The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey

It takes a lot of courage to love God with all that we have. How can we truly love Him with ALL of our heart, when our heart is occupied with so many other things that we love? Today, we are kicking off the first episode of our new five-part Summer series “Love The Lord”. This series is inspired by the passage in Luke 10:27, and we got some super fun shirts to go with it too. You are going to love them!In this episode, we are bringing back one of our favorites, Scott Sauls. He is the Senior Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, and a dear friend of my husband and I. We talk about what it looks like to love God with all our heart in the highs and lows of life, through our emotions, and the example that the Apostle Paul sets for finding joy through disappointment. Scott’s new book “Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen” comes out on June 14th, so make sure to check it out and pre-order your copy.Connect with JamieFacebook //  Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

Hey Friends! Welcome to the 500th episode party! It is the big 500. Wow! What an incredible milestone. Today, we are bringing you an amazing, surprise filled, celebratory episode. You will get to hear from some very special guests (some familiar voices, some new) as we share memories and incredible stories with you. We are throwing it all the way back to the very first episode all the way to a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT of what is to come around here. Here is to 500 more and beyond!Connect with JamieFacebook //  Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

Friend of The Happy Hour, Dustin Nickerson is back and he brought his super kind wife, Melissa. This conversation is all about their story, what life has been like being married to one another, as they have learned how to best care for one another, know one another, and serve one another, all while raising kids and building a career in Stand-Up Comedy. This is one of my favorite happy hours, there are lots of laughs (Dustin is cracking jokes all the way), there are deep thoughts on raising teens during an age with so much information accessible to our kids, and such an encouraging reflection on what it looks like to have a shared goal in supporting one another in their work. Connect with JamieFacebook //  Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

Summer is here, our oldest son is graduating High School tonight, and we are days away from an epic family vacation adventure!! There was no one better to sit down with me for the second Tell Me About conversation than my favorite person, Aaron Ivey. Aaron is my husband, co-creator of Ivey Media, Pastor, worship leader, and my best friend. This episode is all about SUMMER. Tell me about childhood summers, plans for summer,  sabbatical, family time,  and well, things go off the rails a bit, too. This happens anytime my husband, Aaron Ivey,  joins me, but the conversations with him are always a favorite because you get a little sneak peek of what our friendship is like. Grab your koozie, pull up a backyard chair, and let us tell you about Summer!Connect with JamieFacebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE 

“When God allows us to walk [in] these hard seasons, it gives us so much compassion.”Yes and Amen to that! I am so excited for today’s conversation with my guest, Angela Perritt. Angela Perritt is the founder and director of Love God Greatly, a nonprofit online women's Bible study ministry aimed at fighting Biblical illiteracy around the world in over 40 languages. Angela is passionate about God's Word and believes one woman in God's Word can change a family, community, and ultimately a nation. Her greatest joy is to encourage her children and others to love God greatly with their lives one day at a time.In today’s show, Angela shares about a journey of learning where she stored her treasures and realizing that God’s faithfulness didn’t stop when the Bible ended. Angela also dives into all of the wonderful resources provided by Love God Greatly and how deeply women can impact communities by engaging with scripture. I just love organizations that are committed to transforming the world through the love of Christ and power of scripture. So thankful for all that Angela and Love God greatly is doing!Connect with JamieFacebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE  

Have you ever gone through seasons where you want to believe that God is good, but your circumstances are telling you that He’s not? This conversation is for you.My guest for today’s episode is Alexandra Hoover. Alexandra is a sought-out speaker, Bible teacher, and Author of "Eyes Up" How To Trust God's Heart by Tracing His Hand. She's passionate about communicating the gospel's beauty and hope, and her words spur people on to hope and healing. Also, she serves on staff at Transformation Church with Pastor Derwin Gray!Friends, there is way too much goodness in this conversation - I truly could have spent hours talking to Alexandra. She walks us through what an ebenezer is, and the beautiful biblical story of Hannah. Alexandra also dives into how we sometimes allow our circumstances to inform the way we see God. But here’s the solution: When we sit with God, we begin to trust God. Even if we don’t see hope, we know hope is near because we know who God is. We don’t always feel or see God in the way that we want because life is so hard and foggy, but we have a beautiful invitation to sit with Him and weep with Him and be reminded of His goodness.Connect with JamieFacebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

What a word from today’s guest, Rev. Dr. Angela Williams Gorrell. Angela Gorrell is a speaker and writer about Christian spirituality, joy, meaning, and the interconnected nature of mental and spiritual health. She is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Baylor University and author of The Gravity of Joy: A Story of Being Lost and Found.Shortly after being hired by Yale University to study and teach the beauty of joy, Angela stepped into the hardest season of her life losing 3 people she loved within 4 weeks. She went on a journey to find out joy’s place in a suffering world, and found the answer in the most unlikely of places: While volunteering at a women’s maximum-security prison. Isn’t that so like Christ to show up in unexpected places? We talk about the suicide and addiction crisis, and how to allow joy in without betraying our grief. This is such an incredible conversation and one that I hope reminds you of the beauty of joy. Connect with JamieFacebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

9 years ago, Whitney placed her son for adoptionRaised in a Christian home, she was adopted herselfShe fell away from her faith, dated someone in college for several years, after they broke up they had one more fling and she got pregnantShe wanted her son to have all of the things that she had and more, and she did not have the skillset or resources to provide thatWe talk about how a lot of times people don’t know what to say when it comes to adoptionShe now has an open adoption and she wanted to be involved in his life to correct any potential narratives that could come up about feeling unloved or unwantedShe became a believer during her pregnancyAcknowledging all members of the triadHow to be there for people who feel deep pain on mother’s day“These people are humans and they need Christ just as much as the next person - so how can we make sure that we’re honoring them and loving them and meeting them on their level?”What important words from today’s guest, Whitney Furrh. We are wrapping up our four-part series for foster care month with this conversation from a birth mother. It is so important for us to include all members of the triad and we’re so thankful that Whitney came on to share her story with us. Whitney’s story is unique because she was adopted herself, so she has a lot of personal connections to this topic. When Whitney was 21-years-old, she became pregnant and placed her son for adoption. She wanted her son to have all of the things that she had and more, and facing the reality that she did not have the resources to provide that. We talk about how a lot of times people don’t know what to say when it comes to adoption, and how important it is to acknowledge that all adoption stories involve loss. We even chat about how to be there for people who feel deep pain on Mother’s Day. Our prayer is that this conversation can help us know better so that we do better.Connect with JamieFacebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

“I surrender and trust what I desire, and walk with the Lord in what He’s calling me to do.”What would it look like if we all lived life this way? We’re continuing our series on Foster Care with the lovely, PaToya Hall. PaToya Hall is a writer, speaker, new mom and devoted follower of Jesus. She currently lives in Waco, Texas with her daughter Adelline. PaToya shares with us what her life began to look like after choosing to say the next “yes”. PaToya is a single woman who felt a calling to open her home to children through foster care. Just a few days after becoming a certified foster parent, she received a call about a 4-day-old baby named Adelline with nowhere to go. Four hours later, that sweet baby was in her home, and just six months later, PaToya adopted her. She shares some of the challenges of single parenting and navigating the assumptions people make. Something I really appreciate about PaToya is that she did not foster because she wanted to be a parent, but rather because it was true surrender. I’m so thankful for PaToya sharing her and sweet Adelline’s story with us.Connect with JamieFacebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

“I want people to see that their identities can be rewritten no matter what they’ve done or no matter what’s been done to them.”We have another great episode for you in our Foster Care Series! Ever since I found out about today’s guest, I cannot stop learning more from her, about her, and diving into her story. Tori Hope Petersen is a lover of Jesus training to be a lover of people. She spent years growing up in the foster care system and now educates, advocates, and ministers to those in the foster care community. Her first book Fostered will be released this August, and I truly had to stop myself from quoting this book 100 times in our interview.In this episode, Tori not only shares her story with us, but provides so much hope and wisdom along the way. We talk about how trauma rolls over from generations, and how important it is to listen to the voices of children in foster care. She also dives into the hope of Christ and how even when we feel unwanted and rejected, we’ve already been adopted in the Kingdom. Today, Tori is married with 3 kids and she and her husband are certified foster parents. I am so proud of the work she is doing, and I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for us to hear stories like hers. Connect with JamieFacebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTubeGET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE