Spotlight

The Magnolia Story | November Book Club

The Magnolia Story | November Book Club

The Magnolia Story, my book club pick for November, is THEIR story. It is one of hope and hard work, of shaky ground, of seeking balance, one of losses... and one of Gaines. In essence it is the story of the Great American Dream come true.

Faith, Family and The Rest | A Visit with Masterbuilt McLemore's

Faith, Family and The Rest | A Visit with Masterbuilt McLemore's

Come hang out with John McLemore - Mr. Masterbuilt - and me as he smokes and fries up some food that's DADGUM Good, and we spend time laughing and eating together.

Chatting with Robin Roberts | Everybody's Got Something, Season I

Chatting with Robin Roberts | Everybody's Got Something, Season I

Robin Roberts and I first met in New York City a few year ago through mutual friends, we had an instant connection and have kept in touch from that day on.

Talking with Roma Downey | Ben Hur

Talking with Roma Downey | Ben Hur

Ben Hur is a larger than life blockbuster movie, but it is about Redemption, Forgivness, Reconcilliation... and because it is both epic and intimate at the same time is why it is so very special.

Delilah | NPR Morning Edition with David Greene

Delilah | NPR Morning Edition with David Greene

"This year marks 20 years that Delilah Rene Luke has been talking to strangers about their problems. Radio personality Delilah talks to David Greene about giving advice and dedicating songs to callers."

Perfect Painting Partners | The Home Depot

Painting a room in your home brings a new life to that space; bedroom, living room, kitchen or any other area  that seems to be suffering from the doldrums.

Right now, while the air is warm and the windows can be flung open wide in appreciation of vistas and ventilation, is perfect for painting projects! 

Find both inspiration and the exact color your want at The Home Depot! 

The Paint Department at The Home Depot is a smorgasbord of color! Bright and vibrant, demur and dazzling, light and airy... there is no limit to what they have to offer.

It seems I've ALWAYS got a few paint projects of my own going on, and I love being able to count on The Home Depot whenever I come running in breathless with excitement over what's in the works!

The people behind the counter are sooooo helpful! They answer my questions, provide useful information and tips, and get me everything I need to create the space I'm picturing in my minds eye.  They'll do the same for you!

The people behind the counter are sooooo helpful! They answer my questions, provide useful information and tips, and get me everything I need to create the space I'm picturing in my minds eye.  They'll do the same for you!

Of course, you know me well enough to know that before I head out, I've learned about the paint pros significant others, their parents, babies, what their weekend plans are... Because they are real and genuine people.  

People who are my perfect painting partners and yours!

You're Listening to Delilah | Buzzfeed Feature

"Hi, Good evening! Welcome aboard! Who’s this?” Delilah leans toward her switchboard, resting her head on her fist as she holds the telephone that around 50,000 listeners try to reach every night of the week. The walls of her evergreen-surrounded Port Orchard, Washington, studio are decorated in cubicle chic — family photos, children’s art, a Miss Piggy Life magazine cover — and her schnauzer, Sophie, sits still as a statue on an ottoman below the desk.

Read more from Buzzfeed's article here!

Delilah, the 'Queen of Sappy Love Songs,' is coming to Siouxland

“Delilah has shared all of her stuff on the radio and shares her heartbreak and shares her love of life,” he said. “I think other people say, ‘Wow, if she’s that open and vulnerable, I will be too.’”

It also helps that callers remain largely anonymous like readers who write to Dear Abby.

Delilah developed the format for her radio show in September 1984 when her firstborn son was 16 days old. It was an uphill battle to get the program directors to back her sappy, heart-to-heart talk show, but she believed in the vision and fought for it.

“When you get hundreds of calls a night, people tell you that what you’re doing matters and it’s inspired them, it doesn’t really matter what somebody else’s research shows or opinion says,” she said. “I trust my listeners.”

Of the estimated 62,000 calls she receives over 12 hours each night, she takes about 50-60 of them and only 25 callers get on air.

She hears from all kinds of people from the bubbly to the heartbroken. With some, she becomes their instant best friend and confidant.

“We live in a world where we have all these technologies and all these abilities to connect and communicate with cell phones and iPads and iPhones and faxing and texting and WhatsApp and Facebook,” she said. “Yet, people are lonelier than ever before.”

She’s felt the pangs of loneliness and has relentlessly sought love and given love, even though the act of doing so opened her up to excruciating pain when she lost her adopted 16-year-old son, Sammy, to sickle cell anemia four years ago.

Delilah adopted many of her children when she was single, and many of them have health issues.

“Every day is a challenge,” she said. But it’s apparent she still feels blessed for each new day the sun rises over her 55-acre farm outside of Seattle.

On this particular morning, she got up early and served her children a frittata with homemade goat cheese before they went off to school. They eat a lot of eggs for breakfast – scrambled, boiled, fried – since 600 chickens live on the farm.

She went down to her basement studio for an early-morning interview and got started on the day’s pre-recordings. She walked her dogs, checked on the pregnant goats and pulled some meat out of the freezer for dinner – all before noon.

Delilah says she doesn’t have down days. She has days where she’s annoyed or her heart is breaking, but even then, she’s pretty obnoxiously optimistic.