Dear Daughters

In 2013 Kate Merrick said goodbye to her 8 year-old daughter Daisy Love when she left for heaven. She wrote on grief, joy, and struggle on prayfordaisy.com. Kate is making her way back toward laughter and finding life to be filled with good things. Kate Merrick is a pastor's wife, writer, speaker, and mom to a teenager and toddler. She and her husband Britt cofounded the Reality family of churches in 2003, which began in Carpinteria, California, and has grown to include Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Stockton, San Francisco, Boston, London, and Honolulu. That's the official bio, but let's be honest ... she's a nouveaux-hippie at heart, Kate has a fondness for her mom’s blouses from the 70s, loves to cook food she grew and meat she raised, and she is one of those people who uses coconut oil for everything—like Windex. She willingly lends her chandelier earrings to her toddler, dances hard at weddings, opens the sunroof when she’s driving, and still checks to see if her dress twirls. Most of all, she enjo

The single greatest cause of homelessness is a profound, catastrophic loss of family ~ Alan Graham What does it really look like to love your neighbor? What does it look like for you to share your life and somehow be family to people who may not be just like you?  Alan Graham answers those questions in profound and practical ways. In 1998, he started a ministry to feed the homeless here in Austin.  Since then, he harnessed over 18,000 volunteers to serve over 4,000,000 meals to the hungry.  Oh, yes. That’s amazing but that’s not all. He also started a new movement to house the homeless. And the model is called Community First! Village. He writes about this and more in his new book called Welcome Homeless.  I'm just gonna make an ask here. Will you read the book, check out the ministry and ask God what he might like you to do in your community?  See all the show notes at susiedavis.org  

"Sometimes I think I’m afraid to listen to desire, the gentle heartbeat of my own life, the thing that makes me come alive because I discount that God speaks within me and to me through the Holy Spirit." ~ Emily Freeman Are you afraid to listen to the gentle heartbeat of your own life? These are the kinds of things Emily Freeman thinks about and it’s one of the reasons I love reading what she’s writing. She is the best kind of contemplative: thoughtful, creative and also playful. I’m excited to share this podcast with you because it’s going to make you think deeply about all kinds of important things. And it’s going to inspire you to love your one beautiful life. Aside from that, all the books y’all. Lots of recommended reading. I can’t wait. See all the show notes at susiedavis.org

The mother-daughter relationship is one that is delicate, beautiful and let’s be honest … sometimes fraught with boundary issues. As a mom of two young adult daughters and a daughter-in-law, my heart goal is to make sure that I love and honor them in the new stage they are in as young married wives. Not always the easiest thing because what I’d really love to do is beg, cajole and/or guilt them into moving back to Austin. (And maybe even living with me. Ha.) Of course, I know this is not the smart thing or the loving thing. So I have to constantly make the choice to be a wise, spiritual mama. A mother who gracefully lets go of the very people she loves the most. Which brings me to this whole notion of working through various seasons of life (like watching your kids grow up and move away) with deep contentment. In light of those two things, I thought it would be a fabulous idea to have my own daughter, Emily Boone, on the show and talk with her. Emily is a photographer living in Navasota, Texas with her darlin

"I thought I could pour myself into ministry and make the pain go away. But God started breaking down walls, helping me look honestly at my pain, and teaching me how to really grieve."  ~ Hilliary Cheatham In this episode of the Dear Daughters podcast, I talk with Hilliary Cheatham. She is a story-telling photographer in China as a missionary. She lives and works at Show Hope. Hilliary is also a very dear daughter of mine. She roomed with my daughter, Emily, when they were at Baylor, she lived in my house post-grad and helped me immensely during the season I was writing Unafraid and dealing with an ongoing pain syndrome. She is bright joy, constant hope and I know you’ll love hearing how even the hardest thing couldn’t touch her trust in God. All the show notes at susiedavis.org

