February 26, 2025 • 31 mins
Rich returns to Courageous Overcomers to share his deeply personal journey of faith, marked by the profound loss of his grandfather. What happens when life's hardest moments challenge our beliefs and push us towards self-doubt? Learn how Rich confronted these trials, the impact of unanswered prayers, and the solace he sought in alcohol as he grappled with feelings of inadequacy and fear of rejection. His story opens a dialogue on the delicate balance between self-reliance and spiritual dependence, especially in a society that values toughness and independence.
Join us as we explore the barriers to faith in a world that often pressures us to control our destinies. Rich and I dive into the struggle of reconciling personal pain with spiritual growth, the shame of past choices, and the courage required to embrace new identities and communities. Together, we challenge the fear of rejection and discuss the importance of finding acceptance in new circles while navigating the complexities of sobriety and Christianity. This episode sheds light on how small steps of faith can lead to hope, even when life takes unexpected turns.
We'll also share wisdom from Dr. Health, whose 103-year journey underscores the power of living without fear through trust in God. Discover how faith can become a tool for overcoming anxiety and life's challenges, fostering resilience and peace. My own experiences with the Bible offering solace and protection from negative thoughts serve as a testament to the transformative power of faith. We invite you to connect with our community, embrace faith as a pathway to overcoming fear, and share this message with others who may find inspiration in our stories.
Stay Connected:
- Website: https://www.tonyashellnutt.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyashellnutt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonyashellnut
- Twitter: https://x.com/tonyashellnutt
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tonya Shellnutt (00:12):
Welcome to Courageous Overcomers.
Stories of hope and healing.
I'm your host, tanya Shulman.
Here we talk about the hardstuff trauma, fear and pain.
Let's be honest, many of ushide from our pain because it's
just too hard to face.
But here's the truth we can'theal what we're not willing to
face.
Last week we talked about faithand some of the barriers that
(00:34):
keep us from faith, and thisweek I have your favorite
special guest in the studio withme.
Rich is with me and we aregoing to dive into addressing
some of his faith journey andsome barriers that he went
through.
But before I bring the star ofthe show on, I want to just
(00:54):
highlight some of the barriersthat we talked about last week.
If you haven't listened to it,go back and listen to it.
We talked about how strugglingwith hard questions about
suffering and just doubt andunanswered questions as being a
barrier the fear of surrender orloss of control because nobody
(01:16):
likes to let go of controlthat's a barrier.
Believing the lie that we'retoo broken, so we have shame or
unworthiness.
We have cultural or societalpressures, so we know that
everyone around us promotesself-sufficiency and some people
think being a faith-basedperson is weak or outdated.
(01:39):
The other barrier we have isidentity confusion or fear of
rejection and fear of rejection,and then we have church hurt
and hypocrisy.
There's a lot of people thatfall into that one on a barrier
of faith or growing in theirfaith, and then we have the
spiritual warfare component ofit, where the enemy works to
(01:59):
keep people trapped in fear.
So today I want to dive in withRich to talk about some of the
struggles that he's gone through, and so, rich, welcome back.
You have been noted as one ofthe favorites on the podcast and
so they love listening to you.
So I thought I'd in your lifewas when you lost your
grandfather, and I know thestory about what happened with
(02:33):
that, and so I want you to sharewith our audience a little bit
about that story.
What happened when he was sickand did you find yourself
questioning God and did you feelalone and unheard?
Rich Shellnutt (02:48):
Well, thanks for having me.
I think all of us at one pointhave to face losing people in
our lives, whether it's ourclose family members, our best
friends, and we have to realizethat we're going to have to deal
with that in our lives,sometimes some sooner than
others, which I wish foreverybody but also family
(03:14):
members that were really closeto you, that you trusted, you
had faith in, that, led you andguide you, and they were your
strong support.
And that's what my grandfatherwas to me, and during that time,
you know, he was diagnosed withcancer and a lot of us are
going through that right now,with family members and friends
(03:35):
going through that.
And I was probably 12 or 13years old.
My faith was strong.
I believed in God, I believedthat he could do anything, and
one of the things that I trulybelieved that he would do is
answer my prayers, even thoughhe didn't answer the prayer that
I had.
What was?
Tonya Shellnutt (03:56):
the prayer.
Tell our audience what youprayed specifically.
Rich Shellnutt (03:59):
I specifically prayed that he would be healed.
Tonya Shellnutt (04:02):
Your grandfather.
Rich Shellnutt (04:03):
Yes and so.
Tonya Shellnutt (04:06):
And you made a deal with him, with God.
Rich Shellnutt (04:08):
I did make a deal with God.
Yes, I made a deal that if hesurvived I would follow him for
the rest of my life, and God haddifferent plans for me at that
moment in time.
And I unfortunately got veryupset with God because my
grandfather passed away twomonths later and I was
continuously praying for him,and so I was mad at God when
(04:33):
that didn't happen.
He took the closest man figureout of my life and I think the
most important part of it was isI was scared.
I didn't know how to become aman and I had no one to guide me
, since my father had beendivorced from my mom since I was
one years old and he was analcoholic and I sure didn't want
him too much into my lifeguiding me.
(04:55):
And so I think for me, dealingwith that was when I turned from
God.
And when I turned from God, youknow I I substituted with other
things the fear of just livinglife alone.
Um, I was a coward and goingthrough that, I started using
(05:15):
alcohol and drugs to fill thosevoids of my inadequacies of life
, and that's where my traumastarted was going through life
with fear.
Tonya Shellnutt (05:27):
Right.
So you lost your grandfather,and it goes back to one of the
key barriers of people notcoming to faith or not
progressing in their faith, andthat's those unanswered
questions I shared with ouraudience last week about how,
you know, I always question howwould a loving God allow for a
(05:49):
child to be sexually assaulted,or my birth father abandoning me
?
And so your core moment startedwhen you started having those
unanswered questions, when theLord didn't give you the answer
that you wanted and that youwere seeking for of keeping your
grandfather alive.
And then, as you said, it ledto the alcohol.
(06:09):
And that actually leads intothe next barrier that often
happens, and that's the fear ofsurrender and loss of control.
So turning to alcohol oftengives people a false sense of
control.
So what did it feel like torely on drinking to cope, and
what made surrendering to yourfaith so difficult?
Rich Shellnutt (06:31):
I think drinking was not a way to give me hope,
but drinking was a way to copewith life.
I was embarrassed, I wasfearful and when I drank, you
know, I became bulletproof and Ididn't worry about anything.
And it got to that point where,you know, alcohol was
(06:52):
destroying my life eventuallywhen I got older.
But when I was younger, I feltlike it made me fit in, you know
, from society that wasrejecting me.
I felt that way.
You know, we talked a littlebit about me having learning
disabilities and and areas likethat in my life where I
struggled socially with otherpeople, but when I drank alcohol
(07:16):
I felt like I could be withanybody.
Tonya Shellnutt (07:18):
So when it came time for you to surrender, how
was that difficult?
Or was it difficult for you?
Rich Shellnutt (07:26):
To surrender to God.
Tonya Shellnutt (07:28):
Yeah.
Rich Shellnutt (07:29):
No, I was at my last rope.
It came to the point where itwas.
You know, I was brought to apoint of either I try something
differently or this is going tokill me, whether I kill myself,
or whether I end up dead bybeing in fights, shot at, killed
by somebody.
I had myself in thosesituations a lot because of my
(07:53):
drinking.
And you know, one day I finally, you know, came to the
realization that, you know,everybody that I was with wasn't
drinking like me and I wasembarrassing even the good
drunks that I was hanging outwith.
So it finally turned on me, andyou know, I was in the Navy at
the time that that happened andI prayed to God.
(08:14):
I said, lord, I don't want toend my life, I want to be a
different person.
Please help me.
And you know, my journey fromthere began.
Tonya Shellnutt (08:23):
But would you say that, as you matured in your
faith, that there have beentimes where it has been hard to
surrender to the Lord?
Have you ever experienced that,where you just think that by
your own might and your ownstrength, that that you have to
do it, and so you just are?
(08:44):
You don't feel like God hasgiven you the result that you've
wanted, so you just try to willit yourself.
Rich Shellnutt (08:50):
Sure, I think everybody tries to do things on
their own and their ownunderstanding at the time.
And you know, when you have tosurrender to something,
especially being a man it's notsomething that you've been
taught in society is.
You know you have to be strong,you have to be the leader, you
have to be the provider, youhave to be.
(09:10):
You know all these things that,as a man, you do have to be.
But you know, the problem is iswhen you're a young man, you
don't have any leadership, youdon't have anybody guiding you
and directing you.
When you lose those figures inyour life, you don't have
anybody guiding you anddirecting you when you lose
those figures in your life, andso you have no one to.
(09:31):
You know, really emulate theirlifestyles and how they live
their lives, and you know.
But the answers that I wasseeking is that, you know, my
heavenly father had all thosequestions for me and he had all
those answers for me.
Did I always go around him totry to get there without him?
Sure, sure, I did that.
I always thought that I coulddo things by myself.
I didn't need God's help.
Tonya Shellnutt (09:51):
Well, and that actually leads into the next
barrier, which is, you know, acultural and societal issues
that say, like you said, youneed to be self-reliant, you
need to be tough in order tosurvive.
So how did that mindset clashwith your faith and what did you
(10:15):
do to lean into your faith, toget around that?
Rich Shellnutt (10:19):
Well, god tells us when we're weak we are strong
, and I didn't understand whatthat exactly meant.
But the older I got and themore wiser I got with God's word
and understanding, I think whathe's trying to tell us there is
you know, we're here on afallen world and even though
we're weak during it, god'sgoing to take care of us and
he's going to walk us throughthe things that we need to walk
(10:42):
through with him.
And trusting that was thehardest part, because when I
lost my grandfather, you knowthat trust kind of went out the
window because I didn't believehe could do what he told me that
he could do.
And everybody tells you youknow your prayers will be
answered, your prayers will beanswered, and when that doesn't
happen, you'll lose some of that.
(11:02):
You know.
Hope that that's really goingto happen and you don't believe
it.
Tonya Shellnutt (11:08):
So what do you tell those people that have
prayed for something for so longand God hasn't answered their
prayers and they're just like,well, God doesn't really exist
because he hasn't answered myprayers?
What do you say to those peoplethat are using that
inadvertently as a barrier togrowing in their faith?
Rich Shellnutt (11:23):
I would say that all God asks us to do is put
one foot forward at a time and,even though we don't have an
understanding of why it hasn'thappened now and why it hasn't
come true at the time, you'reonly seeing sections of your
life, little parts at a time,and all you can be is faithful
(11:44):
to that.
And you got to believe that Godhas your best intention and
heart.
And even though that doesn'tcome true and you don't see
those things happening, there'sother doors and avenues that God
has opened up for you to letyou be able to witness his glory
and his true love for you.
You just have to open your eyesto see it, and sometimes we're
(12:09):
so wounded that we forget tojust open our eyes and see the
little good things that he doesin our lives.
But we always believe that thebigger things, you know, are
what really brings us to ourfaith.
But it's not.
It's the little steps, it's thelittle things that we keep
going for day in and day out,that give us hope.
Tonya Shellnutt (12:29):
Right.
So another barrier is feelingunworthy or shameful.
Did you ever believe that youwere too far gone for God to
love or redeem you?
And if so, tell us a little bitabout that.
Rich Shellnutt (12:42):
Did I ever believe that I was too far gone?
I think there's plenty of timeswhen I was very depressed in
life that I felt that thequestions in life were
unanswered.
Yes, but I'm not sure if I everdid not believe that things
could happen if I was in thewill of God.
(13:04):
Things could happen if I was inthe will of God.
I believe that I tried to pushsome things that weren't in the
will of God, but he still led meand brought me back to where I
need to go.
You know, some people say thatyou know, our paths are like a
tree, you know, and and everylimb has a little step, you know
, but the the tree trunk willlead you to the top, but we like
(13:26):
to take all these little treelimbs off of our you know lives
and our paths.
But then we have to come backand get back on the main uh
things in life.
And you know, I don't see it atthe time, but when I trusted
him, he would always bring meback to him, even though I would
go down the wrong path.
(13:47):
Him, he would always bring meback to him, even though I would
go down the wrong path.
So, no, I don't think there'sanything that I didn't believe
that he could do for me.
It was my own will that got inthe way.
Tonya Shellnutt (13:54):
Right, right, okay.
Well, let's talk about this one, because this is one that I
think a lot of people strugglewith, and that is the fear of
rejection.
It's a barrier.
Did you ever worry, when youstarted getting sober and
leaning into your faith, thatyour family or your friends
(14:17):
would reject you because youwere a Christian, and did you
have family or friends rejectyou because you were a Christian
and leaning into your faith?
Rich Shellnutt (14:27):
Oh, absolutely.
I had a ton of people thatrejected me.
First of all, a good alcoholicdoesn't like their friends to
become sober or drug-free, andso you have to change that
atmosphere.
