Shows
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 172 :: Mike Nappa :: Stories from the Valley of the Shadow, and Blessing Those Who Mourn Over 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 books that bears witness to grief tha...
2023-11-291h 13
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 171 :: Gary Miracle :: Stories of Taking Heart, Persevering in Suffering, and No More Bad Days Gary 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 career, now a married man with...
2023-11-241h 18
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 170 :: Justin & J.L. Gerhardt:: Stories of Encountering God at the Intersection of Story and Worship Justin 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 creative outlets for the Gerhardt family, but the one we talk ab...
2023-11-171h 14
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 169 :: Nikki Anders :: Stories of The Journey to Bethlehem I 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 Bethlehem.” Nikki shares how the Lord closed and opened so many doors over...
2023-11-101h 09
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 168 :: Travis Thompson :: Stories of Mental Health, Addiction, Faith and Healing Travis 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, and entering the world of becoming a mental health professional serving and helping others like those who served and h...
2023-11-0658 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 167 :: Kelly Balarie :: Stories of The Power of God’s Word and Taking Every Thought Captive I 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 filled to the fullness of God. In ou...
2023-10-271h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 166 :: Dr. Clarence Shuler :: Stories of Finding Hope in Dark Places and Cross-Cultural Relationships that Can Heal Dr. 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 conversation today, Dr. Shuler shared his story of coming to Christ through a relationship that would impact...
2023-10-091h 05
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 165 ::Kayla Craig :: Stories of Curiosity & Questions in Faith & Holding Every Season Sacred Today 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 invitation to be curious, to express our questi...
2023-09-221h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 164 :: Patricia Raybon :: Stories of the Power of History, Heroines of Color and Listening to Learn and Love Today 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 of listening and understanding people’s hi...
2023-09-1558 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 163 :: Brandi Wilson :: Stories of Healing and Hope after Divorce I 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 journey of following God’s call to plant a church in Nashville, TN w...
2023-09-0157 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 162 :: Dorena Williamson :: Stories of Encouraging and Honoring Children and Kingdom Community Building for God’s Glory I 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 diversity is found in differing racial...
2023-08-161h 25
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 161 :: T.I. Lowe :: Stories of Grit, Grace, and God’s Redemption from the Dark Places I 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 of others le...
2023-08-081h 01
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 160 :: Jennifer Dukes Lee :: Stories of Questions and Ruthless Self-Discovering Answers I 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 used her interrogation skills from her journalism career and took...
2023-07-2853 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 159 :: Ray Leight :: Stories of Mental Health, Faith, and Maturing into Yourself Today 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 two until he was well into adulthood. Ray brings some really fascinating insights...
2023-07-181h 11
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 158 :: Ally Henny :: Stories of Finding Your Voice When the World Says to Shut Up Part Two We 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. This gave birth to her new book I Won’t Sh...
2023-06-2944 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 157 :: Ally Henny :: Stories of Finding Your Voice When the World Says to Shut Up Part One Today 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 unvarnished perspective on racism that calls Black women to find their voice.” During our conversation today, Ally i...
2023-06-231h 08
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 156 :: Kathryn Maack :: Stories of Living and Relating to God and Others with Our Whole Self Today, 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 and the Truth, there is much that can be disrupted and disjointed due to...
2023-06-161h 00
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 155 :: Meredith Boggs :: Stories of Growing in Faith and the Enneagram Journey Welcome 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. God has much to show...
2023-06-051h 04
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 154 :: Chris & Stephanie Teague:: Stories of Wrestling with Doubt, Divorce, and Experiencing Redemption Out of the Dust Today 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 and showed them He was trustworthy with their lives individually, freeing them both from...
2023-05-191h 17
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 153 :: Dennis Allen:: Stories of Evaluating the Methods of the Mission and Jesus’ Call to Discipleship Today, 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 modern Western discipleship, and the Church. Thus his book The Discipleship Dilemma: Rethinking and Reforming How the Church...
2023-05-1255 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 152 ::Sopha Rush :: Stories of Pursuing Healing and Living Deeply Rooted in God’s Promises Sopha 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 family in Chicago. Her Mom became a single parent after a tragedy at a very young ag...
2023-05-051h 04
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 151 :: Dr. Jeremiah J. Johnston :: Stories of Reasons to Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and Becoming a Christian Thinker Dr. 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 is the pastor of apologetics at Pre...
2023-04-271h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 150 ::Dr. Bryan Litfin :: Stories of Wisdom from the Early Church, the Spreading of the Gospel, and What We Can Learn from Them Today As 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. L...
2023-04-131h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 149 :: Will & Courtney Kassner :: Stories of Adding our Unique Voice to God’s Creation at Every Age I’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 ask her questions about the beautiful book! They shared with us how God insp...
2023-04-0453 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 148 :: Taylor Turkington :: Stories of Lament, Longing, and Learning to Trust God and His Word in the Chaos Taylor 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 investigate what it means to lament. For t...
2023-03-2848 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 147 :: Dr. Jessica Peck :: Stories of Navigating the Big Issues Young People are Facing Empowered with Knowledge and Hope Dr. 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 goal of this conversation is to learn how to...
