In this episode, we talk about chosen family—a kind of community rooted in love, faith, acceptance, forgiveness, and Jesus. A place where you are welcomed as you are, where honesty is safe, and where no one has to walk alone.

Through conversation and reflection, we share how true belonging isn’t about fitting a mold, but about being surrounded by people who love you well and point you back to Christ. Sometimes God invites us into new community—not because we don’t matter where we are, but because He desires something more life-giving for us.

If you’ve ever felt out of place, unseen, or unsure where you belong, this episode is a reminder: you are not alone, you are deeply loved, and there is a place where you can be fully yourself and still be fully accepted.

You belong here 🤍

There comes a moment when trying isn’t enough anymore.

In this episode, we share a powerful story inspired by a friend’s long journey through addiction—years of stopping, starting, rebuilding, and falling apart again. He once tried to change because he “had everything”: the family, the responsibility, the pressure to grow up. But when life unraveled and everything was lost, something was different this time.

This episode isn’t just about addiction. It’s about ownership.

We talk about why healing—just like faith—can’t be built for someone else. It can’t rest on expectations, guilt, pressure, or perfectionism. It has to be your yes. Your surrender. Your decision to choose peace over performance and honesty over appearances.

If you’ve ever felt stuck trying to change for the wrong reasons, or wondered why things didn’t last even when you “did everything right,” this conversation is for you.

Healing lasts when it becomes your own—and when God is invited into it from the start.

Shame has a way of distorting God’s voice—turning conviction into condemnation and truth into accusation. In this episode, we talk about how memories, guilt, and past mistakes can keep us stuck in cycles of self-blame and fear, and how learning to discern God’s voice brings real freedom.

God does not accuse, humiliate, or keep us in bondage. His correction is gentle, clear, and rooted in love. Together, we explore the difference between conviction and condemnation, why not every thought we hear is from God, and how honesty and vulnerability open the door to healing.

Your story doesn’t define you—but it does matter. Healing is possible, and freedom begins when we learn to hear God’s voice above the noise of shame.

In the final episode of our Life Is Messy series, we reflect on what it truly means to be loved as you are. Drawing from Matthew Kelly’s Life Is Messy (pages 168–195) and the wisdom of The Velveteen Rabbit, we explore how God’s love doesn’t make life perfect — it makes us real.

We talk about why shabbiness doesn’t cancel beauty, how wisdom is formed through storms, and why the valleys matter just as much as the peaks. From learning to remember people and stories honestly, to resisting distraction, unforgiveness, and perfectionism, this conversation invites us to choose meaning over control.

As we close this series, our hope is that you walk away with a healthier relationship with your own brokenness — trusting that you are loved as you are, in every season, and that what makes you real is also what makes you beautiful.

In this episode of The Open Doors Podcast, we continue our conversation through Life Is Messy by Matthew Kelly (pages 138–168) and explore the difficult but healing work of forgiveness.

Forgiveness isn’t easy—especially when we’ve been hurt, betrayed, or disappointed by those closest to us. We talk about how unforgiveness can quietly affect us emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and why forgiveness is not excusing behavior, but choosing to let go and surrender.

This conversation also dives into boundaries, people-pleasing, and the struggle to say no without guilt. After pain or trauma, finding your voice can feel overwhelming—but your needs matter, and your voice matters. We reflect on how our identity is not found in our yes or our no, but in who God says we are.

If you’re learning to forgive, struggling to speak up, or longing for healing and freedom, this episode is for you.

In this episode of The Open Doors Podcast, we continue our conversation through Life Is Messy by Matthew Kelly, diving into Part 4 (pages 138–167). Together, we explore how fear and perfectionism shape our thoughts, expectations, and daily choices—and how they often leave us feeling overwhelmed, stuck, and disconnected from God’s peace.

We talk about the lies fear tells us about ourselves, why unhealed wounds can be transferred, and how the pressure to be perfect is not from God. This episode invites us to break free from unrealistic expectations, trust God’s timing, and learn what it looks like to live in balance—keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus rather than swinging between obsession and giving up.

If you’re feeling exhausted from trying to get everything right, this conversation is a reminder that healing and freedom happen one faithful choice at a time—and that every moment is an opportunity for God to bring beauty from the ashes.

In this episode of The Open Doors Podcast, we continue our Life Is Messy conversation by Matthew Kelly (Part 3) and lean into what healing really looks like when it’s lived out in community.

Healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens through connection — with God and with others — as we learn how to love well, receive love honestly, and find joy and freedom along the way. Together, we reflect on how our past pain and grief can be acknowledged and honored without becoming the place we stay stuck.

This conversation invites you to gently look back, recognize how God has already been at work in your healing, and take faithful steps forward — not rushing the process, but trusting that growth comes through love, connection, and hope.

If you’ve ever wondered how to walk through pain without letting it define you, this episode is for you.

In this episode, we continue our journey through Life Is Messy by Matthew Kelly (pages 40–76) and take an honest look at the storms that shake us, the betrayals that wound us, and the empty places we try to fill with everything but God. If you’re longing for encouragement, deeper trust, and a renewed sense of peace, this conversation offers Christian hope, Catholic wisdom, and meaningful insight for navigating the mess within and around us.

We explore how Jesus meets us in the void, steadies us in the storm, and offers the promise of peace that the world cannot give. Perfect for anyone seeking God’s presence, healing, and clarity in their most difficult seasons.