Take Root

Norma Smith has lived a life of public service. For 13 years, she served in policy as a Washington State Representative sponsoring legislation that impacted privacy, government transparency, the environment, education, behavioral health, and much more.  In this episode, Norma shares how her faith in Jesus informs every aspect of life and work, even through losing the love of her life. Norma l...

Don Bonker is a former United States Congressman who is a world leader in international trade, security and human rights. His deep faith, humility and wisdom of many years make him a man worth listening to. Fortunately, he has written a book in which he shares from this deep well of faith and life:  A Higher Calling: Faith and Politics in the Public Square . At 85 years old, this statesman is...

Rick Newell is the founder of M.U.S.T.  (Mentoring Urban Students and Teens), and the owner of  Fairway Studios. In this episode, he describes God's leading to hand over the leadership of M.U.S.T. and begin a new ministry, called ROUTE 21.  This ministry uses the same mentoring model to support teens as they are aging out of the foster care system, preventing these kids from falling...

Jesse Peone III is the youngest school board member ever elected in the State of Oregon. He owns 2 newspapers, a magazine, and a real estate business, is a full time MBA student at Willamette University... and he is only 27 years old.  Here he shares how God intervened in his life when he was living on the streets at age 17, a hopeless soul who had lived in 50 different foster homes.  Li...

JJ Breilh is the Collegiate Director at the University of Washington with Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  HIs passion for discipleship, love of sports, and pursuit of meaningful relationships makes him the perfect guy for this job. JJ and his wife Krista have literally moved in with the athletes they serve- living in an old sorority house in the U. District, and creating opportunities for...

Melissa Gehrig is the Executive Director at Vision House, a Christian social service agency in Renton and Shoreline, Washington that helps break the cycle of homelessness for families by offering transitional housing, and moving them from crisis to stability. Melissa holds a BFA from the University of California and an MA in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on servant leadership from Gon...

Jeannet Charles is Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of DADS (Divine Alternatives for Dads Services). Marvin and Jeannet Charles founded DADS over 23 years ago, and the impact of this ministry on the Puget Sound area continues to be profound. Jeannet's story of trauma, drug abuse, homelessness, and the loss of her children to the state might leave one feeling hopeless. But she was fortunate...

Marvin Charles is the Founder and Executive Director of Divine Alternatives for Dads Services ( DADS ), based in Seattle, Washington. Through this work, he has been helping men to reclaim their positive role as the fathers their children for more than 20 years.  Marvin is the author of Becoming Dads , which chronicles his own powerful story of separation and reunification, and tells about the...

Jeff Rogers is Chairman for OneAccord , which buys, sells and operates privately held companies in the Pacific Northwest. He is also the founder of KIROS , which encourages people of faith to understand and live out their calling in the context of the marketplace.   He serves on several boards and connects many people throughout the faith community, yet you might be surprised to know that Jef...

Kellie Schneider is a woman with a servant heart. After working for many years as a social worker, Kellie continues to have great impact through her service on Seattle's Union Gospel Mission Board of Trustees, serving on the planning team for the King County Prayer Breakfast , and as Young Life leader at Bellevue High School (which she volunteered for at age 55!). She listens for that still, small...

Doug Burleigh is a Senior Associate with Centered and the International Foundation and the author of Jesus Changes Everything . He worked with Young Life for over 25 years, five of those as President, and started Young Life's work in the former Soviet Union. Doug lives with his wife in Annapolis, Maryland, and they have four adult children and 16 grandchildren. Please join me in listening to...

Chris Lumry is a filmmaker, author, and founder of OneStep Guides , a mission-driven company that helps people increase joy and purpose in their lives by rediscovering their creative nature. OneStep Guides offers live, online workshops, e-courses, and other resources designed to support life-giving creative exploration and mindsets that fuel growth and joy. Chris's soon-to-be-published book, Creat...

Jamie Winship is the co-founder of Identity Exchange and speaks internationally about discovering the transformative power of living in our true identity. After a distinguished career in law enforcement in Washington, D.C., and earning a Master of Arts in English, he taught at a university in Indonesia and then worked for decades in some of the world’s highest conflict areas in order to bring fort...

Deborah Herlax Enos, CN, is a global speaker, Healthy Living Expert, TV personality, and recent cancer survivor. As a nutritionist and healthy living expert,she took great joy in her amazing career, offering excellent advice on how to live a healthy lifestyle.  And then came the shock of a cancer diagnosis in the fall of 2020. This rocked her world, and sent her on a journey to ask the questi...

Cindy Breilh is the Executive Director of US programs for Medical Teams International . She has a passion for caring for the poor and has a deep understanding of some of the more hidden problems that impact our world, including mental illness Cindy lives in Edmonds, Washington, with her husband. They have three adult children and adorable grandchildren.

Brandon Heath is a singer- songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee where he lives with his wife and two little girls. He has received an Emmy Award, five Grammy nominations and and an American Music Award nomination. He has been honored as a six-time GMA Dove Award recipient, including back to back Male Vocalist of the Year awards for Give Me Your Eyes and Love Neve Fails. His music continues to reve...

Heather Tuininga is a Principal at 10/10 Strategies where she offers Philanthropic advising. She has a heart of generosity, and a deep desire to live her life by abiding in Christ. She and her husband Eric are parents to an adorable little girl named Kate, and live in Issaquah, Washington.

Rick Newell is the founder of M.U.S.T.  (Mentoring Urban Students and Teens), the owner of  Fairway Studios, and founder of Hope Herd, a new ministry focused on caring for foster children.  In 2012, Rick took a huge leap of faith out of a successful career in technology to follow God's calling to to start M.U.S.T., a mentoring program designed to help youth graduate from high school...

Tim Mackie is the Co-founder/ Chief Education Officer of the Bible Project who has a deep passion for helping people to understand how the overall biblical story works together and leads us to Jesus.  With a degree in theology, and a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies, Tim has the unique ability to explain scripture and make the stories come alive (along with the artistry of dear friend a...

Sebastian Rogers is the CEO of Peripheral Vision, a documentary film production company that seeks to empower the vision, narratives and leadership of marginalized people, and use the power of story to help us see them in a new way.  Still on a journey of healing from his own childhood trauma, he is a lover of people and is passionate about being a loving husband and dad.   Listen in as...

Marilyn Vancil is a Spiritual Director, Life Coach and Certified Enneagram Professional. She is the author of Self to Lose, Self to Find , which gives a biblical approach to the nine Enneagram types.  This mother of four and grandma to 11 has ample wisdom to share about how people can discover their core identity.     

Margo Jarvies-Engberg is President and CEO of Pinkabella Cupcakes and PB Franchising. She and her husband Doug have raised five beautiful children, four of whom are adopted. You will be amazed at the story of how the vision for a business came out of a desire to adopt and a passion for kids to experience the simple joy of a birthday cupcake.

Dr. Gregory Jantz is the founder of The Center • A Place of Hope , the author of over 40 books, and a go-to media source expert on a range of behavioral-based afflictions, drug and alcohol addictions, and more.  In this episode he shares thoughtful insights and resources which are especially helpful in these challenging times.   Find out more at: https://www.aplaceofhope.com

Bob Lonac planned to be a businessman, but God led him down a very different path.  He was a Senior VP at Young Life for 32 years, then the COO of International Justice Mission, and most recently the CEO of CRISTA Ministries. Now Bob is a coach, consultant and teacher with a wealth of experience and wisdom to share. He is the author of Live Large! Seven Lasting Lessons for Navigating Life's T...

Shannon Wallis is the author of the international best selling book We the Change and is a leadership and organizational effectiveness consultant to Fortune 500 companies and non-profits on six continents. She is also a debate coach at her daughters' school and is married to a retired Marine who has been her greatest support who, at a pivotal moment in her life, reminded Shannon that, "It wouldn't...