Grace, Grit & Hope

Marlana VanHoose: Never Give Up

After Marlana VanHoose sang the national anthem at a University of Kentucky women's basketball game when she was 16 years old, she has shared her powerful voice — and her Christian faith — around the world. Her gift was evident early while she grew up in the Denver community near Paintsville, KY. She hummed hymns before she could talk and played piano at age 2. Since that day when she sang at the UK game in 2012, Marlana has sung at Carnegie Hall, a wide variety of sporting events and for President Trump at the National Day of Prayer. Despite being born blind and dealing with physical challenges, Marlana focuses on the positive and constantly encourages others to never give up. Don't miss this episode where Marlana talks about her life and closes the interview with a powerful rendition of "Amazing Grace."

Don't miss this special episode on "The Power of Goals" from professional body builder Josh Miller. In this one-hour podcast recorded Dec. 21 at College Park Gym in Winchester, KY, Josh explains how goals give us purpose, energy, joy, passion, creativity, commitment and direction. Amazingly, though, research shows that most people have no goals. This seminar is based on Josh's 20 years of training people. He explains the powerful steps that anyone can practice to open doors to success and become the captain of your life. Best of all, you can apply the steps outlined not just to fitness, but to any area of life. This seminar will help you stick to resolutions and make 2025 your best year ever.

Sunny Yang came to the U.S. from China, and eventually fell in love with rock climbing and moved to Kentucky's Red River Gorge. Then in 2015, a tragedy happened when a truck driver, who was texting, hit him while he was running. Doctors said he would be paralyzed for life. He wanted to die, but the love for his wife Jing Yang, and their love of their two children — daughter Sunny and son Johnathan — made him determined to live and do his best in everything. He has defied all medical expectations by winning gold medals in the U.S. Para Climbing Nationals and has been featured in TV stories, articles and in an incredible documentary called "Crux." Life, he says, is like rock climbing with obstacles that must be overcome. Don't miss Sunny's incredible story of always moving forward and up in life.

From his youth growing up the son of a coal miner to today, Kentucky and Tennessee National Gym Association Chairman, Josh Miller, has set goals and enjoyed the process of who he becomes as he trains. Miller married his high school sweetheart Melissa in 2000 and today owns Transformation Personal Training in Lexington, Ky. He achieved one of his many dreams when he started the first natural bodybuilding show in Kentucky in 2013. A year later, Miller got his Natural Pro Card, and two years later won his Body Building Pro Card. Today, Miller puts on the Bluegrass Body Building Championships each spring and fall. Don't miss this fascinating interview where Josh explains how journaling changed his life and how you too can change negative thinking and reach for the stars.

Over the last few years, Eddie Flinchum, 74, has lost track how many people have told him he's doing too much exercise and needs to remember his age. He usually smiles and says, "No, you need to be doing more and quit using age as a reason not to do something." Don't miss his incredible story of losing weight and eventually — with persistence — being able to run Spartan races with his son Forrest, complete with rope climbs, monkey bars, wall climbs and carrying 60-pound sandbags. You'll be uplifted to hear his current mission: encouraging others to start their own fitness journey on the road to better health and joy.

Over the past year, ten amazing people have shared unique and precious stories. On this episode, the hosts share what each participant has taught them, and they encourage listeners to write down takeaways from their own lives. Our guests found new life after losing a spouse, overcame paralyzing fear, got a college degree despite setbacks, and survived a life-threatening injury. One guest hiked the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail alone, one started a successful business after her divorce and another persisted and found her uncle's sunken ship from World War II. You'll enjoy hearing what each has taught us, and we hope you'll write the takeaways from your unique life journey.

Musician Bryan Klausing has seen it all over nearly two decades as a producer of the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, a live show featuring famous musicians and now reaching 2 million people each week. Because things can and do go wrong during live performances, Bryan has an unbelievable calm that helps the WoodSongs team manage problems and exceed expectations when the show must go on. He is also an incredible mentor as the Digital Studio Supervisor at the Northside Branch of the Lexington Public Library. Don't miss this interview where he explains how setbacks are opportunities to grow. You'll also hear Bryan play his songs Black Locust Winter on the dulcimer, Move Your Shadow performed by his band The Rainjunkies, and he sings and plays Shenandoah on guitar as an ending bonus track.

Paschal Baute - author of 40 books about gratitude, resilience, and wellness - is celebrating 95 years of life today by calling for support of the Blinded Veterans Association. Paschal's campaign will give back to the organization that has helped him so much. He's offering a signed book to anyone who donates to BVA. To donate, go to https://bit.ly/BVADonate. His books are available in audio form and can be found on Amazon Books and Barnes & Noble. Let him know which book you would like by emailing him at [email protected]. His new book, co-authored by Leslie Moise, is "The Power of Learning Through Stories" and will be out soon. In this episode, he also explains how the human brain works and how to avoid family drama by understanding its function. Don't miss this short but powerful 95th birthday show!

For 26 years, Tammi Johnson talked to people all over the world to find the U.S.S. Strong, which lost 46 sailors in 1943 (including her great Uncle Billy Hedrick) after being hit by a Japanese torpedo. Fired11 nautical miles away, it was the longest-range torpedo kill in history. Survivors floated for days and some were marooned on nearby Arundel Island. Tammi's quest to find the ship led her to David Mearns of Blue Water Recoveries, Remotely Operated Vehicle Pilot Paul Mayer, Paul Allen who co-founded Microsoft, along with historians, authors and many others who shared information. Through years of following leads, taking research trips and ships conducting grid-pattern searches, they found the Strong on Feb. 6, 2019. As this show goes live, Tammi is flying to the South Pacific World War II Museum with a plaque for the museum honoring the Strong's crew members. Don't miss Tammi's amazing story of never giving up.

Former monk and retired psychologist Paschal Baute has found grace around every corner of his incredible life. As a boy, he ran away by climbing on a train, graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute and enrolled in Notre Dame. When he joined the military, the Army sent him 7,000 miles away to Guam. After that, God took over his life, prompting him to become a Benedictine monk, to be ordained a Catholic priest and to serve as a Navy chaplain during the summers. Eventually, he left the monastery, got married, had three children and spent 40 years ministering as a psychologist. In 2018, he received his greatest honor: induction into the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame for outstanding military and community service. Don't miss his profound insights from 70,000 hours listening to people's problems, his secrets of aging well and his unbelievable story about the power of grace.