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Before the city knew his name, before the title, before the office, there was just a kid from Worthington, Minnesota.

In this conversation, we didn’t ask Mayor Paul TenHaken about policy. We didn’t ask about budgets or elections or what comes next in his career.

We asked the question most people never get to ask a leader they admire:
Who are you when no one’s watching?
What does your faith actually look like on the hard days, not the public ones?
What does “finishing well” mean in your soul, not on your resume?

Paul sat with us for this one. No script. No talking points. Just a man talking honestly about the God who shaped him before the world tried to define him.
This is Part 1. Just Paul. 34 minutes that might change how you think about leadership, faith, and what it means to be a godly man before you’re anything else.

Part 2 with Paul and Jill drops Tuesday, and that conversation about marriage, covenant, and oneness will wreck you in the best way.

If you know a man who needs to hear this, a husband, a dad, a leader who’s carrying more than he lets on, send it to him.

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As a fan of our podcast and mission to spread Hope and Healing through the message of Jesus Christ - We would appreciate your financial support!
We are 100% listener supported!

TO GIVE TO FORTITUDE:
- Patreon: patreon.com/FortitudePodcast
- Stripe: https://bit.ly/fortitudedonate
- Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/fortitude10

PERSONAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES:
- Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FortitudePod
- Twitter: https://x.com/FortitudePod

Send a text

Our newest episode is live, and this one is deeply personal.

So many of you have heard my story.

My healing.

My journey.

My voice.

Today, you get to hear from the man who lived it with me.

Amos steps into the guest seat for a raw and honest conversation about marriage, healing, addiction, faith, leadership, and what it looks like to stay when life gets hard.

Behind so much of my story is the man who chose to stay and still chooses to stay.

A man who kept showing up.

A man who kept leading.

A man who held steady when life felt anything but.

In this episode, we talk about the things people usually carry in silence.

What it feels like to walk into a house and know within a couple syllables that the night is going to be hard.

What it means to love without enabling.

What happens when pain changes the whole atmosphere of a home.

And what healing starts to look like when two people are willing to keep growing, keep telling the truth, and keep coming back to the table.

Amos shares some of the deepest wisdom he has carried in our home for years:

Proximity shapes perspective.

Perspective shapes decisions.

Decisions shape your life.

He also says something that made me laugh and then made me think:

“Screw the series.”

Because sometimes the very thing keeping us stuck is not some giant crisis.

It is the small distraction, the avoidance, the numbing, the thing we keep turning to instead of facing what really needs healing.

This episode is tender, real, and full of the kind of truth people do not always say out loud.

It is for the ones who have loved someone through pain.

The ones who stayed strong because they had to.

The ones who kept praying when nothing made sense.

The ones who never really got asked how they were doing.

I am really honored to share Amos with all of you.

Resources:
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/episodes/broadcast/
https://www.jeffersonfisher.com/podcast
https://www.trinitychurch.com/sermons
Live Free with Josh Howerton

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As a fan of our podcast and mission to spread Hope and Healing through the message of Jesus Christ - We would appreciate your financial support!
We are 100% listener supported!

TO GIVE TO FORTITUDE:
- Patreon: patreon.com/FortitudePodcast
- Stripe: https://bit.ly/fortitudedonate
- Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/fortitude10

PERSONAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES:
- Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FortitudePod
- Twitter: https://x.com/FortitudePod

Send a text

We’re live right now.

Episode 68 just dropped, and I’m saying this clearly: this one is for the person who’s been trying to stay strong while quietly falling apart.

Today’s conversation is with Laura Pedersen. She doesn’t give you a polished testimony. She gives you the real version. Loss, heartbreak, and the long road of choosing joy when life hurts.

And that’s the point.

Sometimes “choose joy” gets used like a cute quote. But real joy is not denial. It’s a decision you make while you’re still healing. It’s faith in motion, not faith as a performance.

If you’ve ever asked:

• How do I keep going after loss?
• How do I trust God when life doesn’t make sense?
• How do I stop pretending I’m okay?
• How do I find joy without minimizing my pain?

This episode is for you.

We talk about resilience, grief, faith, and what it actually looks like to let God rebuild you from the inside out. This conversation goes deeper than inspiration. It’s honest. It’s tender. And it’s the kind of episode that helps you breathe again.

Fortitude is about this.
One story at a time.
Hope through the hard parts.
Not skipping the pain. Not rushing the healing. Just walking it through together.

So here’s what I’m asking today:

1. If you have been asking, “How do I keep going?” this conversation is for you.
   
   Watch and listen:
   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FortitudePod
   Support Fortitude:
   Patreon: https://patreon.com/FortitudePodcast
   Give (Stripe): https://bit.ly/fortitudedonate
   Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/fortitude10
   Connect:
   X: https://x.com/FortitudePod
   Courses: https://fortitudellc.myKajabi.com
2. Comment one word that describes what you’re carrying in this season
3. Share this with one person you care about who needs hope but won’t say it out loud

🔴 We’re live. Come in the room.
Drop a comment and tell us where you’re tuning in from and what you’re believing God for right now.

And if someone came to mind while reading this, tag them. You might be the reminder they needed today.

*****************************************************************************************
As a fan of our podcast and mission to spread Hope and Healing through the message of Jesus Christ - We would appreciate your financial support!
We are 100% listener supported!

TO GIVE TO FORTITUDE:
- Patreon: patreon.com/FortitudePodcast
- Stripe: https://bit.ly/fortitudedonate
- Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/u/fortitude10

PERSONAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES:
- Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FortitudePod
- Twitter: https://x.com/FortitudePod