Singing Through Fire
Welcome to the Singing Through Fire podcast! I’m your host Lara Silverman, and this is where we:
-Worship when it hurts
-Discuss hot takes from the furnace of affliction
-Explore a biblical theology of suffering with a side of sass and sarcasm
From lamentations to laughter, this podcast is for anyone desperate for hope who has ever asked, "Why, Lord, why?”
Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button because I upload content every single week. Help me get to my goal of 10,000 subscribers so we can help others who are suffering. To God be the glory!
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 2nd Corinthians 4:17.
Episodes
36 episodes
When Suffering Feels Like Punishment: Michelle Bader Ebersole’s Story of Grief & Redemption | STF Podcast Ep. 34
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman sits down with Michelle Bader Ebersole, author, speaker, founder of Widow Goals, and host of the podcast Widowed 2 Soon, for an honest conversation about faith, grief, su...
When Suffering Returns: Sara Willoughby on Trusting God Without Answers | STF Podcast Ep. 33
What do you do when you’ve already walked through years of suffering—and then the suffering comes back in a new and unexpected form?In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman sits down with Sara Willoughby to talk honestly ...
Training for Eternal Glory: Earth Is a Spiritual Gym and Race | STF Podcast Ep. 32
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman explores the Bible’s picture of the Christian life as an intense race that requires training, endurance, and perseverance through suffering. She explains how trials strengthen “faith muscl...
Bedridden at 14: Lauren Watt on Finding Hope When Healing Takes Time | STF Podcast Ep. 31
What happens when life changes overnight—and the healing you've been praying for doesn't come as quickly as you'd hoped?In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman sits down with Lauren Watt, whose life was turned up...
Suffering advances the gospel, folks! | STF Podcast Ep. 30
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman unpacks how God can redeem personal suffering by advancing the gospel through it—turning “tests into testimonies.” She explains Paul’s “suffering to salvation” principle from Philippians, ...
Finding Peace in God's Providence | Katelyn Friesen's Story | STF Podcast Ep. 29
What does it look like to trust God when suffering never seems to end?In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman sits down with chronic illness blogger Katelyn Friesen to discuss a lifetime marked by profound hards...
God IS near to the brokenhearted. I’VE GOT RECEIPTS | STF Podcast Ep. 28
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman asks a question many hurting Christians have wrestled with: Is God really near when our hearts are breaking? Drawing from Psalm
When Grief Comes Again and Again: Emily Curtis' Story | STF Podcast Ep. 27
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, host Lara Silverman continues the Faith in the Furnace series with Emily Curtis, president of Hope in the Morning, compiler of Hope in the Morning: A Hope-Filled Guide Through Grief, and host of the Hope...
How the Holy Spirit has spoken to me while bedridden | STF Podcast Ep. 26
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman shares the extraordinary ways she believes God has met her during eight years of profound suffering. After becoming bedridden with a rare neurological disease that left her depend...
A Baby's Death, God's Presence, and Hope in the Furnace with Shawna Murray Bryant | STF Podcast Ep. 25
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, host Lara Silverman continues the Faith in the Furnace series with author, speaker, and podcaster Shawna Marie Bryant, who shares how her second child, Sam, was born with trisomy 13 and lived less than t...
It’s Ok to Cry, baby: Biblical Lament | STF Podcast Ep. 24
In this episode, Lara Silverman explores how Christians can respond to profound suffering in a way that is both honest and biblical. She argues that Scripture makes room for deep grief through the practice of lament—a process she describes as b...
Andrew Villalpando on Grief, Loss & Finding Joy Again | STF Podcast Ep. 23
In this Faith in the Furnace episode of Singing Through Fire, host Lara Silverman interviews Christian comedian and social media creator Andrew Villalpando about a decade marked by grief, betrayal, and rebuilding faith. Andrew recounts receivin...
