Overcoming Your Difficult Story and Finding Healing Through Surrender with Mary DeMuth

We have a powerful new episode to share with you! This week, Doris Swift welcomes the incredible Mary DeMuth—author of over 50 books, literary agent, artist, podcaster, and global speaker—who shares her story and wisdom on finding freedom, healing, and joy through surrender.
Here’s what you’ll find in this inspiring conversation:
✨ The Freedom of Surrender Mary opens up about her latest devotional, The Freedom of Surrender: 40 Devotions for a Joyful Life in Christ. She shares how her journey with art, Lent, and letting go of daily struggles became a lifeline and ministry for others. Her artwork (featured throughout the book!) makes this devotional extra special.
🌱 Healing from Church Hurt and Trauma Mary connects deeply with listeners struggling with church hurt, grief, or past trauma. With practical encouragement, she reminds us that “an untold story never heals,” and offers her gentle approach to lament, processing pain with God, and finding safe spaces for healing.
🤝 Community & Connection Both Doris Swift and Mary DeMuth highlight how genuine community can be the remedy for pain received in broken relationships. For those feeling lonely or unseen, Mary shares hope and a prayer that God will bring needed friendships into your life.
✍️ For Writers and Creatives Are you a writer or aspiring author? Mary gives a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be represented by a literary agent and her journey writing across genres. If you’re interested in publishing, she offers a three-legged-stool framework: platform, writing ability, and unique ideas.
🎨 Bonus! Free Art for Your Soul Mary is generously offering free downloadable lock-screens featuring her original art from The Freedom of Surrender. Sign up for her email list at marydemuth.com/surrender to receive yours and find encouragement in your inbox.
🎧 Don’t Miss Out Whether you’re seeking healing, longing for joy, looking for creative inspiration, or simply needing to feel less alone, this episode will encourage your heart. And if you haven’t yet, check out Mary’s “Pray Every Day” podcast for daily scripture and prayer!
▶️ [Listen to the episode now] (insert your episode link here) 🖼️ Grab your free art lock screens here
Let us know what touched your heart most—we love to hear from you! Stay tuned for more faith-filled encouragement, and remember: your story matters and you are never alone.
We're talking about this amazing book and more!
Connect with Mary!
Mary loves Jesus. And really that’s the most important thing about her. It’s not writing or speaking or praying or mommying or any other -ing you can find. She flat out loves Him. Why? Because he has utterly, truly, completely re-storied her. 
She has three adult children, and she’s been married to Patrick for 33 years now. Mary counts those relationships as the most important people in her life. In the mid 2000s, their family helped plant a church in Southern France–a difficult, but amazing experience. 
In her spare (ha!) time, she loves to cook, run, garden, decorate, paint, and do interior design. You can find all her artwork here.
She’s been writing for 30+ years–half of them in obscurity. She mentored many writers during that time, and continues to do so through the Rockwall Christian Writers Group and some of her  instructional books. Since then she has written over 52 books, translated into five languages. You can see a listing of all her books on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CBD, Lifeway and Parable.
Mary pioneered a literary agency in 2022, Mary DeMuth Literary, where she shepherds writers toward traditional publishing.
She currently lives in North Texas, serves in her local church alongside her husband, and she’s had the privilege of speaking around the world in places like Johannesburg, Monaco, Geneva, Munich, Port-au-Prince, Nice, and Florence. Although her past story is difficult, her current story leaks adventure.
Not only has Mary been restored and restoried, but she longs to see the same for you. You no longer have to live haunted. I believe your new story starts today. Carl Bard wrote, “Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending.”
Paul reminds us of this important truth: “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT). 
Living in retrospect is a bad idea. It’s time to heal, be set free, and find the new story God has for you. Mary has experienced God turning her storm into a story, moving her from a bitter story into a bigger one. Won’t you join her on the adventure?
What Threatens to Steal Your Joy?
