HGTV’s popular Fixer Upper catapulted Chip and Joanna Gaines to stardom. But that fame hasn’t cost Joanna her sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, as producers Jay and Sofia Lyons of The Long Goodbye: The Kara Tippetts Story learned. Their compelling film about the young pastor’s wife, mommy blogger and metastatic breast cancer patient features several special guests. And those guests include Joanna Gaines.
When Joanna learned about the letter Kara wrote to Brittany Maynard, a fellow cancer patient who intended to take her life, she “felt God say, ‘I want you to go there,’ and didn’t know the reason,” Sofia says. “And so she went to Kara’s house to decorate it for Christmas. … But when she got there, she spent a lot of time with Kara in the hospital.
“Maybe Joanna needed to see that what was really important as a mom was just being there with your kids and spending time with them and listening to them. And so Kara Tippetts actually impacted Joanna Gaines in a very big way.”
Tippetts’ life, the Lyons say, touched not only Joanna but many others as well. Listen to the podcast to learn more of this amazing story.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett