Hope From The Ground Up
Hope From The Ground Up

Hope From The Ground Up

Richard Chelson

Overview
Episodes

Details

Most people don't need another podcast that has it all figured out. They need someone who's been on the ground and knows what it actually takes to get back up. Hope From The Ground Up is a show about real life, real faith, and the kind of hope that gets built one honest step at a time. Some episodes go deep into Scripture — because the Word is where solid ground starts. Others go straight at the hard stuff: failure, loneliness, the walls you've built, the voices you still hear. No performance. No pretense. Just truth you can actually live. We're building Hope From The Ground Up — and you're welcome here, wherever you're starting from.

Recent Episodes

What Fear Cost You
MAY 18, 2026
What Fear Cost You
<p><strong>Email:</strong><br /><a target="_blank">[email protected]</a><br />Find everything Hope From The Ground Up at <a href="https://linktr.ee/richcmedia" target="_blank">linktr.ee/richcmedia</a><br />Read this episode on Substack: <a href="https://hopefromthegroundup.substack.com" target="_blank">hopefromthegroundup.substack.com</a></p><p>In this episode, I open up about the difference between giving up and being frozen by fear—and what that paralysis really costs us: our talents, our abilities, our identity, and our time. Drawing from Scripture—2 Timothy 1:7, Romans 12:2, and Jeremiah 29:11—we anchor ourselves in the truth that fear isn’t from God and that our minds can be renewed. I share my own experience of letting others’ opinions define my worth and how, with God’s help and timely encouragement from voices like Zig Ziglar, I relearned who I am and stopped handing my power to fear.<br /><br />We get practical with three simple options for your next step this week: name one thing fear has been holding hostage, decide how you’ll spend your 86,400 seconds differently today, or write three truths about who you are apart from anyone else’s approval. Yesterday is done; today is new. You can reclaim what fear tried to steal and start moving again with a sound mind, power, and love. We close with a prayer and a preview of next time’s topic: the difference between being alone and being isolated.<br /><p><strong>Email:</strong><br /><a target="_blank">[email protected]</a><br />Find everything Hope From The Ground Up at <a href="https://linktr.ee/richcmedia" target="_blank">linktr.ee/richcmedia</a><br />Read this episode on Substack: <a href="https://hopefromthegroundup.substack.com" target="_blank">hopefromthegroundup.substack.com</a></p><br /><p><a href="https://www.hopefromthegroundup.com" target="_blank" >https://www.hopefromthegroundup.com</a></p></p>
play-circle icon
12 MIN
Learning to Trust Again
MAY 11, 2026
Learning to Trust Again
<p><strong>Email:</strong><br /><a target="_blank">[email protected]</a><br />Find everything Hope From The Ground Up at <a href="https://linktr.ee/richcmedia" target="_blank">linktr.ee/richcmedia</a><br />Read this episode on Substack: <a href="https://hopefromthegroundup.substack.com" target="_blank">hopefromthegroundup.substack.com</a></p><p>In this episode, I get honest about what it feels like to be done—done trusting, done risking, done hoping—and how we begin finding our way back without becoming naive again. I share a season from my own life where I shut down, numbed out, and lost trust in everything, including God, and how a small crack in the wall began a slow, real renewal. We explore the difference between wise discernment and cynicism, why forgiveness and access are not the same thing, and how most people aren’t against you—but they’re not necessarily watching out for you either. Anchored in Proverbs 3:5–6, Psalm 34:18, and Romans 12:2, we talk about letting God lead the process of rebuilding trust through the renewing of your mind, not through willpower or denial.<br /><br />To make this practical, I offer three next steps you can choose from: an honest self-inventory about what you see in people, a simple discernment prayer for a specific relationship, or a small opening toward someone who has shown consistent trustworthiness. If you’ve been burned, you’re not alone here. You don’t have to trust everyone, and you don’t have to stay locked down. The goal isn’t to go back to who you were—it’s to become wiser and let God guide each next step.</p>
play-circle icon
11 MIN