Cheer UP! Podcast
Welcome to The Cheer UP! Podcast – Your Journey to Joy Starts Here!
Hosted by Kara R. Hunt and Cheri Swalwell, this is where you'll find real hope, relentless encouragement, and the kind of joy that outlasts the storm.
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 KJV)
Life’s battles don’t disappear—but neither does Christ’s victory.
Whether you’re wrestling with anxiety, exhaustion, or just need a reminder that joy is your birthright, Kara and Cheri bring Scripture-soaked truth, laughter, and “me too” moments to every episode.
Tune in for:
Stories that prove cheerfulness is warfare against the enemy.
Battle-tested faith tactics for when life feels like a losing fight
Biblical takes on Scriptural truths (because overcomers need ammunition from the Word of God)
Uplifting stories that remind you joy is a choice
Practical faith for real-life challenges
Fresh perspectives on Scripture that make hope unavoidable
New episodes drop weekly. Arm yourself with joy.
Cheer UP! Podcast
Pig Slop to Royal Robes: How God Pursues the Wayward Heart
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
The Prodigal Son isn't just about one wayward child—it's about all of us. Whether you're the one who ran away, the resentful sibling, or trying to love like the father, this parable speaks to your heart. Have you found yourself in this story? #CheerUpPodcast #FaithJourney #FaithStories
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Welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast
Speaker 1Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast . I am your host , Kara R Hunt , and with me is the beautiful and saintly and kind and beautiful and glamorous and talented and skilled Sherri Smallwell .
Speaker 2How are you ?
Speaker 1doing today , Sherri .
Speaker 2You definitely make me more than what I truly am .
Speaker 1You definitely make me more than what I truly am .
Speaker 2I am just grateful to be alive and grateful to be God's child and grateful for your friendship and just I don't know , this is an amazing woman . Also , I don't ever do the introduction so I don't get to tell people how fantastic Tara is , but she is just . I am so blessed to be called your friend and we always tease that we're sisters from another mother and it's so true . Like every time we talk , it seems like we find out that we have even more in common with each other , and I didn't even think that was possible to have more in common with you than I already knew that we had in common , I know .
Speaker 2We always find out more and more and more Exactly , exactly . I'm like , oh my gosh , that is totally me . Or yeah , there's very few things that we are opposite on , but one of them and I am sticking to this is I am not jumping out of a plane ever , oh , oh yes , that is going to be so exciting .
Speaker 1I am looking forward to it . I don't have anything scheduled yet but , boy , I am so looking forward to doing it with my husband and boys . I just think it's going to be an experience that I'll obviously never forget . And I don't know , and I don't even like the idea of free falling . I'm a control freak , so how does that even work ? It's like , how does that even work ? Because when you're free falling like that , you're in control of nothing . But I don't know .
Speaker 1To me it's just such a reflection of just trusting God right , when you really literally have no control . I think they do have something where you could , in case of an emergency , you could try to pull the latch or something . But obviously I'm untrained , I'm not a professional sky jumper , so I would have someone right there with me . But we all know that sometimes all the fail-safes that you have don't always work . So it's like just that free-falling feeling and just knowing that in that moment I completely , 100% have to trust God . I don't have to think am I going to trust God on this situation or I don't know ? God , I should really turn this over to you and trust it . No , you pretty much , really really have to . You have no choice . The choice is , you know , literally in the air , and so it's just one of those things , and I don't know , maybe it's because I do tend sometimes to be a control freak with certain things in my life that I need that release . I honestly think that it has a lot to do with it . Does that sound crazy ?
Speaker 2No , no , Cause you're almost almost kind of sort of trying to convince me , but I still I'm still not there . But no , it's not crazy at all , it actually sounds quite sane .
Speaker 1Yeah , and it's just I don't know . I'm kind of looking forward to it . I'll be shaking in my boots the whole time . Even I'll be in my air Excuse me , be in the air , but I don't know . It's just interesting . And again , as all of you know , another difference that we have is the way we love coffee . We both love coffee , but I'm definitely a dark brew girl and she's definitely not .
Speaker 2I do have to say , kara , except in the summertime , when I do cold brew , the darker the better , because I put milk in it . So I have to drink my coffee super , super hot . I'm like a super hot person or a super cold person . I do not like lukewarm at all . So when I drink my , my coffee , my iced coffee , in the summertime , I put ice in it , obviously , but then that dilutes it , because it takes me forever to drink iced coffee . I just really like to savor it , and so I like to have it on the darker side , because then it's not like water by the time I'm done , because of the ice that I put in .