Check out Surrender the Joy Stealers: Rediscover the Jesus Joy in You 6-week Bible study rooted in John 15. You can find more info at https://dorisswift.com/book/
Let’s Stay Connected!
Find my free resources including Fear Fighting Bible Verses, Simple Tips for Sharing Your Faith, Surrender the Joy Stealers, Step Out of Your Doubt and Into Your Calling ebook, and more on my dorisswift.com homepage!
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Thanks for Listening!
I hope this episode encouraged, inspired, and challenged you to cultivate community, live and walk in the value, purpose, and worth God gave you, and take action where your passion, compassion, and conviction intersect.
If you’re looking for a speaker for your next women’s conference, retreat, luncheon, or workshop, reach out and connect with me on my speaker page at https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/edgewater/speaker/doris-swift
Let’s have a chat about your next event!
Stay tuned for more amazing content and remember to check the show notes for all the links mentioned.
Thank you for being a part of our community. We are grateful for your continued support and encourage you to embrace the unique gifts that make you magnificently you.
I hope you’ll join me next time when I talk with another guest who is taking action where her passion, compassion, and conviction intersect …
Until then friend, have a blessed week, and I’ll talk to you soon.
With love and joy,
Doris
Transcript
Doris [00:01:51]:What is threatening to steal your joy? What is it that feels so heavy right now that you could barely stand? God has a plan. And his plan is to surrender it. Surrender it to him. It might be a prodigal, it might be a relationship, a marriage, something with your job. So many things. We have so many amazing blessings, but there are so many things in our life that threaten to steal our joy. I'm Doris Swift, author of the award winning six week Bible study, Surrender the Joy. Rediscover the Jesus joy in you.
Doris Swift [00:02:31]:And it helps women rediscover the overflowing, ever present Jesus joy within. Using personal and biblical stories I share, how you can identify your joy stealers, Surrender them to God, Reawaken the joy within and share the joy with others. You can do it on your own or with a group. Check it out, friends. Surrender the joy stealers. Rediscover the Jesus joy in you. It's available on all the online retailers. It's time to take your joy back.
Doris Swift [00:03:05]:Welcome back to the show. Today I am very excited to welcome my friend, Mary DeMuth. She is an amazing woman of God and she has written over 50 books and she's been a writer for over 30 years and those books have been translated into like seven different languages, so that's pretty powerful. And through her podcast Pray Every Day, and her speaking events around the globe, she seeks to help people hear, heal from past trauma, and live restoried lives as followers of Jesus. She's also a mentor for writers and she developed Mary demeth literary in 2022. And she's also an artist, a magnificent artist that God has really gifted her. I have purchased many of her different, you know, her calendars and cards and things like that. Very beautiful.
Doris Swift [00:03:55]:And her inspiration comes from seasons of Lent spent prayerfully and she creates these small scale art pieces based on scripture. So you'll see scripture throughout the art and it's kind of really like all part of the art, which is really cool. It's not just like a scripture at the bottom or at the top. It's like in the art itself. So that is really, really wonderful. And she currently lives in Texas with her family and she is here to talk about her newest book, which I'm excited to hear more about, which is the freedom of surrender. 40 devotions for a Joyful life in Christ. Welcome to the show, Mary.
Doris Swift [00:04:34]:It's great to have you.
Mary DeMuth [00:04:35]:Well, that was just the nicest introduction ever and it is so good to be here today.
Doris Swift [00:04:39]:Oh, well, thank you so much. And that introduction in no way Covers all the things that. All the things. Mary demuth, you know, lots of layers there over the years. You've been in ministry for so long, and before we started recording, I was just talking about how I think I started kind of following your ministry way back, maybe before 2010. And so, because I think the first book I purchased of yours was then Places, which was your memoir. And that was really powerful book and testimony, and you continue to help others. And through, you know, since then, you've also experienced so many different things that you have had to come to surrender.
Doris Swift [00:05:22]:And we just need to hear more about that. So as I ask all my guests how you're taking action, where your passion, compassion,...