What is discernment, and how do Christian women recognize red flags while still leading with faith, wisdom, and peace? In this first episode of the Love With Eyes Wide Open podcast series, Lizzie and Deana talk about biblical discernment, Christian relationship advice, guarding your heart, parenting with spiritual wisdom, and how to recognize toxic relationship patterns before heartache begins.

This faith-centered conversation explores how spiritual sensitivity, observation over time, and listening for God’s voice help women and mothers guide themselves and their daughters toward healthy, Christ-centered relationships. Lizzie and Deana share personal experiences, lessons learned from past marriages, and practical encouragement for parents raising daughters in today’s world.

If you are a Christian woman seeking clarity, wisdom, and discernment in relationships, this episode will help you slow down, notice patterns, and choose peace over pressure. And for Christian mothers who desire to guide their daughters with faith and wisdom, this conversation offers encouragement and practical insight to help you model discernment, recognize red flags early, and teach the next generation how to build Christ-centered relationships.

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Our book is available on Amazon: Love With Eyes Wide Open: Teaching Our Daughters to Recognize Red Flags and God's Voice in Relationships

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

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Trauma. Addiction. Toxic relationships. Shame. Mindset renewal.
In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with Rose Ann Forte, international bestselling author and creator of the Choose Freedom program—a faith-forward, neuroscience-backed approach to overcoming life-interfering behaviors.

Rose Ann shares her personal journey through a toxic marriage, substance use as coping, CPTSD, and deep spiritual confusion—and how renewing her mind through Scripture paired with neuroscience transformed her life. As a former C-suite executive and church leader, Roseanne brings wisdom, compassion, and clarity to conversations many women of faith struggle to have out loud.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why faith alone without mind renewal can keep people stuck
• How trauma, addiction, and toxic relationships share similar brain patterns
• What cognitive dissonance looks like in relationships and substance use
• How gratitude and awareness literally rewire the brain
• Why labels and shame prevent healing for many women
• How boundaries restore agency and self-respect
• What “renewing the mind” looks like in real life, not theory

This conversation is for women who love God but feel trapped in patterns they can’t break—and are ready to experience freedom without shame.

🔗 Learn more about Roseanne Forte & the Choose Freedom program:
https://www.choosefreedom.today

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Our book is available here: https://amzn.to/45VZISD

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

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Narcissistic abuse. Gaslighting. Coercive control. Legal abuse.
In this episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with Skye Bellarmine, author of the Breaking Solace trilogy, to talk about surviving 20 years of narcissistic abuse, the moment she realized she wasn’t “crazy,” and the practical steps that helped her leave, heal, and rebuild.

Skye shares how narcissists weaponize reputation (“she’s too sensitive,” “she’s brain damaged”), how they use financial control, and why survivors often feel hypervigilant even after the relationship ends. We also unpack gray rock, the role of faith during separation and divorce, and Skye’s powerful tool: writing your “20 reasons why” so you don’t get pulled back into doubt and love-bombing.

You’ll hear:

• What a narcissistic rage looks like (and why it feels unreal)
• How gaslighting erodes self-trust—and how to protect yourself
• Why narcissists drag out divorces and use courts to punish (“legal abuse”)
• Why building a tribe matters (attorney, support, trusted friends)
• How trauma bonds and love-bombing keep people stuck
• Why telling your story (writing/podcasting/journaling) helps survivors come back to themselves

Guest: Skye Bellarmine — author of Breaking Solace & Escaping Solace

Skye's Website: https://www.skyebellarmine.com

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Our book is available here: https://amzn.to/45VZISD

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

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Conflict doesn’t mean failure, it means information.

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Jen Fry explores why self-advocacy, boundaries, and conflict resolution are essential skills, especially for women navigating toxic relationships, people-pleasing patterns, and emotional burnout.

Women are often taught to avoid conflict at all costs, but avoidance comes with a price: anxiety, resentment, loss of self-trust, and damaged mental health. Dr. Fry introduces the concept of micro advocacy—small, intentional acts of self-advocacy that build confidence, self-worth, and emotional resilience over time.

Together, we unpack:

-Why conflict is a learned skill, not a personality flaw
-How setting boundaries protects mental health
-Why your first no is often the easiest one
-How conflict reveals the depth (or limits) of relationships
-Practical steps for navigating toxic relationships safely

Why teaching children conflict resolution is essential for healthier communities

This episode is for anyone ready to stop shrinking, start speaking, and learn how to navigate conflict in a way that leads to personal growth, clarity, and empowerment.

This video explores conflict as a teachable skill rather than something to be feared, challenging societal conditioning that encourages women to prioritize peace and silence at the expense of their well-being. Dr. Jen Fry discusses why engaging in conflict is crucial for mental health, contributing to personal growth and self improvement. She introduces micro-advocacy as a way to build confidence and highlights that effective conflict resolution is key to healthy relationships.

Find Dr. Jen Fry at: https://jenfrytalks.com

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Our book is available here: https://amzn.to/45VZISD

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

In this powerful story, a teenager’s quick thinking after a devastating car crash leads to a startling discovery—one that forces him to confront years of emotional abuse, silence, and buried truth.

