Whatever Is Excellent with Leanne Tuggle

The internet didn’t just change childhood, it changed what childhood gets exposed to. Many of us grew up thinking pornography was something you had to intentionally seek out, yet today kids can stumble onto explicit content through pop-ups, ads, streaming platforms, or a simple image search. That reality can make a parent’s stomach drop, but avoiding the topic doesn’t protect our kids. I’d rather...

Your to-do list can look holy and still be powered by anxiety. We talk through one of the most misunderstood Gospel moments, Jesus in the home of Martha and Mary, and why the real issue is not service but worry. Martha isn’t “the bad one” and Mary isn’t “the better one.” Jesus holds both with compassion, then gently names what’s happening under the surface: a heart that is anxious and troubled abo...

Raise your hand if you have a “big feeler” in your house or if you are one yourself. Strong emotions can be beautiful and God-given, but when feelings take the driver’s seat they start making decisions they were never designed to make. I’m unpacking a simple anchor that has helped our family: emotions are indicators, not dictators. We get practical and a little nerdy about how the brain works, inc...

A swollen lump. Years of fatigue and infections. Two biopsies that said “benign.” Then the diagnosis flips everything: thyroid cancer, a fast second surgery, and the question so many of us whisper when fear is loud what do I do now? We invited our dear friend Whitney to tell the story from the inside, not as a highlight reel but as a real cancer journey shaped by waiting, uncertainty, and the dail...

You can love your home and still be called to leave it. We talk about what it looks like to move every few years as a military family and refuse to let constant change turn you cynical, rushed, or numb. Instead, we choose a simple mission: leave a place better than you found it, not through perfection, but through presence, service, and steady faith when life keeps shifting.  We share the real emo...

The phrase “you only have 18 summers with your kids” can hit like a warning, and if you already feel stretched thin, it can trigger instant guilt. I wrestle with that tension and share a better way to hold the idea: not as panic, but as accountability that helps us slow down and choose what matters before the season slips away. We get practical about building an intentional summer rhythm that fits...

Summer can feel like the best kind of slow and the most exhausting kind of loud at the exact same time. Longer days, bored kids, extra meals, constant interruptions, and the quiet pressure to “make it magical” can leave you overstimulated and behind before lunch. We want something better than survival mode, so we’re sharing a practical way to build a summer routine that supports peace, flexibility...

Plans change fast, but God’s faithfulness doesn’t. I sit down with Denise, a pastor’s wife of five decades, to talk about what it really looks like to walk with Jesus daily when life refuses to fit a neat timeline. From rural Missouri to unexpected ministry moves, Denise’s story keeps circling back to one steady truth: the God who calls us can be trusted, even when we’re waiting far longer than we...

Aging shows up in tiny ways before it ever shows up in big ones: the font gets bigger, workouts need more recovery, sleep can still leave you sore, and the mirror starts telling the truth louder than it used to. While I’m walking through a beauty study with my daughter during our monthly discipleship tea time, I realize the conversation isn’t just for her. It’s for me too, right here at forty, lea...

Mom guilt can feel like a permanent background noise, but not all guilt is the same and that difference changes everything. We’re opening Season 6 of Whatever Is Excellent by digging into what mom guilt is, where it comes from, and why so many of us wear it like a badge of honor even when it’s quietly draining our joy. I share a personal story about leaving for a work trip with an eight-month-old...

Some moments feel so ordinary you almost miss them, until you realize you’re living inside an old prayer. I share one of those “time stands still” scenes from my own home and why it matters even more because it came after a season of depression and deep sadness. That contrast opens up a bigger question: what does it look like to celebrate God’s goodness when life is not easy, not clear, and not wh...

Want a picture of legacy that’s honest, practical, and warm enough to taste like blueberry muffins? We sit down with our neighbors, Mike and Diane, a couple married 54 years and following Jesus for more than four decades, to explore how ordinary days can shape a family for generations. From the first welcome with a pan of brownies to a lifetime of small choices—prayer at dawn, Scripture at breakfa...

