For Real with Kimberly Stuart

Kimberly Stuart

For Real with Kimberly Stuart invites listeners to eavesdrop on conversations with folks who live and love well, create beautiful things, teach us a ton, and let us in on what they know. Never one for successful small talk (JUNIOR HIGH WAS A STRUGGLE), Kim asks her guests to get right to it, mining stories of honesty and courage and finding plenty of snort-laughter and tears along the way. They tackle faith and grit and joy and sorrow and leave us with hope and renewed perspective to walk the stretch of road that's ours alone. For more on Kim and her books, visit KimberlyStuart.com read less
Religion & SpiritualityReligion & Spirituality

Episodes

Episode 55 - Heart-Forward Hospitality with Liz Bell Young
4d ago
Episode 55 - Heart-Forward Hospitality with Liz Bell Young
Liz Bell Young is with me today for a conversation I didn’t know how much I needed. I messaged her afterward and asked that we always be friends, as I am not one to hold back my undying admiration and love. You will want to message her the same thing once you hear her talk about real, uncomplicated hospitality and how to create havens for the people around you. Liz is an artist, an author, an experience designer, and she collaborates with really cool people at Magnolia and Anthropologie. She is also an approachable and lovely Midwest girl and after drinking in her new beautiful book, Let There Be Havens: An Invitation to Gentle Hospitality, I was honored to get to talk with her.  Liz Bell Young is a writer and experience designer. Author of the memoir In the Wide Country of Love and creator of the Anthropologie-distributed Haven magazine, Young is an MFA graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Cincinnati. Young is a contributing writer for Magnolia Journal, Artifact Uprising, and Darling, among others. Young founded Haven Creative Studio and is a creative consultant for clients, including Procter & Gamble, Crossroads Church, and Stan Smith Events. Young and her husband, Ryan, live in Ohio with their three children. Find her online at lizbellyoung.com and @lizbellyoung. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.
Episode 53 - Myquillyn Smith
Jun 11 2024
Episode 53 - Myquillyn Smith
The perfect guest joins us for this final episode of the season. Myquillyn Smith, also known as the Cozy Minimalist, is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcaster, and interior design mentor to millions. Myquillyn and I got to chat about her new book, House Rules: How to Decorate for Every Home, Style, and Budget. If you have always wondered if making your home the place you love has to cost a billion dollars and involve a team of experts, this conversation is for you! Myquillyn dispels that myth and instead arms us with the rules that make sense of design.  Myquillan says to think of her approach as a fun decorating school you didn’t have to leave your house for and where your best friend is the professor. Bring in the fun and the friend professor! And bring in practical ways to help us bring beauty to the places where we live! For the past ten years, Myquillyn Smith, also known as “The Nester,” has been encouraging women to embrace their homes—imperfections and all. Her lived-in, loved-on home has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal and Cottages & Bungalows. Myquillyn is the author of The Nesting Place and Cozy Minimalist Home and was chosen by Christianity Today as one of the top twenty creatives in 2016. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three boys. Find her online @thenester. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.
Episode 52 - Laura Klynstra and Mumtaz Mustafa
May 28 2024
Episode 52 - Laura Klynstra and Mumtaz Mustafa
For this episode I have two lovely guests in the studio with me. Laura Klynstra and Mumtaz Mustafa join me to talk about their very odd jobs as creative directors and book designers and to chat about their new beautiful cookbook, Gather and Graze: Globally Inspired Small Bites and Gorgeous Tablescapes For Every Occasion. These two have a combined four decades or so of experience in the publishing industry, so I found it fascinating to peek behind the curtain of their work. In addition to that shared work, they also share a heart for both excellence in design and photography and for bringing people together around delicious food. I think you’ll leave our conversation feeling inspired and hungry, two of my favorite states of being. Mumtaz Mustafa is an award-winning graphic designer working in branding, digital marketing, and focusing on book cover design. She is Senior Art Director at HarperCollins Publishers in charge of the lifestyle imprint Harvest Books. A native of Karachi, Pakistan, Mumtaz currently lives and works in New York City Laura Klynstra is senior art director for Revell Books and a freelance graphic designer and photographer. Previously she worked as art director at Hyperion Books and at HarperCollins Publishers in New York City. She is the co-author and photographer of Christmas Baking and lives in Michigan with her family and a menagerie of dogs, cats, chickens, and ducks. Find them on Instagram @spiceandsugartable, @mumtazmustafadesigns, and @lauraklyn Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.
