DEVON FRANKLIN: 'It Takes A Woman"

them on people's porches. And when I was really young, we actually used to do a Maypole dance at our school. Those traditions have faded a bit in popularity. I still celebrate the coming of May I do. I have two sons that have birthdays on Sinco de Mayo. I have a sister that has a birthday in May, and it's Mother's Day. There's so much goodness in May in our family. I had a wonderful Mother's Day surrounded by family. What

a great month. Mothers are important. I think the entire month of May, not just the second Sunday, should be a celebration for moms. Our first podcast episode of the month we dedicated to the awareness of cardiovascular health. Imploring women to get screened, no their risks, take care of their hearts that beat so strongly for all those that they loved. That was what our first podcast this month

was about. Today's episode is also about honoring moms. We are being joined by a Hollywood producer in New York Times bestselling author who's been blazing his own unique trail with an unwavering commitment to uplifting the human spirit through stories through entertainment. He and I first met several years ago when I was asked to voice a small part in an animated film he was producing, call the Star. Our paths continue to cross from time to time, and

it's always a delightful encounter. D von Franklin is the driving force behind Franklin Studios and some of Hollywood's most successful inspirational films, including Breakthrough and Miracles from Heaven, as well as the soon to be released Kingdom Business television series for b ET. In addition to his work as a producer, he's also the author of best selling books such as Live Free, The Success Commandments, The Truth About Men, and his new Audible original that We're going to be

speaking a lot about today. It takes a woman a deeply personal look into the tragedy that transformed his family's life forever. The book is narrated by Devon, several of his aunties and his mother. Before we get to all that good this though, let me get proper credit to a star of this show first, one of my podcast sponsors that makes this all possible. Ah Spring, the season of new beginnings, of longer and warmer days, blooming flowers, budding fruit trees. I can't wait to welcome it in

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your home. Shop for your own beautiful florals today by visiting Balsom Hill dot com. Be sure and use the code spring Hope two check out for twenty percent off through the month of April. Hello Devon, welcome to love someone with the Lilah. I I'm so excited to talk to you. Oh I'm grateful and I always wanted to talk to you. Thank you, thank you for being here. So, um, I have to tell on myself a little bit. I have you know how people say, oh, I have COVID brain,

I have COVID brain. I don't know if it's that I have COVID brain or mom brain or no brain. But when my podcast producer came to me and said, hey, how would you like to talk to Davon Franklin, I'm like, Wow, that name sounds familiar. And she, you know, kind of snickers and I'm like, why don't just tell me refreshment in my mind? She was like, uh, like major producer, famous author, writer, actor, um, and you know him. And

I'm like, ah, okay, another clue. She goes the star and I went the star of the Star of the Start. What's start? You mean the start of the animated movie that I was in. Yes, So that's why I say, I don't know if it's COVID brain, mom brain, or no brain. But I'm like, oh, my word, listen, we Hey, I was so grateful that you lent your voice to the Star. It definitely was a welcome edition. You sounded amazing, did a brilliant job. So yes, my, my, all three

lines of it. Okay, there's other people we wanted to involve that we had to change out their voice because even for a few lines, if it ain't right, it ain't right, it ain't right. Well, I had I had a lot of fun doing that, and and so I don't tell my kids or my grandkids or whatever, and I just pop it in. Is that right? And then it's like, yeah, Grahama's I'm kind of a big deal. I have three lines in this. I'm a big deal out there. You know, I'm a big deal in Hollywood,

you know what I mean. Up And then they're like, how come you're not in it anymore? How come you We keep waiting for more, Like, well, I'm doing some more. I'm actually doing uh animated David and Goliath. So I'll make sure, okay, remember me, remember me, although I don't know. I don't know if I could. I don't know who in David or Goliath, Like there's a lot of characters, so oh, okay, okay, I love that story. I love that your story is kind of that story. Oh wow, yeah,

you know that's interesting. Yeah, yeah, there are aspects of that for sure. I mean, you have a new book out, an audio book out. It takes a woman, and that is kind of metaphorically David and Goliath. You know when you think about it, the five smooth stones that David had to slay Goliath. God gave you how many aunties? And Mama were your five smooth stones? Yeah, and this book there's there's five aunts, five great aunts yep, my mom my mother. So so the five great aunts maybe

the five smooth stones, and Mama Bear was the slingshot. Wow, Deli is a prophet too. I love it. That's that's deep. I love that. I can't wait to share that with them because that is your story. That is your story. You know what what Satan intended for evil, God has

used for good. Because if you had not, I mean, I know it sounds callous and cold to say, but if you had not gone through everything you went through as a child, and had God not put those five smooth stones, the five aunties and your mama there, would you be impacting the world the way you are For good. Probably not. Would you be in the position you're in now? You have the eyes and the ears of millions of people, and you get to influence them with a message that

we desperately need to hear. Yeah, would you be in the position you're in Devon if God had if you weren't David against Goliath back then? Wow? Yeah, you know, I don't think I would. And so you putting it in this brilliant you know, prophetic you know, historic theological con constants are struck in you know, perspective. It's just amazing. And I agree that if it was not for those circumstances,

I would not be where I am, you know. And that's a that's a really a thought I want to ponder even more after this because it is deep when you think about how how the prophet looked at at David's older brothers, you know, Okay, God said this one, y'all, I just gotta figure out which one you are. And he didn't even meet Scraffie, a little David because he was out tending the sheep, like he wasn't even a candidate in the father's eyes, in the family's eyes, he nobody.

He's the little kid out out tending the sheep. You know that as a kid, I felt, I felt, you know, kind of like that. You know, I felt like, oh, you know, I was the middle child. Nobody. You know, my older brother got the attention, my younger brother brother got the attention. I felt like I was left to fend for myself. So, you know, even though I wasn't the youngest like David, I did feel that sort of kinship of not knowing or feeling like I had a

clear place. And yet the prophet was told, no, it's that little that little run that's the one. That's the one. That's the one, that's the one. And and actually, I thinking back, I'm trying to remember the whole story. He wasn't even selected at that time. He's the one that came forward and said me, me, me, I'll do it,

I'll do it. The the oil fell, you know, from when the prophet Samuel put the horn over him, so that that happened, but then that was it of that story, like Samuel, you know, when the oil fell, But then we don't that storyline in terms of him becoming king. There's such a long journey, and David wasn't even concerned about it. You never hear David say when am I

going to be king at all? He goes to fight Goliath because he's upset that Goliath is offending his people, and who is this man to talk about our God like that? So you know his heart was so pure. Uh. It wasn't about promotion, It wasn't about wanting his purpose or even wanting the promise on his life. He just wanted to stand up for what he believed in and stand up for his faith. And as a result, he fought Goliath and then that put him on a path

ultimately become king. So divan. Instead of calling you divon through this interview, I just might call you a little David because how old were you when you knew that you wanted to share all this goodness with all of us? Like, um, well, I knew that I wanted to go to Hollywood, oh man, you know young twelve thirteen years old, just about the time you'd be out there in the fields with the sling shot possibly. And now there are so many things

that you are involved with. Just just give me a synapsis a screenshot of today, of all the different projects that you're working on today. Because I know you carved out time for us, and I appreciate that. I truly do time is a gift and you're blessing us with that. So just just a snapshot, yeah, I mean in terms of my snapshot today, I mean, you know, I have a lot of interviews that I'm doing for this new book It Takes a Woman, So you know, I probably

have about fifteen interviews today. Um. I am Also, you know, there's a book that I wrote that there's some interest to turn it into a TV series, so I'm meeting with some agents on that. I'm actually having a meeting with one of the executives from Audible because they really like what we're what I've been doing, what It Takes a Woman, and they want to talk about doing more things.

Supposed to go to my grand my, my, my cousin's graduation tonight, you know, like that's in just you know, twenty four hours, and then tomorrow it's a whole another set of things. I'm testing my movie. I just finished with screen testing that tomorrow, um promoting a TV series that I produced. You know, I'm just trying to do as much as I can, to put as much as as people give me opportunities to put great things in the in the culture. I'm gonna do my best to

do that most proud accomplishment professionally. Like if you were to say this, this, this has been my my favorite project that I've got to birth and bring to life and put out there. It's this new audible book. I mean, it takes a woman. It is. This is the most so so for folks who don't know where that expression comes from, it takes a woman. Um, that's your adaptation of one of my favorite expressions. It takes a village. And uh, and I know you know that takes the

village has been around for a long time. But and I believe that, and I also believe it takes a woman. I believe that if it wasn't for the moms and the grandmothers and the aunts in our culture and our family, where will we be. And so often we do not acknowledge and reward and memorialize their contributions. And so I really want to do this book on some level as a way to do that, and doing that by telling my family story and how these women helped save me

and my brother's lives after my father passed away. And how old were you when your last dad nine years old. Hard time in the young man's life to have his world shattered, You got that right, Really really difficult. And that's that's why I start the book with that incident, the death of my father, us being in the morgue, seeing his body, my mother saying, kissed your father goodbye.

