Wildly Hopeful with Brandy Dawson

When life feels like it is "too much"- too good, too heavy, too fast - Jesus meets us in the both/and, even in the ache that lingers underneath.

In this tender and timely episode of eighth & GRACE, Brandy Dawson leans into the real and raw tensio of carrying both joy and grief and the ache that lives between them.

You'll hear:

Why new seasons (kid's first days of school, gradations, college drop -offs, empty nesting) often stir hidden grief

The ache underneath milestones- loss, longing, infertility, singleness, shifting friendships, stretched marriages

What women are most hungry for right now: sacred rest, friendship in transition, body + soul belonging, trusting God with unfinished stories.

A prophetic reminder: you don't have to choose. Joy and grief can occupy the same hill. Sorrow and celebration care share the same garden.

Take a deep breath as she offers a breath prayer and gentle permission to be fully human: overwhelmed, but in the best way.

Connect with Brandy to collaborate for a podcast episode or to invite her to speak at your coference or gathering: [email protected]

Follow along on Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandyadawson

Join the wildy hopeful + expectant community on Substack: Brandy A. Dawson - Musings of Grace

website + blog: www.brandyadawson.com

Back -to-school is in full swing, and Brandy shares a voice memo style catch-up: a bittersweet Tennessee "home -home" trip, a new seminary semester (hello, Apostle Paul), conference worship, Emmy turning 24, and prepping for Dan the Man's 50th (yes... Em spilled the tea!) Plus: fake fall pumpkin everything.

Then Brandy turns holy gossip girl, (is that even a thing?) don't worry it's just gossip about what is rumored to be on trend for fall 2025. She is delivering what's coming down the runway so you don't have to scroll: listen in to hear the color pallete -brown as the foundational neutral- saturated accents of eggplant, burnt orange, fern, and cobalt/ with snakeskin footwear, hobo belted totes, doctor and vanity bags and her most favorite update: cozy hair colors like cider- lights, chestnut brunette, smoky espresso, and maple-syrup brown - with swinging bobs and shaggy layers in the mix.

If you're building new rhythms and craving a gentle nudge, this episode is a reminder that progress is made in small, surrenderd steps and that God is with you in every one.

Connect with Brandy to collaborate on podcast episodes or to have her speak at your next conference or event: [email protected]

Website + Blog updates: https://www.brandyadawson.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandyadawson

Substack: https://substack.com/@brandydawson25?utm_source=user-menu

Update*** If you're hearing double on this episode, scroll up to download and click to remove download and then re-download this episode.

What happens when you sit down with your adult children, press record, and ask them about life- unscripted, unedited, snd unfiltered.

Three kids. Three different seasons. One honest conversation about growing up and raising kids in today's world.

In this powerful and personal episode of eighth & GRACE, Brandy sits down with her three children- Kora(25), Emma(24), Ayden(18)- to talk about what it's like finding your place in today's world.

Kora is an MRI tech and mom of two, balancing long shifts with the demands of raising a 7-year-old and toddler. Emma is a stay-at-home mom of three and a full-time online college student. Ayden, the youngest, just graduated high school and is navigating life as an extrovert stepping into adulthood.

We talked about motherhood, body image, friendships, anxiety, and faith in the middle of an overwhelming world. Their answers aren't polished or perfect- they're real. And I think you'll hear pieces of your own story tucked inside theirs.

A family conversation that resonates across generations, reminding us that grace covers us in the middle of life, right where we are.

Connect with Brandy for podcast collaboration or for speaking engagments: [email protected]

Website, Blog, + Newsletter: https://www.brandyadawson.com

Subscribe to Brandy A Dawson Substack - Musings of Grace: https://substack.com/@brandydawson25?utm_source=user-menu

Social Media: https://instagram.com/brandyadawson

From Nashville Tennessee to the red dirt roads of Uganda, discover how HEAL Minisitres preserve families, restores dignity, and births a movement of hope- where restoration takes root.

In this episode of eighth & GRACE, host Brandy Dawson sits down with Lauren Johnson (Choose Joy, Give Grace/ Choose Joy Nursing, board member of HEAL Ministires) and Rebekah Etyang ( Executive Director of HEAL Ministries, Uganda) to share the powerful story of The James Place in Jinja, Uganda.

HEAL Minisitries is a Christ-centered nonprofit preserving families and empowering abandoned women and children through childcare, Bible Studies, artisan and business training, and Farming God's Way.

Lauren shares her firsthand experience walking through the red clay soil of Uganda- meetng the women, hearing children's laughter, and witnessing transformation at the James Place. Then, hear as Rebekah shares her journey from Nashville to Uganda, the ministry's milestone aquiring 4 acres for permanent home, and the stories of hope that keep her anchored in vision and faith.

You'll hear:

• How HEAL Ministires focuses on restoration over rescue
• Why preserving families transforms entire communities
• How faith shapes Leadership in Uganda's unique cultural context
• The vision for HEAL's next chapeter and how you can be a part of it

If you're passionate about global missions, womens empowerment, faith-driven leadership, or community development, this episode will stir your heart and leave you believing again in the power of home, hope, and the heart of God.

Connect with HEAL on Instagram @healministries

HEAL's website: heal-ministries.org

Connect with Brandy for podcast collaborations or to have her speak at your conference or gathering: [email protected] or website: https://www.brandyadawson.com

Instagram:https://instagram.com/brandyadawson

Substack: https://substack.com/@brandydawson25?utm_source=user-menu

What About This? Five days in Tennessee, back to my roots and remembering how much I love a small town life!

This fun trip started in Nashville with a heart stirring conversation for Heal Minisitries- a Chrisitan missions ministry in Uganda that's changing lives by living out the gospel message. Then it was on to Franklin for their benefit gala, where I left praying that someone listening to this chat might also find their "yes" to missions without ever walking the red dirt roads.

And there are several reccomendations from the square in Lebanon that includes a rooftop, an acai bowl, and a grown up grilled cheese to a smash burger in Watertown. A nostalgic trip to the Wilson County State Fair ( including more food recs:) poolside therapy at my parent's house where God kept showing up in the everyday moments like butterflies on my toes and hummingbirds bringing joy in the summer heat.

This episode is for anyone that needs a reminder that sometimes healing looks like coming, and that grace is found in mountaintop moments, but it's right here in the ordinary, too.

Grace upon grace, right where you are.

When life feels heavy, you don't need more cliches, you need truth told in tenderness. In this raw and unfiltered, grace -filled solo epsode of eighth & GRACE, Brandy A. Dawson sits down at the table to give some of her momma B advice. Hard but holyb reminders your soul might need right now. She shares seven thngs she'd tell you if she wasn't afraid of hurting your feelings. And it's not cringe- we promise.

Truths about waiting seasons, letting go, breaking free from replaying old hurts, and trusting God with what only He can resurrect.

From the kitchen table to the pages of Scripture, Brandy weaves real talk and biblical stories to remind you that Jesus stills sees, restores, and calls you Dsughter.

If you're overcaffeinated, overthinking, over scheduled, and longing for permission to stop carrying it all alone- this episode is your invitation to breathe.

What You'll Hear in this Episode:

Seven truths that bring clarity, conviction, and comfort in heavy seasons.

How to recognize replaying hurt instead of processing it

How you can stop waiting for life to get easier and start asking Him to strengthen you in it

If this resonates with you, press play. Meet her here at the taqble.

To connect with Brandy for podcast collaborations or speaking engagements: [email protected]

Website to learn more about her ministry: www.brandyadawson.com

Follow along on Instagram:https://instagram.com/brandyadawson

Subscribe to Musings of Grace on Substack:https://substack.com/@brandydawson25?utm_source=user-menu

Can you love Jesus and still feel anxious? Can you walk through a wilderness season and still believe in peace, here too?

In this prophetic and grace-filled episode, Brandy A. Dawson, weaves together two powerful teachings on mental health and wilderness worship. With Isaiah 26:3 and 1 Peter 5:7 as anchors, she speaks tenderly to the woman who feels overwhelmed by anxious thoughts, tired from holding it all together, or hidden in a season that doesn't make sense.

Rooted in scripture, neuroscience, and raw personal reflection, this episode explores:

• The truth about anxiety, faith, and your nervous system... (Spoiler alert- you can have faith and experience anxiety)
• Why sleep and rest are sacred tools used in healing
• What it means to have a mind "stayed on Him"
• How your hallelujah in the wilderness echoes in the throne room
• The sacred act of casting your cares on a God who doesn't flinch

This episode is part Scripture, part science, All Spirit. And, it's for the woman still standing- by grace alone.

