The Speakeasy

Erin and I are talking about the hardest question: what do you do when God asks you to lay down something you worked hard to build? We're both walking through seasons of transition, so this is less "here's how to do it" and more "me too."

Erin spent over a decade building businesses and finding success as an entrepreneur before God asked her to step back to homeschool her family. We get honest about the hardest part: identity. When you've spent years becoming known for something, suddenly losing it feels like losing yourself. The questions start: Who am I without this? What if I'm giving up too much?

Sometimes what feels like losing everything you've built is actually God making room for what He's going to build next. You can be scared and still obey. You can ask God what He's doing and still end with, "I will trust You."

Follow her on IG @erinmeinel

Visit her website at https://erinmeinel.com/

CrowdHealth

CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance. Members receive access to resources including bill negotiators, lower-cost prescriptions, vetted doctor lists, and healthcare support.

Get started for $99 for your first three months using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.

CrowdHealth is not insurance.

#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #ErinMeinel #ChristianPodcast #ChristianWomen #Faith #TrustGod #Obedience #Surrender #Calling #ChristianLiving #HomeschoolMom #Motherhood #LifeTransitions #CrowdHealth

Content Advisory: This episode contains a respectful but direct conversation about pornography, sexual content, and protecting children from exposure. Parents may want to listen with headphones when little ears are nearby.

In this episode, Kristen A. Jensen, founder of Defend Young Minds, and I talk about something every parent needs to consider: preparing our kids for pornography exposure.

I was scared talking about pornography would take away my daughters' innocence. But Kristen helped me rethink the goal entirely: innocence isn't the ultimate goal, preparation is. Our kids need to recognize harmful content, understand why it can hurt them, know what to do when they encounter it, and most importantly, know they can come to us without shame.

You can't bubble-wrap your children from everything. But you can prepare them. You can give them language. You can give them a plan. And you can make sure when the world tells them about pornography, it isn't the first voice they've heard.

Resources

Learn more about Kristen's work, Good Pictures Bad Pictures, the new guide for girls, and free resources for parents at DefendYoungMinds.com/Books.

Connect with Kristen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DefendYM/

Instagram: @defendyoungminds

X: @defendYM

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/defend-young-minds

CrowdHealth

CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance. Members receive access to resources including bill negotiators, lower-cost prescriptions and testing, vetted doctor lists, and healthcare support.

Get started for $99 for your first three months using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.

CrowdHealth is not insurance.

#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #KristenAJenson #DefendYoungMinds #GoodPicturesBadPictures #Parenting #ChristianParenting #ParentingGirls #OnlineSafety #DigitalSafety #ProtectingKids #Motherhood #CrowdHealth

Jennifer Pepito is back on the podcast talking about the hard stuff: homeschooling can be beautiful and really hard at the same time. She has thirty years of wisdom and helped me work through the questions we all quietly ask—are my kids learning enough? When is it okay to just put the curriculum down?

Here's what Jennifer keeps reminding me: the curriculum serves your family, not the other way around. Sometimes the best thing you can do is close the books and come back tomorrow. The goal isn't measuring success by grade levels, it's asking who you're trying to help these children become.

You aren't going to make or break your children with one hard day. Even the hard seasons are opportunities to depend on the Lord and love your families well.

Learn more about The Inspired Homeschool at InspiredHomeschoolBook.com.

Find Jennifer's homeschool curriculum, resources, and free homeschooling guide at ThePeacefulPress.com.

CrowdHealth

CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance that gives members access to bill negotiators, lower-cost prescriptions and testing, and a dedicated care advocate.

Get started for $99 for your first three months using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.

CrowdHealth is not insurance.

Live Action Network

Live Action works to reach women facing unexpected pregnancies with life-affirming truth, resources, and hope at the moment they are searching for answers.

To support their work, text BLAKE to 70723 or visit LiveAction.org/donate/Blake.

#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #JenniferPepito #Homeschool #Homeschooling #HomeschoolMom #ChristianHomeschool #ChristianParenting #ThePeacefulPress #TheInspiredHomeschool #Motherhood #Faith #CrowdHealth #LiveAction

James Finke is back on the podcast to talk about apologetics and why Christians should be ready to explain what we believe and why we believe it. He's passionate about making this accessible to regular people like us, and we dig into the historical evidence for Jesus, his resurrection, and the early church. But this isn't about winning arguments, it's about being prepared when someone you love starts asking questions.

