The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey

Collectively, we can look back on the year 2020 and remember how tough it was for everyone! But one thing I look back on with joy is how Carlos Whittaker emerged as a hopeful and steady voice online, walking us through tough conversations and being a true leader for many in what felt like a dark time.  I am THRILLED to have Carlos back on the show today as we reflect on his journey over the past f...

We are THRILLED to announce today the newest member of the Ivey Media Podcasts collective, Debra Fileta, and her show Love & Relationships ! Debra is a licensed professional counselor who believes that “healthy people make healthy relationships.” Love & Relationships is a hotline-style show where listeners call in with questions about dating, marriage and singleness. Debra also focuses a lot of he...

When Breonna Taylor was killed, her police report was virtually blank. Feeling as if she was suffocating in the initial silence and lack of public outcry, anti-racism educator and activist Faitth Brooks wondered, “Would the world care about and remember me if I was killed?” My guest today is Faitth Brooks. We don’t waste any time  jumping into why her new book, “Remember Me Now” is incredibly need...

In 2020, I launched Ivey Media, the company that contains everything I do – writing, speaking, and yes, podcasting. We thought as a team, “What if we had more podcasts that we could help, supporting people as they dream about and host their shows, and find advertisers so these hosts can make podcasting their jobs?” It’s from that place that the Ivey Media Podcasts collective was created and it lau...

The same way you fall in love with your favorite authors and storytellers, whether it’s through movies or podcasts… allow God to become that again in your life” – Kat Armstrong  If you are like me walking into the year, you have all these thoughts about wanting to eat better, exercise more, and maintain great friendships. Or maybe you are saying, “I want to get back into God’s Word.” If that is yo...

Hey friends, and happy Friday! Cheers to the second episode of The Happy Hour 2023! I have a first-time guest on today, Ericka Anderson, and she has listened to all five hundred and fifty-one episodes of The Happy Hour!  Ericka is a mom, wife, freelance writer, and podcaster who recently wrote a book called “Reason to Return,” focused on the topic of women leaving the church. 16 million American w...

Happy New Year! I cannot believe we are entering another year! Welcome to the very first episode of The Happy Hour in 2023. It may be a little early in the year to declare this, but my conversation today is probably going to be one of my favorite episodes when I do a “2023 year in review” in December!   The team and I thought about doing something different to start the new by letting my dear frie...

Can you believe Christmas is this Sunday?! What a year this has been! I cannot believe this is the final episode of 2022. I’m closing out December with a conversation with my dear friend Vivian Mubani!  Vivian is no stranger to The Happy Hour – she was my guest on Episodes #59 and #251. Today we talk about her podcast, Someday Is Here (which is on our Ivey Media Podcasts network!), her hope for th...

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK! It is so very true, and today you get to meet my whole team! My heart overflows with love for each of the ladies you will hear from today. The gifts, talents, voices, and personalities they bring not only make our company better, but they make me better as well.  Ivey Media has been through so much growth this year. It has also been so sweet to merge so many beautifu...

With the big day right around the corner, today is our last episode for our Characters of Christmas series! I personally feel like I have grown and learned so much with each conversation about Jesus’ birth, and my heart feels more ready to anticipate and celebrate on Christmas Day. Today’s guest is no stranger to The Happy Hour and he is going to end our series by sharing about the Wiseman – how t...

The holidays can be a tough time for people, but what we can find in today’s story is that God is faithful no matter what you are going through. God is faithful to His Word, He keeps his promises, and when we act in faith, we can know that He will always respond.  Today my guest is Pastor Bryan Carter, senior pastor at Concord Church in Dallas. We are continuing our Characters of Christmas series,...

I hope y’all are enjoying these seasonal episodes about the Characters of Christmas! Today we’re focusing on the angels, and there is no other person that I think fits this topic than my friend Ellie Holcomb. Ellie has been on The Happy Hour before and she also recently released her latest children’s book, Sounding Joy. Sounding Joy goes hand in hand with today’s show. I read a little of her book...

We are continuing our Characters of Christmas series with today’s guest Ross Lester. Ross is a friend of mine, he’s the campus pastor at one of our locations of The Austin Stone Community Church, and he is no stranger to The Happy Hour. Ross was on Episode #375, and I’m excited to have him back to talk about Joseph, the father of  Jesus’ during His time spent on earth.  Listen, you are in for a gr...

Hi friends! We are continuing our Characters of Christmas series with my guest Jami Nato. Jami was on The Happy Hour back in 2016. We re-aired that episode in 2021 during our Flashback Friday podcast series, and now Jami is back with us to talk all about Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Maybe December is a hard month for you or maybe 2022 has been a particularly challenging year for you. I want to enco...

Hi Friends! I have loved this last year with our rhythm of episode series, bringing you conversations all centered around a specific topic or theme. Today, we’re starting our next series, called Characters of Christmas!  Today’s guest is my friend Rebecca McLaughlin who is no stranger to The Happy Hour. Some of you may remember Rebecca from Episode #402 when we talked about her book Confronting Ch...

Hey you guys! Today my guest on The Happy Hour is someone new to me, and that’s Rich Villodas. Rich is from New York, has been married to his wife Rosie for 16 years, and they have two children together, Karis and Nathan. Rich has been at New Life Fellowship Church for 15  years, 10 of those spent as head pastor. New Life Fellowship Church was founded in 1987 and there are over 75 nations represen...

Make connection today to a child through compassion. CLICK HERE TO SPONSOR I love any time I get to sit down with my friend Jonathan and talk about Compassion International, so today is automatically up there in my list of favorites. After my conversation with Jonathan, stick around for Angie Elkins’ conversation on this episode with Dr. Yannely Suero, another former Compassion child who is now a...

It’s time again for one of my favorite things we do all year – the Holiday Gift Guide! Our team has been in the Christmas spirit since August as we’ve worked to pull together this year’s Gift Guide, and we’re thrilled to share it with you today. This year’s Gift Guide includes small and woman-owned businesses, ethically made products, companies with give-back models, and cause- or faith-based comp...

If you’re not quite in the Christmas spirit yet, I think this episode will get you there, especially as we keep our focus on the birth of Jesus. In today’s episode, I interview four people, plus I’m giving away a ton of things (!!) so you want to stick around until the end!  My first guest is David Taylor and let me just say, after talking with David, I’m inspired to go and get my doctorate degree...

Disclaimer: This episode contains discussions about pornography and sex addictions. This Boundaries series has been a fun and meaningful one for us to put together, and I can’t believe we’ve reached the end of these episodes! For our final interview of the series, Jim Cress closes us out, and there couldn’t have been a more perfect person to wrap it all up.  Jim is a father, a husband of almost 38...

Hey friends! I hope you are enjoying our Boundaries series as much as I am. Today is special – we have two interviews in one show, with three total guests! The focus of these conversations is boundaries with technology. I know this can be a touchy subject, but I encourage you to really lean in and examine your own relationship with technology as you listen.   First up is Tracy Foster, co-founder a...

We are continuing on in our new Boundaries series and it just keeps getting better! Today on the show is my friend, Dr. Alison Cook. Alison is a psychologist, has her own private practice, writes, coaches, and has worked as a therapist for women for approximately 20 years.  Alison and I talk about how embracing healthy boundaries sometimes starts with setting initial boundaries for ourselves. She...

Hey friends! We are starting a new series today called Boundaries, and as hard as boundaries may be for some of us, I really think you’re going to enjoy these conversations.  I’m starting off the series with my dear friend, Lysa Terkeurst. Lysa is no stranger to The Happy Hour, and I’m sure many of you know her name. She is an author and speaker, not to mention an impactful communicator of God’s W...

I’m sad to say that we’re wrapping up our Collaboration Over Competition series, but we are finishing strong! My guests today are two of my dear friends, Lisa Whittle and Alli Worthington, founders of the organization Called Creatives. Called Creatives is a private coaching community with hands-on training for those who want to write and speak with influence and impact. With a growing membership b...

My next two guests are mastering collaboration over competition. Together, they have written several books, including Are My Kids On Track , and Intentional Parenting . They are also the hosts of the Raising Boys & Girls podcast. Sissy Goff is the Director of Child and Adolescent Counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries for more than thirty years. David has been at Daystar for 25 years, now ser...