Can laughter and storytelling unlock extraordinary spiritual growth for your family right where you are?

In this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Grammy-nominated comedian, musician, and master storyteller Tim Lovelace. Together, they dive into how comedy, faith, and life’s surprising moments can shape Christian parenting, inspire Faith at home, and help families discover God’s purpose and joy—even in the most ordinary days.

• 03:09 Tim’s unique journey from shy, stuttering child to professional entertainer
• 09:08 Tim realized that laughter could be ministry
• 17:33 The story behind Tim’s book "Green Rain"

Resources:

• "Green Rain" (book by Tim Lovelace)
• Moments That Motivate (2-minute motivational story series)
• Tim’s website: timlovelace.com
• Youtube: @timlovelacecomedy
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder

Viral Comedy Moment: "It's not what you think. It's the upper corner of lower Alabama. That's where I was educated."

— Tim Lovelace [00:03:34 → 00:03:39]

How Labels Shape Us: "people kind of start putting people in boxes. It's human nature. So you have They'll go, oh, that person is good at singing, and that person is good at drawing, and that person is good at making people laugh. So you become the class clown."

— Tim Lovelace [00:09:31 → 00:09:46]

Nervous Moments on Stage: "So finally the dreaded day came and they had those maroon curtains and I'm standing behind it and the teacher put the little needle on the record and no one knows what that is like, a big CD, you know?"

— Tim Lovelace [00:12:34 → 00:12:48]

Viral Topic: From Radio to Book Deal: "But people would come out and say, well, when are you going to put the stories in a book? So that's how we ended up with Green Rain."

— Tim Lovelace [00:18:22 → 00:18:28]

Every Moment Matters: "I always say they're not really small moments in life, they're actually big. They're all big moments, right?"

— Tim Lovelace [00:19:19 → 00:19:26]

Breaking Musical Rules: "Why does theory tell me I can only do this? I can put this chord with this chord, and I can arrange this, and I can put these diminished chords over a flat 9, over a 13. And, and my entire life I've loved chords and music. Why can't you mix a little Chet Atkins with a little bit of fingerstyle, with a little bit of Spanish, or what music? Or—"

— Tim Lovelace [00:21:54 → 00:22:17]

Finding Beauty in the Unexpected: "So I want them to know that in the good times, in the small moments, God is in the middle of them. In the moments that seem like they hurt, and maybe they do hurt, and maybe it didn't turn out the way we want it, and maybe we lost a friend, but maybe God is working out something beautiful, and we learn something. It ends up being one of the biggest blessings in our life. So God is in all of the moments."

— Tim Lovelace [00:23:09 → 00:23:34]

The Power of Storytelling in Connection: "some of the greatest talkers I've ever known, some of the greatest pastors I've met over the years would say, I was bashful at one time. But when you find stories, when friends find out, when you just ask little simple things like, what's something you learned lately that's really been interesting? And then you learn from it."

— Tim Lovelace [00:25:36 → 00:25:56]

The Power of Storytelling and Connection: "I encourage everyone to have a little journal just to write down some of your favorite stories and ask your mom and dad, tell me about when you first rode a bicycle. Who taught you how? And sometimes we're all so busy, we forget to do those things. And when we connect with those stories, go, I didn't know that about Grandma."

— Tim Lovelace [00:26:39 → 00:26:59]

Nostalgic Southern Traditions: "But it— but putting peanuts in a Coke bottle was so good."

— Tim Lovelace [00:29:59 → 00:30:03]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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What does it take to become a hero in God’s Kingdom?

On this episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with bestselling author and Christian parenting advocate Joshua Cooley for an inspiring chat about raising Christian kids, cultivating faith at home, and discovering purpose in all seasons of family life. Together, they explore stories of Biblical heroes, the reality of spiritual growth in the everyday, and how family time can become discipleship time - even for the not-so-perfect parents).

• [00:02:57] Josh shares his unique path from sportswriter to kids’ ministry and author
• [00:09:57] God uses those who feel unimportant or weak
• [00:13:21] The power of honest questions and doubts in spiritual growth
• [00:15:11] Early Church Heroes

Resources:

• "Heroes of the Bible Devotional” 1 & 2 by Joshua Cooley
• Website: joshuacooleyauthor.com
• IG: @jcooley74
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

Finding Purpose in Many Passions: "So God has given me a lot of things that I love to do, and it's really great."

— Josh Cooley [00:03:21 → 00:03:26]

Unexpected Career Paths: "I love working with kids, but I never considered it a career option."

— Josh Cooley [00:07:18 → 00:07:22]

Viral Career Change: "So I quit my sports editor job at this paper and became a kids minister."

— Josh Cooley [00:07:37 → 00:07:43]

Viral Topic: God takes the weak and the unimportant and the person that you wouldn't think could do great things for him and does great things by his power, not ours.

— Josh Cooley [00:10:52 → 00:11:01]

Questioning Faith is Okay: "The Bible isn't just a book of rules for us to follow. It's about real people who have real questions that I think we ask too, and God allows those questions to happen. He allows, like, our faith to grow and us to question him so that we can, you know, grow in our faith and understand him better."

