Every month is a good month to learn about Black History, and in the special month of February I'm sharing with you some amazing people who have incredible resources we can learn from. Today I am SO excited to have Jasmine Holmes on The Happy Hour for the very first time! I'm so excited about it that I've actually invited her to be on TWO episodes this week! Jasmine L. Holmes is an educator, research assistant, and the author of Carved in Ebony and Mother to Son. She creates public history resou...
Feb 08, 2023•33 min
Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? Like you don’t have a seat at the table? Have you ever felt lost? If you have, this is the episode for you. Today I sit down with Ann Voskamp as we remember that we all need to sing a brave song over ourselves and our children. Ann Voskamp is a wife to The Farmer and a mother of 7 children. She is a New York Time’s Bestselling author and speaker. She has authored multiple books including One Thousand Gifts, The Greatest Gift, Unwrapping the Greatest Gift...
Feb 03, 2023•33 min
Today we’re celebrating Angie Elkins' 1 year Anniversary with The Happy Hour. For those of you who don’t know, Angie is The Happy Hour’s editor and Director of Podcast for Ivey Media. She resides in Florida with her husband and three kids where she loves studying God's Word, serving in the local church, and visiting Disney World. Angie is also the host her own podcast, Chatologie, a faith based podcast that invites guests to share how God has been present in their lives, what they are currently ...
Feb 01, 2023•41 min
This week we have a special episode with a fellow podcaster, Paul Hastings, who has a unique way of immersing listeners into people's life changing stories. He is the host of "Compelled", a podcast sharing stories about God transforming Christians around the world. Paul is an award-winning podcaster, filmmaker, speaker, entrepreneur, and proud husband and father. On this episode we remember the Space Shuttle Columbia crew and talk more about Compelled Episode #46 with Evelyn Husband Thompson, th...
Jan 30, 2023•56 min
Tiffany Daniels is the Founder and Director of THERE{4} Teen Gathering. Tiffany has a passion to see the hearts of high school girls transformed by the gospel of grace. Since 2016, God has used THERE{4} Teen Gathering’s 11 conferences (nine in the US and two in Kigali, Rwanda) to reach tens of thousands of girls in all 50 states and upwards of 30 countries worldwide via livestream.Tiffany lives in Arlington, Texas with her husband, David, Lead Pastor of Central Bible Church. Their three grown ch...
Jan 27, 2023•49 min
Collectively, we can look back on the year 2020 and remember how tough it was for everyone! But one thing I look back on with joy is how Carlos Whittaker emerged as a hopeful and steady voice online, walking us through tough conversations and being a true leader for many in what felt like a dark time. I am THRILLED to have Carlos back on the show today as we reflect on his journey over the past few years. Plus, we talk all about his new book, How to Human: Three Ways to Share Life Beyond What Di...
Jan 25, 2023•37 min
We are THRILLED to announce today the newest member of the Ivey Media Podcasts collective, Debra Fileta, and her show Love & Relationships ! Debra is a licensed professional counselor who believes that “healthy people make healthy relationships.” Love & Relationships is a hotline-style show where listeners call in with questions about dating, marriage and singleness. Debra also focuses a lot of her show on mental and emotional health so that each of us can become healthy individuals. Lov...
Jan 20, 2023•41 min
When Breonna Taylor was killed, her police report was virtually blank. Feeling as if she was suffocating in the initial silence and lack of public outcry, anti-racism educator and activist Faitth Brooks wondered, “Would the world care about and remember me if I was killed?” My guest today is Faitth Brooks. We don’t waste any time jumping into why her new book, “Remember Me Now” is incredibly needed in all our lives, but is written specifically for Black women. It is a love letter celebrating and...
Jan 18, 2023•39 min
In 2020, I launched Ivey Media, the company that contains everything I do – writing, speaking, and yes, podcasting. We thought as a team, “What if we had more podcasts that we could help, supporting people as they dream about and host their shows, and find advertisers so these hosts can make podcasting their jobs?” It’s from that place that the Ivey Media Podcasts collective was created and it launched last summer! One of the shows on our network is Ministry Strong. Ministry Strong exists to str...
Jan 13, 2023•35 min
The same way you fall in love with your favorite authors and storytellers, whether it’s through movies or podcasts… allow God to become that again in your life” – Kat Armstrong If you are like me walking into the year, you have all these thoughts about wanting to eat better, exercise more, and maintain great friendships. Or maybe you are saying, “I want to get back into God’s Word.” If that is you, I have a great show for you today! My guest is Kat Armstrong and she is one of my favorite Bible t...
