Out of the Ordinary

This is a story about the middle. We celebrate new beginnings, and we applaud satisfying endings, but too often we forget about the middle. Or, worse, we rush on by determined to get to the "good stuff." But Lisa-Jo has a brand new book coming out in LESS THAN ONE WEEK (!!), and it is a joyous standing ovation for life's many messy middles. This week on the Out of the Ordinary podcast,...

This is a story about two astonishing names. One name belongs to Christie's family and the other belongs to Lisa-Jo's, but both names tell incredible stories. This conversation was inspired by Lisa-Jo's most personal and vulnerable Instagram post ever. Her tear-streaked face moved many of you to respond, but this week not only are we sharing the story behind the image, we are marveling...

This is a story inspired by rest. Sounds good, doesn't it? Unfortunately, rest is sometimes easier to talk about than it is to receive. But at the Out of the Ordinary podcast, we believe that rest is not only a necessary part of ordinary life, it's one of the greatest gifts of ordinary life. We are determined to rest by example, and that's what this week's episode is all about! Thi...

This is a story about Martha Stewart's magazine. And how Christie was disappointed by the gardening issue. Until this happened.  Christie did not used to be a gardener.  Lisa-Jo has no idea what Dahlias are. They both have strong feelings about Martha Stewart.  And by the end of the story Lisa-Jo can't believe what either Martha or Christie did.    Listener invitation: Are you a gardener?...

This is the story about summer foods. If you're like us then you also associate summer with certain foods. And therefore with certain memories. These are the foods and memories that have shaped our summers for decades.  We hope listening leaves you hungry. And also, makes you remember. The tastes of your favorite summers and the memories that you can bite into when you close your eyes and pict...

This is the story of our first critic. Once upon a time in a coffee shop in Chicago when Christie was a brand new English Literature professor a stranger asked her a question about reading and writing. He was pointed. He had opinions. He was her first critic.  We've come a long way since then. And gathered many, many more reviews. And we've gotten better at receiving them. And learned a lo...

This is an invitation. But before the invitation? A story, of course. This is the story of grass seeds and weeds.  This is a story about the hard, daily work of preparation and how good that work can be. Lisa-Jo and Christie are inviting a small group of readers and listeners to join them for a gathering in celebration of Lisa-Jo's new book  The Middle Matters . But first? There is particular...

This is the story of a special night out. Christie and Lisa-Jo share the story of a recent Friday night spent together that was different from anything they've shared before.  Here's a story for anyone longing to have better friendships and to be a better friend. This is a conversation about the poison of comparison and the antidote that is learning how to be someone's "second in c...

This is the story of a party that never happened. And the reasons why we're grateful for that. May 4th was supposed to be our first live podcast event at Christie's Black Barn. But, as so often happens in life, our eyes and dreams had been bigger than our stomachs or ability in this case. And it turned out to be a good thing.  Here's a story for anyone disappointed that they weren'...

This is the story of a new mom crushed by one sentence on her first Mother's Day. And how a decade later she got to re-write those words.  This one's for anyone who felt disappointed by Mother's Day. This one's for anyone who got her expectations crushed on Mother's Day or any day really. This one's for anyone who wonders if anyone notices all the things she does for them....

This is a story about a book Christie loved and Lisa-Jo did not. Actually, here are stories about quite a few books! Because these are the childhood favorites that helped make us the women we are. In this week's conversation, we discover just how much our favorite books reveal about our deepest selves and our relationships. Christie and Lisa-Jo trade memories and titles from  The Secret Garden...

This is a story from Lisa-Jo's favorite book baby,  Surprised by Motherhood: Everything I Never Expected About Being a Mom . With Mother's Day just around the corner, Lisa-Jo invites us to celebrate the ordinary wonder of ordinary motherhood. Spoiler alert:  there's really nothing ordinary about it . Or, if there is, it's an astonishing, glorious kind of ordinary. Whether or not we...

This is a story about a man who moved into our neighborhood and it changed everything. This week Lisa-Jo and Christie remember the cultures and friendships and travel that have defined their understanding of their favorite neighbor.  Lisa-Jo takes us back to her two years in Kyiv, Ukraine and Christie remembers how her parents lived a legacy of missions from their Texas home. Listener invitation:...

This is a story about painting a dining room nearly charcoal black. And the hundreds of hours it took. This is a story about how it turned a dining room into an everyday extravagance. This week Lisa-Jo and Christie remember the great farmhouse dining room painting saga of their first Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania and how it nearly ruined Christie and her husband's respective backs and arms and...

This is a story about an epic Easter egg hunt. This is a story about easy, life-giving hospitality. This week on the Out of the Ordinary podcast, Lisa-Jo and Christie describe in uproarious detail their most favorite, shared annual event. Here are all the practical instructions on the easiest way to host the most people at your home. Easter hasn't happened yet. There's still time! Or maybe...

This is a story about the surprise of new life. This is a story about calendar days of death transformed into yearly reminders of new life. Lisa-Jo tells the story of September 2. It was a day that always reminded her of death, but the year when the weight of that day felt heaviest was the year when September 2 became a day of new life. Christie tells the story of her own birthday. It, too, was a...

This is a story about a friendship that's lasted 2 decades It's all our insights into why it's lasted and how to find friends that love you like family. And how to be that kind of friend. We don't have short cuts but we do have stories about what got us from 2 strangers meeting after a failed church event to 2 friends who know ALL the details of each others' lives -- the good,...

This is a story about a gift I regret giving my children.  If I could take it back I would. Maybe? But maybe not. This is a gift I didn't realize I was passing on to them, and I never could have imagined how it would affect them in all the same but also in completely new ways from how it affected me.  It's the painful, beautiful gift that I both regret and cherish at the same time. Listene...

This is a story about a book called  Placemaker . This is a joy-filled conversation between old friends about a brand-new book baby. That's right. Christie's new book has just been born into the world, and today's episode is not only a celebration, it is an intimate, behind-the-scenes glimpse you will only find here on the podcast. Lisa-Jo asks the questions no other interviewer can as...

This is a story about placemaking around the table. This is Chapter Ten of  Placemaker  in Christie's own voice (can you hear a hint of Texas drawl?). Our favorite thing about podcasting is sharing stories with you in our own voices. With Christie's new book landing in reader's hands in less than one week,  this audio "sneak peek" is our gift to you.   So, put your feet up, pou...

This is a story about our nosy listeners whom we love! So many of you have had so many questions for us over the past few months. Here are all your answers!  Christie and Lisa-Jo put their feet up, pour the tea, settle in with some chocolate and offer up the realest, un-edited live responses to some of their listeners most common questions.  Listener invitation:  This will become a regular feature...

This is a collection of love stories about the old fashioned cuppa tea. It's no secret that Lisa-Jo and Christie love a good cup of tea.  Hot, cold, dark, red, or herbal tea is a hot trend these days. But Lisa-Jo's love for the sweet beverage was born even before she was. And Christie was an early adapter Between them they invite you to put your feet up, pour a cuppa and listen in as Lisa-...

These are the stories of friends who showed up like beacons. If Episode 20 was all about the foreign country of grief, these stories will give you the courage and the advice you need to journey to that intimidating place without fear. Perhaps life has already brought you to that hard place. Perhaps a friend has recently crossed over, and you are wondering how to help her. Lisa-Jo and Christie have...

This is the story of a man who chose his own name. And this is the story of a name handed down from mother to daughter to son. If Episode 19 was all about letting go of hurtful labels, this episode is about the importance of claiming a name. Christie and Lisa-Jo return to their conversation in Episode 11 (When Life Feels Like a Series of Interruptions) to share more about the tragic loss of Christ...

This is the story of the labels people pin to us - to our bodies or our lives, or our families or our homes - and that we sometimes start to believe must be true. This is the story of starting to say that we will not be accepting those labels today, thank you very much.  Today Christie and Lisa-Jo each share stories about labels they had unknowingly accepted about themselves since they were teenag...