Hot Takes on What’s Worth Watching & Reading (and Skipping) | Sadie Robertson Huff & Korie Robertson

Summary

WHOA That’s Good Podcast

Episode: Hot Takes on What’s Worth Watching & Reading (and Skipping)
Host: Sadie Robertson Huff | Guest: Korie Robertson (Sadie’s Mom)
Date: August 27, 2025

Episode Overview

Sadie Robertson Huff and her mom, Korie Robertson, dive into deeply personal and candid “hot takes” on their favorite—and least favorite—books, movies, and TV shows. The conversation centers on what media has shaped and moved them, how they try to be intentional about what they consume, and why discernment matters—especially as faith shapes their lives and boundaries. Expect heartful book recommendations (with emotional confessions!), honest TV nostalgia, and playful debate over “cheesy” classics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Books & Stories

[00:45–06:41]

• Korie reads her favorite book passage from A Gentleman in Moscow, getting emotional:

  “For what matters in life is not when we receive a round of applause. What matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of the acclaim.... I assure you, my dear, were you to play a chord on the moon, I would hear every chord.” – Korie (reading, [01:00])

• Reflection on parenthood and why stories hit so hard:

  "That’s the best description of a parent... You’re so proud of your kids, and it’s not that they win the award... it’s just that they go forth and do it." – Korie ([02:31])
  "That shows you the impact that books can have and movies…and certain wording and phrasing that just hits you to your core..." – Sadie ([02:43])

• Intentional reading as empathy training:

  "Reading fiction and memoirs... you put yourself in those positions. It just gave you this greater capacity to understand other people, have compassion..." – Korie ([05:53])

2. Most Impactful & Favorite Books

[06:42–22:14]

Korie’s Top Picks:

• Childhood Classic: The Secret Garden – “Just slow and beautiful, but has a lot of depth and meaning.” ([07:01])
• Memoirs: Angela’s Ashes and its sequel ’Tis – “They just gave you a different appreciation…teach you stuff about human nature.” ([08:00])
• Impactful Nonfiction: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – “Very intense, very hard to listen to...but so powerful.” ([09:33], [10:46])

Sadie’s Picks:

• Memoir: God’s Smuggler – “My favorite book. It is the coolest book ever...on the edge of my seat the whole time.” ([16:25])
• Fictionalized Biographies:
  • Becoming Mrs. Lewis (the love story of C.S. Lewis) – “So sweet...based off their letters.” ([17:48])
  • Redeeming Love – “I could not put that book down...beautifully written and powerful.” ([18:39])
• Other recommendations: The Hiding Place, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

Shared Notables:

• Viola Davis’ and Matthew McConaughey’s memoirs—great as audiobooks, “because their voices are so good.” ([12:46])
• Loved Does (Bob Goff) and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (Donald Miller)—books that changed their perspective on life and faith as the Duck Dynasty family rose to fame. ([19:39])

Leadership Reading:

• Dare to Lead by Brené Brown – “Gave me a lot of clarity and confidence...really good advice for stepping into leadership at a young age.” – Sadie ([21:48])

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3. What They’re Reading Now

[22:15–26:16]

• Korie:
  • We Wrestle with God by Jordan B. Peterson – “About biblical truths...opens you up to a whole new perspective.” ([22:24])
• Sadie & Christian:
  • Love and Respect (Dr. Emerson Eggerichs) – A marriage classic they randomly received as a God-orchestrated surprise. ([24:03])
  • Others: Infidel (still working through it), “trying to get into” The Nightingale (not connecting with it yet), Tortured for Christ (“My favorite ever, really tough.”)

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4. Memoirs, WWII Era, and Stories of Survival

[26:16–28:20]

• The Happiest Man on Earth – “This might be my favorite book ever...such a good story, highly recommend it.” – Sadie ([26:41])
• Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Zookeeper’s Wife, Unbroken, Where the Wind Leads – “I love those just powerful stories of people who survive things you think you could never live through...makes you realize we’re actually a lot stronger than we think.” – Korie ([27:38])

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5. TV Shows: What’s Worth Watching, Nostalgia, and “Cheese Trays”

[28:20–40:12]

All-Time Faves & Family Binge Nostalgia

• Friday Night Lights – “That might have been my first binge-watch show.” – Korie ([29:13])
• Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill – Not necessarily recommending, but part of their teen years’ memories.
• Crash Landing on You (K-Drama) –

  “My all-time favorite show because it was so clean, so good.” - Sadie ([31:57])
  “It’s a literal cheese tray, but...sharp cheddar!” – Korie ([32:20])

• Virgin River, Parenthood – “Loved Virgin River, but every bad thing happened...Parenthood, probably my favorite ever.” ([32:41], [33:06])
• Jane the Virgin – Mixed feelings; Korie obsessed, Sadie didn’t connect ([33:37])
• Survivor, Shark Tank, American Idol, Family Feud – “I typically go for more things like Survivor, Shark Tank, American Idol... more real life things.” – Sadie ([31:42])

On TV Discernment:

“I think actually part of that was Duck Dynasty—made us more serious about what we watch... we saw the power of entertainment and how it was shaping people.” – Korie ([29:48])
“Sometimes... the Holy Spirit can convict you in ways you didn’t feel conviction before.” – Sadie ([30:47])

• Both discuss growing more selective as they matured in faith.

Documentaries

• The Biggest Little Farm, Martha Stewart doc, and true crime/cult series are current interests ([38:23])
• “You and Dad watch a lot together?” “No!... but now we’re empty nesters, so finally, yes.” ([39:12])

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6. Favorite Movies (Current and All-Time)

[40:12–50:34]

Sadie’s Throwback List (from 2016):

• The Blind Side, The Help, Mamma Mia, When in Rome, The Intern, Hot Pursuit (“I could have been her character!”) ([41:01])
• Princess Diaries, Ramona and Beezus
• “If we’re talking about right now: Moana...and Top Gun 1 & 2.” ([46:20])

Korie’s Family Movie Memories:

• Series of Unfortunate Events, Junie B. Jones, Nanny McPhee, Percy Jackson, Aristocats, Robin Hood, Babe ([44:05])
• “Loved all the Marvel movies—would go to midnight premieres with the kids.”
• Dumb and Dumber was the ultimate family comedy ([45:50])
• Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? – “We wanted other people to see it, it was so good.” ([45:36])
• “The Mr. Rogers documentary...we were all just crying in the theater and didn’t want to get up.” ([47:17])

Major Movie Moments:

• “Top Gun 2 was like nostalgia...everyone clapped at the end.” – Sadie ([46:48])
• “Midnight Twilight premiere lines...Justin Bieber doc...everyone packed in!” – Both ([48:51])

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7. On Fantasy Series:

[49:24–50:43]

• Neither has stuck with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter (though Korie read the books), or Star Wars movies.

