Growing Brave to Become More: Rebecca Bender and Patti Callahan Henry

Fear of the unknown and fear of change are some of the greatest struggles we will ever face. How can we possibly leave behind what’s familiar to us? How will we know where to go next? What will happen to us and our loved ones? It can be terrifying, lonely, and confusing. Today’s guests share how they found the courage to make a change, which led them to freedom and joy like they had never experienced. Human trafficking survivor and activist Rebecca Bender opens up about the life she was manipulated into and how, by listening to God’s voice and the strong spirit that He gave her, she found a way out. Novelist Patti Callahan Henry shares how she left her job as a nurse to become a writer, and the story she wrote about C.S. Lewis’ wife, Joy, who also took a leap of faith that led her to a love that she never could’ve imagined for herself. If you’re considering making a change in your life, remember this: it is in the uncomfortable and the unfamiliar that we grow and have an opportunity to depend on God like never before. And He has plans for hope and a future for each one of us. 

Links, Products and Resources Mentioned:

Sarah Young

Jesus Calling Podcast

Jesus Calling books

Jesus Calling book

Jesus Calling: The Jesus Calling Magazine
Jesus Calling for Kids at Barnes & Noble (PINK and BLUE versions)

Rebecca Bender

Rebecca Bender Initiative
In Pursuit of Love: One Woman’s Journey from Trafficked to Triumphant book
National U.S. Trafficking Hotline: 1 (888) 373-7888 to get help today

Patti Callahan Henry

Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis book

Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis [Podcast]

 

C.S. Lewis
Yale Younger Poets Award

 

American Idol finalist Dave Pittman
Tourette’s Syndrome

Interview Quotes:

”I felt like an outsider, which pushed me, I think, even further away from wanting to be a part of a community of faith.” - Rebecca Bender 

”You can't imagine going back to hopelessness, so you choose to look the other way because you really want the dream that's being dangled in front of you.” - Rebecca Bender

“I was so, so filled with knowing that I could hear the voice of the Lord, the voice of the Creator of the universe who chose to talk to me, and that really kept me through some of my darkest times.” - Rebecca Bender

“This is my favorite part about God: how He breaks off chains, He breaks up shame. He can completely redo our lives.” - Rebecca Bender

“You have to be real with God. He knows what you're thinking, and He knows even more than you do what's happening in your brain and in your mind and your heart. So just crying out to Him helps really shift and give you some revelation and helps you take your eyes off of your circumstance to see what He has in store.” - Rebecca Bender

“What I love about the work that God allows me to do today is not only do we get to bring justice for the victim . . . but I love that it's also creating constant change in the community.” - Rebecca Bender

”You know, Jesus loves girls like me—we’re all over the Bible. Put the shame on who should own the shame, which is the perpetrators.” - Rebecca Bender

“[My faith] transforms, and it transforms me. As long as it's always about the indwelling God, I feel fairly safe in my faith.” - Patti Callahan Henry

“I do believe that it was the first time Joy ever truly loved, and it's because she first found her true self in God.” - Patti Callahan Henry

”We might need to pack up everybody's expectations and everybody's demands and everybody's definitions of us.” - Patti Callahan Henry

“My favorite quote by Joy is, ‘If we should ever grow brave, what on earth would become of us?’" - Patti Callahan Henry

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Enjoy these videos on Jesus Calling YouTube channel:

Audio podcast: https://bit.ly/2uCnNM0 

Original Series video podcast: https://bit.ly/2WzFY0O 

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