2023-03-131h 03
The Couch with Mary CarverLet's Start a Band (Movie) with Emily HumphriesThis is not an episode about Daisy Jones and the Six. I mean, we’re going to talk about that but mainly to get us to the topic we are covering, which is movies about starting a band. Yes, it’s similar. Yes, there’s a reason for that! We just know that after you watch Daisy Jones, you’re going to be looking for more “let’s start a band” content. And that’s where we come in. My friend and fellow podcaster, Emily Humphries, is here to help me make a list of all the best movi...
2023-03-071h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 146 :: Irene Rollins :: Stories of Overcoming Addiction and Reframing Your Shame Irene 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 strategies, shame narratives, and lure of alcohol’s offer of escape began to pull on Ir...
2023-03-031h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 145 :: Sara Billups :: Stories of Orphaned Believers and Finding Our Way Home to Jesus On 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 never thought about that before.” Sara shares pieces of her story of g...
2023-02-171h 17
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 144 :: Blake Guichet :: Stories from the Girl Named Blake, and What Does it Mean to Be a Christian Woman Anyway? Blake 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 began asking big questions like who is...
2023-02-1056 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 143 :: Wendy Speake :: Stories of the Gift of Fasting, Facing our Relational Triggers, and Feasting on God’s WordI 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 keeps them tripped up and triggered in their re...
2023-02-0247 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 142 :: Rachelle Starr :: Stories of Redemption, the Call to Shine, and Following Christ into the DarkRachelle 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 prostitution, and shares with us some of what she’s seen, how a woman finds hers...
2023-01-241h 06
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 141 :: Danielle Hitchen :: Stories of the Church Calendar, Catechesis, and Remembering Who God Has Always BeenWelcome 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 content that help teach the tenets of the faith and helps us...
2023-01-1746 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 140 :: Sara Brunsvold : Stories of Hope and the Extraordinary Call to Life with ChristToday 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. Kipp, Sara’s debut novel, is an exquisite loo...
2022-07-291h 02
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 139 :: Tracie Peterson: Stories of A Surrendered Life and God’s FaithfulnessToday 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 by having characters walk through very real issues and finding a very faithful God in their journey.
2022-07-2357 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 138 :: Betsy St. Amant: Stories of Living and Writing in Layers: Divorce, Motherhood and Redeeming LoveToday 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 meeting us in our grief as we feel layered emotions as seasons change...
2022-07-1549 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 137 :: Autumn Lytle: Stories of All That Fill Us, Comparison, Eating Disorders and Hope for HealingAutumn 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. Her story is full of incredible snippets of...
2022-07-0856 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 136 :: Natalie Hixson: Stories of Dealing with Anger, Burn Out, and Discouragement in Motherhood and the Pursuit of Healing and HopeThis 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 enjoy being a wife and mom. Natalie shares with me her story of...
2022-07-011h 16
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 135 :: Anjuli Paschall:: Stories of Vulnerability & Living Awake to Life with ChristToday 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’ve been all through, trauma as a whole, and also helping our children naviga...
2022-06-2453 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 134 :: David Thomas:: Stories of Raising Emotionally Strong Boys in an Anxious WorldToday 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 counselors Sissy Goff and Melissa Trevathan, and his books Wild Things: The Art...
2022-06-101h 09
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 133 :: Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers:: Stories of Learning to Be a Human Again in a Divided World with the Ladies of Pantsuit PoliticsToday 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 way we talk about issues, and how we encounter people who disagree with us has just gotten...
2022-06-0359 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 132 :: Michelle Ami Reyes:: Stories of Becoming a Race Wise Family and Sowing Seeds of Hope-Filled Conversation in the Next GenerationMichelle 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 define a race-wise family as “a family that asks God for help in unpa...
2022-05-2745 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 131 :: Lisa Appelo:: Stories of Grief and Hope After Loss and Life Can Be Good AgainToday, 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 with her children ranging at the time from ages 4 to 19, and as a woman whose...
2022-05-201h 01
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 130 :: Ann Swindell:: Stories of the Path to Peace and Waiting on the LordToday 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, Ann found herself in...
2022-05-1448 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 129 :: Jennifer Taylor Wagner :: Stories of Healing Your Heart and Your Good BodyToday 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 body, and realizing what your body has been through. During our...
2022-05-061h 02
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 128 :: Dr. Michael Andrews :: Stories of Being an Influencer for Christ and Leading with EmpathyDr. 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 of marketing but is also something that is...
2022-04-221h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 127 :: Amber Albee Swenson :: Stories of Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Being Chosen for More in God’s KingdomToday 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 every step of the wa...
2022-04-151h 08
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 126 :: Dr. Amy-Jill Levine :: Stories of the the Jews, Christians, and the Witnesses at the CrossToday, 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 hope in all of this work is for Jews and Christians...
2022-04-081h 09
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 125 :: Elizabeth Woodson :: Stories of Longing, the Power of Discipleship and Hope in Christ No Matter WhatToday I have the absolute pleasure of sharing my conversation with Bible teacher and author Elizabeth Woodson. Elizabeth is a beam of sunshine and hope, and the light of Christ just radiates from her smile and her passion for people knowing and loving Jesus. She shares with me her journey into full time ministry, first on various church staffs such as leading singles ministry at Dr. Tony Evans’ church and then was most recently on staff at Village Church, teaching, equipping leaders, and doing theological equipping with the body,, and now she is pursuing her full time personal ministry. Sh...
2022-04-0158 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 124 :: Andi Andrew :: Stories of Navigating Relationships and Broken Belief SystemsListen, I hope y’all are ready because Andi Andrew is on today and she brings a WHOLE WORD about relationships, broken belief systems and living lives that pursue the way, truth and life in Jesus! Andi is passionate about God, His word and His people and doing the work of being a human in this broken world so you can connect more deeply with God and with people. She’ll share in this conversation about what it was like for her family living and leading a church in NYC during the pandemic, and what was revealed to her abou...
2022-03-2557 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 123 :: Jenny Albers :: Stories of Courageously Expecting and Hope After LossToday I have the pleasure of sharing with you my conversation with Jenny Albers. Jenny is an author and a speaker who courageously shares her story of miscarriage and loss to encourage other women who are walking in a similar journey. Her book Courageously Expecting: 30 Days of Encouragement for Pregnancy After Loss is a beautiful offering of how to cling to hope and deal with all the trauma that comes with trying to grow your family after knowing loss. In this conversation she shares with me her story, where she is of learning how to cling to God after...
2022-03-111h 05
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 122 :: Bethany Beal :: Stories of Hope in Christ When Life Isn’t What We Hoped it Would BeToday I get to share my conversation with Bethany Beal of Girl Defined Ministries. Bethany and her sister Kristen Clark have written a timely book called Not Part of the Plan: Trusting God with the Twists and Turns of Your Story where they both share their stories of learning to trust God and deepen their faith in Him as they experienced seasons of longing and waiting. Bethany shares from her journey of singleness and longing for marriage, and Kristen shares her journey of infertility, multiple miscarriages and ultimately pursuing adoption. In this conversation Bethany and I talk about more...
2022-03-041h 01
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 121 :: Shannon K. Evans :: Stories of Rewilding MotherhoodToday I get to share with you my conversation with Shannon K. Evans. Shannon is an author and a speaker who shares about spirituality, social justice and encouraging women as she navigates mothering 5 kiddos. During our conversation, Shannon shares her story of growing up with a model of Christian servitude, and living lives full of mercy, and love, but as she grew up that became misconstrued into a confusing narrative about her significance in her relationship with God and others being only about her what she gave or how she served. Shannon and her husband lived as...
2022-02-181h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 120 :: Jasmine L. Holmes :: Stories of Sharing Beauty, Resilience, and Fierce Faith from Black Women’s Experiences in HistoryToday I have the absolute pleasure of sharing with you my conversation with the one and the only Jasmine Holmes. Jasmine is an essayist, an educator and an excavator of jewels hidden in history. She shares her story of growing up in a predominately white environment and shares about the well-meaning people in her life who would say totally misguided and inappropriate things to her that she just felt like she had to accept as normal. As she began to learn about more about history and the Black experience within it, she began to realize how those patterns of...
2022-02-1155 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 119 :: Dr. Jemar Tisby :: Stories of How to Fight RacismDr. Jemar Tisby is an author, educator, historian and speaker on a mission to share truths from the Black experience, witnessed and known in his own life, particularly within the Christian sphere. He sums it up this way: “To me as a historian that’s what I do is I tell stories. I tell stories of import and consequence and try to contextualize them to make them stand out for how they’re still relevant for others today.” He shares with us today his story of his experiences growing up, and later through becoming a Christian in high school through a...
2022-02-041h 10
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 118 :: Dr. Christian Widener :: Stories of the Temple Mount’s History and Potential Future in Jerusalem and the Hope of Restoration - Part 2Today we’re jumping back into my conversation with Dr. Christian Widener. So in part 1 of our conversation, Dr. Widener shared about the history of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem throughout the old and new testament scripture coupled with historic accounts and what he has learned in his research with renowned scholars, historians and archeologists. In this part two, he’ll walk us through the history of what happened to the Temple Mount after its destruction in 70 A.D. and why what remains in the remnants that we can see support his research from some historical, archeological, engineering perspectives, and...
2022-02-0159 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 117 :: Dr. Christian Widener :: Stories of the Temple Mount’s History and Potential Future in Jerusalem - Part 1Dr. Christian Widener grew up from a curious kid who always needed to know ‘why’ and work it all the way through to an answer to become an investigator and researcher to the core. Through his in-depth research he has written a book called The Temple Revealed where he makes a case for the location of The Temple in Jerusalem. He worked in cooperation with numerous renowned archeologists, historians and theologians, and it's an incredibly detailed and fascinating look at what the future might hold, but ultimately a significant reminder of who holds the future. This episode felt l...