  “I want to love Lord of the Rings but I go to sleep every time...” – Korie ([49:38])

• John Luke recommends fantasy, but the women prefer “shorter and less made-up words.”
• One recommendation: The Slow Regard for Silent Things – “Intro into fantasy world you will love. It’s short, just different and beautiful.” – Korie ([50:32])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “What matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of the acclaim.” – Korie ([01:16])
• “Memoirs is my favorite type of book.” – Sadie ([13:33])
• “A good story is not... a man works his whole life and at the end of it he has a white picket fence and a Volvo.” – Korie, paraphrasing Donald Miller ([20:02])
• “I don’t like watching inappropriate shows...but if it’s someone’s life story...you learn so much, like where they’re at, why they did it, the context they’re living in…” – Sadie ([12:51])
• “You can be right but at the wrong tone. You’re saying what you’re saying is right, but you’re saying it with such a rude tone that I can’t receive it, so it’s wrong.” – Sadie, relaying from Love and Respect ([25:04])
• “We do believe entertainment not only has the power to shape us. It does shape us.” – Sadie ([51:20])

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The “Skip List” and Cautions

• Both mention books, memoirs, and shows that are “heavy,” “intense,” or “too much” for some seasons of life—such as Angela’s Ashes, Infidel, and Tortured for Christ. Proceed with discernment and “where your spirit’s at.” ([09:33], [10:46], [51:33])
• TV: Not every favorite is an endorsement—many “not recommending, just remembering.”
• There’s honesty about shows that get “too dramatic” or “ridiculous” (Virgin River, Jane the Virgin) ([32:44], [33:56])

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Final Reflections & Advice

[51:20–end]

• Intentionality in consuming media is key, even with great, meaningful content:

  “Even if it’s a good book...you do need to be intentional with where your spirit’s at...you do with wisdom and guidance, and everyone’s going to fall under a little bit different boundary lines and that’s okay.” – Sadie ([51:33])

• Always let others be where they’re at with their convictions—not everything is for everyone in every season.

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Timestamps Quick Reference

• [00:45]–[06:41]: Emotional book passages & parenting
• [06:42]–[22:14]: Favorite, impactful books (list-deep dive)
• [22:15]–[26:16]: Currently reading, new discoveries
• [26:16]–[28:20]: Memoirs & survival stories
• [28:20]–[40:12]: TV shows: recommendations, nostalgia, discernment
• [40:12]–[50:34]: Favorite movies (past & present)
• [49:24]–[50:43]: Fantasy books conversation
• [51:02]–end: Reflections on intentionality, boundaries, and wisdom in entertainment

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Tone & Language

Both Sadie and Korie speak with warmth, candidness, and humor, willing to be vulnerable about what moves them, nostalgic about family classics, and honest about growing in discernment. The episode is marked by relatable storytelling, mother-daughter banter, and encouragement to seek out media that brings hope, empathy, and meaning—but never at the cost of your own peace or convictions.

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This episode is a must-listen if you want:

• Emotional, faith-based book and show recommendations
• Honest conversation about navigating media in a complex world
• Mother-daughter insight into what’s worth watching, reading and skipping
• A reminder to let your convictions be shaped intentionally and kindly

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Downloadable List of Recommendations

(Sadie suggests they’ll make one, or maybe “AI can do that for us”—indeed, here you go! Download a .pdf of these recommendations, skip-lists, and more.)

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“Hope this gave you some inspo for some fall shows to watch or some books to read, some movies to watch... Always approach what you read and watch with intentionality.” – Sadie ([51:20])

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End of summary.

Transcript

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[Mom]

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[Sadie]

Burgers deserve Pepsi.

[Mom]

So I just came from Satan's kindergarten graduation. Well, like Awards Day. And so I'm a little emotional because my first grandson just graduated from and so I wanted to pull up this is my favorite. Like I think probably from all the literature. My favorite, like passage mild literature. And I pulled it up to read it and I got. Sorry, I got a little emotional. So bear with me. If I make it through it, we'll see. This is from Gentlemen in Moscow. God, this is so. Okay, One does not fulfill one's potential by listening to. Oh shoot. I don't know how to say this. One does not fulfill one's potential by listening to Scheherazade in a gilded hall or by reading the Odyssey in one's den. One does does so by setting forth into the vast unknown. Just like Marco Polo when he traveled to China or Columbus when he traveled to America. Sophia nodded in understanding. The Count continued, I've had countless reasons to be proud of you, and certainly one of them, one of the greatest, was the night at the oh shoot. Okay. I've had countless reasons to be proud of you, and certainly one of the greatest was the night of the conservatory competition. But in the moment, I felt that pride was not when you and Anna brought home news of your victory. It was earlier in the evening when I watched you heading out of the hotel doors on the way to the hall. For what matters in life is not when we receive a round of applause. What matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of the acclaim. If I'm to play in Paris, said Sophia after a moment, I only wish that you could be there in the audience to hear me. The the Count smiled. I assure you, my dear, were you to play a chord on the moon, I would hear every chord. Isn't that so beautiful?

[Sadie]

Sweet. I know, mom, you're literally crying.

[Mom]

It's the best like description of a Parent. Like, how you feel as a parent. You're so proud of your kids, and it's not that they win the award or they get the applause. It's just that they go forth and do it.

[Sadie]

That's so sweet, Mom. This is supposed to be our fun podcast. That was so sweet. That shows you the impact that books can have and movies can have and certain wording and phrasing that just hits you to your core on the human level. So I asked mom to do this podcast because mom is the biggest lover of books ever. As you can tell, I'm sure there's.

[Mom]

Other, bigger lovers of books.

[Sadie]

Well, I know I. I don't know anyone besides John Luke.

[Mom]

True.

[Sadie]

That Loves books. Like, you love books. You're constantly reading. Like, I love. I'm like, how do you. Like, when do y' all do that? Like, I don't even know when y'. All. Y' all read that much, but you do. You're always reading something. You're always learning something. And you remember, like, you recall a lot of things like, oh, I read this in this book. Or that's like, a lot of where yalls good advice comes from or. And whatnot.

[Mom]

It's kind of bad, though, because it's like whatever I'm into and reading is the thing I'm talking about all the time. And so very true. I'm like, oh, I learned this, or I read this or whatever.

[Sadie]

Yeah, that's so true. Yeah. When you got on the Jordan B. Peterson kit, it was always talking about everything was Jordan B. Peterson. So today, welcome to the podcast. We are going to be talking about what books have impacted us the most, what TV shows we love the most, what we're currently reading or watching. Because, you know, this podcast we were recording way before I have the baby, but by the time you guys listening to it, I will have had the baby, which is so crazy. And one of the things I was thinking recently was like, what am I going to watch whenever, you know, have baby, what am I going to read? Because you have so much time, you know, to just kind of sit there and you're feeding and you're watching and you're just chilling. I mean, I guess it is different now that I have little ones running around. It won't be as chill as it was like the first time.

[Mom]

Yeah, you don't get to just, like, sit and you don't get to eat quite as much when you have two toddlers.

[Sadie]

Yes, that is very true. With a C section, you kind of have to sit for A little while. So you do kind of like help.

[Mom]

Take care of the older two. So you can do that a little bit.

[Sadie]

Um, but it's so funny because I was thinking back and this is like not a TV show or anything, but because I had both the girls in May, it just so happened, like right after was the College Baseball World Series, which is like something I typically would not be interested in. But you know, my brother in law plays baseball, so I kind of got into it with him because he went to Omaha and their team won. So I was like, oh, this is so fun. Then whenever I had honey, I was like, oh, this is so great. I get to watch this. I watched the whole thing and I, like, was so excited. Having Haven in May because I got to watch the whole thing.

