Episode 171 :: Gary Miracle :: Stories of Taking Heart, Persevering in Suffering, and No More Bad Days
Release Date: 11/24/2023
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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
info_outline 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 Millard of the band “Mercy’s Me” who began to disciple Gary and guide him to a life-changing and intimate relationship with Jesus.
Not long after, in December 2019, Gary went from celebrating Christmas with his family feeling a little under the weather to being on his literal deathbed on New Year’s Eve. The first week of 2020 Gary’s life hung in the balance as teams of doctors worked on him and cared for him, and his loved ones stormed heaven for him. On January 10th, 2020, Gary opened his eyes, alive, but his body would never be the same, and his limbs were dying. Gary shares his journey of his 107 days stay in the hospital, reentering into his life without his legs and hands, and how God met him in all of it in our time together, but he goes more in-depth in his book No More Bad Days: Trading the Pursuit of Perfection for the Gift of Grace.
Gary is passionate about choosing to truly live instead of just being alive and doing that authentically with others. We were made in the image of a communal God, and as we face the intensity and heartbreak of our lives, He provides people to walk through hard things with us. However, that call to live in community requires risk and humility, but as Gary reminds us, when life is at its lowest moments, people God gives us can echo hope back to us.
This is a message for anyone who needs to know there is more left for them in this life. This is a message for those who need to remember God is still in the business of miracles. This is a message for someone who is walking through horrible circumstances but needs to be reminded that God still has good for them. You matter, and your story matters.
Connecting with Gary:
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Scripture References:
Romans 10:8-9, John 1:12-13, Galatians 4:4-6-, There’s nothing I can do to make Jesus stop loving me
Galatians 2:20- It is no longer I who lives, but Christ in me
1 Samuel 17:36-54- David wrestled with lions as a shepherd before he faced Goliath
Lamentations 3:22-23- His new mercies are new every day
Job 1:21- The Lord gives and the Lord takes away
Job 42:5- All of my life I’ve heard about You, but now I’ve seen you with my eyes
John 16:33- In this world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world
Luke 18:19, 1 John 1:5- God is truly good
Ephesians 3:16-19- I pray that He would strengthen you with power according to
Jeremiah 29:13- seek me and you will find me if you seek me with all of your heart
John 3:16- For God so loved the world that He gave us His son
2 Peter 1:3- God has given you His power, and authority to live this life
John 10:10 - The enemy is coming to steal, kill and destroy, but Christ came to give us life to the full
Matthew 24:36-Nobody knows the day or the hour
Revelation 21:27- The Lamb’s book of life
John 14:3, Acts 1:11, Revelation 22- We’re going to Heaven
Exodus 3- Moses’ story in the Bible, he struggled to speak
Romans 6:17, chapter 7 Grace is not a license to sin
Romans 6:1-7-We are no longer slaves to sin
Psalm 139:14- Still fearfully and wonderfully made
Psalm 27:13- What would have become of me if I had not believed I would see the goodness of the Lord
Revelation 19:10, and 12:11 A spirit of testimony
Philippians 1:6- God is not finished with me
Exodus 14:13-Stand firm and you will see the deliverance of the Lord
Psalm 27:14 (AMP), Isaiah 40:30-31- I will hope, I will wait, I will long for the Lord
2 Corinthians 12:9-11-I am weak but Christ is strong
Ephesians 1:18- This is the hope to which we’ve been called
Jeremiah 29:11- God has plans for hope and a future
Micah 6:8- help us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God
Mark 2:17, Matthew 10 Jesus came to heal the sick, and save the lost
2 Corinthians 10:5- Take every thought captive
References:
God kept transforming David’s life (The Uriah and Bathsheeba incident, leading Israel, strife and conflict in his family…)
The Blue vs. Gold dress debate
The study I mentioned is When You Pray
The Christian shirts of the 90’s
“Take heart” that Jesus uses is the same term “tharseō” that Moses used with “stand firm”
Toby Mac’s Dove Awards acceptance speech
Gary speaking at his daughter’s graduation
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