Who's ready to hurl it?

Connect with Brandy for podcast collaboration or speaking engagements through her website: https://www.brandyadawson or through email: [email protected]

Follow along on Instagram:https://instagram.com/brandyadawson

Subscribe to Substack for wild hope+ expectancy through musings of grace. https://substack.com/@brandydawson25?utm_source=user-menu

In a world that constantly tells women to shrink, fix, or hide their bodies, what if God's Word says something entirely different?

In this powerful episode of eighth & GRACE, Brandy sits down with best-selling author, Bible teacher, and Jesus Over Everything podcast host Lisa Whittle to talk about her brand-new Lifeway Women Bible study, Body and Soul: A Biblical Look at the Whole Person God Created You to Be.

Together, they explore what Scripture truly says about our bodies, from Genesis creation to Gospel ressurection and how reclaiming a whole body theology can set women free from cycles of shame, striving, and self-hate.

This conversation is deeply tender, theologically rich, and prophetically needed for every woman who has ever looked in the mirror and felt like her body was a problem to solve instead of a temple to honor.

Whether you've struggled with body image, chronic illness, aging, or simply feeling like your body doesn't belong - this episode is a healing invitation to reframe your story through the eyes of your Creator. A God Who doesn't make mistakes.

We talk about rediscovering what it means to live as a whole person- spiritually, pysically, and emotionally, diet culture, trauma, reclaiming what God never called broken, and living from the truth of Imago Dei.

Order Lisa's new study: https://www.lifeway.com/bodyandsoul

Connect with Brandy for podcast collaboration or speaking engagements: [email protected]

Website + Blog www.brandyadawson.com

Subscribe to Substack: Musings of Grace- Brandy A Dawson

Instagram: @brandyadawson

Is it possible to love your life, even when you don't always like it? In this candid and faith - filled episode, Brandy sits down with Rachel Awtrey- host of Real Talk podcast and author of Love Your Life (Even When You Don't Like It All the Time)- to explore how to hold joy and struggle in the same hands.

Together, they talk about:

• What it looks like to embrace honest, unfiltered faith
• How to create meaningful rhythms in your everyday life
• Why your messy middle matters
• Simple ways to practice celebration and hospitatlity
• The courage it takes to feel seen when life feels ordinary

If you've ever wondered if your story is enough or if your longing for practical encouragement to find joy where you are, this conversation will feel like a deep breath for your soul.

To connect with Rachel: website https://rachelawtrey.com

Podcast: Real Talk with Rachel Awtrey

Instagram: @rachel.awtrey

To collaborate with Brandy on podcast or request her for speaking engagement: [email protected]

Website: https://brandyadawson.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandyadawson

What if obedience feels more like overflow than performance? On this week's What About This? Brandy Dawson invites you behind the scenes as she prepares to speak at the Open Cup Collective Women's Conference in Florida. Just days after Denver and Charlotte she's catching her breath, repacking her bags, and sitting poolside at a quite Airbnb- processing what it means to be entrusted to speak when you feel both undone and expectant.

This episode is for every woman who's ever wrestled with obedience. Who's been entrusted weith something holy- while still healing. Who's said yes even when her hands were shaking and before she was ready.

Brandy shares honest refolections on calling, spiritual trust, and how God meets us in the quiet before we are asked to pour out again.

We talk about:

• The sacred tensio between being poured into and poured out
• How Moses, Esther, and Mary wern't impressive- they were available
• Why you don't have to or need to hustle for holiness
• A blessing for the undone woman who said yes anyway

Plus: what I packed in my carry on and the quiet poolside moment where God met me before the conference wven begins

Spoiler alert: He already went before me. And He's already gone before you, too.

An Altar Moment (for you)

If you're holding something heavy today- a calling, a dream, a microphone, a story......

May you feel the nearness of the God who entrusted you with it.

He's not asking you to be impressive.

He's asking you to be present.

And He will fill what you offer.

So bring your notes.

Bring your tears.

Bring your yes.

Even from the in -between.

Even from the Airbnb.

And thank you-

For being a part of this grace - drenched journey. For every review, every DM, every story you tell me about how God met you in the ordinary.

Because He is who He says He is.

Even here.

Even now.

Subscribe: Substack: Musings of Grace- Brandy A Dawson

Instagram: https://instagram.com/brandyadawson

Connect:[email protected]

Website: brandyadawson.com