Ocf Crosspoint Podcast

Hope and healing. If you've ever experienced a trauma, you need both. But how do you know when healing has actually begun? For Capt Amanda Yashack, United States Air Force Reserve, the genesis of the hope and healing that she so desperately needed could have easily gone unnoticed. It began in the back of a church after Sunday services, as a stranger offered Amanda a tissue and sat silently with her as she cried. In the previous episode, Amanda shared the first part of her story, which centered on the trauma she experienced as a result of a sexual assault. If you missed that part of her story, be sure to go back and take a listen. As I mentioned last episode, if you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please get help. Consider starting with the National Sexual Assault Hotline. They offer confidential 24/7 support, and their number is 800-656-4673. In this episode, Amanda concludes her story by sharing how God began to radically heal her heart and change her life through a series of events. As you

A caution for listeners: This episode deals with a topic that may affect some listeners. Part of my guest’s story involves trauma resulting from sexual assault. If you’ve experienced a similar trauma, if you have children around, or if you might be around someone who has experienced trauma, please consider coming back to this episode later and using caution when listening. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please get help. If you’re unsure about where to get help, consider starting with the National Sexual Assault Hotline. They offer confidential 24/7 support, and their number is 800-656-4673. It’s been just over a year since I interviewed Capt Amanda Yashack, United States Air Force Reserve. In fact, at that time, she was still Amanda Blaschko and was just weeks away from getting married. Amanda’s story will be divided into two parts. In this episode, Amanda will talk about how her life spiraled out of control when she was in ROTC, largely as a result of the trauma she experienced, and

A few months ago, I received an email from LT Sam Alexander, USN, wanting to tell me how much appreciated hearing the stories on this podcast—especially in a hectic environment where it's not always easy to make time for the Lord, as he says. Today, Sam will share some of his story, and he’ll give a peek into submarine culture, how isolation can have an impact on one's faith, and the importance of developing a spiritual support system or a mentoring relationship. As you listen to Sam’s story of military life at the intersection of faith, family, and profession, here are a few questions to ponder: Reflect upon a time when you felt isolated, whether by the circumstance of life or because of duty requirements. Was your focus on only getting through it, or allowing God to speak to you through the circumstances? Would you react differently today if confronted with a similar situation? When the struggles of life come upon us, why is it easier to focus on a job, or the busyness of life, rather than spend time with

This episode marks the end of an intentional four-episode focus on identity. Last week, I interviewed Grant Johnson about his dream to be a jet pilot and how he wrapped up his identity in what he hoped would be his military career. Today you're going to hear from his wife, LT Hannah Johnson, USN, as she talks about her struggles with spiritual perfectionism, and as she says, the fear of being a fraud or being found out. I started this episode with a short passage from Paul Tripp's devotional book “New Morning Mercies.” Here's what trip has to say about identity, and I hope it's an encouragement to you: “No need to search for myself. No need to grasp for meaning for my life or purpose for what I do. No need to hope for inner peace, that sense of wellbeing for which every heart longs. No need to hope that someone or something will make me happy or give me joy. I no longer need any of these things because grace has connected me to you, and you have named me your child.” As you listen to Hannah’s story of militar

Think about something in your life that you really, really wanted. It was always on your mind, and when you had the chance to finally grab hold of whatever it was you were wanting or striving toward, you came up short. As we continue this multi-episode focus on the topic of identity, you’re going to hear from LT Grant Johnson, USN, as he shares his story of dreaming to be a jet pilot, only to come up short. If you subscribe to OCF’s COMMAND magazine, then you might have seen the article on identity in the Fall of 2020 that featured both Grant, and his wife, LT Hannah Johnson, USN. You’ll hear from Hannah in the next podcast episode. Today, Grant’s going to unpack his story from that article in a bit more detail. You’ll hear about how that experience of coming up short shook his faith and his identity, and also what he’s still learning about his himself. As you listen to Grant’s story, here are a few questions to ponder: Has there been a time in your life where you found yourself willing to ignore personal r