[Mom]

That's fun.

[Sadie]

Then this time I'm doing August, so I'm like, oh, I'm not gonna have the College World Series to watch, so what am I gonna watch? So that kind of got me thinking about what I'm watching, what we're reading. And you always have good recommendations. You just shared your favorite book quote that you could think of of all time. It literally made you cry, which was really beautiful and really sweet.

[Mom]

Gentleman in Moscow.

[Sadie]

Is that one of your favorites?

[Mom]

It's one of my favorite books, for sure. If you haven't read that, read it. And I'm gonna tell you, it's a big book. And so when you start, it's a little slow to begin with. It's kind of this slow, like, beautiful book that you have to just stick with. And by the end you just love. You just love the characters so much. And I mean, I made me cry. And you just connect, I think. That's one thing that I think is so beautiful about reading and reading. I like to read a lot of memoirs and I like to read a lot of fiction too. And I think reading fiction and memoirs, you put yourself in those positions. It just gave you this greater capacity to, like, understand other people, have compassion for other people, and you feel like you kind of get to like walk in their shoes for that little bit. So I think, I think not only do I just love to read, I actually think it's really important. And good work.

[Sadie]

It's true. Okay, so what are some of your favorite books of all time and why?

[Mom]

Favorite books of all time? Okay. I actually have a little list.

[Sadie]

I made a list too.

[Mom]

You made a list? Good. I did not make this today. I have this on my phone. So I was going to go back and look one so My favorite, like, childhood book, and I haven't read this in a long time, was the Secret Garden. I love that book. I think it's another one that's kind of just, like, slow and beautiful, but just has a lot of, like, depth and meaning in it. And I can't even honestly remember exactly what I love about it. But funny, I loved it as a kid, and I love it. I've read it as an adult and was like, oh, this is a good book. It was, like, verified. It was a good one.

[Sadie]

Oh, it really is that good.

[Mom]

Yeah. So that's one of my favorite, kind of, like, childhood books. So I recommend everybody to read. And then impacting me kind of like, I feel like different books impact you different stages of life. So I was like. Wanted to pull this out and think about one that I know you started to read recently, but you were like, oh, it might be a little bit too hard and too heavy.

[Sadie]

I'm still reading it.

[Mom]

Angela's Ashes.

[Sadie]

Oh, no, I didn't. I quit on that one. That was too sad.

[Mom]

Angel's Ashes and Tiz were two that were like. I think that was probably one of my early, like, memoirs. And I was like, whoa. It just. Just gave you a different appreciation, helped you. I remember there was one moment in that book that impacted me where he. He grew up in this, like, really kind of poor environment, and it was very. Had a very difficult life. And he's going out. He's going to go out. I think he's going to. That's when he's going to go to America and he comes back and everyone treats him differently and is, like, not very nice to him. And he was like, I'm still the same person, but they saw him differently. And they. It's almost like they kind of wanted to pull him back to be like them. And it was. It was this. I don't know, I felt like I learned something in that moment about human nature, about, like, sometimes we, like, want people to say the same, so we try to pull them back so they say the same. And what? Rather than, like, allow them to grow and change, or we treat them like they've changed whenever they really haven't changed. They're still the same person. They're just doing something different. So I think things like that kind of teach you stuff about human nature.

[Sadie]

That's so true. Was that Angel's Ashes? Uhhuh. Okay.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

Yeah. Well, it was, like, really sad at the beginning, and it had something to do with pregnancy or baby. And I was like, just Finding out we were pregnant. And I was like, this is a little too much right now.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

But I might return to Angel's Ashes and Tis.

[Mom]

They're both his memoir. One's a continuation of the other, so I can't remember which one kind of delves into that.

[Sadie]

But I'm still reading Infidel.

[Mom]

Oh, so, so power.

[Sadie]

Very intense. Okay. I actually have said this before on this podcast. I almost brought that book up and I didn't because I was like, I don't know. Like, I feel like it needs a disclaimer if I recommend it. And so now we can. Now I can get my disclaimer recommendation since we're doing a whole podcast on book recommendations and movie and TV show. I think that it is so powerful. But disclaimer. It's very hard to listen to. I'm listening to it. And so, I mean, I'll listen to it. Read or listen to it. Not because it's hard to understand her, but because it's a very hard story.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

And reality of what a lot of people are currently living. You know, I mean, we got to go to Mogadishu, Somalia, and see kind of the lifestyle of a lot of the people. And this girl, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, is kind of telling about her life growing up in Somalia, but then also they moved a lot and Muslim culture and growing up with her mom being very strict Muslim. And it's just a very intense book. And I'm not to like the break free part yet, so I'm still in like the intense moment. Cause it's really, really long. I think I've listened for like seven hours and I'm still like, yeah, it is.

[Mom]

It's in the hard part. It's so good.

[Sadie]

But it's so good.

[Mom]

Which you recommend it.

[Sadie]

Yeah, yeah. Very important. And she wrote another one too, I was thinking about.

[Mom]

Oh, yeah. Her second one's so good too.

[Sadie]

She's amazing.

[Mom]

Yeah, she's incredible. And she's recently come to Christianity and come to faith. So her whole story is really. You should. Y' all should just look her up like YouTube or Ion Herculi.

[Sadie]

And her debate with Richard is amazing. And when you listen to the book, she wasn't a Christian yet. You didn't start listening because she was a believer. You heard her speak somewhere.

[Mom]

Yeah, I think it's important to, like, it doesn't. You know, I'm not like, discriminatory. Like, I only read things that are from people who think, like, I do or whatever. I think you can Learn from different people.

[Sadie]

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[Mom]

It's so good.

[Sadie]

Her voice, like, reading it, is so good.

[Mom]

Yeah, you should listen to that one.

[Sadie]

Does have some language, but it's great. And also listen to Green Light, which is Matthew McConaughey, which is so good to listen to because his voice, too. But it was, like, so funny because Christian was listening with me one day. He didn't know what I was listening to. And Matthew McConaughey is a little rough around the edges. And he was saying something crazy, and Christian was like, what are you listening to? I was like, this is Matthew McConaughey's memoir. He's like, I would never think you would listen to anything like that. I'm like, it's just to me, like, I don't like watching inappropriate shows or anything like that. But if it's someone's life story and you're hearing about, you learn so much, like, where they were at, why they did it, the context they were living in, like, and you just have such an understanding for what people go through. So Memoirs is my favorite type of book as well, so true.

[Mom]

Taking that to like the Bible. And we were, I think we were going to talk about like what has been impacted us in the Bible lately. Now that you say that, thinking about that, like, sometimes when you read the Bible, it's particularly like the Old Testament. Some of the people who are like heroes of faith have very complicated life stories. You're like, whoa. Like, that is not what you would think, like a man of God would do.

[Sadie]

I struggle with David. Yeah, like David.

[Mom]

Yes, exactly. Abraham, like all these things that you read when you read in the scripture of like their stories, you're like, whoa, that's not what I've expected. Someone who like God chose to like, be his person, you know, so you understand that like, oh, it's not just the perfect person that God chooses. He chooses flawed people, broken people, people who make mistake and bad decisions. And so the point of the, you know, of the Bible is God's love for us, not our perfect, like actions towards him. It's his perfect love towards us.

