“We can live a full, abundant life”: New podcast Live Full encourages all to take hold of a flourishing life in Christ

She is beautiful, articulate and passionate about the message she wants to bring: “If you know Jesus, the abundant life is available to you to pursue and live out.”

Gladys Chung does seem to live a charmed life – stay-home-mum to three children aged five to 10, and wife to Pastor Chris Lim from Victory Family Centre whom she met in church. But the 36-year-old is no starry-eyed idealist.

Gladys and Chris Lim met as young adults in church. They were married in 2012 and have three children.

“The message of living a full life doesn’t equal to an easy life, a life without hardships. I think it is abundant in spite of difficulties and troubles.

“A full life is a life lived in obedience and surrender to God, where you experience the richness and intimacy with God. He satisfies that yearning that nothing else can.”

On April 7, her podcast Live Full dropped, the culmination of a lifelong romance with public speaking and telling God stories.  

Gladys believes that conversations and stories are powerful. “I am hearing other people’s stories, telling my own story, and it opens up parts of our lives that wouldn’t happen on a stage,” she said.

“One of the things I’ve always wanted to do is simply to make a difference in the lives of others.

“Live Full is primarily centred around a conviction I have about John 10:10 and Jesus promising an abundant life for all those who believe, and also with Proverbs 31:25 about laughing without fear of the future.”

Glady knows what she is talking about. Hers has been a life not without uncertain futures.

Giving up a dream

After graduating from university, Gladys applied for many jobs. Among the offers was one from CNA938.

As an undergraduate, she had been involved in hosting events, had her own radio show and even won a voice personality hunt that earned her a spot on MTV Asia

“That was when I really started to get serious about what I was passionate about – broadcasting.”

With a degree in Political Science and a keen interest in current affairs and social justice, the job at a news radio station was a dream come true.

Around that time, she and Chris, newly married, made the decision to spend a year in missions. Missions had always been upon Gladys’ heart and she had taken a gap year in the middle of university to do missions in East Timor. Chris also had a heart for missions. In fact, that was one of the things that drew Gladys to him.

Gladys in East Timor when she was 20 years old. She spent a year there doing missions.

The post at CNA938 could not wait a year for her. Gladys had to turn down the offer.

“That was always something on my heart, always a dream that I held on to. I had always wondered: What if I did do it? What if I became a producer/presenter?”

(Right) Gladys and Chris in Mexico. She gave up her dream job to spend a year in the country doing missions.

When the couple returned from Mexico, Gladys did not revisit her university aspiration. She took a job as a primary school English teacher instead.

“But the desire never left. I even dreamt of starting a Christian radio station.”

Gladys knew the dream came with its challenges and, with life still unfolding, she felt there was little chance of her pursuing her passion.

Letting go of plans

There would be more ahead that Gladys had to surrender.

After she and her husband returned from spending a year in the mission field in Mexico, they decided to start a family. They tried for months but no baby came.

Gladys (left) and Chris (right) in Mexico. After their time there, they returned to start a family.

Then Gladys missed her period. But when she tested for pregnancy, the result was negative. Eventually, she went to see a doctor and, after some tests, was told that she has polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal imbalance.

“It would be extremely difficult for me to conceive,” said Gladys.

She was just 26 then.

“I remember crying and thinking: ‘I have given You missions, I’ve done all these things.’

“Sometimes that is our perspective: We think that just because we have done all these things for God, now God has to give you something. That was obviously the wrong perspective.”

As she mourned another lost dream, she had “a moment of surrender”.

“I remember telling God, ‘If I never have a child or if it takes years, I choose to trust You and I still choose to say that You are a good God.’”

A month after that prayer, Gladys discovered she was pregnant.

“I really believe it was that moment of surrender. Sometimes, that is all God wants. He just wants to know where your heart is. It kind of opened the windows of heaven (for me).

“I know that is not how it always happens, but I believe God healed me.”

Releasing financial security

By the time Chris decided to walk away from a “pretty good job” in public service in 2019, the couple had had some training in holding all things loosely.