"Sometimes there’s no getting around tough circumstances, but changing the way you handle them can make a big difference.  It doesn’t take much to go from feeling completely in control to completely overwhelmed.  Sadness, isolation, anxiety… whether it’s a lifelong struggle or a season of life that just doesn’t seem to be passing, we all experience times when it would help to have someone in our corner."  ~ Dr. Ashley Stafford In this episode of the Dear Daughters podcast, I talk with Dr. Ashley Stafford. She is a psychologist in private practice in Austin, TX. Ashley provides counseling services to adult individuals, couples, and families as well as neuropsychological testing to adults. Ashley’s areas of interest include anxiety spectrum disorders, adjustment disorders, and marriage and family issues. Ashley is a dear daughter who also happens to be my niece which means we sit around the table many Thanksgivings or Christmases just being family. And talking about family. And everything in-between. I know you

How are you feeling about those new year resolutions? Already tired underneath the weight? Yeah, I’ve felt it too. That’s why I’m trying something a little kinder and more centered on this truth: Only God knows the future you. Resolutions, best efforts and inspiration will wane. So when it does, the best new prayer is … As You wish Totally got that from The Princess Bride. Not at all concerned about the fact that I somehow made dialogue from a comedy into a prayer. Because this year, I’d love contentment with God to win over any and ever best idea or goal I have for my life. I’m digging deep into ‘as You wish’ and ‘Your kingdom come’ in my life. I talk about that today on the podcast and a few other things. Show note links at www.susiedavis.org

Kind of a different format on the podcast today because I wanted to touch base and catch up with you. And I also wanted to talk about how Christmas time while wonderful, can make things wonky. And wonky sometimes makes for lonely or sad feelings. And I just don’t want you to feel lonely or sad. I want you to know everyone feels those confusing Christmas-y feelings sometimes. I've certainly felt them. Also wanted to share a quick and yummy breakfast idea for Christmas morning. As well as a few ways to deepen conversation around the table. And some last minute gift suggestions. These things and more. See all the show notes at www.susiedavis.org 

One of the things I love best is introducing you to people like Lana Rush. She is a pastor’s wife, mother to three beautiful girls and spiritual mama to many. She’s a woman full of wisdom and God’s kind of deep joy. In this episode, she shares honestly about some of her greatest struggles in being the parent of a child with special needs. She opens up about how she and her husband handle the challenges differently and how they’ve managed to stay close despite setbacks. We also chat about how we make our homes a respite and our love of books. Between the two of us, there are nearly fifty books recommended because we tend to suggest reading the whole series of books we love. That’s a lotta great Christmas present suggestions if you ask me. All links are on the show notes at www.susiedavis.org

Do you dream of owning your business? Working your own hours? Living your Big God Dream? Then you’re going to love meeting Lauren Gaige in this episode 12 of  The Dear Daughters Podcast. Lauren is a graphic designer who built her own business with just ten a couple dollars in the bank. The heart behind Lauren and her brand is to help women start a successful business and/or blog by providing a luxury website design, amazing support, and an affordable online presence without the headache! She is great at helping people overcome the technical issues of running an online business. Not only that but Lauren is a dear daughter I’ve mentored the last ten years. And in this podcast, we talk about our cross generational friendship and the amazing (and FUN!) things God has done in our lives together.

Jesus is it. I met Lisa Whittle in Austin years ago through a mutual friend and discovered we shared a literary agent. Lisa is a truth-teller, a bold communicator and she has a bottom line approach to everything: Pointing people to a passionate pursuit of God. Lisa is the author of six books, including her latest, I Want God, and her forthcoming (April 2017), Put Your Warrior Boots On. Today on the show, we talk about her social media fast and the signs to look for when you might need a break from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Things like this: You’re not sure you’ll speak with wisdom online. You don’t trust what you may say online. When social media takes up so much energy that you’re too weary to spend time with the people you love the most. We also talk about what she's reading and her peanut butter pie recipe ... which she shares just in time for Thanksgiving.  You can find all the show notes are on susiedavis.org

Relationships are the key to life. That’s Carolyn Dixon’s motto. She spends her days counseling people how to have healthy relationships with God and others. Carolyn received her MSW at The University of Texas after her youngest son went to kindergarten. From there, she spent twelve years at (a residential psychiatric treatment center) and part-time at a private counseling center focusing on relational issues with individuals, couples and families. Now she is full-time at Abundant Life Counseling Services in the Austin area.  Carolyn has been married thirty-three years to her husband, Donnie, who is the discipleship pastor at Canyon Creek Church. They have four grown sons and one grandson. I love her to pieces and I’m glad to call her my friend. I think you’ll like her an awful lot too. :) All the show notes as well as a load of great books suggestions on marriage and parenting are on the blog at www.susiedavis.org

Oh y’all. Today on the podcast I talk with one of my all time favorite people, Shauna Niequist. She is a bookworm, a beachbum, and a passionate gatherer of people, especially around the table. She is married to Aaron, and they live in Chicago with their sons, Henry & Mac. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect and a few other fantastic books. Shauna and I met when we launched IF:Table a couple years ago. And I truly adore her. I know you will too. We talk about this and more:  When you are failing at the most important things in life.  Administrating and caring for your children vs just being with them. Trying to “out responsible” other people. Over-valuing work life in exchange for a deep relational life. Bowing to the pressure to always be on. The fatal design flaw of hustle life-style.  All the show notes at www.susiedavis.org

What if your family turned completely upside down three weeks before your wedding? And then you discover a few days later that your dad was leading a double life? How do you function when everything feels absolutely surreal? Like you’re in a bad movie? Meet Chloe Hamaker. She walked through a dark time in her life and God not only brought her through, He brought joy and peace and light into her life. Chloe is a graphic designer and brand consultant. She’s also a social media coach, small business owner champion and a brand/presentation specialist. But to me, this girl is pure sunshine. She is a dear daughter that I’ve known since she was in second grade. We met when I was teaching drama at Regents School of Austin and re-met at IF:Gathering several years ago. I love Chloe’s work because she doesn’t advocate a bunch of fancy marketing techniques; instead, she helps you discover how to be authentically ‘you’ online. Hear Chloe’s inspiring story and listen as she gently encourages artists and entrepreneurs to sh

I only took one book on vacation this fall. Because well, the aspens were turning and I knew it would have to be one good book to pull me away from porch-sitting and staring out at the front range of the Rocky Mountains. That one book was Sophie Hudson’s  Giddy Up, Eunice. It’s hands-down the best reading on the topic of relationship for spiritual mamas and dear daughters. Sophie pulls from important stories in the Bible that highlight why it’s actually in our spiritual DNA to encourage each other cross-generationally. All the show notes on susiedavis.org

Do you have a big God dream? Is there something you wish God would do with your life that is so big and so fabulous that it sounds crazy to speak out loud? Or maybe you wish God could use your life to speak to the people in your neighborhood but you don’t know where to start? If any of these questions tug at your heart, then you gotta meet my friend, Kristin Schell. Because that’s just the kind of thing God has been doing in her life the last three years. All the show notes at www.susiedavis.org

I once read that in the next five years, you become just like the people you hang out with … which is why I meet with my friend, Liz. She is a cancer survivor (though she hates me mentioning that) and also a bit of a goof. She is a fantastic wife and mother. And she is a mentor to hundreds of young women. She is the kind of person I want to be like and she is a person I think you’ll really like getting to meet.

In episode #4, I talk with Jamie Ivey about her relationship with her husband and her honesty with him about her past. She says the things she's done yesterday or twenty-five years ago don’t define her, only Jesus does. We also talk about her best marriage tips, some favorite books and her newest success in the kitchen.    

Today on the podcast, I talk with my very own dear daughter, Sara, about the real life and not so pretty 'in-between Instagram moments' in our life. We talk about how comparison kills creativity and unpack how to get through arguments with people you love ...

Want a better marriage? Then you'll love listening to what therapist Rick Reynolds has to say on the show today. Rick talks about the most important things you can do in your marriage, how carrying shame isolates and how people-pleasing is actually one of the most self-centered things ever. All that and more in episode 2 of the Dear Daughters podcast.