The Unfolding

Pastor Stan Parris recalls the day his son Briggs's arm suddenly doubled in size from a blood clot, raising fears of cancer and leading to emergency surgery. In desperation his wife prayed, and believes God gave her a verse - Jeremiah 33:3. A hospital water failure then canceled all surgeries, opening the door to specialized care at Johns Hopkins, and the verse, as well as their son Briggs' story, later appeared in a medical textbook. Drawing from thirty years of ministry and this crisis, Stan shares the lessons in his book Pivotal Decisions: 10 Decisions That Will Transform Your Destiny.

He was an alcoholic atheist and a country artist whose life was falling apart. Walker Hayes had written off faith and was running out of hope. Then came Craig, a friend whose relentless love, years of kindness, generosity, and one unforgettable gift made Walker start asking a question he'd avoided his whole life: What if Jesus really is who He says He is? In this episode of The Unfolding, Walker shares his journey from brokenness to belief, and how his heart of stone began to soften in the most unexpected ways.

You probably know Walker for his hit song Fancy Like, which went seven-times platinum. His latest album is 17 Problems. Behind the success is a deeper story of friendship, unexpected grace, and a transformation he never saw coming.

Show Notes:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/walkerhayes/?hl=en

Website: https://www.walkerhayes.com/

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Glad-Youre-Here-Unlikely-Breaking/dp/0802424716

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walkerhayes/

Missionary Stephen Price and his family were preparing to move to Guadalajara, but they didn't have a place to live. Then a conversation at his home church in Illinois led them to a house in Mexico. On the way to see it, Stephen sensed God telling him what the owners would offer to sell it for. He shares what happened next, along with other moments of God's faithfulness during his family's years of ministry in Mexico.

We'd love to hear what God has done in your life. Share your story.

When you've prayed for someone for years, how do you keep believing their life can change?

Juan Morales joined a gang at fourteen, finding belonging in a world that would lead him through years of prison. His mother never stopped praying. But after his release, a broken marriage stirred an anger that threatened to pull him back into the life he'd left behind. With plans for revenge already in motion, Juan dropped to his knees: "God, if you're real, create change in me. But I need it now."

Two weeks later, a stranger approached him at the gym with words Juan couldn't explain, and an invitation he never expected. In this episode of The Unfolding, Juan shares a story of persistent prayer, an unexpected encounter with Jesus, and the possibility of a different future. If you're waiting for God to reach someone you love, or wondering whether He can change you, this story offers hope.

Show Notes:

Redemption Wear https://redemptionwearbrand.com/

Juan's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juan.morales.589568

Hope Center Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopecenterurbana

Alpha https://alphausa.org/

"And so one day I stopped praying." Laura Wifler had believed in God since childhood, but after a season of suffering, she began questioning whether he existed at all. When she finally told her friend and husband, their response surprised her and helped her face the questions she'd been carrying alone. Laura shares how her trust in God slowly returned, even as some doubts remain.

Listen to last week's Unfolding Short Stories for another part of Laura's story, about facing an uncertain future for her family.

Learn more about Laura's new book, This Side of the Sky.

Faith Podcasts are made possible by your support. You can click here to give.

We'd love to hear what God has done in your life. Share your story.

After moving through twelve foster homes and experiencing abuse and neglect, Tori Hope Petersen believed she was unwanted. She questioned how a loving God could allow children to suffer. But a woman who offered meals, a hidden key, and a safe place to land helped her begin to see God, and herself, differently.

In this episode of The Unfolding, Tori shares her journey from rejection to belonging, how she came to faith in Jesus, and how God's love shaped her life as a mother and foster parent. For Tori, hospitality became a way to offer others the welcome that had changed her own life, sometimes around a kitchen table, sometimes by opening her home to a family in crisis.

Her story invites you to recognize God's love in ordinary acts of kindness, trust what He says about your worth, and consider how He might use what you already have to love someone else. This is an encouraging conversation about healing, identity in Christ, and hospitality. Tori Hope Petersen is the author of Fostered and Safe House.

Show Notes:

Link to purchase Safe House: Amazon

Author Website: https://www.torihopepetersen.com/

Facebook: Tori Hope Petersen

Instagram: @torihopepetersen

"It doesn't feel like I know how to see a bright future." Laura Wifler's husband needed major surgery when doctors told them their newborn daughter would probably never walk or talk. Laura shares how God gave her peace amid uncertainty and helped her see that her daughter's worth never depended on what she could achieve. Her new book, This Side of the Sky: 101 Poems and Scriptures for the Hungry, Hopeful, and Homesick, explores seeing God's goodness in everyday life, even in hard seasons.

