Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith

This week, we hear from Jameson and Mary Reeder, authors of Rescue at the Reef. They share the miraculous story of their ten-year-old son, Jameson Jr., who narrowly survived a devastating bull shark attack in the Florida Keys. Despite a life-altering injury, Jameson Jr.’s faith remained unshaken, and just four days later, he asked to return to the reef.
Later in the episode, we hear from Greta Eskridge, author and homeschool mom of four, who shares her story of healing after her husband Aaron confessed to an affair and a years-long pornography addiction. While working to heal the damage to their marriage, Greta became convinced that parents must break the silence around this issue and initiate difficult conversations with their kids about pornography.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling Podcast
Jesus Calling
Jesus Always
Jesus Listens
Past interview: Chelsea Damon
Upcoming interview: Tom Hardin

Jameson & Mary Reeder
Rescue at the Reef: The Miraculous True Story of a Little Boy with Big Faith - Book by Jameson & Mary Reeder

Greta Eskridge
It’s Time to Talk to Your Kids About Porn - Book by Greta Eskridge

Interview Quotes:
“It goes from the greatest day of our life to the worst day, just like that. [My son] hears me scream, “No,” and the first words out of his mouth are, “Daddy, it’s okay. Jesus is going to save me.” - Jameson Reeder
“When you face your fear, the fear doesn’t go away, but what you focus on is what rises. Do you focus on the fear or do you focus on your heavenly Father who’s with you in those fearful moments? He’s not abandoned you. He’s with you. And when you focus on your Father over the fear, then freedom rises.” - Jameson Reeder

“Cultivating connection isn’t about these singular once-a-year, twice-a-year big moments. It’s everyday intentional time spent with one another.” - Greta Eskridge
“We need to have conversations about pornography and the disconnection that it causes.” - Greta Eskridge
“Out of that brokenness [of betrayal] has come a desire for both of us to not only cultivate meaningful, intentional, lasting connection as a couple, but also with our children, with friends, because not only have we experienced the disconnection ourselves, but we have recognized that our world is becoming increasingly more disconnected.” - Greta Eskridge
“As much as [my husband] wanted to escape addiction, the nature of addiction is that it is very hard to do that on your own, and he needed support.” - Greta Eskridge
“Beginning to understand what [my husband] was dealing with was impactful for me to have compassion and understanding for him..Being willing to do that and pursue my own healing as a betrayed spouse at the same time, those two things were transformative, and really, honestly, what changed everything for both of us.” - Greta Eskridge
“When we allow ourselves to have that conversation [about pornography] with our kids or with one another, it takes away the power of the thing, and it reduces the shame. Shame tells us this is the end. But when we bring it into the light, it loses its power.” - Greta Eskridge
“It’s incredible how much can change just by simply opening the door to honest, heartfelt conversation.” - Greta Eskridge
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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.

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
________________________
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.

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
________________________
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
________________________
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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Pinterest
YouTube
Website
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Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.