Libsyn Directory

Episode 163 :: Brandi Wilson :: Stories of Healing and Hope after Divorce

Release Date: 09/01/2023

Episode 174 :: Douglas McKelvey :: Stories of Leaning into Advent, Lament, and Living with Every Moment Holy

Simply Stories Podcast

Today, 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, his journey from songwriting to fiction writing and the idea of unpacking his belief that every moment...

Episode 173 :: Carole Holiday :: Stories of Learning Who You Are Again After Loss and Living with Grief

Simply Stories Podcast

A 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 known. In her book I Don’t Know Who I Am Anymore, Carole shares her story, but it...

Episode 172 :: Mike Nappa :: Stories from the Valley of the Shadow, and Blessing Those Who Mourn

Simply Stories Podcast

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 that I have ever personally encountered. It is called ...

Episode 171 :: Gary Miracle :: Stories of Taking Heart, Persevering in Suffering, and No More Bad Days

Simply Stories Podcast

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 kids, Gary reached his breaking point and reached out to his friend Bart...

Episode 170 :: Justin & J.L. Gerhardt:: Stories of Encountering God at the Intersection of Story and Worship

Simply Stories Podcast

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 about the most in this episode is Justin’s...

Episode 169 :: Nikki Anders :: Stories of The Journey to Bethlehem

Simply Stories Podcast

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 the last seventeen...

Episode 168 :: Travis Thompson :: Stories of Mental Health, Addiction, Faith and Healing

Simply Stories Podcast

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...

Episode 167 :: Kelly Balarie :: Stories of The Power of God’s Word and Taking Every Thought Captive

Simply Stories Podcast

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 our conversation today, you’ll hear about her...

Episode 166 :: Dr. Clarence Shuler :: Stories of Finding Hope in Dark Places and Cross-Cultural Relationships that Can Heal

Simply Stories Podcast

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...

Episode 165 ::Kayla Craig :: Stories of Curiosity & Questions in Faith & Holding Every Season Sacred

Simply Stories Podcast

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 questions, doubts, or confusion as we walk out our faith...

More Episodes

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 with her then-pastor husband, watching it grow exponentially into a massive and impactful ministry with multiple sites, meanwhile at home experiencing heartbreak and betrayal. This ultimately led to a very painful divorce as well as a public parting with the faith community that had been the epicenter of their ministry and their lives.

During her book as well as our conversation, Brandi shares how God met her as she wrestled through grief, mothered her boys, navigated what it means to be a divorced Christian woman, as well as a former pastor’s wife, and just how she navigates life in co-parenting, and so much more. Brandi is honest, hilarious, and heartfelt in her sharing of her story while also giving such beautiful advice for how to hold space for the people we love as they grieve through their own experiences, and letting that happen at their own pace. She shares ways that might be helpful to those walking through seasons of trauma and loss, in others' lives, annnnd the not-helpful ways to maybe steer clear of as well. She’s a self-proclaimed deep feeler, but also a deep healer and if that’s not a word of hope that I think we all need no matter where we are, I don’t know what is.

Brandi is an amazing follow on Instagram, her book is such a breathtaking view into her heart, overflowing with honesty but constantly pointing to hope, and like she said, a reminder that there are NEW things that are still coming. I hope that hearing this episode helps anyone who needs it to feel seen and cared for wherever you are in your story, because we are all feeling, and we all carry the possibility for healing. The One who made you cares about all the pieces that feel broken, and His hope never runs out. You matter, friend. And your story matters.

Connecting with Brandi:

Episode Sponsor: Tony Crabtree of Crabtree Homes with Exit Realty

Scripture References: