I'm really happy to be here with you today. I am back. Oh, I hope y'all loved the hall of fun series in July as much as I did as much as the guest did. I love getting

text from our guests when their show came out about how many of y'all were reaching out and telling them how much you enjoyed hearing that conversation. That is my hall of fun. Now if you go to my Instagram if you go to the that sounds fun podcast Instagram. You can fill out your hall of fun. So make sure you grab that graphic fill out which shows where you're favored over the last nine years. Who would be in your hall of fun for that sounds fun episodes. We would love to see it. We've been at the most fun sharing those I'm back in the office this week.

After my summer Sabbath, we have had a great week already back together and we have got a great show and store for you today. Before we dive into today's conversation, I got to tell you about one of our incredible partners athletic greens. Okay. I don't know about y'all, but if you're getting back into your routine after some vacation time like me, you want to make sure you're incorporating all the daily nutrients you need into your rhythms, AG1 by athletic greens is the way to go with AG1. You can get the daily nutrients you need without taking a bunch of different things. It is the healthiest thing you can do

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Today on the show, I get to talk with my friend, Granger Smith. You are going to love getting to know him and his story. After 24 years touring as an award winning platinum selling country music singer songwriter.

Granger chose to leave the music business to pursue a future ministry. The summer marks his last tour as he continues to step into teaching opportunities and pursue a seminary degree.

But his story is marked with a lot of grief to today. We talk about his new book, like a river, which is his journey through losing his three year old son river back in 2019 and the grief and guilt and even addiction.

He's walked through to get to this point in my life. This week marks one year since we lost my nephew TJ. So it is not lost on me. God's timing to remind me and all of us of what he can do with grief and loss.

It's a story none of us want, but we are often faced with and Granger's story felt like the exact right one for this week. This conversation is emotional. I cried just about the entire thing.

And it is heavy at times, but it's also hope filled in a reminder of what God can do with our grief. What he is capable of restoring and redeeming and a little heads up. If your mini BFF is listening along this maybe one that you want to hear.

Before you invite your kids into the everyone faces grief. So it's great for kids to talk about grief, but Granger gets very detailed about losing his son and about the process of his family life after that.

And I just think it's a grown up conversation that you'd want to hear before your kids here as well. So here is my conversation with my friend, Granger Smith.

Granger, this is coming out the week that your book releases and the part of my story. I don't know if you know is my nephew died last year this week.

So we are at one year exactly of him passing away. And I thought what a perfect episode to have you on.

Because we share the loss a version of child loss and family loss. And so as I was reading your book yesterday, I was like, well, I was ready to talk about us. You becoming a pastor.

I did not know how deep this. I mean, I knew your story because we all lived at a particular here in Nashville and all the people we share. But will you kind of tell me why in the world did you want to write about this Granger? Why do you want to write about the loss of your son?

Yeah, that's a great question. And I think my best answer is especially, especially over the last four or so years. I have been trusting more than ever.

As I feel deep in the spirit as I feel like my prayer life is somewhat healthy. It's never where I want to be.

I feel like at that point, I could trust more what my desires are because he will give us the desires of our heart. Not not so much like we might think he gives us whatever we want.

I believe he gives us God gives us our wants. He gives us new ones. And so I'm I'm have begun of the last half half decade to further identify.

Oh, this is this is a strange desire that I cannot extinguish. I can't stop thinking about this. I'm a little bit obsessed by this thought. Nothing else is going to get rid of this thought. There's been a lot of things like that. And the book writing this book was definitely one of those new desires that I just thought maybe I should write this book.

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