Romans 8:28 reminds us that God will work all things together for good—not just the rosy parts of life, but also the ugly, twisted parts. This week’s guests have both overcome addictions that could have wiped them out completely, but instead they chose to call on God in hopes of finding something better—and were amazed to see Him show up in their darkest moments. Editor-in-chief of Guideposts Magazine, Edward Grinnan, grew up in a family bound together in faith—a faith they had to lean on heavily after the tragic loss of his special needs brother, Bobby. In trying to cope with his brother’s death and navigating life as a young adult, Edward turned to alcohol as a source of comfort, and battled that addiction for years. After starting at Guideposts Magazine in what he thought would be a temporary position, Edward ended up climbing the ranks and staying there until this day, where he continues to inspire and be inspired by the stories of faith of everyday people. Motivational speaker Damon West has faced countless obstacles in his young life, including drug addiction and prison time. Although Damon believed he developed negative patterns of behavior at an early age, he used his time in jail to learn about the Bible and to get insight from his fellow inmates about how life circumstances can transform you for better or worse. Damon ultimately chose—with God’s help―to become his best self. 

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:

Jesus Calling Podcast

Romans 8:28

Jesus Calling

Jesus Listens

Past interview: Karen Ehman

Peace In Uncertain Times Series: Jennie Finch

Upcoming interview: Joni Harms

Edward Grinnan

Guideposts Magazine 

The New York Times 

Conde Nast 

Vanity Fair

Esquire

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Edward Grinnan’s books

https://www.guideposts.org/

Get a FREE issue of Guideposts at: shopguideposts.org/friends

Damon West

University of Houston Downtown

University of North Texas

Serenity Prayer

https://damonwest.org/

Interview Quotes:

“I came from a family of very, very strong faith, and when you lose a child, that tends to tear apart marriages. And looking back all these years later, I didn't really see it as a child, but my parents stayed together. Their marriage was as strong as ever, and that's because they turned to their faith every single minute of that crisis and every single hour after that crisis.” - Edward Grinnan

“The alcoholism slowly but surely ate me alive so that by the time I was out of graduate school, my late twenties/early thirties, I was basically a homeless wreck. I was just living on the streets on and off, begging for money just so I could continue drinking. There's lots of things that happened in between, college, jobs, travel, vagabond travel, graduate school, but at the end, life spit me out onto the streets.” - Edward Grinnan

“God had brought me to the place where I needed to be.” - Edward Grinnan

“I began to feel that my own spiritual anchor was being strengthened by these stories and this audience. And I suddenly realized as I was going through a story with a narrator that my own faith was being strengthened. And eventually I realized that the barga