In this episode, OCF Communications Intern Joshua Schumacher interviews MAJ Lynda Johnson, USA (Ret.). Who am I? That was the big question behind the article that I wrote for COMMAND magazine in the fall of 2020. The article, which focused on the topic of identity, briefly included the story of Lynda Johnson and how her identity was shaken after she was told she couldn’t run anymore unless she wanted to risk more damage to her health. As it turns out, there is a whole lot more to her story than what we covered in COMMAND. Today, you’ll hear both her life story and the story of how she found her identity in Christ as she shares her testimony of military life at the intersection of faith, family, and profession. As you listen to Lynda’s story, here are four questions to consider: Lacking her Christ-centered identity, Lynda’s self-described work ethic was a “dream for bosses” but a “nightmare for subordinates and peers.” How would those you lead describe your treatment of them? What do you think Lynda means wh

Christian athlete and Marine aviator are two things first lieutenant Aaron Zimmerman wanted to be known for. Aaron comes from a family that absolutely loves lacrosse, and he says, “if my family had its own crest, it would include a lacrosse stick.” Aaron’s story is one that deals not only with the struggles of how we want to define ourselves, but also how God is continually working in our lives, chipping away at the rough edges, molding us, shaping us, and ultimately crushing our idols of identity. For Aaron, that meant going from high school All American in lacrosse, to playing from the bench as a backup at the Naval Academy. Then as a Marine, a medical diagnosis would ground his aspirations of being a Marine aviator. As you listen to his story, here a few questions to ponder:  Aaron says his lacrosse dreams slipped into an obsession that had “too much power and became an idol.” Is there an activity, aspiration, or relationship that has crossed into something you idolize? He acknowledges “not allowing peop

On the evening of Jan. 23, 2015, Marine Corps Maj Elizabeth Betsy Kealey and Capt Adam Satterfield were piloting their helicopter above the high desert landscape of Twentynine Palms, Calif., when a catastrophic malfunction caused the Huey to plummet to the ground. Both Marines died in the crash.  Kealey graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with honors in 2005, and she received her pilot's wings in September of 2007. She deployed twice with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and once in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Kealey's mother, Chris Thompson, said Betsy was remembered by many as a woman devoted to her faith, to her family, and to her friends. Chris shared a couple of entries from Betsy's journal:  “This quote is from Betsy's journal when she was on the trek during Rocky Mountain High at Spring Canyon. She said, ‘I pray that my focus on this trek is hearing from you and loving all of your people. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’   “Another quotation from her

Capt Rico Lane, USAF, shares his story of military life at the intersection of faith, family, and profession. His “blessedtimony” (that’s a nod to his ministry, Blessedtimony) includes three primary themes. First, a big part of his story revolves around fatherhood: how our earthly fathers can often influence what we think about our Heavenly Father. Faith is a second theme in his story. You’ll hear about his two tours in Iraq and how witnessing the devotion of the Muslims in the area really caused him to question Christianity and what it means to be a follower of Christ. Then there’s family, and specifically how God used the Bible verse text messages of a grandfather to begin changing Rico’s life. Also, take a closer look at Rico’s ministry: https://linktr.ee/Blessedtimony%C3%82%C2%A0 As you listen to Rico’s story, here are three questions to ponder: Think about your relationship with your earthly father. How has it shaped your interactions and beliefs about your Heavenly Father? Rico talks about how seeing t

Today, Capt Becky Haggerty, USAF, shares her story of military life at the intersection of faith, family, and profession. This episode starts with an original composition from Becky called “I Speak.” She wrote the song in 2015 and says it’s about praying to God and feeling like He’s just not hearing you. That’s a theme that she says would become more applicable in the coming years. You see, Becky’s story is one of battling through anxiety and self-worth. It’s a story that tells of her journey to be in a right relationship with her Heavenly Father even when it seems like life sometimes has more valleys than mountaintops, even when it seems like God just doesn’t care. As you listen to Becky’s story, here are four questions to ponder: In her song, Becky sings about speaking to God and feeling as if He isn’t hearing her. Can you recall a time in your military career (or life) when you wondered the same thing? What was your response? Are you struggling with a mentality of perfectionism, or some of the attributes

