Lighten Up with Melanie Dale

Today I'm talking with Barb Roose, author of Winning the Worry Battle: Life Lessons from the Book of Joshua, and oh my gosh you guys, about 20 seconds into talking to her we discover that we went to the same high school what the heck. Go Medina BEES! Barb shares the most epic wardrobe malfunction story that's sure to give you a nice laughter-induced ab workout for the day, and she gives us a fantastic tip for lightening up. We chat about how to get control of our worry, how the book of Joshua can help us with our helicopter parenting, how to keep our kids' worries from stressing us out, and she gives us practical tools for dealing with worry. Um, also? Last week Bronwyn told about the time she accidentally bought a minivan on eBay and this week Barb admits she bought a house without telling her husband. What is going on with the crazy purchases? Next week someone's going to tell me they bought a horse or a theme park or something. Does worry have you tied up in knots? Listen in and lighten up!

Quote from the show:

"The difference between worry and worship is Who you're talking to."

• Buy Winning the Worry Battle: Life Lessons from the Book of Joshua
• Check out her website
• Find Barb on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
• Where Hope Begins

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As always, if I post an Amazon link and you click and buy something, I make several whole cents. Keeps the lights on around here. Well, keeps about one-quarter of one pixel on. Thanks in advance.

Hey welcome to episode 50 of Lighten Up with Melanie Dale. 50! We've made it to 50, guys, and I'm so excited that for the 50th episode I get to share my conversation with Chewbacca Mom Candace Payne with you. We've all seen her viral Facebook video wearing the Chewbacca mask, and it's impossible not to laugh right along with her. We do a lot of laughing together on the show, and talk about her happy Chewbacca tattoo, her lofty goal before she turns 40 (hint: it involves Michael Jackson's "Thriller"), being on the Late Late Show with James Corden, and her theories about The Last Jedi. We also chat about her faith journey, experiencing homelessness as a child, her new book, Laugh It Up, and how we can embrace defiant joy in the middle of hard times.

Today's sponsor is b.a.r.e. soaps! Use LIGHTEN15 for 15% off. Also, they're giving away a BARE Kindness Box to one lucky listener. To enter to win, leave a review of the show on iTunes this week.

• "It's not self-deprecation. It's self-aware."
• "No matter where you're at, joy is available to you."

• Check out Candace's new book, Laugh It Up!
• Defiant Joy: What Happens When You're Full of It study guide and DVD
• Defiant Joy study guide
• Candace on the Late Late Show with James Corden
• Candace's website
• Find Candace on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram

Hey welcome to episode 106 of Lighten up with Melanie Dale. BONUS ILLNESS EDITION. I know I said we concluded the Lighten Up with Illness series, and I'm well into working on our next series, Lighten Up about Friendship Over 40, but recently Stephanie Tait ran across my path and she has a new book called The View from Rock Bottom so, I mean, I was dying to talk to her about how she lightens up down there at rock bottom. Stephanie talks about her tenacious 15-year journey to getting diagnosed with Lyme Disease, what it's like living with Lyme, and how she learned to lighten up and let herself have a life in the midst of disability, instead of waiting indefinitely until everything was all better. She asked herself, "What if this is my life...what am I waiting for?" Stephanie is hopeful and real and I know you'll love hanging out with her as much as I did, so listen in and lighten up.

• The View from Rock Bottom
• Check out Stephanie's website: www.stephanietaitwrites.com Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
• Under Our Skin documentary
• Glorious Weakness by Alia Joy, who was just on episode 105 of Lighten Up
• Disability and the Way of Jesus
• Light from Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker, who was on episode 43 of Lighten Up

I'm celebrating my 100th episode! ONE HUNDRED. This reminds me of the 100th day of school shenanigans when our kids have to bring in 100 items and dress up like 100-year-old people. It's basically, "Let's work in another stupid spirit day." I will not make you do homework to observe this 100th episode milestone, although if you want to celebrate by leaving me a review on iTunes, I would love that so much. I'm celebrating the day by sharing some big news that I've wanted to tell you for a while. I've got stuff percolating over here, and it starts with a broken promise. So listen to the episode to find out what's up, and then, my buddy Sarah Bragg and I talk about work, career, and purpose for our final monthly crossover of the year. We share funny stories from our first jobs, chat about what our dream jobs would be, and discuss how we can find our purpose, whether that's parenting, a dream job, or a dream-adjacent job, something you never thought you'd be doing. It's all important, and how do we figure out what we're supposed to be doing with our lives? Join us to discuss all the things, listen in, and lighten up!

• Coffee+Crumbs "Exhale" community
• Big Magic
• Check out my new book, Infreakinfertility
• Sign up to be email friends with me
• Surviving Sarah Podcast – check out the other half of our conversation on work and purpose!
• Go be friends with Sarah Bragg!
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Today I'm talking with poet and writer Carolina Hinojosa-Cisneros and we run the gamut from light to serious. She tells an amazing story about wearing leggings as pants, and you are in for a treat today because she agreed to perform her original poem, "By the Grace of God" for us and shares her process for writing poetry. We talk about how she serves her community by serving coffee, there's some serious power in a cup of coffee, and what she's learning these days about her faith and "decolonizing her theology." Then we chat about immigration, the current climate toward Mexican-Americans, and how white women can support and advocate for our Latina sisters. Super light stuff, right? Seriously, though, Carolina has some beautiful advice about how we can make space, create room, and understand the power we wield. And then at the end, she takes us to school with a fantastic reading list, which will be in the show notes. I love this conversation, a little light, a little deep, just the way I like it, so listen in, and lighten up!

• Carolina's website
• Follow Carolina on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
• Festival of Faith & Writing
• 20 Awesome Christian Women to Follow on Social Media
• "By the Grace of God"

• Jasminne Mendez
• Dr. Carmen Tafolla
• Dr. Norma Cantú
• Laurie Ann Guerrero

• Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
• Naomi Shihab Nye

• Pastor Rich Pérez
• John Phillip Santos