Join us on episode 11 of the WyzeCast™ show for an inspiring journey with Julie Kenzler, the renowned author of “Hope Follows” and a captivating international broadcaster and podcaster. In this special episode of WyzeCast™, Julie shares her profound insights on how hope, like a beacon, follows in the wake of life’s most challenging moments. As the creator of the “HOPE FOLLOWS” movement, Julie believes in the transformative power of hope and its ability to emerge even in the blurriest of life’s circumstances.

Delve into Julie’s world as she takes us through her experiences as a storyteller, bringing hope-filled narratives to people across seven continents and 190 countries. From her bestselling contributions to “Lemonade Stand Book #3: The Path from Sour to Sweet” to “No-Problem Parenting: Resources and Stories that Create Confidence and Connection,” Julie’s wisdom resonates far and wide.

In this episode, be prepared to laugh, cry, and ultimately find inspiration and courage. Julie is determined to help you uncover your unique “HOPE FOLLOWS” story, no matter the challenges you may be facing. Discover the authority and charm in her voice as she imparts lessons on confidence, boldness, and reclaiming lost joy.

Julie’s life motto, “Carpe Omnia!” (Seize it all!) echoes through the episode as she shares how God has been her anchor during the darkest days. Whether gathered around a campfire, hiking trails, or playing board games with her husband and adult children, Julie’s life is a testament to seizing every moment and making lasting memories.

Tune in to this episode of WyzeCast™ as we explore the profound topic of “Finding Hope Amidst Life Struggles” with Julie Kenzler, a beacon of hope in her own right.

Watch on YouTube – Premieres November 23rd, 10 AM ET

Listen on Spotify – Premieres November 21st, 11 AM ET

Melanie McSally
Welcome to another episode of WyzeCast™, the show that elevates the voices, shines the light, showcases the gifts of our heart-centered guests, and amplifies the positive differences they are making in the world.

Finding HOPE today is a blurry speck in the distance as we face our own challenges and see turmoil and conflict in the world around us. Today’s guest created the tag “HOPE FOLLOWS” because she believes HOPE indeed follows the hard things we face in life. She is the author of “Hope Follows” and a contributing author of the bestselling books “Lemonade Stand Book #3: The Path from Sour to Sweet” and “No-Problem Parenting: Resources and Stories that Create Confidence and Connection”.

Behind a camera and mic as an international broadcaster and podcaster, she brings people’s hope-filled stories to 7 continents and 190 countries through the Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network and Christian Women’s Word Network. You will laugh and cry only to find inspiration and courage with her and her guests, determined to find your HOPE FOLLOWS story in the midst of challenges you might be facing.

Whether it is a room filled with a captive audience, on video, or through the airwaves, her voice of experience and charm bring authority in teaching those around her to have confidence and boldness in reclaiming lost joy.

God has been her anchor and rock in walking through some very difficult and dark days, only to come out to a position of believing HOPE FOLLOWS those difficult things we face that seem to want to take us out. On the real set of her life, she has a blast spending time with her husband and adult children by a campfire, on a hiking trail, or playing board games. Making memories is her proclamation with the motto, “Carpe Omnia!”, which means Seize it all! And she certainly does seize every moment.

My name is Melanie McSally, your host for today’s episode, and without further adieu, I am excited to host and would like to give a warm welcome to the joyful, the loving, the inspiring Julie Kenzler, who is joining us from Phoenix Arizona. Julie, Welcome.

Julie Kenzler
Thank you, Melanie, for having me on the show. I am thrilled for you and all that you’re putting together with this, and I know you’re going to shake things up in the podcast world.

Melanie McSally
Oh, wow, Julie, thank you. I appreciate you so much. Yeah, we are excited by what we’re doing behind the scenes at WyzeTribe®, not just with the revolutionary technology behind WyzeCast™, but also all that we’re doing to help our clients with this digital transformation we’re in. It is both a challenging and exciting time so thank you for taking a moment to recognize our efforts. I truly appreciate you, your kind words, and your loving spirit. I am excited for our listeners to get to experience your kind heart, joyous spirit, and captivating message. So, let’s dive right in, shall we? Why don’t you tell our listeners, what is the story behind Hope Follows?

