Desperate For Hope with Vaneetha Risner

Brighton Butler: Living Forward While Still Healing

Brighton Butler, who has walked through divorce in a very public space, will bring raw honesty about navigating faith, single parenting, and identity under watchful eyes. She will share how to live forward with courage while still healing—setting boundaries online and off, deciding what to share and what to hold, and helping kids process a public narrative. Listeners will hear practical wisdom for rebuilding daily rhythms of peace, staying grounded in faith under scrutiny, and telling their own stories with integrity and hope……….📕 Buy This Was Never the Plan: Walking with God through the Heartache of DivorceREWARDS members (free sign up) get 25% offIn This Episode[01:23] Brighton’s Life in Dallas as a Working Mom[02:17] Marriage, Betrayal, and the Long Road to Divorce[04:12] Navigating Divorce in the Public Eye[10:25] Protecting Children While Telling the Truth[18:10] Creating Stability and Joy for Young Kids[23:35] Co-Parenting Through Conflict and Boundaries[29:54] Working Through Grief While Keeping Life Moving[37:05] When Community Changes and God Sends New People[44:00] Hearing God’s Voice, Forgiveness, and Finding HopeGuest Resources💻 Website🗣️ Instagram🗣️ TikTok📚Vaneetha’s Books: Her memoir: Walking Through FireHer latest devotional: Watching for the Morning🗣️Follow Vaneetha💻 More Resources Available at: Vaneetha.com

Sissy Goff: Helping Kids Feel Safe Again

Sissy Goff, a counselor who specializes in helping children and teens navigate anxiety and big emotions, will bring wisdom to the unique challenges kids face in divorce. She can share age-specific tools that lower anxiety, simple rituals that make transitions between homes smoother, and language that helps kids feel secure. With compassion for depleted parents, she will offer practical ways to repair after blowups, protect kids from being caught in the middle, and build small connection habits that restore safety.……….📕 Buy This Was Never the Plan: Walking with God through the Heartache of DivorceREWARDS members (free sign up) get 25% offIn This Episode[01:12] Sissy’s Personal Experience of Divorce[02:21] Life as a Child and Family Therapist[04:09] Parenting While Carrying Your Own Grief[07:00] When Co-Parenting Is Hard[11:17] Telling Your Children About the Divorce[17:02] How Kids at Different Ages Process Divorce[24:05] When to Seek Help for Your Child[30:24] Helping Kids Open Up (Even When They Shut Down)[41:00] Worries About Safety and Hard Co-Parenting Situations[46:00] Hope for Parents Who Fear the Impact on Their KidsGuest Resources🎙️ Raising Boys and Girls Podcast  💻 Website🗣️ Follow Sissy📕 Pre order the Capable Book by Sissy Goff and David Thomas📚Vaneetha’s Books: Her memoir: Walking Through FireHer latest devotional: Watching for the Morning🗣️Follow Vaneetha💻 More Resources Available at: Vaneetha.com

Paul David Tripp: God’s Presence in the Midst of Divorce

Paul David Tripp, pastor, counselor, and author, will remind listeners that when divorce shatters their world, God’s presence is more foundational than answers, His promises more steady than circumstances, and that what we are telling ourselves matters. He will talk about what it means to trust God when life feels hopeless, how suffering can deepen discipleship, and how the church can embody Christ’s presence for those walking through divorce.……….📕 Buy This Was Never the Plan: Walking with God through the Heartache of DivorceREWARDS members (free sign up) get 25% offIn This Episode[00:02:11] Understanding Fear: A Gift That Can Also Mislead Us[00:06:00] A Greater Fear That Diminishes Every Other Fear[00:08:14] Honest Lament: Bringing Our Raw Questions to God[00:12:00] Interpreting Our Circumstances Through Who God Is[00:17:50] Gazing on the Beauty of the Lord Each Day[00:19:10] When Suffering Shapes the Story We Tell Ourselves[00:27:38] Anger, Justice, and Leaving Vengeance to God[00:33:40] God Isn’t Embarrassed by Our Emotional Struggles[00:37:16] What We Can’t Control and the Peace Only God Gives[00:41:00] Peace Is a Process, Not an Instant Event[00:42:01] Shame, Divorce, and What Scripture Actually Says[00:46:00] Trusting God’s Plan When We Don’t Know Why[00:48:00] Treasure in Jars of Clay: How God Brings Good From Tragedy[00:52:51] A God Who Can Turn the Worst Into Something Beautiful[00:53:37] A Love for Cooking and the Joy of Good Kitchen ToolsGuest Resources📕 Resources from Paul💻  Website🗣️ Follow Paul📚Vaneetha’s Books: Her memoir: Walking Through FireHer latest devotional: Watching for the Morning🗣️Follow Vaneetha💻 More Resources Available at: Vaneetha.com– –Editing and Support by ⁠The Good Podcast Co.⁠

