What if the healing you’ve begged God for never comes?

In this vulnerable conversation, Ryan Dawn sits down with author and speaker Brenna Blain (@bunonmyhead) to talk about suffering, mental health, and what it looks like to stay faithful when your prayers aren't answered (at least the way you'd expect). Brenna shares openly about living with bipolar disorder, the pain of unanswered prayers, and the pressure to perform spiritual perfection in Christian spaces.

Together, they unpack:

• Why the Church often doesn’t know what to do with real suffering
• How prosperity gospel lite sneaks into our expectations
• The tension of preaching while struggling
• Why vulnerability isn’t a liability—it's protection
• Finding God in slow, quiet, ordinary healing
• The difference between hoping for rescue and being sustained by presence

This episode is for anyone who’s still hurting and still here. For the ones who keep showing up, not because it’s easy—but because they still believe God is who He says He is.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts

📘 Grab Brenna’s book ⁠Can I Say That? How Unsafe Questions Lead Us to The Real God⁠

🔗 Follow her at ⁠@bunonmyhead⁠

🎧 Hear more of her story on ⁠With The Perrys⁠ and ⁠The Deep End With Lecrae⁠

In this episode of Holy Heartbreak Podcast, Ryan Dawn Holland sits down with therapist, podcaster, and spiritual mentor Kyle Spears to talk about seeking spiritual maturity both in and out of the church. Together, they unpack the tension between needing therapy and spiritual guidance.

This conversation gets real about:

• When scripture gets weaponized
• What emotionally healthy mentorship really looks like (and how to be a good advisor)
• Why trauma-informed discipleship is essential
• How to find a safe spiritual mentor who won’t try to “fix” you
• And why doing the work—in therapy and in faith—is a vital part of maturing in Christ

Whether you’ve been burned by bad advice, manipulated with Bible verses, or just want to grow into a healthier spiritual life, this episode will help you start unpacking what healing can actually look like. 🔗 Check out Kyle Spears' podcast, Truth, Trauma, Theology → ⁠https://truthtraumatheology.podbean.com/⁠ (or wherever you get your podcasts!!)

In this episode, Ryan Dawn sits down with Pastor and author Matt Walker Thrift to dive deep into the overlooked but fiery book of Obadiah. What starts as a story about an ancient nation’s downfall becomes a mirror—showing us what pride, silence, and spiritual complacency can still do today.

Together, they explore how Edom’s pride became the gateway to injustice, how unchecked ego leads to complicity, and why God’s wrath is actually a radical act of love:

1. A defense of the oppressed
2. A warning to all of us who might become the oppressor

This conversation takes a sharp, honest look at fallen leadership, spiritual pride, and the danger of standing by instead of speaking up—but it doesn’t leave us there. It also offers the hope of humility, community, and a God who invites us to do better.

If you’ve ever wrestled with injustice, spiritual disillusionment, or your own complicity in silence, this one’s for you.

For more, pre-order Pastor Matt Walker Thrift's book “Enemies of the Heart: What the Forgotten Prophet Teaches us About Bitterness, Betrayal, and God’s Justice” ⁠here⁠.