That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs

Pastor Aaron Graham is the founder and lead pastor of a thriving, multicultural church in Washington, D.C. representing more than 80 nations, called The District Church, and he’s spent years helping people navigate faith and culture. He’s also the author of a brand new book called Unshakable Faith, where he talks about how to stand firm in what we believe, even when everything around us feels like it’s shifting.

Today we’re unpacking a new spiritual rhythm-- confession. Aaron helps us rethink confession…not as something heavy or shame-filled, but as an invitation back into closeness with God.

Join us over on spirituallystronger.com as well where we have a confession practice guide for you to use. This is just a simple download that will help you think through what may need to be brought into the light.

And if you need a place to share what you’ve been struggling with and need someone to confess to, you can always send us an email at [email protected]. We’d be honored to read them.

Find the show notes here

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Have you heard the fun announcement?! Ya girl AFD has her own TV show!! I cannot believe I get to say that. Season 1 of my brand new talk show, I Gotta Ask, airs Thursday, May 28th on the Wonder Project which you can find through your Amazon Prime Video app. You may have heard of The Wonder Project because they’re the ones who brought you The House of David, and I am SO honored and honestly have ZERO CHILL that I get to partner with them to make this dream come true. We’ll of course make sure you know exactly how to find the show as soon as it’s released, there’s even a 7 day free trial for you, but for now, put a little reminder in your phone or put it your calendar, because the first 2 episodes of season 1 drop on Thursday, May 28th and I cannot wait to hear what you think. In every episode, I sit down with a group of friends, some experts in their fields, some thought leaders, and some just my real life people, and we talk about things like: Why is dating so hard in 2026? How do I build a business? What do I do with fear and anxiety? And so many more questions that I just had to ask.

. . . .

Eddie Kaufholz and I are hitting the road in May and June for The Buddies Tour and we want to see you there! We’re heading to 6 different cities and y’all this is going to be a night of just pure fun. Get your tickets at thebuddiestour.com.

. . . .

Thank you to our sponsors:


BetterHelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/thatsoundsfun.


OurPlace: Visit fromourplace.com/TSF and use code TSF for 10% off sitewide.


Brodo: Head to Brodo.com/THATSOUNDSFUN for 20% off your first subscription order and use code THATSOUNDSFUN for an additional $10 off.


Ritual: Save 25% on your first month at Ritual.com/THATSOUNDSFUN.


Capstone Wellness: Learn more at capstonewellness.com/thatsoundsfun.


Boll and Branch: Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/thatsoundsfun with code thatsoundsfun.


Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com/soundsfun⁠.

NYTimes bestselling Christian author, speaker, and host of popular Christian podcast, That Sounds Fun Podcast, Annie F. Downs shares with you some of her favorite things: new books, faith conversations, entertainers not to miss, and interviews with friends.

Sign up to receive the AFD Week In Review email and ask questions to future guests!

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We recently recorded an episode of Single Purpose League about mothering, and as soon as we finished, I looked at the team and said, “Should we share this with the larger That Sounds Fun audience?”

With Mother’s Day this past Sunday, we recognize how complicated that day can be for so many of us. For some, you’re mourning the loss of your mom or the mom you’d hope for. For others, you’re mourning the fact that you can’t biologically have children. And for others, you’re carrying the tension of being a mom while also wrestling with the fact that it’s harder than you ever could have imagined. 

In this episode from Single Purpose League, you’re going to hear a conversation between myself, Katy Boatman who co-leads Single Purpose League with me, and our friend, Christen who is a single mom of two adopted little boys. 

Our hope is that whatever emotion this day holds, you’ll be reminded that the story God writes is full of hope and purpose, even if it’s harder than you would have imagined.

If you’re not married right now, and you want to hear more conversations like this, we’d love to get to know you in Single Purpose League! We drop a new episode once a month over on Patreon and then we get to chat it up and talk about it together on our monthly livestreams. It’s a blast and we still have a lot of fun things planned for SPL this year. Check it out at singlepurposeleague.com.

Find the show notes here

. . . .

Eddie Kaufholz and I are hitting the road in May and June for The Buddies Tour and we want to see you there! We’re heading to 6 different cities and y’all this is going to be a night of just pure fun. Get your tickets at thebuddiestour.com.

. . . .

Thank you to our sponsors:


Boll and Branch: Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/thatsoundsfun with code thatsoundsfun.


Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com/soundsfun⁠.


Capstone Wellness: Learn more at capstonewellness.com/thatsoundsfun.

NYTimes bestselling Christian author, speaker, and host of popular Christian podcast, That Sounds Fun Podcast, Annie F. Downs shares with you some of her favorite things: new books, faith conversations, entertainers not to miss, and interviews with friends.

Sign up to receive the AFD Week In Review email and ask questions to future guests!

#thatsoundsfunpodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are unpacking generosity with my friend, Jon Acuff. Jon is always equal parts hilarious, honest, and incredibly helpful, and today’s conversation is one I think you’re going to love. As we talk about generosity…we’re going to talk about what it practically looks like, how it changes us, and ways to be generous with more than just our money. Jon brings so much wisdom and practical perspective to this conversation.

