Hear Where You Belong

What if the life you were trying so hard to fit into was never actually yours to begin with? That is the question Jessica DeYoung had to answer when she and her family sold everything, packed four kids and a dog onto a 40-foot motorcoach they call Abbey the Adventure Bus, and hit the road full-time across America. Four and a half years. 42 states. Thousands of miles. And one woman finally figuring...

What if the hardest year of your life — the one with the suicidal child, the estranged daughter, the house fire, and the ministry you had to give away — was actually the year God gave you the desire of your heart? That is exactly what Tony Stoltzfus discovered. And in Episode 99 of Hear Where You Belong Podcast , he shares it all with a depth and honesty that will stay with you long after the epis...

You can sit in a room full of people and still feel completely alone. Being included is not the same as belonging — and Dr. Stuart Jones has spent his whole life learning that difference from a brother the world often overlooked. In Episode 98 of Hear Where You Belong Podcast , host Dea Irby sits down with Dr. Stuart Jones — author, speaker, ordained minister, former university vice president, and...

What do you do when everything around you — the house, the store, the school, the church — belongs to the cotton mill? When your grandfathers started working at age 9? When your daddy quit school in 8th grade because he figured the mill was his destiny anyway? If you are Donald Williams — you go to Clemson. And you do not stop until you have three degrees. In Episode 97 of Hear Where You Belong Po...

What does it take to stop trying to be a duplicate — and finally step into being the original God designed you to be? That is the question Reverend Kevin T. Taylor has been answering his entire life. And in Episode 96 of Hear Where You Belong Podcast , he answers it in a way that is going to stay with you. Kevin is an executive strategist, pastor of the oldest Black church in upstate New York, fou...

What do you do when the thing you feared most actually happens — and then happens again? Kathy Rogers knows. And somehow, impossibly, beautifully — she is not bitter. She is not broken. She is a woman whose faith grew unshakeable in the very seasons that would have destroyed most of us. In Episode 95 of Hear Where You Belong Podcast , Kathy joins host Dea Irby for one of the most tender, honest, a...

What happens when success on paper no longer feels like alignment in real life? That is the question Laura Patac spent years avoiding — and then finally, bravely, answered. Laura is a storyteller, leadership speaker, Gallup-certified CliftonStrengths Coach, and author of Whole, Not Perfect — an Amazon bestselling book in spiritual growth that is less a book to read and more an experience to live t...

What if the most powerful thing you could do for someone wasn't give them your advice, your money, or your time — but help them see who they already are? That's the question at the heart of this conversation, and David Ask has built his life around answering it. David is an entrepreneur, inventor, lead coach for the True North Resiliency Program, and author of the upcoming Guardians of Gri...

What if everything you've been striving to become… you already are? The Reverend Ryan Wiksell — Episcopal priest, church planter, and co-author of The Last Seder of James — joins Dea Irby for one of the most theologically rich and practically grounding conversations yet. Ryan shares why belonging is the one unique thing the church has to offer, how a WWII military lesson completely changed the...

What if the thing that made you feel like you didn’t fit… was actually proof you were designed to stand out? In Episode 91, I sit down with Elana Etten—and this conversation will stay with you long after it ends. She’s a mechanical engineer. A Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt. A stage 4 cancer survivor. An AI strategist. A mom to a nonverbal son who taught her a whole new language of love. But mor...

What do travel, retreats, the book of Acts, and a big bold personality have in common? My guest Amanda Hietter — and this conversation is one you are going to want to sit down for. Amanda is the CEO and owner of Across the Horizon Travel, a travel advisor who specializes in international group travel, retreats, and transformational experiences for entrepreneurs, pastors, coaches, and organizations...

Have you ever spent your whole life trying to fit in — with every group, every room, every relationship — only to end up exhausted, alone at the lunch table, and still feeling like you don't quite belong anywhere? That was Val Kleppen. And what God did with that struggle will absolutely bless you. In Episode 89, I sit down with Val — wife, homeschooling mama, homesteader, bereaved mother, spea...

What would you do if you sold your house, your horses, your cars — everything — packed onto a 43-foot sailboat, and sailed away into the unknown? That's exactly what today's guest, Alison Gieschen, did. And eight years, 49 countries, and four continents later, she has no regrets. In this episode, Alison shares her raw and remarkable belonging story — from being bullied as the "damn Ya...

What if the deepest sense of belonging you’re searching for isn’t found in performance, approval, or even community—but in knowing exactly whose you are? In this powerful and thoughtful episode of Hear Where You Belong , Dea Irby sits down with Steven “Wade” Cunningham —author, ordained Christian clergy, and advocate for reconciliation between Jews and Christians—for a conversation that moves from...

What happens when the people who are supposed to be “home” feel like strangers—or are absent altogether? In this deeply moving episode of Hear Where You Belong , I sit down with author and recovery leader Ashley Kinkead , whose story speaks directly to anyone carrying the quiet grief of family estrangement, unresolved pain, or long seasons of no contact. For 22 years , Ashley was estranged from he...

What if the secret to keeping the next generation in church isn’t better programs… but simply learning to listen? In this powerful Episode 85 of Hear Where You Belong, pastor, strategist, and host of the Future Christian Podcast, Loren Richmond Jr., pulls back the curtain on the real crisis facing the church today: 70% of kids raised in church walk away and never come back. Loren and Dea dive deep...

She’s walked for Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Bob Mackie… and now she walks for the King of Kings. In this dazzling, joy-filled Episode 84, international supermodel and runway icon Lu Sierra shares how the girl discovered by the legendary Zoli Agency traded the world’s spotlight for the ultimate spotlight: 19 years ago she gave her life to Christ and has never looke...

When Michelle Bader Ebersole’s healthy 39-year-old husband Luke died suddenly, she thought her story was over. Instead, God whispered, “I’ve chosen you for this.” In this tear-soaked, hope-drenched Episode 83, Michelle shares how she walked Luke through his final days, raised three teenagers alone, and built Widow Goals—a ministry that’s now bringing thousands of widows from isolation to belonging...

At an age when most people are picking cruise brochures, Kerry Damiano said “Hold my passport” and launched Mrs. World Traveler —a glamorous, hilarious, faith-filled web series that’s now taken her to 140 countries and all 50 states. In this sparkle-filled Episode 82, former pageant queen turned global content creator Kerry Damiano proves passion has zero expiration date. You’ll hear: How getting...

What started as a random idea in 2016 is now a full-time mission to arm this generation with Scripture… one epic card battle at a time. In this high-energy, laugh-out-loud Episode 81, Jai Roza (founder of Eden’s Conflict™ card game) shares how God hijacked his “side hustle” and turned it into a movement that’s getting teenagers and adults alike obsessed with memorizing and wielding God’s Word. You...

She’s completely blind. She’s also a business owner, bestselling author, podcaster, life coach, and one of the most joyful humans I’ve ever met. In this life-giving, perspective-shifting Episode 80, Teresa Blaes (founder of Kadosh Media Productions) proves that the eyes in your heart can see farther than physical eyes ever could. You’ll hear: How she spoke on the main stage at Podcast Movement – t...

What if the secret to fixing America isn’t a new policy… but an old-fashioned word: VIRTUE? In this rich, witty, and surprisingly hopeful Episode 79, theologian, college professor, and father of five Richard Raines (author of Finding Washington ) unpacks why George Washington’s character—not just his victories—built a nation, and why the next generation desperately needs to rediscover it. You’ll h...

Eight years. Totally bedridden for four of them. Career gone. Dream marriage cut short after one year. Husband dead at 38. Most people would have walked away from God screaming. Lara Silverman (Stanford Law, federal prosecutor, jazz singer, comedian) walked straight into the fire and somehow came out singing. In this raw, tear-streaked, laugh-out-loud Episode 78 of Hear Where You Belong , Lara sha...

Most people slow down at 65. Meri Lynch hit the gas. In this feel-good, fire-up Episode 77 of Hear Where You Belong , Distinguished Toastmaster and brand-new entrepreneur Meri Lynch shares how she walked away from a comfy retirement to launch NC Estate Services at age 67—because the idea of sitting on a porch swing just wasn’t her vibe. You’ll hear: Why she finally gave in to the family real-estat...

What happens when the little boy who never had a steady dad decides to become the most intentional father on the planet? In this warm, powerful Episode 76 of Hear Where You Belong , CPA & entrepreneur Paden Squires shares how growing up in rural Missouri with an in-and-out dad and a hustling single mom lit a fire in him—not just to build a successful tax-planning firm from his kitchen table, b...