First and Main

Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?
She's taken her stand at FIRST AND MAIN, at the busiest intersection.
Right in the city square where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,
"You - I'm talking to all of you, everyone out here on the streets!
Listen, you idiots - learn good sense!
You blockheads - shape up! Don't miss a word of this -
I'm telling you how to LIVE WELL,​ I'm telling you how to live at your best... 
​Proverbs 8 MSG 

I am so excited to blog about First and Main! For those of you that do not know, First and Main is a podcast hosted by my wonderful friend, Debbs, and me! We have launched 24 episodes already from season 1 and we have a season 2 on the way! Have you heard it yet? 

So, why in the world did we start a podcast and why am I just now blogging about it 24 episodes later? 

As a certified John Maxwell life coach, this podcast is a way that I can spend time with a great friend and talk about life and the avenue we can take that will lead us to a life of abundance. It's a way that we can encourage, inspire, and help others while networking testimonies from some of our special friends and show guests. Oftentimes we learn the most by listening to other people's experiences and stories. What better way to do this than to meet you, wherever you are, through a podcast?

The name of our podcast, First and Main, actually came from a scripture in proverbs 8. We began praying about what we would name our podcast and one day while Debbs was reading the bible she found First and Main in the message translation from proverbs 8. We found our tagline "living well" from that same scripture and First and Main was born. I have the actual scripture posted above. 

We recorded our first episode in January 2021 and committed to 2 episodes a month. In fact, we planned the whole year and came up with 24 topics - one for each episode. Little did we know how much time and energy this podcast was going to cost us and how much our one year plan was going to change! That's the beauty of planning though - it keeps you on track and gives you a guideline but just about anything can come up along the way and mess it all up!  And let me tell ya, we have had all kinds of things come up along the way.

On the day of our very first recording, my internet at home was down and so I wasn't able to get online to zoom and record. Because I couldn't get connected in enough time, we wasted a whole day. The next day, I ended up driving an hour to Debb's house to set up my mic and get it done. Our first episode took WAY too many hours to put together. We were nervous, scared, and kept "messsing up." It was the first one - the make it or break it episode. We made it though. 

Our second episode, I recorded while having covid. That was fun, not. I was congested, tired and sounded nasally. Thank God for an amazing editor that was able to help make our audio sound flawless.

In March, Debbs and I had just recorded our fifth episode about leaving legacy behind when my Mother in law passed away. It was a timely episode that only God could use to give me and my family comfort and peace. I returned a few episodes later as we began a series on attitude - and at this point, I was still experiencing post covid symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog and it made me feel terrible. I thought that I was experiencing just a poor attitude influenced from all the negativity around me but really I was extremely anemic, and I needed surgery to help get my health back. I ended up having surgery in October and taking 2 weeks to recover.

As I was undergoing testing and scheduling my own doctor appointments, Debbs contracted covid. She was hospitalized with blood clots in her lungs and put on oxygen. This kept her from podcasting at all and as her lungs recovered, for voice weakened. From September to end of December, Debbs was not able to record with me at all. Although she couldn't record, she stayed busy behind the scenes setting up interviews, scripting, and working on our social media.  She entered into vocal therapy and God willing will return to record in January.

For some, just the first 6 months would have been enough to stop the progression of podcasting and trust me, there were plenty of times we both felt that way but we pushed on. We continued and as we did, we gained listeners and attraction from nearby states and other countries. We received amazing feedback and even testimonies of how our podcasts helped and encouraged certain listeners.  First and Main was a calling from God that we answered and let me tell you, the enemy tried SO very hard to push us off track but we stayed strong to our calling. 
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Along with the positive feedback - we of course also received some negative. Really, the truth be told - We did make a lot of mistakes and so, we learned a lot! We learned that we rely way too much on scripting and that either we talk too fast or too slow. We noticed that sometimes when we record we sound like we are reading a script and not actually connecting with our audience, and that we need to check to make sure our mic is actually connected BEFORE we begin recording. LOL We learned that we need to double check that we are all wearing earphones and that everyone is prepared well in advance to be a show guest. We learned so much but most importantly, we were reminded that WE CAN DO ANYTHING THROUGH JESUS CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS US. There were so many times we felt stuck insecure, judged, and even self-doubt and it was only through the Holy Spirit that helped us move forward.

First and Main helped me dive deeper into scripture which helped me grow in my faith. It gave me an avenue to practice life coaching and mentoring and a platform that made a dream of motivation speaking come true. And even though we are well on our way to season 2, it really is just the beginning. I am grateful, honored, and humbled that of all the people that Debbs knows, she asks me to join her in this journey. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Debbie. I love you both.

You can find First and Main on most podcast platforms including iTunes, Spotify, and Anchor. You can also listen to the podcast episodes directly from this website! Just click on the toolbar above "podcast" and each episode that has been released will pop right up!