November 22, 2024 • 42 mins
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
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey everyone, welcome back to this Week on Making
Room.
I am coming back from a littlebit of a cold.
You might hear I'm a littlestuffy, might be coughing a
little bit, but tis the season,Tis the season, right, I cannot
believe that we are just on thebrink of Christmas.
This is the first year I toldColby that I want Christmas
before Thanksgiving.
I have never done that.
(00:21):
I've always had this strictafter Thanksgiving rule, and
maybe it's being a mom, Maybeit's just wanting a little extra
joy this season, but whateverit is, this weekend first show
we ever showed him I've sharedthis with you guys was Baby
Shark.
That was our Asian lifestyleinfluence and he loved it.
(00:52):
But very quickly I was like,okay, if we're going to be
traveling with this kid, if he'sgoing to be watching a lot of
TV, I want something a littlebit more wholesome.
So frantically, Colby and Iheaded over to YouTube.
We typed in Christian Kidscartoons.
We had no idea what wasavailable and we found Minnow.
We had never heard of it.
We thought that we stumbled ona gold mine, which we did.
But I quickly texted all of myfriends, my creative friends, my
(01:15):
friends in media, and I waslike have you guys heard of this
company?
Because they are creating likeshows that aren't corny for
Christian kids.
They are very well produced.
All of the theology was sound.
We loved them, and there's thisone character in particular
it's the sun, oh, no, the world.
It's the world, right?
Yeah, I'm looking at Jess.
(01:36):
We'll talk about it more whenshe's on, but Wesley lights up
every time.
You're going to have to tell mewhat 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 justgotten hooked, downloaded the
app, dove deep into Jungle, Beatall the shows and we are full
(01:56):
out fans over here.
But if Minnow is new to you,here is a little bit more about
them.
Minnow is the leading voiceglobally for using media to
spark kids' imagination andcuriosity around God and the
Bible.
The Minnow Kids streamingservice is available as an app
on all platforms.
Minnow Originals creates showsproduced in partnership with top
(02:18):
industry talent.
Minnow's publishing programincludes the award-winning,
best-selling Minnow Laugh andGrow Bible for Kids, which we
love in our households, with thefastest-winning, best-selling
Minnow Laugh and Grow Bible forKids, which we love in our
households, with thefastest-growing YouTube channel
for Christian kids, along withparent resources, blogs, life
guides and so much more.
You'll hear that I justreferenced Jungle Beat, which
I'm sure we'll talk about morein a minute.
(02:39):
It's so much more than just theMinnow Originals.
Minnow is where God's goodnessand love comes to life for kids,
and you could find out more bygoing to gominnocom.
Well, we were talking about theholidays and we're going to talk
about working against thehustle and bustle in this
episode, but we can all kind offeel it when December comes, it
(03:02):
just creeps in and before thejoy even hits, it's almost like
the hustle and bustle hits andFeast and Fettle wants to come
alongside your family to helpyou really embrace the moments,
embrace the season, spend moretime with your family.
And you guys know I'm a foodie.
I don't mess around when itcomes with food.
I want the good stuff.
I will never recommend anythingless.
And so Feast and Fettle isbasically like having a private
(03:25):
chef make all your foods,deliver it straight to your door
.
Everything from snacks to likeI don't know overnight oats and
breakfast dinners, kids' lunches, they'll deliver it straight to
your door.
You don't have to cook, youjust heat and eat, and it is so
crave-worthy and ready to bedelivered straight to you this
week.
You can use code GATHER25,G-A-T-H-E-R and the number is 25
(03:47):
, your first week off of Feastand Fettle, and take a breather
as you get ready to start theseason.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Hi, I'm Katie, a hospitality educator and the
host of Making Room by Gatherpodcast.
I am set to see our communitiesget back to the table through
hospitality, but it wasn'talways this way.
My husband and I moved toThailand and through it I
experienced some loneliness andwith it I was given a choice to
sit back and accept it or to dosomething about it.
(04:21):
And for me that meant twothings that I needed the healing
to learn how to accept aninvitation and the confidence to
know how to extend one.
Through this process, Ideveloped some of the richest
and deepest relationships of mylife.
Through Making Room by Gather,you will hear conversations from
myself and experts in the areasof food, design and
(04:43):
relationships.
You see there are countlessthings trying to keep us from
the table, but can I tell yousomething?
Take a seat because you areready, you are capable, you are
a good host.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Okay, let's do this.
Jess.
I feel like this has been solong in the making.
It has.
Yes, every time we've scheduled, I've gotten sick.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Oh, I know I'm so glad you're feeling better.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
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 watchingMinnow together.
I was like I feel kind of likethe cool mom right now that gets
to meet their kids' favoritecharacter or something.
Oh, that's awesome.
I love that that's so sweet.
Well, one thing I just realizedis the introduction wasn't
(05:33):
necessarily your intro, and welove telling story here, and the
reason I like storytelling is Ithink there's power in a story
and also it helps us to reallyunderstand the full picture of
our conversation, and so I wouldlove to hear from you what
you're the first person thatwe've ever talked to on the show
like 150 ish episodes in themedia, kind of like kids media
(05:57):
space and so I want to hear whatthat journey has been like for
you.
What do you want us to knowabout Jess's journey to here
with Minnow Sure?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me
and I'm so glad we finally gotthis going.
You know my journey.
I've always worked inentertainment, so I live in
Nashville, minnow is based inNashville and I moved here.
I went to college at BelmontUniversity and I studied music
business and I wanted to work inthe Christian music industry
(06:31):
and for about 15 years until mysecond, until my son was born I
did that and it was amazing andso fun and everything I ever
dreamed of and I learned a lotabout media and ministry and
kind of how those two thingscome together.
And then, when I had kids, Iwas a lot about media and
ministry and kind of how thosetwo things come together.
And then when I had kids, I wasso passionate about their
(06:52):
discipleship from a young ageand always looking for the right
resources for them and for usas a family to do family faith
formation and, through some ofmy contacts and the people the
great people I'd worked withover the years in Christian
media, and then my passion forchild discipleship.
That's when I stumbled uponMinnow.
Actually, I didn't stumble uponit, it was created by a few
(07:15):
people that I had worked withthroughout the years, but I
stumbled upon the opportunity tojoin them and so I had already
been writing and doing a lot ofcreating in the space of
curriculum and child faithformation.
My husband and I both havealways worked in kids ministry
and loved serving kids, and itwas like God brought together
all of the passions that I hadinto this idea of creating a
(07:42):
streaming platform for Christiankids and then eventually
creating new original content sowe could raise the bar in what
was being made for Christiankids.
Because over the years, when Igrew up, especially, and even
when my kids were little mydaughter'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 fewother things, and there wasn't
(08:05):
a ton, and some things weren't,you know, very well made, and so
Minnow really wants to raisethe bar and give kids.
We always say kids deservebetter, jesus deserves better,
and so you know, let's bring thebest that we have to them.
So, yeah, so I just got to openthe door and went back to
school and got my master's ineducation, because I became
(08:27):
really curious about theintersection between faith
formation and media and childdevelopment, and so I wanted to
know how do we do this with thebest possible outcomes for kids
not only having fun, butlearning the Bible and getting
to know God.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Wow, I have my mic muted over here just so I can
cough without having all youguys hear it, but I love all of
that so much I want to dive intothere.
My listeners know I loveNashville.
We spend a lot of time there.
It's kind of like a huge hub forour community right now, and so
I love knowing that you'rethere and, as you're talking
about the community and being apart, and so I love knowing that
you're there and I, as you'retalking about the community and
(09:06):
being a part of it, I know whatthat feels like just a little
bit.
But one thing that Colby and Ihave noticed as we watch Minnow
you guys really have a way ofcommunicating in a way that like
sticks.
It's like sticky education.
And have you read MalcolmGladwell's book, the Tipping
Point?
Yes, oh, it's been a while, butyes, yeah, okay, but I love
(09:27):
like he talks about how thingsstick and you guys are really.
You're so intentional, you'reso strategic and even layers of
Bible stories that Colby and IColby and I grew up in the
church we're like, wow, we'venever understood that layer like
that.
And there's something sobeautiful about a child likeness
, like even for the family.
So hearing you say like familyfaith formation, it's really
(09:50):
that's definitely a layer ofwhat you guys are doing.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
And yeah, it's definitely something that we try
to infuse into what we do.
You know, we're not just makingfun 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 theydeserve.
God created them to be curious.
He created them to be childlikeand to want to play, and so we
(10:22):
want to add all those things inthere.
But we also want to teach themtheology and those foundational
principles, and so we have very,very rigorous conversations and
debates around the table atMinnow, around about every line
of every episode.
You know we're going through andmaking sure are we saying that
the right way?
Is there a better way to saythat We'll catch ourselves and
be like oh, the way that wassaid was not not really helping
(10:43):
kids gain the best andhealthiest God view early on.
