It’s a blessing to be able to celebrate with others when joyful things happen in their lives. But it’s also an honor to be able to stand by someone when they are heavy with sorrow and joy seems nowhere to be found. 

Popular Christian writer Karen Kingsbury and her son Tyler Russell help others celebrate the joy of their faith by writing stories for families through their Baxter Family children’s books. Pastor David Emmanuel Goatley, the sixth president of Fuller Theological Seminary, has traveled all over the world as a minister and has been inspired at how Christians from all walks of life hold each other up and bear each other's burdens, no matter how much or how little they have.

Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:

Jesus Calling Podcast

Jesus Calling

Jesus Always

Jesus Listens

Past interview: Nikki DeLoach and Pat Bradley

Upcoming interview: Cleere Cherry Reaves

Karen Kingsbury 

Tyler Russell 

Philippians 4 NIV

NIV Bible 

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

Los Angeles Daily News

Baxter Family Children books

Being Baxters

John 16:33 NIV

Colossians 3:23 NIV

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 NIV

www.karenkingsbury.com

A Thousand Tomorrows

David Emmanuel Goatley

Fuller Theological Seminary

Interview Quotes:

“The family that God puts you in are the ones who are going to be with you forever, so really foster those relationships and pour into those relationships.” - Tyler Russell

“I had a beautiful relationship with the Lord, but I was still seeing pain. I was still seeing people going through hard things. And I just didn't think that Christian fiction would be able to handle that. I want to tell stories that are real and true.” - Karen Kingsbury

“We really do both want to serve the Lord first. That's kind of our top thing in everything we do, we want to please God first.” - Tyler Russell

“Prayer is an all day, everyday thing for me. I am so thankful to be able to walk through this life not alone, but with Jesus, and knowing that I have His presence beside me.” - Karen Kingsbury

“I believe that we need to love and laugh often and look for the miraculous in the everyday and lean hard into our relationship with Jesus.” - Karen Kingsbury

“My father's orientation was that you always talked about church and community together. You never spoke of church in isolation from the community because the church should be embedded in community, and the community was informing the life of the church.” - David Emmanuel Goatley

“We were taught to be salt for the earth and light for the world, and so you have to engage the world that God puts you in so that you can bear good and faithful witness. I think that that kind of nurture helped to inform who I have become and how I see the world