Krish O'Mara Vignarajah is one impressive -- and gracious -- lady. She's the President & CEO of Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service (LIRS) and has been working hard during our country's recent immigration struggles. Prior to this position, Krish ran for Governor of Maryland and was Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama -- very cool! I get her to answer a few questions about working with Michelle in this interview :) I first encountered Krish while researching a piece I wrote on families in the immigration crisis for the Washington Post. I so enjoyed chatting with her that I knew I wanted to have her on the podcast right away! She has a lot of important insight on history and current immigration policy and … [Read more...]

A spinal tumor isn't something Rachel Barkley ever thought she'd know much about. And I never thought I'd be interviewing her about one of the scariest moments of her life. Three weeks after giving birth to her first baby, Rachel woke up unable to feel her leg. In a whirlwind of events, she was soon rushed into surgery in attempt to remove a massive spinal tumor that had been growing for years. Not knowing if the tumor was cancerous or if doctors would be able to get it out, she went into surgery with the understanding of how grave the worst case scenario really was. Throughout it all, Rachel relied on her faith in God to get her through -- and the way she's handled it all has been nothing short of amazing. Thankfully, she … [Read more...]

Pastor and mom of 4 Melanie Lynam lives in Australia and has a pretty amazing story. She felt the call to ministry as a teenager and just always knew that's what God wanted her to do with her life. In this episode, we talk about her journey towards that role, how she met her husband in a bit of an unexpected twist and the miraculous story of her baby Isabella's path to life. When you hear this story, you'll hardly believe it -- but wow, what a testament to Melanie's faith and God's provision in such an uncertain time. We also talk today about how there are some denominations that don't believe in female pastors. Why is that? Melanie fills us in on her thoughts. We chat a little about Melanie's own journey into podcasting (there … [Read more...]

Today’s episode of “Worth Your Time” is a real treat. I was honored when writer Shannan Martin agreed to speak with me, after becoming a HUGE fan of her writing. Her two books — both incredible and worth buying — are “Falling Free: Rescued From the Life I Always Wanted” and “The Ministry of Ordinary Places” will convict you to your core the moment you crack them open. Shannan’s story of building the life she wanted, complete with monetary security, good jobs, a great home, neighborhood and friends was turned upside down when she her husband Corey tuned into God’s call on their lives. Shannan says: It’s worth looking at the world through the lens of Jesus, that we can see beauty in hard places and we can see … [Read more...]