podcast

My guest for episode 21 is Kara Kae James. “A complete mess covered in grace”, KK is a wife to Brook and mama to three girls and one newly adopted and adorable baby boy. She is the co-founder and Executive Director of Thrive Moms, an online ministry that provides daily encouragement and resources for moms everywhere.

Thrive Moms has been a life-changing resource for me as I’ve spent the last two years learning about what it means to be a mom. Like so many moms out there, I spent the early months in survival mode. I thought that if I could just get through each day, then that was enough. But being a mom is so much more than just trying to make it through the day or complaining about how hard it is.

Listen to today’s episode, “Called to Thrive, Not Survive”, and be encouraged that being a mom is not about surviving. It’s about stepping boldly into what we’ve all been called to do. It’s about celebrating and owning this glorious adventure.

Links for Today’s Show

Thrive Moms

KK’s Instagram 

Why is leadership so important, and how do we inspire it in ourselves and our kids?

My guest for episode 20 is Elise Boggs. Elise is a leadership expert whose passion in life is “equipping the next generation of marketplace leaders to change the world”. For the past several years, she has been a professor in southern California-based universities, teaching leadership theory and a wide variety of graduate and undergraduate courses. As a certified Emotional Intelligence coach, her expertise lies in problem solving and other leadership-related challenges.

Check out today’s episode: “Character and Excellence” and listen as Elise breaks down some practical tools for parents who want to help their kids build real values like self-acceptance, kindness, and the confidence to be who God created them to be.

Links for Today’s Show

Elise’s website

Psychology Today article: “Why We Need to Teach Kids Emotional Intelligence”

My guest for episode 19 is Tammy Trent. Tammy became a household name on Christian Radio in 1995 with hit songs like “Welcome Home”, “Run To The Cross”, “My Irreplaceable” & “Rain On Me.” Her music brought life and hope to her many listeners, but a tragedy on September 11, 2001 changed her life forever, and she stepped away from a successful career to heal.

Tammy left the spotlight for a season after the tragic death of her husband and childhood sweetheart Trent during a mission trip to Jamaica. Her personal story is more than simply inspiring; it is a story of triumph, restoration, healing and hope.

Be sure to check out today’s episode: “Hope at the Water’s Edge,” and rate and review us on iTunes!

Links for Today’s Show:

Tammy’s website

Tammy’s interview: Finding Purpose Through The Pain

My guest for episode 18 is Laura Seibert. Laura and her husband Jimmy founded Antioch Community Church in Waco, Texas. Married almost 30 years and parents to five children, they co-authored an amazing book: Parenting Without Regret. What I loved about this interview is how Laura’s personal story weaved so beautifully into the call that God placed on her heart for this book.

She grew up with parents who she says were “good, but pretty unengaged”, and she struggled to communicate with them. When she became a mother, she realized that, “I had no idea what I was doing.” Haven’t we all been there? I know I have.

As her kids grew, she found herself asking God for wisdom and for Him to show her and Jimmy how to raise these world changers in the way they need to be raised. People started to ask them, “Hey, how do you do this?” They wanted to know what was different about the way they were parenting. They were challenged to write down their story, and that’s the great thing about this book. It’s their story.

It’s the story of how God’s purpose for their kids was revealed, and how they worked together to pursue it. It’s the story of how God told them to raise the kids to love Him first and foremost, to love people, and to live on a mission: to live on purpose.

Check out today’s episode, “His Purpose Is Our Pursuit.” Be sure to rate and review us on iTunes. We want to know what you think!

Links for Today’s Show

Laura and Jimmy’s book on Amazon

Parenting Without Regret: An Interview

Download the transcript here

My guest for episode 17 is Jamie Ivey. Jamie is wife to Aaron and mama to four kids. She started blogging 10 years ago to keep her family and friends up to speed on their adoption adventures. Now, she’s the host of the “The Happy Hour”, pretty much one of the best podcasts out there if you want to sit and listen to a girl and a friend talk about all the real stuff. The best!

Download the transcript here.

When Brent first told me he wanted me to meet Kelli, I’ll admit I was a little intimidated. CW6‘s Entertainment Reporter. Editor-In-Chief of Risen Magazine. Come on. I mean, I did my fair share of first-class “reporting” as a journalism major in rural Pennsylvania (Big shout out to you, Penn State College of Communications), but that kind of news ain’t anything close to as cool as what this lady does. My friend Kelli travels all over the world, screens movies, and interviews major movie stars, the biggest and brightest in Hollywood.

I can’t think of a better person to speak into the world’s unattainable standard of beauty than someone who spends a good chunk of her time on the red carpet talking to A-listers. It’s nice to get a little insider perspective about what goes on behind the scenes because the truth is a lot more ponderous than the airbrushed exterior.

Check out this week’s episode “The Heart of Hollywood” to hear all about how Kelli grew her passion for storytelling and how she’s bridging the gap between faith and fame.