Whether you were a friend withhim all your life or whether you
were friends with him just fora short period of time, that
(14:47):
would happen periodically withme.
I think our faith of rejectioncomes from knowing that we have
had lost our way and we didn'tknow who we were.
And so we were trying to fit insomewhere.
And when I was looking andsearching for what peer groups
(15:07):
or what people that I felt likewould accept me of just who I
was, and me seeking who I was,you know who?
Who am I?
What has God created me to doin this life, and who am I?
And when I was drunk and soberI didn't worry about that stuff.
But then when I got sober, Ihad to figure out.
(15:29):
You know, I was always the classclown.
I was always funny, I wasalways taking my time to really
think about how I could fit in,and so I'd use my humor, I'd use
my anger in different ways totry to figure out how I fit in.
To try to figure out how I fitin.
(15:50):
And so I think when I when Iworried a lot about what people
thought it would change my pathfrom the way God was guiding me.
So I had to be very diligent inmy walk and my faith and you
know, I had to trust that.
When I got involved in a peergroup or gotten involved with
people that love the Lord and,you know, walk me through it,
you know that trust startedgetting built.
(16:10):
You know, sometimes that evenworks into a you know, not an
understanding of where God wantsyou.
But you know, the mostimportant thing for me and I
think for people in general, isthat we need to understand that
you know we're going to berejected by this society, but
God's never going to reject us.
(16:30):
So that's the most importantthing to keep in mind.
Tonya Shellnutt (16:33):
That's a good word, all right.
Church hurt and hypocrisy.
This is a hard, hard, hard one,and this is one I actually
shared about last week whenthere was a spiritual leader at
one of our churches thatinsinuated that a lot of the
problems that we were goingthrough early on with the kids
(16:53):
and finances and marriage was aresult of our sin, and it
crushed me, it hurt me greatlyand I think a lot of people go,
a ton of people go throughchurch hurt and they get hurt by
the church and then they justsay, okay, I'm never going back
because the church did this orthe church did that, not
(17:14):
understanding that you knowchurch people are are fallen too
.
So have you ever experiencedchurch hurt and if so, please
share and if, give us some wordsof wisdom and how to handle
church hurt, because this ismore predominant than people let
on and they use it as an excusenot to grow.
Rich Shellnutt (17:37):
Yeah, I don't.
I didn't experience church hurt, and the reason I say that is
because I don't care what peoplethink.
I only care about what Godthinks and what he does in my
life, and so when I think aboutwhether people are getting hurt
in church, I think the realthing you've got to look at is
are you feeling like you're inthe will of God and the things
(17:59):
that you're doing?
And if he's calling you to dothese certain things that aren't
hurting others and it's linedup with his truths and it's
lined up with him, I don'treally worry about it.
Now, there might be times whenpeople disagree with you or
people personally point out somethings that you know maybe
you're struggling with.
That is sinful and that's okay,because they're trying to do it
(18:21):
in love and they're trying todo it with truth, because
they're trying to do it in loveand they're trying to do it with
truth.
Now, whether you reject thatand whether you believe that,
that's between you and God.
Tonya Shellnutt (18:33):
Right.
So do you remember that onelady and I'm not obviously going
to name names, but she told methat Izzy was having seizures
because I was sinning, and Ithink from a woman's standpoint
well, not just from a woman'sstandpoint, but that crushed me
because I felt like, well, oh mygosh, is it something I'm doing
(18:54):
that's causing Izzy to havethese seizures?
And there's a lot of peoplethat go through like that, go
through these church hurts andwhere good Christians
well-intended Christians, Iwould say hurt people because
they don't think about whatthey're saying.
And how do you, you know, helppeople that have been through
(19:15):
that?
Rich Shellnutt (19:17):
It's a lifelong lesson.
I'm not sure if I can answerthat just in one podcast, but I
think the most important thingis is that know that you know
you know there's that sayinghurt people hurt people, and you
know you've got to really trustthe people that you're you're
trusting your advice from, and Ithink that's what you have to
(19:40):
line that up with.
I mean, it's kind of liketalking to a divorced woman,
right?
If you're married and you'retalking to a divorced woman, is
that the best place to get youradvice?
Or do you want to get youradvice from a marriage that's
successful and and they've gonethrough some of these challenges
in life?
You know who are you gettingyour advice from.
You know, and I know the personyou're talking about and I
(20:03):
understand that where thatperson was at the time, um, and
where our person was at the timeand where our faith was at that
time, and you know that turnedout that that lady was a loon at
the end.
So you know, so was it a hurtat the time?
Yeah, but, but God revealedwhat truly happened in that
person's life to not take advicefrom.
Tonya Shellnutt (20:24):
But I want to add on to that.
I think it goes to that pointof heat burning coals of
kindness on them and let Godhave the justice, because I
respectfully disagreed with her,but I was never ugly at her or
anything like that.
I just let her have her opinionand I knew that God would take
care of it.
And to your point of what wefound out later, exactly care of
(20:46):
it.
And to your point of what wefound out later, exactly.
And I think you know again,that's a broader point that
people could take is you know,at the time you're going through
this, you know you have to knowthat God in the end will make
it right.
Doesn't mean that you stilldon't have pain from it, but he
will make it right.
And so don't walk away from Godbecause somebody in the flesh
(21:11):
hurt you.
I think that's the point, butpeople really genuinely do walk
away because of that.
And so we want to encourage youto, not because God does, in
the end, get the justice andgets the last word.
Rich Shellnutt (21:24):
Sure, and I understand that and gets the
last word Sure, and I understandthat, and you know it becomes.
You have to understand, whenyou get involved in churches,
the direction and where they'regoing and what their beliefs are
and where they stand injudgment in general.
You know, even you know Jobwent through that when he talked
to his friends at the end youknow they said it was him
sinning, when it was never himsinning.
(21:45):
You know it wasn't his faultand you know, to understand that
God gives us all these lessonsin life that are explained
biblically through his teachingis the part that everybody has
to understand that the heavenlyfather has all these lessons for
us to go through, to learn howto deal with each situation in
(22:07):
our lives and also he has, youknow, a hierarchy that we need
to understand how to deal withthese things through our church
and also through peers and whenwe're generally trying to lead
people to the Lord.
You know, the only thing I havein true life is my own
testimony and I'm no better thananybody else that have
(22:28):
struggled with these things intheir lives.
The thing I recognize is thatwe all have a little bit
different areas that we'vestruggled with Now, whether it
be, you know, sexual abuse, orwhether it be abandonment, or
whether it be you know all thestruggles that are sinful in our
lives.
That's the point.
(22:49):
The point is is that God bringsus through those areas so we
don't have to feel rejected oralone through those times that
we knew that our lives weren'tperfect and we're not meant to
be perfect, but we're meant tobe sanctified, and what that
means is is that we're meant tobecome more like him, and we
won't ever be exactly like himuntil we were dead and we're in
(23:12):
heaven.
And so all I can say is you keepworking forward and not
backwards, because our past isour past, but our us looking
forward is what we have to lookforward to working with him.
If you've come to believe inyour faith and it's such a
wonderful life being with him itdoesn't mean that your life is
(23:33):
easy.
It doesn't mean that you'regoing to not have ups and downs,
but what it does mean is thatyou're going to have times that
you're going to struggle, buthe's going to be there with you,
and that's the one thing I'velearned the most is that going
through that has made me abetter man and made me a better
husband, even though I didn'tunderstand it when I was going
(23:54):
through it.
Tonya Shellnutt (23:55):
Okay, rich.
So with the time left, let'stalk about the last one, and
this is our thoughts and thenegative thinking and the
destructive things that we canput into our mind, that we go
through, that keep us fromgrowing, keep us from leaning
into our faith.
And I know one in particularthat you have struggled with,
(24:21):
and that is fear.
Fear has played a really bigrole in your life.
Fear has played a really bigrole in your life and it has
turned into anxiety at times,different things.
So can you share with ouraudience how you've been able to
, over the years, work throughfear and anxiety and what you do
in those moments to help youlean into your faith?
Rich Shellnutt (24:47):
Well, it's kind of like, if you've ever heard
that Christian song, fear is a aliar.
I had to learn that.
I had to learn what made mefearful, right, and so, dealing
with that, I would, you know,understand fear.
What are you actually goingthrough at that time that's
causing the anxiety or the guiltor the shame that you're
feeling at that time?
And you know what's going onand and can I control it?
(25:09):
And I think the main thing forme when it comes to fear is that
when I can't control it, that'swhen I get fearful and that's
where you have to rely on yourfaith to bring you through and
understand that trusting in God,that he is going to give you
the things that you need on aday in and day basis to deal
(25:31):
with your fear, is all you need,and not allowing us to
understand.
You know this, this world isgoing to throw things at you at
different times, at differentspaces and different areas of
your life and how you getthrough that.
But I think, for my fear, it'smostly about not being able to
(25:52):
control, and so I've learned to.
First of all, I'm not perfectat it.
I I fall short all the time inthat I let fear dictate.
You know some of my like anger.
You know when I'm fearful I getangry.
When I'm scared I get angry.
You know I think everybody doesit in a certain way that
they've been able to cope withit Right.
(26:14):
And so during my time in thelast five years I've probably
I'm not as feared about anything.
I remember one time there was aguy at my church named Dr Health
.
He's 103 years old and you know103.
And I was like man, I gotta, Igotta talk to this guy and I
(26:36):
said I said to him, I said canyou answer to me what you give
your longevity of life for?
He goes I fear nothing.
He says, I don't fear anything.
I was like how is that possible?
How do you not fear anything?
He goes well, I just trust theLord's going to take care of it
day in and day out.
And I just do whatever he doesin front of me that day and I
(26:57):
just deal with it and handle itand I don't worry about it.
And I just deal with it andhandle it and I don't worry
about it.
That's God's deal.
I don't have to take control.
I just know that God has thatfor me that day and I believe,
for that day I deal with whatGod's given me and I deal with
it.
And the next day I worry aboutit.
You know, what's coming next isnot going to do me any good.
So I take it day by day and Iwas like holy moly.
(27:20):
I was like that sounds reallyhard and and even though it was
so simple it it really is thatsimple, you know just trust that
everything's going to be takencare of and and believe that.
And once you can have thatfaith to believe that that's
going to happen, it is trulyfreeing yeah, absolutely Great
(27:42):
word.
Freeing from not having to fearanything and worry about it.
And you know, we get ourselvesall worked up about certain
things Our kids get sick, or youknow, or our spouses are going
through a hard time, they mayget fired.
We, you know all these thingsand you know.
But if we just take day by dayand let God lead and we trust in
(28:05):
him, fear is not as powerful asyou make it.
Tonya Shellnutt (28:10):
Right, and I think, too, one of the things,
practically speaking, that youused to do and I'm going to do a
whole podcast on this, so Idon't want to give away too much
but one thing that, um, youused to do when you would get
fearful uh, because you didstruggle with anxiety um, you
know, share with the audience alittle bit about when you had
those moments of fear.
(28:31):
What did you do?
Rich Shellnutt (28:32):
Well, I guess you're thinking about maybe
going to the Bible.
Tonya Shellnutt (28:35):
Is that what you're talking?
Rich Shellnutt (28:35):
about yeah, yeah , so, um, yeah, when I got
fearful, you know, I had apastor one time tell me you know
God, you know God loves you,and go to his word.
And so I would go to his word.
I would just start reading theBible and the anxiety seems to
go away.
And I think the reason is isbecause Satan can attack you
(28:56):
when you're in God's word andyou're trusting in his word, and
then you see the things thatare going on and it just relaxes
you and you know he flees.
You know all those, all thosethings flee you when you do that
.
And, trust me, I didn't think itwould work but, man, you know,
I had to do it like there for along period of time.
You know, it wasn't like thefirst night that I woke up
(29:19):
anxious and I just didn't knowhow to deal with something.
I went to the Bible, I went tothe Bible and then I'd fall
asleep.
I'd be reading and fall asleep,and that's because the fear was
taken away enough that I couldsleep.
But I thought sometimes I washaving a heart attack.
Now, I'm not saying you shouldignore that, but I'm saying that
sometimes it's just you beingfearful and you're waking up
with anxiety and you have noidea why, and I know what that's
(29:42):
like, because you can't explainit.
But the one thing I can say isthat when I went to the Bible
and I started reading his word,things just started fleeing me.
Tonya Shellnutt (29:51):
Right?
Well, that's a great note toend on, and we, like I said, I'm
going to do a whole podcast onfear eventually I'm not sure
exactly when yet but as we wrapup today, I just want to
encourage you to subscribe toCourageous Overcomers and join
our community.
Leave a five-star review tohelp us get hope out faster.
(30:11):
Share this episode with someonewho might be struggling with
these barriers and need someencouragement.
Email me if you know someonewho'd be a great guest for the
show.
I love to interview overcomers.
