Today I'm talking with Bronwyn Lea, blogger, lawyer, immigrant, and mom. She loves puns, and we get punny, and then she tells the harrowing tale of how she accidentally bought a minivan on eBay. She shares how we need to lighten up about our homes needing to look perfect before people come over, and practicing "radical and generous hospitality" with homemade ice cream. Bronwyn talks about living as a South African immigrant in the U.S. and gives us the gift of glimpsing immigration through her eyes as an immigrant to the U.S. So pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea or coffee, listen in, and lighten up.
Favorite quote from the show:
"Oh honey, you got your brains from me. That's why I don't have them any more." - Bronwyn's mom
If you like laughing hysterically, you guys are in for a treat today. My friend Anna Quinlan, a freelance writer and copywriter, is on the show and she tells the most epic tale of falling off a treadmill at the gym. I couldn't breathe I was laughing so hard, and then we bonded over our mutual hatred of crafts. We chat about freelance writing, how she adopted one of her boys out of foster care, and sporty sporty fitness. Anna shares about competing in races, training for an Ironman, and how people like me who are not so much with the exercise can challenge ourselves. Whether your thighs are so strong you can crack walnuts between them or you're more like me and can't remember the last time you were on a treadmill, listen in and lighten up!
Favorite quote from the show: "If you're at the table, you're family."
Also: "Step away from the glue gun."
It's the monthly crossover episode with Sarah Bragg of Surviving Sarah, and this month, we're chatting about personal growth. I mean, in between just keeping all my plates spinning I hope I'm growing as a person, at least a little, right? A lot of what contributes to my personal growth are the books I read, the things I listen to, and the products I love. So Sarah and I start out with the books we're reading, and I have a bit of a diatribe about the importance of reading fiction, then we talk about what we're learning right now, and we wrap up with products we're loving. (Between the two of us, we spend an exorbitant amount of time on coffee.) Whether you're totally growing as a person or are already perfect and need no help whatsoever, listen in and lighten up!
Today I'm talking with Beth Bruno, the founder and director of a nonprofit aimed at preventing domestic minor sex trafficking and the author of a new book for moms and daughters. We chat about her time as a missionary in the Middle East, and she offers some wise advice for people interested in missions. We talk about how she's lightening up in her regular routine, then we have a really NOT light, but super important conversation about her work preventing sex trafficking and how we can help keep kids safe in our own communities. Then we talk about her new book, A Voice Becoming: A Yearlong Mother-Daughter Journey into Passionate, Purposed Living. No matter where you live or whether you have daughters or not, this conversation is really helpful and really important so listen in and lighten up.
Today I'm talking with Karla Akins, author of A Pair of Miracles: A Story of Autism, Faith, and Determined Parenting. Do you ever wish you could talk with someone who's raised kids and lived to tell the tale? Karla is that someone. She's a homeschool, foster, and adoptive mom, and she's currently a special ed teacher in the public schools. She's raised twin boys and shares how a weener dog helped her boys learn to talk and gives advice for advocating for your kids in school, from her perspective both as the mom of kids with special needs and a special ed teacher. For those of you with kids on the autism spectrum who are looking for a parent just a little further down the journey to offer hope and encouragement, Karla's twins are 23 years old now and she shares her story here, so listen in, and lighten up.
Hey, anybody else find parenting hard? Ugh, I basically use this podcast to hang out with parents who are way better than I am, and this week I'm talking with Wynter Pitts, girl mom extraordinaire. I want to show up at Wynter's house every week for a pep talk and some wisdom. Wynter and I talk about her book, She Is Yours: Trusting God as You Raise the Girl He Gave You, her devotionals for tween girls, and how she developed her magazine For Girls Like You. Also, did you guys know that her daugther, Alena, has a book series out, too, and she's the youngest African American female to be published by a major publisher? Amazing. So come get to know Wynter Pitts with me, listen in, and lighten up!
Check out Wynter's books!
Check out Wynter's daughter Alena's book series!
It's time for our monthly crossover with Sarah Bragg, where we take a topic and talk about how to lighten up about it over here and how to survive it over on her podcast, Surviving Sarah. This month we're tackling marriage, and oh my gosh, on today's Lighten Up episode we're lightening up about sex in marriage. Sarah and I start off sharing our engagement stories - spoiler alert, Sarah robbed the cradle and mine's poop-related. We talk about when you can start farting in front of each other, and then obviously, farting is a perfect segue to sex...in some alternate reality. We have some real talk about sex, when sex is hard, lowering our expectations, planning it during those busy parenting years, how infertility destroyed my sex life, intimacy versus efficiency, and how your marriage doesn't have to look like anybody else's. Let's talk about sex baby...so listen in and lighten up!
Alex and I got married almost 18 years ago and one of the first books I was given was a cute, little stripey book that contained a window into the minds of men. On today's episode, social researcher and best-selling author Shaunti Feldhahn joins me and tells the story of how she ended up writing her bestselling book, For Women Only. Then she shares how she thinks we need to lighten up and we talk about her new devotional, Find Rest, and what her research uncovered about the primary causes of stress for women. She talks about the eight essential elements of rest, the definition of true rest, self care and soul care, and then I get her to tell us her not-guilty-at-all beach read pleasure. Feeling tired and stressed? Listen in and lighten up.
