Send me a text and let me know your thoughts!

What happens when you come to the end of yourself and cry out to God one last time? In this powerful episode, Luba Shalya shares her remarkable journey from underground churches in Soviet Ukraine to a life-changing encounter with God in Portland, Oregon.

Raised under religious control and later battling deep depression after divorce, Luba reached a breaking point that became her breakthrough. On January 31, 2006, she gave God an ultimatum—and experienced a supernatural transformation in just 15-20 seconds that completely changed her mind, heart, and spirit.

Through tears and triumph, Luba shares about breaking generational curses, learning to hear God's voice (even when it means giving $100 to a stranger), and the difference between religious obligation and falling deeply in love with Jesus. Her story will challenge you to move beyond spiritual milk to solid food, to hunger for more of God, and to trust Him through the painful process of transformation.

Whether you're struggling with depression, religious trauma, or simply want to go deeper with God, Luba's testimony reminds us that God sees our hearts and is always waiting for that final roar of desperation that leads to deliverance.

Guest: Luba Shalya - businesswoman, mother of 9, and passionate follower of Jesus whose name literally means "Love"

Connect with Luba:

• Instagram: @lubashalya
• Facebook Messenger: Lyubov Shalia
• Substack @lyubovshalya

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/the-summit

License code: YEMOID7DEYZIE4N3

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/luminbird/together-forever

License code: XIARHFTDFJ0FBKKT

Consider subscribing to this podcast, YouTube and Substack- all with the same name: Just Talkin' About Jesus!

https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus

https://jan-johnson.com/

https://justtalkingaboutjesus.com/

https://janjohnsonauthor.substack.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus

Thanks for listening!

If you have a story to tell, check out the form on my website- justtalkingaboutjesus.com.

I'd love to connect with you!

No, really.... hit me up!

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts!

If you are new here, welcome! I’m Jan Johnson, your host. I’m glad you’re joining us and I hope that by the end of this show you feel encouraged and strengthened.

Today is December 30, 2025, and as it’s the end of the year and a beginning of a new year, I wanted to start doing one episode a month that is more of a round table discussion on a topic.

So, this episode is the beginning of that.

Joining me today are my daughter Sister Mercy, my husband Ed, and friends Marti and John Darcangelo.

Our topic is Faith, and bottom line, why we believe.

What leads us to believe in what others might call fairy tales of the Bible?

A talking donkey

A man swallowed by a whale and thrown up alive

People like Isaiah going to heaven who never died.

People like Jesus and Lazarus and some boy dying and rising again

1 Corinthians 1:18,

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

1 Corinthians 1:23 adds:

"but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles."

There's also 1 Corinthians 2:14, which expands on this idea:

"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."

1 Corinthians 1:23 adds:

"but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles."

There's also 1 Corinthians 2:14, which expands on this idea:

"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic of Faith.

Why exactly do you believe?

Let me know in the comments.

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/luminbird/together-forever

License code: XIARHFTDFJ0FBKKT

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/dan-phillipson/moments

License code: AWMMVCHCGOXAXQX4

https://youtu.be/9Oc0EHUr5ro

Consider subscribing to this podcast, YouTube and Substack- all with the same name: Just Talkin' About Jesus!

https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus

https://jan-johnson.com/

https://justtalkingaboutjesus.com/

https://janjohnsonauthor.substack.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus

Thanks for listening!

If you have a story to tell, check out the form on my website- justtalkingaboutjesus.com.

I'd love to connect with you!

No, really.... hit me up!

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts!

In this episode of Just Talking About Jesus, host Jan Johnson meets with Kim Oswalt to hear her heartfelt testimony about discovering faith during her teenage years in Utah.

Despite her family's irregular church attendance, Kim's journey took off when a move prompted a deeper connection to God through a local church community.

Her story highlights the value of youth groups and finding mentors who inspire bold, everyday faith.

Kim shares how God’s presence in her life has been evident through various life upheavals, paving the way for unexpected yet beautiful outcomes.

Do you ever feel like you're fighting a battle no one can see?

Lies like “You’re not enough” or “You’ll never change” don’t just hurt—they shape how we see ourselves, others, and even God.

What thoughts have taken root in your mind that God never planted?

You may like the Battle for Our Minds, and that one is uncovering the lies that we've been told and being able to replace them with the truth of what God says about us in His Word.

https://www.kimoswalt.com/

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/the-summit

License code: YEMOID7DEYZIE4N3

Consider subscribing to this podcast, YouTube and Substack- all with the same name: Just Talkin' About Jesus!

https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus

https://jan-johnson.com/

https://justtalkingaboutjesus.com/

https://janjohnsonauthor.substack.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus

Thanks for listening!

If you have a story to tell, check out the form on my website- justtalkingaboutjesus.com.

I'd love to connect with you!

No, really.... hit me up!