James shares a story that changed him: an acquaintance died unexpectedly after they'd talked casually about Jesus. It left him asking, what if our silence costs someone the chance to hear the Gospel? That hit me hard. If we truly believe Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, shouldn't we be willing to have those hard conversations with the people we love? Sometimes you're not meant to bring someone all the way in one conversation. Sometimes you're just supposed to be a rock in their shoe, leaving them with a question they can't shake.

Learn what you believe. Understand why you believe it. Love people enough to have difficult conversations. And trust God with what happens after you plant the seed.

Learn more about James Finke, his books, and his work at AuthorJamesFinke.com.

James also created a Christian Author's Toolkit with resources for anyone interested in writing and independently publishing Christian books. Visit AuthorJamesFinke.com/Blake.

Live Action Network

Live Action works to reach women facing unexpected pregnancies with life-affirming information, resources, and hope when they need it most.

To support their work, text BLAKE to 70723 or visit LiveAction.org/donate/Blake.

CrowdHealth

CrowdHealth provides a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance, including access to bill negotiation, lower-cost prescriptions, and healthcare resources.

Get your first three months for $99 using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.

CrowdHealth is not health insurance.

#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #JamesFinke #ChristianApologetics #Apologetics #ChristianPodcast #Faith #Jesus #TheGospel #Christianity #Bible #SharingYourFaith #GreatCommission #CrowdHealth #LiveAction

In this solo episode, I'm reflecting on what happens when we finally begin to heal. What if joy, playfulness, and whimsy aren't distractions from a serious life with Jesus, but actually evidence that we're getting better? Over the past year, God has been teaching me to slow down and rediscover the enjoyment of life. I spent years understanding the Christian life through suffering and perseverance, but He's showing me another truth: He created us to experience joy too.

This past year has required dismantling identities I built and allowing God to tear down what I could never dismantle myself. Healing can feel violent. But somewhere in the cracks, I began noticing flowers. A candle while I work. Tea on a rainy afternoon. Being present enough to actually recognize a beautiful moment while it's happening. Learning to rest was ultimately learning to trust, and I'm discovering that whimsy doesn't mean ignoring suffering, it means noticing God's goodness while you're still walking through the hard things.

Sometimes the flowers grow right through the cracks.

CrowdHealth

CrowdHealth offers a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance. Members receive access to resources including bill negotiation, lower-cost prescriptions, and vetted doctor lists. When larger healthcare expenses arise, members contribute through the CrowdHealth community.

Get your first three months for $99 using code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.

CrowdHealth is not health insurance.

#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #BlakeGuichet #Whimsy #ChristianLiving #ChristianPodcast #Healing #BiblicalJoy #Rest #Faith #RootedHope #TrustGod #CrowdHealth

What if one of the most powerful things you could do for your marriage is also one of the simplest, and most overlooked?

In this episode of The Speakeasy Podcast, I sit down with Brad and Heidi Mitchell of Build Your Marriage for an honest, practical conversation about praying together as a married couple and why this simple spiritual rhythm can have such a profound impact on a relationship.

Brad and Heidi have been married for more than four decades, but their story hasn't been without difficult seasons. They share how they met as teenagers, navigated the rocky early years of marriage, and eventually faced one of the deepest betrayals a marriage can experience: infidelity.

Their story is ultimately one of forgiveness, reconciliation, and God's ability to restore what feels completely broken.

CrowdHealth

CrowdHealth offers a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance. Members receive access to resources including bill negotiation, lower-cost prescriptions and testing, and doctor recommendations. When larger healthcare expenses arise, members contribute through the CrowdHealth community.

Get your first three months for $99 with code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com.

CrowdHealth is not health insurance.

#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #BuildYourMarriage #ChristianMarriage #Marriage #Prayer #PrayingTogether #ChristianPodcast #MarriageAdvice #Faith #Jesus #BradAndHeidiMitchell #CrowdHealth

What happens when you've achieved everything the world says should make you happy, and you're still empty?

In this episode of The Speakeasy Podcast, I sit down with baseball legend and ordained minister, Darryl Strawberry, for a powerful conversation about surrender, grace, obedience, and the transformation that happens when Jesus becomes Lord over every part of your life. Darryl is a four-time World Series champion and eight-time All-Star, but today, he says the most important part of his story isn't what happened on the baseball field. It's what happened when a man who seemingly had everything finally surrendered his heart to Jesus.