Jan 11, 2023•39 min
Hey friends, and happy Friday! Cheers to the second episode of The Happy Hour 2023! I have a first-time guest on today, Ericka Anderson, and she has listened to all five hundred and fifty-one episodes of The Happy Hour! Ericka is a mom, wife, freelance writer, and podcaster who recently wrote a book called “Reason to Return,” focused on the topic of women leaving the church. 16 million American women have left the church in the last decade, and Ericka shares a few reasons why. Some of these reas...
Jan 06, 2023•33 min
Happy New Year! I cannot believe we are entering another year! Welcome to the very first episode of The Happy Hour in 2023. It may be a little early in the year to declare this, but my conversation today is probably going to be one of my favorite episodes when I do a “2023 year in review” in December! The team and I thought about doing something different to start the new by letting my dear friend Jackie Hill Perry interview me. I think we all know who Jackie is, but if you’re not familiar, I’m ...
Jan 04, 2023•44 min
Can you believe Christmas is this Sunday?! What a year this has been! I cannot believe this is the final episode of 2022. I’m closing out December with a conversation with my dear friend Vivian Mubani! Vivian is no stranger to The Happy Hour – she was my guest on Episodes #59 and #251. Today we talk about her podcast, Someday Is Here (which is on our Ivey Media Podcasts network!), her hope for the Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) community, her cancer journey, and why representation matte...
Dec 23, 2022•52 min
TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK! It is so very true, and today you get to meet my whole team! My heart overflows with love for each of the ladies you will hear from today. The gifts, talents, voices, and personalities they bring not only make our company better, but they make me better as well. Ivey Media has been through so much growth this year. It has also been so sweet to merge so many beautiful people together in one company! I ask each woman about four things: What they love about working at...
Dec 21, 2022•1 hr 24 min
With the big day right around the corner, today is our last episode for our Characters of Christmas series! I personally feel like I have grown and learned so much with each conversation about Jesus’ birth, and my heart feels more ready to anticipate and celebrate on Christmas Day. Today’s guest is no stranger to The Happy Hour and he is going to end our series by sharing about the Wiseman – how they point us back to Jesus and how we can see the character of Jesus through them. Preston Perry is ...
Dec 16, 2022•22 min
The holidays can be a tough time for people, but what we can find in today’s story is that God is faithful no matter what you are going through. God is faithful to His Word, He keeps his promises, and when we act in faith, we can know that He will always respond. Today my guest is Pastor Bryan Carter, senior pastor at Concord Church in Dallas. We are continuing our Characters of Christmas series, and today we are talking about the Shepherds. I ask Pastor Bryan why it’s important that the Shepher...
Dec 14, 2022•18 min
I hope y’all are enjoying these seasonal episodes about the Characters of Christmas! Today we’re focusing on the angels, and there is no other person that I think fits this topic than my friend Ellie Holcomb. Ellie has been on The Happy Hour before and she also recently released her latest children’s book, Sounding Joy. Sounding Joy goes hand in hand with today’s show. I read a little of her book at the end of the episode, and I think after listening that you will want to buy a copy! We talk abo...
Dec 09, 2022•23 min
We are continuing our Characters of Christmas series with today’s guest Ross Lester. Ross is a friend of mine, he’s the campus pastor at one of our locations of The Austin Stone Community Church, and he is no stranger to The Happy Hour. Ross was on Episode #375, and I’m excited to have him back to talk about Joseph, the father of Jesus’ during His time spent on earth. Listen, you are in for a great episode! Ross and I talk about the relationship between Joseph and Jesus, and you guys, I’m really...
Dec 07, 2022•24 min
Hi friends! We are continuing our Characters of Christmas series with my guest Jami Nato. Jami was on The Happy Hour back in 2016. We re-aired that episode in 2021 during our Flashback Friday podcast series, and now Jami is back with us to talk all about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Maybe December is a hard month for you or maybe 2022 has been a particularly challenging year for you. I want to encourage you to lean into this last month of the year standing on something that is unshakeable: Jesus C...
Dec 02, 2022•26 min
Hi Friends! I have loved this last year with our rhythm of episode series, bringing you conversations all centered around a specific topic or theme. Today, we’re starting our next series, called Characters of Christmas! Today’s guest is my friend Rebecca McLaughlin who is no stranger to The Happy Hour. Some of you may remember Rebecca from Episode #402 when we talked about her book Confronting Christianity . Rebecca holds a Ph.D. from Cambridge University and a theology degree from Oak Hill Coll...