— Josh Cooley [00:13:21 → 00:13:39]

Viral Christian History: "Even her own father said, recant, recant Christ. Just say you're not a Christian just to save your life, and then you can believe whatever you want, and she would not do it, and they threw her into the arena with wild animals, and that's a documented story."

— Josh Cooley [00:15:54 → 00:16:08]

Behind the Book: "Yeah, I always tell people that as I'm writing, like, I'm always growing too. That just strengthens my faith."

— Josh Cooley [00:18:21 → 00:18:26]

Faith and History: "History has never disproven the Bible; it's only proven it."

— Josh Cooley [00:19:03 → 00:19:06]

What Makes a True Hero?: "But Incredible Man is like the most un-incredible person you've ever seen, right? He has no skills, no No superhero powers whatsoever. But that leads to a conversation through many pitfalls and pratfalls, I should say, and bruised shins on my part. That leads to a conversation about, okay, if it's not a mask and a cape and the biceps of justice, which is one of his supposed superpowers, then what is it? What makes us a true hero for God?"

— Josh Cooley [00:20:54 → 00:21:22]

Childhood Imagination Adventures: "So we would all assign ourselves like, you're, you're like a warrior, you're an elf, you're a wizard, you're an archer, like the good guys, right? And we would, we would dress up and we'd get our weapons and we'd pretend in my backyard to fight all of these villains."

— Josh Cooley [00:22:56 → 00:23:11]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

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Have you ever thought about opening your heart and community to those around you with disabilities?

In this inspiring episode of the Collide Kids Podcast, host Christen Clark sits down with Jess Berryhill, disability minister and founder of Terre Haute Friendship House. Jess shares how authentic friendship, inclusion, and stepping out of our comfort zones can reshape family life, discipleship, and the way we practice faith at church and in our communities—revealing how every person has value and purpose in God’s eyes.

• [00:05:23] Jess explains what it’s like to live in intentional Christian community with people who have disabilities
• [00:09:18] How stepping into disability ministry helped Jess—and her church—grow in faith and compassion
• [00:14:31] The “origin story” of Terre Haute Friendship House
• [00:19:29] Why heart work and friendship are key to spiritual growth

Resources:

• The Terre Haute Friendship House website: thfriendshiphouse.org
• Contact email: jessberryhill@gmail.com
• Website: collidekidspodcast.com
• Instagram: @collidekidspod

Clip Finder:

Empowering Disability Voices: "You can only stand in like a prayer circle or sit at a dinner table or, you know, you know, have conversations with friends and people you love for so long, and like hear those dreams come up over and over and over again until you're like, God, maybe, maybe it's me. Like, maybe we're the vessel for this. Maybe like you're trying to move my feet and not just have me hear these things."

— Jess Berryhill [00:05:53 → 00:06:14]

Adulting and Accessible Transportation: "That's not just us, right? 'Cause part of figuring out adult life is figuring out how we're gonna get to places."

— Jess Berryhill [00:08:17 → 00:08:22]

Viral Topic: How Disability Ministry Began by Meeting One Need: "But I think God had other plans, much bigger plans."

— Jess Berryhill [00:10:53 → 00:10:56]

Unexpected Lessons in Creativity: "God has taught me that, like, he equips us in ways that we may not expect."

— Jess Berryhill [00:13:13 → 00:13:17]

Inclusion in Theater: "I feel like we're missing, like, we're missing the opportunity to see her talent shine."

— Jess Berryhill [00:13:41 → 00:14:31]

Building Community for People with Disabilities: "That ministry has grown from about 6 to 8 to about 100 individuals with disabilities every week and a whole slate of like opportunities for community and belonging."

— Jess Berryhill [00:15:56 → 00:16:06]

Building an Inclusive Community: "What if part of our identity as a church became sort of being a church that welcomes people with disabilities?"

— Jess Berryhill [00:17:41 → 00:17:46]

Making Communities Accessible: "But I don't wanna bring them out if everyone can't participate. And so it actually led to a conversation where we were able to make the bike park more accessible."

— Jess Berryhill [00:18:06 → 00:18:14]

The Power of Relationships in Disability Ministry: "I can teach you about autism, I can teach you about Down syndrome, and those— that knowledge is so important, but it's actually the heart work, it's how God's gonna change your heart that's actually gonna matter."

— Jess Berryhill [00:19:31 → 00:19:41]

Viral Topic: Rethinking Social Circles for People with Disabilities: "A lot of times, like, people that would fall in our acquaintance circle would fall closer to their middle. And also a lot of those folks in their circles are paid to be with them."

— Jess Berryhill [00:20:51 → 00:21:01]

Bark proactively works to monitor, detect, and alert you to potential issues on your kids' devices. Visit bark.us to learn more about how you can keep your kids safe online. Use the code COLLIDEKIDS to get 15% off Your Bark Technologies Plan !

Support the show