There's ways we talk about Godthat 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'vealways said it in the church
and so that's what comes outwhen we're scripting and then
all of a sudden we go wait asecond, that's not the
(11:05):
healthiest way to introduce achild to God and his character.
So let's fix that.
And so we are intentional.
We spend a lot of timescripting because it's just too
important to do flippantly or tonot do intentionally.
So we spend a lot of timethinking about every word that's
said.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
So I know some of my listeners are entrepreneurial
minded, some aren't, but we kindof 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 wascurious about launching quality
kids, christian content, right,but you weren't in animation,
you weren't in TV.
(11:43):
So what did that look like?
Cause you didn't go back toschool to learn how to animate,
right, so.
So what did that part of thestory look?
Speaker 3 (11:52):
like.
So I, um, I actually don'tanimate I, so what I get to do
is I um look at all of I.
I'm I'm really more on theeditorial side, so I am looking
at the scripts and um thecontent, 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 sohe's the head of the way it
(12:15):
looks and I'm the head of theway it sounds, and we work
together and sometimes weoverlap because he's so
thoughtful about the way, youknow, he thinks like a kid, he's
like a eight-year-old boy in agrown man's body, like we're
always teasing him, but he'sperfect for his job because he's
really keeping the kids in mindat all times.
And so he's an animator and wework with animation studios all
(12:40):
over the world for our differentproperties.
And then, as the executiveproducer, I'm just kind of over
the the the project as a whole,making sure that it's again,
theologically sound and and andin age appropriate, and then
just making sure it's it's trueto the brand that we want to be
as Minnow.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, man, I love clear branding, clear brand
strategy, all of that.
So you're speaking my languageand I recognize it in you guys.
Sorry guys, this cough is goingto stick this episode, but I
can only drink so much coffeetogether.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
I know.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
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 humorthat you guys kind of lace
through to One factual thingthough.
So I think it was John theBaptist eating locusts and honey
.
Like only locusts and honey,right, yeah.
(13:37):
So I've heard stories about himobviously my whole walk of
faith and I was like Colb, myhusband.
I was like I didn't know thatabout him and he was like, oh
yeah, totally that's the thing,and so I love that.
I'm like gaining those littlenuggets.
But the humor was it Moses?
And they gave a sheep reallyfunny names, like here buttercup
or cookie.
(13:57):
It was so cute, I love it oh, Ilove that.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
We try to.
You know, we try to add thoselittle things because, again, as
kids brains are developing soquickly when they're little, I
mean those little like synapsesare firing and and they're
creating all of this memory andjust association with things.
And so we want kids toassociate learning the Bible
(14:27):
with fun.
And it is a heavy book andthere are some times where we're
like we don't know how we'regoing to make that episode funny
.
But we'll figure something outand sometimes there's just no
place for it and that's okay.
But when we can, we love toinfuse those little things
because then a kid is going tohave just that positive feeling
inside of them when they'rethinking about learning the
(14:47):
Bible.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
So important.
I think a lot of us don't evenrealize how important that is.
But when we think back at ourown experience, I know a lot of
the listeners on the show Idon'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 arelistening, you've had an
experience with the church andhearing the gospel for the first
time and it does matter.
(15:10):
It does matter how it'spresented.
I just had a thought it wasalong the lines of comedy.
Oh, I don't know if you'reallowed to say this, I'm sure
it's fine.
One of the voices on the showis he Dude Dad.
Do you know who Dude Dad is,the YouTuber from Wisconsin?
Oh, yes, no, it's not.
(15:31):
It's not him no.
Okay, Because there's this guywith kind of like a Wisconsin
accent Okay, and my husband andI are like I bet it's him oh
interesting.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
I don't think it's him.
I don't choose the voices, butI doubt it's him.
That's funny.
Yeah, that's so funny, it justsounds like him.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
He has a very identifiable kind of like it's
not a twang, what would you callit from Wisconsin, like a drawl
, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Yeah, but it's fun.
Do you know which character itis?
Do you remember which characterI'm going to ask Colby, colby
would remember.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Yeah, I'm just curious.
Okay, but I would have put moneyon it, but he has a really
great voice you guys hired well.
Well, the holidays are here andit is really wild.
It's been very mild inConnecticut weather-wise, which
I'm not complaining about Iprefer it being mild but it's
also made me like slower to getinto the season.
(16:28):
But you guys recently launchedand sent us an Advent devotional
.
Are you guys calling it adevotional?
Yes, it is Okay, Okay, perfect,so it is a devotional.
Are you guys calling it adevotional?
Yes, it is Okay, okay, perfect,so it is a devotional.
Really quick for peoplelistening who maybe are new to
faith, aren't followers of Jesusand are like what the heck is a
devotional?
Can you just first tell us likewhat a devotional is?
(16:49):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
So a devotional is sort of it's like a well, it
doesn't have to be a book, itcan be online, it can be
anything but it is a group ofjust writings that are sort of a
daily cadence for you tointeract with either the Bible
(17:19):
Some are just very, verybiblically based and you're
going through Bible verses andyou're learning what they mean
and then some are just aboutthemes and thoughts around
Christian themes, notnecessarily looking at a
specific scripture, and so adevotional is just really a way
for you to engage with God andthe Bible on a daily basis or a
weekly basis or something thatprovides that rhythm for you to
(17:39):
kind of keep coming back to it,and so it's a really powerful
way for families to createrhythms, especially around the
season, which is why we createdthis one.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, I love it because we've had ones for Colby
and I and like our marriageover the years.
Goodness, that is what it is.
No, it's that weird, likelingering, just like dry.
You know it's not, I'm feelingfine, but um.
But what we loved about thisone is, uh, wesley's very busy,
(18:10):
very.
If you looked at my house rightnow you'd be like, how did the
measuring cup end up in thebathroom?
Speaker 3 (18:15):
It's like I remember.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
So I've gotten a little bit smart.
We have a ton of books thatevery day.
I put like five books in hisplayroom and he is so sweet.
He just sits and like flipsthrough them and like it keeps
him busy for a while.
And what I love about theMinnow book they're paper pages
but and I let him crinkle itwhatever he wants to do he
recognizes the characters.
So he's so drawn to it justvisually.
And then, um, I just believethat God works through that,
(18:47):
even though you know he's notreading 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 totell us what makes your
devotional different, what makesthis one different?
Because there are Christmasbooks that some of us might have
or we might be shopping fordifferent types of devotional
(19:09):
type things to help us set ourhearts for the season.
What's different about this one?
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Yeah, well, one of the big things is what you just
said is that Wesley recognizesthe characters in it.
So the Laugh and Grow BibleFamily Advent Devotional is
based on the Laugh and GrowBible for Kids Bible and show.
And so we created the Biblefirst.
It's a storybook Bible with 52stories from Genesis to
Revelation that really help kidsunderstand God's big Bible
(19:38):
narrative and the whole story ofGod and Jesus and the gospel.
And so after we did that, a fewyears later we had the
opportunity to animate everystory in the Bible.
So we're in the process of thatand that's what you were
talking about, that you guyslove watching, I love that, and
so we're animating each story inthe Bible.
We've got about 32 done andwe're going to have 63 when
(20:01):
we're done.
So we're about halfway thereand it's such an amazing process
to put these together.
But that's what makes thisdevotional unique is that kids
are able to engage with it indifferent arenas.
So you know, a lot of kids willsay they walk by the Bible and
(20:21):
they're watching the show andthey'll say, oh, that's my Bible
, you know on TV.
And so it's really neat forkids to connect the dots like
that, because then they start togain an affinity to those
characters and the stories andthey really connect with it, and
so that's one of the big thingsthat makes it different is it's
multifaceted.
So the devotional follows fourkind of beats of the Christmas
(20:46):
story Isaiah's prophecy andJesus the angel appearing to
Mary, and then Jesus' birth, theshepherds and wise men, and so
you can watch those as episodesof the Laugh and Grow Bible on
Minnow or on YouTube they're allon YouTube and then engage with
it in the book.
(21:06):
So it gives you kind of alittle short reading around that
story and the different beatsof the story and then
conversation starters and aprayer and even a little game to
play something to play andthat'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
(21:27):
in this devotional?
There's so many out there, howare we going to make it
different?
One thing that we as parents atMinnow were frustrated by is
there was always like a craft orlike something I had to do or
something just really big, andyou know, I just never had time
to do those things in the monthof December, so I always felt
like a failure before I evenstarted, and so we wanted it to
(21:48):
be a win for parents.
We want parents to win witheverything that we're doing and
feel like I can do this.
And so it's.
The play moment is justsomething simple.
They don't have to gatheranything, it just happens right
in the book.
There's things like a fingermaze where kids can just follow
which line gets to the.
You know which wise men gets tothe manger first, and that sort
(22:09):
of thing.
