In this powerful and deeply honest episode of the Anchored by the Sword Podcast, I sit down with Janelle Martin, author of Losing Her, Finding Us: A Mother’s Fight, a Daughter’s Journey, and the Road to Recovery.

Janelle shares her journey through heartbreak, parental alienation, addiction, and ultimately redemption—both her daughter’s recovery and her own. What began as unimaginable pain became the very place God birthed healing, purpose, and a calling to help other families walk through addiction with hope and wisdom.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Janelle’s freedom story and growing up with a foundation of faith

• Walking through emotional abuse, divorce, and parental alienation

• The devastating impact of addiction on families—and the loneliness parents feel

• Letting go when you can’t fix it, and trusting God with what you can’t control

• The role of recovery—not just for the addicted, but for parents too

• How God used pain to birth purpose, leading Janelle into mental health and brain healing work

• Writing Losing Her, Finding Us alongside her daughter’s voice and story

• Why hope matters, even when outcomes feel uncertain

Highlighted Takeaways:

• Healing is possible—for the addicted and the family walking alongside them

• You are allowed to have joy and purpose, even while your loved one struggles

• God can redeem what feels irreparably broken

This conversation is raw, redemptive, and filled with reminders that restoration is possible—even when the road feels impossible.

Bio:

Dr. Janelle Martin is a licensed counselor, certified IASIS MicroCurrent Neurofeedback provider, and a doctor of functional medicine. She is the founder of The Mind Connection, a holistic mental health practice based in Houston, Texas, where she helps clients heal from trauma, addiction, and emotional dysregulation using an integrative mind-body approach. Janelle is also the author of Losing Her, Finding Us, a powerful memoir chronicling her daughter’s battle with addiction and their family’s journey to healing. With deep empathy and hard-earned wisdom, Janelle now advocates for families navigating similar paths, offering practical support and hope. Her work combines clinical expertise with personal experience to meet others in their pain and walk with them toward recovery.

Anchor Verse:

John 16:33

Connect with Janelle:

Website: https://www.ourbeautifulrecovery.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AtEZKwJLt/?mibextid=wwXIfr

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ourbeautifulrecovery

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jnelmartin

***We love hearing from you! Your reviews help our podcast community and keep these important conversations going. If this episode inspired you, challenged you, or gave you a fresh perspective, we’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Just head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and share your thoughts—it’s a simple way to make a big impact!***

Hey friends!
Welcome back to another episode of the Anchored by the Sword Podcast. Today’s conversation… whew. Get ready. God’s presence is all over this one.

I’m honored to introduce you to Juliet Dawn, a UK-based singer, worshipper, storyteller, and a woman with a testimony so powerful it honestly feels like it should be a movie. Her newest album, Born to Be, released in September, and the story behind it will absolutely strengthen your faith.

Juliet grew up knowing Jesus from a young age, but what she walked through in adulthood is almost unimaginable — coercive control, a decade of emotional abuse, near-death experiences, trauma, miscarriages, the loss of twins, physical illness, spider bites, PTSD, chronic pain, a broken singing voice, nervous breakdowns, and a long battle for healing.

But through every season, God kept whispering His promises:

• “My times are in Your hands.”
• “You have not given me a spirit of fear…”
• “There is a time for everything under heaven.”

And now?

God has taken Juliette from the deepest valleys into a season of redemption, restoration, and fulfillment of a prayer she prayed at 21:

“Lord, I just want to make a difference — no matter the cost.”

You’ll hear how God led her from trauma to testimony, from brokenness to Nashville recording studios, from silence to releasing powerful songs like There’s a Time and Beauty for Ashes.

Her music has brought people to tears, healed hearts, and opened doors only God Himself could open.

We talk about:
✨ Surviving emotional abuse
✨ Walking through devastating loss
✨ The long road of healing
✨ God’s miracles in impossible medical situations
✨ The anointing behind her songs
✨ Recording in Nashville
✨ Her role in the Pilgrim’s Progress musical film
✨ What it looks like to hold onto hope when everything hurts

Juliet’s story is raw, breathtaking, and soaked in God’s glory.
My prayer is that you leave this episode knowing—deep in your bones—that God truly brings beauty from the ashes.

Listen in. Be encouraged. And let the hope rise again.

