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The people who make us laugh the hardest often carry the deepest stories.

In this episode of Hope Comes to Visit, Danielle sits down with comedian and storyteller Kelly MacFarland for a conversation that moves seamlessly between humor and heartbreak.

From navigating profound loss to finding joy again, Kelly shares what it looks like to live fully—even when life feels heavy.

This is a conversation about resilience, perspective, and the quiet ways hope finds its way back in.

What You’ll Hear:

• How humor can help us process life’s hardest moments
• Kelly’s experience navigating grief and loss
• The reality of living with intrusive thoughts and OCD
• What it means to evolve in relationships and in life
• Why feeling seen matters more than we think
• The story behind her comedy special Hot Gnome
  
  

This episode will make you laugh. It may make you tear up. And it will absolutely remind you that you are not alone.

Listen now—and share it with someone who might need a little light today.

00:00 Introduction & Welcome
03:25 The Power of Making People Laugh
06:15 Finding Your Voice & Being “The Funny One”
08:45 How It All Started in Comedy
10:20 Relationships, Habits & Relatable Humor
14:30 Love, Growth & Evolving Together
18:45 The Reality of Long-Term Relationships
22:30 Anxiety, Control & Real-Life Stress
27:00 Grief & Losing Both Parents
31:30 OCD & Intrusive Thoughts
35:30 “We Can Do Hard Things”
39:00 Growth, Confidence & Aging
42:30 Joy, Presence & Perspective
45:00 Comedy, Boundaries & Staying Relatable
46:00 Creating Hot Gnome
49:30 What Hope Means
51:00 Taking Risks & Saying Yes
53:00 Mental Health & Daily Check-Ins
55:00 Closing & Where to Find Kelly

Connect with Kelly:
Website: https://kellymacfarland.com

Watch Hot Gnome on YouTube

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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What if the signs you’ve been noticing… aren’t coincidence?

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Hope Comes to Visit, I am joined by Barbra Banner—a no-nonsense psychic, evidential medium, and transmedium known for delivering messages with clarity, humor, and heart.

Together, we explore what happens when we open ourselves to the possibility that those we’ve lost are still with us—just in a different way.

Barbra shares her unexpected journey into mediumship, what it means to trust your intuition, and how connection to spirit can help us move through grief—not by letting go, but by understanding love never leaves.

I also share a bit about my own experience of loss, signs, and the moments that changed everything.

This episode is for anyone who has ever wondered:

• Are the signs real?
• Can I trust what I feel?
• And what if they’re still with me?

Because sometimes… hope arrives in ways we never expected.

Connect with Barbra on her website.
On Instagram. And on her YouTube Channel.

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit

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One of the most beautiful forms of hope arrives in shape of young people destined to make their mark on the world in a powerful way. This conversation shares just that form of hope.

This week on Hope Comes to Visit, I sat down with someone incredibly special to me — Sydney Moore, a high school senior at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis who has spent her young life rooted in service, justice, learning, and compassion.

I have known Sydney since she was just a little girl, and this conversation is both deeply personal and deeply inspiring. Sydney shares her heart for social justice, her desire to become a human rights attorney, and the experiences that have shaped the way she sees the world — from interning with a judge to traveling to the border to learning how to listen before trying to lead.

In this episode, we talk about:

• what gives me hope about the next generation
• how confidence is shaped by the people who believe in us
• why teenagers are more thoughtful, engaged, and justice-minded than many people assume
• what it means to lead without needing to be the loudest person in the room
• how burnout, pressure, and perfectionism show up even in young leaders
• why real change begins with listening, learning, and walking alongside others
• how hope is tied to love, accountability, and the belief that things can be better

Sydney is the kind of young woman who reminds us that the future is not lost. It is being shaped, every day, by people willing to learn, question, serve, and care deeply.

This episode is full of wisdom, heart, and the kind of hope that stretches across generations.

If it moves you, please share it with someone you love.

00:00 Welcome to Hope Comes to Visit
01:49 Sydney Moore on wanting to become a human rights attorney
03:47 What gives Danielle hope about the next generation
06:10 Social media stereotypes vs. who young people really are
11:11 Family influence, confidence, and believing in yourself
16:12 Advice for teens who want to make a difference
19:31 Burnout, pressure, and panic in high school
24:23 Learning when to say yes — and when to say no
26:12 Sydney’s definition of hope
27:37 Does she have hope for America?
30:59 Amanda Gorman, patriotism, and holding the country accountable
34:52 The border trip that changed everything
39:59 Why solidarity matters more than “saving” people
41:23 Danielle on why Sydney gives her hope

Thank you for listening to Hope Comes to Visit. If this conversation helps, follow the show, share it with someone who needs hope today, and leave a review - it helps others find their way to these conversations.

New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit