Today on Cultivating the Lovely, MacKenzie chats with radio host Bekah Eaker of Way-FM’s popular The Wally Show. Bekah’s husband has had severe health complications for a few years, and she and MacKenzie go deep with how they deal with prolonged stress. This episode is full of insight and encouragement both for people in similar situations and anyone who knows someone who could use support.

• How Bekah and MacKenzie handle having to keep showing up for a public platform while in ongoing stress
• Learning to do what has to be done in order to move forward
• The importance of therapy or counseling for help to cope and to have an outside person to talk to
• Ways Bekah takes care of herself on a daily basis while also being her husband’s caretaker
• Bekah’s challenges amidst a changing relationship with her husband due to his health issues
• How the Enneagram has helped MacKenzie deal with stress in relationships better
• Building community in order to give and get the support we all need
• Bekah and MacKenzie’s love of the Marco Polo app for building friendships
• Planning and looking to the future when life is full of uncertainty
• Trusting God and wrestling with Him in the middle of really difficult circumstances
• Supporting a friend who is going through a hard time by just agreeing that it is really tough
• A typical day in Bekah’s life as a morning radio show host

Current Lovelies-

Bekah: doing whatever she can to build community

MacKenzie: getting involved with her daughter’s school functions

Resources Mentioned-

Affiliate links are use in this content/

Books:

Waiting for Tom Hanks

Music:

Jason Gray “Not Right Now”

Movies:

Morning Glory

Find Bekah-

You can find Bekah on Instagram and Twitter. You can also listen to her on The Wally Show.

Find MacKenzie-

You can find MacKenzie Koppa on Instagram, Facebook, and the CTL Facebook Group, of course! You can also listen to her family-friendly podcast The Same Page!

Thanks to our Sponsors-

CTL is brought to you by Plan to Eat meal planning service. Visit PlanToEat.com/LOVELY to start your free 60-day trial instead of the normal 30-day trial.

This week's episode is also sponsored by the Preciousapp. Go to Preciousapp.com/LOVELYfor your free 3-Day trial of Baby Art Unlimited.

Cultivating the Lovely is also brought to you by Literati. For a limited time, go to LiteratiBooks.com and use code LOVELY for $20 OFF your first box. Kids 3 and up also get a free blacklight pen.

Affiliate links are used in this content.

• Melissa shares a little of her own journey of seeking God's heart in the area of food
• How Melissa came to realize God's use of food to draw her and others closer to Himself
• Learning to see the significance of food as a picture in God's kingdom story
• Getting in touch with the creative nature of God through exercising our own creativity
• How Melissa stayed sane during the Food Network Star filming and competition

• Cultivating an attitude of faith amidst the unexpected in our every day
• Learning the lesson of patience from food and taking it into our lives
• Melissa's experience in France and how that shifted her perspective on food
• Getting back in touch with the gift that food is by growing something yourself
• Melissa's mindset in using her own competitive advantage on Food Network
• The benefits of training in improvisation
• A typical day in Melissa's life

Current Lovelies-

Melissa: making her drive time more lovely by connecting with her daughter and listening to podcasts

MacKenzie: decorating her car interior for fall to make her drive time a little more fun

Resources Mentioned-

Books:

Tasting Grace

Podcasts:

For the Love with Jen Hatmaker

Lewis Howes

Goal Digger with Jenna Kutcher

Rise Together with Rachel Hollis

The Tim Ferriss Show

Movies:

Greatest Showman

Hidden Figures

Find Melissa-

You can find Melissa on her website, melissadarabian.net. You can also follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterestand Twitter.

Find MacKenzie-

You can find MacKenzie Koppa on Instagram, Facebook, and the CTL Facebook Group, of course! You can also listen to her family-friendly podcast The Same Page!

On this week’s episode of Cultivating the Lovely, MacKenzie Koppa is joined by Brian Dixon, author of Start with Your People: The Daily Decision that Changes Everything. Brian has a passion for coaching people to find clarity and pursue their goals and lives with intention. He and his wife Julie live in North Carolina with their three children. Today MacKenzie and Brian talk about showing up and focussing on the people in your life, including:

• MacKenzie shares an example of how the message of Start with Your People has impacted her own business and podcast community
• Brian talks about how we can’t see ourselves the way others see us
• How Brian’s own “360 assessment” led him to change and inspired him to write this book
• The importance of engaging with the people and relationships in your life instead of just coasting through your days
• Taking control of your habits, routines and philosophy for your home so that you can face challenges with intention instead of constantly putting out fires.

• Changing the vision for your marriage, family and work to make more of the time you have
• Embracing our “lovely limitations” and focussing on the legacy you are leaving for the future
• Brian shares the how and why of life mapping
• Being strategic about positioning yourself for the life that you want to live
• Choosing to make one small change to get to where you want to be a year from now
• What happened when Brian started a habit of gratitude
• Asking for help and taking action on what you are learning
• Being part of the solution by serving others in small ways
• Visit StartwithYourPeople.com to see book bonuses and videos
• A typical day for Brian

Current Lovelies-

Brian: watching his espresso machine work every morning and using that time to take some deep breaths and be grateful

MacKenzie: honing in her morning and evening routines to make the most of the time she has

Resources Mentioned-

Books:

Start with Your People

Movies:

The Family Man

Find Brian-

You can find Brian on his website, BrianDixon.com, or listen to his podcast, The Clarity Podcast. You can also follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Find MacKenzie-

You can find MacKenzie Koppa on Instagram, Facebook, and the CTL Facebook Group, of course! You can also listen to her family-friendly podcast The Same Page!

Thanks to our Sponsors-

Today on Cultivating the Lovely, MacKenzie Koppa brings back her popular Season 4 guest, Jennifer L. Scott. Jennifer has a new book for families, Connoisseur Kids: Etiquette, Manners, and Living Well for Parents and Their Little Ones, which is the main topic of this week’s episode. MacKenzie and Jennifer talk about why and how to instill confidence, care and capability into our children so that they become the kind of adults we all want to be around.

• MacKenzie asks Jennifer about her new exercise routine with a Rebounder trampoline
• Some of the reasons Jennifer wrote Connoisseur Kids and why she feels it is so needed
• A sneak peek into the subjects and format of the book
• Instilling confidence in our children through teaching them how to interact with new people
• The high value of teaching our children how to do chores and contribute to the family
• Phrasing your requests for kids to help in a positive, motivating way
• Jennifer’s desire to bring back some selflessness, good sportsmanship and civility to our culture
• Helping our children build good hygiene habits while they are young
• Motivating kids to choose healthy foods by involving them in the process
• Playing games and activities to get kids moving and build good attitudes about exercise
• Teaching children to keep routines and to do those things with a happy heart
• Taking care of what we have so that we are good stewards of our belongings

Current Lovelies-

Jennifer: enjoying reading aloud to her children and the special time they share around stories

Resources Mentioned-

Books:

Connoisseur Kids

Little House on the Prairie

The Indian in the Cupboard

Find Jennifer-

You can find Jennifer on her website, JenniferLScott.com, or on her blog, The Daily Connoisseur. You can also follow her on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Find MacKenzie-

You can find MacKenzie Koppa on Instagram, Facebook, and the CTL Facebook Group, of course! You can also listen to her family-friendly podcast The Same Page!

Thanks to our Sponsors-