So that's one of the majorthings that really sets it apart
.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
The intentionality is so good.
That's so good.
I think, that parents it'sgoing to be so refreshing for
parents as we're going into theseason yeah, definitely.
Well, that's a really goodsegue into a next point that I
wanted to make.
So, going into the season, ifwe think back to years past,
right, we could hear ourselvessaying the holidays went by so
(22:36):
fast where I didn't even havetime to do this, and so we were
just talking about like theholidays are busy, there's a lot
going on, it's we don't needlike another thing.
But on the flip side of that,the season really has the
ability to restore hope in ourown hearts, in our family
culture, in our home, reset ourjoy.
(22:58):
So I love the thought about adevotional because it kind of
invites us to pause.
Right, it does invite us tostop.
You can kind of play on that alittle bit more, but I would
love to hear from you what aresome ways that families can more
intentionally, I guess, embraceslow rhythms as we're going
(23:18):
into the holidays and into a newyear.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah, well, definitely with the devotional.
I'd say this devotional or anydevotional or a group of
readings you find online, likewhatever you do, it provides a
framework for you and if youhave a framework now, you can
make a framework that's way toocomplicated and again you're
going to fail before you start.
Or you can pick something thathas a really simple framework,
(23:43):
maybe a weekly reading.
That's why I love Advent,because the Advent season is
really just.
It's the four Sundays beforeChristmas and so you don't have
to do a devotion every day.
Although we provide five everyweek in that book.
You don't have to do them all.
You can just read something ona Sunday and light an advent
candle and just pause for 10minutes once a week.
(24:04):
It doesn't have to be aframework that is kind of
overtaking your lives.
It can be something super,super simple, but when you use a
resource that kind of has acadence, it does give you
something to kind of lookforward to and to intentionally,
you know, to make youintentionally pause.
The other thing I've beentalking a lot about this
(24:27):
Christmas season.
So, like you said, we get sobusy and we don't want to add
one more thing, more thing, andyet Christmas is like the one of
the best.
Christmas and Easter really arethe two best opportunities for
us to pour into our kids ourfaith.
And so, because they're soengaged, because they're so
(24:48):
excited about the season, andnow we can kind of come
alongside them and help themunderstand what the real meaning
is and kind of layer onto thatexcitement, you know, but the
real meaning is kind of layeronto that excitement.
You know, they may not be asexcited about Jesus as they are
about presence right now.
No, and that's just reality.
But as we, you know, continueto reintroduce them every year
(25:09):
and kind of build on that andthose traditions.
But again, it doesn't have tobe a lot.
And so I've been talking aboutthis a lot Just really looking
at your calendar and now is agreat time to do that looking at
your calendar at the beginningof the season and saying, ok,
what are we going to do and notdo?
And I know that just soundslike, yes, that's what we do,
(25:31):
right, we should look at ourcalendar, what do we do and not
do?
But I mean really, I mean graba friend and make each other
accountable to say, okay, we'renot 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 dothree things, whatever that is,
um, to really strip back and togo like my uh, an old pastor of
(25:54):
mine used to say simplify andintensify.
So if you simplify your time,you can intensify what you do
with those three things insteadof doing six things.
And I remember being a young momand I wanted to do it all.
I wanted to do the countdownwith a little gift and a
scripture reading every day, andI wanted to do the.
You know, put on your pajamasand go around and look at
Christmas lights without cocoa,and then they'd spill it all
(26:15):
over the car.
And then I wanted to do, youknow, go visit Santa.
But then they were afraid ofSanta and, like you know, the
list is ongoing of all thethings.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Hold on one second.
Ah, dang it, we almost made it.
Hold on.
Oh, stink, almost made it.
Okay, I left my notificationson because the baby's with
grandma and I just got a phonecall but it wasn't from grandma.
(26:47):
So, shoot, I know, that's okay,we're good, okay, so you were a
young mom trying to do all thethings.
Oh yes, Okay, I'll just go backto that.
Pay some point right here.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Right, I'll go back to that.
Yes, okay, so I was a young momtrying to do all the things I
wanted to do the countdowncalendar with all the little
gifts and a scripture readingevery day, and going around
looking at Christmas lights,with everybody in the car with
their pajamas on and with theirhot cocoa, and then somebody
(27:18):
would spill it.
And then we'd go to visit Santaand somebody was scared of
Santa.
Anyway, you, you see how itgets to be a completely crazy
season, and so I'm justencouraging parents to um, to,
to choose two or three thingsand just do them intentionally.
(27:38):
And then, when you only havetwo or three things, the other
way to make it simple is to Iguess you could kind of consider
this sort of like habitstacking, if you're familiar
with that concept of like, hey,we're going to bake cookies and
while they're in the oven, we'regoing to do a scripture reading
, like.
I know that seems likemultitasking and maybe it is and
that's fine, but it's a way toinfuse intentionality and
(28:02):
meaning into everything you'redoing, and so maybe you don't
have time to do both.
I know for us.
All of our family lives here intown and everybody wants to do
all the things times two, likemy family and my husband's
family, and so we do cookiebaking twice and we do Christmas
lights twice, like we doeverything twice.
And so just trying to figureout, okay, how do we simplify
(28:23):
and intensify what we're doingand infuse meaning into
everything we're doing so thateven the simplest things our
kids can see, wow, like theirsubstance, and even the small
things?
Speaker 1 (28:38):
That's so beautiful.
I love when things are simplebut actionable.
Sometimes it's the simplethings that we don't think about
right, and that's so practical,attainable, all of the things.
And Colby and I started thisseason we were like, okay,
what's something important toyou that we do this season,
what's something that'simportant to me?
Bought the tickets, put it inthe calendar and we were like,
(28:58):
okay, now, things you know, nowwe know to protect this.
Yes, because this is importantto us.
It's not like it's one of asilly festive thing, but still
it's important right in themidst of it all.
And another thing is I had thisgoal that I wanted to read a
book a month.
Some people are like I read 12books the month of January.
(29:19):
I'm not that person.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
I want to be that person, but I'm not.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Oh my gosh, no.
So I'm approaching December,realized I only read four and I
was like you know what I coulddo.
This helps me work towards mygoal it's honoring a goal that I
set for myself and also to justcreate rhythms of rest.
So every day, I have an alarmthat goes off around the time
that Colby goes in the shower atnight to remind me to stop and
(29:45):
rest, and I am definitelysomeone 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 toget caught in the hustle and
bustle even at home, and so it'sjust my daily reset to just
stop and take a breather.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I love that and a lot of times we can think well, if
I have to stop and put areminder on my phone for us to
come and read the Bible togetheror to light an Advent candle,
well, that takes the meaning outof it, because it's an
appointment that we have tothink beyond that, you know.
It's just a practical way toreally help ourselves, um, do
(30:26):
what we set out to do, andthere's no shame in that.
There's no, you know, there'snothing wrong with that.
It's just whatever it takes forus to be intentional with our
families this Christmas.
It's, it's worth it.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
It is worth it.
That was the most perfectsoundbite, Jess.
That was so beautifully said.
No, like perfect soundbite andjust perfect, like one-liner
reminder for all of us, becauseI 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, butit's like no, no, no, you're
making a decision to makesomething important to you.
(31:01):
Important, Exactly, that'sexactly what it is, and so I
know that my reading goal is alittle bit silly.
I always joke that I'm such asticker chart kid Like you know
as kids when they're sick.
I'm like, I'm that adult andI'm like I'm like no, no, no.
December 31st can't come if Ididn't read 12 books.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
So, no, no, no, december 31st can't come if I
didn't read 12 books, so there'sa little bit of unhealthy
motivation in that too.
Well, that's okay.
Sometimes too, I think I thinkthat's okay.
But if you get there and itdoesn't happen, then be kind to
yourself and that's okay.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Yes, I'll have a cookie right.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
I'll have a Christmas cookie to hope.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Oh, my goodness.
Well, we're going to, in asecond, send everyone to all of
the Minnow places.
Is there anything else that'smaybe a tone in the book or
something on the platform thatyou just want everyone to know
about, that you want listenersto know you know I would say, if
you do nothing else, we havecreated the Laugh and Grow Bible
(31:59):
Christmas special.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
So we took all of the episodes.
Each of the Laugh and GrowBible episodes are about five
minutes well, five to sevenminutes long, and we strung the
four Christmas episodes togetherinto a special and that has the
hopeful world is the world thatyou were talking about, that
your son loves.
The hopeful world doesn't showup in any episodes, but she
(32:20):
hosts the um, she hosts thespecials that we do, and so
there's a Christmas special.
It's about 22 minutes.
It's not very long, um, but ittells the whole story of
Christmas, from Isaiah'sprophecy to the visit of the
wise men, and it's reallybeautifully done and fun and
it's like the perfect.
When we set out to create it, wehad do you remember the old
(32:43):
school Frosty, the Snowman andthose 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'sjust a perfect like movie night.
