Your Day Brighter®

Spend a little time with my gracious friend Bobbie Jenkins and you will be LIFTED! Bobbie is the production manager and beekeeper for Hon’s Honey, a social enterprise created to give dignity and purpose to women survivors of trauma, and an outgrowth of a loving community called The Well in Curtis Bay, Maryland. For many women who come to The Well, the story of the past is a painful one; addiction,...

Matthew West writes the songs he needs to hear.   4:30 How do you bounce from one thing to another? 7:20 What does a songwriting day look like? 12:10 “The God Who Stays” book  24:03 The need for authenticity 30:10 Sharing messages I need to hear 35:45 The secret to 20 years with Emily If you love the podcast you'll love the radio show! We host BRIGHT-FM Mornings on BRIGHT-FM in Baltimore, Mar...

She’s sold millions of books and records, she’s a popular talk show host, Bible teacher, and speaker... and she knows what it likes to feel like her world is falling apart. Sheila Walsh has an incredible story.  If you’ve ever felt like giving up, or that you couldn’t share your struggle, you will find a safe, compassionate, wise mentor in Sheila Walsh. From her own journey of childhood trauma and...

Popular radio host and author Brant Hansen joins me for a fascinating look at biblical manhood in a way I’ve never heard it explained before.   In his new book, The Men We Need, Brant shares the qualities that women find the most attractive in a man... spoiler alert: It has nothing to do with his muscles and everything to do with how God designed men.   Brant is warm, wise, and disarmingly hilario...

TobyMac joins me for a beautiful conversation about the love of his family and the healing power of God in a hard season of loss. His transparency and his faith left me undone in the best way.   This man is the real deal: a man of God on a journey to love well.     01:39 Coming “Home” 03:27 Marriage Lessons 08:20 How is God healing you? 16:50 What’s bringing you joy? 22:45 What’s the band teaching...

She grew up in a Jewish home, a home that from the outside looked perfect. No one knew the hurt and pain that was happening behind those doors.  As a child, she was entrusted to be the confidante and keeper of her mother’s secret affairs; a darkness that a little girl was brought into.  That trauma stayed with her into her adult life and affected her ability to love her own family. She tried thera...

How do we talk about and process racially-motivated violence? How do we help bring healing to this world that is reeling? How do we navigate a diverse world as people who love Jesus and want to build unity and understanding? How do we lead in a multi-cultural context?   These are important questions and my friend Nikki Lerner is up for the challenge. Join me as I talk with one of my dearest friend...

Her incredible voice has taken her to American Idol, season 9, and a 4-year stint as a backup singer for Katy Perry. But Tasha Layton has finally landed in a personal sweet spot, writing and singing music that draws people closer to God. Have you heard her single, “Look What You’ve Done?” It undoes me!   I was honored to hear her share a bit of her journey to this sweet spot of life, including goi...

I love to laugh but I am not a fan of vulgar humor and foul language -and what’s even worse for me, is when making fun of other people becomes the source of the jokes. So how refreshing is it when you get to laugh gorgeous belly laughs with no flinch factor at all? Yes!   I am delighted to introduce to you comedian Shawn Reynolds. He is hilarious, authentic and a precious human who loves to use hi...

In a field that was for years, dominated by men, journalist Denise Koch forged a path in broadcast journalism and became one of the most trusted news anchors in our generation.   For 40 years, we’ve seen her on our local station WJZ, delivering the news with excellence, and covering human interest stories with warmth and relatability. I have admired her for so many years and I am thrilled to share...

Twenty-seven years ago, I made a decision that I can never undo. I had an abortion. I carry with me the sorrow of that decision and I will carry it for the rest of my life. But what I don’t carry with me, is the shame and guilt that I felt years ago. This episode is deeply personal because it’s my story. No politics here- Just my story. And I share it as a woman who has experienced the love and gr...

Do you ever feel like your best life is just beyond your grasp? Joshua Becker has a passion for helping people to live meaningful, purpose-filled lives.   He’s a best-selling author and founder of BecomingMinimalist.com and his work has helped people all over the world get free from the weight of owning so much stuff, so they can focus on what really matters to them. Joshua’s wisdom has impacted m...

We all want to have better relationships, right? The Bible is deeply relevant when it comes to how we treat other people and it gets all up in our business. And I love it!   On this episode of the podcast, I’m sharing some lessons I’ve learned about loving our friends and yes, I’m still learning. I never want to just let my close relationships be on auto-pilot, but I want to nurture them to be hea...

Logan, Madison, and Taylor, otherwise known as CAIN join me for an honest, delightful conversation from a room backstage somewhere in South Dakota, or North? They honestly weren’t sure where they were! They are precious. Siblings who have been making music together for a long time, singing in cover bands and in bars.... but only recently discovered that making music for Jesus was what they wanted...

Darren Mulligan of We Are Messengers is on a mission to tell people about Jesus and come what may, he just keeps going!  See what I did there? “Come what May” is We are Messengers #1 single and seems to chronicle Darren’s story.   He joins me for a warm conversation about Jesus, Ireland, making music, and his most recent brush with death in a terrible car accident, (not kidding!) where instead of...

Do you ever wonder how people in the spotlight keep their heads from getting big? Mark Hall from Casting Crowns could give a Masters Class on how to protect ourselves from that kind of self-promotion. Mark’s focus is clear, it’s all about pointing people to Jesus. And how he approaches a stage and a spotlight may surprise you.   Join me for a candid, refreshing conversation with Mark on day one of...

As a teenager, Evan Craft took seriously Jesus's call to love our neighbors but he realized he couldn’t love them well if he couldn't talk to them.  So many of his neighbors spoke Spanish and while this wasn't his culture or language, he determined to break that barrier and build a bridge instead. Evan studied Spanish and landed in Latin America at 21 years old and said, "Here...

Mitch Albom writes stories that invite us to bring our deepest questions about life to the surface. In his classic from 1997, “Tuesdays with Morrie”, we joined Mitch on his visits to his old college professor, Morrie Schwartz, who shared treasures of wisdom as he was dying from ALS. Since then, Mitch has written so many others that weave our questions, fears, and longings together into a picture o...

Here’s a statistic that blew my mind: Over 49 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. And we know that so many more suffer from anxiety but have never been officially diagnosed. I am one of those. How about you? Ever had feelings of worry, fear, or dread that you can’t necessarily attach to specific circumstances?   Join me for a practical, helpful conversation wit...

Have you ever been told you’re too much? How about you’re just too intimidating? Not available? Too picky? Too much of something or not enough of something else and that is why- you’re still single. Yikes. I hate words like that because they are lies from the pit.   Join me for part 2 of an honest, lively, and insightful conversation about being single. My friends Erin and Christina join me once a...

Join me for a lively conversation with two of my favorite women on the planet, my friends Erin Branham and Christina James, as we talk about being single and how they REALLY feel about it.   We’ll glean from their wisdom, candor, and humor as we ponder what God might be up to in the lives of people who are single and asking God all the questions, like, “why?” and “how long?”   So much good stuff h...

She is one the most influential worship leaders and singers in Hispanoamérica.  To quote a friend of mine, “Christine is an icon in Spanish American Christian music.” And I had not heard of her until the day we met for this conversation!   It’s humbling to think all this time, I was not yet aware of the treasure that is Christine D’Clario!  She has an incredible story of God’s amazing grace in her...

David Crowder is one of those delightful people you just want to hang out with. So let’s hang out!  Join me for a refreshing and fun conversation with the winsome David Crowder as we talk about everything from pandemic revelation, to cross-generational and cultural collaboration with Maverick City Music, and the chance to finally tour with Toby Mac. You’re going to smile all the way through this o...

He’s helped so many of us deal with the pain of our past, and learn to share our stories. He’s helped leaders grow, marriages heal and weary people learn to rest. And he’s helped us see how the gospel is woven into our stories.   Dr. Dan Allender is one of those important, special voices in the world. His work as a therapist and teacher has transformed the lives of so many, and his books have been...

Clutter. It means to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness. Physical clutter gets in the way of your living space, your workspace, your car space, your purse space. Clutter makes it hard to find the stuff you actually need.   Soul clutter is when this scattered, disordered state is internal. It’s the things that are blocking, restricting, im...