Practical Faith Academy - Episode 22, Karen Dittman, Wellbeing in All Circumstances

The Practical Faith Academy Podcast from Cecil Taylor Ministries presents guests who have important things to say about putting your faith into practice. Cecil interviews each guest to understand their life stories and their ideas for living a seven-day practical faith.

Enduring family difficulties and tragedies, Karen Dittman relied on scripture and prayer to learn the secret of finding wellbeing in all circumstances. The result is a book she co-authored with her husband, Michael, entitled “Thriving Grace,” to achieve lasting change in the shadow of God’s grace. Dittman shares her learnings on this episode of the Practical Faith Academy podcast.

Highlights of the podcast:

2:32 What does seven-day practical faith mean to Dittman

4:03 Dittman shares her family’s back story and the incredible trauma they have been through, which informed her book.

7:37 How did she find peace and rest in the middle of trauma and trials?

11:24 How living her book’s principles helped Dittman transmit the ideas to readers

13:51 Dittman explains one of her key concepts, The Grace Cycle, and how changing from the inside out leads to true transformation.

19:27 Dittman shows how different kinds of wellness interact within us

21:07 Tips to weave wellness concepts into our lives

24:01 The hardest part of putting faith into practice

25:18 Dittman’s best tip for living a seven-day practical faith

26:41 How to follow Dittman and find her book

Karen Dittman is a mother, grandmother, and author who co-wrote with her husband, “Thriving Grace: Unleashing Wellness from a Biblical Perspective.” The book and its Bible study companion are available through her website, KarenADittman.com, and major booksellers. See her website for this quiz, “How Fast Is Your Hamster Wheel Spinning?” At its end, Dittman shares practical ideas to incorporate into your life and options for how she can support you.

Cecil Taylor is an author, speaker, podcaster, blogger, and provider of Instant Content to churches and small groups. Please register for Cecil’s two free monthly newsletters on the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page. When you do, you’ll receive a free gift, which changes from time to time, and two monthly newsletters, Backstage Pass and Monthly Connection. Currently the free gift is “Collections, Volume 1,” containing 31 of his most popular devotions and essays from years of online posting.

For more free content like this podcast from Cecil Taylor Ministries, visit https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com/free-content.

Cecil’s parenting advice can be found at his new website, https://www.UnisonParenting.com, at  https://www.instagram.com/unison_parenting/ and at https://www.pinterest.com/CecilTaylorMinistries.

Cecil’s award-winning books and video studies can be found and purchased through https://www.CecilTaylorMinistries.com. Every video study’s first lesson can be seen for free via the Free Content link above by clicking on “Sample Lessons.”

Cecil’s Instant Content portfolio of books and video studies includes the following:

- “Unison Parenting: The Comprehensive Guide to Navigating Christian Parenthood with One Voice” is about Christian parenting. Cecil provides proven parenting strategies with an underlying layer of parenting in unison through all the ages and stages of a child’s life. “Unison Parenting” has been honored with the 2025 Independent Press Award for Parenting/Family and the 2025 Living Water Award for Best Nonfiction.

- “From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone” is about deepening faith. Cecil explores a dozen Bible studies of Jesus inviting people out of their comfort zones into their trust zones and how to apply these stories to our lives today.

- “The Next Thing” is about crisis responses. Cecil shares a four-part Christian model for dealing with crisis. You’ll find the model to be flexible and applicable to many crises.

- “Live Like You’re Loved” is about vibrant living. Cecil affirms the scriptural truths that God loves you, forgives you, sends you, and walks with you in eternal relationship. Then he shows how your life is transformed when you embed these truths into your daily faith and your soul.