Simply Stories Podcast
184 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago - ★★★★★ - 26 ratingsSimply Stories, hosted by Emily Humphries, is a weekly podcast with a heart to encourage others to know that no matter where they are, they matter, and God is not finished with their story. Guests share their stories of what God has done in their lives and encourage others to do the same in the unique way He has gifted them to do so. Whether they are non-fiction authors, speakers, or everyday neighbors, to fiction authors, creatives, and artists, we all have a story that matters and are loved by our Creator.
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Episodes
Episode 174 :: Douglas McKelvey :: Stories of Leaning into Advent, Lament, and Living with Every Moment Holy
December 07, 2023 17:05 - 1 hour - 93.1 MBToday, I have the absolute pleasure of sharing my conversation with the one and only Douglas McKelvey. Douglas is a songwriter, author, and liturgy writer extraordinaire. I have never met someone like Douglas. His gift with words and passion for Christ cultivates a visceral invitation to be more present in this life, to find your fight again as you walk this weary way, and speaks to our hope of the next life with Jesus. Douglas shares with me his story of what led him to Nashville, TN, ...
Episode 173 :: Carole Holiday :: Stories of Learning Who You Are Again After Loss and Living with Grief
December 04, 2023 01:34 - 1 hour - 106 MBA self-proclaimed “accidental author”, Carole Holiday was living a very full life as a wife, mother, and nana, until one day, everything fell apart. Her marriage to her childhood sweetheart of over 35 years ended, followed by losing her job and ultimately filing for bankruptcy. Then she developed heart issues because of all the stress, and a continued windfall of loss, and grief in losing close loved ones, until it felt like there was absolutely nothing recognizable about the life she had ...
Episode 172 :: Mike Nappa :: Stories from the Valley of the Shadow, and Blessing Those Who Mourn
November 29, 2023 15:27 - 1 hour - 108 MBOver the last several years, I don’t think there is anyone who has not been touched by loss or some kind of grief. Today's guest, author, and literary agent Mike Nappa is incredibly familiar with loss and living with grief. In 2016, he lost his beloved wife, Amy, to cancer. In his learning how to live life without her, God has shown him why grieving is such an important part of losing a loved one. As Mike says, he learned how to cry into his keyboard and produced one of the most poignant ...
Episode 171 :: Gary Miracle :: Stories of Taking Heart, Persevering in Suffering, and No More Bad Days
November 24, 2023 09:30 - 1 hour - 115 MBGary Miracle is an author and a speaker who passionately believes in the power of storytelling and how it unites us and spurs us on when life is tragically hard, and also reminds us who we are and who God made us to be. In this episode, he shares his story of growing immersed in church culture on Sunday but then suffered from an identity crisis the rest of the week as he chased perfection, and changed personas in order to be affirmed by anyone and everyone. Finally, later in his life and c...
Episode 170 :: Justin & J.L. Gerhardt:: Stories of Encountering God at the Intersection of Story and Worship
November 17, 2023 00:28 - 1 hour - 109 MBJustin and J.L. Gerhardt are on the podcast today, and you will love hearing from them! There is an epic retelling of their meeting and falling in love complete with 90’s Hearthrob meet cute and all. More than that, Justin and J.L. share about their journey of God leading them both into ministry with words, calling their family to travel the world, and unleashing their creativity and courage to press into new ways to encounter God and His Word. This journey has given birth to various crea...
Episode 169 :: Nikki Anders :: Stories of The Journey to Bethlehem
November 10, 2023 09:30 - 1 hour - 102 MBI am so excited to share with you a really special conversation with the incredibly talented Renaissance woman Nikki Anders. Nikki is an award-winning musician, songwriter, and music producer in the TV and film industry. She shares some of her experiences in the music industry as a solo artist and member of the music group Avalon, her and her husband Adam’s time working on “Glee” as well as many other films, and now are the creative team behind the new movie musical “The Journey to Bethleh...
Episode 168 :: Travis Thompson :: Stories of Mental Health, Addiction, Faith and Healing
November 06, 2023 08:30 - 58 minutes - 87.3 MBTravis Thompson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who practices in Middle Tennessee. He is a PhD candidate who works with clients from many backgrounds to find the deeper meaning of their struggles and embrace long-term recovery from the pains that they experienced. His work is focused on being healed from past hurt and toward future success. During our conversation, Travis shares his journey of wrestling with his own mental health as a teenager, his recovery and healing journey...
