Echos of Impact

Have you ever felt like you needed to change something about yourself just to be accepted? Maybe you've been called too quiet, too different, or just too much. And even years later, those words still affect how you see yourself. In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with award-winning author Cally Logan to talk about the labels we carry, the pressure to fit in, and what it looks lik...

What if some of the Bible stories you've pictured your whole life aren't actually described that way in Scripture? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Julie Remington, founder of Honest Imagination and author of The Forgotten Nativity: A Historically Honest Christmas Story, for a conversation about slowing down, asking better questions, and discovering the richness we can mis...

Marriage can be beautiful and deeply life-giving… and still bring out parts of us we didn't know needed work. In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise pull back the curtain on their own marriages and have an honest conversation about what they've learned through nearly 35 years of combined marriage. They share how they met their husbands, what they still love about them after all the...

What do you do when you know God is good… but your life doesn't feel good at all? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with writer and storyteller Sarah Freymuth for an honest conversation about faith, mental health, suffering, and learning to trust the character of God when your feelings are telling you something very different. Sarah is the Content and Storytelling Man...

There's a moment every parent eventually faces — the one where you stop steering the boat and start becoming the lighthouse. For Tabitha Deller, that shift didn't happen all at once. It came slowly, through raising four sons, trusting God with things she couldn't control, and learning that love sometimes looks like letting go. Tabitha is a writer, Bible teacher, and speaker who has spent years hel...

What do you do when you're following God, trusting Him, praying, and life still becomes harder than you ever imagined? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with singer, poet, author, speaker, and creative Juliet Dawn for a deeply personal conversation about faith through abuse, miscarriage, infant loss, trauma, unanswered prayer, and the long road of continuing to come back to Jesu...

What if the questions you keep asking God are telling you something about what's happening underneath the surface? In this monthly Briana + Cherise episode of Echos of Impact, we're talking honestly about the questions we bring to God—the ones about closed doors, unanswered prayers, hearing His voice, suffering, purpose, and whether He really sees us in the middle of it all. Sometimes the question...

What do you do when you love someone deeply, you've prayed, you've tried to help, and you still can't control the outcome? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Christian speaker, author, and Bible teacher Myra Ingargiola for a deeply personal conversation about surrender, motherhood, mental illness, addiction, grief, and trusting God through circumstances she never would have...

You don't have to stop being afraid before God can use you. In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Bible teacher, author, podcaster, and speaker Laura L. Smith for an honest conversation about what biblical courage actually looks like. Laura shares why being brave isn't about "girl power," having more confidence, or somehow becoming fearless. It's about learning to de...

What happens when the freedom you thought you wanted starts to feel a lot more like bondage? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Nicole Onate to talk about what happened when Nicole walked away from the God she thought she knew and started building life on her own terms. Growing up, Nicole had come to see God as someone waiting for her to get it wrong. Christianity felt like...

What if the greatest threat to your calling isn't simply refusing to obey God—but doing what He asks while resisting the work He wants to do in your heart? In this episode, Briana and Cherise catch up on summer adventures, motherhood, home renovations, and Briana preaching her first Sunday sermon. Briana also shares a sweet moment that happened afterward: while praying and thanking God for the opp...

What happens when the thing you have spent your entire life chasing finally happens, but the fulfillment only lasts twenty minutes? Actress, wife, mom, and podcaster Carrie Alexander began acting at just eleven years old. After years of auditions, exciting opportunities, painful rejection, and looking to the entertainment industry for validation, Carrie found herself questioning whether success co...

Christian leadership isn't about having all the answers, carrying every responsibility, or making sure everyone agrees with you. It's about staying close to Jesus, loving people well, and having the courage to empower others to step into who God created them to be. In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Pastor Christy Gibas, lead pastor of The Table Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsyl...

What if the thing making our lives easier is also asking for more access than we realize? In this timely episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Misty Phillip for a conversation about faith, artificial intelligence, family, and discernment in a world that is changing faster than most of us can keep up with. Misty brings both wisdom and tenderness to a topic that can feel overw...

What do you do when life doesn't unfold on the timeline you imagined? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Cherise is joined by Katherine Catlett — social media manager, strategist, writer, content creator, and soon-to-be author of her first devotional for young women. Katherine began journaling when she was just 12 years old as a way to process big emotions with God. More than 40 journals later, t...

What happens when God opens the door you've been praying for… but walking through it is still harder than you expected? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Cherise and Briana sit down for one of their monthly conversations — just the two of them — talking honestly about transition, closed doors, and the surprising weight that can come with answered prayers. Cherise shares what this season has real...

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of a medical crisis, surgery, and a life-threatening health emergency, as well as a brief mention of youth suicide. Listener discretion is advised. What do you do when God brings you through something you never expected to survive? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana sits down with Brenda Neal to hear her powerful testimony of healing, obedienc...

Some conversations stay with you long after they're over. This is one of them. In this episode, I sit down with my friend Kami Van Slyke — someone I've known for years, watched from afar, and deeply admire — for one of the most honest, tender conversations we've ever had on this show. Kami shares her story of walking through the aftermath of infidelity in her own marriage, and what it looked like...

What if the season that feels like tumbling is actually part of God making something beautiful? Courtney Brackin spent years in full-time ministry — single, faithful, and sometimes wrestling with envy — and what she found on the other side of that long wait is a story that will make a lot of women feel a little less behind. Courtney is a speaker, author, and Bible teacher who has spent 27 years se...

We have more access to information than any generation before us… so why does it feel like we're more anxious, overwhelmed, and desperate for answers than ever? In this episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down for a honest conversation about our pursuit of knowledge, control, and certainty. From Googling symptoms in the middle of the night, to asking friends for reassurance, to sear...

What if faith doesn't mean you're never anxious — it means you don't have to carry it alone? In this honest and deeply encouraging episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Nichole J. Suvar, author, speaker, and intentional living strategist who comes alongside overwhelmed women to introduce them to God's design for mental wellness. Nichole shares her story of growing up loving...

Some conversations stay with you long after the recording ends. This is one of them. Janet McMahon joins us to talk about what it actually looks like to love your neighbor — not from a distance, not just with a program, but up close, with your hands dirty and your heart wide open. Janet is the Kansas City Metro Area Director for CarePortal. Prior to her work with CarePortal, she served as one of t...

"Sometimes forgiveness starts with, "God, help me want to." In this deeply honest episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Chrissy Taylor, a dear friend, pastor's wife, former school counselor, and adoptive mama to twins, to talk about forgiveness, grief, father wounds, miscarriage, and what it looks like to bring our whole heart before God. Chrissy shares how her relationship...

What if your success as a mom was never measured by how your kids turn out? In this Mother's Day week episode of Echos of Impact, Briana and Cherise sit down with Rhonda Stoppe, Christian humorist, popular speaker, bestselling author of seven books, and host of the award-winning podcast Old Ladies Know Stuff. With 40 years of experience helping women build no-regret lives, Rhonda brings wisdom, hu...

What happens when the weight you're carrying was never meant to be yours in the first place? In this honest and deeply relatable episode of Echos of Impact, Briana Gray and Cherise Thompson sit down for one of their monthly catch-up conversations to talk about the invisible weight so many women carry every single day. From moving, grief, parenting, overthinking, and major life transitions, Briana...