Julie Kenzler
Before it was a book, and it was a podcast, a broadcast show; it’s a movement. It all started with no hope. Absolutely a hopeless point in my life. It was back in 2013 when my sister Tammy was hit by a drunk driver. I will never forget that day. You don’t when it’s something so traumatic. And there are things that trigger it through the years, and it’s been 10 years now for me, but I can still feel it. I can remember the phone call from our other sister letting me know what had happened. I remember screaming and in complete denial and shock. As the days went by, I remember my kids wondering, is mom going to be okay, dad? I have four kids that were young, some in high school, and some younger than that, but they really were scared at what was going on with me. Because I felt friends, I felt like I had no hope. This was my best friend, my confidant. She was like a mom to me. She was my sister. I mean, we did so much in life together. We have the best of times and to imagine life without her, it completely rocked my world. It shook me.

Melanie McSally
Oh wow. I feel incredibly blessed to say I have never had to face such a devastating tragedy of losing somebody I love so dearly, losing a sibling, a family member, or a best friend. I can’t even begin to imagine how that felt and how you were able to go on, let alone find joy and turn your experience into a movement to help others. So, when facing such a tragic and devastating loss, how did you get to a point where you felt hope again?

Julie Kenzler
Well, after hearing my children ask, what’s going to happen to mom; what is going on, Dad? I knew I needed to do something. At the time, I was a stay-at-home mom. I loved everything about it. I was also a substitute teacher at my children’s school. I knew I needed to take a little bit of a break. I knew, for sure, that I needed a counselor. So, I did see a counselor, a grief counselor, for two years. Dawn. She was the most wonderful person for me at that time in my life. I had seen a counselor back when I lost my father when I was age 16, but this was just so different. There was just so much history with my sister and me, and it was just all the hopes and plans of the future. I mean, you had that, as a young girl and a teenager, with your father, but I just can’t describe it. It was, it was a tragic loss. And unnecessary; drunk driving completely. We don’t even call it an accident. It’s a crash.

During these two years of counseling, I loved everything about it with my counselor. She prayed for me. She taught me how just to reframe and rethink how I was living my life without Tammy. I also went through some Grief Recovery courses. I went through two of those. It was probably 16 weeks each. That was a big commitment, but I needed that. I really needed that connection with people who were also facing loss. I read a ton of books. I even told people it was almost as if I went through a whole college course, like a whole semester of college. I studied. I wanted to not get over it because you don’t get over a loss, but I wanted to know, how do I get through it? How do I get to the other side? How do I find hope again? How do I feel happy again? Of course, with children, I mean, I’m happy with them, but there was just something missing so deeply.

Melanie McSally
That must have felt so incredible. I have so much appreciation and respect for you and your ability to go through that process come out the other side with such a positive attitude, and all while raising children.

Julie Kenzler: Thank you for saying that, Melanie.

Melanie McSally
Of course. As I mentioned, I have not experienced the degree of loss you are talking about, but I have felt this overwhelming feeling of despair and doubt. It was during a time when I was doing some shadow work, healing some past trauma. It was kind of thrust upon me and seemed to go on forever. During that time, it seemed like I was being faced with challenge after challenge, and I didn’t feel like anyone else would understand or relate and of course, I also had these beliefs that one doesn’t complain about their burdens; no one wants to hear about the bad or hard stuff, and I can get through this on my own anyway. So, as I said, it went on forever, and when I finally got to the turning point where I could manufacture and eventually feel hope and joy again, it just felt like I was floating on clouds. I felt so light. I also felt grateful and powerful, like I could conquer anything that came my way. It’s almost euphoric because even though the process is long, lonely, hard, and arduous, the shift feels sudden.

Julie Kenzler: Yes, Melanie. That’s true.

Melanie McSally
So how did you go from working through your grief, screaming from mountain tops, asking God for help, and finding hope and joy again to becoming a broadcaster and international influencer?

Julie Kenzler
During those two years of grief recovery work, I did so much journaling. I started a blog. Then, I had such good feedback from friends and family I decided to write a book. The book was, yes, the foundation of it was about loss and grief, but there is so much more to it. It has little tiny chapters of all the hard things we’ve faced. Whether it be low self-image, it could be any number of things that we face that are difficult in life. I have humorous stories, practical comments, and encouragement to help the reader see that there is hope beyond their difficult life situation.

Well, then, fast-forward, I was interviewed by a really good friend of mine from my church. She was a broadcaster on a show, and it’s an international show on an international network and got a lot of great views. It’s really encouraging. Afterward, the producer asked Julie, would you please consider having your own show? I definitely went to people who are my mentors and my husband. I didn’t know how I was going to fit that in my life at that point, but I kept seeing messages, whether it was a church message, a song, or just someone talking to me. I could tell it was time to take Hope Follows to a different level, and this was a great platform; a great opportunity.

So, that is exactly what I did. I started that, and I’m in my third year of broadcasting the show Hope Follows. It is found on Roku. I mean, it’s in a number of places, Amazon Fire. It’s also a podcast, which is on Spotify and Apple podcasts. I mean, you can find it wherever. Hope Follows. Just Google Hope Follows. But I always, and it’s so funny because my family and I, whenever we’re facing a difficulty, we always look at each other and say Hope Follows. It’s what I want people to experience. I want them to know that hope will follow the hard stuff that we face. The show itself, I’ve had over 90 episodes, and we talk about so many different topics, and I have guests on my show. We talk about loss and grief. We talk about adoption and fostering and chronic disease. I had one guest, a friend, who was on there. He was waiting ten years for a liver transplant. His story is amazing: facing a threatening diagnosis. A veteran story who shares the tragedy he went through stepping on a mine and having his leg, losing his legs because of it, and then starting this amazing program of support for those in the military. I mean, these are real-life people, just like you and me, who have faced difficult situations. But wow, the hope they got, beyond that, and how they used that to encourage others. marriage devastation and the victories that people experienced. Financial tragedies, financial loss, moving into financial freedom, regrets, and forgiveness. Then you have healed and restored relationships, disabilities, physical and mental disabilities that did not hold back people from the amazing success they’re experiencing and how they’re touching lives from oppression to gaining the courage and the strength to get that freedom that you need. I mean, friends, we’re talking over 90 episodes. I just encourage you to check it out because I want you to feel hope, and that’s what it’s all about with this broadcast. And I’m excited because I’m going to be working on some new projects that are coming out as well.

Melanie McSally
That does sound so amazing. This whole conversation has been so inspiring. I mean, I can’t imagine anyone will go their entire life escaping having to feel the impact of grief and loss because it’s found in everything, from transitioning from one phase of life to another, losing something of meaning in your life- a home, a job, a status, an income, a project- to losing a loved ones- friends, family members, pets- to breakups, to losing the ability to do something you enjoy doing. I love that you’ve turned your journey into something so powerful, so empowering, so impactful. What a blessing you are giving people hope by showing us that we’re not alone. That we will get through whatever it is, we are facing and that there is reason to have hope. I am excited to listen to and be inspired by your stories from your podcast. I am definitely adding Hope Follows to my podcast list.

Julie Kenzler: Thank you, Melanie, I appreciate that

Melanie McSally
My pleasure, Julie, so how can we find hope and reclaim joy even in the midst of facing challenges and difficulties?

Julie Kenzler
Well, my initial response to that question is, right now, let’s just do some practical things. So, some practical ways are: purposefully smiling at someone. Even if you’re just not feeling it, smile at someone. You don’t even have to say hi. Maybe later, you’ll feel like saying hi. Compliment store employees; that’s always a wonderful thing to do. Have some granola bars and water bottles in your car so you can give them away to people as you see them and while you’re driving around town.

Another thing that I also love to do is my family and I, one time, rode our bikes to a store nearby, a grocery store. We went to the parking lot, and we had five sticky notes each. We wrote hope on each of them, and we just put them on people’s cars. I knew it would be okay because sticky notes are not harmful. If you ever see one on your car, you know, it’s from me.

I also think, what if something really great happened recently to you; share that. So often, we share all the hard things that we’re dealing with and the things that are negative. When you have something exciting or just something positive in your life, share it. I encourage you to share that with someone.

Buy someone’s coffee when you’re waiting in line. We know that’s a common way to spread some joy and give some hope to people.

Maybe there’s also someone you haven’t thanked in a while. Show some gratitude to them. I think that’s a great way to increase that joy and hope.

