This episode of Unshaken Faith explores the three major love‑words Scripture uses — ahavah, agape, and phileo — and how each one shapes the way we build relationships that actually last. Not vague sentiment. Not romantic clichés. Real, biblical love that chooses, gives, and delights.

Andi Jo walks through ahavah, the Old Testament word for love that chooses and holds. It is covenant love, loyal love, the kind of love that stays when the feeling dips and costs you something to keep. “You shall love the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 6:5) Ahavah is not a crush. It is a decision. It is the love that keeps a marriage steady and makes a friendship trustworthy.

You’ll also learn about agape, the New Testament word for love that gives. It is the love God shows toward us — undeserved, costly, patient, truthful, and steady. “God so loved the world that He gave…” (John 3:16) Agape forgives, tells the truth, refuses to use people, and seeks their good even when it is hard. It is not weakness. It is strength with a spine.

Then comes phileo, the love that enjoys. Warmth. Affection. Friendship. The love that says, “I like being with you.” “Love one another with brotherly affection.” (Romans 12:10) Phileo is the laughter in a marriage, the comfort of a loyal friend, the joy of companionship inside covenant.

This episode shows how these three loves work together — how ahavah holds the bond, agape shapes the character of the relationship, and phileo keeps the heart soft. A relationship built on only one will collapse. A relationship built on all three can flourish.

You’ll also hear what these loves correct: the idea that love is only a feeling, the idea that holy love is cold, the idea that staying means losing yourself, and the idea that affection is optional. “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) God’s love teaches us how to love others without fear, without performance, and without confusion.

If you want to understand what real, biblical love looks like — in marriage, friendship, family, and the church — this episode will give you clarity, direction, and hope.

Listen, share, and stay unshaken.

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here. Voicemail: https://rss.com/podcasts/unshakenfaith/voicemail/

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here.

This episode of Unshaken Faith speaks to one of the deepest longings of the human heart — and one of its greatest fears: to be fully known and still deeply loved. We want someone to see the real story, not the polished version. The temper. The fear. The hidden sin. The parts of our life we never mention at church. And yet we fear that if someone truly saw us, they would leave, judge, or use what they know.

Andi Jo walks through the truth Scripture declares with tenderness and authority: God already knows. He knows the thought before you speak it, the prayer you were too ashamed to pray, the wound you never named, and the sin you keep revisiting. “Even before a word is on my tongue… You know it altogether.” (Psalm 139:4) His knowing is not a threat — it is a home.

This episode explores why being known feels dangerous for so many of us. We’ve been betrayed, exposed, misunderstood, or used by people who held our story carelessly. So we learned to hide. To edit. To perform. But hiding only exhausts the soul. “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” (Proverbs 29:25)

You’ll hear how God’s love is different from human love that thins when the real you shows up. His love has already seen the worst and still chose you. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Known fully. Loved fully. No contradiction.

This episode also reminds you that faithful human love does exist — the kind that stays, protects, and honors the truth. But even the best human love rests on the deeper foundation of God’s unwavering, everlasting love. “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

Finally, you’ll learn what this truth changes in a real week: praying before you feel ready, needing less from people, loving others without demanding they complete you, and refusing to let the cruel editor of your past define your worth.

If you’ve ever feared being truly seen, this episode will steady you, free you, and remind you that the God who knows you completely is the God who loves you completely.

Listen, share, and stay unshaken.

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here. Voicemail: https://rss.com/podcasts/unshakenfaith/voicemail/

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here.

This episode of Unshaken Faith asks a question every believer must face: How do you fight when something is against you? A rumor. A closed door. A hard person. Fear that won’t lift. A battle you didn’t pick and cannot schedule. Most of us reach first for what we can see — drafting the message, rehearsing the argument, working the room, building the case. We call it being responsible. Scripture calls it fighting on the wrong field.

Andi Jo walks through the difference between flesh‑and‑blood fighting and fighting on your knees. One relies on anger, control, image, panic, and payback. The other relies on the God who sees the layer beneath the conflict. “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood.” (Ephesians 6:12) People may harm you, but people are not the deepest enemy. If you only fight the face in front of you, you will spend your strength on the wrong war.

This episode exposes what fleshly fighting looks like — forcing doors God hasn’t opened, using your tongue like a blade, trusting your own strategy more than His sovereignty. You’ll hear why prayer is not a polite pause but the place where the real battle is admitted. “The weapons of our warfare… have divine power.” (2 Corinthians 10:4) Kneeling is not doing nothing. It is doing the first thing.

You’ll hear how Jehoshaphat, Moses, David, and Paul fought: not by ignoring reality, but by refusing to treat human strength as the savior. Prayer came first. Action came after. And God fought in ways no strategy could have produced.

This episode also clarifies what fighting on your knees does not mean. It does not mean passivity. It does not mean avoiding truth. It does not mean refusing boundaries or legal protection. It means refusing vengeance, refusing panic, refusing to make the battle your identity. “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:20)

Finally, this episode offers practical guidance for long battles — the ones that don’t resolve in a week. You’ll learn how to bring fear, decisions, people, and your own heart to God; how to act after prayer instead of instead of prayer; and how to stay under His hand when the outcome is still unclear.

If you’ve been fighting people first and praying second, this episode will steady you, redirect you, and remind you that the victory — however it comes — belongs to the Lord.

Listen, share, and stay unshaken.

If you ever want to share your story, ask a question, or leave a message for the show, you can send me a voicemail anytime. I love hearing from listeners and walking with you through what God is doing in your life. You can leave your message here: https://rss.com/podcasts/unshakenfaith/voicemail/

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here.

This episode of Unshaken Faith speaks directly to the seasons believers rarely name out loud — the seasons when being transformed by God hurts. We celebrate the destination of sanctification: freedom, fruit, maturity, clarity. But we often hide the truth about the process: transformation is not a gentle makeover. It is a spiritual dismantling. It is pruning, refining, crushing, and rebuilding from the inside out.

Andi Jo walks through the biblical reality that growth is painful because God is not decorating the old self — He is removing it. “Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes.” (John 15:2) Pruning requires a blade. It means losing habits, relationships, identities, and comforts you once depended on. The pain you feel is not rejection — it is craftsmanship.

This episode names the three deep wounds of transformation: • Grieving your old self — letting God uproot pride, coping mechanisms, and hidden idols. • Walking through isolation — feeling the sting of being misunderstood as your appetite changes. • Enduring slow sanctification — waiting while the enemy whispers lies about your progress. Transformation feels like burial, but Scripture calls it planting. “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies…” (John 12:24)

You’ll hear how God uses the refiner’s fire to remove impurities until His reflection is seen in you. “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” (Malachi 3:3) And how Paul’s painful transformation teaches us that weakness is not failure — it is the place where God’s power rests. “My grace is sufficient for you.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

This episode offers biblical guidance for enduring the process: surrendering instead of resisting, anchoring your mind in eternal perspective, leaning into godly community, and trusting that you are not buried — you are planted. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” (Philippians 1:6)

If you are hurting through your transformation, this episode will steady you, validate you, and remind you that the breaking you feel is the breaking of chains — not the breaking of you.

Listen, share, and stay unshaken.

f you ever want to share your story, ask a question, or leave a message for the show, you can send me a voicemail anytime. I love hearing from listeners and walking with you through what God is doing in your life. You can leave your message here: https://rss.com/podcasts/unshakenfaith/voicemail/

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here.

This episode of Unshaken Faith speaks directly to the restless heart in a world obsessed with “more.” More money. More movement. More achievement. More proof that your life is advancing. In a culture where stillness looks like failure and satisfaction looks like a lack of ambition, contentment has become a word people use often and mean rarely.

