What if we could become experts at seeing joy in the mundane?
Think about it. We’d likely learn to see the silver lining in the clouds. We’d identify blessings even in hard seasons. We’d view life through the possibilities rather than through the liabilities.
I started thinking about this after I read Brooke and Todd Tilghman’s book, Every Little Win. Todd Tilghman was the winner of Season 18 of “The Voice.” He has the distinction of being known as the oldest winner in the history of “The Voice” at the age of 42. Before that he was the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Meridian, Mississippi.
Todd and Brooke are the parents of 8 children and have experienced a lot in their marriage and ministry. They share about this in their book as they focus not so much on Todd winning “The Voice,” but rather on the wins we all can experience in the mundane, everyday parts of life. After reading their book I know I wanted to interview them for the podcast.
I’m thrilled to be able to share this conversation with you as we talk through challenges in marriage, advice for walking through difficult seasons of life, navigating the very real struggles with mental health, keeping your marriage a priority as parents, finding joy through real freedom, and more.
I’m so grateful for this episode, and I hope it’s a big encouragement for you this week!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Every Little Win: How Celebrating Small Victories Can Lead to Big Joy by Todd and Brooke Tilghman
- The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian
- Follow Brooke on Instagram and Facebook
- Follow Todd on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify
- All of Todd Tilghman’s Performances on “The Voice”
- Empty Nest, Full Life by Jill Savage
- As a thank you for listening, get your 3 free eBooks!
My Key Takeaways:
1) “In the beginning you’re excited and in the end you are fulfilled, but in the middle it is just really hard.” I love this wisdom from Todd. Are you struggling through hard times in your marriage or through circumstances in life? Have you wanted to call it quits? If you are going through the “messy middle” of your marriage, remember that the story is still being written! God is in the business of redemption. So if you are feeling the urge to quit, hang in there! The story isn’t over yet. (And if that has already come to an end, I see you as well! And the truth still remains that God wants to redeem that loss and lead you into a beautiful story as well.)
2) God isn’t going to show you what your spouse needs to do differently. He’s going to show you what you need to change. How many times have you asked God to “fix” other people? The reality is that God isn’t going to focus on how other people can change when you come to Him. Instead, He will focus and reveal how you need to be transformed. What if we started approaching our time with God by asking, “What am I doing that is harming our relationship? What behavior do I need to change? In what ways am I not glorifying You in this situation?”
3) Practice gratitude. You may think of gratitude as always putting a positive spin on things, but gratitude isn’t pretending that everything is okay and ignoring the bad things. Gratitude is acknowledging that there are bad things, but actively choosing to look for the good. Or when life feels mundane, it’s intentionally reminding yourself of the hidden blessings. When it comes down to it, much of life appears mundane, but we forget that “normal” is a gift. Experiencing gratitude doesn’t just happen; it requires intentionality.
About Todd and Brooke:
