A porch, a podcast, and 100 mustard seeds

Ninety-nine episodes ago, Gleaning Mustard Seeds began with a simple idea suggested by members of our family. 

In this special milestone episode, I'm joined by our daughter, Christi, and our grandson, Braden, who first encouraged me to start the podcast. 

They reflect on how it began, the joy it's brought, and the impact these conversations are having on listeners. 

If you’ve ever wished you could sit in a rocking chair on a porch in the Smoky Mountains and listen to stories that make you think, grow, and smile, this episode invites you to pull up a chair.

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Fleecy Clouds: One Woman's Story of Surviving and Thriving After Childhood Abuse

Fleecy Clouds Audiobook

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Braden Parsons' email:  bradencparsons@gmail.com

If you'd like to discuss your roofing needs, call Jerrie Wayne Barber, II, at 931.628.3390 

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Fleecy Clouds: One Woman's Story of Surviving and Thriving After Childhood Abuse

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Transcript

100 A Porch, a Podcast, and 100 Mustard Seeds

Ninety-nine episodes ago, Gleaning Mustard Seeds began with a simple idea suggested by members of our family. 

In this special milestone episode, I'm joined by our daughter, Christi, and our grandson, Braden, who first encouraged me to start the podcast. 

They reflect on how it began, the joy it's brought, and the impact these conversations are having on listeners. 

If you’ve ever wished you could sit in a rocking chair on a porch in the Smoky Mountains and listen to stories that make you think, grow, and smile, this episode invites you to pull up a chair.

I asked our daughter, Christi Parsons, and one of our grandsons, Braden Parsons, to make their comments on this milestone. They were the ones who originally suggested that I start a podcast. 

Christi is the narrator of Gail’s audiobook, Fleecy Clouds. About every five months, a chapter from Fleecy Clouds will be featured on this podcast.

Braden did the cover art for the podcast.

Here are Christi’s reflections on this journey:

A couple of years ago, I was listening to some of Dad’s sermons on YouTube. It seemed like it was a series from North Lexington Church of Christ and I just thought it was really neat that anytime I want to hear sermon from can go to YouTube and listen to it or watch it around the same time I was listening to more podcast than I was music on the radio i like to listen to podcast when I would get ready in the morning or when I was driving my car and so I thought maybe dad could put the two of these things i presented day with the idea of having a podcast. I told him you have hundreds of sermons already recorded. Why don't you do a podcast introduce a sermon and just let the sermon go. He didn't take to the idea immediately and it didn't surprise me a bit that he did it his calendar is always overflowing he always has dozens of projects going on all at the same time but every few months or so I tell dad I really think you should do a podcast. I think that would be very beneficial to a lot of people and I think it would be a treasure for me and people that love you for years to come a little bit after my mom's book fleecy clouds was published. Dad asked me if I would be willing to record her book for audio version this is something I've never done but it was an honor to be asked so dad did a ton of research like he always does before he starts anything new, then he bought the equipment that I would need to record mom's book. He started playing around with it before he gave it to me so he could help me with the ins and outs of everything then he discovered how easy it would be to actually do a podcast and he did and I'm so glad his first hundred episodes were exactly what I expected him to be compact full of wisdom and something i really need to learn every week. I look forward to every Monday to hear what dad has next and I always learn something for future podcast. I would like to say, dad answer a question from a listener every once in a while that is published many books, but two of his books are volume one and volume two what does the Bible say when we lived in Dalton Georgia? He had a weekly article also called. What does the Bible say where people kiss biblical questions and they would answer it for him. I think it would be really neat for people to get to ask that a question. I'm very proud of you dad congratulations on your first hundred episodes I'm looking forward to the next hundred and then the next hundred and I'm gonna quote you now you are powerful I love you, dad congratulations

And now, Braden’s comments:

So Jerrie Barber, or as like to call him granddaddy, is my favorite preacher but also someone that I just love getting life advice from and getting wisdom from one of my favorite things to do is on our vacations in the Smoky Mountains to sit with them on the porch in the mornings and the rocking chair watch the smoke come over the mountains and just listen to his stories and the applications that he pulls from him and I always get so much from that and I figured a lot of other people would get something from that too so couple years ago, I suggested that he started a podcast I love podcast. I love listening to him and I know a lot of other people would love listening to the same stories and wisdom that I get to hear those rocking chairs so I suggested it. Mom also suggested it. We were just trying to get him to do it because we knew how much other people could benefit from it like we have and we got denied he was too busy at the time we understood he does a lot of stuff does a lot of workshops preachers. It's always traveling so we understood him turning us down, but we are also persistent because we knew how much the world could benefit from Jerry Barber's wisdom, so we kept pushing, kept suggesting that he at least look into it maybe give it a shot and finally he gave in and we're so happy. He did the joy that he had after starting the podcast was such a cool thing to see he was getting a lot of great Feedback as we knew he would because we knew what he had to offer and I remember him telling me that he felt like a kid on Christmas like he couldn't sleep sometimes and he would wake up in the middle of the night and just have ideas for different podcast episodes or different ways to do things and he would write them down and to see that kind of joy that childlike joy come back to him through doing this with such a cool byproduct of what he had to offer and so once he finally came around to the idea it's it's been so cool to see how that's played out over the first 100 episodes which is in on two years of podcast, it's been so cool to see the way people have received it and I'm excited to see where this goes, but I love that it's diverse and content because while he does have so much stuff to offer for the church and Church leaders you've also heard a lot of great episodes about money and about exercise and they're just so many different things that granddaddy has to offer and I know there's a lot more where that came from and so that's my suggestion for granddaddy going forward as I keep doing what you're doing. Keep helping people as you've helped me and help us grow and I'd love to just see more and more lessons on different aspects of life, i like the money I'd like to exercise and relationships and conflict. I just wanna see more and more of that because I know you have so much to offer and i can't wait for 100 more episodes proud of you granddaddy can't wait to see where this podcast goes.

Thank you for walking with me through the first 100 mustard seeds—now let’s keep planting, because you never know, which small seed, God will grow into the next great harvest.