This episode was released last Easter. It's a good reminder for us how to celebrate all God has done for us and remember the victory in the Resurrection

I am reposting this episode from Good Friday last year. This year my heart was heavy and tormented in a way. There has been so many spiritual battles being fought. This Good Friday I am acutely aware of the grief associated with my own sin, and the reason he had to go to the cross in the first place.

This episode I discuss the grief of those that are gone, and the heaviness of grief. What was the grief of the Father on this day?

What happens when the love of your life dies — and you have seven children?

In this episode of Grieving with God, I sit down with Carrissa Yoder to talk about widowhood, parenting through loss, and what faith looks like when your world has been torn apart.

Carrissa shares about losing her husband — the man she deeply loved — as well as the grief of losing her sister. She speaks honestly about how each of her children has processed loss differently, and how surprising and humbling that has been as a mother.

We talk about:

• The reality of the second year of grief — and how it can feel harder in new ways

• What it’s like to want to do nothing but grieve

• How community showed up in ways she didn’t expect

• The tension of trusting God while living with deep pain

• Parenting children who are grieving in their own unique ways

• The role of therapy in walking through loss as a family

• How grief evolves over time instead of simply “getting better”

She reminds us that acknowledging pain does not mean we doubt God’s goodness.

Carissa's Instagram - @carissayoder

https://www.instagram.com/carissayoder/?hl=en

Chapters

00:00 — Carrissa’s Story: Love, Loss, and Widowhood
03:55 — How Grief Changed Their Family
07:48 — Children, Therapy, and Individual Grieving Styles
11:41 — When Community Shows Up
15:32 — Losing More Than One Person
19:32 — The Second Year of Grief
25:26 — Moving Forward and Relocating
28:41 — Parenting Through Uncertainty
33:37 — Trusting God With the Future

In this episode, we sit with a story shaped by unexpected turns—years of infertility, an autism diagnosis, traumatic and rapid labors, and a daughter who walked through infertility, adoption, and a child facing serious medical challenges.

Our guest shares what it has been like to carry grief and faith across generations: first as a mother navigating her own losses, and now as a grandmother supporting her daughter through medical diagnosis she never saw coming. We talk honestly about the shock of early delivery, the ache of leaving a tiny baby in the NICU, and the confusing mix of joy and grief that can exist at the same time.

This conversation doesn’t offer easy answers or spiritual clichés. Instead, it explores how God’s presence often shows up quietly—in Scripture that anchors us, in prayers we barely have words for. Drawing from Psalm 139, we reflect on what it means to trust that every child is fearfully and wonderfully made, even when the story feels unbearably fragile.

If you’ve ever wondered where God is in the middle of medical trauma, infertility, or watching someone you love suffer, this episode is an invitation to consider that He may be closer than you think.

He Grieves with us!

I love telling stories and my guest Ashley Crane does too. This Episode was recorded in April of 2025. I had quite a spring and summer this year and Grieving with God production was put on hold for an extended time. But now we are back .

Listen to my interview with Ashley Crane and her beautiful reflection on the death of her grandfather right before a huge life change, and grieving other life changes in her life. Grief is not just losing a loved one. Grief comes in many different forms.

Grief is not just for the old people. Even young people lose people they love, young people face large life changes that cause grief. Ashley tells us about her grieving moments and the moments God was with her.

And soon my interview with Ashley on her podcast GodWinks will air. Be sure to stay tuned and I will let you know when it airs.

https://open.spotify.com/show/3d3CNbF0YWft6f3KZ4oQxF?si=d6d9dc81fe0d48b8

We have been in Maine for over a year. And the podcast celebrate a year of episodes in October. But I have been so busy with life, a new job, a new home, and the coming holidays that the podcast got away from me. So here is a brand new episode> This episode was recorded on my phone at the beach in August. We hadn't found our home yet, and so you will hear me talk about our home search here in Maine.

As promised here is the link to the virtual retreat we had in July. It was a wonderful time of worship, and learning about grief and how to lament.

https://youtu.be/PU0YNV8N3W0

Stay tuned for more episodes coming every month!

In this special episode of the Grieving with God podcast, host Dawn Byington interviews Heather Canaday, a passionate seminary student and retreat speaker, as they explore the sacred practice of lamenting our sin. Heather shares her heart for women in ministry and invites us into a deeper, more honest relationship with God through grief over personal wrongdoing.At the retreat Heather will talk about the difference between shame and godly sorrow, how confession can lead to freedom, and experience a guided Anglican prayer of confession.Whether you’re walking through personal loss or wrestling with spiritual guilt, this episode offers truth, compassion, and hope. Listen to more episodes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grieving-with-god/id1771830477 Register for the July 12 Virtual Retreat: https://dawnbyington.wixsite.com/grievingwithgod/virtualretreat #ChristianGrief #ConfessionAndLament #AnglicanPrayer #VirtualRetreat #WomenInMinistry #GrievingWithGod #FaithAndHealing #HeatherCanaday #DawnByington #SpiritualGrief #HonestFaith #ChristianPodcast

In this powerful episode, Dawn Byington sits down with Cassie Patillo, a pastor’s wife, speaker, Bible teacher, and adoptive mom, to talk about her family’s newest adoption journey, how God has shown up in unexpected ways, and what she plans to share at the upcoming Rest and Respite Retreat. Cassie opens up about trusting God through loss, waiting, and new beginnings—and encourages others to meet God in their own stories of grief and healing.

Whether you're walking through sorrow, wrestling with unanswered prayers, or seeking hope, Cassie’s wisdom and vulnerability will inspire you to cling to God's goodness in every season.

Follow Cassie here: https://www.instagram.com/casspattillo/?hl=en

and here: https://linktr.ee/casspattillo

👉 Learn more about the Rest and Respite Retreat (July 12) and sign up at: https://dawnbyington.wixsite.com/grievingwithgod/virtualretreat
📍 Subscribe and listen on your favorite platform
#GriefSupport #ChristianPodcast #AdoptionJourney #FaithInHardTimes #CassiePatillo #GrievingWithGodPodcast