Talk with Toby: Real Life. Real Faith.

Why now? It's the question I get asked most. After 30 years in media, why am I suddenly so passionate about sharing God's work in people's lives?

In this personal episode I share my own story for the first time. I talk about how faith slipped to the back burner in early adulthood and got replaced by self-help, "the universe," and nonstop striving. Then a 50th-birthday trip to Casablanca made me ask: where did my faith go?

I share how meeting Jesus changed things I'd spent my whole adult life trying to fix: control, anxiety, the need to know every outcome. This isn't something I achieved. It's something I received.

I also share why I'm being baptized this Thanksgiving Sunday, and close with this week's Living Word: 2 Corinthians 4:18 and 2 Corinthians 5:7: "For we live by faith, not by sight."

It's not about the outcome. It's about who walks with you.

Next week: Pastor Scott Lanigan joins me to take on the uncomfortable questions: the verses we avoid, lukewarm Christianity, and living out your faith during political unrest.

#TalkWithToby #RealLifeRealFaith #FaithJourney #MyTestimony #ChristianPodcast #WalkByFaith #LiveByFaithNotBySight #Surrender #Baptism #GraceNotWorks #JesusChangesEverything #FaithOverFear #ChristianWomen #KelownaPodcast #Okanagan

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🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

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Some stories change you forever.

Heidi McLaughlin has known extraordinary love and devastating loss. She said goodbye to her first husband, Dick, in 1994, and to her second husband, Jack, in 2016. In this deeply honest conversation, Heidi opens up about grief, regret, the "if onlys" that followed Jack’s death, and how her faith was tested, broken open and rebuilt.

Before the loss, there was a prodigal-daughter season. Heidi shares how her relationship with God changed through everything she lived, and how she now helps women find hope and what she calls "fresh joy." That means joy that doesn’t pretend the loss never happened.

If you’re walking through grief, carrying regret, or wondering where God is when life isn’t tidy, this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• Heidi’s faith beginnings and her prodigal-daughter season
• Losing Dick in 1994 and Jack in 2016
• The "if onlys": living with regret after loss
• Where God was in the grief
• Fresh joy: finding joy again without erasing the pain
• Keeping women connected to God through hard seasons
• How loss shaped Heidi’s purpose today
• The Bible verse speaking to her right now
• What she knows about God now that she couldn’t have known before

Connect with Heidi McLaughlin:
Website: www.heartconnection.ca
Facebook: facebook.com/heidi.mclaughlin.7
Instagram: @heidiheart99

Talk with Toby: Real Life Real Faith is hosted by Toby Tannas and features honest conversations about faith, life and the moments that shape us.

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🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

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What if building a successful business didn't mean compromising your faith? In this episode of Talk with Toby: Real Life. Real Faith., host Toby Tannas sits down with Alexander VandeLaar — entrepreneur, speaker, and founder of Build With God — to talk about redefining success on faith-centered terms. Alexander shares his personal story, from losing his mother as a child, to walking away from a stable career in his early twenties, to a health crisis and miscarriage that deepened his walk with God, to building a coaching practice that helps high-performing entrepreneurs and couples integrate faith into every part of their lives and work. They dig into what it really looks like to bring faith into the workplace, how to talk about God without pressure or urgency, and why business and faith aren't meant to be separated. If you've ever wondered how to pursue ambition without losing yourself, this conversation is for you.

Follow along: Subscribe on YouTube, listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts, Instagram: @talkwithtoby. Have a story to share or want to be a guest? Reach out at [email protected].

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🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

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Toby sits down with Josh Dool — lead pastor of Praxis Church in Kelowna, husband, father of five (soon six), and author of the new book Unmute — for a raw conversation about why so many Christians have gone silent about their faith, and how to change that. Josh shares his own unlikely journey from a broken childhood and a stint in the Jehovah's Witnesses, through oil rigs and roofing, to planting a church built to reach the men and skeptics the traditional church often misses. They talk honestly about fear, courage, evangelism without arrogance, and what it looks like to be outspoken about faith with both conviction and compassion in an increasingly post-Christian culture. If you've ever wanted to talk about your faith but weren't sure how, this episode is for you.

Grab Josh's new book, Unmute: The Art of Evangelism in a Post-Christian World, on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Unmute-Art-Evangelism-Post-Christian-World/dp/1527114511

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🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

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Instagram: @talkwithtoby

💬 Have a story to share or want to be a guest? 

Reach out at [email protected]

Tania Gustafson is a board-certified nutritionist and behavior specialist who has spent her career helping women rediscover their strength — not through restriction, but through renewal. From a health scare as a teenager to years spent unlearning diet culture, Tania now coaches women through her Fuel Ignite and Thrive program and hosts The Fit Woman Podcast.

In this episode, Toby sits down with Tania to talk about what it really means to care for the body God gave us in midlife. They dig into why blood sugar balance is the foundation for hormone health, how chronic inflammation acts like a "check engine light" for our bodies, and why intentional morning rest can change the whole trajectory of your day. Tania also opens up about her own faith journey and how honouring God with her health became an act of worship rather than vanity.

Whether you're navigating menopause, feeling stuck in old dieting habits, or just looking for permission to slow down and reset — this one's for you.

