It’s Not Where You’ve Been, But Where You’re Going: Tana Amen & The Women from Jobs Partnership

Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith

Have you ever wished you’d made a different choice? Or imagined how different your life might have been if you’d taken a different path? No matter how bleak things might have been at one point, God can take your story and use it for good, and He can point you on the right path to healing. Nurse and author Tana Amen experienced more pain and chaos in her life than one person should ever have to face. She shoved all of the hurt deep down inside, building a façade to convince others she was okay, when she actually was about to crack. When she met her future husband, Dr. Daniel Amen, Tana learned some ways to heal herself and was loved so well by Daniel (and by God) that she began to find the restoration she so desperately needed. It was in that time that she realized God cares way more about where you’re going than where you’ve been. Cheryl Parks, Mila Brown, and Corday Rice join us from the Jobs Partnership organization in Peoria, Illinois, which seeks to help people transition from a life of incarceration back into society as healthy, healed individuals. These women share how they’ve seen the power of God operating in their lives, and how He rescued them from situations where they couldn’t escape of their own power. Now, they’re passionate about sharing about their pasts in hopes that they can change the lives of others the way they’ve been changed by God.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:

Jesus Calling Podcast

Jesus Calling book

Sarah Young

Jesus Always book

Jesus Calling for First Responders editions

Past interview: Dr. Daniel Amen

Past interview: Rebecca Bender

Upcoming interview: Rick Steves

Tana Amen

Dr. Daniel Amen

Amen Clinics

Leave It to Beaver

Thyroid cancer

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

EMDR

Jobs Partnership organization

Cheryl Parks

Jobs Partnership Reentry

Interview Quotes:

“If I only took fifty percent responsibility, it meant someone or something else had the other fifty percent. It meant I wasn't really in control. It wasn't me just relying on God. It was like me giving up control and being a victim.” - Tana Amen

“What I learned is that when I put myself out there and helped when I didn't want to, I just had no idea how much the help was for them, but the healing was for me.” - Tana Amen

“I think it's important to draw boundaries, but also understand when God's calling you to do something.” - Tana Amen

“God cares less about where you've been than where you're going. And I'm so grateful for that grace and that mercy.” - Tana Amen

“I feel like my life is so much better today not in spite of my struggles, but because of them.” - Tana Amen

“Meditation is when I listen to God and I listen for what He's saying to me. And prayer is when I'm talking to God and I tell Him my joy, my frustration, everything that there is, and I get it out of my head and it just really stills my soul and it's so helpful.” - Tana Amen

“If my story can help anybody, one person, I've done what I needed to do.” - Mila Brown

“The whole time that I was incarcerated, in my mind, I'm like, God, where am I going to go? I know no one. I have nobody. I have no family, no friends. No one has reached out to me for the four and a half years that I have been incarcerated. What am I going to do?” - Corday Rice

“People say that change is scary, but change is good.” - Corday Rice

“It was good to have women just look at me and just say that, “I love you.” And they didn't even know me. So I knew right then and there that that could only be the love of God that's working through them in the Jobs Partnership program.” - Corday Rice

“I feel like God knew that I didn't have the strength to get out of the situation that I was in, so He forced my hand.” - Mila Brown

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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel:

Audio Playlist: https://bit.ly/2PrbuwH

Video Playlist: https://bit.ly/2PsmEkJ

What’s Good? Playlist: https://bit.ly/3i7VUlZ

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