Episode 50 - Katherine and Alex Wolf
Apr 30 2024
Episode 50 - Katherine and Alex Wolf
We For Real types are the people who are curious to hear great stories, laugh together, and travel all roads, even the hairpin, pothole-filled ones, with the people we love. If you are any or all of these things, you are going to drink up this conversation with two women I deeply admire, love, and always want more time with, even when we are expiring in the Alabama humidity. Katherine Wolf and Alex Wolf are family and dearest friends. They have written a beautiful new book that comes out of Katherine’s miraculous survival of a near-fatal brainstem stroke that left her with significant disabilities. I don’t even want to take one more second without letting you hear from them, so click in right now and get straight to my conversation with the remarkable and generous, Katherine Wolf and Alex Wolf. Katherine Wolf is a stroke survivor and disability advocate who leverages her redemptive story to encourage those with broken bodies, broken brains, and broken hearts. She and her husband Jay live in Atlanta with their sons, James and John. Together, Katherine and Jay are resourcing people experiencing disabilities through Hope Heals Camp and Mend Coffee. They have co-authored two best-selling books Hope Heals and Suffer Strong. Katherine’s first devotional collection, Treasures in the Dark, is now available. Alex Wolf is the Resource and Experience Director at Hope Heals, where she has the honor of creating inclusive spaces and communities for families affected by disabilities. She also has directed Hope Heals Camp since its founding in 2017. It is the joy of her life. Alex and her husband, Henry (the other joy of her life), live in Birmingham, Alabama. Learn more about Hope Heals at HopeHeals.com and Instagram @hopeheals. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.
Episode 49 - Stephanie May Wilson
Apr 16 2024
Episode 49 - Stephanie May Wilson
Stephanie May Wilson hosts a wildly successful podcast, Girls Night, and is the author of a brand-new book titled Create A Life You Love: How to Quiet Outside Voices So You Can Finally Hear Your Own. This woman’s heart is for folks wading through what she calls The Everything Era. Between roughly the ages 25 to 35, we make so many formational and transformational decisions. The whole idea can get a tad overwhelming, both for the people living it and for the ones who love them. In this episode, Stephanie offers sound advice, a compassionate heart, and practical tips on building a life that’s made uniquely for you. 8x author and top podcaster Stephanie May Wilson is on a mission to be who she needed when she was younger—walking women through life’s biggest decisions and transitions. Through her books, her podcast, and her online courses, Stephanie helps women take off the pressure of what their lives are “supposed to” look like by now, figure out where they actually want to go in life, and take steps to get there. Stephanie’s been featured on NBC, the Anthropologie blog, and Relevant magazine. She has also been a longtime blog contributor for CNBC’s Nightly Business Report, Darling magazine, and the Christian Mingle blog. When she’s not writing, speaking, or recording a podcast episode, Stephanie is usually packing for a global adventure with her husband, Carl, laughing with her close tribe of girlfriends, or curled up in her Nashville home with her twin toddlers, Annie and Quinn. Find her online at StephanieMayWilson.com and Instagram @smaywilson. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.
