In this episode of Redeemed Through His Blood, Scott and Deb talk honestly about seasons when life doesn’t feel wrong—it just feels unorganized. Moving beyond last week’s conversation about spiritual drift, they explore what happens when change is sudden, clarity is absent, and control slips away. Drawing on the Creation story, lived experience, and the Savior’s invitation to “look unto me in every thought,” they reflect on how God works with chaos rather than discarding it—and how Jesus doesn’t wait for things to make sense before He comes close. This is a conversation for anyone sitting in uncertainty, learning to trust that disorder is not disqualification, and discovering that peace can exist even before resolution does.

You don’t need to feel more to be faithful. You don’t need constant confirmation to be close to Christ. And silence does not mean distance.

This week, instead of measuring your discipleship by emotion or progress, notice where your attention is going—and gently bring it back to Jesus Christ. Because what we look at grows. And when we look to Him, even quietly, grace begins to reframe how we experience the weight of mortality.

You’re not failing. You’re not behind. And you’re not alone.

00:00 — Deb opens: Attention, weariness, and inward drift

Deb introduces the idea that when life feels heavy or quiet, our attention naturally turns inward—not because we’re failing, but because we’re human.

02:45 — The Fall and spiritual self-monitoring

Scott introduces the idea that one of the quieter effects of the Fall is constant self-evaluation rather than rebellion.

05:30 — “Why don’t I feel the Spirit?”

Examples of how self-monitoring shows up in prayer, sacrament meeting, scripture study, and comparison.

09:40 — Weariness is not abandonment

A clear return to last week’s message: silence and heaviness are not signs of distance from Christ.

12:20 — Symptoms vs relationship

Scott contrasts symptom-focused spirituality with relationship-centered discipleship.

15:10 — Gethsemane: strength instead of relief

A reframing of Gethsemane—Jesus’ burden was not removed, but strength was added.

18:45 — “Am I willing to stay?”

Deb speaks to quiet faith, showing up without emotional confirmation, and the courage of staying.

22:10 — Gratitude: what it is not

Scott clearly defines what gratitude is not: forced optimism, minimizing pain, or spiritual cheerleading.

25:00 — Gratitude as alignment

Gratitude reframed as noticing presence rather than pretending relief.

27:30 — Practical reframing in real life

Examples of gratitude that sound like: “It didn’t spiral today.” “I made it through.” “I felt held, even quietly.”

30:30 — What we look at grows

The core thesis repeated and grounded: attention shapes experience.

33:00 — Closing invitation

A gentle invitation to stop measuring discipleship by emotion and to notice where Christ already is.

What do you do when you believe in Jesus Christ—but don’t feel close to Him? When the doctrine still makes sense, the invitations are familiar, and yet your heart feels heavy or stalled? In this episode, Scott and Deb talk candidly about faithful discouragement, emotional distance, and the quiet struggle of trying to “receive Christ” when it doesn’t feel easy or inspiring. Drawing from Alma 7, the Savior’s experience in Gethsemane, insights on grace from Adam Miller, and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s reassurance that we are never too far gone, this conversation reframes grace as Christ staying with us before He changes us. If you’ve ever wondered whether your weariness disqualifies you—or if Christ still comes close in the quiet—this episode is for you.

As Christmas fades and a new year approaches, many of us instinctively turn inward—evaluating, resolving, and quietly pressuring ourselves to do better next time. In this episode, Scott and Deb offer a different invitation. Instead of carrying the weight of change alone, they explore what it means to begin again through Jesus Christ. Drawing on Elder Patrick Kearon’s powerful reminder that the Savior offers real new beginnings—“even you”—they contrast self-improvement with redemption, willpower with grace, and resolutions with relationship.

This conversation is for everyone who feels tired, discouraged, or afraid of repeating the past, and for anyone who needs the reminder that new beginnings are not symbolic ideas—they are doctrinal realities, available now, because Jesus Christ lives.

Christmas often feels fragile—like one unmet expectation or imperfect moment can undo it all. But the first Christmas wasn’t ideal, and joy came anyway. In this episode, Scott and Deb reflect on how expectations can quietly steal peace and why Christ didn’t wait for calm, order, or perfect conditions to come. This conversation is an invitation to stop managing outcomes, notice where Jesus already is, and receive Him as He comes—right in the middle of the glorious mess.

What if the most life-changing gift you’ll ever receive isn’t something wrapped—but Someone given?

In this Christmas episode of Redeemed Through His Blood, Deb opens our season with a tender reflection sparked while listening to a simple Christmas song—an impression that redirected her heart toward the very first gift God ever offered His children: His Son.

Together, we explore why the Father’s gift wasn’t merely an event in Bethlehem, but a relationship offered to each of us right now. We talk about what it means to receive Him—not as an abstract belief, but as the living, present Redeemer who still enters real lives, real wounds, and real stories today.

If your December feels busy, heavy, or hollow… this conversation will help you come back to the Gift Himself.

In this episode, Scott and Deb share a very real, very recent experience from sacrament meeting—realizing that life had gotten “a little too horizontal.” Between family worries, recovery relationships, expectations, holiday pressure, and performance mentality, Scott found himself giving everyone his attention except the One who can actually heal him.

Using the imagery of the cross—horizontal beam for our relationships with others and vertical post for our relationship with Deity—they explore what it really means to “strengthen the vertical.” They talk about John 15’s invitation to abide in Christ, Doctrine and Covenants 6’s call to “look unto [Him] in every thought,” the AA journey of surrender, and Deb’s powerful campfire story about giving Christ what we most want to hide.

If you’re feeling stretched, noisy inside, or spiritually “untethered,” this conversation is an invitation to stop trying to achieve Jesus and instead learn how to receive Him—especially in the middle of the Christmas crazies.

ometimes the noise of life makes it hard to notice anything good… until we pause long enough to see it. This week, Deb and I sat still for a moment — and in that pause, we found gratitude we didn’t expect.

Gratitude for healing in our family. Gratitude for a calmer heart. Gratitude for the Savior who walks with us through every effect of the Fall.

And if your pause feels heavy this year — if you feel lonely, overwhelmed, or unsure where you fit — hear this:

You are not forgotten. You are not failing. You are not alone.

Start with one blessing. Just one. That’s where gratitude begins.