Faith and Growth

Betsy Guerra

Welcome to Faith and Growth, the podcast where your struggles meet hope and your challenges become stepping stones. Hosted by Dr. Betsy Guerra—psychotherapist, speaker, and faith-filled warrior—each episode is a heartfelt journey into healing, personal development, and unshakable faith. Whether you’re navigating grief, craving emotional growth, or seeking a deeper connection with God, this show offers truth, encouragement, and actionable wisdom to help you rise stronger and live better. You don’t have to choose between faith and progress—you can have both. Let’s grow together.

  1. 1d ago

    You Only Have One Problem: Why nothing you try seems to fix it, and the one thing that actually will | 59

    I was in my daily meeting with my business partner, the Holy Spirit, at the Blessed Sacrament, trying to solve a persistent problem in my business. I had hired coaches, done all the inner work, expanded my capacity, and the problem was still there. So I asked God directly to show me what I was missing. And what he revealed in that silence is what I want to teach you today, because it will change the way you look at every problem in your life permanently. There is only one problem. And when you solve that one problem, every symptom you have been chasing, the money issue, the relationship tension, the anxiety, the health challenge, the disconnection from your child, dissolves from the root, not from the surface.   The one problem is separation. When we are born, we are fully one with God, fully one with the source of life, wisdom, grace, and every good thing. But as we grow, we begin to trust our own intelligence more than our source, and we drift. In that gap between you and God, between you and your highest self, is where every problem you have ever had lives. Depression is separation from the source of joy. Anxiety is separation from the source of peace. Financial scarcity is separation from the source of abundance. Resentment is separation from the source of love. Once you see this you cannot unsee it, and you stop wasting your energy managing symptoms and start going straight to the root.   In This Episode, You’ll Learn: Every problem you have ever had, whether it is financial, relational, physical, or emotional, is a symptom. The one true underlying problem is always the same: separation from God, from the source of all life, wisdom, peace, and abundance.   When we grow in intelligence and self-reliance, we unconsciously begin to trust our own understanding more than our source. That drift creates a gap. And in that gap, depression, anxiety, fear, resentment, and scarcity find room to live.   There is a critical difference between pain and suffering. Pain is the path, the grief, the adversity, the hard season. Suffering is what happens when you believe the problem is permanent and hope is gone. You can go through devastating pain and have no problems if you remain connected to the source of hope.   The first step to solving any problem is identifying what is creating the separation. It could be control, judgment, resentment, unforgiveness, self-loathing, or the sin of omission: ignoring what God has placed in your heart to do. Once you know what is separating you, you can address the root instead of the symptom.   The second step is stillness. In silence, in prayer, in the emptying of the noise of the human mind, divine wisdom downloads. You do not need more information, more coaches, or more strategies. You need to stop, be still, and let God speak into the gap. Resources & Links: Ready to step into your purpose and answer God’s calling to do more? Learn about my programs at FaithAndGrowth.com If you’re ready to take action, book a call at TalkToBetsy.com Grab my book, Hurt 2 Hope: Heal the Pain of Grief, Loss, and Adversity: https://a.co/d/awwbAgc Download the Better with Betsy App and gain 24/7 access to Betsy through her Betsy Bot! Reserve your tickets NOW! Faithandgrowthsummi

    You Only Have One Problem: Why nothing you try seems to fix it, and the one thing that actually will | 59
  2. Aug 11

    How to stop self-sabotaging your life | 58

    If you are a go getter, a giver, someone who works hard and shows up for everyone but the abundance you are chasing always seems just out of reach no matter how much effort you put in, I need you to hear this. The reason you are not receiving what you have been working and praying for is not a lack of effort. You have earned it. You deserve it. The reason is that you have been self-sabotaging without realizing it. And the sabotage looks like this: you do not know how to receive. I am the first guilty person in this room. Hello, my name is Betsy and I love to give, and I have struggled deeply with being loved, with accepting help, with opening myself up to the support that my community and God through them have had waiting for me.   There are three steps I want to give you to begin expanding your ability to receive. First, celebrate every small amount that comes in. The hundred dollars is part of the million. The gesture is part of the great love. Receive it fully, celebrate it as if you added zeros to it, and tell God with your joy that you are open. Second, practice gratitude for the little so that more may be entrusted to you. Feel it in your body. Let it move through you. Breathe into it. Third, reframe receiving as the gift of giving. You know how good it feels to be someone's answer to a prayer. Why would you deny the people who love you that same gift? When you refuse help, you are not being humble. You are, and I say this with so much love, being a little arrogant. You are assuming you are only meant to be in the position of giver. Humility means being willing to receive too. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: The reason many hardworking, generous people are not receiving the abundance they desire is not lack of effort. It is an inability to receive. Giving and receiving are two sides of the same flow, and blocking one blocks the other.   There is a subtle arrogance in only ever being the giver. When you refuse to receive, you are unconsciously placing yourself above the people who want to help you and denying them the gift of being someone's answer to a prayer.   Receiving is a practice that begins with the small things. Celebrate every small amount, every gesture, every open door. When you receive the little with gratitude and joy, you tell God with your whole body that you are open, and more is entrusted to you.   Reframing receiving as the gift of giving changes everything. You know how good it feels to help someone. When you allow others to help you, you are giving them that same sacred experience. Receiving is not weakness. It is generosity in reverse.   Worthiness is the root of it all. When you feel unworthy of being supported, you close the chimney, you shrink the container, and you prevent God from delivering the graces he has already prepared for you. Love is free. You do not have to earn support. You simply have to open the door. Resources & Links: Ready to step into your purpose and answer God’s calling to do more? Learn about my programs at FaithAndGrowth.com If you’re ready to take action, book a call at TalkToBetsy.com Grab my book, Hurt 2 Hope: Heal the Pain of Grief, Loss, and Adversity: https://a.co/d/awwbAgc Download the Better with Betsy App and gain 24/7 access to Betsy through her Betsy Bot! Reserve your tickets NOW! Faithandgrowthsummit.com

    How to stop self-sabotaging your life | 58
  3. Aug 4

    How to Reframe Anything: The Psychology Tool That Changes Your Life | 57

    If something is happening in your life right now that you cannot change, cannot control, and cannot fast forward, and it is annoying the heck out of you or hurting you deeply, this episode is going to give you the one thing that will change everything without anything external having to shift. I have been called the Queen of Reframing, and today I want to give you this tool completely, because it is the single most powerful thing I know from psychology. We do not see the world the way the world is. We see the world the way we are. And that means we have the power to change the way we see things so that we can change the world we are looking at.   Reframing is like changing the frame on a picture. The sunset in the painting stays exactly the same. The circumstance does not change. But when you put a new frame around it, suddenly it belongs in the most beautiful room in your home. I learned this viscerally when I had two daughters hospitalized at the same time, one with pneumonia and one with RSV, and I was standing alone in the waiting room about to fall apart. I made myself stop and find every single thing I could be grateful for in that moment. The hospital five minutes from my house, the insurance, the support system, the knowledge that both of my girls were going to walk out of there. And by the time I walked back into those rooms, I had so much peace and gratitude in my heart that I thought, bring it on. That is what reframing does. It does not minimize the pain. It reclaims your power. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: We do not see the world the way the world is. We see it the way we are, which means we have the power to change our experience of life without anything external having to change first.  Reframing is not about denying the pain or justifying what is wrong. It is about changing the perspective so that you can reclaim your peace and approach the situation from a place of power instead of a place of reaction.  The stories you are telling yourself about your circumstances are not objective truth. They are chosen perspectives. And if you have been telling yourself stories all along, you might as well choose the ones that serve you.   Reframing creates a ripple effect. When you shift your perspective, you shift your emotions. When you shift your emotions, you shift your actions. And when you shift your actions, you influence the behavior of everyone around you, including the people you most want to reach.   Gratitude is the fastest path to reframing. When you actively look for what is right about a situation, even a devastating one, you access one of the highest frequency emotions available to you, and from that place, everything else begins to shift.  Resources & Links: Ready to step into your purpose and answer God’s calling to do more? Learn about my programs at FaithAndGrowth.com If you’re ready to take action, book a call at TalkToBetsy.com Grab my book, Hurt 2 Hope: Heal the Pain of Grief, Loss, and Adversity: https://a.co/d/awwbAgc Download the Better with Betsy App and gain 24/7 access to Betsy through her Betsy Bot!

    How to Reframe Anything: The Psychology Tool That Changes Your Life | 57
  4. Jul 28

    How Clarity can TRANSFORM your life | 56

    Do you ever feel like you are throwing spaghetti at a wall, trying everything, pivoting constantly, feeling pulled in ten different directions, knowing deep down that God is calling you to more but having no idea what that more actually looks like? I want to tell you something that changed everything for me. Clarity is not something you make. It is not something you force or hustle your way into. Clarity is something that is revealed to you. And the way it is revealed is by chipping away the excess, the way Michelangelo chipped away the marble until the David appeared. The David was already inside that block. All he did was remove everything that was not the David. Your purpose is already inside of you. Today I am going to teach you exactly how to let it out. The framework I am sharing today is the CLEAR method, five steps that have guided me and hundreds of my students toward the clarity God has been waiting to reveal.C is for Curiosity, getting open, paying attention, noticing what energizes you, what breaks your heart, what keeps showing up in conversations and in dreams and in signs that you cannot explain.L is for Listening, stepping back from the research and the noise and creating space for silence, for prayer, for the voice of God within you to finally have room to speak.E is for Elimination, and this is the one nobody wants to do. It is chipping away the excess. The old identities, the limiting beliefs, the commitments, the comparisons, the people-pleasing, the busyness. I am doing this work in my own business right now, and I will be honest with you, it is hard. I have loved every version of what I have built. But if I am still carrying all of them, nobody can see what I am actually called to offer today. A is for Aligned Action, taking the next steps that feel peaceful and expansive and right in your core, not just logical or safe or what makes sense to the world. And here is something a coach once told me that I want you to hear. What you think is the mansion may only be a room. That room is important. It is part of the castle you are co-creating with God for the rest of your life. Do everything as if it were the grand finale, but hold it loosely enough to receive what comes next.R is for Repetition, because God rarely says something once. He says it in your heart, in unexpected conversations, in open doors, in things falling apart that are actually falling into place. When the same message keeps showing up in different forms, that is not coincidence. That is confirmation. Clarity is not coming from striving. It is coming from abiding. So be curious. Listen. Eliminate the excess. Take aligned action. And pay attention to what repeats. Your purpose is already inside you. And if you are still not sure how to find it, book a free faith and life audit call with me at talkwithbetsy.com and let us chip away the excess together. I love you like crazy. See you next week.Resources & Links:Ready to step into your purpose and answer God’s calling to do more? Learn about my programs at FaithAndGrowth.comIf you’re ready to take action, book a call at TalkToBetsy.comGrab my book, Hurt 2 Hope: Heal the Pain of Grief, Loss, and Adversity: https://a.co/d/awwbAgcDownload the Better with Betsy App and gain 24/7 access to Betsy through her Betsy Bot!-----------------------------------------------------------Follow me on social:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterwithbetsy/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Betterwithbetsy/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betterwithbetsy/Visit me at:https://hurt2hope.com/https://betterwithbetsy.com/https://faithbasedcoachingacademy.com/

    How Clarity can TRANSFORM your life | 56
  5. Jul 21

    How to stop overthinking and take action NOW | 55

    This week I had a conversation with someone I am going to call DD. She came to me for a faith and life audit and it became immediately clear that my program was precisely what she had been searching for. The answer to her prayer, if you will. And when I followed up, she said, I am thinking about it. And I want to ask you the same thing I asked her. What are you thinking about? Because here is what I know about DD, and here is what I know about you. You are not confused. You are not truly undecided. You know what the right step is. What you are not sure about is whether you are worthy of taking it.   There is a concept I learned from my dear friend Caro that I come back to again and again. She calls it thinking energy, and it is one of the most dangerous places you can live. Thinking energy is the maybe. The one day. The I am trying. And I want to be honest with you today the way I was with my own son when he told me he was trying to build his business. I threw something on the floor and I said, try to pick it up. You either do it or you do not. Trying is not a step. Deciding is. And the moment you truly decide, you remove every other possibility and you start moving.   What I also know about DD, and what I suspect about many of you listening, is that by serving others, by becoming equipped to help the people assigned to you, you do not just connect to them. You connect to God. And as a beautiful byproduct, you connect to yourself. I did not write my book to heal myself. I wrote it to honor my daughter Fofi and to help those who were grieving. And what I did not see coming was that God was using my obedience to others to heal the wounds in me that I did not even know were still open. That is how this works. You step into purpose for them, and God takes care of you in the process.   So if there is something you have been hearing in your heart, a nudge, a whisper, a recurring thought that tells you this is it, this is your time, I want you to do one thing. Stop thinking about it. Book a call with me at talkwithbetsy.com and let us spend 45 minutes getting you out of your head and into your next step. Success is inevitable for you when you take action. I love you like crazy. See you next week. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: What thinking energy is and why living in the maybe, the one day, and the I am trying is not a neutral place but an active choice to stay stuck, and how to recognize the moment you have crossed from discernment into delay. Why most people who say they are undecided are not actually confused about what to do. They are quietly unsure whether they are worthy of having it, and how naming that difference is the first step to breaking free from it. How to use a deep personal value, something that is already non-negotiable in who you are, to create the accountability and meaning that makes following through on hard things not just possible but inevitable. Why serving others is almost never just about the people you are serving. When you step into purpose for someone else, God uses that obedience to heal the parts of you that you did not even know still needed healing. How to take the single next step out of thinking energy, not by having all the answers, not by feeling ready, but by deciding, connecting that decision to a meaning bigger than yourself, and then moving before the mind has a chance to talk you back into maybe.  Resources & Links: Ready to step into your purpose and answer God’s calling to do more? Learn about my programs at FaithAndGrowth.com If you’re ready to take action, book a call at TalkToBetsy.com Grab my book, Hurt 2 Hope: Heal the Pain of Grief, Loss, and Adversity: https://a.co/d/awwbAgc Download the Better with Betsy App and gain 24/7 access to Betsy through her Betsy Bot!

    How to stop overthinking and take action NOW | 55
  6. Jul 14

    Why do I fail when I have the best of intentions | 54

    Raise your hand if you have ever left church, gotten in the car, and immediately had road rage. Or gone on a retreat and decided you were a brand new person, only to scream at your kids before you even got home. I am guilty. All of the above. And for years I asked myself the same question: why do I keep failing when my intentions are so good?   The answer is not that your faith is weak. The answer is that faith alone, as powerful and sacred as it is, was never designed to do the work that psychology and personal development are equipped to do. You cannot live your faith if you have not done the inner work. Not because God is not enough, but because you are a human being with a nervous system, a history, and unconscious triggers that are running the show without your permission. There are two major triggers I want you to know about. The first is the I am not good enough trigger, and the second is the I do not matter trigger. These were formed in childhood, shaped by family, trauma, and repetition, and they turn you into a puppet the moment they are activated. Until you become aware of them, you will keep reacting in ways that contradict the very person you are working so hard to become.   This is the core of what I teach inside the Faith Based Coaching Academy. It is the integration of psychology and spirituality that I call the psycho-spiritual model. Psychology gives you awareness and tools. Faith gives you the power, the peace, and the God who lives inside of you as the Holy Spirit. Together, they make you unstoppable. Separately, neither one will take you where you are trying to go.   If you know there is a gap between who you are being and who you are meant to be, if you have been faithful and still feel like something is missing, that is not a failure. That is a call. And I am here for it. Book a free call with me at talkwithbetsy.com and let us figure out together exactly where the gap is and how to close it. I love you like crazy. Share this with someone who needs it.   In This Episode, You’ll Learn: Why faith alone, no matter how sincere or consistent, is not enough to help you become the person God created you to be, and what the missing piece actually is. How the ego personality you have built over a lifetime through experiences, repetition, and family messaging is not permanent, not eternal, and absolutely not who God created to his image and likeness. What the two major unconscious triggers are, the I am not good enough trigger and the I do not matter trigger, where they come from, and why they turn you into a puppet in your most important relationships. Why you cannot live your faith if you have not done the inner work, and how psychology and spirituality together create the combination that makes transformation not just possible but inevitable. How to take the first step toward closing the gap between who you are being right now and who you are genuinely meant to be, through awareness, practical science-backed tools, and a deeper connection to the Holy Spirit inside of you.  Resources & Links: Ready to step into your purpose and answer God’s calling to do more? Learn about my programs at FaithAndGrowth.com If you’re ready to take action, book a call at TalkToBetsy.com Grab my book, Hurt 2 Hope: Heal the Pain of Grief, Loss, and Adversity: https://a.co/d/awwbAgc Download the Better with Betsy App and gain 24/7 access to Betsy through her Betsy Bot!

    Why do I fail when I have the best of intentions | 54
  7. Jul 7

    Why Do I Feel So Lonely Even Though I’m Married? | 53

    I asked ChatGPT what is the question that most people privately ask about relationships. And the answer stopped me completely.   By far, the most common question is this: why do I feel so lonely even though I am married?   And maybe you would add, even though I love my spouse. Even though I know my spouse loves me.   If that is you, I want you to hear this before we go any further. You are not broken. Your marriage is not broken. You are not too needy. You are not ungrateful. You are not feeling something that is wrong or shameful. You are feeling something that is extremely common, deeply human, and absolutely not a verdict on your marriage or your love.   It is information. And it is a sign that it is time to be intentional.   That is what this episode is about.    Resources & Links: Ready to step into your purpose and answer God’s calling to do more? Learn about my programs at FaithAndGrowth.com If you’re ready to take action, book a call at TalkToBetsy.com Grab my book, Hurt 2 Hope: Heal the Pain of Grief, Loss, and Adversity: https://a.co/d/awwbAgc Download the Better with Betsy App and gain 24/7 access to Betsy through her Betsy Bot!   If this episode helped you, share it with someone whose marriage could use a spark right now. You may be the reason they light the candle tonight. I love you like crazy. See you next week.     #FaithAndGrowth #BetsyGuerra #MarriageAdvice #LonelyInMarriage #IntentionalMarriage #BringTheSparkBack #ChristianMarriage #FallInLoveAgain #MarriageAfterKids #LoveLanguages #DailyRituals #ChristianWomen #FaithBasedCoaching #RelationshipAdvice #PrayTogether #MarriageAndFaith #ConnectionInMarriage #MotherTeresa #SayIDoEveryDay #ChristianPodcast

    Why Do I Feel So Lonely Even Though I’m Married? | 53
  8. Jun 30

    When You Have Too Much to Do: How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed | 52

    This morning someone sent me a message that stopped me in my tracks.   She said, I have everything I desire in life except love. Am I supposed to stay alone forever? I have so much love to give. Does that mean I should just settle?   And I caught myself telling her exactly what I want to tell you today.   You are just in the messy middle. You have not arrived. The fact that you are going through this right now does not mean this is your final destination.   Pain is only the path. It is never the destination.   You and I both know what the ending to our story is. It is resurrection. It is rising. It is joy. It is the peace that surpasses all understanding. That is our destiny. So if you are not there yet, you are en route. You are in the middle of the journey. And today I want to teach you how to be present with exactly where you are, because that presence is the very thing that will carry you through.   I want to give you a practical three-step practice for the next time you feel like the mountain of dishes is too high to climb.   Step one, write the list. Get every single thing out of your head and onto paper. All the things you have to do, want to do, need to address, feel pressure about. Write them all down. Do not judge the list. Just write it.   Step two, go back in time. Think of a moment in the past when you had just as many things on your plate, maybe even more, and you had no idea how you were going to get through it. And then somehow, some way, you did. You got through it. All things got done. Remind yourself of that. Let that reassurance come into your body. You have done this before. You have the capacity. This is not your first rodeo.   Step three, come back to right now and choose the one dish. Just one. Not the most urgent one necessarily. The one that is right in front of you in this present moment. And then give it everything. Focus every sense, every bit of your attention, your mind, your body, your spirit, on that one thing. And when it is done, move to the next one.   This is not a productivity strategy. This is a spiritual practice. Because when you are fully present in the present moment, you are in the very place where God lives. And in that place there is no overwhelm. There is only now. And now is enough.    Resources & Links: Ready to step into your purpose and answer God’s calling to do more? Learn about my programs at FaithAndGrowth.com If you’re ready to take action, book a call at TalkToBetsy.com Grab my book, Hurt 2 Hope: Heal the Pain of Grief, Loss, and Adversity: https://a.co/d/awwbAgc Download the Better with Betsy App and gain 24/7 access to Betsy through her Betsy Bot!

    When You Have Too Much to Do: How to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed | 52
5
out of 5
37 Ratings

About

Welcome to Faith and Growth, the podcast where your struggles meet hope and your challenges become stepping stones. Hosted by Dr. Betsy Guerra—psychotherapist, speaker, and faith-filled warrior—each episode is a heartfelt journey into healing, personal development, and unshakable faith. Whether you’re navigating grief, craving emotional growth, or seeking a deeper connection with God, this show offers truth, encouragement, and actionable wisdom to help you rise stronger and live better. You don’t have to choose between faith and progress—you can have both. Let’s grow together.