In this episode, you’ll hear the story of 2nd Lt Chip Chu, USAF. When I interviewed Chip over a year ago, he was still a Firstie at the Air Force Academy. COVID-19 wasn’t exactly a household word yet. There was no point of reference or context for things like “flatten the curve,” “social distancing,” “wear your mask”… or who could forget the “8pm howl” for first responders and medical personnel in the early days of the pandemic? As you listen to Chip’s story, here are some questions to ponder: Think of your own story. When was the first time you recall hearing about God, Jesus, and the concepts of sin, grace, and salvation? How did you respond? Chip described OCF as his “family.” If you’re involved in OCF, how would you describe it? If you are not involved in OCF, do you have a body of believers to come alongside you? What did you think about the three challenges Chip talked about—figuring out the future; struggling with competition and identity; and properly using our time and resources? How have you strugg

OCF Crosspoint returns April 26 with a new season and new stories of military life at the intersection of faith, family, and profession.  In some of the episodes coming up this season, you’ll find that struggling through adversity is at least one common thread as guests tell their stories. They all went through their own type of liminal space: They all struggled with the loss of what was, and they all faced the uncertainty, maybe even anxiety of what was next. As you wait for this next season of OCF Crosspoint to launch, take some time to catch up on previous episodes of the podcast, and be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts so that you’ll always get the latest episodes of OCF Crosspoint when they’re released. If you have an idea for a topic that should be considered, or if you know of a story that needs to be told, send an email to podcast@ocfusa.org.

Today, you’re going to hear the story of Midshipman Isaiah Walker, he’s a senior in the ROTC program at Ole Miss who has struggled with isolation and the challenges of integrating faith and profession. I first heard about Isaiah from Lt Col Tom Falconer, USAF (Ret.). Tom’s a longtime OCF member, and he’s also a local leader and area coordinator in the Colorado Springs area.  What caught my attention about Isaiah’s story is how he found out about OCF in the first place—it was through this podcast. A key takeaway from Isaiah’s story comes from his struggle to integrate faith and profession, which largely is a result of isolation and feeling alone. As Isaiah shares his story, you’ll hear how important community is in the life of the Christian serving in the military. And if you find yourself relating to Isaiah in this regard, then I hope you’ll be encouraged by his story. If you’re in need of community with other Christians serving in the military, check out the OCF Directory to see if there’s a group near you,

If you've been around OCF long enough, then you've no doubt heard about the importance that OCF places on small group fellowships—after all, fellowship is one of our spiritual pillars and it's even in our name. Well, today you're going to hear the story of Joshua and Lindsey Bowen, both captains in the Army. And, while their story contains a few themes, such as mentoring, leadership, and spiritual growth, the one common thread throughout their story is the small group fellowship and the importance that fellowship has played in their lives...going all the way back to when they first met. Josh is an Army engineer officer, who graduated from West Point in 2010 and served as a combat engineer at Fort Bragg and Fort Carson. His wife, Lindsey, is a medical service corps officer and currently a company commander. She graduated from Baylor University out of the ROTC program back in 2014. In this episode I also mentioned a couple of resources from OCF. First, if you're new to OCF or in case you didn't know, we have an

Have you ever been invited to do something only to wonder…why did I agree to that? My guest today went through something like that, and ultimately, it might have saved her life and the lives of her children. Today, I’m going to share with you the story of CDR Carlos and Sara Estevez, USCG. Carlos is a medical officer assigned to the US Coast Guard Academy. He and Sara arrived at the academy in 2016, and almost immediately got plugged into OCF through Carl Crabtree, the OCF field staff rep based in New London, CT. As for Sara, she homeschools their three kids, and like Carlos, helps teach Bible studies to the cadets. For Sara, being a mentor is an important part of their ministry. Sara was approached by then-cadet Deb King, whom she had been mentoring, who asked her to sign up for a Spartan Race. Deb is an Ensign now, serving as the support officer aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Active. Little did Sara know that the role she began as a mentor to Deb in 2016 would come to have a profound impact on her life and t

