October 28, 2025 • 47 mins
In the inaugural episode of the 'Get Honest' podcast, Christy shares her journey of seeking authenticity and acceptance throughout her life. From childhood experiences that shaped her desire for approval to navigating family challenges and the impact of legalism on her faith, Christy reflects on the struggles of being honest with herself and others - including God. She emphasizes the importance of finding acceptance in Christ and living authentically, free from the fear of judgment. The episode invites listeners to embrace their true selves and cultivate a life of honesty and grace.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/get.honest.pod/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583228011586
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@get.honest.pod
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5qID1W7aiLOFkfnv1LcIc5
Apple Pods: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-honest/id1847656941
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Gethonestpod
To support this show!! : https://www.buzzsprout.com/2539292/support
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey, I'm so glad you're here.
Welcome to Get Honest, thepodcast designed to help you
cultivate a simple yet authenticlife of faith.
In every episode, I'm gonna talkabout real life topics.
So it's bound to get messysometimes.
But we're gonna do our best tonavigate those times and topics
with grace and with truth.
It's time to dive deep and findout who you really are.
(00:24):
It's time to live in the freedomthat God meant for you to live
in.
Thank you for joining me today.
It's time to get honest.
So it's episode one, and Ifigured there's no better way
than to start off with megetting honest with you about
(00:44):
who I am and what created theidea for this podcast.
So today it's time for me to behonest.
It's very ironic that thispodcast is called Get Honest,
because if you interviewedpeople from when I was growing
up, they would have a probably alot of descriptive words about
me, but honest might not be oneof them.
(01:05):
And I don't know, I was probablypretty good at making you think
I was being honest, but I thinkof like a little story whenever
I was, I was just a young girl,probably six or seven years old.
And way back then, this is goingto date myself a bit, but way
back then, it wasn't superuncommon to have some iodine in
your medicine cabinet.
(01:27):
And of course, it's theorangish-yellow liquid that they
put on you before surgeries anddifferent things like that.
We had some iodine up in ourcabinet.
And I don't know why or wherethis came from, but we used to
call it monkey blood.
And I'm I again, I heard thatterminology somewhere.
I didn't create that as a child,but it was just called monkey
(01:47):
blood.
And so I was fascinated with it.
I don't know if I was justfascinated with the it's kind of
like little kids that want tohave a band-aid.
Can I put, oh, I he fell downand I hurt my finger.
And snow bleeding, nothing likethat.
And it's like, oh, but you needa band-aid?
Okay, you need a band-aid.
And so I would um I I just lovedthe monkey blood and I wanted to
(02:07):
put it on because I just thoughtit was, you know, neat and the
way it colored my skin.
And so one day I crawled up onthe toilet and got in the
cabinet and got out the iodine,and I was getting sun to put on
my finger, and I spilled, Ispilled the iodine, and it went
kind of all over and it wasbright orangish yellow.
And so I did the best myseven-year-old self could do in
(02:30):
cleaning it up and put the lidback on, and I'm sure I didn't
even wipe off the bottle.
You know, I mean, I was prettyyoung, and I put it back up in
there and say to her mom comesout and she's like, Who got into
the iodine?
Clearly, it had been spilled,and I did not do a very good job
of cleaning it up.
And I, well, it wasn't me, youknow.
(02:51):
I didn't, I didn't do it.
I don't even know which iodine.
What are you talking about?
I still had some on my hands.
So the evidence, you know, shedidn't have to look very far to
figure out which one of her twochildren did this.
And so it's just interesting asI think about the title of this,
Get Honest.
(03:11):
As a child, I mean, I justwanted my parents' approval so
bad that I would have said ordone anything that I thought
would win their approval.
And it isn't like I had reallyhard to please parents or
something, but I did, I guesswhen I was three, my sister was
diagnosed with leukemia.
(03:31):
And um it was a very big deal.
It was just a very, you know, itwas a big, scary thing to hear
leukemia with your five-year-oldchild.
I mean, that just it's veryscary.
And so what my mom told me isthat I would I began began being
really jealous because of howmuch time they were spending
with her.
(03:51):
Now they were going to thehospital, you know, they were
going to hospital, which wasfive hours away from where we
lived, and several times a weekthey would have to fly up to the
hospital in Houston and betreated.
I think they were both going inthe beginning, and then my mom
noticed that I was strugglingwith the fact that I was feeling
left out.
And so, because at three, youdon't really understand your
(04:14):
sister's sick.
It's not that we love her more,she's just ill.
I think that's probably why Istarted saying what I thought
they wanted to hear instead ofjust being myself.
And there were plenty of otherincidents like gum.
My dad would always have gum,and sometimes I would go get a
piece.
But one time I went and I got apiece, and I was coming out of
their bedroom holding that pieceof gum in my hand, and I
(04:36):
literally was going to askpermission.
Like, this is one time, justreally gonna do it right this
time.
And I get to my, I guess I roundthe corner and I run into, I
can't even remember if it was mymom or my dad, and I'm holding
that gum, and I kind of got introuble because they were like,
(04:57):
you weren't gonna ask.
And I was like, no, it wascoming to ask.
And at that point, I had lostall credibility because there
were so many times that I, youknow, it wasn't me with the
monkey blood, you know.
So that's my early years, justnot being very honest.
And then I grew up and we were,we grew up in the church, and
our youth group at the time wasa pretty um, I'm gonna use the
(05:19):
word legalistic because I Ireally believe this is back in
the 80s, early 90s, late 80s,early 90s.
And I think if someone wouldhave come and they would have
had at that time pink hair ortattoos, probably the people in
the church would have asked themto leave, which looking back on
that, I just think that's justcrazy because that Jesus would
(05:43):
have never asked them to leave,especially not based on some
kind of outward appearance.
I I personally do have a coupleof tattoos and I love them.
And when I was younger, that waskind of the model that was out
there for me, was much morefocused on outward appearance
than it was on the personinside.
I learned very quickly how toput on that church mask.
(06:07):
And I'd been in church since Iwas tiny.
I knew we did Bible drills, andthat's where you they call out a
book of the Bible, and yourfirst one there, whatever, gets
a sticker or I don't know, getsa big wahoo, well done.
I mean, I could, I could nail iton the Bible drills.
So there was a lot of I had alot of head knowledge of the
(06:28):
Bible, of the books of theBible, even of scripture.
I mean, we memorized scriptureand it was from the King James
Version, and so it was the theseand the thou's, and I've hidden
thy word in my heart that Imight not sin against thee.
Those were the things that Imemorized, and I love it because
I can tell the ones that Iactually memorized as a child,
(06:48):
because even in my head, theyare still in the King James
Version.
So it kind of gives me a littlebit of a chuckle, but it's dear
to me.
At the same time, I learned veryquickly how to like I could
always say the right answer.
And I believed it.
It wasn't that I wasn't genuinein my faith or my belief or what
(07:09):
I was saying.
I really believed the words Iwas saying.
But the breakdown was that mylife, it had no power to change
how I was living my life.
And this is primarily more whenI was an early teen.
So as a child, I mean, Istruggled with telling the
truth, but um generally I wantedto please my parents.
(07:31):
And so I was a pretty good kid.
I really didn't do too manynaughty things.
And then my parents got adivorce, and that was pretty
traumatizing.
And as a child, I actuallywatched my dad walk out the door
with his suitcase in his hand,and I remember just wrapping
myself around his legs andbegging him not to go.
(07:53):
So, in order to actually be ableto walk out the door, he had to
peel me off of his legs.
That moment, as an eight and ahalf, nine-year-old girl, it
really felt like the whole worldwas falling apart.
And after that, I started, Iguess it just shifted some
(08:14):
things in my pretty secureworld.
And then as I became a teenager,I was seeking approval from guys
in many ways, but just wanted toget that approval from
especially guys and my friends.
I really wanted the approval ofthe friends around me as well.
(08:36):
Um, I really am thankful I hadsome very good girlfriends and
through my elementary on up intohigh school years, but the way
that I lived at high school andoutside of church looked very
different than the way that Italked in church.
And I did bring church into myoutside relationships.
(08:58):
I talked with my friends often,actually, about God and Jesus.
So again, it wasn't like thistotal Jeklyn Hyde person.
There was an aspect of who Ireally was in both places.
But I had a line of thinkingthat if the people at church
knew I participated in thisparticular activity, they would
(09:21):
probably ask me not to comeback.
And it just created a thing inme where I couldn't be sincerely
who I was really in eitherplace, because you can't be out
here doing all these activitiesjust like everybody else while
bringing Jesus into it.
Except for that's exactly what Iwas doing.
(09:42):
I um I just really couldn't, Icouldn't be authentically who I
was in either place because Ireally, really, really did love
Jesus, really.
And I really, really, really wascaught in the same temptations
(10:04):
and sin patterns as many of thepeople who didn't go to church.
And that brokenness in uscreates a desire to have it
filled, and we're gonna look forany kind of way, healthy or
unhealthy, you know.
So all the music I was listeningto, none of those lyrics were
wholesome and uplifting.
My mom would always listen toChristian music, but the music
(10:25):
that I put in my brain primarilywas country music or even the
pop songs back then in the late80s, early 90s.
The lyrics are were just notwhat you want to be retraining
your brain to think all thetime.
For whatever reason, I justcouldn't be myself in either
space.
And so I got very good at beingchurch girl Christie with all
(10:48):
the right answers, and beingfriend Christie that knew how to
act like you and blend in andfit in and throw a little Jesus
in here and there.
Honestly, I was doing the best Icould at the time, but coming
from that legalistic background,I just felt like God was always
(11:10):
grumpy at me.
Like I just had to be thebiggest disappointment.
And I don't really rememberanybody ever saying God is
disappointed in you.
It was more make sure thatyou're living in a way that God
can bless you because you know,it directly tied my behavior to
(11:31):
whether or not God would blessme or could be pleased with me.
So that's a whole nother, we gota whole episode coming on that
thinking.
But just to let you know, that'skind of that was my background.
So I got very good at not beingauthentically me.
And it's very hard to live thatway when you are living to
(11:52):
please people because you'reconstantly kind of having to
shift who you are.
And but you're not reallyshifting who you are, you're
just shifting how peopleperceive you.
And then this dialogue came inmy head.
If these guys in the youth groupthat I thought were cute or
(12:12):
charming or whatever knew thegirl that lived, you know,
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, because I
always went to church onWednesdays too.
So Sunday and Wednesday, Christywas very different than the rest
of the week, Christy.
And if they knew the rest of theweek, Christy, they would not be
interested because I wastainted.
(12:34):
And that was kind of my thoughton it.
Immediately, I even changed whoI was looking for as a boyfriend
to be later husband, partner,because I was looking for
somebody that was at least astainted as I was, so that they
(12:54):
would not want to reject me.
There was just a real fear ofrejection.
I think that's a lot of timeswhere that dishonesty starts or
that inauthentic authentic,inauthentic life comes in, is
it's not like you're reallytrying to be inauthentic, but
you just don't believe you'regood enough as you are for
(13:15):
anybody to accept you there.
And the truth in that is ifsomebody doesn't accept you as
you truly are, like those aren'tyour people.
That isn't the person you wantto be with anyway.
So I have there's a wholeepisode on relationships.
Also, that's gonna be in thefuture.
Um probably February, sincethat's a month.
(13:38):
We'll talk about um abusiverelationships.
We're gonna talk about a lot ofdifferent things.
Yeah, how to recognize it andand that kind of thing.
But primarily the point here isI was in an unhealthy space, not
being myself, because I justdidn't think anybody would
accept me as I was.
So, how did I end up here doinga podcast called Get Honest?
(14:04):
Well, after almost 50 years oflife, I want to say I was
probably in my early 40s beforeI really took on the attitude,
let them let them think whatthey're gonna think.
And I had made a pretty bigdumpster fire of my life.
We'll get into all kinds ofstories about how that happened,
(14:26):
but really, I looked back at mylife, I would had a lot of shame
over the decisions I made andstill battling with that God's
probably up there looking downon me, just shaking his head,
just good grief.
Was I ever gonna get ittogether?
You know, that was my thinking.
And then something happened inmy 40s, where my very early 40s,
(14:52):
where I was having an experiencein life, and it was a pretty
terrible experience.
And the people around me made itclear that they did not accept
me where I was and for who Iwas.
And I it was a really hardseason of learning who my people
(15:20):
are and who are not my people.