At the time, they had two children and Gladys had quit her teaching job to be a stay-home-mum, secure in the knowledge that Chris had a steady job in the public service.

Ps Chris (right) is Chief of Staff at Victory Family Centre. He and Gladys also pastor the West campus of the church.

“We had thought that was his path, but he felt the call to full-time ministry in 2018. He felt it was what God wanted us to do.

“So he started working in church in 2019. It was kind of a surprise because he was doing well in his job,” said Gladys.

When COVID hit the next year, Chris’ civil service expertise navigating guidelines came in handy. The couple saw then why God led Chris to become Chief of Staff in church.

But walking away from a government job also meant leaving behind a generous pay cheque.

“We had a certain amount of money. It wouldn’t last us till paying off our home. We needed to figure out something,” said Gladys.

That was when they felt God telling them to sell their flat. It was not an easy ask because this was the home they were sure God had given to them in the first place.

The Lims at the house they were sure God had given them.

Just before they left for Mexico, they had tried repeatedly to ballot for a home but to no avail. On their final try, God gave them a verse – 1 Corinthians 2:9.

“We prayed and we believed,” said Gladys.

Though the odds were low, when the ballot was drawn, they got Number 1.

All this made the decision to sell the flat more difficult. “That was a hard, hard time. We were like, ‘Why?’

“Sometimes I think: ‘God, did You really speak? Did I hear You correctly? That was a journey of surrendering – not what I want, not my plans but what You want to do.’”

After they bought their current flat, Chris was asked to be a campus Pastor in the West. At Victory Family Centre, campus pastors often live in or near the campus they pastored. Their new home is at the edge of the West campus.

“God already knew this,” said Gladys.  

Stepping out in faith

So last August when Gladys felt a nudging she “could not shake off” to use her gift in communication to tell stories, she knew she had to obey. The timing also felt right because her three children were a little older.

Gladys and Chris with their children. Their son loves listening to Live Full.

“Doing a podcast (with a YouTube video) makes so much sense to me. People consume a lot of things visually now.

“I prayed very hard. So many angles, so many names, so many things to talk about. When I prayed, I felt God give me the verses John 10:10 and Proverbs 31:25.

“It’s about living with such faith and hope that you have a peace and a joy that only come from God because if the Bible is true, then the abundant life must be real.”

But Gladys had neither the technical expertise nor the tools to pull off a recording. So she set about talking to those in church who knew about production: “What kind of mic to use? How do I edit videos?” She also researched and read up on the subject, and watched a lot of YouTube videos.

“So many times I wanted to give up. It’s not a business so I couldn’t hire people to help me.”

Her biggest supporter has been Chris who, five years ago, gave her a podcast microphone to encourage her to pursue her broadcast dreams. He is also a guest on many episodes of the podcast.

Chris is a regular guest on Live Full where the couple chat honestly about their marriage and their faith.

Into its third season with over 20 episodes in the bag, Live Full is filmed out of the couple’s living room using three handphone cameras.

“It’s not the best but I told God, ‘This is my five loaves and two fish. Use it, Lord, in any way possible.’”

Live Full is recorded right out of the Lims’ living room.

Guests have been friends and Pastors from their network of contacts. Though the following is modest, there have been people who have messaged her to tell her they have been blessed by her content and that they look forward to the podcast every Monday.

“It is not about the likes. This is an obedience thing between me and God. Each episode is a reminder that God is not done writing our stories

“My hope is that through the conversations and from the lives of those who come on the podcast, those listening will feel inspired to pursue, lay hold of and live the abundant life God desires for them.”

Listen and subscribe to Live Full by Gladys Chung on Spotify here and the Live Full Podcast videos on YouTube here. 

RELATED STORIES:

“Every number and view represents an actual soul”: Host of Malaysian vodcast Let’s Get Real on being God’s voice in the online space

“Our intent is missional,” says founder of The Fireplace Collective creative agency

New streaming service with wholesome shows launched by local media company

The post “We can live a full, abundant life”: New podcast Live Full encourages all to take hold of a flourishing life in Christ appeared first on Salt&Light.