Bio:

Juliet Dawn is a multifaceted artist whose creative output spans across performance, music, poetry, film and literature, expressing messages of hope and light born of her own journey of overcoming. Her personal story is one of significant trauma and loss, but she has found restoration through her Christian faith, love and resilience, and now purposes to bring compelling wisdom to others through meaningful lessons learnt.

Juliet’s compelling story weaves through all that she communicates, and now by combining the gifts of her rich, raw life and poetic honesty, she offers something that is both credible, and grounded in real life. Many of the songs and melodies are simply extraordinary, and this is the hallmark of the daughter/mother team; music that is not only timeless, but that leaves a forever deposit in people’s hearts!

Anchor Verses:

Jeremiah 29:11

2 Timothy 1:7

Ecclesiastes 3

Connect with Juliet:

Website: https://www.julietdawn.co.uk

IG: https://www.instagram.com/julietdawnmusic

FB: https://www.facebook.com/dovetailshalom/

***We love hearing from you! Your reviews help our podcast community and keep these important conversations going. If this episode inspired you, challenged you, or gave you a fresh perspective, we’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Just head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and share your thoughts—it’s a simple way to make a big impact!***

I am beyond excited to welcome back my amazing repeat guest, Becky! She first joined me for the kickoff of Season Two back in September 2021, and today we’re catching up to hear about her newest project and book.

Becky’s latest release, A Verse a Day for the Anxious Soul: 100 Days of Peace for the Calm You Crave, is perfectly timed for the holiday season, when life feels extra full and our hearts crave calm. In this episode, Becky shares her personal journey with anxiety, the practices that help her navigate the day-to-day, and how leaning into God’s Word has brought her real peace.

We dive into:

• How Becky realized she needed to get honest with herself and Jesus about her anxiety.

• Practical “peace practices” for moving through anxiety in daily life—small, sustainable steps that actually work.

• The power of community, vulnerability, and having people in your life who see you, pray for you, and support you.

• The inspiration behind her beautiful book cover and why this project has been five years in the making.

Whether you experience anxiety personally or care for someone who does, this episode is full of encouragement, truth, and practical ways to live a calmer, more grounded life—one verse at a time.

Bio:

Becky Keife is the author of A Verse A Day For The Anxious Soul and a Bible teacher, speaker, and author passionate about helping people hear God’s voice, embrace their true identity, and step into their purpose. A dedicated mental health advocate, Becky equips individuals and churches to understand anxiety biblically and experience Jesus wholly. She loves long naps, puffy clouds, and shady trails. Becky lives in Southern California with her husband and three always-hungry teenage sons.

Anchor Verses:

Matthew 11: 20-30

Deuteronomy 31:8

Connect with Becky:

Website: https://www.beckykeife.com

IG: @BeckyKeife

***We love hearing from you! Your reviews help our podcast community and keep these important conversations going. If this episode inspired you, challenged you, or gave you a fresh perspective, we’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Just head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and share your thoughts—it’s a simple way to make a big impact!***

Y’all… this episode is one of those full-circle, only-God-could-write-this moments. I am beyond excited to introduce you to Howard Chang, also known as Quiqqly—the man who helped design the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toys that so many of us (and now our kids and nephews) grew up playing with. And now? God has brought his creativity full circle—right into the pages of Scripture.

Howard shares how, straight out of high school, he found himself designing hundreds of Ninja Turtle toys that would go on to shape generations. Decades later, those same designs resurfaced, reminding him that what God plants never truly disappears. But what makes this story even more powerful is Howard’s personal journey with God—through divorce, sickness, being a single dad of three, depression, anxiety, and rock-bottom moments that became holy ground for radical transformation.

Howard vulnerably shares how, twelve years ago, everything changed when he encountered the Lord in the middle of his deepest brokenness. Since then, God has restored his life and redeemed his creativity into something eternal.

Now, Howard and his wife, Gloria, are launching an incredible new project: Bible-inspired collectible action figures—heroes like David, Moses, Noah, Deborah, Sarah, and even Goliath as a robotic figure—designed to spark faith, imagination, and conversation across generations. Their heart? To place God’s truth right under the Christmas tree, reaching believers and non-believers alike.

