Making Room by Gather
Hospitality. What do you think of when you hear that word?
For some it's old school 'stuffy' entertaining for others it's something to do with the hotel industry. One thing is for sure, as a culture we're not talking about it much.
Food * Design * Relationships have seemed to have taken a back seat to what our culture focuses on and values yet...we find ourselves in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. Something has to change, it's time to get back to our tables, and we're making room for it!
Making Room by Gather invites you into a new conversation on everyday hospitality. One that rewrites the way we approach opening your doors and filling your tables. Shifting the narrative from 'how does this make me look' to 'how does this make you feel' these buildable conversations aspire to inspire connection through everyday gathering.
Kayty's chic and a little quirky interview style will make you feel like you're sitting with a friend talking about how to grow in confidence as an everyday host. You can expect conversations from navigating challenging relationship dynamics to foundational cooking techniques and everything in between.
Whether you are a seasoned host or looking to develop new friendships and grow in your skills for the first time, there is a seat at the table. Join us weekly for new conversations with expert guests and with Kayty in her beloved Date with Kayt episodes. Continue the conversation @gatheritentionalliving
Making Room by Gather
Celebrating Christmas Intentionally as a Family w/ Jessica Wolstenholm from Minno
As a new parent eager to wrap our home in the joy of the holiday season, I found myself on the hunt for wholesome content that aligns with our family's values. That's when Minnow, a Christian kids' media platform, became our household hero. Join me, alongside our guest Jess, as we navigate the festive frenzy while prioritizing family connections, in the midst of a season that's so easy to pull us apart.
We celebrate the launch of their new Laugh and Grow Bible Family Advent Devotional, which blends familiar stories with engaging activities, and how it can transform your family's holiday routine. With the holiday season approaching, learn about their new children's devotional designed to spark spiritual growth, and spark hope and joy as you reflect on the season as a family.
We also introduce the Laugh and Grow Christmas animated video special, on the Minno platform, designed to ignite heartfelt conversations about the true essence of Christmas. As we share these stories and goals, we hope to inspire you to prioritize what matters most, creating cherished family memories and finding joy in the simplest moments this season.
Buy your copy of the devotional HERE
Download the Minno App HERE
Watch on YouTube HERE
This Episode is Sponsored By:
Feast & Fettle get $25 off your first week of hand crafted, flavor packed meals delivered straight to your door so you can soak up the season with code GATHER25 at checkout
Watch our Youtube episodes here!
Hey everyone, welcome back to this Week on Making Room. I am coming back from a little bit of a cold. You might hear I'm a little stuffy, might be coughing a little bit, but tis the season, Tis the season, right, I cannot believe that we are just on the brink of Christmas. This is the first year I told Colby that I want Christmas before Thanksgiving. I have never done that. I've always had this strict after Thanksgiving rule, and maybe it's being a mom, Maybe it's just wanting a little extra joy this season, but whatever it is, this weekend first show we ever showed him I've shared this with you guys was Baby Shark. That was our Asian lifestyle influence and he loved it. But very quickly I was like, okay, if we're going to be traveling with this kid, if he's going to be watching a lot of TV, I want something a little bit more wholesome.
Speaker 1:So frantically, Colby and I headed over to YouTube. We typed in Christian Kids cartoons. We had no idea what was available and we found Minnow. We had never heard of it. We thought that we stumbled on a gold mine, which we did. But I quickly texted all of my friends, my creative friends, my friends in media, and I was like have you guys heard of this company? Because they are creating like shows that aren't corny for Christian kids. They are very well produced. All of the theology was sound. We loved them, and there's this one character in particular it's the sun, oh, no, the world. It's the world, right? Yeah, I'm looking at Jess. We'll talk about it more when she's on, but Wesley lights up every time. You're going to have to tell me what he's called, but every time they come on the screen, Wesley just loves it. So we love that too. And as a family, we've just gotten hooked, downloaded the app, dove deep into Jungle, Beat all the shows and we are full out fans over here. But if Minnow is new to you, here is a little bit more about them.
Speaker 1:Minnow is the leading voice globally for using media to spark kids' imagination and curiosity around God and the Bible. The Minnow Kids streaming service is available as an app on all platforms. Minnow Originals creates shows produced in partnership with top industry talent. Minnow's publishing program includes the award-winning, best-selling Minnow Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids, which we love in our households, with the fastest-winning, best-selling Minnow Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids, which we love in our households, with the fastest-growing YouTube channel for Christian kids, along with parent resources, blogs, life guides and so much more. You'll hear that I just referenced Jungle Beat, which I'm sure we'll talk about more in a minute. It's so much more than just the Minnow Originals. Minnow is where God's goodness and love comes to life for kids, and you could find out more by going to gominnocom.