In this episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, we sit down with Steve Eichenblatt, attorney and author of Pretend They Are Dead, to explore the lasting impact of childhood trauma and the quiet ways it shapes identity, relationships, and self-worth. At just sixteen years old, Steve witnessed a horrific accident and realized the severely injured man he helped save was his biological father—the same father who had abandoned him years earlier.

That single moment reopened a lifetime of unresolved pain, emotional neglect, and fear-based control. Like many survivors of childhood trauma, Steve learned early how to survive by staying silent. For decades, he carried this experience alone, unaware of how deeply it influenced his relationships, marriages, and sense of self.

This conversation highlights what it truly means to overcome a victim mentality. It is a testimony of self-improvement and personal growth, rooted in the conscious decision to stop living defined by past wounds. Steve shares how healing required accountability, vulnerability, faith, and the courage to confront what was hidden.

This episode serves as a reminder that trauma does not have the final word. Moving beyond survival is possible—and choosing healing is always allowed.

You are not crazy. You are not alone. And growth can begin, even after years of silence.

Thank you for our special guest, Steve Eichenblatt
https://www.stevenscotteichenblatt.com/
You can find a copy of his book using the link below:
Pretend They Are Dead: A Father's Search for the Truth: https://bit.ly/4ad8VIF

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Our book is available here: https://amzn.to/45VZISD

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

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This episode is for anyone who has ever asked:
“Why am I still paying the price for someone else’s abuse?”

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, hosts Deana and Lizzie sit down with Joni Woods, a certified life coach, culture strategist, and founder of Journey Coaching, to discuss what happens after you leave a toxic or narcissistic relationship—especially when the family system turns against you.

Joni shares her deeply personal story of surviving narcissistic abuse, navigating a contentious divorce, and enduring the devastating aftermath when her ex-husband passed away and his family turned their anger toward her and her children. What followed was court battles, emotional trauma, and the painful reality of watching her children suffer collateral damage from unresolved bitterness and manipulation.

Together, we explore:

• How narcissistic abuse impacts children long after a relationship ends
• Why toxic family systems often protect the abuser
• The emotional intelligence skills survivors need to heal and lead their families forward
• How to communicate boundaries without guilt or fear
• Recognizing when you’re staying out of fear instead of safety or truth
• What it looks like to parent through trauma with honesty and resilience

If you are a survivor of emotional abuse, narcissistic relationships, or family trauma—and you’re trying to protect your children while rebuilding your life—this conversation will leave you feeling seen, validated, and empowered.

You can find Joni Woods and her work through the link below.

https://journeylifecoaching.life/

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Our book is available here: https://amzn.to/45VZISD

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

In this powerful episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships, with Deana and Lizzie sit down with Brooke DeBoer, author of Living the Free Life and a life coach whose journey from bullying and emotional abuse to healing and freedom is both deeply personal and incredibly inspiring.

Brooke shares how years of peer bullying, emotional trauma, unhealthy relationships, and limiting beliefs shaped her self-worth—and how faith, counseling, self-care, and mindset work helped her break free. From childhood bullying and emotionally abusive relationships to becoming a confident woman, coach, and published author, Brooke offers hope for anyone who feels stuck, unseen, or trapped by their past.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How bullying and emotional abuse impact adult relationships
• Why limiting beliefs keep women stuck in toxic patterns
• The connection between trauma, faith, and self-worth
• How religious pressure can become a form of emotional control
• Practical steps to heal, rebuild confidence, and live free
• Why choosing yourself is often an act of faith

If you’ve ever struggled with:

• Low self-esteem after bullying
• Emotional abuse or manipulation
• Fear of leaving a toxic relationship
• Religious guilt keeping you stuck
• Feeling “unlovable” or not enough

This episode will remind you: healing is possible, freedom is real, and your past does not define your future.

🔗 Guest Resources:

🌐 Website: https://thebrookdeboer.com
📘 Book: Living the Free Life (available on Amazon & audiobook platforms)

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Our book is available here: https://amzn.to/45VZISD

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships

In this gripping episode of Surviving Toxic Relationships with Deana and Lizzie sit down with Ken Childs, a veteran Los Angeles private investigator whose 25-year career includes celebrity cases, criminal investigations, and exposing double lives.

Ken opens up about the rise of online deception, emotional cheating, and how narcissists use manipulation and control to hide their true selves. He shares insider tips on:

• How private investigators uncover hidden relationships and fraud.
• Why online “truth finder” apps often miss the real story.
• How to recognize early warning signs and trust your instincts.
• Simple steps to protect your identity, safety, and peace of mind in today’s digital dating world.

If you’ve ever questioned someone’s truth—or your own intuition—this episode will open your eyes.

Kenneth Childs, PI:

https://licensed-investigator.com

LinkedIn

🎙️ Stay Connected with Us!
📺 Subscribe on YouTube: @survivingrelationships12
🎵 Follow us on TikTok: @survivingtoxicrel
🌐 Visit our website: survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Our book is available here: https://amzn.to/45VZISD

Not sure what you’re noticing yet?
↓ Discernment Checklist ↓ https://the-matadoras.kit.com/survivingtoxicrelationships

Contact us anytime at our email: care@survivingtoxicrelationships.org

📘 Join our Facebook community: Surviving Toxic Relationships