Laurie Davies: Your Heart Has a Junk Drawer

Do you have a junk drawer?

You know the one—filled with old receipts, random keys, ketchup packets, and things you just can’t bring yourself to throw away.

Many of us have an emotional version of that drawer.

In this episode of the Live Faith First Podcast, Elliot Sands sits down with author Laurie Davies to discuss her book, Emotional Hoarding, and why so many of us hold on to shame, regret, fear, anger, bitterness, secrets, and worry long after they stop serving us.

Laurie explains that emotional healing isn’t about pretending difficult emotions don’t exist—it’s about understanding why we’ve held onto them and allowing God’s grace to transform them rather than letting them control us.

Together they discuss:

• What emotional hoarding is—and how to recognize it

Why shame thrives in isolation

The surprising connection between regret and God’s grace

How anger often hides deeper wounds

Why secrets carry such a heavy emotional cost

Building a healthier emotional foundation through truth and community

The role of counseling, trusted friends, and God’s grace in emotional healing

If you’ve ever felt weighed down by emotional baggage, this conversation offers practical wisdom and biblical hope for living lighter and freer.

Laurie Davies is an author, Bible teacher, speaker, and podcast host passionate about helping people discover the freedom found in God’s grace. Based in the Phoenix, Arizona, area, Laurie has spent decades teaching Scripture and encouraging Christians to move beyond fear, shame, and emotional burdens into deeper intimacy with Christ.

Her newest book, Emotional Hoarding: Letting Go of the Stuff That Keeps You Stuck, explores how unresolved emotions—including worry, anger, regret, guilt, shame, bitterness, and secrets—can quietly accumulate over time, preventing us from loving God and others as we were created to do.

Through biblical teaching, practical insights, and personal stories, Laurie equips readers to identify emotional clutter, uncover its roots, and experience lasting freedom through God’s grace.

Elliot Sands is the host of the Live Faith First podcast—a dynamic space where faith meets real-world challenges. With a rich background as a pastor, school principal, health-tech co-founder, and now Executive Director of Faith First, Elliot brings deep wisdom and practical insight to every conversation.  As a husband, father, and grandfather, he weaves personal experience with thoughtful discussion, tackling tough topics with clarity and compassion. Live Faith First is all about bridging divides—whether in society or the church—encouraging listeners to step beyond echo chambers and build real, meaningful relationships across the aisle, the street, or the table.

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