Grace, Grit & Hope

What happens when a childhood spent traveling the globe on missionary ships to spread the Gospel turns into a lifelong battle against modern-day slavery? In this episode of Grace, Grit & Hope, we sit down with Kentucky residents Greg and Mala Malstead, founders of Freedom Firm USA. Driven by profound faith, they stepped into the dark world of child sex trafficking in India to bring rescue and rest...

Join Kevin and Paschal with reform powerhouse and gold-medal-winning author Vicki Reed. After decades in child welfare—from opening Lexington's first youth shelter to shaping statewide juvenile justice reform—Vicki has turned her frontline experience into impactful fiction. We dive into her award-winning debut, The Car Thief , and her release this spring: Sleight of Hand . The book follows a youth...

Ultramarathoner Simeon Bates joins Grace, Grit & Hope to share the story behind his extraordinary 900‑mile run for justice. Determined to support Freedom Firm's mission to end child sex trafficking in India, Sim ran 30 miles a day for 30 days across Kentucky's Red River Gorge. His faith fueled him through the pain, helping raise $100,000 for an organization that has rescued over 1,000 survivors. S...

Join Paschal and Kevin as they trade their dignity for a Wi-Fi signal in this hilariously honest dive into our doom-scrolling insanity. From coffee shops filled with silent phone zombies to students walking on campus while staring into devices, they poke fun at themselves and our nation's collective trance by featuring Kevin's original song:"The Doom Scrollin' Blues." This episode is a front-porch...

Folksinger Michael Johnathon tells his life story and calls us to reclaim the soul of American music: the spirit of the front porch. He reflects on Pete Seeger's belief that the audience is the true star and warns that today's world of commercial music has lost its soul. From his Walden‑like years in Mousie, KY to founding WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, he champions community, simplicity and the p...

Paschal Baute has spent nearly a century forging grit. A 96‑year‑old veteran who served with four branches of the military, he is also a former monk, retired psychologist, and author of 50 books on resilience and hope. He has survived cancer, adapted to blindness, and recently endured the loss of his wife of 57 years. From childhood bullying to boxing in Guam, from military school to catastrophic...

Paul Prather revisits the 90-minute vision in 1980 that upended his understanding of God—a Damascus experience in which he saw that God is in control of everything, and that His deepest desire is to bless people, not to condemn. Pastor Paul's experience echoes Jesus and St. Paul: whose teachings stressed forgiveness, love and grace—not judgment or measuring others. Grace, Prather argues, is the tr...

Burned out from seeing patients nonstop, managing insurance paperwork and barely sleeping, two Lexington, Kentucky internal medicine doctors—Dr. Kitty Dotson and Dr. Sarah Schuetz—walked away from traditional medicine to build something radically different. Today, they focus exclusively on the six pillars of health (nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, social connection, and avoiding ris...

From mid-April until Sept. 27, Clay Comer, age 23, hiked from Mexico to Canada alone on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). During his incredible 2,650-mile journey, Clay braved a 40-foot fall off snowy Mount San Jacinto. For hundreds of miles, he battled swarming mosquitoes. Even when temperatures soared above 100, he walked 20 miles or more a day through the charred skeletons of burned forests. Despi...

Best-selling Carl Nordgren talks about his great new book "Common Ground for US," which outlines something few people talk about today: a hopeful vision for America. Carl draws on decades of experience, beginning with his years as a teenage fishing guide to his time building 14 successful cellular companies and through his years as a Duke professor, explaining how people can nurture their natural...

To celebrate his 96 th birthday, co-host Paschal Baute shares his recipe for a long, fruitful life. Despite being blind, surviving cancer and dealing with pain each day, Paschal shares his wisdom about the things that have helped him get another year closer to the century mark. Foremost, he credits the grace of God and his wife. But he also stresses the importance of life purpose, goals, exercise...

Joey Spencer faced his Goliath when his career came to a fork in the road. He could take a high-paying and safe job or follow a passion that was ignited by the movie Fireproof to become a firefighter. Joey took the less certain path and is glad he did. Today, he serves as a captain in the Montgomery County Fire Department in Kentucky. In this inspiring interview, Joey says nearly everyone has a gi...

Kijuan Amey is the author of: "Don't Focus on Why Me," a powerful story about him being on top of the world one minute then suddenly losing his eyesight after a 2017 motorcycle accident. In this inspiring episode, Kijuan tells how he lost his sight but not his vision. Though he had many dark days of struggle, depression and even thoughts of ending his life, Kijuan has overcome severe injuries and...

Perfectionists can't lose games, worry constantly, overwork, burn out, judge quickly and constantly find faults in themselves and others. In this episode, Kevin and Pashal laugh at their own perfectionism, like Paschal using a ruler to put stamps straight on envelopes. Paschal talks about his dramatic transformation from "never-good-enough spirituality" during 16 years as a monk. Back then, he wen...

Maggie Bushway tells her amazing story of battling brain cancer beginning at age 7 and over two decades. Though there were (and still are) terrifying seizures, painful chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, Maggie explains how cancer brought the Bushway family closer, deepened their faith and taught them the importance of laughter. Maggie explains the spiritual encounters that convinced her of a cal...

Author and Teacher Liz Prather shares key insights from her coming book "Writing for Connection," explaining how addiction to smartphones and social media has dangerously isolated students. She explains a path forward: make writing central in schools to forge new connections among students. Writing can give us self-confidence and the ability to make sense of the crazy world in which we live. As a...

As many people battle to maintain mental health, journalist Kevin Osbourn and psychologist Paschal Baute share stories of how they stay sane in an insane world. Kevin talks about going on a backpacking trip with his sons to the Ouachita National Trail in Arkansas last fall. Paschal discusses the importance of reconnecting with family and friends, and why he swims laps three days a week at age 95....

Marlana VanHoose: Never Give Up   After Marlana VanHoose sang the national anthem at a University of Kentucky women's basketball game when she was 16 years old, she has shared her powerful voice — and her Christian faith — around the world. Her gift was evident early while she grew up in the Denver community near Paintsville, KY. She hummed hymns before she could talk and played piano at age 2. Si...

Don't miss this special episode on "The Power of Goals" from professional body builder Josh Miller. In this one-hour podcast recorded Dec. 21 at College Park Gym in Winchester, KY, Josh explains how goals give us purpose, energy, joy, passion, creativity, commitment and direction. Amazingly, though, research shows that most people have no goals. This seminar is based on Josh's 20 years of training...

Sunny Yang came to the U.S. from China, and eventually fell in love with rock climbing and moved to Kentucky's Red River Gorge. Then in 2015, a tragedy happened when a truck driver, who was texting, hit him while he was running. Doctors said he would be paralyzed for life. He wanted to die, but the love for his wife Jing Yang, and their love of their two children — daughter Sunny and son Johnathan...

From his youth growing up the son of a coal miner to today, Kentucky and Tennessee National Gym Association Chairman, Josh Miller, has set goals and enjoyed the process of who he becomes as he trains. Miller married his high school sweetheart Melissa in 2000 and today owns Transformation Personal Training in Lexington, Ky. He achieved one of his many dreams when he started the first natural bodybu...

Over the last few years, Eddie Flinchum, 74, has lost track how many people have told him he's doing too much exercise and needs to remember his age. He usually smiles and says, "No, you need to be doing more and quit using age as a reason not to do something." Don't miss his incredible story of losing weight and eventually — with persistence — being able to run Spartan races with his son Forrest,...

Over the past year, ten amazing people have shared unique and precious stories. On this episode, the hosts share what each participant has taught them, and they encourage listeners to write down takeaways from their own lives. Our guests found new life after losing a spouse, overcame paralyzing fear, got a college degree despite setbacks, and survived a life-threatening injury. One guest hiked the...

Musician Bryan Klausing has seen it all over nearly two decades as a producer of the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, a live show featuring famous musicians and now reaching 2 million people each week. Because things can and do go wrong during live performances, Bryan has an unbelievable calm that helps the WoodSongs team manage problems and exceed expectations when the show must go on. He is also a...

Paschal Baute - author of 40 books about gratitude, resilience, and wellness - is celebrating 95 years of life today by calling for support of the Blinded Veterans Association. Paschal's campaign will give back to the organization that has helped him so much. He's offering a signed book to anyone who donates to BVA. To donate, go to https://bit.ly/BVADonate . His books are available in audio form...