Episode 167 :: Kelly Balarie :: Stories of The Power of God’s Word and Taking Every Thought Captive
October 27, 2023 14:20 - 1 hour - 94.7 MBI have a powerhouse on the podcast in the form of Kelly Balarie. Kelly is an author and a speaker who is passionate about Jesus and the Word of God. She is a sister in the trenches and a self-proclaimed spiritual cheerleader. Every book she has written, she writes from a place of “this is where God has been faithful to me in this season.” Or “this is what God has been teaching me,” full of authenticity, and powerful scripture-saturated insights for women who desire to walk well and be fill...
Episode 166 :: Dr. Clarence Shuler :: Stories of Finding Hope in Dark Places and Cross-Cultural Relationships that Can Heal
October 09, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 96.6 MBDr. Clarence Shuler is the President and CEO of his nonprofit BLR- which stands for Building Lasting Relationships. Their mission is to equip others for discipleship in various venues. He and his wife both speak and write about marriage, but also dealing with infidelity, and divorce, but they especially love to minister to singles in the church. Whatever it looks like, the Shulers are committed to “loving people with God’s love with no agenda and see what happens.” During our conversati...
Episode 165 ::Kayla Craig :: Stories of Curiosity & Questions in Faith & Holding Every Season Sacred
September 22, 2023 21:17 - 1 hour - 93.8 MBToday I have the absolute joy of sharing with you my conversation with Kayla Craig. Kayla is a modern liturgist as the woman behind Liturgies for Parents online. She is a Mama of 4, a supportive pastor’s wife, and just this week she released her second book Every Season Sacred. In our conversation today, you’ll get to hear Kayla’s heart as she shares about what it looks like to pursue an honest and abundant life full of wonder and work. In all the spaces she occupies, she offers an open ...
Episode 164 :: Patricia Raybon :: Stories of the Power of History, Heroines of Color and Listening to Learn and Love
September 15, 2023 19:41 - 58 minutes - 87.2 MBToday I get to share with you my conversation with Patricia Raybon. Patricia is a woman who wears many hats as a writer of both nonfiction and fiction. She shares with me what it was like for her to grow up under Jim Crow segregation and how that informed her identity from a young age, and how writing out stories helped her to make sense of what she experienced from the culture at large while her faith bloomed in her own soul. As an adult, in her journalism career, she cultivated the art o...
Episode 163 :: Brandi Wilson :: Stories of Healing and Hope after Divorce
September 01, 2023 15:09 - 57 minutes - 85.9 MBI am so honored to get to share with you my conversation with the amazing Brandi Wilson. Brandi is a woman who loves Jesus fiercely, being a Mom to her 3 boys and cheering them on as they play football. She is passionate about walking with women as a coach working through their callings, and walking with them when they’re in the midst of relational healing journeys. Recently, she released her first book Better Than Okay: Finding Hope and Healing When Your Marriage Ends which shares her j...
Episode 162 :: Dorena Williamson :: Stories of Encouraging and Honoring Children and Kingdom Community Building for God’s Glory
August 16, 2023 16:53 - 1 hour - 125 MBI am so thrilled to welcome back to the podcast, the one and only Dorena Williamson! Dorena is a woman of deep faith, with a passion for building the kingdom of God and living a legacy of faith as a minister, a mama, a pastor’s wife, and a woman of impactful and instructive words. She is the author of 8 children’s books that all provide beautiful insight into the heart of God and scripture’s call to live in diversity and humility as we learn and grow together in the world. Whether that div...
Episode 161 :: T.I. Lowe :: Stories of Grit, Grace, and God’s Redemption from the Dark Places
August 08, 2023 02:45 - 1 hour - 91 MBI have one heck of a power-packed conversation for you with the lovely, hilarious, and always honest T.I. Lowe. T.I. is a born and bred Southern woman, and fiction author with a fiery passion for the Lord, and she shares her story with me of God coming into her life and redefining love and family, and how He can change a life. Some people have said they can really hear my southern accent on the podcast… but T.I. brings out my roots, and I love it. Her heart to understand the experiences...