Nov 30, 2022•37 min
Hey you guys! Today my guest on The Happy Hour is someone new to me, and that’s Rich Villodas. Rich is from New York, has been married to his wife Rosie for 16 years, and they have two children together, Karis and Nathan. Rich has been at New Life Fellowship Church for 15 years, 10 of those spent as head pastor. New Life Fellowship Church was founded in 1987 and there are over 75 nations represented in his church, in an area where 123 languages are spoken! Rich and I talk about his latest book t...
Nov 25, 2022•51 min
Make connection today to a child through compassion. CLICK HERE TO SPONSOR I love any time I get to sit down with my friend Jonathan and talk about Compassion International, so today is automatically up there in my list of favorites. After my conversation with Jonathan, stick around for Angie Elkins’ conversation on this episode with Dr. Yannely Suero, another former Compassion child who is now a pediatrician! Compassion International’s mission is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name....
Nov 23, 2022•51 min
It’s time again for one of my favorite things we do all year – the Holiday Gift Guide! Our team has been in the Christmas spirit since August as we’ve worked to pull together this year’s Gift Guide, and we’re thrilled to share it with you today. This year’s Gift Guide includes small and woman-owned businesses, ethically made products, companies with give-back models, and cause- or faith-based companies. As you’re planning your holiday shopping, our hope is that you’ll shop small and support thes...
Nov 18, 2022•1 hr 6 min
If you’re not quite in the Christmas spirit yet, I think this episode will get you there, especially as we keep our focus on the birth of Jesus. In today’s episode, I interview four people, plus I’m giving away a ton of things (!!) so you want to stick around until the end! My first guest is David Taylor and let me just say, after talking with David, I’m inspired to go and get my doctorate degree. David is a professor at Fuller University and he teaches about the Trinity, the Bible, and creation...
Nov 16, 2022•1 hr 11 min
Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions about pornography and sex addictions. This Boundaries series has been a fun and meaningful one for us to put together, and I can’t believe we’ve reached the end of these episodes! For our final interview of the series, Jim Cress closes us out, and there couldn’t have been a more perfect person to wrap it all up. Jim is a father, a husband of almost 38 years, a licensed professional counselor and certified sex addiction therapist, as well as an ordain...
Nov 11, 2022•52 min
Hey friends! I hope you are enjoying our Boundaries series as much as I am. Today is special – we have two interviews in one show, with three total guests! The focus of these conversations is boundaries with technology. I know this can be a touchy subject, but I encourage you to really lean in and examine your own relationship with technology as you listen. First up is Tracy Foster, co-founder and executive director of Screen Sanity. Screen Sanity’s main focus is to maximize the benefits of tech...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 9 min
We are continuing on in our new Boundaries series and it just keeps getting better! Today on the show is my friend, Dr. Alison Cook. Alison is a psychologist, has her own private practice, writes, coaches, and has worked as a therapist for women for approximately 20 years. Alison and I talk about how embracing healthy boundaries sometimes starts with setting initial boundaries for ourselves. She explains what it means to get to know the state of our soul, taking those parts of us that were forme...
Nov 04, 2022•37 min
Hey friends! We are starting a new series today called Boundaries, and as hard as boundaries may be for some of us, I really think you’re going to enjoy these conversations. I’m starting off the series with my dear friend, Lysa Terkeurst. Lysa is no stranger to The Happy Hour, and I’m sure many of you know her name. She is an author and speaker, not to mention an impactful communicator of God’s Word. Lysa recently wrote a book called Good Boundaries and Goodbye s, which I had the privilege and h...
Nov 02, 2022•45 min
I’m sad to say that we’re wrapping up our Collaboration Over Competition series, but we are finishing strong! My guests today are two of my dear friends, Lisa Whittle and Alli Worthington, founders of the organization Called Creatives. Called Creatives is a private coaching community with hands-on training for those who want to write and speak with influence and impact. With a growing membership base of more than 500, Called Creatives provides opportunities for mastermind groups, publishing supp...
Oct 28, 2022•37 min
My next two guests are mastering collaboration over competition. Together, they have written several books, including Are My Kids On Track , and Intentional Parenting . They are also the hosts of the Raising Boys & Girls podcast. Sissy Goff is the Director of Child and Adolescent Counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries for more than thirty years. David has been at Daystar for 25 years, now serving as the Director of Family Counseling. Have you enjoyed our Collaboration Over Competition s...
Oct 26, 2022•40 min