This episode is about:

• Redemption
• Faith in the process
• Creativity for God’s Kingdom
• And how nothing in your story is wasted

Truly, this conversation felt like different seasons of my own life colliding in the most God-ordained way—childhood nostalgia, ministry, and Kingdom purpose all meeting in one place.

Highlighted Takeaways

• God can meet you at your absolute lowest and completely rewrite your story.
• What looks like coincidence is often God’s coordination.
• Your gifts don’t disappear—God redeems and reassigns them for His glory.
• Faith doesn’t require full understanding—just obedience and trust.
• The heroes of the Bible remind us that real power comes from faith, not strength.

Final Encouragement from Howard

“Never give up on the process. God is always working—even when you can’t see it.”

Bio:

Howard “Quiggly” Chang is the visionary creator of Ancientz—a bold, faith-fueled universe where spirit-powered robotic warriors battle darkness. But before Ancientz, Quiggly made his mark in pop culture history as one of the original creative forces behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy phenomenon. As Lead Toy Concept Artist at Varner Studios, he helped design some of the most iconic TMNT figures of the late '80s and '90s.

Anchor Verse:

Isaiah 55: 8-9

Connect with Howard and Ancientz:

Website: www.ancientz.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ancientz_official

FB: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DCTwxcsXT/?mibextid=wwXIfr

***We love hearing from you! Your reviews help our podcast community and keep these important conversations going. If this episode inspired you, challenged you, or gave you a fresh perspective, we’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Just head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and share your thoughts—it’s a simple way to make a big impact!***

I am so excited to welcome back my dear friend Jennifer Watson, who originally joined us back on episode 42 with her book Freedom. Today, she’s back to talk about her brand-new book,What If You’re Doing Better Than You Think? Finding Courage and Confidence When Life Gets Messy—and wow, is this message timely as we head into the fast, chaotic holiday season.

Jennifer is a writer, podcaster, mama of two adult daughters, and a passionate advocate for mental health and real-life faith. In this powerful and honest conversation, we talk about what it really looks like to walk through depression, seasonal struggles, shame spirals, counseling, community, and the courage it takes to ask for help.

✨ In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Why mental health struggles are inevitable in a chaotic world

• The dangerous cycle of the shame spiral

• Jennifer’s personal journey with seasonal depression and seeking medical help

• Why getting help is not weakness—it’s bravery

• How the church can better support mental health

• The power of community and counseling

• Walking with children and teens through anxiety and depression

• Writing from the messy middle, not just the healed place

• Why women need spaces that go deeper than small talk

• Scriptures that anchored Jennifer in her darkest seasons

• A gentle but powerful truth: You are doing better than you think.

This episode is full of hope for anyone who feels like they’re barely holding it together—and a reminder that you might be doing so much better than you think.

Bio:

Jennifer Renee Watson is a fierce advocate for mental health and abuse survivors who are bravely healing from unresolved trauma and finding their voice. She is the cohost of the More Than Small Talk Podcast, and has spoken at churches and conferences all over the US.

Anchor Verses:

Psalm 34:18

Isaiah 40:31

Connect with Jennifer:

Website: www.jenniferreneewatson.com

FB: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferwatson/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferwatson/

***We love hearing from you! Your reviews help our podcast community and keep these important conversations going. If this episode inspired you, challenged you, or gave you a fresh perspective, we’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Just head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and share your thoughts—it’s a simple way to make a big impact!***

This week on the Anchored by the Sword Podcast, I’m joined by Maddie Joy Fischer, whose brand new devotional Rest & Rely: A 60-Day Devotional to Replace Fear, Anxiety, and Worry with God’s Truth releases this Tuesday—and truly, the timing could not be more perfect.

As the holiday season approaches, fear, anxiety, grief, and pressure have a way of rising to the surface. Maddie courageously shares her personal journey with anxiety, insecurity, control, and fear—including her struggle with health anxiety and a lifelong fear of flying—and how God gently led her into a deeper place of surrender, rest, and reliance on Him.

We talk about what it looks like to stop striving in our own strength and learn to live first as daughters, not employees of God. Maddie beautifully unpacks how rest and reliance work together, how healing is often a process, and how God uses even our turbulence to teach us who He truly is.

This conversation is full of truth, tenderness, and hope for anyone who feels overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious, or afraid.

