It’s the most wonderful time of the year…mostly.

In our faith, we’re preparing our hearts for Christ’s birth. In our lives, though, some of us are struggling with a holiday season that doesn’t look quite the way we planned or hoped. We sat down with Stephanie Weathers (you guys might remember her as Stephanie Selman, or the friend who popped up on our last Live!) and talked about life and holidays after loss. She’s a silver lining girl, and we’re amazed by her resiliency and how she’s working to pass the same quality on to her kids. You’re going to love Stephanie—and we think you’ll be seeing her again. We have so many things to talk about!

Normal Bias Podcast listeners. My name is Brenda Lynn Parks and I am a self-confessed FAN GIRL. Yes. I am a fan of many people, places, and things, y’all. Yup. Hi. So, it should come as no surprise to you when I say that 3 years ago during an excursion my boys and I took during a vacation is when I met our next guest and became an instant fan of his. Dennis William was our tour guide at Selvatica in Cancun, Mexico. We spent 3 hours with Dennis as we zip lined with our group. As soon as he walked up and talked to us I was a fan. I was not the only one—my boys became immediate fans as well. Yup.

In those 3 hours, I could tell that Dennis enjoyed life to the fullest. He was doing something he loved and he was loving what he was doing. This American living in Mexico has an energy that is so infectious. He made us laugh, too. A lot. He is just fun, y’all! Yup.

And so before we left Selvatica, we posed for a picture with our new friend and we made our new friendship Facebook official as well. Yup. And so, to sit and have this amazing conversation with Dennis after meeting him only once for 3 hours over 3 years ago was the most fun!! I know that you will leave loving this amazing soul that I connected with and you too will be a fan!! Dennis William, everyone.

Hey, Normal Biasers. Happy Friday!! It’s Brenda. On today’s episode, I’d like to introduce you to my very sweet petite yet full of life personality… y’all my friend and head cheerleader of Team Brenda, Kathryn Kertz. We met years ago, when she began dating her now husband and one of my dearest friends, John. Kathryn and I had an immediate connection. She is one of those light up a room kinda people. Her smile is megawatt and her laughter infectious. She says exactly what she is thinking and feeling. I love her with all of my heart. She is one of the few people that I am actually taller than but, don’t let her stature fool you. Kathryn has big things about her. She is smart, creative, funny, loving, caring, kind, and generous!! She is all the things. 

For real though, Kathryn, is an amazing friend, y’all. She will call you and check up on you when she hasn’t heard from you in a while. She supports me. She encourages me. She inspires me. Thanks, Kat.

It was great to sit and talk and even get to know her better than before. We talked about something that I don’t think we talk about enough. Infertility. She shared her journey with infertility and the lengths she and John took to become parents. Infertility is a dark and lonely place. She let us in on all of the ups and downs that they endured. If you are someone or if you know someone who has been there then you know the pain it can cause. Kathryn, wants to help you through it. 

Our conversation ended on a fun note. Kathryn shared some of her secrets to catching the man of your dreams. Lol! It worked for her. She and Kristi are now on a mission to help me find my next. Stay tuned for that! But, don’t wait to hear or watch this episode. Listen now and get to know this awesome dancing queen!!!

This week we sat down with Jolie Gray to talk about rest...and we learned that one of the keys to rest is good habits. This sounds like a conversation we need to continue--we could talk to Jolie for dayyyyyyyyyysssss!

Hey, y’all. This week Brenda and Kristi are talking about change. No, not the coins we use for currency that there is a shortage of right now. No. We are talking about change that occurs in our daily lives. There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of that kind for sure. For example, last week, Kristi her family found themselves unexpectedly moving furniture in their home to accommodate a new desk they purchased for her son. Before it was all said and done the Pharaon’s living space had completed changed. They even eliminated some major pieces of furniture. Brenda also made some changes last week to her bedroom. These are good changes. Changes we can control.

There is change that we can’t control, like when Covid hit, like the outcome of an election, or the weather or like the time Peter Brady’s voice changed right in the middle of a song they were recording. The time for change happened at the worst time for Peter. Lol. We touched on several ways that change is affecting our lives in this episode. Y’all, change is inevitable. Everyday something changes. Do you welcome change or do you appreciate the status quo? We wanna know.

Happy birthday, Brenda!

And Stephanie, and Kevin, and Patricia and a few other awesome friends!

November 2nd birthdays are just one of the many things these guys have in common. We hope you enjoy celebrating with us!

Today’s guest is very special indeed…she’s Kristi’s forever friend, Lynn Turpin. Lynn is the friend who taught Kristi how to BE a friend, and Brenda enjoyed learning about Kristi’s college years. Tune in to learn what it is about Lynn that makes her such a great friend, and how she’s impacted who Kristi is today. Thanks for sitting down with us, Lynn!

This month's Facebook Live episode was so SWEET! Literally...Brenda's still feeling a little green from all of the candy corn she ate. For art, of course. Thanks to everyone who tuned in and participated!

This might hold the record for the shortest guest episode, yet! Not because there's not a TON of great things to say about our guest, but because it was a bit of a weird day when we recorded. Brenda was stuck in traffic, so Kristi ended up taking the mic on this one and talking to one of her favorite friends, Mandy Wright. Mandy and Kristi taught together a million years ago, and life has conspired to keep them close. They've grown together as women, wives, mothers and professionals, and Kristi gets more than a bit sentimental when she reflects on how Mandy has been there through it all. Our prayer for all of you is that you have a friend like Mandy in your lives...and if you don't, we highly recommend Mandy.

Happy Wednesday! Today's the day we talk about something that makes us glad, and today's topic is maybe a little counterintuitive for some of y'all. Bob Goff (he's the BEST!) is famous for many things. One of his quirkier habits is quitting something every Thursday. We use that as a jumping off point to talk about things we can release or quit to decrease stress or increase joy.

So...what will YOU quit tomorrow?!