[Sadie]

Yeah, you know, it's so cool with David because I've been reading through psalms lately. I'm on 70, which there's a lot of psalms, so I have a lot more to go. But I started a couple weeks ago and it's just been great for me. It's been so good for my soul and just giving me words to pray and how to process things. But what's so cool is I've gotten more of an understanding on David because you read David's story and it's like, oh, man, like he just falls and he falls hard and some people are affected by it and then yet he's like a man after God's own heart. That's like who he's known as, you know. And the New Testament talks about David like legend, you know, it's not like the bad parts. Then when I've been reading through the Psalms, I'm like, man, I see why he's a man after God's own heart. Because his heart for the Lord was like constantly, like God was everything to him. Like God was everything. God was who he went to to rant. God was when he went to, to cry, God was who he went to, to laugh, go, he went to, to rejoice. Like God was everything to him. And he was like constantly repenting, constantly turning, constantly asking God to help him. The ways that he even talked to God about his enemies just showed like the intimacy he had with God to be so real about people who he struggled with. He was not polished. He was not perfect, but he was like a real man pursuing the Lord and, like, the complexities of life. And I'm like, okay, that's why he's a man after God's own heart, which is so encouraging. It's like, might not all pan out perfect. Probably won't. But, like, how is your heart responding to life, you know, towards God? So I love that. My three favorite books I wrote down are the God Smuggler. It's my favorite book. That's a memoir. It is the coolest book ever. It is. I was, like, truly on the edge of my seat the whole time. And I listen to all my books. I don't really read the papers, I have to say, because that's just not how I learned the best.

[Mom]

That's right.

[Sadie]

But I listened and I was like, could not get enough of it. And I remember after I read that, I was like, I'm going to. I'm going to listen to this book every single year. And I haven't, but I need to, because it was, like, such good perspective on what it really looks like to really believe the Bible. Like, do you believe it enough to, like, take out his Word and, like, want to give the Word and the way him and his wife believe so much. Like, they sold their house just to have enough money to get more Bibles to print. Like, that's wild.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

And, you know, it's so crazy. I was listening to the Hiding Place recently, and was it. Wait, that's. Was it the Hiding place. Wait, quarantine. Yeah, it was. And in her introduction, she talks about meeting Brother Andrew, who was the God Smuggler.

[Mom]

Really.

[Sadie]

Like, she heard him speak or something.

[Mom]

Wow.

[Sadie]

And he had, like, a significant. I think he helped her get her book published. It was some. Some connection like that. I was like, that's crazy. I never knew the Hiding Place.

[Mom]

If that's not on my list, I'm going to add that to it, because that's one of the Hiding Place.

[Sadie]

Yes.

[Mom]

Such a good one.

[Sadie]

Which I'm glad I said that because I need to circle back. I don't think I finished it. I've read it before, but I was rereading it. My other two favorites are actually fiction books, which is funny because I'm not really a fiction person, but they're like fiction based off of truth. Becoming Mrs. Lewis. I love that book.

[Mom]

I was going to bring up. Bring up C.S. lewis in this conversation, because anything by C.S. lewis, really. But that one's not written by him. That's about their story, his life story. And him falling in love with his wife. Yes.

[Sadie]

And it's like. It's kind of, like historical based off of truth because they have, like, so many of their letters they wrote to each other, and so they use their letters in the book, and then they, like, fill in the gaps for what was maybe they were thinking or being said in the middle of their letter writing. It's just so sweet. And I loved it so much. And then redeeming love that book just got me. I actually did read that paper, and I could not put that book down. I was, like, at Christian's family's house, and I was towards the end of it, and I never can do this, but for some reason, I could be in the middle of everyone in the living room, and I would just be reading that book and, like, tears flowing, like, I was, like, lost in that book. It was just so beautifully written and powerful. Another really, really hard story with serious content, but very beautiful.

[Mom]

Yeah, that's so good.

[Sadie]

You have any more on your top faves?

[Mom]

Well, I was thinking about C.S. lewis, and I was gonna say bring up Mere Christianity. I think that's a really important book for Everybody to read. C.S. lewis is so. I think a lot of his stuff is so valuable because he came from this perspective. He was. He didn't have any belief in God, and he came to his faith later in life, and he. So he comes. I love to read from or, like, learn from people like that, because it just comes from such a different perspective. I grew up having parents of faith, and so it's kind of just was always was for me. So whenever you come to it, from a whole different light to where you had no belief to this, you see things differently. And I just love how he writes about that, about God and about faith. And Mere Christianity, I think, is a really important one. That's one of my favorites.

[Sadie]

That's good.

[Mom]

I was thinking about two that impacted me not that long ago, so during kind of like, the Duck Dynasty time periods. One was loved us. You know, Bob Goff sent us his book, and he sent it to us kind of at the height of Dick Dynasty. Everything was happening. It was crazy. And we got it in the mail, and I opened it and read it, and John Luke read it, and we both were just so impacted by it, and we were like, everybody has to read this book. And just that life of, like, saying, like, I'm not going to just talk about loving my neighbor, but I'm really going to love my neighbor. And the way Bob wrote, each chapter starts with, like, I used to think this, but now I know this. It's kind of this like, humility of like I used to. I used to think this was the way, but now. But I've come to learn or whatever. And I just love the way he approached things and just told. And he has had a life of really, you know, putting love into action. So that one and I read these two kind of together. Don Miller's A Million Miles and a Thousand Years. I think that's the way it goes. Something like that. It's always get those confused like it's a thousand miles. Anyway, I think it's a million miles and a thousand years. But. But the beginning of his book, I'll never forget the very beginning. It starts off. It's like a good story is not. A man works his whole life and at the end of it he buys. He has a white picket fence and a Volvo. It's kind of like that doesn't make for a good story. So it also doesn't really make for a good life. Like, your life is not about just like working for a thing like that, like, thing that you think might be materially valuable or whatever. And he kind of talks about what makes a good life and tells a lot of his own life story. And so I thought that was a really good one. And I remember just that, that intro and being like, okay, I'm here for this.

[Sadie]

You can always talk about that intro. You've said it before, like, even whenever I've written books over the past few years, you're like, okay, let's think about how he did that intro. What gripped me about that intro? I need to read it. I've actually never read that one.

[Mom]

Great one.

[Sadie]

I was thinking about one of the most impactful books for me in leadership was Daring. No, sorry, Dare to Lead. Daring Greatly was great too. But Dare to Lead was really good for me, especially, like, stepping into leadership at a young age. That just gave me a lot of clarity and confidence and a lot of really good advice. So Brene Brown is a great writer. That was really good. Okay, what are you currently reading? Currently?

[Mom]

Well, you said Jordan Peterson. I've been reading We Wrestle with God ever since the beginning of this year. It's kind of like my morning, you.

[Sadie]

Know, it's a long one too.

[Mom]

It's a long one and I'm, you know, like 20 minutes in the morning reading. And it's. It's really good because he's another one that didn't necessarily, like, always have faith. And so this is about the Biblical truths throughout the Bible. And so he starts in Genesis, and you just go through. And he's talking about the biblical stories, and it opens you up to a whole new perspective, and the one that, like, you might not have thought of before. And it's making me go back and kind of dive into those early, you know, early stories in the Bible. Abraham and Isaac and all of those early stories. Joseph and that's cool. And look at them in a new way.