Live Action reaches women facing unexpected pregnancies with life-affirming truth, resources, and hope. You can help support their work by texting BLAKE to 70723 or visiting LiveAction.org/donate/Blake.

CrowdHealth offers a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance. Members receive access to bill negotiation, lower-cost prescriptions and testing, vetted doctors, and community support for larger healthcare expenses. Get your first three months for $99 with code SPEAKEASY at JoinCrowdHealth.com. CrowdHealth is not health insurance.

If you're feeling stressed, exhausted, and disconnected, it might not be because life is too busy—it might be because your priorities are out of order.

In this solo episode, I share a deeply personal lesson God has been teaching me over the past year: there is a biblical order to where our time, energy, attention, and devotion belong. After a season where work and ministry had climbed to the top of my priorities, God gave me a vision showing just how disordered my life had become. Then the board changed, revealing a simple order that would begin reshaping everything: God. Spouse. Children. Community. Ministry.

I walk through each of these five areas and share what I'm learning about putting them back in their proper place, not through perfection or another checklist, but through surrender and obedience.

Episodes Mentioned:

• Ep. 407 - Navigating Change: How God's Shifted My Entire Life
• Ep. 411 - Where Do I Start? (Bible Reading, Journaling, & Staying Rooted)

Bible Verses:

• Matthew 22:37 — Love the Lord your God with everything you have — the first and greatest commandment
• Psalm 27:4 — One thing sought above all else — dwelling with God
• Genesis 2:24 — The covenant of marriage — two becoming one
• Proverbs 31:11-12 — The wife who brings her husband good all the days of her life
• Psalm 127:3 — Children as heritage and gift, not achievement or identity
• Deuteronomy 6:6-7 — Faith impressed on children through the ordinary moments of life
• Hebrews 10:24-25 — The call to genuine, embodied community
• Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 — Two are better than one — the value of real relationship
• Mark 8:36 — The cost of gaining the world while neglecting what matters
• Matthew 6:33 — Seek first the kingdom — the right order always starts with Him

## Sponsors **CrowdHealth** CrowdHealth offers a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance, giving members access to bill negotiation, lower-cost prescriptions and testing, vetted doctors, and support when larger medical expenses arise. Get started for $99 for your first three months at

**JoinCrowdHealth.com** using code **SPEAKEASY**. CrowdHealth is not health insurance.

**Live Action** Live Action works to reach women considering abortion with life-affirming information, support, and hope before a decision is made. Your support can help put resources in front of women searching for answers when they need them most. Text **BLAKE** to **70723** or visit **LiveAction.org/donate/Blake** to support their work.

How do we raise kids who actually want to come to us with the hard questions?

In this episode of The Speakeasy Podcast, I sat down with Kate Henderson, co-founder of Gather Moms, to talk about intentional motherhood and navigating conversations our parents never had to have. Our children are constantly receiving messages from everywhere, so if we want to shape their worldview, we have to start meaningful conversations first.

Kate and I discuss practical ways to make those conversations feel natural, and why asking questions is often better than giving answers. We also tackle gender and sexuality, and the complicated world of screens and social media.

What matters most is creating a home where questions are safe and your children know they can come back to you. You don't need to have every answer, you just need to keep showing up and pointing them toward Jesus.

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CrowdHealth

CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance, helping members navigate healthcare expenses with transparent pricing, bill negotiation support, and personalized care advocates. Learn more at JoinCrowdHealth.com and use promo code SPEAKEASY.

#TheSpeakeasyPodcast #KateHenderson #GatherMoms #ChristianParenting #IntentionalParenting #Motherhood #FaithAndFamily #JustThrive #CrowdHealth

I sat down with Susan Peters, CEO of Unbound Now, to discuss the myths that keep people from recognizing trafficking and how we can respond when something doesn't seem right. Susan explains that trafficking rarely looks like movies portray it. Instead, victims are often groomed over time through manipulation and relationships with people they already know.

Susan and I discuss how parents, teachers, coaches, and community members can recognize warning signs and what to do when something doesn't seem right. We also talk about the hope found in restoration and how survivors can heal with compassionate support.

Whether you're a parent, educator, or someone who wants to make a difference, this conversation equips you with practical knowledge and encourages you to become a safe, attentive presence in your community.

Sponsor: CrowdHealth

CrowdHealth is a community-powered alternative to traditional health insurance that helps members navigate medical expenses with transparent pricing, bill negotiation, and personalized support. Visit JoinCrowdHealth.com and use promo code SPEAKEASY to receive your introductory offer.

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