When the news cycle feels relentless and your to‑do list won’t quit, what does it really look like to live with resurrection hope? We explore a grounded, practical faith that faces anxiety and weariness without flinching, anchored in the promise that death is defeated and God keeps His word. From Jesus’ words in John 16 to the strong assurance of John 10, we trace how Scripture reframes our days:...

Sunlight, open windows, and the itch to purge a closet can feel like the whole story of spring, but the deeper shift happens inside. We explore how a true reset begins with the heart, then flows into the home and the habits that quietly shape each day. With Scripture as our compass, we talk candidly about emotional clutter like comparison and worry, spiritual clutter like distraction and busyness,...

What if the most powerful parenting tool isn’t a tactic but a transforming love you’ve actually tasted? We sit down with Christina Holdridge to explore how a living, growing relationship with Jesus becomes the well that overflows into our homes—especially when discipline, fear, or comparison threaten to take over. With three daughters and years of mentoring women, Christina offers grounded wisdom...

What if the best way to love our kids is to stop rescuing them? We dive into the surprising power of appropriate risk, unstructured play, and everyday responsibility to grow confidence, grit, and judgment—without abandoning safety or warmth. Drawing on stories from early parenthood in Germany to weekly forest adventures in California, we share how giving kids room to climb, explore, and wrestle wi...

Respect doesn’t grow by accident; it grows under steady hands. We dive into why so many families feel stuck in constant negotiation, how peer culture and media undercut adult leadership, and what it takes to rebuild a peaceful home where kids know the boundaries and feel safe inside them. From the surprising power of names and titles to the subtle ways we erode our own authority, we connect everyd...

Happiness is loud, but gratitude is lasting. We open our Parenting Pointers series with a candid, hope-filled guide to raising grateful kids in a world that tells them more is never enough. Instead of bending our homes around constant comfort, we walk through how Scripture reframes the goal: train the heart, not chase the mood. We share where entitlement slips in—often through our own habits—and h...

What if submission isn’t shrinking but shining? We sit down with Tori to unpack a version of biblical submission that protects passion, nurtures safety, and deepens unity—without asking women to mute their voices or bury their gifts. Through honest stories from 12 years of marriage and 17 years of partnership, Tori shares how trust in Christ’s order transformed “losing myself” into “living aligned...

A few playful questions open the door to a deeper conversation about the everyday work of staying united in marriage—right on time for Valentine’s Day. We unpack the real friction points couples face and the simple structures that turn pressure into partnership: who talks to which side of the family, how to protect the fragile postpartum window, and how to navigate holidays when your families live...

What if the friendships you’re longing for begin with the ones you choose to build? Today we trace a clear path from the church in Acts 2 to everyday life, showing how Scripture, prayer, and small acts of courage can grow a circle that actually strengthens your walk with Jesus. We talk about the friend who simply shows up, why “faithful wounds” are a gift, and how loving God first shapes the way w...

Ever feel like January has 47 days? That elastic sense of time can be more than seasonal blues; it can be a holy nudge to stop measuring worth by output and start rooting identity in Christ. We open up about restlessness, rainy days with kids who want action, and the surprising wisdom of not rushing to fix discomfort. Instead of trying to out-hustle the feeling, we explore how receiving winter can...

What if the most sacred work you do happens at your kitchen sink? In this heartfelt conversation with Anna—a military spouse and mom of eight—we peel back the layers of daily life to uncover how prayer, Scripture, and steady rhythms can transform ordinary chores into holy ground. Anna shares how her mother’s joyful vision of parenting shaped her own calling, and how a simple decision to pray over...

A locked door, a worn Bible, a quiet glow—those childhood snapshots taught me something I couldn’t name yet: time in Scripture changes a person. I build on that memory to explore why studying the Bible is not a checkbox but a lifeline that reveals who God is and, in turn, steadies who we are. Psalm 19 frames the value of God’s word—reviving the soul, enlightening the eyes—and why reading the whole...

What if a quiet hour with a planner could change the next decade of your life? We open season five with a clear, faith-centered approach to planning that moves beyond hype and hustle. Picture a cozy chair, a warm coffee, and a few honest questions that help you remember where God met you, what rhythms brought life, and which distractions stole your peace. From that posture, we zoom out to ten year...