Speaker 1:Well, we were talking about the holidays and we're going to talk about working against the hustle and bustle in this episode, but we can all kind of feel it when December comes, it just creeps in and before the joy even hits, it's almost like the hustle and bustle hits and Feast and Fettle wants to come alongside your family to help you really embrace the moments, embrace the season, spend more time with your family.
Speaker 1:And you guys know I'm a foodie. I don't mess around when it comes with food. I want the good stuff. I will never recommend anything less. And so Feast and Fettle is basically like having a private chef make all your foods, deliver it straight to your door. Everything from snacks to like I don't know overnight oats and breakfast dinners, kids' lunches, they'll deliver it straight to your door. You don't have to cook, you just heat and eat, and it is so crave-worthy and ready to be delivered straight to you this week. You can use code GATHER25, G-A-T-H-E-R and the number is 25, your first week off of Feast and Fettle, and take a breather as you get ready to start the season.
Speaker 2:Hi, I'm Katie, a hospitality educator and the host of Making Room by Gather podcast. I am set to see our communities get back to the table through hospitality, but it wasn't always this way. My husband and I moved to Thailand and through it I experienced some loneliness and with it I was given a choice to sit back and accept it or to do something about it. And for me that meant two things that I needed the healing to learn how to accept an invitation and the confidence to know how to extend one. Through this process, I developed some of the richest and deepest relationships of my life. Through Making Room by Gather, you will hear conversations from myself and experts in the areas of food, design and relationships. You see there are countless things trying to keep us from the table, but can I tell you something? Take a seat because you are ready, you are capable, you are a good host.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's do this. Jess. I feel like this has been so long in the making. It has. Yes, every time we've scheduled, I've gotten sick.
Speaker 3:Oh, I know I'm so glad you're feeling better.
Speaker 1:I know I'm just so excited we're here Colby and I were talking, and even grandma, my mom, who's watching Wesley right now and they're watching Minnow together. I was like I feel kind of like the cool mom right now that gets to meet their kids' favorite character or something. Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:I love that that's so sweet. Well, one thing I just realized is the introduction wasn't necessarily your intro, and we love telling story here, and the reason I like storytelling is I think there's power in a story and also it helps us to really understand the full picture of our conversation, and so I would love to hear from you what you're the first person that we've ever talked to on the show like 150 ish episodes in the media, kind of like kids media space and so I want to hear what that journey has been like for you. What do you want us to know about Jess's journey to here with Minnow Sure?
Speaker 3:Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me and I'm so glad we finally got this going. You know my journey. I've always worked in entertainment, so I live in Nashville, minnow is based in Nashville and I moved here. I went to college at Belmont University and I studied music business and I wanted to work in the Christian music industry and for about 15 years until my second, until my son was born I did that and it was amazing and so fun and everything I ever dreamed of and I learned a lot about media and ministry and kind of how those two things come together. And then, when I had kids, I was a lot about media and ministry and kind of how those two things come together. And then when I had kids, I was so passionate about their discipleship from a young age and always looking for the right resources for them and for us as a family to do family faith formation and, through some of my contacts and the people the great people I'd worked with over the years in Christian media, and then my passion for child discipleship. That's when I stumbled upon Minnow. Actually, I didn't stumble upon it, it was created by a few people that I had worked with throughout the years, but I stumbled upon the opportunity to join them and so I had already been writing and doing a lot of creating in the space of curriculum and child faith formation. My husband and I both have always worked in kids ministry and loved serving kids, and it was like God brought together all of the passions that I had into this idea of creating a streaming platform for Christian kids and then eventually creating new original content so we could raise the bar in what was being made for Christian kids.
Speaker 3:Because over the years, when I grew up, especially, and even when my kids were little my daughter's 16, my son's 13. So even when they were little, there just wasn't a lot out there. There was VeggieTales and a few other things, and there wasn't a ton, and some things weren't, you know, very well made, and so Minnow really wants to raise the bar and give kids. We always say kids deserve better, jesus deserves better, and so you know, let's bring the best that we have to them. So, yeah, so I just got to open the door and went back to school and got my master's in education, because I became really curious about the intersection between faith formation and media and child development, and so I wanted to know how do we do this with the best possible outcomes for kids not only having fun, but learning the Bible and getting to know God.
