I am having so much fun creating the “Something Extra” Podcast, launching this Thursday!!! I have always LOVED hearing people’s stories and have made listening to them one of the main avenues I have used over the years to learn and grow. I take away something from almost every connection and my prayer is that the people I encounter can take away something of value from me, as well.  

Creating a podcast is exciting and I really believe that it will bring relevant learning and growth to our listeners because of the amazing leaders that we have on the show. Every leader has “something extra” that has taken them “from here to there,” and I know these stories will inspire our listeners.  

As I reflect on this new adventure that my Executive Producer Brian, the team, and I are on with the “Something Extra” podcast, I am humbled, vigorously excited, but most of all – totally surprised. I have been working on the “Something Extra” book for over a year and the proposal/concept is currently being shopped to publishing houses by my literary agent. I’m not going to lie, the process is a little discouraging because it is taking longer than I had hoped (although this being my first go at traditional publishing, I had no idea what to expect). When I started on this journey with the book, a podcast was not even on my radar. However, I am amazed at God’s goodness in giving us this opportunity. My bucket is filled each time I interview these amazing leaders, hear their stories, and then get to share their stories and wisdom with others. I am doing something I love, Brian is having the time of his life, and I believe that others will also love and benefit from the product – a perfect combination.  

In a prior blog post called “It Starts with the Soil”, I talked about how we are often in preparation mode for our next assignment. As I think about how God has prepared me, Brian, and the team for this assignment, I can’t help but think about the dots that He is currently connecting. For most of my career, I have spent endless hours – and Technology Partners has spent seemingly endless resources – giving me the opportunity to create connections with other people. If it were not for those connections, we would not have a rich pipeline of thought-provoking leaders to pull from for the podcasts.  God has also been growing me in recent years in the spiritual discipline of abiding. I have a consistent quiet time every morning where I spend time with Him, in His Word, in prayer and journaling. He has been pruning and growing me where my character needs refinement. As I shared in the post, God matches our character to the assignment, not for our sakes – but for the sake of those He plans on ministering to through us. This is one of Henry Blackaby’s nuggets of wisdom that I cling to. Weekly (and sometimes daily), God will bring events, situations or challenges into my life that shine a light on areas that still need refinement.  I am grateful for His patience, mercy and grace. There are a few things God has taught me personally through this journey:

1. It is not about me, Brian or the team. It is about the people God intends to help and reach through our efforts.
2. He has had a plan along. He knows what needs to be done to get us from “here to there”.
3. As my good friend, Orv Kimbrough, says, “When you lead a life surrendered to God, He will take you where you need to go.”
4. His ways and thoughts are higher than mine. Although podcasts were not on our radar, they were on His and He knew that His plan would bring us great satisfaction and would fill our buckets. I believe that He intends to touch and even transform people’s lives with the content.
5. When God calls me to obey, I must obey as He is ordering my steps. He is the Master Dot Connector.

I’m looking forward to the launch Thursday, and I hope you are, too. For everything you need to know about the show, go to the Something Extra Podcast page.