[Sadie]

Really cool. So this is so fun. Like, this whole story about why me and Christian are reading the book that we just started reading. But Ms. Tara. So she's been on the podcast for. And we actually talked about this a little bit when she was on. We did, like, a counseling session with her recently because she came in town, did the podcast. Oh, let's meet with you while you're here. She's been Christianized counselor since pre marriage. Like, she did our premarital counseling and always just been, like, a voice to go to, which is so cool because she's been with us for, like, I guess, six years now. So she's just really tracked with us. And she was like, this is so crazy. She was pulling out. She always, like, grabs books that she feels like the Lord leads her to. To study before she talks to us. Like, she can give any advice or, like, point us anything. And she, like, was going to tuck all her books back in, and one was, like, sticking out with a little note. And so she was, like, going to put it back, and then she saw it was Love and Respect, that book called Love and Respect.

[Mom]

So who wrote.

[Sadie]

Who wrote it?

[Mom]

Ed, Greg.

[Sadie]

It was Love and respect. And so she pulls it out. She was like, oh, this is such a great one. Opens it. And it was addressed to me and Christian. Like, she has no idea, no memory.

[Mom]

She had it at her house, at.

[Sadie]

Her office, and we never got it. She was like, I have no idea why I have this. It was like, to Christian and Sadie, it was a note from him.

[Mom]

Oh, my goodness.

[Sadie]

Like, wishing all the happiest marriage. We never got it. And this is five and a half years later, she gives it to us. And she was like, I just feel like the Lord, like, obviously put this on my, like, in my hands to give to y' all to read right now. And so I just started that.

[Mom]

Which is Dr. Emerson Egarik. Yes. He and his wife, they're the sweetest couple. It's one of those, like, you want to follow and listen to people that. Because it knows. Yes. That is showing in their Life. Like, this is, like. I actually respect what you have to say because it's shown in your life, and they are those people. So I think that book is really cool. Really good one. Willie and I read that years and years ago.

[Sadie]

Yeah, that's cool. We just started it so early into it. But even, like, the first piece of advice I've gotten, it was saying, like, you, I'm gonna botch this. It's not exactly how he said it, but it's like, you can be right but at the wrong tone. So basically, like, you're saying what you're saying is right, but you're saying it was such a rude tone that I can't receive it, so it's wrong. And I was like, that is really good advice, because I can so see myself doing that. Like, I have something good to say, but I didn't say it their best way, so you didn't even hear it, you know, so that one. Okay. Infidel, which is taking me forever. So slow. It's slow fade. And then I will say one that I tried to get into, but I just can't get into. The Nightingale, which y' all love so much.

[Mom]

I loved it.

[Sadie]

I know. I'm struggling.

[Mom]

Have to get back to it, which I love. All those books. Nightingale is one from, like, World War II era and the era of the Holocaust, which is such a hard time period.

[Sadie]

I do love listening to. Oh, I didn't even talk about Torture for Christ, too.

[Mom]

I haven't read that one.

[Sadie]

My favorite ever.

[Mom]

Tattooist of Auschwitz is in that category. Nightingale. Those are all so good. The Zookeeper's Wife from that time period.

[Sadie]

I've seen the movie.

[Mom]

Beautiful books. Yeah. Those are all really powerful books that are hard, you know, hard to read because that was such a. A terrible, terrible time in our world, but important for us to not forget.

[Sadie]

What did I just read? Hold on. Why am I not thinking of it? Oh, my gosh. This was, like, the best book ever. This might be my favorite book ever. The Happiest man on Earth.

[Mom]

Oh, that's so good.

[Sadie]

That was so good.

[Mom]

Did I give that to y'? All?

[Sadie]

You did, but then I ended up listening to it.

[Mom]

Okay, good. Yeah.

[Sadie]

And that was incredible. Yeah. Mom gives us a book every Christmas. Christmas. And it's like a book that impacted.

[Mom]

You do. A book that impacted me, like, that year. Yeah. And that was one got me.

[Sadie]

Oh, my gosh. It's such a good story and highly recommend it. I was like, why can I not think of it? But Torture for Christ, Like Very impactful. Really tough. I cried a lot during that one. Happiest man on earth. Very tough. But, like, like, you're like. You feel.

[Mom]

Yeah. Meaning.

[Sadie]

There's meaning.

[Mom]

If there's meaning in life, you can do anything.

[Sadie]

There's any hope, you know? And the. Just the will to live is wild through that whole story and how he, like, even survives at the very end. I think they said whenever he was, like, captured, like, caught by the Americans to kind of get back better. He weighed, like, 83 pounds.

[Mom]

Wow.

[Sadie]

Crazy.

[Mom]

Wow. Unbroken.

[Sadie]

Oh, yeah.

[Mom]

That one is so powerful. There's a movie about it. And the movie's good, but not close to the book. Yes, the book is so good. I love those just powerful stories of. Of, you know, people who survive, things that you think you can't. You think you could. You could never live through. And you hear people live through that, and you realize, like, okay, we're actually a lot stronger than we think. So true. There's one called where the Wind Leads that I love. I want to make into a movie someday. If anybody hears this, that's on my list. So, like, I want to make that into a movie. It's about this family that escapes from Vietnam during a. During a very hard time there. And just what they survived is miraculous.

[Sadie]

Wow, that's so cool. Okay, so now let's get into TV shows, which I will say our books are a lot more intentional than probably our TV shows. Or, like, it's the will to live. It's the inspiration. It changes your life. And they were like, TV shows. Let me tell you about Friday Night Lights. That's one of my favorites.

[Mom]

That's on my list.

[Sadie]

That is so good. I remember specifically remember this. I was in high school, and we all started getting obsessed with Friday Night Lights. And two Mama got so obsessed with that show that we were in New York and I was sleeping, like, we were sharing a room, and I woke up, and two Mama was under the sheets with her phone watching Friday Night Lights. I was like, oh, my gosh. We love that.

[Mom]

It was actually after I had my hysterectomy that I watched it, and I was.

[Sadie]

After the surgeries, the surgery, when you.

[Mom]

Go, like, down, you don't have anything to do. I was obsessed.

[Sadie]

Yeah, that was a good show.

[Mom]

That might have been my first, like, binge watch show, because you can. We can, like, binge. I don't know.

[Sadie]

That was, to me, that was around the binge era, like, probably high school, and maybe that's just high school, but it was like, grey's Anatomy. And these shows are not shows I'm recommending. I'm just saying this is what we watched. One Tree Hill drama. It was bad. I look back at that, I'm like, oh, my gosh. If Honey was watching that in high school, I'd be like, no, ma'. Am. I know. We all did.

[Mom]

Protective of y'. All.

[Sadie]

We've got a lot more serious about what we watch.

[Mom]

Well, I think actually part of that was doing that Dynasty made us serious, more serious about what we watch because we, like, saw the power of entertainment and how, like, our show was shaping people. Then you're like, oh, if, like, our show is impacting people in that way, how much is, like, entertainment impacting us in a negative way or in a way that. With our values or whatever that we don't really want? So I think that actually made us a little bit more, like, discerning about the things that we watched in our house because we weren't super careful about that. And I think that's a hard balance. Part of it is that is just, you know, allowing freedom to learn and grow in those kind of things. It's not like, hard and fast rules or whatever. I think is, you know, that's how we always did it. Everybody's house is different, but we always kind of kept things loose. We didn't have, like, even hard and fast rules about, like, what you could watch or. Yeah, anything like that. We just tried to use wisdom and discernment. As we grew, we changed, which I.

