The Grandpa Channel: The Stories That Connect Us All

Some people leave behind stories.

Others leave behind ways of doing things

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In this episode of The Grandpa Channel, we’re sharing the voice of Daryl Hoole—author of The Art of Homemaking and someone known for the way she ran a home with intention, order, and consistency.

But this isn’t a lesson on organization.

It’s a glimpse into how she thought.

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Through a series of simple, repeated phrases, you begin to hear something deeper:

A belief in preparation

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“Put the house to bed before you go to bed.”

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These aren’t just tips.

They’re reflections of a life lived with attention.

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Daryl didn’t just teach these ideas.

And over time, they became part of the way her family—and many others—moved through their own lives.

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If you listen closely, this episode isn’t really about keeping a home.

It’s about how someone chose to show up in the small things… every single day.

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What a life reveals… can steady another.

Daryl Hoole is best known for her book, The Art of Homemaking. Her most recent book (she wrote 9 total!) is entitled, The Art of Aging Joyfully. She wrote this book at the age of 90. 

Some lives don’t unfold the way they were supposed to.

Not because something went wrong

In this conversation, Bob Farewell reflects on the moments that shaped him over time

This is a story about addiction and recovery

But more than that, it’s about what happens after.

When life doesn’t return to normal

Bob shares:

– why most people’s stories go unheard

This conversation doesn’t rush.

It moves through the parts most people try to skip

If you’ve ever wondered what stays with someone over a lifetime

Most people carry a quiet belief:

If I work hard enough, plan carefully enough, and make the right decisions…

But life has a way of interrupting that.

In this conversation, Jeff Taylor reflects on what it looked like to:

This episode moves through the tension between:

Jeff shares how some of the hardest seasons of his life became the very foundation he would draw from for decades - even when they felt like mistakes at the time.

The conversation also explores:

There’s no formula here.

Just a life that, over time, revealed something most people don’t realize until later:

You were never really in control…

There are moments that don’t look like much from the outside.

Two feet.

And then everything changes.

Rebecca Critchfield was a full-time skydiver for over a decade, with more than 7,000 jumps. One unexpected moment in the air resulted in a spinal cord injury that completely altered her life.

In this conversation, she shares what it actually looks like to rebuild — not just physically, but emotionally and relationally.

We talk about:

There’s no performance here.

If something in this episode lands, pass it along to someone who might need it.

What do you do when life doesn’t go the way you expected?

In this conversation, Bob Cupitt reflects on the “sliding door” moments that shaped his life — from choosing his own path early on, to leaving teaching, building a global career, parenting through challenge, and learning that the journey matters more than the outcome.

He talks about what it means to tell people what they need to hear, why respect matters more than being liked, and how some of life’s most meaningful lessons come through parenting, mentoring, and simply paying attention to people.

This episode is about:

making unpopular but necessary decisions

learning to focus on the process, not just the result

supporting children without trying to control their path

embracing who people are, especially when life gets complicated

remembering that people buy from people — and connection still matters most

A grounded conversation about character, growth, and the relationships that shape a life.

What happens when you spend your early life avoiding hard things… and then life drops you into the deep end?

In this Confessions from Rivers episode, Steve shares a story from his early days as a young missionary in Finland—cold, homesick, and completely out of his depth. Hoping to survive the brutal winter (and maybe look a little more impressive in the process), he sets out to buy a Russian fur hat.

There’s just one problem.

It doesn’t fit.

What follows is a moment equal parts humbling and hilarious—complete with language barriers, blunt sales clerks, and a realization that sticks.

Beneath the humor is something deeper:

what happens when life forces you to do hard things

how we respond when we’re uncomfortable, exposed, or out of place

and why, sometimes, the only thing left to do… is laugh

This is a story about resilience, humility, and learning to take yourself a little less seriously.

🎙️ Confessions from Rivers — short reflections and stories from a life well lived.

👉 Listen in and ask yourself:

A mentor once looked at Bob Hansen and said something he never forgot:

“I thought you were better than that.”

Bob was 20 years old.

The moment stung.

Bob went on to spend 40 years as a television consumer advocate known to many in Southern California as Consumer Bob, helping everyday people stand up to unfair business practices.

But the wisdom he shares in this conversation didn’t come from television.

It came from mistakes.

One lesson he still believes today?

There are two things you need in life:

• The harsh critique that shaped Bob’s work ethic

The Grandpa Channel is a storytelling project dedicated to capturing the wisdom life teaches the hard way.

Each episode explores the moments that shape us — failure, forgiveness, faith, endurance, humor, and perspective earned over time.

Our goal is simple:

Because what a lifetime reveals can steady another.

Explore more stories or share your own at:

If this story steadied you, consider sharing it with someone who might need it today.

At the world’s largest family history conference, RootsTech, we set up a small recording space and invited people to answer a simple but powerful question:

What did life teach you the hard way?

Three people stopped, sat down, and shared reflections from their lives.

Angie Shumway shares how a devastating health crisis and a memory from her military service taught her the importance of taking the next step, even when the road feels impossible.

Jeff Spencer reflects on growing up in poverty, learning resilience, and discovering that humility may be one of life’s greatest superpowers.

Sharon Faith Welch shares a lesson about family, loss, and living intentionally so that we don’t carry regret for the moments we didn’t take.

These are just a few of the voices we encountered on the RootsTech floor—reminders that wisdom often comes from the hardest experiences.

• Angie Shumway — Just take the next step

What did life teach you the hard way?

You can record a short reflection for the Grandpa Channel archive here:

Record Here

Website

Because what a lifetime reveals can steady another.

In this episode of The Grandpa Channel, Rivers sits down with longtime family friend Tanya Martin — grandmother, former company president, watercolor beginner, and lifelong learner.

Tanya shares what life taught her the hard way:

“You made the best decision you could with what you knew.”

Don’t ever back anyone into a corner — always give them a way out.

Forgiveness is a choice.

Be careful what you say about others — speak as if they could overhear.

When life throws a wake at you, go slow and steady.

From navigating divorce to leading 4,000 employees in human resources, Tanya learned how to handle conflict by asking better questions instead of reacting quickly.

She opens up about colon cancer and chemotherapy, and how she survived it by focusing only on the next step — not the entire mountain.

She shares moments of humor and humility:

A sourdough cake disaster that turned into a lesson.

Shoulder pads gone rogue.

A staff meeting mishap she simply kept moving through.

But at the heart of this episode is something deeper:

Grace loosens the machinery of family life.

If you’ve ever faced conflict, disappointment, illness, or just life’s unexpected wake, this episode is a reminder:

You don’t have to eat the elephant all at once.

Because what a lifetime reveals can steady another.

The summer of 1972.

In this solo episode, Steve tells the story of the night he unknowingly destroyed the family car — and the way his father responded.

No yelling.

Just forgiveness.

Through that moment, Steve began to understand something deeper about the nature of God — gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.

In this episode:

The story of the “thrown rods” and broken speedometer

A father who modeled quiet restraint

What it means to forgive quickly — and forget

How we all “throw rods” in our own lives

Why repentance and mercy matter

The kind of God people see through us

We all hope for a Father — earthly and Heavenly — who won’t blow sky high when we mess up.

Pull up a chair.