Speaker 1Oh right , because with the lighter coffee , it would just literally be water . Yeah , okay , yep , I can see that , so you are only turning me to you , but only with iced coffee .
Speaker 2Still not with hot coffee . There's not a creamer for me for dark coffee .
Speaker 1Well , talk about technology
Skydiving and Coffee Preferences
Speaker 1when it comes to cold and dark . My youngest son , he's one of those , unlike his dad , who looks like you either really really cold or like hot right , and when it comes to their drinks and he drinks a lot of cold drinks and , oh my gosh , do you know ? Because my husband and I ended up getting this for a gift and again everyone else probably like , yeah , cara , those have been on the market for like the past 15 years . But do you know that there are mugs and thermoses that don't look like thermoses but they're stainless steel inside that keeps your drink cold for 24 hours ?
Speaker 2Nice 24 hours 24 hours .
Speaker 1So when my husband saw that he was like , oh my gosh , he is so going to love this because he loves his cold drinks you know , everything else and I'm like 24 hours Now . I knew there were thermoses out there that kept drinks cold for like eight maybe , and I was like you got a really really nice one .
Speaker 1But I don't even know who would need a drink to stay cold for 24 hours . But if you were to go to sleep overnight and you still wanted it cold when you woke up in the morning , there it is , there you go yeah , because I'm like , well , who would need that ?
Speaker 1But then I'm like , okay , well , you never know right what circumstances you may be in where you may need that . I don't think I've seen anything to where it keeps drinks hot for 24 hours Like this particular . I can't call it a device , I'll just say mug keeps it , I think , hot for like maybe 10 to 12 . So far I haven't seen anything that keeps drinks hot for 12 hours Because , excuse me , for 24 hours . Because if I did I am no matter how much it costs I
Cold Drink Technology
Speaker 1would have to get that for my hubby , because he is one of those people that when he his drinks have to be hot all the time , and if he wants to take a sip of coffee , like at 11 o'clock at night , and if it can still be hot for him , I'm all on board . So far I haven't seen anything like that . I guess the technology is different hot versus cold to keep it hot like steaming hot that long . But hey , if any of you guys know of any products that are out there like that , send an email to thechirilpodcast at gmailcom and let me know and I will definitely check them out , because just because I don't know about them does not mean they don't exist . Definitely check them out , because just because I don't know about them does not mean they don't exist . And speaking of the Chirrup Podcast , thank you to everyone who has tuned in this morning and who have tuned in this evening and this afternoon or even at night , whatever time you're listening . We just want to say thank you for tuning in to the Chirrup Podcast and we welcome you and we thank you for doing so .
Speaker 1Oh my , so now we're going to pick up where we left off in the New Testament , and today the biblical figure we're going to talk about is the prodigal
Introduction to the Prodigal Son
Speaker 1son . I also like some of the other figures in the New Testament . They don't . I noticed that a lot of times they don't have names attached to them , you know , and so sometimes I want to give them a name , um , to just humanize them a little bit more for the listeners , but for the podcast listeners . But again , um , correct me if I'm wrong . Sherry , the prodigal son is this did he have a name or are we made aware of a name ?
Speaker 2No , and I think I kind of think the reason why God might do that and this is just a sherry guess , it's not a , I don't know this for sure , but I think it's because I think God wants us to personalize it , for ourselves he wants us to feel as we're the ones that , um that are living it , and that the lesson that he's trying to teach is one that that we can make personal , that's just , oh , insert our name there .
Speaker 1Yeah , absolutely . Oh , my gosh , I'm glad you mentioned that . Yeah , that makes it so much better because I'm like , well , I know these people had names , what were they ? But you're right Keeping it vague so that we , no matter what time zone or what culture or whatever decade we're living in , it's still personal . We can still make it personal Right , you know , and we can just insert our names there .
Speaker 2I think that's a good explanation , sherry , yeah , well , good , so we get to talk about the prodigal son today and I had to ask Kara . I'm like , can I please be the one to talk about this one ? Because I , you know it's so funny not funny , haha . But to me it seems like those things that that I don't like so much turn out to be the ones that I absolutely end up not only personalizing for my own self but become the most precious to me . So like growing up , I know , I mean I knew the prodigal son , I knew the story , but it was just a story to me . Like it was just , yeah , it happened long ago and so what ? Let's move on . Like I love other stories more . But I'll tell you what the more and the more that I read and study the prodigal son , that parable , the more I fall in love with it and the more I see how much God really loves us . The prodigal son is about the prodigal son , but it's about so much more . It's about the father , it's about the son and it's about the brother , and each story tells us so much and unpack so many truths to us . So you'll find the prodigal son in Luke 15 . It starts in chapter 15 . It starts in verse 11 and it goes until verse 32 . And I'm not going to read it , but instead I'm going to just kind of give a little bit of an overview and then explain why it's a story about the father , why it's a story about the prodigal son himself and why it's a story about his brother . So the prodigal son goes , and this part I will read , because it says Jesus continued . So he's telling parables . It's called the parable of the lost son or the prodigal son .
