#36 - Grateful for Growth: Season One Reflections

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Hi everyone and welcome to the season one wrap

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-up of Mind and Faith Matters. I'm Dr. Cory

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Potter and today I want to pause and reflect

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on the journey we've shared. This season has

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been meaningful in many ways. They're hard to

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even fully capture and I am thankful for every

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listener who has walked with me through these

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conversations. When I started this podcast my

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hope was simple to create a space where faith

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and mental health could meet in honest, compassionate,

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and helpful ways. I wanted to offer encouragement

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from scripture, practical insights from psychology

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and counseling, and a sense of community that

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helps people know that they are not alone in

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the struggles and victories of everyday life.

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My prayer was that each week at least one person

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would find strength to take a healthy step forward.

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And looking back, I'm grateful for so much. I'm

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grateful for the messages that I've received

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from listeners. Stories of how an episode helps

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someone feel assured, think deeper, or take a

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step toward healing. These reminders show me

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why this work matters. I'm grateful for the wide

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range of topics we've explored. Learning to laugh

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at ourselves, to truth telling, to men's health

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and mental health. We covered drifting from God,

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the challenges of accepting help from people.

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I had a nutritionist on the show. We talked about

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brain health and so many other parts of the Christian

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life and human experience. Each conversation

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shaped me as much as I hoped it shaped you. I

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had so much fun with my research each week. putting

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together the episodes I learned so much about

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neuroscience and really it reminded me of so

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many things like the reason sin hurts so bad

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is it's other than what God intended and since

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it is so many people blame God or struggle because

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they feel like he's punishing them when he's

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so loving and scripture helps us to understand

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that and at the same time we need each other

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in healthy ways and we need the encouragement

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of scripture as well as sound counsel and good

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advice and people to be around us so let's recap

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for this first season we've already recorded

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35 episodes together welcomed five guests and

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reached listeners in 16 countries and 34 of the

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50 United States. Altogether, the podcast was

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downloaded well over a thousand times, closer

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to 1 ,500 in fact. And along the way, certain

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episodes stood out as favorites among my listeners.

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If you're new to the podcast, or if you'd like

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to revisit some highlights, here are a few that

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audio listeners return to again and again. Episode

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1, my origin story for the podcast. It laid the

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foundation for this journey. And in episodes

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7 and 8, we talked about being still before God

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and practicing stillness and how it's challenging

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for some of us to slow down and rest in His presence.

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Many found episode 15, rest that restores, especially

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meaningful. Talking about Sabbath. While episode

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24, was my conversation with Karen who has OCD.

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Karen talked about living with this and following

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Christ. It touched many hearts. We also tackled

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hard realities. In episode 9, toxic leadership.

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In episode 10, healing from spiritual abuse.

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And then I interviewed someone who had experienced

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spiritual abuse after that. In episodes three

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and six we talked about pursuing your dreams

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and gratitude and we found encouragement for

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living with purpose and thankfulness. On YouTube

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the most watched episodes included episode one.

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I'm sure people were just either nosy that were

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my friends or people that knew me wanted to support

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early on and they wanted to know what the podcast

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was all about. After the origin story episode

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2 the locus of control where we asked whether

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we rely too much on our own efforts or give up

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too much control That was popular and then when

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I went into pursuing your dreams in episode 3

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many connected With that and episode 4 where

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I interviewed my wife on taking action to pursue

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your dreams. I Loved the fact that episode 25

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on prayer was one of the most popular and watched

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episodes on video. But if you missed any of these,

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I'd encourage you to go back. They might be just

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the encouragement you need right now. I'm also

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grateful for the people who supported me behind

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the scenes. My wife and so many others encouraged

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me through this season. Carrying me on the days

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or weeks when creating content was either complicated

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by sickness, the early on loss of my dad in the

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spring, or just simple fatigue from having a

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job and trying to do this too. I'm grateful for

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the conversations this podcast made possible.

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Your questions, thoughts, and requests helped

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refine ideas and grow this community. On Facebook,

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tens of thousands of people engaged with content.

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and over 2 ,000 took the time to react, share,

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or comment. And on Instagram, over 3 ,300 people

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viewed the podcast's posts, reels, and stories.

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On YouTube, my snippets from the podcast, called

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Shorts, were viewed over 7 ,000 times, with nearly

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2 ,000 engaged views. And I want to say I'm grateful

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for God's faithfulness. Every episode, every

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word, every insight has been guided by the desire

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to honor him and serve his people. As season

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one comes to a close, I want to speak directly

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to you, the viewer. Thank you for your time.

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Thank you for your attention. And thank you for

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your willingness to think with me, to pray with

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me, and to let these conversations become part

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of your week. Your mental health matters. Your

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growth matters. and your faith journey matters.

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I also want to thank you for the support that

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you gave to the show through sharing episodes,

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purchasing merchandise during our July campaign

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for Heads Up Guys, and engaging with the resources

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that I was able to produce. I made a website,

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mindandfaithmatters .com and hundreds of people

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visited that website. that was mindandfaithmatters

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.com. Many explored the companion resource guides,

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the merchandise store, and the getting help section

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to find online help and resources for Christian

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-based mental health. Your support helps extend

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this mission to more people who need encouragement

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and guidance. As we prepare for season two, I'm

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already excited about the conversations ahead.

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There are important topics we'll explore, voices

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we'll bring in, and new ways we can walk together

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towards spiritual and emotional health. My goal

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remains the same, to create a space where faith

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and mental wellness grow side by side, rooted

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in wisdom and guided by hope. Until then, thank

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you again for being part of this community. As

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John One of the authors of the Bible writes,

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Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health

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and that all may go well with you, even as your

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soul is getting along well. I'm grateful for

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you and I look forward to walking with you again

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soon. Let's pray together. Father, thank you

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for every person who has joined this journey

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throughout season one. Thank you for the way

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you guide, strengthen, keep us going. Thank you

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for the gift of community and for the ways you

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work through honest conversations about faith

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and mental health. I lift up each viewer today.

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I ask that you would surround them with your

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peace, fill their minds with clarity, their hearts

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with courage, and their spirits with hope. Give

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them rest when they feel weary. Give them wisdom

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for the decisions they face. Give them a deeper

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awareness of your presence in every part of their

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lives. Lord, thank you for the grace that carried

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this podcast through the first season. Thank

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you for the insights, the growth, my own included,

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the healing, and the steady encouragement you

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provided through your word and through your spirit.

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As we all look ahead to season two, I pray for

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your continued guidance. Lead every topic, every

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preparation, every conversation, and every moment.

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Shape this space and this podcast into something

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that honors you and lifts up those who listen.

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Bless each person who's tuned in. Strengthen

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their faith, support their mental and emotional

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well -being, and help them. walk closely with

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you in the days ahead. In the name of Jesus we

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pray. Amen. Thank you for joining me today. Thank

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you for being part of season one. We'll talk

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to you real soon.