✨ Highlighted Takeaways

• Fear grows when we unknowingly “feed it,” but freedom begins when we starve it with truth.
• Rest isn’t just slowing down—it’s learning to receive God’s grace in the middle of life’s chaos.
• Relying on God means fully casting, not casting and carrying.
• Healing doesn’t always happen instantly—sometimes God teaches us who He is in the process.
• We serve best when we first learn how to simply be daughters at His feet.

This episode is an invitation to lay down striving, pick up surrender, and rediscover the peace that only comes from truly resting and relying on the Lord.

Bio:

Maddie Joy Fischer is a 26 year old writer, speaker, and worship leader in St.Louis, MO. She is a wife, the oldest of five siblings, and a born and raised Pastor’s kid. She is also an ambassador (writer) for Live Original, Sadie Roberson’s ministry. Maddie’s passion is to point people to Jesus through living a life of surrender. For 10 years, she has shared this passion on her social media platforms with a desire to see people grow in knowledge of God's word, boldness to proclaim it, and love for the One who it’s all about. She continues to take every opportunity she is given to live out the calling God has prepared for her life as He has continues to grow her ministry every step of the way.

Anchor Verses:

Psalm 23

Psalm 34:8

Proverbs 3:5-6

Connect with Maddie Joy:

Website: https://www.maddieejoy.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/maddiee_joy

FB: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ABZsv6rrC/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Maddie’s new devotional, Rest & Rely, releases this Tuesday and is available for preorder now. https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/9781540904010_rest-rely?fbclid=PAVERFWAOVf-5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAafd-lBETrsmzz4LsKDZ-5qXbT6P95ZP6ryDEmfbYIv2xAJIpAeoFqMks98T9A_aem_IyZGOiS6yxGiohsAiBHLtA

Be sure to grab a copy for yourself—or someone who needs encouragement this season.

***We love hearing from you! Your reviews help our podcast community and keep these important conversations going. If this episode inspired you, challenged you, or gave you a fresh perspective, we’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Just head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and share your thoughts—it’s a simple way to make a big impact!***

Hey guys, welcome to this episode of the Anchored by the Sword Podcast! I am SO excited for you to hear this conversation because today I’m joined by the amazing Amanda Hope Haley — author of Stones Still Speak and a brilliant biblical archaeologist who is passionate about helping believers truly understand Scripture.

Amanda and I had already been talking for so long offline that we finally said, “Okay… we need to hit record!” And I’m so glad we did. Her story is layered with faith, curiosity, academic depth, humor, and a whole lot of God’s perfectly timed direction.

🔍 In This Episode, Amanda Shares:

• How biblical archaeology can illuminate stories we thought we knew.

• The moment in graduate school when she realized something she’d believed her whole life wasn’t actually in Scripture — and how that experience shaped her calling.

• Why Christians shouldn’t fear questions… because God isn’t scared of them either.

• The danger of headlines, misinformation, and “clickbait Christianity” — and how we can anchor ourselves in truth.

• How her infertility journey and her time at Thomas Nelson unexpectedly opened the door to publishing.

• What it looks like to come home again as an adult… and how God continues to weave purpose into every season.

• The importance of slowing down, reading Scripture for ourselves, and not letting society’s pace replace depth with convenience.

• Her life-giving marriage story and the beautiful way Song of Solomon has anchored her and her husband through deep valleys and big moves.

⭐ Episode Highlights:

• “Don’t be afraid of hard questions — let them push you deeper into Scripture.”

• “Archaeology doesn’t exist to prove the Bible; it helps us contextualize it.”

• “Tradition is powerful… but tradition isn’t Scripture. Go back to the text.”

• “When the world moves fast, Christians have to choose to be countercultural in the way we pursue God.”

From Tennessee to Harvard to publishing… from infertility and healing to discovering where tradition hasn’t always matched Scripture… Amanda’s journey is powerful, eye-opening, and incredibly grounding.

Bio:

As the “Red-Haired Archaeologist”, Amanda Hope Haley teaches readers how archaeological discoveries illuminate the ancient world—both the people and places of the Bible--in new ways. When we first encounter the Bible, we are taught its stories--Adam and Eve, Moses and the Red Sea, David and Goliath, Jonah and the whale, and more. But when a story lacks the details we crave, we fill in the blanks--with what we've seen in movies, read in books, and been told by our Sunday school teachers. But there's a better way to encounter the whole story of Scripture: uncovering and understanding the ancient world and the people who experienced biblical events.

