Practical Chats for Intentional Living
A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others
The Savvy Sauce Story...
After specializing in christian sex therapy at Richmont Graduate University, Laura desired to share all this goodness with as many people as possible.
After marrying her best friend, Mark Dugger, on July 11th, 2009, she became a licensed marriage and family therapist and moved nine times with Mark and they eventually added four beloved daughters to their family.
In different seasons Laura saw clients in private practice and taught as an adjunct professor. She also worked alongside Mark at Chick-fil-A as he pursued his dream of becoming a Chick-fil-A franchise Owner/Operator.
Once they started having children, Laura chose to limit her work significantly, eventually only working from home during her daughters’ nap times.
A few prayers and multiple conversations with God changed everything: After living in hotels and apartments as part of their career journey, Mark and Laura were ecstatic to move into their first house in 2016. Laura remembers praying, “Lord, use every square inch of this home to reach the nations with the Good News of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, Amen!”
Around that same time, Laura was reading a book that challenged her to consider what unique assets she had that she could offer the Lord.
With outstretched hands, she offered God her “loaves and fishes” by praying, “Lord, I have this degree in marriage and family therapy . . . and I have naptime.” As she closed her hands together, she asked God, “Is there anything you could do with that?”
God’s answer came while Laura had her Bible opened and homemade iced almond milk latte in hand. His response was a daily nudge during her sacred “coffee and quiet time.” Each morning, while she was on the same seat on their couch, God seemed to whisper the same message to her repeatedly, “Start a podcast.”
After conversing with the Lord about this topic for a year, she finally mustered up enough courage to share the vision with Mark.
“Lord, use every square inch of this home...”
Laura confessed God had been speaking about this every day for a year, so maybe once their youngest child started kindergarten, she would start a podcast. Mark was gentle and firm in his response.
He kindly said, “No, if the Lord is speaking to you about this daily, it sounds like a command and you need to obey.” In addition to encouraging her to start immediately, he promised his support by saying, “And any time you hit an obstacle, I’m here to help.”
They put their kids to bed and met up in the kitchen to Google, “How do you start a podcast?” During this season, Laura also sensed the Lord was specifically inviting her to pre-record 60 episodes before The Savvy Sauce podcast went live. 60!
Learning sometimes clarity comes on the other side of obedience, she was so grateful she heeded God’s recommendation because the week the podcast went live, Mark and Laura were looking at a positive pregnancy test.
When their fourth daughter was born, she delighted in the margin to take a maternity leave and snuggle her baby, while still releasing one episode every Monday. She is still grateful for God’s foresight and gift of margin.
You will always hear the Gospel message shared at the end of every episode and as soon as the first episode about sexual intimacy went live, the map on their internal website lit up with locations around the world where people were tuning in. Laura tearfully called her team to report a praise about God’s answer to her meek prayer.
He was indeed using “every square inch of this home to reach the nations with the Good News of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, Amen!” God continues to manifest His glory through powerful stories, Scripture, and experiences with The Savvy Sauce podcast.
Eventually, Mark and Laura discussed ways they could work together and Savvy Sauce Charities was born. Their hope is to resource loved ones to be inspired to grow in intimacy with God and others.
The podcast came under this non-profit umbrella in 2024 and you can tune in every Monday to hear fascinating interviews or re-visit their library with hundreds of episodes so that you can be equipped to have your own practical chats for intentional living. And the only question you will hear repeated, week after week, is one to leave you with now…
“What is your savvy sauce?”
Our Mission
The Savvy Sauce exists to resource loved ones to be inspired to grow in intimacy with God and others, Amen!
Under that non-profit umbrella is the podcast, The Savvy Sauce: Practical Chats for Intentional Living. The Savvy Sauce podcast exists to invite you to a space to meet with Jesus and be filled with joy overflowing.
Our Purpose is the same for both Savvy Sauce Charities and The Savvy Sauce: Share Joy!
Core Values
Learning
We will host different expert guest each week who will make us laugh and challenge us to start living a more abundant life!
Generosity
We love surprises and giving things away to make your day a little brighter! We are also committed to tithing on what we bring in so that we can share the joy through our finances.
Inclusivity
We hope you always find encouragement, hope, and belonging here.
Love
Our prayer is that you feel loved through your experience with The Savvy Sauce as you experience the love through hearing God’s Word and learn how to practically apply it each day (such as resting in God’s goodness, taking good care of one another, gathering together, building each other up, being strengthened with grace and encouragement, all while loving God, loving others, and loving yourself)!
Eternal Value
Ultimately, we want you to hear the Good News about what Jesus did to save your life and offer you practical steps to take so that you can spend your life living for something that will outlast it! We are on this journey with you as we also seek to become more like Jesus every day and we are so glad we get to do this together.
Meet the Team
Laura Dugger, Founder & Host
Laura married her best friend, Mark, in 2009 and they have four beloved daughters.
Laura is a marriage and family therapist and her graduate school specialization was christian sex therapy.
She believes this podcast was an idea from the Lord and she prays to obediently follow God’s direction and bring Him glory.
Three fun facts:
After attending barista school with her husband, she now makes her own grande iced almond milk latte everyday to enjoy as she reads her Bible.
Laura’s favorite shared activity with her kiddos is reading aloud, which they try to do daily.
Finally, she can’t get enough community: her parents instilled traditions she and Mark continue to uphold which include hosting and gathering people together as much as possible!
Natalie Baker, Sound Engineer
Natalie and Luke have been married since 2003 and they have three precious children.
Natalie is a nurse who is Certified in Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nursing with a background in Wound Care and Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine.
Three fun facts:
When she was 14, Natalie was stung by a Portuguese man-o-war, which left her with a six-inch scar on her leg and a healthy fear of the ocean.
She is left-handed, with equal parts pride and annoyance over that fact. The annoyance is mostly at the world being against lefties, not at actually being left-handed.
And lastly, in high school, Natalie was both a cheerleader and a drum major. Her mom claims she never told anyone she was the drum major; her parents discovered it at a parade she was competing in.
Meet our guests.
-
![]()
Kirsten Watson
-
![]()
Captain Drew Anthony
-
![]()
Elizabeth Dixon
-
![]()
Jackie Coleman
-
![]()
Shawn Mazelin
-
![]()
Mark Dugger
-
![]()
Francie Hinrichsen
-
![]()
Guest, Chris Allen
-
![]()
Dr. Josh and Christi Straub
-
![]()
WinShape Ministries
Guiding Scriptures
KJV Matthew 6:33 (KJV) “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
Proverbs 4:5 (AMP) “Get [skillful and godly] wisdom! Acquire understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation]! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.”
Luke 1:45 (NIV) “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!
Support the Mission
Full Transparency: It costs approximately $500 to produce each episode (web hosting, domain cost, time from our team, equipment, etc…) So how does our business earn money?
These three main ways support The Savvy Sauce on our mission to create space to meet with Jesus and be filled with joy overflowing:
Sponsors
Sponsor an episode of The Savvy Sauce Podcast. Tap the button to find out more.
Donations
Help further the mission by making a tax-deductible donation to The Savvy Sauce.
Community
Draw closer to Jesus and others by joining our email community.
KJV Matthew 6:33 (KJV) “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”