The Pastor’s Studio with Paul Basden

What happens when life takes you somewhere you never expected to go?

For Elizabeth Sparks, leaving her home in Greece meant stepping into an unfamiliar culture, trusting God with her future, and eventually building a life and family thousands of miles from where she grew up. But some of her greatest tests of faith came years later, when her young son was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer and she faced the sudden loss of her father.

In this episode, Elizabeth and her husband, David Sparks, share the story of how God led them from Greece to the United States, brought them together, and opened unexpected doors for them to return to Greece and lead others through the biblical journeys of the Apostle Paul. Elizabeth also shares the deeply personal story of their son Adam's battle with neuroblastoma, the songs and Scriptures that sustained their family through treatment, and how Psalm 23 became especially meaningful after her father's unexpected death.

This conversation is for anyone walking through uncertainty, caring for a sick child, grieving the loss of someone they love, or wondering where God is in the middle of a difficult season. Through Elizabeth and David's experiences, you'll hear an honest reminder that faith doesn't mean life will be easy. It means we don't have to walk through the hardest moments alone. God is faithful, even in the valley.

Topics include:

• Growing up as a Protestant Christian in Greece and the history of the Greek evangelical church

• Following God's leading through major life transitions, relationships, and marriage

• How David and Elizabeth began leading Christian tours through Greece and the biblical journeys of the Apostle Paul

• Navigating a child's rare cancer diagnosis: Adam's battle with neuroblastoma and his recovery

• Finding comfort in Scripture, worship, and Christian community during seasons of suffering

• Psalm 23, grieving the sudden loss of a parent, and trusting God through the valley of the shadow of death

READ:

• Psalm 23 — A reminder of God's presence, guidance, and comfort through life's most difficult seasons.

• Acts 17:11 — The biblical connection to Berea, Greece, where Elizabeth grew up.

Can a marriage survive an affair? After Aaron confessed to being unfaithful, everything Claire believed about their marriage was shattered. They faced a painful question: Was it possible to rebuild what had been broken?

In Part 2 of their conversation with Pastor Paul Basden, Aaron and Claire Thurmon share what happened after the confession and the long, difficult road toward healing. From counseling and honest conversations to trusted friends who walked alongside them, they reflect on what it took to rebuild trust, the difference between confession and repentance, and what their marriage looks like nine years later.

If you're navigating betrayal, struggling in your marriage, or wondering whether healing is possible, this conversation offers an honest look at restoration. Aaron and Claire don't offer easy answers or a perfect ending. Instead, they share what they've learned about forgiveness, rebuilding trust, and finding hope in God's faithfulness, even when life doesn't turn out the way you imagined.

Topics include:

• How an emotional affair became a physical affair

• Confessing infidelity and facing the aftermath

• Rebuilding trust after betrayal in marriage

• The role of marriage counseling, accountability, and community

• What marriage looks like nine years after an affair

• Finding hope and healing without minimizing the pain

This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. In Part 1, Claire and Aaron share the baggage they carried into their marriage and the environment that allowed secrets to brew.

READ:

Five Things That Transformed My Marriage After My Affair, Aaron Thurmon, Guest Blog

Five Things I Needed to Hear After My Husband’s Affair, Claire Thurmon, Guest Blog

WATCH:
A Marriage Story, Preston Trail Storytellers Series, Summer 2024

VERSES:
Numbers 32:33
2 Corinthians 7:10
Psalm 51:10
1 John 4:18

SUPPORT:
Find a re:Engage program near you.

From the outside, Claire and Aaron Thurmon seemed to be doing everything right. They met through college, built their relationship around faith, married young, and started a family. But beneath the surface, both were carrying struggles and expectations that would eventually threaten everything they had built.

In Part 1 of this deeply personal conversation with Pastor Paul Basden, Claire and Aaron reflect on their very different childhoods and the patterns they unknowingly brought into marriage. From people-pleasing and perfectionism to emotional isolation, pornography, and the need for control, they share how unresolved struggles can quietly create distance between two people—even when everything looks fine on the outside.

Whether you're newly married, navigating challenges in your relationship, or wondering how your past may be affecting your present, this conversation offers an honest look at the things we bring into marriage and why acknowledging them matters.

Topics include:

• How childhood experiences shape marriage and relationships

• People-pleasing, perfectionism, and the need for control

• Emotional isolation and difficulty with vulnerability

• The impact of pornography on marriage

• Unspoken expectations and unhealthy relationship patterns

• Why a marriage can look healthy while struggling beneath the surface

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. In Part 2, Claire and Aaron share the betrayal that brought their hidden struggles into the open and the long road toward healing.

WATCH:
A Marriage Story, Preston Trail Storytellers Series, Summer 2024

What happens when the chaos you grew up with follows you into adulthood?

For Marcie Bazor, a childhood shaped by her father’s alcoholism and anger gave way to years of rebellion, partying, and searching for something that could fill the loneliness she carried. Even when she knew about God, she struggled to live out her faith. Her story is a reminder that knowing about Jesus and learning to follow Him are not always the same thing.

In this episode of The Pastor’s Studio, Marcie shares how God began changing her life through Christian radio, prayer, and a growing hunger for Scripture.

She opens up about her husband Tim’s battle with alcoholism and drug addiction, the role of faith and community in his recovery, and how her family’s painful experiences helped inspire Blake’s House, a ministry providing housing, support, and loving relationships for young adults who have aged out of foster care or experienced homelessness.

She also shares a powerful perspective on guilt, grace, and the belief that our past mistakes are too great for God to forgive.

If you’ve ever struggled with shame, wondered whether God could still use you, or watched someone you love battle addiction, Marcie's story offers hope and a different way to see your past. You’ll hear how faith can grow over time, why lasting change often requires the support of others, and how accepting God’s grace can help you stop living under the weight of yesterday and begin walking in freedom.

Topics include:

• Growing up in a family affected by alcoholism, anger, and childhood trauma

• Finding faith in adulthood through Christian radio, prayer, and reading the Bible

• Marriage, addiction recovery, and the role of Christian community in lasting change

• Overcoming shame, guilt, and the feeling that your past makes you unworthy of God’s grace

• Blake’s House: supporting young adults aging out of foster care and experiencing homelessness

• Turning personal pain into purpose through faith, service, and loving relationships