Claim OwnershipWhat We Really Want: Conversations About Connection
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© 2026 What We Really Want: Conversations About Connection
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If it's true that "...the opposite of addiction is not sobriety...the opposite of addiction is connection," there are lots of people who need to discover what true, healthy connection looks like. Whether the struggle is with addiction, toxic relationship dynamics, or something else, we've all tried to meet our needs in unhealthy ways. Way too often, the things we run to for comfort leave us feeling even more disconnected and alone than before.
Through conversations about the many ways we can connect, we offer an invitation to discover and move toward what we really want, so we can live the lives we were created for.
Awaken (awakenrecovery.com) helps men and women whose lives have been wrecked by unwanted/addictive sexual behaviors and sexual betrayal trauma. We hope the podcast will help not only those struggling sexually, but anyone who seeks healthier ways of finding connection.
68 Episodes
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"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" RE-RELEASE. This episode originally released September 24, 2024. What is a sexual betrayal trauma workshop? And why - if you are a woman going through the pain of having been betrayed by your husband/partner - should you consider attending one? In this BONUS episode, Greg & Stacey are joined by Paige and Brittney, two friends who are part of our Awaken community in Birmingham AL, to talk about their experiences in recovery and having attend...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" Have Christian men been conditioned to accept behaviors that marginalize and abuse women? When does normal relational conflict cross the line and become abusive? Has the Church been complicit in creating inequity between men and women? Questions like these represent much of the work of our guest, Dr. Andrew Bauman. Andrew is a therapist and the Founder and Director of the Christian Counseling Center for Sexual Health & Trauma. His dissertat...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" Here is Part 2 of our conversation with Jay Stringer. Last week Jay released his book, Desire: The Longings Inside Us and the New Science of How We Love, Heal, and Grow. Moving beyond the singular experience of sexual struggles found in his first book Unwanted, Desire offers a critically important opportunity to better understand the core longings created in every person. To see desire as good, part of how we reflect the image of God. To be cur...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" For people interested in digging deeply into their stories and better understanding themselves and the unwanted behaviors that plague them, few people have been as helpful as Jay Stringer. In 2018, Jay's book Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing invited readers to a new approach to unwanted sexual behaviors: one that begins by "listening to our lust." Jay encouraged readers to see their struggles as a roadmap to past harms...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" Does a focus on acknowledging trauma and providing safety create more resilient or fragile people? That question is at the heart of many charged discussions about therapy and trauma work. Virtually every contemporary therapeutic modality recognizes the impact trauma has on our current struggles. But many people feel it's too much focus, and that the result is people who can't handle anything difficult and who call "trauma" on everything that's ...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" For anyone who has ever said, "A part of me wants to ________, but another part thinks it might not be a good idea..." This episode is for you. People actually ARE made up of many complex parts...it's part of how we reflect the image of God. And a counseling modality know as Internal Family Systems (IFS) that began in the 1980s has helped countless people better understand themselves and how they experience the world around them. Jenna Riemersm...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" Our guest for Episode 57 is a recognized expert in biblical sexuality. Dr. Juli Slattery has decades of experience as a therapist, author, and founder of the organization Authentic Intimacy. For years she has been helping women and men move toward healing from painful experiences with sexual brokenness, and developing a healthy view of their sexuality. Her podcast Java With Juli offers great, thought-provoking perspectives on sex and relationsh...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" Since the late '90's / early 2000's, Passion Music has been blessing the Church with song after song to sing together. And one of its primary worship leaders is our guest Kristian Stanfill. Kristian is the voice you've heard on songs like "One Thing Remains," "Death Was Arrested," "Glorious Day," and "Come to Jesus." He is a passionate, enthusiastic worshipper and worship leader who leads at Passion conferences and at his home church, Passion ...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" RE-RELEASE. This episode originally released July 22, 2024. For men and women seeking recovery from unwanted sexual behavior, few people have been as influential or helpful as Michael John Cusick. Michael is a therapist, author, and Founder/CEO of Restoring the Soul, a counseling practice that provides opportunities for life-changing breakthrough with licensed and experienced therapists. Their holistic approach creates an atmosphere of sa...