s inherent greatness in our kids, and it’s our job as parents to nurture it within them.” - Jeff Hamilton
“I think the greatest thing that we can pass on to our kids is the value of serving. We find a sense of significance by the value and benefit that we bring to others.” - Jeff Hamilton
“A dad’s mission is to prepare their kids for life by passing on their values and their skills to their children.” - Jeff Hamilton
“The rituals and traditions of your family are the things that give your children a sense of identity and understanding of who they are and the priorities that they need to establish in the course of their lives.” - Jeff Hamilton
“[Traditions and rituals] create memorable moments that help our kids understand when they move from one stage to another, and it affirms who they are becoming and the future and the destiny that’s ahead for them.” - Jeff Hamilton

“Once I started to grow as a man by having to apply the things that people were trying to teach me my whole life, I recognized the true gift that fatherhood was.” - Glen Henry
“My thought is that you would father yourself out of that and start to change your inner voice so that you always speak to yourself as a father that loves you, just like you love your children.” - Glen Henry
“The way I have been held as a father, I’ve never felt closer to God than I have being a part of a family. You’re collaborating with God on a masterpiece.” - Glen Henry
“There are things hidden in the relationship [with your family] that if you allow it to teach you, you will grow closer to God.” - Glen Henry
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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!
Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7
Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw
Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C
Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj
Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u
What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj
Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY
________________________
Connect with Jesus Calling
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Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Welcome to this special bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast. We’re talking to men who look at their lives as fathers as one of the most important roles they’ll ever have. Our earthly fathers—or the significant father figures in our lives—cast a profound and lasting shadow on who we become. We carry their wisdom, their lessons, and their support as a foundation for our own lives. Yet, for many, that influence also includes painful memories—moments of absence, criticism, or misunderstanding that leave behind wounds and a deep yearning for unconditional acceptance. No human father is perfect, and the imperfections in our relationships can sometimes make it difficult to grasp the concept of a loving Father in heaven. Through prayer and faith, we can allow God’s perfect love to mend the broken places and provide the strength to honor and navigate our relationship with our human fathers.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens

Steven Curtis Chapman & Emily Chapman Richards
Rob Kenney
Kirk Cousins
Jeremy Rosado
Trey Tucker
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*Episode produced by Four Eyes Media*
Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.