149: Walking by the Spirit through Family Estrangement with Julie Plagens

Julie Plagens is a wife, mom of adult children, and author who has experienced the pain of family estrangement. That is what we will be talking about today, with our prayer being that you would walk away from this conversation encouraged to know that you are not alone and that God is not yet done with your story, as well as equipped to truly walk by the Spirit in the midst of this hard season. What we Chat about in This Episode ~Julie's book, Estranged: Finding Hope When Your Family Falls Apart, what led her to write it, and what readers can expect ~Julie's own experience of a family estrangement with her parents ~How a lack of forgiveness leads to family estrangements ~The reality that being a Christian does not automatically make you emotionally healthy ~The most common issues in our day that are leading to family estrangements ~The importance of counseling ~Addressing with truth the lies we are believing in order to re-program our minds and ways of thinking ~How Julie knew that pursuing a family estrangement was the right next step and it was time for that; advice Julie would share with anyone contemplating the same thing ~How difficult relationships and truly toxic relationships are two different things ~The importance of boundaries ~How prayer and fasting led to reconciliation in Julie's family ~The folly of thinking you can control or change your family members ~Exercising boundaries even during a reconciliation ~The difference between boundaries and revenge ~What to do and what not to do during a season of family estrangement ~And more! For full show notes, head to www.hargraveshomeandhearth.com/podcast