Speaker 2There was a man who had two sons . The younger one said to his father father , give me my share of the property . So he divided his property between them . Basically , he went to his dad and he said hey , I know that I have a brother and I know that you're still alive and you're still running the household , but I want my inheritance now . And when you said something like that to your father back then , I mean it's bad enough to say that to your parents in today's standards , but back then you were saying I want you dead . You are more important to me and you are more valuable to me dead than you are alive . And the dad didn't bat an eye . He didn't say hey , that is incredibly hurtful . Hey , I can't believe you would actually say that to me . He said nothing , he didn't bat an eye . He gave him his money , he wished him well and he sent him on his way .
Speaker 2Well , all of a sudden , this son got really popular really quickly , as most people do who have things that other people want . So he squandered his money partying and doing all kinds of things he shouldn't have been doing . He wakes up one day and he realizes oh my goodness , you know I got nothing left . So he started to see if he could find a job because he was so young and he needed . You know , he was going to live for quite a long time probably , and so he ended up working with pig flops , with pigs and feeding the pigs and living with the pigs and everything to do with pigs . And again , culturally , that was like I don't want to say the equivalent of being a garbage man , because I think garbage men are highly respected . So I don't want to imply that , but it was . It was a garbage type , meaning he was working with slop and garbage , but it was like the lowest of the low back then , like if you worked with pigs you definitely had not made it . You had a long way to go before you would be considered making it . So he finally woke up another day and he was like you know what ? This is ridiculous . Why am I dealing with pig
Breaking Down the Parable
Speaker 2flop and all kinds of nasty stuff when my dad treats his servant better than I'm being treated ? So if I just go home and just tell my dad , you know , I'm really sorry . I'm not expecting to have you , you know , put me back into the family , but if you would just let me be your servant , I would be living a much better life than I'm living right now .
Speaker 2So he started to go home and it says in the Bible it says that while he was still a far way off , his dad saw him and came running to him . Well , his dad said to the servants quick , bring the best robe , put it on him , put a ring on his finger , sandals on his home . But he reinstated him as his son . He did not have to be a servant , he was his son . And there's a lot of different things to unpack there .
Speaker 2One servants were known as servants or were distinguished as servants because they were barefoot . Sons and daughters of the house owner . The owner , the landowner , wore shoes . So the dad said bring him sandals . He also said bring him a ring . The ring was a signet ring that was personalized and specialized to that household , to that family . So if you were wearing that ring , then everybody knew that you were the son of so-and-so .
Speaker 2Then you've got the father happy that the son of so-and-so . Then you've got the . So you've got the father happy that the son's back . You've got the son celebrating and everyone's welcoming him back , except for his brother . It says that the brother came in from the field and he's like wait , hold on , what's going on ? And he's like , oh , your brother came back , let's celebrate . And he's like , well , hold up a minute . I I've been here this whole time . I never once took your inheritance , I never once wished you dead . And you're telling me that we're celebrating my brother who's coming back after doing all the horrible things . Like what's going on ? And the father is like , but we're celebrating because he , he was lost and now he's found . You have always had everything of mine , you've never once lost anything . Let's celebrate that your brother is back . So I want to unpack a little bit each part .
Speaker 2So the first part symbolizes people who maybe have heard about God or know about God , who maybe have heard about God or know about God , maybe even prayed the prayer when they were younger and they thought that they became a believer , but the worldly things pulled them away and it's a heart issue . We've always talked about the fact that when you accept Christ into your heart or when you surrender your life to God , it's a heart issue . Christ into your heart or when you surrender your life to God , it's a heart issue . And so the prodigal son is either . He symbolizes either people who have never surrendered their hearts to God or half-heartedly surrendered their hearts to God , meaning they prayed the prayer when they were younger , but it was never a heart change , like their hearts never changed and they never , they never fully surrendered themselves to God . They wanted to get out of free or get out of hell free card , but they didn't want anything that went along with it .
Speaker 2God , you can . You know I'm going to . I'm going to quote unquote ask you into my heart . I'm going to quote unquote pray the prayer , because I don't want to go to hell , but I also don't want you changing anything in my life . I'm going to still stay in charge and you're going to just be the manager on the days that I let you .
