NOT BY SIGHT with Deborah Stuart

God is within her, she will not fail. Psalm 46:5 This verse came to mind as I was laying in bed last night thinking about Aya Nickels, the young woman you are going to meet in this episode. God aligned our paths at a thrift store through a beautiful tattoo. The story behind Aya's body art is what led to this episode. As you'll hear, Aya, is still processing through her rocky upbringing but she wants to share her story to show others that they are never truly alone and there is someone who can redeem their pain.

Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness month? According to NIMH, nearly one in 5 US adults live with mental illness. Since the arrival of Covid 19 - depression and anxiety have become rampant. The tricky thing about mental illness is that when you're struggling with it you think you're alone because a lot of people don't talk about it. 

On this episode of "Not by Sight", we are gonna draw back the curtains to shine some light on this topic. It is an honor to have my best friend, Becky Banks, here to share her personal experience with depression and suicide. Today we're going to hear her powerful journey and find out how she is using her story to help so many.

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Welcome back to "Not by Sight, a place where you will always hear inspiring stories of faith and hope that are birthed out of difficult seasons - the valleys of life. Episode 8 is called "A Feat of Faith", because you're going to meet a warrior who combined an athletic mindset with her faith in God to defeat the biggest opponent of her life. Amber Turnbow is a wife, a mother of 3, and a middle school special education teacher in the Atlanta area. I met Amber during french class in our senior year of high school and we became best friends. We had no idea how our paths would reconverge later in life through a shared health crisis. Thirteen years ago, when Amber's two oldest children were only 3 and 4 years old, she received a phone call that would upend the life that she knew. What she did with the worst news of her life is truly inspiring.

In light of the tension we are all living in right now, from the Coronavirus threat to protests over racism to political divisions, many of us are overwhelmed by the chaos. Complicating matters even further are the many voices on all of these issues. Some of us are uniting together and some of us are being driven further apart. In Part 2 of "Faith in the Valley of Racism", my goal is to unify us, not divide us. There is no political agenda here - only the act of standing up for what is right and true. On this episode, we're tackling how to confront racism in our interpersonal relationships and the church's role in racial reconciliation. My friends also discuss the changes they believe need to be made within the workplace, the education system and the criminal justice system to weed out racism. 

In response to the killing of George Floyd and other recent senseless black deaths, I wanted these next 2 episodes to focus on the plight of the black community. In part 1 of "Faith in the Valley of Racism" three close friends of mine share their stories of racism, racial disparities during Covid-19, police harassment, their influential upbringings and how their spiritual faith impacts their perspectives. 
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Join me as I sit down with one of my best friends, Tasha Finkus. We're going to hear her powerful story - it involves childhood trauma and rescue...forgiveness and peace. As you'll find out, Tasha is a true overcomer and one of the most joyful and encouraging women that I know. 

**Content Warning/Trigger Warning** regarding references to sexual abuse. 

Finding it hard to trust in God's goodness in the valley? On this episode of NOT BY SIGHT, Deborah Stuart talks with artist and mom, Grace Knowlton, about how God used a valley experience to intervene on her son's behalf and change her perspective on healing.

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Join Deborah Stuart as she interviews Amanda Blevins about the miraculous story of her son, Hudson, being brought back to life after drowning in a pool. You'll be inspired by this amazing account of faith and healing. 
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Welcome to the first episode of "Not By Sight". Deborah Stuart, a former broadcast journalist and two-time young breast cancer survivor, shares her powerful story of faith in the valley of cancer and how God walked her through it. 

NotBySightPodcast@gmail.com