But again, only 20 minutesmight give you time to maybe
have some conversationsafterwards, because that's one
(33:04):
thing at Minnow.
It's why we do this offscreencontent.
It's not just about the shows,because we say that we want to
help parents have theconversations they want to have
but don't know how to have ormaybe are afraid to have, and so
we're always givingconversation starters and
questions and things like that,so that you can be prompted to
maybe ask your kids what theythought or if they have
(33:27):
questions or what stuck out tothem, to really launch those
conversations around theChristmas story.
So I would say, if you donothing else, set aside one
evening and watch that together,because it's just a beautiful
depiction of the true meaning ofChristmas and I think it's done
in a really fun way that yourkids are going to get excited
(33:47):
about.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
It is.
There's this one line, so yeah,it's the whole wide world.
I had it on for him thismorning and this kid has a lot
of TV this season.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Listeners are probably like no shame.
I get that, I've been there,it's hard.
Mine are teenagers now, sothere's always a lot of TV.
Yeah, thankful for a minute.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
But what are these what the whole wide world say?
I guess you didn't think youprobably didn't know you'd hang
out with the whole wide worldthis morning.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
It was so cute I love that character.
If you guys ever made a stuffedanimal we're working on it.
We're working on it, are you?
We have a prototype in theoffice.
It's my dream, because we justfeel like that, because there is
.
There's some illustrations inthe Bible, in the book, where
there's one illustration, myfavorite illustration in the
whole Bible.
It's Jesus touching the world,cause we talk about the world
(34:33):
being sick in the beginning, andso there's an, there's an image
of the sick world, and then atthe end there's a, when we're
talking about Revelation and thesecond coming, there's a
picture of a happy world, and inthe middle there's a picture of
Jesus touching the world.
And so that's why we called itthe hopeful world, because the
world is hopeful.
It's broken but hopeful, and sowe envision like just hugging
(34:57):
that little round world stuffy,when they, you know, need
discomfort and so knowing thatJesus is holding them.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
So, yes, we hope to be a little model baby to like
enjoy when it holds that stuffedanimal.
Wesley signs up.
Oh, my goodness, okay, so we'regoing to link everything in the
show notes, all the links tothe website, the app yes,
youtube book, all of the things,all the things, all the things.
(35:27):
Um, but I want to end withthree questions that we ask all
of our guests and hear youranswers as well.
um, thanks for putting up withme today, guys, stuffy coughing,
but we're on the tail end andwe're right, we're making it.
Yeah, we're making it Okay.
So the first thing is somethingyou've eaten recently and loved
.
Speaker 3 (35:48):
Okay, well, this is not going to be like a foodie
answer by any means.
We're in a super, super busyseason and so we're doing a lot
more like Chick-fil-A drive-thruand I don't know if you guys
have kava and all that like thatkind of stuff.
But one thing that we haverecently discovered because
we're always on the hunt forgood protein bars, because my
(36:09):
kids love them and I love themfor an afternoon snack At Costco
they have these.
They're called Built Puff it'sa play on words built tough and
they're literally like.
They look like a marshmallowbar covered in chocolate and
they taste like candy.
They don't even taste like fakesugar.
They taste like and I have asweet tooth but it has 17 grams
(36:29):
of protein in it and it's like awonderful.
If you have a sweet tooth andthis afternoon slump and craving
, you're going to get 17 gramsof protein.
So it's called Built Puff andthey have them at Costco.
So I've been loving thoselately.
That's been really, it's beenreally fun and my kids like them
too.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
So that's always a plus when the whole family's on
board.
No, we're big Costco people andwe're.
We also are on a big proteinbar kick.
But what happens is we'll havethem for three months and then
like get sick of whatever onewe're eating.
Yes, right, and so Go.
Macro is a favorite of mine.
Perfect bar we love.
Yeah, yeah, I was on RX for awhile.
(37:11):
I don't know that I'm going togo back.
It's not enough protein for me.
Yeah, I feel like I almost needtwo, 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 likethat answer.
We've had a lot of like fishanswers lately I'm not a big
fish eater Like from guests.
And then my favorite of alltime was Mike Goodwin.
(37:33):
He was a comedian, is acomedian, but was on the show a
few seasons ago and he said, asa comedian would?
He got like powdered donutsfrom the gas station and they
made him really happy.
So I was like I love it, I loveit, so all answers welcome.
Okay, this one's really fun.
(37:53):
Oh, I wonder if your answer isgoing to be what I think it is
Okay A gathering you attendedthat made you feel a strong
sense of belonging, and if youcould pin it, pinpoint it, what
it was that made you feel thatway.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
You know I'm going to have to say so the Minnow team
is virtual.
Well, half of our team is remote, so we are all over the world
really, but our, our corporateoffice is in Nashville and so we
have about 10 people inNashville and then another you
know, 20 all over the place, andwe had everyone come in at the
(38:29):
beginning of October for a teamactivity, like a team meeting
and dinner, and we went to PuttShack if you've ever been there,
like to the indoor putt puttplace dinner.
And we went to putt shack ifyou've ever been there like to
the indoor putt putt place Umand 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
(38:55):
just reminded me of theincredible people on our team
that we get to work with andthis and the really sacred work
we get to do together.
And you know, I, of course Ifelt like I belong, cause I'm
just like gosh pinch me that Iget to be on this team.
Um, I just, yeah, love being apart of it and, um, they're just
really quality people.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Wow, I love picturing that.
Not that this would have been aplace that sparked belonging
for you, but I saw you went tothe CMAs.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
Oh yes, went to the CMAs.
Oh yes, that did not sparkbelonging for me at all.
We go every year because mysister-in-law works for CMA and
my daughter the older she gets,the more she is into it.
But no, I always feel like afish out of water there because
I don't actually love countrymusic.
I like country music, I canappreciate it and I love all the
(39:40):
collaborations they do.
I don't know if you watched theshow.
Yeah, yeah, it was an excellentshow, just super, super fun.
But yeah, no, it didn't make mefeel the long, but it was
really fun.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Both answers are good .
I enjoyed hearing about both.
I had to hear a little bitabout it, though.
Yeah.
Okay, and last but not least,something you've discovered
lately that you think everyoneshould know about an Amazon
purchase a, I mean, it could beyour Costco find, if you want a
Netflix show.
Speaker 3 (40:10):
I thought about saying it there, but I am going
to say this.
Well, a book that I'm I'm justin the process of reading, so I
haven't read it yet and I'lljust hold it up for you, but
it's called the importance ofbeing little.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Oh, wow, I feel like that's a title I would like.
Okay, yeah, so um.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Erica Christakis.
Um, she is, um, just a reallygreat voice in this area of
child development and reallytalking about like, and the
subtitle is what young childrenreally need from grownups and
it's it's really written foreducators and parents to really
understand.
Like our kids need us tounderstand, how they're made Um,
(40:51):
and that's something we're sopassionate about at Minnow.
It's like for too long we'vebeen doing things the way that
we do them, for grownups andkids are just not built the same
and that's intentional, thatGod did that intentionally.
And so it's really about playand really the importance of
play and just kind of whimsy andthat sort of thing in the life
(41:12):
of a child and how we can helpfoster that.
Because we do, we get so caughtup in our grownup worlds.
Like I got to get this done.
I got to and I remember doingthat.
I wish I knew what I know nowwhen my kids were itty bitty, I
would have parented you knowdifferently.
But that's life, right?
Um, but I love sharing it withyounger parents to say, hey,
(41:34):
it's okay to pause and play andnot get that thing on your to-do
list done.
Like, that's, that's thelanguage of your child and they
need you to show up that way,and so this book is really
encouraging in that.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Wow, that's a beautiful title.
I'm going to do a whole likebook roundup for my followers in
about a week All of the booksthat our authors kind of like or
our guests have promoted, butthen all the like extra titles
that they've recommended as well.
Yeah, because I feel like whenyou build a community that's a
sweet part of it.
You end up kind of all likemind or sharing, like value
(42:06):
sharing and things like that,and so I think that our
listeners, followers, will lovehearing about that title too.
Well, I already said, I'm goingto share all the things in our
show notes, but, thank you somuch for coming on.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Oh, thanks for having me, it was so fun Whenever an
episode gets like delayed a fewtimes or there's tech issues.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
I get even that much more committed to making it a
reality.
So great Like there's somethingtrying to stop this episode
from happening.
So I'm excited to just give ourlisteners just a fresh breath
of hope and expectancy goinginto this season.
Speaker 3 (42:37):
Oh, I hope it does.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (42:40):
Absolutely.
Well, guys, be sure to followalong and all the links, buy
your copy, watch the videos andwe will see you next week.
Oh, darn it, I pressed thewrong button, that's okay and it
.
Hey everyone, welcome back to this Week on Making
Room.
I am coming back from a littlebit of a cold.
You might hear I'm a littlestuffy, might be coughing a
little bit, but tis the season,Tis the season, right, I cannot
believe that we are just on thebrink of Christmas.
This is the first year I toldColby that I want Christmas
before Thanksgiving.
I have never done that.
(00:21):
I've always had this strictafter Thanksgiving rule, and
maybe it's being a mom, Maybeit's just wanting a little extra
joy this season, but whateverit is, this weekend first show
we ever showed him I've sharedthis with you guys was Baby
Shark.
That was our Asian lifestyleinfluence and he loved it.
(00:52):
But very quickly I was like,okay, if we're going to be
traveling with this kid, if he'sgoing to be watching a lot of
TV, I want something a littlebit more wholesome.
So frantically, Colby and Iheaded over to YouTube.
We typed in Christian Kidscartoons.
We had no idea what wasavailable and we found Minnow.
We had never heard of it.
We thought that we stumbled ona gold mine, which we did.
But I quickly texted all of myfriends, my creative friends, my
(01:15):
friends in media, and I waslike have you guys heard of this
company?
Because they are creating likeshows that aren't corny for
Christian kids.
They are very well produced.
All of the theology was sound.
We loved them, and there's thisone character in particular
it's the sun, oh, no, the world.
It's the world, right?
Yeah, I'm looking at Jess.
(01:36):
We'll talk about it more whenshe's on, but Wesley lights up
every time.
You're going to have to tell mewhat 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 justgotten hooked, downloaded the
app, dove deep into Jungle, Beatall the shows and we are full
(01:56):
out fans over here.
But if Minnow is new to you,here is a little bit more about
them.
Minnow is the leading voiceglobally for using media to
spark kids' imagination andcuriosity around God and the
Bible.
The Minnow Kids streamingservice is available as an app
on all platforms.
Minnow Originals creates showsproduced in partnership with top
(02:18):
industry talent.
Minnow's publishing programincludes the award-winning,
best-selling Minnow Laugh andGrow Bible for Kids, which we
love in our households, with thefastest-winning, best-selling
Minnow Laugh and Grow Bible forKids, which we love in our
households, with thefastest-growing YouTube channel
for Christian kids, along withparent resources, blogs, life
guides and so much more.
You'll hear that I justreferenced Jungle Beat, which
I'm sure we'll talk about morein a minute.
(02:39):
It's so much more than just theMinnow Originals.
Minnow is where God's goodnessand love comes to life for kids,
and you could find out more bygoing to gominnocom.
Well, we were talking about theholidays and we're going to talk
about working against thehustle and bustle in this
episode, but we can all kind offeel it when December comes, it
(03:02):
just creeps in and before thejoy even hits, it's almost like
the hustle and bustle hits andFeast and Fettle wants to come
alongside your family to helpyou really embrace the moments,
embrace the season, spend moretime with your family.
And you guys know I'm a foodie.
I don't mess around when itcomes with food.
I want the good stuff.
I will never recommend anythingless.
And so Feast and Fettle isbasically like having a private
(03:25):
chef make all your foods,deliver it straight to your door
.
Everything from snacks to likeI don't know overnight oats and
breakfast dinners, kids' lunches, they'll deliver it straight to
your door.
You don't have to cook, youjust heat and eat, and it is so
crave-worthy and ready to bedelivered straight to you this
week.
You can use code GATHER25,G-A-T-H-E-R and the number is 25
(03:47):
, your first week off of Feastand Fettle, and take a breather
as you get ready to start theseason.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Hi, I'm Katie, a hospitality educator and the
host of Making Room by Gatherpodcast.
I am set to see our communitiesget back to the table through
hospitality, but it wasn'talways this way.
My husband and I moved toThailand and through it I
experienced some loneliness andwith it I was given a choice to
sit back and accept it or to dosomething about it.
(04:21):
And for me that meant twothings that I needed the healing
to learn how to accept aninvitation and the confidence to
know how to extend one.
Through this process, Ideveloped some of the richest
and deepest relationships of mylife.
Through Making Room by Gather,you will hear conversations from
myself and experts in the areasof food, design and
(04:43):
relationships.
You see there are countlessthings trying to keep us from
the table, but can I tell yousomething?
Take a seat because you areready, you are capable, you are
a good host.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Okay, let's do this.
Jess.
I feel like this has been solong in the making.
It has.
Yes, every time we've scheduled, I've gotten sick.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Oh, I know I'm so glad you're feeling better.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
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 watchingMinnow together.
I was like I feel kind of likethe cool mom right now that gets
to meet their kids' favoritecharacter or something.
Oh, that's awesome.
I love that that's so sweet.
Well, one thing I just realizedis the introduction wasn't
(05:33):
necessarily your intro, and welove telling story here, and the
reason I like storytelling is Ithink there's power in a story
and also it helps us to reallyunderstand the full picture of
our conversation, and so I wouldlove to hear from you what
you're the first person thatwe've ever talked to on the show
like 150 ish episodes in themedia, kind of like kids media
(05:57):
space and so I want to hear whatthat journey has been like for
you.
What do you want us to knowabout Jess's journey to here
with Minnow Sure?
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me
and I'm so glad we finally gotthis going.
You know my journey.
I've always worked inentertainment, so I live in
Nashville, minnow is based inNashville and I moved here.
I went to college at BelmontUniversity and I studied music
business and I wanted to work inthe Christian music industry
(06:31):
and for about 15 years until mysecond, until my son was born I
did that and it was amazing andso fun and everything I ever
dreamed of and I learned a lotabout media and ministry and
kind of how those two thingscome together.
And then, when I had kids, Iwas a lot about media and
ministry and kind of how thosetwo things come together.
And then when I had kids, I wasso passionate about their
(06:52):
discipleship from a young ageand always looking for the right
resources for them and for usas a family to do family faith
formation and, through some ofmy contacts and the people the
great people I'd worked withover the years in Christian
media, and then my passion forchild discipleship.
That's when I stumbled uponMinnow.
Actually, I didn't stumble uponit, it was created by a few
(07:15):
people that I had worked withthroughout the years, but I
stumbled upon the opportunity tojoin them and so I had already
been writing and doing a lot ofcreating in the space of
curriculum and child faithformation.
My husband and I both havealways worked in kids ministry
and loved serving kids, and itwas like God brought together
all of the passions that I hadinto this idea of creating a
(07:42):
streaming platform for Christiankids and then eventually
creating new original content sowe could raise the bar in what
was being made for Christiankids.
Because over the years, when Igrew up, especially, and even
when my kids were little mydaughter'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 fewother things, and there wasn't
(08:05):
a ton, and some things weren't,you know, very well made, and so
Minnow really wants to raisethe bar and give kids.
We always say kids deservebetter, jesus deserves better,
and so you know, let's bring thebest that we have to them.
So, yeah, so I just got to openthe door and went back to
school and got my master's ineducation, because I became
(08:27):
really curious about theintersection between faith
formation and media and childdevelopment, and so I wanted to
know how do we do this with thebest possible outcomes for kids
not only having fun, butlearning the Bible and getting
to know God.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Wow, I have my mic muted over here just so I can
cough without having all youguys hear it, but I love all of
that so much I want to dive intothere.
My listeners know I loveNashville.
We spend a lot of time there.
It's kind of like a huge hub forour community right now, and so
I love knowing that you'rethere and, as you're talking
about the community and being apart, and so I love knowing that
you're there and I, as you'retalking about the community and
(09:06):
being a part of it, I know whatthat feels like just a little
bit.
But one thing that Colby and Ihave noticed as we watch Minnow
you guys really have a way ofcommunicating in a way that like
sticks.
It's like sticky education.
And have you read MalcolmGladwell's book, the Tipping
Point?
Yes, oh, it's been a while, butyes, yeah, okay, but I love
(09:27):
like he talks about how thingsstick and you guys are really.
You're so intentional, you'reso strategic and even layers of
Bible stories that Colby and IColby and I grew up in the
church we're like, wow, we'venever understood that layer like
that.
And there's something sobeautiful about a child likeness
, like even for the family.
So hearing you say like familyfaith formation, it's really
(09:50):
that's definitely a layer ofwhat you guys are doing.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
And yeah, it's definitely something that we try
to infuse into what we do.
You know, we're not just makingfun 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 theydeserve.
God created them to be curious.
He created them to be childlikeand to want to play, and so we
(10:22):
want to add all those things inthere.
But we also want to teach themtheology and those foundational
principles, and so we have very,very rigorous conversations and
debates around the table atMinnow, around about every line
of every episode.
You know we're going through andmaking sure are we saying that
the right way?
Is there a better way to saythat We'll catch ourselves and
be like oh, the way that wassaid was not not really helping
(10:43):
kids gain the best andhealthiest God view early on.