If you have any questions,please visit my website at
wwwTonyaShellnett.
com.
That's two L's, two T's, and wewill see you next Wednesday,
(30:32):
same time, same place.
Rich won't be there, so sorryfor those of you that love
having Rich on.
It'll just be me, but weappreciate you and you hope that
y'all have a great week.
(30:44):
Thank you for joining us here on Courageous Overcomers with
Tonya Shellnutt.
Please remember to follow, likeand share this podcast.
To find out more about Tonya,go to her website at
tonyashellnutt.
com, or to ask a question aboutanything you've heard on today's
show.
Leave us a five-star review andyour message or email at tonya
at tonyashellnutt.
com.
(31:05):
Remember that'sS-H-E-L-L-N-U-T-T.
This podcast is produced by BobSlone Audio Productions.
Welcome to Courageous Overcomers.
Stories of hope and healing.
I'm your host, tanya Shulman.
Here we talk about the hardstuff trauma, fear and pain.
Let's be honest, many of ushide from our pain because it's
just too hard to face.
But here's the truth we can'theal what we're not willing to
face.
Last week we talked about faithand some of the barriers that
(00:34):
keep us from faith, and thisweek I have your favorite
special guest in the studio withme.
Rich is with me and we aregoing to dive into addressing
some of his faith journey andsome barriers that he went
through.
But before I bring the star ofthe show on, I want to just
(00:54):
highlight some of the barriersthat we talked about last week.
If you haven't listened to it,go back and listen to it.
We talked about how strugglingwith hard questions about
suffering and just doubt andunanswered questions as being a
barrier the fear of surrender orloss of control because nobody
(01:16):
likes to let go of controlthat's a barrier.
Believing the lie that we'retoo broken, so we have shame or
unworthiness.
We have cultural or societalpressures, so we know that
everyone around us promotesself-sufficiency and some people
think being a faith-basedperson is weak or outdated.
(01:39):
The other barrier we have isidentity confusion or fear of
rejection and fear of rejection,and then we have church hurt
and hypocrisy.
There's a lot of people thatfall into that one on a barrier
of faith or growing in theirfaith, and then we have the
spiritual warfare component ofit, where the enemy works to
(01:59):
keep people trapped in fear.
So today I want to dive in withRich to talk about some of the
struggles that he's gone through, and so, rich, welcome back.
You have been noted as one ofthe favorites on the podcast and
so they love listening to you.
So I thought I'd in your lifewas when you lost your
grandfather, and I know thestory about what happened with
(02:33):
that, and so I want you to sharewith our audience a little bit
about that story.
What happened when he was sickand did you find yourself
questioning God and did you feelalone and unheard?
Rich Shellnutt (02:48):
Well, thanks for having me.
I think all of us at one pointhave to face losing people in
our lives, whether it's ourclose family members, our best
friends, and we have to realizethat we're going to have to deal
with that in our lives,sometimes some sooner than
others, which I wish foreverybody but also family
(03:14):
members that were really closeto you, that you trusted, you
had faith in, that, led you andguide you, and they were your
strong support.
And that's what my grandfatherwas to me, and during that time,
you know, he was diagnosed withcancer and a lot of us are
going through that right now,with family members and friends
(03:35):
going through that.
And I was probably 12 or 13years old.
My faith was strong.
I believed in God, I believedthat he could do anything, and
one of the things that I trulybelieved that he would do is
answer my prayers, even thoughhe didn't answer the prayer that
I had.
What was?
Tonya Shellnutt (03:56):
the prayer.
Tell our audience what youprayed specifically.
Rich Shellnutt (03:59):
I specifically prayed that he would be healed.
Tonya Shellnutt (04:02):
Your grandfather.
Rich Shellnutt (04:03):
Yes and so.
Tonya Shellnutt (04:06):
And you made a deal with him, with God.
Rich Shellnutt (04:08):
I did make a deal with God.
Yes, I made a deal that if hesurvived I would follow him for
the rest of my life, and God haddifferent plans for me at that
moment in time.
And I unfortunately got veryupset with God because my
grandfather passed away twomonths later and I was
continuously praying for him,and so I was mad at God when
(04:33):
that didn't happen.
He took the closest man figureout of my life and I think the
most important part of it was isI was scared.
I didn't know how to become aman and I had no one to guide me
, since my father had beendivorced from my mom since I was
one years old and he was analcoholic and I sure didn't want
him too much into my lifeguiding me.
(04:55):
And so I think for me, dealingwith that was when I turned from
God.
And when I turned from God, youknow I I substituted with other
things the fear of just livinglife alone.
Um, I was a coward and goingthrough that, I started using
(05:15):
alcohol and drugs to fill thosevoids of my inadequacies of life
, and that's where my traumastarted was going through life
with fear.
Tonya Shellnutt (05:27):
Right.
So you lost your grandfather,and it goes back to one of the
key barriers of people notcoming to faith or not
progressing in their faith, andthat's those unanswered
questions I shared with ouraudience last week about how,
you know, I always question howwould a loving God allow for a
(05:49):
child to be sexually assaulted,or my birth father abandoning me
?
And so your core moment startedwhen you started having those
unanswered questions, when theLord didn't give you the answer
that you wanted and that youwere seeking for of keeping your
grandfather alive.
And then, as you said, it ledto the alcohol.
(06:09):
And that actually leads intothe next barrier that often
happens, and that's the fear ofsurrender and loss of control.
So turning to alcohol oftengives people a false sense of
control.
So what did it feel like torely on drinking to cope, and
what made surrendering to yourfaith so difficult?
Rich Shellnutt (06:31):
I think drinking was not a way to give me hope,
but drinking was a way to copewith life.
I was embarrassed, I wasfearful and when I drank, you
know, I became bulletproof and Ididn't worry about anything.
And it got to that point where,you know, alcohol was
(06:52):
destroying my life eventuallywhen I got older.
But when I was younger, I feltlike it made me fit in, you know
, from society that wasrejecting me.
I felt that way.
You know, we talked a littlebit about me having learning
disabilities and and areas likethat in my life where I
struggled socially with otherpeople, but when I drank alcohol
(07:16):
I felt like I could be withanybody.
Tonya Shellnutt (07:18):
So when it came time for you to surrender, how
was that difficult?
Or was it difficult for you?
Rich Shellnutt (07:26):
To surrender to God.
Tonya Shellnutt (07:28):
Yeah.
Rich Shellnutt (07:29):
No, I was at my last rope.
It came to the point where itwas.
You know, I was brought to apoint of either I try something
differently or this is going tokill me, whether I kill myself,
or whether I end up dead bybeing in fights, shot at, killed
by somebody.
I had myself in thosesituations a lot because of my
(07:53):
drinking.
And you know, one day I finally, you know, came to the
realization that, you know,everybody that I was with wasn't
drinking like me and I wasembarrassing even the good
drunks that I was hanging outwith.
So it finally turned on me, andyou know, I was in the Navy at
the time that that happened andI prayed to God.
(08:14):
I said, lord, I don't want toend my life, I want to be a
different person.
Please help me.
And you know, my journey fromthere began.
Tonya Shellnutt (08:23):
But would you say that, as you matured in your
faith, that there have beentimes where it has been hard to
surrender to the Lord?
Have you ever experienced that,where you just think that by
your own might and your ownstrength, that that you have to
do it, and so you just are?
(08:44):
You don't feel like God hasgiven you the result that you've
wanted, so you just try to willit yourself.
Rich Shellnutt (08:50):
Sure, I think everybody tries to do things on
their own and their ownunderstanding at the time.
And you know, when you have tosurrender to something,
especially being a man it's notsomething that you've been
taught in society is.
You know you have to be strong,you have to be the leader, you
have to be the provider, youhave to be.
(09:10):
You know all these things that,as a man, you do have to be.
But you know, the problem is iswhen you're a young man, you
don't have any leadership, youdon't have anybody guiding you
and directing you.
When you lose those figures inyour life, you don't have
anybody guiding you anddirecting you when you lose
those figures in your life, andso you have no one to.
(09:31):
You know, really emulate theirlifestyles and how they live
their lives, and you know.
But the answers that I wasseeking is that, you know, my
heavenly father had all thosequestions for me and he had all
those answers for me.
Did I always go around him totry to get there without him?
Sure, sure, I did that.
I always thought that I coulddo things by myself.
I didn't need God's help.
Tonya Shellnutt (09:51):
Well, and that actually leads into the next
barrier, which is, you know, acultural and societal issues
that say, like you said, youneed to be self-reliant, you
need to be tough in order tosurvive.
So how did that mindset clashwith your faith and what did you
(10:15):
do to lean into your faith, toget around that?
Rich Shellnutt (10:19):
Well, god tells us when we're weak we are strong
, and I didn't understand whatthat exactly meant.
But the older I got and themore wiser I got with God's word
and understanding, I think whathe's trying to tell us there is
you know, we're here on afallen world and even though
we're weak during it, god'sgoing to take care of us and
he's going to walk us throughthe things that we need to walk
(10:42):
through with him.
And trusting that was thehardest part, because when I
lost my grandfather, you knowthat trust kind of went out the
window because I didn't believehe could do what he told me that
he could do.
And everybody tells you youknow your prayers will be
answered, your prayers will beanswered, and when that doesn't
happen, you'll lose some of that.
(11:02):
You know.
Hope that that's really goingto happen and you don't believe
it.
Tonya Shellnutt (11:08):
So what do you tell those people that have
prayed for something for so longand God hasn't answered their
prayers and they're just like,well, God doesn't really exist
because he hasn't answered myprayers?
What do you say to those peoplethat are using that
inadvertently as a barrier togrowing in their faith?
Rich Shellnutt (11:23):
I would say that all God asks us to do is put
one foot forward at a time and,even though we don't have an
understanding of why it hasn'thappened now and why it hasn't
come true at the time, you'reonly seeing sections of your
life, little parts at a time,and all you can be is faithful
(11:44):
to that.
And you got to believe that Godhas your best intention and
heart.
And even though that doesn'tcome true and you don't see
those things happening, there'sother doors and avenues that God
has opened up for you to letyou be able to witness his glory
and his true love for you.
You just have to open your eyesto see it, and sometimes we're
(12:09):
so wounded that we forget tojust open our eyes and see the
little good things that he doesin our lives.
But we always believe that thebigger things, you know, are
what really brings us to ourfaith.
But it's not.
It's the little steps, it's thelittle things that we keep
going for day in and day out,that give us hope.
Tonya Shellnutt (12:29):
Right.
So another barrier is feelingunworthy or shameful.
Did you ever believe that youwere too far gone for God to
love or redeem you?
And if so, tell us a little bitabout that.
Rich Shellnutt (12:42):
Did I ever believe that I was too far gone?
I think there's plenty of timeswhen I was very depressed in
life that I felt that thequestions in life were
unanswered.
Yes, but I'm not sure if I everdid not believe that things
could happen if I was in thewill of God.
(13:04):
Things could happen if I was inthe will of God.
I believe that I tried to pushsome things that weren't in the
will of God, but he still led meand brought me back to where I
need to go.
You know, some people say thatyou know, our paths are like a
tree, you know, and and everylimb has a little step, you know
, but the the tree trunk willlead you to the top, but we like
(13:26):
to take all these little treelimbs off of our you know lives
and our paths.
But then we have to come backand get back on the main uh
things in life.
And you know, I don't see it atthe time, but when I trusted
him, he would always bring meback to him, even though I would
go down the wrong path.
(13:47):
Him, he would always bring meback to him, even though I would
go down the wrong path.
So, no, I don't think there'sanything that I didn't believe
that he could do for me.
It was my own will that got inthe way.
Tonya Shellnutt (13:54):
Right, right, okay.
Well, let's talk about this one, because this is one that I
think a lot of people strugglewith, and that is the fear of
rejection.
It's a barrier.
Did you ever worry, when youstarted getting sober and
leaning into your faith, thatyour family or your friends
(14:17):
would reject you because youwere a Christian, and did you
have family or friends rejectyou because you were a Christian
and leaning into your faith?
Rich Shellnutt (14:27):
Oh, absolutely.
I had a ton of people thatrejected me.
First of all, a good alcoholicdoesn't like their friends to
become sober or drug-free, andso you have to change that
atmosphere.
Whether you were a friend withhim all your life or whether you
were friends with him just fora short period of time, that
(14:47):
would happen periodically withme.
I think our faith of rejectioncomes from knowing that we have
had lost our way and we didn'tknow who we were.
And so we were trying to fit insomewhere.
And when I was looking andsearching for what peer groups
(15:07):
or what people that I felt likewould accept me of just who I
was, and me seeking who I was,you know who?
Who am I?
What has God created me to doin this life, and who am I?
And when I was drunk and soberI didn't worry about that stuff.
But then when I got sober, Ihad to figure out.
(15:29):
You know, I was always the classclown.
I was always funny, I wasalways taking my time to really
think about how I could fit in,and so I'd use my humor, I'd use
my anger in different ways totry to figure out how I fit in.
To try to figure out how I fitin.
(15:50):
And so I think when I when Iworried a lot about what people
thought it would change my pathfrom the way God was guiding me.
So I had to be very diligent inmy walk and my faith and you
know, I had to trust that.
When I got involved in a peergroup or gotten involved with
people that love the Lord and,you know, walk me through it,
you know that trust startedgetting built.
(16:10):
You know, sometimes that evenworks into a you know, not an
understanding of where God wantsyou.
But you know, the mostimportant thing for me and I
think for people in general, isthat we need to understand that
you know we're going to berejected by this society, but
God's never going to reject us.
(16:30):
So that's the most importantthing to keep in mind.
Tonya Shellnutt (16:33):
That's a good word, all right.
Church hurt and hypocrisy.
This is a hard, hard, hard one,and this is one I actually
shared about last week whenthere was a spiritual leader at
one of our churches thatinsinuated that a lot of the
problems that we were goingthrough early on with the kids
(16:53):
and finances and marriage was aresult of our sin, and it
crushed me, it hurt me greatlyand I think a lot of people go,
a ton of people go throughchurch hurt and they get hurt by
the church and then they justsay, okay, I'm never going back
because the church did this orthe church did that, not
(17:14):
understanding that you knowchurch people are are fallen too
.
So have you ever experiencedchurch hurt and if so, please
share and if, give us some wordsof wisdom and how to handle
church hurt, because this ismore predominant than people let
on and they use it as an excusenot to grow.
Rich Shellnutt (17:37):
Yeah, I don't.
I didn't experience church hurt, and the reason I say that is
because I don't care what peoplethink.
I only care about what Godthinks and what he does in my
life, and so when I think aboutwhether people are getting hurt
in church, I think the realthing you've got to look at is
are you feeling like you're inthe will of God and the things
(17:59):
that you're doing?
And if he's calling you to dothese certain things that aren't
hurting others and it's linedup with his truths and it's
lined up with him, I don'treally worry about it.
Now, there might be times whenpeople disagree with you or
people personally point out somethings that you know maybe
you're struggling with.
That is sinful and that's okay,because they're trying to do it
(18:21):
in love and they're trying todo it with truth, because
they're trying to do it in loveand they're trying to do it with
truth.
Now, whether you reject thatand whether you believe that,
that's between you and God.
Tonya Shellnutt (18:33):
Right.
So do you remember that onelady and I'm not obviously going
to name names, but she told methat Izzy was having seizures
because I was sinning, and Ithink from a woman's standpoint
well, not just from a woman'sstandpoint, but that crushed me
because I felt like, well, oh mygosh, is it something I'm doing
(18:54):
that's causing Izzy to havethese seizures?
And there's a lot of peoplethat go through like that, go
through these church hurts andwhere good Christians
well-intended Christians, Iwould say hurt people because
they don't think about whatthey're saying.
And how do you, you know, helppeople that have been through
(19:15):
that?
Rich Shellnutt (19:17):
It's a lifelong lesson.
I'm not sure if I can answerthat just in one podcast, but I
think the most important thingis is that know that you know
you know there's that sayinghurt people hurt people, and you
know you've got to really trustthe people that you're you're
trusting your advice from, and Ithink that's what you have to
(19:40):
line that up with.
I mean, it's kind of liketalking to a divorced woman,
right?
If you're married and you'retalking to a divorced woman, is
that the best place to get youradvice?
Or do you want to get youradvice from a marriage that's
successful and and they've gonethrough some of these challenges
in life?
You know who are you gettingyour advice from.
You know, and I know the personyou're talking about and I
(20:03):
understand that where thatperson was at the time, um, and
where our person was at the timeand where our faith was at that
time, and you know that turnedout that that lady was a loon at
the end.
So you know, so was it a hurtat the time?
Yeah, but, but God revealedwhat truly happened in that
person's life to not take advicefrom.
Tonya Shellnutt (20:24):
But I want to add on to that.
I think it goes to that pointof heat burning coals of
kindness on them and let Godhave the justice, because I
respectfully disagreed with her,but I was never ugly at her or
anything like that.
I just let her have her opinionand I knew that God would take
care of it.
And to your point of what wefound out later, exactly care of
(20:46):
it.
And to your point of what wefound out later, exactly.
And I think you know again,that's a broader point that
people could take is you know,at the time you're going through
this, you know you have to knowthat God in the end will make
it right.
Doesn't mean that you stilldon't have pain from it, but he
will make it right.
And so don't walk away from Godbecause somebody in the flesh
(21:11):
hurt you.
I think that's the point, butpeople really genuinely do walk
away because of that.
And so we want to encourage youto, not because God does, in
the end, get the justice andgets the last word.
Rich Shellnutt (21:24):
Sure, and I understand that and gets the
last word Sure, and I understandthat, and you know it becomes.
You have to understand, whenyou get involved in churches,
the direction and where they'regoing and what their beliefs are
and where they stand injudgment in general.
You know, even you know Jobwent through that when he talked
to his friends at the end youknow they said it was him
sinning, when it was never himsinning.
(21:45):
You know it wasn't his faultand you know, to understand that
God gives us all these lessonsin life that are explained
biblically through his teachingis the part that everybody has
to understand that the heavenlyfather has all these lessons for
us to go through, to learn howto deal with each situation in
(22:07):
our lives and also he has, youknow, a hierarchy that we need
to understand how to deal withthese things through our church
and also through peers and whenwe're generally trying to lead
people to the Lord.
You know, the only thing I havein true life is my own
testimony and I'm no better thananybody else that have
(22:28):
struggled with these things intheir lives.
The thing I recognize is thatwe all have a little bit
different areas that we'vestruggled with Now, whether it
be, you know, sexual abuse, orwhether it be abandonment, or
whether it be you know all thestruggles that are sinful in our
lives.
That's the point.
(22:49):
The point is is that God bringsus through those areas so we
don't have to feel rejected oralone through those times that
we knew that our lives weren'tperfect and we're not meant to
be perfect, but we're meant tobe sanctified, and what that
means is is that we're meant tobecome more like him, and we
won't ever be exactly like himuntil we were dead and we're in
(23:12):
heaven.
And so all I can say is you keepworking forward and not
backwards, because our past isour past, but our us looking
forward is what we have to lookforward to working with him.
If you've come to believe inyour faith and it's such a
wonderful life being with him itdoesn't mean that your life is
(23:33):
easy.
It doesn't mean that you'regoing to not have ups and downs,
but what it does mean is thatyou're going to have times that
you're going to struggle, buthe's going to be there with you,
and that's the one thing I'velearned the most is that going
through that has made me abetter man and made me a better
husband, even though I didn'tunderstand it when I was going
(23:54):
through it.
Tonya Shellnutt (23:55):
Okay, rich.
So with the time left, let'stalk about the last one, and
this is our thoughts and thenegative thinking and the
destructive things that we canput into our mind, that we go
through, that keep us fromgrowing, keep us from leaning
into our faith.
And I know one in particularthat you have struggled with,
(24:21):
and that is fear.
Fear has played a really bigrole in your life.
Fear has played a really bigrole in your life and it has
turned into anxiety at times,different things.
So can you share with ouraudience how you've been able to
, over the years, work throughfear and anxiety and what you do
in those moments to help youlean into your faith?
Rich Shellnutt (24:47):
Well, it's kind of like, if you've ever heard
that Christian song, fear is a aliar.
I had to learn that.
I had to learn what made mefearful, right, and so, dealing
with that, I would, you know,understand fear.
What are you actually goingthrough at that time that's
causing the anxiety or the guiltor the shame that you're
feeling at that time?
And you know what's going onand and can I control it?
(25:09):
And I think the main thing forme when it comes to fear is that
when I can't control it, that'swhen I get fearful and that's
where you have to rely on yourfaith to bring you through and
understand that trusting in God,that he is going to give you
the things that you need on aday in and day basis to deal
(25:31):
with your fear, is all you need,and not allowing us to
understand.
You know this, this world isgoing to throw things at you at
different times, at differentspaces and different areas of
your life and how you getthrough that.
But I think, for my fear, it'smostly about not being able to
(25:52):
control, and so I've learned to.
First of all, I'm not perfectat it.
I I fall short all the time inthat I let fear dictate.
You know some of my like anger.
You know when I'm fearful I getangry.
When I'm scared I get angry.
You know I think everybody doesit in a certain way that
they've been able to cope withit Right.
(26:14):
And so during my time in thelast five years I've probably
I'm not as feared about anything.
I remember one time there was aguy at my church named Dr Health
.
He's 103 years old and you know103.
And I was like man, I gotta, Igotta talk to this guy and I
(26:36):
said I said to him, I said canyou answer to me what you give
your longevity of life for?
He goes I fear nothing.
He says, I don't fear anything.
I was like how is that possible?
How do you not fear anything?
He goes well, I just trust theLord's going to take care of it
day in and day out.
And I just do whatever he doesin front of me that day and I
(26:57):
just deal with it and handle itand I don't worry about it.
And I just deal with it andhandle it and I don't worry
about it.
That's God's deal.
I don't have to take control.
I just know that God has thatfor me that day and I believe,
for that day I deal with whatGod's given me and I deal with
it.
And the next day I worry aboutit.
You know, what's coming next isnot going to do me any good.
So I take it day by day and Iwas like holy moly.
(27:20):
I was like that sounds reallyhard and and even though it was
so simple it it really is thatsimple, you know just trust that
everything's going to be takencare of and and believe that.
And once you can have thatfaith to believe that that's
going to happen, it is trulyfreeing yeah, absolutely Great
(27:42):
word.
Freeing from not having to fearanything and worry about it.
And you know, we get ourselvesall worked up about certain
things Our kids get sick, or youknow, or our spouses are going
through a hard time, they mayget fired.
We, you know all these thingsand you know.
But if we just take day by dayand let God lead and we trust in
(28:05):
him, fear is not as powerful asyou make it.
Tonya Shellnutt (28:10):
Right, and I think, too, one of the things,
practically speaking, that youused to do and I'm going to do a
whole podcast on this, so Idon't want to give away too much
but one thing that, um, youused to do when you would get
fearful uh, because you didstruggle with anxiety um, you
know, share with the audience alittle bit about when you had
those moments of fear.
(28:31):
What did you do?
Rich Shellnutt (28:32):
Well, I guess you're thinking about maybe
going to the Bible.
Tonya Shellnutt (28:35):
Is that what you're talking?
Rich Shellnutt (28:35):
about yeah, yeah , so, um, yeah, when I got
fearful, you know, I had apastor one time tell me you know
God, you know God loves you,and go to his word.
And so I would go to his word.
I would just start reading theBible and the anxiety seems to
go away.
And I think the reason is isbecause Satan can attack you
(28:56):
when you're in God's word andyou're trusting in his word, and
then you see the things thatare going on and it just relaxes
you and you know he flees.
You know all those, all thosethings flee you when you do that
.
And, trust me, I didn't think itwould work but, man, you know,
I had to do it like there for along period of time.
You know, it wasn't like thefirst night that I woke up
(29:19):
anxious and I just didn't knowhow to deal with something.
I went to the Bible, I went tothe Bible and then I'd fall
asleep.
I'd be reading and fall asleep,and that's because the fear was
taken away enough that I couldsleep.
But I thought sometimes I washaving a heart attack.
Now, I'm not saying you shouldignore that, but I'm saying that
sometimes it's just you beingfearful and you're waking up
with anxiety and you have noidea why, and I know what that's
(29:42):
like, because you can't explainit.
But the one thing I can say isthat when I went to the Bible
and I started reading his word,things just started fleeing me.
Tonya Shellnutt (29:51):
Right?
Well, that's a great note toend on, and we, like I said, I'm
going to do a whole podcast onfear eventually I'm not sure
exactly when yet but as we wrapup today, I just want to
encourage you to subscribe toCourageous Overcomers and join
our community.
Leave a five-star review tohelp us get hope out faster.
(30:11):
Share this episode with someonewho might be struggling with
these barriers and need someencouragement.
Email me if you know someonewho'd be a great guest for the
show.
I love to interview overcomers.
If you have any questions,please visit my website at
wwwTonyaShellnett.
com.
That's two L's, two T's, and wewill see you next Wednesday,
(30:32):
same time, same place.
Rich won't be there, so sorryfor those of you that love
having Rich on.
It'll just be me, but weappreciate you and you hope that
y'all have a great week.
(30:44):
Thank you for joining us here on Courageous Overcomers with
Tonya Shellnutt.
Please remember to follow, likeand share this podcast.
To find out more about Tonya,go to her website at
tonyashellnutt.
com, or to ask a question aboutanything you've heard on today's
show.
Leave us a five-star review andyour message or email at tonya
at tonyashellnutt.
com.
(31:05):
Remember that'sS-H-E-L-L-N-U-T-T.
This podcast is produced by BobSlone Audio Productions.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!