The Undoing and the God Who Stays

In this opening episode, my sister Shalini and I will share a raw and honest account of walking through the wreckage of divorce—what it felt like up close, the losses named, and the lament that gave way to God’s presence. Together we’ll reflect on grief, unanswered prayers, and what it felt like to walk with someone and help carry that burden. This conversation will frame the heart behind the podcast: an invitation to be honest about pain, to discover hope in unexpected places, and to journey forward with the God who never leaves.……….📕 Buy My Latest BookThis Was Never the Plan: Walking with God through the Heartache of Divorce | REWARDS members (free sign up) get 25% offIn This Episode[01:00] Why We’re Talking About Divorce[02:20] Our Marriage and the Day Everything Changed[04:00] Trying to Hold Our Family Together[07:00] The Shame and Questions That Followed[09:00] Learning to Be Honest With God[13:00] Wrestling With Repentance and Reconciliation[18:00] What It Was Like for My Sister to Walk With Me[27:00] Red Flags, That Conference, and Beginning to Rebuild[50:00] The Book I Needed—and Hope for the Road AheadGuest Resources🎙️Discover the Word podcast  💻 God Hears Her📚Vaneetha’s Books: Her memoir: Walking Through FireHer latest devotional: Watching for the Morning🗣️Follow Vaneetha💻 More Resources Available at: Vaneetha.com– –Editing and Support by ⁠The Good Podcast Co.⁠

Why This Podcast and Book

I still remember lying in my bed, huddled in the corner, wondering how my life had unraveled so completely. Divorce was never part of the plan. I had prayed. I had fought for my marriage. I believed God would restore it. I thought reconciliation was the only way to honor Him — and when it didn’t happen, I didn’t know how to move forward as a Christian.The world had plenty of advice, but I longed for wisdom rooted in faith — from people who understood the grief, the questions, the shame, and the fear. When I couldn’t find that kind of guidance, I wrote This Was Never the Plan. And now, this podcast continues that conversation.In this series, I sit down with people who understand divorce from every angle — those who have lived through it, pastors and counselors who have walked alongside it, and trusted voices like Paul Tripp, Sissy Goff, Brighton Butler, and Barnabas Piper. Together, we talk honestly about grief and loss, parenting and co-parenting, rebuilding, forgiveness, dating, remarriage, and learning to trust God again.These conversations aren’t simplistic or one-size-fits-all. They make space for the complexity and the pain. Because none of us was meant to carry this kind of heartache alone.If divorce is part of your story — or someone you love — I want you to know you’re not abandoned, and you’re not without hope. God is with you in this. I’ve learned that even when the story isn’t what we prayed for, He is still writing something good.I hope you’ll join me.……….📕 Buy My Latest BookThis Was Never the Plan: Walking with God through the Heartache of Divorce | REWARDS members (free sign up) get 25% off📚Vaneetha’s Books: Her memoir: Walking Through FireHer latest devotional: Watching for the Morning🗣️ Follow Vaneetha💻 More Resources Available at: Vaneetha.com