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Just Talkin' About Jesus

Lie Makers and Light: Cheryl Bostrom on Breaking Generational Chains Through Story

Podcast

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts! Award-winning Pacific Northwest novelist Cheryl Bostrom joins Jan and Marti to talk about the trauma that shaped her early years, the grandmother who introduced her to God through nature, and the faith that transformed generational dysfunction into a life devoted to storytelling.  Cheryl opens up about her mother's mental illness, the neurodivergent characters she writes with such care, and the concept of "lie makers" — the false beliefs that keep us stuck until we find and release them.  She also previews her upcoming historical novel set on a 1919 Alaskan fox farm. A conversation about forgiveness, healing, and the quiet, redemptive work of a God who "means everything" when He says He works all things together for good. https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/ the-summit License code: YEMOID7DEYZIE4N3 Music from #uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/jonny-easton/warming-light License code: EUXRWYWTFRNQMRXO 00:00 Welcome & Introducing Cheryl Bostrom  02:30 "Give Us a Little Testimony": Cheryl's Story Begins  03:09 An Okie Father, Migrant Camps, and a Tumultuous Marriage  05:01 Rescued to the Pacific Northwest by Her Grandparents  05:41 Meeting God Through Nature Before Knowing His Name  06:43 Salvation at Nineteen and the Long Road of Sanctification  08:02 A Prophetic Word: Isaiah 30:21  09:57 "He Means Everything": Breaking Generational Strongholds  10:28 Writing as Therapy: Sugar Birds and Becoming a Scribe  12:04 What the River Keeps: Forgiveness Beyond What's Humanly Possible  13:48 Writing Neurodivergent Characters With Care  15:16 The Editor Who Kept Burnaby's Story Accurate  17:23 Inside What the River Keeps: Hildy, the Elwha, and "Lie Makers"  20:50 Finding the Lies Planted by Dark Spirits  21:41 Drawing From Her Mother's Story With Gentleness and Care  22:21 On Writing Happy Endings  23:14 "We Become Scribes": Creativity as Worship  24:15 Heaven, Ever-Expanding Joy, and C.S. Lewis  25:09 A New Historical Novel: 1919, Alaska, and a Fox Farm  27:55 Sacrificial Love, a Sister's Sacrifice, and Finding Her Voice  29:23 Holding the New Story With an Open Hand  29:47 Closing Words: "There's Nothing That Can't Heal" Welcome to Just Talkin' About Jesus. I'm Jan Johnson, a seasoned believer who loves relationships and, you know, just talkin' about Jesus. Here you will find testimonies of those who God has changed through his grace. Stories of feeling unworthy because of being sex trafficked, or of radical redemption of a woman who grew up with abuse, neglect, abandonment and drugs. A story of an abortion survivor. This and more. Lean in now. Consider subscribing to this podcast, YouTube and Substack- all with the same name: Just Talkin' About Jesus! https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus https://jan-johnson.com/ https://justtalkingaboutjesus.com/ https://janjohnsonauthor.substack.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus Thanks for listening! If you have a story to tell, check out the form on my website- justtalkingaboutjesus.com. I'd love to connect with you! No, really.... hit me up!

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