Apr 27, 2026

91. How to Heal Past Trauma: Self-Awareness and Forgiveness for Christian Leaders with Athena Dean Holtz

91. How to Heal Past Trauma: Self-Awareness and Forgiveness for Christian Leaders with Athena Dean Holtz

Are you carrying wounds from your past that are quietly controlling your present?

Maybe it's a betrayal. A failure. A season of loss you never fully processed.

You've buried it under busyness, success, even ministry work — but it's still there, shaping how you lead, how you decide, how you trust.

Athena Dean Holtz is the founder of Redemption Press and a pioneer in Christian independent publishing.

Her story includes building a $3.5 million company, losing everything to spiritual abuse and deception, and discovering that unhealed trauma left her vulnerable to manipulation.

Through her work with veterans struggling with PTSD, she realized we all carry wounds — and ignoring them doesn't make us stronger. It makes us susceptible.

Join us as Athena shares how self-awareness, biblical counseling, and the hard work of forgiveness became the pathway to restoration, and how the same principles that help veterans can help any believer walk in freedom.

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

How can we honor God in our business?

God wants your wholeness, not just your output. Unhealed wounds make us vulnerable to poor decisions and broken trust. Ask Him to show you your heart, find a safe person to process with, and begin with forgiveness.


One challenge from today:

Pray this prayer: "Lord, show me how the enemy tries to silence me and keep me wounded. Help me not to lie to myself. Who is the first person You want me to forgive?" Then take one step toward healing this week.


More About Athena Dean Holtz

Website: redemption-press.com


More About David Schmidt

Free Resource: What God Says About Business: 5 Uncommon Truths for the Modern Business

Subscribe to the RBT Weekly Newsletter for weekly simple, practical, and Biblical steps to help you build a thriving business in a way that honors God.

Newsletter also comes with Bible verses for business success for you to read, apply, and be inspired by.

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