2022-01-2847 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 116 :: Dr. Bryan Litfin :: Stories of the Ancient Church, and the Power of Christ’s VictoryToday we get to go to class with Dr. Bryan Litfin, and take a deep dive into the history of the Ancient church, and what life looked like after the New Testament ended and generation upon generation began to carry the story of Christ with them everywhere they went and grew the Church around the world. Dr. Bryan has been on the podcast before, where he shared about some of the things we’ll discuss today, but today we look intentionally into what life looked like for Christians in the ancient church and just how powerful the Gospel of Ch...
2022-01-211h 06
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 115 :: Hillary Morgan- Ferrer & Amy Davison of Mama Bear Apologetics :: Stories of Mama Bear Apologetics and Raising Kids in a Post-Christian CultureToday we are continuing to talk about living lives of Kingdom influence, discipleship and working out what it looks like to live out our faith with two incredible women, Amy Davison and Hillary Morgan Ferrer of Mama Bear Apologetics. Hillary is the founder of Mama Bear Apologetics. What is apologetics exactly? Hillary will talk about that with us in this conversation, but essentially it is making a case for why we believe our faith is true. Does the Bible stand up to scrutiny? How does what we believe coincide with how we live? We’ll break that dow...
2022-01-141h 14
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 114 :: John Basie :: Stories of Discipleship & Living Lives of Kingdom InfluenceToday I get to share my conversation with you with the wise and gracious John Basie. John is presently the Director of Impact 360 Institute’s Masters program. The heart of the Impact 360 Institute is to “cultivate leaders who follow Jesus.” John and the rest of the staff are passionate about discipleship and asking questions about what it looks like to be an apprentice of Jesus and becoming someone who is seeking to be like Jesus. Discipling Gen Z is the specific focus at the institute as well as with the book John edited and wrote in partnership with many other...
2022-01-071h 07
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 113 :: JL Gerhardt :: Stories of the Transforming Gift of God’s LoveHappy New Years Eve, y’all! I am thrilled to share my conversation with the absolutely fantastic JL Gerhardt with you because it feels like a powerful word to walk into this new year with. JL is a writer, storyteller, and teacher who really loves the Lord and helping others fall in love with the Him too. She shares with me her story of learning about God’s love through stories, and experiencing the power of His faithfulness and learning to walk with Him in the dark, the weird, and the beautiful parts of life. One thing that I real...
2021-12-311h 11
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 112 :: Beth Wayland :: Simply Advent : Emmanuel, God With Us, Through the Ministry of PresenceToday I have the absolute pleasure of sharing my conversation with the wonderful Beth Wayland. Beth has been in relational ministry for a very long time first with Campus Crusade for Christ, which is now called CRU and for the last five years she has been working with a ministry she founded called WITH where she ministers to those working in churches, para church ministries and more. Beth is a woman who is deeply passionate about caring for people’s hearts where they are, and especially pressing into places where the pain is intense, relationships may be struggling, and pe...
2021-12-241h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 111 :: Denisse Copeland :: Simply Advent : Emmanuel, God With Us through Offering a Place to BelongToday I get to share my conversation with incredibly sweet Denisse Copeland. Denisse is a wife, a Mom, and an author of Set Apart: Stop Comparing, Own Your Giftedness, and Rest in Jesus. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico and at the age of 16 she and her sister moved to the U.S. with essentially no English, and with no sense of belonging along with a gigantic amount of culture shock. Denisse struggled to find her place, and eventually began looking for it in toxic relationships, partying, and more. One night though, in her desperation and broken...
2021-12-171h 00
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 110 :: Dorena Williamson :: Simply Advent : Emmanuel, God With Us through the Diversity of God’s KingdomToday, we are going to talk more about unpacking the gift of Emmanuel, God with us, with one of my absolute favorite people, Dorena Williamson. Exactly one hundred episodes ago, Dorena became a part of the simply stories life. She’s a children’s book author, a writer, a pastor’s wife and incredible preacher herself whose passion for God’s people and pursuing Biblically diverse unity in the body of Christ has impacted so many people, including myself, and my family. Her books provide verbiage for examining the language we use about our fellow image bearers and modeling those th...
2021-12-101h 08
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 109 :: Allison Hottinger & Lisa Kalberer :: Simply Advent : Emmanuel, God With Us Through KindnessToday, I’m chatting with Allison Hottinger and Lisa Kalberer who are the two sisters that created the Giving Manger. The giving manger is an Advent activity for anyone who is looking for a way to connect kindness, generosity and giving with Christmas and the Gospel, and creates space for people young and old to intentionally experience the beauty and the gift of serving one another right where they are. We’ll unpack the heart of where this idea came from, how it works, and how it has impacted their lives all throughout this episode. It’s been re...
2021-12-031h 01
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 108 :: Becky Keife :: Stories of The Simple Difference of KindnessToday I am sharing my conversation with the absolutely wonderful Becky Keife. Becky is wife, a Mom to 3 boys, an author and the community manager of the online (in)courage community. Today, Becky and I are talking about the topic of her latest book The Simple Difference: How Every Small Kindness Makes a Big Impact. Kindness is something we desperately need and is a powerful gift that is underutilized and underestimated, and Becky lays out beautifully in her book and in this conversation the power of it, and how it ultimately reflects the heart of God. The i...
2021-11-271h 08
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 107 :: Kayla Craig :: Stories of Prayer, Modern Liturgy, and Faith Stretching ParentingToday I have the absolute pleasure of sharing with you my conversation that I got to have with the wonderful Kayla Craig. Kayla is the author and creator of Liturgies for Parents, as well as her recent book To Light the Way: A Collection of Prayers and Liturgies for Parents. Today, Kayla shares the introduction of liturgical prayers into her faith life as she was up to her eyes in a situation where one of her children’s lives was hanging in the balance. Someone gave her a book of prayers that helped anchor her in that season when sh...
2021-11-2453 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 106 :: Kat Armas :: Stories of Abuelita Faith, the Wisdom of Survival, and Jesus of the BibleToday I am sitting down with the incredible Kat Armas. Kat is a Cuban-American author and podcaster who is passionate about elevating the voices of women of color, asking big questions and wrestling with American culture to have a more clear view of God and how He makes Himself known through people and their experiences. She invites readers into the wrestle of our ideas about wisdom, or ideas we have developed about what makes someone a “theologian,” and perhaps how we limit who is influential in our faith development in beautiful book Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teac...
2021-11-171h 17
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 105 :: Regina Scott :: Stories of Women’s History and Reviving our Sense of Curiosity and WonderToday I am chatting with much beloved fiction author Regina Scott. Regina is the author of more than FIFTY books, and she has lived such a cool life. She’s a wife and a mother, she’s a scientist, she’s an author, she’s a woman with a killer costume collection, but most of all she is someone whose kindness and sense of wonder about the world is contagious. During our conversation, Regina shares her fascinating story with us and how it has shaped her vision of the world, and the worlds she creates in her books. We...
2021-11-1257 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 104 :: Michelle Reyes :: Stories of Biblical Diversity, Culture, and Loving like JesusToday I am chatting with speaker and author Michelle Reyes. Michelle’s ministry lives at the intersection of faith, culture, and justice. She is the Vice President and co-founder of the Asian-American Christian Collaborative, and she and her husband, Aaron, planted a church in East Austin, TX where she serves as the scholar in residence. Michelle and Aaron lead their church body to serve the vulnerable in their community as the hands and feet of Jesus and share the hope of Christ wherever they go. Her book Becoming All Things: How Small Changes Lead to Lasting Connections Across Cultures is...
2021-10-2953 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 103 :: Cindy Beall :: Stories of Stories of Recovering a Fractured Marriage, Tactics of the Enemy and the Power of RedemptionToday on the podcast we have speaker, author, mentor, and spiritual support leader for the YouVersion Bible app, Cindy Beall. She is also a woman who has been through incredible seasons of heartbreak after her husband revealed his unfaithfulness to her with multiple women, he was deep into an addiction to pornography, and one of the women he had slept with was pregnant. Cindy shares with us with such beautiful honesty where God met her in her heartbreak, and what the journey looked like when she felt called to stay with her husband as God restored her his’s li...
2021-10-211h 05
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 102 :: Jane Kirkpartrick :: Stories of Re-Centering History and Cultivating Empathy with Indigenous PeoplesToday on the podcast, we have a much beloved returning guest, Jane Kirkpatrick. Jane was my guest on episode 53. Her books explore women in history that may not be more readily featured in the average history book. Her most recent book The Healing of Natalie Curtis, is based on a woman who left New York City after a successful professional music career, but experienced a meltdown, and headed west in pursuit of healing her body and soul. What Natalie Curtis found there was a people group that used music in every part of their life, and it spoke to...
2021-10-1455 min
Simply Stories PodcastSpecial Episode :: April McKinney :: Stories of Ebenezers and God's FaithfulnessToday we are doing something a little different in order to raise an Ebenezer because of what God has done over the last 100 episodes. One of my dearest friends and I sat down at her kitchen table and just… talked. As someone who has walked with me through all of the life that’s happened since we began the podcast, April McKinney was the perfect person to talk about where we’ve been and where we’re going. We talk about things like the effect of covid on us personally, the world, our communities, the Church, and what that...
2021-10-121h 16
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 100 :: Marian Jordan Ellis :: Stories of a Redeemed Life and God’s Reckless LoveToday is our 100th episode!!!!! How in the world did that happen?!?! I can hardly believe it. My guest today feels like such a perfect person to celebrate the great things God has done with. I’m chatting today with speaker, author, and powerhouse Bible Study teacher, Marian Jordan Ellis. Marian’s ministry and podcast lives under the umbrella of This Redeemed Life. That’s the banner over her life, and today she shares with us how far God has brought her from a story story immersed in trauma, chasing after the darkness, trying to drown her emptiness in succes...
2021-10-0848 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 99 :: Daniel Bowman Jr. :: Stories of Autism, Faith and the Gifts of NeurodiversityToday on the podcast is author, teacher and creative Daniel Bowman Jr. Dan recently released his incredible book detailing his story of discovering he is autistic as an adult. On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith & the Gifts of Neurodiversity. gives an inside look at Dan’s struggle as a neurodiverse person living in a neurotypical world, and the constant fight of trying to force his mind and his body to work in a way that it is not wired to. The world often frames people on the spectrum as a problem to be fixed instead of a person to be und...
2021-10-011h 13
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 98 :: Jody Hedlund :: Stories of What We Learn from the Past, Knowing God’s Word, and the Prevailing Power of the GospelToday on the podcast is the incredible and much beloved author Jody Hedlund. Jody is the author of a vast array of books ranging in topics, locations, historical people, and places in time. One of her latest novels engages the mystery of the miracles that took place in Canterbury England during the Middle Ages. Come Back to Me is full of early church history, mixed with a little bit of fantasy, the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden and Revelation, and sifting through what's fact and fiction is absolutely fascinating. Jody is spectacularly gifted at using stories t...
2021-09-231h 10
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 97 :: Dr. Tiffany Tajiri:: Stories of Pursuing Peace and Hope for Veterans and Survivors of TraumaToday on the podcast we have Dr. Tiffany Tajiri who is a veteran of the Air Force, an Army and Air Force psychologist, and the current Chief of the largest behavioral health clinic at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. She and her team work with active duty armed forces, veterans and their families to help them prepare for the missions and deployments and cope with the trauma of their experiences and how they impact them spiritually, emotionally and how that manifests in their bodies and reaches into every part of their lives and relationships. Dr. Tiffany i...
2021-09-171h 02
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 96 :: Ashley Abercrombie :: Stories of Hope, Love, and Conflict in the Kingdom of GodAshley Abercrombie is back on the podcast!!. Every time I encounter Ashley, whether that’s online, reading her books or Bible studies, I end up shoutin’ like I’m at a big tent revival. Y’all, this woman passionately cares about the Kingdom of God, the body of Christ, and encouraging us to know and serve God and His Church as our fullest selves and learning how to love one another better. Her most recent book, Love is the Resistance: Learn to Disagree, Resolve the Conflicts You've Been Avoiding, and Create Real Change is such an important word for this seas...
2021-09-091h 14
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 95 :: Rebecca Friedlander :: Stories of Spiritual Practices and the Divine Adventure with GodToday I am chatting with author, speaker, filmmaker, artist, musician, and just an all around renaissance woman, Rebecca Friedlander. During our conversation, Rebecca shares about waiting on the Lord in wilderness seasons and what it looks like to cultivate an intimate relationship with the Lord and then be willing to move when He says “move.” Her latest book The Divine Adventure: Spiritual Practices for a Modern-Day Disciple dives into this, and also looks at what spiritual practices or disciplines even are and how they move us into a place of preparation in order to embrace the divine adventure God has...
2021-09-021h 01
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 94 :: Tessa Afshar :: Stories of the Power of Jesus and Healing from HeartbreakToday on the podcast we have fiction and non-fiction author, speaker and just incredible woman of deep faith, Tessa Afshar. Tessa grew up in a nominally Muslim family in the Middle East, and after her family’s fracturing, she moved to England where she lost her culture, her language, everything she knew and experienced a total identity shift. Then, as a young adult, she found herself broken-hearted, divorced, and confused about what was next for her life. and Jesus met her in a dream and began to woo her to Him. During our conversation Tessa shares her incredible journey wi...
2021-08-261h 12
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 93 :: Christie Thomas :: Stories of Raising a Family, Partnering in Parenting, and Seeking God in All SeasonsToday we have on children’s minister, author, and founder of Little Shoots, Deep Roots, Christie Thomas. Christie is a woman who is passionate about equipping families to engage their hearts with the Gospel. Her children’s books give amazing verbiage for how to deal with big issues in the lives of children, which is so helpful in general, but especially now living in a season that is full of such uncertainty that our children experience in their worlds too. Christie’s latest book is a Mother Son Prayer Journal. As a mother of several young boys, Christie shares about...
2021-08-191h 10
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 92 :: Amanda Cleary Eastep :: Stories of Faith, Growing Up, and the Moral ImaginationToday on the podcast, we have book editor, author, professional encourager and just all around amazing human, Amanda Cleary Eastep. I got to meet Amanda several years ago at a writing conference when she was part of a panel representing Moody Publishing. During this conversation she shares what it's like to be a book editor at Moody Publishers, as well as a middle-grade books author, which means she writes books for kids ages 8-12, and we look at what draws us as people to stories that captivate children and adults alike with their unique humor, whimsy, wonder, fun and...
2021-08-121h 19
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 91 :: Randall Goodgame :: Stories of Engaging Kids with the Power of the GospelHi friends! I’m so excited to be back with you for season THREE of the podcast! I cannot believe we are 2 years and 3 seasons in, but man the Lord is wild, isn’t He? To start off this season, we have the absolutely wonderful and wildly talented Randall Goodgame. Mr. Randall is a little bit of a celebrity around my house because of how much my children love his music and his show, “Slugs and Bugs”. If you’ve never heard of it, the show itself is a lot like a Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood type environment where Mr. Randall and h...
2021-08-051h 08
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 90 :: Michael C. Sherrard :: Stories of Relational Apologetics, Loving our Enemies, and Why You MatterToday is the very last episode of season 2 of the podcast!! And man, is this one incredible episode for us to put a period on the sentence of this season. I’m chatting today with author and pastor Michael Sherrard. Michael and I have a power packed conversation that springs off the heart of his two books Relational Apologetics: Defending the Christian Faith with Holiness, Respect, and Truth and Why You Matter: How Your Quest for Meaning is Meaningless Without God. Michael breaks down for us why there is so much meaning behind knowing the heart of who God is...
2021-06-0358 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 89 :: Brett & Jana Aplin :: Stories of the Global Church, Traveling and Living on MissionToday I get to share with y’all a really incredible conversation with my friends Brett and Jana Aplin. Brett and Jana are the dynamic duo that make up Aplins in the Alps, and they share the super sweet story behind their God dreams, and also their passion for travel and the international church. This episode unpacks the power of the Gospel in the lives of those who say yes to Jesus. Bret and Jana’s story is such a powerful picture of the Spirit of God at work around the world in these days following Pentecost and c...
2021-05-271h 27
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 88 :: Christina Suzann Nelson :: Stories of Adoption, Foster Care, and Beauty in the Broken Parts of LifeToday I’m chatting with the wise and incredibly kind Christina Suzann Nelson. Christina is an incredible author, and through connecting with her and learning about some of the story behind her most recent book,The Way it Should Be I got to hear her heart and got a glimpse of journey as an adoptive and foster parent. In honor of Foster Care Awareness Month, and because I think there is such a need for more stories like Christina and her families story to be told, she shares with us all about their journey of becoming the parents of 6 ch...
2021-05-201h 01
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 87 :: Lindsey Krinks :: Stories of the Streets: Faith, Loss, Homelessness and HopeToday I’m honored to share my conversation with the incredible Lindsey Krink. Lindsey is a street chaplain, author, housing rights advocate and the co-founder of Open Table Nashville, an interfaith outreach non-profit serving the homeless community. Her beautiful and poignant book Praying With Our Feet: Pursuing Justice and Healing on the Streets shares her faith journey and personal evolution as she began to see the Gospel come alive under bridges, and the words of the Old Testament prophets make themselves known in tent cities, and in the shivering shoulders of those caring for one another trying to survive on...
2021-05-131h 00
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 86 :: Roseanna M. White :: Stories of Cultivating Compassion, Hidden History, and Ordinary Heroes and HeroinesToday on the podcast I am chatting with Roseanna M. White, who is not only one of my favorite christian fiction authors, but she has a heart for stories that share little known parts of history, and remind us about how we grow as people and in our faith. In this episode you’re going to get a mixture of some of my favorite things: faith building stories, thoughts on cultivating compassion for other people, fun history lessons and lots of moments of hope. One of the most powerful take-aways from this conversation to me was this: His...
2021-05-061h 08
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 85 :: Kat Harris :: Stories of Singleness, Dating, and Sex as Followers of ChristToday on the podcast I am diving deep with Kat Harris. Kat (aka the Refined Woman) shares her story of moving from photographer and fashion blogger, to coach and author, podcaster, and communicator tackling huge issues like singleness and sensuality, sex and dating and Christianity, and pursuing the heart of God as a woman who ultimately wants to honor Him with her life. Kat brings such powerful, honest and raw perspective in this conversation and in her book that just released last week Sexless in the City: A Sometimes Sassy, Sometimes Painful, Always Honest Look at Dating, Desire and...
2021-04-291h 00
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 84 :: Elizabeth Wyndham:: Stories of Faith Finding, Cultural Paradigms and Seeing Jesus of the Middle EastToday I am chatting with one of my good friends Elizabeth Wyndham, but to pretty much everyone else, she’s ELiz. So, as we are rounding out our 4 part Seeker series as we intentionally look at the questions and doubts people have about following God, I really wanted to spend time chatting with ELiz for a few different reasons. She has spent a lot of time as a student of the Middle East, and she lived there as a student in 2011. Eliz also is a woman of deep faith, and her love for the Lord and His Word is so...
2021-04-221h 25
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 83 :: Mark Clark :: Stories of Skepticism, Kingdom Building, and the Scandal of JesusPastor and author Mark Clark joins me on the podcast today for a timely and powerful conversation. Mark founded the Village Church in Vancouver back in 2010, and he shares today his powerful story of transformation from growing up as a skeptic to finding Christ and ultimately being called to ministry. Mark said something in our conversation that led to one fascinating part of this conversation. He said, as a Canadian, when he speaks in America, he often says “I come to you from the future,” and he unpacks what it looks like to live and pastor in post-C...