Episode 160 :: Jennifer Dukes Lee :: Stories of Questions and Ruthless Self-Discovering Answers
July 28, 2023 13:23 - 53 minutes - 81 MBI am so delighted to share with you my conversation with the lovely and amazing Jennifer Dukes Lee. Jennifer is a Bible teacher and writer living on a fifth-generation farm in the middle of Iowa with her family. She began her career of words working in journalism and was on the way to a successful political correspondent career. Then, the Lord called her and her husband to the farm life raising crops and daughters, and there, she began to really wrestle with the faith she grew up in, and u...
Episode 159 :: Ray Leight :: Stories of Mental Health, Faith, and Maturing into Yourself
July 18, 2023 18:52 - 1 hour - 105 MBToday we are continuing our conversation about mental health and faith and caring for our hearts with identity coach Ray Leight. Ray and his wife Kathryn lead Faith by Grace, a coaching practice and ministry designed to equip people to do deep inner work to live lives of freedom and joy. Ray shares with me today how the Lord led him into ministry and a passion for identity coaching through his own journey of coping with trauma as well as living with undiagnosed neurodivergence and bipolar ...
Episode 158 :: Ally Henny :: Stories of Finding Your Voice When the World Says to Shut Up Part Two
June 29, 2023 18:50 - 44 minutes - 67.5 MBWe are diving into part two of my conversation with author and advocate Ally Henny. If you missed part one of this conversation I would strongly recommend you check that episode out first so you can hear some context of Ally’s life, ministry, and some of her experiences as a Black woman in predominately white Christian spaces, and a glimpse into her journey of allowing herself to speak up and not just allow racism to be what is just an accepted part of her occupying space in the world. Thi...
Episode 157 :: Ally Henny :: Stories of Finding Your Voice When the World Says to Shut Up Part One
June 23, 2023 21:42 - 1 hour - 102 MBToday I get to share with you my powerful conversation with the amazing Ally Henny. Ally is an author, a speaker, a minister, an advocate, and the vice president of The Witness, a Black Christian Collective which is an organization committed to encouraging, engaging, and empowering Black Christians toward liberation from racism. This week, Ally released her book I Won’t Shut Up: Finding Your Voice When the World Tries to Silence You which one reviewer poignantly and perfectly called “An ...
Episode 156 :: Kathryn Maack :: Stories of Living and Relating to God and Others with Our Whole Self
June 16, 2023 02:51 - 1 hour - 89.5 MBToday, I get to share my conversation with minister and author Kathryn Maack. Kathryn shares her seemingly accidental, but God-ordained road into vocational ministry. God began to reveal Himself to her in ways that helped her to process how we as Believers approach the Lord, and that there can be a segregation that happens within ourselves in how to we relate to the Lord or even are willing to learn about Him or worship Him. Whether that be disconnect between our head and heart, Spirit an...
Episode 155 :: Meredith Boggs :: Stories of Growing in Faith and the Enneagram Journey
June 05, 2023 08:30 - 1 hour - 96.2 MBWelcome to summer, my friends! This month, we’ll be talking about how to engage who we are on the inside so we can better connect with God, get to know who He has always been, and walk with Him from a more authentic place. Once we can do that, it spills over into our relationships around us. Past me would think it was completely crazy to pursue space for growing myself in the summer but present me says that this part of our story matters. We’ve got self-examination, growth, and care to do....
Episode 154 :: Chris & Stephanie Teague:: Stories of Wrestling with Doubt, Divorce, and Experiencing Redemption Out of the Dust
May 19, 2023 18:16 - 1 hour - 113 MBToday I get to share with you a really fun and powerful conversation with my friends Chris and Stephanie Teague. In our conversation you’ll get to hear the story of how Chris and Stephanie met, their marriage when they were in college, pursuing the quintessential Christian couple life, and then the secrets, addictions, and doubts that led to their divorce in 2010. Then, during a season where they each in their own way were desperate for answers to what they didn’t understand, God met them ...
Episode 153 :: Dennis Allen:: Stories of Evaluating the Methods of the Mission and Jesus’ Call to Discipleship
May 12, 2023 20:48 - 55 minutes - 83.5 MBToday, I have Dennis Allen on the podcast. Dennis followed his heart to the Air Force as fighter pilot, and suddenly was hit with a life altering diagnosis that ended his military career. Propelled into the business world, he would ultimately become a consultant to guide businesses how to better address internal issues, shore up where they might be struggling, and reevaluate leadership. In his work, he began to see the similarities in the issues he was unpacking within businesses and moder...
Episode 152 ::Sopha Rush :: Stories of Pursuing Healing and Living Deeply Rooted in God’s Promises
May 05, 2023 18:48 - 1 hour - 95.4 MBSopha Rush is an author, online influencer and encourager, and professional promise proclaimer. Her book 100 Days of Living Deeply Rooted is such an encouraging word for life in the trenches of trying to unpack past narratives about yourself, believing what God says is true about you, and learning to trust Him more wherever you are walking in life. In our conversation today, Sopha shares a little bit of her family’s powerful story of fleeing the Cambodian genocide and starting their f...
Episode 151 :: Dr. Jeremiah J. Johnston :: Stories of Reasons to Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and Becoming a Christian Thinker
April 27, 2023 03:38 - 1 hour - 94 MBDr. Jeremiah Johnston is an author, pastor of apologetics, and what he refers to as a Christian thinker. He knew that he loved God and loved His word, but he had a burning desire to want to not only understand it better, and to be able to know and see for Himself that the Christian faith could stand up to questioning. Ultimately, what he found is “Jesus and the faith and the scriptures are the answers to the questions you have today, not just the questions of yesterday.” Now he i...
Episode 150 ::Dr. Bryan Litfin :: Stories of Wisdom from the Early Church, the Spreading of the Gospel, and What We Can Learn from Them Today
April 13, 2023 14:23 - 1 hour - 94.3 MBAs we walk into the days that follow Easter, we have such a unique opportunity to engage the truly incredible work Jesus not only did on the cross and walking out of the empty tomb, and how the world was literally turned upside down in the remaining days He was on Earth and after His ascension to Heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit and the call to take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. This is Dr. Bryan Litfin’s area of expertise. We’ve had a chance to talk about Dr. Litfi...
Episode 149 :: Will & Courtney Kassner :: Stories of Adding our Unique Voice to God’s Creation at Every Age
April 04, 2023 21:52 - 53 minutes - 80 MBI’m excited to start this holy week off with this sweet and encouraging episode with Will and Courtney Kassner. Will and Courtney are the writers and creators behind Crew & Co. which is their ministry and shop full of products to invite beauty into the lives of families and make Scripture a practical part of their daily lives. Recently, they released their first children’s book called When the World Wakes Up, and my daughter Nora Beth hopped on this interview to share her thoughts and as...
Episode 148 :: Taylor Turkington :: Stories of Lament, Longing, and Learning to Trust God and His Word in the Chaos
March 28, 2023 15:20 - 48 minutes - 74.2 MBTaylor Turkington is an author, Bible teacher, teacher of Bible teachers. She is is passionate about training women to interpret and teach the Bible informally or formally through her ministry Bible Equipping. She has a love for the word of God that is so life giving and it pours out onto the pages of her book Trembling Faith: How a Distressed Prophet Equips Us to Trust God in a Chaotic World. Its a book that unpacks the book of Habakkuk in the Bible and offers an invitation to investiga...
Episode 147 :: Dr. Jessica Peck :: Stories of Navigating the Big Issues Young People are Facing Empowered with Knowledge and Hope
March 13, 2023 02:23 - 1 hour - 94.6 MBDr. Jessica Peck is a professor, nurse practitioner, author, and mama who has written a book called Behind Closed Doors: A Guide to Help Parents and Teens Navigate Through Life’s Toughest Issues, and it is precisely that. It's an incredible resource that talks about what Jessica sees in her office with parents and kids and teens of varying ages as well as in her own home. We are going to talk about A LOT of things today and some of them may feel kind of scary, or uncomfortable. Still, the...