Spring has sprung, or at least it should spring sometime in the next month or two depending on where you live, and today I've brought back my friend Kari Sowers to teach us how to lighten up about gardening. I do not do that thing, but Kari explains everything a beginner needs to know for starting a garden and overcoming our fear of killing plants. And I share my story of vermiculture worm genocide. Oh, also, Kari helps me understand sexually impotent neutered GMO seeds, I talk about plant sex, and in this one half hour episode I somehow managed to say "gonads" twice. So there's something in here for everyone. Whether you have a green thumb or thumb your nose at the outdoors like I do, listen in and lighten up!
Kari Sowers is an Intellectual Property attorney turned non-profit justice worker turned stay at home mom to three fantastic daughters. She lives in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and strongly believes that each person is created to be creative. Her gardening past includes snapping beans with her grandma, roof top gardening in downtown Los Angeles, directing a community garden in Portland, Oregon and now backyard "micro-farming" in the Show-Me State. Hang out with Kari online @KariSowers on Instagram and Twitter.
Today I'm talking with Kate Motaung about how she moved to South Africa and fell in love...with South Africa and her husband. She shares her story of living in South Africa, raising kids cross culturally, being in an interracial relationship in post-apartheid South Africa, and finding laughter in the midst of her mom's cancer. Then we talk about her writer's group Five Minute Friday and her new memoir, A Place to Land. You are going to love Kate and her fascinating story, so listen in and lighten up!
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Today I'm back with Sarah Bragg of Surviving Sarah for our monthly crossover episode, where we take a topic and chat about how we can lighten up about it on this show and how we can survive it over on her podcast. Guys, I hate today's topic. It is so hard for me but somehow seems to be a theme right now. Last month over on Jamie Ivey's Happy Hour podcast I shared about my history with an eating disorder and today Sarah and I are talking about body image. Blech, I know. This is hard stuff. We all struggle in some way with accepting something about our appearance. So today we're talking about it and how we can lighten up about it. Who or what in your life shaped your view of what the "ideal" woman should look like? Sarah and I talk about ours, and we go deep into the 80s and early 90s on this one. Then we share the craziest products or procedures we've ever attempted to achieve our ideal look and our experiences with everything from sports bras to Spanx. Do you also struggle with perfectionism and comparison when it comes to body image? Listen in and lighten up.
Today I'm talking with poet and writer Carolina Hinojosa-Cisneros and we run the gamut from light to serious. She tells an amazing story about wearing leggings as pants, and you are in for a treat today because she agreed to perform her original poem, "By the Grace of God" for us and shares her process for writing poetry. We talk about how she serves her community by serving coffee, there's some serious power in a cup of coffee, and what she's learning these days about her faith and "decolonizing her theology." Then we chat about immigration, the current climate toward Mexican-Americans, and how white women can support and advocate for our Latina sisters. Super light stuff, right? Seriously, though, Carolina has some beautiful advice about how we can make space, create room, and understand the power we wield. And then at the end, she takes us to school with a fantastic reading list, which will be in the show notes. I love this conversation, a little light, a little deep, just the way I like it, so listen in, and lighten up!
Today I'm talking with my Coffee+Crumbs buddy Callie Feyen, author of the new book, The Teacher Diaries: Romeo & Juliet. We talk about dirty emojis, getting caught passing notes in class, pumping gas, and I think I drop my greatest segue ever, "speaking of blowing up at a gas station," how do you think people need to lighten up? Callie is super wise and she talks about teaching, writing, and her new book, The Teacher Diaries, which she says is a love letter to teaching middle school. Whether you're star-crossed lovers or would like to flip Cupid the bird this Valentine's day, listen in and lighten up.
Today I'm talking with Jen Lewis, founder and executive director of Purse & Clutch, my favorite bag company dedicated to ethical fashion. We talk about road rage and breastfeeding...not together, because that would be a mess and probably super illegal, and then we dig into how Jen started an ethical purse company, how she collaborates with artisans around the world, what she looks for in a bag, and what's she's learned as a businesswoman and entrepreneur over the years. As a special gift to Lighten Up listeners, Jen has given us a coupon code for free US shipping. Use code LIGHTENUP through February, and orders placed by Friday, February 9th should arrive by Valentine’s Day. So grab a new bag or wallet for Valentine's, Galentine's, or because you love yourself. To support artisans around the world, listen in and lighten up!
What is the most exciting thing about your favorite TV show? It's when they do a crossover episode with your other favorite TV show, right? When Flash has a crossover with Supergirl, when The Walking Dead has a crossover with Fear the Walking Dead...it's very exciting. Well, I am a fan of Surviving Sarah Podcast, and the host Sarah Bragg is one of my favorite people. We have cooked up monthly crossover episodes for you guys where we take a topic and talk about how to lighten up about it on my show and how to survive it on her show. And today is the first one! We're talking about how we can lighten up about friendships, the challenges of maintaining friendships as we move into new life stages or locations, believing the best in each other, setting expectations for our friendships, and how developing friendships is an important part of self care. We're going to flip the script and ask, "How can I be a good friend?" rather than "How can I get a good friend?" If you have a friend, want a friend, or are a friend, there's something here for everyone, so listen in, and lighten up!