The Hope Pandemic

Jessica Gilliam
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Christianity

The Hope Pandemic is a faith-based podcast hosted by Jessica Gilliam that shares intimate, honest conversations with women who are navigating life and business challenges—highlighting stories of resilience, healing, and personal growth grounded in faith . Through these raw, candid episodes, the podcast seeks to remind listeners that hope remains alive, encouraging them to trust God in the waiting and walk boldly into their futures

  1. 3d ago

    Comparison Is Stealing Your Joy — Here's How to Stop

    Comparison is stealing your joy, but it's not attacking your faith; it's attacking your timeline. If you've ever watched someone else's road move while yours stood still, this episode is for you. Jessica opens with a confession most Christians never say out loud: she's muted people she loves. Not out of bitterness but out of self-protection, because a tender heart watching what wounds it never heals. From there, she unpacks what happens when good things get mistaken for God's best, and why the wait that feels like punishment might actually be protection. Walking through Psalm 73 (the psalmist who nearly lost his footing over someone else's prosperity) and Jesus's answer to Peter's sideways glance in John 21 — "What is that to you? You follow me" — this episode hands you permission to guard your eyes without guilt, and language to answer comparison instead of just suppressing it. If you're waiting while someone else's life keeps moving, send this to them. Person to person — that's how hope spreads. 🎧 Follow The Hope Pandemic for new episodes every week.  Resources: Free Download: 12 Hope-filled Declarations to speak over your season: https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/axkru The Hope Journal: A 12-Week Guide to Unbreakable Hope, $19 https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/otdyx

  2. Sep 12

    Cynicism Feels Safe, But It's Really Lying to You

    Why does God bless others and not you? If you've ever asked that quietly — full faith in His power, quiet suspicion about your portion — this episode puts that lie on trial. There's a cynic on my left shoulder, and he's got receipts: ghosted at my own job, and being told I'm the problem about eighty percent of the time. His pitch: "Sign here, and you'll never be disappointed again." And his smoothest version, custom-blended for believers, isn't "God isn't good." It's "not for you." In this episode: why cynicism is numbness that learned to talk, how it wears realism's jacket (and how to tell them apart), the courtroom of 2 Corinthians 10 — where you're the judge, not the defendant — Jesus's stunning tenderness with a cynic named Nathanael, and the two practices that have kept me from signing: holding court, and sowing with open hands. This week's Hopework: hold court daily, sow one seed with no return address, and put "not for you" on trial with a signed verdict. Follow the show, and send this to the sharpest cynic you love. No lecture. Just two words: come and see. Resources: Free Download: 12 Hope-filled Declarations to speak over your season: https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/axkru The Hope Journal: A 12-Week Guide to Unbreakable Hope, $19 https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/otdyx

  3. Sep 5

    How to Stop Doomscrolling: You're Not Addicted. You're Numb

    Why can't you stop doomscrolling — even when you're completely maxed out? Here's the answer nobody's giving you: doomscrolling isn't an information habit. It's anesthesia. You don't scroll because you're curious. You scroll because you're numb, and numbness is where hope goes to die quietly. I'm going to say something in this episode I probably shouldn't, given that I build social media strategy for a living: I hate what the unguarded feed does to people's souls. I know exactly how these machines work — the ratings logic that got an algorithm, the outrage that holds attention longer than hope. I'm the casino dealer who doesn't gamble, and in this episode, I'll show you how I actually live with it. You'll learn why you can't selectively numb (deaden the grief, and you deaden hope with it), the two chairs every overwhelmed person chooses between, God's tender treatment plan for a burned-out prophet (1 Kings 19 — it starts with a nap), and Ezekiel 36:26 — the God who doesn't offer thicker skin, but a softer heart. Plus this week's Hopework: the other chair, the first fifteen, and guarding your gates. Follow the show — and send this to the person in your life who's gone quiet lately. Resources: Free Download: 12 Hope-filled Declarations to speak over your season: https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/axkru The Hope Journal: A 12-Week Guide to Unbreakable Hope, $19 https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/otdyx

