Each episode of Halfway There features an ordinary Christian sharing their story of spiritual formation on the journey of life with God. Go beyond the classic Christian testimony into the ups and downs, the joys and the difficulties of being a Christian in the 21st century. Our guests offer insights and hope from their own stories. If you ever wondered if God is active and alive, this show is for you.
Have you ever wondered if God really can turn your pain into purpose?
Our guest today shares the peace he felt when he found Jesus after a lifetime of violence and how he uses it now to help others get free.
Hector "Lefty" Perez is a mental health and sobriety advocate. He works installing HVAC systems and helps as many people as he can know the love of Christ. Today, Lefty shares what it was like growing up in East Los Angeles among violence, gangs, and drugs. He tells how he got sucked into the life, the moment he decided to get out, and turning his life over to Christ once and for all.
Left also shares the difficult times he's experienced including relapse at times and how it led him to a life where he encourages others to give up drugs and live for Christ.
Lefty's story reminds us that God loves us no matter what we have done.
Listen to Lefty's story wherever you get your podcasts!
Stories Lefty shared:
Moving states to Colorado
Being diagnosed with ADHD at seven and how it’s helped him with a career in trades
Growing up in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in an immigrant family
His family’s Roman Catholic background
Feeling angry as a child at God and his parents
The violence he experienced in the neighborhood
The neighbor who groomed him to become a criminal
Beginning to get involved in crime
Working as a bodyguard and making more money than he’d seen before
Achieving everything he wanted and feeling anxious about it
Attempting suicide and surviving
Being given a choice about his future
Getting married and struggling with drug addiction
Meeting a pastor who shared the Gospel with him
Reading John and feeling God’s presence
Leading his father to Christ
His mother’s disappointing reaction to his new faith
Struggling with drug addiction
Breakthrough with vulnerability
Great quotes from Lefty:
Every word I read was like painkiller for my soul and I wanted more.
I was searching for peace and I only found it when I allowed Christ in my heart.
I prayed, "I've done worse things for a nobody, let me do something good for you, a somebody."
Resources we mentioned:
Lefty's Instagram (DM him)
Related episodes:
Christina Dent and Compassion for Others
Randy Mortensen and Removing the Stigma of Addiction
Mike Bolton and the Power of Yes
17 Feb 2025
371: Ciara Laine Myers and When You Can't See God
You grew up in church but suddenly, you can't tell if God cares about you. What do you do?
Our guest today shares the moment when she didn't recognize herself, didn't feel God's presence, and what she did next.
Ciara Laine Myers is an award-winning business owner, blogger, and author of Glasses Off: Seeing God When Your Vision Is Gone. Today, Ciara shares with us her reaction to trauma, the moment her secrets became known, and the practices that brought her back to health. Plus, we talk about calling and why it may not mean what you think.
Ciara's story reminds us that no matter how far we feel from God, it's only one step back.
Listen to Ciara's story wherever you get your podcasts now!
Stories Ciara shared:
Struggling with calling and asking God for fresh insight
Growing up on a little ranch in Texas in a Christian family
Getting saved when she was five
Being abused sexually by a friend at seven
Processing her experience in college
Deciding to be “bad Ciara” and where that led her
Realizing that she didn’t feel God anymore and how that felt
Going to the hospital with severe pain being forced to confess her drug use to her grandma
Getting back with a previous boyfriend and getting pregnant
Deciding to have a date with God for 60 days
Getting “serious” about finding her calling
Why humility is so important in an influencer culture
The vision of her purpose from the Lord
The urgency test and the action you need to take
Great quotes from Ciara:
If good Ciara is being abused, I’m going to be bad Ciara.
There was one moment that I looked in the mirror and thought "I don't really feel God anymore, and it was cold."
Calling is not a career. It’s a space on Earth to live out your purpose.
Resources we mentioned:
Ciara’s website
Glasses Off: Seeing God When Your Vision Is Gone by Ciara Laine Myers
Related episodes:
Mary DeMuth and Her Avenue for Healing
Chuck DeGroat and The Invitation to Obscurity
Dan Rudman and Ripples of the Gospel
10 Feb 2025TRANSCRIPT
370: Jeff Haanen and Faith in Technicolor
What was the experience for you that changed your faith dramatically?
Our guest today shares the moment that moved his faith from his head to his heart and how it changed how he sees everything.
Jeff Haanen is a writer and entrepreneur. He’s the founder of Denver Institute for Faith & Work, an educational organization that creates content and experiences around topics related to faith, work, the economy, and modern culture.
Today, Jeff shares how he found faith while recovering from an injury, his funny response to praying aloud for the first time, and how he started thinking about faith and work. Plus, Jeff shares his process as he learned humility.
Jeff's story reminds us the Gospel is best infused into every aspect of our lives.
Listen to Jeff's story anywhere you get your podcasts!
Stories Jeff shared:
Growing up in a Minnesota without a strong faith experience
Getting hurt before his senior year and reading the Bible and other books
Praying in a group for the first time
Joining a missions organization and going to Ecuador
Learning how to pay attention to people
Deciding to go to seminary with an insatiable curiosity
Starting the Denver Institute for Faith and Work
Noticing “cracks” in his armor
Realizing that he was looking for his identity in his work
Going on a self-awareness journey
Deconstruction how he lived his Christian life
Leaving Denver Institute for Faith & Work
How serving is crucial for work
Great quotes from Jeff:
My brain was way ahead of my heart and that's been a lot of my own faith journey.
We need to go on a journey of seeking deep spiritual health.
A critical element of that self awareness journey is simply opening ourselves to what is and noticing what's there and not trying to fix it.
Resources we mentioned (Affiliate links):
Jeff's website
Working from the Inside Out by Jeff Haanen
Francis Schaeffer's work
The Critical Journey by Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich
The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society by Leslie Newbigin
Bernard of Clairvaux
Wellspring Church, Englewood
With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God by Skye Jethani
Related episodes:
Skye Jethani and Eternity Breaks In
Laura Flanders and The Mentored Life
Matt Fagioli and Beyond Check Box Faith
Inside a recent episode
372: Lefty Perez and Finding Peace in Christ
Published 24 Feb 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] I said, Dad, I love you, Pops. I said, I just have so much love, Dad, and I read the Bible, and it's just like that book comes to life because I read something, and then I come across a situation where what I just read was applicable. Yeah. You know what? And I said, dad, I'm still learning. I said, I'm new to this, but that's all I can tell you that it was Jesus, right? My dad was 62 years old at that time. And he looks at me and he says, son, I want your Jesus. He says, can you give me your Jesus? Just don't tell your mom because we're Catholics here, you know? So 62 years old, 2016, I take my dad into his room and I led him to the Lord, man. only to find out that two years later he was going to pass. […]
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