And it was really sad because Ifeel like really at that time I
failed the church and the churchfailed me.
That's how I'm gonna say it.
During that season, the peopleon the outside making judgments
about my life, they thought theyknew things about me, but they
(15:41):
didn't.
They always were saying thingsthat just were not true.
Um, God continued to show me howhe sees me and he knows my
heart.
Even the small motivations Idon't know about, he knows.
He just continually showeredwhat people would call his
(16:02):
blessings over me, and he wasn'tusing these people to do it.
And the reason he wasn't usingthose people is because they had
taken themselves out of my life,and instead of compassion and
help, they offered judgment andridicule.
(16:24):
And I'm sure more than a few ofthem thought I didn't really
ever love God to begin with, orI'm not really sure what goes
through people's minds, but Ihad been through a devastating
season.
I think just when people haven'twalked a season, it's a lot
easier to make some kind of ajudgment than it is if you've
(16:44):
actually been through somethingsimilar.
So during that time, the Lordshowed me he saw me exactly as I
was.
And he loved me right there,which is the same thing he
showed me as a five-year-old,which drew me to him in the
beginning.
I knew as a five-year-old Icould not walk in that
elementary school without him inmy heart.
(17:07):
I knew I had to have Jesusbecause I was terrified to go in
the school without him with me.
And I made my mom, likeliterally first day of
kindergarten, we parked in theparking spot.
I've got my big, you know, papertrash bag full of my books for
my first day of school.
And I'm terrified.
And I said, Mom, I want toaccept Christ.
(17:28):
I have to accept Christ before Igo in this building.
And she, being the most loving,precious mom ever, but also was
probably late for work and I wasprobably almost late for school,
says, Oh my gosh, baby, this isso exciting! I can't wait to
talk to you about this, butwe're gonna need to do it after
school because we really need toget you to class.
(17:49):
And I was like, You don'tunderstand.
I'm not going in.
My my way of accepting Christwas an act of complete defiance.
I am not going in that building.
You don't get it.
And I locked the car doors.
At that time, you know, we didnot have automatic locks.
So I reached over and I lockedboth of the car doors and I
(18:10):
said, I'm not getting out ofhere until I have Christ in my
heart.
And the funniest part of that isif that's how I was feeling and
communicating, I already hadChrist in my heart.
He didn't need me to say somemagic prayer.
He knew my heart already and healready was there.
And so it's just, it's preciousto me to look back at it now, at
(18:31):
that five-year-old little girlthat was knew she was desperate
for Jesus.
Well, then I became a42-year-old woman that knew she
was desperate for Jesus, and Ihadn't, I hadn't not been
desperate for Jesus.
But to the outside world, itlooked like I had utterly turned
away from him.
And that's just because mybehavior did not match their
(18:52):
expectations of what abeliever's behavior should look
like.
But I was really trapped.
And um, that is when the Lordjust, I mean, I can't explain to
you the beauty that hesurrounded me with in that time.
And coming out of somethingreally difficult, he just
(19:17):
showered his blessings on me.
And that's when it was like hewas saying to me, Do you
understand this?
I love you and I see you rightwhere you are.
You don't need to clean yourselfup.
You didn't need to cleanyourself up then, you couldn't,
utterly incapable of cleaningyourself up then, and you don't
need to clean yourself up now.
(19:37):
You still come to me.
What does it say about Adam andEve in the garden, right?
They were naked and ashamed.
And I think we think when we getsome years behind us of some
good decisions, and we've hadour little daily quiet time, and
we sing nothing but worshipmusic and blah, blah, blah.
We start feeling like we havegot it.
We've really earned this placeof favor before the Lord.
(20:02):
And the truth is we're morenaked and ashamed in that moment
than we are the first moment werealized we were naked and
ashamed, because now we reallyaren't understanding that we're
always exposed like that.
Jesus did not go die on a crossbecause we were almost there,
(20:25):
but we needed a hand up.
Jesus died on the cross becausewe were utterly incapable of
getting there on our own.
There was nothing we could do,there was nothing we could bring
to the table.
And God just revealed to me, weforget that.
And anytime that we think it'sJesus plus some of my good
works, we have completelynegated the cross because Jesus
(20:50):
took the full wrath of God in myplace.
And after that, when God looksat me, when I'm in Christ, he
sees his son that he loves.
There was just a lot of healingthe Lord did coming out of a
really broken time, a verylonely time, and was not
(21:10):
surrounded by a lot of people.
Um, but there were a few peoplein my life that still knew who I
was in my heart.
They still knew I hadn't justcompletely gone off the rails
and was not loving Jesus.
I was just really in a place ofdesperation.
(21:32):
And it was so easy in that spotto recognize how much I needed
Christ.
And it's it was beautiful in alot of ways.
And uh, that's actually theseason of my life that the Lord
brought my husband.
And we'll get into this stufflater, but while we're being
honest, this was my thirdhusband.
Never did I think I would utterthose words.
(21:54):
Um when I was a little girl, Iknew I was gonna get married and
I was gonna be married forever.
And here I was in my thirdmarriage.
And um, well, actually, weweren't even, I guess we weren't
even married yet at that point,but we were dating and actually
dating again.
So that's a fun story, but wewon't share that here either.
(22:15):
We dated whenever we wereteenagers and then reconnected
later on.
And tomorrow, actually, wecelebrate our seventh
anniversary, which is justreally it's a very special day
and a very special anniversary.
And I just have so muchgratitude in my heart for my
(22:35):
husband, who the Lord brought tome in that season where he was
showering me with blessings asalways that were undeserved.
I think sometimes we feel likewe deserve his blessing just
because of the way we hear livein such a way, you can get his
blessing.
We feel like, oh, we've earnedit, we deserve it.
And the truth is it's unmeritedfavor.
It's his grace and it's hismercy that we have anything.
(23:00):
And around that season,thankfully, my husband, knowing
I had been married twice before,the failures as we would see it,
uh, failures in the faith,failures just as a human, and he
looked past all of those thingsand looked to my heart.
(23:22):
And that in and of itself wasjust such a gift because that's
the very thing that Christ does.
He he doesn't look at all thestuff that's going on on the
outside, he looks at themovements of our heart and he
knows the movements of ourheart.
The Bible says that our heartcan be so deceitful, deceitful
more than all things, and thatwe're to guard it because it's
the wellspring of life.
