Markus Watson – False Witness

Markus Watson was investigated for a sickening crime with no knowledge of who had made allegations against him, what evidence they claimed to have, and not even knowing the crime he was alleged to have committed.

He faced accusations that threatened to destroy his livelihood and trash his reputation. He was betrayed, investigated by the FBI and forced out of a job.

My time at that church was a wonderful experience for most of my time there. Unfortunately, my last year was very painful. Betrayal, false accusations, and eventually being voted out of that church left me reeling. My professional, emotional, and spiritual life was turned upside down.

And, yet, that experience drew me closer to God than I had ever been in my life. It left me with some scars, but those scars have helped me become more fully the person I was created to be.

I explored his story on my podcast, Bleeding Daylight, this week.

You can hear Markus talk about what happened to him on Bleeding Daylight wherever you find podcasts or use the media player below to listen.



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Sharon Tedford – 61 Things

Do you run towards or away from change?

However you answer that question, this week’s episode of my podcast, Bleeding Daylight, will be a real encouragement for you.

It’s the story of Sharon Tedford and her family’s move across the world but it’s so much more than that.

Sharon is a singer/songwriter, artist, podcaster and so much more. You’ll be inspired by her and motivated to make change in your own life.

Sharon Tedford is a longtime, avid writer. Her work includes plays, poems, songs, spoken word narratives, and creative worship experiences. 2017 marks the year she finally published some of her work, with the release of her first book, Stand – The Stories and Scriptures. This book was birthed out of the songs on the companion CD, also entitled Stand.

An experienced worship leader of more than 20 years and more recently a Bible teacher, Sharon has traveled the world, including her favorite setting so far—in the beautiful mountains of Australia. She is a Brit, currently residing in Texas. Not surprisingly, Sharon occasionally has a different perspective from those in her adopted home state.

Sharon loves diving deeply into words and has an uncanny gift to expound on the truth of Scripture through story and song. Her conversational writing style puts people at ease and leaves the reader feeling as though they have enjoyed a chat and a warming cup of tea with a friend. If you’re not a Brit, you may find yourself reading her work with an internal English accent – you have been warned!

Sharon lives with her Irish husband—yes, more than one accent in her house—and three children.61 Things

You can hear Sharon’s story on Bleeding Daylight wherever you listen to podcasts or click play on the audio player below.



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Mark Sowersby – Forgiving the Nightmare

This week’s episode of my podcast, Bleeding Daylight, is confronting. It’s the story of a young boy’s nightmare of abuse but thankfully it doesn’t end there.

Forgiving the Nightmare is Mark Sowersby’s journey to forgive those who allowed the abuse to take place, and even the predator who stole his childhood.

His message is clear, no matter the shape of your nightmare, there can be forgiveness, and even joy.

Reverend Mark Sowersby has been married to his wonderful wife Jennifer for 17 years and is the father of four children. Mark has been an ordained minister with Assembly of God for over 25 years and is currently the Pastor of Christian Assembly of Schuyler in beautiful upstate New York. Pastor Mark holds a BA in theology from Zion Bible College/Northpoint Bible College.

In 2019 Pastor Mark went through a time of great healing. He began speaking about the experiences of his past and God’s grace and the transformational work of forgiveness in his life. He now speaks about his story through his ministry, Forgiving The Nightmare.

When he isn’t serving his congregation and his community through ministry, teaching, and support, you can find him on all the trails and lakes in Upstate New York, spending time with his family.

Can I encourage you to listen to Mark’s story on Bleeding Daylight, wherever you find podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Amazon and many, many more, or use the audio player below.

Please also consider leaving a rating and review for Bleeding Daylight wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps others discover episodes that are helpful for them.



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Terry Nightingale – Looking Back to Move Forward

How can we be free of a damaged past and walk into a fruitful future? How do we use what has happened to move forward?

Terry Nightingale is a pastor and author. His new book focuses on how we deal with past failings, disappointments, and broken dreams.

Terry is this week’s guest on my podcast, Bleeding Daylight which you can find wherever you listen to podcasts.

In a world that either demonizes past failings or tries to sweep them under the rug, Looking Back to Move Forward takes the more biblical approach of examining and learning from our mistakes to move forwards into a more fruitful future.

You can hear our conversation using the audio player below.



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Essentials

Our microwave oven has stopped working. What shall we do?

We use the microwave every day. It’s part of the way we live, yet I’m very aware that microwave ovens weren’t really a thing in Australia until the eighties. By the mid-eighties, Dire Straits and Sting were singing about installing them, and now most homes have one. They’ve become part of our ‘I need it now!!” lifestyle.

Today, Australians woke up to find that a massive range of pages had been wiped by Facebook.

Facebook banned Australian users from accessing news in their feeds this morning, as the government pursues laws that would force it to pay publishers for journalism that appears in people’s feeds.

Facebook’s justification for including non-news pages was that the proposed law has a broad definition of news.

“As the law does not provide clear guidance on the definition of news content, we have taken a broad definition in order to respect the law as drafted,” a statement from the company read.ABC News

Even my blog’s Facebook page is looking pretty empty with all my posts removed and I can’t share links to any of the posts here at RodneyOlsen.net on Facebook.

What shall we do?

Until February 2004, Facebook didn’t even exist and yet today we’re all wondering what’s going to happen without some of the posts and pages we’re used to seeing.

We’ll replace our microwave and once they’ve made their point, I believe that Facebook will restore their services (though I could possibly be wrong on that).

What is really essential? So much of what we take for granted these days didn’t exist even a few decades ago and yet people were able to live quite fulfilling lives.

Don’t get me wrong, I want a microwave, a full Facebook feed, electricity, double brick and tile homes, cars, running water and so many more of the advancements we’ve seen over decades and centuries. I think it was grossly irresponsible of Facebook to wipe out websites indiscriminately, including emergency services in some cases.

We have chosen to elevate so many things as ‘essential’ when they’re not really essential at all. I’ve stood with families in some nations that would consider most of what we call essential as absolute luxuries. Again, I’m not saying we should live without modern advancements, but we need to decide what’s really essential. These days we even call some oils essential. They’re not.

What is really essential for you? Let’s enjoy all the extras but ensure that we’re focusing on the essentials.



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