Andi Jo walks through what Scripture actually teaches about contentment — not complacency, not pretending, not emotional numbness, but a settled heart anchored in Christ. “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6) Not godliness plus a finished checklist. Not godliness plus the life you imagined. Great gain comes from knowing Christ is enough for this day, even when the day is not the one you would have written.

This episode exposes the quiet danger of discontent — how it shrinks what God has given, magnifies what He has withheld, and whispers the same lie the serpent told Eve: you need more to be whole. You’ll hear how comparison steals joy, how coveting distorts reality, and how Asaph nearly stumbled until he remembered the presence of God: “Whom have I in heaven but You?” (Psalm 73:25)

You’ll also learn the difference between contentment and complacency. Contentment doesn’t mean you stop praying, stop working, or stop hoping. It means you refuse to make the outcome your god. It means you seek the kingdom first and trust the Father with the rest. “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) That is the ground of contentment — not a perfect life, but a faithful God.

This episode speaks to both low seasons and full seasons, showing how lack can tempt you to despair and abundance can tempt you to forget God. You’ll hear how Paul learned contentment in both extremes, and how grace is sufficient whether the table is small or overflowing.

Finally, this episode offers a path home for the restless heart: naming misplaced hopes, practicing thanksgiving, staying near the Word, staying near God’s people, and doing the next faithful thing in the life you actually have — not the one you’re waiting for.

If you’ve spent years believing you’ll finally rest when the missing piece arrives, this episode will remind you of the gospel truth: You can have the piece and still be hungry. You can lack the piece and already be held.

Listen, share, and stay unshaken.

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here.

Why The Sudden Softness Isn’t Repentance & How Scripture Protects You From Being Pulled Back in.

This episode of Unshaken Faith addresses one of the most confusing and emotionally disorienting moments after narcissistic abuse: hoovering — the sudden warmth, the long message, the spiritual language, the tears, the “I’ve been thinking,” the “for the sake of the child,” the “can we talk,” the apology that names nothing. It feels like hope. It feels like closure. It feels like change. But it is a pull, not repentance.

Andi Jo explains what hoovering really is: a tactic designed to regain access after the abuser loses control, loses your reaction, or loses the audience they once had. Attack didn’t work. Silence didn’t work. So they switch tools. Kindness becomes bait. “His words were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart.” (Psalm 55:21) Soft words are not proof of a new heart. Fruit is.

This episode exposes why hoovering is deceit, not healing. It never names the wrong. It never accepts your limit. It never comes with changed conduct. It asks for private channels, late‑night talks, off‑the‑record conversations. It strokes their ego, restores their supply, and sets up the next discard. “They speak peace… while evil is in their hearts.” (Psalm 28:3)

You’ll learn how to tell the difference between repentance and a pull: • Repentance names the sin. Hoovering stays vague. • Repentance respects boundaries. Hoovering climbs over them. • Repentance continues without reward. Hoovering fades when you stay steady. • Repentance doesn’t need secrecy. Hoovering depends on it. “You will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16)

This episode also speaks directly to the cost of falling for the pull. When you answer “just this once,” the old bond wakes up. The confusion returns. The grief resets. The healing you worked for must begin again. “Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” (Proverbs 26:11) Not to shame you — but to tell the truth about what going back does to the soul.

You’ll hear practical, biblical steps for responding when the message comes: waiting before deciding, telling one steady person, answering only what is necessary, refusing private channels, and remembering Scripture’s instruction for patterns that will not turn. “Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:5) “The prudent sees danger and hides himself.” (Proverbs 22:3)

Finally, this episode offers comfort for the ache that follows: the longing for the good version, the hope that the warmth means change, the grief of what could have been. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” (Psalm 34:18) The good version was often the bait. God is the one who stays.

If you’ve ever been pulled back by a sudden softness, this episode will steady you, protect you, and remind you that you can forgive without reopening the door.

Listen, share, and stay unshaken.

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here.

What The Patterns Look Like & What Scripture Says When The Story is Turned on You.

A few of you reached out and asked me to talk about narcissistic abuse. I heard you.

