The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey

My guest for The Happy Hour #353 is Amy Ford. Amy Ford is the President of Embrace Grace, Inc., a non-profit organization formed for the purpose of providing curriculum and leadership support for churches nationwide to open their arms to young women with unplanned pregnancies. Embrace Grace is utilized by over 700 churches across the nation and world. She is also the author of Help Her Be Brave: Discover Your Place in the Pro-Life Movement. My friend, Bri, connected Amy and I a few months ago and I am so happy she did! In today’s episode, we talk about our new goals for 2021, the work that Embrace Grace is doing to empower women with resources, and her own story of going through an unplanned pregnancy. Amy also tells so many incredible stories about encountering women with unplanned pregnancies in the most unlikely places, and the importance of pro-love action beyond the pro-life stance. She worded it so perfectly when she said “You can’t just vote a certain way. You have to be able to walk alongside her and put our actions to our beliefs. If you’re pro-life, where’s the action behind it? Because that’s where the radical change is going to happen.” For the full summary and links to the show, click below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

My guest for The Happy Hour #352 is Emmanuel Acho! Emmanuel Acho is a former NFL player, host of Speak for Yourself talk show, but most people know him from his viral YouTube series Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man which launched in 2020. He also released a best-selling book of the same title that I’ve been absolutely raving about since I read it! Make sure you pick up a copy if you haven’t yet! I can’t think of a better way to kick off the new year than with Emmanuel Acho! In today’s episode, Emmanuel talks about looking back to find the beauty in the chaos of 2020, the lifetime opportunity of partnering with Oprah, and writing his book in SIX WEEKS. Y’all. Can you believe that?! He also dives into the topics we talked about on our family’s episode of his YouTube show, and what it really means to maintain Black culture. The number one question I received after our episode aired was “What does it mean to maintain Black culture?” This is personal for me as a mom raising Black children, and Emmanuel really challenged me when he said “You can raise a Black child, but raise them white-cultured.” I always want to make sure that I am not only exposing my kids to white culture, but to Black culture, too. I want to create a safe space for them to be who they are. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

Jamie had the opportunity to co-host an episode with the Love Thy Neighborhood team this month. We don't want you to miss it, so we are dropping it here for you to enjoy! Be sure you check out more from Love Thy NeighborhoodChristians believe God made women, but what happens when that identity gets twisted by both the church and the culture? A single mom, a pastor’s wife, and a feminist all wrestle with what it means to be a woman. This episode is produced in partnership with The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey. Featuring Wendy Alsup (Is the Bible Good for Women?), Lisa Bevere (Godmothers), and Courtney Reissig (The Accidental Feminist). Co-hosted by Jamie Ivey.

Today is the last episode of 2020! My guests for today are my wonderful team members, Lyndsey and Abby! If you’ve been listening to The Happy Hour for a while, you probably know who Lyndsey is - she has her hands on anything and everything coming through Ivey Media. We couldn’t do this without her! Abby is our newest team member and content manager! She writes all of our show notes, and manages content for a few of our social platforms. We got together to do a Year in Review for you, and we had the best time doing it. We talk about our favorite episodes of the year, some big wins for Ivey Media, most listened to episodes, and more. We also tease at some fun projects coming up in the new year. Here’s a hint: Go subscribe to my YouTube channel - you’ll learn more about it there! Two big wins I have to acknowledge from this year - 1. We released DOUBLE the episodes! 2. We started having men on the podcast! We also got into some incredible conversations, some of which can even be uncomfortable, but I’m always so proud of my listeners for being willing to go there with us! This has been a crazy, eventful year. But in the midst of it all, I never take for granted what an honor it is to share these conversations with you. Our team is so hopeful and excited for 2021, and we can’t wait for you to join us along the way! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

Merry Christmas from the Ivey’s!!! Today’s episode features all of Team Ivey! That’s right - Aaron, Cayden, Amos, Deacon & Story all join me for today’s Happy Hour Christmas Special! If you know anything about the Ivey crew, it’s that it always gets a little wild when we’re all together and today is no different! We read from our absolute favorite Jesus Storybook Bible, talk about our favorite Christmas traditions, sing Christmas carols - all the fun things! We also play a Christmas trivia game, and let me tell you - it gets pretty competitive. I love when the fam joins me on the podcast, and whether you’re listening on Christmas day, the day after, a week later, whenever - we hope our fam brings you a laugh today! Have a very special holiday with family and friends, and we pray that you would be reminded of Christ’s love for you today and every day. Merry Christmas from our family to yours! Song: Ikson - Christmas (Vlog No Copyright Music)Music promoted by Vlog No Copyright Music.Video Link: https://youtu.be/25YY3RKGZZE Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

My guest for The Happy Hour #349 is Francine Rivers. Francine Rivers is a New York Times best-selling author. She’s written over 30 books, her most well-known work being Redeeming Love. My mom is absolutely giddy that Francine is joining me on the podcast today - we’re big fans and I’m sure so many of you are, too! In this episode, Francine tells us about everything from the importance of friendship in marriage to her excitement for her upcoming 2021 film Redeeming Love! She also talks about transitioning from writing steamy romance novels to Christian fiction, and the process of growing in her faith to understand the depths of God’s love for us. I love when she says, “With Christian fiction, it’s never meant to replace the real thing. It’s an introduction so that it hopefully makes people hunger and thirst for that kind of love.” For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

My guest for The Happy Hour #348 is Alli Worthington. Alli Worthington is an author, speaker, podcaster and business coach for entrepreneurs. Her most recent book, Standing Strong, is such an encouraging message about living with confidence and becoming great women of God. Fun fact: Our books actually released in the same week! I love sharing these moments with friends and seeing other women step into obedience in what God has called them to share. Alli Worthington is a long time friend and a Happy Hour OG and I’m so excited she is back on the podcast today! In this show, she talks about leaning into the dreams God has placed in our hearts, the difficult decision she made to leave a job she loved, and the importance of trusting God to come through the way He always does. She also dives into the idea that there is room for all of us to step into the spaces we feel called to, even though there is nothing new under the sun. Sometimes we feel like we can’t do that thing that we feel called to do because so many other people are doing it, too. But I love so much when Alli says “God has us do things, similar things, in our own version of it because only we can have our life experience. Only we can put a certain spin on things that will resonate with our little piece of the pie. But the pie is big enough for everybody.” Y’all. That is SO GOOD. For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

My guest for The Happy Hour #347 is Jonas Myrin. Originally from Sweden, Jonas Myrin is a Grammy and Billboard Music award-winning singer, songwriter and producer. If you think you’ve never heard his work, there’s a good chance you have! He’s made an incredible impact with several chart-topping songs, including “10,000 Reasons” with Matt Redman. Y’all. This is probably one of my favorite interviews we’ve done this year, and I am so excited to share it with you. In this episode, Jonas tells us about life as a missionary kid and what brought him to the States, the meaning of success as a follower of Christ, and learning to be his true-self as a believer within the music industry. Jonas also shares about unexpectedly losing his dad to COVID-19 earlier this year, and the beautiful moment when he led his dad in worship as he left this earth and met his Maker. We have all experienced our own kinds of grief and loss this year, and it can feel so overwhelming to make sense of it and feel peace through such a difficult time. But Jonas worded it so perfectly - he says, “Even in loss, even in going through the darkest night, God is still there. And He wants to be there with you in the darkness.” For the full summary and links to the show, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

My guest for The Happy Hour #346 is Rondell Treviño. Rondell Treviño is the Founder and Director of The Immigration Coalition—a faith-based non-profit providing clean drinking water to Latino, Immigrant, Migrant, and Asylum-Seeking communities along the U.S.-Mexico Border. Rondell speaks on issues of Immigration and engaging in politics from a biblical perspective at Churches, organizations, and conferences around the United States. I have been wanting to chat with Rondell for a long time and I’m so happy we made it happen! In today’s episode, we talk about the sanctifying rollercoaster of 2020, what led him to starting the Immigration Coalition and how we can partner with them to provide clean water at the border! Rondell also talks about how to engage with politics in healthy and biblical ways, remembering that we are citizens of heaven above all. I love when he says “People feel like you have to choose a side. You don’t have to choose an extreme side. There’s always a balance that Jesus brings to the table.” For the full summary and show links, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE

My guest for The Happy Hour #345 is Lysa TerKeurst. Lysa is someone who needs no introduction, but in the off chance that you are new to this space, let me tell you about my dear friend! Lysa TerKeurst is a best-selling author, speaker and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries. Her books include Uninvited, It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, and most recently Forgiving What You Can’t Forget. Lysa has continued to be a leader for Christ-following women, and I’m consistently blown away by her words and faithfulness to God’s mission. Lysa is a Happy Hour veteran and I’m so thankful she is back on the podcast. In today’s episode, Lysa talks about leaving room for God to move, what God revealed to her about forgiveness, and partnering with Harper Collins publishing to give people a place to share their stories! Lysa also goes into depth about the message of forgiveness and hurt, and why it was such a difficult message to write because it’s such a difficult message to live. But I love so much when she says, “We don’t conjure up forgiveness from inside of us. We simply throw our arms up, and we receive forgiveness from God.” For the full summary and show links, click the link below! Connect with Jamie Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // YouTube GET ALL THE LINKS FROM THE SHOW HERE