With an MTS in Hebrew Scripture and Interpretation from Harvard, Amanda Hope Haley is a lover of the Bible--its God, words, people, and history. Writing and speaking as the Red-Haired Archaeologist, she teaches how artifacts contextualize Scripture. She hopes to see Bible lovers work together to learn history, interpret Scripture, and apply God's Word to their lives. She contributed to The Voice Bible as a translator, writer, and editor, and she has been a collaborator for popular Christian authors.

Anchor Verses:

Song of Solomon/Songs 6:3

Connect with Amanda:

Website: https://redhairedarchaeologist.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/AmandaHopeHaley

FB: https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHopeHaley/

Grab a free chapter and learn more at StonesStillSpeak.com.

***We love hearing from you! Your reviews help our podcast community and keep these important conversations going. If this episode inspired you, challenged you, or gave you a fresh perspective, we’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Just head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and share your thoughts—it’s a simple way to make a big impact!***

Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of Anchored by the Sword Podcast! Today’s conversation is extra special because I’m recording in person with my friend, Destiny Tackett. Funny enough, Destiny and I met the way all great friendships begin… through a coffee shop that I’m basically a permanent resident of. They know my order so well that if I dare switch it up, the whole place goes into shock — but here we are.

Destiny is 24, a ministry graduate, a barista, and a young woman who carries the kind of story that reminds you just how faithful God is — even in the moments when life is loud, chaotic, and full of pain. She grew up in a very difficult home environment: seven siblings, a father who has been in prison her whole life, abuse from a step-parent, and years of coping with the only tools brokenness gives you. Her story is heavy, but it’s also overflowing with God’s redemption.

In this episode, Destiny shares how Jesus tugged on her heart at the end of high school — even while she was still partying, smoking weed, and trying to numb everything she’d lived through. She applied for ministry school while still feeling completely unqualified, yet God kept drawing her closer. College became the place where the Lord peeled back layers, exposed wounds that needed tending, and surrounded her with pastors, mentors, and friends who helped her walk into real freedom.

Destiny talks honestly about:

• Growing up in trauma and learning to name the pain

• Coping through food, alcohol, weed, and porn — and how Jesus met her right there

• Being willing to heal privately and publicly

• Becoming a light in a family full of sorrow and cycles

• Learning what it means to be God’s daughter

• Being an ambassador of hope in everyday conversations

• Wrestling through real-time grief as our world feels heavier by the day

We also talk about the events in our world recently — the violence, the tragedies, the overwhelming grief that many of us have felt so deeply. Destiny shares how the Lord has taught her to hold hope and grief together, and how remembering that we fight a real enemy actually anchors her heart in truth.

She reminds us that Jesus has overcome, He is still reigning, and He is near to the brokenhearted even when our emotions try to tell us otherwise.

This episode is such an encouragement for anyone who’s walking through heaviness — personal or global. Destiny’s story is a reminder that the gospel is not just a past event. It is active, alive, and holding us up in real time.

Be sure to share this episode with someone who needs hope today.

Bio:

Destiny Tackett is a young Christian in her twenties who is learning to walk out ministry and discipleship in the rhythms of everyday life. With a heart marked by vulnerability, Destiny is committed to embracing healing from past traumas and sorrows while inviting others to experience God’s nearness in their own stories.

Through her journey, Destiny has discovered a profound truth: the Lord has been present in every step, even in the moments when His hand felt hidden. Her life reflects a growing trust in a God who is unfailingly good, deeply loving, and righteous in all His ways. Destiny’s hope is to point others toward that same faithful God as she continues to grow, serve, and walk in obedience to His call.

Anchor Verses:

John 16:33

2 Corinthians 5:16–20

Philippians 1:6

Connect with Destiny:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/share/1D1pZzGdVy/?mibextid=wwXIfr

***We love hearing from you! Your reviews help our podcast community and keep these important conversations going. If this episode inspired you, challenged you, or gave you a fresh perspective, we’d be so grateful if you’d take a moment to leave a review. Just head to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and share your thoughts—it’s a simple way to make a big impact!***