Episode 44 - Taylor Hughes
Feb 6 2024
Episode 44 - Taylor Hughes
Boy, oh boy, do we have a super fun conversation for you on this episode! I made it exactly zero percent in before needing an inhaler for laughing so hard, if that gives you any indication. Taylor Hughes is making a repeat appearance on For Real, and there’s just something about talking about life with a close friend. Taylor does all sorts of fun things, like solo performing as a magician/storyteller/comedian, going on bus tours with our friend Bob Goff, making Netflix and YouTube specials, and now releasing his second book. We talk about it all and we still didn’t have enough time. That’s what happens with good friends, of course, and I’m so happy you are here to be a part of it all. Listen in to the fun and delight and generosity that is my dear friend, Taylor Hughes. Taylor Hughes fell in love with the art of illusion as a child when his parents bought him a magic kit for his birthday. More than 30 years and 3,000 shows later, Taylor has become known for his signature style of Magic Storytelling. He is the Author of Road to Wonder and has 2 Comedy Magic Specials currently streaming: Chasing Wonder on Amazon Prime and Enjoy The Ride on YouTube. His second book MISDIRECTION: A Magician’s Guide to Spotting and Avoiding Manipulation in Your Life is available for preorder and releases everywhere on February 13, 2024. Taylor is married to his high school sweetheart Katie and they live in Southern California with their two daughters Madelyn and Kennedy. Find Taylor on Instagram @magicstoryteller Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.
Episode 41 - April Bordeau
Dec 5 2023
Episode 41 - April Bordeau
A couple of weeks ago, I was hearing over and over in my conversations with friends how much stress and confusion and YOWZA come with the holidays. I love this season. I’m probably baking something as you read these words. I’m in. AND I also know this season comes with its fair share of extra. Extra chaos, extra scramble, extra hosting, extra outpouring, even extra grief. So I asked a question online and in private conversations: If you had the luxury of having your own relationship expert on call during the holidays, what would you want to ask? Oh, man, did the floodgates open. And my guest April Bordeau knew just what to do. April is a phenomenal therapist with over thirty years of experience. She’s a founder and the managing director of Care To Change, a counseling center in the Indianapolis area, and she was kind enough to join me in a late-night recording session. We tackle all sorts of things, so buckle up and listen to this super helpful and practical conversation with April Bordeau. April is licensed as a clinical social worker. She is a Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) practitioner and certified educator and a Prepare-Enrich & SYMBIS pre-marriage and marriage facilitator. She is trained in Experiential Therapy, Crisis Intervention Teams and NOVA crisis intervention, Theraplay, and the Suicide PAIR program and is certified in EMDR. April is a QPR Master Trainer, is an approved Focus on the Family Counselor, serving on their Michigan Hope Restored marriage intensive team. April is also a Guide for Onsite who offers world-renowned emotional wellness retreats, therapeutic intensives, residential trauma care, and digital resources. April and her husband, Randy (also a certified Prepare/Enrich Marriage Facilitator, and marriage retreat facilitator), have been married for over twenty five years and they have two teenagers. Learn more about why April started Care to Change in this interview on Care to Change’s podcast. Find her on Instagram @april_bordeau_therapist and @care_to_change. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more from this episode.
Episode 38 - Dr. Emily Smith
Oct 24 2023
Episode 38 - Dr. Emily Smith
Dr. Emily Smith is a rock star epidemiologist, a UN presenter, and an author, not just of scientific articles I cannot understand but also a new book that I CAN understand. Dr. Emily has done a deep dive into what it means to be a Good Samaritan in 2023, both within our local communities and as people of faith who know God so loves the world.  Emily Smith, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the department of emergency medicine/surgery at Duke University and at the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI). Her debut book, The Science of the Good Samaritan: Thinking Bigger About Loving Our Neighbors, releases Oct. 24, 2023 from Zondervan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith became known as the Friendly Neighbor Epidemiologist through her social media outlets which reached over 10 million people in 2020-2021. She continues posting on the social account and her Substack blog with a monthly reach of 2-4 million. Her work has been featured in TIME Magazine, NPR, the Washington Post, Christianity Today, and Baptist News Global. Before joining the faculty at Duke University, Smith spent four years at Baylor University in the department of public health and was a research scholar at DGHI for two years. Smith received her Ph.D. in epidemiology from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill and a MSPH from the University of South Carolina.  Smith has been married to her pastor-husband for 20 years and they have two fantastic children, one spoiled golden retriever and a new very-friendly goldendoodle puppy. Find Dr. Smith online at emilysmith.substack.com and Facebook @friendlyneighborepidemiologist. Visit ⁠KimberlyStuart.com/podcast⁠ for more from this episode.