He also has a brand new book out called Procrastination Proof, so we get into that too—how to stop putting off the things that matter most, how to actually make progress, and why procrastination doesn’t have to run the show.

We also have a Generosity Practice Guide available for you over today on spirituallystronger.com We want to make sure we’re not just talking about spiritual disciplines this year, but actually putting them into practice, so we’ve created this practice guide to give you some ideas. Typically our resources are available only to our Spiritually Stronger paid substack subscribers, but we wanted to give you a peek at what these guides are like because we have 3 more coming soon. So in the spirit of generosity, today it’s free ;) Just head over to spirituallystronger.com to download it. 

Find the show notes here

. . . .

Eddie Kaufholz and I are hitting the road in May and June for The Buddies Tour and we want to see you there! We’re heading to 6 different cities and y’all this is going to be a night of just pure fun. Get your tickets at thebuddiestour.com.

. . . .

Thank you to our sponsors:


ELIC: You can learn more at elic.org/thatsoundsfun. 


CreaTone: Get started with 20% off your first order. Visit TONETODAY.com,  promo code TSF.


This show is sponsored by BetterHelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/thatsoundsfun.


Capstone Wellness: Learn more at capstonewellness.com/thatsoundsfun.


Boll and Branch: Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/thatsoundsfun with code thatsoundsfun.


Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com/soundsfun⁠.

NYTimes bestselling Christian author, speaker, and host of popular Christian podcast, That Sounds Fun Podcast, Annie F. Downs shares with you some of her favorite things: new books, faith conversations, entertainers not to miss, and interviews with friends.

Sign up to receive the AFD Week In Review email and ask questions to future guests!

#thatsoundsfunpodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the very first episode of what we’re calling AFD’s Friday Faves! I have a playlist on Spotify called AFD’s Friday Faves where I’ll update it from time to time with music I’m listening to or songs I think you’ll love, and now we’re bringing it to the podcast. 

These shorter episodes won’t happen every Friday, but we wanted to make space to tell you stories and introduce you to friends who are creating incredible music, so AFD’s Friday Faves will pop up in your feed from time to time, and there is no better way to kick this off than with Amy Grant.

Today her brand-new record, The Me That Remains releases. It is the kind of record that makes you want to sit on your porch and listen all the way through. Amy said, “I hope this album feels easy to be with,” and I thought… yes. That’s exactly it. Because that’s true of Amy too. She is easy to be with, but she always brings important things with her.

So whether you’re on your porch, in your car, on a walk, or just trying to make it through your day, I think you’re going to love this conversation.

. . . .

Eddie Kaufholz and I are hitting the road in May and June for The Buddies Tour and we want to see you there! We’re heading to 6 different cities and y’all this is going to be a night of just pure fun. Get your tickets at thebuddiestour.com.

. . . .

Thank you to our sponsors:


Capstone Wellness: Learn more at capstonewellness.com/thatsoundsfun.


Boll and Branch: Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/thatsoundsfun with code thatsoundsfun.


Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com/soundsfun⁠.

NYTimes bestselling Christian author, speaker, and host of popular Christian podcast, That Sounds Fun Podcast, Annie F. Downs shares with you some of her favorite things: new books, faith conversations, entertainers not to miss, and interviews with friends.

Sign up to receive the AFD Week In Review email and ask questions to future guests!

#thatsoundsfunpodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now that we’ve covered 2 different spiritual disciplines, prayer and fasting, we wanted to zoom out for a minute and talk about the practical side of our rhythms. Do we have to start our mornings with a quiet time? What if you’re a busy parent or a single mom? What does time with God in the morning look like? We’re talking about all of it today with Jennifer Dukes Lee! I really think you’re going to love her new book, How to Love Your Morning. Honestly, if you’re looking for a gift idea for a mom, this would be a great one.  Morning person or not, let’s figure out how to start our day from a place of surrender with God. It doesn’t have to be quiet and it doesn’t have to be hours long.

Join us on Substack at spirituallystronger.com!

View the show notes here

. . . .

Eddie Kaufholz and I are hitting the road in May and June for The Buddies Tour and we want to see you there! We’re heading to 6 different cities and y’all this is going to be a night of just pure fun. Get your tickets at thebuddiestour.com.

. . . .

Thank you to our sponsors:


AG1: Visit drinkag1.com/SOUNDSFUN to get a FREE AG1 Flavor Sampler and a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2 in your AG1 Welcome Kit when you first subscribe, a $72 value.


OurPlace: Stop cooking with toxic cookware, and upgrade to Our Place today. Visit fromourplace.com/TSF and use code TSF for 10% off sitewide. 


WayFair: Head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home.


This show is sponsored by BetterHelp: Sign up and get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/thatsoundsfun.


Capstone Wellness: Learn more at capstonewellness.com/thatsoundsfun.


Boll and Branch: Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at BollAndBranch.com/thatsoundsfun with code thatsoundsfun.


Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial and start selling today at Shopify.com/soundsfun⁠.

NYTimes bestselling Christian author, speaker, and host of popular Christian podcast, That Sounds Fun Podcast, Annie F. Downs shares with you some of her favorite things: new books, faith conversations, entertainers not to miss, and interviews with friends.

Sign up to receive the AFD Week In Review email and ask questions to future guests!

#thatsoundsfunpodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices