Grace In Real Life podcast Jill E. McCormick, writer + speaker

Receiving grace starts by being in community, by belonging, and connecting. How does grace show up when producing a podcast? Take a listen for this behind-the-scenes look.
Before I launched the podcast, I knew I needed a team around me—people to pray for me and the podcast, give insight and ideas, offer suggestions for guests and questions to ask those guests, help me write a title that would appeal most to my listeners, and come alongside me to determine if a guest was in theological and doctrinal alignment with the podcast’s statement of faith. 
And the women you are about to meet rose to that challenge to love Jesus, love me, love Grace In Real Life, and love you, my sweet listener. This team has helped me with branding and graphic design decisions along with editing scripts and voting on series ideas. If you’ve loved this podcast, it’s because Amy, Angi, Eileen, Kira, Lauren, and Nina made it so good.
Together, we break down:
What the podcast team did and how I curated this team, What God taught me through the podcast, Podcasting surprises, How I select guests and how I ask them to be on the show, How I planned content and how I handled unexpected global events, like the pandemic and social unrest, AND SO MUCH MORE. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like behind the scenes here and how community has shaped what the podcast is today, listen in.
 

Being who you are, being who God created you to be, is the most free way to live. So how do we live in the wide open space God offers? Listen in.
Living in God’s wide open spaces means there is no condemnation in Christ. God certainly convicts and corrects, but He never assaults your identity. If the Lord has set you free, you are free indeed.
It is a grace to accept the fearful and wonderful way God designed you, not to wish you were more like someone else, not to feel confined by the belief that there’s only one way to live your life. 
Friend, our God takes us away from tight spots and places us in wide-open, green pastures. We no longer need to feel as if we must contort ourselves to fit and conform to someone else’s standards or life or expectations of what we “should” be doing. 
We no longer need to play the comparison game. We no longer need to feel the shame of legalism. We are free to run, dance, live, and rest in the grace of the wide open spaces of God’s provision and goodness. 
In this episode, we’ll unpack how our God is a God of wide open spaces. So, how is this grace, and what do we even mean?
Mentioned in the podcast  The FCC requires that I tell you that I'm an Amazon Affiliate, which means I earn a bit of commission on each sale. But don't worry, there's no added cost to you!
#194: What I Want You To Know: Grace and truth #195: What I Want You To Know: It all counts Four Years of Podcasting Giveaway Lauren Gaines Twyla Franz Amber Palmer Katie Scott Mandy Pallock Marnie Hammar Kirk Freeman Jen Babakhan Yohonna Smith Here’s how to connect with Jill Website  GraceInRealLifePodcast.com  Instagram  Subscribe to Jill’s weekly “the good + the grace” email   

It all counts. Every act the Lord asks you to do is valuable. He sees it all. It all matters. All the work given to you by God and done in love is meaningful. 
I’m really good at discounting or downplaying the good ways God wired me, how He’s forming me through trials, and the work I do, the roles I hold, and how I show up in the world. And y’all, I believe that discounting is an effective - but totally flimsy - tactic of our enemy, who wants us quiet and isolated and stuck because we’re questioning our value and the goodness of God. 
Y’all, Jesus sees it all. He delights in all the good you do in His name and out of love. He sees your sacrifice right now. He sees your heart trying to figure out life and how to love your people well. He knows your intentions, and God desires to help you every step of the way. All the work given to you by God and done in love is meaningful. 
Mentioned in the podcast  The FCC requires that I tell you that I'm an Amazon Affiliate, which means I earn a bit of commission on each sale. But don't worry, there's no added cost to you!
Four Years of Podcasting Giveaway Safe People by Drs. Townsend and Cloud #194: What I Want You To Know: Grace and truth Lauren Gaines Twyla Franz Amber Palmer Katie Scott Mandy Pallock Marnie Hammar Kirk Freeman Jen Babakhan Yohonna Smith  
Here’s how to connect with Jill Website  GraceInRealLifePodcast.com  Instagram  Subscribe to Jill’s weekly “the good + the grace” email   