Episode 52 show notes Have you ever known anyone who’s been passed over for promotion? Maybe it’s your name that wasn’t on the promotion list. Today you’re going to hear from COL Stu McRae, USA (Ret). When the 1997 promotion list was due to be officially released, a friend called him to say, “Stu, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I’m sorry, but your name isn’t on the list.”  It was a lynchpin moment for Stu, as he began examining what it meant to be a successful officer in the eyes of God, where he was placing his identity and self-worth, and why was he wanting to be the best at his job—what were his motives? Stu McRae was raised in Montana where he was part of a multi-racial family, born to parents who loved God and humbly lived a life reflecting His love for others. In addition to Stu and his oldest sister who was born to his parents, his mother and father adopted 11 other children (mostly Native American). This played a significant role in teaching Stu about the love and acceptance of God. 

Happy New Year and thanks for joining me for the first Crosspoint podcast of 2020. Today, we’re focusing on the topic of personal transformation with my guest, Col Darren Duke, United States Marine Corps. Col Duke is the Deputy Director of Operations at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps in Washington, DC. He is a career intelligence and special operations officer and has commanded Marine and Joint special operations in garrison and abroad. Col Duke he will be speaking on the topic of personal transformation at the upcoming Northeast Academy & ROTC Retreat, on 7-9 February at the Toah Nipi Retreat Center in New Hampshire. And for those of you in ROTC, there are upwards of 9 different events you can take part in between now and April. Click here for details.  Let’s jump into my conversation with Col Darren Duke as we talk about personal transformation and what a life transformed by God might look like for believers serving in the military. // What we talked about Col Duke expresses about his gratitude for the

As 2019 comes to an end—with several weeks of travel in my future plus the Christmas holidays—I'm taking a break from the podcast and sharing a series of encore episodes with you. Starting in January, you'll get to hear some fresh, new interviews. As a reminder: encore episodes are episodes that I selected from among the early days of the podcast, and each encore episode will feature only a portion of the original interview, so I encourage you to go back to that episode if you want to hear all of it. The third and final encore episode I want to share with you comes from episode 27, when I got to chat with LTC Todd Plotner about leadership lessons for young warriors. Our conversation was based on an article he wrote for Command magazine back in 2013 when he was the Army ROTC Professor of Military Science at Washington State University. One of the cool things that's happened since that interview is that LTC Plotner and his wife, Andrea, are moving to Buena Vista, CO, where he will assume the role of Director of

As 2019 comes to an end, with several weeks of travel in my future plus the Christmas holidays, I'm taking a break from the podcast and sharing a series of encore episodes with you. Starting in January, you'll get to hear some fresh, new interviews. In case you're wondering: encore episodes are episodes that I selected from among the early days of the podcast because I think they have a great message for you. Each encore episode will feature only a portion of the original interview, so I encourage you to go back to that episode if you want to hear all of it.   The second encore episode I want to share with you comes from episode 9, and in that episode, I interviewed First Lieutenant Ryan Menicucci—who I believe now is a captain in the US Army. There were three things that he shared during that episode: first, we must have faith in something that is worthy of our faith; second, we must know who we are in Christ; and third, we must be prepared to fight the good fight, as we engage in spiritual warfare.   This

As 2019 comes to an end, I'm taking a break from the podcast. So, between now and the end of the year, you're going to hear a series of encore episodes. These are episodes that I selected from among the early days of the podcast because I think they have a great message for you—an evergreen message you might call it. Each encore episode will feature only a portion of the original interview, so I encourage you to go back to that episode if you want to hear all of it.   The first encore episode I want to share with you comes from episode 2, and in that episode, Managing Editor Karen Fliedner interviewed Lieutenant James Rader, who flew multiple search-and-rescue missions in the Houston area during Hurricane Harvey.   In fact, Lt. Rader was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on Oct. 9, 2019, for extraordinary achievement while participating in life-saving rescue operations during the hurricane as he flew under 200-foot cloud ceilings, navigated unlit towers and exhaust stacks in near-zero visibility to condu