You did not just pick up your habits. You learned them through observation.

In this faith-based mental health conversation, Jodie Shannon, founder of The Heart Helper and counselor in training, explores Social Learning Theory, psychologist Albert Bandura’s research showing that we learn by watching others. We observe behavior, remember it, and then model it, especially when we see it rewarded. Bandura called this observational learning, and he identified four steps: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.

What we watch shapes what we do. Who we walk with shapes who we become. Science calls it modeling. Scripture calls it the company you keep.

Jodie aligns the theory with four key scriptures:

• 1 Corinthians 15:33, on why bad company ruins good morals
• Galatians 5:9, on how a little leaven leavens the whole lump, and how one small influence can spread through every area of your life
• Proverbs 13:20, on how walking with the wise makes us wise
• Philippians 4:9, where Paul says to practice what you have learned, heard, and seen in him, showing that modeling can be used on purpose for good

Science did not discover these truths. It confirmed them. As you listen, ask yourself: Who are you watching? Who is watching you? And what patterns are you modeling based on what you have been observing?

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Strengthen the spirit. Manage the mind. Honor the heart. Heighten the health.

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Are You Burying What God Told You to Build?

In Matthew 25, a master entrusts his servants with talents. Two of them build, and one buries what he was given. It wasn't because he had too little, since one talent was worth about 20 years of wages, or over a million dollars today. He buried it because fear handed him a shovel.

In this episode, we unpack what a talent meant in Bible times, what it means for us today, and how fear can disguise itself as "playing it safe." Whether it's a business you haven't launched, savings you haven't started, or a gift you haven't shared, God gave you the power to build. Not to bury.

Fear hands you a shovel. Faith hands you a blueprint.

Scriptures in this episode: Matthew 25:14–30, Deuteronomy 8:18

Sow into the ministry: If this episode blessed you and you'd like to support The Heart Helper, you can give at ko-fi.com/thehearthelper.

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What if the person chasing the next high isn't chasing a drug at all? What if they're chasing God and just don't know it yet?

In this episode of The Heart Helper Podcast, Jodie brings together neuroscience, counseling research, and Scripture to uncover a powerful truth: the same reward circuit in the brain that lights up when we feel God's presence is the one that substances hijack. The high is a counterfeit of the Holy.

With more than 44 million Americans living with a substance use disorder, this conversation walks through four movements: how we were designed with eternity in our hearts, how addiction hijacks that longing, how a substance can quietly take God's place, and how grace, healing, and treatment can lead us back to the fountain of living waters.

If you've ever reached for something to quiet the ache, this one is for you.

How is your heart?

If you or someone you love is struggling: SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357 (free, confidential, 24/7). In a crisis, call or text 988.

References

Crosland, C., & Imhoff, B. (2024). [Chapter title]. In [First initial]. King-Ford (Ed.), Christian integration in counselor education (pp. 235–257). Kendall Hunt.

Ferguson, M. A., Nielsen, J. A., King, J. B., Dai, L., Giangrasso, D. M., Holman, R., Korenberg, J. R., & Anderson, J. S. (2018). Reward, salience, and attentional networks are activated by religious experience in devout Mormons. Social Neuroscience, 13(1), 104–116.

Jennings, T. R. (2017). The God-shaped brain: How changing your view of God transforms your life (Expanded ed.). InterVarsity Press.

May, G. G. (1988). Addiction and grace: Love and spirituality in the healing of addictions. HarperCollins.

Mohandas, E. (2008). Neurobiology of spirituality. Mens Sana Monographs, 6(1), 63–80.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2026). Highlights for the 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-2025-Annual-Release/2025-nsduh-nnr-highlights.pdf

Thompson, C. (2021). The soul of desire: Discovering the neuroscience of longing, beauty, and community. InterVarsity Press.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. (2001). Crossway.