There's ways we talk about Godthat 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'vealways said it in the church
and so that's what comes outwhen we're scripting and then
all of a sudden we go wait asecond, that's not the
(11:05):
healthiest way to introduce achild to God and his character.
So let's fix that.
And so we are intentional.
We spend a lot of timescripting because it's just too
important to do flippantly or tonot do intentionally.
So we spend a lot of timethinking about every word that's
said.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
So I know some of my listeners are entrepreneurial
minded, some aren't, but we kindof 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 wascurious about launching quality
kids, christian content, right,but you weren't in animation,
you weren't in TV.
(11:43):
So what did that look like?
Cause you didn't go back toschool to learn how to animate,
right, so.
So what did that part of thestory look?
Speaker 3 (11:52):
like.
So I, um, I actually don'tanimate I, so what I get to do
is I um look at all of I.
I'm I'm really more on theeditorial side, so I am looking
at the scripts and um thecontent, 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 sohe's the head of the way it
(12:15):
looks and I'm the head of theway it sounds, and we work
together and sometimes weoverlap because he's so
thoughtful about the way, youknow, he thinks like a kid, he's
like a eight-year-old boy in agrown man's body, like we're
always teasing him, but he'sperfect for his job because he's
really keeping the kids in mindat all times.
And so he's an animator and wework with animation studios all
(12:40):
over the world for our differentproperties.
And then, as the executiveproducer, I'm just kind of over
the the the project as a whole,making sure that it's again,
theologically sound and and andin age appropriate, and then
just making sure it's it's trueto the brand that we want to be
as Minnow.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Yeah, man, I love clear branding, clear brand
strategy, all of that.
So you're speaking my languageand I recognize it in you guys.
Sorry guys, this cough is goingto stick this episode, but I
can only drink so much coffeetogether.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
I know.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
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 humorthat you guys kind of lace
through to One factual thingthough.
So I think it was John theBaptist eating locusts and honey
.
Like only locusts and honey,right, yeah.
(13:37):
So I've heard stories about himobviously my whole walk of
faith and I was like Colb, myhusband.
I was like I didn't know thatabout him and he was like, oh
yeah, totally that's the thing,and so I love that.
I'm like gaining those littlenuggets.
But the humor was it Moses?
And they gave a sheep reallyfunny names, like here buttercup
or cookie.
(13:57):
It was so cute, I love it oh, Ilove that.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
We try to.
You know, we try to add thoselittle things because, again, as
kids brains are developing soquickly when they're little, I
mean those little like synapsesare firing and and they're
creating all of this memory andjust association with things.
And so we want kids toassociate learning the Bible
(14:27):
with fun.
And it is a heavy book andthere are some times where we're
like we don't know how we'regoing to make that episode funny
.
But we'll figure something outand sometimes there's just no
place for it and that's okay.
But when we can, we love toinfuse those little things
because then a kid is going tohave just that positive feeling
inside of them when they'rethinking about learning the
(14:47):
Bible.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
So important.
I think a lot of us don't evenrealize how important that is.
But when we think back at ourown experience, I know a lot of
the listeners on the show Idon'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 arelistening, you've had an
experience with the church andhearing the gospel for the first
time and it does matter.
(15:10):
It does matter how it'spresented.
I just had a thought it wasalong the lines of comedy.
Oh, I don't know if you'reallowed to say this, I'm sure
it's fine.
One of the voices on the showis he Dude Dad.
Do you know who Dude Dad is,the YouTuber from Wisconsin?
Oh, yes, no, it's not.
(15:31):
It's not him no.
Okay, Because there's this guywith kind of like a Wisconsin
accent Okay, and my husband andI are like I bet it's him oh
interesting.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
I don't think it's him.
I don't choose the voices, butI doubt it's him.
That's funny.
Yeah, that's so funny, it justsounds like him.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
He has a very identifiable kind of like it's
not a twang, what would you callit from Wisconsin, like a drawl
, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Yeah, but it's fun.
Do you know which character itis?
Do you remember which characterI'm going to ask Colby, colby
would remember.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Yeah, I'm just curious.
Okay, but I would have put moneyon it, but he has a really
great voice you guys hired well.
Well, the holidays are here andit is really wild.
It's been very mild inConnecticut weather-wise, which
I'm not complaining about Iprefer it being mild but it's
also made me like slower to getinto the season.
(16:28):
But you guys recently launchedand sent us an Advent devotional
.
Are you guys calling it adevotional?
Yes, it is Okay, Okay, perfect,so it is a devotional.
Are you guys calling it adevotional?
Yes, it is Okay, okay, perfect,so it is a devotional.
Really quick for peoplelistening who maybe are new to
faith, aren't followers of Jesusand are like what the heck is a
devotional?
Can you just first tell us likewhat a devotional is?
(16:49):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
So a devotional is sort of it's like a well, it
doesn't have to be a book, itcan be online, it can be
anything but it is a group ofjust writings that are sort of a
daily cadence for you tointeract with either the Bible
(17:19):
Some are just very, verybiblically based and you're
going through Bible verses andyou're learning what they mean
and then some are just aboutthemes and thoughts around
Christian themes, notnecessarily looking at a
specific scripture, and so adevotional is just really a way
for you to engage with God andthe Bible on a daily basis or a
weekly basis or something thatprovides that rhythm for you to
(17:39):
kind of keep coming back to it,and so it's a really powerful
way for families to createrhythms, especially around the
season, which is why we createdthis one.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, I love it because we've had ones for Colby
and I and like our marriageover the years.
Goodness, that is what it is.
No, it's that weird, likelingering, just like dry.
You know it's not, I'm feelingfine, but um.
But what we loved about thisone is, uh, wesley's very busy,
(18:10):
very.
If you looked at my house rightnow you'd be like, how did the
measuring cup end up in thebathroom?
Speaker 3 (18:15):
It's like I remember.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
So I've gotten a little bit smart.
We have a ton of books thatevery day.
I put like five books in hisplayroom and he is so sweet.
He just sits and like flipsthrough them and like it keeps
him busy for a while.
And what I love about theMinnow book they're paper pages
but and I let him crinkle itwhatever he wants to do he
recognizes the characters.
So he's so drawn to it justvisually.
And then, um, I just believethat God works through that,
(18:47):
even though you know he's notreading 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 totell us what makes your
devotional different, what makesthis one different?
Because there are Christmasbooks that some of us might have
or we might be shopping fordifferent types of devotional
(19:09):
type things to help us set ourhearts for the season.
What's different about this one?
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Yeah, well, one of the big things is what you just
said is that Wesley recognizesthe characters in it.
So the Laugh and Grow BibleFamily Advent Devotional is
based on the Laugh and GrowBible for Kids Bible and show.
And so we created the Biblefirst.
It's a storybook Bible with 52stories from Genesis to
Revelation that really help kidsunderstand God's big Bible
(19:38):
narrative and the whole story ofGod and Jesus and the gospel.
And so after we did that, a fewyears later we had the
opportunity to animate everystory in the Bible.
So we're in the process of thatand that's what you were
talking about, that you guyslove watching, I love that, and
so we're animating each story inthe Bible.
We've got about 32 done andwe're going to have 63 when
(20:01):
we're done.
So we're about halfway thereand it's such an amazing process
to put these together.
But that's what makes thisdevotional unique is that kids
are able to engage with it indifferent arenas.
So you know, a lot of kids willsay they walk by the Bible and
(20:21):
they're watching the show andthey'll say, oh, that's my Bible
, you know on TV.
And so it's really neat forkids to connect the dots like
that, because then they start togain an affinity to those
characters and the stories andthey really connect with it, and
so that's one of the big thingsthat makes it different is it's
multifaceted.
So the devotional follows fourkind of beats of the Christmas
(20:46):
story Isaiah's prophecy andJesus the angel appearing to
Mary, and then Jesus' birth, theshepherds and wise men, and so
you can watch those as episodesof the Laugh and Grow Bible on
Minnow or on YouTube they're allon YouTube and then engage with
it in the book.
(21:06):
So it gives you kind of alittle short reading around that
story and the different beatsof the story and then
conversation starters and aprayer and even a little game to
play something to play andthat'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
(21:27):
in this devotional?
There's so many out there, howare we going to make it
different?
One thing that we as parents atMinnow were frustrated by is
there was always like a craft orlike something I had to do or
something just really big, andyou know, I just never had time
to do those things in the monthof December, so I always felt
like a failure before I evenstarted, and so we wanted it to
(21:48):
be a win for parents.
We want parents to win witheverything that we're doing and
feel like I can do this.
And so it's.
The play moment is justsomething simple.
They don't have to gatheranything, it just happens right
in the book.
There's things like a fingermaze where kids can just follow
which line gets to the.
You know which wise men gets tothe manger first, and that sort
(22:09):
of thing.
So that's one of the majorthings that really sets it apart
.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
The intentionality is so good.
That's so good.
I think, that parents it'sgoing to be so refreshing for
parents as we're going into theseason yeah, definitely.
Well, that's a really goodsegue into a next point that I
wanted to make.
So, going into the season, ifwe think back to years past,
right, we could hear ourselvessaying the holidays went by so
(22:36):
fast where I didn't even havetime to do this, and so we were
just talking about like theholidays are busy, there's a lot
going on, it's we don't needlike another thing.
But on the flip side of that,the season really has the
ability to restore hope in ourown hearts, in our family
culture, in our home, reset ourjoy.
(22:58):
So I love the thought about adevotional because it kind of
invites us to pause.
Right, it does invite us tostop.
You can kind of play on that alittle bit more, but I would
love to hear from you what aresome ways that families can more
intentionally, I guess, embraceslow rhythms as we're going
(23:18):
into the holidays and into a newyear.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
Yeah, well, definitely with the devotional.
I'd say this devotional or anydevotional or a group of
readings you find online, likewhatever you do, it provides a
framework for you and if youhave a framework now, you can
make a framework that's way toocomplicated and again you're
going to fail before you start.
Or you can pick something thathas a really simple framework,
(23:43):
maybe a weekly reading.
That's why I love Advent,because the Advent season is
really just.
It's the four Sundays beforeChristmas and so you don't have
to do a devotion every day.
Although we provide five everyweek in that book.
You don't have to do them all.
You can just read something ona Sunday and light an advent
candle and just pause for 10minutes once a week.
(24:04):
It doesn't have to be aframework that is kind of
overtaking your lives.
It can be something super,super simple, but when you use a
resource that kind of has acadence, it does give you
something to kind of lookforward to and to intentionally,
you know, to make youintentionally pause.
The other thing I've beentalking a lot about this
(24:27):
Christmas season.
So, like you said, we get sobusy and we don't want to add
one more thing, more thing, andyet Christmas is like the one of
the best.
Christmas and Easter really arethe two best opportunities for
us to pour into our kids ourfaith.
And so, because they're soengaged, because they're so
(24:48):
excited about the season, andnow we can kind of come
alongside them and help themunderstand what the real meaning
is and kind of layer onto thatexcitement, you know, but the
real meaning is kind of layeronto that excitement.
You know, they may not be asexcited about Jesus as they are
about presence right now.
No, and that's just reality.
But as we, you know, continueto reintroduce them every year
(25:09):
and kind of build on that andthose traditions.
But again, it doesn't have tobe a lot.
And so I've been talking aboutthis a lot Just really looking
at your calendar and now is agreat time to do that looking at
your calendar at the beginningof the season and saying, ok,
what are we going to do and notdo?
And I know that just soundslike, yes, that's what we do,
(25:31):
right, we should look at ourcalendar, what do we do and not
do?
But I mean really, I mean graba friend and make each other
accountable to say, okay, we'renot 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 dothree things, whatever that is,
um, to really strip back and togo like my uh, an old pastor of
(25:54):
mine used to say simplify andintensify.
So if you simplify your time,you can intensify what you do
with those three things insteadof doing six things.
And I remember being a young momand I wanted to do it all.
I wanted to do the countdownwith a little gift and a
scripture reading every day, andI wanted to do the.
You know, put on your pajamasand go around and look at
Christmas lights without cocoa,and then they'd spill it all
(26:15):
over the car.
And then I wanted to do, youknow, go visit Santa.
But then they were afraid ofSanta and, like you know, the
list is ongoing of all thethings.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Hold on one second.
Ah, dang it, we almost made it.
Hold on.
Oh, stink, almost made it.
Okay, I left my notificationson because the baby's with
grandma and I just got a phonecall but it wasn't from grandma.
(26:47):
So, shoot, I know, that's okay,we're good, okay, so you were a
young mom trying to do all thethings.
Oh yes, Okay, I'll just go backto that.
Pay some point right here.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Right, I'll go back to that.
Yes, okay, so I was a young momtrying to do all the things I
wanted to do the countdowncalendar with all the little
gifts and a scripture readingevery day, and going around
looking at Christmas lights,with everybody in the car with
their pajamas on and with theirhot cocoa, and then somebody
(27:18):
would spill it.
And then we'd go to visit Santaand somebody was scared of
Santa.
Anyway, you, you see how itgets to be a completely crazy
season, and so I'm justencouraging parents to um, to,
to choose two or three thingsand just do them intentionally.
(27:38):
And then, when you only havetwo or three things, the other
way to make it simple is to Iguess you could kind of consider
this sort of like habitstacking, if you're familiar
with that concept of like, hey,we're going to bake cookies and
while they're in the oven, we'regoing to do a scripture reading
, like.
I know that seems likemultitasking and maybe it is and
that's fine, but it's a way toinfuse intentionality and
(28:02):
meaning into everything you'redoing, and so maybe you don't
have time to do both.
I know for us.
All of our family lives here intown and everybody wants to do
all the things times two, likemy family and my husband's
family, and so we do cookiebaking twice and we do Christmas
lights twice, like we doeverything twice.
And so just trying to figureout, okay, how do we simplify
(28:23):
and intensify what we're doingand infuse meaning into
everything we're doing so thateven the simplest things our
kids can see, wow, like theirsubstance, and even the small
things?
Speaker 1 (28:38):
That's so beautiful.
I love when things are simplebut actionable.
Sometimes it's the simplethings that we don't think about
right, and that's so practical,attainable, all of the things.
And Colby and I started thisseason we were like, okay,
what's something important toyou that we do this season,
what's something that'simportant to me?
Bought the tickets, put it inthe calendar and we were like,
(28:58):
okay, now, things you know, nowwe know to protect this.
Yes, because this is importantto us.
It's not like it's one of asilly festive thing, but still
it's important right in themidst of it all.
And another thing is I had thisgoal that I wanted to read a
book a month.
Some people are like I read 12books the month of January.
(29:19):
I'm not that person.
Speaker 3 (29:22):
I want to be that person, but I'm not.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Oh my gosh, no.
So I'm approaching December,realized I only read four and I
was like you know what I coulddo.
This helps me work towards mygoal it's honoring a goal that I
set for myself and also to justcreate rhythms of rest.
So every day, I have an alarmthat goes off around the time
that Colby goes in the shower atnight to remind me to stop and
(29:45):
rest, and I am definitelysomeone 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 toget caught in the hustle and
bustle even at home, and so it'sjust my daily reset to just
stop and take a breather.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
I love that and a lot of times we can think well, if
I have to stop and put areminder on my phone for us to
come and read the Bible togetheror to light an Advent candle,
well, that takes the meaning outof it, because it's an
appointment that we have tothink beyond that, you know.
It's just a practical way toreally help ourselves, um, do
(30:26):
what we set out to do, andthere's no shame in that.
There's no, you know, there'snothing wrong with that.
It's just whatever it takes forus to be intentional with our
families this Christmas.
It's, it's worth it.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
It is worth it.
That was the most perfectsoundbite, Jess.
That was so beautifully said.
No, like perfect soundbite andjust perfect, like one-liner
reminder for all of us, becauseI 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, butit's like no, no, no, you're
making a decision to makesomething important to you.
(31:01):
Important, Exactly, that'sexactly what it is, and so I
know that my reading goal is alittle bit silly.
I always joke that I'm such asticker chart kid Like you know
as kids when they're sick.
I'm like, I'm that adult andI'm like I'm like no, no, no.
December 31st can't come if Ididn't read 12 books.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
So, no, no, no, december 31st can't come if I
didn't read 12 books, so there'sa little bit of unhealthy
motivation in that too.
Well, that's okay.
Sometimes too, I think I thinkthat's okay.
But if you get there and itdoesn't happen, then be kind to
yourself and that's okay.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Yes, I'll have a cookie right.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
I'll have a Christmas cookie to hope.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Oh, my goodness.
Well, we're going to, in asecond, send everyone to all of
the Minnow places.
Is there anything else that'smaybe a tone in the book or
something on the platform thatyou just want everyone to know
about, that you want listenersto know you know I would say, if
you do nothing else, we havecreated the Laugh and Grow Bible
(31:59):
Christmas special.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
So we took all of the episodes.
Each of the Laugh and GrowBible episodes are about five
minutes well, five to sevenminutes long, and we strung the
four Christmas episodes togetherinto a special and that has the
hopeful world is the world thatyou were talking about, that
your son loves.
The hopeful world doesn't showup in any episodes, but she
(32:20):
hosts the um, she hosts thespecials that we do, and so
there's a Christmas special.
It's about 22 minutes.
It's not very long, um, but ittells the whole story of
Christmas, from Isaiah'sprophecy to the visit of the
wise men, and it's reallybeautifully done and fun and
it's like the perfect.
When we set out to create it, wehad do you remember the old
(32:43):
school Frosty, the Snowman andthose 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'sjust a perfect like movie night.
But again, only 20 minutesmight give you time to maybe
have some conversationsafterwards, because that's one
(33:04):
thing at Minnow.
It's why we do this offscreencontent.
It's not just about the shows,because we say that we want to
help parents have theconversations they want to have
but don't know how to have ormaybe are afraid to have, and so
we're always givingconversation starters and
questions and things like that,so that you can be prompted to
maybe ask your kids what theythought or if they have
(33:27):
questions or what stuck out tothem, to really launch those
conversations around theChristmas story.
So I would say, if you donothing else, set aside one
evening and watch that together,because it's just a beautiful
depiction of the true meaning ofChristmas and I think it's done
in a really fun way that yourkids are going to get excited
(33:47):
about.
Speaker 1 (33:48):
It is.
There's this one line, so yeah,it's the whole wide world.
I had it on for him thismorning and this kid has a lot
of TV this season.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Listeners are probably like no shame.
I get that, I've been there,it's hard.
Mine are teenagers now, sothere's always a lot of TV.
Yeah, thankful for a minute.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
But what are these what the whole wide world say?
I guess you didn't think youprobably didn't know you'd hang
out with the whole wide worldthis morning.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
It was so cute I love that character.
If you guys ever made a stuffedanimal we're working on it.
We're working on it, are you?
We have a prototype in theoffice.
It's my dream, because we justfeel like that, because there is
.
There's some illustrations inthe Bible, in the book, where
there's one illustration, myfavorite illustration in the
whole Bible.
It's Jesus touching the world,cause we talk about the world
(34:33):
being sick in the beginning, andso there's an, there's an image
of the sick world, and then atthe end there's a, when we're
talking about Revelation and thesecond coming, there's a
picture of a happy world, and inthe middle there's a picture of
Jesus touching the world.
And so that's why we called itthe hopeful world, because the
world is hopeful.
It's broken but hopeful, and sowe envision like just hugging
(34:57):
that little round world stuffy,when they, you know, need
discomfort and so knowing thatJesus is holding them.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
So, yes, we hope to be a little model baby to like
enjoy when it holds that stuffedanimal.
Wesley signs up.
Oh, my goodness, okay, so we'regoing to link everything in the
show notes, all the links tothe website, the app yes,
youtube book, all of the things,all the things, all the things.
(35:27):
Um, but I want to end withthree questions that we ask all
of our guests and hear youranswers as well.
um, thanks for putting up withme today, guys, stuffy coughing,
but we're on the tail end andwe're right, we're making it.
Yeah, we're making it Okay.
So the first thing is somethingyou've eaten recently and loved
.
Speaker 3 (35:48):
Okay, well, this is not going to be like a foodie
answer by any means.
We're in a super, super busyseason and so we're doing a lot
more like Chick-fil-A drive-thruand I don't know if you guys
have kava and all that like thatkind of stuff.
But one thing that we haverecently discovered because
we're always on the hunt forgood protein bars, because my
(36:09):
kids love them and I love themfor an afternoon snack At Costco
they have these.
They're called Built Puff it'sa play on words built tough and
they're literally like.
They look like a marshmallowbar covered in chocolate and
they taste like candy.
They don't even taste like fakesugar.
They taste like and I have asweet tooth but it has 17 grams
(36:29):
of protein in it and it's like awonderful.
If you have a sweet tooth andthis afternoon slump and craving
, you're going to get 17 gramsof protein.
So it's called Built Puff andthey have them at Costco.
So I've been loving thoselately.
That's been really, it's beenreally fun and my kids like them
too.
Speaker 1 (36:47):
So that's always a plus when the whole family's on
board.
No, we're big Costco people andwe're.
We also are on a big proteinbar kick.
But what happens is we'll havethem for three months and then
like get sick of whatever onewe're eating.
Yes, right, and so Go.
Macro is a favorite of mine.
Perfect bar we love.
Yeah, yeah, I was on RX for awhile.
(37:11):
I don't know that I'm going togo back.
It's not enough protein for me.
Yeah, I feel like I almost needtwo, 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 likethat answer.
We've had a lot of like fishanswers lately I'm not a big
fish eater Like from guests.
And then my favorite of alltime was Mike Goodwin.
(37:33):
He was a comedian, is acomedian, but was on the show a
few seasons ago and he said, asa comedian would?
He got like powdered donutsfrom the gas station and they
made him really happy.
So I was like I love it, I loveit, so all answers welcome.
Okay, this one's really fun.
(37:53):
Oh, I wonder if your answer isgoing to be what I think it is
Okay A gathering you attendedthat made you feel a strong
sense of belonging, and if youcould pin it, pinpoint it, what
it was that made you feel thatway.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
You know I'm going to have to say so the Minnow team
is virtual.
Well, half of our team is remote, so we are all over the world
really, but our, our corporateoffice is in Nashville and so we
have about 10 people inNashville and then another you
know, 20 all over the place, andwe had everyone come in at the
(38:29):
beginning of October for a teamactivity, like a team meeting
and dinner, and we went to PuttShack if you've ever been there,
like to the indoor putt puttplace dinner.
And we went to putt shack ifyou've ever been there like to
the indoor putt putt place Umand 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
(38:55):
just reminded me of theincredible people on our team
that we get to work with andthis and the really sacred work
we get to do together.
And you know, I, of course Ifelt like I belong, cause I'm
just like gosh pinch me that Iget to be on this team.
Um, I just, yeah, love being apart of it and, um, they're just
really quality people.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Wow, I love picturing that.
Not that this would have been aplace that sparked belonging
for you, but I saw you went tothe CMAs.
Speaker 3 (39:17):
Oh yes, went to the CMAs.
Oh yes, that did not sparkbelonging for me at all.
We go every year because mysister-in-law works for CMA and
my daughter the older she gets,the more she is into it.
But no, I always feel like afish out of water there because
I don't actually love countrymusic.
I like country music, I canappreciate it and I love all the
(39:40):
collaborations they do.
I don't know if you watched theshow.
Yeah, yeah, it was an excellentshow, just super, super fun.
But yeah, no, it didn't make mefeel the long, but it was
really fun.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
Both answers are good .
I enjoyed hearing about both.
I had to hear a little bitabout it, though.
Yeah.
Okay, and last but not least,something you've discovered
lately that you think everyoneshould know about an Amazon
purchase a, I mean, it could beyour Costco find, if you want a
Netflix show.
Speaker 3 (40:10):
I thought about saying it there, but I am going
to say this.
Well, a book that I'm I'm justin the process of reading, so I
haven't read it yet and I'lljust hold it up for you, but
it's called the importance ofbeing little.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Oh, wow, I feel like that's a title I would like.
Okay, yeah, so um.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
Erica Christakis.
Um, she is, um, just a reallygreat voice in this area of
child development and reallytalking about like, and the
subtitle is what young childrenreally need from grownups and
it's it's really written foreducators and parents to really
understand.
Like our kids need us tounderstand, how they're made Um,
(40:51):
and that's something we're sopassionate about at Minnow.
It's like for too long we'vebeen doing things the way that
we do them, for grownups andkids are just not built the same
and that's intentional, thatGod did that intentionally.
And so it's really about playand really the importance of
play and just kind of whimsy andthat sort of thing in the life
(41:12):
of a child and how we can helpfoster that.
Because we do, we get so caughtup in our grownup worlds.
Like I got to get this done.
I got to and I remember doingthat.
I wish I knew what I know nowwhen my kids were itty bitty, I
would have parented you knowdifferently.
But that's life, right?
Um, but I love sharing it withyounger parents to say, hey,
(41:34):
it's okay to pause and play andnot get that thing on your to-do
list done.
Like, that's, that's thelanguage of your child and they
need you to show up that way,and so this book is really
encouraging in that.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Wow, that's a beautiful title.
I'm going to do a whole likebook roundup for my followers in
about a week All of the booksthat our authors kind of like or
our guests have promoted, butthen all the like extra titles
that they've recommended as well.
Yeah, because I feel like whenyou build a community that's a
sweet part of it.
You end up kind of all likemind or sharing, like value
(42:06):
sharing and things like that,and so I think that our
listeners, followers, will lovehearing about that title too.
Well, I already said, I'm goingto share all the things in our
show notes, but, thank you somuch for coming on.
Speaker 3 (42:17):
Oh, thanks for having me, it was so fun Whenever an
episode gets like delayed a fewtimes or there's tech issues.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
I get even that much more committed to making it a
reality.
So great Like there's somethingtrying to stop this episode
from happening.
So I'm excited to just give ourlisteners just a fresh breath
of hope and expectancy goinginto this season.
Speaker 3 (42:37):
Oh, I hope it does.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (42:40):
Absolutely.
Well, guys, be sure to followalong and all the links, buy
your copy, watch the videos andwe will see you next week.
Oh, darn it, I pressed thewrong button, that's okay and it
.
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.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!