This episode of Unshaken Faith tackles one of the most confusing and painful experiences a believer can walk through: narcissistic abuse and the DARVO pattern that often follows. With clarity, compassion, and Scripture, Andi Jo explains what this pattern looks like, why it leaves victims doubting their own memory, and how God instructs His people to respond when pride rewrites the story.

You’ll learn the difference between ordinary conflict and the repeated, destructive cycle often labeled “narcissistic”—a pattern marked by charm in public, cruelty in private, refusal to accept fault, and a constant reshaping of reality to protect the abuser’s image. “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:5) Scripture has always named this behavior: pride, deception, unrepentance.

This episode breaks down the different forms this pattern can take: the loud and obvious kind, the quiet and wounded‑looking kind, the “good person” who uses kindness as currency, and the charming‑then‑cruel kind. You’ll hear how each one operates, how they use faith language to manipulate, and how they isolate their victims through confusion, guilt, and spiritual pressure. “You will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16)

You’ll also learn what DARVO looks like when you finally speak the truth: Deny — “It never happened.” Attack — “You’re bitter, unstable, unforgiving.” Reverse Victim and Offender — “I’m the one who’s afraid. I need prayer.” This pattern is designed to make you doubt your memory and make others doubt your name. “A false witness will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 19:5)

This episode offers biblical clarity on what God says about people who refuse to turn from this pattern: “Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:5) Not because you lack love, but because staying on the tracks destroys your peace, your witness, and your safety.

You’ll hear practical, godly steps for responding: telling the truth only where necessary, keeping records, limiting contact, protecting children, refusing revenge, and entrusting judgment to the God who sees everything. “The prudent sees danger and hides himself.” (Proverbs 22:3) “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” (Romans 12:19)

Finally, this episode calls the church to discernment—refusing to be swayed by charm, vague confessions, or spiritual language used as a shield. A faithful church protects the vulnerable and looks at fruit, not performance.

If you’ve lived through rewritten reality, spiritual manipulation, or DARVO, this episode will steady you, validate you, and anchor you in Scripture. You can be clear and still be Christian. You can shut a door and still be gentle. You can refuse the lie and still refuse revenge.

Listen, share, and stay unshaken.

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here.

Why “be kind to yourself” is too small—and why God’s grace is the only kind that saves

This episode of Unshaken Faith goes straight to the heart of a phrase our culture loves: “Give yourself grace.” It sounds gentle. It sounds wise. It sounds healing. But the truth is deeper — and far more freeing. You cannot give yourself the kind of grace your soul actually needs.

Andi Jo walks through the difference between cultural self‑kindness and biblical grace. One is a pep talk. The other is a gift purchased by Christ Himself. “By grace you have been saved… it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8–9) Grace is not self‑forgiveness. Grace is not lowering the standard. Grace is not pretending the sin wasn’t real. Grace is God treating you better than your sin deserves — because of Jesus.

This episode exposes why you cannot be the source of your own pardon. You didn’t die for your sin. You didn’t cleanse yourself. You didn’t carry the cross. “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7) Only God can speak the verdict that sets a guilty soul free.

You’ll hear the two traps believers fall into: • The harsh self — replaying failures, refusing forgiveness, mistaking self‑punishment for holiness. • The soft self — avoiding confession, avoiding change, calling denial “grace.” Both miss the gospel. Both keep you from the throne of grace. “Draw near… that we may receive mercy and find grace to help.” (Hebrews 4:16)

This episode teaches what real receiving looks like: naming sin honestly, believing God’s verdict, walking in obedience, and letting grace train you — not just comfort you. “The grace of God… trains us to renounce ungodliness.” (Titus 2:11–12)

If you’ve spent years trying to forgive yourself, fix yourself, or soothe yourself, this episode will lift that burden. You were never meant to be your own savior. You were meant to come empty and receive what Christ already paid for.

Listen, share, and stay unshaken.

I’d love to hear your thoughts or prayer requests. Feel free to send me a voice message — your heart matters here.