Our God is a God of grace and truth. But what does this mean for us in our busy and full lives? Listen to what it means for our God to be a God of AND. 
If you’ve been around the Grace In Real Life podcast long enough, you’ve heard me share that our God is a God of AND: 
He’s grace AND truth
Mercy AND holy justice 
Love AND perfect judgment
Man of Sorrows AND Prince of Peace
Offensive AND attractive
What does this concept of God’s AND-ness mean for our everyday, walking-around lives? This is good and true, but what do we do with it?
The reality that we love and worship our God of AND coupled with the truth that we are people of AND impacts three areas:
How we work out our salvation How we live How we embrace our humanity  In today’s episode, you’ll learn about the grace and truth of our God, that: The grace of salvation is to be received AND lived.  Christ-followers are not individualistic islands to ourselves but interwoven parts that create a whole. Grace calls us higher; to see that life and that our own selves are more nuanced than we ever thought possible. To see that God’s ways are higher and bigger than we could ever imagine. Mentioned in the podcast  The FCC requires that I tell you that I'm an Amazon Affiliate, which means I earn a bit of commission on each sale. But don't worry, there's no added cost to you!
Four Years of Podcasting Giveaway The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan Prayer in the Night by Tish Harrison Warren Here’s how to connect with Jill Website  GraceInRealLifePodcast.com  Instagram  Subscribe to Jill’s weekly “the good + the grace” email  

What is disciple-making? How do we do it? What does it look like to make disciples when your schedule is full? And how can you possibly disciple your teenagers? 
When I really stop and think about it, going and making disciples sounds intimidating. How do I do it? What does it even look like? Is it One More Thing to add to my already full schedule?
But as today’s guest points out, disciple-making is as easy and light as enjoying and following Jesus and helping others enjoy and follow Jesus. Discipleship is a gift from Jesus that we get to receive. It’s not a “have to” situation; it’s a “look what I get to do with my Father” situation.  
Because making disciples can feel big and weighty, I invited pastor and author Kirk Freeman to the show. 
In today’s episode, you’ll receive practical strategies and anchoring truths as you learn about how disciple-making relates to spiritual health. You’ll learn: Starting points for disciple-making, How to make disciples when you’re low on time, And how to spiritually lead your teenager. Mentioned in the podcast  The FCC requires that I tell you that I'm an Amazon Affiliate, which means I earn a bit of commission on each sale. But don't worry, there's no added cost to you!
A Holy Hush Threads by Kirk Freeman #70: Helping your kids enjoy Jesus with Kirk + Debbie Freeman [Grace in Parenting series] #188: Spiritual Health: Moving from head to heart: How to experience God’s love with Dr. Curt Thompson #189: Spiritual Health: How to be compassionate to yourself with Kendra Adachi #190: Spiritual Health: How to honor God with Jordan Raynor #191: Spiritual Health: The benefits of studying theology with Jen Wilkin #192: Spiritual Health: The power of questions with Mandy Pallock Here’s how to connect with Kirk Freeman Instagram Website Threads by Kirk Freeman Here’s how to connect with Jill Website  GraceInRealLifePodcast.com  Instagram  Subscribe to Jill’s weekly “the good + the grace” email 

When we were in college, Ryan gave me the nickname “The Interrogator” because I love asking questions. People are truly fascinating to me, and God gave us such an incredible world to discover, it seems impossible for me to not ask eleventybillion questions in a day.
But as today’s guest points out, if all we do is ask questions, we’re just delving into trivia instead of a person's heart.
Because asking and responding to questions is an art in which many of us would like to grow, I invited Mandy Pallock to the show.
In today’s episode, you’ll receive practical strategies and anchoring truths as you use the power of questions to cultivate spiritual health. You’ll learn: How questions draw you into deep community, Why questions are powerful, One pro tip on how to ask questions your kids will actually answer, And a sure-fire question to kick-start any conversation.   Mentioned in the podcast  The FCC requires that I tell you that I'm an Amazon Affiliate, which means I earn a bit of commission on each sale. But don't worry, there's no added cost to you!
#188: Spiritual Health: Moving from head to heart: How to experience God’s love with Dr. Curt Thompson #189: Spiritual Health: How to be compassionate to yourself with Kendra Adachi #190: Spiritual Health: How to honor God with Jordan Raynor #191: Spiritual Health: The benefits of studying theology with Jen Wilkin The Question Habit by Mandy Pallock A Holy Hush Here’s how to connect with Mandy Pallock Instagram Website Podcast  
Here’s how to connect with Jill Website  GraceInRealLifePodcast.com  Instagram  Subscribe to Jill’s weekly “the good + the grace” email