Who has helped you recently that you can send a thank you note to? Maybe send them a picture of something. If they helped you in your house, doing something, send me a picture of it. Now, I know my husband is always sending pictures of anything that his mom sends to us. And he sends it right away. He sends a picture of him with it to her, and I’m sure that really gives her a lot of joy.

Also, I think this is fun. Next time that you have an Amazon package delivered, which could be in two hours if you order right now. Maybe you have a water bottle or a soda you could give to the driver, the delivery person.

In addition to these practical, simple ways of reclaiming that joy that’s ours by doing things for others or just sharing the good things in our lives, I also want to introduce you to something that I have lived out.

It’s Carpe Omnia! and it means to seize it all. It means they seize everything, and I know for myself I recently went to the Grand Canyon, and I hiked it from one rim to the next. It’s a 23-mile hike that is 7000 feet elevation gain. It took about 11 hours to do it. I trained for it. I had people there encouraging me and cheering me on. I cheered others on. You see, friends, when we face loss, when we face difficult things in life, we can’t do it alone. Sometimes, we need that solitude time, but more than anything, we need a cheerleader in our life, and that’s what I want to be for you, my friends.

In the next couple of months, I’ll be rolling out some new courses. I’m going to offer to help you gain that joy and reclaim that joy and that hope in your life that has been missing.

You see, my sister loved the Grand Canyon. It was her favorite place on earth. And I wanted to do it. I wanted to honor Tammy. It was ten years after losing her that I did that. I worked hard. I had people there. As I said, cheering me on. I wasn’t alone. And I don’t want you to do it alone either.

Something that is a great quote. I love this quote from pastor and author John Maxwell. He says that everyone has the potential to become an encourager. You don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to be a genius. You don’t even have to have it all together. All you have to do is care about people and initiate that. And that’s what I want to do for you. So you just reach out. I’m here for you with anything. Anyway, I can encourage you and share with you my struggle and how I found hope and help you to see that you can redefine the struggles that you’re facing, reframing them and making a plan to experience that hope and joy for you because hope follows all the hard things we go through in life.

Melanie McSally
That’s incredible, Julie; what a gift you are. I’m excited for the world to get to experience your light shining even brighter through all of these new offerings you have coming. So listeners, you might be thinking, this is great, but I need Julie now. You might want to keep this inspiration going and receive more of Julie right now and so I’m excited to tell you about a 5-minute ritual Julie has for you. It’s a video that you can watch and a short practice, led by Julie, that you can do daily. For those of you watching, the link is on the screen. Just click here to gain access to this 5-minute ritual. By signing up, you’ll also receive advanced notice when Julie launches her new offerings.

Finally, we’ll also link Julie’s Hope Follows podcast in the description. I highly suggest you take advantage of these opportunities to bring more hope and joy into your life, starting with just 5 minutes a day. I want to thank you, Julie, for being here today. It has been such a pleasure listening to you and your incredible journey from grief to Hope Follows, seeing the joy emanating from you, and experiencing your kind and caring heart for others. WyzeCast™ is all about shining the light of our heart-centered guests, and it has been my absolute pleasure helping you shine your heart-centered light and gifts to the world.

Julie Kenzler
Thank you, and God bless you. Stay tuned for more from Hope Follows. I’m Julie Kenzler. I am your Hope Follows lady, cheering you on to find your new hope and your joy.

Melanie McSally
I want to thank our listeners for tuning in. If you like what you’ve heard here today, please do like, share, and comment. We are trying to get WyzeTribe™ to be a hot new release. So if you feel inspired, if you feel moved, if you feel called, if we earned it, please do like, share, and comment. It is free for you to do so and really helps the podcast grow. And we really do love your engagement.

This was another episode of WyzeCast™, the show that elevates the voices, shines the light, showcases the gifts of our heart-centered guests, and amplifies the positive difference they’re making in the world.

If you want to learn more about WyzeCast™, you can visit our wyzecast.com. We dropped ten episodes every month on the 21st, so you can binge-watch or spread them out over the month. Whatever suits your mood and lifestyle.

Once again, my name is Melanie. It has been my pleasure being your host today. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching, thank you for your engagement, and I invite you to come back and join me once again for our next episode of WyzeCast™.