(23:43):
And my husband helped me tostart guarding my heart, and
it's just a really cool thingbecause it gave me the freedom
then to be honest, to get honestwith myself, with him, and to
know that I wasn't gonna facerejection for me just being who
(24:07):
I was in process, because we'reall in process.
And I'm 49 now.
I was five when I acceptedChrist.
So I've been walking in thefaith for 44 years.
There's a lot of stuff that Iwould look at my life and go,
really, this is how far you'vegotten in 45 years of walking
with Christ?
Like, okay.
But that's not when Jesus looksat me, that's not what he sees.
(24:31):
He's not going, well, I can'twait till she gets it together.
No, he knew I was never gonnaget it together.
I'm gonna be in process until Isee him coming in the clouds to
get me and take me home, oruntil my time on earth is done.
It's just beautiful to really beable to be yourself.
And that's that's the gift Iwant to give to you in this
(24:54):
podcast is I want to invite youinto a space that says, you
bring you just how you are.
And it's a safe place to just beyou because God did create you
and it wasn't on accident.
He never did anything onaccident.
(25:14):
He's so intentional and he's sogood.
You're here and you're herecreated with a purpose, and God
is gonna help you figure outwhat that purpose is.
And the the general genericpurpose that we all have is he
has given us the call first tolove him and then to love each
(25:35):
other.
And if we love him, we don'tlove him because we're good
enough to love him.
The only way we can love him isby receiving and understanding
his love for us.
And we're never gonna fullycomprehend his love for us on
the earth, but he loved usfirst.
(25:56):
That's how we get to love him,is that he loved us first.
And so it's by receiving thatgift of love from him and
turning back around and offeringhim our love.
And then he helps us to lovepeople that are beside us, even
the people that really hurt us,the people that he's used in our
(26:17):
life to refine us.
And that's kind of how I look atit now.
You never know when God bringssomeone into your life.
For one season, they may be themost encouraging person in your
life.
And then in the next season,they may be the person that
brings you the most pain.
And he walked that same life.
(26:38):
I mean, he was there with his 12disciples, and one of those
disciples betrayed him andbetrayed him utterly to death,
which we know was God's plan.
Somebody didn't trick Jesus intogoing to the cross.
But Jesus was a real human withreal feelings and real emotions,
(26:58):
and he loved in a way that noneof us have ever loved another
human.
He loved so purely, and yet hewas betrayed, and that betrayal
still stung.
It still stung.
I just feel like he's invitingus constantly to be refined by
(27:19):
the people that are around us.
And it's always an invitation tolove.
And sometimes it's reallydifficult, you know, to love
somebody that's causing you alot of pain.
And I'm not suggesting that allpeople we need to leave right
close in our life because Ithink there are seasons where we
have to cut off toxic people.
(27:40):
But I think sometimes if we canface our fears when it comes to
the people that are hurting us,and we cannot get any identity
from that, it is so much easierto actually love them.
Um, again, doesn't mean you needto surround yourself with them
all the time.
There are boundaries are goodand boundaries are healthy.
But honestly, I can't think ofanyone right now that I would
(28:05):
just flat refuse to sit with andhave a conversation.
And I can't think of anyoneright now that I think in my
heart, I just don't like them.
And I think I can only say thatbecause God is showing me that
(28:25):
his love.
There's my eyes have never seenanother person walking the earth
that God doesn't love.
And he really loves all people,he really is inviting all people
to himself.
And so he's given me the job,right?
(28:49):
It's it talks about this in theword that we are his ambassadors
because Christ is no longer onearth, but I am.
And so the call on my life is tolove people like he loved
people.
And um, yeah, it'll be a that'llbe a work in progress until I am
(29:10):
here no more.
But it's easier when youunderstand you can really be who
you are before God.
He already sees it, he alreadyknows it anyway, and he accepts
you right there.
There's nobody that will come tohim that he'll say, You're too
dirty.
(29:31):
I can't I can't have you.
You're never gonna find that.
You're never gonna find that.
I think that's where I probablywant to end it today, but
honestly, I started out as quitea bit of a liar.
And even like I said, well, intomy late 30s, I would still tell
people what I thought theywanted to hear.
(29:52):
Not quite as much as I did whenI was seven.
There was some growth betweenseven and you know, late
thirties.
But But my first marriage, Ispent 17 years recreating myself
every day into somebody Ithought my husband would want.
And in all of that, I lost who Ireally was for a season for
(30:17):
quite a while.
And um after 17 years of tryingto trying to please every single
day and always coming up short,I the the Lord really had um to
get to the root of it, and thattook some time.
(30:37):
That's honestly where this allcame from was the freedom I've
had in walking in the way that Ireally am, and not perfectly.
I mean, I love to say I don'twant the approval of man or
there's no fear of man in me.
That would not be honest.
I still find situations thatI'll have a thought and I'll be
(31:01):
like, golly, I'm I'm still rightback there trying to please
people.
And in Galatians, it talks aboutthat am I still trying to please
people or am I trying to pleaseGod?
Like what am I doing?
And so I really am headedforward towards just worrying
about what does God think?
(31:23):
Because that's the thing thatmatters.
That's where the life is for me.
And there really is freedom.
And I think it's interestingbecause it does talk about where
the spirit of the Lord is, thereis freedom.
And then he talks about, youknow, knowing the truth and the
truth will set you free.
And I think there's part of thatthat's like being truthful also
(31:46):
sets you free.
Because when there is nofalsehood and you're not
concerned about somebodydefining who you are, there's
just so much freedom in life.
And that's what I want to inviteyou into is the freedom that
(32:06):
being honest brings.
But it really does start withbeing honest with yourself first
about what you're reallyfeeling, about what you're
really thinking, and then havingthat conversation.
It's just a conversation withGod.
And being honest with God, it'sHe already sees it anyway.
(32:28):
God's never up there going,geez, that, yeah, that really
catches me off guard.
He's never like that.
He is not surprised by anythingyou bring to him.
And he's fully capable of havingus go, I know your word says
this, but right now I don't feellike that's true.
(32:49):
And just having thatconversation and then going back
to look at why?
Why don't I feel what's the fearin me that causes me to not take
God at His Word?
And being able to work thatthrough in a conversation, gosh,
it's just a freedom, unlikeanything that the world has to
(33:09):
offer.
So I'm glad you've been with metoday.
Thank you so much for joining.
We just want to cultivate areally authentic life so that
you can walk in the freedom andthe purpose that God created you
for.
All right, guys.
Take care and maybe look back atyour life and get honest with
(33:30):
yourself about the places thatyou're not living.
Honest.
See you next week.
Somehow, you know you love me tosay.
Hey, I'm so glad you're here.
Welcome to Get Honest, thepodcast designed to help you
cultivate a simple yet authenticlife of faith.
In every episode, I'm gonna talkabout real life topics.
So it's bound to get messysometimes.
But we're gonna do our best tonavigate those times and topics
with grace and with truth.
It's time to dive deep and findout who you really are.
(00:24):
It's time to live in the freedomthat God meant for you to live
in.
Thank you for joining me today.
It's time to get honest.
So it's episode one, and Ifigured there's no better way
than to start off with megetting honest with you about
(00:44):
who I am and what created theidea for this podcast.
So today it's time for me to behonest.
It's very ironic that thispodcast is called Get Honest,
because if you interviewedpeople from when I was growing
up, they would have a probably alot of descriptive words about
me, but honest might not be oneof them.
(01:05):
And I don't know, I was probablypretty good at making you think
I was being honest, but I thinkof like a little story whenever
I was, I was just a young girl,probably six or seven years old.
And way back then, this is goingto date myself a bit, but way
back then, it wasn't superuncommon to have some iodine in
your medicine cabinet.
(01:27):
And of course, it's theorangish-yellow liquid that they
put on you before surgeries anddifferent things like that.
We had some iodine up in ourcabinet.
And I don't know why or wherethis came from, but we used to
call it monkey blood.
And I'm I again, I heard thatterminology somewhere.
I didn't create that as a child,but it was just called monkey
(01:47):
blood.
And so I was fascinated with it.
I don't know if I was justfascinated with the it's kind of
like little kids that want tohave a band-aid.
Can I put, oh, I he fell downand I hurt my finger.
And snow bleeding, nothing likethat.
And it's like, oh, but you needa band-aid?
Okay, you need a band-aid.
And so I would um I I just lovedthe monkey blood and I wanted to
(02:07):
put it on because I just thoughtit was, you know, neat and the
way it colored my skin.
And so one day I crawled up onthe toilet and got in the
cabinet and got out the iodine,and I was getting sun to put on
my finger, and I spilled, Ispilled the iodine, and it went
kind of all over and it wasbright orangish yellow.
And so I did the best myseven-year-old self could do in
(02:30):
cleaning it up and put the lidback on, and I'm sure I didn't
even wipe off the bottle.
You know, I mean, I was prettyyoung, and I put it back up in
there and say to her mom comesout and she's like, Who got into
the iodine?
Clearly, it had been spilled,and I did not do a very good job
of cleaning it up.
And I, well, it wasn't me, youknow.
(02:51):
I didn't, I didn't do it.
I don't even know which iodine.
What are you talking about?
I still had some on my hands.
So the evidence, you know, shedidn't have to look very far to
figure out which one of her twochildren did this.
And so it's just interesting asI think about the title of this,
Get Honest.
(03:11):
As a child, I mean, I justwanted my parents' approval so
bad that I would have said ordone anything that I thought
would win their approval.
And it isn't like I had reallyhard to please parents or
something, but I did, I guesswhen I was three, my sister was
diagnosed with leukemia.
(03:31):
And um it was a very big deal.
It was just a very, you know, itwas a big, scary thing to hear
leukemia with your five-year-oldchild.
I mean, that just it's veryscary.
And so what my mom told me isthat I would I began began being
really jealous because of howmuch time they were spending
with her.
(03:51):
Now they were going to thehospital, you know, they were
going to hospital, which wasfive hours away from where we
lived, and several times a weekthey would have to fly up to the
hospital in Houston and betreated.
I think they were both going inthe beginning, and then my mom
noticed that I was strugglingwith the fact that I was feeling
left out.
And so, because at three, youdon't really understand your
(04:14):
sister's sick.
It's not that we love her more,she's just ill.
I think that's probably why Istarted saying what I thought
they wanted to hear instead ofjust being myself.
And there were plenty of otherincidents like gum.
My dad would always have gum,and sometimes I would go get a
piece.
But one time I went and I got apiece, and I was coming out of
their bedroom holding that pieceof gum in my hand, and I
(04:36):
literally was going to askpermission.
Like, this is one time, justreally gonna do it right this
time.
And I get to my, I guess I roundthe corner and I run into, I
can't even remember if it was mymom or my dad, and I'm holding
that gum, and I kind of got introuble because they were like,
(04:57):
you weren't gonna ask.
And I was like, no, it wascoming to ask.
And at that point, I had lostall credibility because there
were so many times that I, youknow, it wasn't me with the
monkey blood, you know.
So that's my early years, justnot being very honest.
And then I grew up and we were,we grew up in the church, and
our youth group at the time wasa pretty um, I'm gonna use the
(05:19):
word legalistic because I Ireally believe this is back in
the 80s, early 90s, late 80s,early 90s.
And I think if someone wouldhave come and they would have
had at that time pink hair ortattoos, probably the people in
the church would have asked themto leave, which looking back on
that, I just think that's justcrazy because that Jesus would
(05:43):
have never asked them to leave,especially not based on some
kind of outward appearance.
I I personally do have a coupleof tattoos and I love them.
And when I was younger, that waskind of the model that was out
there for me, was much morefocused on outward appearance
than it was on the personinside.
I learned very quickly how toput on that church mask.
(06:07):
And I'd been in church since Iwas tiny.
I knew we did Bible drills, andthat's where you they call out a
book of the Bible, and yourfirst one there, whatever, gets
a sticker or I don't know, getsa big wahoo, well done.
I mean, I could, I could nail iton the Bible drills.
So there was a lot of I had alot of head knowledge of the
(06:28):
Bible, of the books of theBible, even of scripture.
I mean, we memorized scriptureand it was from the King James
Version, and so it was the theseand the thou's, and I've hidden
thy word in my heart that Imight not sin against thee.
Those were the things that Imemorized, and I love it because
I can tell the ones that Iactually memorized as a child,
(06:48):
because even in my head, theyare still in the King James
Version.
So it kind of gives me a littlebit of a chuckle, but it's dear
to me.
At the same time, I learned veryquickly how to like I could
always say the right answer.
And I believed it.
It wasn't that I wasn't genuinein my faith or my belief or what
(07:09):
I was saying.
I really believed the words Iwas saying.
But the breakdown was that mylife, it had no power to change
how I was living my life.
And this is primarily more whenI was an early teen.
So as a child, I mean, Istruggled with telling the
truth, but um generally I wantedto please my parents.
(07:31):
And so I was a pretty good kid.
I really didn't do too manynaughty things.
And then my parents got adivorce, and that was pretty
traumatizing.
And as a child, I actuallywatched my dad walk out the door
with his suitcase in his hand,and I remember just wrapping
myself around his legs andbegging him not to go.
(07:53):
So, in order to actually be ableto walk out the door, he had to
peel me off of his legs.
That moment, as an eight and ahalf, nine-year-old girl, it
really felt like the whole worldwas falling apart.
And after that, I started, Iguess it just shifted some
(08:14):
things in my pretty secureworld.
And then as I became a teenager,I was seeking approval from guys
in many ways, but just wanted toget that approval from
especially guys and my friends.
I really wanted the approval ofthe friends around me as well.
(08:36):
Um, I really am thankful I hadsome very good girlfriends and
through my elementary on up intohigh school years, but the way
that I lived at high school andoutside of church looked very
different than the way that Italked in church.
And I did bring church into myoutside relationships.
(08:58):
I talked with my friends often,actually, about God and Jesus.
So again, it wasn't like thistotal Jeklyn Hyde person.
There was an aspect of who Ireally was in both places.
But I had a line of thinkingthat if the people at church
knew I participated in thisparticular activity, they would
(09:21):
probably ask me not to comeback.
And it just created a thing inme where I couldn't be sincerely
who I was really in eitherplace, because you can't be out
here doing all these activitiesjust like everybody else while
bringing Jesus into it.
Except for that's exactly what Iwas doing.
(09:42):
I um I just really couldn't, Icouldn't be authentically who I
was in either place because Ireally, really, really did love
Jesus, really.
And I really, really, really wascaught in the same temptations
(10:04):
and sin patterns as many of thepeople who didn't go to church.
And that brokenness in uscreates a desire to have it
filled, and we're gonna look forany kind of way, healthy or
unhealthy, you know.
So all the music I was listeningto, none of those lyrics were
wholesome and uplifting.
My mom would always listen toChristian music, but the music
(10:25):
that I put in my brain primarilywas country music or even the
pop songs back then in the late80s, early 90s.
The lyrics are were just notwhat you want to be retraining
your brain to think all thetime.
For whatever reason, I justcouldn't be myself in either
space.
And so I got very good at beingchurch girl Christie with all
(10:48):
the right answers, and beingfriend Christie that knew how to
act like you and blend in andfit in and throw a little Jesus
in here and there.
Honestly, I was doing the best Icould at the time, but coming
from that legalistic background,I just felt like God was always
(11:10):
grumpy at me.
Like I just had to be thebiggest disappointment.
And I don't really rememberanybody ever saying God is
disappointed in you.
It was more make sure thatyou're living in a way that God
can bless you because you know,it directly tied my behavior to
(11:31):
whether or not God would blessme or could be pleased with me.
So that's a whole nother, we gota whole episode coming on that
thinking.
But just to let you know, that'skind of that was my background.
So I got very good at not beingauthentically me.
And it's very hard to live thatway when you are living to
(11:52):
please people because you'reconstantly kind of having to
shift who you are.
And but you're not reallyshifting who you are, you're
just shifting how peopleperceive you.
And then this dialogue came inmy head.
If these guys in the youth groupthat I thought were cute or
(12:12):
charming or whatever knew thegirl that lived, you know,
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, because I
always went to church onWednesdays too.
So Sunday and Wednesday, Christywas very different than the rest
of the week, Christy.
And if they knew the rest of theweek, Christy, they would not be
interested because I wastainted.
(12:34):
And that was kind of my thoughton it.
Immediately, I even changed whoI was looking for as a boyfriend
to be later husband, partner,because I was looking for
somebody that was at least astainted as I was, so that they
(12:54):
would not want to reject me.
There was just a real fear ofrejection.
I think that's a lot of timeswhere that dishonesty starts or
that inauthentic authentic,inauthentic life comes in, is
it's not like you're reallytrying to be inauthentic, but
you just don't believe you'regood enough as you are for
(13:15):
anybody to accept you there.
And the truth in that is ifsomebody doesn't accept you as
you truly are, like those aren'tyour people.
That isn't the person you wantto be with anyway.
So I have there's a wholeepisode on relationships.
Also, that's gonna be in thefuture.
Um probably February, sincethat's a month.
(13:38):
We'll talk about um abusiverelationships.
We're gonna talk about a lot ofdifferent things.
Yeah, how to recognize it andand that kind of thing.
But primarily the point here isI was in an unhealthy space, not
being myself, because I justdidn't think anybody would
accept me as I was.
So, how did I end up here doinga podcast called Get Honest?
(14:04):
Well, after almost 50 years oflife, I want to say I was
probably in my early 40s beforeI really took on the attitude,
let them let them think whatthey're gonna think.
And I had made a pretty bigdumpster fire of my life.
We'll get into all kinds ofstories about how that happened,
(14:26):
but really, I looked back at mylife, I would had a lot of shame
over the decisions I made andstill battling with that God's
probably up there looking downon me, just shaking his head,
just good grief.
Was I ever gonna get ittogether?
You know, that was my thinking.
And then something happened inmy 40s, where my very early 40s,
(14:52):
where I was having an experiencein life, and it was a pretty
terrible experience.
And the people around me made itclear that they did not accept
me where I was and for who Iwas.
And I it was a really hardseason of learning who my people
(15:20):
are and who are not my people.
And it was really sad because Ifeel like really at that time I
failed the church and the churchfailed me.
That's how I'm gonna say it.
During that season, the peopleon the outside making judgments
about my life, they thought theyknew things about me, but they
(15:41):
didn't.
They always were saying thingsthat just were not true.
Um, God continued to show me howhe sees me and he knows my
heart.
Even the small motivations Idon't know about, he knows.
He just continually showeredwhat people would call his
(16:02):
blessings over me, and he wasn'tusing these people to do it.
And the reason he wasn't usingthose people is because they had
taken themselves out of my life,and instead of compassion and
help, they offered judgment andridicule.
(16:24):
And I'm sure more than a few ofthem thought I didn't really
ever love God to begin with, orI'm not really sure what goes
through people's minds, but Ihad been through a devastating
season.
I think just when people haven'twalked a season, it's a lot
easier to make some kind of ajudgment than it is if you've
(16:44):
actually been through somethingsimilar.
So during that time, the Lordshowed me he saw me exactly as I
was.
And he loved me right there,which is the same thing he
showed me as a five-year-old,which drew me to him in the
beginning.
I knew as a five-year-old Icould not walk in that
elementary school without him inmy heart.
(17:07):
I knew I had to have Jesusbecause I was terrified to go in
the school without him with me.
And I made my mom, likeliterally first day of
kindergarten, we parked in theparking spot.
I've got my big, you know, papertrash bag full of my books for
my first day of school.
And I'm terrified.
And I said, Mom, I want toaccept Christ.
(17:28):
I have to accept Christ before Igo in this building.
And she, being the most loving,precious mom ever, but also was
probably late for work and I wasprobably almost late for school,
says, Oh my gosh, baby, this isso exciting! I can't wait to
talk to you about this, butwe're gonna need to do it after
school because we really need toget you to class.
(17:49):
And I was like, You don'tunderstand.
I'm not going in.
My my way of accepting Christwas an act of complete defiance.
I am not going in that building.
You don't get it.
And I locked the car doors.
At that time, you know, we didnot have automatic locks.
So I reached over and I lockedboth of the car doors and I
(18:10):
said, I'm not getting out ofhere until I have Christ in my
heart.
And the funniest part of that isif that's how I was feeling and
communicating, I already hadChrist in my heart.
He didn't need me to say somemagic prayer.
He knew my heart already and healready was there.
And so it's just, it's preciousto me to look back at it now, at
(18:31):
that five-year-old little girlthat was knew she was desperate
for Jesus.
Well, then I became a42-year-old woman that knew she
was desperate for Jesus, and Ihadn't, I hadn't not been
desperate for Jesus.
But to the outside world, itlooked like I had utterly turned
away from him.
And that's just because mybehavior did not match their
(18:52):
expectations of what abeliever's behavior should look
like.
But I was really trapped.
And um, that is when the Lordjust, I mean, I can't explain to
you the beauty that hesurrounded me with in that time.
And coming out of somethingreally difficult, he just
(19:17):
showered his blessings on me.
And that's when it was like hewas saying to me, Do you
understand this?
I love you and I see you rightwhere you are.
You don't need to clean yourselfup.
You didn't need to cleanyourself up then, you couldn't,
utterly incapable of cleaningyourself up then, and you don't
need to clean yourself up now.
(19:37):
You still come to me.
What does it say about Adam andEve in the garden, right?
They were naked and ashamed.
And I think we think when we getsome years behind us of some
good decisions, and we've hadour little daily quiet time, and
we sing nothing but worshipmusic and blah, blah, blah.
We start feeling like we havegot it.
We've really earned this placeof favor before the Lord.
(20:02):
And the truth is we're morenaked and ashamed in that moment
than we are the first moment werealized we were naked and
ashamed, because now we reallyaren't understanding that we're
always exposed like that.
Jesus did not go die on a crossbecause we were almost there,
(20:25):
but we needed a hand up.
Jesus died on the cross becausewe were utterly incapable of
getting there on our own.
There was nothing we could do,there was nothing we could bring
to the table.
And God just revealed to me, weforget that.
And anytime that we think it'sJesus plus some of my good
works, we have completelynegated the cross because Jesus
(20:50):
took the full wrath of God in myplace.
And after that, when God looksat me, when I'm in Christ, he
sees his son that he loves.
There was just a lot of healingthe Lord did coming out of a
really broken time, a verylonely time, and was not
(21:10):
surrounded by a lot of people.
Um, but there were a few peoplein my life that still knew who I
was in my heart.
They still knew I hadn't justcompletely gone off the rails
and was not loving Jesus.
I was just really in a place ofdesperation.
(21:32):
And it was so easy in that spotto recognize how much I needed
Christ.
And it's it was beautiful in alot of ways.
And uh, that's actually theseason of my life that the Lord
brought my husband.
And we'll get into this stufflater, but while we're being
honest, this was my thirdhusband.
Never did I think I would utterthose words.
(21:54):
Um when I was a little girl, Iknew I was gonna get married and
I was gonna be married forever.
And here I was in my thirdmarriage.
And um, well, actually, weweren't even, I guess we weren't
even married yet at that point,but we were dating and actually
dating again.
So that's a fun story, but wewon't share that here either.
(22:15):
We dated whenever we wereteenagers and then reconnected
later on.
And tomorrow, actually, wecelebrate our seventh
anniversary, which is justreally it's a very special day
and a very special anniversary.
And I just have so muchgratitude in my heart for my
(22:35):
husband, who the Lord brought tome in that season where he was
showering me with blessings asalways that were undeserved.
I think sometimes we feel likewe deserve his blessing just
because of the way we hear livein such a way, you can get his
blessing.
We feel like, oh, we've earnedit, we deserve it.
And the truth is it's unmeritedfavor.
It's his grace and it's hismercy that we have anything.
(23:00):
And around that season,thankfully, my husband, knowing
I had been married twice before,the failures as we would see it,
uh, failures in the faith,failures just as a human, and he
looked past all of those thingsand looked to my heart.
(23:22):
And that in and of itself wasjust such a gift because that's
the very thing that Christ does.
He he doesn't look at all thestuff that's going on on the
outside, he looks at themovements of our heart and he
knows the movements of ourheart.
The Bible says that our heartcan be so deceitful, deceitful
more than all things, and thatwe're to guard it because it's
the wellspring of life.
(23:43):
And my husband helped me tostart guarding my heart, and
it's just a really cool thingbecause it gave me the freedom
then to be honest, to get honestwith myself, with him, and to
know that I wasn't gonna facerejection for me just being who
(24:07):
I was in process, because we'reall in process.
And I'm 49 now.
I was five when I acceptedChrist.
So I've been walking in thefaith for 44 years.
There's a lot of stuff that Iwould look at my life and go,
really, this is how far you'vegotten in 45 years of walking
with Christ?
Like, okay.
But that's not when Jesus looksat me, that's not what he sees.
(24:31):
He's not going, well, I can'twait till she gets it together.
No, he knew I was never gonnaget it together.
I'm gonna be in process until Isee him coming in the clouds to
get me and take me home, oruntil my time on earth is done.
It's just beautiful to really beable to be yourself.
And that's that's the gift Iwant to give to you in this
(24:54):
podcast is I want to invite youinto a space that says, you
bring you just how you are.
And it's a safe place to just beyou because God did create you
and it wasn't on accident.
He never did anything onaccident.
(25:14):
He's so intentional and he's sogood.
You're here and you're herecreated with a purpose, and God
is gonna help you figure outwhat that purpose is.
And the the general genericpurpose that we all have is he
has given us the call first tolove him and then to love each
(25:35):
other.
And if we love him, we don'tlove him because we're good
enough to love him.
The only way we can love him isby receiving and understanding
his love for us.
And we're never gonna fullycomprehend his love for us on
the earth, but he loved usfirst.
(25:56):
That's how we get to love him,is that he loved us first.
And so it's by receiving thatgift of love from him and
turning back around and offeringhim our love.
And then he helps us to lovepeople that are beside us, even
the people that really hurt us,the people that he's used in our
(26:17):
life to refine us.
And that's kind of how I look atit now.
You never know when God bringssomeone into your life.
For one season, they may be themost encouraging person in your
life.
And then in the next season,they may be the person that
brings you the most pain.
And he walked that same life.
(26:38):
I mean, he was there with his 12disciples, and one of those
disciples betrayed him andbetrayed him utterly to death,
which we know was God's plan.
Somebody didn't trick Jesus intogoing to the cross.
But Jesus was a real human withreal feelings and real emotions,
(26:58):
and he loved in a way that noneof us have ever loved another
human.
He loved so purely, and yet hewas betrayed, and that betrayal
still stung.
It still stung.
I just feel like he's invitingus constantly to be refined by
(27:19):
the people that are around us.
And it's always an invitation tolove.
And sometimes it's reallydifficult, you know, to love
somebody that's causing you alot of pain.
And I'm not suggesting that allpeople we need to leave right
close in our life because Ithink there are seasons where we
have to cut off toxic people.
(27:40):
But I think sometimes if we canface our fears when it comes to
the people that are hurting us,and we cannot get any identity
from that, it is so much easierto actually love them.
Um, again, doesn't mean you needto surround yourself with them
all the time.
There are boundaries are goodand boundaries are healthy.
But honestly, I can't think ofanyone right now that I would
(28:05):
just flat refuse to sit with andhave a conversation.
And I can't think of anyoneright now that I think in my
heart, I just don't like them.
And I think I can only say thatbecause God is showing me that
(28:25):
his love.
There's my eyes have never seenanother person walking the earth
that God doesn't love.
And he really loves all people,he really is inviting all people
to himself.
And so he's given me the job,right?
(28:49):
It's it talks about this in theword that we are his ambassadors
because Christ is no longer onearth, but I am.
And so the call on my life is tolove people like he loved
people.
And um, yeah, it'll be a that'llbe a work in progress until I am
(29:10):
here no more.
But it's easier when youunderstand you can really be who
you are before God.
He already sees it, he alreadyknows it anyway, and he accepts
you right there.
There's nobody that will come tohim that he'll say, You're too
dirty.
(29:31):
I can't I can't have you.
You're never gonna find that.
You're never gonna find that.
I think that's where I probablywant to end it today, but
honestly, I started out as quitea bit of a liar.
And even like I said, well, intomy late 30s, I would still tell
people what I thought theywanted to hear.
(29:52):
Not quite as much as I did whenI was seven.
There was some growth betweenseven and you know, late
thirties.
But But my first marriage, Ispent 17 years recreating myself
every day into somebody Ithought my husband would want.
And in all of that, I lost who Ireally was for a season for
(30:17):
quite a while.
And um after 17 years of tryingto trying to please every single
day and always coming up short,I the the Lord really had um to
get to the root of it, and thattook some time.
(30:37):
That's honestly where this allcame from was the freedom I've
had in walking in the way that Ireally am, and not perfectly.
I mean, I love to say I don'twant the approval of man or
there's no fear of man in me.
That would not be honest.
I still find situations thatI'll have a thought and I'll be
(31:01):
like, golly, I'm I'm still rightback there trying to please
people.
And in Galatians, it talks aboutthat am I still trying to please
people or am I trying to pleaseGod?
Like what am I doing?
And so I really am headedforward towards just worrying
about what does God think?
(31:23):
Because that's the thing thatmatters.
That's where the life is for me.
And there really is freedom.
And I think it's interestingbecause it does talk about where
the spirit of the Lord is, thereis freedom.
And then he talks about, youknow, knowing the truth and the
truth will set you free.
And I think there's part of thatthat's like being truthful also
(31:46):
sets you free.
Because when there is nofalsehood and you're not
concerned about somebodydefining who you are, there's
just so much freedom in life.
And that's what I want to inviteyou into is the freedom that
(32:06):
being honest brings.
But it really does start withbeing honest with yourself first
about what you're reallyfeeling, about what you're
really thinking, and then havingthat conversation.
It's just a conversation withGod.
And being honest with God, it'sHe already sees it anyway.
(32:28):
God's never up there going,geez, that, yeah, that really
catches me off guard.
He's never like that.
He is not surprised by anythingyou bring to him.
And he's fully capable of havingus go, I know your word says
this, but right now I don't feellike that's true.
(32:49):
And just having thatconversation and then going back
to look at why?
Why don't I feel what's the fearin me that causes me to not take
God at His Word?
And being able to work thatthrough in a conversation, gosh,
it's just a freedom, unlikeanything that the world has to
(33:09):
offer.
So I'm glad you've been with metoday.
Thank you so much for joining.
We just want to cultivate areally authentic life so that
you can walk in the freedom andthe purpose that God created you
for.
All right, guys.
Take care and maybe look back atyour life and get honest with
(33:30):
yourself about the places thatyou're not living.
Honest.
See you next week.
Somehow, you know you love me tosay.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.