Heart To Heart With Michael

What is Amy’s House? Where can someone needing a place to stay while receiving a transplant in Central Texas? What can you do to help someone receiving a transplant?Phyllis Renfrow is the executive director of Amy’s House. Amy's House is a Medical Lodging Facility in Temple Texas, just minutes away from Baylor Scott and White Health Center. Transplant recipients are able to stay at Amy’s House free of charge.Phyllis graduated from the University of Central Texas with a graduate degree in Counseling in December of 1997. She has served in many roles over the course of her career to include 17 years as a director at Baylor Scott and White Health, but it was an accident over a July 4th weekend in 2013 that actually led her to discover her passion for the transplant world and the people on both sides of that process. She lost her 13-year-old granddaughter, Monika, in a car accident when a distracted driver ran up on her daughter's vehicle as they were sitting stopped in traffic. In thi’s program, we're going to le

What are the Wings of Love? How can someone help a loved one when they’re diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening condition? Can we still enjoy life after dealing with cancer?Tara Reynolds developed Wings of Love, a 48-card oracle deck featuring butterflies and moths, to help terminally ill patients and their families come to terms with an impending death. As a two-time cancer patient, she was struck by the lack of support materials available for end-stage patients. Before she leaves this earth, she’d like to change that.Tara and Wings of Love are available on:Etsy, Instagram & Facebook Earth Angels Oracles#wingsofloveLinks to “Bereaved But Still Me” Social Media and Podcast Pages:

How can a mother handle losing a baby? What happened to Jen Burgard after she lost her son, Henry? Why did Jen start a podcast?This episode features Jen Burgard...A native of the upper Midwest, Jen Burgard is a mom to two living children and one who lives solely in her heart. Her titles include loss mom, living mom, wife, founder, podcaster, director, and most proudly - survivor. Upon the death of her second child, she set out to fill a gap in accessibility to resources, support, and community for others also experiencing trauma.With personal experience of her own and her newly formed network, she launched Haven as a service to grieving parents in and around her region. Today, Haven has touched each of the 50 states with their healing gifts, podcast content, and online grief workshops. With a goal to bring awareness and understanding not only to child loss but to ourto our grief culture in general, we are creating and building conversations around the vast Landscape of Loss. Jen’s Links:www.havenmidwest.orgfa

How can a bereaved father introduce his daughter to the world so that she inspires people who never met her? How long should a father grieve the loss of his precious baby? What methods can a person use to overcome the grief of losing a child?Hans Kullberg is a father, an author, specializing in children’s books and parenting books, an entrepreneur, and a survivor. Hans is a loving father of 4 children – Hansito, Sofia Lolita, Aviva, and Liliana– and prides himself on being a father first and foremost, cherishing every moment of his fatherhood journey. His greatest pleasures of parenthood are bringing smiles and joy to his children and he loves watching them learn and grow. His beloved daughter, Aviva, passed away on November 18, 2020, due to a still-unknown heart defect. Due to the untimely tragedy of losing his daughter Aviva at 10 months old, Hans is motivated to share the beautiful story of her life, character, and personality through Baby Aviva Orangutan Diva and bringing smiles to children all over the w

What pushed Kate Meyer into becoming an ordained minister? How did being a minister channel her into becoming a hospice counselor? What inspired Kate Meyer to write a book?Kate Meyer is an ordained minister, licensed professional counselor, and author who is passionate about grief awareness. Kate Meyer strives for support for all people, specifically in the Christian community due to the miseducation of grief the Church has perpetuated. Kate Meyer is also an author. The Red Couch is her fiction novel that follows Toni as she embraces new life through the process of grieving her grandmother. Most recently, Kate has written a nonfiction book. Faith Doesn't Erase Grief is available anywhere you purchase books. She’s here today to share with us her journey from minister to counselor to published author.Helpful Information about Kate Meyer:www.katejmeyer.comFacebook & Twitter: @KateJMeyer1Instagram: @kate.j.meyer.authorFaith Doesn't Erase Grief will be available anywhere you purchase books beginning 7/12/2022.

