The Speakeasy

In this solo episode, I'm answering two of the most common questions I get: where to start in the Bible and how to journal in a way that actually helps you grow.
I'm not giving you a rigid formula here. Just some simple, practical rhythms that have helped me stay grounded in my relationship with God.
Where to Start in the Bible
Whether the Bible feels overwhelming or overly familiar, my recommendation is the same:
Start with the book of John and the Psalms.
The Psalms are raw, emotional, and deeply human. They show you how to bring real feelings, fear, doubt, anger, grief, all of it, before God, while consistently returning to truth. They're a model for processing life honestly while anchoring yourself in who God is.
John, on the other hand, focuses on who Jesus is. While the other Gospels emphasize events, John emphasizes identity. It offers a clearer, more relational picture of Christ and helps you connect personally with Him.
Together, these two books give you both emotional honesty and theological clarity.
A Better Way to Read the Bible
I'm a big believer in slowing down rather than rushing through Scripture.
Reading the Bible in a year can be valuable, sure, but it can also feel overwhelming, especially if you're just starting out. Instead, I recommend staying in smaller sections longer and actually letting them shape your thinking and behavior.
A helpful next step after John and Psalms is the book of Colossians. It offers practical guidance for how to live as a Christian. It's short but dense, which makes it perfect for slow, intentional study.
Journaling: What It Actually Looks Like
Journaling is not about structure or perfection. At its core, it's just a conversation with God.
A typical journal entry for me might include:
Writing out a passage of Scripture
Taking notes or observations
Processing personal thoughts or convictions
Turning those thoughts into prayer
Praying for others
Reflecting on the day or expressing gratitude
Not every entry includes all of these elements, but this general flow helps me connect Scripture, personal reflection, and prayer in a natural way.
The Freedom of Messy Journaling
One of the biggest barriers to journaling is the pressure to do it "right." Letting go of perfectionism was a huge turning point for me.
Journaling doesn't need to be neat, organized, or even fully readable. It doesn't require a specific notebook or pen. What matters is honesty.
Some entries are structured and thoughtful. Others are rushed, emotional, or scattered. Both are valuable. God is not concerned with how it looks, He's concerned with your heart.
Daily Anchors That Keep You Rooted
Rather than relying on a single quiet time, I build small points of connection with God throughout my day.
These include:
Morning Bible reading and journaling
Prayer while starting the day
Brief moments of prayer before beginning work
Gratitude while completing daily tasks
Reflection and journaling at night
These "anchors" aren't meant to be burdensome. They're simple reminders that keep me connected to God in the middle of everyday life.
Why These Practices Matter
I want to be really clear, these habits are not about performance. They exist because we're naturally forgetful and prone to drift.
Without intentional reminders, it's so easy to rely on yourself, lose perspective, and become overwhelmed. These small, consistent practices help re-center my mind on truth and keep my relationship with God active throughout the day.
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In this episode, I sat down with my husband Jeremy to talk about 15 years of marriage, the early struggles, the growth, and how we got to where we are today. Because what you see now? It didn't always exist. And that's kind of the whole point.
We laughed, we got vulnerable, and we talked about the stuff a lot of couples deal with but don't always say out loud, especially in those early years.
What This Episode Is Really About
This isn't a "we've figured it all out" conversation. It's more like a "we stayed, we worked, and God changed us" kind of story.
At the core, we unpacked three major tension points that shaped our marriage:
1. Communication Struggles
Jeremy is an external processor. I'm an internal processor. And for years, that dynamic created so much conflict we didn't even realize we were having. Silence, fear, assumptions, all of it just piled up until we finally learned to talk before the conflict, not just during it. We had to build safety so honesty didn't feel like an attack.
Turns out, miscommunication wasn't really the issue, misunderstanding each other's intentions was.
2. Expectations (The Hidden Pressure)
Our upbringings shaped so many unspoken expectations we didn't even know we were carrying into our marriage. I was loving Jeremy the way I wanted to be loved, not the way he needed to be loved. Learning each other's love languages was a massive turning point for us. Because so many of our frustrations weren't actually about behavior, they were about unmet, unspoken expectations.
3. Life in the Trenches (Small Kids + Stress)
Early marriage plus young children is just exhausting. We were both drowning in stress but completely misunderstanding each other's, provider stress vs. caregiver stress. It felt like a perfect storm, and honestly, sometimes growth doesn't feel like progress. It just feels like survival. But pushing through that season together is what built the long-term strength we have now.
Key Takeaways
Healthy marriage requires individual growth first → when we both worked on ourselves, everything changed
You can't learn communication in conflict, you build it before
Assume the best about your spouse, not the worst
Different roles carry different weight, learn to honor both
Your "recovery time" matters more than your conflict → ours went from days… to hours… to minutes
Seasons matter → what feels overwhelming now won't last forever
The Big Picture
Marriage isn't about avoiding hard seasons, it's about growing through them together.
You are not defined by the season you're in, you're defined by the God over it.
Whether you're newly married, in the thick of parenting, or feeling stuck in communication patterns, I hope this episode reminds you that strong marriages are built, not found.
 
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Final Encouragement
If you're in a hard season right now…
You're not behind.
You're not broken.
You're building something that lasts.

In this episode, I sit down with author and Bible teacher Hanna Seymour to talk about what it really looks like to grow spiritually in the middle of real life with busy schedules, motherhood, exhaustion, and all.
We unpack Hanna's book Everyday Spiritual Habits and tackle one of the most common questions believers wrestle with: How do I actually stay consistent in my faith without feeling overwhelmed or burnt out? This conversation blends practical wisdom, biblical truth, and even habit science to help you build rhythms that truly last.
Throughout our chat, we share our personal journeys from checkbox Christianity and inconsistent routines to discovering life-giving rhythms with God that are flexible, sustainable, and deeply transformative. After this conversation, I hope you'll walk away encouraged that spiritual growth isn't about perfection, it's about connection.
In this episode, we cover:
why spiritual "discipline" can feel overwhelming and how to reframe it as life-giving habits
how to build habits that stick using simple, realistic steps
the power of starting small (even 30 seconds counts)
how to connect with God in everyday moments (laundry, dishes, driving, etc.)
habit stacking and identity-based growth (who you're becoming vs. what you're doing)
how different life seasons require different rhythms and that's okay
lesser-talked-about disciplines like gratitude, celebration, silence, and solitude
practical ways to memorize Scripture and stay rooted in truth
why shame has no place in your spiritual journey
If you've ever felt like you're failing at reading your Bible, praying consistently, or "doing enough," this episode is a breath of fresh air. It's not about adding pressure, it's about discovering a better way to walk with Jesus in your everyday life.
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In today's episode, I sit down with Christian artist and author Stephen McWhirter for a raw, hope-filled conversation about redemption, forgiveness, and the transforming power of Jesus.
Stephen shares the powerful story behind his music and about his book, Radical Restoration, where he talks about how he grew up in a home marked by abuse, spiraling into deep addiction, and ultimately encountering God in a life-changing moment that set him on a completely new path. His testimony is a reminder that no one is too far gone for grace and that restoration is possible even after years of pain and brokenness.
We dive into the difficult but freeing topic of forgiveness: what it truly means, what it doesn't mean, and how God calls us to release the debts others owe us without minimizing real wounds. We talk honestly about the tension between forgiveness and reconciliation, the healing that comes through surrender, and the way God's love can transform even the deepest bitterness into freedom.
In this conversation you'll hear about:
Stephen's journey from addiction to worship ministry
how encountering grace reshapes identity and purpose
why forgiveness is both a command and a gift
the difference between forgiving someone and allowing access to your life
how asking God for His heart toward others changes everything
practical first steps toward healing from past hurt
If you've ever struggled to forgive, wondered whether real change is possible, or needed hope that God can restore what feels permanently broken, this episode will deeply encourage you.
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Today's episode is a long overdue catch-up. I'm finally sharing the fuller story of what happened in 2025: the year God completely flipped my life, my work, my identity, and my priorities upside down.
If you've noticed that my content has shifted a lot over the last year, this is the why.
For years, this podcast has felt like the most full expression of me. Faith, motherhood, politics, wellness, the Bible, all of it. But Instagram had become heavily political. Eventually, the very work I thought was most important started costing me more than I realized, my peace, my presence, my family, and honestly, my soul.
In this episode, I'm sharing the story of how God began asking me to do something that felt harder than any "jump" of obedience He'd ever asked of me before: sit down, pull back, do less, trust Him, and let Him carry what I had been trying to hold together myself.
We talk about:
how political content became my full-time work

the moment I realized my priorities were deeply out of order

what disobedience looked like in real time

why 2025 felt like my "belly of the whale" year

the vision God gave me that changed everything

identity, striving, motherhood, and learning to be a daughter before a warrior

why I stepped back from politics online

what God has been rebuilding in me ever since

This one is personal. It's vulnerable. And it's probably the clearest picture I've given yet of the shift God has been walking me through. If you're in a season where God is asking you to slow down, let go, or trust Him in ways you do not like, this episode is for you.
Sponsor: CrowdHealth CrowdHealth is a health insurance alternative helping families step outside a broken system. Get started for $99 for your first 3 months with code SPEAKEASY at joincrowdhealth.com. CrowdHealth is not insurance.