[Sadie]

Think, like, that also goes to show, like, sometimes. I mean, when you grow in your faith, you grow in relationship with the Lord. The Holy Spirit can convict you in ways that you didn't feel conviction before. Like, I didn't feel bad for watching Grace and Abbey before, and now I. I literally, as an older adult, could not watch it the way I watch it then because, like, I actually feel like, no, I don't want to actually see that, you know, which is so crazy. And I'm glad for that. Like, yeah, I don't shame my saying, oh, I'll watch that. I'm just, like, glad I grew in that, you know? And I am more picky on the shows that I watch. But I do kind of have this hard balance with shows because I'm like. Or not even a balance. It's more just, like, an annoyance with shows out there because I'm like, I want to watch a funny show, but funny shows oftentimes are not, like, very appropriate. And then I'll be, like, asking other friends who, you know, have like a stricter, I don't know, conviction when it comes to what they watch. Like, what are you watching? And it's always like these cheeseball shows like that are not, you know, you're like, this is just not really entertaining. So I just typically go for more things like Survivor, Shark Tank, American Idol, like real life things. But Family Feud, always an every night go to. But a couple shows that I loved. Crash Landing on youn, my all time favorite show because it was so clean. It was so good.

[Mom]

It was really sweet.

[Sadie]

My mom said. My mom said. My mom said it is like a literal cheese tray. It's so cheesy. But I said it's not. It's not normal cheese. It's sharp cheddar.

[Mom]

One time, Sadie was saying that it was not cheesy. I was like, it is. No, it is a literal cheese tray, but it is clever.

[Sadie]

It's cheesy, but not like Sweet Magnolia cheesy.

[Mom]

Not like, you know, it's clever and funny and all those things, but it's cheesy.

[Sadie]

It is not Virgin river cheese.

[Mom]

Virgin River's pretty cheesy, but I love Virgin river too.

[Sadie]

I do love Virgin river, but it got a little too dramatic. Like the first season I loved. And then it was like every bad thing, like, if that person's getting in the car, they're having a wreck. If they get on a plane, it's crashing, she's sick, she has cancer. It's never like, chill. It's always the worst case scenario. It is TR Dang. Does everything bad happen in this town? Parenthood.

[Mom]

I love parenthood. I feel like I want to watch that one again. That's probably was my favorite ever. I remember watching the first episode and being like, I don't know if I'm gonna like this because the kids, the teenagers were like, so mean to their mom in that very first episode. And I was like, I don't know what kids being like, disrespectful to their parents or whatever. I remember thinking that when I first watched it, but then I stuck with it and I loved. I love parenthood so much.

[Sadie]

You love all the people. And then like the theme song, it just gives you all the feels. I need to rewatch that one. It's time too, because I've forgotten.

[Mom]

Yeah. Back on the train of things that we. I don't know if we should recommend or not, but it was such a good one. Jane the Virgin.

[Sadie]

I didn't like that one. What I. I wanted to because y' all thought it was so funny. Hilarious.

[Mom]

It's so clever and so funny.

[Sadie]

Too much for me.

[Mom]

It was.

[Sadie]

That was too much.

[Mom]

Oh, my gosh. I was obsessed with Jane the Virgin. I loved it. We were, like, doing our little who. What character are you on? Jane the Virgin.

[Sadie]

You love Jane the Virgin.

[Mom]

Bella and I, Bell and I were so obsessed with it.

[Sadie]

I know y' all were.

[Mom]

It was so good. And of course, it got ridiculous.

[Sadie]

I mean, it got ridiculous.

[Mom]

It do get ridiculous.

[Sadie]

First seasons are, like, the best typically of those type of shows. And I mean, I never quit on.

[Mom]

Now watch the whole thing. But it was meant to be ridiculous. Like, that's the point of it. Which now our new show is going to be out, so, you know, we'll have Dynasty to watch. You know, if you need a little stupidity. A little.

[Sadie]

By the time I have this baby, the first season will be over. Over.

[Mom]

Oh, that's true.

[Sadie]

Yeah.

[Mom]

Wow.

[Sadie]

I'll be just in time for events. Dancing with the Stars, my fall shows. This is the perfect time to refresh your quiet time and journaling routine. And y', all, you know, Mr. Pen is my go to for that. I absolutely love their pastel highlighters. I mean, seriously, how could you not? They're so cute. These colors are so pretty, and I've given them to so many friends. It's honestly such a great gift because it inspires people to get into the word, and it's just so cute. They're always amazed that the highlighters and pens don't bleed through the super thin pages, because that's something that I feel like many of us have just gotten used to. That pens bleed through the pages and you ruin the next page, but you don't have to anymore. I also love the gel pens and the transparent sticky notes. All the tools I use are actually in my journaling kit bundle on Mr. Pen's website, and I know you're gonna love it as much as I do. So we have highlighters. Here's just two of the colors. Super cute, really fun. They even have Bible tabs with the books of the Bible on it. The sticky index tabs make it so easy to keep your place. I'm going to show you, too, just what the pins really do and how they don't bleed through the pages. And so if I'm, like, gonna draw a heart on the side, which I often do, super cute little green heart in the Bible. Well, the beautiful thing about this is you cannot see it on the next page, and so we love that. So there's even A journaling bible that you can get as well that has so much space for notes and doodles and all the things. That's a part of my kit as well. And they're founded by Christian teachers right here in Louisiana. So, you know, I love that. They've also got over a million five star reviews. So it is not just me who is obsessed with them. You guys are going to absolutely love it. And so here's something special just for you. You can actually get 10 off my favorite supplies in journaling Bible. When you use the code sadie10 checking out go to sadiepens.com you'll be directed to my favorites. That's sadiepens.com use the code sadie10 at checkout. I even made a little bundle with my go to journaling supplies like I mentioned, so you can grab exactly what I use and make it your own. These really do make the perfect gift. So y' all go check it out. That. That's the beauty of watching shows like American Idol or Dancing with the Stars. It's like seasonal.

[Mom]

You have something to look forward to.

[Sadie]

Yeah, you have something to look forward to. And Doug Dynasty will be that for people now too. Okay. Another one of my favorite shows, but it's like one I will probably never watch again because it's is way too much of an emotional commitment. But this is Us.

[Mom]

Oh, that's.

[Sadie]

That was great show. Like, if you haven't watched this is.

[Mom]

Us, you know, I never. I don't think I ever watched the very last season. I got a little annoyed with it at the end.

[Sadie]

During 2020. It got annoying. That was rough because.

[Mom]

But it was a great show.

[Sadie]

There was so much heaviness going on in the world. And instead of like, you know, it just being a show you can go to. Nothing about the heaviness. They played into the heaviness today, like, went through Covid too, and went through all the things on the show. So it's just like, sad.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

And I felt like. I felt like a lot of people tapped out there. It got really, really sad.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

And then it ended. Great. We need to come back for the ending.