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" The scariest thing about kids and tech isn’t just what they can find—it’s what can find them. Greg & Bobby sat down with Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes and president of Better Tech, to map a practical path through the chaos: clear relational scripts, layered technical guardrails, and a mindset that trades “set it and forget it” for steady, confident presence. Chris breaks the work into two buckets—relational and technical—and...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" Anytime we can encourage people in caring professions we love to do it! If you walk with, pastor, or counsel people going through hard times, this is a conversation you're going to want to hear. Karrie Garcia is a pastor, life coach, and author who inspires change in others by boldly sharing her journey to freedom. She has seen firsthand how God’s true redemptive purpose for our lives does not begin once we’re free from pain, rather it stems di...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" It can be scary to examine spiritual messages we've heard all our lives, but it sometimes can also be the path to experiencing God more truly, deeply, and biblically. Steve Cuss is an author, speaker, and pastor who has a passion for understanding what drives Christians to feel anxiety, fear, and exhaustion about their faith & relationship with God. He has written books that examine the role anxiety plays in leadership (Managing Leade...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" It's December, and just like last year, we're giving you something extra for the holidays. Each week in December we'll release a new episode for you to enjoy! Please remember to follow/subscribe to the show, write a positive review, and share us with others. ALSO, if the show means something to you, please consider a financial gift to help us continue! (Link to give below) For the first December episode, we caught up with a friend who is both a...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" It's critical for ministry leaders to understand their responsibility and opportunity to help people in their churches who are sexually struggling. That was a key theme in our rich conversation with Sam Black, Director of Recovery Education at Covenant Eyes. Sam explained that empathy plus action breaks porn’s grip, and how churches can become truly safe communities for strugglers and spouses. We talked about practical tools, trauma-informed in...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" What if sadness isn’t the problem—what if the real drain is the energy we spend trying to avoid it? To celebrate our 50th episode, Greg & Stacey talk with therapist and author ADAM YOUNG (host of The Place We Find Ourselves podcast) for a frank, tender, and deeply practical conversation about story work, lament, and the courage to feel. Adam unpacks why facing your past can enlarge your heart, expand your capacity for joy and grief, and fin...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" It's always fun and encouraging to talk with other people who work in the same spaces. NICK LIBERTO is the executive director at Proven Ministries, an organization committed to "seeing a revival of sexual integrity throughout the entire Bride of Christ." They provide support and resources for men, women, and ministry leaders. Proven has created many resources to support sexual integrity, including TheSexTalk.com, an online course for parents wh...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" In the category of sexual addiction recovery, there are a few people who deserve to be called pioneers. BARBARA STEFFENS is definitely one of them. Over the last quarter century she has begun and advanced invaluable philosophy and resources related to partner betrayal trauma. Previous sex addiction conventional wisdom referred to the addict's partner as a "co-addict," used phraseology that ignored the post-traumatic stress partners undergo, and...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. RE-RELEASE. This episode originally released June 3, 2024. What is a recovery intensive? How is it different from weekly therapy or extended inpatient treatment? How could it help my recovery process? To address these important questions, Greg enlists the help of three friends, therapists who consistently staff the Roots Retreat Men's Recovery Intensive from Awaken. Adam Calvert, James Horne, an...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" Suffering. We don't like it. Most of us probably don't even like the word. Suffering brings to mind experiences of abuse, neglect, rejection, abandonment... traumatic events that lodged themselves into our lives as long-term traumas. How do we get away from suffering? Our guest CATHY LOERZEL gives an answer many won't like. We don't get away from suffering. It is inevitable and unavoidable in this life. We are made for perfect care, yet none of...
"Send us a message! (questions, feedback, etc.)" The Bible presents many topics that elicit passionate and polarizing opinions. One of these is how unmarried Christians should evaluate their calling and purpose as it relates to marriage. Our guest, PIETER VALK, has a lot to say on the subject. As a Christian who for most of his life has experienced same-sex attraction and a commitment to honor a traditional Biblical sexual ethic, Pieter has embraced a life of vocational singleness. But he doe...
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