The conversation features Reverend Dr. Robin Blair discussing the importance of media literacy and digital discipleship in today's media-saturated environment, particularly for parents and children. She emphasizes the need for intentional media consumption and discernment as a form of spiritual care. The conversation explores the impact of media on children, emphasizing the need for parents to engage with their kids about media consumption and its implications. It highlights the importance of media literacy as a form of spiritual care and the role of parents and churches in guiding children through their media experiences.

https://www.robinblair.com/

Takeaways

• Media literacy as spiritual care
• Importance of discernment in media Media literacy is essential
• Parents must engage with children

Chapters

• 00:00 Navigating the Digital Landscape
• 12:00 The Role of Parents in Media Literacy
• 18:06 The Listening Compass: A Guide for Parents
• 25:36 Commercialization of Streaming Services
• 27:08 The Evolution of Children's Programming
• 29:34 Brand Influence on Children
• 31:56 Integrating Faith with Media Literacy
• 32:47 Church and Parental Collaboration
• 34:12 Navigating Difficult Conversations
• 36:57 The Role of Volunteering in Development
• 39:43 Media Relationships and Identity
• 41:06 The Importance of Real-Life Interactions
• 43:23 Parental Authority in Media Consumption

Lee Ann Walling talks with Susie Hearn, an ordained minister, about the unexpected path that led her from Texas (by way of Egypt) and o Delaware. The conversation centers on how Susie and her husband Larry became the primary caregivers for their infant granddaughter after the sudden death of their daughter—and what it means to parent as grandparents.Susie also shares how her call to ministry grew out of retail work, personal loss, and hospital chaplaincy. She reflects on a decade living in Egypt, the importance of welcoming communities, and why Epworth feels like home.

• How Susie and her husband went from being grandparents to becoming the day-to-day parents of their granddaughter, Holly.
• The sudden death of Holly’s mother and how the family navigated caregiving and custody.
• The difference between being a grandparent and being a parent, especially when setting boundaries and making decisions.
• Holly’s ADHD, school challenges, and the support she receives.
• Susie’s hopeful story about her son, who struggled in school and later became a physicist and radiation oncologist.
• Why Susie believes that love—not rigid family roles—is what makes a family.
• Susie’s path from retail management to seminary, ministry, and hospital chaplaincy.
• How a painful pregnancy loss helped shape her desire to serve others in hospitals.
• Why Susie and Larry left Texas, and how politics, climate, and raising a girl influenced their decision.
• Susie’s memories of nearly 10 years in Cairo, including Egyptian hospitality and everyday acts of kindness.
• Finding a welcoming church community and seeing Holly connect with church activities and summer camp.

00:00 — Introducing “Plucked From the Pews”
01:29 — Susie’s family story and becoming Holly’s guardian
04:20 — Custody, conservatorship, and family relationships
05:11 — The shift from grandparent to parent
06:03 — Holly’s ADHD and the family’s support
07:31 — Advice for grandparents raising grandchildren: one day at a time
08:31 — Holly’s strengths and challenges at school
09:29 — A hopeful perspective from Susie’s son’s story
10:26 — Talking honestly about family, age, and love
11:45 — Susie’s path from retail into ministry
14:24 — Personal loss and the calling to hospital chaplaincy
16:12 — Faith, suffering, and finding meaning without blaming God
16:41 — Why Texas became untenable for Susie and her family
18:06 — Chaplaincy, compassion, and meeting people where they are
19:00 — Open and affirming church communities
20:55 — Leaving Texas and finding a new home in Delaware
23:12 — How a short-term opportunity in Egypt became a 10-year adventure
23:37 — Egyptian hospitality and the kindness of strangers
26:24 — Finding community at Epworth
27:50 — Holly’s connection to church and summer camp
28:46 — How Susie and Larry met and eventually married
31:33 — Gratitude for the warmth and friendship of a church community

Pastor Bo Gordy-Stith interviews Lee Ann Walling about her debut novel, The Salt and Light Express, and the spiritual questions running through it. The conversation also touches on her path at Epworth, her work in communications, and how her own life experiences shaped the book’s themes of grief, community, forgiveness, and love.

• Bo introduces Lee Ann Walling as Epworth’s podcast host, musician, and longtime community builder, including her work on the Gordon's Pond Trail and in media and communications for nonprofits.
• Lee Ann talks about The Salt and Light Express, the first of two planned novels, and how spirituality is woven into everyday life rather than limited to church settings.
• In the novel, Chris grieves the death of her partner Sally, travels west in an RV, and begins piecing her life back together in Moab, Utah.
• The book explores how community forms among strangers, including people Chris initially misjudges, such as two Texans in a large motorhome and Jared, a Southern Baptist preacher who becomes a friend.
• Lee Ann discusses centering prayer, mindfulness, and the tension between wanting to quiet the mind and wanting to pray for specific outcomes like safety, strength, or healing.
• The novel questions what core beliefs are actually required to live as a Christian in 21st-century America, with the teachings of Jesus and the Beatitudes as a central reference point.
• Community and local action come up as a contrast to national polarization, with Lee Ann emphasizing feeding people, serving face to face, and working together through practical ministries.
• The story includes a major forgiveness arc involving a teenage driver whose inattention causes the fatal accident, and Lee Ann explains how research into Delaware law shaped that plotline.
• Another major thread is found family, as Chris tries to reconnect with relatives who are judgmental and discovers belonging elsewhere.
• The conversation also covers Claire, a Black character who becomes central to the love story, and how Lee Ann worked through questions of representation and stereotypes with a sensitivity reader.
• She closes by describing how Epworth has become a place where she feels known and able to contribute through music and podcasting.

00:00 - Intro to Lee Ann Walling, Epworth, and her creative path
03:08 - Chris, grief, and the spiritual landscape of the novel
04:37 - Misjudging people and discovering community
05:37 - Jesus, the Beatitudes, and the book’s faith questions
07:02 - Prayer, mindfulness, and centering prayer
08:41 - What prayer means in everyday life
09:55 - From autobiographical fiction to a more plotted second novel
12:06 - The next right thing as a life philosophy
13:06 - Forgiveness, non-dual thinking, and community surprises
14:28 - Why community matters more than national outrage
16:25 - Family rejection and reaching for connection
17:33 - Family research, ancestry, and writing from experience
20:09 - Forgiveness in the accident storyline
22:45 - Forgiveness as ongoing practice
23:15 - Spiritual direction and the question, “What were you hoping for?”
26:32 - Claire, love, and the emotional stakes of vulnerability
29:02 - Why the book is hopeful and works well for book clubs
30:20 - How the book is being categorized and what the next novel will explore
31:49 - Leaning into LGBTQ storytelling and lived experience
32:19 - The title, the Beatitudes, and the audiobook
33:13 - Closing thoughts on Epworth and finding a place to serve