Episode 146 :: Irene Rollins :: Stories of Overcoming Addiction and Reframing Your Shame
March 03, 2023 09:30 - 1 hour - 94.5 MBIrene Rollins is the author of the book Reframe Your Shame: Experience Freedom from What Holds You Back. In her book and in our conversation today, Irene shares her story of adolescent addiction to alcohol that consumed her life and rewired her brain chemistry until she found herself in college, tired and desperate for life, which she found in a relationship with Jesus, and the love of a wonderful man. As they grew their family and begin to pastor churches together, the old coping strate...
Episode 145 :: Sara Billups :: Stories of Orphaned Believers and Finding Our Way Home to Jesus
February 17, 2023 18:51 - 1 hour - 113 MBOn the podcast today, I have the absolutely amazing Sara Billups. Our show’s format is very conversational and I love it that way. Truthfully I was so impressed, curious and moved by Sara’s book Orphaned Believers: How a Generation of Christian Exiles Can Find the Way Home that this episode is a little more like a conversations with friends over dinner. It ebbs and weaves and then starts one way and moves another with the feverent pace of “oh man, you too?!” and also, “holy smokes I’ve n...
Episode 144 :: Blake Guichet :: Stories from the Girl Named Blake, and What Does it Mean to Be a Christian Woman Anyway?
February 10, 2023 00:58 - 56 minutes - 85.1 MBBlake Guichet, better known as the Girl Named Blake, is the host of the Confessions of a Crappy Christian Podcast, and the author of her book with a similar title, Confessions of a Crappy Christian Real-Life Talk About All the Things Christians Aren’t Sure We’re Supposed to Say and Why They Matter to God. Blake shares a little bit of her story of growing up at war with herself because she felt like she didn’t fit anywhere, and the journey of making her faith her own as she grew up. She b...
Episode 143 :: Wendy Speake :: Stories of the Gift of Fasting, Facing our Relational Triggers, and Feasting on God’s Word
February 02, 2023 22:34 - 47 minutes - 71.8 MBI am so delighted to share with you my conversation with author, Christian communicator and teacher Wendy Speake. In this episode, she shares with me her journey of God calling her into a life of using her words for His glory and honing her craft as a storyteller, God meeting her as she mothers her 4 boys, rubbing elbows with others in the trenches, and it is such an encouraging word. Wendy is passionate about God’s word and encouraging others to learn how to engage it and identify what ke...
Episode 142 :: Rachelle Starr :: Stories of Redemption, the Call to Shine, and Following Christ into the Dark
January 24, 2023 12:09 - 1 hour - 98.8 MBRachelle Starr is the founder of Scarlet Hope, which is a ministry designed to share the hope of Jesus with women in the adult entertainment industry. She is also the author of Outrageous Obedience: Answering God’s Call to Shine in the Darkest Places. The month of January is sex trafficking awareness month. Rachelle knows firsthand from her work with Scarlet Hope, spending the last 15 years loving on and building relationships with women who work in strip clubs, and the world of porn and pro...
Episode 141 :: Danielle Hitchen :: Stories of the Church Calendar, Catechesis, and Remembering Who God Has Always Been
January 17, 2023 22:25 - 46 minutes - 70.3 MBWelcome back to the Simply Stories Podcast! I’m thrilled to be back with new episodes and heading into season 4 with author and educator Danielle Hitchen of Catechesis Books. Danielle is passionate about sharing her love of church history and the tools we have at our fingertips by way of the church calendar in order to offer encouragement and connection with God and with one another in every season of life. She is the author of a series of baby believer primer books, and creates all kinds of...
Episode 140 :: Sara Brunsvold : Stories of Hope and the Extraordinary Call to Life with Christ
July 29, 2022 06:29 - 1 hour - 86.6 MBToday we are wrapping up our all things fiction series with my conversation with new author Sara Brunsvold. In this conversation Sara shares about her turbulent faith journey of when she was younger and the role older women who were further along in their faith played in helping speak to her heart and help her to know who the Lord truly is. As she began to find her footing in various seasons, a story began to form in her heart and from her experiences. The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip...
Episode 139 :: Tracie Peterson: Stories of A Surrendered Life and God’s Faithfulness
July 23, 2022 14:31 - 57 minutes - 79.2 MBToday I have the honor of sharing my conversation with the one and the only Tracie Peterson. Tracie has been a staple in Christian historical fiction for 30 years. She is often called the queen of historical fiction romance, authoring 130 books over her career, all of them overflowing with incredible historical details that transport the reader into various parts of and times of the U.S., and her stories are always saturated with her passion for Christ and encouraging people with her faith b...
