You have chosen an excellent day to listen in because today, I have the honor of interviewing Sam Lamott, creator and host of the How to Human podcast which if you like listening to him today you can subscribe for free to his podcast on iTunes.

But we’re going to give you something else for free today, something Sam likes to call, “a Mood Altering Substance”.

Can I be honest and authentic with you? In a million years I never thought I'd get Sam Lamott to be on the show. That’s why I had my assistant reach out to him so I didn’t have to feel the sting of failure and rejection!

Now that he's on, I realized, “cripes!” I need to come up with some really thoughtful and interesting questions. Then I started obsessing over my writing. Basically I’m just a neurotic mess but somehow the interview survived. Who is Sam Lamott:

• Author of Some Assembly Required with Anne Lamott.
• At one point Sam shared, “Ever felt like...

1. Relentless Grace
1. No matter how far you run away or how disobedient you are, God still loves you and bathes you with His unending grace
2. Phillip Holmes wrote, “He’s not ignorant of all the ways we’ve sinned against him. He knows everything we’ve ever done and is able to stomach it. His knowledge of who we really are will never hinder his love for us. He’s even aware of the evil behind our righteous deeds. The intimacy by which the Lord knows us but is able to lovingly embrace us as his children is supernatural. God’s grace is mind-blowing. Every time I think of this reality, I’m brought to tears because I serve a God whose love and grace baffle me.” https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/gods-grace-is-mind-blowing
3. I blatantly rejected the voice of the Holy Spirit
1. Heaviest - 138 kilograms
2. I’ve lost 18 kilograms in three weeks
3. No pain, no recovery, no problems of any kind!
4. Joel 2:12-14 'But there’s also this, it’s not...

Have you ever wanted to quit on your relationship, because you feel like it’s just too hard?  We’ve got another episode of Your Story Matters today, meet John and Erin Kadleck.

1. Your story is God’s story.  He gets the glory for your redemption.

2. They rushed to get married, because he was getting deployed to Afghanistan.

   1. “He came back a different person.”

   2. “He was keeping things from me to protect me.”

3. As he withdrew, she felt more rejected and felt like it was her fault.

4. John would drink himself to sleep every night.

5. Poor communication spiraled out-of-control.

6. Sometimes our hearts are in the right place, but we have poor execution.

7. John’s fear was that if he shared his struggles or fears, Erin would reject him.

   1. Holding the secrets from her, was a dark cloud in their relationship.

   2. After he shared, all Erin did was hug John.

8. Erin had a strong commitment, and it was her commitment to the marriage and...

An inspiring interview with a woman who overcame drugs and thoughts of suicide - only to find the two greatest loves of her life!

Your Story Matters is a series of shows focused on you, the listener.  Listen as Amy Smalley showcases women's stories of triumph and victory over seemingly impossible obstacles.  Each woman featured in this series of special podcasts has a story to share that will inspire and motivate you.

Today's show features Lauren Zachry, a woman plagued by drugs but pursued by an unconditionally loving man.  If you struggle in life, you don't want to miss this show because Lauren's story can lead you to feel like you're "drowning in joy"!  

•  Addiction is like coming out of the water in the deep end of the pool.
• Only Jesus can fill our God-sized hole.
• How do you know if you’re in bondage with addiction?
  • Different for everybody
  • “I was in denial.”
  • All drug addicts know they have something, are they ready to face...