  4. Aug 29

    How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up (Grit for the Weary)

    How do you keep going when you want to give up — when you think you did everything right, and you're still standing in rubble? This episode is for the weary. Especially the strong ones. Twice in my life, God has asked me to walk away from a paycheck with nothing in my hands but His word. The second time, I thought being stronger would make it easier. It didn't. Within one stretch: unemployed on a word, a hailstorm that damaged every window of our home — $30,000 in damage — a heartbreak I had to carry silently, perimenopause arriving uninvited, and a phone that stayed quiet.  In this episode: what grit actually looked like (it wasn't impressive), why life gets harder AFTER you grow (strength is a load rating, not a shield), and the eagle lesson in Isaiah 40:31 most people miss — the promise descends: soar, run, WALK. Some days, walking and not fainting is the victory. Plus this week's Hopework: the remembrance card, naming your altitude, and climbing instead of pecking. Follow the show — and send this to the strongest person you know. Their phone is probably quiet too. Resources: Free Download: 12 Hope-filled Declarations to speak over your season: https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/axkru The Hope Journal: A 12-Week Guide to Unbreakable Hope, $19 https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/otdyx

  5. Aug 22

    Worry Is Imagination Without God- Take Your Mind Back

    Are vision boards biblical — or is imagining your future just manifestation with a Jesus sticker? I'm a Christian, a marketer, and a realist, and I had the same suspicion you do. Then God gave me a vision: a dry, dead wilderness, two words — "Come forth" — and I watched the desert turn green in front of me. In this episode: what separates biblical vision from manifestation (it comes down to one question — who's the author?), the vision board I built after asking the Lord to write my future, and the most expensive failure of imagination in the Bible — ten spies who saw the exact same land as Joshua and Caleb and rehearsed the giants instead of the promise (Numbers 13–14). Here's the truth: you already use your imagination every single day. It's called worry — imagination without God in it. This episode is about taking your imagination back, putting God's promises before your eyes, and believing before you see (John 11:40). Resources: Free Download: 12 Hope-filled Declarations to speak over your season: https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/axkru The Hope Journal: A 12-Week Guide to Unbreakable Hope, $19 https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/otdyx

  6. Aug 15

    Hope vs Optimism: Why You Don't Have to Be Positive to Have Hope

    What's the difference between hope and optimism? Everything. And if you've ever thought "I'm just not a hopeful person," this episode will set you free. I've never been an optimist. Our pre-marital counselor said he'd never met a woman with a more ultra-realistic view of marriage. Then I married an optimist — a man who went through seven knee surgeries and a lost college football scholarship, and still calls it the best thing that ever happened to him. Watching us both taught me where biblical hope actually lives: it's not a personality trait on the optimism spectrum. It's an anchor (Hebrews 11:1) — and Romans 8:24 says hope, by definition, shows up when things do NOT look good. Which means realists might hold the strongest hope in the room. You'll also learn the word our family invented — Godfidence — plus two practical tools: the hope audit, and the "even if" prayer from Daniel 3 that lets you state your facts like a realist and still refuse to bow. Resources: Free Download: 12 Hope-filled Declarations to speak over your season: https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/axkru The Hope Journal: A 12-Week Guide to Unbreakable Hope, $19 https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/otdyx

  7. Aug 8

    How to Have Hope in Hard Times — When You Don't Feel It

    How do you have hope in hard times — when you don't feel hopeful at all? Here's the secret this whole season is built on: hope is not a feeling. It's a loop. In the middle of the 2020 pandemic, when my own life looked like anything but hope, God spoke two words over me that started this podcast — and this episode finally tells the whole story: the golden chair, the word I couldn't explain, and the question He asked that still gives me chills: "How can the world find Me when things are peaceful?" Then we get practical. I'll show you the Infinity Loop — why hope and perseverance can't survive without each other, straight from Romans 5:3–5 — plus two small tactics for the days you're running on empty, and a declaration we'll say out loud together. If life has not been easy for you lately, this episode is for you — and for someone you love who's running on empty. Follow the show, and send this to them. That's how a pandemic of hope spreads: person to person. Resources: Free Download: 12 Hope-filled Declarations to speak over your season: https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/axkru The Hope Journal: A 12-Week Guide to Unbreakable Hope, $19 https://hopepandemic.gumroad.com/l/otdyx

