The story starts with a simple truth: substances feel like solutions when your identity is shaky and your heart is hurting. Jake opens up about finding alcohol in middle school, wearing the “party guy” mask to fit in, and living a double life as an athlete whose status hid deeper fractures. When college stripped away the sports identity, the spiral accelerated. A minor but piercing moment—getting fired from a part-time job—triggered a deeper look. AA offered structure, but six months of white-knuckling sobriety proved that behavior change without heart change doesn’t last.

Everything shifted with a hesitant, unpolished prayer. On his bedroom floor, Jake asked for help, and a quiet peace answered. That moment powered 14 years of sobriety sustained by meetings, service, and a budding spirituality. But without ongoing care—prayer, Scripture, community—the roots dried out. Law enforcement trauma, family pain, and isolation pulled him away from God, and fear held him sober until PTSD cornered him into a false choice: disappear or numb. Weed to sleep became drinks to forget, and daily use returned with the same old promises that never deliver.

Then came August 12. Jake describes a sudden return of God’s presence that he didn’t earn and couldn’t explain. Since then, he’s rebuilding guardrails that protect peace: honest prayer, counseling, a pastor’s steady wisdom, and friends who show up to pray rather than pour. We speak candidly about dopamine and ADHD, why numbing is seductive but destructive, and how surrender outperforms self-will. The throughline is hope: you are not your addiction, and recovery grows where truth, community, and faith intersect with action.

If you’re stuck in the loop, you don’t have to run. Stand. Reach out to us and we’ll walk with you—without shame, with real help, and with a reminder that freedom is possible. If this resonated, subscribe, share it with someone who needs hope, and leave a review to help others find the conversation.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and at risk of self-harm, please call or text 988, the suicide and crisis lifeline.

To contact us directly send an email to Dan@10-42project.org or call 515-350-6274
Visit our website! 10-42project.org
Check us out on social media!
Youtube: @1042project
Facebook: www.facebook.com/1042project
Instagram: 1042_project

What if a first responder never had to weather the storm alone? We kick off season four with a live conversation that looks honestly at burnout, isolation, and the stress of the job.

We share how our EQUIP program now reaches recruits across police, fire, EMS, and dispatch, giving new classes the mental, spiritual, and relational tools we wish we had. We expand equine assisted therapy through partners like Godspeed Equine, and we clarify why “volunteers” and “ambassadors” are different: ambassadors are peers with lived experience who answer the call, sit in the chaos, and guide toward help without judgment or department ties. For families, especially spouses carrying secondary trauma, we outline retreats and resources that rebuild trust and communication.

Then we unveil the Refuge; a 100-acre vision near Des Moines with ponds, trails, cottages, and a gear-filled Morton building. Imagine borrowing a camper, kayaks, or side-by-sides and finding a quiet room or a small group ready to listen. Add a barn for gatherings, an education center for trainings and counseling, and a permanent studio to keep stories flowing. It’s not a brochure; it’s a blueprint for healing: clean water time through fishing, running, worship on your commute, painting outside your comfort zone, or riding a horse that helps your nervous system finally exhale.

If this mission resonates—whether you’re a first responder, a spouse, or someone who wants to help—join us. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs hope, and email Dan@10-42project.org to volunteer, become an ambassador, or support the Refuge. Your voice can multiply the message. Your action can change a life.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and at risk of self-harm, please call or text 988, the suicide and crisis lifeline.

To contact us directly send an email to Dan@10-42project.org or call 515-350-6274
Visit our website! 10-42project.org
Check us out on social media!
Youtube: @1042project
Facebook: www.facebook.com/1042project
Instagram: 1042_project

Some mornings don’t start with motivation—they start with weight. We open the mic on a day that felt crooked and talk honestly about PTSD flare-ups, addiction recovery, and why a single siren can pull old symptoms back. Instead of hiding the hard parts, we map them: the difference between being tired and being empty, how to choose the right kind of rest, and what it takes to refill when your compassion tank runs dry. Along the way, we share stories from Bible study with recruits, nature walks that quiet the noise, and small choices that turn pain into purpose.

Our conversation keeps circling back to community and faith. Comfort received becomes comfort given; grace on the mountaintop and grace in the valley. You’ll hear how vulnerability builds real connection—online and face-to-face—and why you don’t need perfect days to help someone else. If anything, your scars make you easier to understand. We push back on grind culture, name the lies that grow loud when we isolate, and offer practical tools: box breathing, unplugging, moving at God’s speed, and calling a friend before you retreat.

If you’ve ever wondered whether a setback erases your progress, this is your reminder: healing is messy and still healing. You’re not disqualified by bad days. You belong in a community that will sit with you, pray for you, and cover the work while you rest. Share this with someone who needs a lift, and email Dan at 10-42project.org if you want to connect.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and at risk of self-harm, please call or text 988, the suicide and crisis lifeline.

To contact us directly send an email to Dan@10-42project.org or call 515-350-6274
Visit our website! 10-42project.org
Check us out on social media!
Youtube: @1042project
Facebook: www.facebook.com/1042project
Instagram: 1042_project