[Mom]

Okay.

[Sadie]

Oh, my gosh. It was so good. But the beginning, like, that first season.

[Mom]

That was so good.

[Sadie]

It was first season of any TV show ever. That first episode, I think I rewatched like three times with different people because I wanted to see at the end.

[Mom]

You did. You had already watched it. And then when you watched it with me.

[Sadie]

Yeah, the song too. That always comes up. I love when shows do that. Crash Landing on you does this. And this is us. It, like, has the same song. Like, the emotional moments.

[Mom]

Yes.

[Sadie]

I love when shows do that.

[Mom]

I know. I tried to do that for our show. Shout Out. Donna Stewart. She wrote us a song about our family that I tried to get. I keep trying to get, like, on our show, but there is a song that. That's in our show that. But that one was. I wanted that. I know. It was. Maybe. Maybe next season. Yeah, we'll get it in.

[Sadie]

I am hoping to maybe restart Parenthood, because that was a really, really good one.

[Mom]

I'm not in one right now that I'm, like, watching, but dad and I have kind of been into watching, like, some documentaries lately. We watched me, too. We watched the Biggest Little Farm. If you haven't seen that. It's so good. The Martha Stewart documentary.

[Sadie]

Oh, that was good.

[Mom]

That was so good. It was. For me.

[Sadie]

That was really sad because I felt really sad for her.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

She started praying for her after saying that. And I've had dreams. I had a dream. Martha Stewart. If she sees this, I kind of hope she doesn't come on your podcast. A surprise. I had a dream. I sat beside her at an award show, and we got into, like, the best conversation.

[Mom]

That's so cool. That's awesome.

[Sadie]

I was like, lord, let it be.

[Mom]

We watched one about a cult recently that was like, ooh, it was good. I can't remember what it was, though. I can't remember the name of it.

[Sadie]

You and dad watch a lot of shows together?

[Mom]

No. You know that. Okay. There is hope in your life if you are a person that's married and you and your spouse does not have things that they watch together.

[Sadie]

That's me right now. Give me hope.

[Mom]

Okay. I'm trying to give you hope because, like, we did not like Willie always. He watched all the sports, and he watches, like, Dateline and stuff like that, and. And he doesn't really, like. He doesn't get into American Idol or Survivor or some of those other shows. We. So we never really had, like, our shows until the last few years.

[Sadie]

It's been fun to both love, like, Survivor and American.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

Y' all have some things, like series. Like, he does not care to watch the Good Place with me.

[Mom]

He watched Virgin river with you.

[Sadie]

I love Virgin river, but that was after I had Haven, so he was with.

[Mom]

Yeah. Yeah. But then hold out hope someday there might be things.

[Sadie]

And then I don't really like empty nesters.

[Mom]

That's the thing. Oh, we just watched House of David.

[Sadie]

Yeah.

[Mom]

If you haven't watched that? Definitely. Good watch.

[Sadie]

I'm going to watch House today. Maybe that will be my show.

[Mom]

House of David. That is a good one.

[Sadie]

Okay, what about movies? All time. Favorite movies. What movie just struck you?

[Mom]

Favorite movies. Okay. I actually have a list of this from. I made this a long time ago. Let me look at my notes in my phone when I made this.

[Sadie]

When I made my favorite movies list. It was probably so long ago, there's no telling what I said.

[Mom]

You know what? I wish your notes in your phone wouldn't, like, update to the date that you changed it. I wish I kept it when you wrote it from the first thing sometimes. Really? Because of that.

[Sadie]

Yeah.

[Mom]

I was gonna look and tell you when I actually made this list. It was a long time ago.

[Sadie]

Oh, mine is way outd.

[Mom]

Yeah, mine's.

[Sadie]

Oh, this is 2016. I'm like, when did I like this? This is when I graduated high school. No wonder.

[Mom]

What did you like? What was your favorite movie then?

[Sadie]

This is the most random list.

[Mom]

My list is super random too. Tell me.

[Sadie]

Okay, I wrote the Blind side, which I still love the Blind side.

[Mom]

It's a great movie.

[Sadie]

The Help. Still love the Help. Okay. It's about to get a little bit random up in here. Mamma Mia. That's pretty good. When in Rome. So random.

[Mom]

That was a good movie then.

[Sadie]

That's not my favorite movie.

[Mom]

It's good.

[Sadie]

Like, not worthy to be on favorite.

[Mom]

I like that one.

[Sadie]

The Intern. That is a great movie. And.

[Mom]

Yeah. And ha. That was good.

[Sadie]

Hot Pursuit.

[Mom]

That was hilarious. You and I love that movie together.

[Sadie]

I saw Reese Witherspoon in that movie and thought I could have been there. Like that character she played.

[Mom]

You could have played that character. That was so funny.

[Sadie]

I still quote that actually, often things she said.

[Mom]

That was a great one.

[Sadie]

Okay. Prince's Diaries. Because I had so many times. I wrote Ramona and Beezus, which I don't even remember now. And.

[Mom]

Yeah. Which is a good movie.

[Sadie]

I know. But I did. Yes. And I wrote her as someone. I love being in movies. I wrote, like, some of my favorite actresses and I said my favorite motherly figures in movies, Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Garner. I was like, very specific. My favorite actress, Emma Stone and Reese Witherspoon. Comedians. Melissa McCarthy. I was like, I don't know how I got on this kick, but my current favorite movie is Top Gun 1 and 2.

[Mom]

Oh, yeah. Those are so good. Yes. Those are just great movies. Those are great. That's so funny. Okay. My list is hilarious too. Like I obviously wrote this when y' all were kids because it's all kids movies, right? That's my favorite movies.

[Sadie]

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[Mom]

Okay. Series of Unfortunate Events, I was gonna.

[Sadie]

Say for my favorite books. I remember. Okay. Junie B. Jones.

[Mom]

Yes.

[Sadie]

Those are all great Series of Unfortunate Events.

[Mom]

Great, great book and great mo. I love that. Nanny McPhee.

[Sadie]

I love.

[Mom]

This is like kids movies. Percy Jackson. Remember that very first Percy Jackson. That was so good.

[Sadie]

Really good.

[Mom]

All kids ones. And then I had Aristocats and Robin Hood. Those are like.

[Sadie]

I cannot get the girls to like Aristocats. I think it's because the cartoon is so, so old.

[Mom]

It's so different.

[Sadie]

I love, like, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, but Aristocrat is a little bit too.

[Mom]

It was such a cute one. Okay. And then I love the new Cinderella, the live action Cinderella.

[Sadie]

It Says strong and kind. But it is.

[Mom]

Yeah, it's something like strong and kind. It's about this. It's almost the same thing. Yeah.

[Sadie]

Take courage and be kind. Yeah, like that. Something like that.

[Mom]

Have courage and be kind.

[Sadie]

Have courage and be. Yeah, that's it.

[Mom]

That was so good. A more adult one that I liked about. Loved was that maybe about time.

[Sadie]

Oh, yeah, it's good.

[Mom]

Really good. Maybe has a great message. Really? I love that movie. There's a quote from that movie that I love that I can't remember at the moment, but there is a quote from that movie that's so good. Oh, brother, where art thou? Hilarious. I remember whenever dad and I watched that movie for the first time. That was one. We went back to the theater because we wanted other people to see it because we thought it was so good. And we loved it. Yes. We loved the soundtrack. We listen to the soundtrack. We love that movie.