  8. Jan 10

    From Quadruplet Loss to Legacy - How Debbie Simmons Found Hope Again

    On this episode of The Hope Pandemic, we sit down with Debbie Simmons — a woman whose life is a powerful testimony of resilience, faith, and the unshakable power of God's grace. Debbie is the founder and CEO of Anchor Point, a nonprofit that serves families through counseling, education, and spiritual development. She's also a mom of nine adopted children, a trauma-informed coach, and a leader who helps people move from stuck to anchored. But her story hasn't been easy. From the devastating loss of her quadruplet sons to seasons of burnout and doubt, Debbie knows what it feels like to question everything. And yet, in the middle of grief, she discovered a God who doesn't waste pain — He repurposes it for legacy. In this vulnerable and hope-filled conversation, Debbie shares: Her journey through the loss of her biological quadruplets and how it shook her faithThe quiet whispers of hope that carried her forward when she wanted to give upHow her background as an engineer helps her build trauma-informed systems of healingPractical tools for regulating your nervous system and parenting with compassionWhy healing isn't about fixing yourself, but about being faithfully formed by GodHer powerful mantra: "What's my next best step?" Key Quotes from This Episode "You're not failing, you're becoming. Don't rush through this pain; let God meet you in it." "Hope didn't return as a tidal wave. It came back as a whisper." "Legacy doesn't have to start from wholeness. It often begins in the broken places where God breathes new life." "I am resilient...not because I'm strong all the time, but because I'm surrendered." Scripture Referenced Romans 15:13 - "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." About Debbie Simmons Debbie Simmons helps people move from stuck to anchored through trauma-informed coaching, faith-rooted leadership, and real-life parenting tools. She serves as the CEO and founder of Anchor Point, a nonprofit that supports families through counseling, education, medical care, and spiritual development. A certified trainer in multiple trauma-responsive frameworks including TBRI®, Nurtured Heart®, and Circle of Security, Debbie works with parents, leaders, and women in transition who are craving clarity, peace, and a sense of purpose. Before her calling into ministry and motherhood, Debbie was an engineer in the oil and gas industry—a background that now helps her build systematic approaches to hope and healing. She has raised nine adopted children and now coaches others who feel overwhelmed and unqualified, equipping them with practical tools and spiritual wisdom to help them take their next best step—anchored in hope, not hustle. Visit Debbie's Website: thedebbiesimmons.com Facebook: @thedebbiesimmons YouTube:  @TheDebbieSimmonsSpeaks LinkedIn: thedebbiesimmons Email: debbie@anchopoint.us Resources Mentioned Anchor Point - Debbie's nonprofit organization serving families TBRI® (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) - Trauma-informed parenting framework Nurtured Heart Approach® - Positive parenting methodology Circle of Security - Attachment-based parenting program Support The Hope Pandemic If this episode encouraged you, please: -Leave a review on your podcast platform -Share this episode with someone who needs hope today -Subscribe so you never miss an episode

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About

The Hope Pandemic is a faith-based podcast hosted by Jessica Gilliam that shares intimate, honest conversations with women who are navigating life and business challenges—highlighting stories of resilience, healing, and personal growth grounded in faith . Through these raw, candid episodes, the podcast seeks to remind listeners that hope remains alive, encouraging them to trust God in the waiting and walk boldly into their futures

Information

  • Creator
    Jessica Gilliam
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Hope Pandemic
  • Show Website
    The Hope Pandemic