Podcasts for Living Inspired

Winners from this weeks show are posted below!

{Download Chris’s Interview Here}

Connect with Chris on his Website, Twitter and Facebook


Get your copy of Not in the Heart: Paperback, Kindle or Audiobook

Q&A with Chris Fabry


Q: Your newest novel, Not in the Heart, faces heavy topics such as gambling addiction, capital punishment and organ donation. Where did you get your inspiration for the book?
My stories usually come from some aspect of real life. I worked in TV news with a friend who went on to work for CNN. He was the pool reporter for an execution of a man in South Carolina. That really affected him for a number of years and his views on capital punishment were altered. We have friends with a young son with a heart condition and many friends have marriages that are on the brink or have crumbled. There is also spiritual searching and gambling, so I feel it’s a pretty realistic picture of a lot of relationships.

Q: Is addiction usually the result of other factors going on in one’s life? What drove the addiction of the character in your book?
My main character has an addictive personality, no doubt. The factors in his life are like those in society—the more stress, the more anxiety and pain, the more likely a person is to seek something that will soothe them and help them dull that pain. For some it’s drugs or alcohol; for others it may be sex or gambling. For some it’s food. It can really be anything that takes away the intense pain that person is experiencing. I’m not an expert or a psychologist, but I’ve observed addictions in people’s lives stemming from those surface struggles, but the addictions go way deeper.

Q: What encouragement would you offer to your readers who may be dealing with an addiction? What encouragement would you give to the family of an addict?
To the addict, I would say that there is hope for you. There is hope for your relationships. God offers you freedom if you will choose it. It’s not an overnight thing—it can be, but it usually isn’t. If you want freedom, you can have it.
To the family, I would say to hang in there and to love the other person well. Sometimes loving the other person means letting them go. It can look messy and not feel like love.

Q: What do you hope your readers will take away from reading Not in the Heart?
Love conquers all. What is done in secret will one day come to light. God is the great pursuer of our
hearts and we are restless until we find our rest in Him. There is hope for even smarmy characters who set up their own morality. There is hope for the addicted.

{Download Rachel’s Interview Here}

Connect with Rachel on her Website, Twitter and Facebook

Be sure to check out Rachel’s new movie October Baby in theaters now!

{Download Beth’s Interview Here}

Connect with Beth on her Website, Twitter and Facebook

Get your copy of Wish You Were Here: Paperback or Kindle

More from Beth: Four Things I Learned During a Season of Burnout

If you asked me about burnout a few short years ago, I would have told you to avoid it at all costs. Now? My mantra is, “Embrace burnout.”

Sounds a little crazy, I know. But I discovered burnout is the stuff dreams are made of. That overwhelming, defeating “I-don’t-want-to-I-can’t-don’t-make-me” feeling led me right into a season of unexpected opportunities. Here are four things I learned along the way from emotional, physical and spiritual fatigue to a-ma-zing dreams waiting to come true:

1. It’s okay to admit you’re burned out. Not only is it okay – sometimes it’s the best thing you can do for yourself. Ignoring the fact that you’re overwhelmed and/or exhausted doesn’t make the feeling go away. On the contrary, trying to push through burnout only makes you feel worse.

2. You’re burned out for a reason. You may not recognize that discouraged person staring back at you from the mirror. You may wonder why your passion went a-wandering. If you take the time to look back over your shoulder and evaluate your activities of the past few months – the what, the why, the how much – you’ll discover the path that brought you face to face with burnout.

3. Before you do anything else, rest. You want to get back to normal – and you want to do it now. But wanting something isn’t going to make it so. Burned out = depleted energy. You want to recover? Rest. That’s it. Just rest.

4. Decide which way you want to go. Ah, here comes the fun part of burnout. You’ve admitted you’re burned out. You’ve discovered why you got burned out. You’ve rested. Now, you realize this season of your life can be used by God. Is he leading you back the way you came, to resume what you’d been doing (but in a balanced way that doesn’t lead to burnout again)? Or is burnout a bend in the road, leading you into an unexpected new beginning?

Yes, sometimes burnout serves as a warning signal, telling you to stop pushing yourself so hard. But burnout can also be a chance to throw your arms wide and embrace what God has waiting for you around the bend.