2021-04-1555 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 82 :: Tyler Staton :: Stories of Doubt and the Deep End of Faith Through SufferingSuffering is part of life this side of Heaven. Walking with Christ is not about trying to will your emotions out of the equation, but to reconcile your experience with what God says is true. I love how Tyler defines doubt, he says: “Doubt is an event in the world that conflicts with the story that you believe.” That will happen. It is inevitable. Jesus makes space for ALL of it. And while so much of the Church has struggled, we don’t have to tear it all down and walk away from faith in the process, we can press...
2021-04-0850 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 81 :: Patrick Prill :: Questions on Science and Suffering, and the Answers found in the Power of the GospelToday, we’re starting a 4 week mini-series that intentionally looks at the role of questions and faith, and the art of wrestling, seeking, and the answers found in Christ. Today, I’m chatting with author Patrick Prill who has recently released a book called Things Atheists Say That Simply Make No Sense, and it examines many of the popular, and particularly scientific claims made by notable modern atheists and agnostics. During our conversation, Patrick and I unpack the various scientific and non spiritual schools of thought, as well as the understandable and heartbreaking questions many wrestle with about...
2021-04-011h 06
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 80 :: Linda Evans Shepherd :: Stories of the Power of Prayer, Miracles, and Fierce Faith Even in SufferingToday I have the absolute pleasure of sharing my conversation with the remarkable Linda Evans Shepherd. Linda is an award winning author, and speaker, and she’s one fierce prayer warrior and the word of God just flows out of her in the most beautiful way. Linda has been through several Job like seasons in her life which have brought her to her knees during some dark nights of the soul. In those seasons, Linda was asking God a lot of the questions many of us have been asking during this insane year: Where is He? Does He love me...
2021-03-251h 03
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 79 :: Tiffany Bluhm : Stories of Empowering Women, Examining Narratives, and Seeking Christ When Faith Leaders FallToday, my girl, Tiffany Bluhm is back on the podcast! Tiffany’s heart lives at the intersection of justice, women and faith, and her newest book Prey Tell: Why We Silence Women Who Tell the Truth and How Everyone Can Speak Up shines a light on issues women face, burdens women bear, fears women live with, dealing with secrets that lurk in dark places until exposed in detrimental ways, and what we, as people of faith, can do about it. As a recovering people pleaser, this is a vulnerable moment for me. Talking about the big issues wom...
2021-03-1848 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 78 :: Suzanne Woods Fisher: Stories of Outliers, Resilient Women, & the Power of LiteracyToday on the podcast I am chatting with the wonderful and beloved fiction novelist, Suzanne Woods Fisher. Suzanne is such a kind and genuine person, and she has a passion for getting to the heart of those who may be misunderstood, and parts of history that may not get as much press. During our conversation, she shares her story of how she came into the writing world to become the beloved author of many (as in over THIRTY) books, as well as what draws her into a story. Her most recent book The Moonlight School shares a...
2021-03-111h 07
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 77 :: Eryn Eddy :: Stories of Heartbreak, Restoration, and So Worth LovingToday I get to share my conversation with the absolutely delightful Eryn Eddy. Eryn is a speaker, an author, a professional encourager, and is also the founder of So Worth Loving, which is a fashion brand and also an online community whose mission is to remind people of their value, and that they are indeed so worth loving! Eryn recently released her first book So Worth Loving: How Discovering Your True Value Changes Everything, and it is a beautiful book that shares Eryn’s story of living through her broken heart after divorce, wrestling with God and in the pro...
2021-03-041h 02
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 76 :: Jennifer Deibel :: Stories of Perseverance, and the Layers of Love and RedemptionToday on the podcast, I’m excited to introduce you guys to debut author Jennifer Deibel. My conversation with Jennifer is a fun merging of a lot of things I love: history, learning about other cultures, the beauty of redemption, and the power of how we tell a story. Jennifer also shares her story of becoming an author, living in Ireland with her family and she shows off her amazing Irish Gaelic skills. Her beautiful book A Dance in Donegal, is a story that walks a character through incredible trials of faith, suffering, and reveals the layers of how on...
2021-02-2555 min
Simply Stories PodcastEpisode 75 :: Bunmi Laditan :: Stories of a God Who Listens and Truly CaresToday, I have the absolute pleasure of getting to share my conversation with the one and only Bunmi Laditan. Some of you may know Bunmi as the author, blogger and social media Honest Toddler personality. And while Bunmi has some HILARIOUS truths to share about children, surviving raising them, and parenthood, this season Bunmi is walking in now looks a little bit different. Her latest book, Dear God: Honest Prayers to a God who Listens, are beautiful heart cries from a woman who has been to hell and back trying to find what she truly believes in. B...
2021-02-181h 24
Elevating Motherhood047. Parenting Through Grief with Emily Humphries* Trigger Warning * There is mention of loss and death in this episode—loss of a child, loss of a friend, and loss of parents.
Grief has been a roommate for Emily Humphries for a while now…and she’s graciously offered to share her story with us as a means of supporting other mamas who are also experiencing seasons of grief in their life. We can learn so much through simply listening to someone else’s story and hearing examples of all the how, when, why, who, what moments that come along with grief. Emily shares her story of...
2020-07-081h 31