Speaker 1:Wow, I have my mic muted over here just so I can cough without having all you guys hear it, but I love all of that so much I want to dive into there. My listeners know I love Nashville. We spend a lot of time there.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like a huge hub for our community right now, and so I love knowing that you're there and, as you're talking about the community and being a part, and so I love knowing that you're there and I, as you're talking about the community and being a part of it, I know what that feels like just a little bit. But one thing that Colby and I have noticed as we watch Minnow you guys really have a way of communicating in a way that like sticks. It's like sticky education. And have you read Malcolm Gladwell's book, the Tipping Point? Yes, oh, it's been a while, but yes, yeah, okay, but I love like he talks about how things stick and you guys are really. You're so intentional, you're so strategic and even layers of Bible stories that Colby and I Colby and I grew up in the church we're like, wow, we've never understood that layer like that. And there's something so beautiful about a child likeness, like even for the family. So hearing you say like family faith formation, it's really that's definitely a layer of what you guys are doing.
Speaker 3:And yeah, it's definitely something that we try to infuse into what we do. You know, we're not just making fun shows for kids. We are. We want them to be fun. We want kids to be engaged. They deserve. God created them to be fun. We want kids to be engaged they deserve. God created them to be curious. He created them to be childlike and to want to play, and so we want to add all those things in there.
Speaker 3:But we also want to teach them theology and those foundational principles, and so we have very, very rigorous conversations and debates around the table at Minnow, around about every line of every episode.
Speaker 3:You know we're going through and making sure are we saying that the right way? Is there a better way to say that We'll catch ourselves and be like oh, the way that was said was not not really helping kids gain the best and healthiest God view early on. There's ways we talk about God that are not maybe the best God view to give a child early on, and so we'll go back and fix it because maybe it's the way we've always said it in the church and so that's what comes out when we're scripting and then all of a sudden we go wait a second, that's not the healthiest way to introduce a child to God and his character. So let's fix that. And so we are intentional. We spend a lot of time scripting because it's just too important to do flippantly or to not do intentionally. So we spend a lot of time thinking about every word that's said.
Speaker 1:So I know some of my listeners are entrepreneurial minded, some aren't, but we kind of talk about just some business undertones on the show. Just because I'm a creative, I'm curious. I know other people are too. So there was Jess that was curious about launching quality kids, christian content, right, but you weren't in animation, you weren't in TV. So what did that look like? Cause you didn't go back to school to learn how to animate, right, so. So what did that part of the story look?
Speaker 3:like.
Speaker 3:So I, um, I actually don't animate I, so what I get to do is I um look at all of I.
Speaker 3:I'm I'm really more on the editorial side, so I am looking at the scripts and um the content, and then, uh, I get to work with our um, our director, uh on on um the way things look, and so he's an animator and so he's the head of the way it looks and I'm the head of the way it sounds, and we work together and sometimes we overlap because he's so thoughtful about the way, you know, he thinks like a kid, he's like a eight-year-old boy in a grown man's body, like we're always teasing him, but he's perfect for his job because he's really keeping the kids in mind at all times. And so he's an animator and we work with animation studios all over the world for our different properties. And then, as the executive producer, I'm just kind of over the the the project as a whole, making sure that it's again, theologically sound and and and in age appropriate, and then just making sure it's it's true to the brand that we want to be as Minnow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, I love clear branding, clear brand strategy, all of that. So you're speaking my language and I recognize it in you guys. Sorry guys, this cough is going to stick this episode, but I can only drink so much coffee together.
Speaker 3:I know.
Speaker 1:Someone was like you could have tea instead of coffee. I'm like that's not an option, so it doesn't cut it. It doesn't cut it. I also appreciate the humor that you guys kind of lace through to One factual thing though. So I think it was John the Baptist eating locusts and honey. Like only locusts and honey, right, yeah. So I've heard stories about him obviously my whole walk of faith and I was like Colb, my husband. I was like I didn't know that about him and he was like, oh yeah, totally that's the thing, and so I love that. I'm like gaining those little nuggets. But the humor was it Moses? And they gave a sheep really funny names, like here buttercup or cookie. It was so cute, I love it oh, I love that.