That's where I start this book. That's where I start this journey because that's the pain that was the catalyst for these women in my family to come together to help my mom, uh save us. Five women, five smooth stones. I'm sure some very colorful personalities in there. Oh yeah, without a doubt. Who's who was the most strict? Was were one of the aunties, like the matriarch or was that mom? Mom was strict, There's no doubt. Her name is paul It. She was strict. Um but also on

Ida was strict. And don Ida is like in the in the middle, she's uh, she's eighty six and you hear her voice. And she was also the wife of Pastor Williams and they were the ones that started the church that we grew up in. And Um, but on Ida and my mother and and sometimes on Enus were very strict, very much disciplinarians. My mom was a big woman. She were a size twelve shoe. She was a large woman. And I don't mean heavy, she was very thin. She was just very big, big bone, over six ft tall.

But her most most useful weapon was just wait until your dad gets home. Uh. So this book is on audible, Folks can find it on audible. And the movie that you're screening is this something we can look forward to seeing? Is it going to be? And by the way, thank you for for working on so many UM faith based

projects in a way that that is accessible. Is that the word I want to use now, digestible perhaps by people who don't even know, probably that they're getting a message about goodness and God and redemption and salvation and love, I mean bottom line love. Yeah. Yeah, no, it's it's my honor to be able to do it. And and uh, you know it's not it's not easy, but you know God has certainly been making away. How many times have

you had doors slammed in your face? Tom because you came up with a pride jacked idea like this star that you know that was precious because you really did present the Nativity in a way that UM like is okay, like not watered down at all, but presented in a way that's entertaining and fun and heart heart touching. Like how many how many times have you had doors slammed

in your face because of your faith? Uh? Uh? Well, you know what, in terms of my faith, I wouldn't say I've had many doors slammed my face, But in just in terms of I think people don't realize that being a producer, you know, you're the doors are being shut in your face every day. Uh you know they're They're way more nose than I get in my career than yes is like no, we don't want to do this project, or no, you know we we don't want to hire that writer, or no we don't want to

move forward with this. I mean, I mean literally Like so I just have got got accustomed to no um And that's okay. I'm I'm always about trying to find the right people, the right situation that really sees it, because you know, I can maybe really strong arm somebody into giving me a yes, but if they don't believe in it, it's not going to go further than that. So I get a lot of nose, a whole lot of note You've had so many movies, so many projects.

Tell my listeners just a handful of your top favorites. Um, well, right now, the most favorite is It Takes a Woman. You know that that project is my favorite because I put so much into it, And I'm thinking, you need to turn that into a movie for us. It's possible, you know, I'm thinking, because right now, on so many levels, our nation needs to understand the value and the power

of women coming together. I do something called Friday Night, Girls Night every Friday night, and it's girls night out. And it's not about you know, going out and partying. It's about celebrating Sisterhood's your best friend, your your sister, your mom, your auntie. And that's what your book is about, but in a very real way, like you've got you've got the story to tell. And I'm I'm just sitting here thinking those five smooth stones that might be even

an even an even bigger picture than the book. But we got to get people to download the audible book. It's not in print, right, that's it's audio only. It's audio only, so we get to hear your voice. Yes, and and my hope is that you know, to the point you're making like as people listen to it, as it gets more into the culture, then that will lay the foundation for me even being able to make a movie or a television series out of it. So I'm excited to see what happens and uh, you know what

level of impact it will have in the culture. Oh, I am enjoying this conversation with the van so much. Before our time is up, I want to pause to shine a spotlight on my podcast sponsor. I want you to feel better this spring, a pain for spring, if that's possible. One springtime years ago, I discovered a simple

