The Celebrate + Inspire Life Podcast

Tomorrow we celebrate the most significant “event” in the Christian faith—the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Because He lives, we can live. It is the foundation of our faith and hope. We of course remember and celebrate this every day but days of remembrance were very significant in Jesus's day and the Lord encouraged us to pass down our faith from generation to generation. One way that we d...

We are back from a hiatus I took while writing and publishing my book! Forged by the Fire: A Mother’s Journey Through Grief, Faith and Finding Purpose came out on November 25, 2025. Listen for behind the scenes details, me reading the entire introduction aloud and exciting announcements! Purchase and Connect here: forgedbythefirebook.com Directly from Amazon: Paperbook or Ebook https://amzn.to/4t2...

Today I want to talk to you about a story or parable that you are most likely familiar with if you have grown up in church, it is called the Prodigal son. I don’t want to just go thru it and recite it as we have done so many times but I want to share with you how I see myself in both the prodigal son and the older brother and how my prayer right now is for the Lord to develop the character of the...

Today I want to discuss my trip that I took to Spain and Italy; I'm sure many of you are like wait when did she take that trip? Believe me it was a surprise for me too. It was one of the most spontaneous moments of my life and each detail was definitely orchestrated by the Lord. The lessons he taught me, the people I was able to meet, worship with and minister to, His amazing creation that I was a...

We are one month into 2024 and are inevitably analyzing all the habits, routines, goals, resolutions etc. that we decided to pursue or implement at the beginning of this year. This process has of course left us either feeling secure in our identity of someone who has been consistent or feeling like a failure because we are taught from early in life and it is engrained in our heart that our identit...

Today I would like to share with you some experiences I have gone thru lately where I was reminded of my own humanity and who my safety, security and confidence is to lie in. And also give you some tips that have helped me remember a loved one that is no longer with us or treasure a season that has passed, during this time of year and all year. We also have something else to celebrate! Today is th...

Today we are going to discuss purity culture of the 90s and early 2000s, the lies that were created in my own heart and mind from that time and its effects on my adult life in my marriage. How we live out our sexuality in an expression that is not focused on the dos and don’ts of sex, but fully living as a unique expression of God’s image. And finally what I want to change in teaching my girls goi...

Let’s dive into the deep end with forgiveness, this is not an easy subject to unpack. There are so many layers to it and it is a continual process and not something that happens all at once or only has to occur one time. The things we need to forgive or release in our lives are often direct things done by another person against us but sometimes it is things out of that person’s control that affect...

Hello Friends and Welcome to Season 2 of the Celebrate + Inspire Life Podcast. I’m expectant for how the Lord is going to speak to us this season thru His Word and how He is going to use my words to make His glory and goodness known. Today I’m going to give you a little life update and a preview of what to expect this season, fully knowing that the Lord directs the topics on this podcast and I am...

 At the beginning of April, I encouraged us to take some time to reflect on the first 3 months of 2023, review the goals or rhythms we had set for ourselves, how they were serving us or how our consistency was and how that was affecting our life in a positive or negative way. And bc life never goes exactly as we plan, how has new or surprise events, experiences or relationships shifted or realigne...

Can you believe that we are already in the month of April? Q1, as we say in the business world, is done and now is a great time to reflect, refocus, reevaluate goals, habits or routines. What changes have occurred in the last few months that moved you toward your purpose or away from it? I think we have to remember that life is unpredictable, always changing, comes in seasons and requires flexibil...

Today I want to talk to you about feeling unqualified or disqualified to walk in the calling that the Lord has placed on your life. Then I want to give you a brief update on what’s been happening in my life and what’s happening this week. I pray that the Lord uses my words to draw you to Himself and in Him you find freedom, security and identity.

Today we are in the middle of tax season, filing my own taxes alone for the first time in 20 years and answering some audience questions as well. Of course I am not an expert on tax law, so Robert Marksmeier Jr. CPA, who is a family member of one of my best friends, a tax code expert with his own firm and a fellow Christian with a heart to serve the Lord and others, was gracious enough to give us...

This week we’re digging a little bit deeper on my church upbringing and what that culture was like. In a post on Instagram I shared a little bit of what I remember of my early years in church and how I perceived things and maybe how my perception wasn’t completely reality. Looking back is usually clearer, bc they say hindsight is 20/20 but I wouldn’t necessarily say 20/20 bc there’s still things a...

It’s crazy to think about how three years have already passed, that’s 1/3 of the time that I had Jonathan on this earth with me. In that three years, I now have an adult daughter, another daughter that will be touring colleges next year, I am officially the status of single on every form I fill out, and the gray hairs are becoming increasingly abundant.  How will we stand the test of time, th...

Welcome to the weekend edition of the podcast! I didn’t record an episode last week because I ended up going to Columbus Ohio to be with my brother, Simon. His life has changed in an instant; at the beginning of January he was in Jamaica on vacation and one week later being admitted to a hospital for open heart surgery. While I was sitting in the hospital I was really thinking about health - physi...

The week that I started to talk about rhythms, you could say that I failed at a rhythm I’m trying to set. But one of the best things about rhythms is that they are filled with grace. They set a framework for what you think will help you accomplish the big picture but you may discover a new rhythm along the way too. So today I want to dig more into the journey the Lord is taking me on in what he wa...

Tonight I am coming to you from a very special bathroom floor, this episode is going to talk a little bit about the memory lane I am going down on my visit, as I’m more able to reflect on my time in Jamaica as a child and then we will transition to how my journey has led me to a few tips for intentional time with your child or family. This is by no means an exhaustive list but just some things I h...

On today’s episode I am going to give you a little behind the scenes of the pictures on my podcast cover, which if you know me then you know that I can find a special meaning in almost anything. Usually I select things with specific little hidden messages, lots of inside jokes with myself. This maybe be proof that I am either crazy or that I am a genius, I’ll let you make your own decision on that...

Hello friends, welcome to The Celebrate + Inspire Life Podcast, I am your host Deborah Simpson. This podcast has been in the works for a while now and I have so many different thoughts and ideas of where I would like to take it, but like a lot of things in my life right now, I go back and forth on how to tackle it all, I’m sure you guys can relate. So I decided to just take a step and trust the Lo...