Shows
Silver Lining with Luke & MonicaWhen Grief Meets the Holidays: Learning to Grieve & Mourn With GraceIn today’s episode, Luke & Monica take listeners into one of the most tender conversations yet — navigating grief, mourning, and the holiday season when life looks nothing like you expected.Thanksgiving week can bring joy, memories, and celebration… but it can also magnify loss, loneliness, and the reality of a life you didn’t plan for.Both hosts share openly from their own stories:Luke walking through the loss of his wife, Alicia, in 2023Monica navigating the shock of divorce, depression, and rebuilding after being left in 2020This episode dives into the...
2025-11-2547 minSilver Lining with Luke & MonicaWhen Words Hurt: Gossip, Rumors, and Responding With GraceWhen you are walking through grief, divorce, or a hard season, people talk. Some mean well and still hurt you. Others do not mean well at all. Rumors, opinions, and half-truths start flying, and suddenly it’s not just your circumstances that hurt — it’s the words surrounding them. In this episode of Silver Lining with Luke & Monica, we talk honestly about how to handle hurtful words, gossip, and assumptions while you’re “in the fire,” and how to respond without losing your peace. Luke shares about navigating comments and misunderstandings after Alicia’s death, and Moni...
2025-11-1945 minSilver Lining with Luke & MonicaSeek First: What to Do When You’re Going Through It When you’re walking through the dark—grief, divorce, loss, or the fog of transition—it’s easy to ask, “What now? Who am I?” In this episode, Luke and Monica open their journals and hearts to talk about what it means to seek first the Kingdom of God when life doesn’t make sense. They share how worship, serving, and stewarding your inputs and outputs can help you find peace in the middle of pain. You’ll laugh through their candy-tax stories, nod along with their honesty about grief, and be reminded that Go...
2025-11-0550 minSilver Lining with Luke & MonicaPeace, Counsel, and Clarity – When God Brings Calm After ConfusionIn this episode of The Silver Lining Podcast with Luke and Monica, the conversation gets real about peace, counsel, and confusion — and how to recognize God’s voice when everyone else seems to have an opinion. Monica opens up about a pivotal season in her life, when dating, divorce recovery, and godly counsel all collided. She shares the peace she felt after ending a relationship that “looked right” but wasn’t right — and the unexpected moment she was called into her pastor’s office for a difficult conversation that left her seeking clarity and confirmation from God’s Word. Lu...
2025-11-0245 minSilver Lining with Luke & MonicaPeace in the Uncomfortable — Silver Lining with Luke & Monica, Episode 4You can be right where God wants you—living by faith—and still feel deeply uncomfortable… yet completely at peace in His presence. In this episode, Monica reads never-before-shared journal entries (Aug 13, 2023 & Sept 10, 2023) from the week of Alicia’s hospitalization and the weeks that followed. We talk through grief, gratitude, and how God’s peace guarded our hearts even when circumstances didn’t make sense. Mentioned in this episode (song): https://youtu.be/OqjGT9BSyJA?si=z9uU0cYGQ80X1bYn Key idea: Peace isn’t the absence of discomfort; it’s the presenc...
2025-10-2844 minSilver Lining with Luke & MonicaThe Hidden Gift of Intercession: How Praying for Others Changes UsSummary Today we talk about the surprising personal benefit of interceding—praying on behalf of others. From Jesus and the Holy Spirit interceding for us to the command for believers to pray “for all men,” we share how God used prayer to carry our family through grief, build compassion, bring peace, and draw our hearts closer to Him. Monica shares how a simple burden to pray became a lifeline, and Luke unpacks why intercession strengthens both the person praying and the people being prayed for. Key Scriptures (KJV) • 1 Timothy 2:1 — A call to supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of...
2025-10-2542 minSilver Lining with Luke & MonicaGod Always Answers Prayers…God Always Answers Prayers… Just Not Always the Way We Pray God always answers prayers—sometimes with yes, sometimes wait, and sometimes no. In this episode, Luke and Monica share their stories of loss, healing, and God’s sovereignty through it all. Monica opens up about her cancer journey and the peace that carried her day by day. Luke shares about losing his late wife, Alicia, and how God’s grace met him in heartbreak. Together they talk about why God’s “no” is still love, how He weaves purpose through pain, and what it really m...
2025-10-2251 minSilver Lining with Luke & MonicaEpisode One: Welcome to Holland — Finding Beauty in the Place You Didn’t PlanEpisode one dives into the famous “Welcome to Holland” illustration (by Emily Perl Kingsley) and why it reframed how we see grief, change, and second chances. We talk about living in the place you didn’t plan—divorce recovery, widowhood, blending a family, parenting on the spectrum—and how God meets us there with tulips, windmills, and grace.You’ll hear our working definition of grief (the gap between expectation and reality), the difference between grief and mourning, and a few simple practices that helped us: gratitude journaling, serving others, and finding a “mud-puddle friend” who just sits with you. T...
2025-10-1939 minSilver Lining with Luke & MonicaTrailer Episode: The Story Behind Silver Lining PodcastWelcome to Silver Lining with Luke & Monica! In our very first recording, we open up about why this podcast exists and what inspired us to start it. It’s not a marriage or parenting podcast—it’s a real-life, faith-filled conversation about finding Jesus in every season.We talk about grief, healing, laughter, and how God has redeemed both of our stories—Luke as a widower and dad of four, and Monica through divorce and cancer recovery. Together we share the heart behind Silver Lining: that even in life’s darkest storms, God still brings beauty from ashes and...
2025-10-1824 min