Do you feel responsible for keeping everyone happy, or like you have to prove your worth whenever you walk into a room?

Bestselling author and Bible teacher Angie Smith, known for Seamless and Matchless, learned early to put others' needs and emotions ahead of her own. Through painful experiences and honest conversations with God, she began recognizing how those patterns shaped her relationships, her faith, and the way she saw herself.

With humor and vulnerability, Angie shares her ongoing struggle with approval, control, and changing seasons, and how she's learning to live in the identity God has given her. Her newest book, Into the Deep, offers a practical path toward recognizing those patterns, working through them with God, and growing in freedom.

Show Notes:

Website: https://angiesmithministries.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialangiesmith/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angiesmithministries

Book: https://angiesmithministries.com/books/into-the-deep/

https://spiritualsimplicity.com/

Pastor Allen Ratta was teaching on the Lord's Prayer when bullets began striking his church, with children at the other end of campus. Everyone survived, but a different crisis later left Alan a single father of four, stepping away from ministry to care for his family. Through both experiences, that familiar prayer became deeply personal. Alan shares how God protected his congregation and why "Give us this day our daily bread" became an invitation to reconnect with God.

We'd love to hear what God has done in your life. Share your story.

What happens when the wounds of your past shape what you believe about yourself and God?

As a child, Stasi Eldredge learned to be invisible and need nothing. Later, abuse and betrayal deepened her belief that she wasn't worth loving. Even after encountering Jesus, she spent years trying to earn God's acceptance.

Stasi shares the journey that helped her face those wounds and begin to receive God's love personally. Through counseling, prayer, and Scripture, her sense of identity changed from unwanted to cherished.

A New York Times bestselling author and coauthor of Captivating with her husband, John Eldredge, Stasi also introduces her new book, The Ladder of Love. Hear a story of faith, emotional healing, and growing closer to Jesus on this episode of The Unfolding.

Content note: Discussion of abuse, sexual assault, suicide, substance use, and abortion.

Show Notes:

Website: https://wildatheart.org/the-ladder-of-love

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stasieldredge/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StasiEldredge/

Book: https://wildatheart.org/the-ladder-of-love

Shame convinced Crystal Renaud Day that she was the only Christian woman struggling with pornography. For years, she loved and served God while keeping that part of her life hidden, until another woman shared that she had struggled, too. That conversation helped Crystal speak openly about her own experience, and today she helps women around the world through SheRecovery. If you're facing this struggle, or know someone who is, learn more at https://sherecovery.com/.

Marcel Patillo seemed born for a life in music. His father, Leon Patillo, sang with Santana before launching a Christian music career. His mother, Jackie, became president of the Gospel Music Association. And his brother, Gabe, toured with TobyMac for decades.

But talent, opportunity and a childhood surrounded by faith couldn't give Marcel an identity, or a faith, of his own. He chased record deals, recognition and a future in Los Angeles, while God became someone he planned to get back to "eventually." When his dreams unraveled, and later when the death of his brother brought profound grief, alcohol pulled Marcel's life in a dangerous direction.

In this episode, Marcel shares how God patiently drew him back through Scripture, Christian community and a series of small acts of obedience. Today, he creates music and films as I AM ABLE, including his newest song, "High," a cinematic depiction of the spiritual battle between darkness and light.

Show Notes:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarcelPatillo

Website: https://www.iamablemusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcelpatillo/

"I witnessed the tragic shooting of my fiancé."

Diana Kannady was 22, pregnant, and planning a wedding when her life changed in an instant. More than 20 years later, Diana would face another devastating loss when her husband, Chris, drowned just hours before their daughter's wedding. In both moments, Diana made the same decision: to trust God. Her story is a powerful picture of the peace Philippians says "transcends all understanding," and of God's faithfulness when life is anything but peaceful.

https://www.dianakannadyauthor.com/

Content Warning – not appropriate for children.

