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Behind The Mike Podcast
Behind The Mike Podcast is a Christ-centered show where host Mike Stone dives deep into inspiring stories and profound insights from guests who view life through a biblical lens. Each episode offers hope, encouragement and wisdom to help you navigate life's challenges with faith and purpose.
Tune in for conversations that uplift your spirit and strengthen your walk with Christ.
Send your questions or topics to Mike@BehindTheMike.net
The podcast is also available on YouTube at
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Behind The Mike Podcast
The Truth About Abortion: A Story of Healing and Redemption
Join us for a thought-provoking episode of the Behind The Mike Podcast with Mike Stone as he sits down with author and speaker John DiGirolamo.
In this episode, they jump into the powerful themes of John's new book, "It's Not About the Devil," focusing on the unsettling topic of "The Culture of Death" in our society.
Discover the profound insights from a doctor who experienced both sides of abortion and how her journey led her to recognize the sanctity of life. John sheds light on the often-unspoken emotional, physical, and spiritual scars that linger long after the decision is made.
This episode goes beyond the politics of abortion, focusing on the emotional, spiritual, and physical impacts it has on women, men, and families. John shares insights into the importance of forgiveness, healing, and resources for those affected by abortion. If you're seeking hope and understanding in the midst of tough decisions, this episode offers a message of redemption, grace, and support.
Tune in for a conversation that challenges perceptions and encourages deeper understanding.
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📚 Get John’s book It’s Not About the Devil:
https://bit.ly/3YkRksz
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children:
https://www.missingkids.org/home
National Center on Sexual Exploitation:
https://endsexualexploitation.org/
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KEY TOPICS:
⚠️ The dangerous rise of teen sexting and its emotional consequences
🎯 How online predators target teens within 24 hours
đź‘®. Insights from an undercover officer who posed as a 13-year-old girl
ℹ️ Why it’s crucial for parents to stay informed and involved
📚. John’s latest book and its exploration of evil in today’s society
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đź”” Subscribe for more episodes on faith, family, and protecting our youth.
đź‘Ť Like, share, and comment if you found this episode helpful!
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PRO-LIFE RESOURCES
Crisis Pregnancy Center Map:
https://crisispregnancycentermap.com/
Get The Facts: Pro-Life Across America
https://prolifeacrossamerica.org/learn/
Alternatives to Abortion: Pregnancy Resource Centers
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/alternatives-to-abortion-pregnancy-resource-centers
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Introduction of John DiGirolamo and today's topic of abortion, healing, and redemption.
03:12 - John's New Book: It's Not About the Devil
07:35 - The Doctor's Story: A doctor’s spiritual awakening
12:10 - The Emotional Impact of Abortion on Women and Families
18:45 - The Role of Faith in Healing and Forgiveness of Abortion
23:50 - Resources for Those Struggling with Abortion Decisions
All right, well, welcome back to Behind the Mic Podcast. If you watched our last episode, I'm sure that you are really grateful for John, who is back again today. For John, who is back again today talking about all those issues that he learned firsthand about through his writing in his new book. We'll let John introduce himself and talk about that in just a second, but today we're going to be talking about the culture of death. Yeah, share a little bit about who you are and what your current project is and what we're going to talk about today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I've written four books. The latest is called it's Not About the Devil, and I feature people who are fighting modern evil, and if you think about who is the most vulnerable in our society, it's the unborn, and so youborn. Targeting the vulnerable to me is evil behavior, and I wanted to feature a doctor who came to the realization that all human life, including the unborn, has value, and the transformational journey that she had in coming to that conclusion, and so that's what I wanted to feature in this book, and we could talk about that in some of the details of why I think it's a compelling story.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. I think abortion is such a hot topic right now. It has been for a number of years, going back to Roe v Wade and then that being overturned, and now in the states, and certainly with the election this year, it is a very hot topic. I want to be clear to those who are listening and watching, though, that this is not a political issue. I think it's become a political issue, and that's really a shame, because we're talking about the value, as you said, the value of human life, and that's really what it comes down to. It's not a pro-choice or any kind of issue in that sense. It's really about bringing a child into this world, whether it's wanted or unwanted, whether it's planned or unplanned. There is value to that life.
Speaker 1:Each of us who are alive to listen and watch this value life, and I think that that's the point that we want to try to make today is that there is value in life. I believe it was a year or two ago that we had Dr Abby Johnson on talking about this very issue and very similar story, I think, as to what you're going to share with us, and how she witnessed an abortion that did not go well, and it really got her to thinking again, comes down to way past the political issues. It comes down to the core of why we value life. So, john, tell us about this doctor and her story.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's not a political book. It is the story of this doctor's experience and her life journey. The story of this doctor's experience and her life journey. So to me it's more than an abortion story. Why? Well, because it includes so much more than that. So the story starts out with getting an introduction to the doctor. She doesn't do a lot of abortions but does some. She doesn't do a lot of abortions but does some, gets essentially begged by one of her patients to do an abortion, first trimester on a teenager. This dramatic moment where she senses evil in the room. And I won't give away the plot line on exactly how that happens and what she does afterwards, but it was this big dramatic moment. But that's the beginning of the story, not the end.