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That's eight hundred nine zero zero five nine nine. I think intrinsically we know in our gut the power of of it takes a woman. We know that on some level, but somehow we get stupid and forget that all the time. Like like, like you said, you would not be here probably your siblings either or certainly be enjoying the success you are today if you if your mom did not have those women to come alongside her. I think there's far too many women who don't have the five smooth stones,

who don't have the great aunties or you know. I I hear stories every night, That's what my show is at. Stories, and people feel so disconnected and so alone, and if we could somehow, if you could, somehow uh impart upon them the importance of those connections and getting back to because that that proverb it takes a village has been around four thousands of years, not a new concept. That's right, that's right, But that's but to that point you make

about connection. This is also one of the reasons why I wanted to do the book, so that anyone that feels disconnected you can learn you can have that connection through what you hear from my family. What you hear from the women in my family, Uh, you know, they're they're there. They open up their hearts and they're so

transparent and so loving and so giving. And so even if someone listening may not have um their own family or those own their own five smooth stones, they you know, through listening to this book, it can kind of be like almost like a surrogate situation, you know, where my aunts can become your aunts, so have u. And that was going to be my next question. Have your aunts become aunts to other young people? I know they have.

I mean, I know the answer to that, but how many other kids who were disenfranchised, who were without parental support or whatever have they taken under their wings there their mother hand wings and nurse and I can count I mean some that they've you know, actually were adopted into our family and others that they have you know, mothered throughout the years, but more more than I can count. Wouldn't that be a fun addition to get some of

those testimonies somehow of those kids. Yeah, because I know a lot of people who may listen to it takes a woman might say, well, but that's not my mom. I don't have that kind of structure. I don't have that kind of construct to show that you can, you can create that you can. Yeah, you really can't, You really really can. And also the blessing of technology these days is that you can bring anyone into your village.

You can bring you know, Delilah can be in my village and you know, other voices and other thoughts because you whether it's through a book, whether it's through podcast, where's through radio, whether it's through knowing people. I mean now rereason V technology, there's there's so there's a way to create such a rich life and get the information that is lacking just by going and seeking it out. Well, I want everyone to seek out. It takes a woman.

I don't care what aide you are, I don't care what race you are, there is wisdom and goodness and love and mercy and grace, all that good stuff that that transcends everything. Right now, we are living in such a time to von where there's so much division. I know, it's taken on a life of its own that's so ugly. Yeah, and I love that everything I've ever seen that you

are involved with, you got no time for that. Like right, it's all about Hey, you know, great trying to put great stories in the world, because stories are the great united and they're all so you know, when you think about our culture, our families, our communities, a lot of um them are based upon oral traditions and you know,

those stories being passed out from generation to generation. And so you know, I'm very committed to storytelling and bringing great stories to our culture and our families in whatever way I can. So if it's with audible as an audiobook, if it's if it's a movie, if it's TV series, you know, in all other ways, I'm just passionate about using every medium I can to try to really bring more connection to our culture. And you do it in such a beautiful way. Thank you, thank you, thank you

so much. It takes a woman available on Audible. Now they can go do you do you have a website? You just want them to go straight to audible. Yeah, you can go to audible or devon Franklin dot com and either way it'll take them to It takes a Woman Divine Franklin dot com. By the way, easy on the eye, You're hilarious. Just I'm just saying, just seeing. It's a really nice it's a love it's a well well produced website. How's that. I'll just leave it right there.

Thank you, Thank you for your time. Thank you for spending this time with us. God bless you and all that you do. God bless you too. Always get seeing you have a great day. His new book, It Takes a Woman, honors and holds space for the women in our lives who uplift, who encourage, and who fearlessly stand in the gap for all of us to be our best selves. May has almost come to an end, but there's one more weekend left, and it's a special one.

Memorial Day is Monday, a federal holiday set aside as a national day of mourning for all US military personnel who have died while serving in the US Armed Forces. While it also kicks off the unofficial start of summer and is usually marked with the first camping trips of the year, a chance to bring out the lawn cushions,

dust off the barbecues. There are usually a number of events planned, from parades to volunteer opportunities in every community, and I encourage you to find one that speaks to you. It Takes a Woman by Devon Franklin, narrated by Devon, his Aunties and his Mother, is available on audible right now. I promise you will enjoy this so much, and you can keep up with Devon and all of his incredible inspirational projects by visiting Davon Franklin dot com and on

his social media at Davon Franklin. Enjoy your first burger of the season this weekend, but also please take a few moments to pause and reflect on the ultimate sacrifice that many thousands paid so that we have the freedoms that we enjoy today. I hope the rest of the month of May and the coming long weekend is spent safely and in the company of those who you care most about and who care about you. I will see you next time. I love some one. M