Topics covered:

• Moving from dieting and restriction to true nourishment
• Blood sugar balance and its role in hormone health
• GLP-1 medications, muscle loss, and long-term health
• Acute vs. chronic inflammation and the "check engine light" analogy
• Intentional morning routines and rest
• Non-scale victories and honouring God through health
• Tania's faith story and Philippians 4:13

Send us Fan Mail

🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

👇 Follow along:
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Instagram: @talkwithtoby

💬 Have a story to share or want to be a guest? 

Reach out at [email protected]

For over 20 years, Don Richmond has had a front-row seat to the lives of young athletes across the Okanagan — as a sports chaplain to hockey teams, football programs, and more. He's been there for the highest highs and the lowest lows, quietly serving players, coaches, and families one pizza-and-Orange-Crush chapel at a time.

In this episode, Toby sits down with Pastor Don to talk about what it really means to show up for people, how faith takes root in unexpected places, and why locker rooms are still some of the most honest spaces for conversations about God. Don shares the story of how it all started, what he's learned from decades of ministry with young men, and his simple but powerful life philosophy: Just Show Up.

Whether you're a parent, a coach, an athlete, or someone wondering how faith fits into everyday real life — this one's for you.

Topics covered:

- Sports chaplaincy and faith-based mentorship

- Ministry to young athletes and their families

- Identity, purpose, and pressure in competitive sports

- Why faith conversations still happen in locker rooms

- The "Just Show Up" philosophy of ministry

- Stories from the Okanagan hockey and football world

Send us Fan Mail

🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

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Instagram: @talkwithtoby

💬 Have a story to share or want to be a guest? 

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Have you ever been so busy helping everyone else that you lost yourself in the process? In this episode, Toby sits down with Lisa Redl — unfiltered, fiercely protective of her family, and refreshingly honest — for a conversation that a lot of women need to hear but rarely have.

Lisa opens up about burning out from a compulsion to help everyone, even people who never asked for it, and how that pattern quietly cost her in her most important relationships. She shares what it took to finally walk away — temporarily — to rediscover who she was outside of everyone else's needs. And now she's channeling that hard-won wisdom into a new project to help other women avoid the same trap.

Together, Toby and Lisa dig into the faith side of this too: the idea that 'no' isn't selfish — sometimes it's the most godly word you can say. They talk discernment, boundaries, and what it really means to steward your family and yourself well.

In this episode you'll hear:

- Why helping people who didn't ask can be just as draining as helping those who did

- How burnout can quietly damage your closest relationships before you even notice

- What it looks like to step back, reset, and find yourself again

- Why 'no' can be an act of faith, not selfishness

- Lisa's new project to help women recognize the signs before they hit the wall

This one is raw, real, and full of truth. If you've ever felt stretched too thin trying to hold everyone else together — this conversation is for you.

Connect with Lisa Redl and follow her new project on Facebook: Lisa Marie Redl

Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.

Send us Fan Mail

🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

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Instagram: @talkwithtoby

💬 Have a story to share or want to be a guest? 

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🎙️ Talk with Toby: Real Life. Real Faith.

In this episode, I sit down with Kristin Edstrom, counsellor, wife, mother, and a woman passionate about helping people find healing through both professional counselling and faith in Christ.

For many people, therapy and faith are viewed as separate conversations. Kristin believes they can work together, helping people navigate life’s challenges with both practical tools and spiritual guidance.

We talk about trauma, anxiety, healing, parenting, relationships, personal growth, overcoming difficult seasons, and how God often works in the middle of our hardest moments.

Whether you’re facing a crisis, working through past wounds, trying to strengthen your relationships, or simply looking to grow in your faith, this conversation offers encouragement, wisdom, and hope.

In this episode, we discuss:
 ✨ The role faith can play in the counselling process
 ✨ Healing from trauma and difficult life experiences
 ✨ Parenting through challenges and uncertainty
 ✨ Reconnecting with God during difficult seasons
 ✨ Personal growth, transformation, and emotional health
 ✨ Why asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness

If you’ve ever wondered what counselling looks like when Christ is part of the conversation, this episode is for you.

Send us Fan Mail

🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

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Pastor Storm Moore from Kelowna's Metro Community joins me for a powerful conversation about loss, grief, homelessness, addiction, outreach, and what faith looks like outside the walls of a church.

This episode is raw, emotional, honest, and deeply human.

If faith, compassion, or finding strength in life’s hardest moments interests you… this conversation is a good one.

Send us Fan Mail

🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

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Instagram: @talkwithtoby

💬 Have a story to share or want to be a guest? 

Reach out at [email protected]

For years, Jena Wiebe built her identity around hustle, achievement, independence, and success. She was outspoken, ambitious, and openly atheist; focused on building the life she thought would finally bring fulfillment.

But eventually, the constant striving stopped working.

In this deeply honest conversation, Jena shares what led her away from a life centered on money, status, and self reliance…and down a path of faith, peace, femininity, and a relationship with God she never expected to have.
We talk about ambition, identity, burnout, modern culture, personal transformation, and what happens when your priorities and your heart begin to change.

If you’ve ever felt exhausted by the pressure to constantly achieve, prove yourself, or chase more… this conversation might really speak to you.

Send us Fan Mail

🎙️ Talk with Toby — Real Life. Real Faith.
New episodes drop Tuesdays.

👇 Follow along:
Subscribe on YouTube
Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

Instagram: @talkwithtoby

💬 Have a story to share or want to be a guest? 

Reach out at [email protected]