Speaker 2Type of a thing which we all know is not a true heart change and is not truly surrendering your life to God . We all know it's not a true heart change and it's not truly surrendering your life to God . So he symbolizes those people , the people who finally one day wake up and say nope , doing it , my way is just not working . I don't like who I've become . I don't like who I am . God , I need help . I've ruined my life . I've made a mess of things . I need you to take over and be in control . I've ruined my life . I've made a mess of things . I need you to take over and be in control .
Speaker 2The brother symbolizes the person who has always done things right and who is a believer and who has always had God in charge . Had God in charge , but once , instead of being thankful and pleased and happy that the people that they've been praying for , or their loved ones or their friends , are now true believers , have truly repented . Instead of being happy , they are resentful . They're like well , why do they still get exactly everything and all the rewards and so forth that I have , when I've been here , sacrificing and surrendering and doing all of it the way that God wants me to do it ? And they haven't . So God , kind of in my
Symbolism of the Three Characters
Speaker 2opinion , this is the Sherry interpretation and Kara can correct me if I'm wrong but God is kind of calling those people out and saying hey , you know , we need to be grateful and thankful that they are now not going to hell , that they are now coming to heaven as well , that you know you still are very loved . You've always been loved . Nobody has ever usurped your love in my eyes . I have always loved you . But we need to be grateful and thankful that they now are loved and have the assurance of salvation also .
Speaker 2And then you have the Father , who is depicted as our Heavenly Father . Who is depicted as our Heavenly Father and he will do everything in His power to well . First off , it shows how he gives us free will . So , even though the Son basically said I want you dead . You're more important to me or you're more valuable to me dead than you are alive . It shows our free will . It shows that God is not going to chase us , he's not going to beg us , he's not going to force us to have a relationship with him , but he's also going to continue to pursue us and look for us and wait for that open door to where we surrender , and then he's going to lavish us with His love . He is waiting to lavish every single person with His love , but he's not going to force it upon us . And that is one of the things that is so wonderful about this story is he allows our Heavenly Father allows us to get into the pig slop , if that's what it takes for us to have a truly repentant heart and to come back to Him . And the minute that we repent and the minute that we say , yes , we want to do it your way , god lavishes us with His love . He's not going to allow us to continue to sin , and we see that in all of the different stories that we've been talking about , all the different biblical events .
Speaker 2Now , this is just a parable . This is an actual story in the Bible . The others are historical events , biblical events that actually happened . But we see that with the woman at the well , he didn't let her stay there . He didn't let her continue to sin . Her stay there . He didn't let her um continue to sin . He said go find your that man who's not your husband and come back here and sin no more . He told I don't know , that was like one of his favorite phrases go and sin no more . Go and sin no more . Go and sin no more . He knew that people who stay in their sins um that they're miserable , that they may think they're having fun , they may think that that's the best way to live life . But God knows the truth and he's not afraid to share it . He's not afraid to . He doesn't pussyfoot around , he tells it like it is and he gives us the choice . We have the choice to surrender our lives to him and to live his way or to continue to live our own way . But he knows that when we choose to live our way , we will be miserable , maybe not today , maybe not tomorrow , maybe the money has to run out first , but we will hit rock bottom and God is always there , ready to take care of us .
Speaker 2He didn't make the son clean up in the parable . He didn't make the son go get a bath before he put a robe on him . He put a robe on him , a ring on him and sandals on him when he was still disgustingly dirty , not just from traveling but from living in the pig spot and dealing with the pig spot . And that's the way that God sees us . He wants us the way that we are and he does the cleaning up . The Holy Spirit does the cleaning up once we accept him into our hearts and fully surrender . So the story is not just about the prodigal son . The story is not just about the one son . It's about all three of us . It's a heart check for the brothers , it's unconditional love from the father and it's a we're never too far gone as the prodigal son . What about you , kara ?
Speaker 1I don't know . I think you've just summed that up perfectly and I love the part , love , love , love , love , love . The part where you said when a father put the robe and sandals and all of that on him , he was still filthy and dirty . He probably smelled , yeah , he probably still had the stink of the pig pen still on him , but that didn't matter to the father , isn't that ? What a wonderful God we serve , right .
Speaker 1So no matter what you've done , we could still rank , we could be ranked with sin , and he's just like but if you come to me , I got you , I got you . I'm still going to put a robe on you , I'm still going to put sandals on you , I'm still going to call you my son or daughter or the king . I just I love that , I love it , I love it , I love it . And he cleans you up as you continue to journey along with him , so that you don't smell that way anymore , you don't look that way anymore , and everything else . I love how you emphasize that . That was just awesome which is awesome .
Speaker 1Well , and I love the fact that .
Speaker 2God doesn't . He will not be um . He will not be mocked . He will not be made a fool , and he never . He won't just tell you stuff to to speak Like he doesn't . He doesn't talk about bluff , he talks about the truth . He gets down to the nitty gritty . He says you can choose what you want to choose , but if you're going to follow me , then you're going to follow me . So if you're choosing not to follow me , I still love you , but if you choose to follow me , then this is the life that I can give you . This is the life that you can have , but you have to follow me . These are the rules of following me . You have to choose to surrender on your own and then watch out , look and see what kind of a world that you're going to have . And again , all of this goes back to . This is like one of the perfect ones for us to end with in the New Testament , kara , because it all goes back to John 16 , 33 .
Speaker 2He doesn't say , hey , come to me and I will give you riches and I will give you glory and your life will be perfect and you will never have any other problems or issues , ever again . No , he doesn't tell us that .
God Meeting Us Where We Are
Speaker 2But he says , world , I will never leave you or forsake you . I will , you know , be strong and courageous . All of those different things that God talks to us about and all the different promises that he gives to us are all wonderfully , in His Word and those are for our taking , once we surrender to him . That it takes us making that choice to surrender to him in order to have the life that he , he , promised us and that he wants to give us , that abundant life . The enemy has come to steal , kill and destroy , but I have come that you may have life and have life more abundantly . John 10 , 10 .
Speaker 2John 10 , 10 . So I think that that's a great way to end our biblical figures as we , as we wrap it up , I am excited because , towards the we're going to , we're going to begin again with with another series starting next week , but when we towards the more towards , like September , towards fall , we're going to be going into or delving into the Bible again and I am just like super excited , Kara , as we start to delve into maybe not looking at figures as much , maybe not looking at actual people , but instead looking at how we can apply the different truths that God gives us in the Bible .
Speaker 2All I know is that I have thoroughly , thoroughly enjoyed delving into the Bible with our listeners both the Old Testament and the New Testament and we're just going to continue that on in the fall again . So , having said that , we would love it , we would love to hear feedback from you . So , if you have enjoyed this , if you've enjoyed the series of both the Old Testament and the New Testament , if there's a particular story or event that has really spoken to you , if you would either share it with us in an email at cheeruppodcasts at gmailcom or you can share it on the Cheer Up Podcast Facebook page , which is Cheer Up Podcast on Facebook , so that we can start a discussion and see what other stories and other episodes that other people have enjoyed as well . We love to talk , as you can tell , so we would love to have open dialogue and conversations with you , either through email or through the Facebook page .
Speaker 2If you want to check out Kara R Hunt and find out more about her , you can head over to karahuntcom on her website
Upcoming Podcast Plans
Speaker 2and you can see not only her fiction series but also a lot of the other things that she offers , the other services that she offers on her website . You can head over to sherryswalwellcom that she offers on her website . You can head over to SherrySwalwellcom . There's fiction books , nonfiction books and also a YouTube channel and a few other things on there that you can check out as well .
Speaker 2Don't forget to look at the monthly membership and see if that is something that you want to do to help build your community of believers , so that you can have that encouragement as you are facing the world that we live in . Because , as Jesus says , we will have trials and tribulations in this world . But be of good cheer . He has overcome and one of the ways that he wants us to stay encouraged is to stay in a community of fellow believers , of people who believe like we do , because that helps to build our faith and then that helps us to build other people's faith . So I know , like with Kara , when I'm down or when I'm having , when I'm struggling , she'll pray for me and when she's struggling , I'll pray for her and we're able to remind each other of the truth of God's word , and we're able to remind each other that this is but a season and it's not life , it's not what life is going to continue to be , and I know if I didn't have that lifeline of fellow believers in my life .
Speaker 2Women , all different women . They have all different testimonies and all different um encouragement for me . From the different things that they've experienced in their lives . My life would be a lot more dreary Um , but I am so grateful for all of the sisters in Christ that God has blessed me with um through many , many different areas and through many different seasons in my life . So that's another thing that the membership can offer as well . So not just that you're growing your relationship with God personally , but also you have that fellowship and that community connection with others who will draw you even closer to God and who are there to pray with you and to walk beside you and to just help through this thing called life that sometimes can be a little bit draining . So , having said all that , have a great rest of your week , have a great day and join us again next week for another exciting episode of the Cheer Up Podcast .
