Ten years ago, podcasts helped breathe life into my soul, which was – like a seconds-old baby – gasping for the air of Life for the very first time. I was 27 years old, newly converted to Christ, newly adorned with the mantle of motherhood, and utterly desperate for Truth. Someone at my Bible study suggested I begin listening to a couple of pastors, who happened to have daily podcasts broadcasting their sermons. I jumped in, went deep, and hardly came up for air for several years. Those pastors watered the tiny buds of new life in my soul, sometimes upwards of eight hours a day (or night).
Having come to Jesus with zero biblical knowledge or Christian cultural context, everything I listened to was new and life-giving. I wept my way through sermons on Romans and rejoiced when I understand, for the first time, doctrines like the preservation of the saints. When I meet my Savior face-to-face, I will surely thank Him, in tears, for the creative technology that allows His undershepherds to cultivate souls during middle-of-the-night feedings, drowsy nap times, and extended months of bedrest during difficult pregnancies.
Since then, affection formation via audio has continued to reign supreme in our household. While I no longer listen to hours of sermons and theological teaching every single day, not a 24-hour period passes without our family (six of us now) experiencing truth and beauty and goodness delivered in an auditory format. We have been so very privileged to eat of the great fruit of so many magical storytellers – men and women who have drunk deeply from the cisterns of Truth themselves, and now creatively and skillfully set our eyes on faraway lands and fill our hearts with hope.
Our familial affections have been formed by a never-ending stream of music from people like Indelible Grace, Andrew Peterson, Sara Groves, and Randall Goodgame. And we have listened, on the edge of our seats, to countless audio dramas and radio theatre productions. We have cried and laughed our way through hundreds of stories given to us from authors now long past as well as some who are just beginning their magical triumphs.
Our family has consumed with gratitude, and only recently have we begun to create – out of a desire to contribute in some tiny (miniscule, really) way to the beautiful tapestry being woven through the body of Christ.
Our new podcast, Melody, Mystery & Mayhem has grown out of a garden that has been watered by the good works of these folks, and hopes to serve families by providing a venue for togetherness: to laugh together, learn together, revel in stories together, and delight in music together. We do not bear the marks of professional musicians, authors, or storytellers. Rather, we are simply part of the bloodwashed-and-redeemed bride who believes God calls very ordinary families to participate in stories displaying his extraordinary faithfulness.
One backstory anecdote: my brainstorming for this podcast began during a brief personal retreat over Memorial Day Weekend. I quickly decided any endeavor must include the three perpetual salves to my soul: music, story and interactive family fun. The “story” piece stumped me longer than the other elements. But in God’s provision, a month later, we attended the Inkwell Conference, and I sat under the wisdom of Julie Silander. Julie began the workshop by asking her husband to read aloud from Ralph Moody’s Little Britches. I was struck all over again by the power carried through a father simply reading aloud to his children. Julie went on to share the truth that boys tend to be drawn to certain types of books (action, adventure, etc.), but that girls tend to be open to reading nearly any genre or having any genre read aloud to them. Her wisdom immediately collided in my heart with the perpetual sorrow I feel about the war our culture has waged on our boys.
And so in that moment, the story piece of our podcast was decided. My husband would read aloud marvelous old (or new) tales of heroism and adventure and giants and knights and mysteries to be solved – to help meet that craving in boys, a craving that so often goes unmet (in God-honoring ways) in our culture. God’s providences extend far and wide, and Julie’s workshop is one of them.
Our family invites your family to join us in this modest endeavor of shedding light into the darkness that often characterizes modern-day entertainment. We don’t pretend to have all the best ideas, but we worship the One who does – which means that we know how the story ends. Praise be to God!
If you would like to peek into the vision and mission of the Melody, Mystery & Mayhem podcast, you can watch the video here:
Melody, Mystery & Mayhem podcast from TruthBeautyGoodness on Vimeo.
- The Breath of Life and Podcast Creation - September 9, 2015
It’s great to see you on here, Allison!