Carrie Sheffield: Escaping a Cult, PTSD, and Finding Healing & Forgiveness in Christ | STF Podcast Ep. 22
In this episode of the Faith in the Furnace series, host Lara Silverman sits down with journalist, author, and musician Carrie Sheffield to discuss surviving childhood trauma, religious abuse, mental illness in her family, and finding healing t...
From Spiritual Abuse to Healing, Forgiveness, & Ministry with Mischelle Saunders-Gottsch | STF Podcast Ep. 21
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, host Lara Silverman continues the Faith in the Furnace series with Mischelle Saunders-Gutch, founder and CEO of Altered Stories Ministry, host of The Altered Story Show, and author of the 30-day healing ...
Lori Schumaker on Chronic Illness, Special-Needs Adoption, and Hope When God Says No | STF Podcast Ep. 20
In this episode, host Lara Silverman continues her “Faith in the Furnace” series with Christian life and mental health coach, author, and Unveiling Hope founder, Lori Schumaker, who shares a testimony shaped by abortion and years of shame, abus...
Dr. Mark Jones on Spiritual Warfare and Surrender Amid Suffering | STF Podcast Ep. 19
In this episode, host Lara Silverman begins the Theology in the Fire series with Mark Jones, a former dentist and longtime prayer pastor and elder at Mana House in Portland, Oregon. He teaches on prayer, intimacy with God, surrender, and spirit...
Matthew Efird on Losing His Son, Costly Acceptance, and God’s Sustaining Grace | STF Podcast Ep. 18
In this episode, host Lara Silverman continues the “Faith in the Furnace” series on Singing Through Fire with entrepreneur, podcast host, and former bivocational pastor Matthew Efird who shares his family’s testimony of suffering and faith. Mat...
Jim Burgoon on Mental Illness, Loss, and Trusting God When God Says No | STF Podcast Ep. 17
In this episode, Lara Silverman welcomes Jim Burgoon—strategist for Faith-Driven Leaders, host of the Unshakeable Life Podcast, military veteran, and former pastor—to share his “faith in the furnace” story, centered on his wife’s decades-long b...
Is God's Grace Really Sufficient? | STF Podcast Ep. 16
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman speaks to listeners who feel overwhelmed, afraid, and unsure they can keep going, and prays for God’s comfort. She challenges the idea that “God will never give you more than you can handl...
Finding Your Voice Again: Chronic Pain, Lost Identity, and Praying Scripture with Melissa McLaughlin | STF Podcast Ep. 15
In this episode, host Lara Silverman continues the “Faith in the Furnace” series with Melissa McLaughlin, a writer, teacher, and speaker who retired early after debilitating chronic back pain from deteriorating discs forced her out of a beloved...
God wants you weak but strong. WHAT?! | STF Podcast Ep. 14
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, host Lara Silverman, wrestles with why God sometimes does not heal chronic pain and how Christians should respond when God calls them to stay in the storm rather than keep chasing the shore. Sharing her ...
Mary Balian on Loss and Finding Joy in Suffering | STF Podcast Ep. 13
In this episode, host Lara Silverman continues her “Faith in the Furnace” series with guest Mary Balian, an Armenian American singer-songwriter dedicated to creating contemporary Armenian Christian worship music so Armenians can worship Christ ...
NO, God doesn't heal everyone....yet | STF Podcast Ep. 12
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara Silverman wrestles with a painful question many sufferers ask: if God is sovereign, why doesn’t He heal everyone? Drawing from her own eight-year battle with a rare neurological disease and the loss...
Rick Cram: Chronic Pain, Resilience, and Hope in Christ | STF Podcast Ep. 11
In this episode, Lara Silverman continues her “Faith in the Furnace” series with Rick Cram, a resilience coach and author who has lived with severe left-knee pain since a high school football injury 50 years ago. Rick recounts a long medical jo...
The Christian’s Sole Goal: Dying?! | STF Podcast Ep. 10
In this episode of Singing Through Fire, Lara explores God’s end goal for believers—not an easy, comfortable life, but sanctification: being conformed to the image of Christ. Walking through key passages like Romans 8:29, Luke 9:23, and Philipp...