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Nita Evans is shown with a copy of her new book, “Let’s Chat - Reflections, Devotions, Doodles Sharing God’s Abundant Blessings.”
For over 60 episodes, private practice counselor Nita Evans sat down with women, and some men too, to discuss their life and faith in her radio show and podcast The Chat with Nita Evans, airing on WYGS.
And though Evans concluded that series earlier this year, it lives on through streaming and now through a new book, titled “Let’s Chat – Reflections, Devotions, Doodles Sharing God’s Abundant Blessings.” The book, Evans’ second she has published, went into print Monday and will be released on Sunday at locations such as The Ark.
Evans began The Chat in 2021 and it ran for 65 episodes until February of this year. Her radio show and podcast featured conversations with women, and occassionally men, who were solid in their faith, attended local churches and were leaders in those churches. Her guests, who ranged from doctors to lawyers to mothers, discussed with Evans when they came to know the Lord.
“We talked about women in the Bible who are their role models. We talked about struggles in their Christian walk and how God answered and was with them during that time,” Evans said. “I also let them choose a psalm that encouraged them, that God sent to them, at some time in their struggle that really encouraged, really played a part in their lives.”
Out of those 65 episodes, Evans and her Chat team selected 27 of her guests to feature and reflect upon her time with them in the book, with each reflection taking up about three pages. Each reflection concludes with three to five things the guests taught Evans about walking with Christ, as well as a brief note as to where readers can find the episode the chat took place in.
“I paraphrased (the chats), but so much is said in 45 to 55 minutes, I couldn’t write it all,” Evans said. “But the idea was to wet their whistle so that they would want to hear that woman.”
The book also contains 27 devotions she wrote, with several of them being published in The Republic. The devotions and reflections alternate throughout the book, she said. Local artist and retired nurse Suzanne Lammert also created over 50 doodles based on scriptures to go with each devotion and reflection, which are placed throughout the book.
Lammert said she began doodling scripture verses almost five years ago. As a former nurse, she realized how important scripture is for people to have in their hands, so she created magnets to donate to the hospital in Louisville where her husband worked. She said she got involved in the book when her neighbor, a friend of Evans, asked if she would be interested in doing the cover for the book.
“… my job when I do my art is I like to bring life to the scriptures. So if you can see a visual picture, I feel like… you can remember the scripture better if you see it kind of in a picture form rather than just words on a page,” Lammert said. “This book is so special because she did these chat podcasts for four years, and the fact that you can read the whole book and then you can go back and listen to the podcasts of those 27 that are put in the book, it makes the book just come to life.”
All proceeds from the “Let’s Chat – Reflections, Devotions, Doodles Sharing God’s Abundant Blessings” will go directly towards the WYGS radio station. Evans said it has been in the works for about two years now and she has had four investors backing the book.
“I just felt like God wasn’t finished with these women yet. I felt that their influence and their testimony that God wanted many more people to still listen to those women,” Evans said. “God still wanted to use those women and so that was the impetus…”
The overall goal of both her show and her book is to lift the name of Jesus high, doing that through women of faith and their daily walk with Christ. Through reading these guests’ walk with Christ, readers can be encouraged in their own walks, she said.