Bruce Van Natta's childhood was filled with abuse and trauma, but he had one encounter with Jesus that marked him. He knew God was real. What he didn't understand is why God didn't rescue him. As he got older, he clearly heard God call him into ministry, but he was angry, skeptical, and cynical. As a diesel mechanic, Bruce regularly worked on big rigs. On a fateful day in 2006, he was lying under a logging truck that weighed 18,000 pounds. What happened on that day can only be described as other-worldly; an accident, a near-death experience, and an encounter with the supernatural. This is a graphic story that is not appropriate for younger listeners. Bruce Van Natta is the author of Saved by Angels and the founder of Sweet Bread Ministries.

Website: https://sweetbreadministries.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetBreadMinistries

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Saved-Angels-Expanded-Everyday-People/dp/076844134X

Tara Sierra Mosely didn't feel equipped when she was asked to pray for a dying woman in a remote village in Uganda. But she said yes, and God used that simple act of obedience as part of a much bigger story of salvation and new life. Tara's new book is House of the Forest: Life-Giving Declarations for Strength and Abundance in Every Season.

At seven years old, Lauren Burns was taken by her father from Texas to the Middle East, and her mom had no idea where she was. When the United States government couldn't help, Lauren's mother- supported by private investigators Rick and Beverly Lambert, parents of country artist Miranda Lambert- turned to a team of former military operatives for an extraordinary international rescue.

The rescue made international headlines. But coming home was only the beginning. Lauren still faced childhood trauma, father wounds and a difficult question: She knew God was real, but was He good?

Lauren Burns is the author of Stolen: A True Story of Kidnapping, Rescue, and Redemption, a powerful true crime memoir. Her story later inspired a television movie. Today, Lauren is a speaker on trauma, redemption, and faith, and the host of The Redeemed Podcast

Learn more at laurenburns.net.

This episode discusses childhood abduction and trauma and may not be appropriate for young listeners.

Show Notes:

Website: https://www.laurenburns.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenburnsredeemed/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurenBurnsAuthor

Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GT9VMK3Z?lv=shuf&channelId=520&plpRedirect=mhFallback

Before Roland Warren became CEO of Care Net, one of the largest networks of crisis pregnancy centers in North America, he was just a scared 20-year-old college student facing an unplanned pregnancy with his girlfriend. The pressure to choose abortion was intense. But they made a different choice. And that one decision changed everything.

Roland's story is a powerful reminder that when we follow God's way, something good always comes from it.

He has a new book you can check out, called "The Alternative to Abortion: Why We Must be Pro Abundant Life".

Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, two remarkable World Trade Center survivors tell the story of the day they met as strangers and walked out as brothers.

Brian Clark and Stanley Praimnath were both inside the South Tower on September 11, 2001. Stanley was on the 81st floor when United Airlines Flight 175 came directly toward him. Brian was on the 84th floor when the tower was hit. In the chaos that followed, Brian heard Stanley calling for help and made a decision that would change both of their lives forever. Only 18 people survived from the impact zone or above in the South Tower. Brian and Stanley were two of them.

In this special 9/11 25th anniversary episode of The Unfolding, they share what they saw, how they escaped, the extraordinary moments they still cannot fully explain, and how 9/11 transformed their understanding of faith and God's presence in the darkest moments.

Their story is more than a remarkable account of survival. It is the story of two men who entered the World Trade Center as strangers and came out as brothers.

Joshua Broome spent years trying to outrun rejection and prove he was worthy of love, but success in the pornography industry only left him more broken and ashamed. Then Jesus met him in the middle of his mess, and today Joshua is a husband, a father of four, and a son who found the freedom to forgive his own dad. In his latest book, 7 Lies That Will Ruin Your Life, Joshua exposes the empty promises that once shaped his life and points others toward the redemption he found in Jesus.

It was a story that made national headlines. In April of 2019, a five-year-old boy was thrown from a third-floor balcony at the Mall of America by a stranger. Landen Hoffman's injuries were catastrophic, and his survival was uncertain. But his mother, Kari, responded with unshakable faith. Drawing on what she'd learned growing up in church, Kari immediately turned to prayer, refusing to give in to fear or hatred. Landen spent four months in the hospital, facing multiple surgeries, serious complications, and long, painful nights. There were setbacks that baffled even his doctors. Yet Kari never stopped believing for complete healing. Kari Hoffman is sharing their story through her book, Miracle at the Mall. This is the incredible account of a mother's fierce faith, a miraculous recovery, and a God who still moves mountains.

Show notes:

Miracle at the Mall Book: https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Mall-Hoffmann-Survived-39-Foot-High/dp/B0DZBX3XNK

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kari_hoffmann_5/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kari.hoffmann.52