This is the holiday season, usually a time when most people celebrate and find joy but for some of us who are bereaved, it’s difficult for us to experience joy especially when we see everyone around us in such a joyful mood. Our program today is called “Comfort During the Holidays for Bereaved Parents” and our Guest is Julia Wagner.Julia Wagner is the mother of six children, the oldest of whom died suddenly and unexpectedly after an unforeseeable accident at home. At the time, Lizy was just two weeks shy of her 13th birthday, which added an extra layer of poignancy to her loss. Not only did Julia and her husband have to learn to handle their own grief, but how to tenderly guide their remaining five children through the process of coping with their loss as a family and as individuals. Lizy’s parents have focused on remembering her with joy and preserving her place in their family by creating new traditions in her name, as well as maintaining old ones the family cherishes.Loyal Listeners might remember Julia fr

Kendra Rinaldi is a grief and life transitions coach who has experienced grief many times in her life. Some of the most poignant moments were the tragic and sudden death of her sister in 1996, a miscarriage during her first pregnancy in  2006, and her mother’s death to pancreatic cancer in 2016. From her experiences, she launched a podcast called Grief, Gratitude, and The Gray in Between in March of 2020. She invites guests to share their journey and how they grew from that experience, many sharing about their grief after the death of a loved one and the tools they used in their grief process. She is also a volunteer at Journey of Hope Grief Support Center and is passionate about helping others who feel alone in their grief and provides grief care and support to the participants.

Helpful Links:

Kendra Rinaldi's website: https://www.griefgratitudeandthegrayinbetween.com/ Kendra Rinaldi's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/griefgratitudepodcast 

Kendra Rinaldi's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/griefgrat

Silke Herwald worked for many years with the bereaved community but it went to a much deeper level when her only sister died of cancer. She supported her parents and brother-in-law through their loss and their shared grief brought them even closer together.When COVID started, Australia shut its borders and she couldn’t get to Germany to spend with her parents for about 2 years. Then one morning she got a call nobody wants to get, that her father had died. She then applied for a travel exemption to be allowed to leave Australia to go on a flight to Germany to be there for her mother after her father passed away without warning.Ten days before Silke’s father died, she had to put down her old, beautiful therapy dog – the mascot for her clinic. This dog had been able to intuitively determine when clients needed her near them to absorb their grief. Losing her was another tremendous loss for Silke.Today’s episode is entitled: “Grief to Love: A Blueprint for the Living ” and our guest is Silke Herwald. Today we’ll b

What?! A Circus of Grief? How can we take our grief in a new direction? Can we still enjoy life after the loss of a loved one?Sherry Walling is an author and clinical psychologist. She’s also an amateur circus artist and she pulled together a group of circus artists to create an original circus in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Sherry lost her brother to suicide in 2019 (six months after their father died of cancer). Afterwards, Sherry struggled to take care of her children, to work, or even to get out of bed. One of the only things that helped her to feel alive was her aerial hobby.One of Sherry’s coaches, Lynn Lunny, of Stomping Ground Studio in Minneapolis, lost her brother to suicide in 2018. Together, they created the show, which they describe as a love letter in motion.The show is a fundraiser for the National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI MN) and the official launch of her new book about grief, Touching Two World (to be released in July 2022). The book is part memoir and part gu

What Jewish prayers deal specifically with mourning? How have prayers of mourning changed over time? How is this Jewish prayer surprisingly connected to Christian prayers?Rabbi Dalia Marx, Ph.D., is the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at HUC-JIR's Taube Family Campus in Jerusalem, and teaches in various academic institutions in Israel and Europe.Rabbi Marx earned her doctorate at the Hebrew University and her rabbinic ordination at HUC-JIR in Jerusalem and Cincinnati in 2002. She is involved in various research projects and is active in promoting liberal Judaism in Israel. She writes for academic and popular journals and publications.Rabbi Dalia Marx is the author of When I Sleep and When I Wake: On Prayers between Dusk and Dawn (Yediot Sfarim, 2010, in Hebrew), A Feminist Commentary of the Babylonian Talmud (Mohr Siebeck, 2013, in English), About Time: Journeys in the Jewish-Israeli Calendar (Yediot Sfarim, 2018, in Hebrew) and the co-editor of a few books.She lives in Jerusalem with h

How do you say "hello" to one child while you're saying "good-bye" to another? Why was going to sleep such a terrifying experience for Megan? What was the big lesson Megan and her family learned after Aria passed away?Megan Hillukka is a bereaved mother, with 7 children, 6 of who are still here. Megan encourages and supports grieving mothers that though the worst thing has happened to them, their life is not over. Through her experience of the death of her daughter, Aria, Megan has learned tools and ways of shifting grief so that it can become just a little bit lighter, and easier to live with. Because Megan has done the deep work of grief, made space for her grief, and time for her grief, she now has room for joy, laughter, hope, and so much fun in her life. She will never forget her daughter Aria and they talk about her often as a family. She helps the moms she works with learn how to process and move through the emotions of grief and provides a place of safety and compassion with grief so that they too can

Jordon Ferber is the Host of “Where’s the Grief?” Jordon Ferber’s only brother Russell was killed in a car accident in 2002 at the age of 21. He was just about to graduate from The Culinary Institute of America with a Pastry/Baking Arts degree. Jordon was 24, and just 2 years into his own career as a stand-up comedian.Jordon Ferber has also been running a local support group for siblings – The Compassionate Friends Sibling Support group – for a decade. He believes he has found his calling – that of finding ways to normalize the conversations we have about grief so we can talk about it the same way we talk about everything else; often with inappropriate humor. Jordon’s family created The Russell Ferber Foundation, which provides yearly scholarships at the Culinary Institute of America in their pastry/baking arts program in honor of Russell.Links for Jordon:Twitter - @WheresTheGrief and @JordonFerberIG - @WheresTheGrief @RussellFerberFoundation @BeatnikNudnikWheresTheGrief.comRussellFerberFoundation.orgWheresTh

How can a father deal with losing a son to cerebral palsy? What does it mean to have cerebral palsy? What advice does a father of two sets of twins have for others who have premature babies with severe birth defects?It’s extremely difficult to have a child with a chronic illness. It’s especially difficult when we lose a child, even when it is a child who was born with a chronic illness. It seems somehow unnatural for a parent to bury a child. So how do we, as parents, cope with that moment?This month's featured Guest is David Blier – the father of four; two sets of twins. David’s first set of twins were born at 31 ½ weeks – which is not actually considered premature for twins. One of the twins, Lucas, was born with cerebral palsy and his condition was very severe. Lucas couldn’t eat or speak but he could laugh and cry. He couldn’t sit up or walk, but he was able to move with the help of a wheelchair. He was totally dependent on others. For the last 13 years of his life he lived in Mercy Homes. Sadly, at 23

The loss of a spouse may be the hardest thing we can ever face. Lingering questions might haunt us seemingly forever. If I remarry, will I somehow diminish my first husband or wife? Must I, therefore, remain alone for the rest of my life? How can I possibly make room for someone new in my life? Not surprisingly these questions are faced every day by those around us. With us today are Jenny and Dan Muscatell. Jenny has faced these questions and is here today to talk about her answers. After losing her first husband, Thale, to a heart attack, she has remarried and begun life anew with Dan.Links mentioned in the show:Jenny and Dan Muscatell have their own podcast: And That's the #Truth: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChqkdrquJOuZMPRsCszwEqgJenny Muscatell's book: https://www.jennymuscatell.com/Links to “Bereaved But Still Me” Social Media and Podcast Pages:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bereaved-but-still-me/id1333229173Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/heart-to-heart-with-michaelF

On August 15, 2018, while traveling to a minor league baseball game, the unthinkable happened. Marcy’s car was rear-ended and her 14-year-old son was killed instantly. Marcy’s world, and that of her family, was immediately crushed. Marcy, a pediatrician, struggled to help herself and her family.While looking for resources, Marcy was unable to find a podcast for bereaved parents. So she decided she needed to start a podcast to help parents who had lost a child of her own. As a pediatrician, she had dedicated her life to helping children but now she felt it was time for her to help parents whose children had died too young.Marcy Larson is the Host of Losing a Child: Always Andy’s Mom. She is also a pediatrician and the mother of three biological children and one foster son. For more information about her podcast, visit her website, Andy’s Mom.comLinks mentioned in this program include:Marcy’s blog and podcast: https://andysmom.com/Links to “Bereaved But Still Me” Social Media and Podcast Pages:Apple Podcasts:

This is a very special episode in which Michael talks with "Bereaved But Still Me" (BBSM) friends and family who have been with us during the last five years. Together we've learned that grief shared is divided while joy shared is multiplied. It is our hope that over the years we've been able to share some healing with our listeners. Guests include production staff and previous guests on BBSM. In addition, Michael was in the United States earlier this year where he interviewed BBSM creator and Executive Producer, Anna Jaworski of the Hearts Unite the Globe Podcast Network. Links mentioned in this program include:Anna Jaworski - “CHDs Around the Globe: Israel” — https://www.spreaker.com/user/7668348/chds-around-the-globe-israelMatt Creedon - "Remembering Chase” — https://www.spreaker.com/user/7668348/season-2-episode-9-matt-creedon-finalSheri Turner - "Living After Death: Rainbow Babies and Healing” — https://www.spreaker.com/user/7668348/living-after-death-rainbow-babies-and-heNancy Jensen —"The Last Days

In this episode, “A Duet of Joy and Sorrow with Alden Solovy” we’ll be taking a look at some of the issues surrounding that very challenge.Alden Solovy spreads joy and excitement for prayer. An American Israeli liturgist, poet, lyricist, author, and educator, Alden is the Liturgist-in-Residence for the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. His writing was transformed by multiple tragedies, marked in 2009 by the sudden death of his wife from a catastrophic brain injury. His teaching spans from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem to synagogues throughout North America, as well as Leo Baeck College in London and Limmud Conferences in the U.S., Canada, and the UK. He’s the author of five books of liturgy, including a trilogy of poetic prayer books from CCAR Press: most recently "This Precious Life: Encountering the Divine with Poetry and Prayer," along with "This Joyous Soul: A New Voice for Ancient Yearnings" and "This Grateful Heart: Psalms and

What can we learn from others who have lived through traumatic experiences? Why would someone bicycle almost 5000 miles across the country alone?By the time David Richman was in his late 30s, he knew he needed to make a change. Overweight, sedentary, in an abusive and unhealthy marriage, David realized that he wouldn’t have satisfaction in his life without zeroing in on what he wanted for himself. He began setting measurable, attainable, and meaningful goals -- to become healthy, to raise his young twins in a safe home environment, to become a top performer at work, and to seek out his own physical, mental and emotional limits. David is a businessman, corporate and motivational speaker, and personal consultant. He is also the author of “Cycle of Lives” and “Winning in the Middle of the Pack.” Links mentioned in this episode:David’s websites: https://david-richman.com/and http://cycleoflives.orgLinks to “Bereaved But Still Me” Social Media and Podcast Pages:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast

Can we talk to people who have a different faith than we do about grief and death? What can we learn from each other? What value is there in talking to people of different faiths when it comes to grief and grieving?Stacy Henagan is a co-pastor of Keypoint Church in northwest Arkansas — a multi-campus church she founded with her husband, Casey. She is also an author, speaker, and conference host. Stacy hosts an annual women’s conference and speaks at other events in the United States and overseas. Stacy and Casey are the parents of 4 children — Haven, who is waiting for them in heaven, and Holland, Hayes, and Hudson. Haven was diagnosed with brain cancer as an infant. Stacy is the author of “Breathe Again: Choosing to Believe There’s More When Life Has Left You Broken.” Link to Stacy's book on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/4jnp3hn6Links to “Bereaved But Still Me” Social Media and Podcast Pages:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bereaved-but-still-me/id1333229173Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.c

Grief is a difficult topic to discuss but talking about loss by suicide seems to be even more challenging. How does losing a child by suicide affect your life? How can a person’s faith help them cope with the loss of a son by suicide? Faye and Carter Mayberry are the parents of Candace, Jordan, Jacob, and Ashton. Ashton died from suicide at age 21 on January 28, 2014. Since then, they have started a blog (ashtonslegacy.com), writing about what they have learned from their suicide journey.The Carters have tried to inform themselves on risk factors, preventions, post-vention, and supporting others who are suicide loss survivors. They participate in a monthly suicide loss survivor support group.In addition to their 3 living children, they have 8 grandchildren. They are trying to learn and grow together in love for God and for one another. They are here today to share their son’s situation with others, to promote understanding of suicide, and to provide support for others dealing with death by suicide by a loved