Episode 138 :: Betsy St. Amant: Stories of Living and Writing in Layers: Divorce, Motherhood and Redeeming Love
July 15, 2022 15:17 - 49 minutes - 68.6 MBToday I get to share with you my conversation with the absolutely lovely Betsy St. Amant. Betsy is a Christian fiction author who shares her story of growing up into the storyteller she loved being as a child, and the Lord meeting her in her heartbreak over her divorce, becoming a very young single Mom, the challenge and the redemption of writing novels saturated with romance while going through a divorce. She shares about dying to one dream while birthing another and the beauty of God meeti...
Episode 137 :: Autumn Lytle: Stories of All That Fill Us, Comparison, Eating Disorders and Hope for Healing
July 08, 2022 15:42 - 56 minutes - 77.9 MBAutumn Lytle is a debut author who has written a truly fantastic novel that is interwoven with her personal story of battling an eating disorder. It is called All That Fills Us, and it is the incredible journey of a woman with anorexia and how the Lord used a cross-country journey to save her life. Autumn shares her story with me about when things began to shift in her mind and exercise, obsessing over food, and constant comparison to others by her body size to a full-blown eating disorder...
Episode 136 :: Natalie Hixson: Stories of Dealing with Anger, Burn Out, and Discouragement in Motherhood and the Pursuit of Healing and Hope
July 01, 2022 18:47 - 1 hour - 105 MBThis one is for all my fellow Mamas that are trying to make their way through summer, walking out the exhausting seasons with their kids of any age, or just is so angry at the various things surrounding them in this broken world their anger or grief is overflowing into their parenting or marriages or other familial relationships. Today I get to share with you my conversation with Natalie Hixson who specializes in helping discouraged and burnt-out moms overcome destructive anger, so they can ...
Episode 135 :: Anjuli Paschall:: Stories of Vulnerability & Living Awake to Life with Christ
June 24, 2022 07:30 - 53 minutes - 73.2 MBToday I get to share my beautiful conversation with Anjuli Paschal. Anjuli is an author who exquisitely and intentionally shares in her books and online about her journey of coming undone and being put back together by God’s love. She serves alongside her pastor husband, she’s a mother of five children whose ages range from 4-15, and today we talk about things like wrestling with reentry emotionally into society, being a woman and a mother with really big feelings and aftershocks of what we’...
Episode 134 :: David Thomas:: Stories of Raising Emotionally Strong Boys in an Anxious World
June 10, 2022 17:42 - 1 hour - 95.7 MBToday I am SO excited to share with you my conversation with David Thomas. David is an author, a speaker, and a counselor at Daystar Counseling in Nashville, TN. In this conversation, David shares such incredible wisdom, and insight based on his experience as a father of three, and twenty-five years of walking with and working with kids that have come in and out of his office. In all of his work, including the incredible Raising Boys and Girls podcast that he co-hosts with fellow Daystar cou...
Episode 133 :: Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers:: Stories of Learning to Be a Human Again in a Divided World with the Ladies of Pantsuit Politics
June 03, 2022 07:00 - 59 minutes - 81.9 MBToday I have the honor of welcoming back Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. Sarah and Beth are authors, speakers, and the hosts of the podcast “Pantsuit Politics.” You’ll get to hear from Sarah and Beth about the origins of the podcast, how it began back in 2015 as a bipartisan conversation about politics, and the nuances that could be found in these discussions. As you can imagine, after the election in 2016, life and conversations around politics began to change drastically, and the w...
Episode 133 :: Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers:: Stories of Learning to Be a Human Again in a Divided World with the Ladies of Pantsuit Politics
June 03, 2022 07:00 - 59 minutes - 81.9 MBToday I have the honor of welcoming back Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. Sarah and Beth are authors, speakers, and the hosts of the podcast “Pantsuit Politics.” You’ll get to hear from Sarah and Beth about the origins of the podcast, how it began back in 2015 as a bipartisan conversation about politics, and the nuances that could be found in these discussions. As you can imagine, after the election in 2016, life and conversations around politics began to change drastically, and the w...
Episode 132 :: Michelle Ami Reyes:: Stories of Becoming a Race Wise Family and Sowing Seeds of Hope-Filled Conversation in the Next Generation
May 27, 2022 07:30 - 45 minutes - 62.4 MBMichelle Ami Reyes is a woman of many talents. She is an author, a speaker, a minister, a scholar in residence, a racial justice activist, a wife, a Mom, and one of my absolute favorite people to talk to about learning to engage in scripture and conversations about race and culture, and God’s vast heart for all image-bearers in His Kingdom. Her most recent book, The Race-Wise Family: Ten Postures to Becoming Households of Healing and Hope, she co-authored with the amazing Helen Lee. They def...
Episode 131 :: Lisa Appelo:: Stories of Grief and Hope After Loss and Life Can Be Good Again
May 20, 2022 15:06 - 1 hour - 85 MBToday, I have an incredibly special conversation to share with you. Lisa Appelo is a writer, speaker, Bible study teacher, and homeschooling Mom of 7. As a young couple, Lisa and her husband had a vision of how they thought their life would unfold, and the Lord redirected those plans a number of times. One of the biggest things they never saw coming was that her husband, and high school sweetheart, passed away very suddenly. After this devastating loss, Lisa began trying to navigate life wit...
Episode 130 :: Ann Swindell:: Stories of the Path to Peace and Waiting on the Lord
May 13, 2022 22:29 - 48 minutes - 67 MBToday I have the pleasure of sharing my conversation with the absolutely amazing Ann Swindell. Ann is a woman who overflows with the love of God, and a desire to use her words for His glory, and to encourage others to do the same. This is the second time I’ve gotten to have Ann on the podcast, but literally, every time I encounter Ann in life, I feel like I glean something new about the Lord, and the same absolutely can be said about our conversation today. Over the last couple of years, ...
Episode 129 :: Jennifer Taylor Wagner :: Stories of Healing Your Heart and Your Good Body
May 06, 2022 14:39 - 1 hour - 86.4 MBToday I’m hanging out with the absolutely amazing Jennifer Taylor Wagner. Jennifer was relentlessly bullied for her weight as a child, and then as an adult experienced incredible life change when she lost over 300 pounds. However, even after achieving such an amazing goal, she found that getting her body to a smaller size was not what fulfilled her life. She began to do some hard inner work and realized that the heart change that has to come about is vital to transforming how you view your b...
Episode 128 :: Dr. Michael Andrews :: Stories of Being an Influencer for Christ and Leading with Empathy
April 22, 2022 07:00 - 1 hour - 87.7 MBDr. Michael Andrews is an electrical engineer turned minister and teacher! He’s also the author of The Influential Christian: Learning to Lead from the Heart. This episode feels like the perfect place to pick up just after Easter but is also a timeless message for anyone who is trying to press into what it means to live a life on purpose for Christ. What does it really mean to be an “influencer?” This is literally a job description these days. And as Mike points out this can take the form...
Episode 127 :: Amber Albee Swenson :: Stories of Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Being Chosen for More in God’s Kingdom
April 15, 2022 12:58 - 1 hour - 94.9 MBToday I get to share with you my conversation with Amber Albee Swenson. Amber is a wife, a Mom, a Bible Study author and teacher of the Word. She deeply wants to help other people know the Word of God, to help them know and love God more, and she wants to try and make God’s Word practical and applicable for people no matter what season they’re in. Amber shared with me where God has moved in her life and how He’s taught her the power of forgiveness, perseverance and seeing God’s faithfulness...
Episode 126 :: Dr. Amy-Jill Levine :: Stories of the the Jews, Christians, and the Witnesses at the Cross
April 08, 2022 15:33 - 1 hour - 96 MBToday, it's my honor to invite you to join us for an incredibly unique and fascinating conversation with Dr. Amy-Jill Levine. Dr. Levine is an academic, an educator, and an author who is invested in Christians finding the Jewish context of their own story and helping them see where anti-Jewish messages exist in the world. Then, with her fellow Jews she desires to help them see that the New Testament is a Jewish story and that it fills in some of the gaps of Jewish history. Ultimately, her ho...