Speaker 2:So afterwards there's this decades long journey of gentle nudging exposing things to this doctor to not just not want to do an abortion, but why? What's the real basic, fundamental foundation for that? And so there's two parallel stories. There's her coming to the conclusion about the value of human life, and it parallels her journey back to the church, her back walking with Christ, and all this what I would call and she called gentle nudging and the people she met along the way, and it's important because some of those people exposed her to things that she didn't really think about, such as the healing that needs to come from somebody who's had an abortion and how it affects your life. You know, secular society wants to tell you it's no big deal, it's a real quick procedure. Then you forget all about it. But that's not the reality. The reality is is that it affects that person. It affects their marriage years later, how they view when they do decide to have children. What about the men involved? What say, do they get about all this?
Speaker 2:So she meets somebody who has a, has an experience with that and also miscarriage that happens. You know it's kind of the story no one wants to talk about, but this doctor had a miscarriage. She meets people who had that, who had that, and so there was. You know, she deals with the guilt of that, the healing journey of that and her part in the abortions that she performed, and so to me it's a really broader picture of what's going on and how.
Speaker 2:You know she's just making these transformations year after year until finally she really has that bond with Christ and really sees that value and has to reconcile to her past, to what she's done lands up volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center, meeting some more people there and what's important about this particular chapter is it's told in the first person point of view. So what I mean by that is Dr Catherine Wheeler is like she's in your living room having a conversation with you directly. She's talking to you, the reader, directly about what she's doing, what she's feeling. You know the emotions, the failures, the successes and how she, you know, talks to God and prays to God, and I think the reader is going to resonate with a lot of the things that she's going through. So many people fall away from the church, come back, and I think hearing her story is going to resonate with a lot of the readers and, I hope, a lot of your audience as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so much. I've done so much research on this topic. But I guess my question and probably a question for those who are watching and listening, especially if they didn't watch the last episode is your book is called it's Not About the Devil. Why in the world would you put this story about this doctor in a book called it's Not About the Devil? This story about this doctor in a book?
Speaker 2:called. It's Not About the Devil, yeah, so the devil delights in abortion. The devil wants to bring us down, he wants to corrupt our souls, and when we ignore the unborn, when we ignore the value of the unborn, the devil delights in that, and coupled with this dramatic moment when the doctor senses evil in the room, I think it really fit into the theme of the book, and so that's why I wanted to include this story.
Speaker 1:And so that's why I wanted to include this story. I'm going to follow kind of what I did on this last episode that we did, and I want to ask you for those who are listening, and I have to step back and say that I'm involved in our local women's resource center here where I live. Here where I live, and I've been able to, uh, through media productions that I've done for them, I've been able to talk to these women who decided to keep their child when it would have been so much easier in that moment to say let's just quietly take care of this.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:Let's quietly get the abortion and then I can move on with my life and nobody will know. I've talked to these women who have decided the opposite, that I'm going to go through whatever I have to go through, because I made some decisions that maybe weren't the greatest. The result is this child that is inside of me now, who is growing, who has a father inside of me now, who is growing, who has a father. And they made that decision and they they afterwards, when they have given birth and I've seen that child, them holding that child, through these interviews have are so delighted and so blessed by the fact that they had someone there who wasn't telling them what to do, but they could be a sounding board and say here's what I'm facing.
Speaker 1:I don't want to tell my parents, I don't want them what to do, but they could be a sounding board and say here's what I'm facing. I don't want to tell my parents I don't want to have to continue going to high school or I'm too young to have a child. I want a career, um, to be able to listen to those concerns and they're valid concerns but to point them in the right direction and give them a bit of wisdom for down the road because you mentioned, there's a lot of hurt, a lot of scars emotional, spiritual and even physical when that abortion happens and you can't undo that. So, given all of that, john, do you have any insights as to for the woman and the man who may be dealing with the other decision to go ahead with the abortion? You've been hanging around with this doctor getting her story. Do you have any insight to that and what those the husband and wife may be feeling at this time or couple Sure.
Speaker 2:So you know it. An unplanned pregnancy is always complicated, for sure. And you know, unfortunately, what. What a lot of the abortion advocates want to promote is that, um one, it's no big deal. Uh two, it's quick and easy and you'll forget all about it, and it's super safe, no matter how you do it or when you do it. And that's just not true. And they want to downplay the resources that a lot of these crisis pregnancy centers can provide, and you know.
Speaker 2:The other topic is adoption. You know there's lots of people who would love to bring a child into their family and love that kid. There's ways that families can support you know a newborn, that maybe you're 16 or 17. You can't do it now, but maybe you can in the future. And there's other women who have gone through this situation that came out the other side, kept their child and really got everything that they wanted out of life. They didn't buy the lie that this is going to solve your problem, but it really is trauma to the body and trauma to the emotions and to the spirit.