[Sadie]

Is that where I went down to.

[Mom]

The river to pray?

[Sadie]

I went down to the river to pray. We've seen that all the time.

[Mom]

So good. Okay, favorite comedy besides over the World. That was a comedy too, kind of, but Dumb and Dumber.

[Sadie]

Dumb and Dumber was our family movie.

[Mom]

Serious movies. Zookeeper's Wife and Goodwill Hunting. Those are both.

[Sadie]

Oh, my God.

[Mom]

Rough the language, but.

[Sadie]

But one of the best.

[Mom]

Really powerful, really great movie. Oh, and then this is back to kids movie. Or was. Babe.

[Sadie]

That's so sweet.

[Mom]

So this is, like, super random. It's like kids, obviously. I wrote it a long time ago.

[Sadie]

My favorite movie, if we're talking about right now, would be, like, Moana.

[Mom]

Exactly.

[Sadie]

Yeah. But I did love Top Gun 1 and 2 because it was like core memory. We. When Top Gun 2 was coming out, that was like. Right when everyone was, like, starting to get out more after the pandemic. And I had never seen Top Gun 1, so me and Christian watched it, and then we went to the theater to see Top Gun 2. And it was packed.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

And then everyone, like, clapped at the end. It was like nostalgia, I feel like.

[Mom]

Yeah. When Top two came out, that was just such the perfect time. Everyone needed, like, feelgood movie. They needed to go to the theaters and memory theater moment.

[Sadie]

Also Spider Man 3 or something came out, and it was like homecoming.

[Mom]

So good.

[Sadie]

When all the. Spider.

[Mom]

Spider Man. Yeah.

[Sadie]

That was right after the pandemic. And everyone was like, I love that movie.

[Mom]

I like all the Marvel movies, too. Like, I love all of those. Will. And I always. I love to go to those, you know.

[Sadie]

Okay.

[Mom]

Also the Mr. Rogers, the one that was the kind of documentary. The documentary one, I remember that was really powerful. After it was over, like. Like, we were all, like, just crying in the theater and didn't want to get up. It was so good.

[Sadie]

I actually went back to that and took a notebook.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

And, like, actually, like, made notes. And then I bought the Mr. Rogers effect book. Like, I was all in. I was, like, totally all in. Whenever the Infinity wars, the Marvel one came out. Was it Infinity Wars Endgame? I can't remember. I think it was Endgame. And me and Christian went to, like, the midnight premiere.

[Mom]

Yeah.

[Sadie]

And it was so funny because we were running late and we had bought our tickets. Well, of course, someone took our se. They were like, good. Oh, shoot. So then we got stuck on the front row. We're like, front row. Midnight premiere. And it was so funny. Ended up being, like, the best blessing in disguise because we had the funniest guys behind us. And, like, Gamora comes out. She's green, and someone's like, dang, Gamora, looking good. And we, like, still talking about that.

[Mom]

So funny. So I would always take Will to the midnight showing. Like, and John Luke, you know, John Luke and Will, we'd always go to the midnight showing the night before or whatever. And I remember whenever they got old enough to, like, drive themselves and I didn't have to take them to the midnight showing, I remember being like, okay, this is, like, I'm okay with this as a mom. It's kind of sad because this was, like, special I got to do that with them. And, I mean, they still obviously let me go with them, but it was like, they don't need me to take them to the movie anymore. It's like that rite of passage back in the day.

[Sadie]

It was weird how, like, midnight premieres. I will never forget, like, when Twilight era was happening.

[Mom]

Twilight, we love Twilight.

[Sadie]

Lines would be down the. Like, outside in a minute. Remember, Like, I remember One Direction, too. When the One Direction. I don't know what his documentary came out. It was, like, crazy movie theaters. Just packed.

[Mom]

Remember seeing that one? I remember the be the Justin Bieber one. Yes.

[Sadie]

It was just packed. These are so fun.

[Mom]

I loved all those, like, Twilight, Divergent, Hunger Games, that whole little grouping.

[Sadie]

Yeah. One thing I've never seen is I've never seen the Lord of the Rings. I've never seen the Harry Potters. I've only seen certain Star Wars. And every time, I always, like, tell Christian, like, should we watch Lord of the Rings? He's like, no, like. Like, should we watch so want to.

[Mom]

I have to confess this about Lord of the Rings. Like, I want to love it, but I go to sleep in it every time. Like, I've never made it through. I know, but something. But, like, those are ones that. That are, like, John Luke loves all those things in the fantasy realm. And I've tried to read, read. Like, I love the Harry Potter movies and I read those books. But, like, Gerald Tolkien is, like, on the realm of C.S. lewis. They were friends. So, like, I want to love his writing too, but I just. I just can't get into it. I start to read them, and then I don't get, like.

[Sadie]

John Luke recommends all these fantasy books to me, and I'm like, I have such a hard time because I already have a hard time with words. And these are made up words.

[Mom]

His fantasy books are, like, so long. Yeah.

[Sadie]

Imagine. There's nothing to imagine in my head.

[Mom]

There's one. Oh, I'll tell you one you should do, though. This is. This is like, intro into fantasy world that you will love. It's short. It's so good. John Luke gave it to me. It's called the Slow Regard for Silent Things. Actually have it on my list is one of my favorite books.

[Sadie]

Really.

[Mom]

It is just. Really, just different. And it's beautiful, and I think you will love it.

[Sadie]

Okay, I'm gonna do it. If it's short, I can do it. It's short. It's short. Okay.

[Mom]

It's like an odd book, but.

[Sadie]

Well, Gently doesn't recommend very normal things.

[Mom]

Yeah, that's true.

[Sadie]

If it's a giant recommendation, it might be a little odd, and that's okay. This is so, like, fun. I love hearing all of the recommendations. We'll try to make a little list for y' all at some point. Or maybe. Maybe AI can do that for us.

[Mom]

Chat.

[Sadie]

Can you make a little list? Can you make this into a PDF for our listeners to download? But I hope this gave you some inspo for some fall shows to watch or some books to read, some movies to watch. As we kind of said, some of them are not recommendations.

[Mom]

I need a messy conversation about, like, what we watch.

[Sadie]

I know. I mean, we. We've kind of talked about that a lot. Because I'm like, I am. I am actually very careful what I watch. Because we do believe entertainment not only has the power to shape us, it does shape us.

[Mom]

It is shaping us.

[Sadie]

It is shaping us. And so always, you know, approach what you watch with intentionality. Always approach what you read with intentionality. Even, like mom said, Angela's Ashes is a great book and it's something I want to read but at the time it was making me feel like anxiety because of the just state I was in. And so I think that you whether it's even a good book or a good meaning book or a good meaning show, you do need to be intentional with where your spirit's at and that's always something to do with wisdom and guidance and you know everyone's going to fall under a little bit different boundary lines and that's okay. Respect people for where they're at and let them be where they're at. I remember whenever all my best friends were watching a show and I decided to tap out and I was like ah, I hate that because I want to be in like the conversation but it's always worth it to go in peace and live in peace and so hope this gave you some good recommendations to fill in some of that free time in your life.

[Mom]

Sam.