What We Really Want: Conversations About Connection

Feelings would be great if they didn't make us feel so many things. Sometimes it seems like they are a nuisance, other times like they're just too much to bear. But what if we changed our relationship with our feelings and started to believe they were the megaphone telling us what our heart is experiencing and desires to experience?  In this episode, Phil Herndon (counselor and Clinical Director at Tin Man Ministries) talks about how beautiful and valuable our feelings are, and how getting to know them is critical to living a healthy, connected life. Opening ourselves up to the full range of our feelings allows us to walk through life knowing that at the end, as we "walk off the field with our uniform dirty," we'll be able to know we really lived.(Audio Note: You may notice an echo in the audio throughout; sorry about that. It happened on the original recording and we didn't notice it until after we finished. We did our best to eliminate as much of the echo as possible.) Tin Man Ministries websiteAwaken websiteRoots Retreat Men's IntensiveRoots Retreat Women's WorkshopAwaken Men & Women's support meeting info (including virtual)

Talking with Andy Gullahorn & Gabe Scott can be many things, but it is never boring. With dry humor and refreshing honesty, these great friends share how they've committed to intentional connection in their 20+ year friendship.  Both Andy and Gabe are music industry veterans. Andy is well known in Nashville and beyond as one of the most thought-provoking and clever songwriters around. Both Andy and Gabe are part of Andrew Peterson's annual Behold the Lamb of God tour in the Christmas season. In recent years Gabe has added restauranteur to his resume, as founder of Ladybird Taco (with locations in Nashville and Birmingham AL). Since meeting in 2000, and alongside many life changes, their friendship has been a constant. Listening to how these friends have stayed connected, and how that connection helped keep Gabe tethered to hope during one of the hardest experiences of his life, is encouraging and inspiring.  One longtime intentional part of Andy and Gabe's friendship is a weekly walking journey they take from their homes to give each other a high-five. April 30, 2024 marks the TEN YEAR anniversary of the high five. We talk about that, and much more, in this great conversation. CBS story on the High Five Andy's website Ladybird Taco (Gabe's restaurant)Awaken websiteRoots Retreat Men's IntensiveRoots Retreat Women's WorkshopAwaken Men & Women's support meeting info (including virtual)

Greg & Stacey Oliver (Co-Founders) and Bobby West (Assistant Director) of Awaken kick off this brand new podcast by sharing what WE really want listeners to experience. If the saying is true - "The opposite of addiction is not sobriety...the opposite of addiction is connection" - then recovery is more than just a focus on stopping or changing behavior. It's about discovering the deeper desires we all carry for deep and authentic connection. Awaken is a recovery community that helps people live the lives they were created to live, free from addiction and the damage it causes. Part of the way we support people in recovery is by inviting them to find out what they've really wanted all along.In this first episode, Greg & Stacey share their stories of how they came into recovery, and how people who struggle with unwanted sexual behavior or sexual betrayal trauma can connect with our community. Awaken websiteRoots Retreat Men's IntensiveRoots Retreat Women's WorkshopAwaken Men & Women's support meeting info (including virtual)

Greg & Stacey Oliver (Co-Founders) and Bobby West (Assistant Director) of Awaken continue the conversation we started in Episode 1, where we tell our stories and share what WE really want to see happen with the podcast.Now, it's Bobby's turn. Bobby West tells about his history of struggling with addiction as a missionary, the pain and damage it caused, his path of recovery, and how he came to be part of Awaken. Then we all talk more about how we all need and desire connection, and how the podcast is going to offer deep and meaningful conversations that invite listeners to discover the connections they've really wanted all along. Awaken websiteRoots Retreat Men's IntensiveRoots Retreat Women's WorkshopAwaken Men & Women's support meeting info (including virtual)