Speaker 3:We try to. You know, we try to add those little things because, again, as kids brains are developing so quickly when they're little, I mean those little like synapses are firing and and they're creating all of this memory and just association with things. And so we want kids to associate learning the Bible with fun. And it is a heavy book and there are some times where we're like we don't know how we're going to make that episode funny. But we'll figure something out and sometimes there's just no place for it and that's okay. But when we can, we love to infuse those little things because then a kid is going to have just that positive feeling inside of them when they're thinking about learning the Bible.
Speaker 1:So important. I think a lot of us don't even realize how important that is. But when we think back at our own experience, I know a lot of the listeners on the show I don't know the exact stats these days, maybe it's 50-50, followers of Jesus, not followers of Jesus. I'm not really sure. But depending on who you are listening, you've had an experience with the church and hearing the gospel for the first time and it does matter. It does matter how it's presented. I just had a thought it was along the lines of comedy. Oh, I don't know if you're allowed to say this, I'm sure it's fine. One of the voices on the show is he Dude Dad. Do you know who Dude Dad is, the YouTuber from Wisconsin? Oh, yes, no, it's not. It's not him no.
Speaker 1:Okay, Because there's this guy with kind of like a Wisconsin accent Okay, and my husband and I are like I bet it's him oh interesting.
Speaker 3:I don't think it's him. I don't choose the voices, but I doubt it's him. That's funny. Yeah, that's so funny, it just sounds like him.
Speaker 1:He has a very identifiable kind of like it's not a twang, what would you call it from Wisconsin, like a drawl, I don't know.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but it's fun. Do you know which character it is? Do you remember which character I'm going to ask Colby, colby would remember.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm just curious.
Speaker 1:Okay, but I would have put money on it, but he has a really great voice you guys hired well. Well, the holidays are here and it is really wild. It's been very mild in Connecticut weather-wise, which I'm not complaining about I prefer it being mild but it's also made me like slower to get into the season. But you guys recently launched and sent us an Advent devotional. Are you guys calling it a devotional? Yes, it is Okay, Okay, perfect, so it is a devotional. Are you guys calling it a devotional? Yes, it is Okay, okay, perfect, so it is a devotional. Really quick for people listening who maybe are new to faith, aren't followers of Jesus and are like what the heck is a devotional? Can you just first tell us like what a devotional is? Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:So a devotional is sort of it's like a well, it doesn't have to be a book, it can be online, it can be anything but it is a group of just writings that are sort of a daily cadence for you to interact with either the Bible Some are just very, very biblically based and you're going through Bible verses and you're learning what they mean and then some are just about themes and thoughts around Christian themes, not necessarily looking at a specific scripture, and so a devotional is just really a way for you to engage with God and the Bible on a daily basis or a weekly basis or something that provides that rhythm for you to kind of keep coming back to it, and so it's a really powerful way for families to create rhythms, especially around the season, which is why we created this one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love it because we've had ones for Colby and I and like our marriage over the years. Goodness, that is what it is. No, it's that weird, like lingering, just like dry. You know it's not, I'm feeling fine, but um. But what we loved about this one is, uh, wesley's very busy, very. If you looked at my house right now you'd be like, how did the measuring cup end up in the bathroom?
Speaker 3:It's like I remember.
Speaker 1:So I've gotten a little bit smart. We have a ton of books that every day. I put like five books in his playroom and he is so sweet. He just sits and like flips through them and like it keeps him busy for a while. And what I love about the Minnow book they're paper pages but and I let him crinkle it whatever he wants to do he recognizes the characters. So he's so drawn to it just visually. And then, um, I just believe that God works through that, even though you know he's not reading all the words yet, but I love that he loves it, um, because like identifying the pictures and the characters. So, um, I would love for you to tell us what makes your devotional different, what makes this one different? Because there are Christmas books that some of us might have or we might be shopping for different types of devotional type things to help us set our hearts for the season. What's different about this one?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, one of the big things is what you just said is that Wesley recognizes the characters in it. So the Laugh and Grow Bible Family Advent Devotional is based on the Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids Bible and show. And so we created the Bible first. It's a storybook Bible with 52 stories from Genesis to Revelation that really help kids understand God's big Bible narrative and the whole story of God and Jesus and the gospel. And so after we did that, a few years later we had the opportunity to animate every story in the Bible. So we're in the process of that and that's what you were talking about, that you guys love watching, I love that, and so we're animating each story in the Bible. We've got about 32 done and we're going to have 63 when we're done. So we're about halfway there and it's such an amazing process to put these together. But that's what makes this devotional unique is that kids are able to engage with it in different arenas. So you know, a lot of kids will say they walk by the Bible and they're watching the show and they'll say, oh, that's my Bible, you know on TV. And so it's really neat for kids to connect the dots like that, because then they start to gain an affinity to those characters and the stories and they really connect with it, and so that's one of the big things that makes it different is it's multifaceted. So the devotional follows four kind of beats of the Christmas story Isaiah's prophecy and Jesus the angel appearing to Mary, and then Jesus' birth, the shepherds and wise men, and so you can watch those as episodes of the Laugh and Grow Bible on Minnow or on YouTube they're all on YouTube and then engage with it in the book. So it gives you kind of a little short reading around that story and the different beats of the story and then conversation starters and a prayer and even a little game to play something to play and that's the other thing that really sets it apart, I think, from other devotionals, when we sat around the table and said, okay, what are we going to put in this devotional? There's so many out there, how are we going to make it different?
Speaker 3:One thing that we as parents at Minnow were frustrated by is there was always like a craft or like something I had to do or something just really big, and you know, I just never had time to do those things in the month of December, so I always felt like a failure before I even started, and so we wanted it to be a win for parents. We want parents to win with everything that we're doing and feel like I can do this. And so it's. The play moment is just something simple. They don't have to gather anything, it just happens right in the book. There's things like a finger maze where kids can just follow which line gets to the. You know which wise men gets to the manger first, and that sort of thing. So that's one of the major things that really sets it apart.
Speaker 1:The intentionality is so good. That's so good. I think, that parents it's going to be so refreshing for parents as we're going into the season yeah, definitely. Well, that's a really good segue into a next point that I wanted to make. So, going into the season, if we think back to years past, right, we could hear ourselves saying the holidays went by so fast where I didn't even have time to do this, and so we were just talking about like the holidays are busy, there's a lot going on, it's we don't need like another thing. But on the flip side of that, the season really has the ability to restore hope in our own hearts, in our family culture, in our home, reset our joy. So I love the thought about a devotional because it kind of invites us to pause. Right, it does invite us to stop. You can kind of play on that a little bit more, but I would love to hear from you what are some ways that families can more intentionally, I guess, embrace slow rhythms as we're going into the holidays and into a new year.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, definitely with the devotional. I'd say this devotional or any devotional or a group of readings you find online, like whatever you do, it provides a framework for you and if you have a framework now, you can make a framework that's way too complicated and again you're going to fail before you start. Or you can pick something that has a really simple framework, maybe a weekly reading. That's why I love Advent, because the Advent season is really just. It's the four Sundays before Christmas and so you don't have to do a devotion every day. Although we provide five every week in that book. You don't have to do them all. You can just read something on a Sunday and light an advent candle and just pause for 10 minutes once a week. It doesn't have to be a framework that is kind of overtaking your lives. It can be something super, super simple, but when you use a resource that kind of has a cadence, it does give you something to kind of look forward to and to intentionally, you know, to make you intentionally pause. The other thing I've been talking a lot about this Christmas season. So, like you said, we get so busy and we don't want to add one more thing, more thing, and yet Christmas is like the one of the best. Christmas and Easter really are the two best opportunities for us to pour into our kids our faith. And so, because they're so engaged, because they're so excited about the season, and now we can kind of come alongside them and help them understand what the real meaning is and kind of layer onto that excitement, you know, but the real meaning is kind of layer onto that excitement. You know, they may not be as excited about Jesus as they are about presence right now. No, and that's just reality. But as we, you know, continue to reintroduce them every year and kind of build on that and those traditions. But again, it doesn't have to be a lot. And so I've been talking about this a lot Just really looking at your calendar and now is a great time to do that looking at your calendar at the beginning of the season and saying, ok, what are we going to do and not do? And I know that just sounds like, yes, that's what we do, right, we should look at our calendar, what do we do and not do? But I mean really, I mean grab a friend and make each other accountable to say, okay, we're not doing this this year, we're not doing the crazy. This year. We're going to do two things. You know we're going to do three things, whatever that is, um, to really strip back and to go like my uh, an old pastor of mine used to say simplify and intensify. So if you simplify your time, you can intensify what you do with those three things instead of doing six things.
Speaker 3:And I remember being a young mom and I wanted to do it all. I wanted to do the countdown with a little gift and a scripture reading every day, and I wanted to do the. You know, put on your pajamas and go around and look at Christmas lights without cocoa, and then they'd spill it all over the car. And then I wanted to do, you know, go visit Santa. But then they were afraid of Santa and, like you know, the list is ongoing of all the things.
Speaker 1:Hold on one second. Ah, dang it, we almost made it. Hold on. Oh, stink, almost made it. Okay, I left my notifications on because the baby's with grandma and I just got a phone call but it wasn't from grandma. So, shoot, I know, that's okay, we're good, okay, so you were a young mom trying to do all the things. Oh yes, Okay, I'll just go back to that. Pay some point right here.
Speaker 3:Right, I'll go back to that. Yes, okay, so I was a young mom trying to do all the things I wanted to do the countdown calendar with all the little gifts and a scripture reading every day, and going around looking at Christmas lights, with everybody in the car with their pajamas on and with their hot cocoa, and then somebody would spill it. And then we'd go to visit Santa and somebody was scared of Santa. Anyway, you, you see how it gets to be a completely crazy season, and so I'm just encouraging parents to um, to, to choose two or three things and just do them intentionally. And then, when you only have two or three things, the other way to make it simple is to I guess you could kind of consider this sort of like habit stacking, if you're familiar with that concept of like, hey, we're going to bake cookies and while they're in the oven, we're going to do a scripture reading, like.
Speaker 3:I know that seems like multitasking and maybe it is and that's fine, but it's a way to infuse intentionality and meaning into everything you're doing, and so maybe you don't have time to do both. I know for us. All of our family lives here in town and everybody wants to do all the things times two, like my family and my husband's family, and so we do cookie baking twice and we do Christmas lights twice, like we do everything twice. And so just trying to figure out, okay, how do we simplify and intensify what we're doing and infuse meaning into everything we're doing so that even the simplest things our kids can see, wow, like their substance, and even the small things?
Speaker 1:That's so beautiful. I love when things are simple but actionable. Sometimes it's the simple things that we don't think about right, and that's so practical, attainable, all of the things. And Colby and I started this season we were like, okay, what's something important to you that we do this season, what's something that's important to me? Bought the tickets, put it in the calendar and we were like, okay, now, things you know, now we know to protect this. Yes, because this is important to us. It's not like it's one of a silly festive thing, but still it's important right in the midst of it all. And another thing is I had this goal that I wanted to read a book a month. Some people are like I read 12 books the month of January. I'm not that person.
Speaker 3:I want to be that person, but I'm not.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, no. So I'm approaching December, realized I only read four and I was like you know what I could do. This helps me work towards my goal it's honoring a goal that I set for myself and also to just create rhythms of rest. So every day, I have an alarm that goes off around the time that Colby goes in the shower at night to remind me to stop and rest, and I am definitely someone if I don't have that alert in my phone. I'm going to be wrapping gifts, I'm going to be making an extra batch of cookies, I'm going to get caught in the hustle and bustle even at home, and so it's just my daily reset to just stop and take a breather.
Speaker 3:I love that and a lot of times we can think well, if I have to stop and put a reminder on my phone for us to come and read the Bible together or to light an Advent candle, well, that takes the meaning out of it, because it's an appointment that we have to think beyond that, you know. It's just a practical way to really help ourselves, um, do what we set out to do, and there's no shame in that. There's no, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just whatever it takes for us to be intentional with our families this Christmas. It's, it's worth it.
Speaker 1:It is worth it. That was the most perfect soundbite, Jess. That was so beautifully said. No, like perfect soundbite and just perfect, like one-liner reminder for all of us, because I don't know where that started. That like if we set a reminder, it takes the meaning out of it, whatever it is in life, but it's like no, no, no, you're making a decision to make something important to you.
Speaker 1:Important, Exactly, that's exactly what it is, and so I know that my reading goal is a little bit silly. I always joke that I'm such a sticker chart kid Like you know as kids when they're sick. I'm like, I'm that adult and I'm like I'm like no, no, no. December 31st can't come if I didn't read 12 books.
Speaker 3:So, no, no, no, december 31st can't come if I didn't read 12 books, so there's a little bit of unhealthy motivation in that too. Well, that's okay. Sometimes too, I think I think that's okay. But if you get there and it doesn't happen, then be kind to yourself and that's okay.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'll have a cookie right.
Speaker 3:I'll have a Christmas cookie to hope.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness. Well, we're going to, in a second, send everyone to all of the Minnow places. Is there anything else that's maybe a tone in the book or something on the platform that you just want everyone to know about, that you want listeners to know you know I would say, if you do nothing else, we have created the Laugh and Grow Bible Christmas special.
Speaker 3:So we took all of the episodes. Each of the Laugh and Grow Bible episodes are about five minutes well, five to seven minutes long, and we strung the four Christmas episodes together into a special and that has the hopeful world is the world that you were talking about, that your son loves. The hopeful world doesn't show up in any episodes, but she hosts the um, she hosts the specials that we do, and so there's a Christmas special. It's about 22 minutes. It's not very long, um, but it tells the whole story of Christmas, from Isaiah's prophecy to the visit of the wise men, and it's really beautifully done and fun and it's like the perfect.
Speaker 3:When we set out to create it, we had do you remember the old school Frosty, the Snowman and those kind of cartoons that you'd watch? We had that in mind. We wanted it to feel classic, like that, and I think we achieved it. I hope that we did and it's just a perfect like movie night. But again, only 20 minutes might give you time to maybe have some conversations afterwards, because that's one thing at Minnow.
Speaker 3:It's why we do this offscreen content. It's not just about the shows, because we say that we want to help parents have the conversations they want to have but don't know how to have or maybe are afraid to have, and so we're always giving conversation starters and questions and things like that, so that you can be prompted to maybe ask your kids what they thought or if they have questions or what stuck out to them, to really launch those conversations around the Christmas story. So I would say, if you do nothing else, set aside one evening and watch that together, because it's just a beautiful depiction of the true meaning of Christmas and I think it's done in a really fun way that your kids are going to get excited about.
Speaker 1:It is. There's this one line, so yeah, it's the whole wide world. I had it on for him this morning and this kid has a lot of TV this season.
Speaker 3:Listeners are probably like no shame. I get that, I've been there, it's hard. Mine are teenagers now, so there's always a lot of TV. Yeah, thankful for a minute.
Speaker 1:But what are these what the whole wide world say? I guess you didn't think you probably didn't know you'd hang out with the whole wide world this morning.
Speaker 3:It was so cute I love that character. If you guys ever made a stuffed animal we're working on it.
Speaker 3:We're working on it, are you? We have a prototype in the office. It's my dream, because we just feel like that, because there is. There's some illustrations in the Bible, in the book, where there's one illustration, my favorite illustration in the whole Bible. It's Jesus touching the world, cause we talk about the world being sick in the beginning, and so there's an, there's an image of the sick world, and then at the end there's a, when we're talking about Revelation and the second coming, there's a picture of a happy world, and in the middle there's a picture of Jesus touching the world. And so that's why we called it the hopeful world, because the world is hopeful. It's broken but hopeful, and so we envision like just hugging that little round world stuffy, when they, you know, need discomfort and so knowing that Jesus is holding them.
Speaker 1:So, yes, we hope to be a little model baby to like enjoy when it holds that stuffed animal. Wesley signs up. Oh, my goodness, okay, so we're going to link everything in the show notes, all the links to the website, the app yes, youtube book, all of the things, all the things, all the things. Um, but I want to end with three questions that we ask all of our guests and hear your answers as well.
Speaker 1:um, thanks for putting up with me today, guys, stuffy coughing, but we're on the tail end and we're right, we're making it. Yeah, we're making it Okay. So the first thing is something you've eaten recently and loved.
Speaker 3:Okay, well, this is not going to be like a foodie answer by any means. We're in a super, super busy season and so we're doing a lot more like Chick-fil-A drive-thru and I don't know if you guys have kava and all that like that kind of stuff. But one thing that we have recently discovered because we're always on the hunt for good protein bars, because my kids love them and I love them for an afternoon snack At Costco they have these. They're called Built Puff it's a play on words built tough and they're literally like. They look like a marshmallow bar covered in chocolate and they taste like candy. They don't even taste like fake sugar. They taste like and I have a sweet tooth but it has 17 grams of protein in it and it's like a wonderful. If you have a sweet tooth and this afternoon slump and craving, you're going to get 17 grams of protein. So it's called Built Puff and they have them at Costco. So I've been loving those lately. That's been really, it's been really fun and my kids like them too.
Speaker 1:So that's always a plus when the whole family's on board. No, we're big Costco people and we're. We also are on a big protein bar kick. But what happens is we'll have them for three months and then like get sick of whatever one we're eating. Yes, right, and so Go. Macro is a favorite of mine. Perfect bar we love. Yeah, yeah, I was on RX for a while. I don't know that I'm going to go back. It's not enough protein for me. Yeah, I feel like I almost need two, but that's probably just the postpartum mama in me. But that's good, that's good. We'll try it. Yeah, that's awesome, I like that answer. We've had a lot of like fish answers lately I'm not a big fish eater Like from guests. And then my favorite of all time was Mike Goodwin. He was a comedian, is a comedian, but was on the show a few seasons ago and he said, as a comedian would? He got like powdered donuts from the gas station and they made him really happy. So I was like I love it, I love it, so all answers welcome.
Speaker 1:Okay, this one's really fun. Oh, I wonder if your answer is going to be what I think it is Okay A gathering you attended that made you feel a strong sense of belonging, and if you could pin it, pinpoint it, what it was that made you feel that way.
Speaker 3:You know I'm going to have to say so the Minnow team is virtual.
Speaker 3:Well, half of our team is remote, so we are all over the world really, but our, our corporate office is in Nashville and so we have about 10 people in Nashville and then another you know, 20 all over the place, and we had everyone come in at the beginning of October for a team activity, like a team meeting and dinner, and we went to Putt Shack if you've ever been there, like to the indoor putt putt place dinner.
Speaker 3:And we went to putt shack if you've ever been there like to the indoor putt putt place Um and I, it was the first time we had all been together in years. We have some new team members, um, so it was just so fun and just reminded me of the incredible people on our team that we get to work with and this and the really sacred work we get to do together. And you know, I, of course I felt like I belong, cause I'm just like gosh pinch me that I get to be on this team. Um, I just, yeah, love being a part of it and, um, they're just really quality people.
Speaker 1:Wow, I love picturing that. Not that this would have been a place that sparked belonging for you, but I saw you went to the CMAs.
Speaker 3:Oh yes, went to the CMAs. Oh yes, that did not spark belonging for me at all. We go every year because my sister-in-law works for CMA and my daughter the older she gets, the more she is into it. But no, I always feel like a fish out of water there because I don't actually love country music. I like country music, I can appreciate it and I love all the collaborations they do. I don't know if you watched the show. Yeah, yeah, it was an excellent show, just super, super fun. But yeah, no, it didn't make me feel the long, but it was really fun.
Speaker 1:Both answers are good. I enjoyed hearing about both. I had to hear a little bit about it, though. Yeah. Okay, and last but not least, something you've discovered lately that you think everyone should know about an Amazon purchase a, I mean, it could be your Costco find, if you want a Netflix show.
Speaker 3:I thought about saying it there, but I am going to say this. Well, a book that I'm I'm just in the process of reading, so I haven't read it yet and I'll just hold it up for you, but it's called the importance of being little.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, I feel like that's a title I would like. Okay, yeah, so um.
Speaker 3:Erica Christakis. Um, she is, um, just a really great voice in this area of child development and really talking about like, and the subtitle is what young children really need from grownups and it's it's really written for educators and parents to really understand. Like our kids need us to understand, how they're made Um, and that's something we're so passionate about at Minnow. It's like for too long we've been doing things the way that we do them, for grownups and kids are just not built the same and that's intentional, that God did that intentionally. And so it's really about play and really the importance of play and just kind of whimsy and that sort of thing in the life of a child and how we can help foster that.
Speaker 3:Because we do, we get so caught up in our grownup worlds. Like I got to get this done. I got to and I remember doing that. I wish I knew what I know now when my kids were itty bitty, I would have parented you know differently. But that's life, right? Um, but I love sharing it with younger parents to say, hey, it's okay to pause and play and not get that thing on your to-do list done. Like, that's, that's the language of your child and they need you to show up that way, and so this book is really encouraging in that.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's a beautiful title. I'm going to do a whole like book roundup for my followers in about a week All of the books that our authors kind of like or our guests have promoted, but then all the like extra titles that they've recommended as well. Yeah, because I feel like when you build a community that's a sweet part of it. You end up kind of all like mind or sharing, like value sharing and things like that, and so I think that our listeners, followers, will love hearing about that title too. Well, I already said, I'm going to share all the things in our show notes, but, thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 3:Oh, thanks for having me, it was so fun Whenever an episode gets like delayed a few times or there's tech issues.
Speaker 1:I get even that much more committed to making it a reality. So great Like there's something trying to stop this episode from happening. So I'm excited to just give our listeners just a fresh breath of hope and expectancy going into this season.
Speaker 3:Oh, I hope it does. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Well, guys, be sure to follow along and all the links, buy your copy, watch the videos and we will see you next week. Oh, darn it, I pressed the wrong button, that's okay and it.