Today’s guest rocks, plain and simple. Annie F. Downs is the author of some amazing books that I read and loved so much. Let’s All Be Brave sang so sweetly my own heart song, and having a one-on-one with Annie for today’s episode is an experience I will cherish because of who she is and because of who God is.

I’d say I have a pretty healthy creep relationship with Annie’s Instagram feed because I think she’s so fantastic. The other day, she did a quick promo video for her new book and accidentally held it upside down. Did she reshoot it? Nah. She laughed about it and kept going. That’s Annie. She’s real, and she’s cool with a stumble here and there.

Her newest book, Looking For Lovely, just launched and what else is there to say but you need it. It will bless you to know about how God has taken Annie on an incredible journey and showed her how to quit being someone who quits. He showed her that hope isn’t a gift; it’s something we’ve all got to work for, something we’ve got to fight for.

And when decide to do it, something magic begins.

Listen here to this week’s episode “Never Too Late For Lovely” and let us know what you think. We want to hear from you!

Download the transcript here

Amy is a dear friend, which I guess is a little weird to say considering we have never met.  In person, I mean. It had to have been about six years ago. We were in our church bookstore. The idea for Bible Belles was still just that, an idea. Anyway, Brent and I are in the bookstore trying to find a really cool book or a couple of books for girls about Bible characters. We come across this book, God’s Promises for Little Girls, and right away we both love it. The illustrations, the cute and clever poems inside, it’s just adorable. We buy the book and get it home and Brent decides that we should reach out to the author to let her know we love it so much and see if she’ll talk to a couple of kooks on the other side of the country who have an idea for a new series for girls.

I still look back and laugh at those first few emails back and forth with this amazing woman who, quite frankly, didn’t have to give us the time of day. She’s a busy wife and mama, too. And there we are, contacting her out of nowhere with this crazy idea to write a new series for girls that will teach them about the female heroes of the Bible. She responded with an email about 8x longer than we expected, and from there we were off. She listened, gave us advice, helped us think of ways to approach some of the early challenges we faced, and so much more.

The fact that Bible Belles went from an idea to a reality is a true miracle , and Amy was instrumental in making that happen. Our first title took three years to finish, and the experience has been one of a kind because things have changed so many times along the way. When it got hard, or when we were confused (which was pretty often), Amy was there. And she encouraged us to keep going.

Don’t miss this episode, and be sure to check out Amy’s awesome work! She is one of the most talented women I know.

Links For Today’s Show:

Amy’s author website – check out what she’s up to here!

Amy on FB

Download the the transcript here

Seven daughters. Yeah, you heard that right.

I felt my heart drop when Tricia Goyer reminded me that she has seven, not six, daughters. Six are adopted, and she has one biological daughter. My heart hit the floor as I imagined myself trying to juggle all of that.

Raised by a teen mother before her mom married her stepdad, Tricia never really knew the love of a father. So, she went looking for love and acceptance in “all the wrong places” (This sounds eerily familiar), and she ended up becoming a teen mom too. At just 17, she had to grow up quick, and the strength and resiliency needed to keep moving forward inspired many things, one of which is a successful writing and speaking career.

This woman is amazing. She has written over 50 books. 50. Her new book, Prayers That Changed History, is in stores now. That is though, by far, not the most impressive thing I learned about her during our episode. What impressed me most is her honesty. How many people would speak so openly and candidly about becoming a teen mom, about having an abortion? I don’t know that I know anyone who is that honest.

I’ve been through my share of tough times and terrible mistakes, and so has she. The difference is she has this incredible peace about it, though. It’s a peace I find myself working toward, and I know it is something I will chase for many years to come.

Links For Today’s Show:

Prayers That Changed History

Tricia’s amazing blog

Download the transcript here

Sometimes, fear creeps in. Not all the time, but every so often, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to teach my girl about God, who He is, and how much He loves her. It freaks me out a bit to think about how that’s my responsibility. Not because I’m her mom. Because I’m me.  I fell away from my faith early in life and it took a miracle for me to wake up and step into God’s plan. Most days, I rest in the truth: He chose me to be her mom, and no one else. But that doesn’t mean I always have peace about it.

Today’s guest is the incredible Ann White. Founder and President of In Grace Ministries, Ann has a new book out called 7 Steps To Courage. As she shared her story, I found myself feeling so much better about not growing up with a strong foundation of faith. She didn’t have that either, but it didn’t stop her from seeking God. He waited for her. He rescued her, and she made a commitment to read and study His Word. What she discovered was a real connection to Him, through the Bible and prayer, that changed everything.

It’s time to lose the fear and do what we have to do to find the courage.

“Courage begins with one fearless choice.”

7 steps, yes, but only one choice.

7 Steps To Courage

Ann’s FB page

Download the transcript here