Speaker 2:And the people that I interviewed talked about how it affected their marriage. They looked at their kid when they had children years later and were really in conflict, worrying about why ended this other pregnancy. Am I going to get punished now for, with my current child, for something sins of the past, so to speak. You know abortion, healing and recovery resources and programs out there to help them, you know, deal with the effects of this on their life and on their marriage and et cetera. And so you know, my advice is to you know, if you've got unresolved issues like that, you've got to. You've got unresolved issues like that, you've got to. Um, you've got to be able to open your heart and seek out these resources?
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. That was well said, john. Um, I know that there are those who are listening and watching right now who deeply feel what you're saying the sense of regret. We want to tell you that you can never walk too far away from God. Nothing that we've done is beyond his grace and forgiveness, and there is healing. John mentioned that there are organizations out there who deal with this on a regular basis. There's hope and there is healing and you can move on. Obviously, you can't change the past, but by setting your mind on the future and getting the help you need now, god can forgive you. God has forgiven you. We all make mistakes. Some mistakes are bigger than others, and that's really what it comes down to. Yeah, god's there for you. Find a pastor, find a counselor, find a trusted friend who you can share this with and begin that process of healing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the unforgivable sin isn't what you did in the past. The unforgivable sin is is essentially rejecting God's grace and forgiveness of you and and reconciling your relationship with God. If you do that, you you will find peace. Then that's, that's what I've. You know, the people that I interviewed I mean, let's face it, in this modern society there's people you know who have had an abortion, or a listener may have had one themselves. It's not an isolated case and so those sins are not unforgivable. But you have to open up your heart to receive the grace from Jesus.
Speaker 1:Amen, amen. And I'm sure that there are those who are in the situation right now where they have to make this decision. I want to tell you, I know the people in my neighborhood here who work with men and women who are going through this situation and I mentioned I think I mentioned that they're not there to pressure you. They're not there to talk you into something. They're there for you to just share your thoughts, your feelings, your concerns and they're to help you to weed through all of that and make the decision that you need to make based on the real information.
Speaker 1:And I also want to say one of the things I love about the local Women's Resource Center and I know all over the country are that if you make that decision to continue on and not abort that child, they're not just going to cut things off and say, okay, our job is done, child. They're not just going to cut things off and say, okay, our job is done. Our center here walks with you through that whole pregnancy and even after. They provide all kinds of resources, diapers and formula and clothes, all kinds of things that you can get in your local community, so that's not going to be an issue and know that that healing process is a long, lifelong thing. Making that decision to keep your baby is going to be short-term. It's going to be hard telling people and it's going to be hard walking through that, but when it's done, you've got this beautiful baby and God will bless that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's definitely resources out there. Yeah, there's definitely resources out there, and and and people just you need to open their heart to, to accept those, and it's just. You know it's not easy. I don't want to downplay that at all. It is not an easy decision to find yourself in that situation, especially as a teenager. Um, but, um, but this is where where you've got to build that relationship with your family, your, your support network, um with God, et cetera, and and you need all the above Um, and so I just encourage your listeners to you know, have that prayerful consideration.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely. Well, john, we're going to wrap up. I want to mention, as we did last time, we're going to put a lot of resources in the show notes and in the description of the video here so that you can turn to someplace there in your community. If you don't know, check with a pastor, check with someone in your community about resources that are available to you. You'll be glad you did. But, john, I want to give you a final word. Anything else you want to wrap up here as we wrap up here, any final word that you want to share?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the story of Dr Catherine Wheeler is a compelling one. It was not just an epiphany and we're done, and now she becomes an advocate. It's a struggle, there's back and forth, there's a long and winding road, so to speak, and I think the readers will really resonate in walking this journey with the doctor and will definitely get some inspiration from that, whether or not you find yourself in that situation or not. Church and how that really coupled with her seeing the value of human life and how she became somebody who had the strength to talk about it, because at the beginning and for most of her adult life she avoided conflict, didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to deal with it. How many of us are like that? But at the end she had the wherewithal to stand up and speak the truth and that journey to get to that point is really a big part of the book and I think the readers will really enjoy walking that journey with Dr Wheeler.
Speaker 1:Amen, john. Tell us where we can go to find you online and also where they can get a hold of that book. It's Not About the Devil.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all my books are available on Amazon as well as Barnes Noble the online store. I do have a website that's wwwitisnotaboutcom where you can find out more about the books and you can contact me directly. I love to hear from readers, so I encourage everyone to go and check those out.
Speaker 1:John D Gerolamo, thank you for being with us again, and if you're following this series, there's one left. We're going to be talking about exorcism next, so join us for that, john. Thanks again for joining us and for all of you who are watching and listening. We appreciate your support. Remember to subscribe and click that notification bell. We appreciate your support, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.
